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

All items scored from 1 (low) to 10 (high) with 0 meaning did not exhibit the attribute

APPROACH (Effectively gains attention and builds rapport)

Uses a professional opening

Gains prospect's attention

Effectively builds rapport

Smoothly transitions into needs identification

NEEDS IDENTIFICATION (Obtains clear understanding of customer's situation)

Uncovers decision process (decision criteria, peopled involved in decision process)

Effectively determines relevant facts about company and/or buyer

Effectively uncovers needs of the buyer (discovers current problems, goals, etc.)

Asks effective questions that brings to the buyer's attention what happens to company or the buyer convert implied needs when problems continue (helps explicit needs)

Gains pre-commitment to consider the product/service and smooth transition to presentation

PRODUCT/SERVICE PRESENTATION (Persuasively matches product benefits to meet buyer needs)

Presents benefits-based upon needs of buyer instead of only features

Logical, convincing presentation (Displays a strategy to communicate and persuade; clearly understands needs "hot buttons" of prospect and concentrates on those needs)

Creates value for both the vendor and buyer

Effectively uses objective data (numbers) to support selling story

Uses appropriate/professional visual aids

Creatively illustrates how the product benefits the customer

Effectively involves the buyer in the demonstration

Effective use of trial closes (follow-up questions to determine where buyer is in decision process)

OVERCOMING OBJECTIONS (Eliminates concerns to the customer's satisfaction)

Initially gains better understanding of objection (clarifies or allows buyer to clarify the objection)

Effectively answers the objection

Confirms that the objection is no longer a concern of the buyer

CLOSE (Takes initiative to understand where he/she stands with the buyer now and in the future)

Persuasive in presenting a reason to buy

Asks for business or appropriate commitment from the buyer, given the nature of this particular sales call

COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Effective verbal communication skills (active listening; restated, rephrased, clarified, probed for better understanding)

Appropriate non-verbal communication

Verbiage (clear, concise, professional)

Presents a professional image at all times

OVERALL

Exhibits enthusiasm and confidence

Product knowledge

JUDGES WRITE-IN COMMENTS: STRENGTHS & AREAS FOR DEVELOPMENT

The rating sheet and judging process are adapted from those used at the National Collegiate Sales Competition, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA.