UAB Launches Professional Sales Excellence Undergraduate Program, Advisory Board

With a new program, the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Business is preparing the next generation of sales people, a diverse group of highly trained professionals. The UAB Professional Sales Excellence Program in the Department of Marketing and Industrial Distribution is designed to give students an advantage as they apply for professional sales and customer service jobs, no matter their major.

March 17, 2008

• Program trains next generation of sales professionals

• Applicants must complete sales certificate programs

• Program builds on UAB's strengths
 

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - With a new program, the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Business is preparing the next generation of sales people, a diverse group of highly trained professionals. The UAB Professional Sales Excellence Program in the Department of Marketing and Industrial Distribution is designed to give students an advantage as they apply for professional sales and customer service jobs, no matter their major. 

Employers nationwide have demonstrated strong preference for job applicants who have completed sales programs such as this one, which is recruiting its first class of 15 students for Fall 2008. Karen N. Kennedy, Ph.D., UAB associate professor in marketing and an internationally recognized sales scholar, is program administrator.

"People think about a career in sales as joining an ‘old boys network,'" Kennedy said. "But a successful sales career requires specific tools. This program teaches students professional selling principles, sales management, negotiation, sales technology and business communications through classroom experiences and out-of-class interactions with sales professionals in a variety of settings."

Students from all disciplines are invited to apply for admission to this sales program and for scholarship support. Students who complete the program earn upon graduation a Professional Sales Certificate in addition to their baccalaureate degree.

The program also seeks corporate advisers to form an Executive Board to help plan strategy and review progress. "Corporate sponsors will help shape the program as well as work with students in job shadowing and mentoring experiences even before a traditional job interview," Kennedy said.

Prospective students and corporate advisers should contact Karen N. Kennedy, Ph.D., at  knk@uab.edu; Tom DeCarlo,  Ph.D., at tdecarlo@uab.edu; Bob Robicheaux, Ph.D., at bobr@uab.edu; or Kristen Craig at kcraig@uab.edu.