Rikke holds a master’s degree in media science with an emphasis on communication planning, Public Relations and tv and film theory, and a bachelor’s degree in media science and philosophy, both from Aarhus University.
She has 20 years of work experience after finishing her master’s degree, starting with a job as a project manager and strategic planner at an advertising agency. This was followed by a long career in the consulting industry in a company that provided B2B sales training and sales development to large Danish companies. In this company, Rikke held different positions and gained experience in business at many levels.
Experience with B2B sales
Most important for Rikke’s current position and research at AAUBS is her experience in practical B2B sales at a high level and her experience in teaching and supervising B2B salespeople in industries from banking and insurance to cranes, agricultural machinery, and trucks.
Rikke currently has a dual role: While she is working on her PhD thesis, she is on leave from her position as an Assistant Professor at the University College of Northern Denmark (UCN), where she primarily teaches sales and communication. Her PhD is funded by both UCN and Aalborg University in a joint program, and she will have teaching obligations at both institutions.
Focus on the sales role
Rikke’s research interest was triggered by her teaching in sales. She asked herself: “How can I contribute to educating future B2B salespeople in the rapidly changing landscape of sales and marketing?”.
The role of B2B salespeople is changing due to the transformations in sales and sales technologies as well as the shift of power in the customer-sales relationship. The role of salespersons enhances as the many activities and responsibilities increase. The introduction of digital sales tools and sales automation systems does not, however, make the B2B salesperson an obsolete role but changed.
The emphasis on required skills has thus changed, and salespeople are subject to increased possible job overload, stress, and perception of insecurity. Due to the rapid changes in sales practice, one will anticipate changes in organisations trying to adapt. That is why Rikke wonders where this will leave sales organisations and salespeople. Will the salespeople feel squeezed by the multiple dimensions they have to face and embrace, or does it give them more options and independence in their daily work? In short: What is the role of B2B salespeople today, and what are salespeople expected to do?
Rikke’s aim is, in the end, to contribute to more clarity on the sales role. If we understand the (new) role of salespeople better, we can help organisations in the sales transformation process and contribute to the designing of sales curriculums at business schools etc.
Private life
Rikke is married to a medical doctor and researcher in thyroid diseases. The couple have two adult children and live close to AAU on a small farm where they have horses and cats. Rikke loves to go to the cinema. The best movies are, from her perspective, the German “Werk Ohne Autor” (Never Look Away) and the Italian “Nuovo Cinema Paradiso” (Cinema Paradiso).
Further information
Rikke Carlé
Phone: +45 9940 2753
Email: rikkeca@business.aau.dk