Marketing Final- Ch. 19

Almost everyone is engaged in some form of selling.

True

One of the benefits of careers in sales is flexibility in scheduling.

True

One of the major responsibilities of being a sales rep is being the frontline emissary for one’s firm.

True

Firms that use personal selling do so because the benefits exceed the costs.

True

The sales process always proceeds through each of the five steps.

False

Potential customers are called marks.

False

Retail salespeople should never judge a book by its cover.

True

Geraldine is in NEC's sales training program. She will probably be taught that all a salesperson needs to do is ask questions.

False

Geraldine is in NEC’s sales training program. She will probably be taught that all a salesperson needs to do is ask questions.

True

Manufacturers’; representatives are a firm’s senior sales employees.

False

Marketing executives, by a seven to one margin, believe that salespeople are born, not made.

False

The four main types of financial rewards for sales representatives are salaries, commissions, bonuses, and sales contests.

True

If you are hired as a sales manager, you will be responsible for recruiting, selecting, training, motivating, compensating, and evaluating the sales force.

True

If you had a small business and needed a sales force but did not wish to hire anyone, you could use the services of an independent agent.

True

If it is a company’s policy to intentionally mislead potential customers about some aspect of a product, a sales rep that carries out this policy by misleading the customer can be held legally accountable.

True

Ethical and legal issues are likely to arise between the sales force and corporate policy when the salespeople become conflicted between doing what they believe is ethical and what their company asks them to do to make a sale.

True

It is the company’s responsibility, not the salesperson’s, to ensure that all dealings with the customer are ethical and legal.

False

Sales is among the highest-paying careers for college graduates.

True

The first step in the personal selling process is the preapproach.

False

Mary visited an office building and went door to door to hand out business cards and sell office products. Mary was making cold calls.

True

Good salespeople know the types of reservations buyers are likely to raise.

True

Regarding ethical issues, the most important thing a company can do is to have written formal guidelines for common ethical situations.

False

Whereas objective measures seek to assess salespeople’s behavior, subjective measures are quantitative.

False

The sales reward is more important than the way in which it is operationalized.

False

Online sales training is used to replace the one-on- one interaction of on-the- job training for advanced selling skills.

False

Personal selling can take place in all of the following situations EXCEPT

through newspaper ads.

In Arthur Miller’s play, Death of a Salesman, Willie Loman portrays

the loneliness of a traveling salesman.

Taylor loves the lifestyle associated with being a salesperson, allowing her to take a day off during the week and making it up on the weekend. She most likely values the __________ associated with creating her own schedule.

flexibility

Thanh is starting a career in selling, but he eventually wants to become a senior manager. A selling career may help Thanh to achieve that goal by providing

visibility to management.

One of the advantages of personal selling over other types of marketing communication is that

salespeople can build strong relationships with customers.

One of the disadvantages associated with personal selling is that

it is expensive.

Gwen recognizes that one of her roles as a company sales rep is to be the firm’s frontline emissary. As such, she strives to build strong relationships with customers and

take a long-term perspective.

__________ is a sales philosophy and process that emphasizes a commitment to maintaining and investing in long-term, mutually beneficial business relationships.

Relationship selling

As marketing manager for a newly created software company, Katrina is deciding whether to hire a company sales force. To make this decision, Katrina needs to consider whether

having a sales force is worth more than it costs.

Sales representatives add value for customers by doing all of the following EXCEPT

reducing the firm’s marketing costs.

Whether a salesperson will go through all five steps of the selling process depends on the sales situation and

the buyer’s readiness to purchase.

Although a sales representative may skip a step in the personal selling process or might sometimes have to go back and repeat steps, there is a logic in the sequence. Which of the following would NOT be appropriate in the personal selling process?

Closing the sale is the final—and most satisfying—part of the process.

Bridgette went to Gap ready to buy a new blouse, but was not sure which color or style she wanted. The sales representative sensing Bridgette’s buying mode, most likely began with the __________ stage of the selling process.

sales presentation

Monica works as a salesperson in a retail clothing store. Of the five stages in the selling process, Monica is least likely to engage in

generating and qualifying leads.

Chesnee works in the office of a building materials company. One of her jobs is to identify new building projects and to determine who will make the building materials purchase decisions. Chesnee is involved in the _______________ step of the selling process.

generate leads

Several months ago, Veronica took over the sales territory managed by a very successful salesperson. Veronica should use __________ as a first source of leads.

current customers

Galena is a new agent for a financial services company. She decides to join the local Chamber of Commerce, the local association of businesswomen, and the local chapter of the United Way organization. Galena is attempting to use __________ to generate leads.

networking

Trade shows are a particularly good source of B2B sales leads because

people who attend are interested in the products and services being offered.

__________ is a method of prospecting in which salespeople telephone or visit potential customers without appointments.

Cold calling

Brandon is in the process of qualifying leads he received from corporate headquarters. Brandon will assess

whether it is worthwhile to pursue these potential customers.

Retail salespeople should not __________ and assume that a person in the store cannot afford to purchase the store’s products based on appearances.

judge a book by its cover

When a plumbing contractor drove up to Bill’s house in a brand new Mercedes, Bill decided this person would be too high-priced even before the plumbing contractor offered his bid. Bill made the mistake of

making an assumption of cost based on appearances.

One reason B2B salespeople spend considerable time qualifying potential customers is because

it can be costly to prepare and make a presentation to a business customer.

Fred sells health insurance packages for small businesses. He has been given the names of ten new businesses in his town. During the qualifying leads stage of the selling process, Fred will likely try to assess which of the ten businesses

need health insurance packages and can afford them.

The __________ stage occurs prior to meeting the customer for the first time and extends the qualification of leads.

preapproach

The preapproach stage occurs __________ and extends the qualification of leads procedure.

prior to the sales presentation

Before approaching a potentially major B2B customer, a salesperson will usually

try to find out everything possible about the firm and its needs.

During the preapproach stage, a salesperson usually conducts additional research about prospects and

develops plans for meeting with the customer.

Yara has identified an attractive potential customer for her biodiesel home power system. She knows the customer is concerned about the environment and has considerable financial resources. The customer is also a respected leader among wealthy environmentalists in the area. Next Yara will

establish goals for meeting with the customer.

Kathleen has found out everything she can about a newly qualified lead. She has practiced making her sales presentation and has determined what goals she has for the first meeting. Kathleen has finished the ___________ stage of the selling process.

preapproach

Boris tells a colleague all about a major prospect Boris plans to call on in the next few days and asks the colleague to pretend to be a customer while he makes his sales presentation. Boris and his colleague are engaged in

role playing.

Regina has made the same sales presentation twice a day for almost a month. At first, the presentation seemed to flow nicely but lately it has not seemed as effortless as it initially was. Regina might ask another sales rep to participate in __________ and critique her presentation.

role playing

After exchanging greetings and getting to know the customer a bit in an initial sales call, the first goal of a sales presentation is to

create interest.

The beginning of the sales presentation may be the most important part of the selling process, because this is where the salesperson establishes

where the customer is in the buying process.

Like any effective salesperson, Frazer walks into a customer’s office, shakes hands, looks the customer in the eye, and smiles. After exchanging pleasantries, Frazer will immediately try to create interest in his company’s product and establish

where the customer is in the buying process.

Like any effective salesperson, Tiffany walks into a customer’s office, shakes hands, looks the customer in the eye, and smiles. After exchanging pleasantries, Tiffany will try to create interest in her company’s product. Tiffany will likely __________ to adapt or customize her presentation to match the customer’s needs.

ask a series of questions

Naven knows that he needs to ask a series of questions early in his sales presentation, but he also knows that he

needs to listen carefully to the answers.

Often, inexperienced salespeople mistakenly believe that during the sales call, they should

do all the talking.

Kyle is preparing for an important sales presentation. He knows that customers are more likely to ___________ during his presentation than during other stages of the selling process.

raise objections

Evelyn knows that prospective customers are likely to raise reservations about price and quality. She needs to convince customers that her products represent

a good value.

Effective salespeople anticipate and handle

buyers’ reservations about the product.

Often the best way to handle customers’ reservations is to relax, listen, and

ask questions to clarify the issues.

Mohinder sells small-business health insurance programs, working on straight commission. Closing the sale is an extremely stressful point in the selling process for him. If he does not close the sale, the most likely outcome will be

he will generate no income.

For salespeople who practice __________, an unsuccessful close one day may lay the groundwork for a successful close during the next meeting.

relationship selling

Studies have found that customers are typically ready to make a purchase decision well before salespeople attempt to close the sale. Salespeople can learn when to close the sale by

listening to customers and paying attention to their body language.

In the selling process, the saying, "It ain’t over till it’;s over," refers to the __________ stage of the process.

follow-up

The __________ stage of the selling process offers a prime opportunity for salespeople to solidify customer relationships through great service quality.

follow-up

The attitudes that Ryan’s customers develop after they have purchased his yearly lawn care service will become the basis for determining whether they renew each year. He needs to convey ____________, delivering the right services the right way.

reliability

The attitudes that Ryan’s customers develop after they have purchased his yearly lawn care service will become the basis for determining whether they renew each year. He needs to be ____________, quickly addressing any problems that occur.

responsive

The attitudes that Ryan’s customers develop after they have purchased his yearly lawn care service will become the basis for determining whether they renew each year. He needs to convey ____________ by guaranteeing his work in writing.

assurance

Sally has been having a difficult time working with a particular buyer while using the personal selling process, and she has asked her manager, Chris, for some ideas about how to close the sale effectively. Chris asks her a number of questions to help sort out the difficulties. Which of the following questions would Chris be LEAST likely to ask?

"Have you completed the follow-up to ease the buyer’s mind?"

The attitudes that Ryan’s customers develop after they have purchased his yearly lawn care service will become the basis for determining whether they renew each year. He needs to demonstrate the ____________ dimension of service quality by showing consistently well-maintained yards with neat, professional personnel.

tangibles

For salespeople, __________ provide(s) a major contact point with customers in the follow-up stage of the selling process and an opportunity to build and improve relationships.

complaints

Hiro sells building materials to local contractors. He wants to build long-term relationships with his contractors through effective follow-up. After delivering the materials ordered, Hiro can demonstrate __________ by checking with his contractors right after the delivery and addressing any problems promptly.

responsiveness and empathy

Sales representatives are often compensated, at least in part, on a percentage of the sales revenue. This percentage is known as a

commission.

Although ethical and legal issues are associated with all aspects of marketing, personal selling presents unique issues because

salespeople interact directly with customers and are, therefore, more visible.

Katerina is told by her sales manager, "Do whatever you need to do to get the sale," yet the company has ethical selling standards. Katerina faces the ethical problem of

mixed signals from her sales manager.

The best way for sales managers to instill ethical behavior in the sales force is to

lead by example.

__________ involves the planning, direction, and control of personal selling activities, including recruitment, selection, training, motivation, compensation, and evaluation of members of the sales force.

Sales management

When Motorola first entered the Mexican marketplace, the company wanted direct control of

a company sales force; manufacturer’s reps

Miles worked selling products to industrial users and spent most of his time working on customers’ new buy and modified new buy situations. Miles was primarily a(n)

order getter.

Most beverage distributors have their delivery people act as the firm’s sales representatives. The delivery people primarily function as

order takers.

Sue spends much of her time checking inventories, processing straight rebuys, and making sure that everything is going smoothly. Sue is primarily a(n)

order taker.

The most important activity in recruiting salespeople is determining what the salesperson will be doing and

what personal traits and abilities a salesperson should have to do the job well.

David’s firm had grown steadily and the products and systems had become more and more complicated. He had been a star representative and had personally serviced and developed all his accounts. In the past year or so, David and his sales colleagues have been changing their approach due to the sales growth and increasing product complexity. Customer relationships are now being handled more and more by __________, which is typical of firms experiencing this kind of growth.

selling teams

Bhakti was recently promoted to a sales management position. She had been an effective representative, but her strengths and educational background were in management. She was about to begin her first salesperson recruitment campaign. The most important thing Bhakti can do to ensure that she recruits the right people is to

determine exactly what the salesperson will be doing and what traits and abilities job candidates will need to succeed.

By a margin of seven to one in a survey of sales and marketing executives, respondents believed that

training and supervision are most important determinants of selling success.

Which of the following is NOT considered typical financial compensation for sales representatives?

extra vacation days

Sales, profits, orders, and sales ratios are all _________ measures that can be used to evaluate sales representatives.

objective

Salespeople should be evaluated and rewarded only for those activities and outcomes that

fall under their control.

Which of the following best describes a company sales force?

A company sales force is composed of people who are employees of the selling company.

A small office supply company may have a person whose primary responsibility is to process routine orders, reorders, or rebuys of products for clients. This employee is known as a(n)

order taker.

If your company hired you to make sales calls via the telephone, your company hired you to do

telemarketing.

A salesperson’s compensation can be made up of some combination of salary, commission, and __________, which are payments made at a manage’s discretion when the salesperson achieves certain goals.

bonuses

Johnny works at an electronics store. In addition to his salary, he receives 2 percent of the sales dollars he brings in each month. This extra 2 percent is called a

commission.

Every Monday during the month of December, salespeople who had the highest sales the previous week participated in a balloon surprise, where each would receive a balloon containing either a $50 or a $100 bill. This short-term incentive is known as a

sales contest.

Which of the following is NOT one of the steps in the personal selling process?

request for proposal

Each time an employee at an audio store makes a sale of $500 or more, the department manager awards a chocolate gold coin in recognition of the employee’s accomplishment. This reward is known as a

nonfinancial reward.

Experts estimate that the average cost of a single B2B sales call is about

$400.

Tara made sure that her customers felt comfortable contacting her when they needed something, and she focused on the long term in her dealings with them. Tara is a ________ -oriented salesperson.

relationship

Fred is generating a list of potential customers and assessing their potential. He is in which step of the personal selling process?

step 1

The International Consumer Electronics Show is an example of

a trade show

Telemarketing and cold calls have become less popular as sales tools because of all of the following reasons EXCEPT

they require appointments, which takes time away from the actual selling of the product.

When Pat was talking with his customer about the new accounting system, his customer mentioned that she thought the new system was not going to fit into their budget. Pat explained that once her people were trained on it, it would require less time to process orders and therefore save her money in payroll. Which part of the sales presentation is demonstrated in this example?

overcoming reservations

All of the following are service quality dimensions related to follow-up EXCEPT

ethics.

Tasha was selling siding and her boss told her that she could hide an extra charge for trim in the total, even though the customer was told he would not be charged for trim. Tasha was told this was standard practice for the siding company. If the customer takes legal action for this, who is most likely liable?

both Tasha and the siding company because both intentionally misled the customer

To maintain trustworthy customer relationships, companies must take care that they respect customer privacy and respect the ________—that is, the amount of information a customer feels comfortable providing.

information comfort zone

When her salespeople bring in five new customers, Marissa gives them a $1000 payment. This is an example of a

bonus.

________ training is excellent for communicating selling and negotiation skills because managers can observe the sales trainees in real selling situations and provide instant feedback.

On-the- job

Several personal traits are listed in the text as being important for successful sales careers. Harvey is a go-getter. He gets up early every morning to check his schedule and arrives at appointments early so he can get in the right frame of mind. Which of the traits listed in the text does Harvey exhibit?

self-motivation

When Barbara realized she didn’t have all of the technical information she needed to answer the customer’s questions, she made a call to her office. Who would be most likely to provide appropriate assistance?

sales support personnel

Independent Publisher’s Group is a distributor of books for small publishers. It doesn’t have its own sales force, but uses ________ on a contract basis to sell its product on commission.

independent agents

Since Al’s Auto Parts has had trouble with its windshield wiper manufacturer in the past, it is requesting a guarantee from the company before it will place another order. Which of the service quality dimensions is being addressed in this scenario?

assurance

Getting a commitment from the customer to purchase your product is also known as

closing the sale.

Von told the sales rep he wasn’t buying his product because it cost too much. This is called

a reservation.