Consultative-style selling, which emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s, is an
extension of the marketing concept.
The role of a salesperson should move from supporting to selling.
Potential products are more likely to be developed by salespeople who regularly
interact with customers.
The psychological continuum and the sociability continuum are the two main
components that form the communication-style model.
With B2B selling, responsiveness and reliability are essential service behaviors.
Consultative selling focuses on identification of the customer’s problem and finding a
solution.
Questions asked at the beginning of a presentation tend to be more general than are
those asked at the end.
One of the best ways to present benefits is to use a bridge statement.
Most sales and marketing firms develop territories solely on the basis of geographical
considerations.
Hard-sell closing methods that involve manipulating the customer have fallen out of
favor in the last few decades.
Trade selling and missionary (detail) sales are both examples of sales:
A) directly from the manufacturer to the consumer
B) from the distributor to the consumer
C) bypassing the manufacturer to the distributor
D) inside the supply chain but not to the consumer
E) externally from the consumer to the supplier
Which is true of doing sales work in Latin America?
A) You might receive a hug and pat on the back as part of the greeting process.
B) Your interactions with decision makers will be direct and efficient.
C) Lunch with the client tends to be brief and productive.
D) Brazilian clients conduct business in Spanish or Portuguese interchangeably.
E) Latin Americans tend to be very punctual for appointments.
The sales director of a medium-sized company selling chemicals to the lumber industry
has analyzed sales and found serious problems with the closing rate of sales
representatives relative to the number of prospects. The sales director commissioned a
research company to analyze the numbers in the CRM system and conduct interviews
with prospects who became customers as well as with prospects who did not buy from
the company. He also hired a sales training consultant to analyze the sales
representatives and the training they receive.
After analyzing information gathered from prospects who did not buy from the
company, it becomes apparent that prospects felt that the sales representatives did not
know about the full line of products they carried or understand their uses. The prospects
most likely did not buy because they could not:
A) ensure that the company’s billing process was ethical
B) understand what their business objectives were
C) pay the high prices the company was charging
D) store the chemicals once they were delivered
E) trust the sales reps to sell them the correct products
Quantifying the solution can be performed with a cost-benefit analysis or with a(n):
A) frequency analysis
B) regression analysis
C) feature-benefit presentation
D) pricing model
E) ROI calculation
Salespeople should most likely think of needs in terms of:
A) the product
B) the industry as a whole
C) the typical customer
D) each specific customer
E) the competition
Joelle Williams is a personal coach who works primarily with sales representatives at
the Colotel Corporation, a company that manufactures and sells copiers and peripherals.
Joelle works on manners, nonverbal cues, and personal goal setting with the Colotel
sales reps. Colotel prides itself on hiring locally and using regional ties to advance
relationships with customers.
Joelle works with sales reps on projecting correct body language to set prospects at ease
and convey a sense of honesty and trust. Learning to decipher body language can be
more difficult because it requires:
A) paying attention to signals the prospect projects while still interacting with the
prospect
B) intimate knowledge of the prospect’s personality
C) more knowledge of personal psychology than most salespeople have
D) several meetings with the prospect to determine the prospect’s baseline body
language
E) luck, as deciphering body language is not a skill that can be learned
If the prospect says “no,” which of the following should a salesperson LEAST likely
do?
A) Thank the prospect sincerely.
B) Ask the prospect for future consideration.
C) Review the chain of events to identify weaknesses.
D) Try to reopen the presentation to confirm the decision.
E) Seek general feedback from the prospect through probing.
Juan Alcobar is junior sales representative for a large equipment manufacturer. Sarah
Gittins, a senior sales representative, has requested that Juan help her to prepare a sales
presentation for a new prospect.
Given that Juan and Sarah will be working as a team, which of the following is most
important for Juan to do?
A) Develop a price quote for the prospect before Sarah has the opportunity.
B) Confirm his percentage of the commission with his sales manager.
C) Develop the visual aids that will be used in the sales presentation.
D) Conduct Internet research on the prospect.
E) Clarify his role in the sales call.
Kelly Addison is a designer clothing buyer for a chain of department stores. She has
gone through several negotiation certification programs and is considered an expert
negotiator by her peers.
Kelly’s bottom line is price, but she has wiggle room if the seller can move on terms
such as tiered discounts for subsequent orders. Which of the following would most
likely appeal to Kelly?
A) personalized service agreement for the product
B) implementation of the product
C) free training on use of the product
D) a delayed payment plan
E) using a different manufacturer
Which of the following would LEAST likely be an objective of a compensation plan
developed for sales team members?
A) identifying sources for hiring new salespeople
B) increasing sales by a specific percentage
C) increasing the number of sales calls
D) establishing new accounts
E) selling specific products
What could Marco most likely focus on to better meet his goals?
A) more prospecting to make sure he has a steady supply of potential new customers to
present the product to
B) qualifying prospects to make sure that they have the desire and decision-making
authority to make a purchase
C) presenting to the prospect using a stronger emotional appeal and less logic
D) presenting benefits to the prospect instead of features, and making sure the benefits
are as specific as possible
E) working with a more seasoned salesperson from his company to learn techniques for
finding more prospects in less time
Which of the following statements regarding general and specific benefits is most likely
true?
A) Benefit statements linked to explicit needs are not especially effective for complex
sales.
B) A feature statement is general, but any benefit is specific when presented as an
advantage.
C) A general benefit is a product feature for which the buyer has not expressed a need.
D) Experienced salespeople focus on bringing attention to a product’s general benefits.
E) Highlighting as many general benefits as possible during a presentation tends to lead
to a sale.
Juan Alcobar is junior sales representative for a large equipment manufacturer. Sarah
Gittins, a senior sales representative, has requested that Juan help her to prepare a sales
presentation for a new prospect.
Sarah and Juan work together to analyze the answers to the questions Sarah asked the
prospect about their needs. Based on this analysis, Juan and Sarah put together:
A) a list of questions about the prospect’s payment process
B) a pricing discount schedule that involves a value chain
C) a proposal of products that will solve the prospect’s problems
D) a plan for customer service to implement the products
E) a relationship strategy based on the prospect’s long-term needs
A salesperson who represents a company with many products will most likely need to:
A) ask the customer many summary questions
B) sell the customer the most popular products
C) configure an appropriate solution for the customer
D) create value by including all products in the solution
E) engage in transitioning during the sales presentation
The customer strategy always takes into consideration:
A) maintaining a close partnership
B) what the customer needs
C) the profit margins of the product
D) the relationship between the selling partners
E) the company’s sales quotas
A non-threatening approach that allows the salesperson to gather information about the
prospect before the call is the:
A) referral approach
B) question approach
C) product demonstration approach
D) survey approach
E) premium approach
How would a CRM system most likely enable a salesperson to facilitate relationship
building with numerous customers?
A) projecting a professional image on social media sites
B) using letter templates to convey information
C) developing leads for potential new sales
D) integrating numerous accounting tasks
E) adding value to mature products
________ are closing attempts made at opportune times during the sales presentation to
encourage the customer to reveal readiness or objection to buying.
The theory of behavioral- or communication-style bias is based on a number of
underlying principles. List the principles.
________ represents the first step in helping a newly hired salesperson become a
productive member of your staff.
Through ________, a salesperson establishes two-way communication by asking
questions and actively listening to the customer.
Most successful supervisory management personnel display two important dimensions
of effective leadership: ________ and ________.
When a salesperson bends a little and acknowledges that the prospect is at least
partially correct, the salesperson is using the ________ method of negotiating an
objection.
Many companies are experimenting with some variation of their basic compensation
plans such as awards in the form of cash or points that can be used to purchase prizes.
Award programs can be styled to suit a variety of sales objectives. List and describe
four possible objectives.
List and describe the three types of consumer buying situations.