Course Description
Graduate-level knowledge and skills key to effective persuasion and personal selling in multiple settings and industries. Critical thinking/analytical skills; effective oral and written communication; ethical, legal, and social responsibilities attendant to professional selling and business persuasion.
Athena Title
Professional Selling Rela Mgmt
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in MARK 4210
Semester Course Offered
Offered every year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
The course will cover (but not be limited to): • What persuasion is all about and why it’s essential to individuals and to all organizations • Why is selling perceived so negatively and why/how should we consider this essential function differently? • How and why selling (persuasion, moving people, business development, etc.) and thinking about selling have changed dramatically in the past decade • "Non-sales selling" • The difference between "problem solvers" and "problem finders" • "Alignment," "Buoyancy," and "Clarity" versus "Always Be Closing" • Improvisation and how training in improvisational skills will improve your (professional and personal) life • At least three classic approaches to personal selling, to include but not be limited to: a) Neil Rackham’s Spin Selling, Miller and Heiman’s Strategic Selling, and Dale Carnegie’s Professional Selling approach. This IS a "selling skills" class and you will be able to hold your own in discussions with sales professionals contrasting alternative approaches. This will be particularly useful in years to come when you become more senior and are responsible for business development or sales people, even if you don’t have those titles yourself. You will also be well-prepared to participate in the UGA annual Sales Competition and external/national sales competitions if that is your choice and you advance from the UGA competition • (NCR) script selling (and why it is not very relevant to the persuasive/selling roles that you will seek/fill in your lives/careers post-UGA) • Customer relationship management (and alternative CRM options) While not a sales force management class, we will cover the basics of: • Applicability/nature of alternative selling organizations given alternative business models (with particular emphasis on students’ target industries/organizations) • Territory development and alignment • Identifying, interviewing, and hiring for alternative selling (business development, client facing, etc.) needs • Training your selling resources • Motivation • Compensation • Managing performance (assessments, reviews, promotion, and termination) We will coordinate closely with the Career Management Center and invest time in: • Development and refinement of your target industry and organizations • Development and refinement of your written (resume and cover letter) and personal (practice interviews and pitches) job/internship communications
Topical Outline
• Importance of selling and persuasion, by whatever name, in your career. • Importance of emotional intelligence and leadership skills. • Overview of the sales function and personal selling: past, present, and future. • Elements of the sales call: segmentation and customer identification; prospecting and needs analysis; planning and executing the presentation; follow-up and relationship management • Impact of emerging technologies and information symmetry (buyers and sellers) • Basic facility with at least one CRM package • Changing nature of buyers/buying organizations • Sales process and skills (PSS) and assessment • Different types of (corporate) training, expectations and career paths • International selling and opportunities/career options • Legal and ethical considerations, responses and implications