| Course | MT455 Strategic Management of Sales |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 10 |
| Paper type | Sales organization plan |
| Length | About 1,120 words, 7 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | BS in Business Administration |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MT455 Unit 10
Pay First, Then Coverage, Then Quotas: An MT455 Unit 10 Sales Organization Plan Costed at $6.76 Million
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
MT455: Strategic Management of Sales
Unit 10 Sales Organization Plan
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
Keystrand Access, its people, its costs and every figure are composite; the sources cited are real.
Executive Summary
Keystrand Access should organize its sales force into 14 field sellers, eleven covering hospitals and campuses and three covering national apartment owners, 10 inside sellers for mid-market and smaller multifamily customers, 6 renewal managers for the installed subscription base, 4 partner managers and a digital program for single-site businesses. The organization costs about $6.76 million a year against $7.48 million today. Every current seat is accounted for, changes run over three quarters and five measures, reported from the first quarter, will tell leadership early whether sellers are changing what they sell.
The Strategy Each Section Serves
The board's three goals head every section of this plan: subscription revenue from 22 to 40 percent of the total by 2028; leadership in cloud access control for health systems and campuses; and portfolio contracts with large apartment operators. Each decision below names the goal it serves, so no decision floats free of the strategy.
The Organization Chart
The vice president of sales leads four groups. Enterprise sales has two regional managers, each leading seven field sellers, eleven for health systems and three for apartment operators in total. Commercial sales has one manager leading ten inside sellers. Customer renewals has a lead and six renewal managers. Channel and digital has a lead, four partner managers and the digital program team. Spans of control of seven to ten allow each manager weekly one-on-ones and at least one observed call per seller per month.
Why Renewal Managers
Unit 3's coverage model left about $1.45 million unallocated for renewal coverage. Six renewal managers, at about $121,700 each loaded, cost about $730,000 and take total cost from $6.03 million to $6.76 million. They serve goal one directly: subscription revenue reaches 40 percent only if customers renew, and field sellers paid to win new accounts have little time or reason to manage renewals. Zoltners et al. (2004) note that separating acquisition and retention roles often improves both, because each needs different skills and different measures.
Roles and Selection
Roles follow the Unit 4 method: each is defined by its tasks and success measures, with competencies tied to evidence and to a step of selection. The health system hunter profile from Unit 4 is used as written; profiles for the apartment operator, inside and renewal roles follow the same template.
Coaching Cadence
Managers hold a weekly one-on-one with each seller and review at least one recorded or observed call per seller per month, focused on one behavior at a time, as in the Unit 5 coaching plan. Managers may not take over sellers' calls except at the seller's request. Managers' own performance reviews include their sellers' skill development, not only their team's bookings.
The Revised Pay Plan
The pay plan tested in Unit 7 replaces the current one: hardware now pays less than subscription, heavy hardware discounts cut the hardware rate in half, renewals earn commission for the first time and results are counted over the year rather than the quarter. A guaranteed incentive floor of 75 percent of target applies for two quarters to sellers whose pay falls under the new plan, so that the strongest hardware sellers are not pushed out before they can shift their mix. Steenburgh and Ahearne (2012) observe that sellers respond to pay changes quickly, which is why pay comes first.
Quotas and Forecasting
Quotas for field territories are set from potential and history, 70 and 30, as in Unit 8, with ramps for new hires. The weighted forecast method from Unit 9 becomes the standard: each quarter's forecast reports raw and weighted coverage, discounts stale deals and examines the largest deals individually.
Placing All 38 Sellers
A placement table accounts for every current seller. Of 38 sellers today, 26 in field roles and 12 inside, 34 seats are filled from within. Eleven field sellers with large-account experience move to health system and apartment operator roles; three of them need the Unit 4 selection steps, since they have sold only to single-site customers. Ten inside sellers remain inside. Six sellers with strong renewal records become renewal managers. Four field sellers with integrator relationships become partner managers. The remaining four seats are absorbed by expected attrition: the team lost seven sellers last year, and four departures are expected before the change is complete. No seller is laid off for the reorganization.
Every current seller has a seat or is covered by normal turnover, so the reorganization requires no layoffs.
The Sequence, Argued
The order of changes matters as much as the changes. Pay changes first, in the first quarter, because sellers will resist coverage moves under a plan that rewards the old behavior; a field seller asked to give up small accounts while still paid most for hardware volume will fight the move. Coverage and account reassignment come second, in the second quarter, with a rule that deals already in progress stay with their current seller until they close or for ninety days, whichever comes first, so no one loses commission on work already done. Quotas from potential and the weighted forecast process come third, in the third quarter, once territories are stable enough to measure. Kerr (1975) described organizations that ask for one result and pay for another; putting the pay change first keeps this plan from becoming another example.
Risks
Four risks are tracked. Top hardware sellers may leave when their pay falls; the two-quarter floor and individual conversations answer it. Account reassignment may disrupt customers; the in-flight deal rule and joint handover calls answer it. Health system sales cycles may make the first year look weak; quarterly reviews will report pipeline progress alongside bookings. And integrators may not take on single-site customers quickly; the partner managers' first-year goal is recruitment, not revenue.
Five Measures
The plan keeps the five measures set in the Unit 2 memo, so that results can be compared from the first quarter of the change. The share of new bookings that is subscription and the renewal rate track goal one. The count of new health system customers tracks goal two. Signed portfolio agreements track goal three. And the average hardware discount, reported each month, tracks the behavior the old pay plan encouraged. Johnston and Marshall (2021) recommend that sales organization changes be judged against the outcomes they were designed to produce, and each measure maps to one of the board's goals or to the discounting the plan was built to stop.
References
Johnston, M. W., & Marshall, G. W. (2021). Sales force management: Leadership, innovation, technology (13th ed.). Routledge.
Kerr, S. (1975). On the folly of rewarding A, while hoping for B. Academy of Management Journal, 18(4), 769-783. https://doi.org/10.2307/255378
Steenburgh, T., & Ahearne, M. (2012). Motivating salespeople: What really works. Harvard Business Review, 90(7/8), 70-75.
Zoltners, A. A., Sinha, P., & Lorimer, S. E. (2004). Sales force design for strategic advantage. Palgrave Macmillan.
MT455 Unit 10 instructions, in plain terms
The final MT455 assignment is a plan for a sales organization that integrates the course's earlier work. Lead with a summary page naming the structure you recommend, what it costs and when each change happens. Tie every section to the company's strategy, repeating its goals so no decision floats free. Show the organization with reporting lines and spans of control. Cover roles and selection, coaching cadence, the pay plan, quotas and the forecasting process, each drawing on the relevant earlier unit. Account for every current seller in a placement table. Argue the sequence of changes rather than assuming it, and explain how in-flight deals and pay transitions will be handled. Close with risks and a small set of measures linked to the strategy. Around nine pages with an organization chart, a cost table and a phased timeline is common for this capstone plan.
How this MT455 Unit 10 example is built
The plan begins with a summary of the structure, cost and measures. The board's three goals are restated as the test for every decision. The organization chart sets four groups and spans of seven to ten. A section on renewal managers explains the $730,000 addition with Zoltners and colleagues on separating acquisition and retention. Roles, coaching and the revised pay plan follow, each drawn from Units 4, 5 and 7, with a two-quarter floor and Steenburgh and Ahearne on how fast sellers respond. Quotas and forecasting come from Units 8 and 9. The placement table accounts for all 38 sellers, under a highlighted line on no layoffs. The sequence is argued, pay before coverage before quotas, with Kerr on paying for the wrong result. Four risks and the five Unit 2 measures close the plan, citing Johnston and Marshall.
Where the points sit in the MT455 Unit 10 rubric
Capstone plans in MT455 are graded on integration, sequencing and realism. Instructors credit plans that tie every structural choice to the strategy rather than presenting a generic organization. Using earlier units as the basis for each section shows the course's work adds up. An organization chart with spans of control and a cost table that reconciles show completeness. Accounting for every current seller is a frequent marking point and shows respect for the people affected. An argued sequence, with transition rules for pay and in-flight deals, separates strong plans from lists of changes. Risks paired with responses show foresight. Measures tied to the strategy let the plan be judged. The executive summary should allow a leader to approve the plan from the first page.
Common MT455 Unit 10 mistakes, and how to avoid them
Weak Unit 10 plans present an ideal organization chart with no cost, no transition and no mention of current staff. Another frequent problem lists changes without an order, as if pay, coverage and quotas could all change in one month. Students often reuse earlier assignments as pasted sections instead of integrating them. In-flight deals and pay transitions are commonly ignored, which is where real reorganizations fail. Measures tend to be revenue only. Before submitting, check that the number of seats in your chart, your cost table and your placement table all agree. Then read the sequence section and ask what sellers would do in the first month under your plan. If their pay still rewards the old behavior while their accounts change, move the pay change earlier.
Get an MT455 Unit 10 example written to your instructions
Bring together whatever your earlier MT455 units produced, or start fresh from the Unit 10 case, and share it alongside the prompt and rubric. A custom sales organization plan, integrated around the strategy with costs, placements and a phased timeline, is delivered within 24-48h at no charge for a first sample. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
More MT455 papers and BS in Business Administration samples
- MT455 Unit 1: Sales Manager Time Board Post
- MT455 Unit 2: Sales Strategy Alignment Memo
- MT455 Unit 3: Sales Coverage Model Analysis
- MT455 Unit 4: Hunter Sales Role Profile
- MT455 Unit 5: Discounting Habit Coaching Plan
- MT455 Unit 6: Sales Compensation Seminar Reflection
- MT455 Unit 7: Commission Plan Evaluation
- MT455 Unit 8: Territory Quota Setting Exercise
- MT455 Unit 9: Pipeline Forecast Review
- MT453 Unit 10: Key Account Growth Plan
- MT451 Unit 10: Innovation Strategy Report
- MT450 Unit 10: Five-Year Brand Management Plan
MT455 Unit 10 questions, answered
Can the final plan reuse my earlier assignments?
Usually, and many sections expect it, but integration matters more than reuse. Revise earlier work so each part reflects decisions made later; a coverage model that no longer matches your pay plan will be noticed. Summarize rather than paste, and add what earlier units lacked: sequencing, transition, costs and measures that tie the whole plan back to the strategy.
How much detail should the implementation timeline include?
Enough to show order and dependencies. Phases by quarter, with the key actions, owners and a reason for the sequence, usually suffice. Explain why some changes must precede others, such as revising pay before moving accounts. A timeline listing every task by week tends to bury the logic, while one with no dates at all looks unplanned.
Should the plan address people who lose their roles?
Yes, realistically and respectfully. Reorganizations change jobs, and a plan that ignores that leaves out its hardest part. Describe placement principles, transition support, earnings protection and how reassigned accounts are handled, without naming individuals. Graders generally reward plans that show awareness of morale and retention risks, since losing top sellers can undo the benefits of a better structure.
Where can I find a free MT455 Unit 10 sample paper?
This page holds the complete MT455 Unit 10 plan reorganizing a composite access control company's sales force over three quarters at $6.76 million a year.
How does the MT455 Unit 10 sample avoid layoffs?
It fills 34 of the new seats with current sellers and leaves 4 to expected attrition, since the team lost seven sellers the previous year.