University Of California Los Angeles B2B Consultative Selling Discussion

Description

Purpose of this assignment:

The purpose of this assignment is to expand your thinking about the different roles and situations that B2B consultative selling occurs. This is a good opportunity for you to think through how salespeople and other IMC activities like Trade Shows work together to achieve a company’s combined sales and marketing goals. In this case, it is the sales/marketing team of one company interfacing with the sales/marketing team of another company.

Assignment Instructions:

Below you will find a link a slide presentation discussing the case history titled “Nimblefoot”. Review the slides as well as case information After reading and reflecting on this case, please answer the questions posed on page 7 of the slide deck. Save as a Word document, minimum 2 pages, single-spaced, and submit to the Canvas Assignment.

Click here to access the Nimblefoot presentation (Links to an external site.) which offers some background provided by the professor for this case study.

Create a Google Doc so that all team members can contribute, comment, collaborate at any time. Proofread the final document before you you save your final work as a Word document (.doc). Do not save as a .pages or .pdf file, nor provide a link to the Google Doc (which is only to be used to create your working draft). Alternatively, you can copy and paste your final work into the Canvas textbox, but proper formatting and any numbering needs to be maintained for gradability.

Nimblefoot Case Background

Nimblefoot is a manufacturer of women’s running shoes, which are sold through major sporting goods chain stores and specialty stores. Nimblefoot has targeted Trailrunner, a regional specialty store chain as a potential prospect for its latest product. Nimblefoot’s sales representative, Bradley Jackson, hopes to replace a competitor’s product in the Trailrunner stores. Bradley has begun planning his upcoming sales call on Susan Holloway, head buyer at Trailrunner. At a recent trade show, Bradley had a brief conversation with Susan and learned that Trailrunner’s management is interested in improving the profitability of the chain. Further, Susan made it clear that Trailrunner would only be interested in high-quality products.

Current Situation

Bradley and his sales manager, Ashley Zamora, have been discussing the plans for the upcoming call on Trailrunner. Ashley asked Bradley to give her a summary of Trailrunner’s key buying motives and the related benefits that Nimblefoot could offer. In addition, Ashley wanted to review the information that would be required to support any claims made for the benefits, as well as additional ideas for how to reinforce the verbal content of Nimblefoot’s sales message. Bradley supplied Ashley with the requested information, as shown in Exhibit A. Ashley is now reading over Exhibit A and plans to give Bradley some feedback tomorrow morning.

EXHIBIT A: Trailrunner’s Buying Motives and Nimblefoot’s Benefits
Trailrunner’s Buying Motives	Related Nimblefoot Benefits	Support Information	Reinforcement of Verbal Content
Improve Profitability	1. The profit margin is 6% higher than the product to be replaced.	1. Cost and retail prices	1. Example income statement with and without new Nimblefoot product
	2. Nimblefoot product has a significantly higher turnover rate than a replacement product, thus improving total annual profitability.	2. Use historic data for an existing product, projected turnover data for Nimblefoot.	2. Spreadsheet to illustrate the multiplier effect of new Nimblefoot products with a lower turnover rate.
High-Quality Product	1. Durable synthetic material features a waterproof, breathable upper	1. Nimblefoot Website	1. Customer interviews on Nimblefoot Website
	2. Support around arch and extra width through the forefoot creates better shock absorption	2. Nimblefoot Website	2. Customer interviews on Nimblefoot Website
	3. The proprietary outsole gives the best durability in high-wear areas.	3. Nimblefoot Website	3. Article from Running World magazine

Questions:

In the role of Ashley Zamora, what specific comments and suggestions do you have for Bradley Jackson?
Should a customer value proposition be developed before completing the information in Exhibit A?

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