Thomas Edison State College Logo

Syllabus for MAR–310

PRINCIPLES OF SALES

Description | Objectives | Materials | Structure | Assessment | Grading | Strategies | Integrity

Course Description

Principles of Sales is a comprehensive introduction to the principles of selling and the role of the professional salesperson in the marketing process. The course covers the characteristics and skills necessary for success in sales; techniques for identifying sales prospects and quali­fying buyers; the importance of relationship building, product knowl­edge, and post sales service in long-term, consultative-style selling; territory and sales management; and selling in the global market.


Return to Top

Course Objectives

After completing this course, you should be able to: 


  1. Explain the role of personal selling in the application of the marketing concept.
  2. Outline how personal selling skills can become assets in performing "knowledge work."
  3. Develop strategies for obtaining and sustaining relationships with customers, secondary decision makers, support staff, and relevant managers.
  4. Achieve versatility in selling through exhibiting flexibility in your communication style.
  5. Evaluate your sales behaviors in order to maintain high ethical standards.
  6. Analyze customer situations and problems in order to provide successful product or service-related solutions.
  7. Create value-added selling strategies that include dynamic product positioning and yield a competitive advantage.
  8. Differentiate among buyer attributes and behaviors that influence the consumer buying process.
  9. Develop prospecting and forecasting plans that provide a solid pool of current and potential customers.
  10. Design sales approaches that will result in convincing customers to buy.
  11. Diagnose specific customer concerns or problems and provide consultative selling.
  12. Select and customize tools and methods to create winning sales presentations.
  13. Apply negotiating skills in complex or challenging customer situations.
  14. Demonstrate successfully the sales closing.
  15. Create strategies for establishing mutually satisfactory long-term partnerships with customers.
  16. Demonstrate self-management practices that are essential in developing sales opportunities.
  17. Devise a set of guidelines for key approaches to successfully managing a sales force.


Return to Top

Course Materials

You will need the following materials to do the work of the course. The required textbook is available from the College's textbook supplier, MBS Direct.


Required Textbook

  • Selling Today: Creating Customer Value, 11th ed., by Gerald L. Manning, Barry L. Reece  and Michael Ahearne (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2010)

    ISBN-10: 0-13-207995-X



The textbook publisher provides a Web site (http://wps.prenhall.com/bp_manning_selling_11).

Return to Top

Course Structure

Principles of Sales is a three-credit, 12-week course divided into six (6) modules.  The course requires you to complete ten written assignments, participate in five online discussions, take a midterm, and develop a Final Project.  For the chapters and pages you are to read in the textbook, please follow the "Course Calendar" in this syllabus. The "Course Calendar" will also give you the dates for submitting written assignments and scheduling your midterm examination.


Return to Top

Assessment Methods

For your formal work in the course, you are required to participate in online discussion forums, complete written assignments, take a proctored midterm examination and produce a final project in the form of a case analysis . The midterm exam contains multiple-choice questions, short essay questions, and full essay questions. It is closed-book and two hours long. See below for more details.


Discussion Forums

In addition to posting an introduction to the class in Week 1, you are required to participate in five (5) graded discussion forums, each focusing on a sales-related issue.


Communication with the mentor and among fellow students is a critical component of online learning. Participation in online discussions involves two distinct activities: an initial response to a discussion question and at least two subsequent comments on classmates' responses. Meaningful participation is relevant to the content, adds value, and advances the discussion. Comments such as "I agree" and "ditto" are not considered value-adding participation. Therefore, when you agree or disagree with a classmate, the reading, or your mentor, state and support your agreement or disagreement. You will be evaluated on the quality and quantity of your participation. Responses and comments should be properly proofread and edited, professional, and respectful.


For posting guidelines and additional help with discussion board assignments, please see the Student Handbook located within the General Information section of the course Web site.




Written Assignments

You are required to complete six (6) written assignments. The written assignments are on a variety of topics associated with the course modules. Each assignment consists of two essay questions, some of which are multipart. Each response should be no more than four typed, double-spaced pages.


Answer each assignment question as completely as possible. These are critical thinking questions, but you must support your answers with facts from your reading and viewing materials. Do not merely copy your answers from your course materials. Formulate answers in your own words, paraphrasing or quoting the course readings or videos as appropriate. Be sure to cite these references in an appropriate manner by using footnotes or endnotes. If you use outside sources to strengthen your answers, be sure to cite them also.


Before submitting your work, proofread it for correct spelling, grammar, complete sentences and paragraphs, and clarity of expression. Be sure to keep a copy of each assignment for yourself.


Take the time to familiarize yourself with the Modules area of the course Web site, which is where the written assignments can be found. Read through the written assignment questions before you begin each lesson.


Prepare your written assignments using whatever word processing program you have on your computer. Include your name at the top of the paper, as well as the course name and code and the semester and year in which you are enrolled.


Before submitting your first assignment, check with your mentor to determine whether your word processing software is compatible with your mentor's software. If so, you can submit your work as you prepared it. If not, save your assignment as a rich-text (.rtf) file, using the Save As command of your software program. Rich text retains basic formatting and can be read by any other word processing program.


When satisfied that your assignment represents your best work, submit it to your mentor.


Go to the Submit Assignments area of the course Web site to submit all written assignments.


For additional help regarding preparing and submitting assignments, see the Student Handbook located within the General Information section of the course Web site.




Midterm Examination

Principles of Sales requires you to take a proctored midterm examination which contains multiple-choice questions, short essay questions, and full essay questions.   The exam is closed-book and two hours long.  It covers all the material assigned in Modules 1–3.



You may take the midterm examination only during the designated exam week, at an approved location, and with an approved proctor. In this regard, you need to schedule your exam and submit your "Proctor Request Form" with the necessary documentation during the first week of the semester. (See Administrative Forms in the General Information area of the course Web site.)


If you are on a course extension and have not yet taken the midterm exam, you must let your examination proctor know when you plan to take the exam and contact the Office of Test Administration (609-984-1181) two weeks in advance to request that your exam be sent to the proctor.



Consult the course Calendar for the scheduling of this exam.




Final Project

You are required at the end of the semester to submit a case analysis that focuses on a challenging sales situation.  This case analysis will be a vehicle through which you demonstrate your ability to apply selling concepts in determining the role of such concepts in a realistic selling event.


Go to the Final Project area of the course Web site for details of what you are required to do for this assignment.



Grading and Evaluation

Your grade in the course will be determined as follows:


  • Online discussions (5)—10 percent
  • Written assignments (6)—40 percent
  • Midterm exam (proctored, modules 1–3)—30 percent
  • Final Project—20 percent

All assignments will receive a numerical grade of 0–100. You will receive a score of 0 for any work not submitted. Your final grade in the course will be a letter grade. Letter grade equivalents for numerical grades are as follows:


A = 93–100
A– = 90–92
B+ = 88–89
B = 83–87
B– = 80–82
C+ = 78–79
C = 73–77
C– = 70–72
D = 60–69
F = Below 60

To receive credit for the course, you must earn a letter grade of D or higher on the weighted average of all assigned course work (e.g., exams, assignments, discussion postings, etc.).
Return to Top

Strategies for Success

First Steps to Success

To succeed in this course, take the following first steps:

Study Tips

Consider the following study tips for success:
Return to Top

Academic Integrity

Students at Thomas Edison State College are expected to exhibit the highest level of academic citizenship. In particular, students are expected to read and follow all policies, procedures, and program information guidelines contained in publications; pursue their learning goals with honesty and integrity; demonstrate that they are progressing satisfactorily and in a timely fashion by meeting course deadlines and following outlined procedures; observe a code of mutual respect in dealing with mentors, staff, and other students; behave in a manner consistent with the standards and codes of the profession in which they are practicing; keep official records updated regarding changes in name, address, telephone number, or e-mail address; and meet financial obligations in a timely manner. Students not practicing good academic citizenship may be subject to disciplinary action including suspension, dismissal, or financial holds on records.

Academic Dishonesty
Thomas Edison State College expects all of its students to approach their education with academic integrity—the pursuit of scholarly activity free from fraud and deception. All mentors and administrative staff members at the College insist on strict standards of academic honesty in all courses. Academic dishonesty undermines this objective. Academic dishonesty takes the following forms:


Academic dishonesty will result in disciplinary action and possible dismissal from the College. Students who submit papers that are found to be plagiarized will receive an F on the plagiarized assignment, may receive a grade of F for the course, and may face dismissal from the College.

A student who is charged with academic dishonesty will be given oral or written notice of the charge. If a mentor or College official believes the infraction is serious enough to warrant referral of the case to the academic dean, or if the mentor awards a final grade of F in the course because of the infraction, the student and the mentor will be afforded formal due process.

If a student is found cheating or using unauthorized materials on an examination, he or she will automatically receive a grade of F on that examination. Students who believe they have been falsely accused of academic dishonesty should seek redress through informal discussions with the mentor, through the office of the dean, or through an executive officer of Thomas Edison State College.

Plagiarism
Using someone else's work as your own is plagiarism. Although it may seem like simple dishonesty, plagiarism is against the law. Thomas Edison State College takes a strong stance against plagiarism, and students found to be plagiarizing will be severely penalized. If you copy phrases, sentences, paragraphs, or whole documents word-for-word—or if you paraphrase by changing a word here and there—without identifying the author, then you are plagiarizing. Please keep in mind that this type of identification applies to Internet sources as well as to print-based sources. Copying and pasting from the Internet, without using quotation marks and without acknowledging sources, constitutes plagiarism. (For information about how to cite Internet sources, see Online Student Handbook > Academic Standards > "Citing Sources.")

Accidentally copying the words and ideas of another writer does not excuse the charge of plagiarism. It is easy to jot down notes and ideas from many sources and then write your own paper without knowing which words are your own and which are someone else's. It is more difficult to keep track of each and every source. However, the conscientious writer who wishes to avoid plagiarizing never fails to keep careful track of sources.

Always be aware that if you write without acknowledging the sources of your ideas, you run the risk of being charged with plagiarism.

Clearly, plagiarism, no matter the degree of intent to deceive, defeats the purpose of education. If you plagiarize deliberately, you are not educating yourself, and you are wasting your time on courses meant to improve your skills. If you plagiarize through carelessness, you are deceiving yourself.


Return to Top


Thomas Edison State College. All Rights Reserved.