RMU’s New Sales Certificate Program

            If you have not heard already, RMU is offering a great opportunity for all students eager to improve their professional background. The new RMU Sales Certificate program is very useful to all careers, not just business. This certificate focuses on all the areas of selling, and requires just 4 classes! There is a pre-req of taking Principles of Marketing to get the background knowledge on Marketing. After that class is taken, the other classes needed to complete the certificate are: Psychology of Selling (MARK3800), Management and Selling of Brands (MARK330), Consultative Sales (MARK4350), and Advanced Professional Selling (MARK4800). Not many people are aware of how important a Sales Certificate can be. It is a great resume builder and the knowledge taken away will help in many professional careers.

We got the chance to interview Dr. James Shock, a professor at RMU and a strong advocate for the new Sales Certificate. Dr. Shock teaches a few of the classes required to complete the sales certificate. We first asked him if this certificate was unique to RMU or if it was available at other institutions. He told us that we are not the only institution to offer this certificate. We found out through some outside research that this certificate is also available at Cleveland State, Ohio University, and multiple online institutions. Since all the required classes are for marketing, We asked him if this certificate was strictly for marketing majors. He assured us that this certificate is available for all majors as long as you have taken the pre-req (Principles of Marketing). We asked around to my fellow marketing majors and most of them are aware of and interested in this certificate, so we wondered if non marketing majors were aware of this as much. WEasked Dr. Shock how or why this would appeal to non-business majors, he said “Selling is a part of everyday life. It's a skill which will pay dividends over your entire career.” We also asked him how this certificate could help students more than just a resume builder. He answered with, “Regardless of your career field, selling skills are important. You may need to sell an idea to top management or sell a concept to the team you lead. Selling skills are very valuable for interviewing as well. You are on a sales call, selling yourself to a prospective employer.” Since selling is a part of everyday life, It is clear that this certificate should be talked about with all majors because it can benefit all RMU students in their future careers.

The sales certificate consists of four learning objectives such as steps in effective selling, analytical tools needed to manage accounts/sales territory, similarities and differences between B2C and B2B approaches, and finally, classifying personality profiling in relationships. These are the steps to become a great seller and are very important considering you sell yourself every day! We got into communication with Dr. Dean Manna who is a professor of Marketing as is Dr. Shock. He teaches multiple marketing courses at RMU and mentioned the goal of the RMU Marketing Department is to “elevate the profession of selling to be equal to that of other disciplines such as Finance, Accounting, Management and Marketing.” In a very competitive business world, with students looking for jobs every day, it is important to differentiate yourself and this sales certificate is of value.

Moreover, there is no specific audience as this sales certificate can be placed on any resume. However, those who are business majors could really take advantage of this offer in order to get an in-depth knowledge and understanding of selling in a variety of situations such as sales itself and management positions. Ultimately, the specialized certificate is offered to all majors and can benefit current and future RMU students.

Written by Regis Nairn and Luke Cirlingione

Edited by Dr. Cathleen Jones