Planet Hatch Program Teaches Students To Close The Sale
“My whole perception of sales has completely changed just within one or two class sessions,” says UNB MBA student Shalini Shekar of her Sales Accelerator internship at Planet Hatch, an entrepreneurship hub based in Fredericton with the goal of developing globally competitive entrepreneurs and startups’ through mentorships, coaching and programs.
“I never knew that sales can be this interesting, because the only perception that I have from sales is that – it’s difficult. It’s very hard to convince people,” she says.
“The entire course structure is built in such a way that it makes you feel like, it’s not difficult, you just need to go with the flow of the process. Do your homework, do your research.”
That ‘be prepared’ attitude is one that UNB’s faculty of management and Planet Hatch are trying to foster with the Sales Accelerator program, which sees students from the MBA and undergraduate business program paired up with New Brunswick firms, both established and startup, that have hit a roadblock in sales, to help them address and overcome their challenges. The Sales Accelerator internships are funded through UNB’s Office of Experiential Education.
“We take the sales accelerator interns through the full sales pipeline: from suspect; to a prospect; to qualifying leads; to negotiating and closing the sale,” says Evan Getson, program coordinator at Planet Hatch.
Getson says the students work with smaller firms that are about to scale, from one to three founders, who might not have the time to dedicate to the intense research that’s required to find and qualify the absolute best customers. That’s where the students and their AGS training come in.
“It’s not just lecture-based, there’s also roleplay elements to be really engaged in the training,” he says. “It’s hands-on experiential learning for both the firms and the students.”
That hands-on experiential learning piece is part of what attracted Shekar to the internship and to UNB’s MBA program.
“Back home, it was quite difficult to find these opportunities,” says Shekar. “I applied for the sales accelerator program immediately as I’d been actively looking for an internship and knew that a few of my friends had great experiences interning with Planet Hatch previously.”
“It’s been amazing!” she says. “The best part is this comes with the AGS certification.”
Atlantic Growth Solutions (AGS) is a lead generation company, specializing in business-to-business (B2B) technology, and is the facilitator of the internship. They provide six weeks of in-depth sales training to the interns. Armed with that knowledge, interns then work with local New Brunswick firms for eight weeks, helping them identify how to increase their sales.
This complete experience was exactly the kind of hands-on educational experience Shenkar was looking for when she decided to come to UNB to study business.
“I have ten years of experience in the IT industry, escalations, managing customer success as well. I’ve never had the opportunity to explore the sales part,” she says. “There were a few training sessions which were provided in my previous organization, but it was so totally different from what I’m getting right now.”
From the lead generation pipeline training, which includes role-playing sales scenarios, to working with individual firms to help them boost their sales, the UNB MBA interns get a complete, immersive experience in sales.
“The students apply and get this experiential learning,” says Getson. “The benefit to the firms from those students is immeasurable.”
Getson says the students work with firms that are small, with maybe one or two founders, and they don’t have the time to do the intense research that’s required to qualify and find the best customers. That’s where the students and their AGS training come in.
“The contribution that the students make is to help fulfill that role on the research and lead generation side,” he explains. “Then the students themselves get hands-on experiential learning through this process. If they’re interested in going into a sales stream, they’ve learned the process of how to go from, ‘we’ve got a product,’ all the way to closing and negotiating contracts,” says Getson.
For Shenkar the experience provided by the Sales Accelerator program, via her UNB MBA graduate degree, adds up to valuable, career-advancing skills, with North American work experience.
“I’m sure the experience that I’m getting is going to help me out in the future,” she says. “I am looking to get into some leadership roles or maybe start my own business, and understanding the sales strategy, would be a core strength for me.”
This story was sponsored by the University of New Brunswick Faculty of Management.