MSU Denver creates first-of-its-kind Center for Professional Selling

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Jessica Taves | Courtesy MSU Denver

Jessica Rose, an MSU Denver marketing graduate, completed her sales certification training in 2013. Rose currently works at Minnesota-based Fastenal as a general manager.

Caitlin Hendee

Digital Producer / Social Engagement Manager- Denver Business Journal

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Metropolitan State University of Denver has established the first center dedicated solely to sales education that is part of the University Sales Center Alliance (USCA) in the state, the university announced Wednesday.

The Center for Professional Selling in MSU Denver's College of Business will focus on formally training students in sales principles and techniques. The center is an associate member of the national USCA, a consortium of sales centers founded in 2002 for advancing sales education.

The center, established at the beginning of fall semester, was created as a culmination of the professional sales education program MSU Denver has had in place since the fall of 2012.

Scott Sherwood, MSU Denver's Center for Professional Selling director, said the university made the move to respond to research demonstrating that formal sales education is in growing demand among employers.

He said the center "can provide students with the knowledge and skills they need for professional success."

The Sales Education Foundation, a national promoter of university sales profession colleges, in an April 2014 report found that 92 percent of sales education program graduates nationwide secure employment within three months of graduation. Nationally, about 51 percent of students report securing employment after graduating, the report said.

MSU Denver's sales education program provides business majors a sales certificate or the option for a sales minor.

Caitlin Hendee is digital producer and social engagement manager for the Denver Business Journal and contributes to the "17th & Lincoln" blog. Email: chendee@bizjournals.com. Phone: 303-803-9226.

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