Ch 7

Question 1

T/F: The pressure to fill open territories as quickly as possible often makes the selection of good salespeople difficult.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

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.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

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.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

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.

Answer 4

True

Question 5

T/F: The qualifications necessary to succeed in one sales job will be the same for other sales positions.

Answer 5

False

Question 6

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

Answer 6

True

Question 7

T/F: Current employees in other functional areas of the company often make good candidates for sales jobs.

Answer 7

True

Question 8

T/F: Effective employment agencies save the sales manager time and money in identifying viable candidates.

Answer 8

True

Question 9

T/F: Because college graduates are of above average intelligence and poise, they are typically easier to train and coach than other recruits.

Answer 9

True

Question 10

T/F: Hiring experienced salespeople from the competition can be unprofitable because of the costs associated with attracting and retraining the person.

Answer 10

True

Question 11

T/F: According to surveys, it is likely that over half of applicants for will have fabricated something about their educational backgrounds.

Answer 11

True

Question 12

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.

Answer 12

False

Question 13

T/F: If conducted correctly, testing is usually a more objective measure of management potential as compared to interviews.

Answer 13

True

Question 14

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?

Answer 14

-Absenteeism-Poor Customer Service-Lost profits-low revenuesAll of the above

Question 15

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?

Answer 15

Many companies do not provide effective interviewing training for key line managers who complete the interviewing process.

Question 16

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?

Answer 16

20%

Question 17

A job description is useful in recruiting because it:

Answer 17

-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

Question 18

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:

Answer 18

Excellent time and territory management skills

Question 19

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?

Answer 19

-Imagination-Diplomacy-Knowledge of product-ThoroughnessAll of the above

Question 20

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?

Answer 20

50 people5 divided by .50 rejection = 10 offers10 offers divided by .20 qualification = 50 applicants

Question 21

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?

Answer 21

400 people

Question 22

Good sources for recruits are:

Answer 22

-Referrals from existing sales force-Employees in other depts.-On line job sites-Print adsAll of the Above

Question 23

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?

Answer 23

All of the Above

Question 24

Recruiting salespeople from one’s competitors or customers is a fairly widespread practice because:

Answer 24

A and B

Question 25

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:

Answer 25

Expect to be promoted to management positions quickly

Question 26

The best way to gather previous employment data in a standard format is:

Answer 26

to have them complete and sign an employment application

Question 27

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

Answer 27

3, 1, 2, 4

Question 28

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.

Answer 28

-Ability to think quickly-Speaking voice-reasons for leaving previous employers-Appearance-All of the above

Question 29

You would like to create an employment application form. How should you do this?

Answer 29

All of the above

Question 30

Firms usually want background and credit information on applicants:

Answer 30

To verify statements made by the candidate and to look for evidence that might be a cause for rejection.

Question 31

The most important issue(s) associated with testing candidates is (are):

Answer 31

Validity of the instrument

Question 32

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.

Answer 32

Validation

Question 33

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

Answer 33

None

Question 34

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%

Answer 34

None

Question 35

Which of the following steps is / are not needed in the hiring of excellent employees

Answer 35

All are needed

Question 36

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.’

Answer 36

True

Question 37

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.

Answer 37

True

Question 38

True or False: Most businesses hire for skills and fire for attitudes and behaviors

Answer 38

True

Question 39

True or False: Turnover rates can be cut in half when businesses hire for attitudes and behaviors and train the skills

Answer 39

True

Question 40

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.

Answer 40

True

Question 41

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.

Answer 41

True

Question 42

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

Answer 42

True

Question 43

True or False: Many companies find that internal recruiting is their most successful method for finding qualified candidates.

Answer 43

True

Question 44

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.

Answer 44

True

Question 45

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.

Answer 45

True

Question 46

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.

Answer 46

True

Question 47

Before making an offer to someone employed by a competitor who acknowledges having signed a non-solicitation or non-compete agreement, you should

Answer 47

All of the above

Question 48

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.

Answer 48

True

Question 49

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?”

Answer 49

True

Question 50

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.

Answer 50

True

Question 51

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!

Answer 51

True

Question 52

True or False: You should run substance abuse tests for all sale candidates whenever company policy permits doing so.

Answer 52

True

Question 53

Which of the following can “Reference USA” and “A to Z,” the free on-line data bases available through most public libraries , provide you?

Answer 53

All of the above

Question 54

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?

Answer 54

4 + hours during the weekends and evenings

Question 55

Which of methods below produce the most reliable forecasts of when sales opportunities are most likely to close:

Answer 55

Stage of sale method% of sale method

Question 56

True or False: People leave managers, not companies. If you have a turnover problem, look first to your managers.

Answer 56

True

Question 57

True or False: Great managers try to help each person become more and more of who s/he already is.

Answer 57

True

Question 58

True or False: The key to excellent performance….is finding the match between your talents and your role. Excellence is impossible without talent.

Answer 58

True

Question 59

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.

Answer 59

True

Question 60

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.

Answer 60

True

Question 61

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.

Answer 61

True