SALES SCENARIOS

The sales scenarios for this year's Warm-Up are expected to be released during the last week of August. Information on sampling the product will be forwarded at that time.

RULES

The Sales Competition

The contestant's registration packet will include the scheduled times for his/her role plays. Schedule changes will be announced during the Sales Warm-Up Welcome and Instructions meeting Thursday evening. Everyone must attend this meeting.

Rounds One and Two

We will have two rounds of competition with four waves of competitors in each round. Round One competition will begin Friday at 8:00 am unless notification is given at the Welcoming ceremony during the final instructions. The Round Two competition will begin Saturday at 8:00 am unless notification is given at the Friday Fun Night dinner.

Only judges and UW-Eau Claire sales competition assistants are allowed in the judging rooms during Rounds One and Two.

Role Plays

Role plays will be held at UW-Eau Claire in the rooms designated for the sales competition. See schedule for detailed information.

All competitors must be in a designated waiting room 20 minutes prior to their scheduled competition time.

Each role play will begin promptly at the scheduled time. Contestants late for their Round One assigned competition time are disqualified from competing in that round. However, this does not disqualify him/her from competing in Round Two of the competition.

Contestants have a maximum of 20 minutes for each role play. Time begins when the door is opened to the office or room in which the role play is staged. No additional time is allowed for setting up visual aids.

Only visual aids developed beforehand may be used during each role play. The contestants may not present a blank visual aid (e.g. testimonial) and represent it as an answer to unexpected objections or unplanned strategy.

Tasting. Hormel reps may include sample tasting as part of their sales call. As you might imagine, trying to prepare and handle the real products in our role play setting would be problematic. In lieu of using the actual products, if a student desires to include a sample tasting, they may use a plate to offer their buyer a taste of their imaginary product. The buyer will interact with the imaginary product as they would if it were real.

Recording will be turned off at the end of 20 minutes. The role play is over at that time. The contestant will be evaluated on the 20 minutes he/she completed and will receive feedback on their role-play from one of the judges. Information gathered during the role play is confidential and should not be passed along to other contestants.

Contestants from the same school will compete during consecutive time periods and will not be allowed to interact concerning the role play buyer.

At the completion of each round of sales calls, all competitors will be sequestered until the next round of role plays begins (approximately 10 minutes). Competitors who have finished their role play may not have any form of communication (verbal/nonverbal/electronic) with other competitors who have not with their role play. Violation of this rule will result in the immediate disqualification for the team and dismissal from the event and forfeiting all travel and lodging stipends for their team.

Championship Round

The individuals with the top three combined scores in Round One and Two will compete in the Championship Round of competition. Contestants will be notified in the Schneider S&C Lobby that they qualify for the Championship Round at 3:45 pm. The order of competition will be determined by draw. Contestants will receive a buyer profile in the competition waiting room one half-hour prior to his/her scheduled role play. NO COACHING IS ALLOWED DURING THE CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND.

The sponsors will determine the product/service for the final round. The Championship Round will follow the same format as Rounds One and Two and be broadcast into Schneider 100 at UW-Eau Claire. All winners will be announced during the awards banquet Saturday night. Contestants must be present to receive their awards.

These guidelines are adapted from those used at the National Collegiate Sales Competition.

judges scoring sheet

INTRODUCTION/APPROACH – 30 points total

Uses a professional opening (10)

Professional Greeting
Professional Handshake/Fist bump
Business Card Exchange
Politeness

Effectively builds rapport (10)

Connects with prospects and finds an area commonality
Builds Credibility
Establishes and maintains good eye contact

Displays organized meeting prep (10)

States the purpose of the meeting
Reviews/Presents an agenda for the meeting
Asks for feedback from the customer on the agenda/topics covered in the meeting

CONFIRMING AND UNCOVERING RELEVANT FACTS – 30 points total

Uncovers the purchasing process (10)

Uncovers the length of the purchasing process
Uncovers any purchasing constraints, including approval process, budgetary constraints, timing, etc.

Effectively determines relevant facts about current practices (10)

Confirms current target markets/customers served by the customer
Solicits feedback on current or past products/services purchased from seller
Identifies current suppliers of similar products and services
Identifies order frequency of similar products or services

Uncovers criteria for purchasing new products (10)

IDENTIFYING NEEDS & OPPORTUNITIES – 40 points total

Effectively uncovers the needs of the buyer (10)

Asks engaging questions that are relevant to the customer's concerns or challenges
Uncovers elements of the customer's strategy relevant to the product/service offered
Uncovers industry pressures/challenges facing the customer
Uncovers market pressures/challenges facing the customer

Increase customers' awareness of opportunities to improve, or the cost of not changing (10)

Helps customer discover the loss of not changing
Helps customer understand the gains of making a change
Helps customer understand or begin to think through possible solutions for meeting needs or challenges

Spark customers' interest in hearing more about the product/service (10)

Communicates how the presentation of product/service can address a problem/opportunity in an impactful way

Summarize needs/challenges and transition to the presentation (10)

Refers to the agenda and summarize findings/progress
Asks the customer for feedback before moving into presentation

PRODUCT/SERVICE PRESENTATION – 60 points total

Organized presentation that is easy to follow (10)

All information presented is relevant to either problem, opportunity, or purchasing process
The presentation flows and adjusts with customer interest and is not overly scripted

Effectively uses objective data to tell a story (10)

Data/Numbers are not just reported; specific examples are given of how the story is relevant to the customer

Presents benefits and effectively relates it to problem/solution or realized opportunity (10)

Effectively engages buyers with the product (10)

Demonstrates product knowledge and can communicate interesting facts that are relevant to the customer
Presents creative ideas/solutions for using products or services that relate to customer needs

Summarizes and persuasively presents a reason to buy (10)

Gauges interest in purchasing (soft close) using open ended questions (10)

SOLICITING FEEDBACK & CLOSING – 70 points total

Asks for buyer feedback and/or solicits objections (10)

When getting an objection, asks an open-ended question before answering (10)

Effectively answers the objection with relevant facts or product information (10)

Confirms that the objection is no longer a concern of the buyer by asking a question (10)

Directly asks for business – Suggests an order size (10)

Knowledgeable of price and discounting when completing or presenting the order (10)

Prepared to complete the transaction (10)

Clears next steps are provided regardless of the customer's answer
Gains commitment for follow-up

SALES STYLE – 60 points total

Uses engaging professional visual or physical aids (10)

Effectively engages buyers with the presentation by asking questions (10)

Effective verbal communication skills (10)

Appropriate business grammar/language – minimal use of slang
Minimal filler words
No distracting verbal tics or habits
Not overly reliant on cards, PowerPoint
Not scripted "canned dialog" extemporaneously

Appropriate non-verbal communication (10)

No distracting behaviors/habits or tics
Not slouching in chair
Appropriate level eye contact
Repetitive checking of cell phone or watch

Professional dress/image always (10)

The personal image does distract from the presentation.

Attitude and confidence (10)

Exhibits enthusiasm by smiling, body language, voice tone and pace
Confident in tone and behavior

Please add comments/feedback as follows:

Three strengths the seller demonstrated
Three areas for development for the seller