Business Sales


You're great at selling. Why not thrive? With a Business Sales degree from SAU you are poised to receive more job offers, start at a higher-than-average salary, and more quickly achieve sales goals.

Plus, SAU is the only university in the bi-state region – and in the state of Iowa – offering a degree in business sales. This program is a Full Member of the University Sales Center Alliance and one of only 59 in the U.S. and Europe.

Our graduates work for the Miami Marlins (MLB), Deere and Company, Cardinal Health, Cottingham and Butler, Cars.com, HNI Corp., BDI Corp., and many others.


Ambrose Advantages

  • Learn From Established and Successful Sales Leaders
  • Full Member of University Sales Center Alliance
  • Build Skills In Our New Sales Center
  • An Education Focused on Ethics

student and professor

Tom Hosmanek in Sales class

students walking

Gain a rare education in sales and an edge in the workforce. From our Sales Center – where you practice selling and improve your marketability – to our established network of internships, the knowledge and experience gained will give you the confidence to sell and a meaningful reward of contributing to company success.

See Our Sales Major Fact Sheet (pdf)


A St. Ambrose Degree in Sales
An Easy Sell

Your SAU degree in sales offers networking opportunities, community and business support, and an academic focus on the value and importance of the sales.

Watch the video to learn more


More Information on the Sales Program

What will I learn?

Business Sales - Foundation courses include accounting, economics, finance, business ethics, marketing, and management. Your specialized courses include sales principals, customer and relationship development, communicating to lead and influence, and advanced sales techniques. Electives include negotiation, professional practices, and sales management and processes. You will also complete an internship.

The SAU Sales Center in renovated McMullen Hall is equipped with technology to hone your skills in interviewing, presentations, selling, and developing client relationships. It's also the hub for intercollegiate sales competitions, guest speakers, internships, and individualized career mentoring.

Come see our facilities and campus today

Study Abroad

You've heard people say it before: "College will be the greatest time of your life!" With Study Abroad, you can add even more to your college years.

You can study in another country in a semester-long or short-term study abroad program (with a few offered during spring and winterim breaks). No matter the duration, these trips deepen your professional education while earning credit toward graduation.

There are also opportunities through an exchange program, an overseas internship, or volunteering. The limits for Study Abroad are only ones you set for yourself! SAU students have studied in Italy, Costa Rica, Australia, Korea, United Kingdom, Spain, Ecuador, Japan, Germany, Peru, Cyprus, Croatia, Belize, Canada, Chile, and more.

SAU students returning from their Study Abroad locations talk about their time away as life-changing – personally, emotionally, culturally, and academically.

Click here to search our Study Abroad programs, and for general information click here.

What Are My Unique Learning Opportunities?
  • SAU is the only university in Iowa and the bi-state region that offers a Sales degree.
  • SAU is one of only 59 schools in the U.S. and Europe who are Full Members of the University Sales Center Alliance.
  • We host local, regional, and global company leaders as guest speakers who challenge SAU students to hone their skills through internships.
  • Nearly 100% of Sales graduates have secured jobs with local, regional, and global companies including Deere & Company, HNI Corp., Cottingham and Butler, State Farm, and more.

Read this story to learn how our program and students are becoming a resource for the region.

Sales Competitions

Put into practice what you learn by competing in Sales competitions!

Throughout the academic year, you'll have opportunities to simulate aspects of selling, such as cold calling, speed selling, sales management, and more.

One such event is the International Collegiate Sales Competition (ICSC) where universities compete for points to win the Collegiate World Cup of Sales.

SAU Sales Club

When time spent in the classroom isn't enough, there's the SAU Sales Club.

That's why students started the SAU Sales Club as a way to get Sales majors and minors together to learn more about the industry and the career itself.

In addition to Sales competitions, the club also invites area business leaders to meetings where they impart their knowledge, successes, and failures to club members. These informal meetings are just another way Ambrose students learn from their peers as well as from the Quad Cities business community.

Learn more about the Sales Club

Sales Program Advisory Council

Comprised of Quad Cities business leaders and one student representative, the Sales Program Advisory Councili provides key insight to the program on its curriculum, pertinent job skills, internship opportunities, and more.

Members
Caroline Ruhl, Ruhl & Ruhl
Tony Noel, Cottingham & Butler
Tim Lane, Edward Jones
Laura Ekizian, QC Bank and Trust
Ken Koehler, Encompass Ins.
Jeff Sowards, Modern Woodmen of America
Gwen Tombergs, QC Storm
Brian Duffy
Lisa O'Donnell
Matt Thole '19

What are some potential career outcomes?

Business Sales consultants can build rewarding careers in advertising, insurance, real estate, retail, securities and commodities, financial services, travel, and wholesale manufacturing.

Since we launched the program in Fall 2016, almost 100% of our sales graduates have accepted jobs with local, regional and global companies including Deere & Company, HNI Corp., Cottingham and Butler, State Farm, and more.

What do alumni say about the program?

We launched this program in Fall 2016, and today, more than 65 students are working toward a business sales major or minor. And, another 100 students enroll in sales courses each semester because the skills they gain compliment a degree in Marketing, Strategic Communication, and more.

Here is what two Sales graduates said about the program:

Ryan Dobek '18: "The faculty and staff in the sales program are tremendous. They don't teach from a textbook; they teach from experience. You learn how to be a professional salesperson."

Blake Syron '18: "Everyone wants you to succeed and be the best you can be in each class. You will really experience personal growth throughout the program."

Faculty

Tom Hosmanek, Executive in Residence
Tony Morales, Adj. Professor

Degree Requirements

Bachelor of Business Administration in Business Sales

Required:
ACCT 201 Accounting Principles I
ACCT 202 Accounting Principles II
BUS 201 Legal Environment of Business
ECON 201 Principles of Macroeconomics
ECON 202 Principles of Microeconomics
FNCE 300 Principles of Finance
INTL 400 International Experiential Portfolio
PHIL 305 Business Ethics
MKTG 209 Principles of Marketing
MGMT 210 Principles of Management
MGMT 449 Strategic Management and Policy
SLS 235 Sales Principles
SLS 345 Key Customer and Relationship Development
SLS 355 Communicating to Lead and Influence
SLS 365 Advanced Sales Techniques
SLS 425 Internship - Co-op in Sales
STBE 137 Quantitative Reasoning in Business
STBE 237 Statistics for Business and Economics

Take two of the following:
SLS 375 Negotiation and Relationship Building
SLS 405 Professional Practices in Sales
SLS 415 Sales Management and Processes

Requirements for a Minor in Business Sales (15 credits)

MKTG 209 Principles of Marketing
SLS 335 Sales Principles
SLS 345 Key Customer and Relationship Development
Plus 6 additional credits from the SLS curriculum

Read course descriptions in the online course catalog

Plan to Graduate

The following is a suggested 4-year plan of study to major in Business Sales with one semester of Study Abroad.

This plan assumes the student has not met the foreign language requirement (three years of foreign language in high school).

Year One

Fall SemesterCreditsSpring SemesterCredits
+ENGL 101 3 MKTG 209 3
STBE 137 3 +ECON 202 3
+THEO 100/200 course 3 +PHIL 100/200 course 3
SLS 235 3 +COMM 203 3
+Humanities 3 +Foreign Language 101 3
NSS 101 1 +IL 101 1
TOTAL 16 TOTAL 16

Year Two

Fall SemesterCreditsSpring SemesterCredits
SLS 345 3 ACCT 202 3
ACCT 201 3 STBE 237 3
ECON 201 3 BUS 201 3
+Foreign Language 102 3 FNCE 300 3
MGMT 210 3 SLS 355 3
+KIN Activity 1-2 +KIN 149 1
TOTAL 16-17 TOTAL 16

Year Three

Fall SemesterCreditsSpring SemesterCredits
+Social Science 3 Study Abroad Semester
SLS 365 3 +Humanities 3
+Natural Science 3 +THEO/PHIL elective 3
+Creative Arts 3 Electives 6
Elective 3
INTL 400 1
TOTAL 16 TOTAL 12

Year Four

Fall SemesterCreditsSpring SemesterCredits
WI-Elective 3 SLS Elective 3
Elective 3 WI-MGMT 449 3
+PHIL 305 3 Electives 7
SLS 425 3
SLS Elective 3
TOTAL 15 TOTAL 13


+ Satisfies General Education requirement

Scholarships and Grants

First-Year

St. Ambrose offers excellent scholarships and grants, work-study and other financial aid options! Full-time students may be eligible based on your strong academic performance in college, your talent in fine arts or athletics or your demonstrated financial need as determined by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The SAU school code for the FAFSA is 001889.

First-Year Scholarships and Institutional Aid 2024-2025

ON CAMPUS
Merit-Based Scholarships

4.0 GPA: $24,000
3.75-3.99 GPA: $22,000
3.0-3.749 GPA: $20,000
2.5-2.99 GPA: $18,000
2.0-2.49 GPA: $14,000
If GPA is 2.0-2.49, additional documents and review required for admission.

OFF CAMPUS
Merit-Based Scholarships

4.o GPA: $17,000
3.75-3.99 GPA: $16,000
3.0-3.749 GPA: $15,000
2.5-2.99 GPA: $14,000
2.0-2.49 GPA: $13,000
If GPA is 2.0-2.49, additional documents and review required for admission.

ADDITIONAL INSTITUTIONAL AID

Ambrose Advantage Full-Tuition Scholarship
Pell-eligible Iowa residents, learn more here

Fr. Welch Alumni Scholarship: $500 per year
Parent is a St. Ambrose graduate

Catholic Traditions Scholarship: $1,000 per year
Students with Catholic religious denomination or plans to graduate from Catholic high school 

Minority Scholarship: $500 per year
Ethnically diverse student

Athletic Scholarships: varies
Performance and ability

Fine Arts Scholarships: varies
Performance and ability in music, art and theatre

Faith Learning Justice Campus Ministry Scholarships: $2,000 per year
Recognition of involvement in church and community service and interest in strengthening faith and growing as a leader in campus ministry

Scholarships are determined by unweighted GPA, and are renewable for four years of undergraduate student. Increases in scholarship awards due to change in GPA will be reviewed until March 1.

State and Federal Grants, Work Study

Grants are money that you don't repay, and they can come from government or private sources. SAU receives all financial aid funds directly - including loans and grants - then applies them to your account: once in the fall term and once in the spring term. Grants can be used to cover your tuition, books, and housing costs. You must apply for grants each academic year. If you have any loan funds in excess of your costs, you may receive a refund. If you are a first-time borrower, there is a 30-day hold on your first disbursement. For all of these grants, you must complete the Free Application Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as soon as it is available.


Iowa Tuition Grant
To be eligible for the Iowa Tuition Grant, you must be a resident of Iowa as defined by the State Board of Regents and currently enrolled or planning to enroll in an undergraduate degree program at an eligible Iowa college or university (SAU is eligible). Iowa College Aid administers need-based college financial aid for Iowans, such as the Iowa Tuition Grant.
Award: $7,500 maximum

Federal Pell Grant
Awarded to students of the highest need based on how much your family can contribute to your education. The U.S. Department of Education sets a threshold. Then, when you file your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), it computes where you land within that threshold and determines if you qualify for the grant and for how much.
Award: $6,895 maximum

Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)
You must file a FAFSA to qualify for a Pell Grant. This grant is awarded on a first-come, first-served basis to students who have submitted all required documents for review and in time for the review to be complete. If you are eligible for a Pell Grant or SEOG, the awards will appear on your financial aid award letter.
Award: $400 maximum

Federal Work Study
Must secure campus employment.
Award: $2,560

Federal Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant 
Provides aid to students intending to teach in a high-need field at a school that serves low-income families (as determined by the U.S. Department of Education or a state education agency). Review criteria and all details here.
Award: up to $4,000

Outside Scholarships

There are many opportunities to receive scholarships from outside sources, here are a few websites to begin researching your options:

Another tip: Next time you're on campus, check out the bulletin board outside Student Financial Services where we post more flyers and applications for outside scholarships.


Matt Those Mobile size headshot Matt Thole Headshot

Matt Thole

Bachelor of Arts degrees in Business Sales, Marketing, and Finance,Account Executive at Kunkel and Assoc., Employee Benefits and Commercial Property and Casualty Division,Class of 2019


At SAU, Matt discovered an educational environment that encouraged innovation and tenacity. He jumped into sales competitions, served as a Resident Advisor, led retreats, and competed in intermural sports. His relentless commitment to excellence paid off: three degrees – earned in just 3.5 years – and a job waiting for him after graduation.

See My Story

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Contact


College of Business
McMullen Hall
518 W. Locust St.
Davenport, IA 52803
563-333-5723
COB@sau.edu

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