Schmidt School of Professional Sales Hosts its 2021 Internal Sales Competition
November 2, 2021 | John B. and Lillian E. Neff College of Business and Innovation News
By John Anderson III
The University of Toledo John B. and Lillian E. Neff College of Business and Innovation’s Edward H. Schmidt School of Professional Sales (ESSPS) hosted its first-ever hybrid concurrent Internal Sales Competition (ISC) on Friday, October 22nd.
The two-round competition incorporated sales professionals as judges, coaches and buyers. This enabled competitors to interact with real, local industry experts with experience in the field while expanding their network.
Students competed both online and in-person, illustrating their ability to adapt to different modalities in this new world of hybrid selling.
The competition is strictly for UToledo business students, and tests participants’ sales skills with the ultimate goal of positively impacting their educational and career success.
“When I piloted an online judge for an onsite sales competition about 8 or 9 years ago, I wasn't sure when I would need to do it again or if anyone would want to participate that way,” said Deirdre Jones, director of the Edward H. Schmidt School of Professional Sales.
“During this Internal Sales Competition (ISC), our student worker team and I ran our first hybrid concurrent sales competition where we had students and corporate partners onsite and online for role plays, coaching/interviewing, and open networking. Our students knew to adapt based on modality, and I love how they rose to the occasion and saw the future of selling."
For the competition, students have a checklist of things to do before, during and after, such as reviewing the selling case to prepare their sales call guide; role-playing as a seller based on the case; receiving coaching and an interview during the event; socializing and networking during the event; and following up with certain individuals after the event. Some students are also paired with a peer coach to help them with their preparation.
Congratulations to the Senior and Junior division winners:
Champions - Michael Patterson, Andrew Paule
Runner Ups - Caroline Langfitt, Kennedy Bringman
3rd - Taylor Achinger, Gina DiGirolamo
4th - Anna Regis, Amanda Hudson
5th - Isabella Weik, Ruoqing Han
6th - Laura Stapleton, Christopher Uzoigwe
“Deep appreciation for our corporate partners who make ISC and everything else that we do possible with their time, talent and treasure,” said Jones. “You are taking your organizations and the profession of sales to the next level.”
Sponsors of the ’21 Internal Sales Competition include 3M, Hilti Group, Owens Corning, Rocket Mortgage, Therma-Tru Doors, Thomson Reuters, Fastenal Company, Airgas, Tom James Company, Northwestern Mutual Toledo, State Farm ® and Hyland.
