Sherberg profile buyer and seller behaviors, Davis profiles learner and teacher behaviors. Like

buyers and sellers, recognition that all students and instructors are unique provides a basic

opportunity for communication, participation and maximized learning. Just as the product driven

salesperson of old, many educators tend to focus a majority of their attention on the "product"

they have to "sell" rather than identifying student needs, recognizing objections or obstacles to

success, and maximizing student learning.





Selling in the Classroom

 Similarities between buyer seller, and student teacher relationships are profound,

especially to those that have operated on both sides of the transaction in both types of

relationship. At the simplest level, teaching and selling both deal with the transfer of goods or

services between parties that may be somewhat resistant to the transaction. In both situations,

steps can be taken that will create an environment which is conducive to breaking down barriers

to the transaction. Needs can then be identified and met to the mutual satisfaction and benefit of

both parties. Recommendations as to how this can be achieved will be presented in five steps

(Buzzotta, Lefton and Sherberg, pp. 182-87).



 Step One: Developing a Pre-Call Plan

 Any successful selling situation begins with a Pre-Call Plan. The pre-call plan provides

the salesperson with their plan of attack. It identifies the target audience, information to be

discovered, possible products of interest, how the first interaction or "opening" will be