Summary of course objectives
Students will go away from the course having developed a thorough knowledge of sales techniques for modern organizations. They will understand how to manage the selling function and how to organize sales teams. Most important they will develop skills and competencies that are key to both their careers in sales and further through to more senior executive positions and sales roles. Just 39% of business undergraduates get sales courses on their programmes, which means anyone with sales training on their CV will have an extra advantage when it comes to securing jobs.
Agenda sessions & course syllabus
Week Topic Content
Week 1 (15-9) Overview of the personal selling Hopes, resources and fears for course
Differences with other communication styles
Learning styles and professions (sales)
Sales careers
Assignment 1&2: prepare questions groups interview a sales professional. Watch Sales Film for Image of sales people.
Role Play: Sell me a pen
Week 2 (22-9) Building Trust Trust analysis: how to build it.
Generating trust and damaging trust, how to build relationships
Ethics and the law
Assignment: learning names and collecting NOs
Negotiation
Week 3 (29 - 9) Understanding buyers (and recruiters) Professional business markets
Types of buyers and needs
Evaluation procedures
Buying decisions
Communication competencies
Purchasing processes
Recruiter and their `purchasing´ needs
Simulation PRUNES
Negotiation
Week 4 (6-10) Communication skills Collaborative processes and communication
Techniques for communication (questioning)
Assignment Prepare a Sales Diagogue to sell consultancy
Week 5 (13-10) Communication skills Learning to listen (empathy)
Recognizing emotions (own and others´)
Emotional Intelligence and relevance for sales people
Non verbal communication
Week 6 (20-10) Strategic prospecting Lead generation
Networking and organizational awareness
Week 7 (27-10) Planning sales dialogues and presentations Sales communications format
Great pitches and sales proposals in writing
dialogue templates
Engaging customer
Role play for B2B selling video
Week 8 (3-11) B2C sales Process for selling to the public in shops
Model
Preparing benefits package
Looking for signs of acceptance
Role play B2C
Assignment Video learning Assignment Selling Retail
Week 9 (10-11) MID TERM Assignment Presentation on salesperson interviews
Week 10 (17-11) Sales dialogues:creating and comm. value Rhetoric of sales
Selling ideas and hopes: how Steve Jobs does it
Engaging customers
Using examples
NLP for sales
Week 11 (24-11) Sales negotiations Sales tactics. How to defend against them.
Case Pacific Oil
Negotiating buyer resistance
Responding to objections
Securing commitment and closing
Week 12 (1-12) Sales negotiation Frasier Looking for value
Distributive sales negotiations
Role play
Assignment Sales Pitch
Week 13 (8-12) Sales negotiation Integrative sales negotiations
Video learning
Role Play: Beverage sale role play
Week 14 (15-12) Expanding customer relationships Follow up customer
Customer satisfaction
Quality customer service
Role play: dealing with the unwanted returns
Week 15 (7-1) Self leadership and teamwork Effective self leadership
Establish customer value through teamwork
Teamwork skills
Optimism: the role of positive thinking in sales (and life)
Week 16 (12-1) Sales Management Effective sales strategies
Developing the salesforce
Leading the sales force and Leadership styles
Determining salesforce effectiveness and rewards
Evaluating organizational and individual performance
CRM
Selling yourself
resume and personal branding
Week 17 EXAM
Methodology
Lectures will follow closely the structure and content set out in the main textbook `Sales Management: Shaping Future Sales Leaders´ by Tanner, Honeycutt, and Erffmeyer. We will aim to cover the material in 15 of the chapters in this book, approximately one chapter per week, plus selected elements from other material. Multiple choice tests will be held regularly in class, and will count towards the final grade, so students are advised to develop a regular study routine.
EVALUATION
Weekly test based on last week´s lectures/readings 10%
Participation & simulations 30%
Sales person interview (groups) Mid term 10% (project hand-in)
Video Assignment Selling a Retail Product Sales (B2C) 10%
Video Assignment Selling Consultancy Services Dialogue (BSB) 10%
Assignment Sales Pitch in class 10%
Sales Portfolio of Cases ( 2 portfolios from a set of 5 in ongoing case 10%
Exam
Criteria for salesperson interview (see moodle)
Assignment: prepare questions that you will ask a professional sales person. Carry out the interview and prepare a report analysing the answers given in the interview.
Criteria for The B2C sales conversation
Will be a role play between two students. A seller and a buyer. The seller will need to develop a sales dossier that they will present to the teacher. The buyer will go to a shop and the seller will engage the buyer and sell them the product that the seller has prepared in the product dossier. An observer will feedback on the seller´s performance
Sales sketches carried out with the buyer (mark out of 20)
- Bonus/penaltyfrom -2 points to + 2 points (out of 20) linked to the performance as observer (each student will be observer once)
- Bonus/penaltyfrom-2 points to + 2 points (out of 20) for the quality of the sales documents created by the student.
- Penalty of 2 points (out of 20) for unexcused absence.
RETAKE POLICY
Students should retake
1. Exam (50%)
2. Project-based portfolio based on a sales scenario 1000 words (20%). To be assigned
3. Summary of 5 articles on sales management from a sales related journal 2000 words (20%). Students choose the articles
4. Reflective essay on students sales abilities 1000 words.
All the above must be passed with a 50% grade for the overall score on the retake to be vallid
Text book used for the course
Ingram, T., Laforge, R., Avila, R., Schwepker, Jr., Milliams, M., SELL Edition South Western, Cengage Learning 2012
Additional Bibliography
Adler, S., The Zen of Selling, 2010.
Miller, A., 365 Sales Tips for Winning Business, Barcelona Management 2000
Martinez. P. Aprender a vender, Barcelona Paidos 2002 (Spanish readers)
MitchA., Selling with emotional intelligence, Barcelona, Deusto,2004