Sales Management Exam 1 - Gupta

The first step in determining the minimum customer size on which the sales force should call is to calculate the:

cost per sales call

Which form of sales force organization is expected to increase in popularity the most over the next five years?

customer

The ABC account classification procedure typically considers multiple factors when determining customer value. (T/F)

False

In the selling process, which of the following activities would occur first (before all the others):

determining customer needs

Working with a telemarketing sales force is generally welcomed by the outside sales force. (T/F)

False

A strategic account program is essentially an effort to provide the kinds of services and products necessary to establish a long-term relationship with key customers. (T/F)

True

An example of a functional specialist type sales organization is to have new customer and retention specialists. (T/F)

True

An example of a problem-solution type of selling process is when clients pay EDS to perform an extended study of their information needs before recommending an information system. (T/F)

True

Break-even sales volume is the sales volume necessary to cover all direct selling expenses. (T/F)

True

Compared to less successful salespeople, very successful salespeople are more likely to use referrals from present customers to identify prospects.

True

Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) uses an estimate of a customer's future sales. (T/F)

True

Direct marketing organizations such as Mary Kay Cosmetics and Cutco usually train their salespeople to use a standardized type of sales presentation. (T/F)

True

Executives generally expect more and more sales forces to be organized according to the type of customer. (T/F)

True

If a company's objective is to minimize total sales force costs, then a generalist sales force structure is the best option for organizing your sales force. (T/F)

True

Independent sales agents are almost always compensated by paying a commission on sales. (T/F)

True

It is not uncommon for firms to turn to independent sales agents to develop new markets. (T/F)

True

It is possible for one person to function in the roles of being the user, economic, and technical buyer for a particular purchase. (T/F)

True

It is usually necessary to establish rapport prior to engaging in customer needs analysis. (T/F)

True

Many companies service their small accounts by using telemarketing. (T/F)

True

Many salespeople are reluctant to close — the major reason being fear of rejection. (T/F)

True

One benefit of a customer specialized sales force is that they are able to be very knowledgeable about their clients and the clients' industry. (T/F)

True

One of most serious problems with geographical organizations is that salespeople must sell the entire line, when they may not be equally knowledgeable about all product lines. (T/F)

True

One of the problems with organizing your company's sales force as generalists is that salespeople have a great deal of latitude to decide which products to emphasize. (T/F)

True

Recent advances in technology have created an explosion of new sales and service channels. (T/F)

True

The Economic Buyer controls the money to make a purchase. (T/F)

True

The first stage of the typical purchasing process in organizations is to recognize that a need exists. (T/F)

True

The minimum size customer that a salesperson should call on is closely related to the cost of making a sales call. (T/F)

True

The role of the user buyer is to determine the impact of the purchase on the job in which the product is used. (T/F)

True

Value analysis focuses on the relative costs of providing a necessary function or service. (T/F)

True

When engaging in an enterprise type customer relationship, it is typical for 80% or more of the selling time to focus on needs discovery. (T/F)

True

Which of the following is likely to be associated with a request for proposal (RFP)?

a set of product specifications

A company is considering whether to hire independent agents or develop its own sales force. Agents are paid a 4% commission, alternatively a company sales force would consist of 6 people paid a $25,000 salary each along with a 2% commission. A company sales force is economically viable if sales are forecasted to be:

above $7,500,000.

One common concern by manufacturers who use independent agents is:

agents not devoting enough of their time to selling your product.

J&J Medical has over 100 operating units producing products such as orthopedic implants, pharmaceuticals, and sutures. Based on this information, how is their sales force most likely to be organized?

along product lines

Although portfolio models offer several benefits over single factor models, a problem that still remains is:

the lack of an optimal solution to the allocation of sales calls.

User buyers are most likely to be concerned with which of the following issues?

the operational advantages of the purchase

A viable approach to addressing the problem of customers who are too small to order generate enough sales volume to exceed the break-even sales volume is:

(A, B, & C are correct) to increase prices to these customers, to decrease the number of calls made on these customers, to have brokers call on these customers

Before meeting with a prospect, which of the following may be an important source of information:

(All of the above) the prospect's business facilities, other salespeople, current customers, the internet.

A customer demographic that might be used in building a prospect profile might include

(Only A & B are correct) Geographic location, size of business.

When selling to an economic buying influence such as a chief executive officer, salespeople are likely to do which of the following?

(all of the above) emphasize the contract's financial consequences for the organization, discuss how the deal would improve the firm's competitive position, discuss how corporate wide contracts can reduce costs per unit to the buyer

Typical issues requiring coordination between the sales force and customer service include:

(all of the above) equipment installation, warranty servicing, customer training on equipment.

Written sales proposals have the following advantage:

(all of the above) less chance of misunderstanding because both parties do not have to rely on memory, improve communication to buying or executive committees, durability that allows multiple readings and evaluations.

Written sales proposals should discuss which of the following?

(all of the above) reasons for changing something, the incentives for changing, confirm the confidence to invest in a solution, lay out the solution.

. The advantage of advertising and sales promotion over other elements of the promotion mix is that they involve two-way communication. (T/F)

False

. The purchasing practice of utilizing supplier tiers is becoming a less popular practice. (T/F)

False

A sales response function generally indicates that a salesperson can always increase the sales volume of an account by calling on it more often. (T/F)

False

A simple geographic organization of a sales force generally works best when the product line is fairly broad and complex. (T/F)

False

According to the findings of a study comparing successful with less successful salespeople, successful people will open the selling process by focusing on product benefits. (T/F)

False

Advertising is generally more effective than personal selling in closing the sale. (T/F)

False

As a result of cutting out the middle man to reduce costs and prices, the number of channels through which consumer products can be sold has decreased in recent years. (T/F)

False

In general, the field sales manager's job is limited to sales forecasting and budgeting, training, and motivating sales personnel. (T/F)

False

It is not necessary to calculate the minimum account size when a sale is assured (T/F)

False

Multiple salespeople calling on the same customer is one of the drawbacks to customer specialization type of sales force organization. (T/F)

False

Research has shown that the number of calls required to close a sale is about the same regardless of the type of product or service being sold. (T/F)

False

When a customer views the supplier as a critical to the customer's competitive position, then the supplier would most likely be considered a ___________ supplier?

Partner

Which of the following buying center people is concerned with the product's specs, is focused on the present, is most likely to ask what a product does?"

Technical Buying Influence

A Technical buyer influence's primary focus in the purchasing process is on product or service specifications. (T/F)

True

A excellent way to identify a good sales advocate is to listen for the name of the person that other people in the buying center frequently mention. (T/F)

True

In order for a prospect to be a qualified lead a salesperson must gather information about whether the prospect has:

a genuine need for the product or service, the buying authority to purchase the product or service, the financial resources to purchase the product or service. (Both A,B, and C)

"Who is your current supplier of gaskets?" is an example of a:

fact-finding question

Relatively smaller territories and reduced travel time and expenses are advantages related to which organizational approach?

geographical

"May I ask you a few questions about your current manufacturing processes?" is an example of a:

permission question

In general, which is more effective in "closing" the sale?

personal selling

An advantage of personal selling is not:

reaching a massive number of people quickly.

Some common ways in which telemarketing is used by businesses includes all of the following except:

sales training - answering salespeople's questions about specific products

Most encyclopedia companies have their sales representatives use a prepared flip chart notebook and examples of their books during a sales presentation. Which type of selling method is this?

standardized presentation