Instructions:
This project should be submitted and presented as below:
- On Day-9, students should upload this project as a Word document on G2 upload portal.
- On Day-10, students should present this project in class using a PowerPoint presentation.
- On Day-10, students should also upload the PowerPoint document on G2 upload portal.
Marks:
The written project (Word document) carries 40 marks and accounts for 40% of the final grades.
The in-class presentation and the PowerPoint document carried 20 marks accounts for 20% of the final grades.
Project Details:
This project focuses on developing a sales manual for selling a specific product. Please remember, your next course on sales, will have a project that will be developing a sales presentation based on this project. This project can help students prepare for a sales presentation or a role-play.
Please choose a business product for this project. N imaginary product manufactured by an imaginary company will also be sufficient for this. Please make sure to choose a product that is of high value (not a low-cost consumer product that people would buy without much planning). The product should be an industrial or business product that a company would buy from you using a buying committee or a buying center. Some examples are given below, but you can choose a product of your own.
- An industrial product such as a manufacturing equipment.
- An expensive office equipment such as a photocopier or a high-end computer.
- A service contract such some installations or the supply of a set of equipment.
- A contract to regularly supply some raw material.
- A contract to provide some business services such as travel arrangements etc.
- A contract manufacturing service.
Any products or services like the above list may be chose, provided it involves some consultative selling that includes understanding the specific needs of the customer, providing solutions and explaining its merits and benefits to the customer that can lead to deal.
It has been said that successful selling is 90 percent preparation and 10 percent presentation. This is especially true in selling today, with more unique customer needs, more complex products, more competition, longer sales cycles, and multiple decision makers. Salespeople who strategically plan their sales presentations before delivering them outsell those who fail to develop a sales presentation that is tailored to meet the needs of the prospect. Poorly planned sales presentations are not convincing. A salesperson cannot leave the sales presentation to the inspiration of the moment, any more than a speaker can face an audience without having taken care and time to prepare a speech. In almost every aspect of life, strategic planning is necessary to gain the desired result.
The effective sales presentation is built with a strategic plan. Every step of the sale, from the approach to servicing the sale, is carefully planned in advance. A well-planned sales presentation is not memorized. It is a logically planned outline that carries the salesperson’s own thoughts from one step to the next.
This project will be your outline for strategically planning a sales presentation. The following outline should be used in preparing your manual. (This can be either an individual or team assignment.)
Outline for Preparation of Manual
- Title Page
- Name of product to be sold.
- Name of company you are selling for.
- Course name and number.
- Your name and date.
- Relationship strategy (Written submission – 10 Marks; Presentation – 5 marks)
- Describe the typical relationship between salesperson and customer in this field.
- Describe the appropriate salesperson’s attitude.
- Describe the appropriate salesperson’s appearance.
- Describe the methods used to strengthen a long-term relationship for repeats and referrals.
- Describe your communication style.
- Personal Selling Philosophy (Written submission – 10 Marks; Presentation – 5 marks)
- Describe the marketing setting (e.g., retail, wholesale, manufacturing, or service).
- Describe the role of personal selling in this setting.
- Describe the typical salesperson’s training to become a consultant/problem-solving type of salesperson.
- Product Strategy (Written submission – 10 Marks; Presentation – 5 marks)
- Describe the company.
- Describe the product/created product or solution.
- Describe the technical expertise needed by the salesperson.
- Develop the feature-benefits worksheet. (See Table 6.2 in the textbook)
- Describe if this a new and emerging product or a mature and well-established product.
- Describe if you would use the price or value-added product strategy.
- Customer Strategy (Written submission – 10 Marks; Presentation – 5 marks)
- Describe the typical buying motives of the prospect.
- Describe how you identified this company as a prospect.
- Describe the person you would be talking to in your prospect company as an individual and as a decision maker for that company.
_________________
