Deck 17: Management of the Sales Force

Question 1

Scheduling a special luncheon to celebrate the closing of a large sale is a technique most likely characteristic of a supervisor who displays:

A)high consideration
B)high structure
C)role modeling
D)self-expression
E)high task orientation

Answer 1

A

Question 2

The sales manager who makes decisions promptly and firmly is displaying the dimension of leadership described as "structure."

Answer 2

True

Question 3

The sales manager who treats each member of the sales force as an individual is displaying the dimension of leadership described as "consideration."

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The sales manager who appraises the performance of his/her sales personnel regularly is displaying the leadership quality known as "consideration."

Question 5

A sales manager screening applicants for a sales position should be looking for an individual who

A)will close sales no matter what it takes
B)has wide acquaintanceship within the sales territory
C)can bring large accounts with him/her
D)has probable access to trade secrets
E)is interested in the position and is self-motivated

Question 6

It is a good idea to field test compensation plans before full implementation.

Question 7

The functions performed by sales managers include planning,recruiting,training,budgeting,development of compensation plans,and assessing sales force productivity.

Question 8

In many cases,intrinsic motivators have a more long-term effect on the attitudes of salespeople than extrinsic motivators do.

Question 9

Some organizations are using ability or aptitude assessment instruments to determine future performance in certain types of sales jobs.Experts in the field of employment testing say:

A)test scores can be very misleading to the employer,so they should not be used
B)test scores should not be considered because of possible legal problems
C)test scores are not helpful
D)test scores can be helpful when used in conjunction with other criteria
E)test scores are excellent measures to determine future performance

Question 10

The first step toward identifying the type of applicant to be recruited for a sales job is to:

A)look for characteristics similar to those possessed by the top seller in your force
B)consult the sales staff for their recommendations
C)determine the actual duties the person will perform
D)see what types of people the competing companies have in their sales department
E)determine what qualities the other salespeople have,and look for qualities that complement and round out the team

Question 11

Today,selecting effective salespeople is more of a science and less of an art.

Question 12

Newspaper advertisements can attract well-qualified sales job applicants.

Question 13

The 100 percent or straight commission plan is one of the best compensation methods if your goal is long-term customer development.

Question 14

A salesperson's performance evaluation based entirely on qualitative and quantitative items of measurement is an unfair method of assessment.

Question 15

Effective sales managers set a good example and possess characteristics of both structure and consideration.

Question 16

According to the authors of How to Hire and Develop Your Next Top Performer,about half of the people working in sales should be doing something else.

Question 17

The size of the firm should indicate the scope of the sales training program.

Question 18

The supervisor who holds monthly sales force meetings to explain specific goals for the future and changes in policy and procedure is exhibiting:

A)consideration
B)structure
C)performance analysis
D)recognition
E)strategy

Question 19

The sales manager should not change the compensation plan,even if conditions in the marketplace warrant change.

Question 20

If you fail the character test,you fail as a sales manager.

Question 21

Which of the following characteristics of a sales manager provides evidence of structure?

A)Policies and procedures are clearly defined.
B)Each salesperson is treated as an individual.
C)Efficient communication is given a high priority.
D)Members of the sales force receive regular recognition.
E)Salespeople are encouraged to solve their own problems

Question 22

Consideration is characterized by:

A)prioritizing the group over the individual
B)caring more about the welfare of employees than about self
C)becoming personal friends with employees
D)a climate of good two-way communication between leader and team member
E)close supervision of each salesperson to make sure they adhere to company standards

Question 23

All of the following are good sources of quality candidates for sales jobs EXCEPT:

A)internet job sites
B)mediation agencies
C)newspaper advertisements
D)employment agencies
E)candidates within the company

Question 24

Which compensation plan would appeal to a salesperson who likes the idea of "pay for performance," but also likes some job security?

A)guaranteed salary
B)straight salary
C)fixed salary plus bonus
D)100 percent commission or straight commission plan
E)commission plan with a draw provision

Question 25

Newly hired salespeople are more likely to become productive staff members if they participate in a job orientation and a(n):

A)training program
B)a review of company benefits
C)tour of the production facilities
D)introduction to corporate personnel
E)induction or hazing process

Question 26

According to Trudi Gallagher,people from which of the following countries are very punctual and private?

A)Italy
B)Saudi Arabia
C)Mexico
D)Switzerland
E)France

Question 27

Situational leadership occurs when:

A)the leader passes the character test
B)good performance is properly rewarded
C)the leader's style matches the situation
D)the coach helps the salesperson recognize the need for performance improvement
E)the leader guides the team through a changing situation

Question 28

Paolo dos Santos,a sales manager for Paronille Corporation,provides all of his salespeople with scheduled performance appraisals.This behavior indicates that he is attempting to incorporate the dimension of:

A)feedback
B)structure
C)empowerment
D)consideration
E)responsibility

Question 29

The process of planning,implementing,and controlling the personal selling function is called:

A)leadership
B)sales management
C)comptrolling
D)organizational strategy
E)motivation

Question 30

The costs of training an employee can be recouped by a company in increased sales per employee in which of the following amounts?

A)$100
B)$1,000
C)$10,000
D)$100,000
E)$1,000,000

Question 31

At large firms like Hewlett-Packard,a job candidate may have:

A)one personal interview
B)two separate personal interviews
C)as many as six personal interviews
D)group interviews only
E)no personal interview

Question 32

Ken Blanchard says that the key to developing people is to:

A)concentrate on catching them doing something right
B)give them a clear path to follow for their careers
C)mentor them closely
D)make sure they're in jobs that fit their skill sets
E)use both internal and external rewards

Question 33

A compensation plan which will likely produce the greatest degree of company-centeredness and financial security for the employee is:

A)100 percent commission plan
B)guaranteed salary
C)straight salary
D)guaranteed salary plus a bonus
E)straight commission plus a bonus

Question 34

The Leadership Grid portrays dimensions of:

A)leadership and management
B)motivation and skills
C)consideration and structure
D)empathy and direction
E)recruitment and training

Question 35

Which of the following is good advice if you want to assess sales force productivity?

A)Recognize that frequency of sales calls is the best indicator of success.
B)Recognize that information regarding frequency of sales is helpful only when compared to the profit earned on each account.
C)Recognize that assessing sales force productivity is more "art" than "science."
D)Compare salespeople with those with similarly-sized territories.
E)Compare a salesperson's current productivity with his or her past productivity.

Question 36

Which one of the following is a good motivation guideline to be adopted by sales managers?

A)Use external motivation methods exclusively.
B)Recognize that creating the conditions for internal motivation is very difficult.
C)Recognize that external motivation has almost no impact on performance.
D)Attempt to use a mix of external rewards and internal satisfaction.
E)Employees who do not respond to external motivation will never perform well.

Question 37

The training programs of both small and large marketing firms should incorporate three dimensions.One of them is knowledge of the product line,company marketing strategies,territory information,and business trends.What are the other two?

A)knowledge of personal selling skills;in-field sales training with supervision
B)knowledge of personal selling skills;knowledge of self and others
C)knowledge of company policies,procedures and benefits;stress management
D)explanation of compensation methods;in-field sales training with supervision
E)attitudes toward the company,its products and its customers;application of personal selling principles and practices

Question 38

Leadership is:

A)a series of skills that can be acquired through study and practice
B)a cluster of innate qualities that some people possess from birth
C)malleable,so a leader in one situation may not be capable of leading in others
D)synonymous with management
E)more important in American culture than it is in other cultures

Question 39

Managers using rewards to motivate employees should bear in mind that:

A)some employees do not like to be rewarded in any way
B)rewards given should never cost more than the level set by Human Resources
C)rewards should be balanced out by disciplinary actions
D)employees generally would rather have financial rewards than non-financial rewards
E)not all employees value the same rewards

Question 40

Coaching focuses on helping the salesperson recognize the need to improve his or her performance and:

A)improving that performance through specially-sequenced exercises
B)tracking performance improvements carefully
C)encouraging salespeople to focus better on primary tasks
D)creating space for salespeople to develop professionally
E)developing the salesperson's commitment to improve performance

Question 41

Victor Craig is sales director for a software company selling diagnostic software to automotive repair shops all across the country.He has been with the company for 14 months and manages a staff of six sales representatives,as well as covering a four-state territory himself.
One Monday the CEO of the company calls Victor into his office and tells him that management is dissatisfied with his performance as sales director,and that they are giving him 90 days to turn his performance around or he will be fired.
Management sends Victor to a workshop about coaching employees to success.Victor learns new information in this workshop.He had thought he was helping employees increase their skills,but in this workshop he discovers that in order to help an employee increase their skills:

A)he must be able to appeal to the employee's emotional side
B)he must be able to execute those skills perfectly himself
C)the employee must have direct financial motivation for changing
D)the employee must have the same communications style Victor has
E)the employee needs to acknowledge that they need help and commit to improving their skills

Question 42

Johan Yee has been a sales representative at a medium-sized textbook publishing house for five years.He has just been promoted by the sales director of his company to sales manager of a new territory they are opening up.As sales manager,he is tasked with hiring and training three new sales representatives for his team.
What should Johan do first to begin the process of hiring his new team members?

A)put up job ads on internet job search sites like Monster.com
B)write up a detailed description of job duties and requirements for the positions
C)ask all his friends if they want to to work for him
D)draft a training schedule of what they need to know about the products
E)sort through resumes to decide who to interview

Question 43

Victor Craig is sales director for a software company selling diagnostic software to automotive repair shops all across the country.He has been with the company for 14 months and manages a staff of six sales representatives,as well as covering a four-state territory himself.
One Monday the CEO of the company calls Victor into his office and tells him that management is dissatisfied with his performance as sales director,and that they are giving him 90 days to turn his performance around or he will be fired.
One sales representative complains that she has no way to keep track of her pipeline and sales forecasts in a way she can share with Victor,and that he goes for weeks without being willing to give her feedback on her pipeline and process,then demands up-to-date figures with no notice. Victor needs to work on providing consistent:

A)demonstrations
B)accounting
C)thoughtfulness
D)structure
E)consideration

Question 44

Rosalinda Goldstein,a sales manager,is rated very low in the quality described as "structure." What steps should she take to incorporate more structure into her leadership style?

Question 45

Johan Yee has been a sales representative at a medium-sized textbook publishing house for five years.He has just been promoted by the sales director of his company to sales manager of a new territory they are opening up.As sales manager,he is tasked with hiring and training three new sales representatives for his team.
Soon after receiving the promotion,Johan is approached by the administrative assistant of his former sales unit.She tells him that she wants to join his team as a sales representative.She points out that she has solid knowledge of the products and company procedures already,and that he knows that she is a hard worker.What other benefit would there be to Johan in hiring her as a sales representative?

A)He already knows that she fits into the company culture and understands its mission.
B)He knows that he can pay her less than he would have to pay someone hired from outside the company.
C)He has a personal friendship with her,which means he will be able to manage her.
D)He knows that she is outgoing,and that that is the primary characteristic of a good salesperson.
E)He has never had a disagreement with her,so there is no reason not to hire her.

Question 46

Victor Craig is sales director for a software company selling diagnostic software to automotive repair shops all across the country.He has been with the company for 14 months and manages a staff of six sales representatives,as well as covering a four-state territory himself.
One Monday the CEO of the company calls Victor into his office and tells him that management is dissatisfied with his performance as sales director,and that they are giving him 90 days to turn his performance around or he will be fired.
When Victor asks for an explanation,the CEO says that Victor has not been able to organize or motivate the sales staff,and that the staff reports that they do not respect him.The CEO says that Victor:

A)has been neither managing the staff nor leading them
B)has been leading them but not managing them
C)has been leading by example as a salesperson but not managing the staff
D)has been managing but not leading
E)has been leading and managing

Question 47

Compensation plans can be designed to:

A)create disparity between the top sellers and the bottom sellers
B)increase sales by percentage
C)weed out low performers
D)create competition between different kinds of salespeople for the same accounts
E)decrease sales volume

Question 48

Victor Craig is sales director for a software company selling diagnostic software to automotive repair shops all across the country.He has been with the company for 14 months and manages a staff of six sales representatives,as well as covering a four-state territory himself.
One Monday the CEO of the company calls Victor into his office and tells him that management is dissatisfied with his performance as sales director,and that they are giving him 90 days to turn his performance around or he will be fired.
Several of the sales representatives complain that Victor shows a lack of consideration by treating them as interchangeable cogs.They give the examples that the representative who is fluent in Spanish was not assigned the territory containing a high percentage of Spanish-speaking clients,and that Victor requires that the sales representative whose clients arrive at work at 8 am Pacific time and leave at 6 pm Pacific time be at work from 8 am to 5:30 pm Eastern time,thereby spending three hours each morning not able to do presentations. What is a way Victor could work on his consideration skills?

A)make blanket policies to treat employees equally
B)take a communication skills class
C)ask sales representatives for their input on how they could do their jobs more effectively and implement their suggestions
D)take up a creative hobby like painting to increase his softer side
E)make SMART goals for better sales results from the sales team

Question 49

It is extremely important that managers who use rewards as external motivators for salespeople who reach certain goals:

A)set goals that are realistic
B)set goals based only on final sales numbers
C)give rewards at regular intervals
D)give primarily financial rewards
E)give the same rewards to all salespeople

Question 50

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.

Question 51

A sales manager can review relationships with accounts at any time using CRM software by:

A)asking an assistant to gather call notes from salespeople on their accounts
B)reading a salesperson's notes on the account in the system
C)calling current contacts at each account to make sure the account was being serviced properly
D)printing pipeline reports
E)sending emails through the system asking salespeople for information

Question 52

Victor Craig is sales director for a software company selling diagnostic software to automotive repair shops all across the country.He has been with the company for 14 months and manages a staff of six sales representatives,as well as covering a four-state territory himself.
One Monday the CEO of the company calls Victor into his office and tells him that management is dissatisfied with his performance as sales director,and that they are giving him 90 days to turn his performance around or he will be fired.
The most practical change management could make that would allow Victor to improve his management and leadership skills and focus on those tasks would be to:

A)fire the current sales staff and hire new sales representatives who do not have a negative impression of Victor yet
B)give his sales territory to a sales representative so Victor can focus on managing and leading instead of selling
C)simplify the software so Victor wouldn't have to worry about training the sales staff on product knowledge
D)move his staff to a different department so he would have no direct reports

Question 53

________ represents the first step in helping a newly hired salesperson become a productive member of your staff.

Question 54

The number of calls made on an account should:

A)be no more frequent than one per week
B)correspond to the seniority of the salesperson
C)be the same for all accounts
D)vary from salesperson to salesperson
E)bear some relationship to the sales and profit potential of that account

Question 55

Most successful supervisory management personnel display two important dimensions of effective leadership: ________ and ________.

Question 56

A ________ ________ is an explanation of what the salesperson will do and under what conditions the work will be performed.

Question 57

Johan Yee has been a sales representative at a medium-sized textbook publishing house for five years.He has just been promoted by the sales director of his company to sales manager of a new territory they are opening up.As sales manager,he is tasked with hiring and training three new sales representatives for his team.
Johan crafts a descriptive ad and receives a hundred resumes in response.He reads through them and chooses the 20 best candidates.To further screen candidates,he invites those 20 in to take a test that profiles their skills.Based on the results of this test:

A)he learns more about how to structure the positions he is hiring for
B)he is more confused about which candidates will fit the jobs best
C)he decides to run more job ads in different venues
D)he chooses which candidates to hire
E)he takes the 10 candidates with the best skills match and interviews them in person

Question 58

The best measure of salesforce productivity is:

A)comparing the number of calls each salesperson makes
B)comparing the number of sales presentations each salesperson makes
C)analyzing total sales volume
D)analyzing the profitability of each salesperson's sales volume
E)analyzing the ratio of profits to sales for the salesforce

Question 59

________ is an interpersonal process between the sales manager and the salesperson in which the manager helps the salesperson improve performance in a specific area.

Question 60

________ ________ is an intrinsic reward that occurs when a duty or task is performed.

Question 61

Johan Yee has been a sales representative at a medium-sized textbook publishing house for five years.He has just been promoted by the sales director of his company to sales manager of a new territory they are opening up.As sales manager,he is tasked with hiring and training three new sales representatives for his team.
Johan is planning the training process for the three members of his new team.He plans to send them to the companywide "Product Knowledge and Procedures Efficiency" training session held every 3 months for all new hires.Once they have completed that 1 ½ day training,he will run another day-long session with them on:

A)personality testing to be sure they will fit the job
B)the history of sales
C)the sales process and ethical sales behavior
D)the different products they will sell
E)filling out expense reports properly

Question 62

Aspen Stewart is one of five sales managers at a sports equipment company.She and the other sales managers are under pressure from management to keep their teams of sales representatives motivated and hitting their sales quotas.Because of that,Aspen has studied psychology and motivation,and is always looking for better ways to motivate her team.
The biggest factor in motivation for sales representatives is enjoying sales as a career.This means that the best way for Aspen to motivate her team is:

A)to teach them to cold-call correctly
B)to ask them directly what will motivate them and then offer that as a reward for sales
C)to offer cash bonuses for the highest dollar amount in sales each month
D)to send her employees to a workshop on positive thinking and visualization
E)to hire people with the right attitude and skills for sales

Question 63

Johan Yee has been a sales representative at a medium-sized textbook publishing house for five years.He has just been promoted by the sales director of his company to sales manager of a new territory they are opening up.As sales manager,he is tasked with hiring and training three new sales representatives for his team.
While he is interviewing the finalist candidates,Johan asks them standard interview questions about their strengths and weaknesses,and a professional challenge they've experienced.In addition,to find out what their sales philosophy is,he asks them:

A)"What type of commission structure do you expect from this position?"
B)"What products have you sold before?"
C)"How long have you been working in sales?"
D)to sell him the insulated travel coffee mug he has on his desk
E)to talk about a time they were asked to confront a personal fear

Question 64

Aspen Stewart is one of five sales managers at a sports equipment company.She and the other sales managers are under pressure from management to keep their teams of sales representatives motivated and hitting their sales quotas.Because of that,Aspen has studied psychology and motivation,and is always looking for better ways to motivate her team.
While they are discussing compensation,the sales managers and director of sales also decide how to evaluate sales production levels.The company's policy was to compare each sales representative's sales to their sales the previous year.Which of the following is the strongest argument for changing this method of evaluation?

A)Sales representatives do not always sell the same amount each year.
B)Sales representatives should not be evaluated by the amount that they sell.
C)When prices change or products are introduced or dropped this can change sales amounts so yearly figures are not comparable.
D)Because of seasonal sales cycles,amounts should be compared quarter to quarter,not year to year.
E)Comparison should be made to the group as a whole,not individuals to themselves.

Question 65

Aspen Stewart is one of five sales managers at a sports equipment company.She and the other sales managers are under pressure from management to keep their teams of sales representatives motivated and hitting their sales quotas.Because of that,Aspen has studied psychology and motivation,and is always looking for better ways to motivate her team.
Each year,Aspen and the other sales managers meet with the director of sales to reevaluate the compensation plan for sales representatives.Last year they decided that the compensation plan they'd had--commission with a draw provision--was tempting the sales representatives to compete too hard with each other and cross ethical lines.To maintain some healthy competition but encourage the sales representatives to act in the company spirit,the group decided to try compensating sales representatives by:

A)straight commission
B)commission with a draw provision
C)commission with a guaranteed salary
D)commission with a draw provision plus bonus
E)straight salary

Question 66

Aspen Stewart is one of five sales managers at a sports equipment company.She and the other sales managers are under pressure from management to keep their teams of sales representatives motivated and hitting their sales quotas.Because of that,Aspen has studied psychology and motivation,and is always looking for better ways to motivate her team.
To provide external motivation,Aspen runs a contest every quarter.Because she emphasizes sharing information and cooperation on her team over competition,she structures the contest so that if the team reaches a collective goal they all get a prize that has a substantial monetary value (she changes it every contest),and the top three individual winners:

A)receive recognition from the team and a humorous honorific title until the next contest
B)receive salary increases
C)are promoted,while the bottom three producers are fired
D)compete to see which one of them will receive a cash bonus equal to a month's salary
E)are congratulated by Aspen by email,but not mentioned to the group

Question 67

Aspen Stewart is one of five sales managers at a sports equipment company.She and the other sales managers are under pressure from management to keep their teams of sales representatives motivated and hitting their sales quotas.Because of that,Aspen has studied psychology and motivation,and is always looking for better ways to motivate her team.
Aspen manages a team of sales representatives who have all chosen careers in sales because it allows them to make a living interacting with and helping people.She has found that one of the biggest sources of internal motivation for her sales team is the ability to:

A)convince people to buy products they don't need
B)solve their customers' problems
C)ask people to spend money on sports equipment
D)discount prices when they need to to make a sale
E)explore sports they would otherwise not have tried