SIP Curriculum
SIP coursework helps prepare students for a demanding and rewarding career in sales. With openings in professional selling positions on the rise, our sales courses provide Clemson students with a competitive edge to stand out among other job applicants. Classes are tailored to develop students' business acumen, selling frameworks, and presentation ability to equip them for influential roles in sales or related positions.
Students accepted into SIP will complete three required classes across three semesters - Professional Selling (MKT 3250), Applied Selling I (MKT 4220), and Applied Selling II (MKT 4420). Blending theory with application, these three foundational courses offer students real-world challenges and foundational role-play exercises while ensuring frequent interaction with industry executives.
To earn the SIP sales certificate and get exposure to leadership opportunities, students must also complete the optional MKT 4240 course (Sales Management).
SIP students also have the exclusive opportunity to enroll in Selling in Healthcare (MKT 4360) as an optional course (offered only in the Spring). Pending SIP approval, students can enroll in MKT 4360 to satisfy their 3rd semester course requirement in place of MKT 4420.
Students can start down their pathway to becoming an active SIP Member by completing our SIP application. Please note that business majors may enroll in Professional Selling (MKT 3250) before joining SIP.
Required Courses
Semester 1
Professional Selling - MKT 3250/3240
- Principles
- Role plays
- Sales processes
- SPIN
Semester 2
Applied Selling I - MKT 4220
- Digital selling
- Go-to-market tactics
- Large account strategy
- Technology applications
Semester 3
Capstone Course - Tiger Paw Classic MKT 4420
- Customer leads
- Qualification
- Quota
- Sponsorship sales
Optional Courses
Sales Management - MKT 4240
- Coaching role plays
- Sales management tactics
- Sales organization strategy
- Simulated sales leader environment
Selling in Healthcare - MKT 4360
- Applications in provider settings
- Intro to healthcare
- New product intros
- Selling clinical value
Sales Certificate
For students interested in a sales certification, SIP offers a sales certificate where students partake in real-world challenges, foundational role-play exercises, and leadership opportunities. Professors blend theory and application in the program while also ensuring frequent interaction with industry executives. Students begin their pathway to SIP courses at Clemson by becoming active SIP members and by completing the prerequisite MKT 3250/3240 course. Required Courses: MKT 3250/3240, MKT 4220, MKT 4240, and MKT 4420
SIP ApplicationOrthopedic Medical Device Product Specialist Certificate
Clemson’s Sales Innovation Program, Department of Marketing and Department of Bioengineering have partnered to offer the Orthopedic Medical Device Product Specialist certificate. The certificate is aimed at providing students with core competencies within various aspects of the orthopedic medical device industry. Through the certificate, students will take sales coursework (MKT 3250/3240 and MKT 4360) along with bioengineering coursework.
More Information
Click each course for more info.
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Marketing 3250 - Professional Selling
Foundational selling class focused on an introduction to selling careers, sales process, product positioning and presentation skills. Students implement what they learn in role-plays with real-world case studies. Upon completion, students will understand how to break down a sales call, plan for a customer presentation and overcome objections.
SIP faculty help demystify the selling industry and break down many stereotypes that often exist regarding the selling profession. At the same time, students gain their first exposure to selling principles and practices that often open up greater curiosity about the possibilities of selling as a career choice. Importantly, MKT 3250 is a prerequisite course for taking any SIP coursework. Active SIP member students can register for an array of advanced selling courses designed to improve their critical thinking, presentation skills and business acumen in various selling contexts.
NOTE: For students outside the Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business, we offer an MKT 3240 course (Professional Selling for Non-Business Majors) that can replace MKT 3250 and does not require prerequisites for enrollment. However, because there is no prerequisite for this course, students need to be accepted into the SIP Ascent Track to enroll.
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Marketing 4220 - Applied Selling
Building on the foundations class (MKT 3250), this course focuses on the real-world application of complex selling principles such as B2B buyer behavior, interpersonal communication, technology, sales planning, presentations, team selling and sales leadership. Additionally, a large portion of the class is dedicated to role-playing practice and preparation for sales competition(s). At the end of this course, students will be able to identify potential customers, perform problem discovery, develop innovative solutions and present effectively while coordinating relationships within selling and buying organizations. Students will also visit industry sites to get an up-close perspective of these frameworks in contemporary sales contexts.
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Marketing 4240 - Sales Management
In tandem with understanding individual salesperson frameworks, students in this course are introduced to a more in-depth look at the selling environment. Students in this course will view sales through a leadership lens and understand how individual salespeople contribute to the larger success of a sales organization. Students will learn sales management concepts such as leadership, coaching, incentives, quota, sales force structure and motivation. As a class project, student teams apply their knowledge in a live sales management simulation to hire, train and develop their own sales force.
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Marketing 4360 - Selling in Healthcare
The course introduces students to the healthcare industry with a focus on developing and selling new healthcare innovations. Our goal is to provide students from interdisciplinary backgrounds a ground-level view of the healthcare marketplace and the development processes healthcare suppliers undertake to introduce a new offering successfully. Because new innovations create uncertainty in the marketplace, students will spend time learning and implementing various selling frameworks, processes and skills for promoting new innovations. Students will also hear from industry speakers across functional areas in healthcare that are involved in the new product development and selling process.
This course also serves as a requirement to receive the Orthopedic Medical Device Product Specialist certificate. View more information about this certificate.
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Marketing 4420 - Creative Inquiry/Capstone Course
This certificate capstone class is an outside educational opportunity monitored by sales professors. Students are tasked with managing and working as a team to raise money for a non-profit event. Throughout the semester, students must monitor their progress toward an assigned quota while getting exposure to industry representatives from across the region. Find out more about the Tiger Paw Classic, our current non-profit project.
