In November, the Dayton School of Business (DSB) hosted its fourth annual Eagle Sales Championship in the Shaw Collaborative Learning Center (CLC). Taught by Associate Professor of Marketing Dr. George Allen, students in the Fundamentals of Professional Selling class (Marketing 343) participated in this competition as a component of their course grade.
The two-day competition featured multiple rounds of students performing staged sales calls in role play rooms designed to mimic various types of offices in which future salespeople could find themselves meeting with customers: an executive office, a contemporary office, a living room, a cubicle, a conference room and a manufacturing plant office.
“The competitors in this year’s Eagle Sales Championship demonstrated solid sales skills, some over the course of four role plays as they analyzed their customers’ needs and presented the benefits of their product,” said Allen, who serves as director of the Center for Professional Selling in the Shaw CLC. “Thanks go to over 85 business sponsors, alumni, and other guests who served as judges and customers, helping these students have a challenging and realistic selling experience.”
Students mock-sold products to area business sponsors along with alumni, faculty, and staff who posed as customers while competition judges from those groups analyzed and rated their performance, watching a livestream in a CLC classroom.
“I have certainly put in a lot of work and hours in studying the case and learning the material, so it was really awesome to see the hard work pay off,” said Jonathan Atkinson ’28, who received first place. “Dr. George Allen has educated me on sales, and Dr. Dan Lewis has encouraged me and has come alongside me since I first stepped foot on Asbury campus. I also would love to add that classmate Andrew Tighe ’27 roleplayed with me for hours, helping me prepare.”
The final four competitors’ rounds were livestreamed into the CLC Luce Auditorium with an awards luncheon following to congratulate the competitors and winner, as well as providing opportunities for the students to network with business sponsors and discuss tips on how to succeed in a sales career.
The eight semifinalists included:
The Eagle Sales Competition final four placed in the following order:
“It’s been an honor and joy to get to work with such a great group of faculty colleagues and to play a role in helping students develop skills they can use in their future professions,” Allen said. “I pray that the Center for Professional Selling will be a tool that God can use to help Asbury University to continue to prepare students to go into the business world with solid skills that can be used to honor God in whatever field they pursue.”
The DSB offers five majors (Accounting, Business Administration, Finance, Marketing, and Sport Management), five minors (Accounting, Business, Entrepreneurship, Marketing, and Sport Management), the MBA program, and the M.S. in Accounting program. Learn more.