We are proud of our alumni who have taken jobs in professional selling. Learn more about some of our success stories in the following profiles.

• Barbara Scurry
• Kelley Hire
• Jason Hitchcock
• Alumni List

Barbara Scurry, Marlin Leasing

Barbara L. Scurry graduated from Middle Tennessee State University with a BBA in marketing and a minor in Spanish. She began her sales career as a sales rep for a high-tech firm which manufactures and designs lighting control systems and subsequently moved to a small medical equipment company. She is currently a Senior Account Executive for Marlin Leasing Corporation, a company that provides equipment lease financing for business owners.

"My first job right out of school was purely a "farmer" sales position. Then I went on to a pure "hunter" position. My current position is the best of both worlds: to get equipment sellers to offer a lease payment option to their customers. In the beginning, I had to make a lot of cold calls to find the business. Eventually, I will be more of a farmer as I grow my portfolio and don't have to make as many cold calls-but this is sales-I'll never stop prospecting." All of Barb's sales positions have involved building and maintaining strong relationships with clients. Her communication skills and flexibility have been key in this role as she works with a diverse group of people and must vary her communication style depending on what the customer is comfortable with.

“"When I took my first course in Personal Selling with Dr. Kemp at MTSU, I had no intentions of pursuing a job in sales because I had the negative stereotypical image of a salesperson in my mind. However, the course content and projects gave me a new, positive perspective - not only did I develop an appreciation for the field, but I decided to look for jobs in sales. I went on to join the MTSU Sales Team the next semester and won a finalist position on MTSU's competitive team, which traveled to the National Collegiate Sales Competition at Baylor University. The experience and self-confidence gained from competing in the NCSC were invaluable, but winning the top prize in that competition with my teammate was an incredible feeling I'll never forget! The MTSU Professional Sales Program offers extraordinary opportunities for students who take the initiative to pursue them."

“"I truly enjoy working in the sales field. I feel that it's a career where you can be directly rewarded financially for your hard work and offers autonomy and flexibility that you can't find in many other careers. My advice to students is to open your minds to the possibility of a career in professional selling."

Kelley Hire
Kelley M. Hire graduated in 2003 with a B.S. in Mass Communication and minors in Marketing and Social Work. She is a National Account Specialist for the Sealy, Stearns & Foster and Bassett Bedding Mattress Corporation (Sealy, Inc.,) headquartered in Trinity, North Carolina. Sealy, Inc. is the largest bedding manufacturer in North America and has been #1 in market share for nearly 40 straight years. Her primary responsibilities include calling on, conducting interactive and stimulating sales training sessions, and event planning for major department stores, sleep shops, and furniture stores. Her clients include JC Penney, Sears, Macy's, Mattress Firm, Bassett Furniture Direct, Dillard's, Slumberland and Haverty's.

To remain competitive, Kelley must keep up with the constantly changing industry, be knowledgeable of consumers' shopping habits and competitors' advertising and merchandising offers. She also needs to understand and be able to refine her customers' selling techniques, which vary from one account to the next. Lastly, she relies on Sealy's outstanding research and development team to create cutting edge mattresses. "It always helps to have great products to represent," she says. And like most sales positions, her duties require strong communication skills, excellent listening skills, attention to detail, a high energy level, self discipline, a strong work ethic, and the ability to multi-task and motivate. In summing up her job Kelley says, "It's much more than mattresses - I sell myself and sleep-solutions everyday."

Kelley began her career with ABCO Printing in Dallas where she sold customized print solutions and business documentation. She managed existing accounts, developed new accounts and conducted marketing research while developing the basic sales skills she learned at MTSU.

“"I began to consider sales after taking Dr. Kemp's Personal Selling course, but I was confident I would pursue a selling career after joining the MTSU Sales Team and placing second in the nation at the 2003 National Collegiate Sales Competition at Kennesaw State University. I know for a fact the number of job offers I had prior to graduation was a direct result of the support, encouragement and opportunities offered through the MTSU Professional Sales Program. It was a very rewarding experience for me and has had an extremely positive impact on my life. Who knows in which direction I would have headed without this program to guide me? And believe it or not, I am still to this day using the SPIN Selling techniques I learned in class."

Jason Hitchcock
Jason B. Hitchcock graduated from Middle Tennessee State University in December of 2000 with a BBA in Marketing and a minor in Business Administration. Jason is currently employed by Shaw Industries, a Berkshire Hathaway Company. He sells as a commercial specialist directly for Shaw Contract which specifically works in the commercial flooring arena of servicing the needs of corporate offices, education facilities, hospitality applications, healthcare facilities, and retail establishments. His clientele includes architects, commercial designers, property managers, contractors, and end users.

Jason’s responsibilities include managing existing contracts and agreements (annuity business), developing new contracts and standards programs, and working on individual projects (transactional business). He negotiates these contracts and agreements by involving all of the above-mentioned clients. The commercial business is very dependent on relationships. Many projects involve multiple decision makers, each at different levels in the process. His goal is to create relationships over transactions – relationships will typically yield more return in the long run over transactional business.

Jason uses two types of selling techniques known as the “push sale” and the “pull sale,” depending on which level of decision maker is involved. The commercial flooring industry is a fun and exciting business to be involved in due to the number of people involved in securing a contract or transaction. Jason feels that products are important, but every salesperson out there has a product – the key to closing a deal is the relationship.

“Sales is a very rewarding field to work in. I got into sales because I like to talk and interact with people at varying levels with the business community. Responsibilities vary from industry to industry and company to company, but most sales positions offer flexibility and the ability to express creativity. My experiences in the Professional Sales Program at MTSU provided me the necessary foundation for entering the sales arena, and I attribute a good bit of my success thus far to the program. As a matter of fact, I had my first contact with Shaw Industries through the MTSU Sales Program faculty. Shaw Industries offers an extensive sales training program for all of its new employees, but I was fortunate to have a sales background before starting with them. A lot of Shaw’s program was review for me after focusing on professional selling in college. A career in sales offers unlimited financial rewards as well as personal rewards.”

Alumni List
Employers include some of the top names in the business. Please scroll through our alumni list for examples. If you are MTSU sales or marketing alumni and would like to be included in the list, please contact us.