Students at the BYU Marriott School of Business recently had a chance to network with sales professionals and compete for high-value prizes at the on-campus event dubbed Salesapalooza. With more than 60 student attendees and 40 sales professionals participating in the event, Salesapalooza proved to be a success for everyone involved.
The Salesapalooza event, hosted by the BYU Sales Society, was held on the evening of February 23, in the Tanner Building on BYU campus and was open to students of all majors who have an interest in professional selling. BJ Allen, assistant professor of marketing at BYU Marriott and faculty advisor for the Sales Society, created and organized the event with the help of the Sales Society student leadership and Stephanie Graham, department manager for the marketing and global supply chain department.
Students were asked to register before attending the event with 40 spots available for the competition portion of the night. “I thought for sure I was going to have to offer extra credit to entice students to sign up,” says Allen. “However, the spots were filled within three days.” Allen was impressed with the students’ excitement to participate and compete.
The networking portion of the event was designed to give students and sales professionals a casual way to meet and chat without the usual pressure of booths and posters. All attendees were asked to dress business casual, and the event provided appetizers, treats, and a soda bar for all to enjoy. More than 20 companies were represented at the networking party, including Utah companies Podium, Qualtrics, SelectHealth, Entrata, and Pluralsight.
Zachary Nobmann-Riddle, a general studies business major from Seattle, enjoyed the opportunity to connect with local sales professionals. “I am a firm believer that a huge part of the success in finding a career comes from who you know, not always what you know,” he says. “I enjoyed having the chance to meet and connect with recruiters from companies I could potentially work for.”
Four sales competitions also took place during the event. The four sponsoring companies of each competition were CED & Royal Wholesale, Precoa, Verkada, and Zonos. Each competition involved a group of 10 BYU students, each giving a five-minute sales pitch to a potential customer. Allen assisted each company in creating a mock case packet to give to students before the competition so students could prepare their selling points in advance.
Members of the sponsoring company in each competition either roleplayed as customers or acted as the judges. The individual companies provided the rewards for each of their top three student winners, leaving a total of 12 student winners at the end of the night. Some of the prizes included Utah Jazz tickets, Yeti coolers, Lululemon gift cards, and massage guns.
Lina Bishop, a marketing junior also from Seattle, won first place in the CED & Royal Wholesale competition and went home with new headphones and a $50 gift card. “I chose to compete in the competition because I wanted to push myself outside of my comfort zone,” says Bishop. “I am glad I did because competing was so worthwhile.”
In reviewing the events of the night, Allen says Salesapalooza was a success for all who attended. “These type of events and competitions are a fantastic way to showcase the talent of our students at BYU Marriott,” he says. “The companies were blown away by not only the high quality of talent our students possess but also the sheer volume of talent BYU Marriott has to offer.”
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Writer: Bethany Benham