Value of a Perfect Pitch
When the professional sales minor was introduced by the Sigmund Weis School of Business in fall 2020, it garnered so much interest that it launched as a major just four years later. “Twenty students declared it as a minor that first year,” recalls Michele Welliver, director of the sales program, “and the number doubled the following year.”
Had professional sales been available prior to her senior year, Sophia Pasquariello ’25 would have declared it as her major. She still cashed in on the program’s benefits, as the professional sales and marketing minor talked herself into two first-place competition finishes — securing $2,000 total in prize money — and was awarded the professional sales scholarship by Dell Technologies.
“The sales competitions my professor Michele Welliver encouraged and prepared me for allowed me to showcase my skills in a competitive environment. I learned the power of putting myself out there, presenting with confidence and seeing firsthand how those efforts can lead to results.”
– Sophia Pasquariello ’25
“Sales is something I’m truly passionate about, and having the opportunity to be fully immersed in it would have been invaluable,” Pasquariello says. “The sales competitions my professor Michele Welliver encouraged and prepared me for allowed me to showcase my skills in a competitive environment. I learned the power of putting myself out there, presenting with confidence and seeing firsthand how those efforts can lead to results.”
She said she entered the competitions as a way to work on her speaking skills, step out of her comfort zone and apply what she had been learning in class and her internships. In the end, it proved to her that stepping out of her comfort zone “can lead to incredible outcomes.”
An interdisciplinary program, professional sales requires courses that draw on the strengths of the Sigmund Weis School of Business and the School of Humanities’ Communications Department to provide a comprehensive understanding of the sales process, effective communication and the ability to navigate the competitive and dynamic business landscape. Graduates can apply the skills they learn to business, government, the nonprofit sector and more.
Crafting and delivering quick pitches about products and closing the deal are some of the sales techniques Pasquariello plans to use in her immediate future. She’s already been approached by major companies with interview and employment offers.
“Looking ahead, my career path is firmly rooted in professional sales,” she says. “With the foundational knowledge my professors have provided and the support I’ve received, I feel confident and prepared to succeed. I’m ready to take the tools I’ve developed here and apply them to a successful and rewarding career in sales.”
