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PART TWO Questions 8 – 12
? Read the article below about a survey of businesswomen staying in hotels. ? Choose the best sentence from the opposite page to fill each of the gaps. ? For each gap 8 – 12, mark one letter (A – G) on your Answer Sheet. ? Do not use any letter more than once. ? There is an example at the beginning, (0). 4
Hotels Failing Businesswomen Hoteliers should take note because they are facing serious criticism! Women account for more than half of all business travellers, but hotels are not doing enough for them. (0) . . . .G . . . . . These show that the number of complaints made about the way women guests are treated is increasing.
The Bartonsfield Hotel in London also conducted a recent survey of UK businesswomen, which reveals that 70% feel they receive an inferior
service. (8) . . . . . . . The attitude of hotel staff made them feel out of place in public areas; for example, 62% chose to eat in their rooms because they were made to feel uncomfortable by staff when dining alone. (9) . . . . . . . Four years ago, for example, a similar survey had revealed that a significant number of women travelling alone and wishing to use the hotel restaurant were actually turned away. Many of the suggestions for improved services put forward by the Business Travel Association are relatively simple. (10) . . . . . . . Placing tables in restaurants in a way that allows the head waiter to introduce guests to one another, so they can choose to sit together over a meal, was a further suggestion. Guests in the dining room would then have the opportunity to meet up with others who might, for example, be attending the same conference, or have the same business interests. Wendy Manning, executive manager of the
Bartonsfield Hotel, agreed with the Business Travel Association that hotel star ratings should be influenced by the level of service they offer to female business guests. (11) . . . . . . . ‘Our survey highlighted the unwillingness of many women to
air their views if they are treated badly,’ Wendy Manning pointed out.
A group of influential businesswomen recently met to discuss the results of the Business Travel Association questionnaire. They suggested that businesswomen should not hesitate to make it clear if they have a problem. (12) . . . . . . . Once clients have gone, it is all too easy for the issue to be ignored by hotel managers, and it will also be forgotten by the overworked business executives themselves.
Page 45 BEC VANTAGE Turn Over _ 7
13 According to the text, the end of a product’s life cycle is marked by A a sharp rise in production costs. B the product becoming outdated. C an increase in customer complaints. D less support from sales management.
14 What does the writer say about sales management in the first paragraph? A Companies should spend more time on their sales planning.
B There are many managers who need to improve their sales performance. C Most sales managers fail to recognise which stage a product has reached. D The sales approach should change with each phase of the product life cycle. 15 According to the text, a greater sales effort is required for a product when A it is particularly innovative.
B the advertising budget has been cut.
C rival companies start to produce something similar. D consumer interest switches to a new product category.
16 According to the text, a good marketing strategy must primarily be concerned with A sales statistics. B product details. C consumer data. D profit information.
17 According to the text, profit levels may fail to correspond to the volume of sales because A the full selling costs have not been taken into account. B the production costs were not estimated correctly. C there are unforeseen problems with distribution. D there has been a lack of economic stability.
18 What does the writer say about the charts that show sales progress?
A It is a matter of judgement where one sales phase finishes and another begins. B Managers should review policy when a sharp fall in sales is indicated.
C It is difficult to see how sales charts can provide sufficient guidance to managers. D Managers should get confirmation of the data they plot on the sales charts.
Product Life Cycles and Sales Strategy
One of the most important concepts in sales
management and marketing is that of the product life cycle. This is a historical record of the life of a product, showing the stage in its life the product has reached at a particular time. By identifying the stage that a product is in or may be heading towards, companies can formulate better marketing plans. All products have ‘lives’ in as much as they are created, sell with varying profitability over a period of time, and then become obsolete and are replaced or simply no longer produced. A product’s sales position and profitability can be expected to fluctuate over time and so, at each successive stage in the product’s cycle, it is necessary to adopt different tactics. The two main features of the product life cycle are unit sales and unit profit. The unit sales figures usually jump on introduction, as a response to heavy advertising and promotion, as customers buy the product experimentally. This is generally followed by a levelling off while it is evaluated – the length of this period depending on the use to which the product is put. Then, unit sales rise steadily through the growth phase to the maturity phase, when the product is widely accepted, and so on to saturation level. By this time, competitors will have entered the market with their own version and, from this point, the sales team will have to work even harder to win all additional sales. Eventually, the product’s sales decline as better versions enter the market and competition becomes too strong.
In retrospect, most firms know what happened to their products from launch to withdrawal. They can compile this information from the records of unit sales.
Unfortunately, unit sales are not the complete story as it is unit profit that is the decisive factor, although this is not always recorded accurately. It is this figure that sales management has to monitor, though, to ensure an effective marketing strategy and to produce effective profits.
At launch, the product is costed accurately on the basis of production costs plus selling costs. Initially these remain fairly stable, but, when the product is
proving successful, competitors will bring out their own ‘copy-cat’ products. With a competitor in the field, the original firm has to respond in order to maintain its market position. It can run special sales promotions, improve deliveries, make more frequent sales calls and so on. Often the extra expenditure is not accurately charged to the product and the result is that, long before unit sales are noticeably falling, the unit profit has already fallen.
The product life cycle, then, presents a picture of what happened in the product’s ‘lifetime’, so how can this be used as an ongoing aid to management decision-making? Every sales manager has a chart on which the progress of sales is plotted and this can be used as a guide to the stage of development each product is currently in. An essential management skill is being able to interpret sales results and draw in the stages as they occur. Deciding where each stage begins and ends can be a random exercise, though usually the stages are based on where the rate of sales growth or decline becomes pronounced.
PART THREE Questions 13 – 18
? Read the article below about product life cycles and the questions on the opposite page. ? For each question 13 – 18, mark one letter (A, B, C or D) on your Answer Sheet for the answer you choose. 6
Page 46 BEC VANTAGE Example:
A calculate B depend C determine D lean 19 A produce B make C construct D build 20 A behaviour B habit C practice D routine 21 A method B law C rule D course 22 A focus B define C target D direct 23 A gaining B acquiring C collecting D taking 24 A requests B calls C bids D commands
25 A appoint B programme C schedule D catalogue 26 A parcels B packets C bundles D packages 27 A formation B design C structure D system 28 A catalogue B label C mark D identify 29 A point B tend C lead D move
30 A disorder B mistake C confuse D complicate
31 A appointments B procedures C arrangements D organisations 32 A share B role C function D element