By Courtney Cox, Contributing Writer
A team of four Asbury students competed in the University of Toledo Invitational Sales Competition from Feb. 22-24. The team took second place out of 32 schools, 15 of which are among the nation’s top sales programs. The team, led by Assistant Professor of Marketing George Allen, included Kaylee Van Winkle, junior division competitor; Jackson Thomas, freshman/sophomore division competitor; Michael Secen, junior division alternate competitor; and senior Austin Cocanougher, peer coach. Van Winkle took first place in her division, winning a cash prize of $1000, and Thomas took second place in his division, winning a cash prize of $750.
In the competition, students participated in role plays, selling a product to a business person playing the role of a customer. Van Winkle shared about her experience in selling VHB (Very High Bond) self-adhesive tape to a washing machine company. She explained that her goal was to convince the company’s representative that this product would solve a problem the washing machine company was facing, saving the company money in the long-run. She said she underwent much personal growth throughout the weekend. “I’m able to articulate conversations with a lot of leaders that I wasn’t able to have before,” Van Winkle said.
Cocanougher felt that the experience was incredible and has immensely prepared him for his future. In his role as peer coach, he helped with tasks such as designing the meeting agenda, forecasting potential customer objections and developing strategies to best promote the product. He said his role involved lots of “number crunching” and financial analysis. Cocanougher said, “I had the awesome opportunity to network with professional sales people and interview with potential employers. That alone really helped me with my future, as well as being able to get real advice from real professionals in the field.”
Van Winkle strongly encourages anyone interested to try out for a spot on the team next year. She said, “I experienced a lot more personal growth out of the weekend than I thought I would. I wasn’t anticipating to face the different challenges that I did…. Getting to experience the different amounts of pressure was really helpful because it allowed me to build a lot more confidence in myself as a salesperson.… If you want to try it, absolutely go for it. It’s just a lot of communication, literally sitting across the table having a conversation with someone. You’re a lot more of a consultant than a salesperson.”
