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2022/2023  KAN-CCMVV1457U  Value-Based Selling

English Title
Value-Based Selling

Course information
Language English
Course ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Elective
Level Full Degree Master
Duration One Quarter
Start time of the course Second Quarter
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Max. participants 100
Study board
Study Board for MSc in Economics and Business Administration
Course coordinator
  • Michel Van der Borgh - Department of Marketing (Marketing)
  • Selma Kadic-Maglajlic - Department of Marketing (Marketing)
Main academic disciplines
  • Marketing
Teaching methods
  • Blended learning
Last updated on 11-02-2022

Relevant links
Learning objectives
On completion of this course students will be able to:
  • Evaluate in which business contexts Value-Based Selling is the right methodology
  • Apply Value-Based Selling behaviours and assess which organizational processes to recommend based on customer challenges
  • Create a plan for implementing Value-Based Selling in an organization undergoing servitization
  • Evaluate a company’s servitization effort and generate improvements
Course prerequisites
None, although an understanding of marketing and strategy is an advantage.
Examination
Value-based Selling:
Exam ECTS 7,5
Examination form Oral exam based on written product

In order to participate in the oral exam, the written product must be handed in before the oral exam; by the set deadline. The grade is based on an overall assessment of the written product and the individual oral performance, see also the rules about examination forms in the programme regulations.
Individual or group exam Oral group exam based on written group product
Number of people in the group 2-4
Size of written product Max. 10 pages
Definition of number of pages:
Groups of
2 students 5 pages max.
3-4 students 10 pages max
If you are not able to find a group yourself, you have to address the course coordinator who will place you in a group.

Note that the oral part of the exam is a group exam.
Students who wish to have an individual exam might be able to write a term paper in the course. Please see the cand.merc. rules for term papers for more information.
Assignment type Synopsis
Duration
Written product to be submitted on specified date and time.
15 min. per student, including examiners' discussion of grade, and informing plus explaining the grade
Grading scale 7-point grading scale
Examiner(s) Internal examiner and second internal examiner
Exam period Winter
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
Re-take exam is to be based on the same report as the ordinary exam:

* if a student is absent from the oral exam due to documented illness but has handed in the written group product she/he does not have to submit a new product for the re-take.

* if a whole group fails the oral exam they must hand in a revised product for the re-take.

* if one student in the group fails the oral exam the course coordinator chooses whether the student will have the oral exam on the basis of the same product or if he/she has to hand in a revised product for the re- take.
Description of the exam procedure

Students will write a synopsis in groups based on a sales challenge in a B2B company. The oral group exam will be graded based on the synopsis and individual exam performance.
Course content, structure and pedagogical approach

Professional sales in B2B contexts are becoming more demanding as companies add services to their products. While the sales force is responsible for executing the company’s marketing strategy, it remains a challenge to create superior customer value at the level of the sales organization, which is one of the goals of servitization. Students will learn about the sales-related challenges in companies offering goods and services. They will understand the organizational requirements as well as the behaviours demanded of the sales force for successful Value-Based Selling implementation. The course will teach concrete sales, communication and leadership tools, and students will learn to pose insightful questions, generate effective Value Propositions, present with confidence, and manage a Value-Based Sales organization.

 

This course will use a combination of lectures and case sessions. The lectures will introduce the newest theories and models, and during cases the students will have the opportunity to test their knowledge in practice. All through the semester, students will work in groups and will “sell” their solutions to professional salespeople and sales managers. 
Description of the teaching methods
This course uses blended learning. Lectures are interactive, and case sessions will involve debate, role-plays and discussions with business experts. Preparation includes listening to podcasts and watching videos.
Feedback during the teaching period
During case sessions the students will be evaluated on a 4-point scale, and each week the student groups will write a short summary of their performance in the role plays with suggestions for self-improvement. The student groups will review each other’s role plays and summaries and provide new perspectives for improvement. The lectures will be interactive, and students will learn to apply the texts to real-life situations and receive feedback during the discussions.
The 4-point scale is used during role-plays in case sessions. Students will role-play sales meetings with an instructor and will receive the grades 1 for the performance that demonstrates thorough preparation and ability to creatively adjust communication during the meeting, 2 for the performance that demonstrates a well-prepared meeting with minor issues, 3 for the performance that demonstrate an acceptable level of preparation but a lack of structure and ability to adjust, and 4 for the performance that does not demonstrate adequate or proper preparation and very little ability to adjust.
Furthermore, the students will receive 1 hour supervision for their synopsis.
Student workload
Preperation 123 hours
Teaching 33 hours
Exam 50 hours
Expected literature

Haas, A. et al: Creating value in business relationships: The role of sales

Industrial Marketing Management 41 (2012) 94–105

 

Tehro, H. et al: ‘It's almost like taking the sales out of selling’—Towards a conceptualization of value-based selling in business markets

Industrial Marketing Management 41 (2012) 174–185 Contents

 

Töytäri, P. et al: Value-based selling: An organizational capability perspective

Industrial Marketing Management 45 (2015) 101–112 Contents

 

Jaakkola, M. et al: Various forms of value-based selling capability — Commentary on “Value-Based Selling: An Organizational Capability Perspective”

Industrial MarketingManagement 45 (2015) 113–114

 

Eggert, A. et al: Conceptualizing and communicating value in business markets: From value in exchange to value in use

Industrial Marketing Management 69 (2018) 80–90

 

Sullivan, U. et al: Value creation and firm sales performance: The mediating roles of strategic account management and relationship perception

U.Y. Sullivan et al. / Industrial Marketing Management 41 (2012) 166–173

 

Koponen, J. et al:  Sales communication competence in international B2B solution selling

Industrial Marketing Management 82 (2019) 238–252

 

Yanzhe, L. et al:  Successful implementation of value-based selling: a value co-creation and dynamic capabilities perspective

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing Volume 36 · Number 3 · 2021 · 372–389

conducive

 

Wolfgang Ulaga & Werner J. Reinartz: Hybrid Offerings: How Manufacturing Firms Combine Goods and Services Successfully

Journal of Marketing Vol. 75 (November 2011), 5–23

 

Baines, T I M et al (edited by): Practices and Tools for Servitization
Last updated on 11-02-2022