INFORMATION FOR
The Russ Berrie Institute for Professional Sales (RBI) at William Paterson University’s Cotsakos College of Business hosted the 10th Annual National Sales Challenge, an intense series of selling competitions and workshops held at the University’s campus in Wayne, N.J., from November 16 to 18, 2016.
More than 100 college students representing 31 universities from across the country, as well as from Edinburgh Napier University in Scotland, participated in the competition. This year, 113 executives from 16 sponsor companies participated in the National Sales Challenge, the largest executive attendance in its history.
The competition is designed by the University’s Russ Berrie Institute for Professional Sales to strengthen students’ sales skills and offer them an opportunity to network with business executives from companies around the country who will judge the events and serve as sponsors. (Photo at left: Victoria Reyes of William Paterson, Sales Challenge individual winner, and team member Brian Potoczak of William Paterson, which took third place as a sales team.)
Competitions included the sales role-play event, which used a selling situation from sponsor ADP, and a speed-selling competition, which requires students to rotate through tables seated with company executives to pitch themselves for two minutes for a generic job.
Winners are as follows:
UNIVERSITY SALES TEAM1st Place – University of Wisconsin-Parkside; team members are Nicole Thomsen and Jack Nickeas2nd Place – University of Louisiana-Lafayette; team members are Caeleb Young and Salvadore Crifasi3rd Place – William Paterson University; team members are Brian Potoczak and Victoria Reyes4th Place – Utah State University; team members are Karlie Arave and Jeremy Bowe
SALES CHALLENGE CHAMPION–INDIVIDUAL WINNERS1st Place – Victoria Reyes of William Paterson University2nd Place – Jack Rickeas of the University of Wisconsin-Parkside3rd Place – Nicole Thomsen of the University of Wisconsin-Parkside4th Place – Caeleb Young of the University of Louisiana-Lafayette
SALES ROLE-PLAY COMPETITION1st Place – Nicole Thomsen of the University of Wisconsin-Parkside2nd Place – Salvadore Crifasi of the University of Louisiana-Lafayette3rd Place – Victoria Reyes of William Paterson University4th Place – Caeleb Young of the University of Louisiana-Lafayette
SPEED-SELLING COMPETITION1st Place –Margaret Newton of Baylor University2nd Place –Jack Nickeas of the University of Wisconsin-Parkside3rd Place –Caleb Ellison of Baylor University4th Place –Sam Garwood of Clarkson University
Participating schools for 2016 were:Ball State UniversityBaylor UniversityBloomsburg UniversityClarkson UniversityEdinburgh Napier UniversityGeorgia Southern UniversityHigh Point UniversityJames Madison UniversityKansas State UniversityMetropolitan University of DenverNicholls State UniversityPenn State HarrisburgPlymouth State UniversityPurdue UniversitySiena CollegeSouthern New Hampshire UniversitySt. Catherine UniversityState University of New York at New PaltzTemple UniversityThe CitadelThe College of New JerseyUniversity of Arkansas (Little Rock)University of Central OklahomaUniversity of Louisiana-LafayetteUniversity of Texas (Arlington)University of Wisconsin (Parkside)University of Wisconsin (White Water)Utah State UniversityWestern Michigan UniversityWidener UniversityWilliam Paterson University
The National Sales Challenge was held in University Commons and the Russ Berrie Professional Sales Laboratory, a unique computerized multimedia facility that simulates business office environments in the University’s 1600 Valley Road building. William Paterson offers a bachelor of science degree in professional sales through the Department of Professional Sales, and provides training programs for sales professionals in the Laboratory.
11-21-16
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