Y Not Become A College Professor

Happy New Year! It's been a while since my last post and I'm fired up to launch another episode of Y Not Today with some exciting news.

Flashback to August 2007

The same year Apple releases the very first iPhone, I enroll in MKT410 "Personal Selling" at the University of Kentucky 's Gatton College of Business and Economics Gatton Business School. A small class of around 15-20 proceeded to learn about sales, negotiations, conflict resolution, and how to close the deal. Many interactive classes and role-plays lead up to the grand finale, the VHS (Video Home System) Recorded Sales Call with our professor. I had no clue at the time if sales was going to be my career path. What I did know was this course took me out of my comfort zone, it challenged me, it made me uncomfortable, and I liked it.

Back to Business School?

Fast forward nearly 16 years and I am proud to announce that I will teach that same course at the University of Kentucky for the Spring 2023 semester. I'm extremely honored to be considered for this role and excited about the opportunity to help better prepare these students for the "real world." Sales have been and will continue to be something I am very passionate about. I expect many of my students to be interested in pursuing formal sales roles after college and others who will have their eyes set on roles outside of sales. I want them to understand that regardless of the role they play in any organization, we are all in "sales."* I want to challenge them and get them into unfamiliar and uncomfortable situations. Yes, they will be more prepared to "Sell me this pen" by the end of the semester; however, my goal for them is to be more confident in a business setting. I want them to embrace things that make them nervous. I too will be a bit nervous walking into the Gatton Business School on Jan 10th to teach this course and those nerves tell me everything I need to know.

*Non-Sales Selling will be addressed in a later episode of YNT this year.

What would you tell yourself at Age 22?

Many of you reading this are long past the structured learning you experienced in grade school or college. If you could go back to those days, what do you wish you had learned? For my sales professionals, what is the one thing you wish someone had taught you before you entered the "Real World?" Please comment on the post or shoot me a message. I would love to hear your feedback.

Giving Back

I would like to thank Big Ass Fans for allowing me the time and resources to pursue this teaching opportunity. The ability to serve the University that I attended and the potential to positively impact a few students along the way is a great honor. The role is a paid position with the university and I'm excited to announce that I will be donating my salary this semester to local charities and organizations. My wife and I will be choosing a different organization each month to receive donations. If you would like to nominate an organization in central Kentucky, please send me an email at [email protected]

YNT Action Items

Say Yes.

The world is littered with opportunities just asking for someone to say yes to. If you are not seeing these opportunities, be patient but also make sure you are putting yourself out there. Be willing to go outside your comfort zone and be a little nervous. That's when you know you're doing it right

PS. How long should the Syllabus day be?

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