Teacher Materials

1. SkimaTalk Official Course
Advanced Improvisation – Business Problems
Lesson 5: Submitting a Software Bid

2. Story: Submitting a Software Bid
2
You are a sales rep for XYZ Industries. You are finalizing two proposals to sell software to
ABC Co., a potential new customer. ABC Co. is a well known brand, so XYZ very much wants
to win this business.
As a publicly traded company, it is important for XYZ to show strong revenue growth over
the next several years. Your boss is pushing you to submit the proposal with the higher
price point.
A summary of the two proposals is listed in the table below.
Proposal A Proposal B
Price / License / Year $500 $800
# Licenses 100 100
Projected Revenue / Year $50,000 $80,000
Likelihood of Winning the Bid 95% 50%
Includes Support? No Yes
Teacher Instructions:
Ask the student to read the story out loud, then discuss the questions on the next page.

3. Task 1
3
1. What are the positive aspects of Proposal A? What are the negative aspects?
2. What are the positive aspects of Proposal B? What are the negative aspects?
3. Based on the information provided, which proposal should XYZ send to the
prospective customer? Why?
4. Is there any additional information that would help you make a better decision?
Questions
Teacher version only
Teacher Guide: (if the student struggles with the answers)
Q1.
(+) High likelihood of winning the business (acquire an important customer).
(-) Lower profit.
Q2.
(+) Higher profit, happier customer (proposal includes support).
(-) 50% chance you don’t win the business.

4. Task 2
4
Additional Information:
It has come to your attention the ABC Co. is running out of cash. The company will be
raising lots of new capital next year, but right now ABC Co. can’t afford to pay more than
$50,000 per year for the software. You also learn that the proposal from your top
competitor prices its software at $500 per license ($50,000 per year).
Teacher version only
Follow-up Questions
1. Does this change your decision on which bid to submit? Why or why not?
2. What are some changes you might make to Proposal A to ensure you win the
business today, but maximize revenue in the future?
Teacher Instructions:
1. Tell the student that you are going to reveal some additional information for the story.
2. Read the additional information to the student.
Q2. You could offer a low price point in year 1 ($50), and a higher price in future years.

5. Task 3
5
Teacher version only
Frequently, price is not the deciding factor in sales situations.
1. Can you list some factors other than price that potential customers might
consider when evaluating a potential vendor?
2. Can you name a purchase situation in your life where price wasn’t the most
important factor?
Discussion
Teacher Instructions:
1. Read the first paragraph and then discuss the questions.
Q1 Examples:
• Quality of product.
• Level of support.
• Value provided (e.g., a more expensive software might provide LOTS more value than a
cheaper product).

6. 6
End of Lesson
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