Sales Representative

Objective:

The objective of this project is to give you the opportunity to get some practical insight into the professional selling function and to apply the selling concepts and principles learned in this course. You are required to select a company that meets the assignment criteria and then secure a face-to-face interview with a company salesperson to gather essential information. You will then document your findings using the format provided.

Overview and Requirements:

 

If you do not attend the Interview, you will automatically fail the assignment.

1. Select a company that meets the assignment criteria (see below). You will then contact an “outside” sales person to obtain his/her agreement to support you. Then arrange a face-to-face interview to meet the sales person to gather the information required for your paper. A phone interview or email correspondence is not an acceptable substitute.

2. Select an industry and company whose products or services you have some personal interest in or perhaps some prior knowledge of. It could be related to a hobby, a recreational interest or a favourite food.

 

4. Take advantage of the opportunity to explore an industry or company that interests you or

that provides future career or networking opportunities, even if it isn’t in the sales field.

 

5. Select an established company, preferably publicly-traded, with annual sales over $10 million in Canada and a sales force of at least six “outside” sales people.

 

6. Select a company that sells either goods or services in a “BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS” environment (i.e. Kraft selling to Sobey’s).

Do not select: retailers, companies that sell directly to consumers, distributors or sales agencies.

7. Select a salesperson who is a professionally trained “outside sales person”. Do not select a relative. However, use people in your network to secure referrals.

* Note that finding an appropriate company and salesperson is part of the assignment.

8. You must submit the business card of the Sales Representative with the project.

Note: NO BUSINESS CARD results in NO MARK.

9. Submit your company proposal to the instructor for approval before you begin. (see below)

Project Proposal

You must submit a one-page proposal for your instructor’s approval before you begin work on your project. (A title page is not required). The company identified in your proposal must meet the required criteria. Also, please contact the salesperson identified as your contact to confirm his/her support before submitting your proposal and secure his/her business card. The proposal must include the following:

 

1. Your name(s) and student number(s)

 

2. Your proposed company’s name, address, phone number and website. Also include a brief

description of the company to include: type of business, what they do, where located,

identify their products or services,  approximate annual sales, and why you chose this company. Be brief. (use point form)

 

3. Your salesperson’s name, job title (as it appears on the business card), phone number and business e-mail address. Identify his/her sales territory and major customers. Indicate how many “outside” salespeople work for the company. Tell me how you found your sales contact. Your salesperson must be an “outside salesperson”.

 

If you have the salesperson’s business card, staple it to the page. If you don’t have it, make sure that all of the information above is complete and accurate.

 

Do not use a relative or close friend as your sales representative for the project.

Note: Approved proposals will not be returned. Students should keep a copy for their records

If you want to make changes to your proposal after it has been approved, you must

submit a revised proposal for approval before proceeding with the project.

. Content and Format of the Report

The format must be followed and numbered exactly as shown below. Start each section on a new page. Your paper should be at least 12 pages in length excluding appendices, written in 12 point font, double spaced, with one inch margins, and Cerlox or spiral bound.  Use a narrative writing style (complete sentences and paragraphs). Enhance your report with graphics, photos, charts, etc. Be sure to properly cite your sources (APA format preferred). If you’re not sure of the requirements for any section, please ask for clarification.

 

• Cover Page

Includes: company name, students’ first and last names, section no. and date submitted

 

• Table of Contents

Includes: each topic and page no.

 

1. The Interview (5%)

• Identify the name and job title of the salesperson
• Identify the time, date and location of the interview(s).
• Identify if you had additional telephone or email contact with the salesperson.
• Explain how you found this salesperson.
• Describe your experience. Was the salesperson knowledgeable and helpful?

Note: Staple the salesperson’s business card to this page.

 

2. Company Profile (10%)

• Describe the business they are in. Identify the industry.
• Provide a brief overview of company history, corporate ownership, and scope of Canadian Operations, including: size, location, functions performed in Canada and estimated annual sales.
• Identify and describe the company’s major business customers.

* Research required – all facts must be properly cited.

 

3. Industry Profile (5%)

• Describe the industry. Include: industry size, major current trends or advancements
• Identify and describe the major competitors and their market share or ranking in the industry

* Research required – all facts must be properly cited.

 

4. Profile of Salesperson and the Sales Department (10%)

• Identify your salesperson’s background. Include: academic background and previous work experience, length of service, job responsibilities, sales territory and major accounts/customers.
• Describe how the Sales Department is structured. How many salespeople work there?
• Identify the types of salespeople they have i.e. national account managers, territory sales reps, inside sales, sales support etc. Describe their roles.
• Provide an organization chart for the Sales Department and show where your sales person fits in. If a chart is not available, then create one based on the information provided by the sales person.
• Evaluate the opportunities for advancement for salespeople in this company.

 

5. Compensation, Recruitment and Sales Training (10%)

• Describe how sales people in this company are compensated? (See text page 417-8)

i.e. base salary, bonus, commission, car allowance, medical benefits etc.

• What are the salary ranges for salespeople in the company as they progress?

(Do not ask the salesperson how much money he/she makes!)

• Describe how the company recruits salespeople.
• What qualifications, education, experience and attributes do they look for?
• What kind of training do they provide both initially and beyond?
• In your opinion, is this a good company for a young sales person to work? Why or why not?

 

6. Prospecting Methods (5%)

Assume that you have the job of Territory Sales Representative working for this company with responsibilities to not only maintain business relationships with existing customers but also to acquire 10% of your annual sales from new customers.

• Identify who your prime prospects would be.
• Identify and describe which prospecting methods you would use to find them.
• Explain why you chose these methods.
• Identify what criteria your company actually uses to qualify new prospects?

Also explain why.

7. the Approach (5%)

• Assume that you are working for this company and are interested in arranging a meeting with a new prospect who you have not met before. Develop a brief script for a phone call that you would follow in order to secure a meeting with the prospect. (maximum 45 seconds)

8. Developing the Sales Presentation (20%)

• Identify an important product or service that your sales person actually sells. Why did you choose this product? Describe it in detail. Provide product pictures.
• Describe how this product is currently “positioned” in the marketplace relative to the  competition? Refer to your text (ch.7) to review the concept of “positioning”. Identify the primary target market?
• Show either the wholesale or retail price of this product and compare it to the top 5 competitors. Use table format.
• Indicate if your product is typically sold to the ultimate user or to a re-seller. If it is sold to the ultimate user, identify the 5 most important “features and benefits” related to the product/service itself. However, if your product is sold to a re-seller, then identify the 5 most important “features and benefits” that show how buying this product from your company benefits the re-seller. Use table format for features and benefits. Refer to chapter 6 before you complete this section.
• Identify the major competing product. Compare the two products identifying any major differences or competitive advantages.
• Identify which selling and presentation tools you would use to discuss or show your product during the sales presentation to a customer.
• Based on information provided by your salesperson, describe any advertising, sales promotion, sampling or merchandising, or other marketing activities that this company uses to support the product. Show examples. If your company does not engage in these activities explain why not.

 

9. 9. Negotiating Buyer Concerns (5%)

• Based on your sales person’s experience, identify the top 3 objections or reasons that customers give for not buying the product that described above.
• Explain how your sales person typically deals with the above objections. Be specific.
• What proof devices does the sales person use to establish credibility and to support his/her claims?

10. What did you learn? (5%)

• While completing this project, what are the most important things that you learned about: a) the selling process, and b) selling as a career? Fully explain your response.

Overall Evaluation Criteria (20%)

The evaluation will be based on the following:

• completeness and quality of the content
• application of terms and concepts from text to demonstrate your knowledge
• appropriate depth of analysis
• quality of writing (grammar, spelling, sentence structure, punctuation)
• organization, proper headings, numbered pages
• effective use of graphs, tables and visuals to enhance appearance and communication
• proper citation for content and data sources (footnotes/endnotes and bibliography)
• cerlox or spiral binding, professional overall visual appearance of the report
• it must look and read as though it was written by one person