2025 LSU Sales Symposium 

Michael Rodriguez is a distinguished sales educator, researcher, and consultant with over 25 years of experience in professional selling, sales technology, and analytics. As a thought leader in sales innovation, he has dedicated his career to advancing the understanding of customer relationship management (CRM), artificial intelligence (AI), and generative AI in sales processes. Michael Rodriguez currently serves as a Professor at East Carolina University and as Fellow for the Twilley Sales Academy of Sales Leadership. Dr. Rodriguez earned his PhD in Technology Management at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken NJ where he won “Outstanding Dissertation Award” for his research on CRM. His work has been published in the Journal of Business Research, Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Industrial Marketing Management, Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing and Journal of Business-to-Business Marketing and recently published a book "Generative AI in B2B Sales: Boost Your Sales Strategy with AI Technology". Rodriguez also worked on Wall Street for over a decade selling market data and trading platforms to investment banks, asset managers, and hedge funds.

Session Information

Managing a Multigenerational Sales Team: Bridging Generational Gaps for Success

Managing a multigenerational sales team is both a challenge and an opportunity. Today’s workforce includes Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, and Generation Z, each bringing unique experiences, skills, and expectations. While these differences can lead to misunderstandings, they also present a chance to create a dynamic and innovative team. Looking ahead, it is crucial to prepare for continuous changes, adapt to these changes rise and further transform how sales teams work together. Success lies in embracing diversity, aligning values, and creating a culture of mutual respect and growth.

Jake Smith is a Management Instructor with the Flores MBA Program and Rucks Department of Management at Louisiana State University. He earned his Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration (focus area: Management) from LSU in 2019. Jake's primary teaching and research areas include motivation, performance pressure, well-being, and organizational culture & climate. His research has been published in top-tier academic journals such as the Journal of Applied Psychology, and he's contributed to books on sports, organizations, and culture. After his first year of teaching at LSU, he earned the 2017-2018 E. J. Ourso College of Business Graduate Student Teaching Award for his work with undergraduate students. Additionally, Jake has earned the E. J. Ourso College of Business Dean's Award for Excellence in Teaching for his work with MBA students at LSU in 2021-2022. Prior to his time at LSU, Jake earned a Bachelor's in Business Administration (focus area: finance) from the University of Wisconsin—Whitewater. After that, he worked for nearly a decade in financial services leading sales teams and business development efforts for Russell Investments both domestically in the United States and internationally in Australia. Jake also gained additional international experiences earlier in his professional career working in marketing for a premier hotel in the Czech Republic.

Session Information

Managing Burnout & Improving Well-Being

One of the pressing challenges that sales leaders face is striking a delicate balance between driving high performance while also fostering a sustainable, healthy environment for our teams. Sales professionals tend to experience relatively high levels of burnout, and this session dives into why people burn out and how we can reduce this burnout while enhancing both the productivity and well-being of our sales teams.

Robert M. Peterson is the Distinguished Professor of Sales at Northern Illinois University. He holds degrees from Indiana University, George Washington University, and the University of Memphis. He was a salesperson for many years, selling printing and financial data before earning his doctorate. Peterson earned the American Marketing Association 2002 Innovative Teacher Award, the Innovative Sales Educator Award from the University Sales Center Alliance 2006, the 2010 Hormel Meritorious Teaching Award from the Marketing Management Association, and the 2011 Excellence in Teaching Award from the Sales Special Interest Group of the American Marketing Association. Rob was chair of the sales department at William Paterson University in New Jersey. He was on the National Conference in Sales Management board for seven years and has been a board member of the Sales Education Foundation for 15 years. Rob also sits on the Board of Advisors for the Revenue Enablement Society. Peterson is the editor of the Journal of Selling, an applied research journal. He has published over 150 refereed conference papers, presentations, and manuscripts, including articles in the Journal of Academy of Marketing Science, Industrial Marketing Management, Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Business Horizons, and the Journal of Marketing Education. Rob enjoys improv, wine making, and traveling when not teaching sales courses.

Session Information

Can sales enablement initiatives actually combat burnout and turnover?

Research shows that SE can empower salespeople, leading to improved sales performance. Meanwhile, it simultaneously reduces stressors leading to increased job satisfaction and decreases propensity to quit. Proper SE helps retain top talent.

Michael Ahearne is Professor of Marketing and C.T. Bauer Chair in Marketing at the University of Houston. He is also the Research Director of the Stephen Stagner Sales Excellence Institute. Mike’s research has primarily focused on improving the performance of salespeople and sales organizations. He has published over 50 articles in leading journals such as Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Management Science, Strategic Management Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology, and Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. The American Marketing Association has recognized Mike as one of the most research-productive scholars in the field of marketing. His research has been profiled in the Wall Street Journal, Business 2.0, Business Investors Daily, Forbes, Fortune, INC Magazine, and many other news outlets. Mike’s book Selling Today: Partnering to Create Customer Value is the highest-grossing professional selling textbook in the world, with copies being distributed in over forty countries. Paired with the many teaching awards he has won at the MBA and undergraduate levels in Sales, Sales Management, and Key Account Management, Mike has a proven track record of excellence when it comes to disseminating knowledge in his field. He has consulted with over 200 companies in industries such as insurance, health care, consumer packaged goods, technology, and transportation. Mike was recently honored as the inaugural winner of the Sales Education Foundation Research Dissemination Award for the impact of his research on business practice. Before entering academia, Mike played professional baseball for the Montreal Expos and worked in marketing research and sales operations for Eli Lilly and PCS Healthcare. He was also a principal at ZS Associates, the largest global sales and marketing consulting firm.

Session Information

Motivating Salespeople: What Really Works

No sales force is made up entirely of stars. Most teams consist of a mix of rainmakers, laggards, and core performers—the largest but often most overlooked group. Research shows that each of these segments is motivated by different factors, and companies that recognize and address these differences in their incentive programs achieve far better results. This keynote delves into cutting-edge strategies to not only motivate sales teams but also retain and develop talent, ultimately driving long-term success.

Attendees will leave this session equipped with actionable insights to create smarter compensation strategies that elevate performance, foster engagement, and build a high-performing sales team capable of achieving exceptional results.

Stefanie Boyer, Professor of Marketing at Bryant University, is the Co-Founder of RNMKRS, a virtual platform for training and assessing sales talent. She is Executive Director of the Northeast Intercollegiate Sales Competition, linking organizations with top talent, and is the recipient of the prestigious American Marketing Association Sales Educator of the Year Award. Stefanie coauthored The Little Black Book of Social Media, Strategies to Ignite Your Business, Influencer, and Professional Brand. She brings unique and valuable experience to the classroom and to organizations that want to build their client base. Since 2003, Boyer has held various roles in training and developing sales professionals working in sales and preparing to go into sales. Her expertise leverages self-directed learning philosophies to help organizations get more out of their training resources. Boyer created a sales movement at Bryant University with a sales minor, various sales competitions and events, a vibrant sales team and mentorship programs. She strives to bring together the brightest sales students and leading sales organizations in the northeast and expanding around the country for networking, recruiting, competition and skill-building.

Session Information

Master Training Practices to Drive Seller Motivation

Training your team to win business requires more than aligning objectives to business needs or using the latest techniques. We need to understand what motivates or demotivates sellers—there's a psychological element behind the most effective learning strategies! Join Dr. Stefanie Boyer as she unpacks some of the latest insights gleaned from analyzing over 800,000 role plays and what you can do to make sales training engaging and effective.

You will learn:

• The psychological impacts of poorly designed or deployed sales training.
• Conclusions from a careful analysis of what worked and what didn't with thousands of role plays.
• Specific techniques you can use to strengthen your sales training and drive behavior change.

My story is one of escaping confinements, shattering barriers, crossing continents, and daring to discover and create a bold identity and transformational life purpose. I came from a part of the world where I was taught, at an early age, to be follower, quiet, and subservient. I was fiercely constrained by the Middle Eastern culture, community, and family expectations that molded me to be absent of identity. My path was predetermined, my worth was decided by the judgment of others, and all that truly mattered was preserving the honor of my family’s reputation in my every action. The weight of these suffocating external forces consumed me, left me paralyzed in fear, and grasping for a sense of identity. It took me years before I was able to dare realize that I might have a choice - that I might have a greater value than I was taught. I knew to change my circumstances would be extremely dangerous and would require courage I had never known before. Nevertheless, I was determined to transform my world, embrace the unknown, and discover my true identity, even if I had to stand alone and face the painful life-threatening consequences of my decision. Finally the day of metamorphic transformation came. I began a new journey. I’m proud to share that, today, I draw from 18 years of global corporate experience and the harrowing trials of my own personal journey to establish this unique and empowering consulting company. I’m here to speak to the future leaders, the rebels and visionaries, those who are ready to shatter limitations, reach their full potential, and become a part of the global community for change.

Session Information

How to Future-Proof Your Company: Engaging Gen Y to Z

In today's workplace, four generations work side-by-side, each bringing unique values, expectations, and communication styles. Effectively engaging and leading these diverse teams is an opportunity to drive innovation, collaboration, and long-term success. This interactive workshop equips the participants with the tools to understand and embrace generational differences, motivate employees of all ages, and foster inclusive communication.

Participants will explore actionable strategies to lead multi-generational teams in a way that maximizes individual strengths, boosts engagement, and future-proofs their organization. Whether you're managing Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, or Gen Z, this workshop provides the insights and techniques needed to create a cohesive, high-performing team that’s prepared for the future.

Kip Knight is an Operating Partner at Thomvest, a $500 million VC fund based in the Bay Area. He is also a board member at Netbase Quid, a leading consumer analytics company. Knight has worked in over 60 countries. He began his career at P&G in brand management and went on to hold numerous senior executive roles at PepsiCo, YUM Brands, eBay and H&R Block, including CMO at Taco Bell and president of H&R Block. He is founder of the U.S. Marketing Communication College, dedicated to teaching communication strategy to diplomats in the State Department.  In addition, he’s founder and CEO of CMO Coaches, a national coaching network for senior marketing executives. Knight is co-author of Crafting Persuasion: A Leader’s Handbook to Change Minds and Influence Behavior and author of Learn to Leap: How Leaders Turn Risk into Opportunities. He earned his B.S. degree from LSU in marketing and his MBA from the University of Cincinnati. He is also a 2023 recipient of the LSU College of Business Hall of Distinction award. Kip and Peggy Day live in Southern California and have been married for over 40 years. They have two sons (Tom and Chris) and two grandsons.

Session Information

Working Genius – How to get more engagement and productivity from your sales team

Synopsis coming soon!