单选题 How can a company improve its sales? One of the keys to more effective selling is for a company to first decide on its "sales strategy." In other words, what is the role of the sales person? Is the salesperson's job narrative, suggestive, or consultative?
The "narrative" sales strategy depends on the salesperson moving quickly into a standard sales presentation. His or her pitch highlights the benefits for the customer of a particular product or service. This approach is most effective for customers whose buying motives are basically the same and is also well suited to companies who have a large number of prospects (可能的主顾) on which to call.
The "suggestive" approach is tailored more for the individual customer. The salesperson must be in a position to offer alternative recommendations that meet a particular customer's needs. One key aspect of the suggestive approach is the need for the salesperson to engage the buyer in some sort of discussion. The salesperson can then use the information gleaned from the customer to suggest an appropriate product or service.
"We tell our salespeople to be like wine stewards," says Mindy Sahlawannee, a corporate sales trainer, "the wine steward first checks to see what food the customer has ordered and then opens by suggesting the wine that best complements the dish. Most companies who use a narrative strategy should be using a suggestive strategy. Just like you can't drink red wine with every dish, you can't have one sales recommendation to suit all customers."
The final strategy demands that a company's sales staff act as "consultants" for the buyer. In this role, the salesperson must acquire a great deal of information about the customer. They do this through market research, surveys, and face-to-face discussions. Using this information, the salesperson makes a detailed presentation tailored specifically to a customer's needs.
"Good sales 'consultants'," says Alan Goldfarb, president of Ad Pro, Inc., "are the people who use a wide range of skills including probing, listening, analysis, and persuasiveness. The best sales 'consultants', however, are the ones who can 'think outside the box' and use their creativity to present a product and close the sale. The other skills you can teach. Creativity is innate. It's something we look for in every employee we hire."
More and more sales teams are switching from a narrative or suggestive approach to a more consultative strategy. As a result, corporations are looking more at intangibles such as creativity and analytical skills and less at educational background and technical skills.
"The next century will be about meeting individual customer needs," says Goldfarb, "the days of one size fits all are over."

单选题 The major difference between narrative sales and suggestive sales is that

A. the former highlights the benefits while the latter emphasize the function of the product
B. the former uses more prepared information, the latter has to get ready for unexpected information
C. the former involves no discussion while the latter involves discussion a lot
D. the former is effective in creating demand, the latter is effective in satisfying existing demand

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】这是一道细节题。文章第二段指出：“叙述型”销售策略取决于销售人员快速确定标准的销售介绍。他或她的措辞要突出一个特定产品或服务带给顾客的利益。第三段指出：“建议型”方法的一个主要方面就是要求销售人员使顾客参与某种讨论；然后，销售人员可以利用从顾客那里收集到的信息建议合适的产品或服务。这说明，“叙述型”方法有可以利用的信息，而建议型方法必须依靠从顾客那里收集到的信息。B说“前者利用更有准备的信息，而后者不得不为意想不到的信息做准备”，这与文章的意思符合。A明显与文章的意思不符合；文中没有提到C和D。

单选题 Mindy compares salespeople to wine stewards in that ______.

A. both of them have to sell products to their customers
B. both of them use their eloquent tongue to make a living
C. both of them need to suit their services to the customer's needs
D. both of the have to make recommendations all the time

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】这是一道细节题。文章第四段引用一家公司的销售教师的话说：我们告诉我们的销售人员要像推销酒的人一样，推销酒的人首先要察看顾客点了什么菜，然后通过建议什么酒与食物最相配来推销酒；你不可能运用一个销售建议去满足所有顾客的需要。这说明，原因是两者都需要满足顾客的需求。C说“他们都需要使其服务满足顾客的需求”，这与文章的意思符合。A和D与文章的意思不符合；文中没有提到B。

单选题 The biggest challenge for a consultative salesperson is ______.

A. face-to-face discussion
B. tailor-made presentation
C. appropriate pitch of voice
D. large amount of research

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】这是一道细节题。文章第五段指出：要充当这个角色，销售人员必须获得大量有关顾客的信息；他们通过市场研究、调查以及面对面的讨论来得到这些信息：利用这些信息，销售人员就可以提供特别适合顾客需求的详细介绍。这说明，面临的挑战是进行研究，获得信息，然后建议。D说“大量的研究”，这与文章的意思符合。A、B和C都与文章的意思不符合。

单选题 According to Alan, creativity in salespeople ______.

A. is something that can not be trained or taught
B. is something that can be gained through years of experience
C. is the ability to "think outside the box"
D. is the ability to persuade customers effectively and efficiently

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】这是一道细节题。题干中的信号词为Alan，出自于文章第六段第一句话中。文章第六段引用Alan的话说：最好的销售‘顾问’是那些能够‘打破常规思考’并且运用创新意识来介绍产品、实现销售的人；其他技巧可以教授，创造力是天生的，这是我们在雇用的每一位员工身上寻求的东西。这说明，Alan认为，销售人员的创造性是天生的，不容易传授。A说“是某种不能被培训或传授的东西”，这与 Alan的观点符合。B与Alan的观点相反；C是创造力的表现，不是Alan的观点； D也不是Alan的观点。

单选题 Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A. The Power of Persuasion.
B. New Trends in the Sales Industry.
C. Suit Your Tactics to the Customers.
D. The Importance of Creativity in Sales.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】这是一道主旨题。文章指出：对于一个公司来说，更有效销售的一个关键就是首先制订它的“营销策略”；随后具体介绍了“叙述型”销售策略、“建议型”销售策略以及“咨询型”销售策略。随后指出：你不可能运用一个销售建议去满足所有顾客的需要。最后指出：越来越多的销售队伍正在从“叙述型”或“建议型”策略转为“咨询型”的策略：下个世纪将是满足个体顾客需要的世纪。这说明，本文主要讲的是公司的营销策略应该满足顾客的需求。C说“你的策略适合顾客的需求”，这可以表达文章的主题。A、B和D都是文中部分段落的内容，不能表达文章的主题。