Learning sales and negotiations skills with CLIL

Teaching team: Heidi Vartiainen and Varpumaria Jeskanen

University and degree programme: Karelia UAS, Industrial Management

Course: Technical Sales and Bidding, 3 ECTS

Timing: September – October 2023

CLIL pilot type: Light

CLIL assignments: Creating a sales glossary & Sales negotiation simulation

Language: English

In this CLIL case example we describe how the CLIL elements of “Technical Sales and Bidding” course were planned, implemented and assessed. In this course, the students studied business-to-business (B2B) selling and sales negotiations skills in practice. The teaching team consisted of two content teachers for B2B sales and international bidding, and one English language and communication teacher. 

The Technical Sales and Bidding course took place on campus from September to October 2023. The planning process was started in August with a discussion among the teaching team on including a CLIL element into a course focused on learning the core content areas of sales, bidding, and negotiation skills. 

After agreeing on the plan for the CLIL activities and lectures for the course, the team proceeded to outline the requisite tasks, design lesson structures, and establish assessment criteria for the assigned tasks. Finally, the planning phase included the coordination of a sales simulation, coupled with a subsequent session focused on providing constructive feedback on best practices, with a specific focus on language and communication aspects.

Introduction of the CLIL implementation with 10 CLIL parameters

• Sequence: Sales and bidding were taught as core contents in all the lectures throughout the course. Negotiation skills and soft skills to learn how to interact with the customer had a practical workshop prior to the final negotiations. Assignments were completed throughout the course to support the learning process. Feedback was given regularly. Guided workshops were held to prepare the sales documentation for the final negotiation and to ask questions. Each week the students had 2 lectures or workshops in their schedule.
• Concept > Language: The CLIL tasks for students were concept-driven. The first assignment (5.1 Sales Glossary) helped them to build the key vocabulary for sales. Special attention was given during the lectures to explain the new concepts and terminology clearly with a practical example. One lecture was jointly implemented with a language and communication teacher during which the students practiced negotiation skills in small groups with the given instructions. They practiced typical phrases and expressions for persuasive arguments. The language teacher also assessed the first assignment of scaffolding the sales vocabulary and participated in the final sales negotiation. Final sales documentation and negotiation tactics were also partly prepared in the workshops with content teachers’ guidance.
• Guided multimedia input: To prepare for the negotiations the students had different video materials linked to Moodle learning environment. These involved e.g. how to handle the situation when a customer starts bargaining or how to react when customer says no. To ensure a comprehensive review, all the negotiation sessions were recorded with the students’ consent, and links were shared with each group for subsequent self-evaluation.
• Key language: The students had eight different mother tongues in the study group and versatile cultural backgrounds. English was the only teaching language in this course and the teaching methods were designed to support their learning in a foreign language. E.g., in the lecture slides key terminology was highlighted and same terms were consistently used. The next lecture started with a review of the previous lecture, refreshing the key content and terminology before starting to learn new things. Each lecture ended with a summary of key takeaways and next steps.
• Instructions: Instructions were divided to the students in Moodle. They were also introduced in the first lecture. Later the questions were checked regularly and necessary guidance was given. Workshops were connected to the assignments and they were clearly instructed. Example of the CLIL assignment instructions for exploring terminology and creating a glossary is placed in chapter 5.1.

Case description of the sales negotiation assignment: The case was about simulating a customer meeting during which the students played the role of a seller and teachers were the customers. The sellers had 2 meetings with the customers. During the first meeting, their target was to clarify the customer need and ask the right questions to understand what kind of solution the customer was expecting. Students also decided which roles (e.g. CEO, Sales Manager, etc.) they would have in the final sales negotiations and divided the preparatory work according to these roles. Together they prepared the bidding documentation which included e.g., quotation and scope of work. The second meeting was the final sales negotiation during which the students introduced their team and company, summarized the customer need and presented t                                                             heir solutions with sales documentation. The meeting involved a thorough discussion of the proposal and their aim was to build win-win situation that could be continued with the customer in further discussions. Each team had 20 mins for this negotiation.

The students had to work as a cohesive team, present their respective roles convincingly and adeptly respond to the customer’s requests. Their performance was assessed based on language and communication skills, sales and negotiation techniques, as well as their ability to create a positive atmosphere and achieve favorable outcomes (Assessment grid available in chapter 5.2).

• Interactions: Technical sales and negotiations demand specific professional vocabulary and argumentation skills. Through the integration of technical sales and negotiation content into language learning within this pilot, the students were provided with an approach that enabled them to practice negotiation skills within scenarios mirroring actual real-world sales negotiations.  

Via the CLIL method, students practiced their communication skills and applied theoretical knowledge in a practical simulation. The collaboration allowed the students to develop their communication and persuasion skills as they worked towards a consensus that aligned with the needs of the case customer. This required a proactive approach, challenging the students to find common ground despite potential differences.  

Students worked in groups during the workshops on campus and also independently when preparing for the final sales negotiation.

• Thinking: According to the first customer meeting and their needs, the students had to think about what would be the right solution for them and what approach to take in the sales negotiations. They had the support of the teachers during the workshops and the support materials were available, but they had to adapt all the documents and their sales techniques to this customer case. This required them to work as a team and really think about the case and what was required of them.
• Supported output: During the workshops, the students were given guidance and support to complete the sales documentation for the final sales negotiation. Negotiation skills were also practised in small groups with a task.
• Feedback methods after the negotiations: A joint feedback session, conducted by the course teachers, followed the final sales negotiations with all the teams. This session involved a comprehensive review of the sales documentation, with particular emphasis on highlighting how the bidding documents could be effectively crafted within the context of a real business case.  During this session, two teams qualifying for the hypothetical second round of negotiations were announced. 

The feedback session continued with a sales communication analysis, where the success and development areas for improvement were discussed and analysed at a general level. Notable approaches that proved effective for certain groups were highlighted and explained, taking into consideration how these situations influenced the overall atmosphere and, potentially, the customer’s attitude towards the seller. Furthermore, situations where the students were able to build a positive relationship and facilitated a win-win situation in the meeting were pointed out. The feedback also included encouraging observations of their roles, teamwork, and efforts, as well as non-verbal communication elements such as eye contact and body language, along with the application of sales techniques.  

Concluding the feedback session, an assessment of the CLIL method was conducted through a student survey. The students were asked to evaluate their language skill enhancement in connection with the topic and assess their proficiency in mastering the key objectives of the course. Results revealed that over 80% of the students felt that they had improved their English proficiency, increased their vocabulary and learned professional selling terminology. However, challenges arose in their interaction with each other, particularly in expressing their thoughts clearly and understanding others from diverse cultural backgrounds. Some students noted that language barriers posed challenges to smooth interaction in the groups. This was expected, as the students came from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

The overall motivation to complete the sales negotiation course assignment was notably high, with 75% of students expressing a very high level of motivation and the remaining 25% indicating motivation. This outcome can be considered a very good result, especially given the technical focus of the course tailored for engineering students, where sales may not be the most fascinating aspect of their core studies. It is noteworthy that only two students felt the best practice session at the end of the course was not particularly beneficial for them. The majority, however, found the session highly valuable for their personal and professional development. 

• Team teaching: From the teachers’ viewpoint, the team-teaching experience was definitely positive. Collaborating with colleagues who are open to new ideas and eager to experiment with innovative approaches and methods to enhance the original sales course and support language learning is highly rewarding. The shared teaching environment on the Moodle platform ensured that all teachers remain informed about the ongoing developments in the course in real time. This supported active and timely participation from everyone involved. 

To help collaboration and communication within the shared course, a joint workshop was conducted for planning the implementation. Additionally, the evaluation of students’ work was a collaborative effort. It can be stated that these discussions contributed to the professional development of the teachers, providing opportunities for mutual learning, sharing experiences, and exchanging observations. The seamless collaboration was also reflected in the students’ immediate feedback: the course helped them to gain practical intercultural skills that will be highly beneficial as they transition into the working life. Undoubtedly, this outcome aligns with the primary objective of this CLIL pilot.

• Further development ideas: The pilot outlined that the planning always needs to be done well when CLIL tasks and team teaching are involved. Assessment needs to be aligned and clarified to the students. Students need a guided workshop to practice sales and negotiation skills in a safe and encouraging environment.

Link to download the file: Download CLIL Assignment for creating a glossary