Published on June 20, 2017 by Kara Kennedy  
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Samford University’s Brock School of Business recently was recognized by the Sales Education Foundation as a “Top University Sales Program” in the foundation’s Annual magazine.  

The program was recognized for its low faculty-student ratio, and the ability to connect students with quality internships, mentors and employers. Other contributing factors for the recognition are the program’s required sales internship and its Customer Relationship Management course in which students get hands-on experience with Salesforce.com, the industry-standard CRM platform. 

Brock School of Business students have had the opportunity to enroll in the Professional Sales Concentration since 2015. The concentration requires students to take three classroom courses plus a sales-related internship. All students in the concentration enroll in Professional Selling, a course that pushes students to hone their communication skills while developing a deep understanding of the dynamics of the buyer-seller relationship. The course engages students with traditional role plays as well as cutting-edge video interviewing technology. Students also take the CRM course that focuses on relationship development. A sales-related elective and the sales internship round out the curriculum. 

“This recognition by the Sales Education Foundation is a testament to the quality of our program at Samford and its students,” said Clif Eason, Samford assistant professor of marketing. “Employers have consistently told us that sales and relationship-development skills are amongst their highest priorities when hiring. Our program is designed to meet those business needs head-on by providing students with a rigorous learning experience that engages students in meaningful ways.” 

Sally Stevens, Sales Education Foundation executive director, stated that sales education programs are gaining traction in business schools. These programs are growing in large part because of the dedication of professors and administrators to the vision of offering competitive programs that allow students in sales to compete in the global economy.

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.