Question Details

MKTG 425 WEEK 3 CASE STUDY :

Reality in Selling Case Study: Selling New Products at Steelcase
Read the Reality Selling Case Study details at the end of Chapter 7 in the text and the Selling In Action (Effective Sales Letter Writing is a must) details in Chapter 6. Prepare a sales letter to your buyer at DeVry University that meets the criteria noted in the Selling In Action. In your sales letter, you should address the features, advantages, and benefits of the Personal Harbor Workspaces and Think Chairs created by Steelcase. Be mindful of your objective for the sales letter, which is to gain the buyer- attention and gain the first meeting. For this assignment, you will not use the Case Study Guidelines in Doc Sharing. Your assignment will be in the form of an official sales letter. A sample format for a sales letter that uses letterhead is provided in your textbook Appendix 3, the Letter of Reference from The Principle Company.
Objectives
Formatting for the Case Study assignment will follow the Effective Sales Letter Writing details noted in Chapter 6. Your sales letter should contain the following, in order.
•	Letterhead or Sender- Address
•	Date
•	Address of your Buyer
•	Salutation
•	Body of the Letter
•	Complimentary Close
•	Typed Name and Handwritten Signature of the Sender
•	Notation of Enclosures (if any)
For this assignment, typing your name and adding a typed written font similar to a signature is acceptable. Otherwise, you can digitally sign your letter or physically sign it and upload the scanned copy. A sample format for a sales letter that uses letterhead is provided in your textbook Appendix 3, the Letter of Reference from The Principle Company.
Guidelines
You are a sales representative for SteelCase. You are part of the advance sales team responsible for selling your firm's line of the newest innovations, including the Think Chair and the Personal Harbor Workspace. Read the Reality Selling Case Study in Chapter 7 to gain some insights regarding your team and the products you represent. You and your team have already successfully secured a purchase from the local hospital. As a recent DeVry University graduate and Esteemed Alum, you feel that the Personal Harbor Workspace would be of value to the various DeVry Group campuses.  
Your assignment is to write an effective sales letter to your instructor, who is the senior purchasing agent for DeVry Group. The goal of your letter is to get your instructor's attention and create the desire to meet with you. The primary objective is to gain a face-to-face or phone meeting to begin building rapport and needs discovery. Assume that you have never visited one of the physical campuses yet; however, you understand how the academic environment is set up. You also know that the DeVry Group is very student-centric and focuses most of the resources to meet the needs of the students. 
Review the Case Study details in Chapter 7 to gain details on the features of the Personal Harbor Workspace. You may need to do some additional pre-planning research on your prospective customer in order to determine what benefits the buyer may be looking for. In your sales letter, you should address the features, advantages, and benefits of the Personal Harbor Workspaces and Think Chairs created by Steelcase; however, these must be things that would be of interest or importance to the buyer. For example, if the chair comes in different colors, but you do not think the buyer would see a benefit in this, then you would not mention it in the letter.
You have a limit of one-page for this letter and you must complete your objective. This means you need to choose your words carefully; be clear, complete, and succinct. Remember, you are not selling the product at this time. You are simply introducing the idea and seeking an in-person or phone meeting. You must use one-inch margins, single-space, and proper spaces between elements of the letter. You will include any enclosures you wish as attachments to the letter. Enclosures do not count against your one-page limit for the letter. We will NOT have a work cited page for the letter as all content should be your own original work. Enclosures, if not original, should have correct APA citations included on them.
Grading Rubrics
Category	Points	%	Description
 Documentation and Formatting	 18	 20	Letter has the following content in order. Letterhead or Sender- Address; Date of Letter; Name and Address of your Buyer; Salutation/Greeting; Body of the Letter; Complimentary Close; Typed Name and Handwritten/Digital/Typed Signature of the Sender; and Notation of Enclosures (if any).
 Organization and Cohesiveness	 18	 20	Letter contains at least three well-prepared paragraphs. First paragraph indicates the objective of the letter; middle paragraphs provides a summary of the benefits (tied to an appropriate feature) proposed; and the last paragraph states what the next action steps are for the seller, buyer, or both. 
Editing	 9	 10	Letter displays proper grammar, word use, syntax, sentence structure and paragraph structure.  The letter meets the two page maximum limit. The us of "I"is minimized; a focus on the customer is evident with the use of "your" and "you". 
Content	 45	 50	Letter effectively gains the buyer's attention by demonstrating potential benefits that are relevant to the buyer. Pre-planning on the part of the student is evident in the creative but realistic nature of the benefits noted in the letter. The letter is written in such a way that the reader is intrigued and sees potential value in a relationship. The letter contains a direct request to meet via phone or in-person, with appropriate next step details. There is a call to action based on adequate reason for a meeting. 
Total	 90	100	A quality paper will meet or exceed all of the above requirements. 
Best Practices
•	See the details in the Selling In Action box of Chapter 6 for best practices in writing effective sales letters.  
•	Use 10-point or 12-point font, Times New Roman or Arial.
•	You can create your own letterhead or just add the address. Your own address or a pseudo address is acceptable.
•	Your instructor is the buyer for this assignment; address your instructor as the Senior Purchasing Agent for DeVry Group.
•	Check for proper spelling, sentence structure, and grammar.
•	There is a one-page limit for the letter; added enclosures do not count. Enclosures, if applicable, must have sources in APA format located on the attachment (not in the letter).
Additional hints on preparing the best possible letter.
1.	Apply a three-step process of writing: Plan, Write, and Complete.
2.	Prepare an outline of your letter before you go forward.
3.	Complete a first draft and then go back to edit, evaluate, and make any changes required.
4.	Consider visual communication as sales tools to further clarify and support the written part of your letter and make elements tangible.
5.	Demonstrate effective written communication that is free from errors in punctuation, syntax, spelling, and grammar.