Chapter 33 — Quiz: Sales Management

Answers and short explanations are hidden in each <details> block. Scoring guide at the end.

Multiple Choice (choose the best answer)

1. The four buckets of the sales manager's job are desking, the tower, developing people, and hitting the number. Which one is the only bucket a salesperson sees clearly from the floor?

A. Hitting the number B. Developing people C. Desking deals D. The tower

Answer **C.** A salesperson interacts with the manager mainly when their own deal goes up to be structured/approved, so they see desking and assume that's the whole job — missing the coaching, hiring, floor-management, and forecasting that fill most of the day.

2. On the Okafor deal, the selling price is $43,500, true cost in the car is about $41,800, the trade allowance is $18,000, and the trade ACV is $16,500. The true front-end gross is:

A. $1,700 B. $1,500 C. $200 D. −$1,300

Answer **C. $200.** Gross on the car $1,700, minus the over-allowance ($18,000 − $16,500 = $1,500), leaves $200 — a mini (plus ~$900 holdback underneath).

3. "PVR" stands for:

A. Profit Variance Ratio B. Per-Vehicle Retailed (average gross per car) C. Projected Volume Range D. Per-Visit Revenue

Answer **B.** Per-vehicle retailed — the average gross per car, quoted as front PVR, back PVR, and total PVR.

4. A salesperson has a strong show rate and demo rate but only writes up about half their demos. The manager's one coaching priority should be:

A. Get more appointments B. Increase the closing percentage on write-ups C. Convert more demos into write-ups (worksheets) D. Lower the front-end gross to close more

Answer **C.** The funnel leak is between demo and write-up. The front of the process (getting people in and into cars) is fine; the salesperson loses them before numbers go on paper. Coach the one stage that's leaking.

5. Which is an example of an honest T.O.?

A. Handing a leaving customer to a closer, then a second closer, to wear them down B. A manager coming over to listen for the one unresolved concern and make a decision the salesperson can't approve C. The manager wandering off for coffee and returning with a fake "I had to fight for this" D. Telling the customer "my manager won't let me tell you the holdback"

Answer **B.** An honest T.O. is one fresh face who listens — for authority (a real decision) or to reset a stalled relationship. A, C, and D are the gauntlet, fake theater, and using the desk as a shield for a lie.

6. Why does a retroactive (stairstep) volume bonus make the last car of the month worth far more than its own gross?

A. Because the last car always has the highest front gross B. Because crossing the threshold pays the bonus on every unit sold that month C. Because F&I products are cheaper at month-end D. Because the manufacturer doubles holdback at month-end

Answer **B.** A retroactive bonus re-rates the entire month once you cross the threshold, so the marginal car that gets you over the line unlocks bonus money on all the cars — worth a multiple of that one car's gross.

7. The chapter argues the ethical month-end push and the profitable one are the same move. The core reason is:

A. Customers pay more at month-end B. The stairstep bonus funds generosity, so the last few cars need closing, not grinding C. Grinding is illegal at month-end D. F&I gross is higher when customers are pressured

Answer **B.** Because the bonus pays on the whole month, the store can afford to give the last few customers genuinely great, honest deals and still come out far ahead. Grinding those customers trades next month's referrals for gross the store didn't even need to take.

8. A sales manager hires primarily for traits, training for skills. Which is not one of the traits the chapter lists?

A. Coachability B. Resilience C. Prior car-sales experience D. Genuine warmth

Answer **C.** Prior car-sales experience is deliberately *not* on the list — it often brings other stores' bad habits (the grind, survey-coaching, skating). Hire for coachability, resilience, work ethic, warmth, and integrity; train the skills.

9. The single biggest trap for a newly promoted top salesperson is:

A. Forgetting how to close B. Doing the salespeople's job for them instead of developing them C. Not knowing the product D. Spending too little time at the desk

Answer **B.** The instinct that made them great (close it yourself) makes them a bad manager — every save they steal makes the salesperson slightly worse and builds a floor that can't function without them. Default to coaching.

10. A salesperson says "I'm a 40% closer." The most important follow-up question is:

A. "How many cars did you sell?" B. "What was your front PVR?" C. "40% of what — over which opportunities?" D. "Do you coach the survey?"

Answer **C.** Closing ratio is meaningless without its denominator. 40% of hand-raisers is very different from 40% of cold internet leads or fresh floor ups.

11. The desk can approve a $200-front (or even front-negative) deal that looks worthless to a salesperson because the desk sees:

A. Only the front-end number B. The total picture — back-end gross, holdback, the volume bonus, CSI and referral value C. A way to coach the survey D. A higher MSRP

Answer **B.** The desk thinks in total deal gross and the month. The salesperson, paid mostly on the front, sees a near-worthless deal; the desk sees the bigger board.

12. Carmen (25 units, front PVR $450, back PVR ~$1,000) vs. Rick (14 units, front PVR $900, back PVR ~$300). Who generates more total department gross, and roughly how much?

A. Rick, ~$16,800 B. Carmen, ~$36,250 C. They're about equal D. Rick, ~$36,250

Answer **B.** Carmen: 25 × ~$1,450 total PVR ≈ **$36,250.** Rick: 14 × ~$1,200 ≈ **$16,800.** Carmen generates more than double, despite a lower *front* PVR.

True / False (give a one-line justification)

13. Management is the trophy at the top of a sales career — the natural promotion every good salesperson should want.

Answer **False.** Management is a *fork,* not a trophy — a different job with a different daily reward. Plenty of top earners stay on the floor by choice and out-earn managers. The mistake is taking the desk just because it's "up."

14. "Begging for tens" is an acceptable way to protect a salesperson's CSI bonus.

Answer **False.** Coaching the survey (begging for tens, pre-loading, gaming it) is manufacturer fraud that gets stores penalized and people fired. Raise CSI by earning it — great delivery, 7-day call, fast problem-solving.

15. The over-allowance on a trade comes out of the front-end gross on the car.

Answer **True.** Allowance and selling price are the same dollars in different boxes. Giving more than ACV on the trade reduces the gross on the car dollar for dollar.

16. Taking the T.O. and closing a deal yourself is always wrong for a manager.

Answer **False.** Sometimes the deal genuinely needs your authority or a fresh face, or a green pea is about to lose a real customer. The discipline is *default to coaching* and take it over only when the cost of losing the deal beats the value of the lesson — then teach the lesson afterward.

17. A retroactive volume cliff means the bonus applies only to the units sold above the threshold.

Answer **False.** Retroactive means it applies to *all* units once you cross the threshold — which is exactly why the marginal car is worth so much.

Short Answer

18. In two or three sentences, explain the difference between keeping a deal alive and holding a customer hostage, and name two specific moves that cross the line.

Answer Keeping it alive = answering the real objection, finding a structure that works, getting the desk's decision quickly so the customer isn't waiting on theater. Holding hostage = stalling, the T.O. gauntlet, hiding the trade keys, "losing" the license. The first builds a store; the second is high-pressure that tanks CSI and reviews.

19. Walk through the funnel stages a manager tracks, in order, and say what each stage measures. Why does the manager watch the ratios between stages rather than just the final unit count?

Answer Appointments set → shown → demos → write-ups → deliveries. Each stage is a different skill (booking, getting them to show, getting them into a car, getting numbers on paper, closing). Watching the ratios between stages turns a vague problem ("sell more") into a specific, coachable one ("write up more of your demos") by revealing exactly where the funnel leaks.

20. Sandra tells Mike to "get there clean." Explain what she means and why it's smart business, not just ethics, using the stairstep bonus logic.

Answer "Clean" = hit 312 by working the base (be-backs, equity, aged units, fair fast deals), not by grinding the last few customers. It's smart because the bonus pays on the whole month, so the marginal cars don't need grinding — and a store that hits the number clean starts next month with referrals, momentum, and CSI intact, while a store that grinds starts with chargebacks and one-star reviews.

21. Give the four honest self-check questions a top salesperson should ask before taking the desk. Why is a "no" not a failure?

Answer (1) Do I get more satisfaction from my own win or from helping someone else win? (2) Can I give up the close? (3) Am I patient with people who are worse than I was? (4) Do I want responsibility for a number I can't close myself? A "no" isn't failure because the floor is a legitimate, lucrative destination — career salespeople with big referral bases often out-earn managers. Going *deep* is as valid as going *up.*

Applied Scenario

22. You're desking on the last Saturday. Store is at 310, needs 312 for a stairstep worth $700/unit on all units.** Two deals are live: (a) a soft be-back $400 apart on price; (b) a 95-day aged unit a young couple loves but they want $1,000 off. Walk through how you'd close both, clean — the moves you'd make, the numbers logic, and the two things you'd refuse to do.

Answer (model) Bonus math first: 312 × $700 = $218,400 unlocked only by crossing 312, so each of these last two cars is "worth" far beyond its own gross. (a) On the soft be-back, sharpen the price — the bonus funds the $400 — and make it easy to say yes tonight; coach the salesperson through the last objection or take an honest T.O. (b) On the aged unit, give the transparent $1,000 discount and *tell* them it's a great deal because the store wants the car gone (true — it's costing floor-plan interest daily), then let F&I present the menu honestly. Both close, both happy, both potential referrals. The two things to refuse: **packing the payment** on the be-back to recover the $400, and **coaching the survey** on either delivery. The clean number is the bigger number — this month (the bonus) and next (the referrals).

23. A salesperson on your floor consistently grinds customers, posts a high front PVR, and has a sliding CSI and zero referrals. Another posts a lower front PVR, higher total PVR, top CSI, and a growing referral book. A district manager who only looks at front PVR praises the grinder. As the sales manager, how do you respond — and what do you do with each salesperson?

Answer (model) Show the DM the *total* picture: total PVR, volume, dept gross, CSI, referrals, and chargeback rate — the grinder's high front PVR is one bucket and is bleeding value everywhere else. With the grinder: coach hard (it's a coachable behavior, not a character verdict — Rick is skilled and likable and wrong about the model), use his own numbers (CSI, referrals, close rate on layups) to show the grind is *costing* him, and set a clear standard. With the consultant: protect and grow them, make sure the pay plan and recognition reward total value and volume (not just front), and find out whether they want the desk or want to go deep on the floor (theme #6). Reward what you want more of.

Scoring Guide

  • 20–23 correct: Excellent — you think like the desk. Ready for Chapter 34.
  • 16–19 correct (≈70%+): Solid. Re-read the section behind any miss — especially the desk math (§33.2) and the ethical push (§33.7) — and proceed.
  • 12–15 correct: Re-read §33.2, §33.5, and §33.7, then redo the missed items. The front/back-gross structure and the metrics are load-bearing for the rest of Part VII.
  • Below 12: Re-read the chapter and work the Part B calculations in exercises.md before moving on. Pay special attention to over-allowance, PVR, and the retroactive cliff.