EXAM COVER SHEET
EXAM DETAILS
Course Code: MKTG1048
Course Description: Sales Strategy and Communication Skills
Exam Date TBA
Exam Start time: TBA Exam Duration: 2 hours and 15 minutes
Total number of pages (incl. this cover sheet) 5 pages
EXAM DETAILS
The exam will be available to students from the Course Canvas on XXXXXXX, at XXpm.
You are required to submit an electronic copy of your completed exam by via Tutnitin on the Course Canvas by XXXXXXX.
The exam totals to 50 marks and is weighted at 50% of the total assessment (i.e. your final score) for this course.
Total number of pages (incl. this cover sheet):
INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATE
Your exam should take a structured format as indicated in the questions. You should include a cover page, citations and reference list.
Your submission must adhere to the following style guide:
- Cover page to include the course code, your name and student number.
- Times New Roman size 12 font; 1.5 line spacing, 2.5cm margins.
- Clear headings and sub-headings where appropriate to break up your answers into distinct sections related to the exam questions.
- Paragraphs (rather than point form) should be concise and follow a logical order.
- All pages to be numbered in the bottom right corner - All tables and diagrams must be clearly labelled.
- Referencing must be Harvard-style in-text referencing style.
THERE IS A MAXIMUM 10 PAGE LIMIT FOR THE BODY OF THE EXAM SCRIPT.
This 10 page limit does not include the Turnitin originality report, cover page or reference list. Any excess over 10 pages in the body of the exam script will not be marked.
Case Study Questions
Example 1: CASE TEXT
Jamie Skribis of Citrix Systems had an important appointment with a senior buyer and her assistant in a pharmaceutical company. It had taken Jamie three months to get the appointment, and she was excited about the chance to finally demonstrate the company’s new cloud networking system. As Jamie was leaving her office the sales manager who learned where Jamie was going asked to come along. Jamie had no option but to say, “Sure.” However, she was worried because her manager often took control of meetings and sometimes wasn’t a good listener.
When the sales team got there, the buyer, Tracey, stated that she could participate for only about 30 minutes but that her assistant, Sally, would be staying to the remainder of the time. Before Jamie could begin talking, Kyle, her sales manager, began taking the buyers through his sales binder that had a presentation in it. It began with the history of the company.
Tracey politely interrupted and explained that she was already familiar with Citrix Systems, but there were certain things that she was interested in learning about the services. Tracey asked the sales team if they could run two test projects for her.
Again, before Jamie could answer, Kyle jumped in with, “Yes, we could, and I’m going to get there in a minute.” Tracey patiently waited as he continued to take her through the company history. By now, almost 10 minutes had passed.
Next, Kyle talked about the work that Citrix Systems had done for other companies. This is something that many buyers are usually interested in. However Tracey interrupted again and said that they were really looking for a vendor for a couple of specific projects and that she wanted to see what they could do for those specific situations. Kyle replied, “Hang on, Tracey. I’m almost there! I promise to get there soon.”
After Kyle finished showing the work Citrix Systems did for other companies, he began to explain the benefits of working with his company because of reputation, pricing, service, and so on. Tracy asked again about the two projects, and instead of answering her questions, Kyle continued to follow his canned presentation. Tracy was becoming noticeably upset and agitated, although Sally seemed quite interested.
QUESTIONS
Please answer all questions in this section.
QUESTION ONE
Analyse and identify Kyle's selling style and determine if this is the most appropriate approach. Write a short report to Kyle to explain what you have determined about his selling style, recommend an alternative if appropriate and use case evidence to illustrate your analysis.
(10 marks)
END OF EXAMINATION PAPER
NOTE: NO SOLUTION FOR THIS QUESTION WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE SINCE WE WANT YOU TO GO BACK TO THE LECTURE SLIDES AND FIND THE SOLUTION YOURSELF AS PART OF YOUR EXAM PREPARATIONS.
THE ACTUAL EXAM WILL CONTAIN A TOTAL OF 5 QUESTIONS IN THIS SECTION.
Example 2: CASE TEXT
Alisha from EFP copiers (EFP) has a meeting today with the office manager at the law firm Abercrombie and Wilson (A&W). A&W is a law firm with five full-time attorneys working from one office in the CBD. During her initial telephone conversation with Ryan, the office manager, he indicated that the firm was reasonably satisfied with their current copiers, but that he is always looking for ways to increase office productivity. Ryan mentioned that he is personally concerned that for what they are currently paying, the firm may not be currently getting the right copier features to help improve productivity. The law firm needs to make a lot of large legal-sized copies, be able to staple them and send clear, good quality copies of documents to clients and courts. The law firm uses a separate fax machine to send copies, but this is not always effective for clear copies. He also indicated that it is important that a copier be dependable, because the law firm makes many copies each day. When a copier does break down, Ryan said that the firm needs fast service to repair it.
Ryan has some familiarity with EFP’s products, and he is eager to talk in more detail with Alisha. However, he made it clear that any decision to switch to EFP would require that Alisha also meet with the attorneys and his PA who make most use of the copier, and admin personnel to get their approval. If Alisha could convince Ryan that EFP could support an increase in productivity at the law firm, he would be glad to set up a meeting for Alisha with the attorneys, PA and admin personnel.
Having actively listened to what Ryan had to say, Alisha feels that she has a good understanding of the needs and pain points of the law firm. She has in mind an EFP product that is a multifunctional printer that consolidates the functionality of a printer, copier, scanner and email function into one machine. It is known for its reliability, comes with an auto-digital fault messaging app, is simple to use and automates stapling and emailing of copied or scanned documents. Alisha also knows from sales meetings with other firms that buyers do worry about this machine based on cost and the reliance on a single machine if there is a breakdown.
QUESTIONS
Please answer all questions in this section.
QUESTION ONE
Analyse the case evidence and complete the Customer Profile section of the Value Proposition Canvas. Write an email to Alisha explaining whether the EFP product can address the three elements of the Customer Profile and if so how.
(10 marks)
END OF EXAMINATION PAPER
NOTE: NO SOLUTION FOR THIS QUESTION WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE SINCE WE WANT YOU TO GO BACK TO THE LECTURE SLIDES AND FIND THE SOLUTION YOURSELF AS PART OF YOUR EXAM PREPARATIONS.
THE ACTUAL EXAM WILL CONTAIN A TOTAL OF 5 QUESTIONS IN THIS SECTION.
Example 3: CASE TEXT
Before making a cold call on the Clarke Company, Jack did some research on the account. Barbara Clarke is both president and chief purchasing officer. In this dual capacity, she often is so rushed that she is impatient with salespeople. She is known for her habit of quickly turning down the salesperson and shutting off the discussion by turning and walking away. In looking over Clarke's operation, Jack notices that the inefficient metal shelving she uses in her warehouse is starting to collapse. Warehouse employees have attempted to remedy the situation by building wooden shelves and reinforcing the weakened metal shelves with lumber. They also have begun stacking boxes on the floor, requiring much more space.
Jack recognizes the importance of getting off to a fast start with Barbara. Jack must capture her attention and interest quickly or she may not talk with him.
Jack’s company has two popular storage solutions on offer:
1. Static metal shelving
These are normal metal shelves, similar to the ones that Barbara already has with the difference that Jack’s company uses better materials and offers a five years warranty on the shelves.
2. Mobile shelf system
These shelves are mounted on powered moving bases. The shelves can be moved using a remote control. This solution is four-times as expensive as the static metal shelving.
QUESTIONS
Please answer all questions in this section.
QUESTION ONE
Jack will need to capture Barbara's attention quickly, he knows that you have studied Sales Strategy at University and asks for your help with this. Write a short report for Jack to recommend a different Opening Method for the two product solutions that will gain attention and create dialogue. In your report, provide a brief script for each method that Jack can use in his meeting with Barbara.
(10 marks)
END OF EXAMINATION PAPER
NOTE: NO SOLUTION FOR THIS QUESTION WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE SINCE WE WANT YOU TO GO BACK TO THE LECTURE SLIDES AND FIND THE SOLUTION YOURSELF AS PART OF YOUR EXAM PREPARATIONS.
THE ACTUAL EXAM WILL CONTAIN A TOTAL OF 5 QUESTIONS IN THIS SECTION.
Example 4: CASE TEXT
DoubleTree has more than 300 hotels in 23 different countries. The chain is owned by Hilton and strives to create what the term CARE (Creating A Rewarding Experience) for all of their guests. The CARE system starts with a warm chocolate chip cookie to welcome each guest. That is followed with stylish guest rooms, each including the Sweet Dreams by DoubleTree Sleep Experience. Most guest rooms offer the higher-quality CITRON bath products by Crabtree & Evelyn. DoubleTree also offers Fitness Rooms for their guests.
Julie, a salesperson for Micros, was attempting to negotiate with DoubleTree with regard to Micros's OPERA Reservation System (ORS). ORS, a central reservation system, is a part of an enterprisewide room inventory management system offered by Micros. ORS has many outstanding features, including the following: It supports multicurrency and multi-language situations; it lets you set up rate structures for individual properties or groups of properties; it can easily handle complicated situations, such as shared reservations, frequent-flyer, and loyalty program memberships, negotiated rates, and rate discounts; and it conveniently searches for room availability across all of the properties. Julie met with the DoubleTree buyers on eight different occasions before the formal negotiation meeting. She had created a win-win proposal that she was sure would meet the needs of DoubleTree and Micros. Her boss had even congratulated her on her hard work and the proposed solution. -You're going to get it, I'm sure!- she had said. -And then we can start talking about that raise you've been asking for!-
Everything was going great in the negotiation meeting until Julie was startled to hear Kevin Tarnoski, the key negotiator for DoubleTree, practically shout, -Listen, Julie!- I can't believe you're asking that much for this little reservation system! The recession hit all of us in the hospitality industry very hard. Come to think of it, that's probably why you're trying to stick it to us with this price. Knock it off! Lower your price, or we'll go elsewhere!- He then proceeded to tell her how much he was willing to pay to lease her system.
Julie didn't know what to say. The price cut being requested by Kevin was 5 percent less that Micros's minimum objective.
QUESTIONS
Please answer all questions in this section.
QUESTION ONE
Julie realizes that although Kevin appears aggressive, he is raising objections. Identify and categorise the objections supporting this with evidence from the case study. Write an email to Julie recommending methods for responding to the objections, explain why these are appropriate and how Julie can use them to respond to Kevin.
(10 marks)
END OF EXAMINATION PAPER
NOTE: NO SOLUTION FOR THIS QUESTION WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE SINCE WE WANT YOU TO GO BACK TO THE LECTURE SLIDES AND FIND THE SOLUTION YOURSELF AS PART OF YOUR EXAM PREPARATIONS.
THE ACTUAL EXAM WILL CONTAIN A TOTAL OF 5 QUESTIONS IN THIS SECTION.
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