A buying center is an informal, cross-department group of people involved in a
purchase decision.
Negotiations differ from regular sales calls in that they involve lesser intensive planning
and a smaller number of people from the selling firm.
In a strategic partnership, most communication between the buyer and the selling
organization goes through the salesperson.
The sales strategy of getting at least one additional lead from each person interviewed is
called selling deeper.
Salespeople typically report directly to the sales executive.
Salespeople must try to develop a strategic partnership with every new account they
work with.
Successful salespeople always make great negotiators.
The most recommended approach for showing trends and relationships is a series of
tables.
An advantage of the product opening is that it appeals to a prospect visually as well as
verbally.
Selling to prospects requires different skills than does selling to existing customers.
The balance sheet method of obtaining commitment will never insult a buyer’s
intelligence.
Planning a sales call helps salespeople avoid wasting a prospect’s time.
Red herring is a win-win tactic that involves bringing up a major point first to distract
the other side from considering minor issues.
Physical appearance, specifically dress style, is an aspect of nonverbal communication
that affects a customer’s evaluation of a salesperson.
Close relationships and support of customer or technical service representatives with
the salesperson mean not only better customer service but faster and more direct
information flow to a salesperson.
During face-to-face communication, voice characteristics account for 90 percent of the
message received.
Multiple sales objectives reduce salespeople’s fear of failure.
Society has determined that some activities are clearly unethical and has created a legal
system to prevent people from engaging in these activities.
The field sales manager typically determines the types of salespeople needed in a sales
force.
It is important for salespeople to be able to retrieve brochures and other business
collateral from their knowledge management systems.
Product demonstrations, plant tours, and other special types of presentations are some
ways to illustrate dependability.
Ultimately, the goal of every salesperson should be to establish rapport with each
customer.
Complaints in later stages of a strategic partnership are likely to lead to full-blown
conflict if trust is not carefully salvaged.
Probing techniques can be both verbal and nonverbal.
Members of the purchasing department and technical experts from engineering,
production, and quality control departments perform value analysis.
Ambush negotiation occurs when either party begins to negotiate with a win-lose
strategy when the other party does not expect it.
Using a consultative customer-oriented sales approach leads to lower firm profitability
and loss of customer base.
Conversion ratios should also be calculated by account type.
The idea that existing customers are usually prospects for additional sales is the basis of
a method of prospecting called the endless-chain method.
Practicing adaptive selling does not mean salespeople should be dishonest about their
products or their personal feelings.
If a salesperson does not know the answer to a customer’s question concerning the
product, then the best option is to guess.
Most customers who file complaints are aware that their claims are unfair.
Publicity is a form of unpaid marketing communication between buyers and the selling
firm.
Norah’s goal for her upcoming sales call is to sell 10 cases of anchovies to Darby’s
Diner though she would be willing to accept an order for just five cases too.
Additionally, she is planning to approach the owner to enter into an agreement to
purchase anchovies only from her supplier. For Norah, setting up a straight rebuy
situation with Darby’s Diner is her _____ in this scenario.
A. minimum call objective
B. strategic mission
C. sales quota
D. primary call objective
E. optimistic call objective
Constance was a little early for her interview at the college placement center.
Fortunately, the interviewer had brought along a recent graduate of the college who had
been hired two years ago, and she was able to pass the time talking to him prior to the
interview. Constance was unaware that this person was also evaluating her. Which of
the following types of interviews is being illustrated in this scenario?
A. A group interview
B. A stress interview
C. A panel interview
D. A disguised interview
E. A hidden interview
The payback period:
A. indicates how quickly the investment money will be returned in the form of cash
inflows or savings.
B. reflects the return a buyer would have earned from a different use of the same
investment capital.
C. fails to quantify the personal risk involved in any buying decision made by a
purchasing agent.
D. indicates the total value of all future sales with a customer.
E. pertains solely to those investments that pose a small risk to the buyer.
Which of the following statements about cold calling as a method of prospecting is
true?
A. It is a relatively new technique.
B. It requires a large amount of information about the prospect before making the initial
contact.
C. Most purchasing agents prefer cold calling as a method of prospecting.
D. It can waste a lot of a salesperson’s time.
E. All of the above statements about cold calling are true.
The best time to make a sales call is:
A. before 9:00 A.M. and after 4:00 P.M.
B. immediately after lunch when they are most likely to be in a pleasant mood.
C. between 9: AM to 11: AM.
D. between 9:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M.
E. dependent on the type of selling.
“Mr. Tudor,” said Judy, “Tom Pritchett suggested I contact you about our new
computerized Civil War reenactment game.” In this example, Judy is using the _____
opening method with Mr. Tudor, her prospect.
A. compliment
B. curiosity
C. product
D. introduction
E. referral
_____ is a strategy by which organizational buyers evaluate the relative importance of
suppliers and use that information to determine with whom they want to develop
partnerships.
A. Customer relationship management
B. Total quality management
C. Just-in-time inventory control
D. Supplier relationship management
E. Efficient consumer response system
Which of the following is one of the most common forms of felt stress?
A. Contextual uncertainty
B. The stress interview
C. Subliminal terror
D. Role stress
E. Situational stress
The strengths of any social style can be weaknesses if they are not consistent with what
a customer wants. For example, the orderly, serious, and thorough nature of analyticals
may also be perceived as:
A. cold and calculating.
B. undisciplined.
C. overly anxious.
D. opinionated and unstable.
E. inflexible and irrational.
The process of determining if a lead is indeed a prospect is referred to as:
A. sourcing the lead.
B. brokering a deal.
C. precalling a customer.
D. qualifying a lead.
E. seeding a client.
Which of the following statements is true about references?
A. The most frequently contacted references are coworkers.
B. Permission is never required while using a particular person as a reference because
this creates a bias.
C. Similar references should be chosen, such as three professors or three coworkers.
D. Contacting references is a good way to validate information supplied on the
application form.
E. All of the above statements about references are true.
Which of the following statements is FALSE about negotiation preliminaries?
A. Every effort should be made to ensure a comfortable environment for all parties in
the negotiation.
B. Seating should be arranged such that members of the two sides can interact.
C. Engaging in small talk before getting down to business should be avoided.
D. If the buying team arranges a physical arrangement that places the selling team at a
disadvantage, the selling side should stop the meeting until better arrangements are
made.
E. As much as possible, the selling team should try to establish a win-win environment.
The buying center at Peoria Cabinetworks is not able to reach a consensus on a
purchase decision. The production manager wants to spend $18,000 to buy a new
laminating machine, while the operations manager wishes to use that money to build an
extension on its loading dock. The salesperson selling the laminating machine must
realize that buyers should look at all _____ before making any major investments.
A. sunk costs
B. net present values
C. opportunity costs
D. gross revenues
E. net revenues
Without _____, behavioral loyalty cannot develop.
A. strategic likability
B. tactical training
C. relational dissolution
D. customer satisfaction
E. solo exchange transactions
Which of the following statements about a standard memorized presentation is FALSE?
A. It represents a highly inflexible type of presentation.
B. It encourages salespeople to talk too much and listen too little.
C. It discourages prospect participation during the presentation.
D. It prevents the salesperson from discovering his or her prospects’ actual needs.
E. It requires the ability to speak extemporaneously during the presentation.
The management at Splash, a major beverage company, knows that approximately 40
percent of its consumers always buy Splash products without considering alternative
drinks or the prices of their products. For Splash, such consumers can be characterized
as _____ loyal.
A. selectively
B. behaviorally
C. partially
D. relatively
E. strategically
The owner of a pet store ordered $200 worth of bird feed from Cadmia Avicultural
Research Inc. The invoice dated October 18 that was sent to the store owner mentioned
“3/10, EOM.” This detail indicates that if the store owner pays the bill on November 2,:
A. the price will increase by three percent.
B. he will get a three percent discount.
C. he will get a 10 percent discount.
D. the price will be tripled.
E. he will get no discount.
Weston makes uniforms and overalls for employees in any industry where there is a
potential for fire injury. It uses fabric from Indie Fabric Co. for all of the uniforms it
manufactures. If there is a decrease in the demand for products in the chemical industry,
then there will be a decrease in employment in that industry. This will lead to a decrease
in the demand for such uniforms. Since fewer uniforms will be needed, the sales for
Indie fabric will decrease. This is an example of:
A. derived demand.
B. a competitive advantage for the seller.
C. economies of scale in marketing.
D. just-in-time (JIT) inventory control.
E. a direct demand.
Which of the following items does NOT suggest that the prospect you are meeting with
is an analytical prospect, according to the social style matrix?
A. The piece of mail in the top of his “in” basket announcing this month’s selection in
the Popular Science Book Club
B. Several plaques on the wall awarded to him for exceeding productivity expectations
C. The dark suits, white shirts, and conservative ties that the prospect commonly wears
D. A diploma in electrical engineering from Georgia Tech displayed in the office
E. A framed liberal arts diploma on the wall along with posters of his favorite soccer
team
Which of the following statements is true about account classification and resource
allocation?
A. Customer management is simply a time management issue.
B. As a rule, 80 percent of the sales in a territory come from only 20 percent of the
customers.
C. Salespeople should avoid classifying customers on the basis of their sales potential.
D. All customers have the same buying potential, just as all sales activities produce the
same results.
E. None of the above statements about account classification and resource allocation is
true.
A(n) _____, which salespeople can share with the CEO of a buyer’s firm, focuses on
what an individual manager needs to address and resolve to be able to better contribute
to overall company objectives.
A. optimal sales call objective
B. mission statement
C. sales presentation synopsis
D. statement of expectation
E. customer value proposition
Zoning works best:
A. for organizations that seldom want to divide their territory.
B. in territories where customers expect regular sales calls.
C. when the salesperson is trying to maximize travel time between sales calls.
D. when the salesperson is looking for leads.
E. for compact territories.
Annette’s nonverbal behavior suggests that she is willing to purchase products from
Cadmia Nursery Company. These nonverbal cues can also be called:
A. closing flags.
B. buying signals.
C. closing links.
D. benefit openings.
E. purchase influencers.
Which of the following is the area with the most employee concerns?
A. Territory allocation
B. Promotion policies
C. Quota assignments
D. Compensation
E. Recruitment policies
In the final paragraph of a sales letter, a writer should:
A. wait until the last sentence to demand money.
B. seek commitment to the desired course of action.
C. use expressions like “Why not buy now?” to give the reader the feeling of having a
choice.
D. remind the reader that the offer being made in the sales letter will never be canceled.
E. assume that the reader is intelligent enough to know what needs to be done and avoid
repeating information provided in the body of the letter.
Using customer relationship management (CRM) software, salespeople can perform
_____, which is a process for identifying and managing sales opportunities.
A. vendor analysis
B. pipeline analysis
C. benchmarking
D. customer value analysis
E. circular routing
A commission plan is likely to be used when:
A. the sales force includes many part-timers.
B. the earnings of part-time salespeople are required to be tied to their performance.
C. a company does not emphasize on service to customers.
D. a company does not anticipate long-term customer relationships.
E. any of the above situations arises.
Kathy makes an appointment with a potentially important prospect. She decides to send
the prospect a copy of a recent article discussing global trends in the prospect’s industry.
Kathy is most likely engaging in _____.
A. webcasting
B. customer value messaging
C. seeding
D. videoconferencing
E. cold calling
Ralph realizes that most of the people he established a business partnership with are no
longer in their organizations. He does not know what his customers are planning next or
what his competitors are doing. Ralph is most likely in the _____ stage of business
partnerships.
A. synergy
B. dissolution
C. exploration
D. expansion
E. commitment
The portion of a sales rep’s compensation that is based on his or her performance is
called:
A. fixed pay.
B. stipend.
C. activity quota.
D. incentive pay.
E. salary.
Everlast Tire Company has hired a consulting agency, Waddell and Hartley, to acquire
the equipment needed to automate its second factory. Waddell and Hartley will be
responsible for purchasing all the goods and services necessary for the plant, making
sure that they are compatible, and turning them over to Everlast, a facility that is ready
to operate. Waddell and Hartley would be called a(n) _____.
A. systems integrator
B. decentralized agency
C. functional supplier
D. industrial facilitator
E. industrial distributor
Which of the following statements about agendas for negotiations is mandatory?
A. The selling team should always give the buying team responsibility for setting the
agenda.
B. So as not to waste time, the key issues should be listed first on the agenda.
C. The buying team should never bring an agenda to the negotiation table.
D. The agenda should never be negotiated by the buyer’s team.
E. None of the above statements about agendas for negotiations is mandatory.
Which of the following corporate areas is important to salespeople?
A. Marketing
B. Manufacturing
C. Administration
D. Shipping
E. All of the above
An excellent way to generate repeat orders is to be present at buying time, but since not
all buyers purchase at predictable times, the salesperson can try to be present in the
buyer’s mind by using:
A. data mining strategies.
B. specialty advertising items.
C. gatekeepers.
D. screens.
E. all of the above.
People who are highly cooperative and unassertive, resolve conflict in a(n) _____
mode.
A. competing
B. accommodating
C. avoiding
D. collaborating
E. compromising
What determines a good prospect?
Discuss some of the measures that sales executives can take to promote ethical behavior
among employees.
During the job interview, the interviewer asked Robin, “Imagine you are very near to
closing a million dollar deal and the buyer tells that you can have full use of his
company’s beach house for a week if you could arrange for your company to pay all the
shipping costs for the deal being discussed.” What type of an interview question does
this interviewer appear to be using?
Relative to publicity, what are the major advantages and disadvantages of personal
selling?
What is cultural relativism?
Imagine that you sell thermometers for infants. You simply place the tip of the
thermometer in the infant’s ear and the digital readout is easy to read in less than thirty
seconds. What is a benefit and what is a feature of this thermometer?
Describe the 3-by-3 strategy advocated by Darryl Lehnus.
How do salespeople acquire knowledge about company products and policies, customer
needs, and selling situations?
In the context of organization support, how do reward systems help in fostering good
relationships?
Describe two situations in which the benefit summary method of obtaining commitment
is most effective. Why?
Describe relational partnerships.
What is creeping commitment?
List the three types of sales presentations.
List the four types of routing plans used by salespeople.
What is supply chain management and what is a salesperson’s role in supply chain
management?
What is an implied warranty and an expressed warranty? You have just filled up your
car with gasoline. Give an example of an expressed and an implied warranty that might
have accompanied your purchase.
How can word pictures, stories, and humor be used to improve a sales presentation?
What type of skill of a salesperson includes arriving on time, making a positive
entrance, gaining the buyer’s attention, and developing rapport with the buyer?