1. No category

Center for Professional Selling
Sales Internship Information Request
http://marketing.mccoy.txstate.edu/internships/salesinternships/employerguidelines
.html
ITEM
SALES INTERNSHIP INFORMATION
Name of Company
Fastenal
Contact Information
Name of Contact
Derek Estes, District Manager
Address
9901 Broadway STE 100
San Antonio, Tx
Phone
210-535-5315
Email
[email protected]
Start Date of Internship
TBA
Number of Interns Needed TBA
Job Description (Attach)
Keep in mind that the minimum internship requirements are: Fall or Spring Semester:
200 hours and 10 weeks, Summer Semester 8 weeks and 160 hours. If you have any questions,
please contact me at either my email or cell number. Thank you for your support.
A Wayne Noll
Sales Internship Coordinator,
Senior Lecturer, Department of Marketing
McCoy College of Business Administration
[email protected] 210-872-6655 Cell
MCCOY COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION – DEPARTMENT OF MARKETING
601 UNIVERSITY DRIVE | SAN MARCOS, TEXAS 78666-4605 | phone 512.245.7428 | fax 512.245.7475 | WWW.TXSTATE.EDU
Texas State University-San Marcos, founded in 1899, is a member of The Texas State University System.
SaleS & Store operationS internShip program
marketing | aSSet management | SaleS | DiStribution | merchanDiSing | procurement
mission is to collaboratively maximize the
Our Our
of each participant by assessing
MissiOn potential
and adapting to the changing needs of
Fastenal, as well as providing consistent,
effective, engaging education – thus
achieving profitable growth through customer
service.
M I SSI O N S TA TEM EN T
Our mission is to collaboratively maximize the potential of each participant by assessing and adapting to the
changing needs of Fastenal, as well as providing consistent, effective, engaging education—thus achieving profitable
growth through customer service.
F A S TEN A L S C HO OL
OF
B US I NE S S P H I L OS OP H Y
The Fastenal School of Business team view education and development as an opportunity to partner with Fastenal
employees to provide efficient, effective and engaging learning opportunities. The key goal is to provide our
employees with the opportunity to continually improve upon their knowledge, skills and abilities. The faculty will
engage in a rigorous course design process prior to any course offerings to ensure participants receive excellent
education and development. The efforts of the team are directed toward a singular focus— to optimize participant
learning in all Fastenal School of Business offerings.
M A TER I A L U SE S TA TE M EN T
The material contained herein was designed specifically as support materials to be utilized within Fastenal School of
Business programs. The Fastenal School of Business believes that our people deserve to participate in effective
education and development programs so that our company can continue to grow and prosper—these materials are
not designed as a comprehensive self-study program.
All of the information in this and other Fastenal training documents is regarded and treated by Fastenal Company
and the Fastenal School of Business as confidential business information for its internal use only. The information
contained herein should not be distributed to third parties or other organizations in any form, partial or complete.
These materials are not to be copied or reproduced without written permission from the Fastenal School of
Business.
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Fastenal School of Business Internship Program Rv9/13
T ABLE
OF
C ONTENTS
W ELC O M E TO TH E P R O G R A M ............................... . ............................... . ................... 7
Objectives of the Program .......................................................................................................................... 7
Benefits of the Program .............................................................................................................................. 9
Your Requirements ..................................................................................................................................... 9
How to Use the Internship Materials .......................................................................................................... 9
Internship Program Learning Plan ............................................................................................................ 13
S A LE S T R A C K E R ............................... . ............................... . ............................... . ....... 19
Inside Sales Tracking Form ...................................................................................................................... 21
Phone Sales Tracking Form ...................................................................................................................... 23
Merchandising Tracking Form ................................................................................................................. 25
Outside Sales Tracking Form.................................................................................................................... 27
I N T ER V I E W A P EER T AS K .............................................................................................. 29
Your Task.................................................................................................................................................. 29
S C H E D U L I NG T A S K ....................................................................................................... 31
Mentor Meetings ....................................................................................................................................... 31
Project Meetings ....................................................................................................................................... 31
PRD110: Fasteners & Fastening Systems................................................................................................. 31
Distribution Center.................................................................................................................................... 31
M EN TO R M EETIN G #1 ................................................................................................... 33
Starting the Meeting.................................................................................................................................. 33
Ask for help............................................................................................................................................... 33
Mentor Meeting Sign-In Sheet.................................................................................................................. 35
N OR M A L C Y C L E C O U N T S T AS K ............................................................................... . 37
Your Task.................................................................................................................................................. 37
M EN TO R M EETIN G #2 ................................................................................................... 39
Starting the Meeting.................................................................................................................................. 39
Ask for help............................................................................................................................................... 39
I NS IDE S A LE S O P P O R T U N ITI ES T AS K ............................................................................. 41
Your Task #1............................................................................................................................................. 41
Your Task #2............................................................................................................................................. 42
P HONE S A LES P R A C T I C E T AS K ................................................................................ . 43
Your Responsibility .................................................................................................................................. 43
Mentor's Responsibility ............................................................................................................................ 43
M EN TO R M EETIN G #3 ................................................................................................... 45
Starting the Meeting.................................................................................................................................. 45
Ask for help............................................................................................................................................... 45
S T O R E M E R C H A N D I S I N G T A S K ................................................................................ . 47
Your Task.................................................................................................................................................. 47
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Fastenal School of Business Internship Program Rv9/13
V E NDOR S & M E R C H A N D I S I NG T AS K ........................................................................ . 49
Your Task.................................................................................................................................................. 49
S T O R E L AY O U T T AS K ................................................................................................... 51
Your Task.................................................................................................................................................. 51
Mentor Responsibility............................................................................................................................... 52
M EN TO R M EETIN G #4 ................................................................................................... 53
Starting the Meeting.................................................................................................................................. 53
Ask for help............................................................................................................................................... 53
I N I T I A L P R O J E C T M EE TI N G ..................................................................................... . 55
The Project ................................................................................................................................................ 55
Internship Project – Written Report Evaluation........................................................................................ 59
Internship Project – Presentation Evaluation ............................................................................................ 61
The First Step ............................................................................................................................................ 63
OSP R E P O R T S T A S K ............................................................................................... . 65
Your Task.................................................................................................................................................. 65
R ID E A LONG ON S A LE S C A LL S T AS K ............................................................................. 67
Your Task.................................................................................................................................................. 68
M EN TO R M EETIN G #5 ................................................................................................... 73
Starting the Meeting.................................................................................................................................. 73
Ask for help............................................................................................................................................... 73
P R O M O T I O N A L E F F O R T S T AS K ................................................................................. . 75
Your Task.................................................................................................................................................. 75
M A R KE T I N G E F FO R T S T AS K .................................................................................... . 77
Your Task.................................................................................................................................................. 77
A DV A N T AG E S O F F A S T E NA L T AS K ................................................................................. 79
Your Task.................................................................................................................................................. 80
M E N T OR M E ETI N G #6 ........................................................................................................ 81
Starting the Meeting.................................................................................................................................. 81
Ask for help............................................................................................................................................... 81
W E E K 7 – E X P E C T A T I ONS & I N F O R M A T I O N ............................... . ............................ . 83
PRD110: Fasteners & Fastening Systems................................................................................................. 83
Distribution Center Tour & Shadow ........................................................................................................ 83
M EN TO R M EETIN G #7 ................................................................................................... 85
Starting the Meeting.................................................................................................................................. 85
Ask for help............................................................................................................................................... 85
W E E K 8 – F O L L O W U P T AS K ................................................................................... . 87
Inside Sales ............................................................................................................................................... 87
Phone Sales ............................................................................................................................................... 87
Merchandising........................................................................................................................................... 87
Outside Sales............................................................................................................................................. 87
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Fastenal School of Business Internship Program Rv9/13
M EN TO R M EETIN G #8 ................................................................................................... 89
Starting the Meeting.................................................................................................................................. 89
Ask for help............................................................................................................................................... 89
D AY S O UT T AS K ......................................................................................................... . 91
Your Task.................................................................................................................................................. 91
S AR B A N E S - O X LEY T A SK .............................................................................................. . 93
Your Task.................................................................................................................................................. 93
C O L L E C T I ONS T AS K ..................................................................................................... . 95
Your Task.................................................................................................................................................. 95
M EN TO R M EETIN G #9 ................................................................................................... 97
Starting the Meeting.................................................................................................................................. 97
Ask for help............................................................................................................................................... 97
V E NDOR P U R C H A S E T AS K ...................................................................................... . 99
Your Task.................................................................................................................................................. 99
P UR C H A S E A G R EE M E N T T A S K ..................................................................................... 101
Your Task................................................................................................................................................ 101
N O N - C O N T R I B U T I N G I N V E N T O R Y T AS K ................................................................. . 10 3
Your Task................................................................................................................................................ 103
M E N T OR M E ETI N G #10 ............................................................................................. . 10 5
Starting the Meeting................................................................................................................................ 105
Ask for help............................................................................................................................................. 105
W EE K 11 – F O L L O W U P T AS K ..................................................................................... 107
Outside Sales........................................................................................................................................... 107
Phone Sales ............................................................................................................................................. 107
Interactions.............................................................................................................................................. 107
Finalize All Reports ................................................................................................................................ 107
Finalize Project Details ........................................................................................................................... 107
M E N T OR M E ETI N G #11 ............................................................................................. . 10 9
Starting the Meeting................................................................................................................................ 109
Ask for help............................................................................................................................................. 109
F IN A L P R O J EC T M E ET I N G ............................................................................................ 111
Project Guidelines ................................................................................................................................... 111
Internship Project – Written Report Evaluation...................................................................................... 113
Internship Project – Presentation Evaluation .......................................................................................... 115
M E N T OR M E E TI N G #12 .............................................................................................. 117
Starting the Meeting................................................................................................................................ 117
Conclusion of the program...................................................................................................................... 117
F IN A L R E M A R K S ............................... . ............................... . ............................... . ..... 119
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Fastenal School of Business Internship Program Rv9/13
G
Welcome to the Fastenal Sales and Store Operations Internship Program. This program is designed to be a
mutually beneficial experience for you, as well as Fastenal. During your tenure with the Fastenal Sales and Store
Operations Internship Program, you will have the opportunity to develop transferable skills, including problem
solving, customer service, effective communication, teamwork, leadership, attention to detail, time management,
personal empowerment, self-confidence, and responsibility.
Your internship will take place at a store location. These internships are designed to provide you with exposure to
every area of our industrial and construction supply stores in order to develop operations and technical expertise in
a wide range of functions. The internship is designed to familiarize you with the operation of a Fastenal store and
prepare you for a future in store sales and management. During this twelve week experience, you will rotate
through various store functions including inside and outside sales, distribution, marketing, merchandising,
procurement, and other support areas to get a broad view of the industrial and construction supply industry, all
while having an impact on the successful operation and management of a Fastenal store.
Your internship begins with a web-based orientation and company overview. Throughout the course of the
internship, you will be exposed to both formal and informal training. Under the guidance of a mentor, your
understanding of Fastenal and the opportunities within the company will be actively developed.
You will be assigned several smaller projects (weekly tasks and exercises) and one large challenging project, which
will allow you to apply what you have learned in the classroom to a business setting. Your findings and
recommendations from your large project will be presented to management in a formal report and presentation.
Upon completion of the internship, you may have the opportunity to remain with Fastenal as a part-time employee
while continuing to develop a further understanding of our store operations. Upon completion of the internship
program, available employment opportunities could be explored.
OBJECTIVES
OF THE
PROGRAM
Fastenal has developed ten overall objectives for the Fastenal Sales and Store Operations Internship Program.
These objectives are:
• Intern is exposed to industrial distribution through a general understanding of Fastenal and its competitors.
• Intern will understand how Fastenal approaches sales growth through direct interaction with our customers
(inside and outside sales).
• Intern will rotate through various store functions including inside and outside sales, distribution,
marketing, merchandising, procurement, and other support areas to get a broad view of the industrial and
construction supply industry.
• Intern will gain a working knowledge of how Fastenal’s distribution model adds to the overall success of the
business.
• Intern will gain an understanding of asset management in relation to profit margins.
• Intern will understand how Fastenal markets its products and services.
• Intern will have the opportunity to learn professional business etiquette in dealing with customers and
coworkers.
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Fastenal School of Business Internship Program Rv9/13
• Intern’s knowledge will be tested throughout the course of the internship through small exercises and
projects.
• Intern’s progress in the internship will be evaluated through weekly written
synopses and meetings with their mentor.
• The intern’s ability to be proactive will be demonstrated through an encompassing large
project which will be decided on by the intern, mentor, and District Manager.
Aside from the overall objectives, Fastenal has developed specific objectives based on the various rotational
functions that you will be experiencing throughout the program. The seven rotational functions include Inside
Sales, Outside Sales, Asset Management, Distribution, Marketing, Merchandizing, and Procurement. The following
is a listing of those individual objectives listed per function:
I NS I D E S A LES :
• Intern will learn how to take a proper phone message to gain key information to assist in solving the
customers’ problems.
• Intern will learn how to determine pricing and discounts for various customer tiers.
• Intern will grasp an understanding of inside sales through the identification of product/service sales
opportunities depending on type of customer.
• Intern will be exposed to tele-sales and telemarketing.
• Intern will gain valuable customer service experience.
O U T S I DE S A LES :
• Intern will shadow a current Fastenal salesperson to learn essential elements of customer accounts.
• Intern will learn a questioning sales technique in order to solve customers’ problems and create value to the
customer.
• Intern will utilize resources to develop and maintain specific customer accounts.
• Intern will track the progress of specific customer accounts to identify areas for improvement/additional
sales opportunities.
ASSET MANAGE M EN T:
• Intern will evaluate accounts receivable exposure.
• Intern will understand the importance of accurate inventory through regular cycle counts.
• Intern will be exposed to Sarbanes-Oxley procedures and audits.
D IS T R IB U T IO N :
• Intern will have a working knowledge of how product flows through each department in the distribution
center.
• Intern will understand how product flows within the distribution center, through the store location and on to
the end user.
• Intern will learn the process of product flow through the company via our internal trucking system.
M A R KE T I N G :
•
•
•
•
Intern will gain an understanding of how we market our products via promotional efforts.
Intern will learn how our pricing structure relates to our competition.
Intern will understand how our distribution model markets our products and services to our customers.
Intern will evaluate the local marketing within a sales territory to determine areas for improvement.
MERC H A N D IS IN G:
• Intern will gain an understanding of how merchandising a store/products affects inside sales.
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Fastenal School of Business Internship Program Rv9/13
• Intern will learn how vendors play an integral role in the merchandising of our stores.
• Intern will understand how our Customer Service Project has affected our inside sales approach to our
customers.
PR OC UR E M E NT:
• Intern will understand the preferred vendor program and its importance in gaining and retaining customer
accounts.
• Intern will gain an understanding of requesting inventory from other locations in the company (i.e. branch
transfers, other distribution centers).
• Intern will understand how our distribution model affects our procurement process.
BENEFITS OF THE PROGRAM
As was mentioned earlier, this internship is created to ensure that you experience several benefits. Some of these
benefits include:
• Enhance your educational experience with real-world, career-related work experience
• Develop skills and knowledge applicable to your career fields
• Explore, through on-the-job experience, the career options related to your academic work, and to verify
interest in those career options
• Increase your maturity level by exposure to the professional work environment
• Build credentials to enhance your opportunities at graduation for employment
• Participate in most aspects of a store-based industrial distributor
YOUR REQUIREMENTS
You are responsible to provide information on this program to your school if you are attempting to receive college
credit for this internship. Completion of this program does in no way guarantee you credit from your education
institution, however much research has been completed so that most universities will acknowledge this program as
an acceptable internship program. You are responsible for sharing information about this program with your
school. You are encouraged to compile your own binder of printed documents to present to your school to receive
credit for this internship. By accepting an internship in Fastenal’s Sales and Store Operations Internship Program,
you agree to the following requirements/rules:
• You will commit to learn as much as Fastenal can provide in regards to occupational information and skills.
• You will perform the duties and responsibilities assigned throughout the program from your mentor, store
manager, and district manager.
• You will be asked and are encouraged to provide suggestions for improvements in various elements of store
functions.
• You will be subject to all of the rules and regulations asked of all employees of Fastenal.
• You are expected to be honest, punctual, cooperative, courteous, and willing to learn while employed by
Fastenal.
• You will conform to ethical principles during your employment with Fastenal.
HOW
TO
USE THE INTERNSHIP MATERIALS
You will be using an online learning plan that will navigate you through the different aspects of the Fastenal Sales
and Store Operations Internship Program. At times, you will want to print documents that are listed in this learning
plan to save for future reference. The following is a brief description of main aspects of the program.
IN TR O DUC TIO N
This section includes the overall internship information and guidelines. It highlights these areas:
• Overview of the Fastenal Sales and Store Operations Internship Program
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Fastenal School of Business Internship Program Rv9/13
•
•
•
•
•
Benefits of the internship program
Objectives of the program (including overall objectives and rotational function objectives)
Requirements of the intern
How to Use the Internship Materials
Conclusion of the internship
W E E K LY T A S KS
Each week, you will be responsible for completing specified tasks, exercises, and online courses associated with each
weekly rotational function. Within each week, you will notice that several tasks are listed on the learning plan.
You will notice on the learning plan that there is a "Method" column. "Online" indicates a course you will complete
on the FSB Learn Center. "Job Aid" indicates that you will use this to study for another task. The "ILT" option
indicates that you will complete an instructor-led training course at a local designated training location; these courses
require you to register via FSB Admissions ([email protected]). Each "MTG/Task" listed in the
"Method" column requires you to read through a document, meet with your mentor, and then complete a task. The
"Task" method simply requires that you read through a document and then complete a task. Each task has a section
introduction and an exercise associated with it. You will need to read through each task and complete all exercises
listed.
Along with these assigned weekly tasks, you will also be asked to complete additional tasks to maintain the overall
function of the store. Your store manager, mentor, and district manager might assign these additional tasks for you
to complete. Please comply with their requests and work together as a team to sustain the success of the store.
This program is to be used as a guide for the intern and mentor to follow. This program was designed with
flexibility in mind. It is acceptable for the intern and mentor to deviate from the original weekly topics described in
the program, as long as they complete all 12 weeks and the evaluation that correlates to each week.
The learning plan outlines the approximate time it takes to complete each of the weekly tasks, as well as a total
weekly time commitment. All times listed on the learning plan are conservative, as we know that most will
complete the assigned tasks in much less time. At the discretion of the Mentor and Intern, this 12-week program
may be stretched to a 20-week program to account for a shortened work schedule.
P R OJ E C T
The Project documents include general information and guidelines to follow with regard to the internship project,
as well as specific forms that will be used. You will be turning in a written report, as well as presenting the
information to your mentor and district manager at the conclusion of the internship. The full project details are
outlined in week 4.
M EN TO R M EETIN G S
You will be required to attend weekly meetings with your mentor. During these meetings, you and your mentor will
discuss your progress in completing your weekly tasks, as well as your overall development in the internship
program. Both the mentor and the intern will be required to sign a weekly sign-in sheet signifying that they both
attended these mandatory weekly meetings. You will also be required to attend a Project Meeting during your
fourth week in the internship program. During this meeting, you will present project ideas to your mentor and the
area district manager. The three individuals will determine the finalized topic for your internship project.
EV A L U A TIO N
At the completion of the internship, you will be required to complete an evaluation form. During this evaluation,
you will be commenting on the overall effectiveness of the program, the content, and the structure, among other
things. Fastenal would appreciate your honest feedback which will be used to improve future interns’ experiences
within the Fastenal Sales and Store Operations Internship Program.
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Fastenal School of Business Internship Program Rv9/13
*I M P O R T A N T N O TE *
You need to ensure that the store that you will be working at has a store copy of the Career Pathway Kit (Part
Number 9701183). This Career Pathway Kit will be used throughout the internship. Included in the kit are the
following items:
• PRD001: Introduction to Fasteners manual
• PRD005: Bolts: Types & Applications manual
• PRD010: Screws, Rivets & Other Fasteners manual
• PRD015: Plumbing Fundamentals manual
• PRD020: Hydraulics & Pneumatics manual
• PRD025: Metals & Metal Working manual
• Talk the Talk Manual
• Bolt Gauge
• Writing Style Guide
QUE S TIONS
AB OUT THE
IN TE R N S H IP PR O G R A M
If you have any questions about the program, please feel free to contact Kalysta Sadiq, Internship Program
Director, either via email at [email protected] or at (509) 533-5155.
CO NC LUS ION
OF THE
I N TER N S H IP
During the final week of the internship, you will meet with your mentor and district manager to present your
findings from your written report and project. At that meeting, your mentor and district manager will discuss
possible employment opportunities beyond the Fastenal Sales and Store Operations Internship Program.
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Fastenal School of Business Internship Program Rv9/13
INTERNSHIP PROGRAM LEARNING PLAN
Suggested
Timefram
Week 1
11 hours
Week 2
8 hours
Course Code &
Name
Method
Short Description
Prerequisites Duration
Welcome to the
Internship!
Guide
Welcome information and syllabus for the internship program.
15 minutes
Internship Sales Tracking
Workbook
Tracker
This excel workbook contains all of the excel worksheets that
you will use (where noted below) to track your sales and such
throughout the program. Save this to your store's point of sale,
but you will also want to make a back-up copy on a flash-drive.
10 minutes
PRD001: Introduction to
Fasteners Manual
Job Aid
Self-study manual on the basics of Fasteners, Modules 1 & 2
only.
3 hours
FastStart: The Company
Online
A virtual timeline of Fastenal company history.
15 minutes
FastStart: The Store
Online
An interactive tour of the store and introduction to basic store
operations.
30 minutes
FastStart: The Product
Online
A set of product-related customer questions and research tools.
20 minutes
FastStart: The Service
Online
A 'choose your own adventure' scenario testing customer
service skills.
20 minutes
FastStart: The Career
Online
A quick look at how to utilize training to enhance your career.
Interveiw a Peer Task
MTG/Task Work with your mentor to identify a tenured employee in your
district and ask them a few questions!
30 minutes
Scheduling Task
Task
Schedule important milestones in your internship program.
30 minutes
Mentor Meeting #1
MTG
30 minutes
PRD001: Introduction to
Fasteners Manual
Job Aid
Meet with your mentor to discuss your progress through Week
1.
Self-study manual on the basics of Fasteners, Modules 3 & 4.
PRD001: Introduction to
Fasteners Manual
Online
After completing the self-study manual, take the test online.
STR062: Stock Checks
Online
Learn about the features of the stock check screens.
15 minutes
Quick Reference: Stock
Check - Inventory
Availability
Job Aid
Quick reference to help you when you complete stock checks!
5 minutes
The Company,
The Store, The
Service, AND
The Product
5 minutes
2 hours
PRD001 Manual
30 minutes
Online Test
13
Fastenal School of Business Internship Program Rv9/13
Completed?
(Week 2 Cont.)
Week 3
8 hours
Week 4
6 hours
Quick Reference: Stock
Check - Product Search
Job Aid
Quick reference to help you when you complete stock checks!
5 minutes
STR064: Cycle Counts
Online
Basics to completing cycle counts.
15 minutes
Quick Reference: Cycle
Counts
Job Aid
Quick reference to help you when you complete a cycle count!
5 minutes
Normal Cycle Counts
Task
Task
Perform normal cycle counts in the store to maintain accurate
inventory.
STR064
2 hours
PRD005: Bolts: Types &
Applications Manual
Job Aid
Self-study manual on the properties of Fasteners; modules 1-6
only.
PRD001
3 hours
Mentor Meeting #2
MTG
Meet with your mentor to discuss your progress through Week
2.
PRD001 Manual
and onlinetest
30 minutes
PRD005: Bolts: Types &
Applications Manual
Job Aid
Self-study manual on the properties of Fasteners; modules 7-11
only.
PRD001
3 hours
Price Guidance: An
Introduction
Online
Introduction to Price Guidance
Price Guidance: System
Changes and Parameters
Online
How Price Guidance was created
Price Guidance:
An Introduction
10 Minutes
Price Guidance: Store
Solutions Application
Online
Setting pricing in Store Solutions
Price Guidance:
System Changes
and Parameters
10 Minutes
Price Guidance: Scenarios
Online
Applying the information on Price Guidance for specific
customers
Price Guidance:
Store Solutions
Application
10 Minutes
SAM002: Inside
Sales Essentials
Online
Covers general service standards, store organization skills, and
the elements of successfully completing a customer's request.
Inside Sales Opportunities
Task
Task
Identify inside sales opportunities based on industry types.
SAM002
30 minutes
Inside Sales Tracker
Tracker
Track your sales with walk-in customers in the Internship
Program Sales Tracker you saved in Week One.
Inside Sales
Opportunitie
s Task
10 minutes
SAM010: Successful
Phone Communication
Online
Online basics to phone etiquette.
Phone Sales Practice Task
Task
SAM010
2 hours
Phone Sales Tracker
Tracker
Call current and potential customers using phone sales
techniques.
Track your sales with customers you contact over the phone in
the Internship Program Sales Tracker you saved in Week One.
Phone Sales
Practice Task
10 minutes
Mentor Meeting #3
MTG
Week 3 tasks
30 minutes
PRD005: Bolts: Types &
Applications Manual
Online
Meet with your mentor to discuss your progress through Week
3.
After completing the self-study manual, take the test online.
PRD005 Manual
30 minutes
10 Minutes
30 minutes
30 minutes
Online Test
14
Fastenal School of Business Internship Program Rv9/13
(Week 4 cont.)
SAM015: Web Sales
Online
Sell purchasing products through the web to your customers.
45 minutes
Store Merchandising Task
Task
Merchandise a product and then track the results of that effort.
45 minutes
Store Merchandising
Tracker
Tracker
Track the sales increase of your merchandising efforts in the
Internship Program Sales Tracker you saved in Week One.
15 minutes
Vendors and
Merchandising Task
Task
Develop ideas on how you can use our vendors to assist with
merchandising our products.
1 hour
Store Layout Task
Task
Analyze and evaluate the overall layout of the store.
1.5 hours
Mentor Meeting #4
MTG
Project Meeting
Week 5
9 hours
Week 6
6 hours
15
Meet with your mentor to discuss your progress through Week
4.
Task/MTG Meet with your mentor and District Manager to determine the
topic for your Internship Project.
Week 4 tasks
30 minutes
1 hour
Elements of a Sales Call
Online
Introduction to the elements involved in a successful sales call.
10 minutes
SAM000: Fast Questions
Online
Introduction to a sales questioning technique to better
understand the needs of your customers.
30 minutes
OSP Reports Task
MTG/Task Review with the General Manager the reports that help manage
an OSP's book of business
30 minutes
Ride Along on Sales Calls
Task
MTG/Task Ride along on sales calls with your mentor and begin interacting
with customers.
4 hours
Call Research and
Planning Forms
Job Aid
Forms that help you research and plan for sales calls. Use these
forms as you see fit.
10 minutes
Outside Sales Tracker
Tracker
45 minutes
PRD010: Screws, Rivets
& Other Fasteners
Manual
Mentor Meeting #5
Job Aid
Begin tracking your sales success of specific accounts that you
are responsible for on the Internship Program Sales Tracker
you saved in Week One. You will work with your mentor for
this task.
Self-study guide on screws, rivets and other fasteners; modules
1-4 only.
Promotional Efforts Task
Task
Marketing Ideas Task
Task
Identify marketing ideas that could improve sales for the local
territory.
30 minutes
SAM030: Growing Your
Business Through
Customer Loyalty
Online
Learn about customer service, customer loyalty, and customer
satisfaction.
30 minutes
Advantages of Fastenal
MTG/Task Identify strategic advantages of Fastenal with regard to selling
against our competition.
30 minutes
PRD010: Screws, Rivets &
Other Fasteners Manual
Job Aid
MTG
Meet with your mentor to discuss your progress through Week
5.
List and analyze each promotional effort that Fastenal utilizes.
Self-study guide on screws, rivets and other fasteners; modules
5-7 only.
Fastenal School of Business Internship Program Rv9/13
PRD005
3 hours
Week 5 tasks
30 minutes
30 minutes
PRD005
3 hours
(Week 6 cont.)
PRD010: Screws, Rivets &
Other Fasteners
Online
After completing the self-study manual, take the test online.
PRD010 Manual
30 minutes
Mentor Meeting #6
MTG
Week 6 tasks
30 minutes
Introduction to the week's
tasks
Task
Meet with your mentor to discuss your progress through Week
6.
Information on expectations for the following tasks in this
week.
Distribution Center
Tour Task
MTG
Shadow DC Employee
Task
MTG
PRD110: Introduction to
Fasteners & Fastening
System
ILT
Learn how to identify basic fasteners, rivets and other fastening
systems. This was an item you scheduled during Week One of
this internship.
PRD001,
PRD005, PRD010
1 day
Mentor Meeting #7
MTG
Week 7 tasks
30 minutes
Follow-up Task
Task
Meet with your mentor to discuss your progress through Week
7.
Continue to call current and potential customers using phone
sales techniques. Based on what you learned from your ride
along with your mentor during week 5, make sales calls on the
customers that you have been assigned.
Week 3 tasks
Week 5 tasks
11 hours
Internship Sales Tracker
Tracker
Continue to track your sales success of specific accounts that
you are responsible for.
Week 3 tasks
Week 5 tasks
1 hour
Mentor Meeting #8
MTG
Week 8 tasks
30 minutes
Days Out Exercise Task
Task
Meet with your mentor to discuss your progress through Week
8.
Identify the current Days Out for your store; then determine a
plan for reducing the store's Days Out exposure.
Sarbanes-Oxley Task
Task
Collections Task
Task/MTG Talk with your mentor/Regional Finance Manager about the
collections policy for your region and contact your customers
who may have an outstanding balance.
Mentor Meeting #9
MTG
Quick Reference: Vendor
Part Lookup
Job Aid
Quick Reference: Vendor
Purchase Order
Job Aid
Online Test
Week 7
14 hours
Week 8
12 hours
Week 9
2 hours
Week 10
3 hours
16
5 minutes
2 hours
Become familiar with how product flows through the
distribution center by attending an in-depth tour of the facility.
This was an item you scheduled during Week One of this
internship.
Job shadow a distribution center employee to fully understand
their responsibilities. This was an item you scheduled during
Week One of this internship.
4 hours
30 minutes
30 minutes
Become familiar with Sarbanes-Oxley procedures/audits and
how specific reports relate to those procedures.
Meet with your mentor to discuss your progress through Week
9.
Brief directions for your reference, on how to look up Vendor
Park Numbers
30 minutes
Week 9 tasks
Brief directions for your reference, on how to create a vendor
purchase order.
Fastenal School of Business Internship Program Rv9/13
30 minutes
10 minutes
10 minutes
(Week 10 cont.)
Week 11
12.5 hours
Week 12
2.5 hours
17
Vendor Purchase Order
Task
Task
Learn how to perform a branch vendor purchase.
45 minutes
Purchase Agreements
Task
MTG/Task Become familiar with purchase agreements and the reason these
agreements are made at your store.
30 minutes
Non-Contributing
Inventory Task
Task
Learn about non-contributing inventory (NCI) and develop a
plan to remove some NCI from your store
45 minutes
Mentor Meeting #10
MTG
Week 10 tasks
30 minutes
Follow-up Task
Task
Meet with your mentor to discuss your progress through Week
10.
Continue to call current and potential customers using phone
sales techniques. Based on what you learned from your ride
along with your mentor during week 5, make sales calls on the
customers that you have been assigned.
Week 3 tasks
Week 5 tasks
Week 8 tasks
8 hours
Internship Sales Tracker
Tracker
Continue to track your sales success of specific accounts that
you are responsible for.
Week 3 tasks
Week 5 tasks
Week 8 tasks
1 hour
Finalize Project Details
Task
Task
Complete the final preparation for your written project and
presentation.
Mentor Meeting #11
MTG
Internship Program
Evaluation
Online
Meet with your mentor to discuss your progress through Week
11.
Provide feedback on the Fastenal Sales and Store Operations
Internship Program by completing the Final Internship
Evaluation.
Final Project Documents
Final Meeting with
Mentor and District
Manager
3 hours
Week 11 tasks
30 minutes
Completion of
all tasks
30 minutes
Task/MTG Present your project findings to your mentor and District
Manager. You should have two copies of your written report,
print this document prior to your presentation.
Project
Completion
1 hour
MTG
All tasks
1 hour
Meet with your mentor and District Manager to discuss your
progress throughout the entire internship program.
Fastenal School of Business Internship Program Rv9/13
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Fastenal School of Business Internship Program Rv9/13
Throughout the program, starting with week 3, you will be asked to document sales growth while completing
different assignments. This tracker will be used at various times during the program. The excel document is located
on the FSB Learn Center, under your career plans. If you look at the different tabs at the bottom of the workbook,
the tracker names and the week that you will start tracking particular information is noted. It is advised that you
save this tracker in your branch documents at your store, but also have a back-up copy on a flash-drive. Save this
information often so that you don't lose your work.
These trackers are for you to document your impact on the store, feel free to modify as you see fit to best
demonstrate your effectiveness in the store. The greyed-out cells contain formulas that are intended to help you, if
you type in these cells the formula's will be broken.
All of these forms are set to be able to be printed very easily, if you would rather have them as a hard copy. You can
make additional copies of each tracker as you see fit. You can also add more rows/columns as you see fit, but you
will then need to ensure that the new lines fit within the printable view.
Microsoft provides training on how to use excel, you can go to http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel-help/ for
assistance.
Included in the following pages are an example of these trackers.
W E E K 3 – I N S I DE S A L ES T R AC K E R
W E E K 3 – P HONE S A L ES T R A C KE R
W E E K 4 – M E R C H A N D I S I N G T R A C KE R
W E E K 5 – O U T S I DE S A LES T R A C KE R
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Fastenal School of Business Internship Program Rv9/13
INSIDE SALES TRACKING FORM
Date
Sold
4/1/2020
***Be sure to log your interactions via CRM. Check with your mentor for assistance.***
Part
Sale Price per piece
Quantity
Total Sales
Product Description
Number
($)
Sold
($)
3/8"-16
x
1"
Zinc,
Gr.5
13105
$0.67
25
$16.75
HCS
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
Total Sales $:
21
$0.00
Fastenal School of Business Internship Program Rv9/13
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PHONE SALES TRACKING FORM
***Be sure to log your interactions via CRM. Check with your mentor for assistance.***
Example
1
2
3
4
5
6
Optional
Optional
Optional
Optional
23
Account #
Account Name
Current
Sales
Week
3
Week
4
Week
5
Week
8
Week
10
Week
11
Week
12
WTMN0000
Your First & Last Name
Mfg
100
150
175
300
350
425
450
475
Fastenal School of Business Internship Program Rv9/13
Increase in
Sales
78.95%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
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Fastenal School of Business Internship Program Rv9/13
MERCHANDISING TRACKING FORM
Example
Product
Product Description
Starting Week
602144
KK Brag Box X80
42.61
Week 4 Week 5 Week 8 Week 10
85.22
170.44
170.44
340.88
Week 11 Week 12
170.44
383.49
Total Sales
$1,320.91
1
Optional
$0.00
$0.00
Optional
$0.00
Optional
$0.00
Optional
$0.00
Optional
$0.00
Optional
$0.00
Optional
$0.00
Optional
$0.00
Optional
$0.00
25
Fastenal School of Business Internship Program Rv9/13
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Fastenal School of Business Internship Program Rv9/13
OUTSIDE SALES TRACKING FORM
***Be sure to log your interactions via CRM. Check with your mentor for assistance.***
Account #
Account Name
Week 5
Sales
Week 7
Sales
Week 8
Sales
Week 10
Sales
Week
11
Week 12
Sales
WTMN0000
Your First & Last Name
Mfg
$300.00
$372.00
$390.00
$427.00
$515.00
$530.00
27
Fastenal School of Business Internship Program Rv9/13
Increase in
Sales
43.40%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
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Fastenal School of Business Internship Program Rv9/13
One thing you have probably already figured out is that Fastenal believes in promoting from within. Although we
definitely look for the best candidates for any job that we attempt to fill, we believe that promoting our employees
when a position becomes available not only gives us the ability to give more opportunities to current employees, but
when can fill the pipeline of employees with more ambitious people.
Nearly every upper-level company leader was promoted from a more “entry-level” (usually part-time) position. We
have a lot of tenured employees who have been with the company more than 30 years, through the ups and downs
in the economy, and have seen it all. To get a better idea of the company and our belief of promotion within, you
will be required to interview a more tenured employee to see what they say about their history with Fastenal.
YOUR TASK
Talk with your District Manager or your Mentor to try to identify an employee who has been with the company
around 10 years or more. If you aren’t able to connect with an employee in this tenure-bracket, find someone who
has been with the company for at least 5 years. Your conversation can be face-to-face or over the phone, whatever
works for your schedules. Feel free to interview multiple people to get a good idea of our company.
W HA T
TO AS K T H E M
What you want to find out if up to you, but here are a few ideas to get you started.
• When did you start with Fastenal and about how big was the company when you started?
• What positions have you held in your tenure?
• What has been the most rewarding piece of your career?
• When you started out in to the professional, working world… what did you think you wanted to do? What
keeps you at Fastenal?
• What has been the most challenging part of working in this company or previous positions?
• What advice do you have for someone first starting with the company?
T HE G OA L
The purpose of this task is to get an idea of what it takes to be Fastenal Blue through and through! As you start,
what is hopefully the beginning of a very long career with Fastenal, we want to make sure that you are able to see
the potential of this company and where you fit in!
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Fastenal School of Business Internship Program Rv9/13
G
During this program, you will be required to attend one instructor-led training and have a few meetings that you’ll
want to attempt to plan out in advance. Below are a list of the meetings/requirements and their suggested due dates.
Ask your mentor or the General Manager at your store to help you schedule these within the Store Solutions so that
everyone is on the same page!
MENTOR MEETINGS
You will be required to schedule weekly meetings with your mentor. You and your mentor should sit down as soon
as possible and attempt to pick a regular day/time that you will meet to go over your weekly assignments. These
meetings are typically 30 minutes depending on your questions and your responsibilities for the week.
During week twelve, after you’ve completed your project presentation, you should schedule a 30 minute meeting
with your District Manager and Mentor. This meeting’s goal is to review the outcome of your project, receive your
final evaluation and to discuss opportunities for you with Fastenal in the future.
PROJECT MEETINGS
You will have two official project meetings. Your first meeting should occur during week four of the program.
You’ll need to coordinate schedules with your District Manager and your Mentor. Expectations for this meeting are
included in week four assignments. This meeting will likely last between 30 minutes and an hour, depending on your
questions and how much thought you’ve put in to your project topic at this point.
The second meeting will be during week twelve with your mentor and district manager. During this meeting you will
present your project. The criteria for this meeting is included in week twelve assignments. You should plan on this
meeting taking between an hour and an hour and a half.
PRD110: FASTENERS & FASTENING SYSTEMS
To sign up for this training, access the FSB Learn Center and click on the ‘View Courses’ tab. From there, click on
the ‘PRD’ (Product) Institute, Click on ‘Fasteners’, Click on the ‘Face to Face’ icon, and click on the ‘enroll’ link
next to the course titles PRD110: Fasteners & Fastening Systems. If you have any trouble with this process, send an
email to [email protected] or call the admissions line at 507-453-8035.
DISTRIBUTION CENTER
During week seven of the program, you have two assignments relating to the distribution center. The first is to take
a tour of the DC and the second is to shadow a DC employee to best understand their responsibilities and how
their duties impact other parts of the business. More information about is listed in week seven. Work with your
mentor to make arrangements at your nearest DC.
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Fastenal School of Business Internship Program Rv9/13
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Fastenal School of Business Internship Program Rv9/13
G
You will be required to attend weekly meetings with your mentor. During these meetings, you and your mentor will
discuss your progress in completing your weekly tasks, as well as your overall development in the internship
program.
Both the mentor and the intern will be required to sign a weekly sign-in sheet signifying that they both attended
these mandatory weekly meetings.
STARTING THE MEETING
The Intern is encouraged to lead these meeting and to ask for help and assistance throughout the week, but this is a
focused time where any unanswered questions can be answered.
O V ER V I EW
OF THE
WEE K
To start out the meeting, give your mentor an idea of what you did this week.
• Explain to your mentor what you found helpful this week with your assignments and what you think
challenged you.
• Tell your mentor what you think you need more practice with to improve in your role and ask them for ideas
on where you can get this extra assistance.
• Explain to your mentor what your company motto is and the importance of this to our company.
• Explain what the four types of customers that we service are (OEM, MRO, Construction & Municipalities)
and how knowing the difference in the type of customers can help.
• Ask your mentor to explain the store layout to you and offer your ideas as to why you think the store is
arranged in this way.
• Ask your mentor to give a part to look up, by utilizing Fastenal.com or Store Solutions, demonstrate your
ability to complete this request as if a customer needed the part.
• If you haven’t already had the opportunity to learn how to receive in product for your customer, ask your
mentor to show you how to do this.
• If you haven’t already had the chance to invoice a customer, ask your mentor to show you how to do this.
ASK FOR HELP
If anything came up during the week that you want to have explained to you, be sure to take the time now to do
this. Ask your mentor for feedback on how you are doing and look for where you can improve yourself.
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Fastenal School of Business Internship Program Rv9/13
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Fastenal School of Business Internship Program Rv9/13
MENTOR MEETING SIGN-IN SHEET
Keep this sign-in sheet and be sure to include this with your other important documents regarding this program.
Your District Manager may want to review this prior to signing off on the completion of the program.
WEE K 1 – I N T R O D U C TI O N
AND
Intern’s signature
COMP LETION
OF
FAS TSTART
Mentor’s signature
Date
W E E K 2 – B A S I C F A S TEN ER K N O W L E D G E
Intern’s signature
Mentor’s signature
Date
Mentor’s signature
Date
Mentor’s signature
Date
Mentor’s signature
Date
Mentor’s signature
Date
W EE K 3 – I N S ID E S A LE S
Intern’s signature
WEE K 4 – ME R C H A N D IS I N G
Intern’s signature
W EE K 5 – O UT S I DE S A LE S
Intern’s signature
W E E K 6 – M A R KE T I N G
Intern’s signature
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Fastenal School of Business Internship Program Rv9/13
W E E K 7 – D IS T R IB U T IO N
Intern’s signature
Mentor’s signature
Date
WE E K 8 – I N S I D E S A L E S/ O U T S I D E S A LE S
Intern’s signature
Mentor’s signature
Date
Mentor’s signature
Date
Mentor’s signature
Date
Mentor’s signature
Date
Mentor’s signature
Date
WEE K 9 – A S S E T M A N A G E M E N T
Intern’s signature
W EE K 10 – P R O C U R E M E N T
Intern’s signature
W EE K 11 – O UT S I DE S A LE S
Intern’s signature
WE E K 12 – IN S I D E S A LE S / WR AP -U P
Intern’s signature
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Fastenal School of Business Internship Program Rv9/13
Keeping proper inventory levels in our stores is critical to the success of our business. Fastenal’s goal is to keep
inventory where we need it and ensuring accurate inventory levels is the first step. If a customer walks in to your
store and wants to purchase a product that is not in the inventory as far as Store Solutions knows, you won’t be able
to sell that part to the customer until you get it placed in the inventory. Also, if a customer calls and asks if you have
a part and you check the inventory in your store via stock check in Store Solutions and tell them you do. If they
drive out to your store and then the part isn’t actually physically on the shelf, you are going to have one unhappy
customer on your hands.
Throughout the course of your internship, you will be required to perform normal cycle counts. The level of
customer service that you offer to your store’s customers will improve if you can keep accurate inventory on the
shelves.
YOUR TASK
You the steps you learned in the training module to perform a normal cycle count for your store. Set up and
perform a normal cycle count for the number of parts that the computer suggests. Print off the worksheet,
physically count the inventory, and enter the quantities into the computer. Run the Difference Report and share
with your mentor.
Do not adjust your inventory without your mentor’s approval.
Keep track of the cycle counts that you do so you have record of all of the inventory checks that you ensured took
place!
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Fastenal School of Business Internship Program Rv9/13
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Fastenal School of Business Internship Program Rv9/13
You will be required to attend weekly meetings with your mentor. During these meetings, you and your mentor will
discuss your progress in completing your weekly tasks, as well as your overall development in the internship
program.
Both the mentor and the intern will be required to sign a weekly sign-in sheet signifying that they both attended
these mandatory weekly meetings. The sign-off sheet was attached to Week #1 Mentor Meeting Notes.
STARTING THE MEETING
The Intern is encouraged to lead these meeting and to ask for help and assistance throughout the week, but this is a
focused time where any unanswered questions can be answered.
O V ER V I EW
OF THE
WEE K
To start out the meeting, give your mentor an idea of what you did this week.
• Explain to your mentor what you found helpful this week with your assignments and what you think
challenged you.
• Tell your mentor what you think you need more practice with to improve in your role and ask them for ideas
on where you can get this extra assistance.
• Explain to your mentor something that you learned in the PRD001: Introduction to Fasteners Manual that
you did know before and how this information will help you in your role.
• Draw the head markings for a Grade 2, Grade 5, Grade 8 and Grade 9, Hex Cap Screw (respectively) for
your mentor.
• Explain to your mentor the importance of Cycle Counts and maintaining accurate inventory levels at the
store. Give your mentor an example of where you’ve seen this as a challenge in your store.
ASK FOR HELP
If anything came up during the week that you want to have explained to you, be sure to take the time now to do
this. Ask your mentor for feedback on how you are doing and look for where you can improve yourself.
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Fastenal School of Business Internship Program Rv9/13
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As you learned while completing the FastStart program, making sure your customer has a positive experience when
they visit the store is of great importance. In addition to your demeanor and attitude, your knowledge of that
customer and their industry are equally as important. Knowing what to sell or suggest to your customer is an
important aspect in inside sales.
YOUR TASK #1
Discuss the following industry types with your mentor and document specific items that these common industries
could purchase from Fastenal. Also discuss specific local industry types that are not listed below.
For help with this, click on the CRM icon from your Point of Sale > Branch Reports> Log In> CRM> Sales> Top
NAICS Codes.
Record the information that you and your mentor discuss in regards to products and services that the following
industry types could purchase from Fastenal.
I NDUS T R Y
T YP E
Electrical
Contractors
P R O D UC T S
S ER V I C ES
Machine Shops
General
Construction
Contractors
Municipal
Transportation
Food
Processing
Plants
Truck Repair
Centers
Hospitals
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Fastenal School of Business Internship Program Rv9/13
I NDUS T R Y
T YP E
HVAC
Contractors
P R O D UC T S
S ER V I C ES
Chemica
l Plants
Local Industry:
Local Industry:
Local Industry:
YOUR TASK #2
In addition to completing the exercise identified above, you will also need to begin tracking the inside sales dollars
that are related to your inside sales efforts. Track the sales increase for your inside sales dollars over the rest of the
internship using the Inside Sales Tracking Form. When you assist a customer, you can track the products that you
sell to the customer and identify the sales dollars that you are bringing in for your store.
Document the increase in sales on the Week 3 – Inside Sales Tracker.
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In the SAM010: Phone Sales Course you completed, you were introduced to successful phone etiquette and ways to
contact customers. Making contact with customers over the phone is a very efficient way to increase your Customer
Contact Time (CCT). Sales is quite simple when you boil it down. We need more customers, buying more from us,
more often! Sounds easy, right? It isn’t quite that simple, but contacting your customers over the phone is a good
start to being in front of your customers more consistently.
YOUR RESPONSIBILITY
Most companies are incorporating the telemarketing selling technique, along with existing sales and marketing, into
their sales approach in order to gain additional market share and survey customer satisfaction. Fastenal’s approach
to telemarketing is business-to-business telemarketing which has the advantages of contacting and selling to
prospects and current customers that have a need for our products and services. For this task, you will be asked to
call current and potential customers using phone sales techniques and then record your findings on a worksheet.
You will work with your mentor for this task and follow up with these customers throughout the remainder of
internship.
Telemarketing can help improve the overall success of your store in many ways:
• Open up new areas of business
• Reactivate inactive customers
• Promote new and existing business
• Gain a better understanding of your customers
• Improve Customer Service
• Improve morale and productivity within the branch/store
• Obtain feedback from your customers
• Thank each customer for their business
• Sales lead generation/scheduled appointments/collect referrals
• Provide Customer Fulfillment
Discuss with your mentor the accounts/prospects that you will be responsible for handling for the purposes of this
exercise.
Document the increase in sales on the Week 3 – Phone Sales Tracker.
MENTOR'S RESPONSIBILITY
The Mentor should identify customers (current and potential) that the intern will target in their telemarketing
campaign. Identify at least 6-10 (at least 3 current and 3 potential) accounts that the intern will target. These
accounts should vary in industry type.
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Fastenal School of Business Internship Program Rv9/13
You will be required to attend weekly meetings with your mentor. During these meetings, you and your mentor will
discuss your progress in completing your weekly tasks, as well as your overall development in the internship
program.
Both the mentor and the intern will be required to sign a weekly sign-in sheet signifying that they both attended
these mandatory weekly meetings. The sign-off sheet was attached to Week #1 Mentor Meeting Notes.
STARTING THE MEETING
The Intern is encouraged to lead these meeting and to ask for help and assistance throughout the week, but this is a
focused time where any unanswered questions can be answered.
O V ER V I EW
OF THE
WEE K
To start out the meeting, give your mentor an idea of what you did this week.
• Explain to your mentor what you found helpful this week with your assignments and what you think
challenged you.
• Tell your mentor what you think you need more practice with to improve in your role and ask them for ideas
on where you can get this extra assistance.
• Draw the markings for a Grade 2, Grade 5, Grade 8 and Grade 9, hex nut (respectively) for your mentor.
• Explain to your mentor the difference between these two washers. Which one is USS or SAE? Which one is
thru-hard? Which one is low-carbon? How do you know?
• Explain to your mentor the purpose of the pricing model and how this helps store employees.
• Ask your mentor to give you a few examples of industries (types of businesses) that we sell to, and then tell
your mentor 3 products and 2 services that they can likely benefit from and why.
• Give your mentor a few examples of the goal statements that you used to contact your phone sales
customers.
ASK FOR HELP
If anything came up during the week that you want to have explained to you, be sure to take the time now to do
this. Ask your mentor for feedback on how you are doing and look for where you can improve yourself.
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G
Did you know that nearly 40 percent of purchases that customers make are unplanned, this number includes
emergencies and impulse buys? Emergencies happen without notice, but impulse buys happen more often by
strategically placing product in the store. When someone talks about “merchandizing” the store, this includes all the
activities associated with selling products. Some of these things include the identifying of the right market for the
product, advertising using the right media and at the right time, and creating attractive packaging and displays.
YOUR TASK
For this of this task, you will be concentrating on the third element explained above (creating attractive displays).
You’ll be responsible for merchandising a product and then tracking the results. But first, we need to identify ways
to improve store merchandising and strategies to increase sales.
5 S I M P L E S T E PS
TO
IMPRO VE STORE MERCHAN DIS ING
AND
I N C R EA S E
SA L E S
• Keep Displays Full of Inventory – Displays should be kept full with the products in their correct location.
Displays that are missing product or have product that does not belong on them are not effective. Only
designated product should be placed on branch-specific displays. Excess inventory should be stored out of
the front room area.
• Facing – A concept used in grocery stores where all of the product on a shelf is facing forward and pushed
forward so that the 1st item is flush with the shelving edge. This action makes the product look better, helps
customers find what they need more quickly, and helps managers see which products need to be re-stocked.
• General Cleaning – Stores can get dusty and dirty if not cleaned on a regular basis. We want our stores to
appear clean and orderly to the customer. This can be accomplished by cleaning, dusting, and organizing
shelves, products, and display racks on a weekly basis. Many of the displays in our stores are costly
investments and should be kept in good
condition in order to maximize sales.
• Updating – All outdated literature and brochures need to be removed from display along with any signage or
banners that advertise product lines or vendors that we no longer carry.
• First In First Out (FIFO) – Another grocery store/accounting concept. The first inventory to come into a
store should be the first to go out. This action helps to move older products before they expire. Examples:
paint, batteries, abrasive wheels, and drink mixes. These items have expiration dates.
Utilizing your mentor for guidance and approval, decide on a product (or products) that you would like to be
responsible for displaying in your store in an effort to increase walk-in sales for that product. For instance, you
could choose to display one Kimberly Clark product (Brag Box of X80) or you could choose to display all of the
Kimberly Clark products that are currently stocked in your store.
Document the increase in sales on the Week 4 – Merchandising Tracker.
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Fastenal’s product managers work closely with our vendors to determine the best product packaging and
merchandising. Sales trends with each product affect changes in the packaging and the merchandising methods
used. For example, if a product whose packaging has been redesigned is now experiencing a significant slip in sales,
then the vendor and the Fastenal product manager will reevaluate that product’s packaging. The product manager
and the vendor might also evaluate the promotional efforts being spent on that product. If additional promotion is
needed, then the product might be added to the monthly promotional flyer that Fastenal distributes to our
customers or a separate flyer might be made to either display at the store or to distribute to our customers.
YOUR TASK
Although you have already had a small project where you were responsible for merchandising one product within
the store, for this task, you will evaluate five products in the store whose packaging could be enhanced to ensure
greater product visibility and, in turn, greater sales. Please list the five products and the improvements that you
would like to make to each.
P R O D UC T
I M P R O V EM E N TS
1.
2.
3.
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4.
5.
Utilize your mentor if you get stumped on this task. Bring this document to your mentor meeting and discuss this
with your mentor at that time. If you and your mentor feel that you have a very good/strong idea, you can access
FastNet > Search for your store> when your store is displayed, click on ‘View’ under ‘More Contacts’ > then click
on ‘Product Managers’. From there, you can look up the product manager associated with the category your
product is in.
For example, if you have an idea for new packaging for a pair of safety glasses, you can type in Safety and you will
see the contact information for a product manager for this type product.
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Fastenal uses a variety of internal personnel to help determine the placement of product within the store, as well as
following a few simple standards. Fastenal Product Managers determine what product should be placed in the
stores. Then they determine where those products should be placed in the store in order to maximize customer
satisfaction. Input from various district managers also determines product placement within the store.
High impulse items, such as tape measures and batteries, are placed close to the front counter to increase sales with
walk-in customers. Items that are hard to steal are usually placed towards the back of the store; this allows Fastenal
to place the most frequently stolen items toward the front of the store where Fastenal employees can watch their
movement. Coordinating items are often placed next to each other as well. For example, construction drill bits are
usually placed close to the construction fastener section of the store.
YOUR TASK
As you now know, the overall layout of the products in the store is important to Fastenal in a variety of ways. The
best layout can add to the store’s sales, increase visibility of specific products, and improve customer service. This
exercise will require you to analyze the overall layout of your store and determine what areas could be improved.
Please list five areas that you would like to improve and how you would improve them, or offer five suggestions
that would improve a customer’s overall experience with Fastenal when visiting your store.
A R EA
I M P R O V EM E N TS
1.
2.
3.
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4.
5.
Bring this document to your mentor meeting and discuss this with your mentor at that time. If you and your mentor
feel that you have a very good/strong idea, talk through how you could accomplish it and implement your idea.
Keep in mind that some products are intended to be in a certain place requested by the product managers and the
marketing department, so don’t become discouraged if you are unable to act on all of your ideas.
MENTOR RESPONSIBILITY
Remain open to ideas that the intern is bring up and encourage open and honest communication with your intern.
Explain why some of the ideas can or cannot be implemented at the current time and explain some of the reasons
for the current store layout.
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G
You will be required to attend weekly meetings with your mentor. During these meetings, you and your mentor will
discuss your progress in completing your weekly tasks, as well as your overall development in the internship
program.
Both the mentor and the intern will be required to sign a weekly sign-in sheet signifying that they both attended
these mandatory weekly meetings. The sign-off sheet was attached to Week #1 Mentor Meeting Notes.
STARTING THE MEETING
The Intern is encouraged to lead these meeting and to ask for help and assistance throughout the week, but this is a
focused time where any unanswered questions can be answered.
O V ER V I EW
OF THE
WEE K
To start out the meeting, give your mentor an idea of what you did this week.
• Explain to your mentor what you found helpful this week with your assignments and what you think
challenged you.
• Tell your mentor what you think you need more practice with to improve in your role and ask them for ideas
on where you can get this extra assistance.
• Talk to your mentor about how you feel your product knowledge is progressing.
• Explain to your mentor how Fastenal.com (web sales) benefits the store.
• Share with your mentor the Store Merchandising Tracker and what your thoughts are so far on how your
display is impacting sales.
• Discuss with your mentor your Vendor and Merchandising task. Decide with your mentor, if one (or more)
of these ideas should be passed on to the Product Manager.
• Discuss the Store Layout Task that you finished and see what ideas you may be able to implement.
ASK FOR HELP
If anything came up during the week that you want to have explained to you, be sure to take the time now to do
this. Ask your mentor for feedback on how you are doing and look for where you can improve yourself.
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As you know, the Fastenal Sales and Store Operations Internship Program includes an in-depth project that you will
be responsible for presenting in the final week of your internship. During your first four weeks of this internship,
you should be observing a wide variety of store and district functions. The project’s topic can include store or
district problems, enhancements, or new initiatives. The topic of the project will be decided on by you, your
mentor, and the area district manager. If you are having difficulty determining a topic for the project, reach out to
your mentor and/or district manager for suggestions. During this meeting, review this information with your
mentor and DM and get approval on your topic before proceeding.
THE PROJECT
A few examples of projects that have been presented in the past include:
• Exploring the many uses of the MC-70 device
• Exploring possible solutions to increase margin (either with a single account or the store)
• How to apply the Lean Manufacturing principle of the “5 S” approach to a store location
• Implementing a key account (all stages of the process)
• Assigning responsibility for increasing the sales and margin for a specific set of
accounts within a store’s territory
P R O J E C T G U ID E L IN ES
The written portion of your project will need to adhere to the following guidelines:
• The paper should include the following eight elements: Title Page, Executive Summary, Introduction and
Topic Identification, Identification and Analysis of Alternatives, Recommended Approach, Implementation
Strategy, Results, and Conclusion.
• The paper should be typed in a 12-point font and be double-spaced.
• The paper should include any references that were used throughout the course of the project (including
books, papers, interviews, etc).
• There should be two copies of the written report turned in; one copy will be for the mentor and one copy
will be for the district manager.
P R O J E C T C O N TEN TS
Below is a brief description of each of the eight sections that should be included in your written report.
• Title Page: The title page should include your name, a brief title of your project, the date the project is
submitted, and who the project is submitted to (mentor and area district manager).
• Executive Summary: The executive summary is a synopsis of the entire project. It includes a description of
the identified topic, the consequences (if appropriate) of the topic, the recommended solution, and the
predicted outcome if the solution is effective. The executive summary allows a reader a quick overview of
the project without reading the entire plan. Your executive summary should be well thought out. This is
usually one of the last sections of the project to be completed. This is because it is impossible to summarize
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•
•
•
•
•
•
accurately until you complete every other part. You should take your time in this portion of the project
because, although it is completed last, it is usually the first section that a person/evaluator will read.
Introduction and Topic Identification: The introduction is the explanation of the details of your project.
Unlike the executive summary, it is not an overview of the project. Its purpose is to give the background of
the project and to describe the problem, enhancement, or new initiative that you have identified. After
reading the introduction, the reader/evaluator should understand the topic.
Identification and Analysis of Alternatives: This section should include various alternatives to address the
identified problem, enhancement, or new initiative. You will need to outline each alternative and provide an
analysis of why each solution could potentially improve the situation in the store or district. Each alternative
should be well thought out, well-articulated, and realistic given current constraints on the store or district.
Recommended Approach: The Recommended Approach section will include the solution, listed and
outlined in the previous section, that you feel would be the best option for the store or district. You will
need to validate why this solution would be the best alternative.
Implementation Strategy: Determining how your recommended solution will address the topic is only the
first step. The next important element to the topic being addressed properly is the identification of the
implementation strategy. Within this section, you will need to list the steps that are necessary in order for the
solution to work. Please keep in mind that you might identify smaller topics, through your research, that
correlate to the original topic. For example, if you identified a major problem and then, through additional
research, determined that there are smaller root problems, you would first need to determine the strategy for
solving the root problems before you could implement your strategy for solving the major problem.
Results: This is an optional section. Depending on the topic chosen, there might be measurable elements to
the project. For example, if your project’s topic is to increase business within a specific industry type, then
you would have measurable results that you would need to include in your written report (i.e. increase in the
number of accounts in that industry, increase in sales from week to week, etc). Please consult your mentor to
determine if your written report would need to have a Results section.
Conclusion and References: This section includes a general overview of what was discussed throughout
the project report. You should restate the topic that was identified, as well as the solution that you
determined would be the best option. You will also need to reiterate why that solution is the best alternative.
You should include references at the end of this final section. Please site any written resources that were
used during the formulation of your project (books, papers, journals, etc), as well as any interviews you
conducted.
P R E S E N T A T I O N G U I D E L IN E S
As you know, you will be required to present your project findings to your mentor and your area district manager.
Your presentation should follow these guidelines:
• Should be between 15-25 minutes (content only)
• Should include the use of at least one visual aid (PowerPoint is not the preferred method)
• Should allow 5-10 minutes of question and answer time (in addition to the 15-25 minutes of content
presentation)
• Should include a discussion of the following topics:
Introduction (the stated problem and enhancement)
Identification and Analysis of Alternative Solutions
Recommended Approach
Implementation Strategy
Results (if appropriate)
Conclusion
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The following are a few tips to follow in regards to presentations:
• Always practice your presentation several times in order to determine the true overall length of the
presentation
• Remember to speak slowly and articulate your words
• Do not try to memorize your presentation; simply identify key topics and discussion points
• Prepare your visual aids ahead of time to ensure accuracy and relevancy
• Make certain that your visual aids are easy to read and not distributed until necessary
• Before your presentation, think of possible questions that will be asked and anticipate how you will respond
to them
• Try to keep your answers during the Q&A section brief; never get sidetracked or argue with someone who
has a question
• Be enthusiastic about your project and presentation
A copy of the Written Report Evaluation and the Presentation Evaluation are included in this document.
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INTERNSHIP PROJECT – WRITTEN REPORT EVALUATION
Intern Name:
Project Title:
Date:
C O N T E N T (60 P O I N T S ) __ __ __ ___ _
•
•
•
•
•
•
Coverage – highlights of whole project
Coverage – addressed assigned points
Clarity of development of points
Executive Summary was interesting and made you want to read the report
Realistic alternatives and implementation plan
Supported alternatives through research
O R G A N I Z A T I ON (25 P O I N T S ) __ __ ___ __ _
•
•
•
•
Well prepared, well organized
Is level of treatment appropriate, not overly detailed nor too general?
Is report easy to follow, smooth continuity?
Structure – followed structure, sequence
F O R M A T (15 P O I N T S ) _ ___ __ __ __
• Followed general instructions for written report guidelines
• Included all appropriate sections (7 sections)
• No misspellings, poor grammar, misuse of words
COM ME NTS:
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INTERNSHIP PROJECT – PRESENTATION EVALUATION
Intern Name:
Project Title:
Date:
C O N T E N T (25 P O I N T S ) __ __ __ ___ _
•
•
•
•
Coverage – highlights of whole project
Coverage – addressed assigned points
Clarity of development of points
Pitched well to audience
O R G A N I Z A T I ON (25 P O I N T S ) __ __ ___ __ _
•
•
•
•
Well prepared, well organized
Is level of treatment appropriate, not overly detailed nor too general?
Is presentation easy to follow, smooth continuity?
Structure – followed structure, sequence
D E LI V ER Y (25 P O I N T S ) ___ __ ___ __
•
•
•
•
•
•
Engaging presentation style, energetic, enthusiastic
Smooth transition between sections
Well practiced, rehearsed
No reading from notes
Clear, good volume and enunciation, no mumbling
Efficient, avoided stumbling, confusion, blank spots
F O R M A T (10 P O I N T S ) _ ___ __ __ __
• Visuals used supportively
• No misspellings, poor grammar, misuse of words
Q U E S T I O N S / A N S W E R P E R I O D ( 1 5 P O I N T S ) _ _ __ _ __ _ _ _
•
•
•
•
Confidence in knowledge of topic
Ability to answer reasonable questions
Answers are accurate and brief
Intern appears to have put effort into learning about this topic
Comments:
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THE FIRST STEP
That was a lot of information to absorb at once. Your first step is to brainstorm some ideas on what you project will
be based on. Jot down as many ideas and you can, but before you are done with your project meeting; be sure that
you, your DM and your mentor have all agreed on what yourprojecttopic will be.
BRAINSTORMING IDEAS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
FINAL IDEA:
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Sale’s is part science and part art! You can be very effective in relating to people and have great relationships with
your customers, but if you do not effectively manage your business unit, your charm will start to wear off.
Fortunately, at Fastenal, creating loyal customers is what we’ve been doing since 1967. We can’t say that we’ve
perfected the art, be we definitely have managing the business down to a science.
YOUR TASK
There are many reports available to sales people to most effectively manage your business. You need to locate the
following reports and review them for what you feel is the most important information. Ask your mentor to explain
anything on these reports that may seem confusing.
N ES T E GG R EP O R T
POS> CRM> Branch Reports> Login> Sales> Customer> Customer Nest Egg Report
What is some key information you can find out on this report?
M Y C US T O M E R S
POS> CRM> Branch Reports> Login> CRM> My Customers
What is some key information you can find out on this report?
M Y S E C TO R S
POS> CRM> Branch Reports> Login> CRM> My Sectors
What is the difference between a sector and a zone? Talk with your mentor about this if you aren’t sure.
O U T S I D E S A LES R E P O R T C A R D
POS> CRM> Branch Reports> Login> Reports> Outside Sales Scorecard
What are a few numbers on this report that you feel can be impacted with the least effort?
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E M P LO Y EE T R AC K E R , R E P O R T
BY
Z ONE
FastNet> Applications> Data Warehouse> Employee Tracker> Zone
When this report opens up, on the left click on the ‘Actions’ menu> ‘Export’> ‘Excel’
What information is on this report that wasn’t on the Outside Sales Scorecard that you think will be beneficial to
review regularly?
S T O R E B ELO W 20 % L IN E I T E M S
FastNet> Applications> Branch Reports> Sales Analysis> Store Commission Calc Sales<20 Line Items
How can you use this report to improve sales at the store?
P R IC E G U I D A N C E D ETA IL
FastNet> Applications> Branch Reports> Sales Analysis> Price Guidance Detail
Identify several items on this report that could have been sold at a small amount more to reach at least 0% price
acceptance.
SC OR E C A R D
FastNet> Applications> Branch Reports> Scorecards> OSP Scorecard and Branch Scorecard
Review the criteria that the store and the OSP are evaluated on.
Discuss any of this information that is confusing, or unclear, with your mentor.
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Before you begin making any outside sales calls, you should first know the basics of selling. The most successful
salespeople in Fastenal are those who plan for each sales call. They have an objective for each customer and are
prepared to ask appropriate questions in order to gain key information which will lead to sales.
There are five elements to a sales call: the introduction, explore needs, offer solutions, gain commitment, and the
delivery. Included below is a description of the key aspects of each of the five elements.
IN TR O DUC TIO N
The Introduction is very important as it lays the groundwork for the rest of the call. First impressions are
important in every sales call.
•
Opening Statement– State your first and last name, the company name; attempt to shake hands and have
your business card ready. Remember to thank the customer for the opportunity to meet and discuss how
Fastenal can benefit their business. Be careful not to thank them for their time because your time is just as
important.
•
Call Introduction– Stating the goal or purpose of the call and what objectives should be accomplished.
Also, position the company by introducing a brief statement about who Fastenal is and what we can do for
our customers.
•
Review of Previous Call (Follow-up Call Only)– Summarize previous call to lead into further discussion.
E XP L OR E N EED S
The Explore Needs section is when most information is shared and gathered. It is important to use proper
questioning techniques in order to gain as much information about your customer as possible. The following list
outlines the key tasks that should be accomplished during this portion of a sales call.
•
Take Notes on Relevant Information Learned– Ask to take notes, so the customer is aware of why you are
breaking the eye contact during the sales call. Take notes throughout entire call.
•
Fact Finding Questions– Ask about and explore the current situation of the customer to lay the foundation
for the sale.
•
Analysis Questions– Ask about problems, difficulties or dissatisfactions the customer is experiencing.
•
Suggestion Questions– Ask about the effects, implications, or consequences of a stated customer problem.
•
Translation Questions– Ask about the value or benefit of the customer making a change or improvement.
•
Summarize Problems and Consequences Learned– Before moving on to offer solutions, take a moment to
summarize or repeat back the problems and consequences discussed throughout the Explore Needs portion
of the call. This will help ensure that you understand the customer's needs before providing suggestions.
OF F E R SO L U T I O N S
During the Offer Solutions section, the salesperson has an opportunity to suggest an appropriate solution based on
the customer's responses to the FAST Questions asked during the Explore Needs portion of the sales call.
•
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Focus on Specific Products/Services– Focus on basic products and services that pertain to the customer
and solve problems that were uncovered with analysis and suggestion questions.
Fastenal School of Business Internship Program Rv9/13
•
Utilize Relevant Visual Aid(s)– Don’t just give the visual to the customer, take time to explain what the
visual aid- use it as part of the presentation.
G A I N C O M M IT M E N T
The gain commitment section is the last few moments of the sales call. It is meant to wrap up any current business
and solidify a future opportunity to meet or do business.
•
Achieve Meeting Goal/Objectives– Be sure that you revisit your original purpose for the call to ensure that
you have accomplished the goal or objectives.
•
Obtain a Valid Reason for Return– Solidify an opportunity for future business by asking for an order,
quote, or tour. Discuss any action items or information needed for the next call.
•
Set Specific Appointment Date & Time– Get a specific date and time to return for the next sales call. Try
narrowing the window of time based on your weekly delivery/call schedule, but remain flexible to suit the
customer's needs.
•
Summarize the Results of the Call– Provide a brief summary of the entire call by utilizing your notes and
reviewing the next steps to be taken. Reiterate the day and time of the next sales meeting.
D ELI V ER Y
The delivery is comprised of actions and mannerisms of the sales rep throughout the sales call. The success of a
business relationship can depend greatly on your approach to customer service and overall delivery of a sales call.
•
Active Listening Skills– Demonstrate your listening skills by repeating key points made by your customer or
asking questions of clarification when information is unclear.
•
Sincere and Appropriate Responses to Objections and Questions from the Customer– Never say, “I don’t
know” and leave it at that. If you are unsure, let the customer know that you will find the answer and get
back to them later that day or at the next sales call. Be prepared to handle objections from a customer
without getting defensive or frustrated.
•
Professional Demeanor & Dedication to Customer Service– Above all else, uphold the idea of "growth
through customer service." Earn your customer's trust through professionalism and demonstration of
values.
•
Confidence– Maintain a positive attitude and present yourself with confidence in front of the customer.
Being prepared is often the best way to boost your confidence and make a great impression on the
customer.
•
Communication Skills– Pay close attention to your body language, tone of voice, and eye contact. These
are just a few communication skills that can impact the connection between a salesperson and a customer.
YOUR TASK
With a little instruction on making a successful sales call, you are now ready to begin making supervised calls on
specific customers. Remember that researching your customers and planning your sales calls will make you more
successful in your approach. Spend a portion of one day this week riding along with an Outside Salesperson, your
Mentor or the General Manager at your store location.
Ask your mentor to take you to several accounts that you can start working with. Track your progress with these
accounts in the Outside Sales worksheet on the Internship Program Sales Tracker you saved in Week One. Follow
up with the progress of these accounts for the duration of the internship program. The number of accounts that
you will work with will depend on the store and your availability.
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CUSTOMER RESEARCH
G EN ER A L I N F O R M A T I O N
Company Name:
Locations:
Website Address:
Years in Business:
What is the company history (days of operation, hours, founder, profit/non-profit, number of employees, motto,
etc.)?
What does the company do/make?
CON TAC TS
Contact Name:
Title:
Contact Name:
Title:
Contact Name:
Title:
P R O D UC T S
AND
SE R VIC ES
TH EY C A N B E N EF I T
Potential Product Lines:
D Fasteners
D Tools and Accessories
D Hydraulics and Pneumatics
D Electrical
D Material Handling
D Safety
D
D
D
FR O M
Potential Value Added Services:
D Custom Manufacturing
D Hose Assembly
D Tool and Hoist Repair
D Custom Packaging
D Welded Band Saw Blades
D Tooling and Cutter Re-grind
D
D
D
Previous Interactions with account?
Notes:
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PRE-CALL PREPARATION
Company Name:
Decision Maker:
Goal Statement:
Position the Company (Introduce Fastenal):
E XP L OR E N EED S
Topic 1:
Problems Uncovered:
Fact-Finding Question:
Consequences of Problems:
Benefits of Resolving Problems:
Topic 2:
Problems Uncovered:
Fact-Finding Question:
Consequences of Problems:
Benefits of Resolving Problems:
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i
F
P
F
P
P
CALL SU MM ARY
Follow-up Action Needed
Action to be taken, specifics of next meeting (who/when/where), additional contacts to make, etc.
D ON ’
T F O R GE T TO L OG AN IN T E R A C T IO N F O R TH IS CA L L , G E T H ELP F R O M YO U R M E N T OR IF
YOU NE E D I T !
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G
You will be required to attend weekly meetings with your mentor. During these meetings, you and your mentor will
discuss your progress in completing your weekly tasks, as well as your overall development in the internship
program.
Both the mentor and the intern will be required to sign a weekly sign-in sheet signifying that they both attended
these mandatory weekly meetings. The sign-off sheet was attached to Week #1 Mentor Meeting Notes.
STARTING THE MEETING
The Intern is encouraged to lead these meeting and to ask for help and assistance throughout the week, but this is a
focused time where any unanswered questions can be answered.
O V ER V I EW
OF THE
WEE K
To start out the meeting, give your mentor an idea of what you did this week.
• Explain to your mentor what you found helpful this week with your assignments and what you think
challenged you.
• Tell your mentor what you think you need more practice with to improve in your role and ask them for ideas
on where you can get this extra assistance.
• Explain to your mentor the importance of having a clear objective for each sales call.
• Give your mentor an example of some of the questions that you were able to ask a customer that you felt
were effective and got you important information about their business.
• Discuss with your mentor the possibility of taking a more active role with a few specific accounts. Ask your
mentor what hesitation they may or may not have with giving you this extra responsibility.
• Be sure to remember to ask questions now about any of the reports that you learned about this week during
the OSP Reports Task.
• Explain to your mentor two reasons why logging interactions with customers is so important.
• Review your Internship Sales Tracker with your mentor.
ASK FOR HELP
If anything came up during the week that you want to have explained to you, be sure to take the time now to do
this. Ask your mentor for feedback on how you are doing and look for where you can improve yourself.
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Promoting our company and the products and services that we offer to our customers is important for our success
and growth. Fastenal uses printed promotional literature often to notify our customers of specials that we are
offering. The material is also used for upcoming events, such as our One Day Sales Events; however, we use other
promotional efforts as well. Look around your store and ask others in your store about the various promotional
efforts that Fastenal utilizes to market our company, products, and services to our customers.
YOUR TASK
After discussing the various promotional efforts we utilize with others in your store, complete the following form.
List the promotional effort, how effective you believe that promotional effort is within your store’s territory, and
any improvements that you would like to implement to make that promotional effort more effective.
PR OM O TION
E F F E C TI V EN ES S
C HANG E S
1.
2.
3.
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4.
5.
Where feasible, implement your plan to make these changes. If you feel you have an idea that could impact a large
number of stores, be sure to pass your ideas on to the marketing coordination department at
[email protected] .
If you are stuck, here are some ideas…
• Monthly Promotional Flyers
• Bounty
• Industry Specific Promotional Flyers (ex. HVAC)
• One Day Sales Events
• Customer Trade Show
• NASCAR involvement
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Now that you have identified the promotional efforts of Fastenal, take a moment to look at your local territory to
determine marketing techniques/ideas or promotional efforts that could improve sales in your local area.
Check with the people that you work with to find out what local marketing has been utilized in the past to help
increase sales within the territory or, more specifically, within a specific industry. Ask about any radio or newspaper
advertisements that may have been used and how effective this may have been.
YOUR TASK
After discussing the local marketing that has been done complete the following form list the marketing effort, how
effective it was, and any improvements that you could implement to make that marketing effort more effective.
M A R KE T I N G
E F F E C TI V EN ES S
C HANG E S
1.
2.
3.
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4.
5.
Where feasible, implement your plan to make these changes. If you feel you have an idea that could impact a large
number of stores, be sure to pass your ideas on to the marketing coordination department at
[email protected] .
If you get stuck on this, talk with your mentor or District Manager!
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At Fastenal, we have a number of unique things about our company that makes us competitive over our
competitive. One of the biggest things is that we are a debt free company and we pride ourselves on the ability to
have more buying power because we have a positive cash flow! Annually, we publish facts about the company. Here
are some of those facts listed below.
Total number of stores
United States
Canada
Mexico
Puerto Rico
Central & South America
Europe
China
Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand
2652
2,385
187
36
8
4
11
14
7
Number of Vehicles
Semis
Fleet vehicles
Sprinters
Straight Trucks
Number of Employees
Store Personnel FTE
DC & MFG FTE
Admin & Support
*Total Full-Time Equivalent
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180
6672
174
89
15,283
9,028
2,035
1,883
12,946
YOUR TASK
Complete an exercise where you identify strategic advantages of our company and particularly the distribution
center with regard to selling against our competition. Our unique attributes and our distribution network provide a
competitive advantage for a number of reasons. Brainstorm the advantages that our distribution network and other
unique attributes provide to Fastenal.
Record your findings here and then discuss with your mentor.
A TTR I B U TE
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FAS TENAL
A DVA N T A G E
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You will be required to attend weekly meetings with your mentor. During these meetings, you and your mentor will
discuss your progress in completing your weekly tasks, as well as your overall development in the internship
program.
Both the mentor and the intern will be required to sign a weekly sign-in sheet signifying that they both attended
these mandatory weekly meetings. The sign-off sheet was attached to Week #1 Mentor Meeting Notes.
STARTING THE MEETING
The Intern is encouraged to lead these meeting and to ask for help and assistance throughout the week, but this is a
focused time where any unanswered questions can be answered.
O V ER V I EW
OF THE
WEE K
To start out the meeting, give your mentor an idea of what you did this week.
• Explain to your mentor what you found helpful this week with your assignments and what you think
challenged you.
• Tell your mentor what you think you need more practice with to improve in your role and ask them for ideas
on where you can get this extra assistance.
• Talk with your mentor about the promotional efforts that Fastenal is involved in and what improvements
you noted.
• Ask for further clarification on the marketing efforts that have been done locally and see if any of your
improvements can be implements.
• Discuss with your mentor the competitive advantages of Fastenal and how you think this impacts the service
we provide our customers. Ask your mentor to help you make a few more connections with this topic if
necessary.
• Explain to your mentor one thing out of the Screws, Rivets and Other Fasteners manual that stood out to
you as new, interesting or helpful information.
• After completing the third product manual, explain to your mentor your comfort level with fasteners and
how these manuals helped you.
• Review your Internship Sales Tracker with your mentor if something substantial has changed
ASK FOR HELP
If anything came up during the week that you want to have explained to you, be sure to take the time now to do
this. Ask your mentor for feedback on how you are doing and look for where you can improve yourself.
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During Week One of this internship program, you were asked to schedule several things for this week of the
program. This document will explain a few more of these things in detail.
PRD110: FASTENERS & FASTENING SYSTEMS
An Instructor-led training PRD110: Fasteners & Fastening Systems may be completed at any time, but you are
required to complete the three product manuals (PRD001: Introduction to Fasteners, PRD005:Bolts- Types &
Applications and PRD010: Screws, Rivets & Other Fasteners prior to attending the training. Make sure at this point
that you’ve completed your product manuals so that when this training is available you can attend without any
hindrances.
DISTRIBUTION CENTER TOUR & SHADOW
The goal with having you take an in-depth tour of the Distribution Center (DC) is so that you can become familiar
with how product flows through the DC. Pay close attention to the various functions/duties of each department
and how each department relates to the others. Please note that in the event that the distribution center visit is not
an option, the mentor may simply explain how product flows within the facility.
Each person in the DC plays an important role in the overall success of Fastenal’s business. You will be shadowing
a DC employee in a specific department for a period of time. During that time, try to fully understand the duties of
that employee for his/her department and how his/her performance in their position impacts customer service.
Note: These two tasks are left to the discretion of the mentor. If the mentor feels like the distribution center is too
far from the store, then the mentor can choose to simply explain how product flows with the facility.
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You will be required to attend weekly meetings with your mentor. During these meetings, you and your mentor will
discuss your progress in completing your weekly tasks, as well as your overall development in the internship
program.
Both the mentor and the intern will be required to sign a weekly sign-in sheet signifying that they both attended
these mandatory weekly meetings. The sign-off sheet was attached to Week #1 Mentor Meeting Notes.
STARTING THE MEETING
The Intern is encouraged to lead these meeting and to ask for help and assistance throughout the week, but this is a
focused time where any unanswered questions can be answered.
O V ER V I EW
OF THE
WEE K
To start out the meeting, give your mentor an idea of what you did this week.
• Explain to your mentor what you found helpful this week with your assignments and what you think
challenged you.
• Tell your mentor what you think you need more practice with to improve in your role and ask them for ideas
on where you can get this extra assistance.
• If you were able to complete your Distribution Center (DC) Tour, explain to your mentor how items move
through the distribution system. If you weren’t, ask you mentor to explain this system you.
• If you were able to complete the job shadow at the DC, explain to your mentor something about this
department that you didn’t know. Explain how this department impacts customer service at the store and
how other departments impact this one!
• Review your Internship Sales Tracker with your mentor if something substantial has changed.
ASK FOR HELP
If anything came up during the week that you want to have explained to you, be sure to take the time now to do
this. Ask your mentor for feedback on how you are doing and look for where you can improve yourself.
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At various times throughout this program, you’ve been asked to track different successes you’ve had. This week is a
little bit different than other weeks that you’ve had because your expectation is to keep doing that you’ve been
doing! Work on these things listed below this week.
INSIDE SALES
Decide at this point if it makes sense for you to continue documenting the products that you’ve sold to customers
inside the store (walk-in’s) and discontinue when you feel you’ve tracked this information sufficiently on your
Internship Sales Tracker.
PHONE SALES
Continue to call current and potential customers using phone sales techniques and record your findings on your
Internship Sales Tracker. Incorporate additional telemarketing calls to the accounts that your mentor assigned you
during week three (Inside Sales) of the internship program.
MERCHANDISING
Pull a sales history report on the product/products that you created a display for in week 8 and note the sales per
week for that item on your Internship Sales Tracker. (Ask your mentor for assistance if you need it!) Be sure to
make any changes to the display, if necessary. Continue the display and track the success of your display through the
12 week program.
OUTSIDE SALES
At this point, you should have been given several accounts to be responsible for. Hopefully, these are accounts that
have potential to grow into larger, more profitable accounts. You have now had the opportunity to not only see
experienced salespeople make sales calls, but you have also learned about the five elements of a successful sales call
(reference week 5). You have also begun to make sales calls on your own and you should understand the
importance of documenting the highlights of each call. Begin thinking of areas of improvement for these customers
as you track the success of these accounts. Continue to track your sales success on the specific accounts that you are
responsible for on your Internship Sales Tracker. Use the call forms, where applicable, from week five.
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You will be required to attend weekly meetings with your mentor. During these meetings, you and your mentor will
discuss your progress in completing your weekly tasks, as well as your overall development in the internship
program.
Both the mentor and the intern will be required to sign a weekly sign-in sheet signifying that they both attended
these mandatory weekly meetings. The sign-off sheet was attached to Week #1 Mentor Meeting Notes.
STARTING THE MEETING
The Intern is encouraged to lead these meeting and to ask for help and assistance throughout the week, but this is a
focused time where any unanswered questions can be answered.
O V ER V I EW
OF THE
WEE K
To start out the meeting, give your mentor an idea of what you did this week.
• Explain to your mentor what you found helpful this week with your assignments and what you think
challenged you.
• Tell your mentor what you think you need more practice with to improve in your role and ask them for ideas
on where you can get this extra assistance.
• Review your Internship Sales Tracker with your mentor.
• Explain where you are at with your current accounts and what you think your next step is with those
accounts.
• Explain to your mentor why you are or are no longer going to track your inside sales efforts. (This is up to
you!)
• Talk to you mentor about how you think your merchandising display is going and ask for feedback for
improvements.
• You are nearing the end of the program, be sure to talk to you mentor about your final project if there are
things that you think you need more clarification about.
ASK FOR HELP
If anything came up during the week that you want to have explained to you, be sure to take the time now to do
this. Ask your mentor for feedback on how you are doing and look for where you can improve yourself.
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Days Out is the term that we use to explain the amount of time that it takes our customers to pay their bills. This is
the branch’s accounts receivable exposure (Days Out), or how many days an invoice was given and how many days
on average it takes us to get paid. Days out can be calculated by dividing the store’s total accounts receivable by the
store’s daily average sales. Daily averages sales can be calculated by dividing the sum of the past two months’ sales
by 60. The formulas are written below:
Days Out = Total Accounts Receivables/Daily Average Sales
Daily Average Sales = (Month 1 Sales + Month 2 Sales)/60
YOUR TASK
The first task you have is to determine what your store is at currently for Days Out. Work with your mentor to find
these numbers.
C A L C U L A T I N G D AI L Y A VE R A G E S A LE S
Month 1 Sales:
(A) Month 1 Sales:
Month 1 Sales + Month 2 Sales:
(B)
(A) + (B)
Total Sales for both months (A+B) / 60 days:
= Daily Average Sales (C)
I DE N TI F Y A C C O U N T S R EC E I V A B LE S
Total Accounts Receivables:
(D)
C A L C U L A T I N G D A Y S OU T
Total Accounts Receivables (D)/ Daily Average Sales (C)=
Days Out
Fastenal’s goal for Days Out is 45 days. Is your store above or below that goal? Talk with your mentor about
strategies for improving this number.
Notes:
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The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 increases compliance for all companies who are required to file periodic reports
with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). After the number of high-profile lawsuits and bankruptcies
filed in the late nineties and early 2000s (Enron, Arthur Anderson, and Worldcom), the government intervened and
created a law which requires more reporting duties for companies, as well as higher penalties for non-compliance.
As a precaution, and in order to comply with this legislation, Fastenal developed several reports that varying levels
of management have to complete on a monthly basis. The following is a list of the reports that the General
Manager of your store has to complete at the end of each month.
M O N T H L Y R EP O R TS :
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Collection Report
Sales Report Card
Total Cost of Inventory Report
NCI (Non-Contributing Inventory) Report
Branch Expense Detail Report
Vehicle ROA (Return on Assets)
YOUR TASK
Talk with your Mentor about each of these reports. If possible, schedule time with the General Manager of your
store to review/ask questions as they are completing these end-of-month reports. Be sure to ask questions like:
• What are the most important aspects of the report?
• Who is impacted by the numbers on this report?
• After you complete the report, who reviews it?
• If there are discrepancies on this report, who can help you get it fixed?
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Collecting funds from our customers from products and services we supply them with is a critical part of the sales
process. Our goal at Fastenal is to collect on the outstanding debts within 45 days. Our collection terms as we
explain to our customers is Net-30. We expect our customers to pay within 30 days of receiving an invoice. The
responsibility of ensuring that the customers pay is on the sales person that sold the product. Fastenal has a call
center that helps with the collections process and starts contacting “past-due” customers after 33 days of nonpayment.
YOUR TASK
Talk with your mentor about the strategies they use to ensure customer payment. Also, if possible, call and talk to
your Regional Finance Manager to ask them about the collections policy for your region. The most important part
of the collection process is to ensure proper documentation before establishing a credit line for a customer.
• Ask your mentor to show you the credit application that is used by your store.
• Document here the required information on this form that you would need to ask your customer for:
o
o
o
o
•
•
Ask your mentor, without RFM or DM approval what is the initial credit limit for customers at your
store:
Throughout this internship, you’ve been assigned a few customers. Ask you mentor to help you verify that
all of your customers have been paying their bills and where appropriate, contact those customers.
Notes:
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You will be required to attend weekly meetings with your mentor. During these meetings, you and your mentor will
discuss your progress in completing your weekly tasks, as well as your overall development in the internship
program.
Both the mentor and the intern will be required to sign a weekly sign-in sheet signifying that they both attended
these mandatory weekly meetings. The sign-off sheet was attached to Week #1 Mentor Meeting Notes.
STARTING THE MEETING
The Intern is encouraged to lead these meeting and to ask for help and assistance throughout the week, but this is a
focused time where any unanswered questions can be answered.
O V ER V I EW
OF THE
WEE K
To start out the meeting, give your mentor an idea of what you did this week.
• Explain to your mentor what you found helpful this week with your assignments and what you think
challenged you.
• Tell your mentor what you think you need more practice with to improve in your role and ask them for ideas
on where you can get this extra assistance.
• Review your Internship Sales Tracker with your mentor.
• Explain to your mentor why Days Out is important to the store. Ask your mentor to talk to you about ways
they have worked on improving this number.
• Ask your mentor to explain the Past Due Report.
• Review with your mentor any of the end of month reports that you still have questions about.
ASK FOR HELP
If anything came up during the week that you want to have explained to you, be sure to take the time now to do
this. Ask your mentor for feedback on how you are doing and look for where you can improve yourself.
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In our decentralized environment at Fastenal, one of the key operations in our daily business is Vendor Purchasing.
Our stores have the ability to contact almost 100% of our total Vendor Base. The store also has the ability to
purchase directly from our vendors by issuing company Purchase Orders.
Here is an example of a typical situation where we would contact a vendor for pricing and purchasing.
• A customer calls the store for an item that is not currently in stock at the branch or our servicing DCs don’t
have it in stock either.
• The store will contact the vendor(s) that handle the customer’s needed product and will get cost and
availability of the part. We also call this “Sourcing”.
• The store will chose to use the vendor with the most competitive price and delivery date possible and
calculate the sell price for this part. The store will then need to create a Quote for our customer.
• If the customer decides to order the part from Fastenal, we will then call the Vendor back and place the
order by issuing them a Fastenal Purchase Order.
• The Vendor then ships the product to the branch where it is received into inventory.
• We then generate an invoice to our customer for the part.
• The customer either picks up the item at the branch or we deliver the item to the customer.
Purchasing from a vendor is a multi-step process. Sometimes we are in communication with the vendor many times
before we have all the right information ready for our customer.
CUS TO M ER
FA S T E N A L
VE NDOR
YOUR TASK
Ask your mentor to demonstrate the steps in acquiring product through a vendor purchase using the Store
Solutions system. Then, after practicing vendor purchases and witnessing an accurate vendor purchase by your
mentor, you will need to perform the necessary steps to make an actual branch Vendor Purchase. Have your
mentor oversee your work in case you have any questions or need additional guidance. Use the Sourcing Tool under
Applications on FastNet, where applicable.
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In addition to the store making direct purchases with our vendors, we can also use the distribution center (DC) as a
purchasing resource. There are items listed within our catalog that require our DC Purchasing Team to buy. This is
due to the relationship we may have with this certain vendor or because by combining other orders, we can meet a
Vendor’s Minimum Requirements or receive discounted pricing.
Purchase Agreements between Fastenal and its customers are very important to the overall profitability of the
company. Purchase Agreements ensure that the customer is responsible for special stock inventory that Fastenal
purchases on behalf of the customer.
YOUR TASK
Go to FastNet and search for Purchase Agreements. Once you have found a standard Purchase Agreement, print a
copy and read through it. Ask your mentor any questions that you might have in regards to this document. Then list
two customers at your store who have signed Purchase Agreements for various products that Fastenal stocks on
their behalf.
C U S T O M E R #1
•
Name of the company?:
•
What is the product that your store stocks for this customer?:
•
What are the terms of this agreement?:
C U S TO M E R #2
• Name of the company?:
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•
What is the product that your store stocks for this customer?:
•
What are the terms of this agreement?:
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Have you ever heard of the term “Dead Inventory”? It’s something that many businesses face every day and
Fastenal is no different. We have two basic categories of Inventory at Fastenal. The first is Standard Stock and the
other is Special Stock. Standard Stock is the inventory that is stocked in our stores, such as Fasteners, Tools, Safety
Supplies, Cleaning Products, etc. Standard Stock is also the Inventory our DCs keep on hand on a regular basis.
Special Stock is the term used to describe the items a store may procure that are specific to a customer’s needs.
These items are not regularly stocked in the store and the DCs. Special Stock is where most of our Dead Inventory
Issues arise at Fastenal.
One of the services we offer to our customers is called Customized Inventory. This means that a store can keep
Special Stock parts on our shelves for a specific customer’s use. This is a huge advantage for our customers because
we can reduce their inventory holding costs by Fastenal stocking the product the customer needs on our shelves
instead of theirs.
We sometimes get ourselves in trouble when we (Fastenal) order too much inventory for the customer or the
customer will no longer use the part(s) for whatever reason. In other cases, we have had special parts custom made
for our customers and again, for some reason the customer no longer uses the parts in their operation.
What happens then? DEAD INVENTORY (also called Non-contributing Inventory)!
A
VER Y TY P IC A L E XA M P L E :
A customer uses a special fastener in their production process. We source the parts and make an agreement with
the customer that we will stock the parts on our shelves. The customer says they will use 1,000 pieces per month.
We call our vendor and because we get a better unit price if we order 20,000 pieces, we decide to order that amount.
The parts arrive at the store and we start to supply 1,000 pieces to the customer each month. Six months later, the
customer stops buying the parts. We call the customer and they inform us they no longer use the fastener in their
operation. How many pieces of Special Stock Parts are now Dead Inventory (non-contributing inventory)? 14,000
pieces!
Can you see why it’s important to make good decisions when procuring product for our customers? There are
many scenarios that involve bad decision making when it comes to purchasing. The key to making a good decision
is to get realistic usages from our customer and make sure we have contract agreements in place that protect our
interests in case something does go wrong.
YOUR TASK
Now that you understand the importance of reducing the amount of dead inventory at your store, work with your
mentor to identify a product that was originally a special stock item for a customer but now is listed as Noncontributing Inventory (NCI). Your task here is to try the following two things to help sell this product:
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M ES S A G E B O A R D
ON
FAS TNE T
• First, check to see if an item of a similar description appears on the Message Board portion of FastNet.
• If a similar item is listed, then contact the store who posted the item to discuss the possibility of branch
transferring your product to their store in order to sell it to their customer or to discuss possible
industries/customer types who might purchase your product within your store’s area.
• If a similar product is not listed, then post a message indicating the key product information and your store’s
information. Another Fastenal store might have a customer in need of an item you currently have on your
shelves.
V E NDOR S
• Call the manufacturer or the vendor that we purchased the product from originally and ask them for
suggestions on industries/customer types who might purchase similar items. The vendors have a good
understanding of who uses their products and for what purposes, so we can generally uncover good leads
from our vendors on who to target for this dead inventory.
Talk to you mentor if you need help with this process.
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You will be required to attend weekly meetings with your mentor. During these meetings, you and your mentor will
discuss your progress in completing your weekly tasks, as well as your overall development in the internship
program.
Both the mentor and the intern will be required to sign a weekly sign-in sheet signifying that they both attended
these mandatory weekly meetings. The sign-off sheet was attached to Week #1 Mentor Meeting Notes.
STARTING THE MEETING
The Intern is encouraged to lead these meeting and to ask for help and assistance throughout the week, but this is a
focused time where any unanswered questions can be answered.
O V ER V I EW
OF THE
WEE K
To start out the meeting, give your mentor an idea of what you did this week.
• Explain to your mentor what you found helpful this week with your assignments and what you think
challenged you.
• Tell your mentor what you think you need more practice with to improve in your role and ask them for ideas
on where you can get this extra assistance.
• Review your Internship Sales Tracker with your mentor.
• Talk to your mentor about the tools you used to source product this week and how they helped you.
• Explain to your mentor when you would involve the Distribution Center in your purchasing.
• Explain to your mentor the importance of bringing in appropriate inventory levels for your customers and
how purchase agreements help the store.
ASK FOR HELP
If anything came up during the week that you want to have explained to you, be sure to take the time now to do
this. Ask your mentor for feedback on how you are doing and look for where you can improve yourself.
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At various times throughout this program, you’ve been asked to track different successes you’ve had. This week is a
little bit different than other weeks that you’ve had because your expectation is to keep doing that you’ve been
doing! Work on these things listed below this week.
OUTSIDE SALES
At this point, you should have been given several accounts to be responsible for. Hopefully, these are accounts that
have potential to grow into larger, more profitable accounts. You have now had the opportunity to not only see
experienced salespeople make sales calls, but you have also learned about the five elements of a successful sales call
(reference week 5). You have also begun to make sales calls on your own and you should understand the
importance of documenting the highlights of each call. Begin thinking of areas of improvement for these customers
as you track the success of these accounts. Continue to track your sales success on the specific accounts that you are
responsible for on your Internship Sales Tracker. Use the call forms, where applicable, from week five.
PHONE SALES
Continue to call current and potential customers using phone sales techniques and record your findings on your
Internship Sales Tracker. Incorporate additional telemarketing calls to the accounts that your mentor assigned you
during week three (Inside Sales) of the internship program.
INTERACTIONS
Be sure that your interactions are completed/logged via the CRM for your contact with the customers over the
duration of the internship program. It is a good idea to document these things:
• Who you spoke with
• What was discussed
• What you need to follow-up on
• What your next call objective will be
FINALIZE ALL REPORTS
th
Next week is the 12 week, be sure to look over all of your tasks in your Internship Sales Tracker and ensure that all
the sales trackers are completed to your satisfaction.
FINALIZE PROJECT DETAILS
During week four, your mentor, your District Manager, and you had a meeting to discuss the topic for your
internship project. At this point, you should be finalizing the last details of your written report and formal
presentation for next week. Refer to the details in the Project Meeting Notes for the criteria you are evaluated on
from Week 4 to ensure you will successfully fulfill the requirements.
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You will be required to attend weekly meetings with your mentor. During these meetings, you and your mentor will
discuss your progress in completing your weekly tasks, as well as your overall development in the internship
program.
Both the mentor and the intern will be required to sign a weekly sign-in sheet signifying that they both attended
these mandatory weekly meetings. The sign-off sheet was attached to Week #1 Mentor Meeting Notes.
STARTING THE MEETING
The Intern is encouraged to lead these meeting and to ask for help and assistance throughout the week, but this is a
focused time where any unanswered questions can be answered.
O V ER V I EW
OF THE
WEE K
To start out the meeting, give your mentor an idea of what you did this week.
• Explain to your mentor what you found helpful this week with your assignments and what you think
challenged you.
• Tell your mentor what you think you need more practice with to improve in your role and ask them for ideas
on where you can get this extra assistance.
• Review your finalized Internship Sales Tracker with your mentor.
• Talk to your mentor about how you are feeling about the sales calls you’ve been going on and how you feel
your relationships are developing with your customers.
• Talk to your mentor about where they feel you need more experience in the store.
• Discuss with your mentor where you are at with your final project.
• Be sure to ask for any last minute advice/help that may need to be addressed before next week’s presentation
of your final project.
ASK FOR HELP
If anything came up during the week that you want to have explained to you, be sure to take the time now to do
this. Ask your mentor for feedback on how you are doing and look for where you can improve yourself.
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This is the final meeting of the project. You should have prepared two printed copies of your written evaluation.
The following information should be shared with the DM and your Mentor to verify the criteria that you will be
evaluated on.
PROJECT GUIDELINES
The written portion of the project will need to adhere to the following guidelines:
• The paper should include the following eight elements: Title Page, Executive Summary, Introduction and
Topic Identification, Identification and Analysis of Alternatives, Recommended Approach, Implementation
Strategy, Results, and Conclusion.
• The paper should be typed in a 12-point font and be double-spaced.
• The paper should include any references that were used throughout the course of the project (including
books, papers, interviews, etc).
• There should be two copies of the written report turned in; one copy will be for the mentor and one copy
will be for the district manager.
P R O J E C T C O N TEN TS
Below is a brief description of each of the eight sections that should be included in your written report.
• Title Page: The title page should include your name, a brief title of your project, the date the project is
submitted, and who the project is submitted to (mentor and area district manager).
• Executive Summary: The executive summary is a synopsis of the entire project. It includes a description of
the identified topic, the consequences (if appropriate) of the topic, the recommended solution, and the
predicted outcome if the solution is effective. The executive summary allows a reader a quick overview of the
project without reading the entire plan. Your executive summary should be well thought out. This is usually
one of the last sections of the project to be completed. This is because it is impossible to summarize
accurately until you complete every other part. You should take your time in this portion of the project
because, although it is completed last, it is usually the first section that a person/evaluator will read.
• Introduction and Topic Identification: The introduction is the explanation of the details of your project.
Unlike the executive summary, it is not an overview of the project. Its purpose is to give the background of
the project and to describe the problem, enhancement, or new initiative that you have identified. After
reading the introduction, the reader/evaluator should understand the topic.
• Identification and Analysis of Alternatives: This section should include various alternatives to address the
identified problem, enhancement, or new initiative. You will need to outline each alternative and provide an
analysis of why each solution could potentially improve the situation in the store or district. Each alternative
should be well thought out, well-articulated, and realistic given current constraints on the store or district.
• Recommended Approach: The Recommended Approach section will include the solution, listed and
outlined in the previous section, that you feel would be the best option for the store or district. You will
need to validate why this solution would be the best alternative.
• Implementation Strategy: Determining how your recommended solution will address the topic is only the
first step. The next important element to the topic being addressed properly is the identification of the
implementation strategy. Within this section, you will need to list the steps that are necessary in order for the
solution to work. Please keep in mind that you might identify smaller topics, through your research, that
correlate to the original topic. For example, if you identified a major problem and then, through additional
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research, determined that there are smaller root problems, you would first need to determine the strategy for
solving the root problems before you could implement your strategy for solving the major problem.
• Results: This is an optional section. Depending on the topic chosen, there might be measurable elements to
the project. For example, if your project’s topic is to increase business within a specific industry type, then
you would have measurable results that you would need to include in your written report (i.e. increase in the
number of accounts in that industry, increase in sales from week to week, etc). Please consult your mentor to
determine if your written report would need to have a Results section.
• Conclusion and References: This section includes a general overview of what was discussed throughout
the project report. You should restate the topic that was identified, as well as the solution that you
determined would be the best option. You will also need to reiterate why that solution is the best alternative.
You should include references at the end of this final section. Please site any written resources that were
used during the formulation of your project (books, papers, journals, etc), as well as any interviews you
conducted.
P R E S E N T A T I O N G U I D E L IN E S
You are now required to present your project findings to your mentor and your area district manager. Your
presentation should follow these guidelines:
• Should be between 15-25 minutes (content only)
• Should include the use of at least one visual aid (PowerPoint is not the preferred method)
• Should allow 5-10 minutes of question and answer time (in addition to the 15-25 minutes of content
presentation)
• Should include a discussion of the following topics:
Introduction (the stated problem and enhancement)
Identification and Analysis of Alternative Solutions
Recommended Approach
Implementation Strategy
Results (if appropriate)
Conclusion
The following are a few tips to follow in regards to presentations:
• Always practice your presentation several times in order to determine the true overall length of the
presentation
• Remember to speak slowly and articulate your words
• Do not try to memorize your presentation; simply identify key topics and discussion points
• Prepare your visual aids ahead of time to ensure accuracy and relevancy
• Make certain that your visual aids are easy to read and not distributed until necessary
• Before your presentation, think of possible questions that will be asked and anticipate how you will respond
to them
• Try to keep your answers during the Q&A section brief; never get sidetracked or argue with someone who
has a question
• Be enthusiastic about your project and presentation
A copy of the Written Report Evaluation and the Presentation Evaluation are included in this document.
Make two copies of these forms, one for your DM and the other for your mentor prior to your presentation.
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INTERNSHIP PROJECT – WRITTEN REPORT EVALUATION
Intern Name:
Project Title:
Date:
C O N T E N T (60 P O I N T S ) __ __ __ ___ _
•
•
•
•
•
•
Coverage – highlights of whole project
Coverage – addressed assigned points
Clarity of development of points
Executive Summary was interesting and made you want to read the report
Realistic alternatives and implementation plan
Supported alternatives through research
O R G A N I Z A T I ON (25 P O I N T S ) __ __ ___ __ _
•
•
•
•
Well prepared, well organized
Is level of treatment appropriate, not overly detailed nor too general?
Is report easy to follow, smooth continuity?
Structure – followed structure, sequence
F O R M A T (15 P O I N T S ) _ ___ __ __ __
• Followed general instructions for written report guidelines
• Included all appropriate sections (7 sections)
• No misspellings, poor grammar, misuse of words
COM ME NTS:
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INTERNSHIP PROJECT – PRESENTATION EVALUATION
Intern Name:
Project Title:
Date:
C O N T E N T (25 P O I N T S ) __ __ __ ___ _
•
•
•
•
Coverage – highlights of whole project
Coverage – addressed assigned points
Clarity of development of points
Pitched well to audience
O R G A N I Z A T I ON (25 P O I N T S ) __ __ ___ __ _
•
•
•
•
Well prepared, well organized
Is level of treatment appropriate, not overly detailed nor too general?
Is presentation easy to follow, smooth continuity?
Structure – followed structure, sequence
D E LI V ER Y (25 P O I N T S ) ___ __ ___ __
•
•
•
•
•
•
Engaging presentation style, energetic, enthusiastic
Smooth transition between sections
Well practiced, rehearsed
No reading from notes
Clear, good volume and enunciation, no mumbling
Efficient, avoided stumbling, confusion, blank spots
F O R M A T (10 P O I N T S ) _ ___ __ __ __
• Visuals used supportively
• No misspellings, poor grammar, misuse of words
Q U E S T I O N S / A N S W E R P E R I O D ( 1 5 P O I N T S ) _ _ __ _ __ _ _ _
•
•
•
•
Confidence in knowledge of topic
Ability to answer reasonable questions
Answers are accurate and brief
Intern appears to have put effort into learning about this topic
Comments:
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This is the final Mentor Meeting and your area DM can be included in this meeting. Be sure that you and your
mentor sign-in for this final meeting. The sign-off sheet was attached to Week #1 Mentor Meeting Notes.
STARTING THE MEETING
You, the Intern is encouraged to lead this final meeting, as you have for the majority of this program.
DI S C U S S I O N PO I N TS
TO
CONS IDE R
• Talk to you mentor and DM about how you think your final presentation and written project turned out. Ask
for feedback from them on their perception of your project.
• Talk to your mentor and DM about what you feel you’ve gained from completing this program.
• Explain to your mentor and DM what your career goals are and where you see yourself in 5 years.
• Give your mentor feedback on how their involvement in the program helped you. Also, explain to your
mentor what they could improve on in their mentorship with their next intern to give them the best
experience possible.
• Ask for mentor for feedback on what you can improve on going forward with your position at Fastenal.
• Talk with your mentor and DM about the overall internship program and what improvements could be
made. If particular changes need immediate attention, please email them directly to [email protected] or
call Kalysta Sadiq at 509-533-5155.
CONCLUSION OF THE PROGRAM
This is the conclusion of the internship program. You’ll need to contact your educational institution to attempt to
receive credit for the completion of your internship program. Fastenal has no authority in that particular matter.
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This program will only be improved as we receive your specific feedback. After completing the 12 Week Program,
the final task in your learning plan is to complete a survey. This survey is reviewed on a quarterly basis and changes
are implemented quickly. Your District Manager and the Program Director for the Internship Program are looking
forward for your feedback!
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