Innovative idea provides students unmatched experience

Raj Agnihotri led the development of a sales certificate program at Iowa State that gives undergraduate students an unrivaled experience. To do it, the assistant dean of industry engagement and director of Sales Forum in the Ivy College of Business had to walk in their shoes.

Agnihotri came to ISU in 2018 to bring together businesses and students, charting a new path for the next generation of Iowa's workforce. But first, the sales instructor had to pitch company executives on the idea.

"When I went to businesses they would say, 'Sure, we will visit your class and give a guest lecture,'" Agnihotri said. "I told them I needed more, and they offered to write a check."

Then, Agnihotri had to ask for even more.

"I told them I needed consistent funds. We were going to do a lot of the work, but I couldn't afford to fly these people in, put them up, take them out to eat … I flipped the script," he said.

Now, companies bring executives to Ivy to meet and work with students throughout a semester providing the foundation of Sales Forum -- students and business leaders interacting and learning from one another. It gives students access to real-time information and training, and executives get a fresh perspective on their business from potential employees.

Raisbeck Endowed Dean of the Ivy College of Business David Spalding said building a program to bring businesses to students has happened at a select few universities across the nation. Agnihotri's ability to implement current research gives students an authentic experience and addresses businesses' needs for future employees. It is why Agnihortri was named a Morrill Professor.

"Raj is such a strong researcher doing cutting-edge research in his field, and he brings all that knowledge to his students," Spalding said. "For our students to be able to sit across a table from business leaders and try to sell them is incredibly valuable. Raj is a great example of the impressive teaching that takes place at Ivy."

Sales Forum

The 21-credit sales certificate program is built around four required courses and the Sales Forum component. Sales Forum involves 18 partner and member organizations that supply funds and high-level members of their staff. Six of the 18 companies get an opportunity to sponsor a sales competition. Students act as executives of the partner companies trying to sell the actual executives on their business.

"We teach students the theory in the classroom, but our partners work with their section of the course the entire semester," said Agnihotri, who earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering. "Every semester involves five company visits, including two daylong sales competitions."

Businesses such as Pella Windows, Nationwide Insurance Company and Kent Feeds bring 12 to 15 sales leaders to campus to interact with students, see how they perform beyond their resumé and build bonds that may lead to a job.

Competitions take place in the Gerdin Building's Houston Professional Sales Suite, where six sales training rooms are equipped with multiple cameras to record every interaction. Students and company executives can access recordings to review and improve their pitch. One room provides a large boardroom setting and another is filled with computer monitors and headphones capable of looking in on other rooms when focus groups or large corporate contingents come to campus.

"This allows our students to analyze and improve their skills. We want them confident when they go out to work," Agnihotri said. "When I came here, Gerdin was expanding, and fortunately David Spalding allowed us to look at the blueprints and find a home for this. It is an innovative approach, especially at a R1 institution."

Spalding said the sales suite was the only major change made to original plans for the Gerdin expansion, but it was important because it served the faculty, improved the curriculum and benefited students.

The forum was so successful that business leaders asked Agnihotri to train their staffs using the same methods, leading to the Ivy Custom Education model.

One university

Agnihotri knew he needed faculty across campus to buy into the program to benefit all students, not just those in the Business college.

"I wanted to keep research faculty involved through Sales Forum without burdening them," he said. "I am able to involve faculty members to do sales research and bring cutting edge information to the classroom."

Students from across campus may participate in Sales Forum without completing the certificate, instead valuing the experience and benefits that come with it. In the fall semester, enrollment in different sales classes tops 400, and the number of students pursuing the sales certificate program climbed from 10 in 2021 to 265 this year.

Students first

Agnihotri said he looks for ways to help students because he knows the impact of faculty.

"I moved to the United States from India 21 years ago. When I was at Oklahoma City University for my master's, a faculty member took me under his wing and was my mentor, helping shape my ideas," he explained.

"I know a professor can change a student's life because I am a living example."

He said students see the effort faculty put in and respond by working hard. He consistently is rated high in student evaluations despite the challenging curriculum and one of his classroom rules.

"Students today, unlike my generation, are always questioning and I like that," he said. "All I ask is that they give me an hour and 15 minutes every time we meet -- with no phones or computers allowed."

An idea and message successfully sent.