A Game of Cat and Mouse
This is Bill. He’s a car salesman, and you just walked into his dealership to buy a new car. He has a sales goal to meet, and you are his new target. His goal is to get you to buy a car by the time you leave today.

Sales is an organized and structured process, sometimes referred to as a game of cat and mouse. To be effective, salespeople follow a plan to help achieve internal sales goals.

This week, you will explore and practice sales planning.
*Discussion: Explore how the selling process is approached in various industries.
*Assignment: Create a sales plan.
*What You Need to Know: In your text and other resources, read about the role,
importance, and types of sales activities and sales planning.
**Assignment Overview
As you create your sales plan this week, remember that every sales plan has goals to meet and a clear plan to meet them. Being successful in sales doesn’t happen by accident. You need to be specific and deliberate in all your actions.

What You Need to Know
Personal Selling
To be successful at sales, sales representatives need various traits and skills that will equate to greater success. The following readings and resources will be helpful to maximize your sales success:

Chapter 17 in the MKTG 12 text.
Plaksij, Z. (2020). Sales process: A roadmap to better sales performance [Blog]. SuperOffice. https://www.superoffice.com/blog/sales-process/
MacDonald, S. (2020). 21 powerful sales techniques (backed by scientific research) [Blog]. SuperOffice. https://www.superoffice.com/blog/science-based-selling/
Patel, S. (2017). 6 ways to motivate your sales team. https://www.inc.com/sujan-patel/6-ways-to-motivate-your-sales-team.html

A Deeper Look
When was the last time you were really sold something? Most of what we purchase, we buy, but we are not sold. Do you see the distinction? If you go into Walmart, pick a product off the shelf, and take it to the cash register, you are buying. When you go to an electronics store, and the sales consultant convinces you of the value of an Apple MacBook versus an HP notebook that costs hundreds of dollars less, you have been sold.

A DEEPER LOOK
Sales activities and processes vary by organization and individual but generally include prospecting, using a pre-approach, using an approach, making the sales presentation, overcoming objections, closing the sale, and having postsales follow-up. Sound familiar? We have all been on the receiving end of sales presentations throughout our lives. Sales is a part of product and service promotion and takes many forms, from phone prospecting and telemarketing to in-person sales in car showrooms, in department and specialty stores, or via online sales pitches and activities.
The prospecting function is the process of locating potential customers through research, by cold-calling, by working old customer lists, or through methods specific to an industry or company. Evaluation of a prospect’s needs, feelings, ability to buy, and other factors encompasses the pre-approach process, followed by the actual approach by a salesperson. Much of the process is information gathering to allow the salesperson to make the right pitch to the consumer, matching consumer needs with the product or service benefits and features

Assignment Instructions:
SALES PLAN
1. Using the same company and product you selected for your marketing analysis, create a sales plan in which you do the following:
2. Define and analyze a set of sales goals for the business (being sure they are
measurable), and justify why those goals were chosen.
3. Analyze viable sales strategies and at least two tactics that are suited to the target
market, and explain why they are suitable and were selected.
4. Create methods or actions to motivate and manage your sales team, including why the
methods or actions can be successful.
5. Create a well-supported evaluation plan with plausible and thoughtful rationales.
6. Analyze an integrated marketing plan, including how it will impact the sales plan and
business.