Question 1

All of the following are key areas of sales force management except:

Accepted Answer

Coordinating sales promotion efforts is typically the responsibility of the marketing department, rather than sales force management. The other choices (compensating salespeople, recruiting salespeople, training sales personnel, and motivating sales personnel) are all key areas of sales force management.

Question 2

Jose Suarez has been hired as sales manager at a new firm and is trying to come up with a sales force compensation method. He would like to have selling expenses relate directly to sales resources, an aggressive sales force, and minimization of nonselling tasks. What compensation method(s) would best fulfill his requirements?

Accepted Answer

Straight commission would fulfill all of Suarez's requirements by directly tying selling expenses to sales resources, incentivizing an aggressive sales force through commission-based compensation, and minimizing nonselling tasks as salespeople would focus solely on generating sales.

Question 3

Sales objectives for individual salespeople can be stated in several ways. Which of the following would least likely be used for stating an individual salesperson's goal?

Accepted Answer

Stating a salesperson's goal in terms of profits relative to number of sales calls is not a common way to set sales objectives for individual salespeople. This is because a salesperson's success may not solely depend on the number of sales calls made, but also on other factors such as the quality of leads, the effectiveness of their sales pitch, and the competitiveness of the market. The other options (A, B, C, and E) are all commonly used ways to state sales goals for individual salespeople.

Question 4

Sales force objectives are generally established for:

Accepted Answer

Sales force objectives are typically set for both the total sales force and individual salespeople to ensure alignment with overall company goals and to motivate and evaluate performance at both levels.

Question 5

In designing sales territories, a sales manager considers several major factors. The territories must be constructed so that sales potential can be measured; the shape of the territories should facilitate salespeople's activities to provide the best possible coverage of customers; and:

Accepted Answer

Territories should be designed to minimize selling costs to ensure efficient use of resources and maximize profitability.

Question 6

Which of the following best characterizes the function of recruiting and selecting a sales force?

Accepted Answer

It should be a continuous, systematic attempt to match applicants' characteristics to the firm's needs.

Question 7

Which of the following involves building mutually beneficial long-term associations with a customer usually a business customer through regular communications over prolonged periods of time?

Accepted Answer

Relationship selling involves building long-term associations with customers through regular communication and personalized interactions, focusing on customer loyalty and retention.

Question 8

A company may determine how many sales calls per year it needs to serve customers effectively and divide that by the average number of sales calls made by one salesperson in order to:

Accepted Answer

Dividing the total number of necessary sales calls by the average number of sales calls made by one salesperson will help the company determine how large the sales force needs to be in order to effectively serve customers.

Question 9

Sales objectives can do all of the following except:

Accepted Answer

Sales objectives are not intended to serve as a deterrent to salespeople or their clients; rather, they are meant to guide, evaluate, and control the sales force.

Question 10

Ryan Scott leads his company's clients through the installation procedure of their new industrial equipment. He also helps answer their questions about product characteristics and system design both before and after their purchases. Ryan is a:

Accepted Answer

Ryan Scott is a technical salesperson because he assists clients with technical aspects of the product, including installation and answering technical questions.

Question 11

When better market conditions prevail or when company growth occurs, a company may suffer if it:

Accepted Answer

Cutting back the size of the sales force during better market conditions or company growth can lead to missed opportunities and inability to meet increased demand, potentially harming the company's performance.

Question 12

Savanna is a sales person for Aeropostale. Her compensation is based on a set salary plus a commission based on sales. Savanna's compensation is based on a(n):

Accepted Answer

Savanna's compensation includes both a set salary and a commission based on sales, which is characteristic of a combination compensation plan.

Question 13

Recruiting and selection of salespeople should include enough steps to yield the information needed to make accurate selection decisions. However, the stages of the process should be sequenced so that the more expensive steps are:

Accepted Answer

The more expensive steps should be near the end to ensure that only the most promising candidates are evaluated with costly methods, optimizing resource use.

Question 14

Natalie is a sales representative with Nike. In a few days, she will join with people from the firm's financial, engineering, and other functional areas to engage in the personal selling process. Natalie is engaged in:

Accepted Answer

Natalie is participating in team selling, which involves representatives from different functional areas working together to engage in the personal selling process.

Question 15

Olivia is the manager of Human Resources for Zappos.com. She is currently reviewing the sales force compensation method used at Zappos.com to determine if there is a better way to manage compensation. Olivia knows that the method is easy to administer, yields more predictable selling expenses, and provides sales managers with a large degree of control over salespeople.

Accepted Answer

The straight salary method is known for its simplicity in administration, predictability in selling expenses, and the control it offers sales managers over their sales force, which aligns with the characteristics Olivia is considering.

Question 16

Which of the following is the best example of a well-stated sales objective?

Accepted Answer

The objective in choice C is specific, measurable, achievable within a certain timeframe, and focused on new sales. It also allows for individual accountability among the sales team. The other options do not have as clear or measurable objectives.

Question 17

The best advice for recruiting and selecting salespeople for one's organization would be to:

Accepted Answer

Recruitment should be a continuous process to ensure that the organization is always attracting the best talent available.

Question 18

Effective motivation of a sales force is best achieved through:

Accepted Answer

The answer of Effective motivation of a sales force is...

Question 19

Zack Freedman is an experienced salesperson who has worked for the same company for 20 years. When he is informed that he must attend a training seminar the following Tuesday, he believes it will most likely be about:

Accepted Answer

As an experienced salesperson who has been with the same company for 20 years, it is unlikely that Zack Freedman would be required to attend a seminar on basic selling methods or prospecting. Similarly, he would already be familiar with his own company and his customers' companies, so it is unlikely that the seminar would focus on these topics. Therefore, the most likely topic would be new-product information, as companies often provide training on their latest offerings to their sales teams.

Question 20

Which of the following is particularly appropriate for pricey high-tech business products, such as jet aircraft and medical equipment?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which of the following is particularly appropriate...

Quiz 17: Personal Selling and Sales Promotion