- FACULTY :
| Instructor : |
Dr. Robert S. Owen
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| Office : |
215 Academic Building
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| Office phone : |
(903) 223-3010
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| Department phone : |
(903) 223-3021 (Loretta Williams)
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| Fax : |
(903) 223-3121
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| Email : |
robert(dot)owen(at)tamut(dot)edu
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| Web site : |
www.tamut.edu/~bowen/
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| Office Hours : |
MWR 8:50-10:50
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- COURSE :
- Meeting Time and Place :
Tuesday, Thursday 11:00-12:15; Akin 130
- Course Material :
| Required Textbook : |
Dalrymple, Cron, & DeCarlo (2004),
Sales Management (9th Edition),
John Wiley & Son,
ISBN 0-471-23060-X.
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| Other Materials : |
Access to the Internet is required.
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- Catalog Description :
"Policies, operation, coordination, and control of
marketing activities, with special emphasis on the selection
and direction of sales personnel."
- Course Objectives :
This course focuses on the activities and problems of first line
field sales managers.
Emphasis is balanced between theory (e.g., motivation) and skills
building (e.g., personal selling, territory routing).
Throughout this course, students should be able to demonstrate:
- knowledge and understanding of sales management issues and theory
- skills in applying procedures such as territory design, routing, and forecasting
- skills associated with the personal selling process
- Major Topics :
These are approximate dates.
Links to course notes are currently inaccessible from campus;
click on "proxy" to view the text of the notes
(graphics missing) when on campus.
Week 1
17, 19 JAN |
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Week 2
24, 26 JAN |
CONSUMER vs. INSTITUTIONAL MARKETS
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Week 3
31 Jan, 2 FEB |
THE SELLING PROCESS: PROSPECTING, APPROACH, AND NEEDS ANALYSIS
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Week 4
7, 9 FEB |
THE SELLING PROCESS: PRESENTATION, CLOSING, AND POST SALE SERVICE
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Week 5
14, 16 FEB |
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Week 6
21, 23 FEB |
EXAM 1 - personal selling project
- MUST be completed some time between Monday, 20 FEB and Friday, 24 FEB
- work on Murphy case (due next week)
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Week 7
28 FEB, 2 MAR |
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6-10 MAR |
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Week 8
14, 16 MAR |
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Week 9
21, 23 MAR |
EXAM 2
in class, combination multiple choice, short essays, and problems
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Week 10
28, 30 MAR |
TIME AND TERRITORY MANAGEMENT
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Week 11
4, 6 APR |
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Week 12
11, 13 APR |
PERSONALITY, LEADERSHIP, AND MOTIVATION
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Week 13
18, 20 APR |
METHODS OF COMPENSATION AND EVALUATION
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Week 14
25, 27 APR |
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Week 15
2, 4 MAY |
EXAM 3
in class, combination multiple choice, short essays, and problems
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- Attendance :
Students are expected to attend and participate in all class sessions.
Exams will be based in large part on issues discussed in class.
There will be no opportunity to make up missed quizzes.
Since the Personal Selling Project (Exam 1) is based substantially
on in-class role play, it is imperative that students be in all classes
to prepare for this individual oral exam.
Any student who misses more than three scheduled class hours prior to
the start of this project WILL BE DROPPED FROM THE COURSE,
since performance is based on the in-class experience.
This includes even the first class session.
- Personal Selling Project (Exam 1) :
You will be making a ten minute sales call on your instructor in his
office during the window assigned to this project.
As part of the assignment, you must make an appointment for the sales
call by telephone.
Appointments are scheduled at twenty minute intervals.
Your sales call will be stopped at ten minutes, finished or not, to
allow enough time for scoring before any other appointments that the
instructor has.
Note that your "product" need not be a tangible good.
You may, for instance, attempt to obtain a signature on a petition or
a donation to a worthy cause.
Grading will be based on your attempt to properly qualify this prospect,
to obtain an appointment, to uncover a problem, to demonstrate a
solution, to attempt a close if appropriate, and to obtain referrals
if appropriate.
You can earn an "A" without making a sale, and your can do very poorly
if you attempt to push a close when it is not appropriate.
It is appropriate to close on, say, a donation to a worthy cause
within five minutes with enough additional time to obtain referrals;
you probably should not attempt to obtain anything other than
agreement to a follow-up appointment and a few referrals if you are
promoting a complicated financial service.
(Would agreement to a second, longer appointment be the sale
in the latter example?)
"Creativity" is not a factor in this assignment.
It is not appropriate to offer product samples and none will be accepted.
We will cover the specifics of the requirements for grading and will do
ample role playing in class for you to get a good feel for how to
practice for your final performance.
See the project score sheet for more insight.
Note that a canned presentation is guaranteed to receive a low or failing
mark because it does not match the requirements of a needs-based sales
encounter; just because a canned pitch appeared to work in selling overpriced
cutlery or personal care products to a family member does not mean that
industrial customers or I will exhibit the same pity in handing a sale to you.
Although a five-line letter, a 45-second phone contact, and a five
or eight minute sales encounter might not seem like much, be sure that
you take this assignment very seriously.
Even the short telephone contact will require substantial practice,
and I will hang up on you just like "real people"
if you do not structure your call appropriately.
"Real people" are busy and will cut off an introductory
sales encounter if you overstay your limited welcome, just as I
will.
You cannot possibly go on to gain a sale, obtain a follow-up
appointment, obtain referrals, or get a second chance if this happens
in the real world;
likewise it is difficult to obtain a passing grade if you cannot
complete all of the components of the assignment in the time allotted
to you.
In sales jargon, don't wing it!
You should "forget" that this prospect is your instructor,
but you otherwise will not be role playing during this encounter:
you must qualify your instructor as a real-live person and choose a
suitable product based on what you know or can reasonably assume about
this prospect.
What have you noticed in looking around his office?
What might some other referrals (friends, relatives, and acquaintances)
know about him?
Might his employer or professional organizations have any information
about him (e.g., Web postings)?
Remember the advice attributed to Abe Lincoln: if you have six hours
to cut down a tree, spend the first four sharpening your axe.
- Evaluation Methods :
Students will be evaluated on the basis of performance on
two in-class exams (50%),
an oral exam (personal selling project, 25%),
and several quizzes and homeworks (25%).
Each of nine quizzes and homeworks are worth 15 points,
with the last fifteen points given by the professor at
the end of the course as an assessment of perceived effort throughout the course.
- Grading System :
Final grades will be based on the following totals in points:
A=540-600 points
B=480-539
C=420-479
D=360-419
E=000-359
Where:
150=Exam 1 (personal selling project)
150=Exam 2
150=Exam 3
150=Homework, Quiz, Effort totals
600 TOTAL POINTS POSSIBLE
- University Academic Honesty Statement :
"Academic honesty is expected of students enrolled
in this course.
Cheating on examinations, unauthorized collaboration,
falsification of research data, plagiarism, and copying
or undocumented use of materials from any source
constitute academic dishonesty and may be grounds for a
grade of 'F' in the course and/or disciplinary action.
For additional information see the university rules."
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