Module 2: Sales practices

Question 1

Sales Funnel

Answer 1

The buying process that companies lead customers through when purchasing products

Question 2

Accounts

Answer 2

Current business clients’ records of transactions

Question 3

Sales Manager

Answer 3

The person responsible for leading and coaching a team of salespeople

Question 4

Sales Management

Answer 4

A business discipline which is focused on the practical application of sales techniques and the management of a firm’s sales operations

Question 5

business-to-consumer (B2C)

Answer 5

Sales made to individual consumers rather than to other businesses

Question 6

sales channels

Answer 6

A way of bringing products or services to market so they can be purchased by consumers

Question 7

distribution channels

Answer 7

A chain of businesses or intermediaries through which a good or service passes until it reaches the final buyer or the end consumer

Question 8

Comparison between B2B and B2C

Answer 8

Question 9

Company-direct

Answer 9

The producer sells a product to a consumer directly

Question 10

retailers

Answer 10

Businesses that sell goods to the public in relatively small quantities for use or consumption rather than for resale

Question 11

wholesalers, distributors, or agents or brokers

Answer 11

Companies that sell goods in large quantities at low prices, typically to retailers

Question 12

Intermediaries

Answer 12

People or businesses that put buyers and sellers together without taking ownership of the product, service or property

Question 13

Sales Channels and Intermediaries

Answer 13

Question 14

Order Takers

Answer 14

Salespeople with responsibility for handling transactions initiated by the customer

Question 15

order getters

Answer 15

Salespeople who persuade customers to make a direct purchase

Question 16

Missionary Salespeople

Answer 16

A salesperson who provides information to an individual who will influence the purchase decision.

Question 17

Trade Salespeople

Answer 17

A salesperson who calls on retailers and helps them display, advertise, and sell products to consumers

Question 18

Prospectors

Answer 18

A salesperson whose primary function is to find prospects, or potential customers

Question 19

Technical Salespeople

Answer 19

Sales people who are experts in a specific product or service area. They promote and sell the product by demonstrating how it works along with the benefits it can offer potential customers

Question 20

Market Influencers

Answer 20

People and organizations who possess an expert level of knowledge and/or social influence in their respective fields

Question 21

Cold Calling

Answer 21

Making an unsolicited call on (someone), by telephone or in person, in an attempt to sell goods or services

Question 22

Missionary Salesperson

Answer 22

This is someone who calls on people who make decisions about products but do not actually buy the products. While the missionary salesperson does call on individuals, the relationship is B2B. For example, a pharmaceutical representative might call on a physician to provide the doctor with clinical information about a medication’s effectiveness. The salesperson hopes the doctor will prescribe the drug. Patients, not doctors, actually purchase the medication. Similarly, salespeople call on professors to persuade them to use certain textbooks. But you the student chooses whether or not to actually buy the books.

Question 23

Trade salesperson

Answer 23

This is someone who calls on retailers and helps them display, advertise, and sell products to consumers. Eddy Patterson is a trade salesperson. He calls on major supermarket chains like H-E-B for Stubb’s Bar-B-Q, a company that makes barbecue sauces, rubs, marinades, and other barbecuing products. He makes suggestions about how Stubb’s products should be priced and where they should be placed in the store so they will sell faster. He also works with his clients’ advertising departments to create effective ads and fliers featuring Stubb’s products. B2B.

Question 24

Prospector

Answer 24

This is a salesperson whose primary function is to find prospects (potential customers). The potential customers have a need, but for any number of reasons, they are not actively looking for products to meet those needs. Perhaps this is because they lack information about where to look for them or simply have not had the time to do so. Prospectors often knock on a lot of doors and make a lot of phone calls. B2B.

Question 25

Technical salesperson

Answer 25

This is an expert on a specific product or service area. Technical salespeople participate in sales calls, after the customer shows an interest, to demonstrate or describe the use and applications of the product or service. They work in industries like technology, IT services, manufacturing, and pharmaceuticals.2 The technical sales role is also known as sales engineer in some industries. B2B.

Question 26

Inside Salespeople

Answer 26

People who routinely work inside the business taking orders and handling transactions

Question 27

customer service representatives

Answer 27

Employees that handle customer inquiries, questions, and complaints, and general information about the company or products

Question 28

Outside salespeople

Answer 28

Sales personnel who go out into the field to meet with customers

Question 29

Account Management

Answer 29

Maintaining a long-term relationship with customers who purchased from the firm in the past

Question 30

Account-based Marketing (ABM)

Answer 30

Concentrates sales and marketing resources on a clearly defined set of target accounts within a market and employs personalized campaigns designed to resonate with each account

Question 31

key account management (KAM)

Answer 31

Developing and maintaining long-term, sustainable and mutually beneficial relationships with key accounts (customer)

Question 32

metrics

Answer 32

Numeric data that allow marketers to evaluate their performance against organizational goals

Question 33

Inactive accounts

Answer 33

Clients who have not made a purchase for a specified period of time

Question 34

Passive accounts

Answer 34

Bring in revenue without active sales engagement

Question 35

Active accounts

Answer 35

Have consistent transactions and engagement with the business

Question 36

80/20 rule

Answer 36

Suggests that 20 percent of your activities will account for 80 percent of your results

Question 37

Key Account Management

Answer 37

The process of distinguishing a portfolio of accounts (customers) based on a set of criteria of strategic importance to the company’s long-term success. Then internal resources are allocated to deliver services or products tailored to the customers’ individual needs. KAM involves developing and maintaining long-term, sustainable, and mutually beneficial relationships with these key accounts.

Question 38

Pareto principle

Answer 38

The law of the vital few, or the principle of factor sparsity, states that, for many events, roughly 80 percent of the effects come from 20 percent of the causes

Question 39

business development

Answer 39

Activities to develop and implement growth opportunities within organizations

Question 40

sales quotas

Answer 40

The sales goal or figure set for a product line, company division, or sales representative

Question 41

power skills

Answer 41

Personal attributes that enable someone to interact effectively and harmoniously with other people

Question 42

Empathy

Answer 42

The ability to understand and share the feelings of another

Question 43

Verbal communication

Answer 43

Verbal communication is about language, both written and spoken

Question 44

Responsive listening

Answer 44

Listening with the intent of understanding instead of replying

Question 45

Conflict resolution

Answer 45

A set of ideas and ways to reduce sources of conflict

Question 46

Analytical decision-making

Answer 46

An approach where a leader or manager only makes important business decisions with solid data or information in hand

Question 47

Power Skills for Salespeople

Answer 47

Question 48

Product knowledge

Answer 48

Salespeople must entirely understand the product they are selling to be effective in their presentation to the customer. They must have the ability to explain in detail how the product works, what its best features are, and what value it brings to the customer. They must know enough about the product to honestly answer whether that product will solve the customer’s need.

Question 49

Proposals and contracts

Answer 49

In many sales situations (especially in B2B sales), the prospect requests a proposal—a document that proposes the specific terms of the deal, including the pricing, delivery time frame, and scope of the products or services offered. The next step, assuming the proposal is accepted, is to create a sales contract that includes the negotiated details from the proposal. Companies usually train their sales teams to use a standardized template for proposals and contracts and customize these documents so both parties are satisfied with the terms.

Question 50

Technology proficiency

Answer 50

The proliferation of technology to help with work performance means that salespeople must rely more and more on tools such as computers, mobile devices, and payment systems (for example, cash registers, credit card machines, mobile card readers) to do their jobs. Being proficient in the use of these technological tools is imperative for good performance. Salespeople must also be familiar with the specific tools used by the company they work for in order to produce documentation, to communicate, and to present information to their leaders, peers, and customers.

Question 51

Software skills

Answer 51

Salespeople must be proficient in using software such as CRM, competitive analysis tools, social media, and websites to gather data and conduct sales research. Use of these tools helps a salesperson make informed decisions, effectively engage customers, and ideally make sales in a shorter sales cycle. Additionally, it is vital to know workplace productivity apps, online chat and instant messaging tools, and presentation software. Many of these tools are on the market, and each company has its preference. Most importantly, salespeople become familiar with the software their company and its customers use so that they can communicate and present information in a way that builds trust in the brand.

Question 52

four essential skills needed for any salesperson

Answer 52

Ability to build rapport, Time management, Ability to conduct research, Critical thinking and problem-solving

Question 53

strategic thinking

Answer 53

A process applied by an individual in the context of achieving a goal or set of goals in an endeavor

Question 54

strategic partnerships

Answer 54

A partnership in which the buyer and seller commit resources to generate growth for both parties

Question 55

approach

Answer 55

The salesperson meets the buyer and introduces the company

Question 56

Six Steps of Sales Process

Answer 56

1. Prospecting and Qualifying
2. Approach
3. Presenting and demonstrating
4. Handling Objections
5. Closing the sale
6. Following up on the sale

Question 57

Prospecting and qualifying

Answer 57

Searching for potential customers and deciding whether they have the ability and desire to make a purchase

Question 58

Presenting and demonstrating

Answer 58

Explaining how the product meets customer’s needs

Question 59

Handling objections

Answer 59

Answering customer questions and concerns

Question 60

Closing the sale

Answer 60

Agreeing on the terms of the sale and finalizing the transaction

Question 61

Following up on the sale

Answer 61

Ensuring the customer is satisfied with the product or service that was delivered