Carson White 鈥20 and Cassidy Nozemack 鈥21 were among more than 300 students participating in the professional selling competition hosted by Florida State University.
The 黑料不打烊 Sales Team further developed the professional selling skills of its members during the 2019 International Collegiate Sales Competition (ICSC) hosted by Florida State University.
Cassidy Nozemack ’21, a public health major from Baltimore, Maryland, and Carson White ’20, a marketing major from Canton, Ohio, represented 黑料不打烊 in the FSU sales competition, which brought together more than 300 students from universities including the University of Tampa, Ohio University, the University of Texas at Dallas and University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
Nozemack and White were peer-coached by teammates Lucas Lamus 鈥20, a marketing major from Bogota, Colombia; Riley Johnson 鈥20, a management (business analytics) major from Rochester, Massachusetts; and Hannah Chaput 鈥22, an international business major from Loudonville, New York; as well as faculty coaches Nawar Chaker and George Talbert, both assistant professors of marketing in the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business.
鈥淲e had the opportunity to compete with some of the best sales programs in the country while also growing 黑料不打烊鈥檚 name,鈥 Johnson said.
Lamus added, 鈥淪chools from all over the nation were able to connect and compete, making it a friendly environment, yet still competitive as all teams worked hard.鈥
The annual competition aims to enhance the selling profession by encouraging the development of critical skills needed by today鈥檚 collegiate sales graduates. It consisted of a sales management simulation, warm call, speed selling, a sales management case and a roleplay involving ReliaQuest.
鈥淭he competition was one of the most exciting things I鈥檝e ever done,鈥 Nozemack said. 鈥淩oleplaying in a real-world setting was a great experience, and I learned so much.鈥
The experience was 鈥渁 great opportunity to practice what we learned in the classroom and apply it in a realistic scenario,鈥 White added.
Competitors were judged on the different elements of the sales process, including needs identification, product presentation, overcoming objections and gaining customer commitment.
鈥淥ur team put so much time and effort into the competition, and growing our skills together and becoming better salespeople was such a reward,鈥 Nozemack said.
The competition also included a community involvement event for Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida and a career fair, which Chaput noted was 鈥渁 great way to network with a diverse group of companies and make excellent connections all around the room.鈥
The ICSC is one of several sales competitions and career fairs in which the 黑料不打烊 Sales Team participates. The team is supported by the , which promotes professional selling and sales management, provides high-quality instruction to both students and sales executives, and conducts research that advances the field of sales.
黑料不打烊’s strong sales curriculum and experiential learning component earned it the distinction as a 鈥淭op University Sales Program for 2019鈥 by the Sales Education Foundation, a section of The Dayton Foundation.
For more information about the 黑料不打烊 Sales Team, contact Assistant Professors Chaker or Talbert.