Exam 4: Organizing the Sales Effort

Alton's new firm operates in an uncertain and rapidly changing market with shifting technology and short product life cycles.Alton is considering the use of independent sales reps because they will give him greater _____________ in distribution channels.

What guidelines should a sales manager use in choosing an independent manufacturing sales rep?

Which of the following statements about organizing the sales effort is true?

The first guideline to starting a sales force should be to appoint an expansion team.

Victor is considering replacing his company's independent sales representatives.He is frustrated because the reps spend little time on the many potential small accounts and provide almost no post-sale service to customers.Victor is struggling with what is called

A manufacturer of security systems that organized its sales force by home owner,store owner,warehouse owner and manufacturing facility would be organizing by product type.

Which of the following statements about the economic criteria used to decide between using an independent agent or an internal sales force is true?

Activities that do not rely directly on the firm's core competencies or transaction-specific assets can often be performed more effectively and efficiently through outsourcing.

The most common functions performed by staff specialists in sales organizations are recruitment,training and sales analysis.

The span of control should usually be smaller at higher levels in the sales organization because:

The span of control should be smaller and the number of levels of management should be larger when:

The most common form of vertical organization structure in medium and large-sized firms is:

Division and specialization of labor increase productivity.

Organizing the sales force along functional lines:

Robin is looking for sales reps to sell her line of clothing.In searching for a sales rep,Robin will most likely look for someone

The simplest and most common method of organizing a company's sales force is to assign individual salespeople to separate geographic territories.

What is the primary advantage of organizing a sales force by product?

As a developmental salesperson,Allen:

Which of the following is NOT one of the advantages of geographic sales organization?

Large firms typically rely on external agents rather than creating their own sales force.