Empowering Students for Sales Success with Judith Ann Garretson Folse and John Ballentine
This week on the podcast Brent sits down with Judith Ann Garretson Folse, Department Chair, and John Ballentine, the sales program director, both from the Department of Marketing at the Walton College. The conversation focuses on the importance of sales skills in both your professional and personal life. Judith and John discuss their passion for creating opportunities for students to succeed in the marketplace by honing their sales abilities. The conversation also covers how the Walton College's sales program and sales competition, with its rich blend of academic and practical experience, is set apart from others. They also discuss their vision for the sales program and the potential for growth, underscoring the importance of sales in every aspect of commercialization and product marketing.
Transcript
We get to tell the students I wish when I
John Ballentine:started as a sales professional, that I knew ABCD, and we get to
John Ballentine:talk to them about that, but not just tell them about the skills,
John Ballentine:having practice skills, but give stories, the context of those
John Ballentine:stories that we get to tell that we experienced and that and that
John Ballentine:goes in and failures and successes.
John Ballentine:Well, today I have with me Judith Folse, who is Department
John Ballentine:Chair of the Department of Marketing in the Walton College.
John Ballentine:And I have John Ballentine, who is the sales program director
John Ballentine:also in the Department of Marketing. So, Judith, John,
John Ballentine:welcome.
John Ballentine:Judith Ann Garretson Folse: Thank you. We're very grateful to be
John Ballentine:here.
John Ballentine:So much of a blessing to be here.
Brent Williams:Well our topic today is going to be about sales
Brent Williams:and sales is, is a sales experience is something that I
Brent Williams:feel like had a big impact on my professional, professional
Brent Williams:journey. I spent five or six years in a sales role and I just
Brent Williams:think I have used those skills in every part of my career, and
Brent Williams:probably maybe, to some degree, every part of my life. And it's
Brent Williams:just made a big impact. And, you know, Judith, you've been with
Brent Williams:us now at the Walton College for about three full semesters at
Brent Williams:this point. And as you came in to lead the marketing
Brent Williams:department, one of the things we decided to really focus on was
Brent Williams:sales. So, you know, why was that so important to you?
Brent Williams:Judith Ann Garretson Folse: Well, really, at the end of the day,
Brent Williams:it's about students, and the opportunities that students have
Brent Williams:in the marketplace. And I spent my first year listening and
Brent Williams:learning and I listened to faculty, whether they were
Brent Williams:teaching one course, or they were teaching a full load, if
Brent Williams:they taught only one time, or if they'd been here for 30 years to
Brent Williams:get their perspective, and how I can help them. I talked to
Brent Williams:industry and industry was really insightful, and then learned
Brent Williams:from students what they valued, and recognized the potential
Brent Williams:opportunity for students here, not only in Northwest Arkansas,
Brent Williams:but really nationwide in terms of sales. So I feel like we have
Brent Williams:such an opportunity and really an obligation to help students
Brent Williams:be very successful. You know, John and I have talked about
Brent Williams:this a lot. And our goal is to create opportunities for
Brent Williams:students so that they can have satisfying lives and careers.
Brent Williams:And we are very passionate about training students so that they
Brent Williams:can execute well, and we look at our, our backyard and just the
Brent Williams:nation and everything is really about sales. You know, we
Brent Williams:listened to your podcast with Spencer Fraser from JB Hunt and
Brent Williams:that was very inspirational to us because it really echoes a
Brent Williams:lot of what we value. And we also look at is the
Brent Williams:commercialization process. And I know John will probably want to
Brent Williams:talk about that. But that sales happens in at all levels of
Brent Williams:taking a product to market and this commercialization, but even
Brent Williams:deeper within each section. So, again, student opportunities, we
Brent Williams:know that if you go and look at the labor market, the jobs are
Brent Williams:there. And we want students to be connected with us
Brent Williams:opportunities.
Brent Williams:When we started thinking about this initiative
Brent Williams:and John, I think this is one thing you and I talked about
Brent Williams:really early. And well, John is relatively new as an instructor
Brent Williams:to the Walton College, not new to the Walton College or the
Brent Williams:region in any way and been involved here for many, many
Brent Williams:years. You know, what we found is there's some studies out
Brent Williams:there that show very, very few university graduates take a
Brent Williams:sales class or have a sales experience, we learned that the
Brent Williams:Walton College was better than those averages. But still, there
Brent Williams:was a lot of opportunity there.
John Ballentine:It's really fun to see how, you know, we
John Ballentine:crunched some numbers on that. Thanks for reminding me about
John Ballentine:that study, we crunched some numbers. And we know on average
John Ballentine:that Walton and University of Arkansas students, on average,
John Ballentine:have more opportunities to take a sales class we have the
John Ballentine:numbers are staggering. We had I think, in the last school year,
John Ballentine:we had over 700 students take a sales class, which is
John Ballentine:phenomenal, and bigger than a lot of other sales programs that
John Ballentine:we have in the country. Doesn't mean we don't have a lot of room
John Ballentine:to grow, because we do but but we're excited about that. And I
John Ballentine:just when you and Judith presented your vision for what
John Ballentine:we can do here on the sales program, it was very inspiring
John Ballentine:to me and just very thankful I get to help be a part of making
John Ballentine:that happen. But I can't say enough about how the experience
John Ballentine:that we have from an instructor base that's teaching our
John Ballentine:students is everyone has experience you know, in sales,
John Ballentine:and they know the value just what you spoke of earlier the
John Ballentine:value of the skills and the art the science of selling are to
John Ballentine:the students no matter what their job is.
Brent Williams:Yeah, those skills do matter. You're right
Brent Williams:no matter you know, if if you're directly selling if you're not
Brent Williams:doing directly selling, you're indirectly selling. Well, one of
Brent Williams:the, you know, you mentioned this, John and I us pitch this,
Brent Williams:both of you, and however you want to answer it, you know, you
Brent Williams:mentioned our the, the instructors that we have
Brent Williams:teaching sales come from a real practical background. You know,
Brent Williams:one thing I love about the Walton College is this unique
Brent Williams:mix in our faculty have, you know, a faculty members that
Brent Williams:have spent their careers in academia, you know, really going
Brent Williams:deep and developing expertise. And then, you know, we also have
Brent Williams:a significant part of our faculty that's coming from
Brent Williams:practice, you know, that has amazing experience, and they're
Brent Williams:bringing all that experience and our student leaves, you know, at
Brent Williams:the end of their undergraduate career, with a real mix of
Brent Williams:experience in that way. And I think that's really, really
Brent Williams:good. But in this particular area, we've really chosen to go,
Brent Williams:at least right now with really experienced people in sales.
Brent Williams:What are some of those dynamics that you see in the classroom
Brent Williams:when you're teaching sales? Like what are you encountering with
Brent Williams:our students?
John Ballentine:That's a great, fun question. Because when we
John Ballentine:think about I mean, just, we have over 150 years of practical
John Ballentine:experience, collectively, and our group of instructors is
John Ballentine:teaching in the sales program, which I love to brag on, because
John Ballentine:that's real live experience. And what it means in the classroom
John Ballentine:is, it means we get to stand in front of the students. And we
John Ballentine:get to say, hey, students, this is what we experienced in life
John Ballentine:and in our careers. And this is how we use the the art and
John Ballentine:science and the skills that we're trying to train you, we
John Ballentine:get to tell the students I wish when I started as a sales
John Ballentine:professional, that I knew ABCD, and we get to talk to them about
John Ballentine:that, but not just tell them about the skills, having
John Ballentine:practice skills, but give stories, the context of those
John Ballentine:stories that we get to tell that we experienced and that and that
John Ballentine:goes in and failures and successes. And I think when I
John Ballentine:share the failures I had, or the the choices that I made, that
John Ballentine:didn't turn out the way I had hoped they might, in class, I
John Ballentine:know all of our instructors do this, it's so impactful for the
John Ballentine:students, because they can they can feel and they have they,
John Ballentine:they can empathize with those mistakes. And they say, okay, I
John Ballentine:can learn from that, and not have to make that same mistake.
John Ballentine:So I think getting to share the wins and the losses with the
John Ballentine:students is so impactful.
Brent Williams:How do you all in your program define sales?
Brent Williams:Because you have to start there, right. And I actually think
Brent Williams:that's a really, really important part of the
Brent Williams:educational process.
John Ballentine:No, question. No question. We we talk about
John Ballentine:how prestigious an opportunity in sales is for a student. And
John Ballentine:we know based on that numbers, that anywhere between probably
John Ballentine:50 to 70% of Walton College graduates are going to have the
John Ballentine:opportunity to accept a prestigious job in sales. So
John Ballentine:really talking about the nobility of the profession. And
John Ballentine:that came out when you were talking with Spencer, so
John Ballentine:clearly, and I love the conversation you guys had. But
John Ballentine:sales is a profession of problem solving is a profession of value
John Ballentine:creation. And we create value for our own companies and sales
John Ballentine:professionals and for our clients as a company. I'm
John Ballentine:recapitulating what he said, through the practice of solving
John Ballentine:problems and as soon as I ask why do you enjoy sales? I said,
John Ballentine:I enjoy sales because I like solving problems like fixing
John Ballentine:things.
Brent Williams:Yeah. Because you like solving problems. And
Brent Williams:you like working with people to do it. Right. You know, and
Brent Williams:that's what I love about the sales process. And Judith, one
Brent Williams:thing I feel like you've done really well, since you've been
Brent Williams:here is you've been you one, you've been very strategic,
Brent Williams:first of all. And two, you've really been focused on how you
Brent Williams:get industry engaged. And I assume sales is an opportunity
Brent Williams:for industry to engage?
Brent Williams:Judith Ann Garretson Folse: Absolutely. You know, we want to build a
Brent Williams:program that is rigorous and relevant and offers resonance.
Brent Williams:And we really are seeking partners who want to lean in and
Brent Williams:help us with this process. So we have great sales competitions
Brent Williams:here on campus that have been traditions for years. And I'll
Brent Williams:be honest, I came in with one lens and have had a couple of
Brent Williams:paradigm shifts since I've been here.
Brent Williams:Okay, I'll tell you gotta tell us about that.
Brent Williams:Judith Ann Garretson Folse: Okay, so when I was on my listening
Brent Williams:and learning journey, I really wanted to absorb every single
Brent Williams:thing that I was learning. I talked to as I told you, I
Brent Williams:talked to people from industry and I had a first of all I went
Brent Williams:to the sales competition and most universities that have
Brent Williams:sales programs, they will coach students and then they will take
Brent Williams:them to these different competitions out of state, and
Brent Williams:they'll take maybe six to eight students for a few competitions
Brent Williams:a semester, when I went to our sales competition for the first
Brent Williams:time, I was completely blown away. When I saw the caliber of
Brent Williams:the judges who were there for the students, very other
Brent Williams:serving, and I saw the sheer number of students who competed,
Brent Williams:I said, we don't need to go anywhere. We have such an
Brent Williams:opportunity right here to train our students in sales. And to
Brent Williams:witness the students running up to the professors after they
Brent Williams:went through their first round and seeking encouragement and
Brent Williams:strategies was just really wonderful to watch. And I am
Brent Williams:very proud of the fact that we've been very intentional on
Brent Williams:growing that sales competition. And we can speak to that a
Brent Williams:little bit, I can share the numbers, they're, they're
Brent Williams:ingrained in my brain because I'm so happy. The first in Fall
Brent Williams:of 2022, we had 45, excuse me, 56 students compete in the sales
Brent Williams:competition, in the spring, we had 98, the following spring.
Brent Williams:And in fall of 2023, we had 145.
Brent Williams:I like your growth rate.
Brent Williams:Judith Ann Garretson Folse: Yeah, we do, too. We're very proud of
Brent Williams:it. And I'm so proud of this sales team that we have in
Brent Williams:place. So that was my first paradigm shift, I said, we can
Brent Williams:serve a greater number of students, we can impact the
Brent Williams:lives of more people, and we can serve our industry. And you
Brent Williams:could see that industry really is wanting to be a part of this.
Brent Williams:I mean, they're coming to the competitions, they are leaning
Brent Williams:in, they're encouraging students, it's amazing to really
Brent Williams:see that. And I know, we'll probably talk about that, again,
Brent Williams:the pride that we have in executing our sales competition
Brent Williams:with excellence.
Brent Williams:So you've got 700 plus students taking the
Brent Williams:sales class, and then you've got 150 or so now in the fall of
Brent Williams:2023 going above and beyond that, in getting this deeper
Brent Williams:experience. The sales competition is something I love
Brent Williams:as well. John, tell us a little bit about how it works.
John Ballentine:Okay. Sure, it's, uh, it's pretty simple. We
John Ballentine:have we invite industry to come in and sponsor a case. So they
John Ballentine:help we work with the industry partner, to write a case for the
John Ballentine:students to present. And they can the case can be somewhat
John Ballentine:simple. But basically, you have some a little bit of research
John Ballentine:you need to do about the product line or, or the company, what
John Ballentine:the product offering is. And then we have a specific ask, so
John Ballentine:there's a close that the student is going to look for. And then
John Ballentine:they schedule a follow up. But the the organization we have in
John Ballentine:the morning, students compete. And in the afternoon, we we
John Ballentine:choose the top six students, and then afternoon they compete in
John Ballentine:what we call the finals. So that's the basic situation we
John Ballentine:need about somewhere between 30 to 60, judges, you know, for a
John Ballentine:two day event
Brent Williams:okay
John Ballentine:So and our industry partners have really
John Ballentine:responded to show up for that. But the students present, and
John Ballentine:they have a rubric to go through. And basically we follow
John Ballentine:the steps of the sales process. And there we asked them to
John Ballentine:follow those steps to the sales process to close the deal and,
John Ballentine:in a 10 minute, 15 minute presentation. And it's a
John Ballentine:roleplay. So it's a little bit contrived environment. But the
John Ballentine:idea is to practice and get gain confidence and understanding how
John Ballentine:this can flow. And then when we really want to train the
John Ballentine:students, you have to uncover the needs of the client. So you
John Ballentine:can tie the your solution to their need, and then understand
John Ballentine:what objections they may have and overcome those objections.
John Ballentine:So that's what we asked them to do in the roleplay.
Brent Williams:So I heard a story from one of you,and I
Brent Williams:don't remember which one actually, I heard it from maybe
Brent Williams:both from the fall competition, about a group that actually
Brent Williams:really didn't have the confidence going in. But the
Brent Williams:competition made a major, major difference. And so this is about
Brent Williams:learning. Right? So this is about learning and role playing.
Brent Williams:But this is so much about confidence.
Brent Williams:Judith Ann Garretson Folse: Yeah,
Brent Williams:One of one of you tell that story. Yeah John,
Brent Williams:go ahead.
John Ballentine:The well, first of all, almost every student are
John Ballentine:in this in the fall of 2023. We did some team competitions. And
John Ballentine:the idea was to increase the number of students we can get
John Ballentine:through. They have that experience but it's so
John Ballentine:fascinating to see how nervous and concerned the students are
John Ballentine:and they do a lot of work. And they put a lot of work into
John Ballentine:getting ready for this and do a good job and we mentor coach.
John Ballentine:But there's a lot of maybe fear is not the right word, but
John Ballentine:concern going into the competition. But once they make
John Ballentine:that first presentation and they walk out, it is so much joy for
John Ballentine:me to see the faces of the students light up, and have that
John Ballentine:confidence in almost in every case, they say I gained so much
John Ballentine:confidence from doing this. And in the fall competition, we
John Ballentine:there was a team of students that presented, and they weren't
John Ballentine:really expecting to do well, but they did exceptionally well. And
John Ballentine:they were chosen to go to the finals. And I can distinctly
John Ballentine:remember, their professor was standing next to me, Mr.
John Ballentine:Fairman. And the team came up to us, and they looked at us with
John Ballentine:this great concern. We can't we can't do it, we can't go to the
John Ballentine:finals. We're so nervous, we just we're not ready. And Trey
John Ballentine:and I looked at each other and said, you're ready, you got this
John Ballentine:far, you can do it. And they, they did it. And guess what? Got
John Ballentine:second place in the entire competition. So fun. And you
John Ballentine:know, the students, the students that come to and participate,
John Ballentine:they get job offers, the industry, people are there
John Ballentine:because they want to hire great students and there, there will
John Ballentine:be jobs that come out of.
John Ballentine:Judith Ann Garretson Folse: Yes, some of the judges were coming
John Ballentine:out to us, asking us about some of the students, how do you
John Ballentine:pronounce that student's name, we want to go talk to that
John Ballentine:student. And it was really exciting to see how much the
John Ballentine:judges were leaning in and you know, getting involved and
John Ballentine:recognizing the talent.
Brent Williams:I wanna I wanna go back to that moment for that
Brent Williams:student or student, this group of students, likely life
Brent Williams:changing, you know, potentially at least. And those are the
Brent Williams:moments here in an educational process that really, really
Brent Williams:matter. And, you know, I assume that not only in the sales
Brent Williams:competition, but throughout your classes that they're very
Brent Williams:experiential, I assume you see many of those kinds of moments?
John Ballentine:We do, we see them all throughout the
John Ballentine:we do we see
John Ballentine:semester. And what we see is, you know, our sales instructors,
John Ballentine:they start the semester, being perceived by the students, as
John Ballentine:teachers or instructors well, by the end of the semester, they're
John Ballentine:seen as mentors or coaches. And, and I love that shift that
John Ballentine:happens, because it's true, it's and if we're interested in and,
John Ballentine:and all this, the care that, that this group of instructors
John Ballentine:all of the Walton College professors really, but we care
John Ballentine:so much about the life and career of the student and their
John Ballentine:success. But seeing that manifests itself in the coaching
John Ballentine:opportunities that we have, just to help the students get ready
John Ballentine:for the sales competition, or the career fair, or a job
John Ballentine:interview, or their first role is, is where I see that
John Ballentine:manifestation of that care and that of that mentorship. So it's
John Ballentine:fun to watch that, but, but to your point about the confidence
John Ballentine:building and the life changing, I had a student after one class,
John Ballentine:and it was it was life changing for me to hear this, but the
John Ballentine:student said, Mr. Ballentine, the skills that you're teaching
John Ballentine:us, what you're teaching us to do, and how to work and how to
John Ballentine:relate to people, and how to uncover people's needs, is going
John Ballentine:to change the way I do my work. My other classes that I take is
John Ballentine:going to even change the way I talk to my mom.
John Ballentine:Judith Ann Garretson Folse: I loved it when he shared that
John Ballentine:story with me.
John Ballentine:So and that's kind of the life changing part
John Ballentine:of that, but you take it to the next level when you go to the
John Ballentine:sales competition, you get in this team of students that
John Ballentine:talked about, they got to present twice in the same day to
John Ballentine:a different set of judges. And again, that confidence and that
John Ballentine:that confirmation and affirmation that hey, you can do
John Ballentine:this is really so valuable. But the gold, the gold nuggets in
John Ballentine:what we do in the sales competition is the feedback that
John Ballentine:the judges give the students after they present both in the
John Ballentine:morning, and in the afternoon. They get a chance to give
John Ballentine:feedback and I got to share with the finalist. In the fall. I
John Ballentine:said, guys, you, you, teams, you people, you students we get to
John Ballentine:we get to nitpick you on some things because you did so well.
John Ballentine:You did so well. You went above and beyond and you presented a
John Ballentine:very classy and very well organized case presentation that
John Ballentine:we get to critique you on some things that a lot of people
John Ballentine:don't get a chance to critique you off. So you're getting to
John Ballentine:the next level of learning here and that's where the gold is and
Brent Williams:I love that feedback process coming both
Brent Williams:from from our faculty and from industry. Back to the students,
Brent Williams:you mentioned several industry members have engaged I think you
Brent Williams:said you need you need lots of judges first of all, I'm sure
Brent Williams:that's one way. Sure they're engaging in classes who are some
Brent Williams:of the some of the partners that's really come alongside you
Brent Williams:all?
Brent Williams:Judith Ann Garretson Folse: Well, in our sales competition, we've
Brent Williams:had case sponsors like General Mills, and Kimberly Clark. We've
Brent Williams:also had Tyson and Cintas. This, in the last fall competition, we
Brent Williams:had Fastenal, as well as Sanofi and the brands that were part of
Brent Williams:that competition were aspercreme and icy hot. And we've got great
Brent Williams:judges that are coming from all CPG and non CPG companies. So
Brent Williams:we've got Hershey's, we had a Hershey's person participated
Brent Williams:both days, I think, full days, both days and was very, very
Brent Williams:involved. And we could probably talk about how we streamed the
Brent Williams:finals for the first time this year. And thanks to the
Brent Williams:competition, but we've got industry partners that, you
Brent Williams:know, John's been doing a great job reaching out to new
Brent Williams:partners, and who are very interested in opportunity to be
Brent Williams:K sponsor. So we have a great retail advisory board.
Brent Williams:Obviously, you know about that board, since that's been
Brent Williams:something that you have been able to continue for the Walton
Brent Williams:College, great group of people, many of the brands I mentioned
Brent Williams:are on that board, obviously Walmart, very, very involved in
Brent Williams:what we do. But we're we're actually having other companies
Brent Williams:that are reaching out and talking with us about, hey, how
Brent Williams:can we be more involved, and it's those partnerships that are
Brent Williams:going to allow the students to excel, you know, we really want
Brent Williams:to have these student engagement opportunities. You know, you and
Brent Williams:I have talked about that. We want the companies to come and
Brent Williams:lean in and serve as judges, but really work alongside the
Brent Williams:students, allow them to shadow them, create internship
Brent Williams:opportunities for them, we want to host networking events with
Brent Williams:them, we want to help our industry clients, our partners.
Brent Williams:So there's a great opportunity for them to be more involved if
Brent Williams:they've been involved or become involved.
John Ballentine:This is something that was very evident
John Ballentine:to me. As we grow the competition as we get more
John Ballentine:industry clients involved, and we get more students involved.
John Ballentine:We have this was somewhat of a revelation to me, as we think
John Ballentine:about the commercialization of sales, I visualize it as a
John Ballentine:pyramid. And the pinnacle of the pyramid is when we deliver
John Ballentine:products to retail and we have a team of salespeople that work
John Ballentine:with the retailers to do all the things that they do, they're
John Ballentine:very special to get the products into retail, but behind that,
John Ballentine:and we want to train the entire sales force that's behind and
John Ballentine:underneath, lifting up that pinnacle of getting the products
John Ballentine:to the retailer. And you can break that all the way back down
John Ballentine:to the farm, right to if it's a food product, okay, the farmers
John Ballentine:need tractors, somebody's got to sell the tractor, they need
John Ballentine:agricultural chemicals we've got to sell them that, we need seed,
John Ballentine:we got to sell them that, we got to transportation people have to
John Ballentine:move that product to the silos and the finance people have to
John Ballentine:help with financing the tractor so we have this
John Ballentine:commercialization of sales pyramid that all I can think of.
John Ballentine:And it was so evident to me in this last fall that we're that
John Ballentine:our client base is expanding to where we're filling more of that
John Ballentine:commercialization sales pyramid up, because we've got packaging
John Ballentine:companies, International Paper joined us for the first time and
John Ballentine:brought two sales professionals and their HR person that's
John Ballentine:building rebuilding their entire sales training program, they
John Ballentine:engage with us and engage with the students. And it was so fun
John Ballentine:to see their engagement with that, we had transportation
John Ballentine:companies, you know, that are coming and giving great
John Ballentine:feedback, we have a Fastenal with their support that they
John Ballentine:give to the complete supply chain for running manufacturing
John Ballentine:operations that are required to to win this consolidated
John Ballentine:distributors has been a very good supporter of us. And they
John Ballentine:provide all the electrical equipment and packaging, line
John Ballentine:integration and all these things to company. So seeing this,
John Ballentine:seeing this flesh out in this I visualized as a as a parameter,
John Ballentine:support for the pinnacle of getting our products to retail.
John Ballentine:So it's fun to see that come into fruition. And as that
John Ballentine:happens, our geographies expanding too. We had people fly
John Ballentine:in from Ohio to be a part of the sales
John Ballentine:Judith Ann Garretson Folse: And Memphis, drive over from
John Ballentine:Memphis. Yeah. And the one thing that we really loved when we
John Ballentine:think about this commercialization because John
John Ballentine:presented it to me and I said we've got to talk about this at
John Ballentine:the Retail Advisory Board meeting because it really just
John Ballentine:shows that sales really occurs throughout the process, like
John Ballentine:John said, it starts at the farm with the seed. And it ends up as
John Ballentine:it may be a cereal box that's on the shelf at Walmart. But what
John Ballentine:we loved about Spencer conversation was that you have
John Ballentine:sales within the organization, you mentioned earlier that you
John Ballentine:have external sales, and you have internal sales. And I think
John Ballentine:a lot of people recognize that, you're probably going to be
John Ballentine:selling your ideas internally, more than you're selling them
John Ballentine:externally. And you're going through the exact same process,
John Ballentine:you know, really understanding what the need is within your
John Ballentine:organization, because eventually your other serving, you're
John Ballentine:focusing on your clients. But we loved how Spencer talked about,
John Ballentine:you know, uncovering the needs, providing value, as John
John Ballentine:mentioned, but he also talked about the operations team and
John Ballentine:the engineering team. And he said, the operations teams, I
John Ballentine:mean, that's really the closing team, because the fact that
John Ballentine:they're able to gain the trust of the client, because they're
John Ballentine:showing how they can actually execute. So it starts with maybe
John Ballentine:the salesperson or the front line person who's working with a
John Ballentine:client and understanding what the needs are, and then going
John Ballentine:back to different teams and identifying potential solutions,
John Ballentine:and then presenting them. But it's the entire company that's
John Ballentine:really selling, and delivering. So when we talked about the
John Ballentine:commercialization process, where we kind of took a step back and
John Ballentine:said, wow, now that we've listened to Spencer, it's even
John Ballentine:deeper than we envisioned it as being in terms of opportunities
John Ballentine:for students in sales. And so you need to look at the
John Ballentine:different industries that have opportunities for students,
John Ballentine:you've got the financial industry, you've got CPG, you
John Ballentine:have industrial sales, you have consultative selling. And then
John Ballentine:we also have opportunities to help engineering students, and
John Ballentine:other students really at the University of Arkansas, within
John Ballentine:the one college and outside the Walton College, really gain
John Ballentine:these transferable skills and be successful in the marketplace.
John Ballentine:And this just makes us so excited to think about the
John Ballentine:impact that we can have. And that goes back to that paradigm
John Ballentine:shift that I had, you know, where we can serve more students
John Ballentine:and impact their lives, you know, give them the confidence
John Ballentine:to be successful because of the competitions. And we're actually
John Ballentine:expanding our competition from a two day competition to a three
John Ballentine:day competition. And we're identifying different ways that
John Ballentine:we can continue to elevate the competition and the program. So
John Ballentine:for the first time, in the fall of 2023, we had team selling,
John Ballentine:because we recognize that there would be a that really mimics
John Ballentine:what happens in the marketplace. You walk in and you have a team
John Ballentine:of people, Spencer's podcast once again, talking about teams.
John Ballentine:And so we thought this is a great opportunity for students
John Ballentine:to work as teams, and in their role playing, and it was allowed
John Ballentine:us to touch more students, but also allow them to gain greater
John Ballentine:skill sets that are more transferable.
Brent Williams:A couple of things strike me from all of
Brent Williams:that. One is that this this program, in terms of industry
Brent Williams:engagement, there is an opportunity maybe for any
Brent Williams:company, to engage in this it doesn't it doesn't matter what
Brent Williams:you're producing, what your what your service is, how you're
Brent Williams:engaged in, in the value chain, you can engage whether you're
Brent Williams:big or small, actually.
Brent Williams:Judith Ann Garretson Folse: Absolutely, we, we believe that our purpose
Brent Williams:is to be other serving. And we would love the opportunity to
Brent Williams:work alongside companies that really want to hire students who
Brent Williams:can uncover the needs of their clients, and help them excel in
Brent Williams:the marketplace and build teams.
John Ballentine:Absolutely the one I've just been listening to
John Ballentine:you talk Judith and and connecting the one of the
John Ballentine:questions that Brent asked about, what is it we teach our
John Ballentine:students and when it comes to the art and science of selling.
John Ballentine:And here you you reminded me about this. When you reference
John Ballentine:to operations, people making the clothes and building that trust,
John Ballentine:and we teach, we talk about this every day in class that sales
John Ballentine:professionals operate with under the highest level of integrity
John Ballentine:and build trust for their clients. If you don't have that
John Ballentine:trust that you build with the client. You don't have an
John Ballentine:opportunity to engage that client understand what their
John Ballentine:needs are. And I had we we're so blessed to have so many great
John Ballentine:people that are able to come in and deliver helped over content
John Ballentine:in our sales class and one of, one of the sales development
John Ballentine:managers at or director of sales and development at Simmons Foods
John Ballentine:comes and talks to my class, every semester, Adam, come talk
John Ballentine:toward at the end of the class and he walked in, he said, okay,
John Ballentine:students, I want you to tell me the most the number one thing
John Ballentine:that a sales professional needs to develop in order to be
John Ballentine:successful. And several students answered questions that were all
John Ballentine:very close to accurate. But finally the one student said,
John Ballentine:trust. And he says absolutely, if you have to start there. And
John Ballentine:I think that's when you asked, sourcing professionals what's
John Ballentine:the most important thing about sales, professional? Trust and
John Ballentine:integrity. So I didn't want to gloss over that. Because that's
John Ballentine:really what Spencer was talking about our operations people come
John Ballentine:in close, because they proved to me exactly, we do.
Brent Williams:Such a such a great point and such a it's so
Brent Williams:critical, right? That we're teaching our undergraduate
Brent Williams:students that is the core, because it's going to set them
Brent Williams:up for success going forward. So I guess the takeaway for me, if
Brent Williams:I'm a company that wants to engage in the sales program,
Brent Williams:there's probably a place for me. So reach out to John Ballentine,
Brent Williams:if you're listening and want to engage. You know, the other key
Brent Williams:takeaway for me is that there's really an opportunity for the
Brent Williams:Walton College through this program, because it doesn't
Brent Williams:matter if you're a marketing major, you know, or if you are a
Brent Williams:civil engineer, or if you're in poultry science, you know, and
Brent Williams:anywhere in between, probably a sales experience could help you.
Brent Williams:So we, we have an introduction to sales class, we have an
Brent Williams:advanced sales class for developing and implementing
Brent Williams:sales applications. We also have sales analytics in the program.
Brent Williams:So you know, it sounds like to me, you're starting with really
Brent Williams:foundational concepts of you're solving students, you're solving
Brent Williams:problems with sales, you've got to start with trust and
Brent Williams:integrity. But in the program, we're going all the way to I
Brent Williams:like how are you applying technology to sales?
Brent Williams:Judith Ann Garretson Folse: Yeah, absolutely. I'm really proud of
Brent Williams:the team that we have in place our sales team, and that we're
Brent Williams:able to offer, you know, these four different courses will be
Brent Williams:in our fourth, like John said, in spring of 2024. Because, you
Brent Williams:know, for sales analytics, we're using insights to guide a lot of
Brent Williams:these decisions. And we really need that in today's age where
Brent Williams:all of the decisions are based on on data. And we anticipate
Brent Williams:even more growth in terms of digital, I really loved how I
Brent Williams:keep going back to Spencer, but I loved how he talked about the
Brent Williams:fact that then that relationships are always going
Brent Williams:to be key in sales. But the digital world is changing the
Brent Williams:way that we actually deliver content and conversations on
Brent Williams:some occasions, with the clients helping us shape the content, so
Brent Williams:that the students who go through that course are getting cutting
Brent Williams:edge opportunities to excel when they hit the their first sales
Brent Williams:job.
Brent Williams:Well Judith and John, I am so proud of both of
Brent Williams:you and all of the team that you've put together and what
Brent Williams:you're doing. I think, you know, just a few, I don't know, it
Brent Williams:feels like a few short months ago that we really started
Brent Williams:pursuing this vision in in a strong way. And the progress
Brent Williams:made is tremendous. The the growth in the program and the
Brent Williams:number of students engaging has well exceeded my expectations. I
Brent Williams:can't wait to see what you all do in the future. Thank you for
Brent Williams:spending time with me today.
Brent Williams:Judith Ann Garretson Folse: Thank you for the opportunity, we're
Brent Williams:very excited for the future.
John Ballentine:It'll build out your vision Brent, this is
