Question 7b Total sales in non DFW segment : 28.8M +3.2M = 32M JBC's current market share in DFW segment 6 million = 18.75 % 32 million Market share needed _6 million+171n428457, = 19.29 % 32 million JBC will need a total market share of 19.29 % of the non -DFW segment (combined customers ) in order to achieve the $171,428.57 increase in the sales volume for an additional sales representative Question 7c The pro for strategy 4 is that the additional sales representative can help "develop more retail account leads and presentations ", these are all efficient way to increase brand presences and awareness . In addition , as mentioned in the case , the sales representatives are described as "well liked , helpful , professional , and knowledgeable about paint ". The additional representative will be able to deliver the same experiences to more retailers . In addition , the cost of this strategy is extremely low compared to the other proposed method , in other words , there is less risk investing in this . Because the investment cost is low , and JBC only need to capture an additional market share of 0.54 % to offset the cost , I believe Strategy 4 will be successful On the other hand , the con for this strategy is that it focuses primarily on the non -DFW region Although it might be true that JBC has a low account penetration in the area ; but neglecting DFW area can also impact the business and sales volume . In addition , the cost calculated by the Vice President of Sales is not a one -time fixed cost , it's a calculation excluding commission Which means , depending on the performance of the sales representative , the cost for additional personnel will be more than the $60,000 Question 8 Based on my analysis , Jon Blume Company should pursue with Strategy 4: Add an additional sales representative at a direct cost of $60,000 . The biggest risk associating this strategy is the performance of the new sales representative and the response from new retailers . The lack of performance from the sales team will give the retailers a negative impression , thus a negative brand image overall . If retailers don't find JBC's products promising , they won't promote to its customers . If this situation occurs , the additional sales representative will not help JBC to increase market share and sales volume . However , the following reasons outline why Strategy 4 is still optimal despite the risk of negative impressions 1. Compared with the other strategies , the break -even sales volume needed is significantly lower ($171,428.57 ). In other words , the additional sales representative only needs to increase t market share by 0.54 %% to cover the $60,000 cost , the rest will purely be revenue for JBC 2. Having in-house sales team promoting the products are way more effective than promotions through television advertisement or simple price cut . Sales representatives can personally tailor