Course 2024-2025 a.y.

The role and contribution of salespeople in the selling firm’s processes are addressed. The focus is on the following topics:

• Managing the selling process: from transaction to relationship.
• The changing role, nature and activities of salespeople.
• Key competencies, skills and behaviours of salespeople.
• Analyzing and managing a portfolio of relationships with customers.
• The impact of technology on the sales job.
• From selling products to selling solutions and value.
• Managing the different phases of the selling process: from prospecting to follow-ups
• Managing interpersonal relationships with customers.
• Understanding and practicing adaptive selling
• Listening skills.
• Communication skills.
• Negotiation skills.

• Explain the typical talents possessed by successful salespeople.
• Illustrate and understand the typical activities performed by salespeople.
• Describe analytical tools and decision-making methods to practical choices.
• Recognize own behaviours and counterparts' behaviours in interpersonal interactions.
• Explain how listening, communication and negotiation skills in interpersonal interactions work.
• Learn how to best manage each phase of the typical selling process.
• Reflect on the impact of digital technologies on a salesperson's job.

• Apply in practice the key concepts and principles learnt.
• Apply analytical tools and decision-making methods to practical choices.
• Analyze own behaviours and counterparts' behaviours in interpersonal interactions.
• Develop listening, communication and negotiation skills in interpersonal interactions.
• Design a sales pitch for a prospect and an engaging communication with him/her.

• Guest speaker's talks (in class or in distance)
• Practical Exercises
• Collaborative Works / Assignments
• Interaction/Gamification

• Guest speakers present real world cases about how they manage personal selling processes. This learning tool allow student to learn how companies apply in practice the concepts and models presented in the lectures. Students are invited to actively participate by asking questions, making comments etc.
• Case studies focus on customer portfolio analysis. This learning tool allows students to apply in practice, to a real world case, the methodological approach learned in class. Students are expected to read and prepare the case, and to actively participate to its discussion suggesting their recommended solution.
• Role plays are specifically developed to foster listening, communication and negotiation skills in interpersonal selling processes. This learning tools helps students learn by doing and by oserving others in action when running a simulated sales negotiation.
• Group projects: prospecting, planning, preparing and managing a presentation to a prospect. This learning tool is not mandatory. Students can choose to work in groups (thereby gathering extra points to their exam grade) to apply thesleves the concepts and methods for selecting a prospect, developing an engagement strategy and simulating a presentation of their offering.

• Written exam, mix of open and multiple choice questions and short exercises. Open-ended and multiple-choice questions are mainly aimed at testing the learning of the concepts, methods and tools illustrated in the course material and their correct understanding. Short exercises questions involving some calculation are mainly functional to assess the learners' application skills of the knowledge learned as a result of studying the course material.
• Up to 3 extra points based on group projects, evaluated by professors and peers

Attendance will be registered at the beginning of all the sessions. To get the attending student status, students should be present in at least 75% of the lessons.

Written exam, mix of open and multiple choice questions.

• S. CASTLEBERRY, J. TANNER, Selling: Building Partnerships, McGraw­Hill Irwin, 11th Edition (only the chapters discussed in class).
• Slides by the Professors, including Guest Speakers' presentations

• S. CASTLEBERRY, J. TANNER, Selling: Building Partnerships, McGraw­Hill Irwin, 11th Edition (all chapters).