Ch 7 Flashcards
T/F: The pressure to fill open territories as quickly as possible often makes the selection of good salespeople difficult.
True
T/F: A job analysis should be realistic, focusing on what is actually done rather than what someone thinks the job should be under ideal conditions.
True
T/F: One of the best ways to identify salesperson critical success factors is to send an observer into the field to see what is going on.
True
T/F: One way to determine necessary job qualifications is by examining the specific behaviors and traits of the best salespeople in the sales force.
True
T/F: The qualifications necessary to succeed in one sales job will be the same for other sales positions.
False
T/F: The formula for determining the number of Recruits (Candidates) is: R = H / (S x A) where H = the required # of hires; S = % of Recruits selected, and; A = % of those selected who accept
True
T/F: Current employees in other functional areas of the company often make good candidates for sales jobs.
True
T/F: Effective employment agencies save the sales manager time and money in identifying viable candidates.
True
T/F: Because college graduates are of above average intelligence and poise, they are typically easier to train and coach than other recruits.
True
T/F: Hiring experienced salespeople from the competition can be unprofitable because of the costs associated with attracting and retraining the person.
True
T/F: According to surveys, it is likely that over half of applicants for will have fabricated something about their educational backgrounds.
True
T/F: Although testing can be an effective way to distinguish among candidates, today it is not legal because it has been used to discriminate against minority groups.
False
T/F: If conducted correctly, testing is usually a more objective measure of management potential as compared to interviews.
True
As the Vice President of Sales, you understand the importance of hiring the right person. If you were going to give advice and counsel to your sales managers about the possible costs associated with a poor hiring decision which of the following would you include?
-Absenteeism-Poor Customer Service-Lost profits-low revenuesAll of the above
Selection of good salespeople obviously represents an important opportunity to gain a competitive advantage. However, it has been estimated that over half of all people in sales positions are not suited for such a career. Which of the following is a reason for the underperformance by sales managers in this area?
Many companies do not provide effective interviewing training for key line managers who complete the interviewing process.
If 10 people leave for jobs with other companies, 3 retire, 8 are assigned to larger territories, and 3 are promoted to sales management positions, what is the turnover rate for this past year if the average size of the sales force was 65 people?
20%
A job description is useful in recruiting because it:
-helps the firm prepare a list of job qualifications-shows prospects exactly what is expected from field reps-facilitates hiring the right peopleAll of the above
As a new sales manager, you want to make a good impression on the other members of your hiring team. When a question was raised as to what qualifications the team should look for in a candidate, you remember from your sales management class that the most consistent finding across studies is that highly successful salespeople have:
Excellent time and territory management skills
According to a survey of purchasing agents, if you were to hire salespeople that had the most valued traits from a buyer’s perspective, a candidate would have which of the following traits?
-Imagination-Diplomacy-Knowledge of product-ThoroughnessAll of the above
Analysis of past recruiting records indicate that only 1 in 5 recruits are selected for sales positions and that of those selected only 50% accept an offer. If the firm wants to hire 5 new people, at least how many people should they recruit?
50 people5 divided by .50 rejection = 10 offers10 offers divided by .20 qualification = 50 applicants
An analysis of Northwestern Mutual’s past recruiting records indicated that 80% of people recruited are not found to be qualified for a sales position at Northwestern. Of the people to which Northwestern makes a job offer, up to 40% will decline the offer. If the firm wants to hire 48 new people, at least how many people should they recruit?
400 people
Good sources for recruits are:
-Referrals from existing sales force-Employees in other depts.-On line job sites-Print adsAll of the Above
You need to provide some strong evidence to your boss for why you want to limit your initial hiring efforts to present office and factory employees for the entry-level sales opening. Which of the following would you cite as part of your rationale to your boss?
All of the Above
Recruiting salespeople from one’s competitors or customers is a fairly widespread practice because:
A and B
An excellent source of sales trainees is educational institutions. However, according to the text, one disadvantage of recruiting sales trainees from reputable colleges is that college students:
Expect to be promoted to management positions quickly
The best way to gather previous employment data in a standard format is:
to have them complete and sign an employment application
As the sales manager, you have just finished establishing your firm’s procedures for selecting salespeople. Assuming that you have followed a typical sequential filtering process and assuming the following numbers for each step in the process, 1 = Interviews2 = Examinations / tests / profiles3 = Evaluation of application forms4 = Background checks
3, 1, 2, 4
The personal interview is a standard part of the selection process for all sales positions, since interpersonal style is considered important in sales. Hence, the sales manager will be attempting to assess the candidates’ (fill in the blank) in the interview.
-Ability to think quickly-Speaking voice-reasons for leaving previous employers-Appearance-All of the above
You would like to create an employment application form. How should you do this?
All of the above
Firms usually want background and credit information on applicants:
To verify statements made by the candidate and to look for evidence that might be a cause for rejection.
The most important issue(s) associated with testing candidates is (are):
Validity of the instrument
The primary objective of the (fill in the blank) process is to build a profile of the successful performer that can be used to select additional salespeople.
Validation
Which of the following statements is / are false?-30% of all business failures result from poor hiring techniques -33% of all employment applications are falsified -45% of all resumes contain false or exaggerated information -46% of all new hires fail within 18 months, not because they don’t have the skills but because they don’t ‘fit’ the team
None
Which of the following statements is / are false?-High performers will increase productivity by 40% -High performers in management will increase profits by 49% -High performers in sales will increase revenues by 67%
None
Which of the following steps is / are not needed in the hiring of excellent employees
All are needed
True or False: If you choose to continue the hiring process without an accurate job description for the position, you have already increased the chances of a ‘bad hire.’
True
True of False: Job descriptions often focus heavily, if not exclusively, on minimum objective requirements, such as education and job experience. However, it is just as important to address the more subjective behaviors essential to a job, such as flexibility, an outgoing nature or attention to detail.
True
True or False: Most businesses hire for skills and fire for attitudes and behaviors
True
True or False: Turnover rates can be cut in half when businesses hire for attitudes and behaviors and train the skills
True
True or False: The Human Job Assessment (HJA) is a DISC profile completed by the employer as though s/he were a candidate with the perfect behaviors necessary to succeed in the position.
True
True or False: the HJA produces a DISC profile that can be used as a template to assess the ‘goodness of behavioral fit’ of applicants.
True
True or False: The HJA can be used to spot poorly designed job descriptions where the ideal candidate is required to be ‘all things to all people,’ reducing their chances of success to almost zero
True
True or False: Many companies find that internal recruiting is their most successful method for finding qualified candidates.
True
True or False: One tried-and-true recruiting method that strong companies swear by is getting and paying for referrals from their own top employees.
True
True or False: A drawback of having top employees refer candidates is that some may be relatives or close friends. If at some point the referrer or those referred are involuntarily or voluntarily terminated from the company, their friends or relatives can resign in sympathy. This is known as the “zipper effect” and can “gut” a department or sales team.
True
True or False: Hiring employees from competitors has pro’s and con’s: the pro’s are that they may have a good command of product knowledge, the target market and sales skills. The con’s are that they may bring bad habits or an incompatible corporate culture with them, may have enforceable non-solicitation agreements or may have jumped before they were pushed due to poor performance or behavior.
True
Before making an offer to someone employed by a competitor who acknowledges having signed a non-solicitation or non-compete agreement, you should
All of the above
True or False: You can verify candidates’ claims about the amount of commissions and bonuses they claimed to have earned by asking for copies of their IRS returns.
True
True or False: When performing reference checks with prior employers or supervisors you may encounter reluctance to answer any questions other than dates of employment. If this happens, you may ask “Is this person eligible for re-employment?” or “Would you hire this person again?”
True
True or False: If few or none of the candidate’s references are from direct supervisors, you should ask the candidate for the names and contact information of former supervisors.
True
True or False: At face-to-face meetings with candidates explain to them that you will be contacting their direct supervisors and ask them what they expect you will hear about their performance. Observe them carefully, and you will receive a preview of what you might hear from the supervisors, should they actually agree to speak with you or not!
True
True or False: You should run substance abuse tests for all sale candidates whenever company policy permits doing so.
True
Which of the following can “Reference USA” and “A to Z,” the free on-line data bases available through most public libraries , provide you?
All of the above
On average how many hours a week will a new Hunter / Prospector spend working with “Reference USA” or “A to Z” each week locating and researching Suspects and Prospects?
4 + hours during the weekends and evenings
Which of methods below produce the most reliable forecasts of when sales opportunities are most likely to close:
Stage of sale method% of sale method
True or False: People leave managers, not companies. If you have a turnover problem, look first to your managers.
True
True or False: Great managers try to help each person become more and more of who s/he already is.
True
True or False: The key to excellent performance….is finding the match between your talents and your role. Excellence is impossible without talent.
True
True or False: The right talents, more than experience, more than brainpower and more that willpower alone are the prerequisites for excellence in all roles.
True
True or False: Each of us has mental filters and characteristic ways of responding to the world about us. These filters tell us which stimuli to notice and which to ignore. They create our innate motivations and define how we think. They create our patterns of thought, feelings and behaviors. These filters are the sources of our talents.
True
True or False: If you are a great manager you…1) Focus on each person’s strengths and manage around his weaknesses 2) Don’t try to fix the weaknesses 3) Don’t try to perfect each person 4) Instead you do everything you can to help each person cultivate his talents…help each person to become more of who he already is.
True
