This paper described the incorporation of selected segments of the Apprentice Series into an Ag and Food Sales course. A description of the use of these segments and student evaluation of the experience are also included.Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

Johansson, David

Nefstead, Ward E.

English

Research Papers in Economics

     
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                       The Use of Videotaped Segments of The Apprentice in a Food and                           
Agricultural Sales Class:  The Case of ApEc 3451 
 
 
 
                                                              Selected Paper   
                                                                Presented At 
               AAEA Annual Meeting 
             Providence , Rhode Island 
         July 24-27, 2005 
 
 Ward E. Nefstead 
Associate Professor and Extension Economist 
        Dep’t of Applied Economics 
  University of Minnesota 
 
     David Johansson        
   Student 
        Dep’t of Applied Economics 
 University of Minnesota 
 
                                                 @Copyright 2005 by Ward E. Nefstead 
                                                     & David Johansson. All Rights 
                                                                    Reserved 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 The following except was taken from Blog on Sales by David Stein on Sept. 27,2004. 
 
          I watch The Apprentice. For a number of reasons…A lot of people don’t realize 
      It, but this show is all about selling. According to Donald Trump, “ Selling is 50% of 
the job.”…Observing how they sell is …entertaining to me. They have to sell their teams 
to get the job done, then to Trump, Carolyn and George..those three are becoming real 
tough buyers… 
 
 
The authors have watched two seasons of episodes of the popular program- The 
Apprentice. We were attracted to this series because of it is clearly connected to the 
reality of business. After watching it for a while, it was apparent that the subject of sales 
was included in several episodes.  In the first season, the selling of lemonade was the first 
task given to the candidates.  Other items sold were real estate, advertising campaigns, 
and Trump Ice- a branded water. Clearly, several of these items fit in the food or 
beverage making them choices for discussion in a Food and Agricultural Sales class. As a 
result, the instructor and his teaching assistant chose to show one of these episodes to get 
a student reaction to this topic.  
 
The reaction of students was very enthusiastic. So additional episodes were selected and 
shown.  This experiment was continued this year with the second year’s series.  This 
paper reports on the educational gains elicited by the use of this videotape series and shares the results of a student evaluation conducted at the end of this year’s spring 
semester class.                   
 
                                   The Use of Video Segments in Sales Education 
 
Several educational techniques are commonly used to teach the elements of sales.  
Classroom instruction involves lecture, discussion, roleplay and case studies.  Of these 
techniques, the use of roleplay is the most engaging and dynamic. The difficulty with this 
situation is that students may not fully adopt the role and the results may seem artificial. 
Lecture and discussion can only describe the techniques , not fully demonstrate their use 
in a specific context.  In fact, the situational nature of sales and the variety of techniques 
used will require change with different contextual environments.  
 
The materials used by Downey  and Stevens in the text- AgriSelling- make ample use of  
statements from salespeople on a variety of topics. A video supplement was created by 
use of  a USDA Challenge Grant in the mid- 1990’s and consists of interview segments 
on video format.  Hearing how people describe how sales occurs is a useful part of the 
class. The multidimensional and contextual basis for sales requires that students choose 
which elements of a sales call plan should be adapted to differents situations. Analysis of 
sales dialogue is another useful technique for teaching sales. The authors have used 
several sources to compile specific dialogue regarding sales.  This particularly important 
in describing how and when to close a sale and which strategies to use.  Computer 
records for sales in the ACT and other programs also can determine where a salesperson is at in the midst of a sales call.  The authors demonstrate this software in the teaching of 
the class. 
                               Addition of Reality to Sales Situations 
 
One of  the opportunities with a complete inclusion of  a sales situation is the ability of 
students to judge what people have done right or wrong in a sales context.  Students can 
respond to questions and then contribute to discussion with regard to that topic.  For 
example, in the episode about Trump Ice, it was important to notice that instead of selling 
and delivering a large amount of water, that a contract could be formulated at a 
negotiated price with scheduled deliveries overcoming the storage limitation. Creative 
solutions such as this are important to communicate. 
 
How teams could improve their performance is also important to note. One blog lists the 
following general thoughts:  Plan ahead,  do your homework-strategies and tactics of not 
only your team, but other teams also are important, be flexible and differentiate yourself 
from the competition.  
 
The focus on team performance is a very important part of this series. Most salespeople, 
although seeming to work alone, require team support to accomplish their goals. Several 
episodes deal with management of team efforts, leadership and creating group harmony 
in the process of selling or representing products. 
 
  
                                     Business Lessons From The Apprentice 
 
The American Management Association(AMA)  offers and advertises general business 
topics which relate to The Apprentice Series.  The AMA suggests that”  while designed 
to entertain, The Apprentice depicts business interactions and challenges that frequently 
occur in real-world settings.” 
Some of the lessons listed that deal with sales include:  The Art of Listening, Win-Win 
Negotiations, Involve Customers for Sales Success, Making Effective Presentations, and 
Aligning Sales and Marketing. In the segment on sales, it is agreed that sales can provide 
first-hand customer insights, share competitive data, identify prime customers, and 
provide customer feedback.  In the segment on Customer Involvement,  the necessity of 
giving verbal and visual signals, focus on customers benefits, use of demonstration and 
testimonials, tell buyer stories that back up claims, and give options that lead to closure. 
 
                             Industries Use Sales Training with The Apprentice 
 
As part of a national sales meeting, Sara Lee Foods used Audience Response Solutions 
provides a sales training game. The goals was to teach “how to develop prospects whose 
business would be the most profitable, to select the appropriate strategy for each 
account, to conduct effective face-to-face sales calls and to continue to uncover sales 
opportunities.”  Four simple rules were used:  use five minutes to prepare, use anything 
you find for a sales aid,  make you pitch in five minutes, and Just Win.  Judges use Response keypads to vote on criteria to select a winner. In retrospect, the exercise 
provide customers with compelling reasons to choose their solution.  (Rob Headley- Mkt 
Manager-Sara Lee Foodservice). 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                       Teaching Materials Used With Video  
 
 
The video segments must be integrated with the other class materials.  The use of 
prepared questions is the most common supplementation.  Students can answer these 
questions as they view the video.  Another technique is discussion or debate about the 
relative performance of various teams.   Both techniques elicited good student response. 
The use of Classroom Response Systems can also be integrated into the teaching of these 
video segments. A pilot test of this technology will be used in the next teaching of the 
course. The viewing of the video can also be combined with problem solving and role 
play exercises. In particular, groups can be asked to recreate the dialogue from the 
original situation.  An exercise in negotiation skills has also been combined with the 
appropriate episode to illustrate the skills needed in negotiation. Most students have not 
been schooled in negotiation techniques and find the exercise very rewarding.                     Redesign of MBA Curricula and Similarity to the Apprentice 
 
According to Justin Ewers, “ most MBA students are too young to be taught business 
administration, never having administered a  business. Their classes are focused on 
analysis and technique instead of clinical experience(US News&World Report,April 
11,2005).  Employers find the following skills to be attractive:  strategic thinking, 
leadership, adaptability and written and oral communication. “The redesign of MBA 
programs is focusing on leadership and communication with a team-based performance 
management system designed to generate constructive conflict.” This change in 
educational effort seems to suggest that the evaluation of work tasks as in The Apprentice 
and actual team management are becoming essential components of academic programs. 
 
          
                                      Student Survey Feedback on The Apprentice 
 
Students were asked the following questions: 
 
1. What aspects of The Apprentice did you enjoy most? 
2. How did The Apprentice address sales? 
3. What specific sales topics are addressed? 
4. What did you learn about sales from The Apprentice? 
 
 Student responded to #1 by these comments: 
This is real world information, it shows the challenges of job/competition. It gives a good 
look at teams and how they function,  
A good look at leadership in groups. 
A look at how different personalities clash. 
Necessity of cooperation 
 
Response to #2: 
Selling , promoting, “everything is related to sales”; motivation, planning and 
communication; different ways to do things;real life struggles; problem-solving, 
prospecting, rejection. Competitive atmosphere 
 
Response to #3: 
 
Negotiation, importance of preparation/location, management skills/time management, 
customer value importance, different kinds of sales 
 
Response to #4: 
 
Real life view of business, competitive landscape, you have to be good, not make 
mistakes, have a vision and work from there, even the best salespeople need innovative 
ideas.  More than one way to solve problem, importance of teamwork.  Better than 
reading about it.  
                                             Summary and Conclusion 
 
This paper described the use of videotape segments of the The Apprentice used on ApEc 
3451-Food and Agricultural Sales at the University of Minnesota.  Students report that 
they now more fully appreciate the value of teamwork, the success and failure of certain 
sales strategies evaluated from the episodes, how different personalities can either mesh 
or conflict, the situational nature of sales, value of knowing your customer and their 
objectives, and the nature of business competition.  Students agreed that the video 
segments were a good addition to the class. Use of classroom response systems will be 
integrated with the next use of the video segments to elicit immediate responses to 
situations. Technology in addition to classroom response systems will play a definite role 
in the multidimensional teaching of sales applied to agriculture and the food industry. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                             References 
 
1.  Downey,et al(1998). AgriSelling.  Touhy Press.1994 
 
2.  Ewers, Justin(April 11, 2005). Is The MBA Obsolete. U.S News & World Report. 
 
3.  NBC.  The Apprentice. Episodes in 2004 and 2005. 
 
 
 

The Use of Videotaped Segments of The Apprentice in a Food and Agricultural Sales Class: The Case of ApEc 3451

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