Leaders in Selling and Sales Management in Memoriam: Marvin A. Jolson—Nonpareil Ambassador of Selling and Sales Management

Abstract

In July of this year, the selling and sales management business and academic communities lost one of their strongest devotees, Marvin A. Jolson. Marv was a gifted individual, accomplishing unstinting success in every aspect of his life personal, family, business, and academic. But despite his achievements, he was the consummate gentleman, a paragon of humility, a lover of people, and a benefactor to numerous students, colleagues, friends, and acquaintances. He has left an indelible impact on so many people the world over, especially in the selling and sales management arena. What is especially ironic about Marv's sales orientation is that he began his professional career as an electrical engineer, after graduating from George Washington University. But even during his academic training to become an engineer, he evinced an interest in selling by assuming a parttime position as a direct-to-home encyclopedia salesperson for Encyclopedia Britannica (EB). He did so, though, to support his family, not for vocational purposes. That initial sales experience, however, so vivified him that he began a fiftyyear journey devoted to the selling profession. After spending one year in an electrical engineering job, Marv decided to become a full-time salesperson for EB. He wanted to progress in a career at his pace, not one dictated by a timetable (as in engineering). So, in 1950 he relinquished his slide rule and picked up his sales bag, thus commencing an eighteen-year career at EB. During those eighteen years, he moved quickly through the ranks from salesperson to division to zone manager, ultimately becoming a Senior Vice President (where he was responsible for over 12,000 employees and offices throughout the United States) as well as a member of the board of directors. As a tribute to Marv's contributions to EB, its executive committee noted in a missive to him that he had "...helped to shape the future of this company to what it is today, thereby making all of our lives much better and richer." Although Marv was inundated with myriad responsibilities at EB, he enrolled in the Executive Program at the University of Chicago, from which he earned an MBA in 1965. Working on MBA classes whetted his appetite for further education. Consequently, Marv decided to matriculate in the doctoral program in marketing at the University of Maryland. He did this with the blessing of EB's CEO and a promise to return to EB upon completing the degree. In fact, EB held Marv in such high regard, that the firm continued to pay him his salary while he attended the University of Maryland. In 1969, he earned his doctorate, thus representing Maryland's