Sales Training - Business Development
This event happened on the 7th of February and it mainly aimed at improving the salesmanship of the members of AIESEC that were directly involved with corporations. This training was conducted by our VP of Business Development, Edna Maritim, MCVP of AIESEC Kenya of Ruthie Ndung’u and our former VP of Global Internship Program, Noreen Miring’u.
Members of AIESEC met in the morning on a Saturday and that just goes to show how committed they all were. The training included discussions on product packaging, marketing and cold calls, & how an individual should portray themselves during such times.
Ruthie and Edna even conducted a sales simulation for the members. Members were given products or services that AIESEC in Strathmore portfolios could offer certain corporations in certain industries and it was up to the members handed these products to find a way to convince Ruthie (managing director of said simulation companies) to buy into the product. Edna (simulated a mean secretary) however, would make life as difficult as possible for our members. The members did well however, withstanding severe amounts of pressure and numerous questions from Ruthie.
Some of the pieces of advice that Ruthie gave after the simulations were: - Punctuality is key. Do not be late. - Dress appropriately. - Research on the company and how your products and services are relevant to them. - Be eloquent and think on your toes. Learn to improvise. - Never let a bad marketing or cold call disappoint you, we all have those (yes, even Ruthie). Learn from it and get the next one right.
Afterwards, Noreen gave a short talk on product packaging, market segmentation, and target marketing, although in more depth.
All in all, members of AIESEC are now in a better position to really take on the corporate world and the best part about it is that this is not the last one they will have. Our VP Business Development, Edna Maritim and VP incoming Global Internship Program, Brian Lang’at made this happen and will ensure more of the trainings will be held. Thank you very much Edna and Brian. We also thank Ruthie and Noreen for spending time with us and sharing their expertise.
