Doug and Vicki Hill boost buy-in for K-State’s professional strategic selling program
As a student in the late ’60s, Doug Hill was fascinated with the stock market. So much so that he spent much of his free time, as he puts it, “lurking around” Manhattan’s Edward Jones office.
A broker there arranged for Doug to interview at the St. Louis headquarters upon his graduation in 1968, and a long career with the company began, with Doug ascending to the role of managing partner.
While building his business in Dodge City, he met and married a local teacher named Vicki. Despite the drive, the two faithfully attended K-State football games once or twice a year. And when Doug returned to St. Louis to manage the firm’s sales and marketing division, he strengthened his ties to K-State by joining the College of Business Administration’s Dean’s Advisory Council.
A hard sell
Just as Vicki came to share his love of K-State, Doug soon found that her affinity for working with students had rubbed off on him. It was through this work that the couple saw an opportunity that could benefit the college, its partners and students alike.
“The managing partner before me came right out of college, I came right out of college and the managing partner after me came right out of college, so I was always in favor of hiring new graduates and putting them out in our branch offices with an experienced financial advisor,” Doug said.
But he soon noticed a troubling trend.
“I kept track of them, and they’d be out there for about two years and then quit,” he said. “When I called to ask them what happened, they said, ‘Well, I didn’t realize it was a sales position.’”
To Doug, the logical remedy was to make those expectations clear early on in a business student’s academic journey. Specifically, through applied learning experiences that gauge an individual’s propensity for positions that require making and maintaining connections throughout their communities.
Partnering to prepare students
Enter Dawn Deeter, J.J. Vanier Distinguished Chair of Relational Selling and Marketing and director of the Kansas State University National Strategic Selling Institute. Established in 2011, the NSSI had been growing steadily under Deeter’s leadership when it caught the Hills’ attention.
Doug and Vicki were impressed with the NSSI’s hands-on instruction through competitions and other programs that showed students what sales careers truly entail.
“Some people simply aren’t cut out for sales, but that doesn’t mean they’re not cut out for the business world — it just means they’d be happier and more successful in a different role,” Doug said. “With this program, they learn that while they’re still in school and they don’t have to waste a couple of years out in the workforce finding out it’s not for them.”
By investing in the NSSI, the Hills armed Deeter with the resources to take a stellar sales program and bring it to its full potential. Enrollment soared, from 161 students in fall 2021 to 569 in fall 2024.
“It was just me for the longest time, then one other faculty member, followed by a program administrator who helped with the events,” Deeter said. “Doug and Vicki’s generosity allowed us to hire the support we needed to ramp up, and now we have nine faculty and staff.”
Today the institute is more than 600 students strong and delivers a cutting-edge combination of sales strategies, ethical practices and leadership skills through both a bachelor’s degree — which boasts a 99% job placement rate — and a certificate in professional strategic selling.
Additionally, the program connects students with robust mentorship opportunities and real-world role-playing experiences that prepare graduates to enter the sales industry job market as top contenders.
“We now have a sales competition team that travels, but we’ve also been able to open up more internal competitions, events and other opportunities for students on campus to participate in,” Deeter said.
Far from finished
With the NSSI operating at full speed, Deeter and the Hills have turned their eyes to its future.
“Dr. Deeter is now developing the team that will supply this blend of theoretical knowledge and practical experience for the coming generations of Wildcats,” Doug said. “She’s developing the kids but also sharing her passion for the program with other educators.”
The end goal? Doug wants to see the college take its rightful place as a premier destination for students seeking a top-tier business education.
“K‑State is widely recognized for its outstanding veterinary and architecture programs,” he said. “My hope is that we can develop this sales program so that, across the Midwest, K‑State is immediately top of mind when people think of leading business schools.”
