Case Study: Suzie's Good Fat Bars

Part 1 THE FIRST MEET

Suzie Yorke, founder of a new company called Suzie's Good Fat, produces and sells a variety of Snack bars, protein shakes, and other health food products. Suzie's new company has just developed a line of snack bars, called Suzie's Good Fat Bars, that are low in carbohydrates and full of healthy fats with omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids, which can help lower the risk of heart disease. Suzie has hired you as Vice President of Sales to help her launch her snack bars into the major grocery and health food stores across Canada.

Through your amazing prospecting methods, you have been given 30 minutes with Monica Mars, head buyer of Health Happy Food Store (HHFS), a leading health food retailer in Canada with 50 stores and growing. HHFS sells a variety of brands of health foods, and sells more healthy snacks than any other retailer in Canada. They pride themselves on their healthy snacks selection. It would be a huge win if you could get Suzie's Good Fat Bars into HHFS.

You've done some research, and you have learned that in HHFS's most recent financial report, sales missed expectations. HHFS has been losing share to its competitors, particularly in the healthy snacks category, and they have publicly stated they want to regain this lost share. You think you may be able to help because Suzie's Good Fat Bars taste great, and contain more omega 3 and omega 6 than any other snack bar you've seen in Canada.

Your Action Objective for this first meeting is to better understand what priorities Monica Mars has, particularly in the healthy snack bar category, and generate enough interest from Monica that she invites you to a second meeting for a presentation and tasting of Suzie's Good Fat Bars.

Question 1. Provide an example of an both an open-ended survey question you'd ask Monica Mars, and a follow up probing question. What is the purpose of each of these two type of questions? (4 marks)

Question: 2 After each question, you want to ensure Monica recognizes that you are paying attention and understanding her. Define Active Listening and provide one action you can take to demonstrate your active listening skills. (2 marks)

QUESTION 3 Provide an example of a summary confirmation question you could ask Monica, and tell me why this kind of question could be so helpful during your meeting. (3 marks)