Workload method

Basically, three methods are available for determining the sales force size such as incremental method, sales potential method, and workload method. This third method can be defined in the following ways:

Definition (1):

The workload method is an approach to determining sales force size based on the workload required and the time available for selling. This method uses the following formula to determine the sales force size:

                  NS = (NC × FC × LC) ÷ TA

                 Where

                  NS = number of salespeople

                  NC = number of customers

                  FC = average frequency of customer calls per customer

                  LC = average length of customer calls

                  TA = time an average salesperson has available for selling per year

Definition (2):

The workload method is also called the buildup method. Under this method, the whole workload i.e. the total number of hours needed to serve the whole market is calculated. It is divided by the time available for selling per salesperson for forecasting the sales force size. This is a common method in use because it is simple and easy to recognize and understand the effort needed for serving different types of customers.