{"id":46301,"date":"2022-11-03T08:58:43","date_gmt":"2022-11-03T12:58:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/?p=46301"},"modified":"2022-11-07T07:43:21","modified_gmt":"2022-11-07T12:43:21","slug":"birth-of-a-salesperson-utc-introduces-new-sales-institute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/2022\/11\/birth-of-a-salesperson-utc-introduces-new-sales-institute\/","title":{"rendered":"Birth of a salesperson: UTC introduces new Sales Institute"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ribbon cutting for\u00a0 the new Gary W. Rollins College of Business Sales Institute, Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2022, in Fletcher Hall. From left: Associate Dean Michael Jones, Dean Robert Dooley, Professor Christopher Plouffe, Logan Glasscock (producer, Insurance Group Of America), Jamie Noe (CEO, IGA, holding scissors), Charley Myers (partner, IGA), James Myers (producer, IGA) and William Slatten (producer, IGA). Photo by Angela Foster.<\/p><\/div>\n

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The Sales Institute at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Gary W. Rollins College of Business is officially open for business.<\/p>\n

After more than two years in the planning, the Sales Institute has the mission to train and educate students entering the sales community and connect with local businesses. A ribbon-cutting took place on Wednesday, Nov. 2, at the institute\u2019s third-floor location in Fletcher Hall, introducing both the Sales Institute and the Business Skills Laboratory.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, a good salesperson is a trusted advisor. That\u2019s what we\u2019re training kids to do here, be a trusted advisor to their customers,\u201d said Dr. Christopher R. Plouffe, the first Gary W. Rollins Endowed Chair in Sales.<\/p>\n

Plouffe spearheaded the design and launch of the sales curriculum and programming along with the design and architecture of the Sales Institute\u2019s governance and corporate partners structure.<\/p>\n

The Insurance Group of America is the institute\u2019s lead sponsor. CEO Jamie Noe said he has confidence in its future.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy goal of this is that 10, 15 years down the road, sitting under a tree, there\u2019s hundreds of kids in sales organizations and getting opportunities across the country and that this is the No. 1 sales institution in the United States,\u201d Noe said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are truly here, with tons of humility and grateful, for the opportunity to hopefully push this university and the Sales Institute in order to make it something very special for the university, for the city, for the state and the region.\u201d<\/p>\n

Students enrolled in the Sales Institute can earn two different professional sales credentials:<\/p>\n