Curriculum
The ProSales curriculum is unique in terms of what is taught and how it is taught. Students take six nationally-benchmarked courses while in the Program. Classes are experiential, interactive and intentionally small to provide students the necessary skills and experiences to launch a successful career in sales. In- and out-of-classroom experiences tap into real-life business contexts and allow students to put course learning into practice.
Explore course requirements and descriptions for the Professional Selling Program below:
Professional Selling Program
Required Courses (18 Hours):
Professional Selling and Communications I |
| Course Description Organized around building value-adding relationships such that both the selling and buying organizations benefit and the process of making informative and persuasive presentations. Course topics include how to make positive first impressions, managing objections, presentation skills, reaching win-win decisions and servicing customers. Developing one's selling and communications skills is useful to every business person who makes presentations. Case study, videotaped role playing, professional speakers and group interactions project the student into the world of business and selling. |
Professional Selling and Communications II |
| Course Description Prerequisite(s): MKT 3310 Orchestrating the value-creation exchange process requires skills and knowledge that are unique (industry, technology, etc.) as well as more general (process, relational, etc.). This course focuses on general B2B concepts and building general knowledge and skills, doing so in the context of a variety of industries to build both general and unique skills and knowledge. Through a variety of exercises, students experience multi-person selling and buying situations and work plan management. Role plays, presentations, and field work help students enhance their value-creation skills in communicating, relating, and selling to others. |
Marketing Channels |
| Course Description Prerequisite(s): MKT 3310 Focused on the dimensions and management of marketing channels, this course helps students understand how companies bring products and services from their point-of-origin to consumption. The originator of the products and services gains access to markets and end-users through a marketing channels approach. The course emphasizes an omni-channels approach and its differences from traditional and multi-channel strategies. The course’s main emphasis is on the initial design of such systems, ensuring a unified, end-user experience, and the on-going management of relationships between system participants. It provides students with the background knowledge and process steps for understanding, designing, and implementing high-performing omni-channel strategies. |
Sales Force Management |
| Course Description Beginning with sales force strategy for today's complex business environment, the course covers responsibilities of sales executives and field sales managers. Topics include sales force design, multi-channel strategy, sales technology, recruiting, training, and sales force motivation and evaluation. Case study, field projects, and speakers enhance the learning process. Provides an overview of the sales function, its role in a firm’s overall strategy, and modern industry priorities. The course takes students through the roles/perspectives of the Chief Sales Officer, Sales Leaders and Managers, and the salesperson’s responsibilities relative to their sales leadership team. In-depth understanding of the sales manager’s role (i.e., recruiting, selecting, training, motivating, and evaluating) help students better understand how to be effective sales professionals upon graduation. Managing students in the ProSales 1 class gives Sales Management students practical management experience and allows them to test their desire to manage and lead others. |
Key/Global Account Management |
| Course Description Offered as the capstone marketing course, the Key/Global Account Management course delves deeply into Key Account Management (KAM) and Global Account Management (GAM) with the aim of enhancing the effectiveness of sales organizations. It places a strong emphasis on customer-centric sales strategies that leverage compelling value propositions to foster deeper customer and account relationships, ultimately resulting in the optimization of key business metrics (growth, profitability, customer satisfaction). Furthermore, the course empowers students with the knowledge and skills required to navigate the process of driving organizational change within the customer’s organization. It will encompass substantive content regarding the roles and responsibilities of KAMs/GAMs, insights from guest speakers who are experienced KAM/GAM professionals or leaders, and immersive learning experiences tied to real-world business practices. |
Developing Executive Presence |
| Designed as an applied learning experience, developing executive presence follows the student’s short-term, full-time paid placement within a firm. The intern’s responsibilities are determined by the firm offering the internship; however, sales faculty work with companies to ensure that the student has sales engagement experiences. The course provides the framework for the student to document learning experiences from the internship in an e-portfolio (a useful tool for career management) and through a ProSales Talk, which is a main-stage, executive-style speaking experience delivered to both a live audience and a professional film crew. The student finishes the internship in the summer after completing the first three courses of the ProSales curriculum and completes the executive presence course in the subsequent fall. |
