Professional Sales and Finance Senior Finds Passion for Sales at UToledo

Professional Sales and Finance Senior Finds Passion for Sales at UToledo

UToledo helped set Mohammad Almasri up for success.

"The thing that I like most about UToledo is that I have the tools to succeed," he said. "When you're here, you need to take advantage of the resources, mentors and courses to succeed."

Now a senior scheduled to graduate in December, Mohammad Almasri graduated from Sylvania Southview High School in 2023 and began his college journey at UToledo the next fall.

"I liked the fact that UToledo was close by," Almasri said. "And I found out that they have a really good sales program. I knew that I wanted to go into sales, so it felt like a great fit."

Almasri began at The John B. and Lillian E. Neff College of Business and Innovation as a finance and professional sales major, quickly finding his passion for sales. As a freshman, he competed in the sales competitions and now serves as a peer coach for competitors.

"Before I started the sales program, I didn't know what I was doing," he said. "But after the Internal Sales Competition, I felt like I really knew how to sell."

The Edward H. Schmidt School of Professional Sales hosts two sales competitions each year, the Internal Sales Competition and the UToledo Invitational Sales Competition (UTISC), with The University of Toledo taking top honors at the UTISC event last month.

Almasri found the preparation for the UTISC to be the most impactful.

"I like the UToledo National Sales Competition because there is a very intense training component that deepens your understanding of the sales process," he said.

Deirdre Jones, director of the Edward H. Schmidt School of Professional Sales, said Almasri caught her attention during his freshman year.

"He was the first to apply to compete in our Internal Sales Competition (ISC)," Jones said. "He came to the Huntington Sales Lab to introduce himself, review the sample portfolios and ask some questions about how to best prepare. He has been a regular for coaching and to share updates, and he has been a part of our national Sales Competition Team, winning the top engaged competitor award and making it to the silver bracket finals at UTISC.

"He currently serves as a peer coach for our team and helped make calls to alumni for our Sales Student Experience Support Club to help raise money for the programs that he and other students benefit from."

Almasri always had a passion for sales.

Prior to his time at UToledo, he co-founded a landscaping company, Crystal Clear Exterior. He took on the sales side of the business, using his skills to grow his customer base. He ultimately needed to step away from the business to focus on his coursework and internships.

Almasri completed two internships during his time at UToledo, which he gained through networking events: an outside sales representative at International Paper and a business development representative at Double A Solutions. Over the summer, he will serve as a sales excellence elite intern at Crowd Strike.

Eighty-five percent of students at the Neff College of Business complete an internship before graduation, holding a post-graduation job placement rate above 90%.

During his time at UToledo, Almasri found community through student organizations.

He was nominated for the Klar Leadership Academy, a leadership development program for select student leaders, during his junior year, and Pi Sigma Epsilon (PSE), a professional sales and marketing fraternity, where he was recently appointed as vice president of professional development.

"I was able to build lots of different relationships throughout the career fair," he said. "I have been able to use these connections to create opportunities for internships and PSE's professional development workshops."

Almasri said that PSE had a huge impact on him, and he recommends that Rockets get involved with clubs and organizations where they can collaborate with individuals who have similar aspirations.

"I learned a lot about how to network and build relationships with other like-minded people around me," he said. "Having these relationships made a large impact on me."

Portrait of Mohammad Almasri, a senior in professional sales and finance.