Deck 16: Personal Selling and Sales Promotion

Question 1

A(n) ________ is an individual who represents a company to customers by prospecting, communicating, selling, servicing, information gathering, and/or relationship building.

A) auditor
B) trainer
C) salesperson
D) manager
E) human resource personnel

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which of the following questions is NOT asked when designing a sales force strategy and structure?

A) Should salespeople sell in the field, by phone, or using online and social media?
B) Should salespeople work alone or in teams with other company employees?
C) How big should the sales force be?
D) Should salespeople follow strict steps in the sales process?
E) How should salespeople and their tasks be structured?

Answer 2

D

Question 3

What is personal selling?

Answer 3

Personal presentations by the firm's sales force for the purpose of making sales and building customer relationships is known as personal selling.

Question 4

All companies must have salespeople.

Question 5

In the ________, each salesperson is assigned to an exclusive geographic area and sells the company's full line of products or services to all customers in that region.

A) territorial sales force structure
B) digital marketing system
C) product sales force structure
D) geographical operations system
E) customer sales force structure

Question 6

Which of the following is true about the sales force of a company?

A) Salespeople represent customers to the company and manage the buyer-seller relationship.
B) Salespeople represent workers' interests to upper management.
C) The primary responsibility of a sales force is to formulate operational strategies.
D) The sales force is responsible for product development and product strategy.
E) The sales force oversees the auditing process and recovers money from defaulting customers.

Question 7

Personal selling involves interpersonal interactions between salespeople and individual customers.

Question 8

Describe the nature of personal selling and the role of the sales force.

Question 9

If a company ________, it should adopt a product sales force structure, in which the sales force specializes along product lines.

A) specializes in a single product
B) manufactures a small number of simple products
C) maintains that product specialization is counterproductive
D) has numerous and complex products
E) lacks salespeople with superior technical know-how

Question 10

________ is defined as analyzing, planning, implementing, and controlling sales force activities.

A) Benchmarking
B) Sales force management
C) Business intelligence
D) Sales force automation
E) Sampling

Question 11

Ultra Tech Inc., a company manufacturing gardening tools, has decided to switch to a territorial sales force structure. Which of the following benefits is the company most likely to gain as a result of this decision?

A) The cost of training new recruits would be eliminated.
B) An increased focus on short-term customer relationships would boost local sales of specialized products.
C) Each salesperson would be assigned to sell a single product in which he/she specializes.
D) The capacity for mass production of a wide range of products would significantly increase.
E) As each salesperson travels within a limited geographic area, travel expenses would decline.

Question 12

Which of the following is true with regard to personal selling?

A) Personal selling entails personal presentations by a firm's sales force for the purpose of making sales and building customer relationships.
B) Personal selling involves making personal requests to potential buyers to enter into short-term business relationships with firms.
C) Personal selling distances the buyer from the seller and does not focus on building enduring relationships.
D) An outside sales force is not involved in personal selling.
E) Personal selling is a relatively new profession.

Question 13

Which of the following is NOT likely to improve coordination between marketing and sales?

A) appointing a high-level marketing executive to oversee both marketing and sales
B) arranging joint meetings and spelling out communications channels
C) creating rewards systems that put marketing and sales in competition with each other
D) including brand managers in sales calls
E) adding marketing-sales liaisons to coordinate programs and efforts

Question 14

Which of the following is true about the sales force of a company?

A) Salespeople rely on engineers and manufacturers to learn about customer needs.
B) The sales force plays a minor role in customer-company relationships.
C) Salespeople rarely visit in person with customers.
D) Salespeople represent customers to the company, championing customers' interests.
E) Salespeople do not have the authority to act on customers' objections.

Question 15

Salespeople do not represent customers to the company.

Question 16

Which of the following is true about the territorial sales force structure?

A) The territorial sales force structure does not define each salesperson's job clearly.
B) Salespeople specialize in selling only a small portion of the company's products.
C) In a territorial sales force structure, separate sales forces are set up for different industries.
D) Travel expenses are relatively small as each salesperson travels within a limited geographic area.
E) In a territorial sales force structure, separate sales forces are often established to handle a single, large account in every territory.

Question 17

Sales force management includes all of the following EXCEPT ________ salespeople.

A) recruiting
B) evaluating
C) paying
D) supervising
E) training

Question 18

Which of the following is NOT a position that a salesperson covers?

A) order taker
B) creative seller
C) order getter
D) relationship builder
E) shipping arranger

Question 19

At Price & Wallace Inc., a pharmaceuticals company, members of the sales force and marketing department tend to have disagreements when things go wrong with a customer. The marketers blame the salespeople for poorly executing their strategies, while the salespeople blame the marketers for being out of touch with customers. Which of the following steps should upper management at Price & Wallace take to help bring the sales and marketing functions closer together?

A) establish a customer sales force structure and make sure that sales quotas are easily achievable
B) establish a complex sales force structure
C) emphasize traditional methods of selling
D) adopt a sales force automation system and implement team selling
E) appoint a high-level marketing executive to oversee both marketing and sales

Question 20

Which of the following would most likely improve coordination between marketing and sales?

A) Salespeople should directly participate in the development of new products.
B) Salespeople should participate in marketing planning sessions by sharing firsthand customer knowledge.
C) The sales force should strategize promotional strategies and be the primary decision makers about marketing.
D) Marketing managers should field test new promotion strategies before the sales team.
E) The marketing and sales departments should conduct annual job rotations.

Question 21

All of the following are disadvantages of team selling EXCEPT ________.

A) selling teams can be confusing and overwhelming for customers
B) salespeople who are used to having customers all to themselves may have trouble learning to work with and trust others on a team
C) team selling reduces the overall efficiency of the selling process
D) individual contributions and compensations can be difficult to assess in team selling
E) team selling discourages individual contributors because the team receives credit for good performance

Question 22

Travis Computing Systems earns most of its revenue from sales and in-person computer services. The sales force at Travis recently began telemarketing and online selling. How would telemarketing and online selling most likely benefit Travis?

A) The need for an outside sales force would be completely eliminated through telemarketing.
B) Travis sales reps would be able to engage in more frequent face-to-face interaction with large, high-value customers.
C) Travis sales reps would be able to service hard-to-reach customers more effectively.
D) The overhead costs of Travis would significantly decrease.
E) The current liabilities of Travis would decrease.

Question 23

Sigma Inc. has 2,000 Type-A accounts, each requiring 35 calls per year, and 1,000 Type-B accounts, each requiring 15 calls per year. What is the sales force's workload?

A) 15,000 calls
B) 35,000 calls
C) 70,000 calls
D) 85,000 calls
E) 95,000 calls

Question 24

Which of the following is true about the product sales force structure?

A) A product sales force structure is most appropriate for a company that manufactures a small number of simple products.
B) In a product sales force structure, each salesperson is assigned to an exclusive geographic area and sells the company's full line of products or services to all customers in that territory.
C) In a product sales force structure, salespersons specialize in only a particular product line as the company produces numerous and complex products.
D) In a product sales force structure, a single salesperson can become an expert in all product categories.
E) In a product sales force structure, specialization is highly discouraged.

Question 25

Which of the following best explains why companies are adopting the team selling approach to service large, complex accounts?

A) Products have become too complicated for one salesperson to handle a large company's needs.
B) Customers prefer dealing with many salespeople rather than one sales representative.
C) Job rotation, an integral part of team selling, keeps workers motivated and boosts their morale.
D) Team selling facilitates the evaluation of individual contributions.
E) With team selling, companies are not required to train the outside sales force any longer.

Question 26

The workload approach takes into account all of the following EXCEPT ________.

A) customer account status
B) amount of effort required to maintain the account
C) customer account size
D) number of times each class of account is to be contacted
E) success rate at closing orders with account

Question 27

A(n) ________ is a written representation of a salesperson's completed activities.

A) bill of sale
B) call report
C) tender
D) sales quotation
E) contract of sale

Question 28

Johnson Business Solutions maintains one sales force for its copy machines and a separate sales force for its computer systems. Johnson Business Solutions utilizes a ________.

A) product sales force structure
B) customer sales force structure
C) territorial sales force structure
D) digital marketing system
E) geographical operations system

Question 29

Which of the following is true with regard to the inside sales force of a company?

A) The inside sales force is invariably more attentive to customer needs than the outside sales force.
B) Unlike the outside sales force, the inside sales force does not require training.
C) Inside sales representatives engage in face-to-face interaction with customers.
D) The inside sales force is far more knowledgeable about customer habits than are outside salespeople.
E) Inside salespeople provide support for the outside sales force, freeing them to spend more time selling to major accounts and finding new prospects.

Question 30

Morrill Motors splits the United States of America into 10 sales regions. Within each of those regions, the company has separate sales personnel selling the company's full line of products. Morrill Motors uses a ________ sales force structure.

A) territorial
B) complex
C) customer
D) product
E) market

Question 31

Kelly works as a sales representative at Ginner Machine Works. She uses the phone and the Internet to identify prospects and make sales. Kelly calls customers and explains the products offered by Ginner and the advantages of using them. If requested, she also mails the customer product information brochures. Which of the following is most likely Kelly involved in?

A) outside selling
B) technical sales support
C) telemarketing and online selling
D) research and administrative backup
E) field sales

Question 32

Kevin is a salesperson working for a company that manufactures gardening tools. He is involved in door-to-door sales and travels every day to call on customers. In his company, Kevin is most likely a part of the ________.

A) top management
B) inside sales force
C) product designing team
D) customer support team
E) outside sales force

Question 33

Amanda Perkins is a senior sales manager in Arlington Steelworks. As the customer base of her company has grown larger and more demanding over the last few years, Amanda insists on ________, or using groups of people from various departments such as sales, technical support, engineering, and even upper management to service complex accounts.

A) cross selling
B) e-procurement
C) team selling
D) observational research
E) vendor screening

Question 34

Robin works in a manufacturing company in Ohio. She sells products and handles customer requests via the company's online live chat feature. In her company, Robin is most likely a part of the ________.

A) outside sales force
B) inside sales force
C) product designing team
D) operations management team
E) executive management

Question 35

In the ________, separate sales forces are set up for different industries.

A) territorial sales force structure
B) digital marketing system
C) customer sales force structure
D) geographical operations system
E) product sales force structure

Question 36

Which of the following is true about the customer sales force structure?

A) The customer sales force structure is a combination of territorial sales force structure and product sales force structure.
B) Each salesperson is assigned to an exclusive geographic area and sells the company's full line of products or services to all customers in that territory.
C) Salespersons specialize in only a particular product line as the company produces numerous and complex products.
D) Companies using customer sales force structure tend to ignore the importance of long-term relationship building with customers.
E) Separate sales forces are set up for different industries, serving current customers versus finding new ones.

Question 37

Which of the following helps companies in setting sales force size?

A) workload approach
B) pull strategy
C) push strategy
D) top-down approach
E) bottom-up approach

Question 38

Stahl Inc. has 1,000 A-level accounts, each requiring 30 calls per year, and 3,000 B-level accounts, each requiring 10 calls per year. If each salesperson at Stahl Inc. can make 1,500 sales calls per year, how many salespeople would be needed to meet the total workload?

A) 25
B) 35
C) 40
D) 45
E) 60

Question 39

In what situation is a complex sales force structure used?

A) when a company sells a narrow variety of products to few types of customers over a broad geographic area
B) when a company sells a wide variety of products to many types of customers over a broad geographic area
C) when a company sells a wide variety of products to many types of customers over a small geographic area
D) when a company sells a wide variety of products to few types of customers over a small geographic area
E) when a company sells a narrow variety of products to many types of customers over a small geographic area

Question 40

Which of the following best explains the growth of telephone and online selling?

A) the use of the Do Not Call Registry
B) the ability to make up to 8 times as many more customer contacts per day than an outside salesperson
C) the similarity in cost between the inside and outside sales forces
D) the difficulty and expense of reaching some customers
E) the preference of customers for face-to-face contact

Question 41

All of the following are basic types of compensation plans for salespeople EXCEPT ________.

A) straight commission
B) straight salary
C) salary plus commission
D) salary plus company shares
E) salary plus bonus

Question 42

Which of the following is a primary reason that companies use e-learning to conduct sales training programs?

A) Customer needs and habits can be unambiguously conveyed through online training programs.
B) Sales training programs that do not use e-learning are mostly ineffective.
C) E-learning eliminates employee attrition.
D) E-learning is the best way to simulate real-life sales calls.
E) E-learning cuts travel and training costs.

Question 43

Which of the following refers to a positive incentive intended to increase the sales force effort?

A) sales contests
B) prospecting
C) telecommuting
D) sales collateral
E) annual sales plan

Question 44

Which of the following is an advantage of using a sales force automation system?

A) lowers sales team training costs
B) records major competitor's sales
C) eliminates the need for an inside sales force
D) eliminates employee attrition
E) improves customer service

Question 45

Which of the following is the best way for a company to increase selling time?

A) implementing high-commission plans
B) reducing the number of customers
C) sharing less information with customers
D) simplifying administrative duties
E) implementing mass customization

Question 46

________ refers to the standard that establishes the amount each salesperson should sell and how sales should be divided among the company's products.

A) Conditional sale
B) A bill of sale
C) A sales quota
D) Prospecting
E) Satisficing

Question 47

Which of the following abilities would LEAST likely be measured when recruiting and testing applicants for a sales position?

A) sales aptitude
B) work style
C) accounting skills
D) motivation
E) relationship skills

Question 48

All of the following are problems associated with the poor selection of salespeople EXCEPT ________.

A) lower sales
B) costly turnover
C) less productivity
D) fewer training expenses
E) disruptive customer relationships

Question 49

At the beginning of each year, the management of Dee Decor states the exact amount a salesperson should sell. This specific sales target is also known as a ________.

A) sales lead
B) prospect
C) bill of sale
D) channel length
E) sales quota

Question 50

Mary Conti, a sales manager at National Computer Training, wants to evaluate the performance of her sales force in the New England territory. Which of the following would Mary most likely use?

A) SWOT analysis
B) breakeven analysis
C) sales forecast
D) expense reports
E) call plan

Question 51

Refer to the scenario below to answer the following question(s).
Reliable Tools Company is a manufacturer of hubs and axles for the trailer and heavy truck industry. Although Reliable Tools only has 15 customers, the company is the sole supplier of hub and axle components to those customers. Monthly sales at Reliable Tools are approximately $1 million. "You might say we have all our eggs in one basket," says owner Arthur Deetz.
It is critical that a competent sales force be maintained in order to nurture those few but large accounts. Ninety-five percent of Reliable Tools' customers are located in Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana, which means that travel time to all customers is relatively short. However, given the nature of the industry, time spent with each customer is crucial.
How would a customer sales force structure benefit Reliable Tools?

A) It would eliminate the need for the company's salespeople to travel to meet customers.
B) It would enable the company's salespeople to build close relationships with customers.
C) It would help the company's salespeople become experts in the products they sell.
D) It would enable the company's management to cut training costs substantially.
E) It would make telemarketing irrelevant.

Question 52

Refer to the scenario below to answer the following question(s).
Reliable Tools Company is a manufacturer of hubs and axles for the trailer and heavy truck industry. Although Reliable Tools only has 15 customers, the company is the sole supplier of hub and axle components to those customers. Monthly sales at Reliable Tools are approximately $1 million. "You might say we have all our eggs in one basket," says owner Arthur Deetz.
It is critical that a competent sales force be maintained in order to nurture those few but large accounts. Ninety-five percent of Reliable Tools' customers are located in Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana, which means that travel time to all customers is relatively short. However, given the nature of the industry, time spent with each customer is crucial.
For sales managers to understand how the members of the Reliable Tools sales force spend their time, the salespeople must submit a(n) ________.

A) expense report
B) time-and-duty analysis
C) mobile conferencing schedule
D) sales forecast
E) incentive plan

Question 53

Which of the following involves computerized, digitized sales force operations that let salespeople work more effectively anytime, anywhere?

A) SWOT analysis
B) BCG matrix
C) digital marketing system
D) sales force automation system
E) field service management system

Question 54

More and more companies are moving away from high-commission plans because ________.

A) outside salespeople tend to undermine the efforts of the inside sales team
B) high-commission plans require salespeople to work overtime
C) salespeople tend to become pushy which affects customer relationships
D) salespeople are prone to taking multiple sales jobs to maximize their income
E) salespeople end up spending too much time traveling to meet customers

Question 55

A hybrid sales rep ________.

A) works exclusively from remote locations
B) is a modern cross between a field sales rep and an inside rep
C) rarely engages in face-to-face interactions with customers
D) performs sales audits
E) sets the sales objectives of companies

Question 56

Eric Brown is a human resource manager in a company selling and manufacturing personal computers. Who among the following is Eric most likely to hire as a salesperson if his objective is to minimize training costs post recruitment?

A) Samantha, a fresh college graduate
B) Richard, a product developer from a competing firm
C) Nancy, an experienced engineer with no prior experience in personal selling
D) Melissa, a proven salesperson from a competing firm
E) Henry, a young salesperson with a few months' experience in a large MNC

Question 57

The purpose of a training program for salespeople is to teach them about all of the following EXCEPT ________.

A) customers' buying habits
B) customers' buying motives
C) competitor strategies
D) industry history
E) company goals

Question 58

Hannah Adams is a senior sales manager in Elmo Corp., a rapidly growing company manufacturing personal computers and printers. In order to handle sales effectively, Hannah insists on using the services of different groups of people from different departments within the company such as the sales, marketing, technical support, and finance departments. In this instance, Hannah makes use of ________.

A) team selling
B) competitive marketing intelligence
C) hybrid selling
D) occasion segmentation
E) sales force automation systems

Question 59

A(n) ________ shows how much time is spent selling, traveling, waiting, taking breaks, and doing administrative chores by the salesperson.

A) customer relationship management tool
B) corporate social networking site
C) time-and-duty analysis tool
D) outsourcing relationship management tool
E) product lifecycle management analysis

Question 60

Which of the following is most likely a true statement about sales compensation in economically tough circumstances?

A) Cutting sales force compensation is usually a last resort for firms that want to maintain positive customer relationships.
B) Morale is boosted by distributing commissions equally among low and high sales performers.
C) Online selling is discontinued to improve customer relations.
D) Compensation for the inside sales force is reduced to increase commissions for the outside sales force.
E) Low performers are retained and top performers are dismissed to reduce commission payments.

Question 61

In a complex sales force structure, salespeople can be specialized by customer and territory; product and territory; product and customer; or territory, product, and customer.

Question 62

Social selling emphasizes personal contact between the company and its customers.

Question 63

Sales force management refers to hiring and training the sales force.

Question 64

Refer to the scenario below to answer the following question(s).
Reliable Tools Company is a manufacturer of hubs and axles for the trailer and heavy truck industry. Although Reliable Tools only has 15 customers, the company is the sole supplier of hub and axle components to those customers. Monthly sales at Reliable Tools are approximately $1 million. "You might say we have all our eggs in one basket," says owner Arthur Deetz.
It is critical that a competent sales force be maintained in order to nurture those few but large accounts. Ninety-five percent of Reliable Tools' customers are located in Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana, which means that travel time to all customers is relatively short. However, given the nature of the industry, time spent with each customer is crucial.
Purposes of social selling, the use of online, mobile, and social media, are to do all of the following EXCEPT ________.

A) augment sales performance
B) eliminate person-to-person selling
C) build stronger customer relationships
D) engage customers
E) provide customers more control over the selling process

Question 65

Salespeople are only evaluated on the number of sales they close within a certain time frame.

Question 66

If a company has numerous and complex products, it can adopt a product sales force structure in which the sales force specializes along product lines.

Question 67

Sales assistants confirm appointments, follow up on deliveries, and answer customers' questions when outside salespeople cannot be reached.

Question 68

The inside sales force consists of salespeople who conduct business from their offices via telephone, the Internet, or visits from buyers.

Question 69

The goal of supervision is to encourage salespeople to "work hard" and energetically toward sales force goals.

Question 70

Training online instead of on-site can cut travel and other training costs, and it takes up less of a salesperson's selling time.

Question 71

Refer to the scenario below to answer the following question(s).
Reliable Tools Company is a manufacturer of hubs and axles for the trailer and heavy truck industry. Although Reliable Tools only has 15 customers, the company is the sole supplier of hub and axle components to those customers. Monthly sales at Reliable Tools are approximately $1 million. "You might say we have all our eggs in one basket," says owner Arthur Deetz.
It is critical that a competent sales force be maintained in order to nurture those few but large accounts. Ninety-five percent of Reliable Tools' customers are located in Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana, which means that travel time to all customers is relatively short. However, given the nature of the industry, time spent with each customer is crucial.
Disadvantages of social selling include ________.

A) its impact on efficiency
B) its ability to provide information
C) its expense and the difficulty of presenting some things via the Internet
D) the ability to spot opportunities
E) its impact on productivity

Question 72

Using teams of people from sales, marketing, engineering, finance, technical support, and even upper management to service large, complex accounts is known as complex selling.

Question 73

In the territorial sales force structure, each salesperson is responsible for selling a single, exclusive product across different geographical regions.

Question 74

Refer to the scenario below to answer the following question(s).
Reliable Tools Company is a manufacturer of hubs and axles for the trailer and heavy truck industry. Although Reliable Tools only has 15 customers, the company is the sole supplier of hub and axle components to those customers. Monthly sales at Reliable Tools are approximately $1 million. "You might say we have all our eggs in one basket," says owner Arthur Deetz.
It is critical that a competent sales force be maintained in order to nurture those few but large accounts. Ninety-five percent of Reliable Tools' customers are located in Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana, which means that travel time to all customers is relatively short. However, given the nature of the industry, time spent with each customer is crucial.
Several compensation plans are available to reward and motivate Reliable Tool's salespeople. Since generating new leads and new business can be a goal for the sales force, which compensation plan approach is MOST likely to motivate and direct the salespeople in that direction?

A) straight commission
B) salary plus bonus
C) straight salary
D) salary plus commission
E) salary, commission, and bonus

Question 75

In a territorial sales force structure, as each salesperson travels within a limited geographic area, travel expenses are relatively small.

Question 76

In a product sales force structure, no single salesperson can become an expert in all of the product categories, so product specialization is required.

Question 77

The workload approach is used to determine the type of sales force structure required by a company.

Question 78

Companies are increasingly adopting high-commission plans to make sure that salespersons are motivated to build long-term relationships with customers.

Question 79

In the customer sales force structure, each salesperson is assigned to an exclusive geographic area and sells the company's full line of products or services to all customers in that territory.

Question 80

Telemarketing has ceased to be an important tool for most B-to-B marketers owing to the federal government's Do Not Call Registry.