Campus Series: April Kemp – Invest in Yourself
You can be the best student in class or the most dedicated mentee within your company, but you will never be able to master sales until you get real-world experience. This is what April Kemp continually emphasizes to her marketing and sales students.
In this episode of the Campus Series Podcast, April Kemp, a professor at Southeastern Louisiana University, discusses the way she encourages her students to explore different jobs while hearing from people actively working in those industries, and pushing themselves to get hands-on experience while in undergrad.
Guest-At-A-Glance
💡 Name: April Kemp
💡 What she does: She’s an assistant professor at Southeastern Louisiana University.
💡 Company: Southeastern Louisiana University
💡 Noteworthy: April is a professor of marketing and one of the coordinators of the sales program.
💡 Where to find April: LinkedIn
Key Insights
⚡ Students should explore what’s out there for them. We need to teach students to explore different job opportunities and see what’s out there for them. April says, “I lecture on a topic, and then I try to bring in someone. And we have a corporate sponsor program, so a lot of the different companies that we work with come in and speak on the different topics that I’m lecturing on. So they get a different perspective from industry, and then, from there they’re able to see the different types of job opportunities that are available, which is something I felt like I missed whenever I was in undergrad. I really would tell students, and still tell students, as they’re sitting there asking me that question to explore what’s out there.”
⚡ Sales is about building relationships. Sales is not about forcing people to buy from you. It’s about building relationships and helping them solve problems. April explains, “At the end of the day, in sales, it’s [about] building relationships and having great conversations. People want to buy from people they like, and so we really work to instill that in our students. Don’t think of it so much as a sales job. Think about it as going out and building relationships, having great conversations, and meeting people that you want to hang out with. So I think that’s what stands out about our program and our training.”
⚡ Real-world experience is the best way to master sales. There’s no better way to become a skillful salesperson than to get real-world experience. April says, “Most of the people that I give them the leads for are warm leads — either people who have been involved in the sales program with judging or they are. They’ve expressed interest, or they’ve played before in the tournament and it’s not a high-stress situation, but they still get told no, and they still have to work through the leads and see what that looks like.”
Episode Highlights
Always Give Your Best
“The biggest key takeaway is to show up and work hard. So one of the things that really, I think, is the reason why I was able to move from each company to each time it was a better opportunity — which was why I was able to go into different roles and then even in the position I’m in now — is, I always say, that I learned from the people who, no matter what their job was, they gave it their all. And so the lesson that I learned was no matter what job you have, if you start out sweeping floors, you give it your all, and you show up every day, and you make the most of that experience because people are going to notice.”
The Importance of Preparing Marketing Students for Sales Jobs
“The statistics show that more than 50% of marketing majors — and it’s even higher probably from marketing majors — are going to work in sales at some point in their career. And so, why not train them to be better prepared for that type of role, even if it’s their first role? […] We added those two advanced classes to elevate the training that the students were able to get before applying for jobs. And it also opened their eyes to the types of opportunities because, to be completely honest, even myself, I wasn’t looking for sales jobs right out of college ’cause I just don’t think I really understood what was out there and how that could be a great opportunity.”
Students Want to Work for Companies That Are Going to Invest in Them
“They’re looking for a company that’s going to invest in them, especially from a training standpoint. And I agree with that, and I always make sure to tell students to ask that question — what kind of investment is the company going to make in you because that is going to be crucial to your success.”
Transcript:
[00:00:00] April Kemp: I had a student early on in the program that started working for a company. They didn’t train her. They sent her out and set her up for failure, and I always tell that story because I want students to really ask the right questions to the companies that they’re interviewing with, and, by the way, I encourage them to interview with lots of companies because they’re not always familiar with the opportunities.
[00:01:11] Kristen Wisdorf: Welcome back, hustlers, to another episode of Tech Sales is for Hustlers. It’s your special campus series. I’m your host, Kristen Wisdorff. Joining me today, welcome back to the podcast, Kelsie Edmonds.
[00:01:23] Kelsie Edmonds: Thanks, Kristen. So excited to be back today.
[00:01:26] Kristen Wisdorf: We’re excited to have you and it is girl power today. We have April Kemp from Southeastern Louisiana University. April is a professor of marketing and also co-coordinator of the sales program. Welcome to the podcast.
[00:01:40] April Kemp: Thanks for having me. Happy to be here.
[00:01:42] Kristen Wisdorf: We’re excited to have you and chat with you, learn all about your background and what you’re doing at Southeastern Louisiana.
[00:01:49] So, let’s just dive right in. If you’ve been here before, you know how we like to start these things, which is actually the way we start a lot of our interviews here at memoryBlue. April, if you could take 60 seconds, give or take, and tell us about you, give us your, let’s call it your highlight.
[00:02:06] April Kemp: Sure. So, a little bit about my background. I’m originally from Louisiana and lived here my whole life, had a family business growing up, we owned a florist, so as soon as my mom could get me talking to customers, I was, you know, selling, and so, I’ve really always enjoyed being in front of customers and, you know, figuring out what their challenges were.
[00:02:27] And so, it, it just continued, you know, even past college with my career, so I, I finished my undergrad and graduate degree at Southeastern Louisiana University where I teach now, and then I got my doctorate later in life at the University of South Alabama once I realized I had a passion for teaching, but before that I worked in sales for several different companies.
[00:02:47] I worked for State Farm after college, then I worked, went and worked in retail for Target, and then after that, worked for Aramark and Food Services in higher education. So, got some experience before I went to teach, so was able to bring that experience to the classroom, which students seem to enjoy, and then from there was able to help build a sales program
[00:03:08] at my university. We are celebrating five years, so we’re gonna have a crawfish bowl in a few weeks we’re excited about. And so, that’s a little bit about my career path. I’m also a mom, and so I have two daughters and a husband. My daughters are eight and two, and I got my doctorate degree in between the two of them.
[00:03:29] And so, live in Louisiana, my husband’s a Louisiana State trooper, and we enjoy living in this community and giving back in other ways as well. So, that’s a little bit about me.
[00:03:39] Kristen Wisdorf: That’s amazing. That was well done. So, I’m very interested in your time growing up and that you were, are part of a family that owned a business and entrepreneurs. So, can you talk to us a little bit more about what it was like growing up in the florist shop and what it was like having a family who owned a business?
[00:03:58] April Kemp: Yeah, so I love that it’s three women here today on the show. It’s kind of fun because my grandmother and my mom started the business and, and my grandfather helped too, but he really was kind of behind the scenes, but my mom and my grandmother were the face of the business and out in the community where we live to, to grow the business.
[00:04:17] And so, I learned a lot of what I use today and as I reflect back on their work ethic, they were, I mean, if you think about a florist, they’re working every day of the year almost, and so if there is a funeral or if there is a holiday, that’s when we were the busiest. So, from the time that I could work a Valentine’s Day,
[00:04:35] I never went to school on Valentine’s Day, you know, and so, we all were hands on deck for holidays and events and, and really learned what it was like to, to work hard and put in the effort and get the results from there. So, I owe a lot of my work ethic to my mom and my grandmother.
[00:04:53] Kristen Wisdorf: That’s incredible. I imagine Valentine’s Day for a florist is like your version of Black Friday for retail stores.
[00:04:58] April Kemp: Yeah, I’ve never, yeah, I’ve never loved Valentine’s Day, to be completely honest, but I mean, you know, I get it. It was a great day for us as far as sales, so I loved that side of it, but it was not a fun, loving day from the other side.
[00:05:14] Kristen Wisdorf: Yeah, I suppose really busy and stressful, I imagine.
[00:05:17] April Kemp: Yeah, for sure.
[00:05:18] Kristen Wisdorf: Um, how do you think, you know, being in a family with your mother and your grandmother being business owners, how did that impact what you ultimately went to school for and did post-grad?
[00:05:31] April Kemp: Sure. So, it’s funny. I started my collegiate career in education and so, I realized quickly I didn’t wanna be in a second-grade classroom. I have a lot of respect for, for, you know, teachers who teach in the elementary school, for sure, and especially now that I have a daughter that age and realized that, you know what, I wanna go back to my roots and I ended up getting a business degree.
[00:05:56] Come full circle, I realized I did want to teach. You know, I think I kind of knew back then I did want to teach students, it’s just I didn’t realize the age group would be, you know, a little bit older. So, from the time I realized I wanted to get a business degree, I wasn’t really sure what aspect of business I wanted to work in once I graduated,
[00:06:16] in fact, it was funny because I said I don’t want to own my own business after seeing, you know, my family go through that, but had a lot of respect for small business owners, but kinda wanted to take a different path and, and go try working for some other corporations and be able to, to kind of take business from a different perspective
[00:06:37] and I learned things from each of the jobs that I had before I came to teach and kind of got recruited from seeing the things I was doing from the different companies, the university where I was very involved as a student, saw that I was, you know, being able to be successful and wanted to bring me back to, to share that in the classroom, and so, I’m so glad they did and reached out,
[00:06:57] I wasn’t even looking for a career change, I really thought that I would stay with Aramark for a while, really enjoyed what I was doing as a marketing manager ’cause I was able to do all aspects of marketing from sales, from digital, I was able to, to apply all the things I really enjoyed. So, I wasn’t looking to change.
[00:07:14] However, once I got into the classroom and realized the impact I could make in other students’ lives, it really is very rewarding. And so, I’ve taken a lot of the things I learned through that whole path into what I do in the classroom and outside of the classroom, helping students as well.
[00:07:31] Kelsie Edmonds: Yeah. That’s amazing. So, you know, you mentioned that you were not quite sure what you wanted to do, you know, now that you have this experience, really so many different experiences and now into working with a lot of these students, what advice would you give students when it comes to figuring out what direction they wanna go in, if they’re unsure?
[00:07:50] You know, there’s business management or business majors out there right now.
[00:07:55] April Kemp: You know, that’s a great question. What I’ve learned is that it’s okay not to know, first of all, and I tell students that all the time because I was that student. And secondly, see what’s out there. So, I, in my classroom, bring in tons of speakers to talk to students ’cause I felt like I just wasn’t sure, you know, I was from a small town when I was a student. I didn’t know all the different industries that were out there until I got out there working. And so, one of my personal passions is to get companies in front of the students to be able to share the types of opportunities that are available. So, I lecture on a topic, and then I try to bring in
[00:08:32] someone, you know, that, and we have a corporate sponsor program, so a lot of the different companies that we work with come in and speak on the different topics that I’m lecturing on so they get a different perspective from industry and then from there they’re able to see the different types of job opportunities that are available, which is something I felt like I missed whenever I was in undergrad.
[00:08:53] And so, I really, you know, would tell students, and still tell students as they’re sitting there asking me that question to explore what’s out there, and I think there’s a lot more opportunity to see on LinkedIn, and other, you know, sites, the different types of jobs, a little bit more than when I was looking for jobs,
[00:09:12] everyone is able to have access to that information a lot easier and, you know, from there, I also bring students to different national competitions, so they’re exposed to, you know, companies like memoryBlue, that’s where I was able to make this connection for students that, you know, we’re in Louisiana, not everyone’s gonna come to Louisiana recruit, but there’s lots of opportunities out there, and so, bringing students to the different events that are exposing them to even more companies is something that I’m very passionate about.
[00:09:42] Kristen Wisdorf: Absolutely. It’s interesting you mentioned, you know, you worked for your, you know, your family business growing up, but I think you said at one point you wanted to get experience working for a larger corporation when you graduated. So, talk to us a little bit about when it started kind of clicking, like, Hey, I don’t wanna teach right now.
[00:09:59] What, talk to us about that first job outta college, because I, you went to a really large company, right? Outta school, right? What was that like? How did you find that opportunity and, and tell us a little bit about that first job right after graduation?
[00:10:13] April Kemp: Sure. So, I went and worked for State Farm Insurance and I actually made the connection through a professor that I had. It was, you know, in a time when jobs were not as, there weren’t as many as there are available right now. And so, I real, and, and it was good because I was very open-minded to the, the type of industry to go work for and it really
[00:10:34] exposed me to a different perspective. And so, while I was working for a local agent, I was also able to see things from a larger corporation perspective on consistency and branding and being able to have access to resources that a small business wouldn’t necessarily have access to. So, it was very eye-opening and I, I really enjoyed being able to see things from different perspectives, being able to go visit other agencies and see how they ran their business and, you know, had a mentor who actually it’s funny,
[00:11:04] you never know how things are gonna come full circle. So, the, the mentor that I had, that I worked for in that first job, she is now very involved in the sales program that I run, and she gives a scholarship to students. And so, you just never know how things are gonna come full circle and when you meet someone, how that might look very different in other years.
[00:11:22] So, you know, always keep good relationships with everyone that you meet, I will tell you that. So, so it was a great experience seeing things from, you know, a larger perspective and, and for the other companies I work for as well from, from Target, I was able to get training and resources that I wouldn’t have in a small business perspective,
[00:11:40] and also, when I worked for Aramark, I was able to be involved in more training and have access to people all over the country and world, to be completely honest, that I wouldn’t have othewise.
[00:11:53] Kristen Wisdorf: That’s incredible. I mean, such big brands and organizations between State Farm and Target and Aramark that I’m sure you pull a lot of that experience working with those organizations into your curriculum now. What do you think was, you know, looking back on your professional experience with those three companies, what, are there any, like, stories or really big lessons that stand out to you that you kind of carry with you today still?
[00:12:23] April Kemp: Sure. I, you know, something that I tell students that I learned from working for different people, working for different companies, the biggest key takeaway is to show up and work hard. So, one of the things that, really, I think is the reason why I was able to move from each company to, you know, each time it was a better opportunity, which was why I was able to, to go into different roles,
[00:12:48] and then even in the position I’m in now is I always say that I learned from the people who, no matter what their job was, they gave it their all. And so, you know, the lesson that I learned was no matter what job you have, if you start, have to start out sweeping floors, you give it your all, and you show up every day, and you make the most of that experience because people are gonna notice.
[00:13:16] When I first started working in higher education from a teaching standpoint, I was just an instructor. So, I didn’t have my doctorate degree and, and so, I wasn’t making, I was making, to be honest, probably about half of the salary that my colleagues were making because I didn’t have my doctorate yet. And so, I had someone ask me, why do you do so much?
[00:13:36] You know, I was very involved in student organizations and, and making sure people had great experiences and, you know, I think it ties back to my upbringing and working in a family business, but also the other companies that I worked for, was, it doesn’t matter what your job is, you need to show up and you need to, you know, find the things you like to do and try to make an impact in whatever way that you can ’cause people will notice, and it will pay off,
[00:14:02] maybe not right now, but one day. And so, now I can sit here and say, you know what? I worked really hard to then get my doctorate and now I’m able to, you know, have a role that I work towards because I put in the effort from there. So, that’s really the biggest lesson that, that I learned.
[00:15:14] Kristen Wisdorf: Yeah, that’s incredible. And honestly, it, it resonates, you know, at memoryBlue, we hire, uh, into an SD R role, and that’s the, that’s the first role, that’s kind of, we believe it’s the foundation for any other, really, quite frankly, job in sales these days and in other roles within our business like recruiting or leadership, et cetera,
[00:15:35] but while it’s not necessarily sweeping floors, you know, people are really excited to move beyond this role, whether it’s getting to field sales or become a manager or, you know, move up or on, on into something else and I just think it’s such a good message that it doesn’t matter, like, do you know what your job is.
[00:15:53] Show up and work hard because people will notice, and I think the folks who get, you know, those promotions or those elevations into an AE or a field sales role happen because people notice the, that hard work and that work ethic. So, it’s a really good message for sure. So, it’s, I’m curious about how you made the jump and the transition, so your roles after school, after college were very much marketing roles, it sounds like, and you had interactions with sales, particularly at Aramark, but how did you bring kind of sales into your career and your day to day?
[00:16:29] At what point did that happen?
[00:16:31] April Kemp: Yeah, that’s a great question. So, a couple years into teaching, I started going to career fairs and talking to recruiters about the types of opportunities that were available, and while my personal experience was mostly marketing, had a little bit of sales experience and had different recruiters say, “Are you training in sales?”
[00:16:51] And they kept asking, “We’re trying to hire in sales,” and, you know, I went back to a colleague, and I said, “I feel like we could do better. “And we’re, we had one sales class at the time, and what else can we do to better prepare students? Because the statistics show that more than 50% of marketing majors, and it’s even higher probably from marketing majors, are gonna work in sales at some point in their career.
[00:17:17] And so, why not train them to be better prepared for that type of role, even if it’s their first role? So, the, my colleague, Dr. Lopez and I to develop some new courses that we added to the, the curriculum that were able to advance that sales training. And so, we reached out to other universities that had sales programs in place, so really, only a little over a hundred
[00:17:47] that have sales programs. And so, it is a small percentage if you look at it from an overall perspective, but there were some great things happening at universities that we started noticing and, so this was, you know, six years ago that we started having these conversations and, and starting to build the program,
[00:18:04] but we added those two advanced classes to elevate the training that the students were able to get before applying for jobs, and it also opened their eyes to the types of opportunities because, to be completely honest, even myself, I wasn’t looking for sales jobs right out of college ’cause I just don’t think I really understood what was out there and, and how that could be a great opportunity.
[00:18:28] So, with adding those two courses and then starting to add sales competitions and other, you know, ways to get the experience that companies like memoryBlue are looking for, then we were able to slowly grow the program and have success from that perspective.
[00:18:49] Kelsie Edmonds: That’s great. It sounds like you guys have really gotten something moving in a great direction there, so, you know, you, you mentioned that you built this off of a lot of other programs, you know, across the country. Is there something that makes your program unique?
[00:19:06] April Kemp: Yeah, so one of the things that we’ve found and gotten feedback from the judges that have, that have judged our students at competitions and just interactions that we’ve had is that our students are personable, they ha, they show their personality, they’re having genuine conversations. Yes, there’s a rubric, and there are things we have to hit on,
[00:19:25] but when we’re coaching our students, at the end of the day, we coach them to be people and to be able to use their emotional intelligence, you know, reading skills and being able to have empathy and to, you know, really just show, show that they care. And so, I think that that resonates well, and that’s why our students are competing and doing well is because,
[00:19:47] you know, some may call it, I guess, our southern hospitality in some ways, but we’re able to, you know, sit there and have a really great conversation ’cause at the end of the day, in sales, it’s building relationships and having great conversations. People wanna buy from people they like. And so, we really work to instill that in our students
[00:20:05] that, you know, don’t think of it so much as a sales job, think about it as going out and building relationships, having great conversations and meeting people that you wanna hang out with, you know, so that, I think that’s what stands out about our program and our training.
[00:20:21] Kristen Wisdorf: Well, I can confirm having met your students at competitions that they definitely let their personality shine and they’re, it’s, they’re so memorable because of it. So, I would agree with that statement for sure. We talked about full circle. You went to Southeastern Louisiana and now you teach there.
[00:20:37] So, talk to us about that kind of full-circle moment, how you were approached to, to jump into education and ultimately kind of like leave the corporate world and move into, into becoming a, an instructor.
[00:20:51] April Kemp: Yeah, so like I said, I was working at Aramark at the time and not looking to change careers. Thought I was gonna be with them for a lot longer than I ended up being, but got approached by one of my former professors, and you know, they said, “We’ve been watching you, you’ve been, you know, doing well in your career, but have you thought about teaching?”
[00:21:11] And, you know, I was an education major at first and, and always thought I would teach. And so, it, it’s, it piqued my interest ’cause I was traveling a lot for the, the company that, you know, for Aramark at the time and I had a newborn. And so, really saw the opportunity even from a little bit more of a flexibility standpoint with my hours and being able to be in Hammond and not have to travel as much with having, you know, my firstborn.
[00:21:44] And so, I said, you know what? I’m gonna try it. And then got into the classroom and absolutely love it. I love being able to find students opportunities, being able to help grow their skillsets, and being able to see potential in, and each student’s gonna be at a different level, but if you can take them where they are, you know, and take them to a higher level and have that confidence after they graduate, then it is a very rewarding career.
[00:22:13] And so, I love being able to give back in that way.
[00:22:18] Kristen Wisdorf: What do you find now, you know, the program’s grown pretty substantially and you obviously added a lot of curriculum, talk to us, kind of like that metamorphosis and how it’s changed since you, you know, went back to southeastern Louisiana and the program, how it’s grown, evolved over the years.
[00:22:35] April Kemp: Yeah, so when we started adding the two advanced classes, we really thought about what would make someone better prepared to go into a sales career than just an intro to sales course. So, we had the intro to sales course. I took it when I was in undergrad and, and really it was, the intro course is centered around learning the sales process, and so, you know, taking from there we thought about what can we do in advance to advanced classes that could also bring them to another level, and so we have a sales
[00:23:08] leadership course, sales management, what most universities call it, and in that course, the students work in teams. They have a team leader and they are putting on a golf tournament. So, they’re able to use CRM to be able to work through leads and contact them, follow up. They’re also able to track the activities that they’re doing, and they have quotas they have to meet,
[00:23:32] so there are individual quotas, there are team quotas, and they’re, they also have to put on the event. So, there are different teams based on responsibilities. So, there are lots of skills they’re learning in that course that relate to not only team building, but also leadership. And then, I bring in sales managers to speak on different topics as well.
[00:23:51] So, the students get the, you know, experience of their, their grade being tied to a quota is also very motivational, and it gives them a little less of a stressful environment to get on the phone and be told no, I mean, it’s a golf tournament, so it’s not something that should stress you out to talk about,
[00:24:09] most of the people that I give them the leads for are warm leads, either people who have been involved in the sales program with judging or they are, they’ve expressed interest or they’ve played before in the tournament and it’s, it’s not a high stress situation, but they still get told no, and they still have to work through the leads and see what that looks like.
[00:24:30] So, it gets them that hands-on experience that sitting in a classroom, listening to a lecture is not gonna give them, and then in the other class, we, we focus more on the individual, uh, as a salesperson. And so, we, we do an internal sales competition. The students are learning a product that they’re selling, and we choose from that competition who we will take to the regional and national competition.
[00:24:56] So, they are able to put in the skills, and we do it really fast. So, you know, in the, in the first month of the semester, we are doing our internal competition to be able to choose our teams and, and so it, it’s, it, we hit the ground running just like they would in a sales career, and we give them a mentor. So, we, we align them with a mentor who’s working in the industry, and they’re able to give them feedback on their role-play videos
[00:25:20] they share them with them, they get on the phone, they talk through how they can improve. A lot of it is really just building their confidence and, and helping them to, to progress and, and get better as they practice leading up to the competition.
[00:25:35] Kelsie Edmonds: Love in that first class where you mentioned that you had the quotas attached, and I think one of the biggest things for a lot of students is, you know, giving them the real-world experience. Like, let’s add a tiny bit of pressure so you understand how it feels in that moment. You can really practice your skills because when you’re put to the test, that’s really where I think the true learning begins because you’re able to reflect on what it is that, you know, you’re learning and how well you’ve taken in the information and
[00:26:03] giving them that real-world experience just sounds like an amazing opportunity kind of to start. And then, of course, the competitions, as you know, we’ve all been to those, they can be so much fun. I know we hear a lot of really great things from the students on them. So, you know, with the program that you’ve built out in terms of, like, having people come and speak, what do you find that students
[00:26:22] are having the most, I guess the word would be, like, “insights” or light bulbs going off as we bring in some of these people to talk to them, or as you bring them?
[00:26:32] April Kemp: Yeah, and, and it’s kind of evolved because I learned quickly that when I watch students’ expressions when they’re listening to speakers, if a company comes in and they start out, “Oh, we’re amazing company. We want you to come work for us, and we have all these great opportunities,” they put up a, a wall. And so, what I find resonates the most for students is when a company comes in, and they talk to them like people and they’re able to
[00:27:01] teach them something. So, if students feel like they’re learning something from interacting with the company, with the individuals that come and if they can tell that the people care about their learning, then they’re way more receptive to listening. And so, I try to identify topics that I know will resonate well with the students
[00:27:22] and sometimes it’s more personal growth topics. It might be building your resume. It might be how to be effective on LinkedIn, or it might be content-related, how to build rapport. So, I’ve learned personally to try to give whatever companies coming in a little insight on, “Hey, we’re talking about this topic this week.
[00:27:42] I think this would resonate well with the students, and if you could do some type of interactive activity where you’re asking them questions and you have, you know, incentive prizes,” I mean, everybody’s motivated by prizes, to be able to engage with them because if you just sit there and lecture to them, same for me.
[00:28:00] If I just sit there and lecture to them, they start getting distracted very easy. So, they’ll get on their phones and, you know, they’re not gonna be as receptive and responsive, but if you’re asking them their opinions on topics, if you’re, you know, engaging with them in different ways, then there is definitely a whole different vibe in the room for those types of, uh, interactions.
[00:28:22] Kelsie Edmonds: Yeah, and like knowing today’s student, there is this somewhat, like, cancel culture around businesses that don’t value the employee, and if you have employers who are coming in, and they’re willing to put in the time and energy into training and interacting, that right there is a really positive sign that that’s probably a company that’s gonna put time and training into you as an employee,
[00:28:44] and I think, you know, that’s what students wanna see nowadays, they wanna see a company that really invests in them and is gonna value who they are, and that’s, that’s, that small snapshot for them.
[00:28:53] April Kemp: Yeah. And I, and, and one example is a couple weeks ago I had a company come in and they started, you know, asking students if they understood benefits, you know, they’re about to make some really big decisions no matter what company they go work for, even if it’s not in sales, and there was such a great conversation around breaking down what benefits mean.
[00:29:11] Sometimes, that’s not always something that’s talked about in the classroom. And so, you know, they had so many questions and, and I just saw so much more engagement because it was something that could benefit them in their life even if they go a non-sales career path, they were able to benefit from that knowledge, and understanding and the company had a lot of people come up after to talk to them also about their opportunities,
[00:29:34] so, you know, I think if you can find a topic or something that will interest them and engage with them through dialogue, then it’s gonna be a lot better of a discussion.
[00:29:44] Kristen Wisdorf: A hundred percent. That’s so true. I remember in my first job when I had to sit down and fill out health insurance information, I was like, I never learned this, and I’m like, this…
[00:29:53] April Kemp: It’s still confusing.
[00:29:54] Kristen Wisdorf: I know, a hundred percent. Yeah. So, that, that’s amazing. I mean, we noticed the same thing, we try to, when we go into classrooms to, uh, bring something valuable, and I, you know, I think students just like, they just eat up anything that gives them a glimpse into the real world.
[00:30:10] We like to play actual SDR call recordings so they can hear exactly what, you know, maybe an alumni from their school who graduated a year before them is doing every single day and give them a real, you know, glimpse into not only what happens, but how the, how our teammates get better too. My favorite little presentation is we’ll play a call recording of, you know, an alumni very early in their tenure with us, make a call to a prospect, and then we’ll play a call from that same alumni, you know, six weeks or two months later, and just show how much they’ve learned in such a short period of time.
[00:30:47] And so, I think you’re, you’re absolutely right, students want something valuable, just like prospects do, right, versus just showing up and talking. So, so speaking of your students, what are you finding your students are most interested in at when it comes to picking a job post-grad these days and, like, we’re talking everything, industry, location.
[00:31:09] Do a lot of them wanna stay in Louisiana? Do they, are you finding that they’re relocating? Is, are there certain industries or roles or, you know, types of things that they, if they do go in a sales role, they wanna sell? Like, what, how, what are they interested in now, and how has that changed over the last couple years as well?
[00:31:27] April Kemp: That’s a great question. So, if you asked me five years when we first started the program, I would say the majority wanted to stay in Louisiana, and we’re looking at opportunities where they know people who’ve worked in before, but it’s completely different today. So, you know, I have about half and half that want to either stay in Louisiana or, you know, maybe move to Texas.
[00:31:48] It’s not too far to where they’re close. We have, you know, a lot of families that are Catholic in Louisiana, very close families, they like to eat together and, you know, have holidays together. So, you have that half, but I have seen an increase in the number of students I had, one moved to Colorado last semester,
[00:32:05] I had one in Minnesota. I had another one in, in Texas. So, I mean, we’ve had a little bit more interest as the program has grown in opportunities outside. I also think it is because we’re post covid. I, I, I guess I can say that because, you know, students are a little more comfortable with traveling and, and leaving as well.
[00:32:26] So, I think we’ll see that increase as far as the types of opportunities. There’s not a consistent theme on that topic because each student is very different. I think one of the things that we do that I, I am, I’m a firm believer in is showing them all the different types of industries, types of career paths because each student is so different.
[00:32:50] And so, I’ve had students go the tech route. I’ve, a lot of students because of where we’re located, have opportunities in, in B2B, industrial, construction world. So, we’ve had students go that route, but they’re open-minded, and I think that that’s really important. They don’t have as much pressure from family members to go a certain route because of their families.
[00:33:11] A lot of, we do have some first-generation students, so they are looking for guidance, and they are open to going to different places. So, you know, I think that will continue, but it’s a culture shift and in, you know, where we live and, and the types of families that are here, you’re always gonna have some that want to stay here, but we have seen an increase in the number of being open to the types of opportunities and locations and what they’re looking for.
[00:33:37] Kelsie Edmonds: So, for those people who are open to, you know, really even moving, or even just the different industries, what advice would you give someone who is exploring those industries? Like, what type of things do you think they should be looking for as they’re, they’re evaluating their options?
[00:33:54] April Kemp: Yeah, and, and you asked that too, and I don’t think I expanded on that, is they’re looking for a company that’s gonna invest in them, especially from a training standpoint and I agree with that, and I always make sure to tell students to ask that question, what kind of investment is the company gonna make on you because that is gonna be crucial to your success,
[00:34:14] and I had a student early on in the program that started working for a company, they didn’t train her, they sent her out and set her up for failure, and I always tell that story because I want students to really ask the right questions to the companies that they’re interviewing with and by the way, I encourage them to interview with lots of companies because they’re not always familiar with the opportunities
[00:34:38] and the good thing about Southeastern that I will say is companies often say that our students are very open to, if they haven’t heard of the company, it doesn’t matter. They want to know what’s out there. They want to talk to different companies. They want to interview and see, you know, the many opportunities.
[00:34:55] And so, I think that’s another reason that companies want to interview, interview our students because they don’t have a bias on, you know, certain brand names of companies, and if they’ve heard of them and they’re just looking for a company that values them, and so that’s my advice for, for students is to make sure you’re finding out what they’re gonna invest in you,
[00:35:15] especially from a training and development standpoint, not just your first year. What does that look like to make sure you’re gonna continue growing and improving throughout your career?
[00:35:26] Kristen Wisdorf: Absolutely. I think, and I think the reason you’re probably seeing more and more variety in students being open to, you know, move or relocate and try different industries that they aren’t as familiar with is because you’re, uh, creating an opportunity and a space for them to see a variety of different companies
[00:35:44] and I think that’s great, I think that’s, that’s the best thing, especially ’cause you, you said it yourself, students are, they’re all very different. So, what the right fit for them is gonna be, is gonna vary. And so, the more variety you can give them, the better, which is great. So, we had Tim Butler on the podcast a while ago, and he is at Southeastern Louisiana now.
[00:36:05] So, talk to us a little bit about working with him and what it’s been like as the program’s grown and you’ve brought in more professors.
[00:36:13] April Kemp: Yeah, so it’s funny because when we first started the program, I reached out to Tim ’cause I saw he was doing great things at his prior university to see what insight he could have for us, never thought he would end up working with us, but once again, you just never know how conversations and opportunities, people you meet, how that can change and they could end up working with you one day,
[00:36:36] you never know, so always be nice to everyone. I tell students that too. So, he actually was so helpful and gave us great ideas. We also shared some of the things we were doing, and so we actually started a group on LinkedIn for professors called the Sales Profs, and so, through that, we were able to engage with other faculty ’cause sometimes we get to see each other in person.
[00:37:01] A lot of times at competitions, though, we’re prepping our students and we’re not able to sit down and talk about the things we’re doing in the classroom much as we would like. And so, it gives another opportunity if someone wants to do a post and say, “Hey, does anybody teach this class? And what are you doing on this topic?”
[00:37:17] And, or just sharing about different competitions or different topics of research. There’s so many things that you could use that group for. And so, we found it as a way to connect more with other sales professors, and from there, it just happened that we had an opportunity available. He reached out to us and started here.
[00:37:39] Now he’s finishing up his first year, and we work really well together. So, he is amazing on social media, and we were doing great things, but now he’s amplified our voice and telling our story. You gotta tell your story, and that’s something I do research in, but I’m not always as good personally with posting on LinkedIn and, and being able to have all the time to do all the things right.
[00:38:00] So, he is really good at making sure we’re telling our story and putting content out there to share the great things that our students are doing, and our program is doing. So, I really enjoy working with him and we, we complement each other very well. And so, you know, it works for our program and also for our students.
[00:38:19] Kristen Wisdorf: Yeah. The more, uh, you know, great professors your students have access to the better, which is amazing, and I always just find it so exciting, and I don’t know if, like, heartwarming is the right word, but how close the sales professors are at universities all across the country because what you’re doing is just so unique and exciting and going to these, uh, individual competitions and it’s just really exciting and,
[00:38:43] you know, you really are preparing students for life, uh, post-college in an experiential way that, uh, you know, other perhaps majors or minors don’t get, so it’s really kind of awesome to see as a, you know, someone who’s there as a hiring manager with one of the sponsor companies. Well, April, we just have a couple fun questions for you to wrap this up.
[00:39:04] It’s the answer the first thing that comes to your mind, don’t overthink it, but if you could have a billboard anywhere in the world, where would it be and what would it say?
[00:39:14] April Kemp: Oh, that’s a tough one. A billboard anywhere in the world. And what would it say?
[00:39:23] I would put a, okay, this is gonna be kind of a, a, a personal random thing, but when I went to study abroad, I went in China, and so I had such a great experience there. If I were to put a billboard, I’d wanna put it up in China. It’s such a, you know, in the big cities, they have such fun environment, and it just blew me away the,
[00:39:45] you know, how fun they made everything and, you know, my Louisiana roots, we love to have fun, and Mardi Gras and everything’s, you know, so glamorous and fun that, I don’t know why, but I’d wanna put it in China, put on there. Thank you for welcoming me. You know, come visit Louisiana. We’re always trying to get people to come visit Louisiana and our culture, and so, it would have a fun picture of maybe me and my students saying, come visit Louisiana.
[00:40:12] We’ll, we’ll have a good time. So, first thing that came to my mind.
[00:40:19] Kelsie Edmonds: I love it. I absolutely love Louisiana. So, I would take you up on that. So, what would you say is a book that you would, I guess, recommend to our listeners?
[00:40:31] April Kemp: Hmm. That’s also a really great question. And, actually, in our advanced sales class, we have students who are reading with their mentors right now, a book they say they get their mentor to, to recommend books. So, I think this is something very important, and I once had an interviewer ask me, “What book are you currently reading?”
[00:40:52] And I didn’t have an answer at the time. It was right after graduation. And so, I always tell students, don’t put yourself in that situation, be reading something even if it takes you two years, you need to be always reading. So, a couple of books I would recommend are Never Split the Difference and also Spin Selling, which is what we base our curriculum on,
[00:41:07] Spin selling. If you’re not gonna have time to be able to train in sales, you’re not a sales student. Sometimes I’ll have students that only can take one class with me, so, you know, that spin process is something that we train on, we see as effective. I know every company has different training, you know, methodologies.
[00:41:25] There’s some great ones out there, but the Spin Selling is based on research, and I really think it’s something that people should check out if they’re not able to get em, you know, get a degree in sales or get a lot of training. It’s a great first book for someone who’s looking to, to learn more.
[00:41:40] Kristen Wisdorf: I agree, it’s a good one to kind of set the stage or a good foundation.
[00:41:45] Kelsie Edmonds: Yeah, no, two really good books that I was gonna say. I actually just started reading never Split the Difference again. It’s, it’s just a good one to come back to time after time and kind of have on hand. I love that. So, a little more fun here. What was your high school senior superlative by chance?
[00:42:02] April Kemp: Oh, I dunno that we did that, but, oh, I mean, my high school was the Amy Warriors, and if I were to guess maybe what they would’ve said about me, you know, most likely to become a nerdy doctor, probably because, I mean, I was valedictorian, I always have loved research and studying and, you know, I was kind of that nerdy friend in high school.
[00:42:26] I was on the dance team, so I felt like I was kind of cool, but I was very much focused on school, and so it’s not surprising probably that I became a professor to my high school friends at all.
[00:42:38] Kristen Wisdorf: That’s great. Well, kind of along those lines, what would you say is now your, let’s, let’s say your superpower or what are you world-class at?
[00:42:48] April Kemp: Oh, that’s a really good question too. If you were to ask my students what I’m really good at, I would say they might sit here and tell you that I make them feel special. And so, I try to see the best in people, and like I mentioned earlier, each student’s coming in with different experiences, different backgrounds.
[00:43:10] Some are first-generation students, and so I think, in as individuals, as people working in careers, as salespeople, if we can make people feel special, that’s something that is, you know, not always the case with, you know, people. And so, I would say that’s my superpower is, I’m always thinking, how can I make someone feel valued and special?
[00:43:35] And whether that’s sending ’em a little note or telling them they’re doing a great job or saying that they can do it. I’ve had students that, at first, when I told them, “You know, let’s get you to compete, and let’s take you to a regional competition,” they were like, “Oh, uh, uh, no, I, I don’t think I can do that,”
[00:43:52] but if you make people feel special, they’ll try things, and they’ll push themselves and get comfortable being uncomfortable, and that’s really kind of our motto for this semester. So, I’m, I have no problem making my students get comfortable being uncomfortable, but I also make them feel valued and special, so they trust me to do it, if that makes sense.
[00:44:13] Kristen Wisdorf: Totally. That’s incredible. And that’s exactly what people who are maybe testing out sales or they never considered a career in sales or even those who always wanted to be in sales, they need when they’re kind of going through the curriculum and, you know, doing role plays in front of classmates and putting themselves in kind of uncomfortable positions, so that’s amazing.
[00:44:33] Well, April, we have so enjoyed having you on the podcast today. You are officially a certified Hustler. We’re really, yeah, yeah, thank you so much for sharing your story with us, and thanks for listening.
[00:44:46] April Kemp: Thank you, guys, for having me. I really enjoyed it.