Before 3M and four HBCUs partnered to focus on a new field in sales and customer service, these HBCUs offered little or no educational content to support the financially lucrative careers of business' frontline professionals. Today, students of the business schools at Xavier University of New Orleans, La., Tuskegee University of Tuskegee, Ala., North Carolina A&T University of Greensboro, N.C, and Southern University of Baton Rouge, La., are attending courses in sales and customer service, actively engaging in roleplay exercises and sales simulation, and presenting complex business plans. Xavier University's department of business, under the leadership of Dr. Joe Ricks, assistant professor of sales and marketing, and associate chair of the department, partnered with 3M to help create a new strategic direction in business education. The relationship helped Dr. Ricks and the Xavier academic team design and offer courses in "Personal Selling," "Customer Relations Management," and "Multi-Variable Data Analysis." The courses in sales and customer service are now requirements of a new minor in Sales at Xavier.

Dr. Jakki Williams, associate professor of marketing, North Carolina A&T State University, and her colleagues have designed a customer relationship marketing and management course offering within the business major for students interested in focusing on a career in sales or CRM. Southern University, under the direction of Dr. George Kirk, associate professor of marketing in the College of Business, has instituted a concentration in Sales, and Tuskegee University, under Dr. Alecia Jackson, interim dean of the college of business, has in place a concentration in sales. At each of the four universities, students may earn a business degree with an emphasis in sales, electing either a major, minor or concentration. As part of the degree requirements, most students experience comprehensive internships at some of the nation's top companies. Successful students talk about their enthusiasm for this newfound career interest and customer focused education.

Company recruiters increasingly are seeking not only top students, but also those who are performance-ready to shorten the time that new-hires spend in training. To help students build competencies that will attract future employers and foster their success in rewarding positions, four HBCUs now offer innovative program focusing on sales and customer service. Students at Xavier, North Carolina A & T, Southern University (Baton Rouge), and Tuskegee may take courses especially designed for concentrations and certificate programs in sales and customer relationship marketing and management. Students support their classroom work with internships at 3M and other companies, which give them practical experience, a taste of what sales positions are really like and, if the relationships fit, job offers. Enthusiastic alumni support these innovative programs.

Although LaTesha Eubanks initially wanted a marketing position after her 2000 graduation from Southern University Baton Rouge, La., she found her best offers in sales. "I found I like sales," says Eubanks, who now helps municipalities in northern Louisiana savemoney on energy conservation measures, as an account representative for Johnson Controls, Inc. "Once you understand your product, it's easier to help customers share your passion for it."

Like Eubanks, many students with majors in marketing — and even in other fields — are finding their best opportunities in sales positions, as companies become more aware of customer satisfaction and loyalty, and increasingly seek top talent for frontline positions. According to Dr. Ricks of Xavier University, about 70 percent of known placements of Xavier's sales and marketing students are in business-to-business sales with companies such as 3M, Pfizer, Northwestern Mutual and Clear Channel Communications

"In years past, higher end students often had a marketing career goal but eventually took a sales job," says Dr. Ricks. "Now these students are looking to develop sales skills and go right into the field."

Debunking the myths

Often students' reluctance to consider sales as a career stems from a misperception of what business-to-business selling is all about. "Sales is not just talking someone into something," says Dr. George Kirk, associate professor of marketing, Southern University. "It's solving problems, finding out what customers' needs are and describing how my product can make your life easier. When a 3M representative, for instance, calls on customers and tells them how they can sell more product and make more money, they're going to be happy to see them."

Recent graduates who are now part of sales teams say that among the most rewarding features of their positions is the opportunity to run their own businesses, with the accompanying flexibility and unlimited earning potential, but without the full financial responsibility. Typically company sales representatives handle accounts within their own territories, developing strong relationships with their customers. If they perform well, and meet or exceed their goals, they see the results in their paychecks.

Branden Weber, now selling single coated tape for 3M's Industrial Business Division in Houston, Texas, says that he likes the overall feel for business that he gains from managing his own territory. "The sales function gives you a ground level view," says the 2003 Xavier University graduate. "You're like an entrepreneur: it's just you, your product and the customer. You learn to look at business trends and get a sense of what is important to the customer, and it makes you look at your own business differently."

A marketing major, Weber originally thought of a sales job as selling a product or service door-to-door — not something he wanted to do as a career. Through Xavier, he found an internship in Austin, Texas, with a 3M division. The experience changed his mind. "My internship job was to come up with an effective way to penetrate a new market," says Weber. "To better understand that market, I traveled and talked with customers and potential customers. It put sales in a whole different light."

Weber, who joined 3M full-time in December 2003, says, "If you like a personal challenge and interaction with people, if you want to apply the knowledge you've learned and can communicate well, sales is a great place to be, especially for those directly out of school who are not excited about going to an office."

Gary Watson, a 2004 Xavier sales and marketing graduate, agrees. He moved into full-time work in radio sales at two of the seven Clear Channel stations in New Orleans following a student internship in radio promotions. Now he works with representatives of companies such as Coca Cola, Miller Light, McDonald's, Taco Bell and Subway.

"Although I must meet company standards and guidelines, I'm essentially running my own business," he says. "I'm also building relationships and helping clients meet their goals. Most clients look at me as a marketing consultant, not as just a radio sales guy."

Watson says his sales career is making him better rounded. "In sales you touch so many bases," he says. "You communicate with different business owners, do research, learn your product and package yourself as well as your product. You use your knowledge and creativity to solve problems. I have a client list of 40 businesses, and I'm familiar with so many industries, I can hold a conversation about almost anything."

Looking ahead

Sales can also be a steppingstone to success in future positions, as it was for Kalebyra Henry. Henry, a 2002 graduate of Southern University, took an internship with 3M the summer before her senior year and was hired for a 3M sales position after graduation. Within 18 months she moved to 3M's headquarters in St. Paul, Minn., to take a marketing position. "If I hadn't had the sales background, I don't know if I'd be able to tackle the responsibilities I have now with as much success," she says. "In sales you're at the beginning of the business process and get to see it to the end. Now I develop sales tools for distributor representatives and manage marketing activities for four distributors. My job is a lot easier because I've developed relationships with  other industrial distributors and know firsthand what they need."

"Students who think beyond their first job are more receptive to sales," says Dr. Jakki Williams, associate professor of marketing, North Carolina A & T State University. "The customer contact experience can make them more job-ready. Companies now are looking for employees who understand the value of the customer. Some operate on a model in which one department looks at others as its customers, so regardless of the position, customer-focus experience will help any graduate ultimately be more successful."

A boost toward the future

"Corporate America has found that graduates with specialized sales education are productive sooner," says Dr. Kirk. "Sales students are in demand, even for non sales jobs, because they have better communication skills and understand how business works." Dr. Kirk advises every student, regardless of major, to take a sales course.

"What they learn will serve them well," he says. "There is always a role for sales. An engineer must sell someone on a product. A doctor can use sales techniques to convince men to get medical checkups. If you want a job, you have to sell yourself to get it: tell a company with a stack of resumes two inches high why it should pick you over your competitors. Sales students know how to identify customer needs and sell themselves."

"Skills students develop in class, such as networking — understanding how to work with and through others to accomplish goals — and negotiating, are transferable to any position," says Dr. Williams. "They learn how to listen and ask the right questions. These are skills they'll need, and this is a good way to get experience."

"With a sales education, graduates have a better chance of making a contribution early," adds Dr. Ricks of Xavier. "The more early success they have, the greater contribution they'll be able to make over the long term."

LaTesha Eubanks would agree. The success of her first sales position led her to take another with a different company after pausing to earn a Master's in Business Administration from Southeastern Louisiana University in 2003. Her advice to present students? "Don't limit yourself; stay open to the idea of Sales because it has great benefits. Be persistent, study hard and take every opportunity seriously. Overall, Sales is a great career."

Bobbie Keller is a professional writer and owner of Keller Communications.