TTA-15216 Sales Work in Different Industries, 5 cr

Implementation TTA-15216 2018-01

Description

Industry recipe defines how businesses in a certain industry function. For example, ships are sold as one-time projects, and the deal is closed before the manufacturing starts. Bulldozers and excavators, on the other hand, earth moving companies expect to find in the warehouse of the local distributor; the new machine is needed almost immediately when a contract for a construction project is started.

As shown in the example above, the sales process in different industries are different and sometimes there are different sales approaches even within an industry. In this course, students will enhance their understanding on B2B sales processes with existing and new customers. The case examples from different industries illustrate the special drivers of sales work and sales processes, helping students to analyze and design sales approaches and processes. Special emphasis is also on building an international sales strategy using dealers/distributors, a strategic choice of many Finnish technology-intensive manufacturers.

The course consists of 15-20 guest lectures and/or company visits. Each student can select 10 learning events based on their personal interest and write a learning diary. Each session will also have a reading assignment to be uploaded in Moodle. In addition, the course will also have 2-3 guest lectures from HR managers with special focus on sales professionals and each student will have to choose one and prepare a learning diary. The course also contains a project work with a Finnish company in multi-cultural groups. In addition, students who aim at grades 3-5 will have to read a book and take an exam.

Lessons

Assessment scale

Numerical evaluation scale (0-5)

Requirements

-Participation in 10 guest lectures/company excursions and related learning diaries
-Reading assignment related to the selected guest lectures/company excursions
-Participation in 1 HR coaching session and learning diary
-Project work with multi-cultural groups (a company project)
-Participation in the project wrap-up lecture and a learning diary
-Book exam required for grades 3-5

Additional information of course implementation

The learning events are arranged in different times to ensure flexibility for students - students can then select the ones they are interested in and able to participate. The more detailed schedule is published in Fall 2018, after all the guest lecturers have been agreed on.