Question

Jafrum, Inc. is a wholesale supplier of motorcycle accessories, clothing, and tools to various motorcycle retail stores around the country. Jafrum does not manufacture these items, but sells them to other retailers and also sells its merchandise through its website. Sean Thompson is one of the salespeople for Jafrum, and is responsible for obtaining new customers, increasing sales to current customers, and visiting the retail stores throughout the country. Recently, he has been given the sales objective from Jafrum's management to increase sales dollars by 15% in the coming year by adding new customers. Sean's current compensation is based on a $1,000 per month draw, plus 5% of all sales over $100,000. His salary last year totaled $42,000. Management has given Sean the choice of going to a compensation plan where he will earn 15% of all sales, but no draw. Refer to Scenario 19.1. Sean is developing his list of potential new retail customers by accessing the yellow pages online. Here he finds the contact information for every motorcycle store in the 48 contiguous states, and eliminates those who currently are his customers. Sean is involved in which step of the personal selling process?

Answer 1

Sean Thompson is engaged in the prospecting step of the personal selling process, where he is identifying potential new customers by using the yellow pages online to find motorcycle stores not currently served.

Step-by-step explanation:

Sean Thompson is involved in the prospecting step of the personal selling process. Prospecting involves identifying potential new customers who may have a need for the product or service offered. In Sean's case, he is accessing the yellow pages online to create a list of potential new retail customers by looking for motorcycle stores in the 48 contiguous states that are not currently his customers. This step is essential as expanding the customer base, which aligns with his sales objective to increase sales dollars by 15% in the coming year.