W4K carefully selects its Sales Account Managers for their professional demeanor, ability to relate to potential client accounts, and their sales skills as well as their understanding of the toy/ wood toy industry.  Sales Account Managers expect their job responsibilities to be a mix of marketing, sales, and service provision.  Account Managers also realize that performance reviews, bonuses, and salary increases are based on all these job responsibilities.

Each Account Manager sets annual personal lead generation, client account prospecting, and client account retention goals.  These goals are established in partnership with W4K management.  This element of the promotion mix allows assumptions about personal selling to be made explicit.  Moreover, this helps increase the overall revenue and profitability of W4K.

A new monthly incentive program will be established to award each Account Manager points for acquired client accounts and retained client accounts.  These points can be redeemed for items out of the Modern Executive catalogue (a prestigious and upscale outfit) offering the latest in fashion, travel, and related business-oriented items.  In addition, a one week trip for two to the West Indies will be awarded to the Account Manager generating the greatest number of account sales for the year (a required minimum of $500,000 applies) compared to the established goal and adjusted for account composition (i.e. difficulty and size) with the required retention and sell through rates.

Executive sales visits will be conducted with major new discount retail stores/chains.  The Executive sales team will include the CEO, the Strategic Marketing Director, and the appropriate Account Manager for that particular account.  This should insure that W4K’s commitment to the potential new channel partner is made explicit.  This will also smooth the way for the Account Manager to interact with the new channel retailer in the future.

Currently W4K has no personal selling budget.  In the next year a budget of almost 1% of gross sales will be established in order to help increase sales through the discount retail channel.  The table below (Personal Selling) represents the personal selling projections for next year.