6 points
1. Visit a website for a company that sells products or services online. Choose one product that they sell. Describe at least three different needs that this product might fulfill for customers. TIP: Think about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

6 points
2. Imagine that you are a salesperson working for a well-known company. Explain the steps, from start to finish, that you would take to complete a sale. TIP: This can be the same company you used in question 1 above, or it can be different.

10 points
3. Do a Web search for unethical business practices. Give an example of an actual company that has been caught behaving unethically and one thing we can learn from it.

6 points
4. Think of the ways that sales professionals are usually paid. Write at least three sentences explaining the way you would want to be compensated if you were a salesperson. Explain your reasoning.

For questions, five through seven, imagine you are starting your own company. Answer the questions based on your proposed business idea.
6 points
5. List at least three ways you could make sure that your salespeople were meeting their sales goals.

6 points
6. Explain why retaining customers is important for your company’s success.

10 points
7. Your sales and marketing team is trying to come up with a pricing strategy for your new product. You can choose one of the following: competitor-focused pricing, cost-focused, or customer-focused pricing. Describe which you would select and give a strategy example.

10 points
8. Many people feel that cold calling is an unethical practice. Do you think that cold calling should be banned? State your opinion and explain why or why not.

1. By visiting the net-a-porter website, I have chosen a luxury Balmain brand blazer. Regarding the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, it evidently fulfills the physiological need regarding clothing, as it provides warmth to the body above all. Afterward, it fulfills a safety need regarding employment, as it is a business blazer that can help us get a job through our professional image. Lastly, it fulfills esteem needs, as Balmain is a brand that is easily noticeable, helping us build recognition among friends.              

2. Firstly, I would find the adequate prospect (although net-a-porter is a website, we'll pretend it is a brick-and-mortar store). Afterward, I would reach out and give a helping hand and some tips regarding the garments he/she is looking at. I would emphasize the needs it fulfills (in a brief, catchy way) and try to cross-sell it with different garments. After closing the sale, I would follow up with a loyalty program.

3. Lately, it has been heard that the Big 4 consulting companies are notorious for sexual harassment of employed women. The consequences of this kind of unethical practice can be truly detrimental for the whole management consulting industry, which should be the role model for great business practices.

4. I would prefer to be paid by the number of closed sales, in contrast to an hourly wage. I do not get adequate motivation for working in a specific time frame, and I am very competitive and would like to differentiate from my colleagues. Also, it is sometimes unfair to be paid the same as a colleague who brought less customers that month (in case of an hourly wage).

5.  For example, I am opening a fashion business (accessories). I would set certain KPIs for my salespeople, that would represent actual sales goals. I would put the emphasis on the number of products sold. Secondly, I would have a personal follow-up with the customer to see if the customer journey has went smoothly. Finally, I would make each salesperson document the sales process, so that every kind of progress becomes noticed.

6. It is well-known that customer acquisition is more expensive than customer retention. Although it is always appealing to have new customers, old, retained customers bring in more profit in the long-run, as they tend to have continuous, growing purchases.

7. Since this is a fashion business, it is very important to follow the competition trail. Cost-focused pricing is not very applicable, as fashion businesses tend to have high margins (and thus cost is less important), so competition pricing is a good benchmark to start with.

8. In my opinion, this is an unethical practice, but not extremely. I think that a customer should reach out a brand first, not the other way around. So, telephone contact is only acceptable if it is a part of customer care and support. Also, my first -hand experience is that most people strongly dislike the idea of cold calling.