SALES ENCOUNTER JOURNAL (SEJ) 1 of 5 Page 1 of 4 Marketing 3740-02 (40274) Thursday September 4, 2014 SALES ENCOUNTER JOURNAL (SEJ) Journal Entry 1 of 5 Caroline Standohar [email protected] File: 374002-SEJ01-STANDOHAR Caroline Standohar SALES ENCOUNTER JOURNAL (SEJ) 1 of 5 Page 2 of 4 Table of Contents Background 3 Note Communication 3 Recommendations 3 Caroline Standohar SALES ENCOUNTER JOURNAL (SEJ) 1 of 5 Page 3 of 4 Background I attended Life in Color, an event known as “The World’s Largest Paint Party,” at the Covelli Centre this past weekend. The concert hosted multiple DJs who played electronic dance music and sprayed colorful paint into the crowd. This was not my typical music scene, but I was feeling adventurous and decided to go with a group of close friends. Before attending the event, I wanted to purchase a very inexpensive pair of pants, shoes, and shirt to wear. I knew the clothes I wore would be stained by the paint sprayed at the concert and did not want to ruin anything in my current wardrobe. I set a $20.00 budget for myself and ventured out to the Eastwood Mall. I found myself walking toward the clearance section of DEB. The salesperson who assisted me was named Allie. Allie was dressed appropriately for the setting she worked in, wearing similar clothing to what DEB sells in its stores. She was not overly motivated to help me, but was generally polite. I would classify her as an introvert, sensor, and thinker. I had to approach her to have a dressing room unlocked, but she was happy to assist me once I did. She opened the dressing room for me to try on the $4.00 tank top I found and she also rang me out at the cash register when I decided to purchase the tank top. Note Communication It was a very quick transaction, however Allie did seem generally knowledgeable about the DEB tank top on clearance. She charged me the appropriate price with no negotiations or errors. Neither of us spoke much at all; I feel her and I both knew that it was not a highly important purchase or life-changing decision I was making to buy a $4.00 tank top. She made the sales process fast and simple. Allie did not use any particular sales approaches, techniques, or visual aids to sell me the product. However, while ringing out at the register, Allie did ask me if I would like to sign up for DEB emails. I declined the offer, and she politely accepted my objection. She did not seem offended by my choice against the DEB email sign up and simply went back to the original transaction at hand. There was no follow-up to this purchase and my $4.00 tank top was covered in paint and in the trash by the end of the night. Recommendations I wouldn’t make many recommendations to Allie in the simple sales presentation of clearance items, however I would recommend her putting more effort into getting customers to sign up for DEB emails. Email promotions seem to be more popular with my generation than direct mail marketing; I know I am personally more likely to apply a coupon I found online than one found in a newspaper advertisement. If I were Allie’s sales manager, I would provide an incentive for my employees to sign as many customers up for DEB emails as possible. Some examples could include a small bonus for that month or recognition in the store of the employee with the most sign ups (Employee of the Month, etc.). I feel this would benefit the store long term and also improve the customer service skills of the sales representatives through encouraging communication of the benefits of email registration.