BGSU Students Head to The National Collegiate Sales Competition

Written by Ellie Barnett, Schmidthorst College Communications Intern

The National Collegiate Sales Competition (NCSC) is a basic sales call skills challenge hosted for undergraduate students across the United States.  This competition is considered one of the most prestigious sales competitions in the country.  NCSC provides a venue for dedicated collegiate sales students to improve their skills on a national stage. Two Bowling Green State University students, Nichole Cox and Luther Shinew, are headed to NCSC to represent the Schmidthorst College of Business.

Luther and Nichole were selected to represent BGSU after an impressive finish at the Bowling Green State University Sales Competition this past fall. The students will be acting as Gartner Sales Representatives presenting Gartner for CIOs, an executive support package with several different tools. Gartner for CIOs is a product made up of three deliverables: unbiased research, cost optimization, and the executive partner which acts as a mentor for CIOs who purchase their product, and that executive partner can share their CIO experience with the buyer. These tools will help companies save money by comparing company spending habits.

To prepare for this competition, Luther and Nichole have met with their sales coach, Dr. Greg Rich, twice weekly over the past several months. Dr. Rich is a professor at the Schmidthorst College of Business and was named Sales Educator of the Year by the American Marketing Association in 2020. He will be chaperoning the BGSU students and acting as a judge at NCSC.

Nichole has been practicing her 20-minute-long sales roleplays where she sells the Gartner for CIOs product to different students, professors, and professionals with sales experience to prepare for her time at NCSC. Nichole is also involved in the Academy of Professional Selling which has been a great resource for her to practice and learn new skills. Cox is most looking forward to competing against students from across the nation and having the opportunity to represent BGSU at a national level.

Both Luther and Nichole have taken Professional Selling with Professor Mearl Sutton. The product they sold in class was similar to the Garter for CIOs product. They were able to refine the product this semester to prepare for NCSC. “I have said 'Gartner for CIOs' more times in the last two months than I can count,” says Luther Shinew.  “We have also been reading To Sell Is Human by Danny Pink and trying to improve specific parts of our sales process with that in mind.”

The BGSU sales team that attended in 2021 placed fourth overall, an impressive achievement against the tough competition. Join us in wishing the best of luck to Luther and Nichole!