What to Teach in Sales in the Age of AI: My First Textbook
During the January–April 2026 semester, I had the opportunity to take my academic sabbatical, supported by my university, the University of Central Florida (UCF). It is a professional development program in which each faculty member chooses the project they want to pursue. In my case, I was always clear about what I wanted to achieve: to know which competencies I need to teach my students in the age of AI.
The Research
For this research, approved by my university’s IRB in February, I first focused on reviewing the academic literature to understand what we knew so far, especially in the three leading marketing education journals: the Journal for Advancement of Marketing Education, Marketing Education Review and the flagship, the Journal of Marketing Education. Based on that review, I developed the list of topics and questions for the interviews.
I started with qualitative research: I interviewed seven senior sales managers in person, through job shadowing or via Zoom. I also interviewed 13 alumni of my Integrated Business program, all in B2B sales positions. With their responses and the literature, I designed the survey, which was answered by more than 300 sales professionals, yielding 156 complete responses.
The result was the academic article “What Competencies Should I Teach in an Introductory B2B Sales Course in the Age of AI?”, accepted in August by the Journal of Marketing Education. It is my best article to date and one of my greatest academic achievements: being able to contribute to the conversation about what to teach in sales today in the age of AI and to push the frontier of knowledge a little further.
From Article to Book
Motivated to share these findings with my students, I came up with the idea of writing a textbook based on the article, using AI as if it were a publishing house. It guided me through the steps of writing my first book and helped me with proofreading and style editing, research, source verification, visuals and book design, as well as the steps to publish it, both in print, for sale on Amazon, and now through my company, mercadotecniayventas.com. It was a long and slow process, as it should be, but the result was an 11-chapter, 162-page book that teaches the competencies the industry demands today.
The book is called Integrated Professional Selling in the Age of AI, and it rests on four pillars. The first, and most important, is human skills in sales. The second is sales knowledge. The third is sales technology. And the fourth is AI applied to the previous three: in the human dimension, to expand each person’s potential; in the second, to make the sales process more efficient; and in the third, to maximize results through technology. It is a book designed for today’s generation, to help them enter the job market with as little friction as possible.
Putting It to the Test
I had the opportunity to implement it with my students over the summer, with very good results, and it is the book I am currently using in the August–December semester. I also used it as an instructor at Polk Correctional Institution, as part of UCF’s Florida Prison Education Project, where the print version was equally successful. It is a book I will update every year.
It is designed to be taught using the flipped classroom approach. Students read a chapter before coming to class and complete the AI lab. When they arrive in class, they take a 10-question multiple-choice quiz, followed by a group discussion, in the style of a mini-lecture, about the chapter. Then we play an interactive game based on what they learned and move on to a case that gradually builds their sales plan. At the end of the semester, working in teams, they put everything together and present their sales plan.
The Ecosystem Around the Book
After finishing the book, I wanted to build an ecosystem around it, because last year I began experimenting with conversational programming with AI (vibe coding). That is how I developed the book’s AI labs, which are open access and comply with all FERPA principles: no information is collected on the site. They are free for my students and for any student of any other professor who wants to adopt the textbook for their sales course.
If You Teach Sales
If you would like to receive an ebook review copy, send me an email and I will gladly send you one. If, after reviewing it, you would like to adopt it, I would be happy to meet with you via Zoom to explain how to adopt it at your university so that your students can also use the AI lab and the supporting materials, designed for both students and instructors.
I also hope you will want to start producing your own textbook using AI; I can advise you on that as well.
I hope you find this information useful. Thank you, and let’s stay in touch.
References
Valdez, C. (2026). Integrated professional selling in the age of AI. Amazon KDP.
Book’s AI lab: https://ips-lab.streamlit.app/
Author: Dr. Carlos Valdez
Date: July–August 2026
Editorial assistance: Claude.
Image generated with: ChatGPT and Gemini.
Publication: Revista Mercadotecnia y Ventas.
© All rights reserved, Revista Mercadotecnia y Ventas 2026.
Reproduction without the author’s permission is prohibited.
Editorial syndication: This content is available for syndication. For editorial licensing or collaborations, contact carlos.valdez@mercadotecniayventas.com
