Derek Hernandez is a field sales representative with Sherwin-Williams and works from a branch retail store location in a city of about 200,000 people. He typically begins his morning at the store to pick up orders and check in with colleagues, and then hespends most of the day making calls with customersfacility managers, paint contractors, and other business accounts who have needs for paint and related supplies. Sherwin-Williams invests heavily in technology and has equipped its sales team with tablets and smartphones thatenable them to be more efficient and consistently reach monthly sales quotas.

To assist in his sales duties, Derek uses a proprietary customer relationship management system to keep track of prospects and customers and tomonitor his progress towards his salesgoals. The company routinely adds prospect names to the database, and Derek sets aside time each week to review new leads and gather information about them. Once a lead is qualified, Derek is ready to invest more time to pursue the business opportunity.

Many of Sherwin-Williams's prospective customers are small, independent businesses that often don't have their own website. Before contacting these leads, Derek checks LinkedIn to obtain information about key decision-makers, or he views sites such as Yelp to read reviews. He might also talk with other customers or those in the industry who may know the business or prospect to obtain greater insight. This is an example of which step in the sales process?

Sales proposal

Negotiation

Needs assessment

Preapproach

Assessment question

To keep business growing, Derek must occasionally approach potential buyers without any prior knowledge of the prospects' needs or financial status. This is an example of _______.

networking

the sales process

cold calling

referral

Assessment question

While Derek has historically sold all paint products that Sherwin-Williams offers, the new sales manager is considering some changes. Derek would be in charge of selling only the industrial paint lines. The other field sales representative would be in charge of selling only the residential paint lines. This is an example of which function of sales management?

Determining the sales force structure

Evaluating the sales force

Recruiting and training the sales force

Compensating and motivating the sales force