By Hannah McLucas
Susquehanna’s Sigmund Weis School of Business held the latest installment of their virtual speaker presentations on Sept. 21 via Zoom.
The guest speaker for the lecture was Al Ziehl, former Program Manager for Bose Corporations. His presentation was titled, “Professional Selling: Adding the Sizzle to the Steak.” According to their website, Bose Corporation manufactures music and home theater systems, loudspeakers for the home and noise reduction headsets for aviation and consumer use. The company has over 9,000 employees and brings in a revenue of $3.9 billion a year.
Throughout his presentation Ziehl provided some recommendations to aid future business professionals in their careers. He said everyone should take a sales personality test to learn more about their sales style and to read any professional business or sales books students can get their hands on because they have so many lessons in them. Lastly, he recommended honing personal skills to fit the industry, specifically in the case of sales, it is important to be able to communicate and listen but more importantly it is necessary to master the skills that are the “bread and butter” of the industry.
Ziehl spoke on an industry standard saying, “You always have to have goals because you have to be able to measure your success.” Bose’s main goals were wanting to create excitement at the store level for both staff and customers towards their products and wanting to establish their brand as a category leader through positive differentiation. To achieve these goals, they would hold in-store presentations from Bose employees about the products, something no other company did at the time.
He described Bose’s flagship product, the Bose 901 Speakers, worth $1,400 not including the speaker stands. These speakers were unique on the market because the sound mostly came out the back and reflected off of a room’s ceilings and walls to promote quality sound. Bose’s goal was to create a shopper experience and present customers with a compelling display that made the trip worth it.
Ziehl provided an overview of his academic career because he noted that he is a “lifelong learner.” He grew up in Baltimore, Md. and attended a few colleges around that area. After getting hired by Bose Corporations he attended Bose University, the company’s in-house growth program, and Bose’s Leadership Academy.
He spoke on his personal sales history and how it began in seventh grade. He created multiple businesses as a child and sold his products at school to make a few dollars, thus beginning his venture into sales. His retirement from Bose in 2006 marked the end of a career that spanned 31 years. Ziehl started at an entry-level sales position for the company in Germany. After that, he progressed to sales manager for a section of Bose’s military sales in Virginia Beach. In his final job at Bose, he entered the field of Sales Operation Management, where he created the protocols that enabled the company to go to market with their product.
