S8E6: Sales Skills: The Key to Societal Change
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Season 8 continues with our conversations about the new strategic direction at the David Eccles School of Business with a particular focus on the second pillar of the strategic plan: societal impact.
Alan Hall is the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Blue Sky Energy Corporation, and a prolific angel investor in Utah area companies and institutions, including the David Eccles School of Business.
Alan shares his insights on bridging the gap between academia and industry, focusing on how higher education can better prepare students for the workforce by teaching critical thinking and social skills. Alan also emphasizes the importance of salesmanship skills for all students, irrespective of their career paths, and Frances takes the chance to highlight his philanthropic work, including contributions to the Sales Innovation Summit at the Eccles School.
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Eccles Business Buzz is a production of the David Eccles School of Business and is produced by University FM.
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Episode Quotes
Sales skills are valuable no matter your major or the industry you land in.
[10:58] The reason I believe that everybody should take a sales class, let’s say sales 101, is to understand you need to know the customer first before you do anything else. That principle helps us throughout our life by understanding our audience really well.
Why Sales Innovation Summit is an important part of Alan’s investment at the Eccles School
And so, I look at wherever we’ve donated money to any institution of higher learning, we want that president and that dean of business and the faculty to say, “We need something on the topic of sales,” right? So, at the University of Utah, this is our starting initiative, is having the summit, because the summit is a wonderful venue where we bring all these students together. As you pointed out, there’s some wonderful speakers and opportunities. But for me, this is just a starting place for the university. As I look ahead, I would like to see that you could actually get a bachelor’s degree in professional sales at the University of Utah. Other institutions that have this going are graduating hundreds of students in this field, and they come from various industries and career points. But I like the fact that University of Utah, starting with this one, it’s statewide. So, I look at this great institution of the University of Utah as a flagship. They can take these things and run with it. They’ve got the right people, the resources. So, this was a starting, sort of, an event, which I hope, in time, will lead to bigger things. That’s what this is all about.
How skilled graduates drive economic and social change
[18:54] Those who really do this well of understanding who they are and understanding the employer, they’re gonna rise to the top as best employees in that business. That’s because they’re really thinking you through understanding the needs of customers in the business and how they fit into that. And they’re going to rise to the surface very quickly because they demonstrate those skills, so they’re gonna be a leader in the business sooner than anybody.
The idea of salesmanship
[20:39] You have to have a concern for your fellow man, fellow ladies too, right? You need to have a concern for people. Because no matter what we’re selling a widget or a service, we’re really taking care of somebody that has an important and compelling need. And if we don’t have that fundamental about loving others, if you will, of having a concern and care for their welfare, we’re not going to do well. We’re not going to go very far. If it’s always about me, me, me, taking care of me. Those sorts of personalities don’t make it very far.
