The nature of work is changing at a rapid pace, with artificial intelligence revolutionizing nearly every industry. While many fear automation will replace jobs, Dr. Richard Conde, Associate Professor of General Business, Marketing and Supply Chain, argues that AI is transforming rather than erasing sales roles. “Artificial intelligence has streamlined, modernized many processes…Sales will be less likely affected by AI from an interaction, communication standpoint—we'll still have to have conversations.”
Still, companies are starting to expect more from salespeople. Having a solid base of knowledge opens opportunities for graduates to build up strong career momentum. Over half of college graduates enter sales, and UHD is uniquely positioned to prepare students to enter this rapidly evolving and expanding profession as one of less than 10 universities in the US with an MBA program in Sales.
The changing nature of the field strongly influences the graduate program curriculum. “The great thing is, I have full autonomy with my graduate courses. My classes, I update them almost on an annual basis because things have changed so much. If you were to see this MBA 6350 class, which was Advances in Personal Sales, to where it is today, Personal Selling & Analytics, it's a completely different course because that's what organizations want from their leaders,” Dr. Conde explained. “In a short six, seven years, that class has been totally transformed due to what's happening in industry.”
For undergraduates looking to tailor their curriculum with a sales career in mind, digital marketing and analytics courses provide tools that modern salespeople need. One of the fastest-growing areas, Dr. Conde noted, is revenue operations, or RevOps. These employees assess every step in converting contacts into customers, which requires them to “understand how marketing influences the sales funnel, understand analytics, not just averages and percentages, but higher-level analytics. Understand the utilization of AI and AI prompts. That person's job is to maximize the revenue considering all these different variables, even the service side.”
Psychology courses are also crucial for those looking to enter sales, as the field remains one area where human insight and interaction will continue to play a central role “Sales is all about understanding what someone else needs and wants, understanding their behaviors, their personality types,” Dr. Conde said.
He also dispels myths about who thrives in the field. An outgoing personalities, for instance, doesn't guarantee success. “A lot of people think that those who are very proactive make great salespeople. Actually introverts, extroverts—neither of them are fantastic salespeople,” he revealed. Instead, research shows that ambiverts tend to make the best salespeople. “Because they're able to internalize information. They're able to understand other individuals.”
Anyone, though, can improve the way they interact with and respond to others by working on themselves. Dr. Conde advises, “Be aware, write down your emotions, try to understand when you felt a certain way and what was the antecedent to that feeling. And then that way when you start feeling it again or that experience, you can be more aware.” This kind of self-awareness carries benefits beyond improved customer interactions. Mastering an adaptable, customer-oriented style of communication helps people navigate interoffice politics and relationships.
For Dr. Conde, preparing students for this dynamic field means confronting stereotypes and outdated practices, grounding skills in data and psychology, and keeping pace with technological change. “I think one of the great things that our program does, it dispels many of those misinformations,” he said. “It gives our students a better perspective, a different perspective they can take to the workforce and be more successful.”