Riding the Bull
The 2014-2015 Eller Professional Sales Club team competed at the National Collegiate Sales Competition (NCSC) in Atlanta, Georgia April 7-10. Their efforts paid off, as the members earned the highest achievement the club has accomplished in the past three years of attending the competition.
“The competition is really intense,” said sales club adviser Sam Williams. “Imagine trying to stay on a mechanical bull operated by someone who is intent upon throwing you off.” There are four rounds throughout the competition, and out of 160 students, only four are selected as finalists. Students invested up to 80 hours of research and practice for the NCSC, and the competition and travel itself took four full days.
Kelley Rovi, a first year student at UA, was chosen for the competing team by business-to-business sales executives. Rovi managed to become an alternate during the competition after impressing the judges with what they characterized as her “18 going on 28” demeanor.
Marketing major and Eller junior Skyler Bell is president of the Sales Club. He was named an alternate for the competition, an impressive feat after not having the opportunity to practice as extensively as his fellow team members.
Director of sales internships within the Sales Club and Eller senior Will Waldrup made it through two rounds of the competition. Waldrup competed fiercely while facilitating internships for members of the Sales Club and helping them gain an advantage over other students who lack equivalent experience.
Emily Bregger, communications major and marketing minor, made it the farthest of the competing club members. She managed to make it through three rounds of the intensive NCSC and is the only contestant from Eller to date to have made it that far in the competition. “Odds are that Emily will stay on the bull for all four rounds if she competes again next year,” said Williams.
The participation in the NCSC was made possible by funding from the Eller Student Fund for Excellence, Associated Students of the University of Arizona, and by the generosity of Craig and Lauri Forte. Eight judges scored the competing students and gave invaluable insight during role-plays prior to the competition. Each of the judges are sales professionals, recent Eller graduates, or current Eller MBA students.