Defining Selling

According to Matt Victorine, BA '91, relationship selling is really needs-based selling. "Sometimes you just have to stop talking and listen for cues as to what the customer needs," he said. "And then present solutions based on those needs." Victorine, Vice President and Relationship Manager for Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services, spoke recently to undergraduate marketing students taught by Associate Professor of Marketing, Laura Muñoz, Ph.D.

In Victorine's current role, his responsibility is to maintain and grow relationships with individual brokers who use Fidelity's platform to manage their clients' assets. "The sales team are like hunter/gatherers. They work on bringing in new brokers." he said. "From there, I take over the relationship and work with the brokerage firm to determine how Fidelity's suite of practice management tools can help them grow their business. I get resources from the inside to the outside. Hopefully, this will translate to more business for the firm and more business for Fidelity."

Differing Sales Approaches

In response to a question from the group about different sales approaches, Victorine pointed out that "sales training" is a billion-dollar industry. "You can see advertising for all sorts of courses and conferences that promise to teach you how to sell if you'll just follow a certain process," he said. "But, most large firms want to teach you their way of selling because they want consistency." Victorine said this is the reason that most entry-level sales positions don't require a particular degree. "History, philosophy--it doesn't matter," he said. " As long as you're eager to learn."

Victorine polled the class about their jobs and internships. One student mentioned that he only took phone orders and wondered if that was really "sales." "Every job is really sales," Victorine said. "If you are the contact point with your company, you're selling the company during that call. And," he added, "you could always go for the upsell."

Opportunities for Graduates

Victorine also discussed the myriad opportunities at available at Fidelity for recent graduates, both in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and beyond. "Our Westlake campus employs over 6,700 people on a beautiful, 330-acre campus," he said. According to Victorine, Fidelity has entry level sales positions in areas like retail investing and 401K customer service. "And the salaries are competitive," he said. "It's better than barista money."

The University of Dallas Executives on Campus program was founded to further the University's mission of providing practice-based education, by inviting successful business leaders to share their experience with graduate and undergraduate students in the classroom. Through this program, alumni, business leaders, and their companies are invited to partner with the University in our shared pursuit of management excellence.