SmartFox Spotlight - Professor Randy Clark
Our SmartFox Professor Spotlight this month is - Professor Randy Clark, Associate Professor of Marketing for the Jones College of Business at Middle Tennessee State University. His class image in showcasing his student's case assignment work within our SmartFox Prime's Salesforce Opportunity Dashboard is impressive. Here's our one-on-one interview with Randy:
1. What goals do you have for Middle Tennessee State University as it relates to teaching Salesforce CRM and/or Artificial Intelligence within your curriculums?
"My course, business-to-business marketing, specifically addresses developing successful relationships to provide the best opportunity to ultimately serve the end consumers. Key components in the course include understanding the value of different types of relationships, identifying appropriate tactics to develop those key relationships, and being able to forecast potential outcomes across a range of potential relationships. In designing the course, we quickly identified Customer Relationship Management software programs as being the primary real-world learning tool to match the course objectives. Therefore, it made perfect sense to pursue opportunities to get Salesforce CRM into the student's hands in the classroom.
After searching for the best approach to do this, we came across SmartFox Technologies and their Artificial Intelligence forecasting model integration with Salesforce. Given the previous objectives, this partnership is the perfect opportunity to give the students exposure to Salesforce CRM AND exposure to true-to-life data and the sales predictability aspects of SmartFox Technologies AI software.
I believe my students leave our class, not only with a basic understanding of what Salesforce CRM does and can do for them as client management professionals, but also teaches them the importance of effective client data gathering and the impact this data can have on building the strongest possibilities for sales success."
2. How do you use the SmartFox Technologies University Program to help you accomplish these goals?
"Students have the opportunity in my class to earn up to 11 Salesforce Trailhead certification badges and then also the Basic and Professional certifications through SmartFox Technology. Not only does this provide them with a resume boost with industry-recognized certifications, but it also provides them with substantial knowledge of CRM software and the potential it affords their careers. I have discovered that, in addition to the badges and certifications, this opportunity provides hands-on learning of a topic that I previously was only able to describe in abstract concepts through lectures.
Bringing Salesforce into the course through SmartFox's University Program provides value from two perspectives for my students: recruiting and knowledge integration. There are unmeasurable benefits to the students of having them pursue badges and certifications of real-world software for their recruiting prospects. In conversations with our corporate partners, we regularly hear that if you can give your students actual applications of tools they will use in everyday work, it will make them significantly more attractive to us as potential hires.
I have learned much in the short period of time I have used SmartFox in my classes. My students are exposed to what the relationship development process looks like through data integration which provides a good example for them to follow as they move into their sales careers. Ultimately, I believe this partnership with SmartFox Technologies has made me a better teacher for my students."
Congratulations Randy for being selected for our December 2022 spotlight and all your SmartFox success. The factor you are utilizing our university program to answer your corporate partner's requests is exactly why we built this university program to position business students participating as top candidates for future employers.
If you would like to nominate a professor/student you feel is worthy of being recognized as a SmartFox Spotlight for their accomplishments in Salesforce or Artificial Intelligence, please let us know why by sending an email to [email protected]. |
