Sales Management Chapter 6
Which of the following individuals is most likely to have a boundary position in a company that manufactures modular homes?
A person who sells the modular homes in the field
Which of the following statements about skills as a component of the model of sales performance is true?
A skill is a learned proficiency at performing a task
Because salespeople occupy boundary positions they face the potential of demands from:
All of the above
Petra is trying to increase the sense of job satisfaction among her salespeople. She will likely consider which of the following dimensions of job satisfaction?
All of the above
The sales representatives for Latoka Industries, a manufacturer of security systems for schools, warehouses, government buildings and other industrial and institutional markets, has been told they will now have to sell a newly designed security system to consumers. (Note the sales force was not given any training on how to sell to the consumer market.) Which of the following statements describes a likely problem for the Latoka sales force?
All of the above
Which of the following organizational citizenship behaviors is exemplified by mentoring younger salespeople?
Altruism
The Army recruiter is trying to sell the recent high school graduate on a career in the military. With the phrase, ""Be all that you can be,"" the recruiter is using _____ as a recruitment tool.
An intrinsic reward
Sales managers can reduce the amount of role ambiguity and conflict the sales force experiences by:
Any or all of the above
Which of the following statements about the aptitude component of the model of sales performance is true?
Aptitude includes verbal intelligence, mathematical ability and sales expertise
Researchers measuring aptitude have learned that:
Aptitude is very task-specific
Role expectations:
Are accurately described by none of the above
When handling highly technical or engineered products or when encountering non-routine problems or prospecting for new accounts, it is important that the sales representative have the ability to:
Be innovative, creative and flexible
Which of the following statements about the components of role perceptions is true?
Business to business salespeople are particularly vulnerable to role inaccuracy, conflict and ambiguity
The sales performance model suggests that personal, organizational and environmental variables influence sales performance directly and:
By influencing other performance determinants such as role perceptions and motivation
Research suggests that a certain degree of role conflict and ambiguity:
Can be beneficial to the customer and the organization
Which of the following organizational citizenship behaviors is a proactive behavior that includes making recommendations to management that will improve the overall performance of the organization?
Civic virtue
What does it mean in sales management to say ""close supervision can be a two-edged sword?""
Close supervision can reduce ambiguity; sales people know what is expected. Close supervision can also lead to role conflict and job dissatisfaction if the sales person thinks their latitude for dealing with customers and creativity are stifled by sales managers.
A salesperson's role is:
Defined as the activities and behaviors performed by any individual occupying the sales position
Regina is highly motivated, willing to expend significant ___________ on each activity or task.
Effort
In sales motivation, what are expectancies and valences?
Expectancies are the salesperson's estimates of the probability that expending effort on a specific task will lead to improved performance on some specific dimension. Valences are the salesperson's perceptions of the desirability of attaining improved performance on some dimension.
What are the relationships among sales expectations, valences for performance, instrumentalities and valences for rewards?
Expectancies are the salesperson's estimates of the probability that expending effort on a specific task will lead to improved performance. Valences for performance are the salesperson's perception of the desirability of attaining that improved performance. Instrumentalities are the salesperson's estimate that of whether the improved performance will lead to particular rewards. Valences for rewards are the salesperson's perception of the desirability of such rewards.
Bill Jason overheard a salesperson ask, ""If I put more effort into my job, will I increase my performance?"" In terms of motivation, this question deals with:
Expectancy
Which of the following statements about rewards is true?
Extrinsic rewards include pay and promotion
Describe examples of organizational and personal variables that influence sales performance?
Factors such as advertising, market share and sales territory design are all organizational factors influencing sales performance. Personal variables including job experience, closeness of supervision, feedback, salesperson influence in determining standards and span of control all influence performance.
Use examples to describe the seven dimensions to sales job satisfaction.
Fellow workers—teamwork, friendship, trust; Supervision—tact, problem-solving, presenting new ideas; Company policies and support—benefits, training, positive and progressive; Pay—is competitive, provides incentives; Promotion and advancement—opportunities exist, regular promotions occur; Customers—they are fair, respect my judgment.
Which of the following statements about role accuracy is true?
General role inaccuracy can occur at almost any job dimension that also gives rise to role ambiguity and conflict
Which of the following is NOT one of the basic factors influencing a worker's job performance?
Government
Close supervision of the sales force by the sales manager has been referred to as a two-edged sword because it:
Helps reduce role inaccuracy while increasing role ambiguity
With increased use of remote offices, research indicates salespeople perceive:
Increased role stress
How have website sales affected traditional salespeople?
Initially, it created role conflict because salespeople traditionally see themselves as interacting face-to-face with customers, but as salespeople utilize website communications for problem-solving and direct communication, it is becoming an integrated part of sales activities.
The valence for the performance of a person in sales is a function of:
Instrumentality and valence for rewards
Describe examples of intrinsic rewards.
Intrinsic rewards include feelings of accomplishment, personal growth and self-worth.
In small doses, role conflict and ambiguity provide the salesperson and the organization with some stress. This stress:
Is a healthy situation since low levels of stress lead to adaptation and change
Perceived role inaccuracy is distinguishable from the other role perception variables by the fact that it:
Is largely an unrealized perception
The job itself, fellow workers, supervision, company policies, pay, promotion and advancement opportunities and customers are all dimensions of:
Job satisfaction
In which of the following examples will the salesperson described be most vulnerable to role inaccuracy, conflict and ambiguity?
Karen Rankin sells management consulting to businesses that want to set up an Internet retailing site
Yolanda has a quarterly gathering of her salespeople, giving out awards, announcing promotions and describing the incentives offered for the next quarter. Yolanda is appealing to salespeople's
Low-order needs
Skill levels include all of the following EXCEPT:
Motivation
Which of the following statements about the salesperson's perception of his or her role in the organization is true?
Occupants of innovative roles frequently face situations where they have no standard procedures or past experiences to guide them
Which of the following statements about how personal, organizational and environmental variables relate to the model of sales performance is true?
Overall, many questions concerning how personal, organizational and environmental variables affect sales performance remain unanswered
What is the difference between perceived role conflict and perceived role ambiguity?
Perceived role conflict arises when a salesperson believes the role demands of two or more of his or her role partners are incompatible. Role ambiguity occurs when salespeople believe they do not have the information necessary to perform a job adequately.
General role inaccuracy:
Produces consequences similar to those caused by role conflict and ambiguity
The expectations associated with organizational citizenship behaviors are consistent with
Relationship selling
An office equipment salesperson is uncertain about whether he is satisfying his customers' needs for follow-up service even though he is sacrificing his selling time to potential customers to service his current customers' equipment. He is most likely experiencing:
Role ambiguity
There is a level of hostility below which _____ may be benign but above which it will be malign.
Role ambiguity and perception
Al Greer has been told by his sales manager that he can no longer offer his customers two-day delivery on the home decorating items he sells. Greer's biggest customer demands two-day delivery or else she will take her business to another company that handles similar merchandise. Since Greer works on a commission and earns no salary, he is likely to experience:
Role conflict
Roger, a sales rep for an office furniture company is not sure whether he should be spending time showing customers how to assemble the furniture. Roger is experiencing a __________ concern.
Role expectancy
After talking with his manager, a salesperson thought he was supposed to be spending about 20 percent of his time prospecting and qualifying new customers. The manager actually wants him to spend 50 percent of his time on finding new customers. The salesperson is experiencing:
Role inaccuracy
Which of the following statements about the salesperson's role in the organization is true?
Role is defined by the expectations and demands communicated by members of one's own role set, by the personal perceptions of those expectations and demands, and finally by the personal behavior of the individual
Kerry knows a salesperson's role is defined through a three-step process. The three-step process, in the order they occur is:
Role partners communicate expectations, salespeople develop perceptions and salespeople convert perceptions into behaviors
What are the determinants of a salesperson's performance?
Role perceptions, aptitude, skill level, motivation level and personal, organizational and environmental variables.
What does having a ""boundary"" position mean in sales?
Salespeople often interact with a variety of different people both within and outside the organization. As such, they operate on the boundary of the organization and often have more role conflict than other organization members.
Which of the following statements is NOT true?
Salespeople's past experience does not influence skill level
Sara Davis believes that she could easily improve her selling performance by working a bit harder, but she also thinks that management would not reward her more for any performance improvement. Which of the following statements describes Davis?
She has high expectancy and low instrumentality
What is meant by a salesperson's skill level?
Skill level refers to the individual's learned proficiency including interpersonal skills, leadership, technical knowledge and presentation skills.
Describe examples of extrinsic rewards used in sales management.
Some examples of extrinsic or external rewards include pay, financial incentives, security, recognition and promotion.
Describe the four types of behavior associated with organizational citizenship.
Sportsmanship—an enthusiasm to endure sub optimal conditions without complaining. Civic virtue—a proactive behavior including making recommendations to improve overall performance of the organization. Conscientiousness—the willingness to work beyond the normal expectations. Altruism—helping others in the organization.
With increasing complexity in relationships between companies and customers, many sales organizations are using more:
Team selling
Mallory frequently hears her salespeople comment that their work is not very exciting. Which of the following dimensions of job satisfaction will she hopefully assess and attempt to change?
The job itself
Which of the following is a dimension of intrinsic job satisfaction?
The job itself
All of the following are examples of organizational variables that would influence sales performance EXCEPT:
The number of competitors in a territory
What are the possible psychological consequences of role accuracy, ambiguity and conflict?
The possible psychological consequences include changes in intrinsic satisfaction, extrinsic satisfaction and mental anxiety.
The salesperson's role is particularly susceptible to problems with role perception because:
The salesperson has a large number of people he or she must satisfy
What are the three steps in the process of defining a salesperson's role?
The three-step process includes role partners communicate expectations, salespeople develop perceptions and salespeople convert perceptions into behaviors, defines a salesperson's.
Nicole wants to win the trip to Hawaii being offered to the top salesperson this month. Nicole has a high:
Valence for rewards
Which of the following statements BEST describes the relationship between supervision and role conflict and ambiguity?
When sales managers structure and define the salesperson's role, he or she seems to experience more conflict