NORFOLK, Neb. – When selling products or offering services, Northeast Community College business students found there are plenty of ways to connect with potential customers.
The students in a salesmanship class in the Business program put on a Mock Vendor Fair over two days recently in Union 73. While the businesses or services the students offered were fake, and the customers or shoppers were fake, the experiences they gained were real.
“The Mock Vendor Fair is designed to create that real life experience in a sales environment,” said Stacy Anderson, Northeast Business instructor. “This is a sales class and part of the sales class is marketing and the ability to build that relationship with people. Today, they want to try and connect with as many people as possible, so they get leads and prospects as if they were running a real business.”
Some of the students set up mock businesses in booths where they were offering products, such as Christmas creations or coffee products. Others offered services, such as car detailing or construction, specializing in building houses or garden sheds.
Finally, a few students offered a product and service for it.
Anderson said students were allowed to sell existing products because they might be working for that business or selling that product in real life.
“I wanted it to be a product they knew about or were interested in or had a passion for,” Anderson said. “You should never sell a product that you wouldn’t buy yourself.”
In previous years, the students had mock vendor sales that were limited to the classroom. Feedback from the students included that they wanted more people to take part, so this was the first time the event took place in Union 73.
Besides students, faculty and staff took part as fake customers, giving the students a more diverse population to interact with. The students took part in the fairs on a Tuesday and Thursday, with the classes split up equally.
The students also took part in surveys, with some also checking in people to the fair each day.
Ellie Beaver of North Bend offered some products from Bath & Body Works at her booth. One of the deals she was offering was that if the customers wanted to buy three products of various body care products, they could get the fourth product free.
Along with regular scents, she was offering aroma therapy. Some of the products included body and hand lotions, hand sanitizer, soaps, room spray, car freshener and more.
The event required students to get to know the products they were offering and then to be able to speak easily about them, explaining some of the uses or features, Beaver said.
“It’s been a really fun class,” she said. “I’ve enjoyed it.”
Dustin Hazen of Norfolk offered products from “Haz Coffee Company.”
“It’s a little play on Hazen,” he said.
Hazen’s booth included real coffee beans, a coffee grinder and various products. The blends included dark roast, cappuccino, expresso, a special peppermint mocha and the “Haz Americano.”
“It was a lot of fun,” Hazen said. “I tried to make it energetic and fun.”
Hazen also created a video that explained everything in about 2 ½ minutes. Being a business major, if Hazen ever decided to develop his product further, he would have the groundwork established.
Hazen said his plans are to work right out of college and he is interested in entrepreneurship.
Mock Vendor Fair
Dustin Hazen of Norfolk, a business major, gets prepared to give a demonstration and discuss coffee products his mock company, “Haz Coffee Company,” offers during the Mock Vendor Fair in Union 73. (Northeast Community College)
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