Three years ago, Catholic University had the honor of welcoming Mark Weber to their exceptional team of professors in the Busch School of Business and Economics. Weber spent the past thirty years building his career as a sales leader and then decided to take his excellence to the classroom. Starting with creating the curriculum for the first-ever sales course at The Busch School of Business, Weber has expanded this one course into an entire curriculum for a Sales Minor. This minor has recently been approved by Catholic University, and is now recognized as an official minor in the Busch School of Business and Economics.
Sales is a “problem solving, rapport building, relationship creating profession.” according to Weber. Its basis lies in the trust between salesman and customer. “The customer isn’t just buying a product, they’re investing in a relationship.” It is the focus on the customer that makes the difference in the sales world.
“Sales is about building trust, so it depends on honesty and genuinely caring about the other person’s good, and that's what the Catholic Social Doctrine teaches.” Says Weber. The training provided in the Sales Program is based on ethics, morality, and an emphasis on the common good so that students can enter the working world and make an impact. “These students take the Catholic Social Teachings and use them to build trust and rapport in their profession.
Each sales class is live, based mainly on discussion. “We don’t use many slides and lectures. We role-play, acting out a scenario multiple times and dissecting each role play.” Students learn from the real world examples, analyzing the role-plays through discussions, highlighting the mistakes and successes of the students’ attempt.
Besides the hands-on teaching, one of the best parts of the program is the network of the professors. “We’re all industry people” says Weber. The professors are able to provide students with unbelievable opportunities at many different businesses. The success of the program is not hard to see. Over forty students have gone into sales in the past three years, with the median salary for graduates being about $70K. Currently, over fifty students from the Class of 2018 are actively searching for sales position.
“Everybody sells something” says Mark Weber. That is why the Sales minor is not just aimed towards marketing students, but students from different business majors and different schools— Arts and Sciences, Engineering, Philosophy, Music. The Sales minor is about providing the education needed to prepare students for whatever type of sales they will be doing in whatever profession they chose to pursue.
Contact Professor Mark Weber at weber@cua.edu with any questions.