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Now that you have read this chapter, you should be able to understand the role of selling in everyday life, in the economy, and in companies.
Now it’s time to put what you’ve learned into practice. The following are two roles that are involved in the same selling situation—one role is the customer, and the other is the salesperson. This will give you the opportunity to think about this selling situation from the point of view of both the customer and the salesperson.
Read each role carefully along with the discussion questions. Then, be prepared to play either of the roles in class using the concepts covered in this chapter. You may be asked to discuss the roles and do a role-play in groups or individually.
College Admissions: Who Is Selling Whom?
Role: College admissions director
You are the director of admissions at your school. You want to choose only the best candidates for admission for next year’s class. The focus of the school is to attract and accept students that demonstrate diversity, academic achievement, life experience, community service, passion for learning, and potential to grow.
You personally meet with each one of the final candidates to determine how they will fit into the culture of the school and help the school meet its objectives. It’s something you enjoy doing because it’s a chance to put a name with a face and see exactly what makes each student special. You and the other management at the school consider it to be a customer-centric organization.
You are about to meet with a prospective student. You are under some pressure to increase enrollment (after all, the admissions department is really like the sales department in a lot of organizations). You are not sure he’s a perfect fit for the school, but you are one of the school’s customer contact points so you want to make him feel at ease while you are learning more about him.
Role: Prospective student
You are a prospective student at your school. Your grades are good (not outstanding), but you have been involved in the drama club and Spanish club in high school. You don’t know what you want to do in life, but you know you want to go to college and get a good job. You are nervous about your interview with the director of admissions because it’s your first interview and you don’t really know what to expect.