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Sales Education Foundation accolade for university courses

Posted: 25th April 2017

EDINBURGH Napier University’s teaching in sales has received international recognition from the US-based Sales Education Foundation (SEF).

The programmes run at the Craiglockhart-based Business School have seen the university named as one of the ‘Top universities for Professional Sales Education’ in the organisation’s 2017 ANNUAL magazine.
The SEF recognises universities which prepare students for successful careers in professional selling and help to raise the status of the sales profession.

Edinburgh Napier, home to Scotland’s first university sales division, offers two degree programmes with a sales element and an advisory group drawn from industry helps develop the teaching agenda.

It is one of only two European universities to have joined the illustrious ranks of associate membership of the University Sales Centre Alliance.

Sales sits in the newly formed Marketing, Sales, Entrepreneurship Group within the Business School. April 27 will see the launch of the Centre for Sales and Business Development, which enjoys support from stakeholders across education and industry.

Edinburgh Napier has also joined forces with universities in Finland, Austria and Germany to research the coaching of sales professionals, and next month the university will host the 3rd European Sales Competition, aimed at filling the gap in sales education among students.

Dr Tony Douglas, Associate Professor of Strategy & Sales at Edinburgh Napier, said: “It is great news that our Business School has been formally recognised for the strides it has taken to introduce and develop professional selling and sales into the curriculum.

“We now have a range of on campus, online and international programmes and modules that address the challenges businesses have in their day to day sales as well as their future strategic direction in sales.

“Edinburgh Napier has recognised that embedding, understanding and applying sales skills and competencies in its undergraduate and postgraduate students will help equip them for not just jobs but careers in professional selling.”

Sally Stevens, Executive Director of the Sales Education Foundation, said candidates from university sales programmes were prepared “to compete in the ever-changing global economy.”

The SEF – which aims to ‘elevate the sales profession through university education’ – provides education materials to university sales programmes and their students, and promotes these programmes through its magazine listings.

The 2017 ANNUAL magazine, their 10th edition, will be available on their website, www.salesfoundation.org, by the end of April.

Business Comment

Business Comment is the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce’s bi-monthly magazine. It provides insight on Edinburgh’s vibrant business community, with features on the city’s key sectors, interviews with leading figures and news on new business developments in the capital.
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