Deck 14: Sales Force Performance Evaluation

Question 1

Which of the following statements is incorrect with respect performance appraisals?

A) performance appraisals help recognize high-performing salespeople with increased compensation, awards, and promotion
B) performance appraisals help identify training needs of salespeople
C) performance appraisals make it difficult to devise criteria for recruiting and selecting new salespeople
D) performance appraisals help anticipate sales force personnel requirements

Answer 1

performance appraisals make it difficult to devise criteria for recruiting and selecting new salespeople

Question 2

Performance appraisals make it possible to:

A) anticipate sales force personnel requirements
B) revise sales performance standards, policies, and evaluation procedures as appropriate
C) motivate and influence salespeople through leadership
D) all the above

Answer 2

all the above

Question 3

The following statements on the challenging task evaluating salespeople is true except:

A) salespeople typically work alone in the field and may have little direct contact with their sales managers
B) salespeople have more information about their sales territories than do their managers
C) research has found that information asymmetry between salespeople and their sales managers often leads to functional job behaviors
D) all of the above

Answer 3

research has found that information asymmetry between salespeople and their sales managers often leads to functional job behaviors

Question 4

Which of the following performance factors are considered within the control of the salesperson?

A) competitive intensity
B) variations in company support
C) generating sales revenues
D) time allocation between account development and account maintenance

Question 5

The following are considered uncontrollable factors, which make it difficult to evaluate the performance of individual salespersons, except:

A) differences in territory potentials
B) number of new accounts generated by the salesperson
C) salesperson tenure in and acclimation to the territory
D) time allocation between account development and account maintenance

Question 6

The following statements on the timing of salesperson performance appraisals are true except:

A) appraisals occur once a year only
B) evaluations include both objective (quantitative) and subjective (qualitative) measures
C) these are assigned different weights, usually with greater emphasis on objective measures
D) sales managers generally provide feedback in both written and oral form

Question 7

Which of the following is not one of the parts of a sales plan?

A) situation analysis - "Where are we now?"
B) opportunities and problems - "Where do we want to go?"
C) action programs - "How do we get there?"
D) reward evaluation systems "How much progress has been made toward the attainment of rewards?"

Question 8

Lucius Cogburn is a consumer products sales manager for a large east coast manufacturer. He is developing a sales plan for the coming year and is presently involved in making various planning assumptions about the internal company environment and external marketing environment prior to preparing a sales forecast. He is also developing some contingency plans based on different sets of assumptions. What stage of sales planning is Mr. Cogburn in?

A) situation analysis
B) opportunities and problems
C) action programs
D) performance evaluation systems

Question 9

To provide a complete assessment of a salesperson's job, sales managers should employ several variables to evaluate performance. These salesperson performance standards include all except the following:

A) relevant to job performance
B) stable and consistent irrespective of the evaluator
C) only encompass metric data
D) capable of discriminating between outstanding, average, and poor performance

Question 10

Which of the following is not one of the three kinds of evaluation criteria employed for assessing salesperson effectiveness?

A) outcome-based measures
B) behavior-based measures
C) professional development measures
D) spatial-based measures

Question 11

Which of the following results generated by the salesperson are not among the three categories of outcome-based measures?

A) sales results
B) profitability indices
C) intrinsic results
D) sales efforts

Question 12

Which of the following is not an example of outcome-based performance measures?

A) percent of quota
B) market share
C) gross margin
D) competitor knowledge

Question 13

The following are examples of outcome-based performance measures except:

A) contribution margin
B) number of orders
C) after-sales customer service calls
D) average order size

Question 14

In sales organizations that emphasize use of outcome-based criteria, salespeople tend to exhibit all except the following behaviors:

A) be especially focused on the bottom-line
B) intrinsically motivated
C) self-oriented
D) tend to be less accepting of supervisory direction

Question 15

Which of the following behaviors do salespeople tend not to exhibit when sales managers place primary importance on using outcome-based criteria?

A) self-oriented
B) extrinsically motivated
C) tend to be more accepting of managerial direction
D) be focused on the bottom-line

Question 16

Which of the following outcome-based criteria does not reflect measures of sales efforts?

A) sales calls
B) selling expenses
C) customer service
D) all the above

Question 17

In terms of outcome-based criteria, which of the following is not a profitability index?

A) gross profit margin
B) net profit contribution
C) net customer satisfaction
D) net profit margin by customer type

Question 18

Which of the following is a measure of outcome-based profitability performance?

A) net profit margin by product category
B) return on sales costs
C) return on assets managed
D) all the above

Question 19

Which of the following is not one of the three categories of professional development measures?

A) professional selling skills
B) professional knowledge
C) personal characteristics
D) all the above

Question 20

In terms of professional development measures, which of the following is not a selling skill?

A) product knowledge
B) customer knowledge
C) understanding of selling techniques
D) return on sales

Question 21

Of the following, which is not a professional development measure of selling skills?

A) return on assets managed
B) quality of sales presentations
C) communication skills
D) dependability

Question 22

Which of the following is a professional development measure of selling skills?

A) Cooperation with sales team
B) empathy
C) punctuality
D) all the above

Question 23

When using a hybrid approach that combines outcome-based and behavior-based criteria, sales managers should choose criteria that embody the following characteristics:

A) criteria that focus on the most important features of the sales job
B) criteria provide a complete picture of the salesperson's performance
C) criteria are generally controllable by the salesperson
D) all the above

Question 24

The final rating of a salesperson's performance should be a composite of information received from many sources, with each source appropriately weighted. These sources include:

A) company records
B) customers
C) sales management
D) all the above

Question 25

Activity reports turned in by salespeople provide valuable information about selling efforts except:

A) number and frequency of calls
B) number and time of presentations
C) return on assets invested
D) time spent in entertaining clients

Question 26

Sales managers control sales force efforts and activities by using:

A) sales quotas and outcome-based criteria
B) professional development criteria
C) behavioral-based criteria
D) all the above

Question 27

The purpose for a quota dictates the kind of quota a firm utilizes. For example, if management wants to increase market share, it should use:

A) a sales-volume-oriented quota
B) cost-reduction quota
C) profit-oriented quota
D) none of the above

Question 28

If management wants to increase the bottom-line, the most appropriate quota that should be utilized is:

A) a sales-volume quota
B) cost-reduction quota
C) profit-oriented quota
D) none of the above

Question 29

Regardless of the kind of sales quota and its purpose, a quota plan ideally should possess the following features except:

A) realistically attainable
B) clear and precise in its definition
C) based on objective accuracy instead of subjectivity
D) all the above

Question 30

A quota plan ideally should not possess the following feature:

A) easy to administer
B) be difficult to measure (quantify)
C) seen as equitable by all the salespeople
D) include only quotas that represent critical salesperson tasks or responsibilities

Question 31

Sales managers can use the following types of quotas to control sales force activities, except

A) sales volume quotas
B) activity quotas
C) financial quotas
D) none, because all of the above can be used

Question 32

As a new sales manager, Michael Gamble wants to set up some additional quotas for the sales force. Among these quotas are the following: demonstrations made, proposals submitted, time spent per account, letters to potential customers, service calls, past due accounts collected, etc. What type of quotas should Mr. Gamble establish?

A) sales quotas
B) activity quotas
C) financial quotas
D) expense quotas

Question 33

A sales manager for a small industrial products firm is developing quotas for his sales force. He wants to establish quotas for contribution margins by product and customer type, and quotas for selling expenses by product and customer type. What type of quotas is the sales manager preparing?

A) sales volume quotas
B) activity quotas
C) financial quotas
D) service quotas

Question 34

Judy Streep, a sales manager for a computer manufacturer, is developing quotas for her sales force. She wants to establish quotas the main purpose of which is to gain market penetration, thus increasing market share. What type of quota should Judy consider to attain that goal?

A) profit-oriented quota
B) cost-reduction quota
C) sales-volume-oriented quota
D) activity quota

Question 35

Which of the statements below is incorrect with respect to sales volume quotas?

A) Sales volume quotas based on the past year's sales ignore territorial differences and unique market opportunities or challenges
B) Sales volume quotas are nearly always expressed in units instead of dollars, since this allows sales managers to aggregate different types of products, customers, or other market data for comparison over time
C) Sales representatives may deliberately underestimate sales potential in their territories, but one study found that the degree of error is 10 percent or less in over 75 percent of the cases
D) To keep salespeople from concentrating their selling efforts on few easy-to-sell products or customers, sales managers can use point quotas in addition to dollar or unit sales volume quotas

Question 36

To help salespeople allocate their selling time more effectively and efficiently, sales managers can assign priorities to various quotas. For example, a weight of 4 might be assigned to gross margin (GM), a weight of 2 to sales volume (SV), and a weight of 1 to service calls (SC). Then a summary of these three quotas can be used to compare each salesperson's overall performance. Given these weights and the following performance data, which salesperson (Swenson or Rosenkrantz) performed best overall?
% of Quota Achieved

A) Swenson
B) Rosenkrantz
C) both did the same
D) not possible to tell from the data set

Question 37

In setting sales volume quotas, the basis for measuring achievement levels would most likely include all of the following except

A) sales budgets
B) sales estimates
C) sales potentials
D) historical sales

Question 38

Quotas serve several purposes in the facilitation of the planning and control of the sales effort. Which of the following is not one of the purposes of quotas mentioned in the text?

A) to provide goals and incentives for salespeople
B) to control salesperson activities
C) to promote communication
D) to provide a means of evaluation

Question 39

The most commonly used quotas that are usually stated in dollars are:

A) financial quotas
B) activities quotas
C) combination quotas
D) sales volume quotas

Question 40

Which of the statements below is untrue with respect to sales quotas?

A) quotas should be attainable, but only with effort
B) unreachable quotas are not motivating, but frustrating
C) "creampuff" quotas are able to induce extra effort from salespeople
D) quotas should pertain to a salesperson's activities, not personality

Question 41

A __________ quota is especially advisable when sales reps are selling big-ticket items.

A) financial
B) dollar-based sales
C) unit volume
D) point

Question 42

A __________ is typically used when a firm sells a large number of different products, prices are relatively stable, and prices reflect management's selling priorities.

A) financial
B) dollar-based sales
C) unit volume
D) point

Question 43

A __________ is typically used to avoid having salespeople concentrate their selling efforts on a few easy-to-sell products or customers.

A) financial
B) dollar-based sales
C) unit volume
D) point

Question 44

All quotas are guided by and established for:

A) all marketing units
B) certain time period
C) generating a particular dollar volume
D) lowering expenses

Question 45

To ensure that salespeople are conducting their tasks conscientiously, many companies require them to meet ____________.

A) financial quotas
B) activities quotas
C) combination quotas
D) sales volume quotas

Question 46

The advantages of activity quotas are that:

A) salespeople have control over the fulfillment of their activity quotas
B) management is allowed control of the salesperson's selling efforts
C) management can recognize sales reps for performing non-selling activities
D) all of the above

Question 47

A problem with __________ is that salespeople may not be motivated to perform their activities effectively. As salespeople may just go through the motions, it's wise to use them in conjunction with sales volume quotas.

A) financial quotas
B) activities quotas
C) combination quotas
D) all the above

Question 48

The kinds of financial quotas include:

A) expense quotas
B) gross margin quota
C) net profit quota
D) all the above

Question 49

Most salespeople dislike quotas because:

A) they are generally not allowed to set their own
B) they dislike being told how much they have to sell
C) they dislike being evaluated so closely
D) all of the above

Question 50

Sales managers include salespersons in quota setting for the following reasons except:

A) management can ease the sales reps' understanding of quotas by allowing them to participate in the quota-setting procedure
B) this practice enhances understanding
C) this practice significantly reduces questions of inaccuracy, unfairness, and unattainability
D) all of the above

Question 51

Which of the following is incorrect with regard to keeping the sales force updated?

A) updating reinforces the significance of the set quota.
B) salespeople seldom want advice or feedback in reaching their quota.
C) updating allows the salesperson to analyze what they are doing right.
D) all of the above are incorrect.

Question 52

There are three successive stages in an effective Performance Evaluation Monitoring System (PEMS). Continuous interpersonal communication between salespeople and the sales manager, which provides immediate feedback on each specific task or goal accomplished by the salesperson, is called the __________________ stage.

A) performance planning
B) performance appraisal
C) performance review
D) performance evaluation

Question 53

There are three successive stages in an effective Performance Evaluation Monitoring System (PEMS). The phase in which salespersons are allowed to ask the sales manager three key questions: "Where am I going?" "How will I get there?" "How will I be measured?" is called the __________________ stage.

A) performance planning
B) performance appraisal
C) performance review
D) performance evaluation

Question 54

There are three successive stages in an effective Performance Evaluation Monitoring System (PEMS). The phase in which a periodic review of past performance appraisals summarizes where the salesperson is in his or her personal development should answer the question "How am I doing?" is called the __________________ stage.

A) performance planning
B) performance appraisal
C) performance review
D) performance evaluation

Question 55

__________________ are day-by-day mini-evaluations on specific performances.

A) performance reviews
B) performance appraisals
C) performance planning
D) performance execution

Question 56

__________________ is a periodic summing up of these daily appraisals so that the salesperson can see where he or she stands.

A) performance reviews
B) performance appraisals
C) performance planning
D) performance execution

Question 57

__________________ lays out goals and plans for achieving them, and explains how the individual will be evaluated.

A) performance reviews
B) performance appraisals
C) performance planning
D) performance execution

Question 58

Sales managers have a variety of evaluation techniques at their disposal with each having limitations as well as strengths. The extent to which the evaluation method accurately reflects the job behavior that leads to performance is known as:

A) job relatedness
B) reliability
C) validity
D) standardization

Question 59

Sales managers have a variety of evaluation techniques at their disposal with each having limitations as well as strengths. The extent to which the evaluation method should accurately reflect what it is intended to measure is known as:

A) job relatedness
B) reliability
C) validity
D) standardization

Question 60

Sales managers have a variety of evaluation techniques at their disposal with each having limitations as well as strengths. The extent to which the evaluation instrument and the way it is administered should be consistent throughout the sales organization is known as:

A) job relatedness
B) reliability
C) validity
D) standardization

Question 61

Sales managers have a variety of evaluation techniques at their disposal with each having limitations as well as strengths. The extent to which the evaluation method should be easy to understand and use for sales managers and sales personnel, as well as neither too costly or time consuming is known as:

A) practicality
B) comparability
C) discriminability
D) usefulness

Question 62

Sales managers have a variety of evaluation techniques at their disposal with each having limitations as well as strengths. The extent to which the evaluation method should allow for easy comparison across sales force members (those in the same and different jobs and in the same and different geographical areas) is known as:

A) practicality
B) comparability
C) discriminability
D) usefulness

Question 63

Sales managers have a variety of evaluation techniques at their disposal with each having limitations as well as strengths. The extent to which the evaluation method must be able to determine performance differences across salespeople is known as:

A) practicality
B) comparability
C) discriminability
D) usefulness

Question 64

Sales managers have a variety of evaluation techniques at their disposal with each having limitations as well as strengths. The extent to which the evaluation method should be helpful for making decisions about promotion, compensation, and termination is known as:

A) practicality
B) comparability
C) discriminability
D) usefulness

Question 65

Behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS) concentrate on measuring behaviors related to performance that individual salespeople can change. To construct BARS, sales manager should follow all of the stages except:

A) identify critical incidents of effective and ineffective sales performance behavior
B) refine critical incidents into a smaller set of performance dimensions
C) select a set of critical incidents as behavioral anchors for the performance dimensions
D) all of the above are steps in the BARS development process

Question 66

Sales managers should stress four principles in using MBO. __________ refers to the free exchange of views between sales manager and salesperson will result in realistic future commitments and agreement on specific actions needed to achieve goals and objectives.

A) open communication
B) mutual participation and agreement
C) coinciding goals
D) rewards for performance

Question 67

Sales managers should stress four principles in using MBO. __________ refers to the salesperson being an uninhibited, full participant in the MBO process with the sales manager, so that there is mutual understanding and agreement on objectives, plans, and performance evaluation.

A) open communication
B) mutual participation and agreement
C) coinciding goals
D) rewards for performance

Question 68

Sales managers should stress four principles in using MBO. __________ refers to the personal goals of the individual salesperson being integrated with the overall goals of the organization so they are mutually reinforcing.

A) open communication
B) mutual participation and agreement
C) coinciding goals
D) rewards for performance

Question 69

Sales managers should stress four principles in using MBO. __________ refers to high-performing salespeople being rewarded through public recognition as well as increased financial compensation.

A) open communication
B) mutual participation and agreement
C) coinciding goals
D) rewards for performance

Question 70

Traditional performance evaluation systems suffer from one or more of several possible limitations. Which of the following is not a sales force evaluation bias for concern?

A) stereotyping
B) contrast error
C) generalizing error
D) first-impression error

Question 71

Traditional performance evaluation systems suffer from one or more of several possible limitations. Which of the following is not a sales force evaluation bias for concern?

A) leniency or harshness error
B) tunnel vision bias
C) fundamental attribution error
D) self-serving bias

Question 72

Traditional performance evaluation systems suffer from one or more of several possible limitations. Which of the following is not a sales force evaluation bias for concern?

A) central tendency
B) psychological resistance to negative evaluations
C) illogical concerns
D) political concerns

Question 73

Traditional performance evaluation systems suffer from one or more of several possible limitations. Which of the following is not a sales force evaluation bias for concern?

A) fear of reprisal
B) varying evaluation standards
C) intradepartmental bias
D) questionable personality traits

Question 74

Sales managers, generally use one of the following approaches to provide feedback except:

A) tell and sell
B) tell and listen
C) problem solving
D) sell and listen

Question 75

In general, salespeople need ________ on their performance.

A) little or no information
B) reinforcement
C) feedback
D) approval

Question 76

An innovative method called 360-degree performance appraisal systematically elicits information on a salesperson's skills, abilities, and behaviors from all of the following except:

A) sales manager
B) coworkers
C) customers
D) all the above

Question 77

Which of the following statements is incorrect with respect to 360-degree performance appraisals?

A) they fit well with traditional organizational structures
B) they fit well with greater empowerment of employees
C) they fit well with working in teams
D) they are both multidirectional and multidimensional

Question 78

Which of the following statements is incorrect with regard to performance review ranking systems?

A) sales managers evaluate each of their salespeople by ranking them on multiple performance dimensions
B) sales managers place salespeople in performance categories of the top 20 percent, the middle 70 percent, and the bottom 10 percent
C) performance review ranking systems can create bureaucracies
D) by moving out the bottom performers, sales managers can make room for new talent.

Question 79

_________________ provide a data-oriented perspective allowing sales managers to determine more precisely how well each aspect of the sales organization is performing by capturing and reporting specific metrics, such as to view historical records and performance over various time periods to compare with current performance.

A) HYPERLINK "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic" \o "Strategic" Strategic dashboards
B) Analytical dashboards
C) Operational dashboards
D) Informational dashboards

Question 80

_________________ support managers at any organizational level by providing ready "big picture" overviews that help decision makers monitor the overall health of operations. Sales dashboards of this type focus on high level measures of performance, and achieving sales forecasts.

A)Strategic dashboards
B) Analytical dashboards
C) Operational dashboards
D) Informational dashboards