Sales students honored in recent competitions
KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Two Western Michigan University students had impressive performances at the State Farm Marketing and Sales Competition as well as two other recent sales contests.
Rita Muench, of Chicago, came in second in the sales role play competition and third in the team marketing challenge, earning $3,350 in prize money. Drew Davis, of Okemos, came in third in the team marketing challenge, earning $1,850.
The WMU students placed ahead of students from Duquesne University, Middle Tennessee State University, University of Georgia, University of Houston, University of Minnesota, University of Missouri, University of Oregon and Texas State University, among others.
The students were coached by Dr. Kelley O'Reilly, associate professor of marketing.
International Collegiate Sales Competition
Traveling to Florida State University for the International Collegiate Sales Competition, WMU students placed high in a very competitive field.
Kelly Darling, of Chicago, and Lloyd Herndon, of Jackson, placed 16th out of 64 student teams in the team competition.
Connor Anderson, of Grand Ledge, and Marissa Pertler, of Canton, placed fifth out of 40 schools in the sales management competition.
Herndon also placed in the top 10 in the speed selling competition.
Darling and Herndon were coached by Dr. Steve Newell, interim associate dean for graduate programs and operations and professor of marketing. Anderson and Pertler were coached by O'Reilly.
Russ Berrie National Sales Challenge
Hosted by William Patterson University, the National Sales Challenge includes speed selling and role play competitions. Top sales students from across the country compete at the three-day event and meet with representatives from major corporations. Thirty-one teams competed in this year's challenge.
Travis Webster, of North Muskegon, and Phillip McCauley, of DeWitt, placed 10th as a team, with Webster placing ninth overall and seventh in both role plays.
In the 10 years of the competition, WMU has finished in the top 10 eight times, with seven top five finishes.
The students were coached by Mary Nielsen, instructor of marketing, and Dr. Jim Eckert, associate professor of marketing.
About the Program
The sales and business marketing program at WMU is one of the largest and most recognized sales programs in the country. The program's intensive sales-focused curriculum prepares students with adaptive, relationship-focused selling skills that lead them to success at many of the country's top firms with 96 percent of graduates actively engaged in the field within three months of graduation. Named a "Top University Sales Program" by the Sales Education Foundation since 2007, the program maintains more than 70 active partnerships with companies that annually recruit WMU graduates.
For more information, visit wmich.edu/marketing/academics/sbm.
For more WMU news, arts and events, visit wmich.edu/news.