Lead prequalification helps salespeople use their time wisely.
If a salesperson is placed in a situation where he or she must act unethically or lose the
job, the best way out would be to rationalize an unethical action by placing the
responsibility on the sales manager.
Companies prefer buyers who are both attitudinally and behaviorally loyal.
Most sales take only one call to complete.
A probing method of obtaining commitment utilizes a series of questions to discover the
reason behind a buyer’s hesitation.
The buyer and the seller in a functional relationship typically pursue their own
self-interests because chances of them doing business together are low.
SPIN and active listening are just as important to understanding the needs of colleagues
as they are to satisfying customer needs.
Integrated marketing communications programs focus exclusively on coordinating
video with radio advertising.
A trial close refers to the process of allowing a customer to use a product for a specified
trial period in order to gather feedback.
An influential adversary is a competing salesperson from another company.
Customer contacts should always be in the form of in-person sales calls.
When Marcia writes a response to an employment advertisement, her cover letter
should exclusively focus on her expectations from the company.
A sales manager says, “Let’s talk about why you did not achieve your goals last month.”
The sales manager is providing diagnostic feedback.
A buyer, who says, “You promised two-week delivery, but our last order took a month
to arrive,” is objecting to your product features.
Salespeople should learn to allocate resources in ways that generate the greatest level of
sales.
A salesperson must uncover the reasons behind his or her inability to obtain
commitment.
Trying to convince your professor to give you the position of a teaching assistant is an
example of personal selling.
One critical advantage of the SPIN technique is that it encourages the prospect to define
the need.
Most companies believe that there is one single ‘sales type” who will be successful
selling anything to anybody.
Individuals classified as “drivers” in the social style matrix have a great desire to get
ahead in their companies and careers.
A salesperson who is a specialist, has a well-defined set of interests, and avoids
negotiations by sticking to his principles is highly versatile.
Six sigma selling programs are designed to reduce and eliminate errors in the selling
system.
Go-to-market strategies are used by buyers to select a suitable vendor in the buying
process.
A common practice during the sales presentation is to make a printed copy of
presentation visuals for the members of the buying center.
In the commitment phase of relationship development, investments are made, especially
in the form of sharing proprietary information, plans, goals, and the like.
Salespeople should develop relationships with manufacturing so they can make
accurate promises and guarantees to customers.
In a selling situation, buyers and sellers calculate profit differently.
Obtaining commitment is critical for the success of salespeople and their firms.
After a sale, a follow-up should be made by telephone.
Likability can be influenced with personal communications such as birthday cards,
handwritten notes, and so forth.
The worst type of objection is the one a buyer refuses to disclose because a hidden
objection cannot be dealt with.
Speaking to the owner at a large shopping mall store, the security system salesperson
said, “Do you know how many shoplifters you can actually catch each year?” In the
context of the SPIN technique, this question would be categorized as a(n) _____
question.
A. situation
B. closed
C. implication
D. necessary
E. indication
Pete is a salesperson at the local Honda dealership. He frequently offers buyers $50 if
they provide him with the contact details of a customer who wants to buy a car. Pete is
attempting to get these people to act as his:
A. salespeople.
B. spotters.
C. drivers.
D. gatekeepers.
E. steppers.
Salespeople engage in _____ when they ignore a purchasing agent’s (PA) policy against
contacting other employees without the PA’s permission, and directly contact other
people involved in the purchasing decision.
A. backdoor selling
B. expanded prospecting
C. sales prospecting
D. hustling
E. bypass selling
Instead of describing the product, a salesperson was listening to a customer speak,
while nodding her head and using expressions like, “Really?” “Uh-huh,” and “That’s
interesting” in order to encourage the customer to keep talking. The salesperson is:
A. trying to find the appropriate time to close the sale.
B. engaging in passive listening.
C. engaging in active listening.
D. encouraging active speaking.
E. none of the above.
Marissa is trying to improve her self-management techniques. She has no trouble
setting goals, but the next immediate step in the self-management process, that is,
_____, seems to always cause her problems.
A. conducting a productivity analysis
B. implementing a time management strategy
C. allocating resources to meet her goals
D. completing her paperwork on time
E. evaluating her own performance
Which of the following statements about making appointments for sales calls is true?
A. Experts generally agree that a salesperson calling on a company that is new to him or
her should begin by calling on the president of the firm.
B. Experts generally agree that a salesperson calling on a company that is new to him or
her should begin by calling on the “focus of power.”
C. In industrial selling situations, a salesperson gets a substantial order on his or her
first sales call when he or she approaches the prospect after calling up for an
appointment.
D. Experienced sales representatives use different methods for making appointments
with different prospects.
E. Experts generally agree that a salesperson calling on a company that is new to him or
her should begin by calling on the “focus of dissatisfaction.”
Keith Nixon, a salesperson for Paradise Water Gardens, often calls on Olin Wiley, the
owner of Lexington Nurseries for sales meetings. He often helps Wiley plan newspaper
ads to take full advantage of the co-op advertising allowance that Lexington earns from
Paradise. In this example, Nixon is maximizing his sales opportunity with Lexington
by:
A. ensuring good after-sales service.
B. helping service the product.
C. providing expert guidance.
D. following through with action.
E. selling specialty advertising items.
Reuben is a consumer products salesperson who calls on supermarkets and grocery
stores. Due to the regular nature of his sales calls, Reuben should use _____ call
patterns to route himself.
A. routine
B. standard
C. box
D. enclosed
E. traditional
Annette will be representing Jackson Hauling, a new commercial trash collection
service, in a negotiation with the house manager of one of the local university’s social
fraternities. Annette first plans to suggest that her company can place a larger dumpster
behind the fraternity house than the current dumpster the other service company
provides. She then plans to arrange the group’s trash to be picked up twice a month. She
hopes the frat will accept a once-a-week pick-up given the larger size dumpster
provided, and she knows that because Jackson is a ‘small-time” startup company with
only a limited number of trucks, the most she can offer is twice weekly pick-up. Twice
monthly pick-up is Annette’s _____ position.
A. minimum
B. target
C. opening
D. maximum
E. average
For the last two weeks, Jake, a newly-hired sales trainee, has been working with you as
you make sales calls and carry out the responsibilities associated with managing your
territory. During this time, you have found him to be consistently dependable,
supportive, and personable, but at times he has struck you as somewhat undisciplined.
Based on your knowledge of the social style matrix, you would classify Jake as a(n):
A. leader.
B. expressive.
C. driver.
D. analytical.
E. amiable.
Which of the following statements about selling to groups is true?
A. Objectives should not be developed for the first group meeting.
B. Planning should not include developing special visual aids as it may be difficult to
hold the attention of a group with aids alone.
C. Information must be gathered about the concerns of each and every person who will
attend the meeting.
D. Attempt should not be made to assess the buyers’ nonverbal cues because people are
greatly inhibited in a group setting.
E. The salesperson should avoid informal presentations when making a sales call on a
group of buyers.
Pacific Rim Co. sells outdoor furniture, garden and patio accessories, baskets, floral
arrangements, and pottery to retail garden nurseries. Its salespeople are known as:
A. distributor salespeople.
B. trade salespeople.
C. runners.
D. manufacturers’ agents.
E. retail salespeople.
_____ is the amount of money paid to a salesperson at regular intervals regardless of his
or her performance.
A. Gratuity
B. Bonus
C. Incentive
D. Commission
E. Salary
In the _____ stage of the relationship development process, the owner of several
retirement centers has agreed that Fashion Seal Uniforms will be the only uniforms
worn by her employees. Andy, the salesperson for Fashion Seal, has agreed to make
some modifications in the uniforms to suit the needs of the retirement center personnel.
Both parties view this as a long-term relationship built on mutual trust.
A. awareness
B. exploration
C. commitment
D. attraction
E. expansion
Kirk’s rsum is organized around the things he can do and the things he has learned. He
has developed a(n) _____ rsum.
A. standard
B. academic
C. conventional
D. placement
E. functional
Which of the following is an example of an inbound salesperson?
A. Bettina makes cold calls for her field sales representative.
B. Marjorie is a telemarketer who sells aluminum siding to key accounts.
C. Al calls to see if the Yelverton family wants to renew its subscription to the
“Nashville Tennessean.”
D. Burt receives a phone call from a customer in BellSouth who wants to check the
availability of a particular watch.
E. Tracey sits at the customer service section and provides product information to her
clients.
Personal selling includes all of the following EXCEPT:
A. doing a credit analysis.
B. building relationships with customers.
C. offering information.
D. helping customers identify problems.
E. providing after-sale service.
In the _____ stage of developing a partnership, the relationship is defined through the
development of expectations for each party.
A. commitment
B. exploration
C. awareness
D. expansion
E. dissolution
As you compete for the job you want, knowledge about a potential employer is
valuable. Which of the following is a valid source of information about the firm?
A. Business reference books
B. Its customers
C. Its salespeople
D. Its sales managers
E. All of the above
When Marion convinced a customer to replace his old Pondmaster 1000 aquarium filter
with the new and improved Pondmaster 1500, she was engaging in:
A. cross-selling.
B. upgrading.
C. repositioning.
D. full-line selling.
E. incremental selling.
Salespeople are like entrepreneurs because:
A. they do not have to invest in themselves.
B. integrated marketing communications eliminates investment risk.
C. manufacturers trust salespeople to be corporate-centric.
D. of the unusual freedom and flexibility in doing their jobs.
E. they have to spend a lot of time in a structured work environment.
It is late in the day when Reginald calls on his favorite customer from Dallas. The
customer is tired but invites him in and sits back with his hands and legs uncrossed.
Reginald interprets this body language as:
A. exhaustion.
B. positive.
C. boredom.
D. indifference.
E. None of the above.
James is best described as a risk avoider who moves and speaks slowly and deliberately.
He is supportive by nature, cool and aloof, and never shows any emotion. In which of
the following categories of the social style matrix does this information place James?
A. Drivers
B. Expressives
C. Amiables
D. Analyticals
E. Gatekeepers
Which of the following statements is true of the different categories of relationships
with suppliers?
A. The first stage involves the formation of selective or strategic partnerships.
B. An annual contract is an example of a coordinative relationship with a supplier.
C. Selective and strategic partnerships are examples of market exchanges.
D. Functional partnerships essentially involve an integration of departments across the
two companies.
E. Strategic partnerships represent the most commonly seen buyer-supplier relationship.
Zeller’s, a Canadian discount store, has developed cross-functional teams with experts
from its retailing division and its vendors. These teams work together to develop
information systems to improve relationships between the vendors and Zeller’s
employees. Zeller and its vendors have developed a _____.
A. relational partnerships
B. buyer-seller alliances
C. strategic partnerships
D. win-lose partnerships
E. hierarchical relationships
Jack is the house manager for his campus chapter of Beta Theta Pi, a social fraternity.
He is negotiating with Jackson Hauling for trash pick-up services at the fraternity
house. He prefers a three-days-per-week trash pick-up schedule, but he is also willing to
accept a two-days-per-week arrangement. While negotiating with the company, he asks
for daily trash pick-up service. The three-day trash pick-up schedule is Jack’s:
A. minimum position.
B. target position.
C. opening position.
D. maximum position.
E. average position.
Which of the following is NOT one of the essential elements of a sales call?
A. Calculating the profit margin in advance
B. Making a good impression
C. Identifying or reiterating a prospect’s needs
D. Building credibility and trust
E. Offering solutions for a buyer’s needs
Effective call objectives must be:
A. expressed only in monetary terms.
B. specific, realistic, and measurable.
C. standardized for all sales representatives in a company.
D. independent of any cultural influences.
E. all of the above.
Why is it important for salespeople to become skilled in obtaining prospect
commitment?
A. It increases the time spent with the buyer.
B. It helps in selling products to the buyer who doesn’t need it.
C. It is intrinsically and extrinsically rewarding.
D. It is easier to convince the buyer to do the seller a favor by buying the product.
E. Skill in obtaining prospect commitment is important for all of the above reasons.
Melanie was about 10 minutes into her third interview with a sales manager when,
without warning, the manager picked up the ashtray from her desk and handed it to
Melanie saying, “Here, sell me this ashtray.” Melanie was in a(n) _____ interview.
A. action
B. stress
C. intelligence test
D. measurement
E. capability
Which of the following best exemplifies a measurable sales call objective?
A. To learn more about a prospect’s needs
B. To learn about a prospect’s professional background
C. To improve a prospect’s perception of a salesperson’s company
D. To build rapport with a prospect
E. To gain a buyer’s trust
In the context of the social style matrix, which of the following is a strength of the
expressive social style?
A. Dramatic flair
B. Thoroughness
C. Decisive nature
D. Analytical bent of mind
E. Calculating nature
The _____ is the return a buyer would have earned from a different use of the same
investment capital.
A. sunk cost
B. fixed cost
C. opportunity cost
D. gross revenue
E. net revenue
One of the advantages of personal selling as compared to advertising is that:
A. salespeople can be so closely supervised.
B. salespeople can become very persuasive since they give an identical sales
presentation to so many different people.
C. salespeople can rely on puffery.
D. salespeople can change their message if they find their customers losing interest.
E. all of the above.
How does a salesperson demonstrate competence to a customer?
Why would a salesperson for a wholesale flower distributor give the prospective client
a bouquet of fragrant lilacs to smell and admire during the sales presentation?
Why do some attempts at cross-selling almost seem like a new-task buying situation?
Jackson sells refrigeration units to hospitals, laboratories, and clinics. He really wants to
make a sale to a group of hospitals all working under the Emory brand. He believes that
if he gives the purchasing agent for the hospitals a very unique and costly gift, he will
be more than likely to get the order. What advice would you give him?
What are manufacturers’ agents?
Define strategic partnership. What are the important characteristics of strategic
partnerships?
Describe assertive salespeople.
What is the term used to describe the condition suffered by a salesperson who would
rather spend time gathering and analyzing precall information than actually making the
sales call?
What is data mining?
Tarik is preparing a presentation for a hospital about his company’s new linear
accelerator cancer treatment machine. Since the machine is large and expensive to bring
in and demonstrate, he is unsure which media to use in his presentation. Which visual
aid would be most appropriate for his needs?
Responding to objections when selling to groups requires special attention. What
strategies should be used to address objections in group sales presentations?
AirPac packaging systems are used to create airtight packages for meat and cheese
products. The AirPac system is more expensive to use but guarantees reducing
packaging reject costs by half. The cost for the AirPac system is $15,300. A company
that purchased it experienced a net savings of $5,100 during its first year of usage.
Calculate the return on investment (ROI).
When Paula went in for her job interview, she was given a plastic cup and asked to sell
the cup to the interviewer. What kind of an interview did Paula experience?
How can a salesperson obtain commitment without being manipulative?
A salesperson walks into a prospect’s office and announces, “Thank you for letting me
see you. I am Melanie Gooden, and I sell American Delphi disposal systems.” In this
example, what opening does the salesperson employ?
What do resellers consider when making decisions about which products to sell?