Dr. Derek Hassay, assistant professor of marketing at the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary, was recently honored by the American Marketing Association for his “Selling Smiles 101” curriculum, an experiential learning program that involves selling Cutco Cutlery, with proceeds going to the Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada.
Hassay was presented with the “Pearson-Prentice Hall’s Solomon-Marshall Stuart Award for Innovative Excellence in Marketing Education” at the recent conference held in Chicago. Two of Hassay’s senior-level sales management classes participate in this unique program that focuses on sales training.
For several years, Hassay has partnered with Vector Marketing, Cutco’s direct sales division, which trains students to sell high-end cutlery through in-home personal demonstrations. In just 5 terms, the Selling Smiles 101 program has raised more than $100,000 for the Alberta Chapter of the Children’s Wish Foundation and in the process helped numerous Calgary-area children receive a variety of wishes.
“It is an honor to be presented with this award,” said Hassay, “but the real winners are my students and the children they have helped during the last few years. By aligning with Cutco Cutlery and its sales division, Vector Marketing, we are giving our students the opportunity to find out what it is like to take the theory from the classroom and apply it to a real-world sales environment.
Logo from Vector Marketing