Question

When an AFLAC insurance agent calls a competitor's small-business customers to try to convince them to switch insurance companies, what type of sales activity is this?

Option 1:
Cross-Selling

Option 2:
Cold Calling

Option 3:
Poaching

Option 4:
Referral Selling

Answer 1

An AFLAC insurance agent calling a competitor's small-business customers to switch insurance companies is engaging in sales activity known as poaching. It is not cross-selling, cold calling, or referral selling, which have different definitions.

Step-by-step explanation:

When an AFLAC insurance agent calls a competitor's small-business customers to try to convince them to switch insurance companies, the type of sales activity is commonly referred to as poaching. This is different from cross-selling, which involves selling additional products or services to existing customers; cold calling, which is unsolicited calls to potential customers who have had no prior contact with the salesperson; and referral selling, which relies on using existing customers’ connections to gain new prospects. Poaching, in this context, specifically involves targeting customers who have already been secured by a competitor.