February 14, 2020
K-State Sales Team finishes second at Selling with the Bulls Intercollegiate 2020 Sales Competition
The Kansas State University Sales Team brought home second-place team honors at the Selling with the Bulls Intercollegiate 2020 Sales Competition.
Hosted by the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida, on Feb. 6-7, the competition had 84 competitors from 18 schools representing 11 different states.
The K-State Sales Team sent four students to compete. The team consisted of Lanessa Aurand, senior in professional strategic selling and marketing, Belleville; and Preston Maurer, senior in finance, Cecilia Nancarrow, junior in professional strategic selling and Abbie O'Grady, senior in professional strategic selling and marketing, all from Overland Park.
All the competitors had to compete in the customer conversation and the cold call prospecting. The customer conversation included two rounds of role-play scenarios. The cold call prospecting included a LinkedIn request, email, voicemail, phone call, and Webex. Aurand placed second in the cold call prospecting, second in the email, and seventh overall individual. Nancarrow placed third in customer conversation, seventh in the email, and sixth overall individual. O'Grady placed third in the cold call prospecting, sixth in email, and fifth overall individual.
"This competition was especially fun for me because I am a University of South Florida graduate!" said Dawn Deeter, director of the National Strategic Selling Institute. "I am very proud of our students and how they performed, not only as competitors but also as sales professionals. The quality of our students' performances at competitions like these has led Kansas State to become recognized as a leader in sales education."
The K-State Sales Team is in the College of Business Administration's National Strategic Selling Institute, which has been named one of the top sales programs in the country for eight straight years by the Sales Education Foundation. The team consists of students who are enrolled in the certificate or major in professional strategic selling. In fall 2018, Kansas State became just the 19th university in the U.S. to offer a major in professional strategic selling. Students can also earn a certificate in professional strategic selling, which is open to all majors at the university. The professional strategic selling program introduces students to the fundamentals of sales and through the innovative curriculum and sales labs allows students to develop the skills needed to be successful.
The K-State Sales Team will be competing in several competitions throughout the school year across the country. For more information on the National Strategic Selling Institute or the K-State Sales Team, please contact kstatesalesprogram@k-state.edu.