Kevin Yeager: Certified Sales Professional

Having the distinction of being the first person to finish Miller Heiman’s Master of Sales* catapulted Kevin Yeager beyond the A-list. Kevin has achieved phenomenal success in the sales profession because he knew what he wanted and he prepared well for it. Kevin tells how he found out about the program.

The Headstart

“My mother was an alumnus of Strategic Selling® and Conceptual Selling® so she gets regular updates from Miller Heiman. That’s when she heard about the Master of Sales program. She knew I was looking for something to bolster my resume and that I was on the lookout for an independent firm that offered strong sales program courses. She gave me some materials about the Master of Sales program. The program sounded amazing but I wasn’t convinced it was a program that was right for someone who technically hasn’t started his or her professional career. I reviewed the file over and over for 2 weeks before I decided to call.”

Questions and Doubts

Kevin had a couple of concerns about going through the program. First, he was still finishing his undergraduate degree in Business Administration. Second, although he might have had a vague knowledge in sales, he knew he lacked the experience. His only sales background was a summer sales internship for a pharmaceutical company. “I knew you were supposed to bring personal real sales situations from your current job.” Kevin didn’t have anything he could bring to the table and worried that he might not be able to participate much in the discussion. “I must admit that if I hadn’t been in contact with Brendan [Hawkins, Miller Heiman sales rep], from the get go, I might not have decided to go through with the program.” Kevin communicated frequently with Miller Heiman until he felt sure that this was the right path. And he hasn’t regretted his decision to forge ahead. In fact, as he went through each of the four training sessions of the course, he felt more confident each time. “Brendan followed through with the facilitators from each of the classes on my behalf so that each time I went to a new session, I felt extremely welcomed.”

The Acid Test

Kevin started interviewing for a job with Muehlstein in December 2004 right after graduation. He got in touch with several people who took the Miller Heiman courses with him for networking and to talk about how he could apply the concepts he learned from the training to his job search. “I sought their advice when I was offered the job. I looked up to them as my coaches.” Kevin was looking for a career in sales where he did not have to be micro-managed and will allow him to travel. And he got the kind of job he was looking for! Thus started his sales career. “By February, I started sales training. For the first 2 months, all I did was observe, observe, and observe. Then I started thinking that it wouldn’t get me anywhere if I didn’t take a more pro-active approach, so using the concepts I learned from Miller Heiman, I put together a couple of sales plans for deals we had been working on.” He was able to close those deals and several others more that yielded significant profit.

The Win

As a result of his performance, Kevin was promoted two months later and continued to use the strategy he learned as a certified sales professional. He’s been with the company for a year now and is responsible for a multi-million dollar territory. “I can honestly say that Miller Heiman is key to my success. I apply the entire suite of sales strategies on a regular basis, whether I’m on the phone or talking to a client in person. I still have all my manuals with me and refer to them often.”

* The Master of Sales Program is renamed to Miller Heiman Certified Professional® Program and now offers three specialized program tracks: Business Development, Account Management, and Sales Management.

print page forward page discuss with an expert license content