Sales Report Project

The sales project includes 1) a written report and 2) a role play.  This is an individual project.

The first step of the project is to pick a company and product that you would like to represent as a salesperson.  Below are the criteria for the company/product that you select:

·      You must sell your product to another business (B2B) rather than to an individual.

·      Your product must be in good taste and be legal.

·      Your product must solve a realistic problem that the prospect is having.

·      Your product must have competition.

If you have any questions about the company/product that you select meeting these criteria, please ask Professor Lassk.

For this report, you must cite your sources.  If you use information that you learned on a co-op, you need to cite the source.  Do not plagiarize.  Cite using either footnotes or APA citation style which includes both in-text citations and a related reference list.  APA citation information is provided here:  http://psu.libguides.com/apaquickguide/intext

Your report will include the following sections submitted in two parts:

PART 1 – Sections 1 & 2 – 50 Points – Due: February 8

Section 1 Company, Product and Competitive Information (max 3 pages)    

Company –Provide details of the company you are representing. This should include: its history, locations, size, sales trends and products offered.

Reminder: provide cites for the information you have included in this section.  Not citing your sources is one example of plagiarism (see Academic Honesty Policy).

Product – provide a detailed description about the product you are selling. Explain the product in your own words. Do not copy the description from a technical brochure/website/etc.

Include its features, advantages, benefits, how it works, and what are uses of this product to potential buyers.

Competition -Who are the major competitors for your product – include both direct and indirect competition? Develop a list of strengths and weaknesses of your product vs. each competitor’s product.  You can provide this information in a table.  Make sure to cite your sources.

Section 2: Prospect – Buying Firm      (max 3 pages)

Three Prospects –  Identify three specific prospects for the product you chose to sell. Include each prospect’s name, title and company.  Review the list of method/sources for prospecting (see Chapter 9).  Identify how you could use a different prospecting option to identify each of your three prospects.  (Use your imagination – how could you identify each of these prospects if you were a salesperson.)

Specific Prospect – Choose one of the three prospects from your list and further develop information about this potential customer.  Include your prospect’s name, title and brief job description.  Explain the prospect’s needs including his/her apparent and compelling reasons for making a purchase.  Describe what the prospect’s company does and what product he/she is currently using (that you will replace with your product).  Identify the features, advantages and benefits of your product that are important to this prospect.  Describe why you are meeting with this prospect.  That is, state your sales call objective when meeting with this prospect.

Note:  This part of your report will be provided to a classmate so that they can participate in your role play at the end of the semester.  Be sure that you provide enough information for your potential buyer so that he/she can knowledgeably interact with you as the salesperson.