News Releases

School of Business marketing students win sales contest

Friday, April 24, 2009

BY LAURA WOLFE

School of Business students Brad Miller and Vaishali Gala have won first and second place in the Northwestern Mutual Sales Call Simulation Contest. Miller won the$750 first place prizeand Gala won the $250second place prize. The contest was held between students in professor Kissan Joseph's Sales Force Management course and was judged entirely by panelists from Northwestern Mutual Financial Network. Joseph is a School of Business marketing professor and Stockton Faculty Fellow.

"This really helps students' sales pitches for the future, from an objective source," Joseph said.
Each student participating filled out a pre-sales call information form indicating the product they would be pitching, or selling, and their objectives. Contestants then had twenty minutes to present their product.

Miller, a senior majoring in marketing, chose to pitch the company Google Adwords to Waxman Candles. Miller is also participating in an international online marketing competition sponsored by Google.

"I figured I would get some practice making the sales pitch before meeting with Waxman Candles," Miller said. "I used the Northwestern Mutual Financial Network sales contest to help me prepare for my Google online marketing contest."

Gala, a senior majoring in marketing with a concentration in international business, chose to pitch for AIESEC, an international organization for college students in which she is involved. Gala chose to highlight the AIESEC international internship exchange program.

"It was good to have a third party involved, to be able to pitch to neutral people," Gala said. "Anything having to do with sales is going to be helpful for the future."

After the contest, Northwestern Mutual judges evaluated the students' sales pitches. "The judges gave them important verbal feedback on their presentations," Joseph said.

"The feedback they provided was really helpful in developing communication skills," Miller said. "They told me to make more eye contact, and to be more confident."

"As sales people, how do you make a professional sales call? It helps them open the sale and handle rejections, too," Joseph said. "The products Vaishali and Brad chose were somewhat more complex, which helps their problem-solving abilities."

Northwestern Mutual Financial Network sponsors similar contests for KU and other schools across the nation. "Their efforts and financial supportare much appreciated," Joseph said.

The School of Business takes pride in contributing to the success of graduates through a focus on constant innovation. Through the method of experiential learning, like the Northwestern Mutual Sales Call Simulation Contest, students are able to apply academic knowledge to real-world situations.