Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Value: 25% of your Sales Project grade (10% of the course grade)
Due Date: Tuesday, March 22, 2011 in class
Assignment Overview
Consider yourself a new salesperson just entering your sales territory. This report will be written for your direct
sales supervisor. You are to make the assumption that you have had time to review the performance of the
previous salesperson, visit with some customers, and finally, have received enough training to write this report.
This report is for YOUR specific territory or area of responsibility and NOT an overall marketing plan for the
company. Specifically, your report will include:
Use appropriate headings and numbering (for the sales call strategy worksheet) for each element. Be as specific as
possible with all aspects of this assignment. There is a requirement of at least two and a maximum of four
complete selling points as discussed in class. As a reminder, the four steps to making a complete selling point are
as follows:
1. Show the feature, 2. Explain the benefit, 3. Lay out the proof of the benefit, and 4. Let the customer
agree with the benefit.
Assignment Outline
The outline for the paper should be as follows:
1. Summary of your “shadow” experience. (Suggested length: minimum of one page)
a. Turn in a business card from your sales representative.
b. Sales professional’s name, company, position, and type of business they are in.
c. Explanation of how you learned of your sales professional.
d. State at least three things you learned (relating to sales) as a result of interacting with this
sales professional.
e. State what the sales professional did well.
f. State what the sales professional could improve upon.
g. Discuss whether or not the concepts you are learning in AEB 3341 apply to what you
witnessed during your shadowing experience. Suggested length for this section is at least one
paragraph.
h. Attach a copy of the thank you letter you sent to the sales professional (use proper letter form
and sign your letter)
2. Company Background. This should be general information on the company you will be representing
in the Sales Project (Suggested length: approximately one page)
a. Information about the product, product line, and/or service that you will be selling in your
sales territory. Few salespeople are the sole salespersons for a company. Therefore, your
territory is not the same as the company’s territory.
b. Define your geographic or customer-based sales territory.
AEB 3341 Sales Project Assignment Shadow Component — Spring 2011 — Page 1 of 5
c. Identify the competitors/alternatives in your sales territory (not the company’s). Do not say
that there is no competition or alternatives. We live in a society where there are always
competitors and alternatives.
d. Define your company’s market share in your sales territory (not the company’s). If you
cannot find this exact information, please give your best estimate. Market shares are
expressed as a percentage. For example, 10%.
3. Business/Customer/Prospect Profile. This is to be constructed around your prospect, not your sales
company. (Suggested length: one to two pages)
a. Business name (family name if a person or family)/department, contact name, complete
address, and phone number.
b. Situation (size, past history, needs, etc.)
c. Qualification status (discuss qualifications using each element of the NAME criteria)
d. Key contact information (name of your prospect, physical description, communication style,
hot buttons, interests/hobbies, buying behavior, etc.)
4. Sales Call Strategy Worksheet. This will form the basis in which you will construct your one-on-
one sales calls. (Suggested length: three to six pages)
a. Follow the sections of the grading rubric on page 9 of this handout. Please note, the specific
requirements of this section have changed from earlier semesters. Lay out your paper in the
following order
Opening: address or state how:
You will greet your prospect and state how you will build rapport.
What will you say to establish your company’s credibility.
What will you say to build your personal credibility.
What will you say to uncover your prospect’s needs.
What you will say as your transition statement into the presentation.
AEB 3341 Sales Project Assignment Shadow Component — Spring 2011 — Page 2 of 5
expected to use one of these methods.
Be sure to state how you will let the customer agree with your benefit on each selling
point. Use this wording in your write-up: “I will let the customer agree with my
benefit by asking Mr. Smith if he agrees that my product can increase his profits by
15%.”
Be sure to have at least two, and not more than four, complete selling points. Again,
these selling points are to be placed under the presentation section of the sales call
strategy worksheet, not at the end of the document.
AEB 3341 Sales Project Assignment Shadow Component — Spring 2011 — Page 3 of 5
The use of a cover page for this assignment is required. You should place your name, assignment, and course
title on that cover page. When including your page numbers, do not include your name with the page number (ex.
Smith page 7). These requirements will help to conceal the identity of the student from the grader during
evaluation. This allows the grader more objectivity during the evaluation process.
Please remember that this is not a marketing plan. Do not construct advertising campaigns, determine pricing,
develop major promotions, product innovations, add more salespeople, etc. This is not your job! Your job is to
sell your product in your sales territory under the marketing activities of your company.
Additional Resources
There are several examples of this completed assignment by previous AEB 3341 students on the course website.
It is advantageous for you to view these assignments as it might give you ideas on how to construct your
assignment. Please keep in mind that some of the examples on the class website were constructed before Spring
2011, and this assignment is continually being updated. As always, if you have any questions regarding this
assignment, your instructor is very willing to help.
Late Assignments
Late assignments will be penalized 10 points for the first day, and 5 points for each subsequent business day. No
assignments will be accepted after Friday March 31, 2011
AEB 3341 Sales Project Assignment Shadow Component — Spring 2011 — Page 4 of 5
Shadow/Customer Profile/Strategy Worksheet
Selling Strategically
Section Possible Actual
Summarize Sales Professional Interaction
(5) Contact name, company, and position and business card attached
(3) 3 lessons learned
20
(4) Things done well & Things to improve
(2) Relevance to AEB 3341
(6) Proper Thank you letter
Company Background
(3) General company information
(2) Define territory 10
(2) Product or service in territory
(3) Competitors/alternatives
Business/Customer Profile
(2) Appropriate choice of customer (name, etc.)
(2) Situation 10
(4) Do they meet the name criteria? (Needs, Authority, Means, Eligibility)
(2) Key contact information (buying behavior, hot buttons)
Sales Call Strategy Worksheet
(2) Appropriate relative to shadow, company and customer profile?
(5) The opening (Build Rapport, Establish Company & Personal Credibility, Uncover
needs, transition)
(6) Closing
Each element labeled?
Ask for Questions, Review problem, Solution, Use strategy, Reach objective
(5) Sales call objective (stated and explains how it meets the SMACT criteria)
Subtotal 100
Deductions Misspellings, grammar, spacing, printing, no page numbers, etc.
Final Total 100
AEB 3341 Sales Project Assignment Shadow Component — Spring 2011 — Page 5 of 5