America250: The People Behind the Pitch – Diversity in American Sales

Written by: Abby Lillpop, alillpop@purdue.edu

West Lafayette, Ind. – As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary, the story of American commerce is inseparable from the story of its people. For much of the nation’s history, access to business opportunities, and to careers in sales, was often limited by gender, race, geography, and social expectations. Today, however, the profession looks dramatically different. The modern sales force reflects a broader range of experiences, identities, and perspectives, creating stronger connections between businesses and the increasingly diverse customers they serve.

Few places illustrate this transformation more clearly than Purdue University’s White Lodging-J.W. Marriott, Jr. School of Hospitality and Tourism Management (HTM) selling and sales management program, where students, faculty, and alumni are helping shape the next generation of sales professionals. Their experiences reveal how the profession has evolved from transactional exchanges to relationship-centered partnerships built on empathy, adaptability, and trust.

From the Margins to the Mainstream

For Sarah Moran (HTM ’92), general manager for Ryerson Singer Steel and a longtime partner of Purdue’s Center for Professional Selling, the evolution of diversity in sales is something she has lived firsthand.

When Moran entered the steel industry in 1996 after beginning her career in hospitality, she stepped into a field where women were still the exception. Newly hired into inside sales at U.S. Steel, she quickly encountered assumptions about what women could, or could not, achieve.

“There was a sentiment that a female inside salesperson would want to stay inside sales forever, get married, have babies, and not necessarily pursue advancement,” Moran recalls.

Rather than accepting those limitations, she built a career that would eventually make her the first woman in outside sales for U.S. Steel Plate Products. Along the way, she found mentorship and community through the Association of Women in the Metals Industry (AWMI), an organization that became an essential source of professional development and support.

Looking around her first AWMI meeting, Moran saw accomplished women confidently discussing steel, leading organizations, and navigating executive-level conversations.

“I looked around and thought, ‘I want to be like them.'”

The experience helped her realize that representation matters. It provides proof that success is possible and offers practical guidance for overcoming barriers. Today, Moran sees a vastly different industry than the one she entered three decades ago.

“If I walk into a customer meeting today, they don’t even question that a woman belongs there,” she says. “Fifteen or twenty years ago, that wasn’t always the case.”

Representation Creates Possibility

That visibility has a direct impact on today’s students.

For Kate Ferguson, a rising junior in selling and sales management, seeing women like Moran in leadership positions helped her envision her own future in the profession.

“When I came to Purdue and saw speakers like Sarah Moran from Ryerson, it was really awesome to see a woman be so confident and sure of herself in her career,” Ferguson says.

Ferguson’s path into sales began long before college. Working at a family-owned Italian restaurant in her hometown, she discovered that the most rewarding part of her job was not serving food, it was building relationships.

“Serving is really just sales,” she says. “My job was to provide a service, recommend products, and build a relationship, not just process a transaction.”

A particularly meaningful relationship with one of the restaurant’s regular customers reinforced that realization. When she learned of his passing during her first week at Purdue, the experience clarified what she wanted from her future career.

“In that moment, I knew my career had to be built on meaningful connections.”

That focus on connection reflects a broader shift in the profession. As consumers become more diverse, effective sales professionals must be able to understand a variety of perspectives, experiences, and needs.

“Diversity makes sales better because if you can’t truly understand your client or the people you’re working with, you won’t be successful,” Ferguson says.

Learning to Sell in a Diverse World

Today’s sales education extends far beyond teaching students how to make a pitch.

Julie Abdinoor, clinical assistant professor of selling and sales management at Purdue HTM, believes the profession increasingly depends on a person’s ability to understand and adapt to others.

“Diversity today isn’t just about who is in the room,” Abdinoor says. “It’s about different experiences, disciplines, generations, cultures, and ways of thinking.”

The marketplace students enter after graduation is far more interconnected than the one previous generations faced. Sales professionals may find themselves working with engineers, healthcare providers, entrepreneurs, nonprofit leaders, international clients, data analysts, and marketing teams; all within the same organization.

As a result, sales education has evolved from teaching a single best practice to helping students tailor their approach to different audiences.

“Sales education has shifted from teaching a single ‘best’ sales approach to teaching students how to adapt to the person in front of them,” Abdinoor says.

At Purdue, that learning happens through team projects, negotiations, coaching exercises, role-plays, and classroom discussions that bring together students from diverse backgrounds and perspectives.

Rather than simply discussing cultural competency in theory, Abdinoor immerses students in simulations that expose assumptions and biases. Reflection and discussion afterward help students develop stronger listening skills, greater empathy, and increased self-awareness.

“Students learn by working with classmates who think differently than they do,” she says.

Ferguson agrees that exposure to new perspectives has been one of the most valuable aspects of her Purdue experience.

Growing up in a small Indiana town, she had limited opportunities to interact with people from different backgrounds. Purdue changed that.

“Hearing ideas from different voices has been incredibly insightful and has had a huge impact on my learning,” she says.

The Competitive Advantage of Difference

Diversity in sales is often discussed as a measure of inclusion and progress. Increasingly, however, business leaders view it as a competitive advantage.

Innovation depends on diverse thinking, Abdinoor explains. Organizations solve problems more effectively when people with different backgrounds and expertise collaborate.

“Some of the most innovative ideas emerge when people with different experiences and expertise solve problems together,” she says.

Moran has seen that principle play out repeatedly throughout her career. While selling steel in industries ranging from shipbuilding to energy, she learned that technical knowledge alone was never enough.

“People buy from people they like,” she says.

That deceptively simple statement captures a truth that has remained constant even as the profession has changed. Trust, credibility, and relationships continue to drive buying decisions, regardless of industry.

Moran credits much of her success not only to expertise but also to her ability to connect with customers as individuals. She learned to understand what motivates them, adapt to different personalities, and build relationships that often last decades.

Today, some of her former customers still call for advice and referrals long after business relationships have ended.

“The connection and the networking last through the decades,” she says.

Technology Changes the Process—Not the Purpose

As artificial intelligence, analytics, and automation reshape sales, some predict that technology will eventually replace many traditional sales functions. Purdue’s students, faculty, and industry leaders see a different future.

AI can analyze customer data, streamline communication, and help sales professionals prepare more effectively than ever before. But technology cannot replicate trust, emotional intelligence, or authentic human connection.

“AI is making students more efficient,” Abdinoor says. “But it can’t replace judgment, trust, or relationships.”

Moran agrees. While technology has accelerated everything from information sharing to e-commerce transactions, she believes customers will continue to seek human expertise alongside digital convenience.

“Some people want to go online and order it,” she says. “Others still want to talk to someone.”

The future of sales, she argues, will require professionals who can navigate both worlds.

A Profession That Reflects America

The story of sales in America mirrors the story of America itself. A profession once characterized by limited participation has expanded to include a wider range of voices, identities, and experiences. Women have broken barriers in traditionally male-dominated industries. Students from different backgrounds are finding pathways into careers they might never have previously considered. Educators are preparing graduates to succeed in an increasingly connected and complex marketplace.

As the nation celebrates its 250th anniversary, the modern sales professional is no longer defined by a single background, personality, or path to success. Instead, success depends on the ability to understand others, adapt across differences, and build meaningful relationships.

For Purdue’s sales community, that lesson remains constant.

“Sales isn’t just a transactional business,” Ferguson says. “It’s a people business.”

And in a nation whose strength has always come from the diversity of its people, that may be the most important competitive advantage of all.