THE SALES REPORT

T H E O F F I C I A L N E W S L E T T E R O F T H E S A L E S L E A D E R S H I P M I N O R

F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 9 E D I T I O N

Alumni Spotlight- Stephen Schram

Stephen Schram graduated from Michigan State University in 1975 with a Bachelors of Arts in Television and Radio. Though he is a die-hard Spartan Alumnus, he is currently the Executive Director and General Manager of Michigan Radio WUOM in Ann Arbor (U of M’s radio station). He is also a member of Michigan’s Association of Broadcasters (MAB), the Sales Leadership Minor's most recent partner. Schram has experienced a very successful career in the broadcasting industry.  Immediately after graduation, he started his career at WVIC in Lansing, during which he built himself a reputable on-air personality known as Dr. Steve Edwards, "The Good Doc of Rock".  Briefly thereafter, Schram made his way to the Detroit area and initially received an announcing job for Detroit's WNIC AM Station, but was eventually recruited as the program director at Detroit's WTWR radio, known as the "Tower 92 FM".  He then moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and worked as the operations manager for WZUU FM/AM Radio, and

Upcoming Events

Friday, February 1st: Sales Leadership Minor Info Session, 12-1 PM @ N336 BCCFriday, February 1st: Com Arts Connect Career Fair @ Com Arts Building, First floorWednesday, February 6th: GSLS Meeting: CED-All-Phase, Prep for All-MSU Sales Competition 6:30-8:30PMThursday, February 7th: Gartner Networking Info Session, 5-7:30 PM @ 184 Com ArtsFriday, February 8th: 2019: The All-MSU Sales Competition, Henry Center for Executive Development, 7:00 am – 4:00 pmWednesday, February 13th: GSLS Meeting: Coyote Logistics, 6:30-8:30 PM Friday, February 15th: Sales Leadership Minor Info Session, 12-1 PM @ N336 BCCWednesday, February 20th: GSLS Meeting: Quicken Loans, 6:30-8:30PM Friday, February 22nd: Sales Leadership Minor Info Session, 12-1 PM @ N336 BCCWednesday, February 27th: GSLS Meeting: Gartner, 6:30-8:30PM

"Make up your mind on what you want to be, and then be excellent

at it."

-Stephan Schram

then transitioned to the general manager position. Though he did not have any prior sales experience, he had a vast knowledge of the industry, and at age 28, Schram became fully immersed in the career of broadcasting sales. As a graduate of the College of Communication Arts and Sciences (ComArtSci), Schram saw a gap in the Television and Radio curriculum at MSU, which focused heavily on preparing students to become on air personalities but lacked competencies on how to sell media.  In 2005, Schram, a member of the ComArtSci Alumni Association Board, approached a former dean of the College about implementing a sales program at Michigan State University, since a large majority of new grads tend to start their careers in sales. The dean supported the idea and asked Communication faculty to begin developing a program. Those faculty eventually partnered with Marketing faculty, and together they developed the curriculum that became the Sales Communication Specialization in 2009, later becoming the Sales Leadership Minor (SLM) in 2015. Around that time, Schram was invited to observe the All-MSU Sales Competition, and after seeing the talent demonstrated by SLM students, Schram supported MAB’s move to invest in the minor to assist with identifying high quality, trained sales talent for their member stations.  Schram encourages students to explore the broadcasting industry because it provides an opportunity to make a career out of building relationships in a rewarding, yet challenging, career in outside sales. Schram stated that the best part of his day “is meeting with clients". When prompted for advice on pursuing a sales role, Schram expressed that students need to "make up their mind what they want to be, and then be excellent at it...find your passion (in sales) because once you receive that first yes, there's no finer feeling."

5 REASONS TO GO ON THE "MADE IN ITALY"

STUDY ABROAD

SPARTANS STUDY ABROADStudents, are you looking to embark on the educational journey of a lifetime? Are you passionate about learning and living in a different culture? Do you want a way to complete some of your sales electives in the summer? If you responded "Yes" to any of these questions, then you need to apply for the 2019 "Made in Italy" Study Abroad program!  Experience personal, professional, and academic growth as you: 1. Earn 9 credits in 6 weeks, May 9 - June 23! Students will have chance to earn 2 of their 3 SLM electives through this program. The specific classes include: - Made In Italy: The Branding of a Phenomenon (3 credits) - Communication Italian Style: Popes, Politicians, and Pop Culture iiii(3 credits) - Intercultural Communication and Sales (3 credits) 2. Explore! In addition to planned excursions in and around Rome and Florence, students travel during their free weekends to places like the Amalfi Coast, Venice, Cinque Terre, Paris, Amsterdam, Croatia, Barcelona, Munich, and many more. When not traveling, students live as locals in neighborhoods in the Trastevere area of the city.

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.” - Ferris Bueller

5 REASONS TO ATTEND MADE IN ITALY CONT.3. Obtain real world sales/marketing experience through your classes! Classes in this program do not take place in a traditional classroom. Instead, students have on site “experiences” to learn about communication, marketing, and branding strategies over the past three millennia in locations such as a Medieval castle, a 1st Century church built on top of a pagan temple and school, temples to the Roman gods and goddesses that transitioned to Christian churches. Students learn the history behind the city’s unique architecture, artwork, and fallen leaders who have shaped it to be what it is today. Students also develop and present an international marketing plan for an Italian product that will be marketed to an American audience. 4. Learn from some of the most dynamic professors in the world! Made in Italy has access to two faculty members whose reach goes far beyond Rome.  Whenever students come back from this study abroad program and are asked what their favorite part of the program was, they typically answer with "Sean-Patrick Lovett", a 40-year veteran of the Vatican, former Director of Vatican Radio’s English section, and communication expert who travels the world holding seminars and workshops.  Andrea Guiricin, who teaches the marketing class, is a native Italian, lives in Spain, is on faculty of the University of Milan Biccoca, and is adjunct faculty at a transportation university in Beijing China. Guiricin also travels the world consulting on the transportation industry and his specialty is high speed rail. His commentary, expertise, and interviews end up on the pages of  the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and many other publications, in addition to on-air radio and television broadcasts in Italy and its surrounding countries. Jennifer Rumler teaches the Intercultural Communication and

Sales class that examines communication between groups of people, specifically with Italians and also the refugee population in Rome with several different organizations, a subset of the 65 million people who are currently displaced worldwide.  Mario Cacciafeste rounds out the faculty, and he teaches the non-credit “Survival Italian” class which assists students with getting around the city, ordering in coffee bars and restaurants, and shopping at local neighborhood markets. 5. Make a difference in a local Italian community! Last year, students spent four days at an anti-mafia co-op that takes confiscated mafia land and property and re-purposes it for the benefit of the community, including providing housing for recent refugees arriving in Italy. They worked with political refugees mostly from African countries, learned about their heartbreaking journeys, and contributed to making their lives just a little bit better.  If you love making a difference in people's lives, you should really apply to this program.

LINK TO APPLY: HTTPS://OSA.ISP.MSU.EDU/PROGRAMS/PROGRAM/INDEX/108603

There are still some openings on the program, but it is highly sought after.  Pre-departure meetings begin in January, and the program takes place May 9th to June 23rd.

What are you waiting for? Apply now!

RECENT PARTNER EVENTS

NETWORKING EVENTS IN CHICAGO & DETROITQuicken Loans and C.H. Robinson took advantage of their Gold and Silver partnerships to host events with students in the Sales Leadership Minor last semester. Students had the opportunity to travel to Detroit to visit Quicken Loans’ headquarters and Chicago to see C.H. Robinson's new facility. While in Chicago students also engaged in a comedy improv sales workshop. During their time in Detroit, students worked with Quicken Loans reps in a detailed sales workshop where they learned how to engage and retain clients. Students also had the opportunity to network with several Quicken Loans’ recruiters and leaders. We would like to thank both Quicken Loans and C.H. Robinson for hosting such wonderful, engaging, hands-on, and educational events for our students!

RFP PRESENTATIONS

Fall 2018 Semester

Request for Proposal (RFP)

Winners:

On December 14th, students in COM 360 competed in their final RFP presentations. For the previous 6 weeks, students were given a Request for Proposal and worked with representatives from several of our corporate sponsors including United Shore, CH Robinson, Altria, TEK Systems, Gannett, and Thomson Reuters. In teams of 4 to 6, students had 20 minutes to present their cases and close the sales they had been working to obtain for the final 6 weeks of the semester. They utilized all of the knowledge they gained from COM 360 to ask questions about their customer's needs, find a solution tailored to those needs, overcome objections, and confidently close the sale. Congratulations to our students Payton Becki, Alison VanHoof, Max Kehoe, Drew Davis, and Adam Rabaut with the Thomson Reuters team for finishing 1st place. We would also like to congratulate the Altria and Gannett teams for placing 2nd and 3rd respectively.

Global Sales Leadership Society E-board Changes

GSLS SHIFTS LEADERSHIP

POSITIONSWith Spring Semester 2019 here, the Global Sales Leadership Society has seen a few changes in our e-board leadership posit ions. Whether the reasons are accepting internships abroad or graduating in the fa l l , we have several fantast ic members stepping down from their posit ions and other outstanding indiv iduals taking their places. The Global sales leadership society would l ike to welcome in Keegan Dashner, Lauren Kuiper and Jul ia Verkest . The changes are as fol lows. . . 1 . Keegan Dashner wi l l take over for Heidi Surdyk as the Vice President. 2 . Lauren Kuiper wi l l take over for Sydney DeHorn as the Chief Operat ion Off icer . 3 . Jul ia Verkest wi l l take over for Nick Stahl as the Chief Market ing Off icer .

ALUMNI ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIP

"When I reflect on the Sales Leadership Minor, I can’t help but smile and say thank you. The program pushed me out of my comfort zone and taught me to think critically, lead ethically and courageously, and to provide a professional buying experience for customers." - PATRICK CONWAY

Every year Michigan State University asks it’s graduating seniors to donate back to the university.  A special initiative for graduating seniors of the Sales Leadership Minor (SLM) is to fully fund our Alumni Endowed Scholarship at $50,000 by May of 2020.  Many of our alumni have made significant contributions to this fund, most recently, Patrick Conway.  Patrick, just two years out of the Sales Leadership Minor, has very generously pledged $500 per year for the next 5 years, or a total pledge of $2,500. He joins other SLM alumni who have made this same commitment. Patrick said" Spartans are naturally competitive, so I would encourage all Sales Leadership Minor Alumni to give back when they have the opportunity to make a donation. We have something special built here in East Lansing, so let’s do everything we can to support this National Champion Program and continue to set the bar higher for sales education!If 20 of our alumni were to make the same commitment, we would be fully funded!"  Graduating seniors of the SLM are also asked to contribute to this fund to pay it forward. Seniors may donate whatever they can, but those who donate $50 or more are able to receive a Green & White Philanthropy Cord to be worn at Commencement. Spring of 2018 we had 90% participation and we are hoping to reach 100% with the May 2019 graduates. Your generous gift will help ensure that scholarships for students in the SLM will continue into perpetuity.

HELP US REACH OUR GOAL OF $50,000

Follow these easy instructions to support the the Alumni Endowed Scholarship Fund:1. Enter this link: https://givingto.msu.edu/ into your internet browser2. Search “Senior Class Campaign” in the search bar in the upper right corner. 3. Under Senior Class Campaign click on the green box that says “Get Your Philanthropy Cord”4. When prompted with the box “Areas of Support”, please type:  Sales Alumni Endowed Scholarship Fund and add it to your cart.

SENIORS ACCEPTING FULL TIME OFFERS

Calum Ahmed | CH Robinson*Payton Becki | Altria*Nicolle Brennan | Eli Lilly and CompanyBraxton Buckner | Gartner*Olivia Burdsal | Align TechnologyPaul Carot | Thomson Reuters*Ian Cunningham | Oracle NetSuiteJacob Disbro | CH Robinson*Alex Gove | TEK Systems*David Hotz | Deloitte ConsultingMax Lonnemo | ADPJohn Losurdo | CH Robinson*Drew Jackson | CH Robinson*Marisa Kimerer | TJX Lauren Kuiper | PepsicoMax Lonnemo | ADPJohn Losurdo | CH Robinson*Michael Mayfield | Northwestern MutualKaylee Persichetti | Insight GlobalCarle Rachel | General MillsJackson Rapaich | ElasticTJ Stagg | Harley DavidsonNicholas Stahl | Gartner*Heidi Surdyk | Cisco*Maria Tomovski | Altria*Natalie Trainor  | Thomson Reuters*Riley VanPelt | CH Robinson*Evan Wendell | Keyence Brooke Wylin | BP*Caroline Zuhl  | Johnson and Johnson

STUDENTS ACCEPTING INTERNSHIPS

Christian Anderson |The United States Embassy in LondonElaina Broadwell  | Quicken Loans*Seth Dippel  | Quicken Loans*Adam Elias | CognexSam Kinerk  | C.H. Robinson*Kyle Levick | Thomson Reuters*Kyle Mallad  | Quicken Loans*Kyle McKenzie | Altria*Mark Robbins | College Works PaintingAshley Sipla | Aisle Rocket StudiosJordan Veach | Gartner*Julia Verkest | FordLiz Walsh | Georgia-PacificCj Weiss | BP*Mitchell Zacharias | CED*

Congratulations Spartans keep up the hard work!

Name/place working  *Denotes Corporate Partner

Gold Sponsors:

Silver Sponsors:

Bronze Sponsors:

Sales Leadership Minor Corporate Partners