The Professional Selling Institute is an enterprise which was established to design and conduct innovative research and to offer training and service activities. The purpose of the Professional Selling Institute is to expand the sales program offered at Ball State University and to make its services available to industry. The institute is fortunate to have three lab rooms for interactive sales role-playing. A master control room oversees all three labs by one-way mirrors.
Microphones line all four rooms to allow for unobtrusive grading and reviewing.
The labs aid students in developing the ability to make good sales presentations, and to offer opportunities for students to view themselves on video tape for the purposes of critiquing their own performances. The director of the institute is Dr. Ramon A. Avila, the George and Frances Ball Distinguished Professor of Marketing. He has served as the national director of the National Conference on Sales Management and is an active researcher with more than thirty published journal articles. Dr. Avila is a referee and reviewer for various professional publications. Dr. Avila is very active in the Muncie community and has shared his expertise and time with the American Cancer Society, United Way, and the WIPB Public Television fund-raising efforts.