Sales Management Ch.10 – Flashcards
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The results of salesperson performance evaluations can be used for all of these sales management purposes except to a. identify salespeople that might need to be terminated and to supply evidence to support the need for termination. b. identify salespeople that might be promoted. c. assess the adequacy of a firm's sales management process and to provide direction for improved performance and prescription for needed changes. d. ensure that compensation and other reward disbursements are consistent with actual salesperson performance. e. determine the specific training and counseling needs of individual salespeople and the overall salesforce.
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C
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Performance evaluations for the purpose of determining compensation and reward disbursements should focus on a. activities and results related to the salesperson's current job and situation. b. criteria related to potential effectiveness as a sales manager. c. obtaining information for effective human resource planning. d. determining the future aspirations of the salesperson and appropriate career-development activities. e. measuring the salesperson's job satisfaction.
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A
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The majority of sales organizations evaluate salesperson performance: a. on a semiannual basis. b. on a quarterly basis. c. on a monthly basis. d. on an annual basis. e. once every two years.
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D
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Which of the following approaches to salesperson performance evaluations is false? a. Most sales organizations employ combinations of input and output criteria that are evaluated by quantitative and qualitative measures. b. Sales organizations that set performance standards or quotas tend to enlist the aid of salespeople in establishing these objectives. c. Most salesperson performance evaluations are conducted by the field sales manager who supervises the salesperson. d. Most sales organizations provide salespeople with a written copy of their performance review. e. Discussions of performance evaluations with salespeople are typically conducted in the field.
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E
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An assessment technique that involves performance assessment from multiple raters including sales managers, internal and external customers, team members, and even oneself is a. performance management b. 360-degree feedback c. total quality management d. multiple feedback e. broad-based assessment
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B
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All of the following are benefits of 360-degree feedback except a. it reduces assessment bias. b. it detects barriers to success. c. it eliminates sales manager involvement. d. it helps better understand customer needs. e. it helps assess developmental needs.
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C
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Which of the following statements concerning a 360-degree feedback system is false? a. Ensure that participants provide honest feedback by distributing the feedback instrument confidentially. b. Explain to all participants how the data will be used. c. Make sure those being rated know who did the rating. d. Verify that the data are accurate. e. Ensure that subjects can use the data to improve their performance.
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C
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Which of the following statements concerning performance management is false? a. Salespeople are compensated on the value of their contributions to the organization's success. b. Salespeople assume responsibility for their careers. c. Sales managers act as partners in the performance appraisal process. d. Its goal is ultimately to improve organizational performance by finding new and better ways to satisfy customers. e. Sales managers create development plans for salespeople to follow.
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E
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One approach for incorporating TQM into the performance evaluation process consists of four stages. Which of the following is not one of the stages? a. The salesperson and sales manager discuss the salesperson's evaluation. b. The sales manager discusses the salesperson with others (e.g., customers, team members) who evaluated the salesperson. c. The sales manager rates the salesperson relative to predetermined criteria to determine whether he or she is above or below expectations. d. The salesperson's performance is reviewed relative to his or her previous performance evaluation. e. The sales manager specifies training and resources needed for improvement.
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B
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A behavior-based perspective to evaluating and controlling salesperson performance a. focuses on objective measures of results. b. has very little monitoring or directing of salespersons by sales managers. c. incorporates complex and often subjective assessments of salesperson characteristics. d. may lead to a focus on short-term outcomes. e. minimizes activities related to customer relationships.
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C
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Which of the following statements regarding the use of outcome-based and behavior-based perspectives in the evaluation of salesperson performance is false? a. A review of current practice indicates a tendency toward a behavior-based perspective. b. Most sales organizations operate somewhere between the two extreme positions. c. The relative emphasis on outcome-based and behavior-based measures depends upon environmental, firm, and salesperson considerations. d. A salesperson's performance on post-sale service is considered a behavior-based measure. e. Unethical activities that produce immediate sales may result from a totally outcome- based perspective.
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A
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Complete this sentence. The more a salesperson performance evaluation system is behavior-based than outcome-based a. the less likely that risk-averse salespeople will be attracted, nurtured, and retained. b. the more salespeople will have reduced levels of intrinsic motivation. c. the less salespeople identify with and feel committed to the sales organization. d. the less the need for using pay as a control mechanism. e. the more likely salespeople will reject the authority of sales management.
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D
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Limited research shows that behavior-based control appears to be used under all of the following conditions except a. the selling environment is uncertain. b. the salesforce is large. c. outputs and the cost of measuring them are inadequate. d. products are less complex. e. salespeople are more educated.
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B
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A comprehensive evaluation of salesperson performance should incorporate criteria from all of the following dimensions except a. profitability. b. political. c. professional development. d. behavioral. e. results.
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B
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Most sales organizations focus on this behavioral criterion in salesperson evaluation: a. number of demonstrations conducted. b. number of required reports submitted. c. number of customer calls. d. number of letters/phone calls to prospects. e. number of customer complaints.
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C
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This type of criterion assesses improvements in certain characteristics of salespeople that are related to successful performance in the sales job: a. profitability. b. productivity. c. professional development. d. behavioral. e. results.
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C
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Which of the following is not considered professional development criteria? a. communication skills b. product knowledge c. attitude d. selling skills e. number of customer complaints
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E
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Which of the following statements regarding the use of professional development criteria in salesperson evaluation is false? a. Salespeople that are developing professionally are increasing their chances of successful performance over the long run. b. Salespeople have little control over the development of personal characteristics related to success in their selling situation. c. Professional-development criteria introduce a long-term perspective into the salesperson performance-evaluation process. d. Improving selling skills is an example of a professional development criterion. e. Many sales organizations incorporate multiple professional development criteria into their salesperson performance evaluations.
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B
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All of the following are considered results criteria except a. number of calls per account. b. sales volume in dollars. c. sales volume by customer. d. market share achieved. e. number of new accounts.
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A
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In the regression method for developing sales quotas or forecasts, which of the following would be considered an organizational factor? a. Market potential b. Salesperson's experience c. Concentration of accounts d. Span of control e. Salesperson's motivation
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D
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Which of the following statements regarding the regression forecasting approach is false? a. It can be used to develop sales forecasts and establish sales quotas at the account and territory levels, but cannot be used at higher organizational levels. b. It develops sales forecasts that explicitly consider the characteristics of each territory. c. Regression forecasts can be translated directly into sales quotas. d. It incorporates measurements of specific environmental, organizational, and salesperson factors as well as sales for each territory in the previous year. e. The regression model provides information concerning relationships between determinant factors and sales.
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A
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All of the following are important in assigning sales quotas except a. the concentration of businesses within the sales representative's territory. b. the geographical size of a territory. c. commitment by top management to assist the sales representative. d. growth of businesses within the sales representative's territory. e. the complexity of products sold.
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C
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Salespeople can increase profitability in all of the following ways except a. by selling more higher margin products. b. by reducing their travel and entertainment costs. c. by reducing their order-call ratio. d. by maintaining higher prices in sales negotiations. e. by reducing their average cost per sales call.
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C
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All of the following are considered profitability criteria except a. sales volume in dollars. b. gross margin per sales. c. return on sales cost. d. selling expense versus budget. e. average cost per call.
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A
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Salesperson performance evaluation methods should possess all of the following characteristics except a. usefulness. b. complexity. c. practicality. d. comparability. e. reliability.
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B
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Validity in the salesperson evaluation method is necessary because it ensures that a. the measurement instruments and evaluation process will be similar throughout the sales organization. b. the performance evaluation method will be designed to meet the needs of the sales organization. c. the measures provide accurate assessments of the criteria they are intended to measure. d. the measures will be stable over time and exhibit internal consistency. e. the evaluation methods will be capable of detecting differences in the performance of individual salespeople.
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C
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Standardization, as a characteristic of salesperson performance evaluation methods, can be defined as a. the need for the measurement instruments and evaluation process to be similar throughout the sales organization. b. the ability of the measure to provide accurate assessments of the criteria they are intended to measure. c. the ability of the measure to meet the needs of the sales organization. d. the need for the measures to be stable over time and exhibit internal consistency. e. the need for both sales managers and salespeople to understand the entire performance-appraisal process and to be able to implement the process in a reasonable amount of time.
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A
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Discriminability, as a characteristic of salesperson performance evaluation methods, can be defined as a. the need for the measurement instruments and evaluation process to be similar throughout the sales organization. b. the ability of the measure to provide accurate assessments of the criteria they are intended to measure. c. the ability of the measure to meet the needs of the sales organization. d. the need for the measures to be stable over time and exhibit internal consistency. e. the need for the evaluation method to be capable of detecting differences in the performance of individual salespeople.
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E
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Reliability, as a characteristic of salesperson performance evaluation methods, can be defined as a. the need for the measurement instruments and evaluation process to be similar throughout the sales organization. b. the ability of the measure to provide accurate assessments of the criteria they are intended to measure. c. the ability of the measure to meet the needs of the sales organization. d. the need for the measures to be stable over time and exhibit internal consistency. e. the need for both sales managers and salespeople to understand the entire performance-appraisal process and to be able to implement the process in a reasonable amount of time.
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D
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Practicality, as a characteristic of salesperson performance evaluation methods, can be defined as a. the need for the measurement instruments and evaluation process to be similar throughout the sales organization. b. the ability of the measure to provide accurate assessments of the criteria they are intended to measure. c. the ability of the measure to meet the needs of the sales organization. d. the need for the measures to be stable over time and exhibit internal consistency. e. the need for both sales managers and salespeople to understand the entire performance-appraisal process and to be able to implement the process in a reasonable amount of time.
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E
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While other methods of performance evaluation were rated very good on job relatedness and reliability criteria, this method received a poor rating: a. graphic rating/checklist method. b. ranking methods. c. management by objectives (MBO). d. behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS). e. team-evaluation consensus.
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B
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Relative to the graphic rating, MBO and BARS performance evaluation methods, which of the following statements is false regarding the ranking method of performance evaluation? a. It is poor in job relatedness. b. It is poor in practicality. c. It is poor in reliability. d. It is poor in standardization. e. It is good in comparability.
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D
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Which of the following statements regarding the graphic rating/checklist method of performance evaluation is false? a. This method is very popular in many sales organizations. b. It consists of approaches where salespeople are evaluated using some type of performance evaluation form. c. This method involves ranking salespeople according to their relative performance on each performance criterion. d. It was rated poor on the discriminability criterion. e. With this method, some sales managers tend to give all ratings around the average.
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C
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The following is an excerpt from this type of performance evaluation method: Returns customers' calls the same day Almost Never 1 2 3 4 5 Almost Always NA a. graphic rating/checklist method. b. ranking methods. c. management by objectives (MBO) d. behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS). e. assessment-center method.
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A
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This method of salesperson performance evaluation has been described as having problems related to the "halo effect": a. graphic rating/checklist method. b. ranking methods. c. management by objectives (MBO). d. behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS). e. assessment center method.
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A
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The ____ ranks all salespeople according to relative performance on each performance criterion. a. graphic rating/checklist method b. ranking method c. management by objectives (MBO) d. behaviorally anchored rating scale (BARS) e. team-evaluation consensus
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B
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The mutual setting of well-defined and measurable goals within a specified time period is a concept incorporated into this type of performance evaluation method: a. graphic rating/checklist method. b. ranking method. c. management by objectives (MBO). d. behaviorally anchored rating scale (BARS). e. team-evaluation consensus.
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C
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Behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS) are a unique evaluation procedure because they are the only method that a. tries to link salesperson behaviors with specific results. b. tries to link salesperson behaviors with promotability. c. attempts to correlate sales-training methods with sales results. d. uses behavior to predict a salesperson's level of motivation. e. tries to link salesperson attitudes with their performance.
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A
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This evaluation procedure uses salespeople to identify important performance results and the critical activities and responses necessary to achieve these results: a. graphic rating/checklist method. b. team-evaluation consensus. c. management by objectives (MBO). d. behaviorally anchored rating scales(BARS). e. assessment-center method.
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D
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The evaluation method indicated by the following example is the "Set up a scale from 1 to 10 with a rating of 3 suggesting that the salesperson could be expected to half-heartedly contribute to the team effort to accomplish goals." a. graphic rating/checklist method. b. ranking method. c. management by objectives (MBO). d. behaviorally anchored rating scale (BARS). e. team-evaluation consensus.
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D
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When conducting performance appraisals, which of the following may lead to a discriminatory appraisal lawsuit? a. Observing salespeople performing their work. b. Basing the appraisal system on behaviors or results. c. Conducting reviews at least once a year. d. Using different rating forms for rating different salespeople. e. Bringing in a third party for sensitive evaluation meetings.
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D
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Which of the following was not found to most influence a sales team's success? a. start-up support b. team quotas c. top management support d. cross-team communication e. provision of training
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B
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The initial use of the information provided by the various salesperson performance evaluation methods is a. to identify potential problems in training. b. to determine the absolute and relative performance of each salesperson. c. to identify areas where salespeople need to improve for better performance in the future. d. to use the information to improve the overall operations of the sales organization. e. to determine which salespeople are eligible for reward disbursements, special recognition, promotions, etc.
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B
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When attempting to use the diagnostic information provided by salesperson-evaluation methods the major difficulty is in a. reviewing the performance of each individual salesperson against each relevant criterion. b. attempting to summarize the results across all salespeople being supervised. c. isolating the specific causes of low performance. d. determining which salespeople are not meeting their sales quotas. e. making determinations as to the levels of performance that must be met to deserve special recognition and rewards.
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C
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According to the text, all of the following should be done when using performance information to identify potential problems where salespeople need to improve for better performance in the future except a. evaluate salespeople against relevant performance criteria. b. compare salesperson evaluations to identify problem areas. c. investigate problem areas to identify causes of performance problems. d. report problem areas to top management. e. determine sales management actions to eliminate causes of future problems and to solve existing problems.
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D
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The potential cause of salesperson performance problems in meeting profitability quotas might be a. too little effort. b. poor account coverage. c. high selling expenses. d. high gross margins. e. poor quality of effort.
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C
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Research results have consistently found ____ relationship between salesperson job satisfaction and turnover. a. no direct b. a positive c. very little d. a negative e. a parallel
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D
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The dimensions of job satisfaction that the INDSALES scale attempts to measure include all of the following except a. company policy and support. b. the job. c. customers. d. fellow workers. e. competitor sales jobs.
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E
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Which of the following statements regarding the use of the scale termed INDSALES is false? a. It is a scale for evaluating the job satisfaction of salespeople. b. In using the scale, salespeople indicate their level of agreement with a number of statements concerning their particular sales job. c. The scale uses statements designed to measure satisfaction in five general areas. d. The answers salespeople give to the scale statements are summed to form an overall salesperson satisfaction score. e. Sales managers can view the dimensional scores for each salesperson if they choose.
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C
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The sample statement, "Management is progressive," used in the INDSALES scale would be attempting to measure this dimension of job satisfaction: a. pay. b. promotion and advancement. c. customers. d. company policy and support. e. the job.
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D
