Required

“SAS and RSS Project Descriptions, Assignments, and Samples”, course packet, University Bookstore, Memorial Union [NOTE: this packet contains required information that you will need in order to complete course assignments].

Suggested

Selling Today: Creating Customer Value by Gerald Manning and Barry Reece (NJ: Prentice Hall), 10^th ed., 2007. This book contains material that will complement and explain in more detail most lecture topics. It is one of the top selling books in the field and would be a good addition to your library of sales references should you pursue a career in sales.

AgriSelling by David W. Downey, Marilyn Holschuh, and Michael A. Jackson (St. Louis: Doane Ag Services Co.), 1999. [NOTE: This is about the only book that discusses unique sales topic applications to agriculture].

The One Minute Sales Person by Spencer Johnson and Larry Wilson (NY: Avon Books), 1984. [NOTE: former NY Times best seller].

C. OVERVIEW

Welcome to our professional ‘Agri Selling’ course. You will be a part of what we hope will be a very interesting and practical class. This course has proven to be very popular among previous students. We look forward to working with you.

During this semester we will be examining many of the facets of professional selling and learning some of the skills that have proven to be highly useful whether you choose to become a professional salesperson or enter any other professional area. Almost every professional area will require you to sell yourself and your ideas to others. If nothing else, completing this course should help to make you a better buyer.

This course in professional selling will concentrate most heavily on both theoretical and practical aspects of selling in an agricultural environment, but will be directly applicable to almost any area of non-agricultural selling. Many of our examples and audio-visual aids will utilize agricultural business examples. These same tools and techniques have proven highly useful in manufacturing, consumer products, the food industry, pharmaceuticals, technical science industries, etc.

It is designed primarily for students majoring in Agriculture who plan a professional career, especially sales, in agribusiness. The course recognizes the wide diversity of backgrounds, interest areas, and problems young professionals are likely to face as they begin an agricultural sales career. Many agricultural students enter the agricultural business through sales. Therefore, it is important to understand what professional agricultural selling and the agricultural sales process are really all about.

The rapid pace of technological advances and an increasingly competitive marketplace have increased the need for well trained sales specialists who can market new ideas and services to farm customers and agribusinesses. Gone are the days of selling more with a low price while demand increases naturally. The economic environment of today requires a business approach to dealing with sophisticated agricultural customers in a world beset with intense competitive pressures. Agribusinesses are increasingly moving toward developing a strategic marketing plan about which to build their businesses and the salesperson is an integral part of this effort. Econ 336 is being offered in response to the growing demand for salespeople in agriculture.

D. GENERAL COURSE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES FOR STUDENTS

1. To become conversant in the language of sales in agriculture.

2. To create a profile of a professional agricultural salesperson.

3. To gain an understanding of and appreciation for professional agricultural selling.

4. To explore the psychology of agricultural sales and how to sell agricultural products and services.

5. To become familiar with the five steps of an agricultural sale—the preparation, the opening, the presentation, the close and service.

6. To participate in an actual agricultural sales experience.

7. To learn first-hand about the rewards and frustrations of a career in agricultural selling by spending an entire day interacting with a professional agricultural salesperson.

8. To survey sales opportunities throughout the food and agribusiness sector, including feed, animal health, ag chemicals, seed, fertilizer, machinery.

9. To enhance oral and written communication skills as well as self confidence.

E. SPECIFIC LEARNING OUTCOMES

After completing Econ 336, Agri Selling, students should be able to:

understand what it means to be a “professional”, and especially a professional agricultural salesperson
track down a person in the real world who is likely to be very knowledgeable about a given topic
write a business letter
prepare for an activity such as a sales call, a meeting, an interview, etc.
open a sales call effectively
make a positive impression
gain the interest and attention of another person at the start of a sales call or meeting
build rapport with another person
probe for needs and values of a customer
prepare materials that will assist in selling either a product or an idea
translate product features into customer benefits
give an effective sales presentation that is centered around a prospect’s needs
anticipate and handle objections or questions that another person might have to their presentation or ideas
close a sales call using professional closing techniques
formulate appropriate open-ended and closed-ended questions to ask of a customer and demonstrate active listening skills
interpret non verbal communication signals
demonstrate an ability to think on one’s feet
provide exceptional follow up and service
adapt one’s own behavioral style to that of another
be a buying facilitator
apply product selling techniques to interviewing and to selling one’s ideas
interact effectively with another person in a business or social setting
respond in the most appropriate manner to events beyond their control
critique a sales presentation while role playing a customer
role play a salesperson who is calling on a customer

F. LECTURE SCHEDULE (tentative) & TOPIC OVERVIEW

Topic/Step	Dates
#1 Preparation	8/20-9/27
#2 Opening	10/2-10/11
#3 Presentation	10/16-10/25
#4 Close	10/30-11/1
#5 Service & Wrap Up	11/6-12/6

Development Steps (Reece & Manning)

Selling Philosophy (in #1 above)

Relationship Strategy (in #1 and #2 above)

Customer Strategy (in #1 above)

Product Strategy (in #3 above)

Presentation Strategy (in #2 thru #5 above)

G. GRADING

Each student’s course grade will be determined based on the following items and weights:

Item		Weight
Exam #1		15%
Exam #2		15%
SAS Project		20%
RSS Project		30%
In-class Assignments, & Participation		15%
Attendance & Behavior		5%

At the end of the course, letter grades will be assigned on the basis of each student’s weighted average percentage (A ³ 93%, A- ³ 90%, B+ ³ 87%, B ³ 83%, B- ³ 80%, etc.). Individual assignments will be graded using the following information:

Grade	Score	Description of Completed Work/Assignment
A	³ 93%	Excellent. Extremely thorough and professional. Attention to all details. Demonstrates considerable preparation. Well organized. Smooth. Impressive.
B	³ 83%	Good. Thorough and professional in most places. Attention to most details. Creates a positive impression overall.
C	³ 73%	Okay. Acceptable but not thorough and professional throughout. A few noticeable details overlooked. Better organization and more effort/preparation would have helped. A neutral impression overall.
D	³ 60%	Poor. Less than desirable in terms of thoroughness and professionalism. Many details overlooked. Not much preparation and effort demonstrated. Creates a negative impression overall.
F	£ 50%	Failing. Unacceptable.

H. COURSE NOTES, POLICIES, OR PROCEDURES

1. “Agri Selling” relies heavily on experiential learning. Special class projects are designed to get you ‘involved’ in the learning process through participation and many exercises that represent the ‘real world.’ For example, each student will be required to spend an entire day with a salesperson to learn first-hand about various aspects of a career in selling (SAS Project = Shadow A Salesperson). In addition, each student will be required to prepare and give a sales presentation that will be evaluated by a professional agricultural salesperson (RSS project = Ready Set Sell). For the RSS project, students will be divided into 3-4 person teams based on similarities in RSS products/services being sold. Each of these projects will be completed as a result of your completing a series of related smaller assignments. Finally, each student’s RSS team will also complete a Sales Manual project that summarizes course information in a manual format that should have future use implications for a professional salesperson.

Each student is required to satisfactorily complete the SAS Project and the Final RSS ‘presentation’ assignment in order to receive a passing grade. Each student is required to be present R Nov 29 (5:30-9:00 p.m.) to give their RSS presentation.

Make-up exams will not be given unless advance arrangements have been made with the instructor. Hourly exam dates (tentative) are R Oct. 11 and R Dec. 6. No final exam will be given!

Each assignment has a designated due date. All late papers will be discounted 5% per day up to 20% per week. If any assignment cannot be completed on time, consult with your instructor in advance of the due date. Successful professionals pay attention to detail. Assignments in this course must be completed in a timely fashion and will also require attention to detail.

A number of in-class assignments will be given. These will usually be completed within a group. There will be NO excused missed in-class assignments and NO make-ups. At the end of the semester, each student will be allowed to drop their 2 lowest in-class scores.

Each student’s attendance score will be calculated as follows: 100%, 0-1 absences; 90%, 2 absences; 80%, 3 absences, 70%, 4 absences; etc. There will be no excused absences except for SAS trips, other documented university activities, or documented illnesses. Attendance will be taken at the start of class each day. Students who arrive at class after attendance is taken will be counted as absent.

Professional behavior is expected at all times. This includes constructive contributions to classroom discussions by making comments, answering questions, offering summaries, and providing additional real-world examples of course topic applicability. It also means wearing casual (or professional) business attire on days when we have guests and on RSS night. Our class format on days when we have guests will be for us to interview them. You and your fellow students will be expected to ask questions.

NON professional behaviors that should be avoided in class include: a) ringing cell phones, b) talking with other students while your instructor is talking, c) or sleeping during lectures, d) leaving class early without permission, and e) anything else that may be considered ‘distracting’ by either your instructor or your fellow students.

Make a copy of each of your completed assignments before you turn them in just in case it gets lost in the submission, grading, and return processes. Also, if you don’t already own a stapler, you may want to purchase one so you can staple multiple-page assignments before you given them to your instructor.

Dropping this course close to the drop deadline often creates logistical problems for your instructor in conjunction with the RSS project and it can adversely impact your fellow students who are counting on you to be part of a group effort. Therefore, if you wish to drop this course, your instructor asks that you make this decision as soon as possible after the start of the semester. Thanks.

There will be a Special Course Fee of approximately $25-$30.

The special course fee will be used to pay for some of the expenses associated with the final RSS Project assignment including preparing packets and name tags for both students and salespeople, preparing evaluation forms for both students and salespeople that are used to critique presentations, providing tape recorders and other special equipment for the students’ presentations, and finally the meal itself.

A class homepage on the web can be found at www.econ.iastate.edu/. Go to Fall 2007 classes link. All assignment scores, weekly announcements, exam study guides, etc. will be posted on our home page.

If you have a disability and require accommodations, please contact the instructor early in the semester so that your learning needs may be appropriately met. You will need to provide documentation of your disability to the Disability Resources (DR) office, located on the main floor of the Student Services Building, Room 1076, 515-294-7220.

I. SPECIAL THANKS

Professional Agri Selling is a course that originated at Purdue University about twenty-five years ago and has become a pivotal course for agricultural students as well as many other academic majors on that campus. The course was developed by Dr. David Downey, a professor of agricultural marketing at Purdue University. Dr. Downey was raised on a farm in Indiana. He attended Purdue University as an undergraduate where he majored in agronomy. He continued his graduate studies at Purdue in agri marketing. After receiving his Ph.D. degree he joined the faculty at Purdue where he has taught his entire career. He is a frequent speaker, leads seminars, and consults with a wide spectrum of agribusinesses across the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Australia. You will have the opportunity to see and hear Dr. Downey on some class videos.

Dr. Downey played an instrumental role in helping your instructor develop this course. Dr. Downey graciously shared his class materials and, perhaps more importantly, he shared his experiences and expertise. Thank you Dr. Downey for your assistance.