The Center for Sales Innovation, established at St. Catherine University in 1998, focuses on developing successful and ethical sales leaders, and on advancing the field of sales.
The combined support of staff, faculty, and corporate and community partners ensures that the center can provide leading educational opportunities to students and sales professionals.
Sales at St. Kate's
St. Catherine is the only university in Minnesota that offers majors and minors in both Business Sales and Healthcare Sales. A career in sales can be rewarding, and opportunities for advancement are virtually unlimited. Sales professionals are instrumental in affecting the strategy of their company, and they interact with all areas of an organization, including marketing, operations, and finance.
Students and future sales leaders benefit from:
- Small class sizes of, on average, fewer than 15 students.
- Real-world experience through internship opportunities.
- Experienced Sales faculty, many with years of corporate experience, who love mentoring future sales leaders.
- National sales competitions, which hone skills, provide experience, and help catch the attention of employers.
- Outside nationally known guest speakers who share the latest industry trends and enrich learning.
Student Development
St. Kate's sales students have a wealth of opportunities to learn and prepare for successful careers—both in and out of the classroom. Here is a just a sampling of the many learning opportunities our sales students have throughout the year:
Internships
Every year, our sales students complete valuable internships at many of Minnesota's leading corporations and organizations, including 3M, Upsher-Smith, Ecolab, Medtronic, Boston Scientific and others. Many of these internships turn into full-time job opportunities; others help students land permanent positions with other leading employers.
If your sales organization is interested in working with St. Catherine University sales students, email us to discuss opportunities.
Sales Competitions
Our sales students compete on national stages with students from other universities across the country. Students prepare extensively for the real world experience of selling a product or service at a competition and the benefit of feedback from professionals who are judges.
Business Conferences and Tours
Throughout the year, our students participate in many of the leading business, medical device, healthcare and other conferences that are regularly offered in the Twin Cities.
- Healthcare Sales majors attend the Life Science Alley Conference at the Minneapolis Convention Center.
- Sales and Marketing majors tour 3M's Innovation Center to learn how the company innovates new global products.
Guest Speakers
Our renowned professors use their industry contacts to regularly bring in regionally and nationally known guest speakers into our classrooms. Recent speakers have included professionals from 3M, ING, Thomson-Reuters, Upsher-Smith, Enterprise, Comcast, SuperValu, the St. Paul Saints baseball team and others.
Skills in the Classroom
Students are learning skills in their classes that have an immediate impact on their careers. Business tools that organizations use in their operations are taught in the Sales curriculum.
Student Organizations
St Kate’s is a member of Collegiate DECA, where students enhance their business acumen even more beyond the classroom with case studies, simulations and competitions.
The Katies Entrepreneur Organization (KEO) is an active student business club with a variety of excellent guest speakers and topics that enhance the experience of our students.