Group Selling Project Reflection Paper
Sales Management
For the Sales Management class I was required to work in a group selling cookies. We had to sell two hundred chocolate chip and sugar cookies on campus during a two hour window. I was assigned to group number three with Denise Moreno, Jesus Saldana, Gisela Ponce, Crystal Horton, and Antonio Nunez. The project consisted of us coming together and using tools and techniques learned in class to compete against other groups for the most profit made. We had autonomy on almost all aspects of the project.
When we learned of the project my group would talk about what we wanted to do before and after class. Then we started using a phone application called GroupMe to communicate. We started deciding who would do what and when they would do it. Gisela designed a couple different flyers and we voted on which one we wanted to use. After the decision was made we had the flyers printed in color on high quality paper. Jesus went around campus posting them in places we thought would attract the most customers. We also used the school website to advertise the sale. We each used word-of-mouth to our friends on campus to help promote the sale. The day before the sale Denise picked up the chocolate chip a sugar cookies and met up with Crystal, Gisela, and myself in the School of Business Administration building. There we packaged the cookies. First we started using tissue paper and ribbon to package them but then decided to go a different route. With the tissue paper we could not tell the cookies apart from each other and the grease bled through. We went to the store and picked up sandwich bags to use instead. We packaged the cookies 2 per plastic baggie and glued a Texas Wesleyan logo to the outside. We had decided to hold our event on Thursday September 10, 2015 from noon until two in the afternoon. Our prospects were anyone that was on campus during that timeframe. Before noon we set up three sandwich boards in high traffic areas around campus. We set up a canopy, a table, a cooler, and a speaker in front of the fitness building. We wanted to add value to the cookies so part of our strategy to attract customers was to provide a free drink with purchase. We used the value added selling technique to enforce our customer relationship management. We had a cooler full of cold barrel juices and gave one away with each sale. Our group had a high level of customer orientation. We sold each bag for one dollar. We used persuasive selling by yelling at people as they walked by to let them know of the sale. We used solution selling by saying that it was lunch time and they should get cookies and a drink from us. We were met with some objections but reminded them that it was only one dollar and that it was going to a good cause, the marketing fund. I did very little follow-up, but I did ask my friends that made purchases what they thought about the cookies and if they had customer delight. I tried to motivate the others in my group by giving them encouraging words, such as, “we got this!”, and “keep up the good work!” I was intrinsically motivated because I like the satisfaction of winning challenged. I was extrinsically motivated because I want to make an A in the course. The internal environment of the group was great. Everyone had a good attitude and there was not any negativity. The external environment provided some challenges because of the heat. The economic environment was unclear. We did not know what other groups were selling their cookies for or how they were packaging them. We had a high level of autonomy on the project. We all had the same amount of cookies and time frame but other than that we were free to make all other business decisions. The project had job variety because it had many different aspects to it. Gisela did the design, Denise did the pickup, Crystal did the packaging, Jesus did the advertising, Antonio did delivery, and I did the record keeping. Some of the work was done by telecommuting. We had many different emails and GroupMe exchanges by the time the project was completed. We used listening skills to effectively communicate with each other. We used our adaptive sales to alter our behavior to satisfy each customer. We used tenacity by sticking with the project through its completion. Although the actual sale was two hours there were many hours of planning, clean up, and communications after the fact. We had to be well organized to be successful. The GroupMe application helped with that because it provided a single place for all of our work. Our project would be considered business-to-consumer because our cookies went directly to customer. We outsourced the baking of our cookies to Aramark. This way all the cookies were the same consistency between all groups. There was little perceived risk with this project. We were the first group to do their project so we did not know our derived demand. Our goal was to sell out. Since we were first our purchase of the cookies from Aramark was a new-task purchase. The orders from the other groups were straight rebuy because there was no modification between them. Our promotion mix included the use of flyers, internet, sandwich boards, music and word-of-mouth to attract people. Our profit margin $36.71. We did have some customer retention. Several people who bought from us came back and bought more later in the day. Our group had great synergy. I definitely believe the whole was greater than the sum of its parts. We came together and performed greatly. We had good trust between each of us that we would do our part to make the bake sale a success. We tried to include brand equity in our product by having the Texas Wesleyan University logo on the packaging. Our price was $1 for a package of 2 cookies, making it $0.50 per cookie. The technology used was the GroupMe application, along with emails and online advertising. We tried to be socially responsible by providing a list of ingredients to customers in case of any food allergies. There was a sales pressure to win the contest but it was not applied unfairly. We were very fortunate not to have to deal with any collusion, restraint of trade, reciprocity, competitor obstruction, or competitor defamation. We were very careful not to participate in price discrimination. Everyone was charged the same. Most of our touchpoints were at the initial sale of the cookies although a couple of us had recruited friends to come to the bake sale before. Our target market was anyone that happened to be on campus between the hours of 12 and 2. The only social media used was the online advertising. We had customer advocacy. A couple of people that purchased from us had their friends come to buy cookies. We used networking by talking with our individual set of friends and classmates and trying to convince them to buy from us. For our group, I think that Jesus would be a birddog because he works on campus and seemed to know everyone that came to our table. We wanted to portray the right image so each of us wore a Texas Wesleyan University t-shirt to the bake sale. We wanted to create a memorable experience for the customer by giving them juice and having the logo on the packaging. We made sure to greet everyone that walked by whether or not they were making purchase. We tried to satisfy their hunger and thirst needs. Nonverbal communication included smiling and waving as they walked by. No one argued the price. Everyone was willing to pay at the price we were offering. Our closing style was buy-now. “If you buy-now you will get a free drink with your purchase. We only have a limited supply.” Our attitude throughout the entire bake sale was upbeat and positive. Some verbal buying signals included “what kinds of cookies to you have?” and “How many for $1?” Some nonverbal buying signals included the customer walking to the table and looking at what we were offering. The time management used for the project was setting up a timeline of when certain parts were due, such as when to request tables and when to pick up cookies. Our sales territory was physically in front of the fitness building but our customers were anyone on campus. I believe that the role perceptions in our group were clearly defined. The reward for the project was receiving a good grade. Making the project a contest encouraged some extra effort that may not have been there if it were just a regular project. The best nonfinancial reward is making and A. The training for the project was coming to class and learning different selling techniques.
The cost of the cookies was $58. The cost of the barrel juices was $5.96. The cost of the plastic sandwich bags was $2.14. The cost of the flyers was $3.19. Our total expenses came to $69.29. The total cash we had from the sales was $106 making our total profit $36.71. We used ethics by being honest about our expenses and profit.
There are many places that I think that the project went smoothly. First of all, I had a great group. Everyone was active in the project and did their part without complaint. Even though there were some disagreements, they were handled professionally and settled without a fight. Secondly, I think that the project was very well thought out and planned. We were told exactly what was expected of us, with clear guidelines and due dates.
There are few areas of the cookie selling project that I think we would improve. I think that we did not need to spend so much on flyers for advertising. I think we could have been just as effective using cheaper paper and ink. I think that we did not need the barrel juices to be successful. We sold out of cookies before the two hours were up. The price of the juices took away from our profit.
If I were to have another bake sale in the future I would make it on a day that was not quite so hot. It was so hot outside that everyone was miserable and dripping in sweat by the time it was through. I would not give anything away for free in the future. The juices were a nice gesture but ended up costing too much. I would also no spend as much on advertising. I believe that cutting out those extra costs we could have been the top seller.
