Blog 22: Senior Project Reflection

(1) Positive Statement

What are you most proud of in your Block Presentation and/or your senior project? Why?

I am proud of my activities because it seemed like the class was able to understand what to do when I handed out the worksheets. I also think my powerpoint was useful and it was easy for the class to follow along.


 (2) Questions to Consider

a.     What assessment would you give yourself on your Block Presentation (self-assessment)?

 I would give myself a solid P. I met talking time as well as activity time. My answers were brief but straight to the point.

b.     What assessment would you give yourself on your overall senior project (self-assessment)?

 I would give myself a P. I have researched and done this project for 9 months and I learned so much. I put in a lot to understand the topic to the best of my ability.

(3) What worked for you in your senior project?

My mentorship worked the best for me because I actually saw my mentor apply my answers in a regular work day. I gained a lot of experience and knowledge of this project.

 (4) (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would have you done differently to improve your senior project if you could go back in time?

I would redo my ESA. I would also redo my exit interview and be more specific about my mentorship hours. For my final presentation I wish I would have extended my second activity a little more as well.

 (5) Finding Value

How has the senior project been helpful to you in your future endeavors?   Be specific and use examples.

Senior project actually gave me the opportunity to experience what it is like to be a sales representative. I had the opportunity to work with a program QuickBooks that many big companies use as a way to maintain order of what goes in and out of the company and if I do decide to pursue my career in sales I know this program will cross my path again. This project has also helped me extend my research a lot more. I started off with very basic and repetitive information and so I decided to research more intensively and specific idea of my topic. That led me to read books and do
interviews. I know that interviews will cross my path as well in my future and this project helped me ask open ended questions.

Blog 21: Mentorship

Content:

LIA response to blog:

Literal

Mentorship Hours

Manuel Martin. Independent Sales Representative. 

Interpretive

The most important thing I gained from doing mentorship is how important it is to be a social person. My mentor has a great ability to easily talk and persuade clients to purchase products from him. I know that this job isn't for anyone. A successful sales representative is very social and has the ability to approach anyone at anytime. I also gained a lot of experience with the program QuickBooks. QuickBooks is a program a lot big manufacturing companies use and I know it can potentially be put into use in my future. 

Applied

Thanks to mentorship I found my answers because I actually saw them be put to use. I saw my mentor apply price list and that helped him make sales. When I would go with my mentor to meet with clients that gave me my second answer which is: Make the focus of a work day maintaing client relations that led me to my best answer. I saw the commitment my mentor used on his clients and that is what made the business relationship to last. 

Blog 20: Exit Interview

(1) What is your essential question and answers?  What is your best answer and why?

EQ: What is the best way an independent contractor can maximize profit from selling foam?
Answer 1: Provide a good quality and competitive price list and present it with good service.
Answer 2: Make the focus of your work day maintaining  client relations.
Answer 3: Provide the highest quality foam the industry can manufacture.

My best answer is making the focus of your work day maintaining client relations because that is the first step to take when approaching a client with a product.

(2) What process did you take to arrive at this answer?

 

Mentorship helped me understand the importance of having a good business relationship with clientele. I saw my mentor prove this answer to me when I went on rides with him to visit his clientele.

 

(3) What problems did you face?  How did you resolve them?

 

 I had trouble finding the second answer to my EQ. It took a lot of rides with my mentor to fully understand how a to keep and maintain a long term business relationship.

 

(4) What are the two most significant sources you used to answer your essential question and why?

 

My mentor has to be the most significant source for my answer to my EQ because as I did my mentorship I witnessed him put my answers to use. Another source is the book How to Turn On the Pressure Without Turning Your Customer Off written by Robert L. Shook. The book gave me a lot of insight on how to approach a customer and how to maintain positive outlooks by providing outstanding customer service. It also talks about meeting clients for the first time and how first impressions can definitely be the last in this business.

Foam Cuts!

 

My mentor, Manuel Martin represents a company that produces cut foam for companies who manufacture sofas and chairs. This company takes orders from clients who want very specific detailed cut foam. This makes it a lot easier for clients because they can easily put the foam inside the material and the product is pretty much ready to go. Although this process might be a bit more expensive to purchase it is still beneficial for clients because it takes away the money being spent on employees. Putting a price is very difficult because sometimes the measurements that are sent are very difficult to calculate how much foam exactly was being used. In most cases clients are charged for pieces that are cut off as well because it makes it easier to charge that way.

 

 

 

 

Blog 19: Independent Component 2

LITERAL
(a)  “I, Yesenia Martin, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.”

(b) Manuel Martin, my mentor a sales representative for about 14 years.

(c) It is linked at the right side of my blog titled "Independent Component 2 log'

(d) I did my 30 hours for my independent component with my mentor. I spent most of that time going with my mentor to see clients about future purchases. I also had the chance to introduce a price list to a potential client who said was interested in doing business. I familiarized myself with the QuickBooks program as well as  different sets of price lists for different products. I got the chance to attend a business meeting with my mentor and his boss which led to a stop at the factory where they get their product (foam).

INTERPRETIVE 

This is where my mentor and the company he represents get there foam from.

A price list I helped my mentor create for a company he works for.

 

This is Ricardo, my mentors boss.

APPLIED
Independent component 2 helped me get a better understanding of customer service and foam itself. I saw the way my mentor treated and served his clients and it gave me a better understanding of how a sales representative should treat every client. I learned more about the kind of foams that are used in mattresses.My mentor taught me how to figure out how to price a certain foam depending on the thickness of it. The most popular foam used in mattresses in these time is usually memory foam due to it's softness that attracts most customers. It also helped me with my first answer as well regarding price lists.

Las Vegas Market

My mentor attends a couple business trips a year and the Las Vegas Market is one of the most important ones. My mentor looks up to this day because it gives him a huge opportunity to meet with potential clients. When he came back from his trip he told me how competitive the market gets. He said he met with a few people who were intrested in doing business with him. There are people from all over the world who attend the Las Vegas Market. It amazes me to see how great of a turn out a sales representative can get from attending an event this important.

 

 

My mentor Manuel Martin at the Las Vegas Market.

My mentors name tag.

Blog 18: Third Answer

EQ:

What is the best way an independent contractor can maxamize profit from selling foam?

Answer 3:

Provide the highest quality foam the industry can manufacture.

3 Details to support:

1. Memory foam is known to be one of the mot wanted foam due to it's material that provides better sleep and health. Memory foam is the most comfortable mattress because it adjusts to your body type.
2. Seperated into two different catergories; expensive or affordable. The afforadable memory foam mattress will be less expensive but still a good matress because of the foam that is being used.
3. Manufaturers usually provide matresses with different sets of memory foam to the needs of buyers in different price ranges according to the memory foam material that is being used.

Research Article: "Foam Factory Memory Foam Mattresses Offer Top Quality at a Great Price"

Concluding sentence:

Providing clients with a high quality foam (memory foam) can insure a bigger range in types of mattresses that a client will be able to buy at an afforadable price as well as an expensive price if intrested.