Assignment: The Buyer's Experience

Before starting, please read these instructions thoroughly.

Purpose: To recognize common sales strategies and their effect on the buyer; and analyzes the salesperson's tactics using material from class. You will be provided with a list of what you are looking for during the interaction.

Your Task: Select a product that you have genuine interest in purchasing sometime in the near future. Find a corporation*, big-box store, or a similar retailer in which you can visit to execute this assignment. For example, Sephora, Nordstrom, Best-Buy, REI, Ben Bridge Jewelers, etc. If you have interest in buying a new car sometime soon, you may also visit a local car dealer although they may not be as amenable to a 'practice sales session'. The goal is to find a business that has well-trained sales staff.

*Note: It is recommended that you stay away from busy environments such as an Apple Store that has waiting lists for salesperson unless you intend to actually purchase something that day.)

Your assignment is to evaluate the salesperson's tactics using the material you have learned this quarter. You should begin by expressing interest in the product. Later in the sales dialogue be sure to raise some possible objections to the product (think back to our discussions this quarter & chapter 8).

Observe and make mental notes as to how the salesperson responds. Is their reaction effective? Why? Did they answer all of your objections? Does the salesperson attempt to form a trust-based relationship with you?

At the end of the interaction, identify yourself as a student of a sales class. Ask the salesperson about their product and sales training process. In other words, how extensive does their corporation train their employees? Remember to obtain a business card.

The Written Assignment: Your final paper should be approximately five to seven pages in length (allow for approximately two paragraphs per section) and address each of the following items in memo format. The use of in-text citations in APA format is necessary in most sections. Support from the textbook should be evident; however, the overuse of quotes is prohibited. Each set of chapter questions should represent a memo heading. For example, after your memo introduction, your first memo heading should be: Product Information. Do not repeat the questions themselves in your paper. Be sure to include a separate citation page and scanned copy of the business card. Please use Times New Roman font size 12 / double spaced.

Here are your questions:

Product Information:

• In this first section, provide basic information about your visit:

o the retailer you visited
o the product you were interested in
o time and day of your visit
o name and position of the sales staff you interacted with

Trust-Based Selling (Chapters 1 & 2)

• Did the sales representative focus on transitional or trust based selling? Defend your answer using references and material from chapter one.

• How did the sales representative create customer value (selling benefits and answering the ‘so what' question)?

• Figure 1.4 may help you process through the initial sales experience.

• Did the salesperson try to gain your trust? Be specific.

• Out of the eight knowledge bases, what two did the salesperson rely on the most during your interaction?

Communications Skills (Chapter 4)

• Review Learning Objective 4-2. What types of questions did the salesperson use to engage you in the conversation? How were these questions helpful in engaging you in the sales interaction? Be specific. ? Use references from the text as support.

• How did you see the ADAPT questioning system used during the sales 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 overall presentation/experience?

• What "proof providers" did the salesperson provide? Be specific. ? Use references from the text as support.

Addressing Concerns & Earning Commitment (Chapter 8)

• What objections did you present to the salesperson?

• Using each of the acronyms in LAARC, how did the salesperson react to EACH of your objections? Use references from the text as support.

• From Exhibit 8.8, what techniques did the salesperson use to answer your resistance/objections? Was their selected techniques effective? Why or why not?

• Did the salesperson gain your commitment? If so, how? If not, what could have changed throughout the sales presentation to gain commitment to purchase?

Overall Reaction to Experience

• Provide your overall reaction to this experience.

• After you identified yourself as a student, what did the salesperson reveal about their training in sales, how corporation trains their employees, and their specific tactics uses to close a sale?