Does an MBA in Sales Make Sense?

Ever feel slighted because the marketing guys have MBAs and you don't? Not to worry.

An increasing number of colleges and universities now offer degrees in Sales, according to the University Sales Education Foundation. Unlike most MBA curricula, these programs include opportunities to obtain classroom training and hands-on experience specific to professional sales.

According to the foundation, an MBA in Sales gives you more than just bragging rights. The foundation claims that students from these programs demonstrate faster ramp-up time and increased productivity when compared to their peers from other areas of study.

On the one hand, I think it makes sense for business schools to become interested in Sales, since it's a growth career path. And selling today requires more than just a winning personality and the ability to close.

Let's face it. Selling at the highest levels requires considerable business acumen, so that you can better diagnose customers requirements and negotiate deals that work for both firms. So I can see where some higher education could help.

On the other hand, I'm not sure whether the academic environment is conducive to learning how to sell. I suspect that many of today's most productive sales professionals have practical experience in industry or business that they bring to bear in order to better understand customers.

So I must confess I'm a bit agnostic on this. I am, however, interesting in what you guys think, so here's a poll.