About this event
Each member takes a written exam of up to 40 questions in up to 45 minutes, worth 120 points. Questions are multiple choice, fill in the blank, short answer and essay on basic sales concepts. In the team activity (175 points, 30 minutes) the team plans a pre-call from a customer profile for 10 minutes. Judges then question named members one at a time for 20 minutes. In the individual sales call (130 points) each student reads a customer profile for at least 5 minutes, then has 20 minutes to sell the product to a judge playing the customer. The customer service call (100 points) has the same timing: the student solves a customer's problem within company policy and keeps the relationship. The handbook does not set the order of the four parts. Teams have four members. All four individual scores count, plus the team activity, for a team total of 1,575. Each student can earn 350. FFA's grades 7 to 12 rule applies, and the handbook sets no other grade limit. FFA Official Dress is highly recommended. The product information is posted in the summer before the event. Each student brings a 1-inch binder of it to use in the team activity and both calls. A calculator is the only electronic device allowed. State winners go on to the national event at the 100th National FFA Convention and Expo, Oct 27 to 30, 2027, in Indianapolis.
FormatTest, then Role Play
DurationWritten exam up to 45 min, team activity 30 min, sales call 20 min after at least 5 min to review the profile, customer service call the same
Solo or teamTeam of 4
CategoryAgribusiness Systems
Your plan
How to study
Built from the official handbook. Take the check and read every lesson here with no account; a free account keeps your progress and opens flashcards, practice and full exams.
Find your weakest area
Take the 8-question check below: one question from each of the 8 areas. It tells you where to start.
Start the checkLearn every area
Every area of the official handbook is below. Each has a short lesson, flashcards and practice, plus free reading.
See the areasPractice until every bar is full
Practice gives you one question at a time and leans toward the areas you miss. Your readiness meter fills as you get them right in every area.
PracticeTake a full exam at the real pace
40 questions in up to 45 minutes, the official maximum. Your readiness meter counts your last 3 full exams from the past 30 days, and 90% fills each one.
Take a practice examRehearse the role play
Draw a practice card, prep on the official 5-minute clock, then present for 20 minutes. The judge scores it on the official scorecard and says what to fix.
Practice the role play
The areas of the exam
Basic sales concepts
Product knowledge
Building rapport
Questioning and active listening
Features and benefits
Handling objections
Closing the sale
Customer service and company policy
Start here
Find your weakest area
8 questions, one from each of the areas of the Agricultural Sales exam. Each one is graded the moment you answer, with the reason, and the last screen tells you which area to study first. No account needed.
Judging
What judges score
Team activity
- Effective listening10
- Oral communication8
- Demonstrated cooperation10
- Respect10
- Participated in the team preparation8
- Completing team goal, rapport15
- Completing team goal, common interests15
- Completing team goal, questions to identify wants and needs15
- Completing team goal, determine wants and needs15
- Completing team goal, objections and concerns15
- Product knowledge and scenario questions, all members answered correctly24
- Product knowledge and scenario questions, individual answers30
Sales call
- First impression5
- Personal rapport10
- Clarifying questions about the customer's business14
- Clarifying questions to confirm customer information10
- Needs and wants9
- Features and benefits9
- Matching needs and wants15
- Trial close8
- Objections10
- Addressing objections15
- Close or advance sale15
- Active listening10
Customer service call
- Introduction and personal rapport9
- Determining issues9
- Clarify information8
- Confirming and summarizing8
- Solution development9
- Customer feedback9
- Acknowledge concerns9
- Summarized solution and addressed concerns9
- Close situation9
- Relevant application12
- Relationship maintenance9
Exam day
What to expect
A written exam of up to 40 questions in up to 45 minutes
Official format: Written exam up to 45 min, team activity 30 min, sales call 20 min after at least 5 min to review the profile, customer service call the same.
Written from the handbook
The exam covers the areas the event's handbook lists, from the references it names. Practice questions here are drawn from the same areas.
How you advance
How many advance from districts to states and on to the National FFA Convention & Expo (National Convention) depends on your association's rules. Study the official handbook: it lists every part of the event and how each is scored.
Exam format
- Time limitup to 45 minutes
- Questionsup to 40 questions
- TeamTeam of 4
Competition levels: District Career Development Events, then State Career Development Events, then National FFA Convention & Expo
Official reference books
Listed in the official FFA handbook. Your school or public library may have them.
- ProSelling: A Professional Approach to Selling in Agriculture and Other Industries, W. Scott Downey, ISBN-13 978-0978895211 (paid book)
- Professional Selling, Rebecca L. Morgan, ISBN 0-931961-42-4 (paid book)
- Sales Training Basics, Elwood N. Chapman, ISBN 1-56052-119-8 (paid book)
- Selling: Helping Customers Buy, Ditzenberger and Kidney, South-Western Publishing Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1992, ISBN 0538605316 (paid book)
Guidelines and resources
Bookmark to saveCurated by ChapterPrep. Free unless noted. External links open in a new tab.