BUILDING EXPERIENCE IN SALES

The Biannual Sales Competition is an opportunity for any student in the University to dive into the principles of sales for a chance to win a portion of the $2,250 in cash prizes. Students are paired up in teams made up of a buyer and a seller. The teams then act out their roles in front of judges using a realistic approach to sales tactics. The judges are made up of business people from the Sales Competition’s two main sponsors, Aflac and Federated Insurance, as well as sales professor John Ney and the College of Business dean. In preparation for this event, students are encouraged to take a course in personal selling, where they learn the fundamentals of sales and participate in role play situations culminating in entering the competition at the end of the semester. John Ney, a marketing professor, commented, “One of the first things we teach in this class is that everybody sells. It doesn’t matter if you are a doctor, lawyer, plumber, teacher- we all sell. Thus, students learn the critical skill of how to sell correctly. Participating in the Sales Competition is a fun way for students to reinforce what they have learned.” Ney mentioned that learning to sell effectively provides the ability to “build longterm relationships and provide the lifeblood to your company or organization.” After the competition, the judges may recruit students for jobs and internships, which is a great opportunity. The College of Business has hosted two very successful competitions thus far. “One of the biggest things I learned is that tonality is important, and that being able to effectively overcome objections is the key to the sale,” said Jeremiah Schilz, who won third place with his teammate, Stanton Latimer, last spring. “Everybody sells, and I will be able to take these skills to truly show confidence and overcome most people’s objections in life.” Third place winner for the fall semester, Keegan Sullivan, said, “I would definitely recommend every student that has not done this competition to enter. It was a lot of fun working with a partner of your choice and implementing principles that we learned in class.”

Dean, Dr. Shane Hunt (far left) posses with student winners along with Anthony Zerwig of Federated Insurance (far right). Federated Insurance sponsored this fall’s event. Photo 1: Fall 2021 first-place winners of the $1,000 prize- Jaime Castillo-Lopez and Angie Walker; Photo 2: Second-place winners of $500- Zach Jewkes and Dane Buck; Photo 3: Best-buyer winner of $500- Jordon Kress; Photo 4: Third-place winner of the $250 prize- Keegan Sullivan and Gergo Rendek