Saint Rose Launches Concentration in Sales Management, Becomes First in New York State

Recognizing the need for highly trained sales managers and sales representatives in the business world, The College of Saint Rose has become the only college or university in New York State to offer a program in sales. Beginning in January 2019, students can work toward a Bachelor of Science in marketing with a concentration in sales management.
 
In addition to the new concentration, the Huether School of Business at Saint Rose also will offer a minor in sales management beginning in January 2019. The minor is ideal for students in a variety of majors, from biology to computer science, because subject-area expertise is valuable within the sales world, and the minor extends a student’s career options.
 
“Saint Rose always keeps an eye toward the needs of industry, while still exposing students to an ever-important, well-rounded curriculum that includes the liberal arts. We believe this develops graduates with all of the tools necessary to excel in whatever career path they choose,” said Saint Rose President Carolyn J. Stefanco, who serves on the board of directors for the Center for Economic Growth. “We look forward to opening up new career opportunities to all of our students, and exposing them to how much the field of sales can offer them.”
 
The Sales Education Foundation (SEF), a nonprofit organization that seeks to promote the benefits of university sales education and change the public’s view of sales careers, has identified 110 institutions of higher education in the United States – only 15 of them in the Northeast – that offer sales programs. 
 
According to a SEF survey of sales managers, “sales program graduates ramp up 50 percent faster than their nonsales-educated peers. They also experience 30 percent less turnover. Sales graduates are prepared for their roles through highly-specialized education featuring cutting-edge technologies.”
 
Students often envision sales as running a cash register. But according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual wage for sales managers, who set sales goals, analyze data, and develop training programs for sales representatives, was $121,060 in May 2017. Median annual wages for sales representatives vary by specialty, but wholesale and manufacturing representatives for technical and scientific products earned a median annual wage of $78,830. The bureau expects demand for sales managers to grow 7 percent between 2016 and 2026 and 6 percent for sales representatives.
 
Students enrolled in the marketing major/sales management concentration will take courses in personal selling and negotiation, data analysis for sales and marketing, and sales management. Courses also cover international marketing and management, services marketing, digital marketing, advertising and promotion, and business-to-business marketing. As with the other undergraduate programs in the Huether School of Business, internships are required and are found with the support of the School.
 
Saint Rose also offers a Bachelor of Science in marketing with a concentration in marketing management.
 
“Our Huether School of Business alumni have expressed a lot of excitement about this new concentration, as they understand the value of and need for well-educated sales professionals,” said John Dion, assistant professor of marketing at Saint Rose, who previously served as a marketing manager at Bose Corporation and The LEGO Group. “We look forward to sending a diverse group of students into these fields to become valuable members of sales teams in the Capital Region, throughout the United States, and around the world.”
 
For more information, visit www.strose.edu/sales.