Assertive salespeople attempt to create new needs in customers through persuasion.
Customer satisfaction occurs when a buyer’s expectations are met and needs fulfilled.
The first step in setting objectives for a sales call is to review what has been learned
from the organization’s mission statement.
Marketing and sales should be highly coordinated because their functions are closely
related.
Customer lifetime value is the combined total of all future sales.
A salesperson notices that a customer looks puzzled, so she asks what needs
clarification. The customer replies, “I’d like to know more about how you calculated the
estimated cost to use this machine.” The salesperson then provides the details. This
scenario illustrates two-way communication.
While writing a sales letter, a salesperson should utilize technical terms and jargon to
sound professional.
Straight commission plans offer the greatest flexibility for motivating and controlling
the activities of salespeople.
The acknowledge method is also known as the boomerang method.
If a prospect is hard to get along with or rude, then a long-term relationship cannot be
established and the salesperson should move on to other prospects.
Salespeople engage in backdoor selling only when they are about to get an order.
For salespeople, paperwork time is more productive than time spent selling to
customers.
A salesperson owns the responsibility to secure commitment from his or her own
company.
When using the revisit method of responding to objections, a salesperson responds to a
buyer’s objection at a later time during the presentation.
Experienced salespeople attempt to uncover a prospect’s needs and problems at the start
of the relationship.
Salespeople need to avoid assessing a prospect’s reactions during a presentation as this
can distract them from their sales pitch.
Ultimately, the objective of using implication questions is to help a prospect realize the
seriousness of the identified problem.
After learning more about the customer’s perspective related to the price objection, the
next step is to sell value and quality rather than price.
To allow for concessions, the target position should reflect higher expectations than the
opening position.
Putting the key issues at the beginning in the agenda is advantageous.
In the early days of selling, companies studied and wrote down the sales pitches of their
most successful people, and created canned sales pitches.
If Louis, a salesperson, appears overly excited when he senses his prospects are about
to commit, they may interpret his reactions as nonverbal cues indicating he is dishonest.
When you seek career growth, you should be aware that at certain levels many
foreign-owned businesses prefer to staff management positions with people from their
own country.
After being told of a budget limitation during a negotiation session, a seller must never
propose a lower price.
The selling team should always refuse nibbling requests from the buyer after the
contract has been signed.
According to the social style matrix, prospects who are categorized as “drivers” expect
the atmosphere in sales interviews to be businesslike, effective, and efficient.
Over time, common and administrative laws have defined the difference between
misrepresentation and puffery.
Objections during a presentation show the prospect is paying attention.
Sales asset management system is a computer-to-computer transmission of data from a
reseller to a vendor and back.
All concessions in a negotiation are tentative until the final agreement is reached and
signed.
To be useful, a call objective must be generic and non-measurable.
What is the easiest method to evaluate the performance of salespeople?
A. Measuring customer service levels
B. Measuring product knowledge
C. Measuring total sales
D. Determining how quickly management requests for information are answered
E. Measuring how aware each salesperson is about competition and business conditions
“This model 107 electric nail gun will reduce the amount of time your crew spends
roofing a 3,000 square foot home by 30 percent. This will lower your labor costs and
allow you to bid more competitively in the market for your service.” This opening
statement is an example of a(n) _____ opening.
A. compliment
B. curiosity
C. referral
D. introduction
E. benefit
When LeAnn called on a long-time customer, she realized that the man was upset and
took the time to listen to his problem. She was able to sympathize with the customer’s
recent loss of a pet by using her:
A. emotional intelligence.
B. adaptive learning.
C. environmental awareness.
D. generative learning.
E. behavioral intelligence.
A salesperson receives $200 commission per sale and has set a goal of earning $3,000
per month. With a conversion rate of 1 out of 8 prospects, he will need to make sales
presentations to _____ prospects to achieve his performance goal.
A. 120
B. 100
C. 200
D. 80
E. cannot be determined
Howard plans to take a notebook computer with him on an archeological dig in the
Yucatan peninsula. He says to the seller, “I just can’t believe there is a notebook
computer able to withstand the weather extremes that I’m likely to find at the dig.” The
salesperson immediately hands him a letter from a customer who had taken with her on
a trip to the Brazilian rainforest a notebook bought from the company. The letter was
extremely complementary of how the notebook operated in extreme weather conditions
and when held in awkward positions. What method of handling objections did the
salesperson use?
Which of the following statements about the use of humor in sales presentations is true?
A. Humor should never be used in sales presentations.
B. It is best to avoid recounting humorous experiences from one’s own life.
C. It is recommended that salespeople practice telling jokes so that they are confident
when using the jokes in a presentation.
D. Salespeople should not apologize before telling a joke.
E. All of the above.
While holding formal negotiations with Target department store, Frito-Lay
representatives can negotiate:
A. the location of point-of-purchase displays of Frito-Lay products.
B. delivery schedules.
C. how frequently the snacks would be restocked on store shelves.
D. what would be done with the packs that cross the expiry date.
E. all of the above
Jorge is developing a presentation for a customer. He wants to show the customer how
his product will meet the prospect’s needs and how it is different from the offerings of
competitors. Jorge is developing a(n):
A. customer value proposition.
B. asset management statement.
C. customer relationship statement.
D. content analysis report.
E. credibility statement.
Which of the following is a good advice for the use of demonstrations as part of a sales
presentation?
A. Practicing the demonstration
B. Planning for things that could possibly go wrong
C. Probing both during and after the demonstration
D. Keeping the demonstration simple, concise, and easily understandable
E. All of the above
A written proposal should have an executive summary, a brief description of the
problem and solution, and:
A. a description of the current situation relative to the proposed solution.
B. a collection of testimonials from satisfied customers.
C. a statement of support from the buying committee.
D. photographs of the selling company’s officers and buildings.
E. the selling firm’s pro-forma balance sheet.
In which of the following types of salesperson-customer relationships will the time
horizon be the shortest?
A. Solo market transaction
B. Functional relationship
C. New task buy
D. Partnering relationship
E. Modified rebuy exchange
Which of the following is a legitimate reason for companies to use blind postings or
blind box numbers?
A. The company is financially unstable
B. The company has dealings that may be considered illegal
C. The company wants to avoid receiving a large number of unqualified applicants
D. The company wants to use its name to attract a large number of applicants
E. The company has already found a candidate for the job
Which of the following would best be classified as an objection to the features of a
good or service a salesperson is selling?
A. “Isn’t your company new in this field?”
B. “I’m not sure I can trust what you’re saying.”
C. “We can’t make a reasonable profit if we have to pay that much for merchandise.”
D. “Sorry, we’re all stocked up.”
E. “I was looking for a darker shade of green.”
Which of the following statements about the effectiveness of the various methods of
communications is true?
A. E-mail has a high level of response time.
B. Both telephone and face-to-face communications have a fast response time.
C. Response time does not determine the effectiveness of communications.
D. A hand-written letter has a greater level of response time than a telephone
conversation.
E. Response time is unaffected by nonverbal communications.
Court decisions related to the Robinson-Patman Act define _____ as a seller giving
unjustified special prices, discounts, or services to some customers and not to others.
A. reciprocity
B. a spiff
C. price discrimination
D. a tying contract
E. business deception
Often the primary function of salespeople at trade shows is to:
A. engage in cold calling.
B. study customers’ responses to product features and benefits.
C. make customized and individualized presentations for all interested buyers.
D. make use of the Internet to popularize their products.
E. discover and qualify leads for future follow-up.
As they walked in from looking at the new Ford Rangers on the lot, Ed, the salesperson,
asked Kristy, “Which color do you like, the red or the white?” “White,” she replied.
“Great, I’ll write it up!” responded Ed. In this scenario, Ed is using the _____ closing
method.
A. assumptive
B. minor point
C. probing
D. indirect request
E. standing-room-only
“I realize that my company’s barcode label printer is more expensive than others that
you may be looking at, but the Zelton barcode label printer is designed for Microsyne
operating systems. Your employees will be able to learn how to operate our machine
much faster than other brands because of their familiarity with Microsyne. You won’t
experience any loss in productivity as this printer is synced with your system. It takes
up to two weeks for employees to become comfortable using some of the other brand
barcode label printers on the market.” Which method for dealing with objections is the
Zelton Systems salesperson using in this example?
A. Direct acceptance
B. Pass-up
C. Referral
D. Revisit
E. Compensation
Robert, a salesperson with a friendly personality, always smiles while delivering
presentations to prospective buyers of his product. He says he uses smiling to
communicate the idea that he is a friendly, helpful salesperson. In terms of the
communication process, translating this idea into a smile is his way of:
A. decoding.
B. deceiving.
C. encoding.
D. encroaching.
E. deciding.
Luisa has been in sales for about three years. In that time, she has learned that different
sales presentations are necessary for different customers. In fact, she often changes her
presentation during her sales calls depending upon the nature of the selling situation she
encounters. Luisa is using:
A. generalized selling strategies.
B. referral opening.
C. adaptive selling.
D. seeding.
E. standardized sales strategies.
The need for risk reduction is one of the factors affecting the individual making the
organizational buying decision. What can a salesperson do to help reduce the risk?
A. Turn a straight rebuy situation into a modified rebuy situation
B. Provide the buyer with product information from independent sources not connected
with the company for which the salesperson works
C. Send the buyer the complete portfolio of all collateral sales materials and follow it
up with a phone call
D. Make the buyer understand that every buy should be a new-task buy situation
E. Persuade the buyer to not perform vendor analysis
In _____, telephones are used to generate leads and then to qualify those leads.
A. inbound telemarketing
B. bounce-back telemarketing
C. outbound telemarketing
D. seminar marketing
E. convention marketing
_____ rsums are a form of life history, organized by type of experience.
A. Utilitarian
B. Strategic
C. Conventional
D. Standardized
E. Functional
Mark’s supervisor introduces a new product in the market. Mark’s supervisor is acting
as the _____ in the buying process.
A. initiator
B. gatekeeper
C. decider
D. influencer
E. user
Jenkins is a new sales rep for Aber Technology. His company has developed a series of
sophisticated programs in conjunction with another company. However, when he tries
to implement these programs in a project he is handling, he learns that these assets
cannot be easily transferred. Which of the following types of assets is Jenkins trying to
use?
A. In-kind services
B. Market exchanges
C. Functional resources
D. Mutual investments
E. Win-win trusts
The primary purpose of webinars is to:
A. generate leads and provide information to prospective customers.
B. promote new products to all potential customers.
C. enhance cold calling initiatives among the sales force.
D. expand databases for effective data mining.
E. reduce search engine costs and sell deeper.
Which of the following would be the WORST advice for a new salesperson for an
office machine manufacturer?
A. Take note of how top executives in your firm dress.
B. Adjust to the geographic region in which you work.
C. Attempt to match the clothing choices of your typical customers.
D. If you look well dressed, you’ll feel more confident.
E. Be a leader and wear the latest fashions.
Laura works for Seminole Textiles. In her job, she calls on upholsterers, towel and sheet
manufacturers, and other customers of the Seminole distributors to encourage them to
use more Seminole textiles, which they would order from their distributor, not directly
from Seminole. Laura is a:
A. distributor rep.
B. trade salesperson.
C. missionary salesperson.
D. trade partner.
E. retail salesperson.
Dmitri believes he can increase his income by 10 percent if he makes two more sales
calls per week. His goal to increase the number of calls he makes is an example of a(n)
_____ goal.
A. transformation
B. consequence
C. activity
D. performance
E. conversion
As Azi traveled across the state of Tennessee, he stopped and bought gas, a bottle of
soda, and a bag of corn chips at a small store that he will probably never visit again.
What type of transaction did Azi engage in when he made these purchases?
A. Solo exchange
B. Functional relationship
C. Straight rebuy exchange
D. Partnering relationship
E. Modified rebuy exchange
Describe the problem/solution selling model?
Which type of meeting allows people to creatively explore various methods of
achieving goals?
How does the type of benefits provided by products and services affect the nature of the
sales job?
What does it mean when the sales manager tells you that all of your activity goals are
intermediate goals?
What are the seven principles of selling internally?
Companies often use assessment centers to interview, test, and watch the interviewee go
through simulated job experiences. What purpose does this job simulation serve?
Gina has met a well-known and influential engineer who is willing to provide the
names of several leads. In the context of sales prospecting, what is this person called?
What is the difference between a conspiracy and collusion?
To solve a problem with a leaking refrigerator valve, a convenience store owner can
either replace the valve or continue to add more refrigerant to the system as needed. If
he chooses to replace the valve, then how would you classify the money he was going
to invest in more refrigerant?
Ms. Arnold told the first hospital supplies salesperson she met today that she really
liked his products and that she hoped they could do business together in the future. She
told the second salesperson the same thing after his presentation. Afterwards, she told
her secretary to find another supplier because neither salesperson actually had the
product quality that the hospital desired. In which category of the social style matrix
would you place Ms. Arnold?
Why do companies spend money on personal selling when there are so many less
expensive alternatives?
Why is it important to “bite your tongue” at certain times during a sales interaction?
Samantha is an office manager for a dentist. Give an example of how she might
experience each of the three buying situations.
Give an example to explain the concept of customer lifetime value.
Colleen is preparing a presentation for a potential donor for the new building being
constructed in her university. She is considering using visual aids in her presentation.
Which visual aids would be most appropriate for her audience?