Coles College’s national sales competition attracts students, Fortune 500 firms
National Collegiate Sales Competition participants compete against top sales students…
Georgia
(Mar 10, 2010) —
National Collegiate Sales Competition participants compete against top sales students,
network with national recruiters
KENNESAW, Ga. (March 11, 2010) — Some 350 of the nation’s top sales students from 61 universities participated in
the 12th Annual National Collegiate Sales Competition (NCSC) hosted by the Coles College of
Business at Kennesaw State University, March 5-8, 2010. The students not only got
a chance to compete for the top spots in the competition, but networked with recruiters
from across the nation. The NCSC has become a hot spot for Fortune 500 recruiters
looking for young sales talent.
Nearly 30 companies, including Liberty Mutual, ADP, Tom James, Owens Corning, AT&T,
Hewlett Packard, Dow Jones, NCR and Reynolds and Reynolds, sponsored this year’s competition
for an opportunity to recruit top sales students.
“It says a lot about the caliber of the students competing when you have companies
that are willing to travel across the country to recruit them, even in a down market
when very few companies are hiring,” said Terry Loe, director of the NCSC and of the
Center for Professional Selling at the Coles College of Business. “These students
are a solid investment for sponsoring companies who want to fill entry-level sales
positions with graduates who already have sales training or a degree in professional
selling. The extensive sales training these students receive prior to graduating translates
to lower turnover and reduced training time and cost for companies.”
The NCSC, the world’s largest collegiate sales competition, pits top sales students
in a test of live role-play, one-on-one sales call challenges. Each sales call is
broadcast live to faculty and recruiters, who evaluate each student’s performance.
NCSC sponsors provide funding to defray the expenses of students and faculty. Many
of the best sales students would be unable to attend without the help of these corporate
sponsors. Sponsoring also provides companies with the opportunity to network with
and preview up-and-coming sales talent.
This was the seventh year that Henry Schein –– a Fortune 500 company and the largest
distributor of health care products and services to medical, dental and veterinary
office-based practitioners –– sponsored the NCSC. “As a veteran manager who has been
hiring sales talent for 35 years, I believe that the NCSC is the best collection of
sales talent that you will find under one roof, all competing for the top sales position
in the collegiate realm,” said Dean Kyle, zone general manager for Henry Schein. “Not only do you get to meet these young people, but you also get to watch many of
them in actual competition. It is the kind of experience you wish you could have with
every sales candidate you interview.”
Winners of the 12th Annual National Collegiate Sales Competition:
Graduate Division
1st Round Needs Identification Champion: Ben Campbell, Texas State University
2nd Round Team Selling Champions: Theunette Antill and Jordan Ogletree, Nicholls State University
3rd Round Account Maintenance Champion: Brett Georgulis, Texas State University
Graduate Division Team Champion: Texas State University
Undergraduate Division
Champion: Chelsea Sargent, Florida State University
2nd Place: Kristen Scott, Baylor University
3rd Place: Heidi Schollmeier, University of Toledo
4th Place: Kaitlin Fisher, University of Washington
Team Results
Champion: Bowling Green State University
2nd Place: Florida State University
2nd Place: University of Toledo
2nd Place: University of Washington
5th Place: Kennesaw State University
6th Place: Bradley University
7th Place: Baylor University
8th Place: University of Houston
9th Place: Michigan St. University
10th Place: University of Georgia
A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees to its more than 41,000 students. With 11 colleges on two metro Atlanta campuses, Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia and the second-largest university in the state. The university’s vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the region and from 126 countries across the globe. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 6 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.
