Deck 5: Using Communication Principles to Build Relationships

Question 1

Robert smiles a lot when he makes presentations to prospective buyers of his product. He says he uses the smile to communicate the idea he is a friendly, helpful salesperson. In terms of the communication process, translating this idea into a smile is his way of:

A) decoding
B) deceiving
C) encoding
D) encroaching
E) deciding

Answer 1

C

Question 2

To develop a good understanding of each other's needs, sellers must effectively communicate with the buyer and who need to actively listen to the seller.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Two-way communication starts with decoding, the translation of thoughts into words, which are then encoded by the person receiving the communication.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Virginia just saw Carl, with whom she attended high school 15 years ago, driving near her in rush hour traffic so she honks her horn and waves to say "hello." Carl, who does not recognize Virginia, thinks this stranger is giving him a hard time about a lane change he just made. Obviously, there is a problem in the way Carl is _____ the message.

A) controlling
B) nonverbalizing
C) sending
D) decoding
E) verbalizing

Question 5

Will Jones recently quit his job as stockbroker and opened a florist shop. He knows how to arrange flowers and has a lot of contacts in the community, but he is inexperienced when it comes to running a retail flower business. A salesperson who sells all the operating supplies needed by florists is making a sales presentation to Jones. When the salesperson told Jones, "You need a flower stripper," Jones wondered why he would want to strip the petals off of flowers. Jones's reaction indicates a problem with:

A) the halo effect
B) jargon
C) word abstraction
D) noise
E) the recency effect

Question 6

The 80-20 listening differential suggests salespeople should speak 80 percent of the time and listen 20 percent of the time.

Question 7

When making a sales presentation for her firm's inventory control software, Galene often compares the difficulty of doing her income taxes without a software program to the difficulty of keeping track of inventory without an effective software system. Galene is using a work picture in her sales presentation.

Question 8

The speaking-listening differential can be used to predict how many moments of silence will likely occur in the sales presentation.

Question 9

In two-way communication, encoding and decoding refer to ______ and ______ thoughts and interpretations.

A) announcing and denouncing
B) preferring and referring
C) translating and interpreting
D) deciphering and depicting
E) evaluating and influencing

Question 10

The salesperson says, "For the money, you will find no better water reclamation system anywhere!" The customer thinks the salesperson has just told him that his product is cheaply made and only fairly successful at cleaning the water so it can be reused. Part of the miscommunication was caused by the customer's secretary who came in during the presentation and asked the customer to sign a letter. In terms of the communication process, the salesperson was _____, the customer was ______, and the secretary created _____.

A) decoding; encoding; feedback
B) decoding; creating feedback; noise
C) encoding; decoding; feedback
D) encoding; decoding; noise
E) decoding; encoding; noise

Question 11

Most sales transactions take place in the personal zone.

Question 12

In a high-context cultural such as found in the United States, lawyers are very important; wasting time is to be avoided; and competitive bidding is very common.

Question 13

If you elect to dress casually, you will need to pay greater attention to your clothes because casual dress is more revealing of your personality and attitude than business attire.

Question 14

Many consumers have an image of salespeople as loud, fast-talking people. These are standard active listening characteristics of salespeople.

Question 15

When making her sales presentation to an important customer, Sarah is frequented interrupted by announcements coming through the company's speaker system. Sarah is experiencing noise.

Question 16

The salesperson notices the customer's face shows a puzzled look and asks what needs clarification. The customer replies, "I'd like to know more about how you calculated the estimated cost to use this machine." The salesperson then provides the details. This scenario illustrates two-way communication.

Question 17

What should a salesperson do if a prospect asks him to conduct the sales presentation near a large, noisy piece of assembly line equipment while the prospect watches the line for any malfunctions?

A) Do as the prospect requested and give his or her sales presentation.
B) Ask the prospect if it is possible to reschedule the meeting to a time when the prospect is less distracted.
C) Plan on relying on nonverbal communication to determine the success of the presentation.
D) Assume the prospect will pay closer attention to the presentation because he must listen while he watches.
E) Give up on the prospect; he or she is obviously not interested.

Question 18

Customers may become annoyed if the salesperson overuses the active listening suggestion of repeating information.

Question 19

The personal zone is reserved for a salesperson's supervisors.

Question 20

According to the communication process, when a salesperson develops a sales presentation, he or she is actively involved in:

A) encoding
B) affective stimulation
C) perceptualizing
D) decoding
E) selling

Question 21

Ursula is in the middle of a serious negotiation with her customer. She is not sure what the customer meant by his last statement. Ursula should ___________________ in order to verify her customer's intent.

A) start her presentation over from the beginning
B) quickly move to a trial close
C) restate the customer's comment
D) call her sales manager
E) all of the above

Question 22

One way to define the _____ is to say Ned can listen to words at a rate more than five times as fast as the rate at which Louise can speak.

A) active listening
B) speaking-listening differential
C) lazy tongue syndrome
D) the need for indirect questioning
E) the need for open-ended questions

Question 23

Tyler is paying careful attention to what Jack (her prospect) says and sorting out relevant facts from all the statements. With eye contact and nods of her head, she tells Jack she's interested in what Jack is saying. Tyler is engaged in:

A) focused learning
B) presentation protocol
C) active listening
D) dynamic hearing
E) all of the above

Question 24

Which of the following is a suggestion for active listening?

A) Avoid repeating the same information.
B) Never summarize information already provided.
C) Do not embarrass the customer by rephrasing his or her comments.
D) Do not allow any moments of silence during the sales pitch.
E) None of the above is a suggestion for active listening.

Question 25

One way to define the speaking-listening differential is to say:

A) active listening makes better speakers
B) customers can listen to words at a rate more than five times as fast as the rate at which the salesperson can speak
C) lose lips sink ships
D) speaking divided by listening equals communication
E) articulation equals listening divided by speech rate

Question 26

Which of the following is a suggestion for active listening?

A) Echo what the prospect has said.
B) Summarize the conversation.
C) Be quiet while the prospect thinks.
D) Concentrate on ideas rather than just words.
E) Do any of the above to encourage active listening.

Question 27

Andrea is a technical assistant for a computer company. After listening to the customer, she asks, "What is it the software will not do?" Andrea is practicing the active listening skill of:

A) paraphrasing what a prospect says.
B) listening to the customer's words from the customer's point of view.
C) asking questions to gain a more complete understanding of what the customer is trying to communicate.
D) tolerating silence gives the customer time to think.
E) summarizing provides both the salesperson and the customer with an overview of what has been said.

Question 28

The 80-20 ______________ suggests salespeople should listen 80 percent of the time and talk no more than 20 percent of the time.

A) listening model
B) personal-interpersonal differential
C) body language agreement model
D) speaking-listening differential
E) word picture-loudness zone

Question 29

Which of the following statements describes a problem the speaking-listening differential may cause?

A) The quality of the salesperson's handshake becomes more important.
B) Centralized buying may take the customer firm's buying function out of the salesperson's territory.
C) The buying center will have multiple gatekeepers.
D) The salesperson may not know what the prospect wants even after the prospect has told him or her.
E) Salespeople will have trouble making appointments with prospects.

Question 30

Instead of describing the product, the salesperson was nodding her head and using expressions like, "Really?" "Uh-huh," and "That's interesting." The salesperson is:

A) trying to find the appropriate time to close the sale
B) dealing with customer objections
C) engaging in active listening
D) watching for nonverbal communication to see if the customer really meant what he was saying
E) encouraging active speaking

Question 31

Which of the following statements about body language is true?

A) Only one's voice characteristics carry more of the communication exchange than body language.
B) Customers may look away from the salesperson while they actively consider information in the sales presentation.
C) Hand gestures have the same meanings in all cultures.
D) A person rocking from side-to-side is conveying a positive outlook.
E) Broad, vigorous arm gestures indicate a lack of interest in the verbal portion of the communication process.

Question 32

Sabrina needs to "bite her tongue" after asking the prospect a difficult question. Tolerating silence is often important to allow the customer:

A) time to think
B) an opportunity to end the meeting
C) to shift from the intimate to the social zone
D) inflection
E) alternative body language word pictures

Question 33

During the sales presentation, why would the salesperson repeat the negative comment the customer made about his product's service contract word for word?

A) to buy time, so he could determine how to deal with a customer objection
B) to provide feedback to the customer
C) to avoid having any lulls in the conversation
D) to verify that he decoded the customer's message correctly
E) to summarize the customer's concerns

Question 34

Which of the following statements about active listening is FALSE?

A) Paraphrasing what a prospect says is fine, but never repeat things word for word.
B) The salesperson should listen to the customer's words from the customer's point of view.
C) Additional questions can give the salesperson a more complete understanding of what the prospect is trying to communicate.
D) Tolerating silence gives the customer time to think.
E) Summarizing provides both the salesperson and the customer with an overview of what has been said.

Question 35

Sissy was concerned when she overheard the salesperson talking about gourmet koi food, EPDM and butyl rubber, P-1200 pumps, and pirouette fountain heads, and water lettuce. She was frustrated to learn the salesperson was using _____ and discussing accessories for water gardens.

A) industry shorthand
B) metaphors
C) culture-specific terminology
D) similes
E) trade jargon

Question 36

Which of the following is NOT part of a salesman's voice characteristics?

A) his hand gestures
B) the speed with which he speaks
C) how loudly he speaks
D) how he articulates his words
E) his use of inflections at the end of his sentences

Question 37

Jennifer walks in to her customer's office and immediately the customer begins talking about his problems both at work and at home. Jennifer had a sales presentation prepared for the customer but, instead quietly listens, asking questions where appropriate and offering support when appropriate. Jennifer is practicing the:

A) paraphrasing what a prospect says mirroring technique
B) active listening.
C) body language agreement method
D) tolerating silence presentation format
E) low-context, high-context differential

Question 38

To make the point that communications need to be appropriate to the audience receiving them, Kathy showed a group of reading teachers the molecular formula for compounds produced by PKC Pharmaceutical companies. Even though the information was in English, the teachers did not have a clue what it was about. Kathy was using:

A) an analogy
B) an 80-20 rule diagram
C) public zone, personal zone differentials
D) nonverbal communication
E) high-inflection culture content

Question 39

Salespeople should vary the loudness of their speech:

A) to produce recognizable sounds
B) according to the nonverbal communication of the listener
C) to determine your constant inflection point
D) to avoid monotony
E) is accurately described by all of the above

Question 40

When asking questions the salesperson should:

A) encourage the customer to provide a full response.
B) let the prospect know the salesperson's time is valuable
C) ask questions that interest him or her.
D) ask questions that can only have one answer.
E) do all of the above

Question 41

Hand gestures can convey significant information to salespeople. When selling in an international environment, salespeople should remember hand gestures mean:

A) the prospect is ready to end the interview
B) the prospect wants to place an order
C) the prospect strongly agrees with what she has said
D) different things in different cultures
E) the prospect strongly disagrees with what has been said

Question 42

You are a salesperson making your first call on a buyer at a new business. In what zone should you expect the buyer to offer you a seat when you go into the buyer's office?

A) social
B) personal
C) public
D) business
E) intimate

Question 43

The physical space between two people who are interacting can be divided into four zones. The zone closest to a person (two feet or less) is called the _____ zone.

A) social
B) personal
C) public
D) receptive
E) intimate

Question 44

Shaking hands should:

A) be the prospect's choice
B) be the first thing a salesperson does
C) only happen the first time a salesperson meets a prospect
D) always take place with the prospect seated
E) All of the above

Question 45

It is late in the day when Reginald calls on his favorite customer. The customer is tired but invites him in and sits back with his hands and legs open. Reginald interprets this body language as:

A) exhaustion
B) positive
C) boredom
D) indifference
E) None of the above. Body language does not indicate a customer's feelings.

Question 46

During a 30-minute sales call approximately __________ nonverbal signals are exchanged.

A) 80
B) 800
C) 4500
D) 8,000
E) 80,000

Question 47

Which of the following body language signals is most positive?

A) Prospect has arms and legs uncrossed
B) Prospect is leaning away from the salesperson.
C) Prospect's left hand is clenched in a fist.
D) Prospect is looking directly in to the salesperson's eyes for 15 to 20 seconds each time they make eye contact.
E) Prospect is fidgeting

Question 48

Which of the following statements is good advice for salespeople concerned about properly using hand gestures?

A) Pointing a finger at the prospect should be avoided.
B) Do not expose your palm to your prospect because that gesture sends negative or "stop" signals.
C) When making a presentation before a group keep hand gestures to a minimum so you'll appear confident about your topic.
D) Using the hand in a slicing motion signals the other person to cut their comments short.
E) Each of the above statements is good advice for salespeople who want to use proper hand gestures.

Question 49

In the United States, which of the following nonverbal communications indicates the listener is bored and disinterested with what is being said?

A) leaning backwards
B) lack of eye contact
C) furrowed brow and pursed lips
D) playing with items on the table or desk
E) all of the above

Question 50

Which of the following statements is good advice for salespeople concerned about using proper facial expressions as nonverbal communicators?

A) Nothing creates rapport like a smile.
B) Refrain from blushing during the presentation.
C) Facial expressions should be natural not rehearsed.
D) Facial reactions are typically easy to manage.
E) All of the above statements are good advice for salespeople.

Question 51

As Betty progresses through her sales presentation, she notices the customer begins to blink their eyes rapidly, almost once per second. Betty

A) becomes excited since that is a sign of interest by the customer.
B) becomes concerned because that is a sign the customer is stressed.
C) becomes excited because it indicates the customer is ready to close the deal.
D) becomes concerned because it indicates the customer is bored.
E) All of the above.

Question 52

When we consider the distance involved, it is correct to say most students in a classroom are seated in the professor's _____ zone.

A) social
B) personal
C) public
D) outreach
E) intimate

Question 53

The face is one source of nonverbal communication. Which of the following statements about reading the messages communicated by someone's face is true?

A) The lips are the most important area of the face to watch to determine if the person is really listening.
B) When someone stares at you, it indicates a strong desire to please.
C) Cultural differences exist concerning eye contact between individuals.
D) The tightening of the facial muscles indicates a strong interest in what is being said.
E) Eyes cast down indicate that the listener is bored.

Question 54

Which of the following statements about appearance as a nonverbal communicator is true?

A) A salesperson should always wear professional attire.
B) It is much better to under dress than to overdress.
C) Salespeople should attempt to match their style of dress to that of their customers.
D) In today's business world, ties are an unnecessary bother and do nothing to add to a salesperson's potential for success.
E) Successful salespeople wear high-fashion clothing.

Question 55

People can be said to fall into two categories when it comes to touching--contact and noncontact. Noncontact people tend to view contact people as:

A) cold
B) intrusive
C) impersonal
D) glacial
E) unfriendly

Question 56

Which of the following is NOT one of the forms of nonverbal communication?

A) body language
B) appearance
C) inflection
D) space
E) all of the above

Question 57

Michael is ___________ when he notices his prospect begins moving back and forth near the end of his sales presentation.

A) distraught
B) encouraged
C) bored
D) doubtful
E) None of the above. Body language does not indicate a customer's feelings.

Question 58

Which of the following statements about body language is true?

A) Self-touching gestures typically indicate the listener is very comfortable with what he or she is hearing.
B) Individuals use increased arm movement when they are expressing an opinion.
C) Open and relaxed hands are a good indicator of boredom.
D) The meaning of hand gestures is consistent from one culture to another.
E) Individuals sitting with their legs crossed are sending a message of cooperation and confidence.

Question 59

In the United States, which of the following nonverbal communications is positive and indicates the listener is interested in the message being communicated?

A) contemplative posture
B) avoidance of eye contact
C) playing with items on the desk
D) shaking head
E) pursed lips and furrowed brow

Question 60

Teresa notices her customer shifting position in his chair. Teresa concludes her customer:

A) is ready to end the interview
B) wants to place an order
C) strongly agrees with what she has said
D) strongly disagrees with what she has said
E) any of the above

Question 61

What voice characteristics would affect the selling ability of a salesperson?

Question 62

When making a sales presentation for her firm's production control software, Garrett often compares the difficulty of doing his income taxes without a software program to the difficulty of keeping track of inventory without an effective software system. What is Garrett using in his sales presentation?

Question 63

Describe the two-way flow of information. How can communication break down?

Question 64

What is a customer doing when he or she interprets the meaning of the salesperson's presentation?

Question 65

Gerald walks into a customer's office and hears a birthday party going on in the next room. What type of problem could this create for Gerald?

Question 66

What are low-context and high-context cultures? What are the implications of these differences for salespeople?

Question 67

Negotiations in international sales often take place in English because it is the only language known both by the seller and the prospect. For a native English speaker, when talking with a prospect for whom English is a second language which of the following is good advice?

A) Use precise words like "cease" and "pizzazz"
B) Use words with alternative meanings like "right"
C) Use descriptive expressions like "to put all the eggs in one basket"
D) Use action-specific verbs like "press that button"
E) Any of the above would be good advice for dealing with someone for whom English is a second language

Question 68

What is active listening? What techniques do active listeners use?

Question 69

Which of the following statements about response time is true?

A) Response time is the time between when the salesperson sends a message and the prospect responds to it.
B) E-mail messages have a greater degree of interactivity and thus greater effectiveness than telephone conversations.
C) Due to response time, a salesperson should use e-mail rather than telephone communications when given a choice.
D) Because of nonverbal communications, face-to-face communications have the lowest response time of all communications methods.
E) Response time is the time when the prospect is most receptive of the sales message due to the absence of noise.

Question 70

Which of the following statements about the effectiveness of the various methods of communications is true?

A) E-mail has a high level of response time.
B) Telephone and face-to-face communications have the same level of response time.
C) Response time does not determine the effectiveness of communications.
D) A hand-written letter has a greater level of response time than a telephone conversation.
E) Response time is unaffected by nonverbal communications.

Question 71

When adjusting sales presentations for international audiences, salespeople should recognize:

A) in low-context cultures the background and reputation of the salesperson is especially important
B) in high-context cultures the words communicated are especially important
C) in low-context cultures gestures and nonverbal communications are most important
D) in low-context cultures words carry most of the information in communication
E) all of the above are concerns in international sales

Question 72

Which of the following would be the WORST bit of advice for a new salesperson for an office machine manufacturer to follow?

A) Take note of how top executives in your firm dress.
B) Adjust to the geographic region in which you work.
C) Attempt to match the clothing choices of your typical customers.
D) If you look well dressed, you'll feel more confident.
E) Be a leader and wear the latest fashions.

Question 73

In terms of the communication process, what is the salesperson doing as he selects the components of his sales presentation including the demonstration and the testimonial?

Question 74

What are the three forms of nonverbal expression? What do experts say about the importance of nonverbal behavior?

Question 75

Respond to the following statement: "Effective listening is a passive activity."

Question 76

As a professional salesperson should you dress to please yourself? Explain your answer.

Question 77

Why is it essential for a salesperson to use two-way communication to tailor his or her presentation?

Question 78

When salespeople communicate in a high-technology environment, they should:

A) never deliver bad news via e-mail
B) avoid "techno-overkill"
C) make sure the communication is meaningful
D) customize their messages
E) do all of the above

Question 79

When salespeople communicate in a high-technology environment, they should:

A) always deliver bad news via e-mail
B) send daily e-mails to each customer
C) use their own style and not try to mimic the style of their customers
D) use e-mail to send duplicate messages to all customers
E) not do any of the above

Question 80

Carla does not have a demonstration model to show her customer. She will have to describe it. What will Carla create?