(Each Tuesday though Saturday, Statesboro Herald correspondent Roger Allen will write about newsmakers on Phil Boyum’s “Mornings unPHILtered” Web audio and radio program.)
Monday’s guest on “Mornings unPHILtered” was Dr. Ron Shiffler, dean of Georgia Southern’s College of Business Administration (COBA). He also is the interim dean of the School of Information Technology.
According to Shiffler, COBA has joined about 15 other universities to form a “University Sales Alliance.” At COBA, two rooms were remodeled with cameras for videotaping to help teach students how to sell, and where faculty can coach them. In addition, there is a much larger conference room for PowerPoint presentations. These three rooms form the nucleus of COBA’s sales center.
In the past, Shiffler said business schools have focused primarily on a marketing major, which has been traditionally one of most popular in business schools. The school discovered, however, that 4 of 5 students graduating from these programs took jobs in sales for which GSU had only one sales course. Professors William H. Bolen, Kathy Swift Owens and Dr. E. James Randall were instrumental in creating the sales program. Dr. C. David Shepherd is head of the sales program, which consists of five separate courses.
Boyum related that he once took a job with an American car manufacturer. Shiffler laughed, and assured him that COBA “was not training our students to (only) be car salesmen.”
Shiffler shared that his focus is with company-to-company sales, not individuals selling to the average consumer. Internet sales are something the college is studying closely, but hadn’t quite figured how best to teach for that medium yet. Schiffler shared that at a recent sales center alliance breakfast he discovered some schools had begun creating major degrees in sales, a first for the industry.
Dr. Shiffler went on to say that while all many people see is the “glitzy stuff,” the college faculty focus on teaching the essentials, such as teaching students that success in sales is much more than giving the best price. Developing relationships with customers is very important for earning loyalty.
One such example is Southwest Airlines. Through offering good experiences for their customers they have developed an extremely loyal customer base. Dean Shiffler’s final thoughts centered on how the hardest task is getting more qualified faculty to teach these classes, although he did share with Boyum that he might be willing to hire a former truck salesman who has radio experience.
“Mornings unPHILtered” airs live Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. on statesboroherald.com and also simulcast on WWNS-AM 1240 on the radio.
Monday’s guest on “Mornings unPHILtered” was Dr. Ron Shiffler, dean of Georgia Southern’s College of Business Administration (COBA). He also is the interim dean of the School of Information Technology.
According to Shiffler, COBA has joined about 15 other universities to form a “University Sales Alliance.” At COBA, two rooms were remodeled with cameras for videotaping to help teach students how to sell, and where faculty can coach them. In addition, there is a much larger conference room for PowerPoint presentations. These three rooms form the nucleus of COBA’s sales center.
In the past, Shiffler said business schools have focused primarily on a marketing major, which has been traditionally one of most popular in business schools. The school discovered, however, that 4 of 5 students graduating from these programs took jobs in sales for which GSU had only one sales course. Professors William H. Bolen, Kathy Swift Owens and Dr. E. James Randall were instrumental in creating the sales program. Dr. C. David Shepherd is head of the sales program, which consists of five separate courses.
Boyum related that he once took a job with an American car manufacturer. Shiffler laughed, and assured him that COBA “was not training our students to (only) be car salesmen.”
Shiffler shared that his focus is with company-to-company sales, not individuals selling to the average consumer. Internet sales are something the college is studying closely, but hadn’t quite figured how best to teach for that medium yet. Schiffler shared that at a recent sales center alliance breakfast he discovered some schools had begun creating major degrees in sales, a first for the industry.
Dr. Shiffler went on to say that while all many people see is the “glitzy stuff,” the college faculty focus on teaching the essentials, such as teaching students that success in sales is much more than giving the best price. Developing relationships with customers is very important for earning loyalty.
One such example is Southwest Airlines. Through offering good experiences for their customers they have developed an extremely loyal customer base. Dean Shiffler’s final thoughts centered on how the hardest task is getting more qualified faculty to teach these classes, although he did share with Boyum that he might be willing to hire a former truck salesman who has radio experience.
“Mornings unPHILtered” airs live Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. on statesboroherald.com and also simulcast on WWNS-AM 1240 on the radio.