Keep your journal for a 3 days, recording all sales and service transactions, if possible, on the day they occur. At the end of the 3 days, examine your journal, and pick the most noteworthy entry. Provide the basic information about the transaction: a company where it occurred, type of transaction (purchase, return, complaint, etc.), type of good or service involved, and so forth. Once you have outlined the situation, evaluate the experience. Use the information about selling in this chapter as support for your evaluation. For example, did the salesperson seem to treat the situation as an individual, discrete transaction, or did he or she seem interested in building a relationship? Finally, make recommendations as to how the company can improve its sales or service. Suggestions should be logical and achievable (meaning you have to consider the cost of implementing your suggestion).

Purpose: To think critically about sales and sales experiences from the customer and sales rep's point of view.