Brief description

Objectives of the course:

• To know and recognise the concept of Customer Service and its personal and business implications.
• To assume the need to know and improve personal sales skills in commercial and non-commercial profiles.
• To understand the existence of the sales process and its different phases.
• To know and understand what a sales consultant/consultant salesperson is.
• To learn useful commercial management tools to achieve improved personal organisation and develop future team management.

Name

Sales and customers management

Code

102808

Academic year

2024-25

Degree

MASTER'S DEGREE MBA IN INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT

ECTS Credits

2

Type

MANDATORY

Duration

Cuatrimestral

Language

Spanish/English

Contents

1. General introduction to the subject. The figure of the salesperson
• Sense and objective of the subject
• The sales cycle and the sales process
• The salesperson: characteristics and needs;
• social and specific recognition of sales personalities; types of salespeople; the consultant/adviser salesperson

2. Customer service
• Customer focus as a key point of business strategy and personal activity
• Needs, implications and effects
• Means of customer service support

3. Personal business communication
• Elements of commercial communication
• Communication in the international environment; interference
• Verbal communication
• Non-verbal communication

4. Sales techniques and commercial management
• Selling techniques and sales skills
• Selling techniques; historical development
• Commercial management: efficient selling; support media
• Customer management
• The Sales Plan

5. Preparation of the commercial activity:
• Contact preparation; prospecting
• Attempt to contact the client
• First contact with the client: Reality, problems and solutions

6. Contact and presentation to the client
• Guidelines for action
• Most common mistakes
• The forbidden words
• How to create and sustain interest

7. Needs and clients:
• Determination of needs
• The art of questioning
• Types of clients
• Customer management according to customer typology

8. Negotiation in its different phases: The argumentation
• Outline of the argumentation
• Features and benefits
• Persuasion: how to convince customers

9. Objections
• Dealing with objections
• Types of objections
• Guidelines and techniques for dealing with them
• Common client tactics during the negotiation process

10. Closing the sale and next steps
• Negotiation status and definition of the state of negotiations
• Strategies to trigger closure
• Buying signals
• Closing techniques
• Formalisation of the sale
• Next steps: experiences and recommendations
• Recap
• Case study

Conocimientos

CO1 - To learn about business management analytics in dynamic and complex environments, such as the international environment.

CO2 - To acquire a body of theoretical and practical knowledge and learning skills, which will enable those who remain interested to pursue further, more specialised studies in the field of advanced research or doctoral studies.

CO3 - To master the basic tools of information and communication technologies for exercising of their profession and for learning.

CO4 - To understand the concepts, theories and instruments for analysing and developing business internationalisation plans.

CO5 - To understand the nature of problems in the organisation and therefore the application of suitable tools by developing analytical skills.

CO6 - To acquire the skills for professional document drafting and reporting in the field of international business.

Habilidades

S1 - To apply the theoretical and practical knowledge acquired, with a high degree of independence, in both national and international companies, be they small or medium-sized or companies of a more multinational dimension, and even in non-business organisations whose management requires an international vision.

S2 - To apply the analytical skills acquired in defining and approaching new problems and in searching for solutions both in a national and international business context.

S3 - To be able to collect, record and interpret macroeconomic data, country information, industry and business information, financial and accounting data, statistical data, and relevant research results to systematise business decision-making processes in international environments.

S4 - To apply the appropriate procedure to achieving an international business objective.

S5 - To assess the relationship between enterprises and the institutional framework in which activities are carried out.

S7 - To manage software and statistical programmes for data recording and analysis.

S8 - To analyse the results of market and competition research to propose strategic orientations and operational actions.

S9 - To manage a business internationalisation project and assume managerial responsibilities.

Competencias

C1 - To work in multidisciplinary and multicultural teams, in highly demanding situations in terms of time (deadlines for designing and executing projects and cases) and results.

C2 - To develop business and personal activities within the strictest ethical and socially responsible behaviours, as well as to develop sensitivity towards social and environmental issues.

C3 - To express themselves correctly, both orally and in writing, in Spanish and English, maintaining an appropriate image in their professional activity.

C4 - To lead the process of designing the international strategy.

C5 - To work in a team, prioritising the precision of the results and the soundness and originality of the proposals. .

C6 - To lead and develop international business negotiation processes.

Training activities

Teaching methods

• Present the theoretical arguments in a practical and graphical way in each class.
• Motivate student participation with videos, individual and group case studies, in order to assimilate the theoretical foundations more quickly and effectively. As far as possible, the case studies will be related to the content of the work for the subject “Internationalisation Project”.
• Learn by explaining the concepts used
• Use the resources that will be provided on the course platform to facilitate the assimilation of concepts: case studies, articles, commentaries, etc.
• Analysis of their own and other people's experiences in different areas
• The course will be a mixed Spanish-English course; the class will be taught in Spanish with part of the exercises in English. The teaching material and examination will be conducted in English.

Evaluation system

In its first exam session, the evaluation guidelines and criteria will be the following:
• Evaluation Exercise: 60% of the total
• Personal participation in group and individual activities during lessons: 20%. The quality and number of interventions will be assessed and individual participation in class will be prioritised, in addition to participation in group work.
• Case study: 20%. This will take place in the last sessions, and the assimilation of concepts learnt during the classes will be assessed.

In the 2nd and subsequent exam sessions, the grade will depend on the test(s) (written test type, essay type, assignments, oral tests, etc.), which will be determined by the teachers and communicated to the students sufficiently in advance.

Coordinator/s

Lecturers

Bibliography

• Be your own sales manager: Alessandra, J. Cethcart, J. Monoky
• Sales closing for dummies: Tom Hopkins
• How to master the art of selling: Tom Hopkins
• The little red book of selling: Jeffrey Gitomer
• Sell or be sold: Grant Cardone
• Técnicas de venta y negociación: María José Escudero

Printable syllabus

This document can be used as reference documentation of this subject for the application for recognition of credits in other study programmes. For its full effect, it should be stamped by UIMP Student's Office.

Document for the application for recognition of credits in other study programmes