Details and Student Perceptions of an Experiential Program for Personal Selling and Purchasing Classes

TLDR

The program pairs personal‑selling and purchasing students to practice selling to each other after extensive preparation and classroom discussion. The article presents an experiential teaching approach that integrates personal‑selling and purchasing students and offers details for adaptation. The program uses role‑playing, team teaching, guest speakers, report writing, and individual assessment. Students broadly accepted the program, as reflected in positive perceptions.

Abstract

This article describes an experiential approach to teaching that brings together students from two different classes, Personal Selling and Purchasing. The program involves role-playing, team teaching, guest speakers, report writing, and individual assessment. The background for this activity sees class members from personal selling classes attempting to sell a product to individuals enrolled in a purchasing or procurement course. The interaction between these two groups of students is the culmination, not only of much class discussion, but also of considerable individual preparation involving library work, personal observations, and communication with industry representatives. Details of this program are provided for those interested in adapting it to their classes. Additionally, student perceptions of this program, which demonstrate broad acceptance, are highlighted.