RBI National Sales Challenge
Introduction
University student competitions sponsored by the Russ Berrie Institute for Professional Sales, William Paterson University, Wayne, NJ, 8-10 Nov 2007
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A Special Invitation
On November 8-10, 2007 the Russ Berrie Institute (RBI) for Professional Sales at William Paterson University is launching the RBI National Sales Challenge, and you are invited to bring your sales stars! The competition will be limited to 60 university students from across the country that are recognized by their faculty as being their school’s top sales talent. The purpose is to build the profession, secure jobs, and create more relationships with sales practitioners and academia.
This Email
This correspondence is laden with information, but in short, I want to alert you so you can choose two students to represent your university. I trust this email has reached the correct sales-oriented faculty at your school, if not, please pass it along to the proper person. If you prefer to surf the website first, please do so at: . Or type in “national sales challenge” into any web browser.
Sponsoring Companies
The RBI National Sales Challenge will provide its sponsoring firms with the opportunity to actively participate in the competition, observe first hand the next generation of sales leaders in action, judge contests, and leave plenty of time to meet and interact with students on a personal level. Sponsorships range from $5000 to $25,000 to help defray transportation, hotel, and other costs for the students and program. More information at .
The Challenge Details
The RBI National Sales Challenge features 3 competitive events:
Sales Call Role-Play: Students engage in a fifteen-minute sales call role-play with a business executive. The role-play is then evaluated and scored on various aspects of the sales call, including approach and overall communication effectiveness, as well as ability to gather information, identify needs, provide information, present solutions, resolve concerns, and gain a commitment.
Speed Selling: Similar in format to “speed dating,” each student will meet individually with a number of executives. With each executive, the student will make a two-minute pitch highlighting the reasons why he or she should be hired and then respond to a one-minute question and answer session. The student will then move on to the next executive.
In-Basket Sales Exercise: Each student will be given a file filled with competing demands via e-mail, voicemail, and memo all requiring immediate attention. Under deadline pressure, students will be expected to sort through the information, prioritize, and make key decisions.
How to Prepare
The student can prepare a good portion of this on his/her own.
Sales Call Role Play: This is where their classroom learning should pay off. In 15 minutes, they must build report, uncover needs, and establish expertise so they can close for a second appointment. That is the end goal for this exercise. If they make it to the Final 4, they will be asked to present solutions and attempt to close the sale during the Championship Round.
Speed Selling: The students should be prepare a well honed infomercial about who they are, what skills, abilities, and traits they posses and back it up with proof statements.
In-basket: Here the student would take all the activities and group them into high, medium and low priorities, then order them specifically after that. An example is attached to this email and the answers will be supplied to any professor who emails me requesting the results so their students have a practice round.
The Winners
Scores will be tabulated for each event and the top 4 finishers will be recognized. There are also overall winners and university team winners. Certain corporations are interested in donating prizes for the student winners, and also for the professors! Trust me, I know you are working just as hard as the students. More on this shortly.
Sponsors and Finances
We are out raising funds at this very moment to support this opportunity for our students, the profession, and for improved access for university professors who desire sales data. The goal is to be able to pay for the travel expenses and housing for one professor and two students from each university attending. If you can tap local financial support that would be fantastic as well. Depending on financial support we might be able to invite more than two students per school. More on this topic as sponsors are gathered.
The Ask
Like any good salesperson, I need to know who is interested in buying. Please tell me if you see yourself coming to the RBI National Sales Challenge. The link to the application page is. But a quick email response to indicate you are certainly coming…or certainly not…will help the planning process.
The Venue
The National Sales Challenge will be held in the Russ Berrie Institute’s interactive sales labs, which are recognized as one of the best university sales training facilities in the world. They are located on the campus of William Paterson University in Wayne, NJ…approximately 19 miles from New York City. This location is the hub of many business deals and the awards banquet will be held aboard a ship as it cruises New York Harbor.
The Niche
The National Sales Challenge is similar and different from the National Collegiate Sales Competition. Both wish to improve the profession of sales, both take a commitment from students and professors, both will garner multiple job offers for participating students, both are good for sales education and professional visibility. The National Sales Challenge will be held in the Fall to give recruiters time to recruit the best talent, will consist of three distinct student sales challenges, will feature only one product the student needs to prepare for, the sales call is 15 minutes long, the goal is to secure a second meeting to present solutions, and will feature “table talks” where sponsors offer wisdom about the sales profession in general and build connections with students.
The Action
I need to know your interest level. Please email me immediately, as a sales professor I can handle rejection so if it’s not in the cards this time just let me know. You will continue to receive email updates as the semester progresses. Please have your students perfect their resumes, sponsors already want to see who might be participating in the National Sales Challenge. Contact me if you need immediate clarification on this exciting event, Robert Peterson at (973)720-3855 or petersonr84@wpunj.edu. Robert M. Peterson, Ph.D.
Chair, Department of Professional Sales
Russ Berrie Institute for Professional Sales
Cotsakos College of Business
William Paterson University
1600 Valley Road
Wayne, NJ 07474-0920
Phone: 973-720-3835
Fax: 973-720-3854
Website:
National Sales Challenge: