Prepared by Dawn Deeter (ddeeter@k-state.edu), Director of the NSSI.
It’s hard to believe the NSSI is beginning its third year! We have had a number of successes, including being named by the Sales Education Foundation as one of the 2013 Top Universities for Sales.
Our Professional Strategic Selling Certificate is now in place, and we have initiated a new chapter of Pi Sigma Epsilon, the national co-ed fraternity for sales and marketing. We have created a promotional video designed to highlight our students and program. Finally, the K-State ‘Sales Cats’ Sales Team will be traveling to four competitions this fall, and two in the spring. Last spring, the Sales Cats placed 11th out of 67 competing universities at the National Collegiate Sales Competition, with senior Megan Kirtland placing as a semi-finalist (top 8 students out of 132).
Fall Sales Career Fair and Edward Jones Sales Competition, October 15-16.
For the second year, we will be hosting the Fall Meet the Sales and Marketing Firms Career Fair (October 15th, 11am-3pm) in conjunction with our annual Edward Jones Sales Competition (October 16th). Seventeen companies have signed up for the Sales Career Fair, which is more than double the number of exhibitors we hosted last year.
NSSI Student Tyler Maneth explores his options at the 2012 Sales Career Fair.
As in previous years, the Edward Jones competition is open to all university undergraduates, regardless of major. We expect at least 40 students to compete for the six spots on the National Sales Cat Team. I have received e-mails over the summer from students interested in becoming a Sales Cat – the word it getting out! Each student will receive a role-play scenario outlining the details and guidelines to a sales call. On the day of the competition, the student ‘sales reps’ will play the role of a financial advisor, with the buying role filled by representatives from Edward Jones.
We are currently seeking sponsors for the sales team; sponsorships would help cover the costs of training and travel. If you are interested in sponsoring a student, please contact Dr. Dawn Deeter at ddeeter@k-state.edu or 785-532-6880.
2012-2013 Sales Cat National Team: from l to r, Jake Pritchard, Tyler Maneth, Andrea Fouts, Megan Kirtland, Coach Dawn Deeter, Josh Kirk, Jeff Norris, and Coach David Lehman.