A Competency-Based Curriculum Content Design for Complex B2B Sales in Higher Education Institutions

Abstract

Sales education has evolved significantly due to trends such as sales transformation, hybrid sales, and the growing relevance of sales in complex digital markets. However, there is a lack of comprehensive educational research that can propose curriculum designs based on the most relevant competencies for the industry and help respond to recent challenges in competitive and technological terms. This study adopts a competence-based and multi-stakeholder perspective to investigate emerging competencies in complex selling and implement a curriculum design model for sales. It examines the literature and gathers insights from both sales scholars and business stakeholders to put forward a comprehensive set of competencies and a curriculum content proposal for universities. The results reveal that sales professionals should have strategic value creation, advanced business negotiation, and advanced interpersonal and intrapersonal competencies. The findings of our study and the proposed curriculum content provide a basis for future research on sales education and applications in universities.