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FITTskills – International Sales and Marketing Project Requirements

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The Project

To test your understanding of the knowledge and skills presented in the FITTskills International Sales and

Marketing course, you must create and submit an International Sales and Marketing Plan. The plan must be for

either the company you work for or a fictitious company of your choice. It must take an existing or new product

or service from the country of your choice into an international market that is new to the company.

The steps to follow are:

1. Select an organization, product or service and international target market.

2. Complete secondary research to gather information on trends, barriers and other key considerations

when exporting the selected product or service to the selected target market. You will need this

information to write the Situational Analysis and Market Analysis sections of the plan. If you have

conducted and/or presented similar research for other FITTskills courses, you may use it for this project.

See Usage of Previous FITT Projects below for further instructions. Note: Although not a prerequisite, the

Module – Situational Analysis in the course Feasibility of International Trade is a helpful resource to guide

this research.

3. Research additional information that will assist you in developing a feasible and comprehensive

international sales and marketing plan.

4. Write the plan using the Evaluation Criteria as an organizational guide.

Submission Format

1. Please submit your project (International Sales and Marketing Plan) electronically via the Project

Submission form available in your FITT Student account (fittfortrade.com). Include all parts in a single

document (PDF or Word file) or zip-folder.

2. The project must contain a title page with:

a. the name of the company

b. the product or service and target market

c. the course title (International Sales and Marketing)

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d. FITT student ID number(s) of the person(s) who prepared the plan. If you do not have a FITT

student ID, we recommend that you contact your coordinator. Please do not include your

name(s) or that of the training institute.

3. The acceptable fonts are Times New Roman (no smaller than 11pt) and Arial (no smaller than 10pt). Line

spacing must be 1.5.

Plagiarism is NOT tolerated. Evidence of plagiarism will result in a failed examination.

NOTE: The International Sales and Marketing Plan must not exceed 25 pages (excluding title page, table of

contents, bibliography and appendices). Points will be deducted for additional pages according to the following

scale:

Additional Pages Point Deductions

1 to 5 pages -2 points

6 to 10 pages -4 points

11 to 15 pages -8 points

over 16 pages -10 points

Project Guidelines

The CITPs who grade your project will be looking for several things, which you should keep in mind when

developing your project:

• Present a well-organized, logical project that reflects both descriptive and analytical abilities. Consider

options and alternatives, make recommendations and explain your rationale for the selection. The

process of arriving at a recommendation or conclusion can be more important, in some cases, than the

recommendation itself.

• Structure the project in line with the Evaluation Criteria. Review the expectations related to each section

of the project and ensure you address these thoroughly. Look carefully at the grading scheme. In general,

if a section is worth twice as much as another, your project should reflect that proportion.

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• Remember that these projects are your opportunity to demonstrate learning, understanding and

retention of international trade concepts. Sometimes, considering an alternative and dismissing it (with

supporting rationale) can be very effective in demonstrating an understanding of the material.

• Metrics and financials are important elements of any serious report or analysis. Descriptions are

important and qualitative analysis is valuable when properly done. Choose sources carefully and ensure

that your project is well-supported with data, metrics and financials. Also, be sure to quote the source of

all information and references provided.

• Each project provides the opportunity to earn points for the “Overall Format” of the project (see

Evaluation Criteria). With minimal effort and a little creativity, you can make your paper visually

interesting. Use supporting graphics effectively, organize sections and titles to assist with flow and

readability and review grammar and spelling. Pay attention to the quality and organization of your

project.

Usage of Previous FITT Projects

If using information presented in a FITT project that you developed for another course, be sure to cite your own

work in the Bibliography. Also, be sure not to simply copy the information from previous projects into your

current project. It is acceptable to use research, layout, or conclusions drawn from previous FITT projects, but this

information should only be used as a starting point to meet the Evaluation Criteria of the current project.

Evaluation Criteria

An evaluator will mark your project based on the criteria below. A separate section for each component listed

here should be clearly identified in the plan. The maximum points per section is indicated.

Criteria Maximum

score

The plan should:

Executive

Summary

3 Summarize the content of the plan and highlight key points and conclusions.

This is not to be confused with an introduction that would simply explain the

types of information that will be revealed in the report. Rather it is a single

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Criteria Maximum

score

The plan should:

page summary of the key facts and details extracted from every section of the

report. So, this section should be prepared last (since you will need all the facts

from the report to create this summary). (Maximum one page)

Organizational

Profile

2 Detail information about the organization (real or fictional), including its

history, location, mission, goals and values, as well as other relevant

background information such as size, key products/services, experience in

international markets and in the selected market (if applicable). If a company

brochure or sales sheet (detailing products and services) is available, this can

be included as an appendix.

Sales and

Marketing

Objectives

3 List clear sales and marketing objectives with outcome targets to identify how

success will be measured. These are broad objectives that are not contingent

on any one market. What is the company trying to accomplish? For example,

are they focused on sales growth, market diversification, improving margins,

maximizing cash flow, etc.?

Situational

Analysis*

5 Describe the relevant internal organizational strengths and weaknesses, and

any external opportunities that the company is considering along with any

external threats the company is facing. Note that relevant export markets

(those that are considered to have potential) should be included in the list of

potential opportunities. Then prioritize the weaknesses that need to be

addressed, the opportunities that that the company plans to focus on and the

threats that will be addressed. The idea here is to show that the exporting

effort is strategically aligned with the company’s priorities and to ensure it is

being undertaken alongside any other issues that need attention. The plan of

action should be manageable given the companies size and stated strengths.

Product and

Service Offerings

5 Describe the nature and use of the product or service (features, benefits,

proprietary issues, etc.) that the organization intends to introduce to the

international market. What is unique about the offering and why do they

believe it will give them a competitive advantage in another country?

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Criteria Maximum

score

The plan should:

Market Analysis

(Overview)*

5 Provide an explanation as to why the market that has been selected has been

given priority over other international markets that could have been pursued.

What specifically makes it attractive (e.g. market size, market location,

similarities in language/culture, ease of access, etc.). Summarize the findings of

the market research and be sure to also explain which political, economic,

socio-cultural, legal and cultural factors could impact the sales and marketing

plan.

Market Analysis

(Customer

Profiles)

12 Describe the various market segments in the market and then provide

information on the needs and wants of the customers (consumer and

business) in the targeted market segment(s). This section of the report should

provide enough detail about the customer’s needs/wants to allow you to

justify making decisions related to the marketing mix (i.e. 4Ps/4Es). For

example, the customer detail should be adequate to justify any needed

product/service/experience adaptations. It should also be detailed enough to

support changes that will be needed in the approach to pricing/value

exchange, the places where it is being made available, and/or content of

promotional messaging.

Sales and

Marketing

Strategies

18 For each targeted market segment (often there may only be one market

segment that is being targeted), outline the organization’s strategy for gaining

competitive advantage, the product or service positioning and the marketing

mix (4Ps/4Es) in the target market.

Note that the approach described in this section should involve tailoring the

marketing mix to meet the wants/needs of the customers in the target

segment. So, this entire section should be based on the customer profiles

detailed in the previous section (which should have included the customer’s

needs/wants). This section should also include any relevant details related to

e-commerce, branding and sales channels and include an action plan.

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Criteria Maximum

score

The plan should:

Budget 5 Provide details on both the projected revenues and expenses as these relate to

the sales and marketing objectives. Revenues should be projected for annual

sales over the next 3 years and the projections should be based on the size of

the target market segment, the market share of any current competitors and

reasonable assumptions about how much of that market can be gained.

Expenses should include specific costs related to the marketing effort (e.g.

travel costs, product adaptations, distribution channel incentives, promotional

costs, etc.) and the cost to make the product to support the projected sales.

Evaluation,

Controls and

Contingency Plans

10 Describe the development and use of evaluation and feedback mechanisms to

guide and improve sales and marketing efforts, and specify how the plan will

be measured and which actions will be taken if plan does not unfold as

expected.

Conclusion 5 Tie the information together in a logical manner.

Present the major decisions and next steps.

Use quantitative and qualitative information to support the conclusion made.

Overall Format 12 Be clear and organized. A table of contents, title page, bibliography and

appendices are required.

Acknowledge secondary sources. When using information from outside

sources, footnote the information on the page where the information is used.

Look professional. The use of pictures, tables or graphs is recommended for

illustration purposes.

Remember that you are being tested on your knowledge of the principles of

international sales and marketing and your ability to demonstrate your

understanding with a comprehensive and clear sales and marketing plan.

*The situational analysis and market analysis sections can be based on fictional data and trends OR can include

actual results based on comprehensive analyses and research carried out for other courses/reasons. If using data

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and results from previous work, make sure to cite accordingly and to follow directions under Usage of Previous

FITT Projects.

Overall Project Value

The International Sales and Marketing Plan is marked out of 85 and constitutes 100% of your final course mark

with FITT.

Bibliography

Demonstrate the time and effort spent on research by providing a sound bibliography. List all the sources used in

the preparation of your international sales and marketing plan using Chicago Manual of Style or APA formatting.

Appendices

Provide outside justification for the information contained in the body of the plan. Include titles of Appendices in

the Table of Contents. Avoid direct downloads of data from the Internet.