NDSU’s Center for Professional Selling and Sales Technology is among the top sales programs on a new list prepared by the Sales Education Foundation.
“This is a fantastic honor,” Mike Krush, director of the Center for Professional Selling and Sales Technology, said of being on the 2014 list. “It really is a testament to the quality of our sales students, the supportive faculty and staff at NDSU’s College of Business, and the absolutely amazing advisory council and corporate partners supporting the center.”
According to Krush, NDSU’s Center for Professional Selling and Sales Technology is the only academic center dedicated to developing the sales skills of North Dakota students within the 11 campuses of the North Dakota University System. To enhance opportunities for students, the center offers a certificate in professional selling that is available to all NDSU undergraduates.
It’s a program that is important for the majority of undergraduate students. Krush noted that sales skills are highly valued in the marketplace. Approximately 50 percent of all graduates with a business degree will enter the workforce in a sales-oriented role. Students with a sales education ramp up 50 percent faster and turnover 30 percent less than their non-sales educated peers.
The Center for Professional Selling and Sales Technology is an associate member in the University Sales Center Alliance, a consortium of university sales centers dedicated to advancing the sales profession via teaching, research and outreach. The center is the only member within North and South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. Other notable universities with associate member status include the University of Alabama, Michigan State University and Virginia Tech.
“We are working very diligently to provide a high-quality, nationally recognized sales program,” Krush said. “From our early initiatives, it appears these efforts are resonating with corporate partners and our students. “
Sally Stevens, executive director of the Sales Education Foundation, said companies have an increased focus on partnering with university sales programs. “With a proven track record for producing top sales talent, the future of university sales education is brighter than ever,” she said.
For information on partnerships with NDSU’s Center for Professional Selling and Sales Technology, contact Krush, at 701-231-7844 or michael.krush@ndsu.edu or visit www.ndsu.edu/mgmt_mrkt/sales. To learn more about the Sales Education Foundation, visit www.salesfoundation.org.
NDSU is recognized as one of the nation's top 108 public and private universities by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.