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  • The course essay is (preferably) written in groups of three or four. The preferred essay topic is to review a solution sales methodology book. The target size is about 7-10 A4 pages. I have a selection of books to borrow for review, including "Customer-Centric Selling", "Solution Selling", and "The New Strategic Selling" which all give an excellent overview & details of a contemporary methodology for solution selling. You may also suggest another book to review.

    Completion deadline for the essay is 15.1.2024.

    Within your group, each group member selects a specific book topic to review, one topic per person. for instance, the Customer Centric Selling (and Solution Selling) methodologies suggest a template for organising the sales conversation in line with a "solution development prompter". Similarly, the Strategic Selling suggest a "blue sheet" as a tool for evaluating a case opportunity, including many evaluation topics, such as "key influences" of the sales opportunity. Those topics would be examples of ideal topics to discuss in the essay.

    ESSAY STRUCTURE

    INTRODUCTION
    - What are the topics you review and why?

    MAIN CONTENT (one chapter for each topic reviewed) 
    -Explain the topic: Key concepts, frameworks, and models
    -Discuss the topic: How relevant, how practical, how easy to learn and implement, …

    DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
    -How would you like to summarize the book against what you have learned duringthe course
    -How would you compare the book against your previous experience?
    -What important elements of modern selling the book is not discussing (if any)?

    List of REFERENCES (if any)

    ESSAY ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

    Structure and clarity
    -Organization of the content
    -Structure and integration of the paragraphs
    - Text flow

    Relevance and rhetoric
    -Impact and maturity of expression: don’t just say "it is import to ..." but explain why is it important instead, and let your reader conclude it is actually important. Then, if you argue for something, give proof (references or other evidence)
    -Relevance of content. Everything you say should support you argument. Do not copy & paste text just to expand your document, but keep asking yourself "why does the reader need to know what I say, how does it relate to my argument?"
    -Referencing (the way the authors use sources, for example, smart quotation)

    Originality and reflection
    -Independent, personal, reflective, and critical thought

    Language
    - The correctness of the language