Chapter 16



Chapter 13

Communicating Customer Value: Personal Selling and

Direct Marketing

GENERAL CONTENT: Multiple-Choice Questions

1. These employees are well-educated, well-trained professionals who work to build and maintain long-term customer relationships by listening to their customers, assessing customer needs, and organizing the company’s efforts to solve customer problems. Who are these employees?

a. Managers.

b. Missionary salespeople.

c. Salespeople.

d. Sales managers.

e. All of the above.

(Answer: e; 401; Moderate)

2. Which of the following communication and promotion tools involve direct connections with customers aimed toward building customer-unique value and lasting relationships?

a. Personal selling.

b. Direct marketing.

c. E-commerce.

d. Publicity.

e. A and B.

(Answer: e; p. 401; Moderate)

3. Johnson Fabric Company has four selling positions for employees. One of them is not really an actual selling position. Which is it?

a. Order taker.

b. Missionary salesperson.

c. Order getter.

d. Creative selling.

e. B and D

(Answer: e; p. 402; Moderate)

4. A _____ is an individual acting for a company by performing one or more of the following activities: prospecting, communicating, servicing, and information gathering.

a. sales manager

b. sales executive

c. sales support person

d. salesperson

e. none of the above

(Answer: d; p. 402; Easy)

5. _____ involves two-way, personal communication between salespeople and individual customers—whether face-to-face, by telephone, through video or Web conferences, or by other means.

a. Advertising

b. Persuasive selling

c. Personal selling

d. Integrated marketing communication

e. A and B

(Answer: c; p. 402; Easy)

6. Current view holds that salespeople should be concerned with producing customer satisfaction and company profit. So whom do they generally serve?

a. They represent the company to customers.

b. They represent the company to investors.

c. They represent the customer to the company.

d. A and C

e. None of the above

(Answer: d; p. 402; Challenging)

7. When a firm sets out to analyze, plan, implement, and control sales force activities through sales force management, it sets and designs its_____, recruits, selects, trains, supervises, compensates, and evaluates the firm’s salespeople.

a. sales territories

b. sales force management

c. team selling efforts

d. coop selling and advertising

e. promotional objectives

(Answer: b; p. 414; Challenging)

8. Of the three typical types of sales force structures, which one is often supported by many levels of sales management positions in specific geographical areas?

a. Territorial.

b. Product.

c. Customer.

d. Complex systems.

e. Matrix.

(Answer: a; p. 403; Moderate)

9. Which of the following is not a disadvantage of a product sales force structure?

a. Extra selling costs involved with multiple sales visits from separate divisions.

b. Attention given to individual products.

c. Salespeople may wait to see the same customer’s purchasing agents.

d. Increase customer delivery time.

e. B and C

(Answer: d; p. 403; Challenging)

10. What do many companies use to set sales force size?

a. The workload approach.

b. Product availability.

c. Demographic characteristics of the sales force.

d. Sales quotas established.

e. Profit margin.

(Answer: a; p. 404; Moderate)

11. To reduce time demands on their outside sales forces, many companies have increased the size of their inside sales forces, which include technical support people, sales assistants, and _____.

a. order takers

b. order getters

c. telemarketers

d. administrative assistants

e. secretaries

(Answer: c; p. 405; Easy)

12. Which activity was not mentioned in the text as typical for a sales assistant?

a. Call ahead and confirm appointments.

b. Provide technical support.

c. Conduct credit checks.

d. Follow up on deliveries.

e. C and D

(Answer: b; p. 40%; Moderate)

13. A growing trend for many companies is to use a group of people from sales, marketing, engineering, finance, technical support, and even upper management to service large, complex accounts. This approach is called _____.

a. department selling

b. multiple selling

c. team selling

d. management-controlled selling

e. simultaneous selling

(Answer: c; p. 407; Easy)

14. In many cases today, a major reason to adopt team selling results from changes in _____.

a. customers’ buying organizations

b. competition

c. rising costs

d. fewer skilled salespeople

e. none of the above

(Answer: a; p. 407; Moderate)

15. One of the following is not a pitfall or disadvantage of team selling. Which is it?

a. Selling teams can confuse or overwhelm consumers.

b. Individual salespeople may have trouble learning to work with and trust others.

c. In the long run, team selling ties up more time and increases overall costs.

d. Difficulties in evaluating individual contributions to the team selling effort can create some sticky compensation issues.

e. All of the above.

(Answer: c; p. 408; Challenging)

16. The catalyst of any successful sales force organization is _____.

a. the recruitment and selection of good salespeople

b. current and relevant customer research data

c. relevant and extensive sales training

d. sales managers who work with their people

e. all of the above

(Answer: a; p. 408; Challenging)

17. In a typical sales force, the top 30 percent of the salespeople may bring in _____ percent of the sales.

a. 40

b. 50

c. 60

d. 70

e. 80

(Answer: c; p. 408; Easy)

18. All of the following are problems associated with the poor selection of salespeople except one. Which one?

a. Lower sales.

b. Costly turnover.

c. Less productivity.

d. Less office support.

e. Loss of company image.

(Answer: d; p. 408; Easy)

19. Which of the following traits should salespeople have?

a. Honesty.

b. Patience.

c. Responsiveness.

d. All of the above.

e. A and C

(Answer: d; p. 409; Easy)

20. Studies show that good salespeople possess all of these traits except which one?

a. Honesty.

b. Patience.

c. Caring.

d. At least average listener.

e. None of the above.

(Answer: d; p. 409; Moderate)

21. Sales applicants are typically not tested for _____.

a. sales aptitude

b. organizational skills

c. accounting skills

d. analytical skills

e. B and D

(Answer: c; p. 409; Moderate)

22. Initial sales training typically covers all of the following topics except one. Which one?

a. Company’s history and objectives.

b. Company’s financial structure.

c. Chief products and markets.

d. Field procedures and responsibilities.

e. B and C

(Answer: d; p. 409; Moderate)

23. The chapter suggests that Cisco benefits from the _____.

a. best products

b. best prices

c. best-trained sales force

d. best technical support

e. best market value

(Answer: c; p. 410; Moderate)

24. To attract salespeople, a company must have an appealing compensation plan. It is made up of several elements—a fixed amount, _____, expenses, and fringe benefits.

a. bonuses

b. retirement

c. a variable amount

d. nonmonetary rewards

e. recognition

(Answer: c; p. 410; Moderate)

25. Management at Happy Motors must decide what mix of compensation elements to offer their sales force. Which of the following is not one of the four basic types of compensation plans?

a. Straight commission.

b. Straight salary.

c. Salary and commission.

d. Commission and bonuses.

e. None of the above.

(Answer: d; p. 410; Easy)

26. A recent study showed that 70 percent of all companies use a combination of _____ to compensate its sales force.

a. base salary and expense accounts

b. commission and fringe benefits

c. base salary and incentives

d. base salary only

e. none of the above

(Answer: c; p. 410; Moderate)

27. Sales force compensation should direct the sales force toward activities that are consistent with _____.

a. overall company strategies

b. overall marketing objectives

c. overall company objectives

d. overall department objectives

e. all of the above

(Answer: e; p. 410; Challenging)

28. Through sales management supervision, the company directs and _____the sales force to do a better job.

a. coaches

b. motivates

c. coerces

d. influences

e. forces

(Answer: b; p. 410; Easy)

29. Which sales management tool shows which customers and prospects to see during the next 12 months and in which months, as well as which activities to carry out?

a. Time-and-duty analysis.

b. Sales force automation systems.

c. Annual call plan.

d. Sales quota plan.

e. None of the above.

(Answer: c; p. 411; Moderate)

30. Salespeople and sales managers now realize that perhaps the fastest-growing sales force technology tool is _____.

a. the cell phone

b. the laptop computer

c. e-mail

d. the Internet

e. the U.S. mail

(Answer: d; p. 412; Easy)

Companies are always looking for ways to increase selling time. All of the following are ways to save time to accomplish this goal except one. Which one?

f. Use phones instead of traveling.

g. Simplify record keeping.

h. Find better call and routing plans.

i. Reduce the number of customers each sales rep should see.

j. Increase the number of customers each sales rep should see.

(Answer: d; p. 411; Challenging)

31. Sales efficiency has been greatly improved using sales force automation systems. Salespeople primarily use laptops, handheld computing devices, _____, and customer-contact software.

a. video conferencing

b. the U.S. mail

c. Web technologies

d. cell phones

e. none of the above

(Answer: c; p. 412; Moderate)

32. Three common techniques sales managers use to boost sales force morale include the organizational climate, sales quotas, and positive _____.

a. incentives

b. thinking

c. recognition

d. vocabularies and mannerisms

e. feedback

(Answer: a; p. 412; Easy)

33. Management sets standards that state the amount each salesperson should sell and how sales should be divided among the company’s products with _____.

a. sales goals

b. company quotas

c. sales quotas

d. sales incentives

e. all of the above

(Answer: c; p. 412; Moderate)

34. Of all the tools commonly used, which one of the following is the best for management to use in evaluating salespeople?

a. Call reports.

b. Sales reports.

c. Expense reports.

d. Sales quota reports.

e. Customer feedback reports.

(Answer: b; p. 413; Moderate)

35. The selling process consists of several steps that the salesperson must master. They focus on the goals of _____ and _____ from them.

a. closing sales; getting orders

b. getting new customers; extracting their problems to solve

c. getting new customers; obtaining orders

d. overcoming objections; obtaining orders

e. quoting prices; obtaining orders

(Answer: c; p. 413; Moderate)

36. The step that follows preapproach in the selling process is _____.

a. presentation

b. demonstration

c. handling objections

d. approach

e. qualifying

(Answer: d; p. 414; Easy)

37. What should the salesperson and the sales manager accomplish during an evaluation?

a. Provide constructive feedback.

b. Provide motivation to perform well.

c. Develop and communicate clear standards.

d. All of the above.

e. None of the above.

(Answer: d; p. 413; Moderate)

38. The prospecting step in the selling process includes identifying and _____ the prospects. Without both of them much time and effort will be wasted.

a. calling

b. qualifying

c. preselling

d. making an appointment with

e. approaching

(Answer: b; p. 414; Moderate)

39. Prospects can be qualified by looking at their financial ability, volume of business, _____, location, and possibilities for growth.

a. ability to pay

b. longevity in the market

c. special needs

d. compensation

e. image

(Answer: c; p. 414; Moderate)

40. The type of salesperson that fits best with today’s marketing concept is a _____.

a. hard-sell salesperson

b. problem-solver salesperson

c. razzle-dazzle salesperson

d. salesperson on salary and not on commission

e. salesperson on commission and not on salary

(Answer: b; p. 409; Easy)

41. The qualities that buyers like most in salespeople include empathy, honesty, dependability, thoroughness, follow-through, and _____.

a. being a good listener

b. being a good communicator

c. being sympathetic

d. being a caring person

e. candor

(Answer: a; p. 415; Moderate)

42. The qualities buyers’ dislike most in salespeople includes all of the following except _____.

a. being pushy

b. being deceitful

c. being too early for an appointment

d. being unprepared

e. all of the above

(Answer: c; p. 415; Easy)

43. To handle objections successfully, a salesperson should use a positive approach, seek out hidden objections, ask the buyer to clarify any objections, take objections as opportunities to provide more information, and _____.

a. turn the objections into humor

b. seek to minimize or play down the objections

c. compliment the buyer for bringing the objections up

d. turn the objections into reasons for buying

e. A and C

(Answer: d; pp. 415–416; Challenging)

44. Other than prospecting, a difficult step in the sales process for most people is to _____ because they may lack confidence or feel guilty about asking for an order.

a. approach the prospect

b. make a professional presentation

c. handle the objections well

d. close the sale

e. follow up

(Answer: d; p. 416; Moderate)

45. Which step in the sales process is necessary if the salesperson wants to ensure customer satisfaction and repeat business?

a. Proper approach.

b. Professional presentation.

c. Handling objections well.

d. Follow-up.

e. All of the above.

(Answer: d; p. 416; Challenging)

46. Today, most companies still use direct marketing as a _____ for marketing their goods.

a. supplementary channel or medium

b. major marketing mix element

c. compliment to personal selling

d. technique reserved for mature and international markets

e. A, B, and C

(Answer: e; p. 417; Challenging)

47. Today, direct marketing relies heavily on database technologies and the Internet. Early direct marketers used primarily direct mailers, telemarketers, and _____.

a. door-to-door salespeople

b. catalogs

c. C.O.D. delivery

d. A and C

e. none of the above

(Answer: b; p. 417; Easy)

48. For buyers, direct marketing is convenient, easy to use, and private. For sellers it is _____.

a. a great tool for building customer relationships

b. great to find customers that a firm might otherwise overlook

c. a low-cost, efficient alternative for reaching their markets

d. all of the above

e. a hassle

(Answer: d; pp. 418–419; Moderate)

49. Belinda Stahl would like to reach more customers and save money in the process. Through research she has learned that _____ is the fastest growing form of marketing.

a. personal selling

b. advertising

c. direct marketing

d. public relations

e. sales promotions

(Answer: c; p. 419; Easy)

50. A comprehensive database is a tremendous tool for the direct marketer. It should contain data that is geographic, demographic, psychographic, and _____ in nature.

a. specific

b. culturally oriented

c. current and relevant

d. behavioral

e. sociological

(Answer: d; p. 420; Challenging)

51. What might be found in a B2B marketing database? A customer’s profile might contain products and services purchased, past volumes of purchases, and _____.

a. key contact people

b. personal information about buyers

c. history of the business

d. B and C

e. none of the above

(Answer: a; p. 420; Moderate)

52. A great advantage of a comprehensive marketing database is that companies can identify small groups of customers to receive _____ marketing offers and communications.

a. frequent

b. finely tuned

c. low-cost

d. competitive

e. unusual

(Answer: b; p. 420; Moderate)

53. Which one of the following purposes is not a common use of a direct marketing database?

a. Identify prospects.

b. Generate sales leads.

c. Profile customers based on previous purchases.

d. Reduce competitive loyalty by up to 50 percent.

e. A and D

(Answer: d; p. 420; Moderate)

54. Which of the following is not a form of direct marketing?

a. Personal selling.

b. Advertising.

c. Telephone marketing.

d. Direct-mail marketing.

e. A and C

(Answer: b; p. 421; Easy)

55. The major direct-marketing communications tool in today’s business world is _____.

a. television marketing

b. kiosk marketing

c. telephone marketing

d. catalog marketing

e. the Internet

(Answer: c; p. 421; Moderate)

56. Direct mail has advantages over other forms of direct marketing, such as _____.

a. high target-market selectivity

b. it can be personalized

c. it is flexible

d. all of the above

e. none of the above

(Answer: d; p. 422; Moderate)

57. During the last decade, three forms of mail delivery have become popular. Which one is in direct competition with the post office and is highly automated?

a. Fax mail.

b. E-mail.

c. Voice mail.

d. Cell phone and laptop combination.

e. All of the above.

(Answer: b; p. 423; Easy)

58. Catalog marketing can be personalized on a one-to-one basis. Which is not a common form of catalog marketing?

a. Print catalog.

b. Video catalog.

c. Add-on catalog.

d. Electronic catalog.

e. B and D

(Answer: c; p. 424; Easy)

59. Catalog sales have grown tremendously in the last few years with more than 10,000 companies producing some 14,000 specialty catalogs. Sales were $69 billion in 1996 and are expected to be more than _____ billion by 2008.

a. $50

b. $175

c. $300

d. $500

e. $900

(Answer: b; p. 424; Moderate)

60. Which statement is true regarding catalog marketing?

a. More and more catalogs are going digital.

b. Consumers make 36 percent of their purchases online.

c. Customers who receive print catalogs are more likely to buy online.

d. Catalog marketing is increasing in popularity.

e. All of the above statements are true.

(Answer: e; p. 423; Easy)

61. Web-based catalogs present challenges. What is one of those challenges?

a. They are intrusive.

b. They create their own attention.

c. They are passive and must be marketed.

d. They offer limited selections.

e. They are difficult to locate on the Web.

(Answer: c; p. 424; Challenging)

62. An effective form of direct marketing today is using the 30-minute television advertising programs for a single product called _____.

a. direct-response TV advertising

b. infomercials

c. home shopping TV

d. publicity

e. all of the above

(Answer: b; p. 424; Easy)

63. The infomercial-selling champ of all time is _____.

a. Martha Ray

b. Martha Stewart

c. George Foreman

d. Ron Popeil

e. Faith Hill

(Answer: d; p. 424; Moderate)

64. Direct-response ads always contain _____ to make it easier for marketers to gauge whether consumers are paying attention to their sales pitches.

a. a mailing address for comments

b. a 1-800 number or the Web address

c. a hit button to record the number of viewers

d. an order number

e. pop-ups

(Answer: b; p. 424; Challenging)

65. In contrast to vending machines, which dispense only products, many companies are using _____ to dispense information and take orders without direct human aid.

a. kiosks

b. TV monitors

c. the Internet

d. cell phones

e. none of the above

(Answer: a; p. 426; Easy)

66. Kiosk marketing is used for _____.

a. consumer marketing

b. business marketing

c. consumer and business marketing

d. industrial marketing

e. hot foods

(Answer: c; p. 426; Moderate)

67. Too often, a company’s individual direct-marketing efforts are not _____ with one another or with other elements of its _____.

a. well integrated; company’s strategy

b. well integrated; marketing and promotion mix

c. timed; promotion

d. compared; marketing and promotion mix

e. A and B

(Answer: e; p. 427; Challenging)

68. Public policy and ethical issues related to direct marketing include all of the following except one. Which one?

a. Irritation and unfairness.

b. Deception.

c. Fraud.

d. Invasion of privacy.

e. None of the above.

(Answer: e; p. 428; Moderate)

69. The toughest public policy issue now confronting the direct-marketing industry is _____.

a. deception

b. privacy

c. fraud

d. irritation

e. pornography

(Answer: b; p. 428; Moderate)

70. Which is the primary benefit to consumers from database marketing

a. More offers closely matched to their interests.

b. Availability of name-brand images.

c. Better prices.

d. Faster service.

e. Instant credit.

(Answer: a; p. 428; Easy)

71. Using sophisticated computer technologies today, direct marketers can use their databases to _____ their selling efforts.

a. track

b. integrate

c. microtarget

d. supplement

e. complement

(Answer: c; p. 428; Challenging)

72. Direct marketers know that, left unattended, problems such as privacy, fraud, irritation, and deception issues can result in _____.

a. increasingly negative consumer attitudes

b. lower response rates

c. calls for more restrictive government legislation

d. A and C

e. all of the above

(Answer: e; p. 430; Easy)

73. What is the common goal that both direct marketers and consumers want?

a. Honest marketing efforts.

b. Well-designed marketing efforts.

c. Efforts that consumers will appreciate and respond to.

d. A and C

e. All of the above.

(Answer: e; p. 430; Moderate)

74. Call objectives may be to _____.

a. qualify the prospect

b. gather information

c. make an immediate sale

d. A and C

e. all of the above

(Answer: e; p. 414; Moderate)

True/False

75. Today, most salespeople are well-educated, well-trained professionals who work to build and maintain long-term customer relationships by teaching their customers, assessing their needs, and organizing the company’s efforts to solve customer problems.

(True; p. 400; Challenging)

76. In her position as an outside field salesperson, Anna Beruk, is the interpersonal arm of her company’s promotion mix.

(True; p. 404; Moderate)

77. Designing sales force strategy and structure is not a major step in sales force management that a typical company might encounter.

(False; p. 404; Easy)

78. Of all the ways to structure a sales force, product sales force structure helps the company to become more customer focused and build closer relationships with important customers.

(False; p. 405; Moderate)

79. To allow outside salespeople more time to spend with customers, many companies have increased their inside sales forces and added technical support people and sales assistants.

(True; p. 404; Easy)

80. Team selling is ideal when customer problems become more complex and customers become larger and more demanding. These teams have the advantages of uncovering problems that an individual would not, and they can develop new opportunities.

(True; pp. 406–407; Moderate)

81. The workload approach to set sales force size is outdated.

(False; p. 404; Easy)

82. Networking equipment and software maker Cisco Systems has learned that using the Internet to train salespeople offers few advantages.

(False; p. 410; Moderate)

83. The last thing your manager wants is to have someone ruin a customer relationship because he or she is pushing too hard to close a deal. Instead, companies are designing compensation plans that reward salespeople for building customer relationships and growing the long-run value of each customer.

(True; p. 410; Challenging)

84. Sales force automation systems have been developed for more efficient order-entry transactions and improved customer service.

(False; p. 412; Challenging)

85. More and more companies are pushing their salespeople to make short-term goals for business.

(False; p. 410; Easy)

86. If Johnny Page’s company is like most consumer goods companies today, he can boost sales force morale and performance through his organizational climate, sales contests, and positive incentives.

(False; p. 412; Moderate)

87. Formal sales force evaluation forces management to develop and communicate clear standards for judging performance and provide constructive feedback and motivation to perform well.

(True; p. 413; Easy)

88. The step in the selling process where the salesperson learns as much as possible about the buying organization, what its needs are, and who is involved in the buying, is called qualifying.

(False; p. 414; Moderate)

89. During the presentation step of the selling process, the salesperson tells the product “story” and explains the product benefits to the customer.

(True; p. 415; Easy)

90. The major reason why Sonja Bergman might not be able to close sales to her clients very well is because she may lack confidence, feel guilty about asking for the order, or fail to recognize the need for the product being sold.

(False; p. 416; Challenging)

91. Today’s large customers favor suppliers and salespeople who can sell and deliver a coordinated set of products and services to many locations, and who can work closely with customer terms to improve products and processes.

(True; p. 416; Easy)

92. The forerunners of today’s direct marketing were the catalog companies, direct mailers, and telemarketers who gathered customer names and sold goods mainly by mail and telephone.

(True; p. 417; Moderate)

93. A strong set of reasons for companies to use direct marketing is that it is an easy, private, and convenient way for customers to shop.

(True; p. 417; Easy)

94. Customer databases are invaluable tools for the direct marketer. Typical, they contain the customers’ demographics, psychographics, buying behavior, and other relevant information.

(True; p. 420; Moderate)

95. My Favorite Flowers floral shops can use its database in many useful ways. The owners can identify prospects and generate sales leads by advertising products or offers. They can profile customers based on previous purchasing and decide which customers should receive particular offers. Salespeople can also help the business to deepen customer loyalty.

(True; p. 420; Challenging)

96. The major forms of direct marketing include personal selling, telephone marketing, direct-mail marketing, catalog marketing, direct-response television marketing, kiosk marketing, and fax marketing.

(False; p. 421; Moderate)

97. The method of inbound telephone marketing is to provide a toll-free 1-800 number to receive orders from television and print ads, direct mail, or catalogs.

(True; p. 421; Easy)

98. Direct mail is well suited to direct, one-to-one communication. It permits high target-market selectivity, can be personalized, and is flexible. However, it does not allow easy measurement of results.

(False; p. 422; Challenging)

99. Catalog marketing has grown explosively during the past 25 years. Most recently, the Internet has helped boost the popularity even more.

(True; p. 424; Easy)

100. In many instances, direct response television marketing has the advantages of appealing to more than one of the physical senses, being in color, live product demonstrations, and prime-time viewing.

(True; p. 424; Moderate)

101. Kiosk marketing, typically used in stores, airports, malls, and other locations, dispenses information and takes orders, as opposed to vending machines that dispense products for sale.

(True; p. 432; Easy)

102. The major public policy and ethical issues in direct marketing today are irritation, unfairness, privacy, deception, and fraud.

(True; p. 428; Moderate)

103. Wing Supply sells game calls to hunters through direct mail and database marketing. Their customers can benefit from this database marketing because they may receive more offers that are closely matched to their interests.

(True; p. 428; Easy)

104. In a typical sales force, the top 30 percent of the salespeople might bring in 60 percent of the sales.

(True; p. 405; Moderate)

Essay

105. Describe the nature of personal selling and the role of the sales force.

Today, most salespeople are well-educated and well-trained professionals who work to build and maintain long-term customer relationships by listening to their customers, assessing customer needs, and organizing the company’s efforts to solve customer problems. Salespeople act as order takers, order getters, and creative sellers. Personal selling is the interpersonal arm of the promotion mix. The sales force acts as a critical link between a company and its customers. Salespeople represent the company to the customer and the customer to the company to produce customer satisfaction and company profit.

(p. 401; Moderate)

106. Compare and contrast the three major sales force structures.

In the territorial sales force structure, each salesperson is assigned to an exclusive geographic area and sells the company’s full line of products or services to all customers in that territory. This organization clearly defines each person’s job, fixes accountability, and increases the person’s desire to build local business relationships that improve selling effectiveness. The product sales force structure allows the sales force to sell along product lines; the seller becomes very knowledgeable about products. This method can cause duplication of efforts and several salespersons calling on the same accounts. The customer sales force structure organizes along customer or industry lines; this can help a company to become more customer focused and build closer relationships with important customers.

(p. 403; Challenging)

107. Why are more companies using team selling? What are its pros and cons?

Team selling is useful to service large, complex accounts. Sales teams can uncover problems, solutions, and sales opportunities that no individual salesperson could. Teams can help train their members informally and boost morale. Some pitfalls exist, such as selling teams can confuse or overwhelm customers who are used to working with only one salesperson. Some salespersons have trouble working with others. Finally, difficulties in evaluating individual contributions to the team selling effort can create some sticky compensation issues.

(pp. 406–4077; Moderate)

108. What are the steps in finding and training an adequate sales force? Which step is more important?

Recruiting and selecting the sales force comes first. Following selection, orientation and training must be conducted based upon the knowledge and skill levels of the recruits. The proper compensation method must be selected to motivate and assist each person to reach his or her goals and the company’s goals. Management must supervise salespeople and assist them in reaching their goals. Management must also evaluate salespeople and provide feedback to improve performance. The most important step is probably the recruitment and selection step. Good performers produce results; typically, 30 percent of the sales force produces 60 percent of the sales.

(p. 408; Challenging)

109. Provide the seven steps in the selling process. What may be the two most difficult steps for most salespeople?

Prospecting and qualifying begin the process, followed by the preapproach. Next, the salesperson makes an approach to make a presentation or demonstration. Handling objections follows, leading into closing the sale. Each sale requires a follow up to make it complete. For most salespeople, especially new ones, the prospecting, qualifying, and closing steps are the most difficult and require much skill.

(pp. 413–4144; Easy)

110. Please explain the major benefits of direct marketing.

For buyers, direct marketing is convenient, easy to use, and private. It gives buyers ready access to a wealth of products and information, at home or work and around the globe. It is immediate and interactive. For sellers it is powerful for building customer relationships. Using database marketing, marketers can target small groups or individual consumers, tailor offers of individual needs, and promote these offers through personalized communications. It provides great timing and offers a low-cost, efficient alternative for reaching markets. Direct marketing has become the fastest form of marketing.

(p. 417; Moderate)

112. Provide the major advantage of each form of direct marketing.

Telephone marketing provides purchasing convenience and increased product and service information. Direct mail marketing permits selectivity and personalization. Catalog marketing allows customers to buy just about anything they desire. Direct-response television marketing allows live demonstrations with salespeople coming to your home or business. Kiosk marketing places information and ordering machines in convenient places, airports, stores, malls, and so forth.

(p. 421; Easy)

113. What are the five major public policy and ethical issues in direct marketing? Why are consumers concerned about them?

The five major issues are irritation, unfairness, deception, fraud, and invasion of privacy. Consumers are concerned those marketers know too much about their lives and that they use this knowledge to take unfair advantage of consumers.

(p. 428; Easy)

114. How does database marketing benefit consumers?

Consumers often benefit from all this information kept about them in databases. They receive more offers that are closely matched to their interests.

(p. 429; Moderate)

115. Explain the follow-up step of the selling process.

The follow-up step is necessary if the salesperson wants to ensure customer satisfaction and repeat business. Right after closing, the salesperson should complete any details on delivery time, purchase terms, and other matters. The salesperson then should schedule a follow-up call when the initial order is received, to make sure there is proper installation, instruction, and servicing. This visit would reveal any problems, assure the buyer of the salesperson’s interest, and reduce any buyer concerns that might have arisen since the sale.

(p. 416; Easy)

APPLICATION CONTENT: Multiple-Choice Questions

116. New Wave Music Company has decided to switch to a customer sales force structure. Which of the following advantages may the company now enjoy?

a. The company can become more customer focused.

b. The company can build closer relationships with important customers.

c. The company can build a more knowledgeable and well-rounded sales force.

d. A and C

e. All of the above.

(Answer: e; p. 403; Challenging)

117. East Bay Communications has increased its inside sales force. How will this help its outside sales force?

a. It will allow them more time to sell to major accounts.

b. It will allow them more time to find major new prospects.

c. It will allow them more time to provide after-the-sale customer service.

d. A and B

e. All of the above.

(Answer: e; pp. 404–405; Moderate)

118. Your sales manager wants to hire only proven salespeople. His reasoning includes all of the following except _____.

a. They need less training.

b. They will not ask for a large expense account.

c. They can be immediately productive.

d. They can grasp both product knowledge and sales skills faster.

e. all of the above

(Answer: b; p. 408; Challenging)

119. Greg Burden is sales manager for High Grade Industrial Chemicals. He wants to raise his sales force selling time by 33 percent. Currently they spend the nationwide average of _____ percent of their workweek actually selling.

a. 20 to 30

b. 40 to 50

c. 60 to 70

d. 80 to 90

e. 100

(Answer: a; p. 411; Moderate)

120. Your firm wants to increase sales and reach new markets with direct marketing. To accomplish this, the sales or marketing manager would choose which of the following?

a. Sales promotions.

b. Advertising.

c. Kiosk marketing.

d. Public relations and publicity.

e. A or B

(Answer: c; p. 426; Moderate)

121. Pete Sanchez has added telemarketing as a form of direct marketing to his company. He sees an opportunity to grow and at the same time offer advantages to his customers. Which of the following is not a customer advantage?

a. Purchasing convenience.

b. Increased product information.

c. Increased delivery time.

d. Increased service information.

e. A and B

(Answer: c; p. 421; Challenging)

122. Neal Murphy sells his company’s unique gift items on television programs and entire channels dedicated to selling goods and services. Neal is using _____.

a. infomercials

b. home shopping channels

c. Internet-based infomercials

d. prime-time selling

e. public relations

(Answer: b; p. 426; Easy)

123. Adam Fox Limited, a noted consumer goods company, uses integrated direct marketing to greatly improve response rate. Which of the following is his company not likely to use to accomplish this goal?

a. A Web site.

b. A toll-free number.

c. A faxing component to provide more information.

d. An outbound telemarketing effort.

e. None of the above.

(Answer: c; p. 427; Easy)

124. Lyall Electric, Inc., maintains a sales force for its small appliance customers and a separate sales force for its automotive customers. Lyall Electric utilizes a _____ structure.

a. product sales force

b. customer sales force

c. territorial sales force

d. a combination of B and C

e. none of the above

(Answer: a; p. 403; Moderate)

125. Stahl, Inc., has 1,000 Type-A accounts, each requiring 28 calls per year, and 2,200 Type-B accounts, each requiring 15 calls per year. What is the sales force’s workload?

a. 40,000 calls

b. 41,000 calls

c. 50,000 calls

d. 61,000 calls

e. 71,000 calls

(Answer: d; p. 404; Challenging)

126. If each salesperson at Stahl, Inc., can make 1,500 sales calls per year, based on the information in question #125, approximately how many salespeople will be needed?

a. 31

b. 35

c. 41

d. 45

e. 48

(Answer: c; p. 404; Challenging)

127. You are responsible for hiring inside salespeople at Acme, Inc. What jobs might you expect these people to perform?

a. Free outside salespeople to spend time with major accounts.

b. Use the phone to find new leads.

c. Act as liaisons between outside salespeople and customers.

d. Service accounts.

e. All of the above.

(Answer: e; p. 404; Moderate)

128. As a sales manager, you are not convinced that Web-based training is valuable until someone demonstrates that _____.

a. salespeople can obtain text-based product training through the Web

b. sales skills are not likely to be acquired via Web-based training

c. sales skills are likely to be acquired via Web-based training

d. A and C

e. all of the above

(Answer: d; p. 409; Challenging)

129. Your company’s goal is to maximize profitability; therefore, you will likely want a salesperson who is _____.

a. an independent self-starter

b. a team player

c. not a team player

d. money driven

e. A and C

(Answer: b; p. 411; Easy)

130. Your inside sales force is responsible for prospecting and qualifying customers. Which of the following will likely occur?

a. The number of qualified customers will exceed the number of prospects.

b. The outside sales force will call on all prospects.

c. A salesperson may have to approach all qualified customers just to make one sale.

d. All of the above.

e. A and C

(Answer: e; p. 414; Challenging)

131. Saturn uses a database. How might this automobile manufacturer benefit?

a. Saturn can determine the geographic concentration of its customers in Illinois versus Ohio, for example.

b. Saturn can determine what features to add to next year’s models.

c. Saturn can fine-tune certain marketing offers for specified customer groups.

d. A and B

e. All of the above.

(Answer: e; p. 420; Moderate)

132. As a marketing manager, you are trying to determine how much of your promotional effort should be geared toward personal selling. Which factor(s) may influence your choice?

a. Promotional dollars available.

b. Nature of your products.

c. Nature of your industry.

d. Target market characteristics.

e. All of the above.

(Answer: e; p 402; Easy)

133. Morrill Motors splits the United States into 10 sales regions. Within each of those regions, the company maintains two sales teams—one for existing customers and one for prospects. What type of sales force structure does Morrill Motors use?

a. Territorial.

b. Product.

c. Customer.

d. Complex.

e. Workload.

(Answer: d; p. 403; Challenging)

134. You want to collect information about your sales force in the New England states. What might you consider in doing so?

a. Sales reports.

b. Call reports.

c. Expense reports.

d. Profit performance in the territory .

e. All of the above.

(Answer: e; p. 413; Easy)

135. Your sales force is able to easily assess their opportunities within the firm. This feeling describes your firm’s _____.

a. prospecting

b. organizational climate

c. workload approach

d. technical support

e. sales structure

(Answer: b; p. 412; Moderate)

Short Answer

136. What are three roles given to people who do the selling?

Salespeople are order takers, order getters, creative sellers, and relationship builders.

(p. 402; Easy)

137. What type of company may use the territorial sales force structure?

Companies who have split their customer bases up based on geographic location will benefit from this type of structure. With a territorial sales force structure, the organization clearly defines each salesperson’s job and accountability. In addition, this type of structure increases the salesperson’s desire to build strong customer-vendor relationships.

(p. 403; Moderate)

138. What type of company may use a product sales force structure?

With this structure, the salespeople sell along product lines; this type of structure will most likely be used by companies that carry extensive product lines with the need to separate customers according to the products they buy.

(p. 403; Moderate)

139. What type of company may use a customer sales force structure?

With this type of structure, companies organize their sales forces according to customer types. For example, a manufacturer of insulated wire for both the small appliance and automotive industries may decide to segment their salespeople according to either the small appliance category or the automotive category.

(p. 403; Moderate)

140. Explain how the workload approach helps companies set sales force size.

Using this approach, the company first groups accounts into different classes according to size, account status, or other factors related to the amount of effort required to maintain them. It then determines the number of salespeople needed to call on each class of accounts the desired number of times.

(p. 404; Moderate)

141. Why might a company need to hire both an inside and an outside sales force?

For example, larger accounts may require special nurturing; therefore, an outside sales force can call on those customers. Smaller accounts may be able to be taken care of by an inside sales force.

(pp. 404–405; Moderate)

142. Identify the four types of compensation plans available to salespeople.

These include: straight salary, straight commission, salary plus bonus, and salary plus commission.

(p. 410; Easy)

143. What does the annual call plan indicate?

The annual call plan shows which customers and prospects to call on in which months and which activities to carry out.

(p. 411; Moderate)

144. What does time-and-duty analysis reveal?

This tool indicates time spent selling, traveling, waiting, eating, taking breaks, and doing administrative chores.

(p. 411; Easy)

145. What is a firm’s organizational climate?

Organizational climate describes the feeling that salespeople have about their opportunities, value, and rewards for a good performance.

(p. 412; Moderate)

146. Why does a firm’s number of prospects always equal or exceed its number of qualified customers?

Prospecting identifies the total number of potential customers in an area; qualifying breaks that number of prospects down into the actual group that the salesperson will target.

(p. 414; Moderate)

147. Why does a salesperson set call objectives?

Call objectives allow the salesperson to better qualify the prospect, gather more or better information, and/or make an immediate sale.

(p. 414; Challenging)

148. In what situation might a demonstration be especially critical during a salesperson’s presentation?

A demonstration may be important if the product’s use or value can be better understood with a visual demonstration. For example, if comparing Brand A brass cleaner with another leading brand, a demonstration of how much more quickly Brand A works may be more convincing for the prospective buyer.

(p. 415; Challenging)

149. In what situation might the need-satisfaction approach be important to the salesperson?

This approach calls for good listening and problem-solving skills. The salesperson commits himself or herself to listening to the customer’s problems, providing viable solutions, follow-up, and so forth.

(p. 415; Challenging)

150. What are three possible signs that the salesperson should close the call?

The call should be closed when the customer nods approvingly when asking about price or credit terms. In addition, the salesperson should close the call after the customer or prospect has asked for updated pricing or product samples, or when the customer/prospective buyer suggests a future meeting date to discuss pricing, quality, and so on.

(p. 416; Challenging)

151. Why might the follow-up be considered the most critical step of the sales process?

The follow-up allows the salesperson to assure his or her continued interest and to address buyer concerns that might have arisen since the sale.

(p. 416; Moderate)

152. What types of information are stored in a customer database?

A database can store demographic, psychographic, geographic, and/or product-use information. This information allows the marketer to keep track of numerous characteristics of the “typical” customer.

(p. 420; Easy)

153. Why might e-mail eventually become an ineffective promotional medium?

As people receive more and more e-mail, they tend to resent the intrusion of unrequested messages.

(p. 423; Easy)

154. What may be considered a huge disadvantage with kiosk marketing?

Kiosks provide an informal way of contacting customers and prospects; kiosks provide an impersonal touch that many customers may appreciate from marketers.

(p. 426; Easy)

155. Why have firms adopted sales force automation systems?

Many firms have adopted sales force automation systems for more efficient order-entry transactions, improved customer service, and better salesperson decision-making support.

(p. 412; Moderate)

Scenario

Reliable Tool Company is a manufacturer of hubs and axles for the trailer and heavy truck industry. Though the customer base is small, monthly sales at Reliable are approximately $1 million. “You might say we have all of our eggs in one basket,” says owner Arthur Deetz. Reliable Tool has captured “a small piece of the pie” but is the sole supplier of hub and axle components to its customers; therefore, it is critical that a competent sales force be maintained in order to nurture those few but large accounts. Ninety-five percent of Reliable’s customers are located in Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana. Travel time to all customers is short but, given the nature of the industry, time spent with each customer is essential.

156. Why might personal selling be the best way for Reliable to promote?

Personal selling provides face-to-face contact with Reliable’s customers. This is essential because the scenario indicates that the current customer base demands a fair amount of personal attention. In addition, a heavy emphasis on personal selling helps to build Reliable Tool’s credibility among prospects as they quickly become familiar with Reliable’s face-to-face efforts.

(p. 402; Easy)

157. What sales force structure will work best for Reliable Tool?

A customer sales force structure may work best; this structure allows separate salespeople to contact current versus existing customers and allows salespeople to build closer relationships with important customers and prospects. In addition, for some of the larger accounts, a team effort may prove to be successful; this approach would allow various employees from various departments at Reliable to make contact with their customer contacts.

(p. 403; Challenging)

158. Will an inside or outside sales force benefit Reliable Tool the most?

An outside sales force provides the face-to-face contact necessary to nurture these “few but large” accounts. In addition, attracting new customers may require intense face-to-face communication with prospects in the industry.

(p. 404; Moderate)

159. In order to best motivate this workforce, which of the four compensation plans may work best?

Students’ answers will vary. However, because Reliable Tool’s accounts require special nurturing, a straight salary may work best. A straight salary may eliminate the aggressiveness or assertiveness that can often accompany salespeople who are working to earning a commission or bonuses.

(p. 410; Challenging)

160. Assess the organization climate at this company.

Students’ assessments will vary. However, because Reliable’s customers require a level of attentiveness that may go beyond typical accounts in other industries, Arthur Deetz must certainly understand that salespeople turnover, at whatever rate, would be detrimental to the customer-vendor relations necessary for Reliable’s success.

(p. 412; Challenging)

161. What are some factors that may be considered when qualifying prospects at Reliable Tool Company?

The prospects’ ability to pay, the prospects’ annual amount purchased, and the prospects’ images in the marketplace may all play a role.

(p. 414; Easy)

162. What is an effective way for salespeople at Reliable Tool Company to follow up after a call?

As with any sales call, a good follow-up will include an overview of the previous sales meeting, an update on pricing or changes within the company since the salesperson last spoke with the customer, any plans for a future visit, as well as a “thank-you” for the customer’s time.

(p. 416; Moderate)

163. How could this company benefit from using a customer database?

Because the products produced at Reliable are probably customized hubs and axles,

a database may likely serve a diminished purpose. However, such a database can provide the marketer with any types of product changes or evolutions that may have occurred in the distant past as well as a number of other changes.

(p. 420; Moderate)

164. Should this company use kiosk marketing? Why or why not?

Unlikely. Kiosk marketing is most often used as a convenience tool; therefore, the attention required by the typical Reliable Tool customer could not be given. In addition, kiosks will not likely work well for products that are custom-made; a trade-show may be a better tool for Reliable Tool.

(p. 426; Moderate)

165. What qualities might customers dislike most in salespeople at Reliable Tool?

Such qualities may include being deceitful, late, pushy, and unprepared or disorganized.

(p. 415; Easy)

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