Sales Researchers' Collaboration Consortium
Bringing Together Sales Researchers to Foster Collaborative Research Projects & Relationships
The SRCC will be held at the University of Alabama's Culverhouse College of Business in the Fall of 2025 in either September or October.
Date to be announced.
The Sales Researchers’ Collaboration Consortium (SRCC) was held for the first time at the Rollins College of Business, UTC, Sept. 29 – Oct. 1, 2022. Created and Co-Chaired by Dr. Christopher R. Plouffe (Gary W. Rollins Endowed Chair in Sales at UTC) and Dr. Bryan Hochstein (Univ. of Alabama), the SRCC was an unqualified success! UTC and the RCOB hosted more than 30+ early career / pre-tenure sales faculty from leading business schools across the US, Canada, and Europe. In addition, more than a dozen highly accomplished sales scholars also attended the SRCC, contributing by acting as ‘mentors’ to the SRCC Conference attendees. The basic format for much of the SRCC was ‘speed introductions’ (capped at 12 mins each) where the 30+ untenured sales faculty would introduce themselves to one another, via a structured PowerPoint template. The SRCC also featured several career advice and mentoring talks, as well as a keynote talk on research and career advice by Dr. John Hulland of the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia.
Post Conference feedback from the 30+ SRCC Attendees (“Fellows”) was that it was (for many) the most value-added and meaningful conference they had attended.
The SRCC will take place every third year and will be hosted by leading business school. With UTC hosting the first SRCC in the Fall of 2022, the next SRCC is confirmed for the Fall of 2025 at the University of Alabama, Culverhouse College of Business, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA.
Sales Faculty interested in attending the next SRCC in Fall 2025 can start by initiating contact with both Dr. Christopher R. Plouffe ([email protected]) and Dr. Bryan Hochstein ([email protected]).
FAQ about the SRCC, by Topic
SRCC Target Attendee Audience
- Who is the target audience for SRCC Attendance?
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To be considered for the SRCC, attendees must:
- hold a PhD or DBA in Business Administration or Marketing from an Accredited Business School;
- be in a Tenure-Track Position at a Business School (i.e., “pre-Tenure”), and
- be able to both articulate and demonstrate a meaningful interest in sales research, broadly defined.
- I’m interested in sales research, but am not "early career," can I attend?
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A different format SRCC for other segments of sales-focused research faculty (e.g., mid-career) might be considered in the future, but for now and foreseeable future, the SRCC’s sole focus and target market is early-career, PhD-holding, pre-tenure sales faculty.
SRCC Dates, Conference Delivery and Format, Future Dates and Locations
- What are the dates for SRCC 2022?
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Thursday, Sept. 29 – Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022
- Where is the conference and who is the host organization?
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The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's Gary W. Rollins College of Business. (Supported and sponsored by the Gary W. Rollins Endowed Professor/Chair in Sales, Dr. Christopher R. Plouffe).
- How will the conference be delivered and what is the attendance modality?
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Face-to-Face ONLY (no remote access, i.e., Zoom, etc.).
- What are the arrival and departure times for the conference?
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All SRCC attendees should be in Chattanooga by mid-day EST Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022, and can arrange for travel home mid-afternoon (3 p.m. or later) on Saturday Oct. 1, 2022.
- Is the SRCC a new conference?
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Yes and No. A highly successful trial run of the SRCC Conference / Consortium format was hosted Nov. 11-12, 2021, through the generous support of the Collat School of Business, University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Nearly two-dozen early and later career sales scholars (Mentors) attended and used the conference as an opportunity to refine the SRCC format (see Conference Format below).
- How often will the SRCC take place?
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At the present time, the plan is to host a “SRCC” every other year in even-numbered years.
- Where and when will the next SRCC take place?
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The plan is to host the SRCC every third year. With UTC hosting the first SRCC in the Fall of 2022, the next SRCC is confirmed for the Fall of 2025 at the University of Alabama, Culverhouse College of Business, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA.
SRCC 2022 – Cost or Fees / Application / Registration
- How To Apply for the SRCC
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Some potential attendees who fit the 3 target profile criteria outlined above have already been invited by the ’22 SRCC Organizers. Additional marketing of the SRCC opportunity will be handled via logical communications and dissemination modalities in May 2022 (e.g., ELMAR, AMA, USCA, SEF, etc.).
If you would like to attend and the SRCC Organizers have not already reached out to you, please:
1. Download the SRCC Application Form (a simple three-question, one-page editable PDF)
2. Send the completed form via email along with a current CV by Noon EST Friday, July 1, 2022, to: [email protected]
Thereafter, successful attendees will receive SRCC conference confirmation and further information from the SRCC Organizers via email.
- What is the cost to attend SRCC?
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There is NO SRCC registration fee of any kind. Conference registration and key costs (e.g., social functions, key meals at the SRCC, and refreshments) are being covered through the generosity of the Gary W. Rollins Endowed Chair in Sales, Dr. Christopher R. Plouffe, and the 2022 SRCC host, the Gary W. Rollins College of Business at UTC. Thus, key out-of-pocket costs for confirmed SRCC attendees are primarily limited to travel (e.g., airfare/driving) and 2 hotel nights in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Reminder: the SRCC conference delivery format is 100% and solely face-to-face.
- What is the SRCC Conference / Presentation Format?
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SRCC Attendees (i.e., early career sales scholars / non-Mentors) will present to the entire group, during one of several Attendee Research Profile / Overview Sessions which comprise the bulk of the SRCC Conference Schedule. Well in advance of the SRCC, accepted applicants will receive a standardized PowerPoint “Template” which, over the course of several slides, asks key questions such as:
- the origins of their interest in sales research;
- background/publications in sales to this point;
- current and future sales topics and research interests, strengths/weaknesses and likes/dislikes of the research process, etc.
Think of this core aspect of the SRCC as “Speed Dating/Introductions” for early career sales scholars! Our ultimate goal is to have every attendee come away with at least one good new co-author/project partner (and perhaps several), that ultimately lead to at least one published sales-focused manuscript (and perhaps more as careers evolve over time).
The SRCC will also include formal sales research workshops, break out groups, and seminars led by the SRCC Organizers and Mentors in attendance. The goal of these workshops will be to create one or more immediately publishable sales research manuscripts with work on these manuscripts starting at the Fall ’22 SRCC and continuing on offline/remotely thereafter. Much more will be offered on this just before the SRCC itself (August, 2022, for all accepted SRCC applicants).
Origins & Genesis of the SRCC
SRCC Founders & Conference Chairs
About the Gary W. Rollins College of Business
About The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Conference Hotel Information Coming Soon
Visiting Chattanooga
Airport/Air Travel Information
Support for the SRCC is provided by the Sales Education Foundation.
