ABC’s of Relationship Selling, 13e (Futrell)
Chapter 1 The Life, Times, and Career of the Professional Salesperson
1) The marketing concept is a business philosophy that says the customers’ want- satisfaction is
the economic and social justification for a firm’s existence.
2) Selling and marketing are not synonymous.
3) The marketing mix consists of three components: price, product, and promotion.
4) Professional selling refers to the holistic business system required to effectively develop,
manage, enable, and execute a mutually beneficial, interpersonal exchange of goods and/or
services for equitable value.
5) The Core Principles of Professional Selling refer to: 1) unselfishly serving the buyer or buying
organization and 2) professionally representing the selling organization.
6) Students graduating from a sales program learn faster in their sales position than students
without a sales education.
7) One of the reasons to choose a sales career is the wide variety of sales jobs available.
8) Maintaining a professional sales force accounts for major expenditures by most companies.
Thus, professional selling presents a large number of career opportunities.
9) A wholesale salesperson would sell designer clothing to a department store which in turn
would resell the items to individual customers.
10) A sales engineer works for a manufacturer and sells the benefits of intangible products.
11) There are no differences between what a service salesperson sells and what an industrial
products salesperson sells.
12) Creative selling is an important part of what an order-getter does.
13) Even experienced sales representatives in outside sales typically receive intensive direct
supervision.
14) A salesperson’s career path is the upward sequence of job movements during a sales career.
15) Given that sales jobs offer higher nonfinancial rewards than most other areas of corporate
America, the compensation of salespeople is typically lower than that of workers in areas like
production and personnel who are at a comparable level in the organization.
16) Financial rewards for professional salespeople are commonly solely based on performance.
17) To be a successful salesperson, a salesperson must love to sell.
18) Today’s salespeople make a contribution to the welfare of others through service.
19) A salesperson needs physical, spiritual, and mental stamina to succeed.
20) Today’s salesperson needs personal characteristics that allow for true caring for customers.
21) Emotional self-control is difficult for many salespeople to develop because of personal and
financial investments in making sales to customers.
22) Self-control refers to the discipline needed to rise early, work late, and prepare for the next
day in the evening.
23) Many of today’s salespeople are considered professionals due to their product knowledge and
customer service.
24) The acronym ABCS represents the tools needed for creating a successful marketing mix.
25) Relationship selling is the creation of customer loyalty.
26) As a profession, salespeople need no more tact than those in any other profession.
27) Salespeople need not increase sales in old accounts if they are generating a sufficient number
of new customers.
28) As manager of a sales territory, a salesperson is responsible for providing solutions to
customers’ problems.
29) While salespeople typically provide many services for their customers, returning damaged
merchandise is not one of them.
30) It is inappropriate for a salesperson to provide information to his/her company on such topics
as competitors’ activities and market opportunities since doing so would exceed his/her authority
and violate customer confidence.
31) To develop a reputation as a professional, you must be willing to ignore your conscience and
get the sale no matter what it takes.
32) To be viewed as professionals and respected by customers, salespeople join organizations
such as, The Lions Club, the Chamber of Commerce and other local service organizations.
33) A good salesperson should abstain from remaining active in community affairs due to
conflicts of interest.
34) A professional salesperson should abstain from blaming the competition in front of the
customer.
35) According to the text, one of “The Seven Deadly Sins of Business Selling” is a lack of
pushiness.
36) According to the text, wasting time during the sales call by involving in small talks is a
deadly sin of business selling.
37) A salesperson should entertain both prospects and current customers regularly to ensure
customer satisfaction.
38) Selling is considered by many as both an art and a science.
39) Many selling skills cannot be learned from a textbook, but must be developed through
practice, just like tennis.
40) Conceptual skill is the seller’s ability to work with and through other people.
41) Conceptual skills are especially important for the creative order-takers.
42) One key human skill is the ability to adapt to the customer.
43) Technical skill is the cognitive ability to see the selling process as a whole and the
relationship among its parts.
44) Technology use is limited to sales made through the use of Web sites.
45) The Small Business Administration classifies approximately 50 percent of all business in the
United States as small businesses.
46) The sales process refers to the checklist salespeople use to prepare themselves for dealing
with prospects’ objections.
47) The last step in the sales process is the close.
48) Identify the correct statement about the importance of salespeople and selling.
A) Salespeople are responsible for the success of new products, but have little to do with keeping
existing products in the marketplace.
B) Salespeople are responsible for keeping existing products in the marketplace, but have little to
do with the success of new products.
C) Only the medical profession generates more revenue in our economy than the selling
profession.
D) Salespeople have a direct impact on the opening of new businesses and whether that business
is successful.
E) Only the legal profession generates more revenue in our economy than the selling profession.
49) Which of the following statements about products, goods, and services is true?
A) Products and goods are synonymous terms
B) Services and products are tangibles
C) Goods and products are tangibles
D) Salespeople do not sell services
E) Goods and services are tangibles
50) The ________ is a business philosophy that says the customers’ want-satisfaction is the
economic and social justification for a firm’s existence.
A) Six Sigma concept
B) TQM concept
C) scientific approach to business
D) marketing concept
E) sales heuristic
51) Which of the following terms describes a bundle of tangible and intangible attributes,
including packaging, color, brand and even the reputation of the seller?
A) Price
B) Good
C) Product
D) Service
E) Distribution
52) Which element of the marketing mix is being discussed when the salesperson participates in
a trade show?
A) Pricing
B) Distribution
C) Direct sales
D) Product
E) Promotion
53) All of the following fall under the term “product” in the marketing mix EXCEPT:
A) brand name.
B) services.
C) inventory.
D) returns.
E) image.
54) Which of the following falls in the category, “place” in the marketing mix?
A) Wholesalers
B) Brand name
C) Promotional allowances
D) Trade shows
E) Features
55) Promotional allowances are an element of this marketing mix component.
A) Product
B) Place
C) Promotion
D) Distribution
E) Price