A team of three University of Toledo students placed second at the 12th annual National Collegiate Sales Competition hosted by Kennesaw State University March 5-8.
UT students, from left, Matt Shipley, Jeff Tippy and Heidi Schollmeier showed off the awards they won at the National Collegiate Sales Competition.
Bowling Green State University took first place at the event, and UT tied for second place with Florida State University and the University of Washington.
Other top 10 university teams were Kennesaw State, Bradley, Baylor, Houston, Michigan State and Georgia.
In addition to the second-place team finish, Schollmeier, a marketing and sales major, was a finalist, finishing third overall, and Shipley, also a marketing and sales major, was a semifinalist, finishing in the top 16.
“We are immensely proud of the performance of our students at this prestigious national sales competition as well as the preparation provided by Professor Mike Mallin and the other faculty coaches,” said Dr. Thomas G. Gutteridge, dean of the College of Business Administration. “Their success reflects their talent and hard work, as well as the top tier status of the Edward H. Schmidt School of Professional Sales, one of the college’s premier programs. Our heartiest congratulations to all involved.”
“Our students’ performance at the competition is, of course, a reflection of their pride in representing UT and motivation to demonstrate the sales skills that they are learning in school, but it is also indicative of the passion that our entire sales faculty demonstrates by putting in the extra time and effort required to coach and prepare our students for success,” said Dr. Michael Mallin, UT assistant professor of marketing, who coordinated the trip and coached the team at the competition.
“This year, we are very fortunate to be able to utilize the new Huntington Sales Lab, which is part of the college’s new $15.4 million expansion, the Savage & Associates Complex for Business Learning and Engagement,” Mallin added.
The team trained with and was coached by the faculty from the Edward H. Schmidt School of Professional Sales in the UT College of Business Administration beginning in January.
The students prepared for a series of 20-minute sales role-play scenarios where they were required to sell an online tool to fictitious companies to help manage sales force and customer information. Success in each round of the competition allowed students to advance in a double elimination-style tournament.
To reach the finals, Schollmeier completed five rounds, while Shipley completed three as a semifinalist.
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. The competition sponsors provide funding to defray the expenses of competing students and participating faculty.
“Many of the best and brightest sales students would be unable to attend without the help of corporate sponsors,” Mallin said. “Sponsoring the competition also provides participating companies with the opportunity to network with and preview elite up-and-coming sales talent.”
Inaugurated in 1999, the National Collegiate Sales Competition is the largest and oldest sales role-play competition in existence. Its mission is to enhance the practice and professionalism of the sales profession. Each year, the competition hosts the top collegiate sales talent and sales faculty from the most elite university sales programs in North America. Sales students are provided a venue for sharpening their sales skills in a highly competitive environment and a chance to network with their peers and sales faculty from across the United States.
For more information, visit www.ncsc-ksu.org or contact Mallin at michael.mallin@utoledo.edu.
