The Buyer’s Experience
Before starting, please read these instructionsthoroughly.
Purpose: To recognize common sales strategiesand their effect on the buyer; and analyzes the salesperson’stactics using material from class. You will be provided with a listof what you are looking for during the interaction.
Your Task: Select a product that you havegenuine interest in purchasing sometime in the near future. Find acorporation*, big-box store, or a similar retailer in which you canvisit to execute this assignment. For example, Nordstrom, Best-Buy,REI, Ben Bridge Jewelers, etc. If you have interest in buying a newcar sometime soon, you may also visit a local car dealer althoughthey may not be as amenable to a 'practice sales session'. The goalis to find a business that has well-trained sales staff.
*Note: It is recommended that you stay away from busyenvironments such as an Apple Store that has waiting lists forsalesperson unless you intend to actually purchase something thatday.)
Your assignment is to evaluate the salesperson’s tactics usingthe material you have learned this quarter. You should begin byexpressing interest in the product. Later in the sales dialogue besure to raise some possible objections to the product (think backto our discussions this quarter & chapter 8).
Observe and make mental notes as to how the salespersonresponds. Is their reaction effective? Why? Did they answer all ofyour objections? Does the salesperson attempt to form a trust-basedrelationship with you?
At the end of the interaction, identify yourself as a student ofa sales class. Ask the salesperson about their product and salestraining process. In other words, how extensive does theircorporation train their employees? Remember to obtain a businesscard.
The Written Assignment: Your final paper shouldbe approximately five to seven pages in length (allow forapproximately two paragraphs per section) and address each of thefollowing items in memo format. The use of in-text citations in APAformat is necessary in most sections. Support from the textbookshould be evident; however, the overuse of quotes is prohibited.Each set of chapter questions should represent a memo heading. Forexample, after your memo introduction, your first memo headingshould be: Product Information. Do not repeat the questionsthemselves in your paper. Be sure to include a separate citationpage and scanned copy of the business card. Please use Times NewRoman font size 12 / double spaced.
Here are your questions:
Product Information:
In this first section, provide basic information about yourvisit:
the retailer you visited
the product you were interested in
time and day of your visit
name and position of the sales staff you interacted with
Trust-Based Selling (Chapters 1 & 2)
Did the sales representative focus on transitional or trustbased selling? Defend your answer using references and materialfrom chapter one.
How did the sales representative create customer value (sellingbenefits and answering the ‘so what’ question)?
Figure 1.4 may help you process through the initial salesexperience.
Did the salesperson try to gain your trust? Be specific.
Out of the eight knowledge bases, what two did the salespersonrely on the most during your interaction?
Communications Skills (Chapter 4)
Review Learning Objective 4-2. What types of questions did thesalesperson use to engage you in the conversation? How were thesequestions helpful in engaging you in the sales interaction? Bespecific. ? Use references from the text as support.
How did you see the ADAPT questioning system used during thesales interaction?
Did the salesperson use the SIER Hierarchy of Active Listening?List each of the four sequences and how the salesperson used it.Cite the chapter for support.
Sales Dialogue: Creating & Communicating Value(Chapter 7)
How did the salesperson encourage buyer feedback? What type of“check-back” questions did they use?
What type of sales aids did the seller use? Were they effective?Why or why not? What value did they bring to the overallpresentation/experience?
What “proof providers” did the salesperson provide? Be specific.? Use references from the text as support.
Addressing Concerns & Earning Commitment (Chapter8)
What objections did you present to the salesperson?
Using each of the acronyms in LAARC, how did the salespersonreact to EACH of your objections? Use references from the text assupport.
From Exhibit 8.8, what techniques did the salesperson use toanswer your resistance/objections? Was their selected techniqueseffective? Why or why not?
Did the salesperson gain your commitment? If so, how? If not,what could have changed throughout the sales presentation to gaincommitment to purchase?
Overall Reaction to Experience
Provide your overall reaction to this experience.
After you identified yourself as a student, what did thesalesperson reveal about their training in sales, how corporationtrains their employees, and their specific tactics uses to close asale?
