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SALESPERSON’S ASSESSMENT FORM 2B—Corporate Accounts
DISCOVERING A CUSTOMER’S BUYING STRATEGY
The four types of questions used in discovering a customer’s buying strategy are:
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Part IV—Teaching Guide
Part IV Role-Plays 3A and 3B—Developing a Sales Presentation Strategy. To be assigned while
covering chapters on presentation, demonstration, negotiations, closing, and servicing the sale in
your text. (Make copies of I46-7, I48-9, I50-51, “I” for Instructor’s Manual, “T” for Text page
#s)
Session I—PREPARATION
1. (20 minutes) Discuss instructions for Role-Plays 3A and 3B (T472 and T473).
2. (*20 minutes) Assign completion of both sales proposals. (Use the Electronic Proposal
Writer on the website or T477.) Use customer information acquired in
Role-Play 2. (Use I43 and I44 to correct this assignment.)
3. (20 minutes) Discuss the layout and use of a portfolio presentation or Power Point
presentation. Assign the development of a portfolio OR Power Point
presentation choosing proof devices from the
pearsonhighered.com/manning website.
Optional Role-Plays 3.1–3.4: If time permits, you may want your students to role-play the
material they prepared for each of the strategic planning forms. (See the bottom of T481–T484.)
This should be completed before they present Role-Plays 3A and 3B. This will significantly
improve their skill with each of these steps in a presentation.
Session II—PRESENTATION
1. (5 minutes) Distribute Customer Instructions 3A, I46-7 and I48-8.
2. (*20 minutes) Assign completion of Role-Play 3A, T472. Collect Customer Instructions.
3. (20 minutes) Complete Role-Play 3B by having students switch roles and complete
items 1 and 2 above using T473.
4. (9 minutes) Have students complete Assessment Form 3: Presentation Strategy, T475.
Collect for grading.
*Note: Alternative to this arrangement for Role-Play 3 are
a. To have students make presentations to businesspeople who have been invited in to act as
customers.
b. To have students make a “group presentation” in front of the class.
c. To allow students to make “team presentations.”
*Scheduling 20-minute presentations has proven adequate.
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Session III—Optional Evaluation
1. (15 minutes) Discuss student reactions to Role-Play 3 and the Partnership style of
selling.
2. (40 minutes) Administer Final Examination I50-1.
MINIMUM CLASS TIME REQUIRED TO COMPLETE PART IV: 165 MINUTES
Additional Considerations in Presenting Part IV
1. Inform students that either their portfolio or PowerPoint presentation should follow this
format because it pairs buying needs with product benefits, covering one at a time.
2. Suggest to students if they decide to do a Portfolio presentation they may want to obtain a
three-ring binder with pockets on the inside front and back covers. Point out that they can
enhance their proof devices by using sheet protectors, and by using a highlighter to direct
customer attention to key points. Alternatively, if they elect a PowerPoint presentation, it will
be important to keep their customer involved, and they should prepare a print sales proposal
the customer can sign. Inform students they will have to decide what buying condition to
describe first, and the order of their presentation strategy after that. Remind them that they
should present their strongest points at the beginning and end of their presentation. Tell
students that they should not put their Sales Proposal in a sheet protector because they need
to get their customer to sign it, authorizing the sale.
3. Explain to students that the proof devices used to negotiate objections, and close and service
the sale must be readily available, as this can become a very dynamic part of their
presentation. This will enable students to access them conveniently at any time an objection
is raised; whenever a close is appropriate; or to place special emphasis on service after the
sale.
4. Have students conduct mini role-plays as instructed on Strategic Planning Forms A–D. The
first mini role-play will help them get comfortable with their presentation. Make sure they
follow the verbal and written models identified in Consideration #2 above; and that they start
out with a summary of buying conditions, presenting a proof device, describing a benefit, and
asking a confirmation question. The second mini role-play should focus on negotiating and
overcoming buyer resistance, the third on closing the sale, and the fourth on servicing the
sale. Each of these mini role-plays will significantly improve students’ ability to make a
complete presentation. Videoing these mini role-plays will provide students with additional
insights for improving their presentations.
5. Inform students that the convention center is not a low-price product, even though the budget
the customer revealed is lower than the price on the proposal. Tell them that for each one
percent they lower the price, their grade will be lowered 20 percent because a convention
center earns only about a five percent bottom line profit on sales. Suggest that students sell
the value-added product considerations such as free parking, low-cost limousine service, and
the $4.8 million renovations, Executive Chef Ricardo Guido, themselves as a trusted
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partner/consultant, etc. They should prepare proof devices, such as the savings in parking and
transportation, the relative cost of the competition, etc., to use in negotiating the price
objection (the most common buyer objection). Multiplying these prices by the number of
people attending to show total savings can be very effective
6. Help students to understand the relationship between the Association and Corporate
Accounts salespeople selling the same space at the same time (see meeting and banquet room
schedule of events on T479, and that whoever closes the sale first will be able to service their
customer. Students should realize that they will need the information to overcome the time
objection, and should prepare to use the Meeting and Banquet Room Schedule of Events on
T479 to prove and negotiate this sales resistance. Suggest that in a real selling situation they
might get a copy of the other customer’s proposal from the sales department file to prove
their claim. (In this role-play, they may want to get a copy of the sales proposal from a fellow
student in the other account market.)
7. Inform students to use their Metro Area Competitive Information survey (T441 to negotiate a
solution to the source objection. They may want to prepare bar graphs to illustrate the cost of
going to a competitor.
8. Inform students that they should prepare a “summary of benefits” closing technique to use
after they have presented all their specific benefit solutions. Also, they should prepare
additional closes to use after they have negotiated each of the three objections in items 6, 7,
and 8 above.
9. Help students identify on which dates they will need to call their customer to make the
necessary meeting confirmations and check to see if there are any additional services they
need to suggest regarding coffee breaks, audio visual, etc. Suggest that students note these
dates on a calendar. Discuss the perceptions the customer may have when the salesperson
shows enough concern to write down dates on a calendar. Discuss what effect this may have
on repeat sales and referrals.
10. Use the following information for students choosing to Group Sell the Park Shores:
a. The customer, whom you met with earlier, asked that you make this presentation to his or
her group (entire class).
b. The group will be using the same buying conditions that you discovered in Call 2 to make
a vendor selection.
c. The committee is going to hear presentations from two other convention centers in the
metro area, including the Marriott and Guest Quarters.
d. Regarding relationship-building information for the association group, you have
researched the following facts:
(1) They are potentially going to sponsor an international rollerblading contest and are
likely to be chosen because of the quality of their fitness program.
(2) They just completed a $12 million fund drive to build a new YWCA Center with an
indoor track and rollerblade course, a Nautilus training center, and an Olympic-size
swimming pool.
(3) They won a national YWCA award for an outstanding physical fitness marketing
and advertising awareness program.
e. The corporate group information is not available.
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11. During the years of field-testing this program, it was found that the use of businesspeople as
customers in Role-Play 3 have been very stimulating and challenging for students. It is
highly recommended that you consider this method of completing Role-Play 3. During the
field tests, Role-Play 3 was conducted during finals week and business people were invited in
for periods of up to four hours—from 8:30 to 12:30 A.M. With each student giving a 20-
minute presentation, and with appropriate time for completing the evaluations and coffee
breaks, each businessperson was able to be a customer and evaluate 11 students. The
businesspeople, many of who are salespeople as well, found the experience very enjoyable
and personally rewarding. It reminded them of the very selling skills they needed to sharpen
on a daily basis.
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Park Shores Resort and Convention Center
Sales Proposal
Customer Name: Erin Adkins Title: Chairperson Physical Fitness Week
Organization Name: YWCA Telephone: 949-245-3740
Address: 16 Ruan Center, Anaheim, CA 92802
Dates of Meetings: First Thursday of Next Month.
Kinds of Meetings: National Physical Fitness Week Seminar
Buying Conditions (Needs):
1. One-day seminar to fit a budget of $15,000. 2. Convenient location and parking. 3. Chicken banquet lunch for 150 people for
the first Thursday of next month 4. A 3,000 sq. ft. room for vendors from 3:00 to 7:30 p.m. 5 A meeting room for 150 people
from 1 to 3 p.m. with theater style seating. 6. 40 large nonsmoking rooms for Wednesday night.
A. Meal Functions Needed
Time
Quantity
Price
Total Cost
Meal 1
12:00 p.m.
150
$48.00
$7200.00
Meal 2
$0.00
$0.00
Other
$0.00
$0.00
Total: $7200.00
Sales Tax: $288.00
Service Charge: $1152.00
Total Meal Cost: $8640.00
B. Meeting and Banquet Rooms and Equipment Needed
Description (time, date, equipment, etc.)
Cost
Combined Central Park East and West 3:00–7:30 p.m.3036 sq. ft.
$0.00
Revolving Platform for lunch 12 p.m. for lunch
$0.00
Parkview as a meeting room for 150 theater style from 1 to 3
$0.00
Total: $0.00
Sales Tax: $0.00
Total Meeting/Banquet Rooms and Equipment Charges: $0.00
C. Guest Rooms Needed
Number of
Rooms Needed
Number of Days
Needed
Description (dates, locations,
special conditions)
Group Rate Per
Room
Total Cost
40
1
Large single nonsmoking-first Wed
of next Month
$159.00
$6360.00
$0.00
$0.00
Total: $6360
Room Tax: $508.80
Sales Tax: $254.40
Total Guest Room Charges: $7123.20
D. Total Customer Costs (from above)
A. $8640.00 plus B. $0.00 plus C. $7123.20 equals Total Charges: $15763.20
_____________________________________________ _________________________________________________
Authorized Park Shores Signature Date Customer Signature Date
_____________________________________________ _________________________________________________
Title Title
Park Shores Resort and Convention Center
Sales Proposal
Customer Name: Leigh Combs Title: Customer Service Manager
Organization Name: Epic Design Systems Telephone: 949-224-0925
Address: 2401 West Towers, Suite 200, San Diego, CA 92107
Dates of Meetings: First Thursday of Next Month from 5 to 9 p.m.
Kinds of Meetings: Company Sales Meeting
Buying Conditions (Needs):
1. Attractive, conveniently located meeting room to comfortably sear 80 Salespeople/classroom style at table. 2. Scheduled for
the first Thursday of next month/from 6 to 9 p.m. 3. 80 Banquet style baked chicken dinners/served from 5 to 6 p.m. before the
meeting priced under $50 including taxes and gratuities. 4. 60 spacious guest rooms with an attractive swimming pool for out of
town salespeople. 5 Will be getting proposal from Marriott. 6 Would like to keep total cost under $14,500.
A. Meal Functions Needed
Time
Quantity
Price
Total Cost
Meal 1
5–6 p.m.
80
$48.00
$3840.00
Meal 2
$0.00
$0.00
Other
$0.00
$0.00
Description (time, date, equipment, etc.)
Cost
Central Park East Banquet Style for meal from 5 to 6 p.m.
$0.00
Central Park West Classroom Style for Meeting from 6 to 9 p.m.
$0.00
$0.00
availability
$0.00
$0.00
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ROLE-PLAY 3A—Association Accounts Customer’s Instructions
Creating a Presentation Strategy
2. I have known Toni Bush for six years:
4. I have a Schwinn® Airdyne® fitness cycle in my office.
5. I personally appear in TV ads for the local YMCA.