Iibm examination paper_of_sales_management_300813_(elective) (1)

Examination Paper of Sales Management
IIBM Institute ofBusiness Management
Examination Paper MM.100
Sales and Distribution Management
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 marks)
 This section consists of Multiple Choices & Short Note type questions. 
 Answer all the questions. 
 Part one carries 1 mark each & Part Two carries 5 marks each. 
Part One:
Multiple Choices:
1. Which of the following comes under role of a salesman?
a. Territory Sales
b. Direct Sales
c. Technical Sales
d. All of the above
2. This method is used by the trainers to present more information in a short time to a large
number of participants________
a. Lecture
b. Demonstration
c. Group discussion
d. None of the above
3. ________is an emerging form of distribution and promotion that combines elements of
personal selling and advertising.
a. Direct Mail
b. Direct Marketing
c. Team selling
4. An exercise that is crucial for every company in the business of manufacturing and selling its
products is called_______.
a. Retailer
b. Wholesaler
c. Customer
5. ________involves manufacturer marketing activities directed at channel intermediaries.
a. Pull Strategy
b. Push Strategy
c. Both (a) & (b)
IIBM Institute of Business Management 1

6. They are the shopkeepers who set up shops in the market place to cater to the needs of
hundreds of consumers
a. Distributors
b. Wholesalers
c. Agents
d. Retailers
7. Which one of the following is the 2nd stage of Product life cycle?
a. Maturity
b. Growth
c. Decline
d. Introduction
8. MSA Stands for_______
9. It refers to the number of selling activities that a salesman is expected to perform in his area
over a period of time is known as________.
a. Sales volume quotas
b. Financial quotas
c. Activities quotas
d. All of the above
10. Which of the following comes under financial incentives?
a. Higher Salary
b. Profit Sharing
c. More Commission
d. All of the above
Part Two
1. List the different types of forecasting methods?
2. Write a short note on “Training”?
3. Define the purpose of sales budget?
4. How would you explain the Distribution Strategy?
END OF SECTION A
Section B: Caselets (40 Marks)
 This section consists of Caselets. 
 Each Caselet carries 20 marks. 
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words). 

Swish flow Ltd. - Hiring Salespeople
“Why two out of five salesperson have resigned within six months of joining the company/” asked
marketing director to the sales manager, Sunil Kumar of Swish flow Ltd. “I think, there is something
wrong with our staffing process, “responded Sunil Kumar, without knowing the real reasons for the
turnover of salespeople.
Swish flow Ltd started manufacturing and marketing consumer durables like fans and water purifiers for
household consumer‟s commercial firms in 1993. The sales and marketing office was located in Mumbai,
the commercial capital of India. Swish flow was a newly established company and for its first year of
operations, the company decided to recruit five salesperson to cover major metros and cities of
Maharashtra. The staffing process included the sales manager deciding the job qualifications salespersons
based on what he learnt in the MBA programme. The administration manger was asked to place the
advertisement in the local newspapers. The resumes of applicants were forwarded to Sunil Kumar, who
screened the same and sent interview calls to about ten applicants. The interviews were conducted by
Sunil Kumar and the marketing director and the selected candidates were given the appointment letters.
Some of the candidates had a problem of finding suitable residence, but the company policy did not
provide any consideration for he3 same. Sunil Kumar conducted one-week training programme and
generally guided the new salesperson, who reported to him directly. There was a delay in the receipt of
the fans from the factory, located at Baroda in Gujarat. During this period of three months, Sunil Kumar
was asked to conduct market surveys and look after advertising function of the entire group. He asked the
salespersons to collect market information on various other products like water purifiers, power tillers,
and so on in which the group was interested to diversify. During this period, two salespersons suddenly
stopped coming to work, after collecting their salaries of the previous working month.
Questions:
1. What improvements do you suggest in the staffing process followed by the company?
2. Was Sunil Kumar right in getting market surveys done by the new salesperson?
Caselet 2
Snow White Paper Company is located in an agricultural belt about 300 kilometers from a metro city.
The company is into writing and printing papers. Its primary raw material is wheat straw. Last year,
the company had a turnover of Rs. 134 crore on a volume of 45,000 tons of paper. While preparing
the business plan for the current year, the top management was concerned with the following
distribution issue that they want you to help resolve:
PROBLEM: FINISHED GOODS DISTRIBUTION
The paper industry is dominated by selling agents who bring the manufacturer like Snow White and
the buyer like printing/publishing companies, and note book makers, together. They make a
commission of about 2 percent on all transactions. Some other points:
 Snow White depends on about 110 agents to canvass business for it from the users. 
 The Company sells about 23 percent of its paper directly to some government organizations. 

 The agent arranges for the buyer to pay the company for its produce by a advance demand
draft. It is expected that the agent provides the credit support to the buyer. 

 Agents are not exclusive for Snow White and work for other paper mills also and normally
play the mills against each other. They have a grip on the business and are reluctant to put the
mill directly in touch with the buyers. 
 There is always an uncertainty on the orders and the price, which would be obtained on the
orders- the company cannot plan its profits properly nor offer the best service to end users so
that they always ask for Snow white. 
Question:
1. How can you help Snow White become less dependent on the selling agents and plan its sales and
profitability better? How can they plan their customer service efforts?
END OF SECTION B
Section C: Applied Theory (30 Marks)
 This section consists of Applied Theory Questions. 
 Each question carries 10 marks. 
 Detailed information should from the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 150 words). 


1. Define the personal selling? Also explain the process of personal selling?
2. What is Motivation? Explain the all theory of Motivation.
3. Define the following terms:
a) Function of Retailers
b) Function of Wholesaler
END OF SECTION C

IIBM Institute ofBusiness Management
Examination Paper MM.100
Management ofa Sales Force
Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 marks)
 This section consists of Multiple Choices & Short Note type Questions. 
 Part one carries 1 mark each & Part Two carries 5 marks each. 
Part One:
Multiple Choices:
1. ____________ is the conscious, systematic process of making decisions about goods and
activities that an individual, group, work unit or organization will pursue in the future.
a. Controlling
b. Planning
c. Training
d. Staffing
2. Which of the following comes under forecasting steps?
a. Trends in sales
b. Past Pattern
c. Competitive factors
d. All of the above
3. SMART Stand for_______
a. Specific-Measure-Achievable-Realistic-Time-bound
b. Smart-Measurable-Achievable-Realistic-Time-bound
c. Specific-Measurable-Achievable-Realistic-Time-bound
4. Which of the following is not comes under relationship selling?
a. Respond to customer needs
b. Proactive
c. Value-based offers
d. Customer‟s customer
5. Establishing the resource needed to successful execute the operating plan by hiring, coaching and
developing people is known as______
a. Planning
b. People Development
c. Proactive Review

d. All of the above
6. AIDA stands for_________
7. This study was conducted using the questionnaire technique among first line managers of
Pharmaceuticalcompanies is called______
a. Results
b. Methodology
c. Both (a) & (b)
8. ______refers to a solely fixed financial reward provided at appropriate times, either weekly or
monthly, depending on the pay period norm.
a. Performance Bonus
b. Straight Commission
c. Straight Salary
d. Salary plus Bonus
9. Which of the following comes under job Description?
a. Duties
b. The job title
c. Responsibilities
d. All of the above
10. _______is the process of weaning our the good from the bad from the large pool of applicant and
choosing the right applicant for the job and the company.
a. Recruiting
b. Selecting
c. Discrimination
Part Two:
1. Write a short note on „Territory Management‟.
2. Define the Assessment of Sales Training?
3. List the tips on making a good sales plan.
4. Explain the Types of Training?
END OF SECTION A
Section B: Caselets (40 Marks)

 This section consists of Caselets. 
 Each Caselet carries 20 marks. 
 Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words). 
Caselet 1
MAJESTIC PLASTICS COMPANY
Reps Selling Too Many Low-Profit Products
Over the past several days the top executives in the Majestic Plastic Company had been conducting their
annual performance review of the company‟s operations. The company president, Boyd Russell, sat in on
most of these sessions and periodically became quite involved in some of the departmental reviews. The
sales department was the one currently under discussion, and Clyde Brion, the general sales manager, was
the focus of attention. Overall, the sales and profit results were satisfactory, but the executives noted what
they thought was a problem in two Louise Shannon was the rep, and the other was in Chicago, which was
Henry Sadowski‟s territory.
In each of these territories, the sales reps total sales volume was satisfactory. The problem was that the
bulk of their sales volume was in low profit products- that is, products whose gross margin was well
below the company‟s desired average. Then the chief financial officer, Oliver Twombly, recalled that this
same situation had been brought up at last year‟s performance review. Clyde Brion realized he was on the
spot with his fellow executives, including the president.
Top management really did not want to change the basic compensation plan because, oer the company as
a whole, it apparently had been working okay. And Brion concurred in this decision. He pointed out that
Shannon ad Sadowski consistently met their total sales quotas and that each had won a sales contest
designed to stimulate total sales. But their performance was not balanced. They went way over quota on
low-margin goods. They were not selling a desirable mix of products, nor were they generating their share
of new accounts. Basically they were getting large repeat orders from a few established accounts. And
Shannon and Sadowski generally were neglecting the newer products that were the foundation of the
company‟s future growth.
Brion had been aware of this situation for some time, but he had never given it the attention it deserved,
partly because the two reps total sales volume was satisfactory and partly because he had other brushfires
to put out. Now he was convinced that he had better do something-and do it quickly.
Question:
1. What should Clyde Brion do to remedy the imbalanced sales performance of Louise Shannon and
Henry Sadowski?
Caselet 2
SUNRISE CLEANERS
To Train or Not to Train
Sunrise Cleaner Company‟s sales have been expanding rapidly in the past several years and are expected
to continue increasing throughout the next decade. In order to meet this demand, Mickie Parsons,
Sunrise‟s sales manager, has hired a number of sales representatives and expects to hire 6 to 10

salespeople in the coming year and more the following year. In the past, Sunrise hired only experienced
reps, but lately the company has been hiring recent marketing graduates. While the new grades don‟t have
experience, they often are a high level of motivation and a good understanding of overall marketing
planning. However, the less experience reps need more training-both on company policies and sales
procedures-before they are effective in making sales calls. Parson is trying to design a training program
that will provide the necessary training at the lowest possible cost.
Currently, Sunrise does not have a training program. Te new hires just spend a week in a territory with an
experienced rep, and ten they are given their own territory. While tis system was satisfactory with
experienced people, it is not adequate for the inexperienced people the company is now hiring.
Mickie Parsons has suggested the president of Sunrise, Keat Markley, that the company institute a one-or
two-week training program at company headquarters. Parsons has suggested two options. The first option
is to hire a staff recruiter/ trainer who would spend half of his or her time on recruiting and the other half
on training. The new staff specialist would be paid a salary of about $60,000 a year- so the added cost
with respect to the training responsibilities would be $30,000 a year. The second option is to contract with
an outside company that specializes les force training. That company would provide a specialist to set up
and conduct a training program at a cost of approximately $20, 0000 per week.
Parsons was just concluding her presentation to Keat Markley. “I feel that a training program would
increase the average annual sales per rep a minimum of 5 percent- to $1,050, 000 per rep.”
Markley replied, “I am not convinced that the training would improve performance enough to justify the
costs. You know it isn‟t just the cost of the trainer. We would also have to bring these reps into
headquarters and pay their expenses while they are here. There would be some equipment and materials
involved…. All for a 5 percent increase in sales! I want to be sure that the 5 percent would more than
cover these costs. What about using computer training software to train the new reps? Eng I read says that
all of the top companies are using online programs to do a lot of their training and that they are saving
bundles in the process.”
“I‟ve have checked into that option,” Parsons said, “but I don‟t think that a basic off-the –shelf program
would be very effective for training inexperienced graduates and the initial cost of developing a
customized program would be excessive- a minimum of $3,00,000 with each additional week module
costing $50,000. Besides, I think an online program works best for refresher training or for introducing
new product information, not for teaching basic selling skills- that should be face-to-face training.” “OK,”
said Markley, “you put together an analysis that considers all the costs of these training options, and ten
make a recommendation to me. Be sure that you look at the increase in sales that will be necessary to
cover these additional costs.”
Parsons left the meeting already calculating the costs in her head. She knew that bringing a rep into
headquarters would cost $250 per rep for travel and $750 per rep per week for lodging and meals.
Materials for any of the programs would likely add an extra $100 per rep and the audiovisual equipment
for the face-to-face training would be headed for her office, where she could put all of these costs together
in order to make a reasoned recommendation to Markley as soon as possible.
Question:
What type of training program should Mickie Parsons recommend to Keat Markley? What‟s your
reasoning for your recommendation?
END OF SECTION B
Section C: Applied Theory (30 Marks)

 This section consists of Long Questions. 
 Each question carries 10 marks. 
 Detailed information should from the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 150 words). 


1. Elaborate the Role of Area Sales Manager?
2. Define the term selection? How would you explain the selection process?
3. What is Incentive? Define the types of Incentives?
S-2-300813

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