Instructor: Kristen Helling

Kristen Helling
 Biography: Kristen S. Helling earned a B.S. in business administration from the University of Kansas. She began her sales/marketing career in the cosmetic industry, working for Lancôme Cosmetics, where she served as a business manager. Kristen then worked at Hallmark Cards in the sales department with increasing responsibilities across the Card Specialty, Gold Crown, and Mass Channels. In the Mass Channel, she managed the store-level execution of card departments for the Walgreens and CVS chains. While working at Hallmark, Kristen earned an M.B.A. with an emphasis in marketing from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Kristen has also done business development and marketing for a small startup company, Lice Ice. Kristen joined the marketing lecturer pool at the University of Kansas in the Spring of 2015 and has taught various courses for the department including Professional Selling Skills, Retailing, Honors Marketing, and Principles of Marketing. She also serves as the director of the KU Professional Selling Program, a program she has grown from 40 to 700 students while graduating approximately 170 students per year. Kristen is passionate about teaching and mentoring young professionals. She believes that the ability to "sell yourself" is a trait that is important for all people to master-regardless of one's career aspiration.

Classes by this instructor


Professional Selling Microcredential

As our world becomes increasingly services-based and knowledge-oriented, there is a growing demand for sales professionals who can effectively identify client needs, craft customized solutions, and marshal company resources to deliver superior value. Without sales, there is no business. Accordingly, this credential is designed to teach professionals about selling and how to sell effectively. Many professionals, both in the business world and other professions/industries, recognize the value of selling and want to increase their knowledge of effective selling.

By completing this 12-week fully onlne course credential, professionals will learn the latest concepts concerning several elements of the professional selling process: prospecting, needs-identification, handling objections, closing, and negotiation. In addition, these concepts will be reinforced via role-plays and sales simulations.
January 13, 2027 to April 14, 2027, Live Online Training