The Russ Berrie Institute for Professional Sales at William Paterson University

Offering the First Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Sales in the World

Associate Sales Professor, Dr William J. Healy and Winner of the In Basket Sales Exercise at the 2009 National Sales Challenge, RBI Senior Christopher Gonzalez

Russ Berrie was passionate about the field of sales. His dream was to create an innovative world-class center dedicated to elevating and advancing the field of sales as a profession.

In early 2003, The Russell Berrie Foundation committed over $6 million to establish The Russ Berrie Institute for Professional Sales at William Paterson University. It also made a grant of over $2 million to build a state-of-the-art professional sales laboratory at the RBI. The Institute is housed within William Paterson University’s Christos M. Cotsakos College of Business.

The RBI is dedicated to advancing the field of professional sales through three means:

1. Offering a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Sales to students majoring in sales, the first of its kind in the world. Students gain skills not only in the classroom but through hands-on learning experiences, such as role playing in the Russ Berrie Professional Sales Lab and sales internships at area corporations. They come away with a solid education in sales, and the ability to enter a sales position at an advanced level.

2. Offering customized and innovative sales training and consulting to practicing business professionals in corporations, to help them improve their performance and gain a competitive edge.

3. Offering students and working professionals, through the Russ Berrie Professional Sales Laboratory, the opportunity to develop sales skills and perfect key sales behaviors in a unique interactive business environment that simulates real-world settings. Some of the modules taught to students and working professionals include coaching, business acumen, strategic account management, negotiation, customer relationships and management systems. The Sales Lab features a state-of-the-art conference room and five sales practice rooms which contain:
   
   • Robotic digital cameras to record students practicing sales presentations
   • Plasma screens to display the interactions on single or split screens
   • An editing room for creating electronic DVD portfolios that can be used as digital resumes for students
   • One-way mirrors to allow viewing by professors
   • Computer-based stations for teaching inside sales
   • Distance learning and videoconferencing capability

Professional sales students during a Speed Selling session at the National Sales Challenge.

“This bachelor of science degree in professional sales offers the broad-based curriculum and the practical skills to meet the challenges of the fast-changing business world,” said RBI executive director Jim Brown.

The Institute’s team of leading academic sales faculty and experienced sales professionals have been the key drivers to developing high quality academic and corporate training programs. The combination of the RBI’s expert team, the Sales Lab and the commitment of William Paterson University has proved to be a winning formula for developing successful educational programs that challenge and motivate young people and professionals in innovative and exciting ways.

At the opening of the Russ Berrie Institute in December of 2002, Russ Berrie described his vision for RBI: "to create the most successful selling program in the nation." Seven years after opening its doors, the RBI is on the right path to fulfilling this goal.

Recent News and Events

The RBI hosts a variety of different sales focused events for students and companies throughout the year.  Some of the highlights are listed below.

National Sales Challenge

The second annual RBI National Sales Challenge took place on November 6-8, 2008 at William Paterson University.  This three day event brings together top sales students from across the country to meet with representatives from major companies for an exciting sales competition.  The Challenge helps students improve their sales skills and gain feedback on their selling ability.  Students also obtain real world business knowledge and have the opportunity to meet with key contacts in the field.  Employers are also able to meet and evaluate up-coming sales leaders, showcase their organizations and network with other firms. 

Students can partake in the Sales Call Role-Play, Speed Selling event and In-Basket Sales Exercise throughout the three day challenge.  Awards are presented to the top individual performers and school teams in each category.  RBI students have taken first place each year in the Role-Play portion of the Challenge. 18 other schools participated in the event including Purdue University, The College of New Jersey, University of San Francisco and Western Kentucky University.  To learn more about the Challenge, please refer to the RBI website:  http://rbisaleschallenge.com/

Sales Triathlon

RBI students compete in the Sales Triathlon by participating in role playing activities, mock interviewing, speed selling and special sales training sessions.   The event was created to challenge and motivate students, draw sales executives to RBI and secure jobs and internships for students.  Last year, over 80 students competed and 20 companies participated in the event which included JP Morgan Chase, Kraft Foods, Unilever, UPS and Hess.

Sales Leader Program

The Sales Leader Program selects students that demonstrate leadership and high academic performance to participate in two specially designed courses that focus on best practices of domestic and international sales forces.  Last spring, students attended a presentation by the author of the Trusted Advisor, a business trip to San Francisco to network and meet with firms and also met as a group with IBM, SalesForce.com and McKesson. Their final experience involved an international business trip to Doha, Qatar where they met with a number of international companies.

Career News

This year, all RBI students graduated with a job offer in hand.  Top performing students were pursued by 3 or more firms each semester.  RBI has built strong relationships with firms such as Hess, Hilti, EMC, WB Mason, Unilever, ADP and Tom James.  These companies return each year to recruit multiple students for sales positions.  “In short, we do not have enough graduates to satisfy the demand, even in the current lean economic times,” says Dean Sam Basu. 

For more information on the Russ Berrie Institute for Professional Sales, please click the following link to be directed to William Paterson University’s website:  http://www.wpunj.edu/rbisales/