The Minor in Sales Leadership provides students with the set of educational experiences, courses, and training they need to become successful sales agents and leaders in a sales-intensive corporate setting.  The minor prepares students to be successful in any sales setting and provides the management skills necessary to expand their careers in a manner consistent with their goals.

The Minor in Sales Leadership is administered by the Department of Communication in the College of Communication Arts and Sciences in cooperation with the Department of Marketing in the Eli Broad College of Business and is available as an elective to students who are enrolled in bachelor’s degree programs at Michigan State University. Preference will be given to students in the College of Communication Arts and Sciences  and The Eli Broad College of Business. As space permits, students from other colleges desiring the minor will be considered on an individual basis. Students who are interested in the minor must contact the Department of Communication in the College of Communication Arts and Sciences. With the approval of the department or school and college that administers the student’s degree program, courses that are used to satisfy the requirements for the minor may also be used to satisfy the requirements for the bachelor’s degree. The student’s program of study must be approved by the student’s academic advisor for the minor.

Admission

To be considered for admission, a student must have been formally admitted to a bachelor’s degree program at Michigan State University. Admission is competitive. Students must be enrolled in or have completed Marketing  313, Personal Selling and Buying Processes, and have demonstrated mastery of course content. Other admission criteria include performance on a sales aptitude test, work experience, and a statement of purpose. Each applicant will be interviewed by a faculty program administrator and each student’s application will be rank ordered. Students may be admitted provisionally contingent on their performance in MKT 313.

To apply to the program, students should complete an application after the midterm in Marketing 313 and submit it to the sales  communication specialization coordinator in the Department of Communication.

Students must:

1. provide their final or midterm grade in Marketing 313;
2. provide their overall grade-point average in their major;
3. provide a statement of purpose indicating why they want to enter the minor;
4. provide their score on a sales aptitude test that measures values, behaviors, and skills;
5. participate in a personal interview to determine their interest in and readiness for the minor in which performance in the interview will be assessed and used as a criterion for admission.

Requirements for the Minor in Sales Leadership

Students must complete 19 credits from the following courses:

1.			All of the following courses (10 credits):
			COM	360	Advanced Sales Communication						3
			COM	483	Practicum in Sales Communication						1
			MKT	313	Personal Selling and Buying Processes						3
			MKT	383	Sales Management						3
2.			Three of the following courses (9 credits):
			ADV	375	Consumer Behavior						3
			ADV	481	Retail Strategy Analysis						3
			CAS	492	Special Topics						3
			COM	315	Information Gathering and Interviewing Theories						3
			COM	325	Interpersonal Influence and Conflict						3
			COM	340	Leadership and Group Communication						3
			COM	399	Special Topics in Communication						3
			MGT	475	Negotiation and Conflict Management						3
			MKT	302	Consumer and Organizational Buyer Behavior						3
			MKT	412	Marketing Technology and Analytics						3
			MKT	430	Key Account and Customer Relationship Management						3
			MKT	490	Independent Study						3
			MKT	491	Special Topics in Marketing						3
			SCM	371	Procurement and Supply Management						3
			Special Topics courses must be related to sales and preapproved by the instructor and program administrator in the respective colleges.
3.			Completion of a minimum of 500 hours of experiential learning outside of course work, including a professional sales internship and any combination of the following activities and experiences: participation in collegiate level sales presentation competition, active member of the Global Sales Leadership Society, service as an executive officer of a professional student organization, participation in a commercial sales training program, shadow salesperson or manager for a day, interaction with a sales mentor for one semester, or other preapproved sales-related activity. Students should see the managing director for the minor to have their selected activities or experience preapproved.