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Does Your Sales Curriculum Need a Refresh? Insights on How to Align Sales Curriculum with the Modern Sales Environment

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Title: Does Your Sales Curriculum Need a Refresh? Insights on How to Align Sales Curriculum with the Modern Sales Environment
Language: English
Authors: Lisa L. Scribner (ORCID 0000-0002-0890-2549), Duleep Delpechitre (ORCID 0000-0002-5419-3317), Matthew M. Lastner (ORCID 0000-0002-2801-7715)
Source: Journal of Marketing Education. 2025 47(3):258-286.
Availability: SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 29
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: Higher Education
Postsecondary Education
Descriptors: Sales Occupations, Business Education, Curriculum Development, Alignment (Education), Business Schools, Salesmanship, College Graduates, Business Skills, Teamwork, Experiential Learning
DOI: 10.1177/02734753241284872
ISSN: 0273-4753
1552-6550
Abstract: Sales education has experienced significant growth recently, both in the number of schools offering sales programs and in the amount of pedagogical attention dedicated to advancing the field. However, one area that has not been given adequate attention is the sales curriculum. To date, few scholarly articles have examined sales curricula from a broad perspective. More concerningly, the field of sales has changed significantly due to recent technological, generational, and pandemic-related shifts in the market. Accordingly, in the present article, we examine the current state of sales curricula by reviewing the existing curricula of the 70 member schools of the University Sales Center Alliance (USCA) in the United States. Furthermore, we conduct focus groups with former sales students now working in sales, as well as hiring personnel affiliated with USCA schools, to address how sales curricula should be evolved to reflect the modern sales role. In addition, we triangulate and validate these insights with data gathered from sales academics. Our findings suggest sales educators should rethink the composition of the standard sales curriculum.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2025
Accession Number: EJ1488865
Database: ERIC
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  Value: <anid>AN0189024052;mke01dec.25;2025Nov05.01:25;v2.2.500</anid> <title id="AN0189024052-1">Does Your Sales Curriculum Need a Refresh? Insights on How to Align Sales Curriculum With the Modern Sales Environment </title> <p>Sales education has experienced significant growth recently, both in the number of schools offering sales programs and in the amount of pedagogical attention dedicated to advancing the field. However, one area that has not been given adequate attention is the sales curriculum. To date, few scholarly articles have examined sales curricula from a broad perspective. More concerningly, the field of sales has changed significantly due to recent technological, generational, and pandemic-related shifts in the market. Accordingly, in the present article, we examine the current state of sales curricula by reviewing the existing curricula of the 70 member schools of the University Sales Center Alliance (USCA) in the United States. Furthermore, we conduct focus groups with former sales students now working in sales, as well as hiring personnel affiliated with USCA schools, to address how sales curricula should be evolved to reflect the modern sales role. In addition, we triangulate and validate these insights with data gathered from sales academics. Our findings suggest sales educators should rethink the composition of the standard sales curriculum.</p> <p>Keywords: sales education; sales curriculum; sales curriculum development process; focus group</p> <p>In late 2022, I was having a "catch-up" call with a former student. This wasn't any ordinary student; he was <emph>that</emph> student. The one who earned top grades in every class. The one who was involved in every sales-focused extra-curricular. And he had bona-fides. He won the National Collegiate Sales Competition in his senior year. He landed a job with a top tech firm. He was the envy of his classmates. And yet, here he was on this call, telling me about how much he struggled during his first year on the job. How he felt completely unprepared for the work required of him as a business development representative. How it wasn't until midway through his second year with the company, when he was promoted into a field position, that he felt like he was applying what he had learned in college. I was jolted. Two thoughts struck me immediately. One, I had failed this student; and two, if this student, my top student, the one I was certain was prepared for the job, was struggling, how many of my former students were in the same boat?</p> <p>Anonymous Author</p> <p>Many in academia are drawn to the profession because of the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of students. One of the most direct ways this is achieved is through the knowledge we impart as educators. In recent years, the field of sales education has experienced tremendous growth ([<reflink idref="bib22" id="ref1">22</reflink>]; [<reflink idref="bib74" id="ref2">74</reflink>]), and sales educators have correspondingly devoted greater attention to how we can deliver quality education as times change and programs expand ([<reflink idref="bib67" id="ref3">67</reflink>]). However, despite significant advancements in this area, ever-changing economic, technological, and generational dynamics have created lags between the knowledge, skills, and abilities demanded by the market and what educational institutions are currently producing. In short, as the vignette above suggests, a gap has formed between what sales educators <emph>are</emph> teaching and what they <emph>should</emph> be teaching.</p> <p>To date, relatively scant research has examined sales curricula from a macro perspective. Instead, much of the recent research published in sales pedagogy has focused on <emph>how</emph> we teach instead of <emph>what</emph> we teach. For instance, research has supported incorporating greater experiential learning opportunities such as role-plays and simulations ([<reflink idref="bib39" id="ref4">39</reflink>]; [<reflink idref="bib73" id="ref5">73</reflink>]), utilizing new technologies in the classroom ([<reflink idref="bib35" id="ref6">35</reflink>]), and incorporating "real-world" examples into class readings and discussions ([<reflink idref="bib74" id="ref7">74</reflink>]) as impactful approaches to teaching sales concepts. While these insights, and the numerous others generated over the years examining <emph>how</emph> we teach, are vital, the usefulness of these tactics and techniques is attenuated if used to teach dated or irrelevant material.</p> <p>In rare cases where the "what" is the focus of the research, the emphasis is often on teaching a single concept or stand-alone course. For example, [<reflink idref="bib26" id="ref8">26</reflink>] discuss the importance of incorporating cultural intelligence into the teaching of adaptive selling concepts, and [<reflink idref="bib40" id="ref9">40</reflink>] advocates for the incorporation of sales force automation (SFA) technology into sales curriculum. In terms of stand-alone courses, [<reflink idref="bib54" id="ref10">54</reflink>] provide helpful guidance on how to construct an advanced course in professional selling, and [<reflink idref="bib33" id="ref11">33</reflink>] details how "curriculum mapping" can be used to develop and refine both introductory and advanced selling courses. However, explorations of sales curricula remain relatively rare.</p> <p>In accordance with the [<reflink idref="bib59" id="ref12">59</reflink>] dictionary definition of "curriculum," we define university sales curricula as the general set of sales courses that constitute an area of specialization within institutions of higher learning. As shown in Table 1, to date, we count just 11 articles that have been published with even a partial focus on sales curriculum, of which only four attempted to provide a comprehensive overview. More concerningly, only a handful of these 11 articles were published in the last two decades, with the most recent published in 2020 before the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the sales profession could be fully understood. Substantial technological and economic changes have shaped the field of sales over this time and, in theory, should have also shaped what we teach our sales students. The major generational shift afoot in the workforce also needs to be accounted for. Generation Z has surpassed Baby Boomers in the workforce and is the only generation showing growth in the labor market ([<reflink idref="bib71" id="ref13">71</reflink>]). Generation Z's preference for things such as remote work and digital communication ([<reflink idref="bib71" id="ref14">71</reflink>]), coupled with stronger considerations of ethical concerns, societal impact, and mental health awareness ([<reflink idref="bib49" id="ref15">49</reflink>]), is beginning to influence how companies operate. Therefore, the purpose of the present research is threefold: to gain a clearer understanding of the current state of sales curricula, to glean insights on how sales curricula should be evolved moving forward, and finally, to prescribe a process that universities can employ to review and update their individual sales curriculum.</p> <p>Table 1. Notable Research Involving Sales Curricula.</p> <p>Graph</p> <p> <ephtml> <table><colgroup><col align="left" /><col align="char" char="." /><col align="char" char="." /><col align="char" char="." /><col align="char" char="." /></colgroup><thead><tr><th align="center">Publication</th><th align="center">Method</th><th align="center">Respondents</th><th align="center">Breadth of study</th><th align="center">Key findings for sales curricula</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bibr41">Johnson (1982)</xref></td><td>Conceptual</td><td>N/A</td><td>Two courses—sales and sales management</td><td>Instructors should work with sales practitioners to enrich their courses and sales programs.</td></tr><tr><td><xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bibr12">Bowers & Summey (1983)</xref></td><td>Conceptual</td><td>N/A</td><td>Single course</td><td>Recommendations to develop personal sales laboratory to complement sales courses.</td></tr><tr><td><xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bibr45">Kellerman & Hekmat (1989)</xref></td><td>Survey</td><td>Business school leaders</td><td>Sales curriculum (only sales and sales management at time)</td><td>Growing list of schools offering one or more sales courses. Sales management most common sales course. Personal selling course increasingly required for marketing major.</td></tr><tr><td><xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bibr42">Johnson (1990)</xref></td><td>Survey</td><td>Sales managers</td><td>Business courses</td><td>Most useful marketing courses are personal selling, consumer behavior, and sales management. Most useful non-marketing courses are speech, English composition, and psychology.</td></tr><tr><td><xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bibr55">Luthy (2000)</xref></td><td>Survey</td><td>Senior sales executives</td><td>Sales and business courses</td><td>Personal selling should emphasize communication, critical thinking, and knowledge area development. Sales students should take public speaking, business writing, and psychology.</td></tr><tr><td><xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bibr53">Leisen et al. (2004)</xref></td><td>Survey; focus groups</td><td>Business practitioners</td><td>Marketing curriculum</td><td>Marketing curriculum review indicated that greater emphasis should be placed on sales.</td></tr><tr><td><xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bibr25">Deeter-Schmelz & Kennedy (2011)</xref></td><td>Survey and program review</td><td>Marketing and sales faculty</td><td>Sales program and curriculum</td><td>Found significant, recent growth in sales programs. Personal selling, sales management, advanced sales, negotiation, and CRM are the most common courses.</td></tr><tr><td><xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bibr64">Newberry & Collins (2015)</xref></td><td>Focus groups</td><td>Salespeople</td><td>Sales program content</td><td>Critical topics for curricular inclusion are basic sales process, communication principles, and relationship selling.</td></tr><tr><td><xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bibr22">Cummins et al. (2020)</xref></td><td>Literature review</td><td>N/A</td><td>Sales program (all aspects)</td><td>Research gaps exist around assessing the entire sales curriculum, as well as effectively managing the diverse array of course options being developed.</td></tr><tr><td><xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bibr33">Hammond (2020)</xref></td><td>Focus groups; interviews</td><td>Current students and business professionals</td><td>Two courses—intro. to sales and advanced sales</td><td>Introduces method to engage third parties to inform curriculum. Key capabilities to be taught in core sales courses are selling skills, different types of selling, and teaming.</td></tr><tr><td><xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bibr74">Spiller et al. (2020)</xref></td><td>Survey; program review</td><td>Marketing and Sales Faculty</td><td>Sales program and curriculum</td><td>Professional selling, advanced selling, and sales management remain most common courses, followed by consumer behavior, negotiation, B2B management, and sales analytics.</td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p>We employ a multi-method approach to accomplish the goals set forth in this research. First, we synthesize and review the sales curricula of all current USCA (n.d.) members. This task was most recently undertaken by [<reflink idref="bib74" id="ref16">74</reflink>] and included an analysis of the curricula of 49 members (of 52 total) at the time. Since then, USCA membership has grown to 75 institutions (42% growth in less than 4 years), compelling this review. Second, to understand which courses are regarded as most essential for inclusion in the sales curricula, we conduct focus groups with two primary sets of respondents: former students from USCA-affiliated sales programs who are now working in the sales profession and sales industry experts from organizations that formally partner with (and hire students from) USCA-affiliated sales programs. We believe these two sets of respondents provide unique insights not captured in previous research on sales curricula. Prior studies have focused on the viewpoints of academics, salespeople, and/or executives. While these respondents offer valuable ideas, they only possess intimate knowledge of one side of the education-practitioner divide. [<reflink idref="bib74" id="ref17">74</reflink>], in providing the only substantial global curriculum review of the past decade, acknowledged that a limitation of their approach was that it did not solicit opinions outside of academia. Our research is the first to utilize former students and sales industry experts from partnering companies who understand both what is taught in the classroom and what is needed to succeed in a sales position. This multifaceted approach provides a rich understanding of how educators should shape sales curricula moving forward.</p> <p>The remainder of this paper is laid out as follows. First, we review the salient literature addressing sales curricula developments through the decades, noting fundamental changes in the types of courses developed and the composition of the core courses comprising the sales curriculum along the way. Next, we examine the sales curricula of USCA member institutions to understand the current collection of courses offered by leading sales programs. We then present the methods and findings of our qualitative research involving former sales students and current hiring managers. Here, the emphasis is on understanding the concepts currently taught that are regarded as necessary for success in modern sales roles, as well as concepts that need to be eliminated, updated, or added to bring university sales curricula in line with industry practice. Next, considering our findings and previous literature on the curriculum review process, we construct a model for sales curriculum review that schools may consider applying to their own sales programs. Finally, we discuss the implications of our research, acknowledge limitations, and consider how future research can build upon our findings.</p> <hd id="AN0189024052-2">Literature Review</hd> <p>Courses in salesmanship, sales management, and other sales-related topics (e.g., purchasing and retailing) have been offered by universities as far back as the early 1900s ([<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref18">17</reflink>]; [<reflink idref="bib45" id="ref19">45</reflink>]; [<reflink idref="bib56" id="ref20">56</reflink>]). However, progress toward widely adopting sales courses on college campuses was stunted, and sales courses did not become a staple of the global university marketing curricula for many decades. Notable schools, including Harvard University, Ohio State University, and the University of Michigan, offered courses in salesmanship prior to 1920 before removing or replacing those courses ([<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref21">17</reflink>]). Several factors contributed to this shift. First, the Great Depression of 1929 decimated the economy and caused businesses to rethink how costs were allocated, including the deployment of salespeople ([<reflink idref="bib37" id="ref22">37</reflink>]). Then, disputes arose over the teaching of "descriptive" and "vocational" style courses at the collegiate level, causing more schools to drop sales courses. This was followed in the 1960s and 1970s by ongoing debates among prominent marketing educators over the appropriateness of sales education within the marketing curricula ([<reflink idref="bib45" id="ref23">45</reflink>]). Finally, by the end of the 1970s, though many schools were still slow to get on board, an increasing number of universities offered at least one sales course ([<reflink idref="bib41" id="ref24">41</reflink>]), marking the beginning point from which sales courses became a mainstay in most collegiate marketing curricula (see Table 1 for a listing of notable publications related to sales curricula).</p> <p>Through the 1980s, sales concepts were predominantly taught in one of two courses: Sales (alternatively referred to as Personal or Professional Selling) and Sales Management (though many institutions at this time blended these courses into one, usually under the sales management title) ([<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref25">12</reflink>]). The first broad attempt to assess sales curricula appears to have been undertaken by [<reflink idref="bib41" id="ref26">41</reflink>], who examined the extent to which business schools offered sales and sales management courses during the 1979–1980 academic year ([<reflink idref="bib45" id="ref27">45</reflink>]). His findings indicated that sales management was a more common course offering than sales at the time. A year later, [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref28">12</reflink>] published an article on developing a curriculum for personal sales training in academic settings. They laid out a framework for developing a personal selling laboratory and accompanying curriculum to disentangle personal selling from sales management and better prepare students for entry-level sales roles. [<reflink idref="bib45" id="ref29">45</reflink>] conducted a follow-up to [<reflink idref="bib41" id="ref30">41</reflink>] study near the end of the decade and found that the number of schools offering sales courses was growing. However, these courses were more commonly offered in Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business's (AACSB)-accredited schools, and the blended sales/sales management course was increasing in popularity during this time, particularly within non-accredited programs.</p> <p>For nearly two decades spanning the 1990s and 2000s, research related to sales curricula was rare and mostly focused on identifying which of the traditional marketing courses were regarded as most useful for students entering the sales profession. [<reflink idref="bib42" id="ref31">42</reflink>] determined that in addition to sales and sales management, sales managers believed coursework in consumer behavior, speech, and psychology were most valuable to students entering the sales profession. [<reflink idref="bib55" id="ref32">55</reflink>] surveyed senior sales executives to determine the most important concepts to integrate into a re-designed personal selling course and found that listening skills, relational selling, and service were among the most important topics. In addition, basic marketing and personal selling were rated as the two most important courses for a career in industrial selling. Finally, [<reflink idref="bib53" id="ref33">53</reflink>] reviewed the traditional marketing curriculum with business executives and found that employers were desirous of a greater emphasis on sales education.</p> <p>However, the first broad review of the state of university sales curricula since the work of [<reflink idref="bib45" id="ref34">45</reflink>] did not occur until [<reflink idref="bib25" id="ref35">25</reflink>] reported on the state of sales education in the college curriculum. It is clear from the findings that, while few investigations into sales curricula were being conducted during the intervening time, universities had been rapidly expanding their sales programs and course offerings. By this point, 10 schools had devised entire majors focused on sales, and 37 others were offering a program (e.g., minor, track, concentration) in sales. New sales courses were being developed as well. For schools with a sales major or program, in addition to the well-established sales and sales management courses, courses in advanced sales, negotiation, and customer relationship management (CRM) were increasingly common. Some programs offered an even broader selection, including purchasing, key account management (KAM), sales forecasting, and sales planning and analysis. Schools without sales programs were also expanding sales course offerings, with the sales/sales management blended course still common at these schools, along with stand-alone courses such as sales, sales management, negotiation, and CRM.</p> <p>Although more sales education research has occurred since the update from [<reflink idref="bib25" id="ref36">25</reflink>], very little of this research has been focused on sales curriculum. [<reflink idref="bib74" id="ref37">74</reflink>] provide the most recent contribution in this area, including an overview of sales program structure, classroom teaching innovations, and curricular advancements through 2019. The findings related to curricular matters show trends like those observed by [<reflink idref="bib25" id="ref38">25</reflink>], with an increasing number of sales programs emerging and a general increase in sales course adoption, including courses in negotiation, B2B management, and sales analytics, as observed previously. Interestingly, however, [<reflink idref="bib74" id="ref39">74</reflink>] also asked educators their opinions on which courses needed to be taught in the sales curriculum (the educators sampled represented a mixture of schools with majors, minors, certificates, and concentrations in sales, with the majority requiring four to six sales-specific courses to obtain degree recognition). Here, there seems to be some discrepancy between what schools <emph>are</emph> teaching and what educators feel they <emph>should be</emph> teaching. To wit, the most offered sales courses were Professional Selling, Advanced Selling, and Sales Management, in that order and well above any of the other sales courses categorized. However, when scholars were asked their opinions of the most important courses, Professional Selling (97.5%), Advanced Sales (90.1%), and Sales Analytics (65.4%) were the first three cited, with Sales Management fourth (63.0%) and Negotiation a close fifth (61.7%). These findings show a trend that Advanced Sales may be supplanting Sales Management as the second most important sales course within a program and that newer sales course offerings (e.g., Advanced Sales, Analytics, Negotiation) are being regarded as equally, if not more, important than Sales Management, even if these courses have not yet gained widespread adoption.</p> <p>These recent findings indicate that the composition of the sales curriculum may be slowly evolving. While it is not surprising that the number of sales courses being offered is growing, a more recent revelation is the mix of classes that are perceived as most critical for students to experience. Furthermore, it is our belief that the composition of courses comprising the core sales curriculum will need to continue evolving briskly due to business environment disruptions that must be reflected in the classroom. Chief among these disruptions is the COVID-19 pandemic. Although COVID-19 was acknowledged as a shaping-force in the special issue "Sales Education and Training 2.0" of the <emph>Journal of Marketing Education</emph> in 2020, much of the data collected for that issue had been gathered before the fallout of the pandemic could be fully understood or accounted for. There is no doubt that the way customers buy and companies sell goods has changed significantly in the wake of the pandemic. Articles with titles such as "COVID-19 Has Changed B2B Sales Forever," "How the Pandemic Changed Marketing Channels," and "COVID-19 Has Brought Sweeping Changes to the Sales Profession and It's All Good" have all detailed how buyers and sellers are functioning differently after the pandemic. Some of the critical changes identified in the literature that sales educators will need to account for include an increasing importance of cross-channel communication and integration ([<reflink idref="bib30" id="ref40">30</reflink>]), more formal and complex buying centers ([<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref41">10</reflink>]), a greater onus on how sales teams leverage technology and data to inform strategy ([<reflink idref="bib30" id="ref42">30</reflink>]), management of evolving salesforce needs in terms of training of new skills ([<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref43">36</reflink>]), and support of the mental and physical well-being of salespeople who are more disconnected from peers and customers than ever before ([<reflink idref="bib18" id="ref44">18</reflink>]; [<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref45">36</reflink>]).</p> <p>Most significantly, the Covid-19 pandemic has shifted the way buyers and sellers communicate. According to a report by McKinsey & Company, more than three-quarters of buyers and sellers now prefer digital self-serve and remote human engagement over face-to-face interactions, and only about a fifth of buyers would prefer to be sold to in-person ([<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref46">5</reflink>]). Suppliers have recognized this preference, and digital formats of communication between buyers and sellers now dominate various industries ([<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref47">7</reflink>]; [<reflink idref="bib61" id="ref48">61</reflink>]). A pressing issue for salespeople is to be able to communicate using an ever-expanding variety of communication formats (e.g., face-to-face, videoconference, phone, email, text, social media, etc.) and to decipher the appropriateness of each format for a given situation. For instance, [<reflink idref="bib57" id="ref49">57</reflink>] found that synchronous videoconference, phone, or face-to-face communication improved outcomes following a salesperson transgression compared to asynchronous attempts (email or text). With recent research confirming that digital selling readiness correlates with salesperson effectiveness ([<reflink idref="bib63" id="ref50">63</reflink>]), it is clear that training college sales students to communicate effectively across various platforms is imperative.</p> <p>For university sales programs, it is important to sustain the recent momentum that has been built in formulating successful recruiting and placement efforts with sales organizations. Research has established a positive effect of participation in university sales education on subsequent salesperson performance ([<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref51">8</reflink>]), and studies comparing sales reps with prior experience against those only possessing a formal sales education show that those only having sales education training show greater, sustained performance growth ([<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref52">9</reflink>]). To capitalize on these results, sales programs are increasingly seeking opportunities to formalize recruiting relationships with sales organizations ([<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref53">2</reflink>]; [<reflink idref="bib68" id="ref54">68</reflink>]), and researchers have considered ways to improve these relationships to achieve greater success ([<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref55">1</reflink>]). Recent results have shown an increase in placement rates of students hailing from sales programs, with some figures placing this number above 90% ([<reflink idref="bib34" id="ref56">34</reflink>]; [<reflink idref="bib70" id="ref57">70</reflink>]). To maintain this momentum, it is important that university sales curricula keep pace with the changing dynamics of the current sales environment.</p> <p>An important question for sales education is whether the changes observed in the industry, both pre- and post-pandemic, have been appropriately reflected in the classroom. To address this question, we examine the current state of university sales curricula and conduct focus groups to glean insights on what sales educators should be teaching in the modern, post-pandemic state. We then propose a review process that can be implemented by individual institutions seeking to modernize their sales curricula. In the following sections, we introduce our methods of assessing what sales curricula looks like at the present and what it should look like in the future. We then present our findings, propose a curriculum review framework, and discuss the implications of our research for the field of sales education.</p> <hd id="AN0189024052-3">Curriculum Review Methodology</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0189024052-4">Review of USCA Members' Sales Curricula</hd> <p>The first step of the present research was to understand the current state of university sales curricula at large. We followed a similar process to [<reflink idref="bib74" id="ref58">74</reflink>] and reviewed the websites of the 70 current U.S.-based USCA members (including 38 full members and 32 associate members). The USCA is regarded as "the premier hub for sales education and research in the academic world," and their stringent membership requirements make their membership an obvious sampling frame for a study of this nature. In contrast to [<reflink idref="bib74" id="ref59">74</reflink>], our focus was more on the courses contained in the curriculum rather than the type of sales program being offered. Accordingly, we compiled a comprehensive list of the sales courses taught at each USCA university, along with the corresponding course descriptions, the number of credit hours, and whether the course was required or an elective.</p> <hd id="AN0189024052-5">Findings</hd> <p>In sum, there were 183 uniquely named sales courses in this data set. As in the article by [<reflink idref="bib74" id="ref60">74</reflink>], similarly named courses were combined into common course names based on course descriptions. For example, Personal Selling, Professional Sales, and Professional Selling course titles were all placed into the broader "Professional Selling" course name. After removing the similarly named (i.e., duplicate) courses from the original set of 183, our study uncovered 71 additional unique sales courses being offered at USCA institutions. We also found that the minimum number of sales courses offered by a university is three, and the maximum is 18, with an average of 5.37, according to the posted curricula. In Table 2, we note the most frequently offered sales courses at present in the second column, and in the third and fourth columns, we offer a comparison to previous studies to showcase how sales curricula is evolving.</p> <p>Table 2 Comparison of Most Common Sales Courses Over Time.</p> <p>Graph</p> <p> <ephtml> <table><colgroup><col align="left" /><col align="char" char="." /><col align="char" char="." /><col align="char" char="." /></colgroup><thead><tr><th align="center">Course name/topic</th><th align="center">Current study (<italic>n</italic> = 70)</th><th align="center"><xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bibr25">Deeter-Schmelz & Kennedy (2011)</xref> (<italic>n</italic> = 47)</th><th align="center"><xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bibr74">Spiller et al. (2020)</xref></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Professional Selling</td><td>70</td><td>38</td><td>77</td></tr><tr><td>Sales Management</td><td>59</td><td>28</td><td>40</td></tr><tr><td>Advanced Sales</td><td>56</td><td>36</td><td>37</td></tr><tr><td>Negotiation</td><td>25</td><td>22</td><td>12</td></tr><tr><td>CRM/Sales Technology</td><td>21</td><td>18</td><td>N/A</td></tr><tr><td>Sales Analytics</td><td>11</td><td>7</td><td>10</td></tr><tr><td>Business-to-Business Selling/Management</td><td>9</td><td>N/A</td><td>10</td></tr><tr><td>Internship/Practicum in Sales</td><td>33</td><td>N/A</td><td>7</td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p>1 <emph>Note.</emph> The current study used a sample of 70 U.S.-based USCA programs. [<reflink idref="bib74" id="ref61">74</reflink>] used a blended sample of 49 USCA programs and a set of 57 additional survey responses from other programs for their research. However, it is not clear if all of these responses were analyzed for the curriculum review tabulations reported. The data reported for [<reflink idref="bib25" id="ref62">25</reflink>] only pertain to the 47 schools with a sales major/program to provide a basis for comparison. CRM courses and Sales Technology courses were blended into a common category for this comparison as CRM is often taught within Sales Technology courses at many programs.</p> <p>The most frequently offered sales courses closely align with the two most recent curriculum reviews produced by [<reflink idref="bib74" id="ref63">74</reflink>] and [<reflink idref="bib25" id="ref64">25</reflink>]. Most recently, [<reflink idref="bib74" id="ref65">74</reflink>] found the five most common courses to be Professional Selling, Advanced Selling, Sales Management, Consumer Behavior, and Negotiation, in that order. Our analysis mirrors the findings of [<reflink idref="bib25" id="ref66">25</reflink>] and finds professional selling, sales management, advanced sales, negotiation, and customer relationship management (CRM) to be the five most frequently offered sales courses at present (see Table 2). It is interesting that CRM was not among the most common courses reported in the study by [<reflink idref="bib74" id="ref67">74</reflink>] (where Consumer Behavior made the top five instead), but that may be a function of all three studies using slightly different methodologies and drawing from different and evolving samples. Overall, it appears that changes have been minimal within the core sales curriculum, with the exception of the blended Sales and Sales Management class, which appears to be disappearing among USCA-affiliated schools (only one school is still offering this course).</p> <hd id="AN0189024052-6">Discussion of Curriculum Review Findings</hd> <p>The results of the curriculum review appear to tell two stories. On the one hand, the results suggest that as much as the pandemic produced changes within the sales profession over the past several years, the core sales education curriculum has remained largely unchanged. Professional Selling, Sales Management, Advanced Sales, and Negotiation remain among the most common sales courses offered by USCA members. However, looking more closely at the results, a second story emerges. One of the most notable shifts is the increased prominence of stand-alone CRM and sales technology courses. While sales technology utilization, including CRM, has seen rapid advancements in practice going back many years, [<reflink idref="bib74" id="ref68">74</reflink>] noted that courses in this area remained rare among USCA schools at that time. Most interestingly, although the shifts among the core sales course offerings have been relatively minor and come about slowly, we have observed substantial development of new and unique sales courses recently. Our results indicate 71 unique sales courses exist within the USCA member schools (see Table 3). An interesting trend among these courses is the alignment of sales courses toward specific industries and professions. For instance, courses such as Medical Device Sales, Selling Financial Services, Sports Sales, Strategic Hospitality Sales, and Sales for Social Impact are examples of courses now offered that tailor sales education toward a specific field of interest for students.</p> <p>Table 3. Unique Sales Course Titles.</p> <p>Graph</p> <p> <ephtml> <table><colgroup><col align="left" /><col align="char" char="." /><col align="char" char="." /></colgroup><tbody><tr><td>Agri-sales</td><td>Integrated Marketing and Sales</td><td>Sales Personalities and Profiles</td></tr><tr><td>Buyer Behavior</td><td>Key Account Management</td><td>Sales Planning and Forecasting</td></tr><tr><td>Buyer-Seller Relationships</td><td>Key Account & Relationship Management</td><td>Sales Presentation Strategies and Techniques</td></tr><tr><td>Category Management</td><td>Managing and Selling of Brands</td><td>Sales Proposals</td></tr><tr><td>Communicating to Lead & Influence</td><td>Marketing Ethics</td><td>Sales Strategy</td></tr><tr><td>Consultative Selling</td><td>Marketing & Sales</td><td>Sales Training</td></tr><tr><td>Contemporary Leadership in Sales</td><td>Medical & Pharmaceutical Selling</td><td>Selling Financial Services</td></tr><tr><td>Contemporary Selling</td><td>Medical Sales</td><td>Selling in a Digital World</td></tr><tr><td>Creating Change Through Persuasion</td><td>Medical Sales: Orthopedic Devices</td><td>Selling in an Entrepreneurial Context</td></tr><tr><td>Customer Service Techniques</td><td>Medical Selling Capstone</td><td>Selling in the Business Marketplace</td></tr><tr><td>Decision Making & Negotiation</td><td>Organizational Purchasing</td><td>Selling with Digital Media</td></tr><tr><td>Developing Team Leadership</td><td>Principles of Industrial Selling</td><td>Seminar in Sales</td></tr><tr><td>Digital Prospecting</td><td>Principles of Sales Supervision</td><td>Senior Project</td></tr><tr><td>Directed Study in Sales</td><td>Professional Selling Specialization</td><td>Sales for Social Impact</td></tr><tr><td>Entrepreneurial & Advanced Sales Techniques</td><td>Psychology of Sales</td><td>Social Selling</td></tr><tr><td>Entrepreneurial Sales</td><td>Purchasing & Business Relationship Mgt</td><td>Speech for Business and the Professions</td></tr><tr><td>Ethical Sales & Service</td><td>Purchasing Policies & Procedures</td><td>Sports Sales</td></tr><tr><td>Executive Sales Strategy</td><td>Relationship Selling</td><td>Strategic Hospitality Sales</td></tr><tr><td>Experiential Learning/Sales</td><td>Sales Channels</td><td>Strategic Issues for Sales & Retailing</td></tr><tr><td>Global Sales Workshop</td><td>Sales Communication</td><td>Strategic Procurement</td></tr><tr><td>Global Selling Perspectives</td><td>Sales Forecasting</td><td>Strategic Sales</td></tr><tr><td>Hospitality & Tourism Sales and Service</td><td>Sales & Computer Product Strategies</td><td>Strategic Sales Force Management</td></tr><tr><td>Inside Sales</td><td>Sales Leadership</td><td>Strategic Selling Perspectives</td></tr><tr><td /><td>Sales Leadership, Metrics, and Application</td><td>Sales Competitions</td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p>In summary, the evolution of university sales curricula appears to be happening on the fringes rather than at the core. While changes have occurred gradually to this point, we may observe an acceleration of the pace of change as the field of sales education continues to react to the fundamental changes occurring in industry practice. In the next section, we explore what those changes could look like according to the opinions of former sales students now working as sales professionals and industry experts affiliated with USCA schools.</p> <hd id="AN0189024052-7">Qualitative Data Collection Methodology</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0189024052-8">Insights From Focus Groups</hd> <p>After establishing the present state of sales curricula, the goal of the next phase of our research was to solicit insights into the perceived strengths (i.e., courses/content that should be retained), weaknesses (i.e., courses/content that should be eliminated or revised), and what is presently missing (i.e., courses/content that should be added) from the global sales curricula. Considering the exploratory nature of the research, we used a qualitative research methodology to better understand how the sales curriculum prepares graduates for sales careers. Qualitative research methods can be highly effective, especially when standard theoretical approaches fall short in addressing intricate issues ([<reflink idref="bib43" id="ref69">43</reflink>]). We opted for a qualitative research method that aligned well with our research objectives, enabling us to explore and unearth pertinent insights. While marketing professionals often utilize focus groups within industry ([<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref70">16</reflink>]; [<reflink idref="bib75" id="ref71">75</reflink>]), focus groups have also proven effective in sales research ([<reflink idref="bib27" id="ref72">27</reflink>]; [<reflink idref="bib58" id="ref73">58</reflink>]). For our project, focus groups were ideal as they allowed participants to express their individual viewpoints and facilitated discussions about the similarities and differences in their perspectives.</p> <hd id="AN0189024052-9">Data Collection</hd> <p>Since the primary focus of the study was to understand how sales curricula should be modified to maximize impact for sales students, three groups of participants were recruited: Group 1: former sales students who graduated less than 3 years prior and are currently working as sales professionals; Group 2: former sales students who graduated more than 3 years prior and are working as sales professionals; and Group 3: industry experts (sales recruiters and managers) working for partnering companies at USCA-affiliated sales programs. The data collection involved nine total focus groups constituting three separate sessions for each group. For Group 1, 12 recent graduates were invited to participate, with one declining, resulting in a total of 11 participants. For Group 2, 12 former students who graduated more than 3 years prior were invited, with two declining to participate, resulting in a total of 10 participants. Finally, for Group 3, 10 partnering companies (sales managers and hiring personnel) each provided a participant, all of whom accepted and participated in the study.</p> <p>The sample frame for the focus groups consisted of graduates and partnering companies from three large public universities, all full USCA members and each with a professional sales program (i.e., a sales major, minor, or concentration requiring at least nine credit hours of sales courses). In many instances, sales alumni participated in sessions moderated by a familiar faculty member, which has been found to foster a great sense of comfort for respondents ([<reflink idref="bib47" id="ref74">47</reflink>]) and enhance honesty ([<reflink idref="bib77" id="ref75">77</reflink>]). All participants were volunteers, offering their insights without any form of remuneration.</p> <p>For participants in Groups 1 and 2, the primary requirements for participation were graduation from a sales program and current employment within the sales industry. Participants in Group 3 were required to be professionals in the sales field actively involved with a university sales program. Each former student participating in the study graduated with an emphasis (major, minor, or concentration) in sales, giving them firsthand knowledge of the sales curriculum at their respective schools. Although there was some variance in course offerings and requirements of the universities comprising the sampling frame, all three universities require sales students to complete Professional Selling and Sales Management. Although not required by each, all three offer an Advanced Sales course and a Sales Technology/CRM course. In addition, role-play activities are commonly used in the sales courses included in our sample. This application-based approach to learning sales allows students to deeply process the content, generally leading to a longer-lasting memory of it ([<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref76">4</reflink>]). Hence, it is reasonable to expect the participants used in this study to have sufficient recall information about their sales courses. The final sample of respondents represents a diverse mix of industries, sales roles, and gender.</p> <p>In line with existing recommendations on planning and organizing focus groups ([<reflink idref="bib48" id="ref77">48</reflink>]; [<reflink idref="bib62" id="ref78">62</reflink>]; [<reflink idref="bib66" id="ref79">66</reflink>]), all but one focus group consisted of three to four participants and lasted 90–150 minutes. The focus groups were conducted virtually using Zoom technology, and each was video recorded and later transcribed. A semi-structured focus group guide was developed and focused on understanding how the respective sales curricula prepared students for sales careers (see examples of these guides in Appendices B–D). The discussions elicited potential improvements to the curricula and the identification of key courses and content necessary for nurturing successful sales professionals. Adapting the approach suggested by [<reflink idref="bib66" id="ref80">66</reflink>], the moderators undertook various tasks such as leading the discussion, ensuring active participation from all participants, introducing discussion questions and prompts, and facilitating reflective exercises. Females represented 12 of the 31 participants (39%) in this study. The data collection was conducted over 4 months. More details about individual focus group participants are provided in Table 4.</p> <p>Table 4 Description of Focus Group Participants.</p> <p>Graph</p> <p> <ephtml> <table><colgroup><col align="left" /><col align="char" char="." /><col align="char" char="." /><col align="char" char="." /><col align="char" char="." /><col align="char" char="." /><col align="char" char="." /></colgroup><thead><tr><th align="center">Group</th><th align="center">Title</th><th align="center">Sex</th><th align="center">Age</th><th align="center">Yrs. exp.</th><th align="center">Industry</th><th align="center">Key insights reflective of Table 5 categories of curricular themes</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td>Global Account Executive</td><td>F</td><td>24</td><td>2</td><td>Tech—Hardware</td><td>C1: Confidence gained from role-playing with practitioners; C2: Too little focus on emerging techniques/social selling; C3: Post-sale relationship development</td></tr><tr><td>1</td><td>Consultant</td><td>M</td><td>24</td><td>2.5</td><td>Insurance</td><td>C1: Confidence to overcome objections; C2: Management preparation unnecessary for entry-level roles; C3: Networking and building a personal brand</td></tr><tr><td>1</td><td>Associate Account Executive</td><td>F</td><td>25</td><td>2.5</td><td>Medical Device</td><td>C1: Emphasis on needs discovery; C2: How to utilize prospect profiles for initial approach; C3: Forecasting and pipeline management</td></tr><tr><td>1</td><td>Sales Account Manager</td><td>M</td><td>24</td><td>1.5</td><td>Tech—SaaS</td><td>C1: Confidence w/ SPIN selling gained from role-playing; C2: Management and leadership classes not relevant to early career; C3: Prospecting and cold-calling</td></tr><tr><td>1</td><td>Outbound Sales Development Rep.</td><td>M</td><td>23</td><td>1</td><td>Tech—SaaS</td><td>C1: Confidence in basic selling process/SPIN; C2: Over-emphasis on sales theory vs. hands-on learning in some courses; C3: Prospecting and pre-call research</td></tr><tr><td>1</td><td>Inside Territory Sales Rep.</td><td>F</td><td>24</td><td>1.5</td><td>Telecom</td><td>C1: Fundamental steps—rapport and SPIN; C2: Sales management and leadership content unhelpful at this stage, also hard to train; C3: Forecasting and account analysis</td></tr><tr><td>1</td><td>Account Executive</td><td>F</td><td>24</td><td>1.5</td><td>Tech—SaaS</td><td>C1: Basics of sales—SPIN selling; C2: Key accounts course not practical—entry-level reps aren't assigned these accounts; C3: Dealing with mental strain of inconsistent results</td></tr><tr><td>1</td><td>Account Manager</td><td>F</td><td>25</td><td>2.5</td><td>Tech—SaaS</td><td>C1: Principles and advanced selling courses; C2: Key accounts—not given this opportunity in early career; C3: Challenge of college-to-career transition</td></tr><tr><td>1</td><td>Market Development Rep.</td><td>F</td><td>23</td><td>0.5</td><td>Wine & Spirits</td><td>C1: Negotiation training; confidence from role-playing with executives; C2: Sales management/key accounts courses unnecessary; C3: Cold-calling and CRM utilization</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>Customer Success Manager</td><td>M</td><td>28</td><td>6.5</td><td>IT</td><td>C1: Developing confidence in basics of selling; C2: Sales management course lacked relevance to career so far; C3: Training on forecasting/analytics</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>Services Specialist</td><td>M</td><td>29</td><td>6.5</td><td>Tech—Hardware</td><td>C1: Variety of sales situations posed in advanced course; C2: Negotiation not taught in depth; C3: Managing internal relationships, especially with managers</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>Account Director</td><td>M</td><td>29</td><td>6.5</td><td>Tech—SaaS</td><td>C1: Sales technology/CRM exposure was helpful; C2: Coverage of different types of sales roles in different industries was lacking; C3: Prospecting/Cold Call training</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>Director, Business Development</td><td>F</td><td>28</td><td>6</td><td>Logistics</td><td>C1: Role-playing through needs discovery and objection handling; C2: Teaching of sales career paths; C3: Expanding relationship after initial sale</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>Account Executive</td><td>M</td><td>28</td><td>5.5</td><td>Tech—SaaS</td><td>C1: Sales force automation training (through case studies); C2: How to adapt sales pitch to different types/levels of buyers; C3: Cold-calling</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>Enrollment Specialist</td><td>F</td><td>26</td><td>3.5</td><td>Financial Management</td><td>C1: Adaptive selling and understanding different buyer profiles; C2: Too little opportunity to get hands-on with sales technology tools/CRM; C3: Client retention strategies</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>Account Executive</td><td>M</td><td>27</td><td>5.5</td><td>Tech—SaaS</td><td>C1: Learning negotiation techniques; C2: CRM utilization very different in practice than in classroom training; C3: Prospecting and cold outreach</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>Sales Supervisor</td><td>M</td><td>26</td><td>5.5</td><td>Industrial Products</td><td>C1: Confidence in executing sales process through role-playing; C2: Nothing from sales management course translated to job; C3: Selling through longer sales cycle</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>Field Sales Consultant</td><td>M</td><td>29</td><td>6.5</td><td>Medical Device</td><td>C1: Sales process confidence gained through role-playing; C2: Despite foundation, classes did not prepare for challenge/rigor of job; C3: Mentorship/connections with practitioners</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>Territory Manager</td><td>F</td><td>25</td><td>5</td><td>Industrial Products</td><td>C1: Learning negotiation techniques; C2: Lack of emphasis on written communication/email; C3: Analytics/Data management</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>Sales Manager</td><td>M</td><td>26</td><td>4</td><td>Telecom</td><td>C1: Sales essentials—active listening, building pain, establishing value; C2: Different sales contexts; how to sell virtually; C3: Managing relationships w/ support teams</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>Org. Development Consultant</td><td>M</td><td>62</td><td>40</td><td>Consumer Products</td><td>C3: Communication skills are weak; need to learn how to sell themselves</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>Chief Executive Officer</td><td>M</td><td>42</td><td>20</td><td>Sales Development</td><td>C3: Knowledge of different buyer profiles and personalities to effectively adapt sale</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>Director of Recruitment</td><td>M</td><td>39</td><td>17</td><td>Staffing</td><td>C3: Adapting communication skills to buyer's preferences; choosing appropriate medium to approach buyer</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>Director of Sales Training</td><td>M</td><td>59</td><td>37</td><td>Industrial Products</td><td>C3: Mental toughness; ability to endure constructive criticism from managers</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>Talent Acquisition Manager</td><td>F</td><td>38</td><td>15</td><td>Automotive</td><td>C3: Communication skills/active listening; ability to be coached and be receptive to feedback</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>Director of Sales</td><td>M</td><td>54</td><td>32</td><td>Tech—Hardware</td><td>C3: Mentorship and shadowing experiences during college (beyond internships) appear to be minimal</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>Senior Sales Manager</td><td>M</td><td>44</td><td>15</td><td>Telecom</td><td>C3: Communicating with greater authenticity; developing emotional intelligence to help adapt the sale/approach</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>Regional Sales Manager</td><td>F</td><td>31</td><td>10</td><td>Tech—SaaS</td><td>C3: Ability to adapt the standard sales process to a wider range of products, customers, and sales scenarios</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>Campus Recruiter</td><td>F</td><td>29</td><td>7</td><td>Management Consulting</td><td>C3: Interpersonal communication skills; ability to sell without scripts using needs discovery approaches and active listening</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>Campus Recruiter</td><td>F</td><td>27</td><td>5</td><td>Staffing</td><td>C3: Remaining confident through challenging times; proactively seeking mentorship to assist with navigating early career hurdles</td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p>2 <emph>Note.</emph> Group 1 = Former students who graduated less than 3 years prior to focus group; Group 2 = Former students who graduated more than 3 years prior to focus group; Group 3 = Hiring personnel (sales managers and recruiters) affiliated with sales programs; <emph>F</emph> = female; M = male; SaaS = software as a service; C1 = Category 1: Key curriculum-related themes identified as necessary or beneficial for entering sales profession; C2 = Category 2: Themes related to courses or curricular content that are deemed to have little impact or are extraneous for entering sales profession; C3 = Category 3: Themes related to gaps in sales curriculum or suggested improvements to be implemented to benefit students entering sales profession; focus groups conducted with hiring personnel (sales managers and recruiters) focused on Category 3 topics (skill gaps and areas for improvement) that could be more readily assessed without having extensive firsthand experience with sales courses at a given school or program.</p> <hd id="AN0189024052-10">Data Analysis</hd> <p>The transcripts were initially reviewed by the researchers and then subjected to NVivo 11 software for further review and coding. NVivo is a useful software tool for conducting qualitative analysis ([<reflink idref="bib69" id="ref81">69</reflink>]). Focus group transcripts were initially interpreted by a thorough and careful read of each transcript to gain a clear idea of the perspectives shared by the participants. Subsequently, the memo notes feature of the NVivo software was used to derive interpretations of the different topics and ideas that were discussed. Inductive coding was used as it was best suited for the analysis.</p> <p>Coders began by identifying three main categories from the transcript (e.g., Category 1: Key curriculum-related aspects that are necessary or beneficial for entering the sales profession, Category 2: Courses and content that have little impact or are extraneous for entering the sales profession, Category 3: Curriculum-related gaps or suggested improvements that can be done to benefit students entering the sales profession). As recommended by [<reflink idref="bib38" id="ref82">38</reflink>], forming categories is a process in which the data are separated into sets that are similar in properties and perspectives. Next, categorized responses were combined into key themes emerging from the data, followed by a thorough discussion of the themes. Identified themes were then re-evaluated in subsequent focus groups to test their consistency and to further refine them. Consistent with [<reflink idref="bib19" id="ref83">19</reflink>] methodology, this iterative process of alternating between data gathering and analysis was maintained until reaching theoretical saturation, a point where no new themes were identified with further data collection.[<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref84">4</reflink>] Using NVivo, 89 theme nodes were initially derived from the analysis. These initial theme nodes emerged by coding them on similar ideas, perspectives, and concepts. We conducted a thematic analysis using the recommendations of [<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref85">14</reflink>] for inductive coding. Finally, 18 themes emerged from the data (Category 1: 5 themes, Category 2: 4 themes, and Category 3: 9 themes). The data collected meet the standard of three to six focus groups to achieve probable saturation, as recommended by [<reflink idref="bib48" id="ref86">48</reflink>] and [<reflink idref="bib62" id="ref87">62</reflink>].</p> <hd id="AN0189024052-11">Results</hd> <p>In the sections below, we present the key findings of our focus group research, beginning with the insights of former students. Before presenting those findings, it is important to note that though our focus group moderators were explicit in asking former students to recall details about the courses they took and the content they learned about within those courses, these alumni inevitably provided wide-ranging responses that often included additional information about the types of activities they recalled completing and how those activities made them feel. That is, although our goal as researchers was to home in on <emph>what</emph> the students learned, former student responses frequently included recollections of <emph>how</emph> they learned the material. This will come as no surprise to sales educators familiar with the impact of experiential and activity-based approaches to education on student learning ([<reflink idref="bib23" id="ref88">23</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib22" id="ref89">22</reflink>]). We discovered that those experiences remain among the most salient memories of their time in the classroom for former students. Thus, in the findings presented below, we see a mix of both <emph>what</emph> and <emph>how</emph> emerge in the key themes identified by former students. In the following discussion, we do our best to focus the spotlight on takeaways related to <emph>what</emph> should be taught in sales courses.</p> <hd id="AN0189024052-12">Category 1: How Sales Curriculum Prepared Students for Sales Careers</hd> <p>To begin, former students were asked about the sales courses, content, and sales-related class experiences (curriculum-related) that best prepared them for their sales career success. Respondents shared various perspectives that drew from their educational experiences when they were in college. The major themes expressed by former sales students are reported below, along with notable quotes to illustrate their thinking. Recently graduated alumni (less than 3 years of professional experience) indicated that their sales courses helped them build self-confidence. The more experienced graduates (more than 3 years of professional experience) indicated that courses that taught technology utilization and those that allowed for collaborative learning stood out the most. Both groups of former students shared the perspective that courses that trained the sales process (e.g., professional selling and advanced selling) were vital to early career success, especially when paired with an experiential learning approach, as was learning how to negotiate (see Table 5).</p> <p>Table 5 Categories of Curriculum Themes.</p> <p>Graph</p> <p> <ephtml> <table><colgroup><col align="left" /><col align="char" char="." /><col align="char" char="." /><col align="char" char="." /><col align="char" char="." /><col align="char" char="." /></colgroup><thead><tr><th align="center">Category</th><th align="center">Theme</th><th align="center">Alumni, ≤3 years</th><th align="center">Alumni, >3 years</th><th align="center">Industry experts</th><th align="center">Sales academics</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td rowspan="5"><bold>Category 1:</bold>How Sales Curriculum Prepared Students for Sales Careers</td><td>1-1. Building Confidence</td><td>√</td><td /><td /><td>√</td></tr><tr><td>1-2. Training on Sales Technology</td><td /><td>√</td><td /><td>√</td></tr><tr><td>1-3. Collaborative Learning Experiences</td><td /><td>√</td><td /><td>√</td></tr><tr><td>1-4. Learning Sales Process through Experiential Learning</td><td>√</td><td>√</td><td /><td>√</td></tr><tr><td>1-5. Importance of Negotiation Training</td><td>√</td><td>√</td><td /><td>√</td></tr><tr><td /><td><xref ref-type="table-fn" rid="tfn3">a</xref><italic>1-6. Introduction to the Profession of Selling</italic></td><td /><td /><td /><td><italic>√</italic></td></tr><tr><td rowspan="4"><bold>Category 2:</bold>Where Sales Curricula Needs to Change or Improve</td><td>2-1. Limited Exposure to Emerging Trends & Concepts</td><td>√</td><td /><td /><td>√</td></tr><tr><td>2-2. Classroom Experiences Not Aligned with Industry</td><td /><td>√</td><td /><td>√</td></tr><tr><td>2-3. Industry Perspectives and Networking</td><td /><td>√</td><td /><td>√</td></tr><tr><td>2-4. Limited Relevance of Select Courses & Content</td><td>√</td><td>√</td><td /><td>√</td></tr><tr><td rowspan="11"><bold>Category 3:</bold>Curriculum-related Gaps or Key Aspects to be Added or Introduced to Sales Curriculum</td><td>3-1. Cold Call Training</td><td>√</td><td /><td /><td>√</td></tr><tr><td>3-2. Transition Challenge from College to Career</td><td>√</td><td /><td /><td>√</td></tr><tr><td>3-3. Need for Analytics</td><td /><td>√</td><td /><td>√</td></tr><tr><td>3-4. More Expansive Sales Training</td><td>√</td><td>√</td><td /><td>√</td></tr><tr><td>3-5. Executing Sales Process w/ Authenticity & Adaptability</td><td /><td /><td>√</td><td>√</td></tr><tr><td>3-6. Communication & Soft Skills</td><td /><td /><td>√</td><td>√</td></tr><tr><td>3-7. Mental Health</td><td>√</td><td /><td>√</td><td>√</td></tr><tr><td>3-8. Mentorship</td><td /><td>√</td><td>√</td><td>√</td></tr><tr><td>3-9. Managing Internal & External Relationships</td><td>√</td><td>√</td><td>√</td><td>√</td></tr><tr><td><xref ref-type="table-fn" rid="tfn3">a</xref><italic>3-10. Life-long Learners</italic></td><td /><td /><td /><td>√</td></tr><tr><td><xref ref-type="table-fn" rid="tfn3">a</xref><italic>3-11. Variety of Practical Selling Experiences</italic></td><td /><td /><td /><td>√</td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p>3 New themes that emerged from Sales Academics.</p> <hd id="AN0189024052-13">Uniquely Identified Themes for Recent Graduates</hd> <p></p> <ulist> <item> <bold> 1-1. Building Confidence </bold> . The theme "building confidence" is characterized by a combination of experiential learning, preparation, self-reflection, positive reinforcement, professional interaction, and skill mastery. These elements collectively contributed to the participants' confidence in transitioning from their educational environment to their professional careers. A selection of the emblematic statements is listed below:</item> <p></p> <item> • "I feel like Dr.__ negotiation class built like a whole realm of confidence... to have two people in the room... sitting on calls for like pricing and negotiation like it's really cool to have already experienced it in class for like fun and then like go into real life and actually sit through it and speak through it and speak on it which is really cool..."</item> <p></p> <item> • "That was something I was very confident about whenever I was going into the field... so knowing exactly what I was looking for in a sales call—what to pitch, that was super helpful."</item> <p></p> <item> • "It made me completely confident in going into sales calls because I knew one, how to prepare, but also two, I had done it so many times where I just felt so confident in myself."</item> <p></p> <item> • "I think bringing the execs as mock buyers... definitely helps like build confidence especially like going into the market but on your own for the first time... you kind of have already talked to somebody higher up in a company... so I think it just... builds the confidence that you need... when you're alone."</item> </ulist> <hd id="AN0189024052-14">Uniquely Identified Themes for More Experienced Graduates</hd> <p></p> <ulist> <item> <bold> 1-2. Training on Sales Technology </bold> . This theme illustrates technology's critical role in modern education and professional fields, especially in sales and customer relationship management. Participants' reflections indicate that learning about, and gaining hands-on experience with, relevant technological tools during their sales education was instrumental in preparing them for career challenges and opportunities. Some of the direct quotes are listed below:</item> <p></p> <item> • "Definitely helped out in interviews like you know... knowing that I knew how ___ CRM Software worked and how you know all of the aspects of why companies use it and how it's beneficial. Really helped with my first interview."</item> <p></p> <item> • " Dr. ____' s class from a sales technology standpoint... Naturally everyone uses ____CRM Software... I think it was really important to one, be able to understand from a philosophical standpoint of like what sales was, but then also bridge that gap between what sales was and the technology you're going to be using for reaching out to folks or updating opportunities."</item> <p></p> <item> • "Dr. ____ taught a sales force automation class... I was able to get some tribal knowledge and because of that class and my inbound sales _____certification... I was able to bypass the internship at ____."</item> <p></p> <item> • "We did the _____ certification where we actually like created an opportunity... We definitely had some aspect of like getting in the tool and using it... it was a very like new topic... CRM as like a customer relationship management tool..."</item> <p></p> <item> <bold> 1-3. Collaborative Learning Experiences </bold> . The "collaborative learning" theme involves the graduates' experiences with group projects, teamwork, and the integration of collaborative efforts in their coursework. Participants emphasized the value of working in teams, engaging in group projects, and learning from each other. This approach enhances their understanding of the course material and prepares them for the collaborative nature of the professional world. Selected quotes include:</item> <p></p> <item> • "Group projects really pushed us to learn how to work with different types of people... it was like a mini version of a corporate team."</item> <p></p> <item> • "We had to collaborate on sales presentations... it wasn't just about your part, but how you fit into the team."</item> <p></p> <item> • "Working in teams during our projects really showed me how different perspectives can come together to solve a problem. It was like a real-world work environment."</item> <p></p> <item> • "Our team-based assignments were challenging, but they taught me the importance of communication and teamwork, skills I use every day in my job now."</item> </ulist> <hd id="AN0189024052-15">Themes That Were Common to Both Recent and More Experienced Graduates</hd> <p></p> <ulist> <item> <bold> 1-4. Learning the Sales Process through Experiential Learning </bold> . This theme is characterized by cementing steps of the sales process through reinforcing conceptual learning with hands-on activities (e.g., role-playing, practical application, professional interactions, self-reflection). These elements collectively contributed to a greater understanding of the sales process and helped students find early career success.</item> <p></p> <item> • "We learned a lot about the different profiles of customers and that was huge. I think you know, learning that kind of foursquare grid of who you'll be dealing with. There are different techniques to use with them and there are different buying personalities... definitely helped out in the field. It's really important to gauge who you're talking to and being able to read the room."</item> <p></p> <item> • "I still feel-felt-found the heck out of anything... real world applicable things."</item> <p></p> <item> • "One thing for me though was like Dr. ____ sent me and ____ upstairs to meet with this executive and like I was just on my agenda... and he started throwing objections and curve balls... threw me off and... I was devastated... I didn't get the sale and he just... helped me so much with his feedback and I took that to the real world."</item> <p></p> <item> _____ still doesn't have the best sales training program for their new hires... it made it really easy to kind of stand out among our peers that had been hired at the same time in our training class."</item> <p></p> <item> • "I think something that was super beneficial was re-listening to our calls... and doing the notes that's something that I know I do now even in my current role."</item> <p></p> <item> • "... talking about how many role plays we did... it better prepared us to shine...</item> <p></p> <item> <bold> 1-5. Importance of Negotiation Training </bold> . The theme "importance of negotiation training" revolves around the graduates' recognition of the value of negotiation techniques learned during their college courses. The graduates reflect on the practicality of these skills in real-world situations, highlighting how the ability to negotiate effectively has been a key factor in their success and career advancement. Below are some direct quotes:</item> <p></p> <item> • "It was very interesting for me to learn negotiation tactics. That has really helped me to have a leg up compared to my peers and, also, helped me deal with customers much better."</item> <p></p> <item> • "With Dr. _____'s negotiation... having stories to tell in my interviews about the activity... that was really helpful. We did a thing with the red paper clip.... you trade the paper clip for something else, and you negotiate and trade up... which was something that I learned a lot about and was a unique experience."</item> <p></p> <item> • "Negotiating... I remember that being a very beneficial class too. Every single hiring manager wants to hear you negotiate salary. So, I look back to that class. I still have notes about negotiating which is really beneficial there."</item> <p></p> <item> • "Essentially... like the fact that when negotiating to get a win-win situation... I feel like that piece probably stuck with me just where you know if you screw over a customer or something like that... like it, you know it's really not the best way to go about business."</item> </ulist> <hd id="AN0189024052-16">Category 2: Where Former Students Believe Sales Curricula Need to Change or Improve</hd> <p>The second category reflects the participants' perceived limitations of the sales curricula. The recently graduated alumni shared that they felt a lack of exposure to emerging sales trends and concepts. The more experienced alumni mentioned they had limited opportunities for interactive learning experiences and fewer opportunities to network and connect with industry experts within their courses. Both groups mentioned that certain courses and content had minimal impact on their careers as entry-level sales professionals (see Table 5).</p> <hd id="AN0189024052-17">Uniquely Identified Themes for Recent Graduates</hd> <p></p> <ulist> <item> <bold> 2-1 </bold> . <bold>Limited Exposure to Emerging Trends and Concepts</bold>. This theme is highlighted by participants discussing the need for course content to include current and evolving industry practices and market trends, including newly introduced technologies. Recently graduated students emphasized the importance of staying updated with these trends for effective career preparation and adapting to the rapidly changing business environment. This reflects a desire for education that provides foundational knowledge and equips students with the skills to navigate a dynamic and evolving job market. Some quotes include:</item> <p></p> <item> • "Forecasting was a huge one for me, that in the field it's definitely more essential to your success in sales, and also, especially for managers wanting to see that you have that forecast... it doesn't end at the sale and then just staying organized and understanding market trends..."</item> <p></p> <item> • "(The) biggest trend that we see is social selling. And this is something that was kind of new to me when I got into the industry... I feel like it's everywhere. But we send a lot of videos to customers... when I first got my accounts, obviously they had no idea who I was, and I had sent them a couple of emails... I had been chatting with them, and then I just sent them a video and just said, 'Hey, you know, I'm the person behind the email that you've been chatting with...'"</item> <p></p> <item> • "... it is the 30/60/90-day plan. That's something that every single manager wanted to see is your sales plan. So, really understanding what that is, how to build out a successful 30/60/90 day... I wish we had that in my classes..."</item> <p></p> <item> • "But being able to tell a story... like if you can become a good storyteller as a salesperson, that oftentimes builds a lot of credibility and helps you and kind of drops the barrier for your customer."</item> <p></p> <item> • "... we regularly have trainings about how to record effective videos, how to stay in touch with your customers, how to use them for acquisition... something I did not get training on in college..."</item> </ulist> <hd id="AN0189024052-18">Uniquely Identified Themes for More Experienced Graduates</hd> <p></p> <ulist> <item> <bold> 2-2 </bold> . <bold>Classroom Experiences Not Aligned with Industry</bold>. A theme emerged among more experienced graduates indicating they felt that the learning they experienced in the classroom (even the experiential learning activities) did not do a sufficient job of mimicking the actual sales environment. Graduates discussed how certain courses failed to adequately prepare them for relevant tasks, such as cold-calling or managing complex sales cycles. They felt this gap in their education left them underprepared for real-world sales roles, where engaging directly with clients and handling on-the-go objections and/or rejection is crucial. The graduates emphasized the importance of more learning that mirrors entry-level sales roles and the need for education to bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical skills needed in the workplace. Example quotes are listed below:</item> <p></p> <item> • "I think something that we could maybe incorporate is specifically like adding something to the sales force automation class like have somebody cold call a business, right? I mean cold calling is so broad you could really just teach a whole class on it..."</item> <p></p> <item> • "We talk theoretically maybe a little bit about prospecting. It's a chapter right? But there's not much activity-based learning or experience learning that goes into that aspect of it. Typically, at least there wasn't at _____ not my class anyway..."</item> <p></p> <item> • "... When your customer is not happy. There's a lot of risk here. They've had a really bad experience about whatever. And I'm like... where do we start right? How do we? How do we make it better? But can we make it better? And I didn't really know what to do with that. Not that college should teach every ounce of that. But it was a completely different kind of sales that I've been exposed to..."</item> <p></p> <item> <bold> 2-3 </bold> . <bold>Industry Perspectives and Networking</bold>. This theme revolves around the importance of soliciting practitioners to join classes to share their views on relevant sales topics and concepts and to facilitate networking opportunities for students. Participants suggested that such engagements could significantly enhance their learning and career readiness. They highlighted the value of guest speakers, industry-specific insights, and real-world perspectives as crucial for understanding diverse career paths and building meaningful professional networks. While former students acknowledged that these opportunities can often be sought through clubs or extra-curricular events planned through the sales program, they indicated that they did not always have availability outside of class due to other obligations (e.g., work). See illustrative quotes below:</item> <p></p> <item> • "Having more executives from different fields in the curriculum would provide more insights about the industries... putting that in the curriculum is a huge advantage and you want students to have a huge advantage..."</item> <p></p> <item> • "When you're in business school you say we have a VP of whoever coming in. I bet attendance goes up a little bit you know people like Oh. okay that's a good opportunity for me to get to know somebody but also be able to learn and gain some additional perspective... hearing about management styles and things like that I think it would be good to have, whether it's one person or a series."</item> <p></p> <item> • "I think it would be really beneficial to have a class where either folks come in and speak to where this is someone that has been in the start-up space or specifically around tech... I think there's so many different avenues of sales especially in today's day and age. I didn't get that much exposure to tech specifically as I would have loved to have..."</item> </ulist> <hd id="AN0189024052-19">Themes That Were Common to Both Recent and More Experienced Graduates</hd> <p></p> <ulist> <item> <bold> 2-4 </bold> . <bold>Limited Relevance of Select Courses and Content</bold>. This theme highlights a gap between sales curricula and the practical demands of the sales industry. It underscores a need for a curriculum that aligns more closely with the skills and knowledge required in the early stages of a professional sales career. More specifically, participants shared several concerns about sales management and key accounts courses, which they indicated did not adequately align with practical, real-world applications from their experience in the field. Courses emphasizing CRM were also mentioned by participants as not providing as much value as they could, particularly in a stand-alone format. Selected quotes include:</item> <p></p> <item> • "I hate to say it but like Sales Management, I did not think was that beneficial just because like I don't feel that you can really train leadership all that well... but it could have been like a few chapters of like an entry level sales course... it didn't need to be a whole class for that especially because by the time we get to that point where we are sales leaders, we're not going to remember any of that..."</item> <p></p> <item> • "... everything that I can think of that I know about sales management at this point I have learned by working with my managers... it's probably useful potentially as a graduate level class for people who are coming back from the industry and maybe they want to dig into it..."</item> <p></p> <item> • "... I don't think I would use this course like in real life... Sales Management [courses]... it was just too much like research based where like I personally don't use that in my day-to-day job..."</item> <p></p> <item> • "The likelihood that you're going to be managing key accounts is very small... I can't think of any company that would manage a fresh out of college graduate with really important accounts... key accounts is something that you're not going to get put into until you've already been in your sales role for at least two years."</item> <p></p> <item> • "For key accounts, I didn't think that that was super beneficial... it would have been cool if it was more industry-specific... I cover the whole Midwest mid-market and I have to know all different industries..."</item> <p></p> <item> • "... every company has like its own CRM system so I think like highlighting it like at a high level is good but like when you're diving into like _____ (CRM system) and how you can break out your territory I think every industry... every company is different and every company is going to want you to do it their own way..."</item> </ulist> <hd id="AN0189024052-20">Category 3: Key Aspects to be Added or Introduced to Sales Curriculum</hd> <p>For the third part, all three groups were considered. The first two groups were the same as in the previous sections (Group 1: participants who graduated less than 3 years, and Group 2: participants who graduated more than 3 years ago), and the third group comprised industry experts (a mix of sales managers and recruiters) recruited from the corporate partners of USCA-affiliated schools. This section focuses on discovering what aspects are missing from the existing sales curricula that the groups felt needed to be added to bring curricula in line with modern sales practices.</p> <hd id="AN0189024052-21">Uniquely Identified Themes for Recent Graduates</hd> <p></p> <ulist> <item> <bold> 3-1 </bold> . <bold>Cold Call Training</bold>. The "cold call training" theme reflects the need to bridge the gap between conceptual learning and practical skills required in the sales industry, particularly in cold-calling and outbound lead generation. Participants shared the importance of understanding and practicing cold-calling techniques to build confidence and resilience. Below are several representative quotes:</item> <p></p> <item> • "I feel like for the cold calling aspect because in class we learned about SPIN and closing deals but currently I'm not doing that yet so... it was like good to know beforehand it would be nice to get an advantage of like already doing cold calls in class and it definitely is a grind and super hard so it would be nice to get that out of the way."</item> <p></p> <item> • "... reenact a cold call... I think would be extremely beneficial just to kind of know where to like guide the call when you are meeting with someone that you've never spoken to in your life they don't know who you are, they don't know what company you work for... I think would be super beneficial."</item> <p></p> <item> • "... cold calling and whatnot um... I personally don't hate it, I don't really mind it whatsoever. I kind of think of it as a challenge, but I think if we were able to get some experience, you know, getting denied in constant, you know, objections within, a call would be very helpful..."</item> <p></p> <item> <bold> 3-2 </bold> . <bold>Transition Challenge from College to Career</bold>. The theme "transition challenge from college to career" reflects the multifaceted challenges that new graduates face as they enter the professional world, highlighting the need for more comprehensive preparation in college curriculum. Some aspects discussed were adjustment to professional roles, impostor syndrome, and financial and career planning. Several supporting quotes follow:</item> <p></p> <item> • "I've definitely faced a few challenges. My territory had been vacant for 3 months, so it was quite chaotic when I started. As a result, I'm only at 22% of my sales plan. I mean, I'll likely recover since I have a lot of potential deals coming in this week and next. But it's been unexpectedly difficult to hit my sales quota. This challenge was something I wasn't prepared for and wasn't what I had been led to expect. So, walking into this situation was quite different from what I anticipated. It's been a process of dealing with these rocky territories, as everyone has their own unique area to work in."</item> <p></p> <item> • "... this is any industry that someone's gonna go into in sales. They have to learn it. And age is definitely an issue. I know it's an issue in my mind, the AI thing,... the average insurance producers, upper fifties... it's usually a long-standing relationship. So, I get viewed as the young kid trying to sit at the table... so I think that's tough..."</item> <p></p> <item> • "I go in and obviously it's very clear that I'm one of the youngest sales reps. So, I've gotten that multiple times. I think if you prepare students for the challenges that they're gonna face, I think they can be ready for that in a sense where they're expecting it and then know how to overcome that."</item> <p></p> <item> • "It would be really beneficial to include general knowledge about financial concepts, like 401Ks and Roth, shares, in our curriculum. I remember a class where the instructor illustrated on the board how, if you're making $50,000, in reality, you're probably taking home around $35,000. That example really helped clarify the actual earnings we might expect in life. Teaching more about practical financial realities like this would be incredibly valuable and cool."</item> </ulist> <hd id="AN0189024052-22">Uniquely Identified Themes for More Experienced Graduates</hd> <p></p> <ulist> <item> <bold> 3-3 </bold> . <bold>Need for Analytics</bold>. The theme "need for an analytics course" underscores the growing recognition among sales professionals of the value of data analytics in shaping effective sales strategies and the desire for educational programs that address this need comprehensively. Some key aspects discussed were understanding customer data, data-driven decision-making, and familiarity with analytical tools. Some selected quotes are presented below:</item> <p></p> <item> • "Sometimes I wish that I had taken more of our marketing analytics courses... when I'm looking at my customers' numbers or if I'm trying to... my key account manager where I've got like a four and a half million-dollar territory... they need to be ordering more, they need to change their min-max perspective..."</item> <p></p> <item> • "... it might be good to have that built in a little bit more and give data the way people want to receive the data... manipulating data in different ways like that and analyzing it different ways putting it together could be beneficial..."</item> <p></p> <item> • "A program in data mining to be able to input data and spit out probabilities and things like that. And then we use Tableau for plugging in data and being able to slice and dice and say okay we'll hear factors then do different things..."</item> </ulist> <hd id="AN0189024052-23">Themes That Were Common to Both Recent and More Experienced Graduates</hd> <p></p> <ulist> <item> <bold> 3-4 </bold> . <bold>More Expansive Sales Training</bold>. This theme reflects a view expressed by many graduates that while their sales education experience may have covered many of the basics of selling, they felt there was still much missing from the curriculum. Participants specifically highlighted three key components: prospecting, selling to different roles, and greater coverage of CRM and technology integration.</item> </ulist> <hd id="AN0189024052-24">Prospecting</hd> <p>Participants highlighted the need for educational experiences that provide real-world prospecting scenarios, emphasizing the use of tools and databases to identify and approach potential clients. Some quotes are below:</p> <p></p> <ulist> <item> • "I think prospecting is so huge with sales. And so, one thing that we have done at my current company is candidate profiles which might be like good for course. But so we have a few different. The ideal candidate profiles we've like mapped those out and how to approach them."</item> <p></p> <item> • "Of course, on prospecting... how to set meetings right... social selling, phone, email... depending on industry it could be different... VP's of Sales, IT, Finance, Legal, C-Level... a different message that goes with each title, they care for different things..."</item> <p></p> <item> • "could definitely focus on preparing for the initial call and seeing kind of just having to narrow it down, and also who to ask for in an organizational structure, typically, you're not gonna have the CFO or the CEO right away, which I feel like most of our role plays dealt with but how to talk with the office manager, and really ask for that next step of getting in front of the CFO, the CEO, or for me, the office manager getting in front of the doctor and getting in front of them."</item> </ulist> <hd id="AN0189024052-25">Different Selling Roles</hd> <p>The theme "different selling roles" emphasizes the diversity of roles within the sales field and the need for educational programs to address this variety. They stress the importance of understanding different sales processes and tailoring educational content to reflect the varied nature of sales roles in the real world, recognizing that each role requires specific skills and approaches. Examples are below:</p> <p></p> <ulist> <item> • "... talked about is different types of selling... different types of sales roles maybe, just like homing in and being like this one you're gonna do like a field sales role, this one you're gonna cold call, this one you're gonna close the sale like you know different types of sales um could use a variety..."</item> <p></p> <item> • "Understanding the roles that you would work with at a potential customer... I work with a lot of procurement people... understanding the basis of procurement within an organization... How they're going to play ball. When you come to do a deal I think would be very valuable..."</item> </ulist> <hd id="AN0189024052-26">More CRM and Technology</hd> <p>The theme "More CRM and technology" highlights student perceptions that sales courses could go deeper on how the sales process is supported by sales technologies, including CRM software. This was an interesting discovery given that training on sales technology was also mentioned as a strength of the sales education experience for some participants, highlighting that sales curricula and student experiences within classes can vary significantly across programs, even when all participants attended universities that are full members of the USCA. Participants discussed how CRM tools are essential in the modern sales process for managing customer interactions and emphasized the need for more practical training in using these technologies effectively. Selective quotes include:</p> <p></p> <ulist> <item> • "I mentioned the CRM to you... I don't know like if there's any way to have a simulation for the CRM but in every company is using a different CRM tool, the most common is ______ but just like being familiar with account lists on that and how to organize it and where to put things in your pipeline stuff like that but even if you can't do like CRM having it on Excel right... showing samples."</item> <p></p> <item> • "... the sales technology. Yes, I do think that's needed and relevant. I think that there's some parts that can be taken out, and I think social selling could be added. I think like understanding of CRM is great, and I think the opportunity to get the certifications is great cause it's something that you know you can have on your resume..."</item> <p></p> <item> • "... especially the technology involved in sales... and just kind of going with the flow and doing your best to keep up and to change kind of your outlook and your perspective on things as the industry changes."</item> <p></p> <item> • "______ CRM tool... I use it at times to just see like okay there's other additional decision makers... for contact info... ____ messaging... for other segments where they're like higher, bigger accounts... C-Level execs are more active on _____."</item> </ulist> <hd id="AN0189024052-27">Uniquely Identified Themes for Sales Industry Experts</hd> <p></p> <ulist> <item> <bold> 3-5 </bold> . <bold>Executing the Sales Process with Authenticity and Adaptability</bold>. This theme can be explained as the salesperson's ability to sell in a way that is flexible, responsive, honest, and genuine. Below are some illustrative quotes from sales industry experts:</item> <p></p> <item> • "A big thing is... are you genuine and sincere? I think you are born with those... but can be trained to show those qualities... right"</item> <p></p> <item> • "You learn the process... the challenge is making them adapt... modify to different situations and customers"</item> <p></p> <item> • "It takes time for them to be able to go beyond a script... or guide... listening and asking questions... we are selling to people and people are buying... not robots"</item> <p></p> <item> • "How can you be authentic... and make a positive impression..."</item> <p></p> <item> • "Selling is processed based... sometimes it takes long to be thorough... with each stage."</item> <p></p> <item> • "We hire students who can earn the trust of our customers."</item> <p></p> <item> <bold> 3-6. _B_Communication and Soft Skills</bold>. This theme underlines the consensus among the participants that sales graduates need to develop better communication skills. They emphasize that while their sales process knowledge is generally strong, students need more training on soft skills to prepare them for the challenges of the sales environment. Some of the selected quotes are listed below:</item> <p></p> <item> • "I'm seeing a big lack of... just the ability to have small interpersonal communication skills."</item> <p></p> <item> • "... how to communicate, how to read people. You know nonverbal. You know somebody like this or sit back how to read people. I think that interpersonal... how to actively listen and then build upon that..."</item> <p></p> <item> • "... the emotional intelligence that had to really build the small talk, and then is, if I don't know how detailed you can get into prospecting, qualifying, closing, presenting..."</item> </ulist> <hd id="AN0189024052-28">Themes That Were Common to Both Recent Graduates and Sales Industry Experts</hd> <p></p> <ulist> <item> <bold> 3-7 </bold> . <bold>Mental Health</bold>. Participants who graduated less than 3 years ago shared the importance of learning coping skills to deal with stress and mental well-being, and this was echoed as something being observed by the sales industry experts we spoke with. The participants mainly discussed their experiences and perspectives on coping with stress and the importance of mental well-being in a professional setting, especially in sales. Example quotes are below:</item> <p></p> <item> • "I feel like there's so many ups and downs in sales that I didn't like fully realize like you could have a great day and then a terrible week and then Friday comes and you have like an amazing day... sales is such a roller coaster you don't know what's going to come next, so dealing with uncertainty is very stressful... and I was not prepared for it..."</item> <p></p> <item> • "I think it's different for everybody... I have some co-workers that I don't think handle stress the right way... I've seen substance abuse big time in sales and that's a real thing."</item> <p></p> <item> • "The struggle, the grind of sales is real, right? And the stress that comes along with it... out of college... you are big girl... real world stressed and it's not easy to deal with."</item> <p></p> <item> • "It is like how are you gonna be able to handle that high stress situation where it's not your fault? It's not you know, but that's... that's reality."</item> <p></p> <item> • "You're gonna win some. You're gonna lose some. How to handle the rejection... how to not let rejection fester. That's probably where my people lose. It's like you didn't even try."</item> </ulist> <hd id="AN0189024052-29">Themes That Were Common to Both Experienced Graduates and Sales Industry Experts</hd> <p></p> <ulist> <item> <bold> 3-8 </bold> . <bold>Mentorship</bold>. The theme of "mentorship" discussed in the focus groups encapsulates the vital role that experienced professionals play in guiding and nurturing the development of students in their sales careers. Participants indicated that they think it would be beneficial for mentoring to begin during college to accelerate learning. Below are some quotes:</item> <p></p> <item> • "... like if you could somehow get it towards like you could shadow a rep like an outside sales rep or even sit behind a phone call with like an inside sales rep and just like get real-world experience like for a day..."</item> <p></p> <item> • "the students could find mentors within the community and they could actually spend not an internship or job but just take shadow up with me, shadow up with one of my senior account execs."</item> <p></p> <item> • "Students are craving that... real world insights... like can you talk to us about work-life management or balance..."</item> </ulist> <hd id="AN0189024052-30">Themes That Were Common to All Three Groups</hd> <p></p> <ulist> <item> <bold> 3-9 </bold> . <bold>Managing Internal and External Relationships</bold>. This theme encompasses the skills and strategies required to effectively handle interactions and relationships within an organization (internal) and with clients or partners outside the organization (external). Participants shared the importance of developing and maintaining customer relationships and managing internal relationships with their supervisors and managers. These are areas that participants felt could be covered to a greater extent in sales courses. Sample quotes are below:</item> <p></p> <item> • "... you know. How do you get through that small talk... asking the right questions, building those relationships, being able to find the pain, create the gaps, all that..."</item> <p></p> <item> • "I would say maintaining the customer relationship... I deal with a lot of RND accounts again where we try and kind of maintain the worldwide scope of their purchase..."</item> <p></p> <item> • "People who encounter problems with him (Sales Manager) are usually those who behave unprofessionally, such as going behind his back, being sneaky, or hiding things from him. It's also the ones who engage in inappropriate office conversations. I believe that maintaining professionalism and honesty is key to navigating any workplace, especially when dealing with a tough manager. Exhibiting these qualities can help you overcome many challenges in a professional setting..."</item> <p></p> <item> • "... you know it's feedback, and it's not hand holding as much as... I wanna train. I'm gonna develop you, but you also have to be receptive to that feedback and actually take action to make, you know, changes if needed. To perform to, you know, hit those goals..."</item> </ulist> <hd id="AN0189024052-31">Triangulation With Sales Academics</hd> <p>Triangulation, a collaborative and crucial aspect of qualitative research inquiry, enhances qualitative research findings' accuracy, consistency, and comprehensiveness. It also offers a multi-perspective view ([<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref90">13</reflink>]). This concept, endorsed by [<reflink idref="bib60" id="ref91">60</reflink>] and [<reflink idref="bib72" id="ref92">72</reflink>], helps mitigate the potential for bias in the research process. As [<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref93">13</reflink>] explains, the term "triangulation" in social science research refers to the practice of studying a subject from at least two different perspectives while acknowledging the existence of multiple realities. The robust nature of findings in qualitative research, which transcends a singular perspective and embraces diverse viewpoints, is of paramount importance. Triangulation not only establishes the comprehensiveness of the findings but also expands the scope of the investigation, thereby enhancing the value and impact of the research ([<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref94">13</reflink>]).</p> <p>This study employed triangulation using two distinct approaches: data source triangulation and methodological triangulation ([<reflink idref="bib46" id="ref95">46</reflink>]). The use of data source triangulation in this investigation involved gathering information from various sources, thereby enhancing the reliability and dependability of the collected data. The study initially involved sales alumni and sales industry experts to derive its findings. Data source triangulation was achieved by utilizing sales academics to verify, confirm, and extend the findings, fostering a comprehensive and robust research process. Methodological triangulation (within-method triangulation) employs multiple methods to collect data within the same design approach, which we achieved by using focus groups for the original data collection and in-depth (one-on-one) interviews with sales faculty. According to [<reflink idref="bib46" id="ref96">46</reflink>], this technique enhances the examination and significantly improves the dependability of the information obtained.</p> <hd id="AN0189024052-32">Data Collection and Sample</hd> <p>From a list of universities that participated in a national-level sales competition, 20 universities were randomly selected, and one sales faculty member from each university was invited to participate in the study. Sixteen academics accepted the invitation, although two had to cancel due to conflicts, resulting in 14 individual semi-structured in-depth interviews conducted via Zoom. Each interview took approximately 60–90 minutes and was recorded. Seven participants represented sales programs with a sales major/minor, four participants were from programs with a sales certificate, and three were from universities that did not have a sales program but had at least one sales course. All 14 participants taught sales courses and classified themselves as "sales educators." Both sample adequacy and saturation were met when no new ideas were uncovered from the interviews ([<reflink idref="bib11" id="ref97">11</reflink>]).</p> <hd id="AN0189024052-33">Procedure</hd> <p>The purpose of the triangulation was to confirm the findings derived from sales alumni and sales industry experts focus groups and to incorporate any new insights. Therefore, after first sharing the purpose of the research study, the moderator then presented participants with the initial findings from the focus groups using a PowerPoint presentation. After each finding, an in-depth discussion was conducted to allow the participant to either agree or dispute the findings, followed by a dialog to add any new insights and thoughts.</p> <hd id="AN0189024052-34">Data Analysis and Findings</hd> <p>To find new insights, the interpretative phenomenological analytic (IPA) approach outlined by [<reflink idref="bib20" id="ref98">20</reflink>] and [<reflink idref="bib50" id="ref99">50</reflink>] was used to analyze the data. As the initial step, the first transcript was analyzed for descriptive codes, interpretive categories, and themes. Subsequent transcripts were analyzed using the same process. NVivo software was used to organize the codes, nodes, and themes. Most importantly, the findings determined that the academic participants agreed with this study's initial focus group findings. They also enhanced the findings by adding new insights (see Table 5). One new theme emerged in Category 1, which focused on the introduction to the profession of selling. Similarly, two new themes emerged in Category 3: lifelong learners and incorporating real-life selling content such as emotional intelligence, handling adverse selling situations, and virtual selling.</p> <hd id="AN0189024052-35">Faculty Additions to Category 1: How Sales Curriculum Prepared Students for Sales Careers</hd> <p></p> <ulist> <item> <bold> 1-6. Introduction to the Profession of Selling </bold> . The theme "introduction to the profession of selling" focuses on the importance of a sales curriculum that introduces students to professional sales careers. Sales educators stated that the sales curriculum is critical to addressing and overcoming the negative stereotypes attached to the sales profession. Representative quotes from academics include:</item> <p></p> <item> • "... only a very few declare sales as a major when they are freshmen, but when they take sales classes, we open their eyes to the world of selling..."</item> <p></p> <item> • "... sales curriculum helps students know that selling is a respectable and professional career..."</item> <p></p> <item> • "Sales still has a negative aspect to it... our program helps students to change that narrative."</item> </ulist> <hd id="AN0189024052-36">Faculty Additions to Category 3: Curriculum-Related Gaps or Key Aspects to be Added or Introd...</hd> <p></p> <ulist> <item> <bold> 3-10. </bold> <bold>Lifelong Learners</bold>. This theme highlights the importance of cultivating continuous education and growth in the sales profession. Sales educators stated the urgency of cultivating a lifelong learner mentality in students and developing a curriculum that fosters those behaviors. Below are some selected quotes:</item> <p></p> <item> • "Make students lifelong learners... you spend $30 on a sales book that might help you land a $300,000 account..."</item> <p></p> <item> • "Nothing is constant in the business world... everything is changing all the time... if you are focused on continuous learning, then you can be up-to-date with the changes..."</item> <p></p> <item> • "... mind-set of always getting better... retooling your skillset... I wish I could make my students have a growth mind-set... listen to a podcast, get an audiobook..."</item> <p></p> <item> <bold> 3-11 </bold> . <bold>Variety of Practical Selling Experiences</bold>. The "variety of practical selling experiences" theme illustrates the importance of developing a curriculum that challenges students by introducing a variety of exercises to cover many different types of sales contexts. Faculty expressed that while experiential learning is a great tool, more variety needs to be introduced in terms of what students are asked to apply within those exercises. Exercises that teach selling via different platforms, practicing emotional intelligence, and developing adaptive selling skills were mentioned as those that would help students prepare for the diverse challenges they face in their sales careers. Illustrative quotes are below:</item> <p></p> <item> • "Selling in-person is different compared to virtual and phone selling.... Students need to make virtual sales call feel like in-person interactions.... They need to do it... learn from your mistakes... experiences... the classroom is a safe place to fail."</item> <p></p> <item> • "Gen Z lacks emotional intelligence and emotional durability. Using real selling in the classroom is one way to make them aware of it... and learn."</item> <p></p> <item> • "Using real-life selling in the program can help students deal with difficult situations that they can experience in the sales..."</item> <p></p> <item> • "You can't learn to drive car by reading the driver's manual... you need to drive... same with sales. You need to sell so you can get better..."</item> </ulist> <hd id="AN0189024052-37">Discussion of Focus Group and Interview Findings</hd> <p>The findings of our study reveal several important insights and suggestions for the continued improvement of the global sales curricula. Former students shared that the existing curricula they experienced had several strengths, including how to utilize technology, the opportunity to get hands-on with material, and training on the principles of negotiation. These elements helped build confidence upon entering the workforce. Based on the feedback from the former students in our focus groups, sales programs should expand their focus on sales technology and should also give serious consideration to either launching a stand-alone course in sales negotiation or finding ways to introduce negotiation material in an existing course.</p> <p>However, although students were generally appreciative of the training they received in their sales programs, there was universal agreement that aspects of the curriculum could be improved. Specifically, students mentioned they felt the topics and concepts being taught lagged behind industry trends. They also had strong opinions that some of the more traditional sales courses, such as sales management and KAM, failed to teach them skills needed for entry-level sales positions. Universities could consider replacing these courses with others that would better develop "day one" skills. Former students also shared that educators need to be more mindful of keeping courses current with content and exercises that are reflective of trends in industry. These comments should be taken into consideration by educators in terms of how courses can be designed or adjusted to account for the increasing marketplace trend toward remote/digital selling.</p> <p>Our focus group results also uncovered several key insights about elements that are perceived to be missing from the existing sales curricula and need to be added. Former students emphasized cold-calling guidance and practice as a major component they felt needed more attention, especially as many of them said they began their career in an outbound role. The more experienced student group indicated that more training in analytics is important to be able to understand their own business and make more convincing presentations to customers. From the practitioner's perspective, industry experts indicated that soft skills are still not where they need to be to find success. They felt that students were knowledgeable about the sales process but were unable to execute the process effectively because their communication skills were lagging. In addition, both former students and practitioners agreed that more training could be done at the university level regarding how to build internal relationships and navigate the stresses of the corporate world. Former students expressed that they often struggled to adapt to the challenges confronted after graduation, and sales industry experts said they feel like entry-level sales students require more handholding than anticipated when beginning their careers.</p> <hd id="AN0189024052-38">General Discussion and Recommendations for a Curriculum Review Process</hd> <p>At first blush, some may wonder why new research on sales curricula is necessary such a short time after the publication of [<reflink idref="bib74" id="ref100">74</reflink>] review. While we acknowledge that it is unusual for a new review project to be conducted so quickly on the heels of a previous one, we believe that changing circumstances necessitate the present review. First, there has been rapid growth within the domain of sales education in the intervening period of time. In 2020, the Sales Education Foundation (SEF) listed 147 "top sales universities." By 2023, that number had grown by 33% to include 196 universities, and USCA membership, the sampling frame for the review, has grown even faster (42% growth) over that same period. This growth is accompanied by new course development and pedagogical changes that need to be accounted for. Second, the COVID-19 pandemic brought about significant changes that have fundamentally shaped how sales professionals perform their roles, with these changes expected to be maintained indefinitely ([<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref101">3</reflink>]; [<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref102">5</reflink>]). While educators are aware of these changes, there is a question of whether sales curricula are accounting for these changes to train students on the skills that will be necessary when they enter the modern salesforce. Accordingly, our research sought to review the present state of sales curricula at large and identify what modifications, if any, are necessary to best equip university sales students moving forward.</p> <p>The findings of our curriculum review indicated that changes to the mix of sales course offerings are slowly starting to emerge. Advanced Sales, Negotiations, and CRM courses are all continuing to grow in prominence, and we observe a long list of new sales courses emerging within sales programs, many of them aligned to specific industries (e.g., Medical Device Sales and Financial Services Sales). While changes over time are evident, it is notable that, in general, the core mix of sales courses (those offered by more than 50% of the sampled universities over the most recent reviews) has remained relatively stable for well over a decade (e.g., Professional Selling, Sales Management, and Advanced Sales), despite significant and rapid change within the sales profession itself. Looking at the current state of the overall sales curricula through a post-pandemic lens, it seems clear that some important changes are due.</p> <p>Our focus group sessions provided important insights as to how sales curricula could evolve to better align with industry. Former students shared that sales courses were doing a relatively good job in terms of the approach to teaching (e.g., experiential learning) but that in some cases, the activities were unrealistic compared to their actual sales experiences, or the content that was being taught was unhelpful (e.g., sales management, key accounts). Alumni further expressed a desire to learn more about new and evolving sales technologies, analytics, and early sales process steps such as prospecting and cold-calling. On the other hand, industry experts noted that new sales professionals required more training on soft skills, including developing emotional intelligence and basic sales communication skills. They also noted that recent graduates struggled with adapting to the corporate environment and could use guidance on how to develop relationships inside sales organizations, including how to interact with their sales manager and cultivate mentorship relationships with more senior members of the organization.</p> <p>In consideration of the findings of our curriculum review and focus groups, we see a few clear directions that sales curricula should evolve moving forward. First, the sales core needs to be updated. While Professional Selling and Advanced Sales continue to have broad support, the Sales Management course has many detractors. [<reflink idref="bib74" id="ref103">74</reflink>] found waning support for the Sales Management course in their survey of educators, and our focus groups involving former students shared similar sentiments that this course lacked utility in the early stages of their sales careers. Universities should consider elevating a CRM/Sales Technology course and/or Sales Analytics course to their sales core in place of Sales Management, which could become an elective. While our focus groups had mixed opinions about the extent to which sales technology should be covered within a sales curriculum, there was general agreement that learning about the various technologies used in sales organizations is vital at this stage, especially with more sales roles being performed remotely (universities should also note that several sales technology platforms offer free usage for college students). The alumni focus groups also stressed that Sales Analytics was an area they felt they had knowledge gaps when entering the workforce and expressed that this area needed greater cultivation within the sales curricula. This mirrors the findings of [<reflink idref="bib74" id="ref104">74</reflink>], where educators listed Sales Analytics as the third most important course to include in the sales curriculum. A final suggestion based on our findings is to expand course content in the areas of prospecting, cold-calling, and negotiations. Our focus group respondents indicated these were areas they felt were important for entry-level sales professionals to be competent to find early career success. In the case of prospecting and cold-calling, our former students expressed that much greater attention needs to be paid to these areas, either within existing courses (e.g., Professional Selling or Advanced Sales) or in a stand-alone course in which inside/outbound sales is comprehensively covered.</p> <hd id="AN0189024052-39">Curriculum Review Process</hd> <p>Not to be lost in the findings from our curriculum review and focus group sessions is that a primary aim of the present research is to advance a curriculum review process that schools can utilize to assess their own curricula and determine what, if any, modifications may be necessary. Before prescribing a process, it was important for us to first gain a clear understanding of the present state of university sales curricula from the perspectives of former students and industry experts affiliated with sales centers who had not previously been consulted on the topic. The valued opinions of sales faculty who teach many of these classes also revealed insight and gaps in the current curricula. With the review completed and these additional perspectives, in the section below, we blend the insights gained from the present research with those advanced in previous papers (see the study by [<reflink idref="bib25" id="ref105">25</reflink>]; [<reflink idref="bib74" id="ref106">74</reflink>]) to formulate a curriculum review process that can be implemented by schools at the institutional level.</p> <p>One of the goals of this research is to provide a comprehensive sales curriculum review process that can be utilized at any university. [<reflink idref="bib74" id="ref107">74</reflink>] recommended continuous updates to sales curriculum and individual professors' courses by encouraging educators to adopt the typical sales courses identified in their paper and to be cognizant of, and open to, suggestions from sales educators as found in research publications. While these are great suggestions, our findings suggest that primary research with sales program stakeholders can uncover some important insights that have been overlooked in the literature. We sought to identify a process that not only allowed for the advancement of a sales curriculum, but one that is also easy to implement. The process we introduce will enable educators to identify both strengths and weaknesses of their sales curriculum and provide guidance on how reasonable adjustments can be made. Finally, the overarching goal of the curriculum review process should be to refine the sales curriculum so that it best prepares students for early career success upon graduation (see Figure A1 in Appendix A). We also offer additional considerations for schools at various levels of sales program development (see Figure A2 in Appendix A). For a more detailed overview of the prescribed review process, please consult Appendix A.</p> <hd id="AN0189024052-40">Limitations and Future Research</hd> <p>There were several limitations of the present research that must be acknowledged. The present study was limited to U.S.-based universities aligned with the USCA. While the number of universities offering sales courses and curricula in other countries beyond the United States is limited, the number of international USCA members is growing and is now at five members. Future research that compares sales curriculum and teaching sales topics cross-culturally is encouraged. In addition, our research purposely targeted former sales students and sales industry experts affiliated with sales center partners as participants given their viewpoints on curricular issues had not previously been solicited. While we believe the insights of these parties have helped to move the field forward, it is regretful that we were unable to conduct a larger-scale project in which a comprehensive set of stakeholders, including a broader array of academicians and non-university affiliated sales personnel, could have weighed in to get a broader vantage point of sales curricula. It would be interesting to compare and contrast the views of these stakeholder groups.</p> <p>It should also be acknowledged that sales managers and recruiters likely have different perspectives on sales programs. Combining these respondents into a single group is a limitation, and we suggest that future research consider splitting managers and recruiters, as their perspectives and interactions with entry-level salespeople may differ. We suggest conducting a follow-up study with more industry experts and complementing it with a quantitative study to further strengthen the findings' robustness.</p> <p>In addition, while gender differences were not the focus of this study, future research may be conducted to uncover if people of different genders have differing perspectives on sales curriculum topics. One particularly interesting idea would be to determine if specific sales courses predict salesperson success (e.g., revenue generated, % to quota, etc.) using objective performance data. A study of this nature would represent a nuanced extension of the study by [<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref108">8</reflink>] which determined that university sales education is predictive of sales performance. It would be helpful to the discipline to understand whether specific courses or content are more predictive of success so that the curriculum can be shaped in that direction.</p> <p>While the present research fills an important void in the domain, there will be ample opportunities for future research to build upon our findings. For instance, future research could examine the efficacy of industry-aligned sales courses to see if such courses are helping students place into these professions at an increasing rate or if they are having greater success due to completing coursework aligned with the industry. In addition, the proliferation of sales technology will be worth monitoring, especially with artificial intelligence increasingly supporting the sales process. Questions regarding how much and which technologies should be integrated into the curriculum and which courses should cover that content will need to be answered. It is clear that sales education is still in a nascent stage relative to other business disciplines and is evolving rapidly. Our research reveals that sales curricula are still in the process of adapting to the needs of the marketplace, but there are hints that substantial changes could be in store. We found 71 unique sales courses, including courses aligned with specific industries, courses teaching global sales perspectives, and courses focused on digital and social selling. While new courses were observed on several universities' websites, many sales courses seemed to have remained the same. The possibility exists that what is being taught in those classes is being updated or modified over time without course names being adapted and/or universities' websites being changed. Future curriculum-based research could delve into the course-level content of sales courses to build upon our work.</p> <hd id="AN0189024052-41">Appendix A</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0189024052-42">Prescribed Curriculum Review Process</hd> <p>To assist with the formulation of the prescribed curriculum review process, we reviewed past literature on the topic. Although research that specifically addresses how to review a curriculum remains rare ([<reflink idref="bib31" id="ref109">31</reflink>]; [<reflink idref="bib32" id="ref110">32</reflink>]), we did identify a few case studies for guidance. [<reflink idref="bib52" id="ref111">52</reflink>] provide a helpful overview of two broader approaches that can be used to evaluate curriculum, one that leans more heavily on quality assurance and emphasizes system-wide counts and data gathering (i.e., quantitative), and another that relies on a social-interactive model emphasizing engagement with data sources (i.e., qualitative). Although [<reflink idref="bib52" id="ref112">52</reflink>] acknowledge the merits of both approaches, they make a convincing case for the social-interactive approach as being better suited for accomplishing the immediate interests of the researcher or practitioner, whereas the quality assurance approach tends to be more centralized and better suited for long-term, system-wide management. The curriculum review process can also be initiated in a top-down manner, in which review and reform is mandated by policy, or a bottom-up approach, where educators are the primary drivers of the evaluation process, and understanding and enactment are the goals ([<reflink idref="bib31" id="ref113">31</reflink>]; [<reflink idref="bib44" id="ref114">44</reflink>]). The process prescribed in the present research is aligned with the social-interactive and bottom-up approaches to curriculum review, with an aim of developing a process to deliver near-term, actionable insights driven by educators.</p> <p>Additional research identified specific steps to be considered within the review process. [<reflink idref="bib65" id="ref115">65</reflink>] explored the phenomenon of a 4-year curriculum review process involving administrators and faculty at an institution of higher learning. Their observations led to a set of recommendations, including a process leader needs to be identified early in the process; following that, a leadership team with a wide breadth of representation should be assembled to help guide the process; faculty need to be engaged in open and frank discussions about curriculum; and the wider campus community needs to be considered within the curriculum review process. [<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref116">24</reflink>] build on the idea of including the wider campus community and identify alumni and recruiters as important stakeholders that should be involved in this process. Our prescribed process follows the guidance of [<reflink idref="bib65" id="ref117">65</reflink>] to recommend a strong leader and diverse team be assembled at the outset of the review process. We also incorporate steps to solicit feedback from alumni and hiring personnel as recommended by [<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref118">24</reflink>], given that they were determined to be fruitful sources within the present research.</p> <p>Finally, our review did identify one article specifically prescribing a curriculum review process for business programs. [<reflink idref="bib32" id="ref119">32</reflink>] focus on Standard 15 from the AACSB accreditation standards which deals with the management of curriculum to ensure students learn appropriate content in their business courses. The authors indicate that while this is an important component of the accreditation process for business schools, no formalized process has been prescribed by the AACSB for upholding this standard, nor has one been advanced in the business pedagogy ([<reflink idref="bib32" id="ref120">32</reflink>]). To address this shortcoming, we outline a simple process that involves engaging three predominant groups: external stakeholders, including recent alumni, business advisory council members, and employers who are useful for providing localized insights, and other university sales academics to benchmark standards and progress. These recommendations are in line with the present research and are incorporated in our prescribed process.</p> <p>To begin the curriculum review process, a diverse curriculum review team should be assembled comprised of members of differing levels and experiences (e.g., faculty from different ranks), and a leader should be identified who can help the team achieve its goals ([<reflink idref="bib65" id="ref121">65</reflink>]). After a review team has been appointed, we recommend universities begin having internal discussions among key internal stakeholders ([<reflink idref="bib6" id="ref122">6</reflink>]), including deans, department chairs, professors, corporate partners, and students, about the type of sales program they wish to build (see the study by [<reflink idref="bib51" id="ref123">51</reflink>] for a list of key stakeholder groups). This would include coming to an agreement about the size and scope of the sales program, as well as the ambitions and goals of the program. In short, this step involves defining (or reaffirming, in the case of existing programs) the vision and mission of the sales program. This is an important first step because the number and mix of courses chosen for a curriculum need to be aligned to the vision mapped out for the program. For instance, schools wishing to become premier sales programs will need to consider creating a distinct sales major or devising an elaborate certificate program requiring students to complete a larger series of sales courses (usually five or more). Likewise, some universities may envision the development of a program that stresses student experience above concepts and theory. If this were the case, selecting experience-driven course requirements such as advanced sales, a sales practicum, and/or a sales internship would be most suitable.</p> <p>After defining the mission and vision of the sales program, the next step of the process is to review the existing sales curriculum ([<reflink idref="bib15" id="ref124">15</reflink>]). This entails comparing the university's current sales course offerings against the list of the most commonly offered sales courses displayed in Table 2 of the present research. This step is helpful for determining what the "core" courses in the curriculum will be. At this point, it is a given that every sales program will include a Professional Selling course (or one like it) as the key introductory course to cover the basics of the sales process. All 70 universities in our study offered a course of this nature. From there, consideration can be given to other "commonly offered" courses, which at present include Sales Management, Advanced Sales, Negotiation, and CRM/Sales Technology. This collection represents a sort of "best practices" listing crowdsourced from the most prominent sales programs in the United States. However, this is not to suggest that universities should simply select to include these courses because they are popular offerings. There are additional considerations. Reverting to the first step of the curriculum review process above, schools need to think about the total number of courses they wish to offer, as well as the goals of the program. For example, larger programs may have the easy option of simply including all the most common courses, but smaller programs (those with three or fewer course offerings) will need to be more selective in aligning a smaller set of courses with the goals of the sales program (for additional suggestions regarding sales curriculum for programs at different stages of development, see Figure A2 in Appendix A).</p> <p>The next step, in which universities engage key external stakeholders to review the existing curriculum and provide insights on strengths and areas for improvement, can also assist with determining the right mix of courses ([<reflink idref="bib28" id="ref125">28</reflink>]). While all stakeholders of the sales program are worth engaging in this step, we feel strongly that the most critical insights will be those provided by former students and hiring personnel/corporate partners. Former students have keen, firsthand insights on what is currently being taught in the classroom and what concepts and skills are essential to succeed in early-stage sales roles. For instance, several former students in our focus groups had strong opinions that sales management courses were not as useful, compared to other courses, in preparing them for entry-level sales roles. However, hiring personnel, who also directly observe the strengths and weaknesses of entry-level salespeople at the early stages of their career, felt that certain aspects taught in sales management courses, such as how strategies are formulated and implemented through the sales organization and how sales leaders and frontline salespeople should engage, were important concepts for students to grasp prior to beginning their career. While these competing perspectives may not offer a simple choice when determining the correct mix of classes, gaining these insights prior to determining the final curriculum is important. For smaller programs, limited in the number of courses that can be offered, a compromise may be to embed the key sales management concepts identified by hiring personnel as a module or chapter in another course, such as professional selling or advanced sales.</p> <p>After soliciting feedback from key external stakeholders, the next step in the process is to begin making final decisions about the courses to be included in the curriculum. However, before selecting the final set, universities should evaluate a wider range of course options that extend beyond the traditional sales courses reviewed in Step 2 of the process. Sales programs are increasingly creating new and innovative sales course offerings. Universities are encouraged to review Table 3 in the present research to see if any of the unique course offerings found there would be worth considering for inclusion in the curriculum. Even if none of the unique courses is an exact fit for the vision of the sales program, reviewing this list may prompt ideas for an altogether new course that could be developed by the university. Finally, after evaluating all course options, universities should consider the range of courses against the feedback of stakeholders to select a final set of courses for the sales curriculum (see Figures A1 and A2).</p> <p>Graph: Figure A1. The Sales Curriculum Review Process</p> <p>Graph: Figure A2. Sales Curriculum Progression</p> <p>With the final set of courses decided, the last step of the process is to engage members of the department to review the selected courses to ensure that there are no significant gaps in terms of the content being offered within the sales curriculum, nor should there be significant overlap with other existing courses. If any gaps or overlaps are identified, universities should consult the lists of common and unique courses to see if the inclusion of different courses from those lists can remedy the problem. Once everyone is satisfied that no gaps or overlap exist, the curriculum can be finalized and implemented. At this final stage, universities should determine how frequently they want to undertake the curriculum review process. We recommend that the formalized process described here be undertaken at least once every 3 years. However, a less-formal "ear to the ground" process can be done on an ongoing basis given the current rate of change within sales education.</p> <hd id="AN0189024052-43">Appendix B</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0189024052-44">Moderator Guide—Former Students</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0189024052-45">Introduction</hd> <p>The purpose of the focus group today is twofold:</p> <p></p> <ulist> <item> 1. As recent graduates and successful sales professionals, we want to learn how your sales curriculum helped you be where you are today.</item> <p></p> <item> 2. What can universities do to better prepare sales students, and what modifications can be made to enhance sales curriculum so that the students are better equipped to be successful in their professional sales careers?</item> </ulist> <p>Please remember that there are no "right or wrong" answers today. Your answers will be confidential and not be shared with any outsider. I am recording this meeting, but only to ensure that we correctly capture responses. The video will not be in the public domain, and we will delete it once we are done with the process. Does anyone have any questions before we begin?</p> <p>Please walk us through the following:</p> <p></p> <ulist> <item> Name, graduation year, what you have been doing since graduating from (e.g., current and/or past position/company), describe your day-to-day at the present.</item> </ulist> <hd id="AN0189024052-46">Questions About the Participant's Experience in College and Relevance to Career</hd> <p></p> <ulist> <item> 1. Tell me what you can remember about your sales CLASSES when you were a student</item> </ulist> <p>- What <emph>classes</emph> did you take when you were in college that helped you when you started your career as a sales professional? (Explain how they were helpful)</p> <p>- Please describe the "nature" of these classes. What was the classroom experience like?</p> <p>- What types of activities did you work on in these classes?</p> <p>- Was there anything you did in these classes that stood out as being helpful in preparing you for your career in sales?</p> <p></p> <ulist> <item> 2. What topics/concepts did you learn about in college that you feel were most helpful in preparing you for your career as a sales professional? (Explain)</item> <p></p> <item> 3. What are some classes/topics that you wished you had when you were in college that were not offered/covered that would have helped with your career? Why important?</item> <p></p> <item> 4. How did your sales education prepare you to have a successful sales career?</item> <p></p> <item> 5. If you were to design a sales major/certificate/course, what topics would you include? Why are they important? What activities/content would you include?</item> </ulist> <hd id="AN0189024052-47">The Transition From College to Career</hd> <p></p> <ulist> <item> 1. What are some struggles that you encountered as an entry-level salesperson?</item> <p></p> <item> - Did anything surprise you that you weren't expecting?</item> <p></p> <item> 2. How do you think the sales program/sales courses/ could have helped you with that?</item> <p></p> <item> - Alternatively, are there things you believe you have struggled with because they were either not covered in classes that you took, or you did not take the classes in which those concepts may have been covered in college?</item> <p></p> <item> 3. What made you separate from your peers who did not have structured sales training/sales courses when they were in college?</item> </ulist> <hd id="AN0189024052-48">Appendix C</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0189024052-49">Moderator Guide—Hiring Personnel</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0189024052-50">Introduction</hd> <p>Thank the participants.</p> <p>The purpose of the focus group today is twofold:</p> <p></p> <ulist> <item> 1. As a sales professionals/recruiters, we want to learn how the sales curriculum has helped prepare sales students to be successful.</item> <p></p> <item> 2. What can we do to prepare students better, and what modifications can we made to enhance the curriculum so that we can prepare our current and future students to be successful?</item> </ulist> <p>Please remember that there are no "right or wrong" answers today. Your specific answers will be confidential and will not be shared with your company or any outsider. I am recording this meeting, but only to ensure that we correctly capture today's responses. The video will not be in the public domain, and we will delete it once we are done with the process. Does anyone have any questions before we begin?</p> <p>Let's briefly do a self-introduction so we get to know today's participants.</p> <p></p> <p>• 1. Name</p> <p></p> <ulist> <item> 2. Your company and position</item> <p></p> <item> 3. How long have you been in the sales field?</item> <p></p> <item> 4. Can you share the experiences you've had with sales programs (engagement)?</item> </ulist> <p> <emph>Describe the sales curriculums. Present the Comparison of Most Common Sales Courses over time—Slide—Provide a broad explanation if they ask any questions as content for each course is not standardized across universities.</emph> </p> <p></p> <ulist> <item> Segment 1: When considering entry-level sales hires, what are some key differences you've observed between students from sales programs and those from non-sales programs?</item> <p></p> <item> Segment 2: When you think about sales curriculum, what are some strengths/positives you have seen with programs? Please provide some specifics that you have witnessed. What are some examples, such as topics or content?</item> <p></p> <item> Segment 3: Now that we've discussed the positives, what are some non-relevant/non-impact course content/courses you have seen in sales programs? Please describe any specifics. What are some examples, such as topics or content?</item> <p></p> <item> Segment 4: I am sure you would agree that the sales landscape is changing rapidly. What are some content/ courses that sales programs can include so that we can better prepare our students for the challenges they face when they enter the workforce? What activities? What are some struggles students encounter when starting their sales careers, and what can we do to help them with those struggles while they are in school?</item> </ulist> <hd id="AN0189024052-51">Appendix D</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0189024052-52">Interview Guide—Sales Faculty—Unstructured Interview</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0189024052-53">Introduction</hd> <p>Thank you for participating in the interview. This is a hectic time for us, but I appreciate you so much for helping us with this project.</p> <hd id="AN0189024052-54">Describe the Purpose</hd> <p>While the sales industry is changing rapidly, the sales curriculum across universities has changed slowly. As academics, we are all invested in our programs and the success of our students. We wanted to take an honest and open review of the sales curriculum across universities, mainly to answer two questions:</p> <p></p> <ulist> <item> 1. We want to learn how the sales curriculum has helped prepare sales students to be successful.</item> <p></p> <item> 2. What can we do to prepare students better, and what modifications can we make to enhance the curriculum so that we can prepare our current and future students to be successful?</item> </ulist> <p>Explain: We found the best way to get initial insights is to talk to sales alums and hiring officials/industry experts. We conducted a series of focus groups, and I wanted to present them to you to get your opinion and insights. Please, let me know what you think of these and if we are missing anything. Remember, there are no "right or wrong" answers today. Your specific answers will be confidential and will not be shared with anyone. I am recording this meeting, but only to ensure that we correctly capture today's responses. The video will not be in the public domain, and we will delete it once we are done with the process.</p> <p>Before we begin, can you please tell me something about yourself?</p> <p></p> <p>• 1. Name</p> <p></p> <ulist> <item> 2. University</item> <p></p> <item> 3. How long have you been in the sales field/sales education?</item> <p></p> <item> 4. 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Bulletin of Sociological Methodology/Bulletin de Méthodologie Sociologique, 137(1), 94–119.</bibtext> </blist> </ref> <ref id="AN0189024052-56"> <title> Footnotes </title> <blist> <bibtext> The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Lisa L. Scribner</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext>Graph</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext>https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0890-2549 Duleep Delpechitre</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext>Graph</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext>https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5419-3317 Matthew M. Lastner</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext>Graph https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2801-7715</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Qualitative research does not firmly establish the number of participants needed for data saturation ([21]; [29]); therefore, new themes could emerge with the inclusion of additional participants.</bibtext> </blist> </ref> <aug> <p>By Lisa L. Scribner; Duleep Delpechitre and Matthew M. 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  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Does Your Sales Curriculum Need a Refresh? Insights on How to Align Sales Curriculum with the Modern Sales Environment
– Name: Language
  Label: Language
  Group: Lang
  Data: English
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Lisa+L%2E+Scribner%22">Lisa L. Scribner</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0890-2549">0000-0002-0890-2549</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Duleep+Delpechitre%22">Duleep Delpechitre</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5419-3317">0000-0002-5419-3317</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Matthew+M%2E+Lastner%22">Matthew M. Lastner</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2801-7715">0000-0002-2801-7715</externalLink>)
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  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Journal+of+Marketing+Education%22"><i>Journal of Marketing Education</i></searchLink>. 2025 47(3):258-286.
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  Label: Availability
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  Data: SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com
– Name: PeerReviewed
  Label: Peer Reviewed
  Group: SrcInfo
  Data: Y
– Name: Pages
  Label: Page Count
  Group: Src
  Data: 29
– Name: DatePubCY
  Label: Publication Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2025
– Name: TypeDocument
  Label: Document Type
  Group: TypDoc
  Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research<br />Tests/Questionnaires
– Name: Audience
  Label: Education Level
  Group: Audnce
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Higher+Education%22">Higher Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Postsecondary+Education%22">Postsecondary Education</searchLink>
– Name: Subject
  Label: Descriptors
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Sales+Occupations%22">Sales Occupations</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Business+Education%22">Business Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Curriculum+Development%22">Curriculum Development</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Alignment+%28Education%29%22">Alignment (Education)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Business+Schools%22">Business Schools</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Salesmanship%22">Salesmanship</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22College+Graduates%22">College Graduates</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Business+Skills%22">Business Skills</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Teamwork%22">Teamwork</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Experiential+Learning%22">Experiential Learning</searchLink>
– Name: DOI
  Label: DOI
  Group: ID
  Data: 10.1177/02734753241284872
– Name: ISSN
  Label: ISSN
  Group: ISSN
  Data: 0273-4753<br />1552-6550
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Sales education has experienced significant growth recently, both in the number of schools offering sales programs and in the amount of pedagogical attention dedicated to advancing the field. However, one area that has not been given adequate attention is the sales curriculum. To date, few scholarly articles have examined sales curricula from a broad perspective. More concerningly, the field of sales has changed significantly due to recent technological, generational, and pandemic-related shifts in the market. Accordingly, in the present article, we examine the current state of sales curricula by reviewing the existing curricula of the 70 member schools of the University Sales Center Alliance (USCA) in the United States. Furthermore, we conduct focus groups with former sales students now working in sales, as well as hiring personnel affiliated with USCA schools, to address how sales curricula should be evolved to reflect the modern sales role. In addition, we triangulate and validate these insights with data gathered from sales academics. Our findings suggest sales educators should rethink the composition of the standard sales curriculum.
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  Data: 2025
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  Data: EJ1488865
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        Value: 10.1177/02734753241284872
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      – Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 29
        StartPage: 258
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Sales Occupations
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Business Education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Curriculum Development
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      – SubjectFull: Alignment (Education)
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      – SubjectFull: Business Schools
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      – SubjectFull: Salesmanship
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      – SubjectFull: Teamwork
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      – SubjectFull: Experiential Learning
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      – TitleFull: Does Your Sales Curriculum Need a Refresh? Insights on How to Align Sales Curriculum with the Modern Sales Environment
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