3M-Endowed Professor Offers Strong Industry Experience to
Four-Year Sales Programs
Dr. Mary Henderson is co-authoring a book on effective business internships

Recent research conducted by the Center for Sales Innovation indicated that its four-year sales degree programs offer a “well-rounded curriculum” and are built from a wealth of knowledge and experiences from true sales professionals. Proof positive is Mary Henderson, Ed.D., the 3M-endowed professor in St. Kate’s Business Administration Department who offers a strong sales focus based on her 18 years as a national buyer and vice president of the merchandise division for a major retailer where she led a department of buyers. 

“I respect the importance of delivering value to the customer and want to give my students many perspectives in their selling courses,” says Dr. Henderson. She teaches several courses: Advanced Sales: Strategic Account Management; Professional Sales: Customer-Centered Selling; Business Practicum, a preparatory course for business internships that includes many sales students, in addition to Introduction to Marketing and Principles of Management and Advanced Management.

Teaching is a “calling” for Dr. Henderson. She brings a core value that successfully transforms students as ethical professionals with a great deal of integrity and it shows in everything she does, especially her deep passion of preparing students for their internships. In fact, this is the theme of a book being co-authored with Jimmiee Gaulden of 3M’s Talent Management, and Lynn Schleeter, Director for the Center for Sales Innovation.

“St. Kate’s students are better prepared for their sales internships than any others,” says Gaulden. “For the past four years, Dr. Henderson has participated in training for 3M Frontline sales interns to help them make the most of their internships.” She also has presented at 3M Frontline national conferences, which is attended by universities around the country with sales programs, on how to create an outstanding internship.

Dr. Henderson holds a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of St. Thomas, where she also received her MBA and, from St. Kate’s, a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in marketing. She may be reached at muhenderson@pro-ns.net.

Building Your Social Capital Portfolio in Tough Times
By Lynn Schleeter – Director, Center for Sales Innovation, College of St. Catherine

Social capital is an investment that always appreciates, even in an uncertain economy. It’s all about leveraging relationships to create value, get things done and drive results — with the overall goal of growing professionally.

Building social capital is based on making “deposits” in order to make “withdrawals.” Every time something is given based on another’s needs, a “deposit” is made in the giver’s account, which offers the opportunity to make a “withdrawal” from that person at a later time. Examples include providing an introduction, setting up an appointment with a key person, a willingness to promote someone’s expertise to a third party, or inviting an individual to an event where she can meet new prospects.

When are the deposits sufficient for you to make “withdrawals” from appropriate individuals? Only you can decide based on the strength of each relationship over time. Leverage “withdrawals” by working strategically in a tight economy to gain new opportunities through referrals and face time with decision makers. Create a game plan to increase the power of your network:

• Decide who is a natural bridge to valuable information from both inside and outside the organization.
  
• Make sufficient deposits before withdrawals.
  
• Commit to one lunch/coffee a week to build the social capital bank account.
  
• Leverage the network for new opportunities.
  
• In the current downturn, increase your outreach to grow social capital.

Social capital is highly valuable because it can’t be imitated or transferred. You own it! And it’s worth the investment!

Onboarding Research Demonstrated by Recent Wells Fargo Sales Hire

Research by the Center for Sales Innovation indicates a strong, positive correlation between the “onboarding” experience and job satisfaction among current graduates of the college’s four-year sales degree program and other recent graduates in sales positions.

For example, support from a new hire’s manager was the top factor sited by 88% of sales graduates as expectations for their first year. A development plan — noted by 65% of respondents — needs to be created to introduce the new hire to her sales territory. Regular feedback is high (75%) on the list of expectations by survey respondents.

Case in point of a St. Kate’s business-to-business sales grad who is benefiting from a positive onboarding experience is Xue Lee, a Personal Banker at Wells Fargo. Lee says: “The development and coaching keeps me here….there’s so much to do at Wells Fargo. As a new graduate and new to the workforce, I’m learning so much that I wouldn’t get in a different role. I’m young but know a lot about investment and retirement information and financial literacy that is a building block for the rest of my life. I enjoy the learning, coaching and career path development that my manager is doing for me. Every three months, my manager and I talk about career development — what path is next and options beyond my role right now. Every day I can go to my manager’s office and talk about things — that’s openness.”

Growth opportunities are critical to this generation’s career expectations. Lee is taking responsibility for showing her aspirations to management. She says, “If you go beyond your job description, you’ll have growth opportunities that aren’t in the job description, such as going outside of the office and talking with business owners and doing presentations at schools around financial literacy. By taking on these roles, I’ve been developing my communications skills as well as getting my name out to different HR people and networking inside of Wells Fargo.”