Sales 101: The B2B Sales Classroom

A sales pipeline with seven stages sounds thorough until a new rep is staring at it, unsure what to actually do next. This episode breaks down a framework used with an enterprise client that cuts the whole thing down to three buckets, changing how a new seller thinks about their entire pipeline.

• The framework came out of watching an enterprise sales team manage huge deals without a clear sense of where anything actually stood.
• Following CRM tasks day to day gives a rep a to-do list, not a real view of their pipeline or control over it.
• The traditional pipeline collapses into three buckets: create, advance, and close. Create covers deals that aren't real yet, advance is where most of the active work happens, and close is where a deal actually converts.

• This isn't a replacement for a professor's existing sales cycle or CRM stages. The full pipeline still exists underneath.
• The three buckets give a rep a mental model on top of that detail, so they always know where a deal sits without getting lost in every individual stage.
• In the advance bucket especially, every deal needs a valid next step. Without one, that deal isn't advancing. It's stalling.

• Give students a real-life scenario, like a prospect stalling during discovery, and have them work out their own strategy for moving that deal forward.
• Students then role-play their strategy with a classmate, practicing the same critical thinking a professional seller uses every day.
• The same exercise works for the close bucket too, using scenarios where a deal is nearly done but something unexpected threatens to derail it.

• BJ shared a story of a VP of sales who forecasted her pipeline within one percent accuracy, a level most sales leaders never come close to.
• That kind of accuracy comes from reps who deeply understand their own individual pipeline, not from a complicated system nobody fully tracks.
• Simplifying the framework for students isn't about dumbing it down. It's about giving them a structure they'll actually use once they're in a real sales role.

• Teach the full pipeline stages students will see in a real CRM, but also teach the conceptual version underneath it: the constant question of what needs to happen to move this deal forward.
• This is the exact thinking a new rep will use with their own accounts, not just a classroom exercise.

"There's so much value in anything you can do to simplify the process for students." — Dr. BJ Allen

• Check out the courseware built with Stukent: Professional Selling and Advanced Selling and Sales Management
• Visit the Sales 101 podcast website for more episodes

What started with students bringing VHS tapes to class has now become AI-powered sales practice.

Mike Martin has been teaching sales for about 24 years, and he has watched technology change almost every part of how students practice. But the goal has stayed the same: give students a chance to practice sales conversations before they have to handle them with a real buyer.

In this episode, Mike shares how he moved from VHS-recorded role-plays to using ChatGPT for cold calls, objection handling, empathy practice, and more. He also explains why AI should support sales education without replacing the human interaction students still need.

• Mike started using recorded role-plays when students had to bring VHS tapes to class.
• Students recorded their sales conversations from a single camera view.
• Mike could review the recordings, while students could also watch themselves and learn from their performance.
• As recording technology changed, the process moved from VHS to digital.
• Generative AI has now created another way for students to practice sales conversations.

• Mike's main use of AI is giving students a chance to practice cold calls.
• Students prepare before starting the conversation:
• Choose a product or topic to sell.
• Define who they are and what they are selling.
• Build a value proposition.
• Identify three or four selling points.
• Prepare for likely objections and responses.
• Students use a shared AI prompt so the exercise is consistent across the class.
• The goal is to get a meeting or earn the opportunity to make a presentation, rather than close the sale.

• Mike can instruct the AI buyer to be more or less resistant.
• A more resistant buyer forces students to work harder during the conversation.
• In one exercise, students had to sell their degree to an AI buyer that was instructed to push back.
• The resistance made students work harder and gave them more practice handling difficult conversations.
• Students can also practice privately instead of making their first attempt in front of their classmates.

• Mike also connected AI role-play to research around empathy in sales.
• Students completed sales calls and then repeated the exercise using more empathetic language.
• This gave them a chance to compare their approaches and think about how they communicate with buyers.
• The exercise shows how AI can create repeated practice around specific sales skills.

• Not every student has the same access to sales or interview experience.
• Mike teaches students in Northwest Kansas, including students who may have fewer opportunities to practice professional conversations outside the classroom.
• AI gives students another way to practice regardless of their location.
• They can make mistakes, review what happened, and try again without needing another person available for every practice session.

• Mike does not see AI as a replacement for real sales conversations.
• Students still practice with other people in class.
• AI provides another practice environment, but students still need to learn how to respond to real people.
• Mike also stresses the importance of trust.
• Students can recognize when AI is being used poorly.
• They need to know the technology is helping them learn, not simply making the professor's work easier.

• Mike learned an important lesson when he first demonstrated the AI exercise himself.
• He had not prepared enough and found that the demonstration was harder than expected.
• His advice to other professors is simple: practice the assignment yourself before giving it to students.
• Test the prompts, work through the exercise, and make changes based on what happens.

Popular quote: “I think you definitely have to figure out where’s the best place and don’t become over-reliant on it.”

Every year, I hear from professors who've got students ready to compete and no way to get them there. Dr. Scott Hachey stopped waiting on a bigger budget and rebuilt the competition itself, and now schools that never had a shot at this are showing up to play.

Episode Breakdown

• Scott spent close to a decade in sales across agriculture, hospitality, and retail before finishing his PhD.
• Teaching a single sales course turned into a chance to bring that industry background straight into the classroom.
• He now teaches Professional Selling and Sales Management at Cal State Fullerton, and he's looking to grow the program from here.

• Scott didn't launch his virtual competition because of the pandemic. He built it in 2025 to fix a permanent problem.
• Travel and hosting costs shut a lot of students out before they even get a chance to compete, especially students working jobs while they're in school.
• With his department chair, dean, and outside sponsors behind him, the competition is heading into its third year this spring.

• In the weeks leading up to the event, students go through two to three online training sessions, with the sponsor joining to walk through the sales scenario.
• On competition day, each student gets their own time slot and a private Zoom link into a role-play room with a live buyer.
• About five judges watch each round with their cameras off, and students only interact with the buyer, never with the judges directly.

• The strongest response has come from schools with no dedicated sales program funding, often a single professor trying to give students real competition reps on their own.
• Scott connects it to his own career in agriculture sales, where he sold to buyers worldwide with no travel budget at all, phone and video selling weren't optional, they were the job.
• Even students used to in-person events have to relearn the basics on camera: checking the mic, confirming the camera's on, the small habits virtual selling demands.

• Scott doesn't dress up the rough patches. The first year included Zoom rooms shutting down mid-competition.
• He's upfront that virtual can't replace the hallway conversations and networking of an in-person event, and he still ranks in-person as the top-tier experience.
• Growing the format to more schools depends on university IT keeping pace, which rarely moves as fast as anyone teaching a live class would like.

• Scott is originally from Canada, and his love of hockey led him directly to the LA Kings, headquartered close to Fullerton.
• What started with the Kings' AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign, grew into a full partnership with the NHL organization.

• Scott's advice to new sales professors: find others doing interesting work and reach out. He's found the sales education community quick to help.
• He's actively recruiting more schools, judges, and student teams for the next competition.

"We wanted to create a competition that would provide access to students who don't go to a school with a sales program." — Dr. Scott Hachey

• Connect with Dr. Scott Hachey on LinkedIn
• Learn more about the CSUF Sales Leadership Center and the Titan-Mania Virtual Sales Competition
• Interested in our courseware? Check out Professional Selling and Advanced Selling and Sales Management, built with Stukent
• Visit the Sales 101 podcast website for more episodes

show notes

Have you ever tried to create a courseware for a sales class and just felt like you had no clue what to do?

We've both been there.

Knowing sales is one thing. Taking years of experience with prospecting, discovery, objections, and closing and turning all of that into a course students can actually follow is a completely different challenge.

In this episode, Dr. BJ Allen and I sit down and work through the process together. We lay out four steps we would use to build a sales curriculum from the ground up, including some of the mistakes we've made along the way.

• You can’t teach everything about sales in one classroom. The first step is deciding what job you’re actually preparing your students to do.
• A course designed for BDRs and SDRs will need a different focus from one designed for account managers or sales executives.
• BJ explains how this decision helps professors narrow down their content instead of trying to fit years of sales experience into one semester.
• The goal isn’t to give students everything. It’s to give them enough to confidently take the next step.

• A strong sales curriculum needs a foundation that gives students a clear path from one stage of the sales process to the next.
• Donald compares this foundation to the base of a barbecue sauce: once you have it, you can build everything else around it.
• The curriculum we built follows the sales pipeline, moving students from prospecting to discovery and through the rest of the sales process.
• BJ explains why taking pieces from different methodologies can create confusion when students don't understand how those pieces fit together.
• Sandler, MEDDIC, Challenger, and SPIN are discussed as examples of different approaches professors may use when building their foundation.

• Sales is an applied discipline, so students need opportunities to practice what they learn instead of simply memorizing terminology.
• Guest speakers can bring industry experience into the classroom and give students another perspective on the concepts being taught.
• Role plays and case studies give students a chance to practice skills like prospecting, researching prospects, and handling real sales situations.
• One assignment used Apollo and LinkedIn to have students research companies, identify potential contacts, and create outreach sequences.
• One student used the assignment to reach out to someone in the industry and ultimately landed an internship.

• Practical assignments can give students experience with the same tools and activities they'll encounter in an actual sales role.
• BJ shares an example that combines ICP research, prospect research, LinkedIn research, and video email into one assignment.
• Instead of treating each skill as a separate lesson, students have to connect the pieces and use them together.
• The approach also makes it easier for professors to see whether students understand the full sales process rather than just individual concepts.
• Even professors with limited resources can create meaningful practice through simple role plays, peer feedback, and real-world scenarios.

• One of the mistakes new professors can make is creating assignments that are valuable for students but nearly impossible to grade efficiently.
• Clear grading criteria give students a better understanding of what they're expected to deliver and make the evaluation process more objective.
• The episode covers ways to build efficiency into grading, including teaching assistants, simulations, and assignments that test several skills at once.
• BJ also explains why professors need to think about the time required to grade an assignment before assigning it to an entire class.

• Step 1: Identify the job you're preparing students for.
• Step 2: Choose the foundation or sales process you'll build the curriculum around.
• Step 3: Bring real-world sales into the classroom through guest speakers, role plays, case studies, and practical tools.
• Step 4: Create assignments and grading systems that work for both students and professors.

“They just need enough to get to the next step.” — Donald C. Kelly

We also talk about the sales courseware we built, including digital videos and a simulation that gives students a chance to practice the sales process while making grading more manageable.

If you're building a sales curriculum from scratch or trying to make an existing course more practical, listen to the full episode.

• Connect with Patrick Carter on LinkedIn
• Interested in our courseware? Check out Professional Selling and Advanced Selling and Sales Management, built with Stukent
• Visit the Sales 101 podcast website for more episodes

Have you ever reached the middle of a sales call and realized you spent most of the meeting just trying to figure out what the buyer actually wanted?

If the buyer isn't clear on why they're there, or the salesperson doesn't take control of the conversation, valuable time can disappear fast. And on a cold call, you may not even get enough time for a second sentence.

In this episode, Dr. BJ Allen and I break down how to open discovery calls and prospecting calls with more clarity and relevance.

We talk about setting the agenda, getting buyers prepared before the meeting, using trigger events to make cold calls more personal, and when social proof can actually help.

Starting Discovery Calls With a Clear Agenda

• A discovery call should not take five or ten minutes just to figure out why everyone is there. The buyer should know the purpose of the meeting before it starts.
• A simple agenda can set the tone: why we're meeting, what we'll cover, and what we want to accomplish by the end.
• Asking the buyer if the agenda sounds right gives them ownership of the conversation instead of making them feel like they're there to be talked at.
• Coming prepared also gives you more time to focus on the customer's actual problem instead of explaining everything about yourself.

Making the Buyer Part of the Conversation

• Sending useful information before the call can help the buyer come prepared instead of expecting the salesperson to explain everything from scratch.
• A short self-serve demo can cover basic product information before the meeting, leaving more time to focus on the customer's specific use case.
• The goal is to make the conversation feel tailored to the buyer rather than like another standard sales presentation.
• Most importantly, the call should end with clarity about what happens next so neither side is left wondering where things stand.

Using Trigger Events to Open Cold Calls

• A cold call becomes much stronger when there is a real reason for making it. A new sales leader, company expansion, acquisition, or new product launch can all create an opening.
• The trigger is only useful when it connects to a problem that person is likely dealing with.
• Instead of asking for ten seconds and launching into a pitch, lead with something that shows you understand what is happening in their world.
• That relevance can turn a cold call from a fishing expedition into a conversation worth having.

When Social Proof Actually Works

• Social proof isn't automatically a good opener. The real question is whether the example is relevant to the person you're calling.
• A competitor's success can create that relevance and even introduce a sense of FOMO when the prospect is facing the same market pressure.
• AI can help sellers research competitors, case studies, testimonials, and other signals that reveal what matters to a prospect before making the call.
• The goal isn't to use AI to blast out another generic message. It's to use research to sound like someone who understands the customer's problem.

“Use it to be able to make you sound as a consultant and as someone in tune with their problem.” — Donald C. Kelly

Resources

If you're looking for sales courseware with an up-to-date textbook and an AI-based simulation, visit The Sales Evangelist.

You believe your students need a sales program. Your dean needs a different reason to say yes.

That's the gap we dug into with Dr. Travis Simkins, Department Chair of Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Sales & Analytics at Southern Utah University.

Travis took his department from two and a half faculty members to sixteen in under three years, and he walked us through exactly how he got administration to say yes to a new sales major.

Why SUU Built a Sales Program

• Travis explains how marketing at SUU used to be folded into other departments, with almost no dedicated faculty.
• He read an article from the B2B Institute that changed his thinking. It argued the next hundred years of marketing would be built on B2B, not B2C.
• That idea became the pitch he used to convince the university to give marketing its own home.

Turning a Minor Into the Fastest-Growing Program on Campus

• Travis walks through how the Mesa department combined marketing, entrepreneurship, sales, and analytics under one roof.
• He shares how COVID actually helped the case for a sales major, because it proved marketing and sales careers could work remotely and pay well.
• Within three years, the department grew from two and a half faculty members to sixteen.

How to Sell a New Major to Administration

• Travis breaks down the two things that move a department chair or provost: hard numbers and education.
• He talks about showing administrators real job listings and real starting salaries, not just enthusiasm.
• We also talk about how sales skills transfer across industries once a student learns the fundamentals.

Building a Pipeline of Students

• Travis explains how paid student "sales ambassadors" recruit other students into the major.
• He shares how SUU built concurrent enrollment agreements with local high schools, so students can earn college sales credit before they graduate.
• These recruiting efforts are what took the minor from 50 students to 75, and kept it growing.

Bringing Industry Partners Into the Classroom

• Travis describes the sales advisory board SUU built, made up of paying industry professionals who help shape the curriculum.
• He talks about "Sales Never Fails," a campus competition that gets local and regional companies involved as judges and sponsors.
• He also shares why SUU built a sales psychology course after watching a talented graduate burn out within a year.

Managing the Space Between Faculty and Administration

• Travis reflects on the hardest part of being a department chair: balancing what faculty need with what administration wants.
• His advice for professors pitching a new program: bring data, bring a plan for measuring success, and make the case in terms your dean already cares about.

"The nice thing about sales is you can learn to be a better salesperson. Once you learn how to be a good salesperson, you can sell anything in any industry if you're trained on the specific knowledge." — Dr. Travis Simkins

Resources

• Learn more about the Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Sales & Analytics Department at Southern Utah University
• Connect with Dr. Travis Simkins or find him on LinkedIn
• Explore the courseware Donald and BJ co-authored: Professional Selling and Advanced Selling and Sales Management
• Visit the Sales 101 podcast website for more episodes

show notes

What’s the real difference between B2C and B2B sales? Do students need to go into B2B to build a successful career? And are we teaching the right principles for both?

These are the kinds of questions sales professors face in the classroom, especially when many students start their careers in B2C roles.

We invited Patrick Carter, a retail sales leader, to break it down. He shares how he’s building and leading successful B2C sales teams and what professors should be preparing students for in today’s sales environment.

Meet Patrick Carter

• Patrick Carter is a sales leader and enablement strategist with over 20 years of experience building high-performing retail sales teams and driving revenue growth. He focuses on creating the systems, playbooks, and coaching structures that help sales organizations scale.
• He’s known for a coaching-first leadership style that builds trust, improves individual performance, and creates a culture where accountability and growth go hand in hand.
• Patrick operates at both the strategic and day-to-day level, developing the vision while staying close enough to execution to know when to step in and when to let his team take the lead.

B2B vs B2C: What’s the Real Difference?

• At its core, retail is business to consumers. You’re selling directly to the end user. Sounds simple, but it’s not.
• The biggest difference comes down to speed. In B2B, you might have weeks or months to build relationships. In retail, you may have minutes. Customers often walk in knowing exactly what they want, which means the real skill is how you respond in that moment.

You’re Not Just an Order Taker

• Patrick makes one thing clear. The website already has the information. Your role is to bring knowledge.
• That means asking better questions, understanding what the customer actually needs, and guiding them beyond what they came in for.
• Anyone can process a transaction. A real salesperson builds trust fast and adds value early.

Where the Real Money Happens

• Retail sales can be more lucrative than most people think. With the right skillset and experience, income can grow significantly over time.
• But it’s not just about the first sale. It’s about relationships. When customers trust you, they come back. They bring others. And that’s where long-term success is built.
• If you’re teaching sales, this episode may challenge how you think about preparing students for the real world.

“Your job isn’t to sell products. Your job is to bring knowledge. The website already has the information.” — Patrick Carter

Resources

Want to learn more about B2C sales and how to apply it in your classroom or career? Connect with Patrick Carter on LinkedIn and follow his insights.

Connect with Dr. BJ Allen and Donald C. Kelly on LinkedIn to chat about this episode or ask any questions.

I’m sure you’ve realized by now that the real sales world and classroom sales are nowhere near the same. So, how can you help your students bridge that gap and prepare them to succeed in the field? To help answer this, we invited Kim Ruggerio, sales professor at Arizona State University (ASU). She’s here to share insights on transforming sales education and better equipping your students for the real world.

Meet Kim Ruggerio

• Kim Ruggerio is a trailblazer in sales education with over four decades of experience at industry leaders like AT&T and Verizon.
• After a successful corporate career, she brought her expertise to academia and launched Arizona State University’s first professional sales class nearly 18 years ago.
• Known for her dynamic, student-focused teaching style, Kim emphasizes confidence, creative outreach, and practical skills while encouraging students to engage with industry professionals and build valuable connections.

Building a Practical Sales Curriculum (00:02:23 - 00:03:40)

• Kim highlights the importance of bringing real-world experience into the classroom, creating a course that students consistently value for its practical approach.

Overcoming Self-Doubt and Building Confidence (00:03:41 - 00:05:35)

• She addresses common “sales reluctance” and structures her teams so students gain confidence early by reaching out to senior executives for interviews.

The Team Interview Project (00:05:35 - 00:07:12)

• Students work in groups to secure and interview senior sales leaders, while Kim guides them to ask creative, meaningful questions that go beyond the basics.

Breaking Sales Stereotypes and Facing Challenges (00:07:15 - 00:10:00)

• She discusses how these projects shift students’ perceptions of sales and helps them overcome confidence and outreach anxiety to be ready for real-world selling.

Success Stories: Unique Interview Wins (00:10:07 - 00:12:56)

• Kim shares standout student achievements, including interviews and live performances with executives at major companies, some leading directly to job offers.

The Power of Creative Outreach (00:12:56 - 00:15:12)

• She emphasizes research, personalization, and preparation, showing how thoughtful outreach leads to stronger connections and real opportunities.

Research Techniques for Reaching Executives (00:15:13 - 00:17:24)

• Kim explains how students can use LinkedIn, company resources, and in-depth questions to go beyond information easily found online.

Involving Industry Leaders in the Classroom (00:17:26 - 00:22:12)

• She highlights the value of advisory boards and guest speakers in providing mentorship, networking, and job opportunities for students.

Preparing Students for Real-World Sales Careers (00:22:13 - 00:26:02)

• Kim shares examples of how her outcomes-focused approach results in career opportunities and executive-level connections for students.

Key Lesson: Don’t Be Afraid to Aim Higher (00:24:02 - 00:26:07)

• She recounts a student’s interaction with a sales VP who encouraged them to reach out directly to the CEO, reinforcing the importance of aiming higher in professional ambitions.

“If you’re not prepared to have a proper conversation with a client, you’re doing both yourself and your customer a disservice.” – Kim Ruggerio

Resources

Reach out to Kim Ruggerio on LinkedIn, or send her an email at [email protected].