Fall 2008  BA 414 Intro to Sales  and Sales Management

 

 

Instructor:  Gloria Campbell, Wartburg College Associate Professor of Business Adm.

Electronic mail:  campbell@wartburg.edu             Phones:  352-8229 office or 352-6614 before 9 p.m.

Course schedule: 6:30 p.m. Monday nights

Office hours:  1:30 on M, T & H, 10:45 on W and 9 on F

Course site:  my.wartburg.edu or college.hmco.com/pic/hair1e

Required Text: Sales Management by  Hair, Anderson, Mehta, Babin from Houghton Mifflin

 

Course Objectives:

·         Develop better understanding of personal strengths and weaknesses toward potential fit with a sales career

·         Increase understanding of importance of sales and customer service skills to any career focus

·         Improve self confidence about potential to be effective in internal or external sales

·         Evaluate various sales ethics, philosophies, and practices

·         Improve persuasive communication skills in both oral and written forms

·         Increase understanding of what motivates people to make purchase decisions

·         *Improve understanding of sales process including prospecting, planning the sales call objectives, approach, demonstration, negotiation, closing, and follow-up. 

·         *Improve understanding of sales management and sales strategy, including staffing, training, motivation, compensation, and quality management

·         Understand the role of information systems and technology in the sales process, especially as more aspects of sales are automated.

·         Understand the role of financial management in evaluating and controlling the sales force performance

Evaluation components

 

Class discussion                                                             50 pts

Test 1 Ch. 1-4                                                                100 pts

Sales analysis                                                                 50 pts

Sales demonstration                                                        50 pts

Test 2 Ch. 5 - 8                                                              100 pts

Final Exam Ch.  9 – 14 and comprehensive                      125 pts

                                                             

Individual sales analysis interview/s and paper                  150 pts

Group sales analysis presentation                                     75 pts

 

Total Points Possible                                                     700 points                                                                                                       

 

Each of the exams will be curved and added to other points graded on the basis of:

90% and above = A- = 630 points for an A-

80% and above = B- = 560 points for a B-

70% and above = C- = 490 points for a C-

60% and above = D- = 420 points for a D-

 

Keep track of all points earned on assignments and verify subtotals hopefully posted on my.wartburg.  All projects are due at the beginning of the class period on the date listed on this sheet (unless otherwise noted in class).  All papers should be in typed form unless otherwise noted and should be proofread carefully.  Up to 1/4 of possible points may be reduced because of poor writing and/or editing.  If you have any questions about the purpose or procedures for any course component, please call, stop by my office, or email me.

 

By attending Wartburg College, students are demonstrating their dedication to the HONOR CODE.  The Honor Code reminds students of their responsibility to promote academic honesty by opposing cheating and plagiarism and reporting dishonest work.  Cheating on exams will result in failure on the test and/or on the course.  Hats or other unusual paraphernalia are not allowed during in-class exams, nor should students leave the exam room while testing without prior approval.  Electronic devices are not allowed during class unless used for a sales demonstration.   If you have any special learning needs, please discuss them with me to determine possible accommodations.

 

2008 Course Outline:

 

*Sept. 8:  Intro course and course participants

Develop an email of 4 or more paragraphs that introduces yourself to other members of the class and what your career goals are.  After you’ve sent it to them, send the same message to me with a clear statement of how this course fits with those objectives.  What have you already done toward those goals?  Although you won’t be given specific points for this exercise, you will lose points on
Chapter 1 review questions:  1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9.

 

*Sept. 15  Chapter 2  Ethics

 

*Sept. 22  Ch 3:  CRM and Building Partnerships

 

*Sept. 22 Chapter 4:  Selling Process

Sales analysis project proposal due:

 

Sept. 29 Finish Chapter 4:  Selling Process;   In-class sales demonstrations started.

 

Oct. 6   Complete presentations in class starting at 5:30 p.m. with a second set of students coming in at 7:30 p.m.  until all demonstrations are completed. 

 

Oct. 7:  Make sure that you attend part of the 40th annual Corporation Education Day events including the 11:30 a.m. session doing business in China with Dr. Oded Shenkar.  This will be located in Neumann Aud.

 

Oct. 13  Test 1  over Chapters 1-4

 

*Oct. 13  Ch. 5 Forecasting & Budgeting;

 

October 17:  Attend at least one of the Career Directions and Connections panels, possibly the 1:15 marketing panel that includes:

·         Lesley Ortner, ’98, Account Executive, KWWL, Waterloo, IA

 

 

*Oct. 20 Chapter 6:  Planning and Organizing

 

*Oct. 20  Ch. 7 Time & Territory Mgmt

                                                                 

*Oct. 27 Ch. 8 Recruiting & Selecting Sales Force

 

Nov. 3 Test 2  Over Chapter 5 - 8

 

*Nov. 3  Ch. 9 Training the Sales Force

 

Nov. 10 Ch. 10 Sales Force Leadership

Peggy Hicks, Sales Manager, Immedia, Minneapolis, MN

 

Nov. 10  Ch. 11 Motivation

 

 

Nov. 17 Ch. 12 Sales Force Compensation

Individual Sales Analysis Projects Due

 

Nov. 17 Ch. 13 Sales Volume Costs & Profitability



Dec. 1  Ch. 14 Sales Performance Evaluation

Dec. 8  Final Projects presented

Exam week:  Comprehensive Final Exam

 

Sales Demonstration:

            Choose a product or service to sell to a proposed customer that is complicated enough that you can demonstrate it in 5 minutes.  Go through the analysis below to ensure that you are fully prepared.  Summarize the selling situation before implementing the approach to the random buyer selected by the instructor from among classmates.   Because of the unfamiliarity with the product or service, you won’t have to complete the “close” but you will want to respond to the buyer’s prompts as appropriate. 

 

Given the number of students in the class, time will be limited, so as one student completes the demonstration, the next will be setting up their selling station.  We will start early and stagger attendance to ensure that all students have a chance to demonstrate.  Note that you will be expected to analyze other demonstrations as part of the class participation grade.  Your comments will help to ensure your learning and that of others.

 

Sales Analysis Preparation.  (This project will help to ensure that you’ve thought through your demonstration and applied the concepts covered in class). 

Describe the product or service that you are demonstrating and any prior experience with it.  Describe potential buyers and their needs.  What is the potential environment in which you would be demonstrating?  IS this for a new task, a modified re-buy, or a straight re-buy (last two not likely).  Who or what combination of people would likely make the decision on this purchase?  Are there likely influencers, gatekeepers, or users beyond the decider that you are targeting? What sources have you researched to get product/service information?

 

  1. How would you prospect for this product’s buyers?
  2. How would you go about qualifying the applicant using the NAME process?
  3. What aspects of pre-approach might be conducted?  What are your customer’s needs?  How would you go about researching potential customers?
  4. What are your objectives for the interaction with the customer using the SMART process? 
  5. Describe the potential customer that you plan to demonstrate to.
  6. Which approach have you selected for your demonstration?  Why?  How will you establish rapport?
  7. What questions do you plan to ask your customer to identify needs?  Why?
  8. Describe the Features/Advantages/Benefits that you plan to integrate into your presentation. 
  9. What word pictures can you paint of a satisfied user?  What visuals do you plan to incorporate into your presentation?
  10. What objections do you anticipate?  How would you about responding to each of the objections?
  11. Would any proposals fit this sale?  Could you do a cost-benefit analysis?  Comparative cost-benefit analysis?  Payback period?  Opportunity cost? 
  12. What aspects of the sale might be negotiable?  How do you plan to incorporate price into the demonstration?
  13. If you were to move to the “close,” which form/s would be most likely?
  14. What sales follow-up if any might be appropriate after a sale?

 

 

Sales Analysis Project:

 

Select an industry or company/ies that you have access to for at least two extensive interviews:  Sales manager and sales representative in the same industry if possible, or two sales representatives in the same industry.  Optional: try to view actual sales presentations either in the representative’s office or on the road.   Read supporting sales materials and view website content available for the product or service.  This will give you much greater insights into what actually happens on the job.   A project description with proposed timeline for completion is due on Sept. 22.  Part of the challenge of this project is to prospect with family friends to find interviewees who will share at least an hour’s time with you to better understand the industry that they are in.  You don’t have to ask all the questions to both interviewees; for example, you could interview the sales manager on the sales management questions and the sales rep on the sales process information.  If you already have extensive sales experience in a company, you should stretch to a new industry or competitor.  Note that retail sales is not appropriate unless average sales are at least $10k.  Topics must be approved by Oct. 1. 

 

The eventual paper should list the questions suggested with a contrast comparison style.  You are to restate and integrate answers with reflection, not let your interviewee “write” your paper.  Don’t write separate papers for each interviewee; instead integrate the information with clear attribution of sources, including researched articles on sales in that industry.  APA style is required.  The format for the paper should list the numbered questions and follow with your answers: 

 

Briefly describe the company/ies and the competitiveness of the products/services of the people you interviewed.  Include the estimated market share of various classifications of products/services if possible.

­Intro

1.       Who did you interview?  How did you secure the interview? (Describe connections)  Describe background on company location, profitability, etc.   What range of products/services does the organization sell?  What distribution channels do they use?  With what success?  What is the major competition?  Show sources of information here that extend beyond the interview.

Sales Process

2.       How is the sales force organized and managed?  Where do the sales representative/s and sales manager you interviewed fit within this sales structure?  Use a diagram if at all possible. 

3.       What are the challenges faced by sales staff members? (probe on this question)  To what extent do salespeople travel?  Work extensive hours?  Work unusual hours?  What are the drivers of change within the organization overall?

4.       How are sales people motivated? Rewarded and compensated?  How are sales goals developed?  Do interviewees feel that this system works effectively?  What ethical or legal problems result from the compensation system? Probe on this or use outside research to determine compensation structures. 

5.       How are sales prospects identified and qualified?  To what extent are prospects classified by personality type?  How are appointments made? What research on the prospect is likely done before the first sales presentation?  What pre-approach sales planning takes place? 

6.       Describe an average sales presentation. What techniques are used to put prospects at ease? Where and how are meetings held?  How many meetings are anticipated before a close?  What media are used and when?   What questioning techniques are used to determine buyer needs?

7.       What are common concerns (objections) of prospects?  How are these addressed and countered? To what extent are prices and/or sales components negotiated? What else is negotiated?  To what extent does this raise problems?  What strategies are used to handle rejection?

Sales Management

8.       What are the responsibilities of the sales manager in this organization?  To what extent do problems occur in sales management?  How effectively are they handled?  Why?  How long did it take this person to advance within the organization to a management position?  What is the average amount of time for this industry to get to a leadership position?  What are the advantages or disadvantages of taking a sales management position as compared to strictly sales positions?  (If you don’t interview a sales manager, ask the sales representative about their to answer these questions from their perspective and whether they have goals toward sales management?  What do they view as advantages or disadvantages of these positions? (

9.       How is the sales force organized…by product, geographical territory, customer/market--or ??  What is the relationship of the selling force to the provider of the product/service?  How is teamwork facilitated? How is the market potential/capacity measured?  Does the system use cross-functional teams?  How does it measure performance?  Are contingency or dialectic planning used?  How large is the sales force?  How has that size changed?  Incremental analysis used?

10.   What type of system is used to monitor the usage of time and resources by sales representatives?  Are customers rated/ranked?  Using what type of system?  What recent efforts have been made to reduce selling costs?

11.   What are the most frequent methods used to recruit new sales staff?  What selection tools are used to determine who is hired?  Provide a job description if at all possible.  Does the job description facilitate the recruiting and selection process?  Does the company use any procedures to validate the tests used against the success of hires? 

12.   Describe the training conducted of new sales hires.  How is product knowledge upgraded?  What support is offered to sales members if they are in the field?  Have training methods changed drastically in the recent past? What instructional methods are used?  In what ways is training evaluated?

13.   Describe at least one of the leadership theories in Chapter 10 in relationship to this organization.  In what ways has empowerment taken place?  Why?  What barriers to communication remain within the organization?  Does a formal mentoring program exist?

14.   Apply at least one of the theories of motivation to the organization as a result of your questions.  What systems are used to motivate sales professionals?  With what success and/or complications?

15.   Describe the compensation system used for sales professionals.   Describe any suggestions to improve this system including how expenses are reimbursed.

16.   Optional:  If you can, get information about sales volume by territory or product category.  To what extent does the organization monitor costs by territory or product category?  With what outcomes?  What suggestions do you have for improvement?

17.   What systems are used to monitor the performance of individual sales professionals?  Who designs this system with what input?   With what outcomes?  How are any quotas developed or altered?  What suggestions do you have for improving the evaluation system?

18.   To what extent is the sales process being automated within this organization?  What technology has been added during the past 3 years?  For example, what systems are used to develop sales forecasts?  To what extent is quality data collected and shared with sales representatives? How has communication with sales representatives changed within the past 3 years? Why has it changed or not changed?  What potential changes are anticipated?  What are the personal costs of being accessible 24/7?

Reflection:

19.   *How do you respond to the sales strategies of this organization?  How did they differ from what you expected?  Would you apply for positions with the company? Why?  With what limitations, if any? (Substantial reflection is expected here!)  What did you learn and how have your attitudes changed from this project?  What did you learn about yourself as a result of the project? What would you do differently concerning the project if you could?  What other information could be added about the sales process that isn’t covered by these questions?

 

 

I am open to discussing substitute projects if you have a valid reason for preferring other learning options that don’t duplicate existing academic responsibilities in other classes, etc.