Competitive Sales Team notches two more wins to close semester
Tuesday, April 23, 2024
Media Contact: Jeff Hopper | Communications Coordinator | 405-744-1050 | jeff.hopper@okstate.edu
The Oklahoma State University competitive sales team wrapped up an impressive first semester with two more overall team wins at the Love’s Travel Stops sales competition and the Twin Cities Collegiate Sales Team Championship.
The Love's Travel Stops sales competition took place in late March in Oklahoma City where members competed in several different disciplines, including speed sell, role play and case analysis. The team placed first overall and included first-place finishes in role play for team member David Dishaw, and first-place in case analysis for the team of Mayce Durham, Brenda Tapia and Katie Springs.
This competition served as tangible evidence to the improvement of each team member since the beginning of the semester. Dishaw competed in a different Love’s sales competition last fall and didn’t move past the first round in the role play category. However, with the added experience of other competitions and the ability to cultivate and develop ideas with his team, he was able to capture the title.
“The Love’s competition was a great benchmark for the team,” said head coach and former competitor Sarah Hall. “Our performance provided feedback that our sales skills have greatly improved over the course of the semester, and the first-place performance in case analysis showed how adaptable our sales students are since no one had ever competed in that particular discipline before.”
To cap off the spring semester of competitions, the team traveled to the Twin Cities Collegiate Sales Team Championship hosted by the University of Minnesota for the first time. This competition was unlike most other competitions in that placement was completely based on team scoring.
Team members from 17 different universities across the country had the opportunity to compete in two independent pitches in the preliminary rounds. The scores of each team member were averaged for a team score and the top five teams then moved on to the finals where two teams of two students presented to an executive board to close the deal.
The team of Mayce Durham, Jared Quillin, Allison Rook and Brenda Tapia were in the lead after the preliminary rounds and secured the Team Championship trophy during the final round of competition.
“The Twin Cities competition reaffirmed so many things for our team,” Hall said. “We were able to defeat some teams that had finished ahead of us at a previous international competition earlier this semester. It really shows that none of our successes this semester were flukes.”
As part of the Center for Sales and Service Excellence in the Spears School of Business at OSU, the competitive sales team allows students from across campus to hone their sales skills while competing against some of the best sales students from top universities around the world, many of which are well established in the competitive sales arena.
While it was the team’s inaugural semester, it’s hard to summarize this semester as anything but an overwhelming success. Three overall wins out of a handful of competitions is an amazing accomplishment for any team, let alone one in its first semester of competition.
“This team has built an amazing foundation for competitive sales at OSU,” Hall said. “I’m excited for what this team can accomplish and the progress these students can achieve moving forward. OSU competitive sales has made a name for itself this semester and cemented itself as a contender at any competition we take part in.”
Learn more about the Center for Sales and Service Excellence here, and the OSU Competitive Sales Team here.