Enthusiastic Alumni Support Innovative Programs in Sales at 4 HBCUs

Black Collegian, Apr 2005 by Keller, Bobbie

Before 3M and four HBCUs partnered to focus on a new field in sales and customer service, these HBCUs offered little or no educational content to support the financially lucrative careers of business' frontline professionals. Today, students of the business schools at Xavier University of New Orleans, La., Tuskegee University of Tuskegee, Ala., North Carolina A&T University of Greensboro, N.C, and Southern University of Baton Rouge, La., are attending courses in sales and customer service, actively engaging in roleplay exercises and sales simulation, and presenting complex business plans.

Xavier University's department of business, under the leadership of Dr. Joe Ricks, assistant professor of sales and marketing, and associate chair of the department, partnered with 3M to help create a new strategic direction in business education. The relationship helped Dr. Ricks and the Xavier academic team design and offer courses in "Personal Selling," "Customer Relations Management," and "Multi-Variable Data Analysis." The courses in sales and customer service are now requirements of a new minor in Sales at Xavier.

Dr. Jakki Williams, associate professor of marketing, North Carolina A&T State University, and her colleagues have designed a customer relationship marketing and management course offering within the business major for students interested in focusing on a career in sales or CRM. Southern University, under the direction of Dr. George Kirk, associate professor of marketing in the College of Business, has instituted a concentration in Sales, and Tuskegee University, under Dr. Alecia Jackson, interim dean of the college of business, has in place a concentration in sales. At each of the four universities, students may earn a business degree with an emphasis in sales, electing either a major, minor or concentration. As part of the degree requirements, most students experience comprehensive internships at some of the nation's top companies. Successful students talk about their enthusiasm for this newfound career interest and customer focused education.

Company recruiters increasingly are seeking not only top students, but also those who are performance-ready to shorten the time that new-hires spend in training. To help students build competencies that will attract future employers and foster their success in rewarding positions, four HBCUs now offer innovative program focusing on sales and customer service. Students at Xavier, North Carolina A & T, Southern University (Baton Rouge), and Tuskegee may take courses especially designed for concentrations and certificate programs in sales and customer relationship marketing and management. Students support their classroom work with internships at 3M and other companies, which give them practical experience, a taste of what sales positions are really like and, if the relationships fit, job offers. Enthusiastic alumni support these innovative programs.

Although LaTesha Eubanks initially wanted a marketing position after her 2000 graduation from Southern University Baton Rouge, La., she found her best offers in sales. "I found I like sales," says Eubanks, who now helps municipalities in northern Louisiana save money on energy conservation measures, as an account representative for Johnson Controls, Inc. "Once you understand your product, it's easier to help customers share your passion for it."

Like Eubanks, many students with majors in marketing - and even in other fields - are finding their best opportunities in sales positions, as companies become more aware of customer satisfaction and loyalty, and increasingly seek top talent for frontline positions. According to Dr. Ricks of Xavier University, about 70 percent of known placements of Xavier's sales and marketing students are in business-to-business sales with companies such as 3M, Pfizer, Northwestern Mutual and Clear Channel Communications.

"In years past, higher end students often had a marketing career goal but eventually took a sales job," says Dr. Ricks. "Now these students are looking to develop sales skills and go right into the field."

Debunking the myths

Often students' reluctance to consider sales as a career stems from a misperception of what business-to-business selling is all about. "Sales is not just talking someone into something," says Dr. George Kirk, associate professor of marketing, Southern University. "It's solving problems, finding out what customers' needs are and describing how my product can make your life easier. When a 3M representative, for instance, calls on customers and tells them how they can sell more product and make more money, they're going to be happy to see them."

Recent graduates who are now part of sales teams say that among the most rewarding features of their positions is the opportunity to run their own businesses, with the accompanying flexibility and unlimited earning potential, but without the full financial responsibility. Typically company sales representatives handle accounts within their own territories, developing strong relationships with their customers. If they perform well, and meet or exceed their goals, they see the results in their paychecks.