Deck 4: Account Relationship Management

Question 1

It is possible for one person in an organization to occupy the role of both a technical and an economic buyer.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Selling to organizations is somewhat easier than selling to an individual consumer because organizational buying centers are staffed with professionals.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

The first stage of the typical purchasing process in organizations is the evaluation of purchasing options.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

The submission of a sales proposal in a typical purchasing process precedes the purchase decision itself and follows the supplier selection phase.

Question 5

Derived demand refers to the opportunity to sell additional products and services once a supplier has established a good customer relationship.

Question 6

The Economic Buyer controls the money to make a purchase.

Question 7

It is generally good advice for salespeople to concentrate all their efforts on the purchasing agent when selling to organizations.

Question 8

An Tier C or Extended Supplier Relationship is usually established with standardized, non-strategic products.

Question 9

The concept of "derived demand" refers to the close relationship between a supplier's sales to a customer and the customer's sales to their customers.

Question 10

It is possible for one person to function in the roles of being the user, economic, and technical buyer for a particular purchase.

Question 11

The first stage of the typical purchasing process in organizations is to recognize that a need exists.

Question 12

Salespeople should be prepared to discuss interest rates and financing terms with the Economic Buying Influence.

Question 13

Developing product specifications involves developing a precise statement of a product's requirements and tolerances.

Question 14

The purchasing practice of utilizing supplier tiers is becoming a less popular practice.

Question 15

One of the most productive use of a salesperson's time is usually to call on existing customers, rather than prospects.

Question 16

The purchasing practice of utilizing supplier tiers is analogous to the marketing practice of customer segmentation.

Question 17

Extranets are most likely to be involved in business-to-business transactions involving inventory replenishment.

Question 18

In the U.S., the first step in organizational purchasing is for the buyer to develop a personal relationship with the seller.

Question 19

In many consultative type of sales situations, the customer may not be aware that a need or opportunity exists.

Question 20

Value analysis focuses on the relative costs of providing a necessary function or service.

Question 21

The term "Buying Center" is used to refer to centralized buying, typically performed at an organization's headquarters.

Question 22

An advocate is usually needed in complex business-to-business sales situations because the salesperson is not seen as being trustworthy.

Question 23

Which of the following is the first step in the typical purchasing process by organizations?

A) a vendor analysis
B) a Request for Proposal (RFP)
C) recognitions of needs
D) evaluation of alternatives
E) none of the above

Question 24

A Technical buyer influence's primary focus in the purchasing process is on product or service specifications.

Question 25

Derived demand is an important idea in business-to-business sales because:

A) it usually determines how much can be sold.
B) it is the only factor determining a product's price.
C) it determines what arguments are included in the sales presentation.
D) it is an indicator of the state of the economy.
E) all of the above

Question 26

The buyer and seller committing to an exclusive relationship characterize the expansion stage of a buyer-seller relationship.

Question 27

One danger of using price discounts to close a sale is that the customer may seek further discounts in the future.

Question 28

Successful salespeople are usually able to identify an "advocate" who will take over the selling task for the salesperson.

Question 29

The Technical Buyer's role is to act as a gatekeeper, they can say "yes" to a product purchase decision.

Question 30

People who are not employees of the buying organization, may be a part of an organization's buying center.

Question 31

Customer value creation in a consultative type customer relationship is usually greatest during the first stage of the purchasing process, which is the recognition of needs.

Question 32

Studies have shown that veteran salespeople are more likely to accurately identify a buyer's performance expectations than are new salespeople.

Question 33

Most buying organizations assign an "advocate" to new salespeople for the purpose of educating them about their operations.

Question 34

With a buying center, salespeople can usually ignore either the purchasing agent or the user of the product, as long as they can influence the economic buyer.

Question 35

Which of the following is likely to be associated with a request for proposal (RFP)?

A) a set of product specifications
B) an extensive amount of client information
C) an extensive search for qualified suppliers
D) a fixed price the customer wants all suppliers to charge
E) none of the above

Question 36

The "Economic Buying Influence" is identified as the person with the authority to spend the money necessary to purchase the product or service.

Question 37

A excellent way to identify a good sales advocate is to listen for the name of the person that other people in the buying center frequently mention.

Question 38

The role of the user buyer is to determine the impact of the purchase on the job in which the product is used.

Question 39

Value to a buyer generally means paying the lowest possible list price for a product or service.

Question 40

The person in the User Buyer role generally has a much broader product focus than does the Economic Buyer.

Question 41

The factor(s) which influence the number of people who are likely to be involved in the decision making process are:

A) how many departments use the product.
B) the dollar value of the purchase.
C) the degree of technical sophistication of the product.
D) both b and c above.
E) all of the above.

Question 42

When selling to an economic buying influence such as a chief executive officer, salespeople are likely to do which of the following?

A) emphasize the contract's financial consequences for the organization
B) discuss how the deal would improve the firm's competitive position
C) discuss how corporate wide contracts can reduce costs per unit to the buyer
D) both a and b above
E) all of the above

Question 43

Which of the following buying center people is concerned with the product's specs, is focused on the present, is most likely to ask what a product does?"

A) Economic Buyer
B) User Buyer
C) Technical Buying Influence
D) Outside Expert Buying Influence
E) The Advocate

Question 44

When a customer views the supplier as a critical to the customer's competitive position, then the supplier would most likely be considered a ___________ supplier?

A) In
B) Preferred
C) Partner
D) Extended
E) Either c or d above

Question 45

Value analysis focuses on the cost of providing a necessary function or service.

A) total
B) direct
C) indirect
D) variable
E) fixed

Question 46

According to the at least one senior manager which stage of the purchasing process do customers feel is the "Achilles heel" for most suppliers

A) The recognition of needs phase
B) The evaluation of options phase.
C) The purchasing decision phase.
D) The implementation phase.
E) none of the above.

Question 47

Which of the following stages of the buyer-seller relationship focuses on a trial relationship?

A) awareness
B) commitment
C) expansion
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 48

Which of the following questions is not likely to be asked during a value analysis?

A) whether an item can be eliminated entirely
B) whether an item is purchased individually or in bulk
C) whether a part has excess capacity for the intended application
D) whether a part is a standard item or specially ordered
E) both b and c above

Question 49

Which of the following encourages parties to progress into a fully committed buyer-seller relationship?

A) the creation of value
B) building trust in your partner
C) meeting each partner's expectations
D) both a and b above
E) all of the above

Question 50

Which of the following buying center people is implementation oriented, takes a tactical view to the decision, and whose daily life is most affected by the seller's product or service?

A) Economic Buyer
B) User Buyer
C) Technical Buying Influence
D) Outside Expert Buying Influence
E) The Advocate

Question 51

A vendor analysis may examine all of the following performance criteria except:

A) delivery reliability.
B) price.
C) gross margin.
D) after sales service.
E) none of the above.

Question 52

The most likely sequence of stages in a fully developed buyer-seller relationship is:

A) Expansion, Exploration, Dissolution, Commitment, Awareness.
B) Exploration, Awareness, Commitment, Expansion, Dissolution.
C) Exploration, Commitment, Awareness, Expansion, Dissolution.
D) Awareness, Expansion, Exploration, Commitment, Dissolution.
E) Awareness, Exploration, Expansion, Commitment, Dissolution.

Question 53

Which of the following is true regarding the role the advocate may be expected to play in the complex business-to-business sales situation?

A) Provides key information.
B) Sell for you when you cannot be there.
C) Recommend selling strategies.
D) Help you gain access to key decision makers.
E) All of the above are roles the advocate may be expected to play.

Question 54

Technical buyers are most likely to be concerned with which of the following issues?

A) the organizational impact of the purchase
B) the dollar amount of the purchase
C) screening out suppliers, not meeting specifications
D) the operational advantages of the purchase.
E) none of the above

Question 55

Which of the following would be typical of the buyer-seller relationship of a Preferred Supplier?

A) Usually involves product design collaborations.
B) Usually involves inventory management collaborations.
C) Usually involves a relationship focused on products.
D) Usually involves an "exclusive" sourcing relationship.
E) Usually is considered critical to the customer's competitive success.

Question 56

Which of the following is most likely to be an economic buying influence?

A) an engineer
B) a senior officer
C) a purchasing agent
D) a production supervisor
E) a financial analyst

Question 57

An economic buying influence is likely to be further up the organizational ladder under what conditions?

A) the more depressed the organization's business condition
B) the more experience they have with you and your firm
C) the less expensive the product
D) both b and c above
E) none of the above

Question 58

User buyers are most likely to be concerned with which of the following issues?

A) the operational advantages of the purchase
B) dollar amount of the purchase
C) the purchasing organization's business condition
D) the potential organizational impact of the purchase
E) the impact on the final consumer

Question 59

General, the industrial buying process can be characterized by:

A) the presence of multiple buying influences.
B) the need to work with buying committees.
C) the involvement of purchasing agents throughout the purchasing process.
D) only a and b above.
E) all of the above.

Question 60

Which of the following selling objectives is likely to be associated with the awareness stage of the supplier-customer relationship?

A) consummating an initial sale
B) demonstrating how the product can satisfy an identified customer need
C) getting involved in the early stages of a customer's new product development process
D) both a and b above
E) all of the above

Question 61

According to buyer survey results which of the following personal attributes generally has the least effect on perceptions of a salesperson's trustworthiness?

A) dependability
B) competency
C) intelligence
D) honesty
E) all of the above are equally important

Question 62

In a transactional type of relationship, the sales force provides the greatest customer value during which stage(s) of the purchasing process?

A) recognition of needs
B) evaluation of alternatives
C) purchase decisions
D) both a and b above
E) both a and c above

Question 63

Attempting to create the highest level of customer value during the evaluation of alternatives stage of the purchasing process is typical of which type of customer relationship?

A) Transactional customer relationship
B) Consultative customer relationship
C) Enterprise customer relationship
D) Only b and c above
E) All of the above