Want Great Salespeople?
Cutlery manufacturer Cutco finds that its partnership with students and colleges is a win-win for all involved.
By James E. Stitt, ALCAS Corp.

With college tuition prices skyrocketing, students today realize that the degrees they earn must enable them to find jobs that pay decent salaries.

Likewise, corporations are under pressure to hire graduates who can make an immediate impact on their bottom lines. Gone are the days when companies have lengthy honeymoon periods with new hires, hoping that an individual might be productive a few years down the road.

Sales is a discipline that is gaining more attention from universities, in part because students realize that good sales professionals are in demand in any economy. Several universities are now partnering with companies, allowing students to combine sales theory with practical experience. Cutco is one such company and has become an important part of several college curriculums.

Cutco is a 55-year-old company based in western New York which manufactures and sells more than $200 million in cutlery each year, mostly through a nationwide network of college students. Students work as independent contractors selling mostly during the summer and on a part-time basis during the school year.

In 1990 there were only two universities in the United States with certified selling programs offering minors or majors. Today there are 11. These curriculums place an emphasis on relationship sales and problem solving rather than on pushing product.

As a result, the image of the professional salesperson is changing from that of the slick sell-at-any-cost person to the individual who uses a consultative approach.

In many cases, corporations are funding these programs because they realize that graduates with sales degrees are significantly more productive than those without this background. Just as important, companies can reduce expensive turnover because new employees have accurate expectations of a sales career.

The Cutco Model
Prior to entering the field, Cutco student reps undergo a comprehensive training program which takes place in three short sessions and covers a variety of topics. During this three-day program, students are taught how to generate appointments among friends and families. Cutco also spends significant time on product education so that salespeople understand the product’s value and can confidently sell it.

These direct sales reps are monitored and mentored by company executives, but because of their independent contractor status, they work on their own. Many earn significant part-time income and others learn that direct sales is not for them. Either way, they learn valuable lessons that can benefit them in most any career.

Cutco’s three-day program includes training in these areas:

• Generating leads and subsequent referrals
• Building immediate rapport with customers
• Setting/achieving goals
• Understanding consumer behavior
• Time management
• Demonstrating product advantages
• Overcoming objections
• Assisting customers with service requests
• Building self-confidence
• Team building
• Communications skills

These are the basics of any sales process and are key elements of several curriculums taught in textbooks. The sales course in one university requires students to take the Cutco program and to go through the sales process. Students are not graded on sales, but rather on how effectively they implement strategies that can lead to sales, including sales call quotas; generating reports on analyzing sales calls; generating weekly sales reports and presentation skills.

In one program, students receive extra credit for making actual sales.

Most important, the Cutco portion of the curriculum forces students to probe, to listen and to develop closing skills.

B2B Sales
Most students who graduate with a degree in sales aspire to a position involving business-to-business sales as opposed to personal sales. B2B involves customer service, up-selling and maintaining customer relationships among repeat customers. People in these positions can service the same customers for years. In many cases, securing new accounts is not a priority.

At Cutco, we’ve been told that the value of our program in these curriculums is that it forces students to re-create the entire sales process over and over. The process starts with generating the appointment, demonstrating the product, closing and then providing customer service.

For those who are committed to a sales career, the combination of classroom and field work is invaluable for both students and the company which hires them after graduation.

James E. Stitt is president and CEO of ALCAS Corp., the parent company of CUTCO.  CUTCO is based in Olean, New York.