Deck 15: Personal Selling and Customer Service

Question 1

Salespeople often are responsible for representing the customer inside their own company as well as representing their company to the customer.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Personal selling is often a company's largest single operating expense.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Order getters are concerned with finding new opportunities for the company.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Producers of all kinds of products, especially consumer products, have a great need for order getters.

Question 5

Good salespeople try to sell the customer, irregardless of other factors.

Question 6

In the U.S., almost as many people are employed in sales work as in advertising.

Question 7

Personal selling techniques vary very little from country to country.

Question 8

About 20 times more people are employed in selling than in advertising.

Question 9

The three basic sales tasks are order-getting, order-taking, and sales prospecting.

Question 10

About 10 percent of the total U.S. labor force is in sales work.

Question 11

Sales reps often must plan whole marketing strategies for their own geographic territories.

Question 12

Salespeople may represent their company to customers and, in turn, represent their customers within the company.

Question 13

A good order getter tries to sell solutions to the customer's problems--not just physical products.

Question 14

A salesperson who aggressively seeks out possible buyers with a well-organized sales presentation designed to sell a product is a missionary sales rep.

Question 15

Although the salesperson's job may change constantly, there are three basic sales tasks.

Question 16

Good salespeople try to help customers buy by presenting both the advantages and disadvantages of a product--and showing how it will satisfy the customer's needs.

Question 17

Order getters are even more important for business products than for consumer products.

Question 18

The three basic sales tasks are order-getting, order-taking, and supporting.

Question 19

A salesperson's main task might be order-getting, order-taking, or supporting, but sometimes one salesperson does all three tasks.

Question 20

While face-to-face with prospects, a salesperson can adjust what he or she says or does to take into consideration culture and other behavioral influences.

Question 21

Retail order getters are usually needed for unsought consumer products, and are desirable for heterogeneous shopping products as well.

Question 22

Developing goodwill and stimulating demand are tasks performed by missionary salespeople.

Question 23

Scientists or engineers--who may have little interest in sales but do provide technical assistance to order getters--are called technical specialists.

Question 24

Poor customer service is likely to reduce a firm's customer equity.

Question 25

A producer's order taker may explain details, handle complaints, and train the customer's employees.

Question 26

Customer service is different from the service that is part of the product that a customer buys because it usually involves a breakdown in some aspect of the marketing mix.

Question 27

Homogeneous shopping products need order getters more than heterogeneous shopping products.

Question 28

From a marketing management perspective, it's best to think of customer service as part of Promotion, not part of Product.

Question 29

Customer service reps are customer advocates, but they need company support.

Question 30

Order takers should work on improving the whole relationship with the customer, not just on completing a single transaction.

Question 31

Customer service reps are usually specialists who are involved in helping potential customers before a purchase is made.

Question 32

A wholesaler's order-getting salespeople are likely to be paid more than its order takers.

Question 33

Order getters complete most sales transactions.

Question 34

Providing effective customer service is relatively simple--because it is usually clearer how to repair a negative experience than it is to provide an initial purchase experience that is satisfying to the customer.

Question 35

When a customer service rep works to solve a customer's problem, it often involves taking steps to remedy what went wrong.

Question 36

Team selling might involve a technical specialist, an order getter, and a customer service rep all working together on a specific account.

Question 37

Missionary salespeople usually work for wholesalers and provide special promotion help to producers whose products are widely distributed.

Question 38

Agent wholesalers--particularly manufacturers' agents and brokers--are often order getters.

Question 39

Customer service reps are more useful for "keeping" customers, rather than "winning" new customers.

Question 40

A salesperson who completes routine sales made regularly to target customers is an order taker.

Question 41

Digital self service is particularly effective when the customer needs routine information on a recurring basis.

Question 42

Moen, a maker of plumbing fixtures, employs a major accounts sales force and gives special attention and support to the firm's largest accounts such as Home Depot and Lowe's.

Question 43

Using multiple interviews and background checks to select "born salespeople" works so well that it almost guarantees success.

Question 44

Although telephone selling by an inside sales group can save time and money in business markets, it has been declining in recent years.

Question 45

Telemarketing can help a firm extend its personal selling efforts to new target markets without investing a lot of time and money.

Question 46

Digital self-service lowers costs.

Question 47

It is primarily the sales manager's job to decide what types of information technology tools salespeople need and how they will be used.

Question 48

One new way to deliver customer service is to set up online communities where customers help each other with problems.

Question 49

It is the sole responsibility of the sales manager to decide what types of tools are needed and how they will be used.

Question 50

Some firms are adopting new software and hardware technologies to get a competitive advantage in personal selling.

Question 51

Toll-free telephone lines are not very practical for getting direct feedback from final consumers.

Question 52

When deciding how many salespeople are needed, the first step is to determine how many sales reps are used by competing companies.

Question 53

Even though some sales tasks can be handled effectively and economically using technology, a sales rep is still needed to build relationships.

Question 54

Digital self-service increases costs.

Question 55

A major accounts sales force is used when a company wants to be certain that its most important customers get a special selling effort.

Question 56

Sales managers often divide sales force responsibilities based on the seniority of the salespeople.

Question 57

A company that provides its sales reps with information technology tools should expect that reps will do a better job with administrative tasks but that they will be less effective in their actual sales calls.

Question 58

Because the use of new information technologies can change how well the sales job is done, their use should be left to individual sales reps.

Question 59

Team selling occurs when different people work together on a specific account.

Question 60

The sales manager's decision to use new information technologies has costs as well as benefits.

Question 61

A job description is a written statement of what a salesperson is expected to do.

Question 62

The job description should provide clear guidelines concerning (1) who should be selected, (2) how they are trained, (3) how well they are performing, and (4) how they should be paid.

Question 63

Firms often hire new salespeople and immediately send them out on the road.

Question 64

Regarding sales force compensation, straight commission increases the firm's need for working capital.

Question 65

Job descriptions are not necessary for personal selling because all salespeople are expected to do the same task--sell products.

Question 66

Incentives that just focus on short-term sales objectives may not motivate sales reps to develop long-term, need-satisfying relationships with their customers.

Question 67

Small companies that have limited working capital or uncertain markets often prefer to use straight salary compensation plans.

Question 68

Prospecting involves following all the leads in the target market to identify potential customers.

Question 69

Most sales managers offer their salespeople a "combination plan" because this method of compensation provides a balance between incentive and security.

Question 70

Salespeople usually earn more than top management.

Question 71

A sales quota is the specific sales or profit objective a salesperson is expected to achieve.

Question 72

Prospect lists or a CRM database can help salespeople do a better job with prospecting.

Question 73

A company's salespeople are usually paid more than its office help or production workers, but less than top management.

Question 74

A salesperson on a commission salary earns the same amount regardless of how he or she spends time.

Question 75

A firm's initial sales training program should cover company policies, product information, building relationships with customers, and selling skills.

Question 76

Prospecting involves following all the "leads" in the target market.

Question 77

Using sales reps who are paid a straight commission is similar to using manufacturers' reps.

Question 78

A salesperson's request for an order during a sales presentation is called a "close."

Question 79

A sales manager who wishes to supervise and control his salespeople's activities closely should pay them a straight salary instead of a straight commission.

Question 80

Regarding sales force compensation, straight salary gives the most security for a salesperson, while straight commission gives the most incentive.