Question 1

After a company has determined its salesforce structure,it is ready to determine what ________ it needs.

Accepted Answer

Once the salesforce structure has been determined, the company can then determine the appropriate size of the salesforce. This can be done by analyzing market potential, desired market coverage, and individual workload. The other options may also be important considerations, but they come after determining the appropriate size of the salesforce.

Question 2

To reduce time demands on their outside salesforces,many companies have increased the size of their inside salesforces,which include technical support people,sales assistants and ________.

Accepted Answer

Telemarketers and online sellers are roles commonly found within inside salesforces. They allow companies to reach customers and make sales without the need for face-to-face interactions, which can increase efficiency and reduce demands on outside salesforces.

Question 3

Which of the following is NOT a disadvantage of a product salesforce structure?

Accepted Answer

Increased customer delivery time is not a disadvantage of a product salesforce structure. The other options all describe potential drawbacks of this structure.

Question 4

Companies that use a customer salesforce structure organise their salespeople by ________.

Accepted Answer

Companies that use a customer salesforce structure organise their salespeople by customer or industry, segmenting their sales team based on the type of customer they serve or industry they specialize in. This allows for a more personalized approach to selling and a deeper understanding of customer needs and preferences.

Question 5

An IBM sales representative is giving a product demonstration to a major account IT Manager.Assisting with the demonstration are an engineer,a financial analyst and an information systems specialist.If IBM wins the account,then all four IBM representatives will service the new major account.This is an example of ________.

Accepted Answer

This is an example of team selling which involves a group of individuals from different functional areas working together to meet the needs of a customer.

Question 6

The salesforce at a high-tech firm recently began telemarketing and selling online.How will this MOST likely benefit the firm?

Accepted Answer

Moving towards telemarketing and online sales will allow the firm's sales reps to reach customers who may be difficult to access in person. This can expand the firm's customer base and increase sales.

Question 7

A firm maintains a salesforce for its small appliance customers and a separate salesforce for its automotive customers.It utilises a ________ structure.

Accepted Answer

The firm utilises a customer salesforce structure, where separate salesforces are maintained for each type of customer - small appliance and automotive. This structure groups salespeople based on the type of customer they cater to.

Question 8

Which of the following is NOT a pitfall or disadvantage of team selling?

Accepted Answer

This statement is not a pitfall or disadvantage of team selling, but rather a statement about the prevalence of team structures in buying organizations.

Question 9

A company has 1000 Type-A customer accounts,each requiring 28 calls per year,and 2200 Type-B customer accounts,each requiring 15 calls per year.What is the salesforce's workload?

Accepted Answer

To find the salesforce's workload, we need to multiply the number of customer accounts by the number of calls per year for each type of customer and then add them together:

1000 Type-A accounts x 28 calls per year = 28,000 calls
2200 Type-B accounts x 15 calls per year = 33,000 calls

Total: 28,000 + 33,000 = 61,000 calls

Therefore, the answer is D) 61 000 calls.

Question 10

A company has decided to switch to a customer salesforce structure.Which of the following advantages is the company now LEAST likely to enjoy?

Accepted Answer

Switching to a customer salesforce structure means the sales team is organized around customers or customer segments, rather than products. This structure is less conducive to salespeople developing in-depth knowledge of numerous and complex product lines, as their focus shifts towards understanding customer needs and preferences across possibly fewer, more focused product lines.

Question 11

Most companies use some form of the workload approach to ________.

Accepted Answer

The workload approach is commonly used to determine the appropriate size of the salesforce by assessing the amount of work required to serve customers effectively.

Question 12

Members of a company's ________ conduct business from their offices through the telephone,the internet or visits from customers.

Accepted Answer

Members of an inside salesforce conduct business from their offices through means such as the telephone and internet. Outside salespeople, on the other hand, typically travel to meet with customers and conduct sales in person. Complex salesforces often sell intricate products or services and may involve multiple people or departments. Customer and product salesforces are not commonly used terms in describing a company's sales team.

Question 13

Which of the following is the collective term for the individuals in a company who travel to call on customers in the field?

Accepted Answer

The term "outside salesforce" refers to the group of individuals in a company who travel to call on customers in the field. They are also known as field salespeople or sales representatives. The other options do not accurately describe this specific group of individuals within a company.

Question 14

A company has 1000 Type-A accounts,each requiring 28 calls per year,and 2200 Type-B accounts,each requiring 15 calls per year.If each salesperson at the company makes 1500 sales calls per year on average,approximately how many salespeople will be needed?

Accepted Answer

To find the total number of calls needed, we can use the following formula:

Total calls = Number of Type-A accounts x Calls per Type-A account + Number of Type-B accounts x Calls per Type-B account

Plugging in our values, we get:

Total calls = (1000 x 28) + (2200 x 15)
Total calls = 28,000 + 33,000
Total calls = 61,000

Now, to find the number of salespeople needed, we simply divide the total number of calls by the average number of calls made by one salesperson:

Salespeople needed = Total calls / Average calls per salesperson
Salespeople needed = 61,000 / 1500
Salespeople needed ≈ 40.7

Rounding up to the nearest whole number, we get that approximately 41 salespeople will be needed. Therefore, the best choice is (C).

Question 15

You are responsible for hiring inside salespeople for your firm.Which of the following jobs would you be LEAST likely to expect these people to perform?

Accepted Answer

Inside salespeople typically do not travel to call on customers. That is the job of outside salespeople who are usually assigned to specific territories. Inside salespeople work from a central location, usually an office, and use phone and email to communicate with prospects and customers.

Question 16

A used car dealer splits the market into 10 sales regions.Within each of those regions,the company maintains two sales teams-one for servicing existing customers and one for prospects.What type of salesforce structure is it using?

Accepted Answer

This is an example of a complex salesforce structure because it combines multiple structuring principles: territorial (splitting the market into regions) and customer (having separate teams for existing customers and prospects).

Question 17

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

Accepted Answer

Many products have become too complicated for one salesperson to support, leading companies to adopt the team selling approach to service large, complex accounts. A team of salespeople with different areas of expertise is better equipped to handle the diverse needs of such accounts.

Question 18

Which of the following is the growing trend of using a group of people from sales,marketing,engineering,finance,technical support and even upper management to service large,complex accounts?

Accepted Answer

The growing trend described in the question is team selling, which involves a group of people from various departments working together to service large, complex accounts. Department selling (A) refers to salespeople specializing in specific products or markets, while inside selling (B) involves salespeople working from a central location to communicate with customers remotely. Continuous selling (D) and simultaneous selling (E) are not commonly used industry terms.

Question 19

Which activity is NOT typical for a sales assistant?

Accepted Answer

Determining price points is typically the responsibility of a sales manager or pricing specialist, not a sales assistant.

Question 20

A major national communications company has increased its inside salesforce.This will help its outside salesforce in all EXCEPT which of the following ways?

Accepted Answer

An increase in the inside salesforce primarily helps the outside salesforce by handling more of the internal sales tasks, customer service, and inquiries, which allows the outside salesforce to focus more on selling to major accounts, finding new prospects, and providing after-the-sale customer service. It does not directly improve their use of sales automation technology; that improvement would depend on other factors such as training or technology upgrades.

Quiz 12: Personal Selling and Sales Promotion: Creating Value in Relationships