SUU Hosts First Thunder Sales Competition
Published: May 03, 2022 | Author: Kenzie Lundberg | Read Time: 2 minutes
Southern Utah University’s Professional Sales Program held its first annual Thunder Sales Competition in April, giving students an opportunity to sell themselves to local businesses and win prizes for the best speed pitches.
"I am confident the students put themselves and the school on the map as top shelf candidates for sales roles,” said Kurt Wankier, director of SUU’s Professional Sales Program. “Their preparation, effort, and skill were on full display for our company partners to see. A standard has been set for us to build on. These remarkable students have laid a strong foundation for us to build on so we become the premier school for sales recruits."
Over 30 students participated in this year’s competition, students Matthew Matheson, Davis Chipman, and Megan Bury earned the top spots. Matheson took home a Thor hammer - a unique prize created by the SUU Makerspace - along with his top choice of prize from Zonos.
“This was an incredible opportunity to get hands-on experience in professional sales,” said Matheson. “It was exciting to have Zonos come and sponsor the competition. Kurt Wankier prepared our class well. We practiced hard and the result was rewarding. I’m so excited to see the Sales Program continue to grow at SUU.”
The competition began with a series of speed pitches to judges from the local business community. Students from disciplines across campus competed and winners included Jo B Shurtliff, Cameron Morgan, Megan Bury, Madelyn Tebbs, Davis Chipman, Jordan Howe, Keiko Schwartz, and Megan Allart.
Following the speed pitch, students of the new Advanced Selling Techniques class presented three minute case study pitches to judges from the event sponsor, Zonos. The night finished with a final round of pitches from five finalists, seniors Isaiah Tate, Megan Bury, and Matthew Matheson and juniors Ethan Vawdrey and Davis Chipman.
Other judges and businesses involved included NoviHome, Fastenal, American Pacific Corporation, SUU Athletics, and SUU’s Dixie L. Leavitt School of Business.
Students can expect to see this event every year with various businesses sponsoring and attending the competition. Students who participate will have the opportunity to network, introduce, and impress these companies, giving the students a chance to prepare for job scouting and apply the skills they learn during the competition to the job interview process. Next year’s competition will be held in April 2023 and planning is already underway. For more information contact SUU Professional Sales at sales@suu.edu.
The Professional Sales Program is part of the Dixie L. Leavitt School of Business and offers students the opportunity to advance their careers by becoming better equipped to sell themselves, their products and services, or their businesses. Through the program, students learn the fundamentals of selling, how to manage sales, entrepreneurial skills, and participate in competitions and networking events that can be applied to a variety of different careers. Learn more about the Professional Sales Program at SUU.
Tags: Professional Sales School of Business