We all started the same way: With an
entry-level sales job. At the time, we had no experience. We had no real idea about what we were getting into. And, apart from having ambition, confidence and good social skills, we were unprepared for the job. Our employer was playing a numbers game: They hired a number of entry-level salespeople and waited to see who survived.
The entry-level sales job today is an inside, sales development role. It is the digital equivalent of the 1980s door knocker, a job that requires prospecting from lists, leveraging social selling, executing email campaigns and working with account executives to create opportunities.
This represents the birth of the next generation of sales professionals. Some of these professionals will thrive and become the major account reps and sales leaders of the future. Many more will fail, unwilling to sustain the effort or unable to develop the skills required to perform in today’s world. For the employer, it remains a numbers game. Again, their strategy is to hire a number of entry-level sales development reps and see who survives.
The problem with this approach
This has become a very expensive proposition for the sales organization in 2019. When a “new-to-sales person” fails, the organization has to incur costs associated with salary, training and lost performance. Together, these costs can quickly exceed seven figures, and they don’t even include the soft-dollar impact of lost productivity. Few new-to-sales people are able to cross the crucible and become a professional salesperson.
Meanwhile, the demands of the “more informed buyer” have fueled the dramatic rise of sales enablement. Intense focus on product, buyer, solution and market knowledge has replaced traditional sales skill training. Sales trainers no longer have the time or budget to teach the fundamentals. The result: Sky-high failure rates for new-to-sales hires.
The issue is, sales people learn the skills and competencies of selling by selling — just like 40 years ago. They need to learn through trial and error, spending time on the phone, watching others and getting coaching from their manager. This is how sales people build their skills and knowledge while playing the game. It is “Sales Darwinism.”
Solutions in higher education
To better identify and prepare the next wave of new-to-sales people, a growing consortium of American and international universities are offering degrees in professional selling. Since 2002, The University Sales Center Alliance has led the way in providing sales education to thousands of students preparing for a career in sales.
The Institute for Professional Selling at Illinois State University College of Business is a founding member and prime example. Part of the State Farm Hall of Business at Illinois State, the institute prepares students for top entry-level sales jobs across the country. It offers a comprehensive sequence of sales classes, sales-leadership classes and extracurricular activities that prepare students for a professional sales career.
In addition to classroom and role-play exercises, students take sales internships, where they practice selling in the real word. Mike Boehm, executive director of the Sales Institute, thinks his graduates are more likely to succeed than the average, bright college student. Why? They have learned the value of hearing “no,” they understand how to “business listen” to the customer and they recognize the importance of being coached. Most importantly, they have learned the language of sales. They don’t get lost in sales training. They pick up on the industry and corporate-specific key points, which gives them a fast start.
College sales programs are comprised of self-selected, committed and ambitious future sales people. Not testing the waters, they are eager to learn the skills and competencies of professional selling. They only lack the context of whatever product/service they choose to sell and the readiness to perform. Upon graduation, they are armed with a significant competitive advantage as they aspire to join elite sales organizations.
Competitions that simulate selling
Reflective of the highly competitive world of professional selling, the National Collegiate Sales Competition is the longest running and largest university sales role-play competition in the United States. Sponsored by Gartner, this competition challenges students to conduct a series of tightly scored “sales calls” that replicate a Gartner sales call. Each competitor is graded on categories like needs identification, listening and objection handling. They are also evaluated by a select group of judges.
Last spring, at the 2019 NCSC competition at Kennesaw University, 75 schools and 150 student competitors came together to compete for the national championship. Illinois State won the overall team competition.
Andrew Grant, the 2019 NCSC Individual Champion and Illinois State graduate (class of 2019), credits the hands-on coaching of his professors, along with the collaboration and support of his teammates, for his team’s success. Just like your best sales person, Andrew identified preparation and practice as key to his win. Andrew begins his professional career in July as a sales development rep for an elite tech company.
World class programs like the Professional Sales Institute at Illinois State University prepare the next generation of top sales people to quickly accelerate their professional selling career. They also provide future employers with new-to-sales people who are prepared to immediately excel as consultative, relationship-building sales professionals.