Sales Sales Strategy 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following best describes a 'pull' sales strategy?
- Reps cold-call prospects to generate interest
- Marketing creates demand so customers seek out the product themselves (Correct answer)
- Field reps visit every account in the territory
- Discounts are used to accelerate buying decisions
Correct answer: Marketing creates demand so customers seek out the product themselves
A pull strategy generates consumer demand through brand building, content, and marketing so buyers initiate contact rather than being pushed by sales.
Question 2: What role does sales enablement play in executing a sales strategy?
- It manages the CRM database schema
- It equips reps with content, training, and tools needed to execute the strategy effectively (Correct answer)
- It sets commission rates for the team
- It handles customer billing disputes
Correct answer: It equips reps with content, training, and tools needed to execute the strategy effectively
Sales enablement bridges strategy and execution by ensuring reps have the right knowledge, assets, and processes to engage buyers effectively.
Question 3: In territory sales strategy, which approach maximizes coverage efficiency when geographic regions have uneven account density?
- Assign equal geographic area to each rep
- Assign territories based on account potential and workload balance rather than geography alone (Correct answer)
- Let reps self-select their own territories
- Focus all reps in the highest-density region only
Correct answer: Assign territories based on account potential and workload balance rather than geography alone
Balancing territories by potential and workload ensures no rep is overwhelmed or underutilized, maximizing overall revenue output.
Question 4: A startup is entering a crowded market. Which sales strategy reduces buyer risk and lowers barriers to trial?
- Require annual prepaid contracts from day one
- Offer a freemium or free-trial model to demonstrate value before asking for commitment (Correct answer)
- Focus exclusively on Fortune 500 enterprise accounts
- Lead with a high anchor price to signal premium quality
Correct answer: Offer a freemium or free-trial model to demonstrate value before asking for commitment
Freemium and free trials let prospects experience value firsthand, reducing perceived risk and accelerating trust-building in competitive markets.
Question 5: What is 'dark funnel' activity and why does it matter to sales strategy?
- Illegal competitor intelligence gathering
- Buyer research and peer conversations that happen outside trackable digital channels (Correct answer)
- Email campaigns sent to suppressed lists
- CRM data that has not been updated in 90 days
Correct answer: Buyer research and peer conversations that happen outside trackable digital channels
Dark funnel activity represents real buying intent that analytics cannot capture, meaning buyers may be much further along than CRM data suggests.
Question 6: A sales team is given a new product line with a longer, more complex sales cycle. What strategic adjustment is most important?
- Keep the same quota and activity metrics unchanged
- Recalibrate quotas, pipeline coverage expectations, and ramp time to reflect the new cycle length (Correct answer)
- Assign the new product only to the newest hires
- Eliminate all discovery calls to speed up the cycle
Correct answer: Recalibrate quotas, pipeline coverage expectations, and ramp time to reflect the new cycle length
A longer cycle changes the math on pipeline coverage, quota attainability, and rep ramp, requiring deliberate recalibration to avoid systemic underperformance.
Question 7: Which sales strategy concept describes pursuing the 80% of revenue that comes from 20% of customers?
- Market penetration strategy
- Pareto principle applied to account prioritization (Correct answer)
- Blue ocean strategy
- Cost leadership strategy
Correct answer: Pareto principle applied to account prioritization
Applying the Pareto principle means focusing disproportionate resources on the small number of accounts that generate the majority of revenue.
Sales Sales Strategy 5
Which of the following best describes a 'pull' sales strategy?