News Item

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (February 4, 2020)—The Anderson School of Management is proud to announce the launch of the UNM Center for Sales & Business Development. The primary goal of the center is to offer students sales experience before they enter the professional world.

Dr. Dimitri Kapelianis, associate professor of marketing, said that the Sales Center is intended to help train students who are confident and experienced professionals in sales.

"When we looked at the profile of Anderson’s more than 20,000 alumni, the single largest group work in careers that involve sales and business development," said Kapelianis.

Dr. Kapelianis piloted the idea of a sales center while working with a select group of undergraduate business students in his sales practicum course.

The students were tasked with developing an overall strategy for connecting with qualified business leads. They researched best practices at universities around the country who are members of the University Sales Center Alliance, and benchmarked a list of benefits and pricing for corporate sponsorships.

Joe Weiss, senior director of development for UNM Anderson, used his practical experience in fundraising to help train students about the sales process through role plays of cold calling, pitches, proposals, closing and follow-up.

Dr. Kathryn Jacobson, associate dean, said that the Sales Center is the beginning of fostering closer ties between UNM Anderson and the business community.

"We are proud to launch this new center that brings together our students and employers," said Jacobson. "The Sales Center will help produce confident and competent graduates who have practical hands-on experience in sales and business development."

For more information, please contact Dr. Dimitri Kapelianis at dkapeli@unm.edu.

The inaugural corporate sponsors for the UNM Center for Sales & Business Development are:

• Cintas
• Colliers International
• Cumulus Media
• DNV GL
• Garcia Automotive Group
• Henry Schein
• Office Depot, Inc.
• Sandia Office Supply
• Solar Works Energy
• Pulte Homes
• Thyssenkrupp
• Tom & Krista Parr
• Zia Trust, Inc.