For the first time this year K-State is offering a class in Advanced Sales. Students taking this class are interested in pursuing a career in sales. Based on the advice of the NSSI Advisory Board, we decided to coordinate the class around a live event that would allow the students to gain real sales experience.
The outcome was the NSSI Benefit Auction. This is no ordinary auction! Held at the historic Wareham Opera House, the auction will be a semi-formal affair featuring fine-dining, musical entertainment, and the auction services of The Canny Team of Johnson, Kansas. All funds raised will go toward NSSI student programming; it will help us take more students to sales competitions, offer more professional development opportunities, and ensure that our sales labs and student experiences remain state-of-the-art.
Importantly, the NSSI Benefit Auction is allowing our Advanced Sales students to learn about territory management, prospecting, phone sales, and the sales process in a real-world setting. The students are working together to find items for the auction and sell the tickets to the event. Each student has been assigned a territory, has developed a prospect list, and will make at least 50 sales calls. The students are learning about how to develop an effective sales story, how to make effective phone calls, how to leave voice mails that will get a response, how to get past the gatekeeper, and how to handle rejection. This experience has been invaluable.
The students are out selling as I type this, and there is still time to get involved. Are you interested in assisting with the development of our bright K-State students? Are you looking for a way to promote your business? Are you looking for a fun evening out in Manhattan, Kansas? Would you like to strengthen your connection to K-State? If so, you may be interested in getting involved in the auction. Currently we are accepting items for donation. All contributors will be featured in the auction program, as well as on this website, and highlighted at the event. We are also accepting donations for tickets to the Benefit Auction on April 18 beginning at 6:30 p.m. at The Wareham Opera House for a minimum donation of $50 per plate.
To donate an item or purchase tickets, please contact NSSI Director Dawn Deeter at ddeeter@k-state.edu or 785-532-6880. Please visit our auction website www.KStateNSSIAuction.org to learn more!