Within the Neeley School of Business, students have the opportunity to learn different sales techniques and meet with mentors.

The Sales Center’s program requires students to complete a consultative sales class, which concentrates on growing selling skills.  

This course allows individuals to boost their sales abilities through live action selling, said Brandon Chicotsky, an assistant professor of professional practice and marketing and the brand and communications lead for the Sales Center.

Tori Tarantino, a food management major, said the class was so transformative that she was honored to return as a coach. 

“This would be a great experience to kind of take on I guess you could say a sales ‘manager role’: teach people the selling process, help them achieve quota and support them along the way,” said Tarantino.

Chicotsky said that business executives speak at round tables and participate in question-and-answer events, and there are program graduates that mentor the program's students.

“We also have dedicated sales coaches who are in paid positions,” said Chicotsky. “These are students who have successfully completed the program that are now coming back to mentor their peers who are coming through the program.”

It's estimated that more than half of college graduates will be involved in sales during their career, according to a 2016 Harvard Business Review study. The study also showed that only a small portion of these U.S. graduates will have been taught sales knowledge. Other studies conducted have shown similar data.

The program is open to any major, and Tarantino encourages students to join.

“A class like this pushes you to get really uncomfortable, and I think in that [discomfort], growth happens,” said Tarantino.

Tarantino said the class has changed her career trajectory. 

She said the Sales Center has been impactful in her life and career, as she has learned everything from selling to a regional vice president of a Fortune 500 company to learning how to communicate professionally.

“I don’t know where I would be today without the TCU Sales Center, as far as job aspirations go,” said Tarantino.