The SALES Essentials section was designed to introduce you to the concept of selling. To share information about the relationship between marketing and sales and to give you some insight into what’s involved in a sales career.
But the most important learning is to provide opportunities for you to practice some of these “beginning” selling skills in your own life–work or otherwise–to create change.
Your Final SALES Qiz is a one page “blog” that you will write about your experience applying what you’ve learned in Modules 7-9 to a personal selling situation. Choose wisely so you really give yourself the chance to feel how all of this works! You’ve only got 3 weeks so don’t make the personal selling situation too complicated but at the same time don’t make it so simple that it’s not all that interesting.
Great examples:
- Start conversations with people at work about an idea you’ve been thinking about for awhile.
- Using the skills and knowledge to interview for a job, internship, case competition.
- Convincing your team (any course) to do something different that would improve your working relationship or your grade.
- Talking to your parents about something that you want to do and they haven’t really been that excited to support you (and remember there is value to your parents if they allow you to do what you’re asking).
- Anything that is innovative/disruptive where others have been resistant and you believe there is great value if things were to change.
Stay away from…..
- Convincing your friends to do anything.
- Change would only require 1 conversation.
- Anything related or remotely related to politics.
- Anything that is too personal for a teacher to read about you.
Step by Step Guidelines
- Choose your personal selling situation ASAP and submit via Canvas no later than 5/12 11:59PM.
- Use a journal and start writing down ideas every Monday and Wednesday (weeks 7-9) about how what you’re learning applies to your personal selling situation. Decide how to organize yourself–don’t wait until the last minute. This should be an ongoing activity during weeks 7-9.
- Start taking action as soon as you can and then immediately journal what happens–timing is key so you capture the real experience.
- Challenge yourself to make something happen during the 3 weeks–use what you’ve been learning to create some movement in your personal selling situation.
- Write a 1-1.5 page “blog” about what you have learned as a result of trying your “beginning” selling skills on a personal selling situation.
Some Ideas You May Want to Consider
- Be very clear on what your personal selling situation is and why you care about it
- Explain what the value would be to others if they decided to go along with your idea
- Figure out who’s involved in making a decision
- Have at least one discovery conversation
- Pitch your idea if the timing is right–if not then at least explain what your pitch looks like “today”
- Write this like a blog–engaging and story-like
- Remember that you’re writing about your experience of trying something new and sharing what happened along the way
- Make sure that you are applying skills and knowledge from all 3 modules–either doing it or explaining how you might do it moving forward
