MBA in Sales & Sales Leadership
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Sales sits at the core of every business. An MBA with a focus in sales and sales leadership prepares business professionals to leverage marketing, data analytics, and customer relationship management (CRM) to improve sales strategies. Many MBA programs include sales underneath the umbrella of marketing, but some programs instead give sales its own targeted specialization.
Graduates from MBA programs with a concentration in sales and sales leadership often go on to become sales managers. It’s a lucrative profession: according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS May 2023), the average salary for a sales manager is $130,600 per year. But an advanced understanding of sales is valuable in practically every business leadership role, and graduates of sales and sales leadership MBA programs have several different career options.
To learn more about online MBA programs with a specialization in sales and sales leadership, read on.
| Featured Sales Programs | ||
|---|---|---|
| William Paterson University | MBA - Sales Strategy | View Full Profile |
| Ohio University | Online MBA - Strategic Selling and Sales | View Full Profile |
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For the 2023-2024 academic year, we have 118 schools in our BSchools.org database and those that advertise with us are labeled “sponsor”. When you click on a sponsoring school or program, or fill out a form to request information from a sponsoring school, we may earn a commission. View our advertising disclosure for more details. |
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Featured Online MBAs in Sales & Sales Leadership
The online MBA program at Ohio University can be taken with a concentration in strategic selling & sales leadership. In addition to the core MBA curriculum, students will take the following concentration courses: building & developing customer relationships; sales analytics; and sales leadership.
All online students are required to attend one on-campus, weekend-long professional development workshop; two more workshops are offered but not required. The program consists of 35 credits in total.
| Location: Athens, OH |
| Tuition: $36,785 in total |
| Time to Completion: 18 to 24 months |
| Accreditation: Higher Learning Commission (HLC) |
Southern New Hampshire University offers an online MBA with a marketing specialization that has courses relevant to sales and sales leadership. In addition to seven core MBA classes, students will take specialization electives in promotions management, optimizing brands, and consumer behavior and marketing.
Students will get hands-on experience developing marketing and sales strategies, applying market research, and identifying customer trends throughout the program. The program consists of 30 credits.
| Location: Manchester, NH |
| Tuition: $637 per credit |
| Time to Completion: One to two years |
| Accreditation: New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) |
The online MBA in sales from Strayer University is accredited by the ACBSP. In addition to the core MBA curriculum, students will take a sales concentration module where they’ll learn to identify trends through customer and market research, and build targeted sales strategies that leverage inputs from key internal and external stakeholders.
Electives in the sales concentration include the following classes: understanding sales; sales strategy; and sales communications. The program consists of 12 courses in total.
| Location: Herndon, VA |
| Tuition: Please view full profile for details |
| Time to Completion: Please view full profile for details |
| Accreditation: Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) |
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette offers an online MBA with a concentration in sales leadership. Students will improve their effectiveness at selling themselves, their ideas, and their company’s goods and services. They’ll also learn how to grow and develop high-performing sales teams.
In addition to the core MBA curriculum, students will take the following concentration courses: organizational behavior and leadership; marketing management; negotiations; and customer relationship management (CRM). The program consists of 21 credits.
| Location: Lafayette, LA |
| Tuition: $12,800 in total |
| Time to Completion: 15 months |
| Accreditation: Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) |
The University of Toledo offers an online MBA with a marketing specialization with a concentration in sales leadership. In addition to the core MBA curriculum, students will take two required concentration courses: sales force leadership and strategy, and global sales and strategic customer management.
Additional sales electives are available in customer relationship marketing (CRM), integrated marketing communications, and sales for social impact. The program consists of 33 credits in total.
| Location: Toledo, OH |
| Tuition: $301.05 per credit |
| Time to Completion: 12 to 18 months |
| Accreditation: Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) |
The London School of Business & Finance offers an online global MBA with a specialization in strategic sales management. The specialization module focuses on the relationship between sales and business objectives, different sales techniques, and sales management strategies.
Students will learn to assess sales environments, formulate sales strategies, evaluate sales practices, and create strategic sales analyses for global organizations. At the program’s culmination, students will complete an integrative research and consultancy project.
| Location: London, UK |
| Tuition: £9,000 in total |
| Time to Completion: 18 to 36 months |
| Accreditation: British Accreditation Council (BAC) |
Ana G. Mendez University offers an online MBA with a specialization in marketing and sales management. In addition to taking a foundational business curriculum, students will develop technical competencies and the ability to make market investigations, sales forecasts, and promotional campaigns.
Specialization courses include integrated marketing communications; marketing research; CR–trust and loyalty management; sales management; and consumer behavior. The program consists of 42 credits.
| Location: Orlando, FL |
| Tuition: $480 per credit |
| Time to Completion: 18 to 36 months |
| Accreditation: Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) |
Professors to Know in Schools Offering Online MBAs in Sales & Sales Leadership
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Peter Jansen, PhD London School of Business & Finance
Dr. Peter Jansen is a Principal Lecturer at the London School of Business & Finance, where he plans, coordinates, and directs academic content. He earned his PhD in corporate governance and board effectiveness from TIAS School of Management at the University of Tilburg in the Netherlands.
Before joining the London School of Business & Finance faculty, he worked as a strategy and marketing consultant for top-tier multinational companies. Currently, Dr. Jansen is an independent director for one of the largest natural gas producers in Europe. -
Nikolaos Panagopoulos, PhD Ohio University
Dr. Nikolaos Panagopoulos is O’Bleness Associate Professor at Ohio University, where he teaches classes for the online MBA strategic selling & sales leadership concentration. He earned his MSc in marketing and his PhD in sales management from Athens University of Economics and Business.
Dr. Panagopoulos’s research is focused on strategy issues related to salesforce management. He has contributed to over 40 articles in scientific journals related to sales and marketing. He is also the Director of Executive Education & International Sales at the Ralph and Luci Schey Sales Centre. -
Ellen Pullins, PhD University of Toledo
Dr. Ellen Pullins is the Schmidt Research Professor of Sales & Sales Management and Professor of Marketing at the University of Toledo, where she teaches classes in sales. She received her PhD in marketing from Ohio State University.
Dr. Pullins’s research has appeared in the Journal of Marketing Research, the Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, and Industrial Marketing Management. She currently serves on the Academic Council of the American Marketing Association. Dr. Pullins has also won several awards, including the McBane Special Recognition Award for outstanding service to the profession internationally.
Admissions Requirements for Online MBA Programs in Sales & Sales Leadership
Admissions requirements for any MBA program will vary from school to school. But they generally include some or all of the following:
- Competitive undergraduate GPA (3.0 or greater)
- Personal statement
- Letter(s) of recommendation
- Relevant work experience
- GMAT/GRE scores (sometimes waived with experience)
- TOEFL scores for foreign students
Accreditation and State Authorization of Online MBA Programs
Accreditation is crucial for verifying the quality of educational institutions, and online MBA programs can be accredited by a number of different agencies. Accrediting bodies focused specifically on MBA programs include the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) and the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP). Prospective students should look for regional accreditation for programs that do not have AACSB or ACBSP accreditation.
Prospective online MBA students should also ensure that their program of choice is authorized to operate in the student’s area of residence. Online programs must adhere to each state’s education regulations or comply with national standards such as those outlined by the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA). Students can find out if a program is offered in their state by checking the program’s website or contacting an admissions officer from the program.
