Brian Higgins
Consultant and professor
Brian Higgins built a successful sales career, rising to CEO of a startup and eventually opening his own consulting practice. So he knows a thing or two about persistence.
He needed it when he decided Leeds should start a sales program.
“I kept running into companies that were recruiting students into their sales organizations, because they were cheap,” he said. “The students had no foundational knowledge of sales, and were feeling defeated, because the companies threw them into the deep end.”
So, in 2015, Brian turned his attention to solving that problem, and found a partner in Ƶ. He audited a course to understand what students were learning about sales, then told his professor he was willing to bring a specialized course to Leeds.
That one course is now a portfolio of five courses, including one for MBAs. It also features a group of full-time and adjunct faculty with extensive sales experience, and a network of nearly 200 mentors working in sales who meet regularly with students.
“I don’t think all my students are interested in sales careers, but the skills you learn in these classes—how to schedule, plan and execute a meeting; how to report back on a meeting to a sales manager; communication and organizational skills; time management—are valuable in any career,” Brian said.
“I don’t think all my students are interested in sales careers, but the skills you learn in these classes…are valuable in any career.”
Brian Higgins
He also enlivens classes by bringing in guest lecturers, such as Michael Leeds, who discussed his decision to invest in the school, and players and coaches with the football team, who walked students through the recruiting process, “which teaches students how the purchase decision gets made.”
Brian himself was a college athlete, playing soccer for an elite Division I program at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. Athletics taught him about work ethic, competition and rejection—all important to a sales professional. Today, he enjoys skiing with his wife and golf, and is the father of two grown children, including a son who graduated from Leeds in 2019.
“I never dreamed we’d have this grassroots community of students, faculty and sales professionals,” he said. “I get a tremendous amount of gratification from seeing the students grow and learn, and appreciate how important what we’re teaching them is—either in their personal lives or professionally.”