A Global Perspective on the Current State of Sales Education in the College Curriculum

Abstract

In developing on-going customer relationships required in a global business world, twenty-first-century businesses are demanding greater numbers of well-trained, entry-level sales representatives while at the same time expecting higher levels of professionalism and skill from these salespeople. With increased focus on professional selling, we address the question: has the delivery of sales education at universities evolved in response to current demands? This research assesses the current state of sales education in domestic and international universities by surveying department chairs and sales faculty to determine what courses are being taught, what pedagogical techniques are being used, and what are the concerns facing departments in the delivery of sales education. In addition, we contrast the curriculum of schools that offer a dedicated sales program with those that have a general business or marketing program. We also focus attention on the differences and similarities of U.S. and global universities' sales offerings. Our findings provide benchmarks for schools that are developing or enhancing their sales courses to meet the demand from businesses. dawn r. deeter-schmelz (Ph.D., University of South Florida), O'Bleness Professor of Marketing, Ohio University, deeter-s@ ohio.edu.

From resentment to excitement – Australasian students’ perception towards a sales career

“…Besides, past studies are somewhat quiet as to whether new age students' perception towards a sales career differs across cultures. In addition, marketing education literature, thus far, has been relatively less responsive to the needs of both students and employers (Deeter-Schmelz and Kennedy, 2011;Anderson et al, 2005;McIntyre and Tanner, 2004).…”

Show and Sell: Teaching Sales Through Hands-on Selling

“…The growth in sales curricula (Cummins et al, 2013;Deeter-Schmelz & Kennedy, 2011;Dixon & Tanner, 2012) highlights how educators have responded to meet this need. Preparing learning activities that mirror real-world situations will help groom students for the job market.…”

“…This project can be tweaked to fit different time frames and different formats, thus contributing to a gap in the literature, with recent scholars asking for effective hybrid and online sales pedagogies to be shared (Cummins et al, 2013;Deeter-Schmelz & Kennedy, 2011). For example, an online class could use the B2B portion of this project, with students calling on prospects in their respective areas.…”

An Examination of High Schools Students’ Perceptions of Sales as an Area to Study in College, and Factors Influencing their Interest in Sales as a Career to Pursue after College

“…Professors within marketing departments help facilitate the transition through educational preparation and professional connections to sales jobs (Cummins, Peltier, Erffmeyer, & Whalen, 2013). Although a general consensus exists that students who take marketing classes are more motivated toward sales careers, more research is needed to determine the specific curricula that best reach this goal (Allen et al, 2014; Bristow, Amyx, Castleberry, & Cochran, 2011; Deeter-Schmelz & Kennedy, 2011; Gray, Peltier, & Schibrowsky, 2012, Karakaya et al, 2011).…”