According to statistics, employees, on average, change roles every two to four years. Sales positions, known for their high turnover rates, often find salespeople actively seeking new opportunities with improved compensation and professional growth. Transitioning to sales management could be a logical step in a salesperson’s career trajectory. However, both salespeople and sales managers grapple with career decisions, such as whether to keep working in the same industry, remain with the same firm, or stay in the same occupation? But critical questions remain:
- How do these career choices impact their chances of promotion and earnings?
- How do sales career paths affect compensation?
- How long should salespeople and sales managers remain in their role?
During the session, these questions will be discussed by Dominique Rouziès, HEC Paris Professor of Marketing and Academic Dean of the BMI Executive Institute. The speaker will outline several key lessons for firms transitioning managers from other managerial functions to sales management and for sales managers and salespeople wondering how to manage their careers.
The presentation by Dominique will be accompanied by a panel discussion afterward with guest speakers Tom Troch, Manager Retail HR, Training & Qualification at BMW Group, and Kenechi Ugwoke, Head of Lufthansa Group Africa Competence Center.
The seminar will be based on research with Ali Reza Keshavarz of Maynooth University (Ireland), Francis Kramarz of CREST-ENSAE and Uppsala University (Sweden), Bertrand Quélin (Strategy) and Michael Segalla (Management & Human Resources) of HEC Paris, “How do firms value sales career paths?” Participants can download the paper here.
About the speakers
Dominique Rouziès (Ph.D., McGill University) is Professor of Marketing at HEC Paris and Academic Dean at BMI Executive Institute. Previously, she held the EDF Chair, was the Academic Director of the Executive Masters in Sales and Marketing and the Master of Science in Marketing. Additionally, she was awarded the 2023 American Marketing Association Sales SIG’s Lifetime Achievement Award for her work in sales and sales management.
Her research, teaching, and consultancy focus primarily on improving sales organization performance. She recently co-authored a book on salesforce compensation. She received (with her co-authors) the American Marketing Association Sales SIG’s Excellence in Research Award for her paper on salesforce financial incentives published in the Journal of Marketing.
2023 Publications:
Segalla, M. and D. Rouziès (2023),
“How to Be Ethical with People’s Data”, Harvard Business Review, July-August, 86-94.
“L’éthique de la gestion des données personnelles”, Harvard Business Review France, Décembre-Janvier, 94-103.
Keshavarz, A., D. Rouziès, F. Kramarz, B. Quelin, M. Segalla (2023), “How Do Firms Value Sales Career Paths?”, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science.
Ertz, M., D. Rouziès and E. Sarigollu (2023), “The Impact of Brand Equity on Employee Attitudes”, European Management Journal.
To know more:
Knowledge@HEC (2023) “5 Lessons on Salespeople & Sales Managers Careers”
David, A. (2023), Commerciaux : combien de temps rester en poste pour maximiser ses revenus?, October 24th., Action Commerciale.
Brown, D. (2023), Using Diversity Of Experience To Grab Top Managerial
Sales Jobs – In 5 Easy Lessons, Forbes.
Green, D. (2023), “ 20 Best Articles on People Analytics “, Data Driven HR Monthly Newsletter, Linkedin.
Erz, M., D. Rouziès, E. Sarigolu (2023), “ Le plaisir de travailler pour une grande marque, une question de place dans l’organigramme“, The Conversation France.
Tom Troch is the Manager of Retail HR, Training & Qualification at BMW Group. After obtaining his degree in Labour & Organizational Psychology from the University of Ghent, Tom started his career in HR. Over the past 25 years, he has worked for several multinational companies, and since 2011, he has been working for BMW Belux. From 2011 until 2021, Tom served as the head of HR for BMW Belux, overseeing all HR matters for the national sales company and the own retail outlet, BMW Brussels, during that time.
Since 2021 he is the Head of Training and Retail HR (72 dealer outlets) and head of the BMW Belux Center for Development that is responsible for recruitment, selection and training for the entire dealer network in Belgium and Luxemburg.
Kenechi Ugwoke is a seasoned professional in passenger airline sales, with a focus on business development and performance management. She has 14 years of experience in the industry, working for the Lufthansa Group.
She started her career with Lufthansa in Lagos, Nigeria, as part of the International Airline Trainee program. There, she gained experience across different areas of the airline business, from commercial to operational, including cargo.
In 2015, she was promoted to Senior Management, heading business development for Lufthansa, Swiss, and Austrian in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). She was responsible for driving sales growth, spotting opportunities and threats, and working with sales teams to deploy adequate commercial products and programs to meet the needs of B2B customers and partners.
In 2019, she moved to Brussels and took on an expanded scope of responsibility within SSA, now including Brussels Airlines. For five years, she led the Business Development and Performance Management for the Sales Organization of the entire Lufthansa Group Passenger business in SSA, overseeing 25 online countries.
As of November 2023, she has taken on a new challenge, leading the Africa Competence Center for the Lufthansa Group, based out of Brussels. She is passionate about developing and implementing innovative solutions for the African market, leveraging her expertise and network.
Agenda:
18:00-19:00 Welcome and initial networking
19:00-20:30 Lecture, Q&A and panel discussion
20:30-21:30 Networking
Registration is open until 29 January.
Register