1-10 Examine a magazine or newspaper ad for a new product or service that you have never seen. Evaluate its chances for receiving wide customer acceptance. Does this product require a large amount of personal-selling effort? What types of salespeople (service, manufacturing, wholesale, or retail) are involved in selling this product?

1-11 For each of the following job classifications, name at least one person you know in that field:

1. Full-time person who sells a service

2. Full-time inside wholesale salesperson

3. Full-time manufacturer’s salesperson

4. Full-time retail salesperson

Interview one of the people you have listed, asking the following questions concerning their duties and responsibilities:

1. What is your immediate supervisor’s title?

2. What would be a general description of your position?

3. What specific duties and responsibilities do you have?

4. What is the compensation plan and salary range for a position like yours?

Write a job description from this information.

1-12 Shelly Jones, a vice president and partner in the Chicago office of the consulting firm Korn/Ferry International, has looked into the future and sees some new challenges for salespeople. She recently shared the following predictions with Selling Power magazine:

1. Salespeople will spend more time extending the range of applications or finding new markets for the products they sell.

2. The selling function will be less of pitching your product and more of integrating your product into the business equation of your client. Understanding the business environment in which your client operates will be critical.

3. In the future, you will have to be a financial engineer for your client. You need to understand how your client makes money and be able to explain how your product or service contributes to profitable operation of the client’s firm.

Interview a salesperson who is involved in business-to-business selling—a manufacturer’s representative, for example—and determine whether this person agrees with the views of Shelly Jones.

1-13 There are many information sources on selling careers and career opportunities on the Internet. Two examples include Monster.com and CareerBuilder.com. Search the Internet for information on selling careers.

Use your search engine to find career information on a pharmaceutical representative, a field sales engineer, and a retail salesperson.