This is the 19th time that the IU Kelley School of Business has hosted the competition.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Students from 24 colleges and universities across the country will compete this week in the 19th annual National Team Selling Competition, hosted by the Indiana University Kelley School of Business.
Considered the premier event for students studying professional sales, the competition takes place Oct. 15-17 and is organized by Kelley’s Center for Global Sales Leadership.
Competing teams have an opportunity to bring their classroom knowledge and experience and apply those skills in a selling situation that is realistic and relevant in today’s market. The competition also provides exceptional networking opportunities with corporate partners, recruiters, student peers, and faculty.
The competition’s team-based approach and its complexity differentiate it from other sales contests around the country.
Charles Ragland
“The National Team Selling Competition exemplifies the Kelley School of Business’ leadership in professional sales education,” said Charles B. Ragland, executive director of the Center for Global Sales Leadership and Fettig/Whirlpool Faculty Fellow and clinical professor of marketing.
“It offers students a dynamic, team-based learning experience that mirrors real-world strategic selling challenges,” Ragland added. “Participants sharpen their skills, receive valuable feedback, and benefit from a case that faculty integrate into their curriculum to further develop individual and team selling capabilities.”
Ninety-six participants will come from coast to coast and include students from 19 business schools that have participated before and five new schools. Schools new to the competition are Robert Morris University, the University of Kentucky, the University of South Carolina, the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga and the University Texas at Dallas.
Other participating schools include the universities of Arizona, Kansas, Missouri and New Mexico, as well as Baylor University, Michigan State University and The Citadel. Several in-state institutions are represented, including Ball State University, Indiana State University and Marian University.
Teams from Marian University have won the competition the last two years.
Last year’s winning team, from Marian University, reacts as they learn they came in first place.
Among the competing teams will be one from the Kelley School. Students were selected after a rigorous interview process and through observation of their performance in other competitions. Teams from Kelley have been finalists in the last four of five years and won the event in 2019. They are coached by Dennis Spahr, a lecturer in marketing who joined the Kelley School in 2018 after more than 30 years of sales effectiveness consulting and hands-on B-to-B sales experience.
Students are competing for more than $6,000 in prize money. Through the generous support of sponsoring companies Altria Distribution Co. – which has been involved since the first competition in 2006 – and Nucor, there is no entry fee for the competition and meals and lodging are provided throughout the event for teams selected to participate.
Two weeks before the competition, teams were given a case that presented a realistic yet fictional business scenario about a convenience store chain looking for a healthy, outsourced food vendor. Teams will be judged on their performance during two rounds of role-playing exercises with judges from the sponsoring companies. Three teams will be chosen as finalists and will present a summary of their proposals to select a winner.
Feedback is given to all students during the competition. All faculty coaches and participants receive a video of their school’s performance as well as a video of the case debrief, so they can continue to learn from the National Team Selling Competition experience.
The Kelley School team is coached by Dennis Spahr, a marketing lecturer who joined the faculty in 2018 with more than 30 years of sales effectiveness consulting and hands-on B-to-B sales experience. Last year’s Kelley team, pictured here was a finalist last year.
Hosting the team sales competition demonstrates how much Kelley remains a leader in sales education. It is the only undergraduate business school in U.S. News & World Report’s top 10 rankings to offer a professional sales major. Fewer than 25 business schools nationwide offer such a degree.
About 350 Kelley students graduate annually with a double-major in marketing and professional sales, and most co-major in another business discipline. All of them leave with jobs at leading consumer goods companies such as Procter & Gamble, manufacturing and distribution companies like Nucor and Altria, and medical device and pharmaceutical companies such as Boston Scientific, Stryker and AbbVie.
In addition to organizing the competition, the Center for Global Sales Leadership works closely with corporate partners to create programs and events that get students excited about careers in professional selling and sales management. Each semester, the center provides multiple opportunities to partner with different student groups at Kelley, including the Global Sales Workshop, Sales Club and professional sales majors.