Planning Assignment Draft 1. What product or service will you try to sell? If you are choosing a consumer product then sell it to a store for resale rather than to a final retail customer? I am trying to sell a type of curling shoe to a retail curling store. The particular type of curling shoe(The Delux version) is made by Balance Plus.
2. Where do you think the clients are in the buying process for this product or service as you go into the sales call? The client will be very excited about this type of shoe. It is a new shoe and is the best curling shoe ever produced. They will be in the first step of buying the product. This is because the shoes are new and relatively unknown to curlers. They will be a great item and will sell very fast.
3. What are your objectives for the sales call? My objective for the sales call is to sell the shoe to the client.
Curling shoes, showing a slider sole
The Canadian team during the 2006 Winter Olympics ...
English: World Women's Championship TrophyI'm not selling a number of shoes; I'm selling them a pairs of shoes to be placed in their store for buyers to see. The actual shoes will be at our warehouse and we will ship them when they need them. Making the transaction very easy for the customer and the client.
4. Identify features of the product or service you are trying to sell.
Product B - Delux - All leather shoe - Steel Shank arch - Welted Construction Delux All leather - The Delux shoe is all leather. This makes it last longer and also make it more durable for the wear and tear that it goes through. Being all leather it becomes more flexible then any other curling shoe on the market. Also the leather combined with Thinsulate technology provides warmth and comfort.
Steel Shank - In the middle of the soul there is a steel shank just below the arch of the shoe. The steel provides a very stable base support and also will stand up longer to the weight of a person's body. This is an advantage because it keeps the slider from becoming warp.
Welted Construction - The whole shoe used welted construction making it the strongest curling shoe to ever be introduced. With most shoes the soul will come apart from the shoes itself, but with the welted construction that should never happen.
Questions 1. Why is this product so durable and comfortable at the same time? 2. Why will people buy the shoes at such a high prices? 3. How can I afford to have all this inventory? 5. a. What will your business proposition be for the clients? Include financial details.
My business proposition will be that the curling shoes will be a great invest for all the competitive curlers, and also brings in sales without any expenses. The shoe runs for $229.95 which is an expensive price, but your company will be making 20% of that final price.
5 b. What will your marketing plan be for your clients? The marketing plan will be very simple for the client. They bare no expenses and will never have to worry about having left over inventory. The are an outlet for our product and work as advertising for our company. Balance Plus will do all of the advertising and most of the labour.
6.a List three objections you think you could expect.
1. The price is too high? 2. How do I know curlers will buy this new shoe? 3. It sounds to good to be true? b. What will your response be to each? 1. The price is high, but it is because the shoes are so great. Being all leather the shoes will have a long life span of 4 to 5 years. Most curling shoes run for $150.00 and they will only last for 1 or 2 years.
2. This curling season started 2 months ago and we have already sold 2500 shoes in Ontario alone. We also have top curlers wearing our shoes, which will be great due to the fact that a lot of people will see them. These are the best shoes that curling has ever seen and they will sell!! 3. This deal almost is to good to be true because you have absolutely nothing to loss.
7. Construct a proof statement that you think could be effective sometime during the sales call.
The sport of curling is becoming huge across Canada and the world. With the new sponsors coming out to support the game curlers getting very excited in the money that can be obtain in the sport. The curlers that are wearing our shoes have 10 Gold, 4 Silver, and 1 Bronze Medal. Also the past 4 years in a row curlers wearing are shows have won the World Championships. These shows are going to be big. Being a curler myself I have tried them and I can say enough good things about the shoe.
8. What visual aids do you think could be useful and why? The shoe itself would be a great aid because the client could actually feel and see the product. Also a model of another shoes (the competition) would be beneficial because it can make my shoe look better and I can talk about the advantages that my shoe has over the competitions. Lastly a photo of a competitive and well-known curler using the product would be good.
9.What 2 closing techniques do you think you will use and why? After I have spoken about the product and the advantages and features it provides I will present the client with the idea that it would be a good product to carry in his store and if he agrees. If he believes that yes it would be a good idea I would then provide him with the contract and tell him when he could be expecting his sizing shoes.
10. Write out 5 questions and your answers to them on a separate sheet of paper to help develop a better proposal.
Q: Do you curl? A: Yes, and I really enjoy the game.
Q: Do you play in the club league or are you playing competitive.
A: Actually I haven't played long so I don't curl competitive, but I am very excited about trying.
Q: What kind of curling shoes do you carry here? A: We carry only a few because we don't have the space for inventory.
Q: How many members do you currently have curling at this establishment? A: Around 800 members.
Q: And how many of those curl competitive? A: Around 100 of our members curl competitive.
Men curling, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Team Canada
Chris Sobkowicz (left) and Jim Armstrong (right)