A University marketing professor has begun teaching Baton Rouge business executives sales techniques they may not have learned in college.
Carl Herrick, marketing executive-in-residence, said he noticed many marketing students were not finding jobs in their field after graduation. Instead, they were finding jobs in sales, he said.
Herrick said he consulted E.J. Ourso College of Business Dean Eli Jones, who supported the idea of a class for area business executives who wanted to improve sales skills. Herrick began teaching the class in September 2010 and started the second semester in February.
Herrick said his class of 10 businessmen and businesswomen meets every Monday and is based on the Sandler Training method, a 40-year-old business franchise. The curriculum was developed by the University’s Executive Education program, according the College of Business’ website.
Herrick said he studied engineering in college but had trouble selling his products — a problem he said many executives face.
“They know the products, but they don’t know how to sell them,” he said.
Herrick said his class is more about learning how to help clients rather than learning sales techniques.
Marsanne Golsby, owner of Marsanne Golsby Communications, said she enrolled in the class after her job took a difficult turn. Businesses were no longer coming to her for consultation like they had before, she said.
“I was naive,” Golsby said, explaining she didn’t know how to sell her communication services.
Golsby said her business has increased after only two classes.
Many executives who may be successful in a specific field but have no sales training in college face difficulty when selling their products, Herrick said.
“The right people are on the bus going in the right direction, but they’re in the wrong seats,” Herrick said. “Selling is a profession.”
Herrick said he stresses to executives the importance of relationships when trying to better serve clients.
The class is geared toward sales, Golsby said, but it offers more than business skills.
Herrick said he currently teaches a two-semester sales communication class for University marketing students because sales techniques make college graduates more attractive to businesses in a tight market.
 
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Contact Brian Sibille at [email protected]