3 - Personal Selling Role and Ethics

Question 1

What are the four main stages of the personal selling process?

Answer 1

• Prospecting and sales call planning
• Communicating the sales message
• Negotiating for win-win outcomes
• Closing the sale and follow-up

Question 2

Give three examples of tasks performed by salespeople (apart from direct selling).

Answer 2

• Managing customer accounts
• Training customers about products
• Attending industry events and conferences

Question 3

Define ethics in selling

Answer 3

Moral principles guiding the rightness or wrongness of sales actions.

Question 4

When does a gift become unethical in selling?

Answer 4

When it turns into a bribe intended to influence purchasing decisions

Question 5

Name unethical behaviours salespeople might show towards customers.

Answer 5

Dishonesty, breaking confidentiality, unfair special treatment.

Question 6

Provide two examples of unethical behaviour by salespeople toward their employers.

Answer 6

Misrepresenting sales results (cheating), misusing company resources (excessive expenses).

Question 7

Name ethical problems managers might have in dealing with salespeople.

Answer 7

Excessive sales pressure, deception, unfair treatment in performance reviews.

Question 8

What is the relativist perspective in ethics?

Answer 8

Ethical decisions depend on specific circumstances.

Question 9

Explain conventional morality in sales ethics.

Answer 9

Adapting to ethical standards typical in a given market or country (“When in Rome…”).

Question 10

What is an idealist perspective in ethics?

Answer 10

Belief that everyone should follow universal moral standards.