www.imarkgroup.com
VOLUME 7 • NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2016
PLUS
Preparing the Sales
Execs of Tomorrow
Advances In Wiring Devices
Co-op Marketing Yields
Results with Proper Planning
Bring Back Old-School Service
FEATURE
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
www.imarkgroup.com
By Christian Horn
THE SALES EDUCATION FOUNDATION:
A SOLUTION TO THE SALES
TALENT SHORTAGE
If sales are the lifeblood of business, particularly within the wholesale distribution
channel, salespeople are at its heart. Consider that a survey of business-to-business
(B2B) buying decision-makers by the Chally Group, an Ohio sales performance
and research consultancy, found that 39 percent of buyers select a vendor based
on the skills of the sales professional more than any other factor, including price,
quality or service features.
Obviously, recruiting and retaining capable talent
who can influence sales so convincingly is critical to
long-term business success. But, contrasting with the
ongoing importance of the salesperson’s role, are two
troubling undercurrents in the marketplace for many
companies in a wide variety of business categories.
unfilled sales positions in some areas of the country.
This dilemma leads companies to either pluck
experienced talent from competitors, which can be
expensive, or hire inexperienced salespeople, give
them product training, perhaps a mentor, send them
into the marketplace and, like throwing spaghetti
First, there is an alarming annual turnover rate
against a wall, see who sticks. Many don’t, which is
among salespeople—as high as 25 percent or
a contributing driver to the high turnover rate and
more—in some industries, according to a recent
also a costly way to do business.
survey conducted by the DePaul University College
of Business in Chicago. This means companies that
experience that level, or near that level, of turnover
are essentially replacing their entire salesforce every
four or six years. That’s an expensive proposition,
Contemplating these widening numbers and experience gap, the question naturally arises: is a salesperson
“born”—a fusion of nature and nurture resulting in an
instinctive talent for selling—or can sales be taught?
which further pummels the bottom line in lost sales
Sally Stevens, then a principal with her husband
revenue, recruitment and on-boarding costs of
Howard at the aforementioned Chally Group,
continual replacement sales hires.
unexpectedly confronted that question in 2007.
Second, there is a growing shortage of qualified sales
“A professor from Ohio University called one day out
personnel, both experienced and entry level, due to
of the blue,” Stevens recollected. “He said ‘You guys
the retirement of older Baby Boomer salespeople.
have been so involved in sales and you’ve written
The experienced Gen X and Millennial sales talent
a bunch of books. I’d really like to tap into some of
replacing them is smaller in number, resulting in
your expertise for our professional sales training
continued on page 64
62
IMARK NOW SUMMER 2016
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sally Stevens,
executive director,
SEF
Marty Holmes,
associate director,
SEF
www.imarkgroup.com
63
FEATURE
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sales Education - continued from page 62
curriculum and get you exposed to
sales as taught at the university level.’
And I thought: What? How do you
teach sales?”
organization’s day-to-day operations.
One of the first initiatives the organization launched was the SEF Annual
magazine. “It gave credibility and
The answer to that question ultimately
legitimacy to university professors
led Sally and Howard Stevens, who
and practitioners who wanted to start
is a nationally recognized sales per-
sales programs at their school,” Sally
formance consultant, to establish the
Steven explained. “So what usually
Sales Education Foundation (SEF), a
would take a five- to eight- year pro-
nonprofit that works with colleges and
cess is pretty much down to a couple
universities interested in developing
of years now.”
new sales education programs or
growing existing sales curricula.
Beginning with Baylor University in
Texas in 1985, over the past three
Getting the ball rolling
Early on, Chally Group research
revealed that about half of students
nationwide graduating with a bachelor’s degree were being recruited
into positions involving some form of
sales. The majority of these new hires,
who had never been exposed to sales
before, were failing within the first year.
“The companies were complaining
about those disappointing and costly
results to their local universities and
they started to get the ball rolling,”
“In 2007, there were only a handful of
decades, colleges and universities
universities that offered sales educa-
have increasingly been getting into
tion,” said Sally Stevens, now executive
the business of training and graduating
director of the SEF. “The SEF has been
young sales professionals. There are
very successful in helping professors
currently 109 U.S. university programs
and universities wanting to start a
and 15 in Europe and Japan recognized
sales program, because they faced this
by the SEF, which publishes detailed
huge mountain of bureaucracy within
information and lists university con-
nity to provide input into curriculum,
their institutions.”
tacts for each program in its Annual
participated as guest lecturers and
magazine along with articles about
offered internships, which quickly
sales education and sales trends.
became the model for creating higher
“There was no external help or
communications with the existing
university sales programs about who
The SEF has played an important
are the people already doing this,
advisory role in the formation of many
how is it working and who could
of these programs as a resource for
recommendations. *
it be helpful to talk to,” added Marty
Holmes explained. “The companies
were saying, ‘We’d be willing to put
our money where our mouth is to help
students be better prepared to be my
future sales employees.’”
Corporate sponsors, with the opportu-
education sales programs.
“It makes it easier for academics to start
the conversation with their colleagues on
Holmes, SEF associate director, who
works closely with Sally Stevens on the
64
IMARK NOW SUMMER 2016
*Note: The original article has been modified to reflect
differences in the interpretation of the interviews.
FEATURE
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
sales education programs when they
compared to 43.5 percent of all
things that often aren’t even covered
have corporate and business
college graduates.
in employer sales training.”
sponsors to financially support them
by underwriting most of the costs,”
Sally Stevens noted. “Deans are a lot
more amenable to something they
don’t have to fund and for which the
• S tudents prepared with sales edu-
With technology becoming an ever
cation ‘ramp up’ 50 percent faster
greater factor in sales and customer
compared to non-sales graduates.
service, the students also learn to be
• C ollege-trained sales employees
institution gets a lot of high-profile
have 35 percent lower turnover rates
recognition.”
and remain with an employer 40
“The benefit to sponsors is they get to
percent longer.
interact with and get the first shot at a
• The anticipated savings for compa-
pool of well-trained sales graduates,”
nies per-hire is $180,000 within the
Holmes said. “Of course the students
first two years of employment.
are under no compunction to work
for them, but sponsors get abundant
opportunities to sell their company
and its sales culture to potential
employees.”
What’s more, these programs have
been generally successful for all concerned—the educational institutions,
the students and the sponsoring companies. Writing in the Harvard Business
Review, professors in DePaul University’s sales education program related
that, when developing the program,
they projected 90 students a year as
their break-even point. The program
currently enrolls 700 each semester.
Typically taking entry-level positions
adept at leveraging the myriad of digital sales tools and sales environments
now becoming increasingly prevalent
in the marketplace.
“The students learn how to use
LinkedIn and other social media for
prospecting and CRM platforms like
SalesForce,” Sally Stevens explained.
“One of the key issues is that not every-
“They’re mastering digital sales tools
one can sell,” Sally Stevens pointed out.
that some companies may not yet be
“But for those who have an interest,
well versed in to begin with. These
there is a tremendous opportunity to
kids come out knowing how to twirl
learn and hone skills by self-selecting
an Excel spreadsheet around eight
into a university’s sales program.”
ways from Sunday and things like that,
“Many of the programs have sales
which a lot of traditional salespeople
labs where students practice their
presentation skills, get feedback, see
themselves on video and really desensitize themselves from the anxiety of
making sales presentations,” Holmes
said. “They get personal coaching and
make sales calls with business sponsors’ employees role-playing as buyers.”
Mastering new sales technologies
will scratch their heads over.”
If IMARK members have an interest
in exploring these university programs
in greater detail, Sally Stevens advises
taking a look at SEF’s 2016 Annual
magazine on the organization’s website,
www.salesfoundation.org, to identify
local programs or go to some that focus
specifically on distribution. Some graduates are willing to relocate. Or members
in inside and outside sales, distribu-
“Additionally, they’re getting really
tion, sales engineering, consultative
good information about how business
sales and account management, the
works so when they do learn the
sales graduates’ employment stats are
features, benefits and industry trends
impressive as well. Research conducted
of a future employer’s business they
by the Chally Group and job search
can fit them into a larger business and
In the end, university sales education
giant CareerBuilder reveal that:
customer context,” Sally Stevens said.
programs have proven that, in fact,
“They learn to show how much cus-
sales can be taught, and that is an
tomer value is created and the benefits
important development and opportu-
an average of 92 percent of graduates
in dollars and cents that value is going
nity for sales organizations nationwide.
received job offers prior to graduation
to bring to the customer. Those are
• Sales education programs reported
may want to consider working with a
local institution of higher education
to bring a sales training curriculum
within an existing business major.
*Note: The original article has been modified to reflect changes in the interpretation of the interviews.
www.imarkgroup.com
67