MKTG 451 - Ch. 5

John, a salesperson, sells laptop computers. In order to frame selling strategies, John divides all customers into two categories: emotional buyers and rational buyers. In the context of adaptive selling skills, arrange the steps John should take based on the social style training program in the correct order of occurrence.

1. He identifies whether he is emotional or rational 2. He finds out whether his customer is emotional or rational 3. He adjusts his behavior to match that of his customer

Why should salespeople know about their own products and their competitors' products?

As the salespeople are regularly required to compare their products with their competitors' products

In the context of the social styles of salespeople, match the kinds of salespeople (in the left column) with their behavioral characteristics (in the right column).

Drivers --> They are efficient, determined, and decisive. Customers may find them dominating and pushy. Expressives --> They possess enthusiasm, dramatic flair, and creativity. Customers may feel that they are opinionated, undisciplined, and unstable. Analyticals --> They are known to be orderly, serious, and thorough. Customers may view them as cold, calculating, and stuffy. Amiables --> They are found to be dependable, supportive, and personable. Customers may feel that they are undisciplined and inflexible.

True or false: According to purchasing agents, product knowledge is one of the least significant attributes of good salespeople.

False

True or false: Being an analytical is the best social style for a salesperson.

False

True or false: Salespeople who do not adjust their sales presentations are more effective than versatile salespeople.

False

Match the types of feedback salespeople receive from sales managers (in the left column) with the scenarios illustrating them (in the right column).

Performance feedback --> Mark, a sales manager, asks a salesperson, "Did you sell this product to the target customer?" Diagnostic feedback --> Teresa, a sales manager, asks a salesperson, "Can we talk why you were unable to sell this product?"

Samson, a salesperson, sells a new brand of vacuum cleaner. He divides buyers into two categories based on their decision-making style: emotional buyers and rational buyers. In this scenario, match the kinds of buyers (in the left column) with the descriptions about the approach Samson should adopt as a good salesperson (in the right column).

Rational buyers --> Samson should emphasize the financial gains on purchasing the new vacuum cleaner. Emotional buyers --> Samson should be more enthusiastic and involved in visual storytelling.

In the context of adaptive selling skills, identify a salesperson who is more versatile than the others.

Robert, who notices many sides of an issue

Ryan is a salesperson who sells electronics. He sells a product to Melissa, an engineer. In this scenario, what should Ryan do to identify Melissa's social style?

Ryan should refrain from assuming that Melissa must be a driver as she is an engineer.

In the context of the dimensions of social styles, identify a person who is more assertive than others.

Sarah, who makes decisions rapidly

In the context of the types of feedback salespeople receive from sales managers, identify a scenario that best illustrates the concept of diagnostic feedback.

Stephen, a sales manager, shares his knowledge with Rita, a salesperson, about the pros and cons of the selling strategy she chose.

What happens when salespeople classify customer types or types of sales situations?

The complexity of selling decreases.

Ronald, a salesperson, works for an electronics company. During the sales pitch, Ronald presents the selling points in the same order to all customers. In the context of the types of presentations used by salespeople, identify the type of presentation used by Ronald.

The standard memorized presentation

In the context of the categories of social styles, what should salespeople do to influence a driver?

They should utilize a direct, businesslike, organized presentation that has a rapid action and follow-up.

Identify an instance where social computing tools in a firm's intranet, such as in-house blogs, wikis, and Web pages, are significant for salespeople to excel in genius management.

When a salesperson has to tap knowledge from experts within the salesperson's firm

When salespeople respond to different sales situations by altering their sales behaviors, they practice ____ ____.

adaptive selling

In the context of the types of sales presentations, a customized presentation given by a salesperson acts as a crucial step in cultivating a partnering relationship with customers because it _____.

allows the salesperson to show empathy toward the customers

In the context of the dimensions of social styles, the degree to which people have opinions about issues and publicly make their positions clear to others is known as _____.

assertiveness

Sales training methods, such as the social style matrix, that help develop adaptive selling skills are limited because they _____.

categorize customers based on the form of communication

In the context of the categories of social styles, a characteristic of drivers is that they _____.

concentrate on the present and make decisions based on facts

An example of adaptive selling is a type of sales presentation called a(n) _____ as it is based on the specific needs of a customer.

customized presentation

In the context of the types of sales presentations, a written and/or oral presentation given by salespeople based on a detailed analysis of a customer's needs is known as a(n) _____.

customized presentation

In the context of the categories of social styles, people who are high on assertiveness and low on responsiveness are known as _____.

drivers

In the context of the types of sales presentations, a reason why an outlined presentation given by salespeople can be very constructive is that it is _____.

efficiently organized

Sales training methods, such as the social style matrix, that help develop adaptive selling skills emphasize the need to _____.

encourage salespeople to base their sales presentations on customer analysis

Annie is a person who has no concern for practical aspects in present situations. She bases her decisions on her personal opinions and others' opinions. She acts rapidly and takes risks. She is impatient and changes her mind easily. In this scenario, according to the categories of social styles, Annie is likely to be categorized as a(n) _____.

expressive

Deborah, a salesperson, sells cosmetic products. In order to identify a customer's social style, Deborah should _____.

focus on the customer's behavior and ignore how she feels about the behavior

A salesperson should be good at genius management. It means that he or she should _____.

go beyond dealing with documents to gain knowledge from experts within his or her firm

Daniel, a salesperson, categorizes Sean, a customer, as an expressive based on the categories of social styles. In this scenario, the categorization by Daniel means that Sean is _____.

high on assertiveness and high on responsiveness

In the context of the categories of social styles, in order to influence a driver, a salesperson should _____.

make proposals that stress the impact of a purchase decision on profits

In the context of the types of presentations used by salespeople, a feature of the standard memorized presentation is that it _____.

makes sure that a salesperson provides complete, precise information about a company's products and policies

In the context of the types of sales presentations, a prearranged presentation involving a standard introduction, standard answers to common objections raised by customers, and a standard method for getting a customer to place an order is known as a(n) _____.

outlined presentation

In the context of the social style training program, the process of altering one's behavior to match or mirror that of his or her customer is known as ____ ____.

style flexing