Course content

The course will cover all the aspects required for successful sales efforts in project-based industries such as the maritime industry. This will include, but not limited to, market data analyses to identify opportunities or to gain understanding for the tendering process, responding to Requests for Quotations (RFQ), the SPIN process, making the sales calculations, negotiating a final sales deal and the contract.

In addition, the course will give an overview how data can be described using frequency tables and graphs, which numerical measures are adequate for location and dispersion on univariate methods to describe a dataset using location and dispersion. Moreover, it contains an insight in discrete and continuous probability distributions, sampling methods, estimation of parameters and confidence intervals as well as simple tests, correlation analysis and linear regression analysis. The course uses the software EXCEL.

Learning outcome

The market analyses will involve basic arithmetic, basic descriptive statistics and analysis of significant amount of data. The students will also learn about the tendering process - how it is, how it works, do’s and don’ts. The RFQ process and how to go about it will also be a major theme. Finally, the students will learn more about the handcraft of negotiations including conducting a successful sales effort using the SPIN process. Compiling the information into a sales calculation will also be taught.

• Knowledge: Knowledge about sales and tendering in project-based industries. How does the sales process work? How does tendering work? Why project-based industries are different from other industries in these respects. Do's and don'ts.
• Skills: Negotiation techniques, and managing sales and tendering in project-based industries. Analytically addressing sales and tendering issues.
• Generic competence: How to analyze markets, which is applicable to most types of settings. The SPIN process will also be taught

Learning methods and activities

Lectures and group work. The student will also have to do some research on their own.

Specific conditions

Course materials

The students will be informed about that before teaching starts.