Assignment 1R (20 points) Assignment 1R: Selling and Pricing Instructions Save this file in your course folder, and name it with Assignment, the assignment letter, the section number, and your first initial and last name. For example, Jessie Robinson's assignment 1R for Section 1 would be named Assignment1RJRobinson. Type the answers to the assignment questions below. Use complete sentences unless the question says otherwise. You will have more than one day to complete an assignment. At the end of each day, be sure to save your progress. Review Lesson 4 of the Course Overview for instructions about turning in your assignments. Assignment Questions In Section 1, you learned about selling and pricing. Now, you'll apply what you learned. 1. Choose a type of company that would have sales people, and then answer the following questions about it. TIP: Choose a type of company that you would be interested in working for or starting up yourself. a. Describe the product the company sells. (1-3 sentences. 2.0 points) My company sells watermelons shaped like pyramids and hearts. b. Which needs in Maslow's hierarchy does this product appeal to? Why would customers want this product? (1-5 sentences. 3.0 points) My melons are a physiological need, so at the bottom of the hierarchy. However, you could argue that they are a social or an esteem need because these melons are mostly to show off. Cube shaped watermelons are very popular in Japan. c. Describe the role a sales person would play in selling this type of product. How much help would customers be likely to need from the sales person? (13 sentences. 3.0 points) I think customers would be eager to purchase the heart shaped watermelon, especially around Valentine's day. There are many people in the U.S. who love watermelons, but the only problem with them is how boring the shape is. d. What sales methods do you think would work best for selling this product? TIP: Would you sell the product online, over the phone, in a store, etc.? (1-5 sentences. 2.0 points) I would try to sell them through all of those platforms. Online would probably be the most convenient because of how odd these watermelons would be. e. Describe the methods you would use to pay and motivate sales people to sell this product. Would you use sales quotas or a particular type of commission structure? Why or why not? (1-5 sentences. 2.0 points) I would use a commission type of structure. If one of my sales people get unlucky and find people who don't like watermelons, then I don't think they should be punished for that, but they will be rewarded when they sell the product. f. What price do you think the company should charge for this product? Explain what factors you considered in deciding what price to charge. (1-6 sentences. 4.0 points) I think the price should change depending on the size of the watermelon and the shape. Heart shaped are definitely going to be harder to produce because it's a more advanced shape than a pyramid. $100 for heart shaped watermelons and $50 for pyramids. This is still significantly cheaper than some cube shaped watermelons that can easily reach prices of $200. g. What pricing strategies do you think would be most successful for this type of product? Describe at least one strategy that would work well for this product, and explain why you believe it would work. TIP: Pricing strategies include psychological pricing, unit pricing, product line pricing, promotional pricing, penetration pricing, and price skimming. (1-6 sentences. 4.0 points) I think psychological pricing would be the most effective for the fun shaped watermelons. I would only sell the highest quality product. Some watermelons wouldn't grow up properly and be deformed, but that's natural and the ones that are sold are the ones with a beautiful shape.
