Personal Selling

One of Mequel's customers has used the multiattribute model to compare products from different suppliers. The purchasing manager tells Mequel that she is likely going to purchase from one of Mequel's competitors. Mequel tells her that the competitor's products do not perform as well as his products. Which strategy is Mequel using?

Alter the buyer's belief about the competitor's offering

After a company compares products using the multiattribute model, a salesperson still has an opportunity to win over the customer. If the salesperson attempts to deemphasize the importance of certain product attributes, they are using which strategy?

Alter the importance weights

_______ is a way a salesperson can create product liabilities by giving a guarantee that obligates the selling organization even if the salesperson does not intend to give the guarantee.

An express warranty

Which of the following situations describes a business market buyer?

An individual purchases a computer program to use in the design of party invitations they sell on Etsy.

George spends most of his day as an outside salesperson visiting customers in their places of business. He knows that in order to make sales, customers must trust him. Today, a customer asked him, "Do you know what you are talking about?" Which element of trust does this question answer?

Competence

Joel is engaging prospects through sales dialogue and presentations and trying to earn commitment from customers. Which phase of the sales process is Joel engaged in?

Developing customer relationships

Which of the following is not one of the three major phases of the sales process?

Negotiating customer relationships

_______ are contingent on, and often a result of, conditions related to the specific environment, time, and place.

Situational needs

Ivan uses a variety of approaches when he is trying to sell gym memberships to prospective buyers. In one approach, Ivan asks questions like, "Do you agree that exercise is important to maintain a healthy lifestyle?" and "Do you think having access to a personal trainer would be helpful in meeting your exercise goals?" By getting the prospective buyers to say "yes" to these questions, Ivan hopes they will say "yes" when he asks them to commit to buying a gym membership. Which approach to personal selling is Ivan utilizing?

Stimulus response selling

_____ says that when demand increases (or decreases) in the consumer market, the business market reacts by accelerating the buildup (or reduction) of inventories and increasing (or decreasing) plant capacity.

The acceleration principle

One way to earn customer trust is _____, or placing as much emphasis on the customer's interests as the salesperson would on their own interests.

a customer orientation

When a salesperson can demonstrate _____ and answer the question, "Will you recommend what is best for me?" they are likely to gain the trust of the prospective customer.

a customer orientation

Callie is a salesperson for a medical device company. She is meeting with a new customer today and is asking questions to discover the customer's unique needs and requirements as well as the customer's strategic priorities. Callie is engaged in _______.

a sales dialogue

When a salesperson meets with a new customer and asks questions to discover the customer's unique needs and requirements as well as the customer's strategic priorities, they are engaged in ____.

a sales dialogue

According to a study examining the status of sales as a true profession, which of the following is an area in which sales needs to improve?

adhering to a uniform ethical code

The advantage of personal selling over most other forms of marketing communications is that personal selling _______.

allows a high degree of immediate customer feedback.

Brandon, a used car salesperson, assures a potential customer that the car they are considering has been fully inspected and does not have any performance issues. He makes a guarantee to the customer that if there are any problems with the car, they can return it without any issues. This is an example of _____.

an express warranty

Ilario works for a company that sells equipment to bakeries. He is working hard to make a sale to a local bakery with 20 locations across the city. He tells the owner his company's donut extruder can produce 100 donuts per minute. The owner is impressed as this is much faster than his current extruder. The owner decides to purchase 20 donut extruders based on the information Ilario has shared. This is an example of ______.

basis of the bargain

Tombe's company often engages in consultative selling with its customers. Tombe's role is that of a _____; they use sources both internal and external to become an expert on the customer's business.

business consultant

One way to gain customer trust is to be honest when speaking. This is called ____.

candor

Having ______ means understanding the strengths and weaknesses of other businesses in the industry.

competitor knowledge

In one selling approach, the salesperson asks a series of questions in an attempt to get the customer to answer "yes" time after time. This approach is called ______.

continued affirmation

Simon knows that ____ is impacted if the salesperson is considered dependable.

customer value

_____ may be defined by a customer in terms of whether the salesperson saves them money or if the salesperson understands their business and industry.

customer value

In the two-factor model of evaluation, features of the product that go beyond the buyer's expectations and have a significant positive impact on customer satisfaction are known as _____.

delighter attributes

Jerome knows that to build trust with his customers he must always do what he says he is going to do. For example, when he tells his customer that he will personally deliver the order to her to ensure that it is installed correctly, he keeps his promise. Jerome is demonstrating ____.

dependability

A(n) _____ is an individual who is low on responsiveness, high on assertiveness and detached from relationships.

driver

Karina just started working at Browning Food Sales. When describing one of her coworkers to her friends she tells them, "Marco tells the best stories. He seems to get along with everyone on our team and always finds someone to go to lunch with. His desk is a mess, and he struggles to be on time to meetings, but he is creative and a risk taker." Marco most likely has a(n) _____ communication style.

expressive

Melanie is creating a worksheet to determine her buyer's needs and benefit-based solutions she can offer. She knows that her buyer needs assurance that her company will deliver and install the equipment within 5 weeks and confidence that the new equipment will increase production by 10 percent. These represent the buyer's _____ needs.

functional

Home Depot is looking to purchase new forklifts to move skids of products within the store. The purchasing manager for Home Depot has determined that the forklifts must be electric, able to lift 8,000 pounds, and have a lift height of 25 feet. These features are considered ____.

functional attributes

At Southwest College, the administrative assistant in the Business and Technology Department screens all calls and mail coming into the department. They determine which calls get forwarded to the department chair and which pieces of mail are distributed to department members. In this case, the administrative assistant acts as a(n) ______.

gatekeeper

When a company utilizes outsourcing, it is ______.

giving to a supplier certain responsibilities that were previously performed by the buying organization

As salespeople work to gain the trust of prospective customers, they must understand that trust has many different dimensions. _______ means fairness and straightforwardness of conduct.

honesty

Tienlon brings value to her company in her role as a salesperson. Because she works for a company that sells highly technical products, she is often the primary source of information for customers anxious to own the latest tech gadget. Tienlon is playing a critical role ____.

in the diffusion of innovation

Aiyana knows that she must identify the members of the buying team in organizations she is trying to sell to. For example, at City Center Hospital, Dr. Mumma is often one to make recommendations and express preferences on the products that would be most useful for the hospital to purchase. Dr. Mumma is likely a(n) _____.

influencer

On a buying team, ______ are individuals within an organization who make recommendations and express preferences.

influencers

In consultative selling, a ______ supports the customer, even when an immediate sale is not expected.

long-term ally

In trust-based relationship selling, a salesperson is required to have all the following skills except _____.

making sales presentations

_____ is information salespeople must have if larger companies break their customers into distinct markets.

market knowledge

A _____ is a purchase decision that occurs when a buyer has experience in purchasing a product in the past but is interested in acquiring additional information regarding alternative products and/or supplies.

modified rebuy decision

Salespeople may create product liabilities for a company if they make a false claim about the product they are trying to sell, known as _____.

negligence

Matt is excited to tell his parents that he has landed his first job after college. He tells them he is going to be working in _____, which is the most important part of marketing communications for most businesses.

personal selling

A type of salesperson who is constantly involved with new products, new customers, or both is called a(n) _____.

pioneer

A salesperson must have ____ in order to quote prices and offer discounts on products.

price knowledge

In _____, the salesperson goes beyond identifying needs and develops alternative solutions for satisfying those needs.

problem-solving selling

Evan is an outside sales representative for an apparel company. Evan is well versed on each brand of apparel his company sells—he knows model numbers, fabric composition, colors, and quality. When visiting customers, he often helps them make purchase decisions with this information. Evan is demonstrating ______.

product knowledge

On sales calls, Tiesha tries to close a sale by telling the customer if they purchase more than 200 units, the shipping is free. In addition, she shows the customer a special holiday sign to hang near the products. Tiesha is demonstrating ______.

promotion knowledge

Salespeople play a critical role in the diffusion of innovation in that they _______.

provide useful information to potential customers

The branch manager at Hertz car rental at the Omaha, Nebraska airport has purchased the branch's car cleaning supplies from the same salesperson for several years. They always purchase the same products in the same quantities every month. The branch manager is likely making a _______.

straight rebuy decision

As an outside sales representative, Kai is constantly in their car visiting customers. Kai is able to use their laptop and access the internet through mobile hotspots. On the laptop, Kai can access their company's customer relationship management program to look up information on each customer. In addition, Kai often emails quotes and invoices from both their phone and laptop while out in the field. Kai is demonstrating _______.

technology knowledge

As the demand for smartphones increases among consumers, the demand for lithium-ion batteries that are used in smartphone production increases. According to ______, you could expect that the business market would react by increasing their inventories of lithium-ion batteries.

the acceleration principle

Maria Lucía is a salesperson for a company that practices trust-based relationship selling. Unlike transaction-focused traditional selling, Maria Lucía must have knowledge about _____.

the customer's products

In the buying process, ____ is based on what the buyer wants.

the desired state

Sonja is the purchasing manager for office supplies at her company. She recognizes that the office is in need of more copy paper. The company usually has three cases and currently has less than one. The difference between the amount of paper the office currently has and what it should have is known as ____.

the needs gap

Business customers tend to stress overall ____ as the cornerstone for purchase decisions.

value

When Dafina visits the office building of a potential customer, she notices the receptionist is reading a novel by Dafina's favorite author. She starts discussing the book with the receptionist in an effort to demonstrate _____ to gain the receptionist's trust.

with likability