DURHAM, N.H. - The University of New Hampshire announces the new Sales Center of Excellence, a professional development program for undergraduates that will partner with the business community to leverage the disciplines of marketing, sales, business etiquette, and leadership for undergraduate students interested in a career in sales leadership.

The new center is housed in the UNH Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics. It is funded through grants and investments from the business community.

"The power of this program is the partnerships we have formed to bring field experience into the classroom, enabling executives to contribute to the professional development of undergraduate students before they begin their first career. The quality of training, mentoring, and coaching students will receive will be on par with world-class corporate sales and leadership training," said Arnold Garron, interim dean of Paul College.

Catherine Blake will be the center's executive director. Founder of Sales Protocol, Blake has more than 20 years of experience with Fortune 500 companies. She holds a bachelor's degree in business administration and an executive MBA from Harvard University's Extension School. She currently is an adjunct professor at the UNH Paul College.

"Even with the excellent education that UNH and the Paul College provide, the job market remains competitive. The great news is that sales jobs across many industries are readily available. Statistical evidence suggests that starting the sales training process early, as early as the sophomore year, will best prepare students to land, stay, and succeed in their first professional job," Blake said.

The new center builds on the UNH Sales Club and annual UNH Sales Case Competition. Both provide students the opportunity to experience a simulated corporate sales environment where they learn about the consultative selling model, principled negotiations, public speaking, and professional etiquette.

"We carefully select industry experts who exhibit exemplary character qualities to serve as mentors and coaches for our undergraduate students. We believe that the only way to sell and conduct business is with integrity," she said.

This year's UNH Sales Case Competition is Saturday, April 12, 2014, from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Paul College. The competition is open to all UNH undergraduate students and undergraduates from other New England universities with a sales program. The winning team will receive a $1,000 cash prize. To register, visit http://www.unhsalesclub.com/.

In addition, the UNH Sales Club and Sales Center of Excellence will host Daniel Post Senning, the great-great-grandson of Emily Post and a co-author of "Emily Post's Etiquette," Thursday, March 6, 2014. The event, "Professional Business Etiquette in a Digital World," will be held from 12:40 to 2 p.m. at Paul College.

The UNH Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics offers a full complement of high-quality programs in business, economics, accounting, finance, information systems management, entrepreneurship, marketing, and hospitality management. Programs are offered at the undergraduate, graduate, and executive development levels. The college is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, the premier accrediting agency for business schools worldwide. For more information, visit paulcollege.unh.edu.

The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space-grant university, UNH is the state's flagship public institution, enrolling 12,300 undergraduate and 2,200 graduate students.

PHOTO
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Daniel Post Senning, the great-great-grandson of Emily Post and a co-author of "Emily Post's Etiquette," and Catherine Blake, executive director of the UNH Sales Center of Excellence.
Credit: UNH Photographic Services

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