Why study Professional Sales?

• Ninety percent of students graduating from a university sales program will have a job upon graduation.
• Over fifty percent of all US college graduates entering the workforce, regardless of major, enter sales as their first career.

-Sales Education Foundation 2010

The purpose of this minor is to prepare students for success in a professional selling environment and develop the ability to use professional sales skills for success in other careers. Sales representatives sell in the business to business sector, the service industry and in retailing. 

Career Possibilities

Sales graduates could be employed in inside sales (office environment) and outside sales (regional, domestic, or global travel). A sales minor insures success in the first job that will lead to future promotions.

A number of career paths would benefit from the addition of a sales minor.

Biology/Chemistry: Pharmaceutical sales

Communication: All types of sales, recruiting, and development

Economics: Financial services and insurance sales

Engineering: Technical sales

Finance: Financial services and insurance sales

Liberal Arts: All types of sales, recruiting, and development

Marketing: Advertising/service industry sales

Sports Management: Professional sports sales

Major Maps

• Guide: Professional Sales (Minor) Curriculum

UC Advantages and Special Opportunities

Success in today’s business environment is primarily driven by who students are and how they act. Accordingly, business education at Lindner focuses on the development of each student’s individual Professional, Academic, Character and Engagement (PACE) to ensure they can successfully pursue the personal and professional goals they are passionate about.

Professionalism

• Classes in Lindner ensure that our students learn the professional communication skills they need to excel in today’s business environment.

• Lindner’s Career Services team works with undergraduate students in developing resumes, learning interviewing techniques and obtaining the practical skills that fulfill the expectations of businesses.

Academics

• Lindner students are distinct individuals with unique goals and interests, and that is why our curriculum ensures that students have a foundational understanding of the key business functions. The breadth of minors allows students to add a minor that will customize their education for added value.

Character

• Character means having the strength and conviction to both lead and work with teams made up of diverse social, cultural and economic viewpoints. Lindner business courses help students build these skills through hands-on, collaborative projects, often working with Cincinnati businesses.

Engagement

• Students’ lives and careers will be comprised of much more than just work. Community service, citizenship and organizational involvement are all key components of personal growth. In Lindner, students are encouraged to get involved in the things they care about via the 20-plus student organizations within the Lindner College of Business, the 300-plus organizations within the University of Cincinnati and ongoing partnerships with service organizations like the United Way of Greater Cincinnati.

Admission Requirements

Current Lindner students may add this minor to enhance their majors. Non-Lindner students already pursuing a baccalaureate degree in any college at the University of Cincinnati can add the minor to their program as long as they meet the following requirements:

• Have 30 earned semester credit hours
• Have at least a 2.5 University GPA and be enrolled in a four-year degree granting program
• Complete at least 50 percent of all minor coursework in the Lindner College of Business
• Earn a 2.0 in minor courses to be certified with the minor.

 To apply for the minor, students should visit the Lindner Programs Options site.

Students will be notified by email of their acceptance into the program and the process for registration in the Lindner classes required for the minor.

Graduation Requirements

Students who have been accepted to the minor will see the minor appear on their application for graduation. Students apply for graduation in the minor as they normally would for their bachelor’s degree.

Application Deadlines

Applications deadlines for the business minors follow the “application for change in college” dates.

Fall Semester – July 1                   

Spring Semester – November 1               

Summer Semester – March 1

Accreditation

The UC Lindner College of Business has been accredited continuously since 1919 by AACSB International, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, the premier accrediting agency for business colleges.