The Edward H. Schmidt School of Professional Sales

Sales Leaders Round Table

Ed Schmidt got the professional sales program off the ground, corporate partners and sponsors have helped to transform the Edward Schmidt School of Professional Sales (ESSPS) and collegiate sales education, however, alumni and individual members of our business community are going to be the sales leaders that champion the next phase of evolution and inspire students so we can transform the profession. 

Sales Leaders Round Table is part of our 20th anniversary celebration of being the Edward Schmidt School of Professional Sales (ESSPS).  There are 7 seats at the table to join Ed Schmidt:

1. Level Up
2. Sales Ambassadors for Students
3. Sales Ambassadors for High Schools
4. Sales Ambassadors for Alumni
5. Sales Ambassadors for Businesses
6. Sales Competition Team
7. Sales Curricula Innovation

Join Sales Leaders Round Table

The ESSPS' staff and operations have been 100% externally funded since the inception of the professional sales major in 2000.

You can join Sales Leaders Round Table with a gift of $100,000 - $500,000.  Gifts can be paid over the course of 5 years.  Creative giving vehicles are available to help you reach your philanthropic goals.  Sponsoring a seat at the Sales Leaders Round Table includes that seat/initiative (and any related awards, scholarships, etc) bearing your name.  Gifts of $100,000 ensure that initiative can operate for 5 years.  Gifts of $500,000 ensure a lifetime of basic operations for that initiative by way of an endowment and place you on the recognition wall with your picture and story (wall is situated in the hallway outside of the ESSPS suites).  Your time and talent are also welcome to help us shape the direction of the initiatives and engage directly with the Sales Ambassadors, Sales Competition Team, Level Up specialist coaches, other ESSPS students, and ESSPS faculty/staff.

You can still contribute with gifts under $100,000 that will go to our ESSPS Operating Fund so we can use the funds to cover current operations of Sales Ambassadors for Students, Sales Competition Team, phase 1 of Level Up, and some Sales Curricula Innovations.

Launching Sales Ambassadors for Alumni (and High Schools and Businesses), getting to phase 2 of Level Up and paying Specialist Coaches, and the Sales Competition Team stipends, scholarships, more alternates, and coach jackets, and more regular Sales Curricula Innovations are all contingent on securing $100,000 or more for each initiative.

Your gift can also serve as a formal or informal challenge to other ESSPS alumni and business community members to donate.  Perhaps you could help our 20th anniversary campaign to be a call to action to have others join you at the Sales Leaders Round Table or you could pool your resources together on a specific seat at the Sales Leaders Round Table.  Alumni and other professionals who share their story and support publicly put a face on what we do and help to get other alumni and community members involved.

 

Seats at the Sales Leaders Round Table

Level Up

• Voluntary development program for students primarily run by students.  Level Up builds off our core strengths of making connections with and between our students and businesses and delivering world class, integrated, and hands-on sales degree programs.
• Designed to:
  • Provide motivated students with supplemental coaching that can be the difference to get them to the next level of performance and confidence
  • Recognize high performing students and keep them on a path of ongoing development
  • Cultivate a servant leader mindset
  • …The Level Up Program can achieve these goals while driving quality enrollment and engagement and further elevating the ESSPS
• ESSPS gear (polos, jackets, padfolios, etc) for specialist coaches
• Rewards – Gold/Blue laptop stickers, wristbands, lapel pins, and stackable trophies
• Food at workshops, info sessions, and employment review days
• Wages for Sales Ambassadors (promoting program is part of their role/job) and indirect costs of program administration with ESSPS Director, GA, etc
• Specialist coaches are not paid at this time, and we would like to pay those that are taking on more coaching and peer development

Sales Ambassadors for Students

• Team of competitive and results-oriented student leaders that assist the ESSPS Director and ESSPS Sales Engagement and Development Leader Graduate Assistant to increase enrollment and student engagement in the ESSPS

Sales Ambassadors for High Schools

• Outreach each semester via phone, email, and social media to participate in events and programming
• Visit high schools to do competition coaching (DECA, BPA, FFA) and course or career relevant presentations
• Sponsorships for high schools who qualify for state or national competitions that have a sales track
• Assist with tours of the campus and college
• Available to be shadowed as a Rocket for the Day
• Scholarships for incoming freshmen
• Create/Manage a summer camp and/or develop/deliver high school curricula
• ESSPS gear (polos, jackets, padfolios, etc) for ambassadors
• Wages for Sales Ambassadors and indirect costs of program administration with ESSPS Director, GA, etc

Sales Ambassadors for Alumni

• Outreach each semester via phone, email, and social media to participate in events and programming (alumni registrations could be paid for thanks to SLRT or use it as a friendly challenge for alumni to make a nominal donation).

• • Networking Night – alumni talk with seniors who already have post graduation jobs secured.  Students will be asking questions about what to expect in this next phase of life, and alumni can share their lessons learned and stories.
  • Fete – alumni as coming-of-age coaches to talk with seniors who already have post graduation jobs secured about saving for retirement, exploring home ownership, cultivating a healthy mind, etc
  • Level Up – alumni as specialist coaches for students or helpers to assess a student’s current employment as fit for their goals (these are both phase 2 plans)
  • Corporate Coaching Sessions – alumni coach students on their PSLS 3440 Sales role play (for spots available after ESSPS Corporate Partners have registered and UTISC Sponsors have been invited)
  • Class Interaction - alumni interact with students in a PSLS class (or record a video) to share insights and stories on course related topics, act as buyer for role plays, or coach students on call planning, simulation, etc (for spots available after ESSPS Corporate Partners have registered and UTISC Sponsors have been invited)
  • Blog – alumni share wisdom on sales and life to help students, other sales professionals, companies, etc
  • Back to School Kickoff - alumni along with ESSPS student leaders and faculty/staff help welcome students back with a fun orientation for an academic year of hands-on classes, engaging events, and custom professional development.  New event.

• Create/Manage an alumni award
• Make calls to ESSPS alumni for annual donations to ESSPS.  Maybe some sort of share your story campaign.
• Standard seats and/or suites at UToledo sporting events to welcome alumni back and network with students
• ESSPS gear (polos, jackets, padfolios, etc) for ambassadors
• Wages for Sales Ambassadors and indirect costs of program administration with ESSPS Director, GA, etc

Sales Ambassadors for Businesses

• Train new corporate recruiters on how to best recruit collegiate sales talent and utilize ESSPS, college, and university resources
• Outreach each semester via phone, email, and social media to participate in events and programming
• Assist in event execution
• ESSPS gear (polos, jackets, padfolios, etc) for ambassadors
• Wages for Sales Ambassadors and indirect costs of program administration with ESSPS Director, GA, etc

Sales Competition Team

• Covering alternates to go to national sales competitions since alternates are not covered by competition sponsors
• Covering non-reimbursable expenses for competitors and coaches (meals provided varies by competition, mileage, airport parking, transport from airport to venue, extra hotel night needed at some competitions)
• Team polos and coach jackets
• Food at info nights, coaching sessions, workshops, etc
• Create stipends for faculty, peer, and alumni coaches and cover indirect costs of program administration with ESSPS Director, GA, etc
• Create scholarship(s) for students who win or make it to finals in the Internal Sales Competition (ISC)

Sales Curricula Innovation

• The quality and applied nature of the ESSPS curricula is one of the ESSPS’ hallmarks and is central to the ongoing success of students and the ESSPS.  ESSPS faculty support an extensive undergraduate and graduate professional sales curricula for majors, minors, concentrations, and certificates.  ESSPS faculty are already providing a considerable amount of service, class coverage (sales and non-sales), research, etc to ESSPS/COBI/UToledo/profession.  Sustaining and refining ESSPS curricula will require course releases and/or stipends so faculty have the proper time to thoughtfully plan and effectively execute changes.
• Areas of importance include:
  • Expand and refine the Sales Simulation that ESSPS co-created with the UToledo simulation team
    • Sales Simulation is currently only in PSLS 4710 Sales Leadership. ESSPS has plans for infusing into all PSLS classes and would like to explore if/how the Sales Simulation could be used for the University of Toledo Invitational Sales Competition (UTISC), High School Curricula/ Camp/Competition, and corporate training.
  • Adapt to a competency based model by altering curricula, programs, and systems within ESSPS and connected parts of COBI and UToledo
  • Create honors/premier track to the ESSPS program for high performing students that includes leadership opportunities, accelerated studies, higher level experiential projects, etc
  • Provide sales technology tools to students in the classroom and lab (ie: software, tablets, etc)