MKT 410 Exam 1
How are companies dealing with sales ethics?
- Buyers are not allowed to accept gifts from salespeople - Companies spend a lot of time covering ethics in their training programs - Expense account handling is a slippery slope, salespeople should be trained in how to fill out the expense account form and what is acceptable for submission - Buyer can initiate unethical behavior - Sales people must be familiar with legal systems
Which of the following is unethical behavior on the part of a salesperson?
- Exaggerating product benefits - Making up an answer to a question for which he doesn't really know - Withholding relevant information from the customer
Sales Objectives
- Generate buyer involvement - Provoke thinking - Gather information - Clarification and emphasis - Show Interest - Gain confirmation - Advance the sale
Regarding five critical variables that help a salesperson earn a buyer's trust, which of the following statements is consistent with information that appears in Ingram et al.'s SELL 5?
- Having a customer orientation means working to satisfy the long-term needs of customers (rather than your own short-term goals) - Never promising what you can't deliver is part of developing a track record of dependability
Problem-Solving approach to selling
- It can take a lot of time - To use it successfully, salespeople must be able to get the buyer to agree that a problem exists
Terrell Burrell has been hired as a sales trainee by a Fortune 500 company. Tomorrow Terrell will travel to a large East Coast city to attend sales training. Terrell and his classmates will spend eight hours a day, five days a week, and a total of four weeks in the classroom at the company school. According to Ingram and his co-authors, what type of knowledge should Terrell expect to gain during his training?
- Knowledge about selling techniques - Knowledge about the company's pricing policies - Knowledge about the history of his company, as well as knowledge of the history of the industry in which the company competes
Ingram and his co-authors make the point that business buyers are usually trained professional purchasing agents. What is true of the buying needs that these individuals?
- They may have any combination of individual needs, including functional, situational, psychological, knowledge and social needs - They must satisfy not only their own individual needs, but also the needs of the organization that employs them
The salesperson who knows that "pictures enhance understanding and are more easily recalled than abstract words" also understands that __________.
- compared to abstract words, concrete expressions are less likely to be misunderstood - visual aids enhance the buyer's recall - the spoken message should be worded so that it generates a mental picture in the buyer's mind
If Terrell Burrell's sales training includes instruction in sales ethics, which of the following topics is likely to be covered?
- dealing with a prospect's unethical demands - proper use of expense accounts - appropriateness of gift giving
According to Ingram and his co-author, a strong listener
- resists distractions and knows how to concentrate - listens for central themes, rather than facts - interprets the speaker's emotionally loaded words, but does not get hung up on them
It is important for salespeople to have a complete understanding of their companies' pricing policies because
- that way, they know whether they can legitimately offer a discount - they are often responsible for negotiating price with their customers - they can legally obligate the company to a quoted price
Compared to consumers, business buyers
- usually buy larger quantities - are fewer in number - experience larger fluctuations in demand
Examples of unethical sales behaviors
1. Shows concern for their own interest, not the clients'. 2. Pass the blame for something they did wrong. 3. Take advantage of the poor or uneducated. 4. Accept favors from customers so the seller feels obliged to bend policies. 5. Sell products/services that people do not need. 6. Give answers when they do not really know if they are correct or not. 7. Pose as market researcher when doing phone sales. 8. Sell dangerous or hazardous products. 9. Withhold information. 10. Exaggerate benefits of product. 11. Lie about availability to make sale. 12. Lie about competitors. 13. Falsify product testimonials.
"People [whose jobs are not in the sales category] are now spending about ____ percent of their time at work engaged in __________—persuading, influencing, and convincing others in ways that don't involve anyone making a purchase. Across a range of professions, we are devoting roughly _____ minutes of every hour to moving others."
40; non-sales selling; 24
Trust-based relationship selling
A form of personal selling requiring that salespeople earn customer trust and that their selling strategy meets customer needs and contributes to the creation, communication, and delivery of customer value
Nash Ashe is sole proprietor of a trucking company, "Haulin' Ashe." Haulin' Ashe's vehicle fleet consists of a 1996 Peterbilt model 379 day cab tractor, a Rhodes dump trailer, and a Wilson livestock trailer. Over the course of the past year, Nash's tractor has become increasingly unreliable, and he believes that if he doesn't replace it soon, he will end up spending much more than it is worth to keep it running. Nash has decided to replace his model 379 with another Peterbilt. Of course, he will buy a newer cab—maybe a 2009 or 2010 model—and he will probably treat himself to a few creature comforts that his current truck doesn't have, such as a sleeper so he can make longer hauls. And, since his new bride hates the color of his current truck, he'll be looking for something in a different color, as well. The authors of your textbook would categorize Nash's purchase of a new truck as which type of purchasing decision?
A modified rebuy
Straight Rebuy
A purchase decision resulting from an ongoing purchasing relationship with a supplier.
Modified Rebuy Purchase
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 suppliers.
New Task Buying
A purchase decision that occurs when a buyer is purchasing a product or service for the first time
Which of the following is one of the differences between transaction-focused traditional selling and trust-based relationship selling?
A transaction-focused traditional salesperson makes calls and closes sales. A trust-based relationship-oriented salesperson is a business consultant and long-term ally for his or her customers.
Ingram and his co-authors define __________ as a questioning system that uses "logical sequencing—a sort of funneling effect—that begins with broad-based, nonthreatening, general questions."
ADAPT & SPIN
In mental states selling, the salesperson tries to guide the buyer through the AIDA states. AIDA is an acronym for attention, interest, desire, and __________.
Action
Overcome buyer resistance and make the sale
Action
One of the five stages of questions in the ADAPT questioning system used to "activate" the customer's interest in solving discovered problems by helping him or her gain insight into the true ramifications of the problem and to realize that what might initially seem to be of little consequence is, in fact, of significant consequence.
Activation Questions
To define __________, Ingram and his co-authors quote Castleman and Shepherd (1999): "The cognitive process of actively sensing, interpreting, evaluating, and responding to the verbal and nonverbal messages of current or potential customers."
Active listening
A buyers actual state of being
Actual State
Individuals who are high on responsiveness, low on assertiveness, prefer to belong to groups, and are interested in others. Relationship Oriented Slow Paced
Amiables
Need Satisfaction Selling
An approach to selling based on the notion that the customer is buying to satisfy a particular need or set of needs
Stimulus Response Selling
An approach to selling where the key idea is that various stimuli can elicit predictable responses from customers. Salespeople furnish the stimuli from a repertoire of words and actions designed to produce the desired response.
Jamie Ramey is a salesperson who is employed by Colegate-Palmolive. The Rite Aid store chain is one of Jamie's customers. Senior buyer Charles Quarles is Jamie's primary contact at Rite Aid headquarters. Jamie has observed that Charles is extremely detail oriented, avoids taking risks, and is slow and deliberate in making decisions. Charles is also inflexible regarding time--Jamie has learned never to be late to an appointment with him. On the Communication Styles Matrix, Charles is probably a(n) __________.
Analytical
Individuals who are low on responsiveness and assertiveness, analytical and meticulous, and disciplined in everything they do. Task oriented Slow paced
Analyticals
With regard to communication styles, which of the following statements is consistent with the information that appears in SELL 5?
Analyticals' most important need is their need to be right
Communication Styles
Assertive, Responsiveness, Amiables, Expressives, Drivers, Analyticals
The degree to which a person holds opinions about issues and attempts to dominate or control situations by directing the thoughts and actions of others.
Assertiveness
Owen Bowen, a salesperson, asks the general manager of a supermarket, "What percentage of your shoppers would you say bring their own reusable shopping bags into the store with them?" Owen has asked a(n) __________ question.
Assessment
One of the five stages of questions in the ADAPT questioning system that do not seek conclusions but rather should address the buyer's company and operations, goals and objectives, market trends and customers, current suppliers, and even the buyer as an individual
Assessment Questions
ADAPT
Assessment, Discovery, Activation, Projection, Transition
Build rapport with the prospect, ask questions to generate excitement for the sales offering
Attention
AIDA
Attention, interest, desire, action
Mental states (formula) selling is commonly referred to as AIDA
Attention, interest, desire, action
A market composed of firms, institutions, and governments who acquire goods and services to use as inputs into their own manufacturing process, for use in their day-to-day operations, or for resale to their own customers.
Business Market
Caveat Emptor is another term for
Buyer beware
_______________ define trust with terms as openness, dependability, candor, honesty, confidentiality, security, reliability, fairness and predictability
Buyers
Teams of individuals in organizations that incorporate the expertise and multiple buying influences of people from different departments throughout the organization.
Buying Team
In a word of information symmetry, the guiding principle is ____________________________
Caveat Emptor
A sales job in which the salesperson performs multiple types of sales jobs within the framework of a single position.
Combination sales job
In SELL 5, Tom Ingram and his co-authors describe five critical variables that help a salesperson earn a buyer's trust. When the authors state, "Customers generally like to deal with sales representatives they know, they like, and with whom they feel a bond," they are speaking specifically of which of these variables?
Compatibility/Likeability
In order to be able to deliver complete comparative product information in a sales presentation, a salesperson must possess
Competitor knowledge
Unlike other selling approaches that are described in your textbook, __________ focuses on helping customers achieve their strategic goals.
Consultative
The process of helping customers reach their strategic goals by using the products, services and expertise of the sales organization
Consultative selling
A market in which consumers purchase goods and services for their use or consumption.
Consumer market
Hope Swope works as a salesperson for a company that provides "activity- and nutrition-based employee wellness programs" to medium-sized businesses. When contacting a potential client, she often talks to several people before she locates someone who can make an authoritative "yes" or "no" pronouncement regarding the purchase of such a program. Hope is having trouble identifying the ___________.
Decider
Individuals within an organization who have the ultimate responsibility of determining which product or service will be purchased.
Deciders
Build a sense of urgency; demonstrate the product; persuade the buyer to try the product
Desire
The state in which the buyer desires to be in
Desired state
A category of sales support personnel in the pharmaceutical industry working at the physician level to furnish information regarding the capabilities and limitations of medications in an attempt to get the physician to prescribe their product.
Detailer
Who are the most numerous type of salespeople?
Direct-to-consumer
One of the five stages of questions in the ADAPT questioning system that follows up on the assessment questions; they should drill down and probe for further details needed to develop, clarify, and understand the nature of the buyer's problems fully.
Discovery Questions
Individuals who are low on responsiveness, high on assertiveness and detached from relationships. Task Oriented Fast Paced
Drivers
The fastest-growing industries around the world are educational services and health care—a sector I call "Ed-Med." Jobs in these areas are all about moving people.
Ed-Med
One reason "we're all in sales now" is that the __________ industry and the __________ industry, when combined, form the largest job sector in the U.S. economy. Pink justifies viewing these two industries as similar to each other because "we often associate [both] with caring, helping, and other softer virtues." He goes on to say that in either industry, "to sell well is to convince someone to part with resources—not to deprive that person, but to leave him better off in the end." Pink gives this combined industry the name __________.
Education; health services; ed-med
Pink gives three reasons why "we're all in selling now." He goes on to say that one of these reasons is that a typical employee has to play more roles today than in the past. That is to say, employees are expected to perform tasks within their area of specialty and tasks that have traditionally been part of other jobs. Pink refers to this increased variety of duties and skills as __________.
Elasticity
Whether we work for ourselves or for a large organization, instead of doing only one thing, most of us are finding that our skills on the job must now stretch across boundaries.
Elasticity
One reason "we're all in sales now," according to Pink, is a recent large increase in the number of small enterprises. Pink quotes a statistic obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau: ". . . the American economy has more than __________ 'non-employer' businesses—operations without any paid employees." Pink contends that businesses of this type are a majority. In a one-person company, the owner does all of the jobs, including selling. Therefore, __________ is one of the three reasons "we're all in sales now."
Entrepreneurship
The very technologies that were supposed to obliterate salespeople have lowered the barriers to entry for small entrepreneurs and turned more of us into sellers.
Entrepreneurship
Which of the following statements is most accurate with respect to sales and ethics?
Ethical standards for salespeople are usually based on society's standards
In SELL 5, the word __________ is defined as the right and wrong conduct of individuals and the institutions of which they are a part.
Ethics
The right and wrong conduct of individuals and institutions of which they are a part
Ethics
Critical variables that help a salesperson earn a buyers trust
Expertise, dependability, candor, customer orientation, compatibility/likability
Individuals who are high on both responsiveness and assertiveness, are animated, communicative and value building close relationships with others. Relationship oriented Fast Paced
Expressives
"If the nation's salespeople lived in a single state, that state would be the _____-largest in the United States."
Fifth
Salespeople minimize possible negative effects stemming from mismatched styles, when this happens they can
Flex their own style
The need for a specific core task or function to be performed
Functional Needs
Waylon Van Halen sells security solutions for IBM. This month, Waylon is trying to make a major sale to Electronic Arts Inc. Waylon knows that the decider at EA is the chief technology officer, Bud Mudd. Sales professional that he is, Waylon also knows that he has to be on the good side of Mr. Mudd's executive assistant, Sybil Tribble. If Ms. Tribble is not fond of Waylon, she will schedule him to see her boss at the worst of times (8:30 Monday morning). Ms. Tribble also reads Mr. Mudd's mail and decides which items are important enough for him to see. Waylon suspects that Ms. Tribble is even capable of lying about the availability of her boss if she doesn't want a particular salesperson showing up at the office. Waylon (again being the professional that he is) has made a point of learning the names of Ms. Tribble's three grandchildren, whose pictures are on her desk, and he always makes a point of asking about them any time he calls on the phone or visits in person. He has also been known to bring flowers or chocolate to Ms. Tribble. For now, Waylon is definitely on her good side, and she is happy to honor his requests for appointments to see her boss. From the information, we can conclude that Ms. Tribble plays which of the following buying team roles?
Gatekeeper
Members of an organization who are in the position to control the flow of information to and between vendors and other buying center members.
Gatekeepers
Encourage buyers to talk
Give subtle and positive feedback to encourage ow of information; utilize questions to keep buyer on track and probe for details
Yuri Curry, a salesperson, says to the manager of a bookstore, "It sounds like the popularity of e-readers and tablets is costing you a lot of money in lost paperback sales. About how much per month would you say you're losing?" Yuri has asked a(n) __________ question.
Implication
Britney Whitney, an IT engineer, is considered a computer technology expert. Because of her expertise, Britney is often asked to serve as a member of the buying team when her company is making computer purchases. Which of the following buying team roles is Britney most likely to be filling?
Influencer
Individuals within an organization who guide the decision process by making recommendations and expressing preferences.
Influencers
Individuals within an organization who identify a need
Initiators
Nonretail salespeople who remain in their employer's place of business while dealing with customers.
Inside sales
Discover buyer needs; uncover purchase decision process; gain pre commitment to consider purchase of seller's product
Interest
The desire for personal development, information, and knowledge to increase thought and understanding as to how and why things happen.
Knowledge needs
Make no assumptions
Let buyers competitively finish their thoughts; ask questions to clarify when needed
Pay Attention
Listen to understand, not to reply; resist the urge to interrupt
Monitor Nonverbals
Make effective eye contact and check to see if body language matches what is said
Ingram and his co-authors break effective listening down to six primary facets. Which of these facets do the authors explain by stating, "Ask questions to clarify the meaning of what the buyer is communicating"?
Make no assumptions
A category of sales support personnel who are not typically involved in the direct solicitation of purchase orders. Their primary roles are disseminating information, stimulating the sales effort to convert prospects into customers, and reinforcing customer relationships.
Missionary Salespeople
When Dan Pink conducted the What Do You Do at Work? survey, he asked his 9,057 respondents the question, "When you think of 'sales' or 'selling,' what's the first thing that comes to mind?" The most common answer was "__________".
Money
Perceived difference between a buyer's desired and actual state of being
Needs gap
Generated for the selling firm by adding new customers or introducing new products to the marketplace.
New Business
In To Sell Is Human, author Dan Pink cites a statistic that was provided by the U. S. Department of Labor: One out of every _____ American workers works in sales.
Nine
We're persuading, convincing, and influencing others to give up something they've got in exchange for what we've got.
Non-sales selling
With which of the following statements would author Dan Pink likely agree?
None of the above - If you weren't born with sales talent, you can't become a successful sales person - The sales profession is by its very nature deceitful - Intelligent young people become engineers and attorneys; those with lower IQ's are attached to the sales profession
Implication Questions
One of the four types of questions in the SPIN questioning system that follows and relates to the information flowing from problem questions; they are used to assist the buyer in thinking about the potential consequences of the problem and understanding the urgency of resolving the problem in a way that motivates him or her to seek a solution.
Problem Questions
One of the four types of questions in the SPIN questioning system that follows the more general situation questions to further probe for specific difficulties, developing problems, and areas of dissatisfaction that might be positively addressed by the salesperson's proposed sales offering.
Need-Payoff Questions
One of the four types of questions in the SPIN questioning system that is based on the implications of a problem; they are used to propose a solution and develop commitment from the buyer.
Situation Questions
One of the four types of questions in the SPIN questioning system used early in the sales call that provides salespeople with leads to develop the buyer's needs and expectations fully.
Also called hunters, these salespeople actively seek orders, usually in a highly competitive environment
Order-Getters
Also called farmers, these salespeople specialize in maintaining current business.
Order-takers
Six Facets of Effective Listening
Pay attention, monitor non-verbals, paraphrase and repeat, make no assumptions, encourage the buyer to talk, visualize
An important part of marketing that relies heavily on interpersonal interactions between buyers and sellers to initiate, develop, and enhance customer relationships
Personal selling
Salespeople who are constantly involved with either new products, new customers, or both. Their task requires creative selling and the ability to counter the resistance to change that will likely be present in prospective customers.
Pioneers
2 types of new business salespeople
Pioneers and Order-getters
A salesperson who uses the __________ approach to selling must be prepared to engage in a highly adaptive style of selling.
Problem-solving
An extension of need satisfaction selling that goes beyond identifying needs to developing alternative solutions for satisfying these needs
Problem-solving selling
Stages of the buying process
Problem/need recognition Determination of the characteristics of the item and quantity needed Description of the characteristics of the item and quantity needed Search for and qualification of potential sources Acquisition and analysis of proposals Evaluation of proposals and selection of suppliers Selection of order routine Performance feedback and evaluation
One of the five stages of questions in the ADAPT questioning system used to encourage and facilitate the buyer in "projecting" what it would be like without the problems that have been previously "discovered" and "activated."
Projection Questions
Suppose you're working as a salesperson, and one of your prospects tells you she is interested in your product because your company offers a long warranty and a generous return policy. Which type of need is the buyer expressing?
Psychological
The desire for feelings of assurance and risk reduction, as well as positive emotions and feelings such as success, joy, excitement, and stimulation.
Psychological needs
Organizational members who negotiate final terms of the purchase and execute the actual purchase.
Purchasers
When Dan Pink conducted the What Do You Do at Work? survey, he asked his 9,057 respondents the question, "When you think of 'sales' or 'selling,' what's the first thing that comes to mind?" The fourth most common answer—and the most common adjective—was "__________."
Pushy
Paraphrase and repeat
Repeating buyers' concerns back to them confirms your understanding
The level of feelings and sociability an individual openly displays
Responsiveness
Personnel are not usually involved in the direct solicitation of purchase orders. Rather, their primary responsibility is dissemination of information and performance of other activities designed to stimulate sales. They
Sales Support
__________ refers to a series of conversations between buyers and sellers that take place over time. It is part of trust-based relationship-oriented salespeople's attempt to build relationships.
Sales dialogue
A series of interrelated steps beginning with locating qualified prospective customers. From there, the salesperson plans the sales presentation, makes an appointment to see a customer, completes the sale and performs post sale activities
Sales process
In a world of information parity, the new guiding principle is caveat venditor or ___________________________
Seller beware
Jewel Newell sells office management systems to law offices. Today, she is in the office of Norman D. Cormandy, Attorney at Law, LLC. Jewel asks, "Mr. Cormandy, about how much of your paralegal work is done by your in-house paralegals, and how much of it is outsourced?" Jewel has asked a(n) __________ question.
Situation
The needs that are contingent on, and often a result of, conditions related to the specific environment, time, and place.
Situational Needs
Need for acceptance from and association with others - desire to belong to a reference group
Social Needs
Jared Sherrod is trying to sell his company's product to Kylie Reilly. Jared asks Kylie a series of questions, expecting a "yes" in response to each. Jared believes that if Kylie says "yes" enough times, she'll also say "yes" when he tries to close the sale by asking her to buy. Jared appears to be using the __________ sales approach.
Stimulus-response
Technical specialists who may assist in the design and specification process, installation of equipment, training of customer's employees, and follow-up technical service.
Technical support salespeople
As a systems engineer at Lexmark, Selena Molina is part of a sales team. Selena's job description calls for her to help the lead salesperson (her teammate) identify the proper software solutions for customers, as well as to help implement the software at customers' locations. This often involves training customers' employees in the use of the newly-installed software, as well as frequent troubleshooting and occasional custom programming. When Selena applied for this position, Lexmark was only interested in interviewing candidates who possessed "Working knowledge of multiple server operating systems including Windows 2003/2008, XP, Vista, Windows 7/8/10, Citrix, Mac, UNIX, AS/400, Mainframe, and mid-range systems." Ingram and his co-authors would classify Selena as a(n) __________.
Technical support salesperson
Adaptive Selling
The ability of salespeople to alter their sales messages and behaviors during a sales presentation or as they encounter different sales situations and different customers
Primary focus of transaction-focused traditional selling
The salesperson and the selling firm
Visualize
Think about and visualize what the buyer is saying in order to maximize your attention and understanding
Brian Ryan, a salesperson, asks the production manager at a factory, "If I could show you a way to reduce your maintenance costs by twenty percent and be prepared to meet the new EPA standards that go into effect six months from now, would you be interested?" Brian has asked a(n) __________ question.
Transition
One of the five stages of questions in the ADAPT questioning system used to smooth the transition from needs discovery into the presentation and demonstration of the proposed solution's features and benefits.
Transition Questions
This type of selling focuses on solving customer problems, providing opportunities and adding value to the customer's business over an extended period
Trust-based relationship selling
__________ focuses on solving customer problems, providing opportunities, and adding value to the customer's business over a long period of time.
Trust-based relationship selling
Talking with rather than at the customer. A collaborative and two-way form of communication that allows buyers and sellers to develop a better understanding of the need situation and work together to co-create the best response for resolving the customer's needs.
Trust-based sales communication
Individuals within an organization who will actually use the product being purchased
Users
What is an example of an order getter job?
Whayne Supply Company rep selling Caterpillar earth-moving equipment to mine operators in eastern Kentucky and southern West Virginia
Harley Farley has been selling vacuum cleaners door to door for the past seven years. Recently he took a new job selling industrial cleaning equipment to large factories and institutions. Harley was assigned a territory that contained 35 accounts with which his company has been doing business for several years. Harley is having trouble adjusting from his role as a traditional salesperson to his role as a relational salesperson. Which of the following best reflects a key difference between traditional selling and relational selling that may be causing Harley some adjustment trouble?
With his new job, Harley has to build and maintain long term relationships
Mental states selling/formula selling
an approach to personal selling that assume that the buying process for most buyers is essentially identical and that buyers can be led through certain mental states, or steps, in the buying process
Sales dialogue
business conversations between buyers and sellers that occur as salespeople attempt to initiate, develop, and enhance customer relationships. Should be customer-focused and have a clear purpose
In a business or organizational purchase, the customer's buying team
consists of all members of the organization who become involved in the buying process for a particular product or service.
Role of sales person in a transaction-focused traditional selling style
make calls and close sales
Ingram and his co-authors use the SPIN acronym to refer to
the types of questions used in the multiple-question approach: situation, problem, implication, need-payoff