Recognized as one of the top sales programs in the U.S., the Jones College of Business Center for Professional Selling provides outstanding growth and development opportunities for students thanks to the commitment and support of Corporate Partners.

MTSU’s Center for Professional Selling aims to promote excellence in professional selling and sales management by providing world-class sales education and training to our students. The Center leverages sales technology and research to allow students to hit the ground running in any sales organization.

Sales positions make up 67% of all business graduates’ first jobs. Professional selling is one of the most in-demand career fields across Tennessee. Jobs in this career area include sales representatives, account managers, and sales managers across all industries. With a large projected workforce deficit, there are more employment opportunities in these areas than there are skilled workers to fill them.

How do I become a Professional Selling student?

There are two ways to become a Professional Selling student. You can become a Professional Selling student by majoring in Marketing with a concentration in Professional Selling, earning a stole upon graduation or any MTSU student can earn a certificate in Professional Selling accredited by the University Sales Center Alliance. 

MTSU’s Professional Selling concentration helps students:

• Build professional communication skills through practice in the Mel Adams State Farm Agent Professional Sales Lab
• Develop self-confidence
• Become critical thinkers and problem solvers
• Learn through application-based courses
• Be ready to start a sales career and generate results
• Connect with professionals through the Center for Professional Selling

Benefits of a sales career:

• High earning potential
• Opportunity for travel
• Career advancement opportunities
• Daily variety of tasks
• Working with and helping people and businesses

What should I expect from my experience at the Center?

The Center focuses on three areas of student engagement.

Academics

• Students complete 12 core hours and an additional 6 hours of approved electives in the professional selling concentration. Click here for curriculum requirements.
• The Center is a member of the University Sales Center Alliance to serve as a benchmark for curriculum.

Experiential Learning

• Executive speakers provided by our Corporate Partners participate in class instruction and activities.
• Competitions, internal and external, are used to reinforce and measure skills learned during class.
• Real-world events are held each semester to give students experiences in a safe and controlled environment.

Student-to-Career Transition

• The Jones College of Business IGNITE program prepares students to develop knowledge and skills to begin their professional career. The Center hosts several IGNITE events that include morning networking events, the Business Etiquette Dinner, and LinkedIn trainings.
• The Jones College of Business partners with Dale Carnegie to improve “soft skills,” communication, problem solving, and more. MTSU is the only university in the state of Tennessee with this partnership.
• The Advanced Selling Mentorship program partners each student with a selling professional for the semester.
• Corporate partners provide relevant business experiences for our students to know what to expect when they launch their career.
• The Center holds a Personal Selling event each semester during which students have the opportunity to pitch themselves to their ideal companies.
• The Center uses experiential learning to help students leverage their college education into a well-paying career.

 

What if I’m not sure about a career in sales?

Courses offered will help students develop excellent oral and written communication, relationship development skills, self-confidence, and critical thinking and problem solving. These highly sought-after skills are transferable across all industries and careers. Everyone sells, either internally or externally.

We want to hear from you!