Achieving the School-Based Enterprise Certification Standards with Spirit Box (Part Two)

In Part 1 of this article, we covered what SBE certification means, as well as the first five standards judges use as criteria to award Bronze, Silver and Gold-level certifications. In this article, we will describe the final four standards, as well as provide a glimpse at what comes after you submit your documentation. 

In this article, you’ll learn about the last five standards used to gauge certification and a summary of the activities required for each. You can find the details for each standard and submission requirements in the DECA Chapter Certification document. 

If you want a high-level view of everything needed to complete certification (including links), visit this page and or watch a video. 

Standard Six: Display Your Spirit Box Pricing Brilliance

GOLD LEVEL, SILVER LEVEL, BRONZE LEVEL: COMPLETE ALL

Deciding how you price things throughout the year can make or break your SBE. That is why pricing is included as one of the core standards. 

There are two activities you and your team must complete:

• Explain your strategies and scope for pricing function

• Explain the relevant factors that impacted pricing decisions

You must complete both of these activities for any certification level. 

Standard Seven: Show Off Your Distribution/Channel Flair

GOLD LEVEL: COMPLETE ALL 

SILVER LEVEL: COMPLETE ANY 3 

BRONZE LEVEL: COMPLETE ANY 2

Distribution and channel management helps your team manage inventory as well as customer service. Throughout these activities, you will show your team’s capability in managing all aspects of inventory and distribution. 

The activities you can complete for this standard include:

• Explaining how customer service and distribution are related in your Spirit Box

• Explain how you receive all merchandise

• Describe the process for completing inventory counts and control

• Explaining how you manage inventory shrinkage and how it could affect the business

To achieve Gold status, you need to complete all activities. To achieve Silver, you complete three. And to achieve Bronze, you need to complete two. 

Standard Eight: Promote Stellar Products to the Right People

GOLD LEVEL: COMPLETE ALL

SILVER LEVEL: COMPLETE ANY 4 

BRONZE LEVEL: COMPLETE ANY 3

Promotion lets people in your market know what kinds of products and services you offer. Promotion standards demonstrate your team’s ability to get the word out about your amazing SBE. 

The activities you can complete to achieve this standard include:

• Explain your promotional plan

• Explain how your team implements visual merchandising

• Describe any cross-merchandising techniques you use for products

• Elaborating on any special events you have planned

• Identify methods of tracking all marketing or communication activities

To achieve Gold status, you need to complete all of the activities. To achieve Silver, you choose four. And to achieve Bronze, you complete any three. 

Standard Nine: Sell Your Products with Style & Service

GOLD LEVEL: COMPLETE ALL 

SILVER LEVEL: COMPLETE ANY 4 

BRONZE LEVEL: COMPLETE ANY 3

Selling includes everything from determining what customers want or need, to the process of suggesting products, to processing returns and more. 

The activities you will need to complete for this standard include:

• Describing how you determine customer wants/needs for your products

• Discussing how team members build relationships with customers

• Demonstrate how your team sells (even while selling from a mobile kiosk!)

• Describe how you process sale documentation

• Determine the return and exchange process as applicable 

To complete Gold level, you need to complete all of the activities listed. To achieve Silver status, you can complete any four. And for Bronze level, you can choose any three. 

Standard Ten: Create a Team People Love from the Get-Go

GOLD LEVEL, SILVER LEVEL, BRONZE LEVEL: COMPLETE ALL

Human resources management is the business of creating a healthy, productive and safe environment for everyone who works there. 

The activities you need to complete to achieve this standard include:

• Describing how your team hires, trains, motivates and retains employees. 

• Elaborating on how you create a positive environment for employees

• Describe the training process for new hires and how you teach the functions of Spirit Box  to others

• Demonstrating how you assess team member performance

To achieve any level certification, you must complete all of these activities. 

What Comes Next

Once you compile, collect and write all of the relevant information for each of these standards and your desired level of certification, you can move on to the next steps. Judges will evaluate each part of your checklist and the documentation you provide and deliver a score across the standard categories. If your team meets or exceeds expectations, you will be awarded certification. 

Spirit Box simplifies school store operations. Simple operations means streamlined certification! Learn more about Spirit Box here.