This course provides students with a fundamental understanding of different facets of personal selling and sales management from a global perspective while integrating theoretical and managerial perspectives. The course focuses on selling behaviors, as drivers of salesperson performance in an international context, and salesperson performance along its two dimensions, behavior and outcome salesperson performance.

The course covers topics:

· Selling process. Customer Relationship Management (CRM). Sales force organization

· Salespeople and personal selling techniques. Selling and ethics. Communication and presentation

· Sales management as a global endeavor. Global external and internal environmental factors in managing sales. Sales control systems. Sales leadership

· Salesperson performance. Salesperson motivation

· Salesperson compensation and incentives. Evaluating salesperson performance

· Salesperson recruitment and selection. Sales training

· Planning and managing an international sales career

Upon successful completion of this course, students should learn and have insights on:

· a better understanding of a B2B selling process and its stages

· learning an international perspective for a salesperson

· examining salesperson from both personal and organizational context in ever-increasing global marketplaces

· how to use wittingly appropriate personal selling techniques during the selling process

· identifying key concepts of selling behaviors and other drivers leading to salesperson performance

· evaluating salesperson performance from a sales managerial perspective

· global and ethical aspects of sales force management

· improving communication and presentation of critical global sales skills in a project context

· adapting salesperson recruitment and selection criteria to the cultural conditions as an imperative for global organizations

· sales research

· sales career potentials

Students are expected to attend all the sessions. In-class attendance (minimum 80%) is mandatory throughout the course.

The course combines interactive lectures, recommended readings, class discussions, teamwork assignments with student presentations, and distinguished guest speakers’ participation. We will have leading academics and industry practitioners as guest speakers. Previously, we have had internationally-renowned academics and bestselling authors from MIT Sloan School of Management and Harvard Business School, and worldwide executive leaders from Google, IBM, Dell Technologies, Forrester, and Korn Ferry, among others.

The course will use case studies, leadership challenges, and stories with global selling implications adaptable to contemporary organizational contexts and applied examples. The covered topics will provide a knowledge base that will allow students to participate in the course projects. The course is held in English and also emphasizes teamwork in groups.

Total: 100 points

In-class participation: 20 points

Final exam: 30 points

Projects: 50 points (mid-class project 20 points + final project 30 points)

To successfully complete the course, students need 60 points as a minimum.

Grades:

• 90 pts-100 pts: 1
• 80 pts-89 pts: 2
• 70 pts-79 pts: 3
• 60 pts-69 pts: 4
• less than 60 pts: 5 (fail)

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Procedure for the course in case of limited activity on campus:

The course is designed for in-person instruction. In case of limited activity on campus and depending on the type of limited activity, the course will offer a hybrid model (combined in-person and remote instruction) or a remote model of instruction.

• Textbooks

Main textbook: Authors: Mark W. Johnston, Greg W. Marshall

Title: Sales Force Management: Leadership, Innovation, Technology 

Publisher: Routledge: Taylor & Francis Group

Edition: 13th Edition

Year: 2021

Authors: Stephen B. Castleberry, John F. Tanner, Jr.

Title: Selling: Building Partnerships

Publisher: McGraw-Hill

Edition: 10th International Edition

Year: 2019