Sales Aptitude Test for Business-to-Business Sales People

1. YOUR DETAILS

First Name

Bhogadi

Last Name

Bharadwaja

Title

Mr

Country

India

Email Address

mritece123@gmail.com

We won’t spam you in any way nor will we provide your details to a third party. You may receive quarterly Sales
Leadership Insights from Tony J Hughes and can easily unsubscribe.

2. SECTION ONE: BELIEFS AND ATTITUDES

1. Successful selling is fundamentally about:

Persuading the buyer to purchase through the use of powerful statements.

2. When most people perceive they are being ‘closed’ by a sales person they usually:

Appreciate dealing with a professional.

3. Successful selling is most importantly about:

Finding prospects and persuading them to buy.

4. To be successful in sales it is most important to:

Be an active listener and excellent questioner.

5. The most successful sales people:

Are ‘naturals’ and have the gift of being persuasive.

6. The very best sales people qualify a prospect early because:

It determines exactly who has the real buying authority within the organisation.

7. The most successful sales people:

Use a methodical approach for gaining understanding before moving forward.

8. Successful selling is mostly about:

Listening and questioning.

9. Success in professional selling requires the following:

Friendly manner, empathy, persuasiveness and assertive closing techniques.

10. The most important phase of the sales cycle is:

Questioning and probing to fully develop awareness and understanding.

11. When selling to a large corporate prospect the most important phase is:

Handling objections and turning them into opportunities.

12. The use of logical information and tangible evidence:

Proves high value and low risk, therefore creating the desire to purchase.

13. Buyers feel most comfortable with a purchasing decision when:

The seller asks questions and gains an understanding of their needs.

14. The very best sales people:

Regard failure as an excellent opportunity to learn.

15. The most important thing in large complex opportunities is:

Understanding client problems and business drivers.

16. In the most successful sales calls:

The buyer does more talking than the seller.

17. The most powerful form of sales communication is:

Evidence-based statements after asking insightful questions.

18. In complex corporate sales environments, client objections should be:

Acknowledged, then immediately re-focus on previously agreed benefits.

19. Objections should be handled in the following way:

Acknowledge the concern, clarify correct understanding, demonstrate that you can overcome the concern and then
seek agreement to move forward.

20. Buyers are more likely to be uncooperative when:

The seller has not fully understood the needs of the buyer.

21. Assertive closing techniques work best when used:

Early and often in all sales situations (ABC of selling: Always Be Closing).

22. The best sales person for the job is:

The one who is best at building trust and understanding business value.

23. The best way to close large or complex opportunities is to:

Use an alternate choice technique. e.g. ‘would you like to give me the order now or shall I collect it later this
afternoon?’

24. Opening the initial meeting with a senior person should always include:

Powerful benefit statements and an overview of your company and products.

25. When a professional buyer (e.g. Purchasing Manager) senses they are being closed (asked to place an order)
early in the sales cycle they usually:

Dislike the attempt to manipulate them into making a premature decision.

26. Individual buying decisions are made:

At a logical and factual level and then supported by feelings and emotions.
 27. In a professional business sales environment it is best if you:

Seek to prevent objections through questioning and probing to gain complete understanding before proposing next
steps or solutions.

28. The following is most likely to be a 'benefit':

Available in three flexible configurations.

29. When you acknowledge a prospect’s concerns:

You communicate that you can help and satisfy a stated need.

30. Which of these should not happen during a sales call:

The prospect indicates that they are ready to move ahead and you provide supporting information to enhance their
confidence.

31. Which of the following is an open question:

What are you looking for in a new supplier?

32. Which of the following could be a feature only?

Includes upgrade option.

3. SECTION ONE: BELIEFS AND ATTITUDES: TRUE/FALSE

33. The closing techniques that work in small opportunities can damage your chances of winning in large and
more complex environments.

TRUE

34. Objection-prevention is always possible and better than objection-handling.

TRUE

35. Being persuasive is more important than understanding buyer motivation.

FALSE

36. Closing techniques are perceived by potential buyers as an unwelcome attempt to apply pressure.

TRUE

37. A benefit is only a benefit if it addresses an acknowledged perceived need.

TRUE

38. Establishing credibility and demonstrating capability (proof) early in the sales cycle is better than toward the
end of the sales process.

TRUE

39. All product, service or solution features can translate into client benefits.

FALSE

40. The sale always progresses when you are asking for the order.

TRUE

41. Emphasising features can cause price concerns with the buyer.

TRUE

42. Objection-handling is the most important skill in selling.

TRUE
 43. Closing techniques contribute less to success as the organisational complexity and decision size increases.

FALSE

44. Advantages of your offering do not always equate to client benefits.

FALSE

45. Without a comprehensive range of closing techniques, you cannot increase sales productivity.

TRUE

46. It never hurts to ask for the business early in the sales process.

FALSE

47. Inability to ask for the order is the most common cause of losing large and complex opportunities.

TRUE

48. Early seller behaviour is more likely to affect the sales outcome than proven closing techniques.

TRUE

49. Every buying signal should be followed immediately with a request for the order.

TRUE

50. The assumptive close is the most powerful sales tool. Act as if you have already won the business from the
moment you meet the prospect.

TRUE

51. The ability to develop client needs through questioning is more important than closing skills.

TRUE

52. Skill is more important than attitude.

FALSE

53. Assertive closing techniques increase the chances of making the sale no matter how expensive the product
or complex the decision process.

FALSE

54. A sense of urgency is more important than communicating positive intent.

FALSE

55. For successful business leaders, knowing ‘why’ is more important than knowing ‘how’.

TRUE

56. Although valuable, ‘listening and questioning’ is not the most important sales skill.

FALSE

4. SECTION TWO: SALES SITUATIONS

57. A prospect expresses doubt concerning product claims you make. You would:

Discuss the best way for you to support the claim.

58. You sell printing solutions and a prospect shows you a brochure printed by your competitor and says; “I’m
not sure what the exact problem is, but I am just not happy with the quality.” You would respond by saying:

‘What aspect of the quality bothers you?’

59. During a presentation a hostile member of the audience starts to openly challenge you. You would:

Politely ask him to hold questions until the end of the presentation.

60. A prospect says; “It sounds good and we do need it but we just can’t afford it right now.” You would conclude
from this statement that:

You failed to position the benefits or build a compelling value proposition.

61. You are meeting a prospect for the first time and want to set the stage for a successful sales engagement.
You would say:

‘You said on the phone that you are looking to upgrade your computer system so today I would like to understand the
current environment and discuss what you are looking for in a new system. That way, we can discuss options that best
meet your needs. How does that sound?’

62. You finally received a large order for which you worked hard during an extensive sales engagement. Now that
you have just been personally handed the order, you would:

Thank the client and commit to follow up with confirmation of the delivery date or kick-off meeting; set up the next
appointment and then leave.

63. Your customer opens with a complaint concerning your product and is angry and sarcastic. You finally get
the chance to respond; you would say:

‘I’m really sorry to hear that you had this experience …’

64. The prospect has agreed that your computer-room racking and flooring is exactly what she needs and
highlights the requirement to have it installed by a deadline that you know you can achieve. You would say:

‘You agree our solution meets your needs and we are certainly the leading supplier in the market. Are you able to
place an order with us today so we can schedule the installation within your time-frame?’

65. You are demonstrating your product to a group and in the middle of an important point someone interrupts
and asks about a relatively unimportant function. You would:

Ask why the function has attracted the attention of the prospect.

66. Early during a sales call the prospect says, “I really don’t see any reason to change to a system like yours.”
You would respond by saying:

‘Would you mind taking me through how your current system supports your business processes? This will really help
me determine if there is any benefit for you in us continuing.’

67. Your prospect has indicated that they are now ready to place a volume purchase order for your product. You
would:

Ask what quantity they are proposing and then push to increase the volume by offering a further discount.

68. During a discussion with your prospect you discover they have recently reduced head-count. In light of these
‘staff cut-backs’ you suspect there may be an opportunity for your outsourcing services. You would say:

‘What is the impact of the staff reductions on your department and the business overall?’

69. A buying committee has given the Purchasing Officer authority to buy from you but with a special condition
stipulating 60 day payment terms. Your company’s standard terms of credit are 14 days. The potential business
is significant and you are offered the written order on the spot but subject to you accepting the extended credit
terms. You would:

Tell the buyer that their business is important to you but that you will need to check with your own organisation before
you can accept the order. Obtain agreement from the buyer to keep the order ‘open’ until you come back within an
agreed time-frame.
70. The prospect has just confirmed your computer system addresses two very important needs of improved
throughput and fast remote access for field staff. The prospect then says; “It sounds great, I think this is exactly
what we need.” You would say:

‘Our system will not only improve things for your staff but also for your customers once they start seeing the benefits of
real-time information in the hands of your account managers and service people in the field. How does that sound?’

71. After a lengthy sales engagement you are now discussing the previously proposed financing option with the
Purchasing Manager when she says; “Okay, I’m sold and so are the key stakeholders but I will have to obtain
approval from our CEO.” You would:

Ensure the Purchasing Manager has enough collateral (brochures, written proposal, finance numbers, etc.) to support
her case when she goes to the CEO.

72. You’ve been selling to the right people but have not yet identified a substantial business need or created any
real interest. You would:

Ask the prospect what the competition is doing and how you can position yourself better.

73. Part way through a formal sales presentation you unexpectedly encounter strong resistance. Although the
objection can be overcome with the use of supporting information, you do not have the required material with you
or included in your current presentation. You would:

Empathise by talking about a strong reference customer that initially had the same perceptions and then say; ‘May I
continue but on the understanding that we will address your concerns fully and provide supporting documentation?’

74. The prospect expresses a need for faster transaction processing and you communicate that your system will
speed-up processing by approximately 20%. The prospect replies by saying; “Everyone claims highest-speed
processing with their system.” You acknowledge the comment and then say:

‘This industry report I am showing you now compares the speed of each of the major systems under typical
benchmark conditions. As you can clearly see, our system was rated the fastest. Does that address your concern?’

75. The prospect is giving strong buying signals. You would say:

‘We can deliver this model immediately! I will enter your order for it now if that’s okay?'

76. Your prospect objects by saying; “It sounds good but we really require a three year warranty.” The warranty
for your product is only two years and you do not offer a warranty upgrade option. You would say:

‘I can see that reliability is important and these surveys I’m showing you now clearly prove that our products are the
most reliable in the industry. This means that warranty in not really the issue, wouldn’t you agree?’

77. You have just completed an excellent system demonstration and the prospect asks how long delivery would
take if they placed an order. Normal lead-time on this system is 60 days, you would say:

‘When would you like to be fully operational with this system?’

78. It is the month of August and your financial year ends on September 30. You have done an excellent
presentation and the buyer says; “I like it but we are not ready to buy right now, please see me again in October.”
You would:

Probe the prospect to determine the reasons for the delay and gain additional understanding and information.

79. A prospect expresses dissatisfaction with the service she receives from the incumbent supplier (your
competitor for scanning machines). You suspect she may be unhappy with their on-site service response times
so you would say:

‘Many of our clients have high demands of their scanners and our prompt service meets their needs. May I run you
through our service level agreement?’
80. You have covered all the key people during a long sales campaign and the sale has progressed nicely. The
final step in getting the order is a ‘pitch’ to the executive buying committee and the presentation goes extremely
well. You conclude by asking for the order. A spokesperson responds by indicating that they are happy with
everything but need to talk it over and will call you within 48 hours. You would:

Empathise with their need to gain consensus privately but highlight that now is probably the best time to make a
decision while everything is fresh in their minds and while all the stakeholders are in the same room. Offer to wait
elsewhere so you are available for additional questions while they confer privately.

81. You phone a cold prospect for an appointment and she responds by saying that their needs are being met by
one of your competitors and that she is relatively happy with their performance. You would say:

‘I understand. There are a number of things that make it possible for our organisation to deliver unique value and I
feel sure you will benefit from us getting together even if we can’t do business now. Is Wednesday or Friday best for
you to invest thirty minutes together?’

82. You are visiting a customer and together you notice that the computers just received from your company are
of higher specification than ordered. You would:

Initiate a conference call immediately with your office and the client so that you gain understanding together and seek
resolution.

83. You sell application software and one of the features is a self-paced training module included with every
license. This training module allows new users to quickly become familiar and productive with the software
without formal course work or face-to-face training. You want to establish how important this potential benefit
may be to your prospect so you would:

Highlight the fact that you include free training modules with each of your software packages and that this enables
users to rapidly become productive.

84. You personally made an appointment with a prospect directly last week. You drive for 45 minutes and arrive
on time only to be greeted by the prospect’s Personal Assistant who says; “Something urgent came up and he
can’t see you today.” You would:

Ask the Personal Assistant to arrange another appointment once she has checked with your prospect.