Michael Ahearne is a co-author of the Sales Management Simulation with Harish Sujan, Andrii Maksymov, and Noel Capon. He is a Professor of Marketing and C.T. Bauer Chair in Marketing at the University of Houston, where he also serves as the Research Director of the Stagner Sales Excellence Institute.

Mike’s research focuses on improving the performance of salespeople and sales organizations. He has published over 50 articles in prestigious journals, including the Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Management Science, Strategic Management Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology, and Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. Recognized by the American Marketing Association as one of the most research-productive scholars in marketing, his work has been featured in major outlets like the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Fortune, and INC Magazine.

Mike is the author of the textbook Selling Today: Partnering to Create Customer Value, which is the world’s highest-grossing professional selling textbook. It is distributed in over 40 countries and available in 15 languages. He has received numerous teaching awards for his MBA and undergraduate courses in Sales, Sales Management, and Key Account Management. The American Marketing Association honored him with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to sales and sales management education and practice.

Professional Consulting

Mike has consulted for over 200 companies across industries such as insurance, healthcare, consumer packaged goods, technology, and transportation. Before his academic career, he was a partner at ZS Associates, the world’s largest sales and marketing consulting firm, and worked in marketing research and sales operations at Eli Lilly and PCS Healthcare.

Academic and Professional Associations

Mike is an Academic Fellow at the Institute for the Study of Business Markets, the Direct Selling Education Foundation, and the Marketing Science Institute. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Strategic Account Management Association (SAMA) and the Sales Management Association (SMA).

Interests and Activities

Mike has an athletic background, having played professional baseball with the Montreal Expos and being an Academic All-American college wrestler. He is an avid weightlifter, committed to fitness and health. Outside of sports, he enjoys coffee culture, honing his barista skills, and creating intricate coffee art.