One of the more inspiring things I’ve watched evolve over the past several years is the National Collegiate Sales Competition. Held each March at Kennesaw State University, north of Atlanta, last year 350 of the nation’s top sales students from 61 universities participated.
The students compete for top selling honors. More important is who the event is drawing in to watch: national recruiters from great companies are coming from all over to scout rising young sales talent.
The program is the brainchild of Terry Loe, director of the Center for Professional Selling at Kennesaw State’s Coles College of Business. Loe doubles as NCSC director and is the driving force behind its rapid growth. While colleges have long taught marketing, Loe and dozens of other business faculty leaders across the nation have worked hard to encourage selling as a concentrated area of study.
Last year nearly 30 companies sponsored the sales competition, among them powerhouse brands such as Liberty Mutual, ADP, Tom James, Owens Corning, AT&T, Hewlett Packard, Dow Jones, NCR, and Reynolds and Reynolds. Their sponsorship money goes to splendid use — it helps defray the expenses of students and faculty. Many top talents would not otherwise be able to attend. Sponsors get a great return on their investment by gaining network access to a strong, deep roster of very skilled talent.
Said Loe, “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.”
Loe is quick to point out the strong value proposition the sponsors receive.
“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.”
I have seen some of these students in action and let me tell you: Had I benefited from this type of jump start early in my career, my corporate ascension would have been far swifter. These kids can sell. They are plug-and-play revenue generators.
Because of the consistent success of its legacy participant, the mushrooming growth of the competition is no surprise, either. Loe is a bright, dynamic, and visionary leader.
The competition tests key skills aspiring salespeople must have in order to succeed in modern business. Students compete in real-time role-plays in a one-on-one sales call environment that are simulcast to faculty and recruiters, who evaluate and judge each student’s performance. Margins of victory are razor-thin. The depth of participating sales talent is impressive, their skill levels wonderfully high. The students’ work inspires all of us who develop professional sales talent for a living.
Dean Kyle, zone general manager for Henry Schein — a Fortune 500 company and worldwide distributor of medical, dental, and veterinary supplies — has represented his firm as a NCSC sponsor since 2003. His company keeps returning because of the quality of talent Dean meets. And he’s been around long enough to know it when he sees it.
Dean said, “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. 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.”
Initially the competition was limited to undergrads but rising demand has expanded the program to include graduate students. Top programs include the host school, as well as universities such as Bowling Green, Florida State, Bradley, Baylor, Toledo, Washington, Michigan State, Houston, and Georgia. Texas State and Nicholls State excelled last year in the post-grad division.
I have been directly involved with the sales program at FSU for the past three years and can vouch for the commitment to excellence faculty leaders Pat Pallentino, Leff Bonney, and Chris Plouffe bring to the program. Their work is thorough, enthusiastic, and top-shelf. The Noles are in it to win it.
For companies searching for good, young sales talent, the campus of Kennesaw State is the place to be March 7-11. For more information, visit www.coles.kennesaw.edu/ncsc.