Question 1

A geographically concentrated group of customers may be more efficiently reached by personal selling than through ads in mass media.

Accepted Answer

Personal selling allows for direct interaction and tailored communication, which can be more effective and efficient in engaging a concentrated group of customers compared to the broader approach of mass media advertising.

Question 2

The use of telemarketing for industrial selling is equivalent to the use of direct marketing in retailing.

Accepted Answer

Telemarketing and direct marketing are both methods used to reach customers, but they are not equivalent. Telemarketing specifically refers to the use of telephone calls to market goods or services directly to consumers, often for immediate sales or lead generation. Direct marketing, on the other hand, encompasses a broader range of strategies, including mail, email, social media, and more, aimed at initiating direct contact with consumers to encourage a response or transaction. While telemarketing can be a form of direct marketing, direct marketing's scope is much wider and is not limited to industrial selling or retailing alone.

Question 3

The popularity of notebook computers has eliminated the need for field sales personnel in most selling situations.

Accepted Answer

The popularity of notebook computers has not eliminated the need for field sales personnel because personal interaction, relationship building, and complex product demonstrations often require human involvement.

Question 4

Usually, there is always less waste in advertising than in personal selling.

Accepted Answer

Advertising can reach a broad audience at a lower cost per impression, making it more efficient in some cases. However, personal selling can be more targeted and effective for complex or high-value products, potentially leading to less waste in terms of resources and effort for the right market segments.

Question 5

The amount of waste in personal selling is largely related to the type of prospecting used (blind versus lead) and to the speed with which the qualifications of a prospect can be evaluated in the pre-approach stage of the selling process.

Accepted Answer

The efficiency of personal selling is significantly influenced by the method of prospecting (blind prospecting involves approaching potential customers without prior knowledge of their interest or need for the product, while lead prospecting involves targeting individuals who have shown interest or fit a specific profile) and how quickly a salesperson can assess a prospect's qualifications and interest level during the pre-approach stage. This impacts the amount of resources and time wasted on unqualified or uninterested prospects.

Question 6

As a rule, feedback in advertising is more immediate than feedback in personal selling.

Accepted Answer

Feedback in personal selling is typically more immediate because it involves direct interaction with the customer, allowing for instant responses and adjustments.

Question 7

While advertising is most effective in persuasion, the role of personal selling is optimal in generating consumer awareness.

Accepted Answer

Advertising is generally more effective in generating consumer awareness, while personal selling is more effective in persuasion and closing sales.

Question 8

Although the waste in personal selling is low, personal selling costs per customer can be quite high.

Accepted Answer

Personal selling involves direct interaction with customers, which can be resource-intensive, leading to higher costs per customer despite low waste.

Question 9

An example of a persuasive personal selling objective is to follow-up after a good or service has been purchased.

Accepted Answer

A persuasive personal selling objective typically aims to convince a customer to make a purchase, whereas follow-up after a purchase is more related to customer service and relationship building.

Question 10

Sales-expense budgets rarely allocate sales expenses by sales territory.

Accepted Answer

Sales-expense budgets often allocate expenses by sales territory to better manage and control costs associated with specific regions.

Question 11

Although order takers are mostly responsible for processing routine orders and reorders, they still have significant opportunities for persuading customers to purchase more expensive (and higher profit-margin) items.

Accepted Answer

Order takers can influence customers by suggesting upgrades or additional products, thus increasing sales and profit margins.

Question 12

Order takers are not often involved with straight-rebuy purchase situations.

Accepted Answer

Order takers are typically involved in straight-rebuy situations as these purchases require minimal decision-making and are routine, often handled by order takers.

Question 13

Even order getters often spend a considerable portion of their time in nonselling activities.

Accepted Answer

Order getters often engage in activities such as prospecting, researching potential clients, and preparing sales presentations, which are not directly related to selling but are essential for successful sales.

Question 14

The need-satisfaction approach requires more skilled and better-compensated sales personnel than the canned sales presentation.

Accepted Answer

The need-satisfaction approach involves understanding and addressing the specific needs of the customer, requiring more skill and adaptability than the scripted canned sales presentation, thus often necessitating better compensation for the sales personnel.

Question 15

The marketing concept has higher overlap with the need-satisfaction approach than with the canned sales presentation approach.

Accepted Answer

The marketing concept focuses on satisfying customer needs, which aligns with the need-satisfaction approach, whereas the canned sales presentation approach is more rigid and less customer-focused.

Question 16

In the need-satisfaction approach, the pre-approach and greeting portions of the selling process are used to determine consumer characteristics, needs, interests, and concerns.

Accepted Answer

The need-satisfaction approach involves understanding the consumer's needs and interests, which is typically done during the pre-approach and greeting stages of the selling process.

Question 17

Blind prospecting and lead prospecting can be used with both the canned sales presentation and the need-satisfaction approach.

Accepted Answer

Both blind prospecting (contacting potential customers without prior knowledge of their needs) and lead prospecting (contacting potential customers based on some prior indication of interest or need) can be adapted to fit either a canned sales presentation approach (a standardized, scripted sales pitch) or a need-satisfaction approach (tailoring the sales pitch to meet the specific needs of the customer). The choice of prospecting method does not limit the sales approach; rather, it's the salesperson's strategy and adaptability in using the information gathered from prospecting to inform their sales approach that matters.

Question 18

The level of waste in personal selling is largely based on the quality of prospecting.

Accepted Answer

Effective prospecting helps in identifying potential customers who are most likely to buy, reducing the time and resources spent on those less likely to make a purchase, thus minimizing waste in personal selling efforts.

Question 19

The use of external secondary sources to generate a list of customer leads constitutes lead prospecting.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The use of external secondary sources to...

Question 20

The pre-approach is much more important with the canned sales presentation than with the need-satisfaction approach.

Accepted Answer

The pre-approach is more critical in the need-satisfaction approach because it involves researching and understanding the specific needs and concerns of the customer to tailor the presentation accordingly, whereas the canned sales presentation is a standardized pitch used for all customers, requiring less customization.

Quiz 19: Personal Selling and Sales Promotion