University of Fredericton Offering Sales Management Training to MBA Students
FREDERICTON– The University of Fredericton is hoping to help more business people Canada-wide become better at sales with its new program offering.
The year online-based university is now offering a Sales Management and Leadership stream for those taking their Master of Business Administration (MBA) program or Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA).
University of Fredericton director of advancement Trevor Pothier says the school created the program because they noticed the lack of advanced training available for those working in sales.
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“There’s a lot of talk in the market with people about how there needs to be next step for sales people because a lot of sales people come in as a sales rep, then make their way through the ranks. But they don’t have any training other than the training the companies provide them,” says Pothier. “Most folks don’t have any [training] because it hasn’t existed.”
The Sales Management and Leadership speciality is for executives who’ve worked in sales before but says it’s great for executives looking to become more specialized on that side of the business.
“It’s targeted at people both in the middle of their career, plus more senior people if they feel they need that expertise. You have some folks who come up and are in the middle part of their career and are making the decision of, ‘what do I want to do for my next step?’” says Pothier. “The bulk of our students really fall into that place.”
Pothier says the Sale Management and Leadership stream covers the foundational elements of sales. This includes things like how to organize a sales team and the tools and technologies available in the market. It also covers the foundations of different sales models and selling strategies and ways to lead a sales team.
Though the University of Fredericton is an online institution, Pothier says the course includes a lot of casework and teamwork.
“It’s not sit down and listen to someone tell you the material,” he says.“It’s a lot of really collaborative casework to say, ‘let’s work through this example.’”
All of University of Fredericton’s programs have a Program Advisory Council, which is a group of people within the industry that help guide the program and make sure it remains current year after year. The council for the Sales Sale Management and Leadership stream includes Paul Kidston, who is also an instructor and has trained more than 10,000 sales and sales management professionals across Canada. Another member is Leanne Kripp, the head of Autos at Kijiji Canada.
“From what I can see and from my experience just meeting with candidates that come in the door and looking at what some of the other schools are offering, this [program] is exciting because it’s an MBA with the speciality stream in sales management and leadership,” says Kripp.
“When you look at the courses, it’s quite extensive in terms of what they’re offering. I think they’re right on point in terms of the type of content for where we’re at today. I don’t see anyone else in the industry offering the level of detail and the depth of content this program is offering. I really think it stands heads and shoulders above anything that has ever been out there.”
There’s been talk not just in the Maritimes, but nationwide about the struggle to find and maintain good sales people. Both businesses and schools are looking for ways to do that and Pothier says this program is where the University of Fredericton sees it can contribute.
“Everyone is looking at this now. Everyone sees the gap. They’re trying to figure out what’s the right way to fill it. That’s where we took our view in saying, ‘ok, the place we play in the market currently with our Sandermoen School of Business is our MBA and the EMBA programs, wouldn’t it be great if we equip those people coming out of the MBA to go into the sales market if that’s where they want to go?’ ” says Pothier. “That’s really that piece where everyone is looking at it going, ‘where can I help create more qualified sales people.’ “