In this course, we will cover sales force compensation, sales force expenses and a related topic, setting sales force goals or quotas. Of all the tools available to motivate and direct a sales force, compensation is the most important. So, managers need to spend considerable effort on designing and implementing their compensation plans. We will focus on how compensation plans are created, how managers decide what to pay salespeople and the various methods to pay these individuals. Expenses related to sales include things like travelling expenses and customer entertainment. Sometimes. sales expenses are treated as part of compensation. Hence, any discussion of sales compensation must include how managers manage expenses. We will describe the goals of a sales force expense plan and the various methods for controlling expenses. Finally, we'll talk about the importance of sales expense policies as well as IRS regulations regarding expenses. I also mentioned sales quotas. A sales quota is a performance goal set for a period of time. Quotas are tied to compensation and frequently used in calculating bonuses or other forms of incentive compensation. A sales quota can be expressed in dollars or units or a particular activity like the number of sales calls. That said, setting a quota is a big challenge. If a quota is too low, you're probably incentivizing sales people for something that they probably would've normally achieved anyways. If a quota is too high, sales people are likely to give up. So, setting quotas is tough but it's so important. We wrap up this course with some current research on today's compensation and quota practices. So, let's dig in.