Teaching Moments - The Sales Rep Simulation and ICT

Transcription

1 PerfecTIC General description Title Learning the steps in the sales representation process through a simulation Learning goal Understand the sales process: Manage time Plan travel itineraries Take into account the buying power of stores to be visited Minimize representational fees Make contact with customers Optimize visits Plan customers' needs Manage customers' product inventory Complete order forms Promote new products Maximize sales Summary In a course on sales representation, the teacher allows one hour per course week during seven weeks, plus a period of three hours, for students to simulate the professional occupations of a travelling sales representative using the SalesRep software application. If students have not completed the simulation within this time frame, they must do so on their own, either in a college computer lab or at home. To demonstrate that they have met the goal of this activity, they hand in a variety of printed reports taken from their simulation, a print-out of their results as well as a diskette on which their simulation has been saved. Duration About 15 hours Technological skills required By the teacher and students: Basic knowledge of a PC computer By the teacher: (Optional) Knowledge of Microsoft Excel

2 Material needed By the students: Access to a computer laboratory at the college PC computer with 32 MB of memory, equipped with a CD-ROM drive, a 256-colour monitor, and a printer, either freely accessed in a college lab or at home One diskette per student SalesRep software Microsoft Excel application (Optional) Microsoft PowerPoint application (Optional) Textbook by G. Rock (1999; see Suggested references) Advantages of using ICT In a course on sales representation, there are different ways to make theoretical concepts more concrete. For example, students could participate in role-plays in which one student is the sales rep and the other, the buyer. Role play helps students become conscious of the inherent difficulties of the job and allows them to receive feedback from their teacher; however, the students' experience is limited to only a few aspects of the sales process and the role play takes up a lot of class time. The teacher can also ask students to accompany a travelling sales representative on his or her calls for a day. This activity is excellent training but has certain logistical problems. The SalesRep simulation provides solutions to the above situations. It allows students to experience the situation of a travelling sales rep and most of the aspects involved in making a sale (budget restrictions, lack of time, frustration, etc.) without danger, without cost, time, or organizational problems. Moreover, with the simulation, the student can try several cases in different sales territories, a situation that would be impossible in real life. The fact that all students in the class are experiencing the same situation facilitates group discussions. This also helps the teacher to use concrete examples when he or she wishes to link theoretical concepts to concrete situations. Lastly, the software allows students to do a case over again to try to improve their results or to experiment with different strategies and to see the consequences. Needless to say, real life doesn't offer this possibility. PerfecTIC Learning the steps in the sales representation process through a simulation 2

3 Step-by-step sequence Preliminary pedagogical preparation By the teacher, before the beginning of term: Prepare theory courses on communication and sales representation (see Suggested references). Explore the SalesRep software application. Installation of the software automatically creates a directory called "VDdemo" that contains a simulation corresponding to Case No. 1. But the software contains other cases, also, that are located in three possible regions: Quebec, Ontario or New York. These cases can be adapted according to course objectives or to the students' real world. It is even possible to create your own cases (to do this, see the "Sales Manager" section in the prof.pdf document available on the CD-ROM). (Optional) Adapt the Excel evaluation grid if needed (see Suggested references). By the students, before each work session with the software: Review the notions seen in previous classes. Preliminary technical preparation By the teacher, before the beginning of term: Ask the school bookstore to order the SalesRep CD-ROM. Make reservations for the equipment needed to make an initial demonstration of the software in the computer lab or in class during the first course (e.g. portable computer, big screen, electronic overhead, video projector or TV monitors). Book a computer lab with enough computers to provide one per student during the first seven weeks of the activity and during three hours the eighth week. Ask a computer technician from the college to install the following software on each computer or on the college network: - SalesRep software (Be sure to specify whether you want SalesRep-Quebec, SalesRep-Ontario, or SalesRep-New York.) - Microsoft Excel - Excel evaluation grid (see Suggested references) - (Optional) adapted or created cases - (Optional) Microsoft PowerPoint By the students: Install SalesRep on their own computer (SalesRep-Quebec, SalesRep-Ontario, or SalesRep-New York according to their teacher's instructions). (Optional) Install Microsoft PowerPoint on their own computer. PerfecTIC Learning the steps in the sales representation process through a simulation 3

4 Step 1 (15 minutes) At the beginning of term, the teacher: makes a rapid demonstration in class of how the SalesRep application works or invites students to read the text Begin.pdf and to watch the TUTOR.PPT available on the CD-ROM. Step 2 (7 weeks) During the first hour of class during seven classes, the students: run the "VDdemo" simulation (or the one that their teacher proposes) until the end, taking care to manage their time well, plan their trips, take into account the buying power of the stores to be visited, minimize representational expenses, make contact with customers, optimize their visits, plan customers' needs, manage the customers' product inventory, fill out order forms, promote new products, maximize the sales, and take into account the different sources of feedback available to improve their performance; save their simulation on a diskette. During the two last hours of class during seven classes, the teacher: teaches the notions concerning sales representation (see Suggested references); invites the students to discuss their experience with the SalesRep simulation and to make links between it and the theoretical notions they are learning. N.B. At the end of this period, if the students have not completed the simulation, they must finish it on their own in a computer lab at school or at home. Step 3 (3 hours) When the simulation has been completed, the students must: print out the following documents from the SalesRep software - Results - last page of the Lost Sales report - last page of the Potential Sales by Product report - first and last pages of the Activities report - Telephone Sales report only for the month (N.B. The five Sources index tabs of the Excel evaluation grid (see Suggested references) indicate where to find these reports in SalesRep) open the Enter info index tab of the Excel evaluation grid (see Suggested references) and do the following operations: - type their name in the appropriate text box - in the 16 appropriate boxes, type in the numbers obtained in the simulation reports (check the Sources index tabs to see which number to take on each of the printed documents) - print the Enter info page - print the Results page (next index tab) hand in the eight printed documents and the diskette labeled with their name. PerfecTIC Learning the steps in the sales representation process through a simulation 4

5 For more information Workshop author Gilbert Rock Institution Collège Ahuntsic Web site: Tel.: (514) address Main reference SalesRep 1,6 (Software). Montreal: Centre collégial de développement de matériel didactique, Created by G. Rock and J. Lamontagne. Configuration: PC 32 MB, 256-colour monitor, CD-ROM drive, printer Suggested references (You will find an EXCEL evaluation grid in Gilbert Rock's file (see dossier) in administration techniques (see techniques administratives). ROCK, G., COUTURIER, G. Communication et représentation commerciale. Montréal: Chenelière/McGraw-Hill, 1999, 377 p. PerfecTIC Learning the steps in the sales representation process through a simulation 5