Asbury Sales Team Hosts First Competition in the Walt and Rowena Shaw Collaborative Learning Center

December 1, 2022

On November 16 and 17, the Dayton School of Business (DSB) hosted the first Eagle Sales Championship in the DSB’s new Sales Training Suite in the Walt and Rowena Shaw Collaborative Learning Center.

The two-day competition featured multiple rounds of students performing sales role plays in the new role play rooms designed to mimic various types of offices in which future salespeople will find themselves meeting with customers: an executive office, a contemporary office, a living room, a cubicle, a conference room and a manufacturing plant office.

“You’re sitting in a room with people you’ve never met before and have to convince them of the validity of your product, as well as yourself as a young person,” commented competitor Andrew Day ’23. “It gives you a much more real experience as to what it means to sell things in the 21^st century.”

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.

“It’s really cool that a lot of the alumni come to help the students work on their sales skills and also give great feedback,” said senior business major Sarah Beck ’23, who helped work the event. “It’s really fun to see the interaction between the students, faculty, and alumni.”

The visiting business sponsors and alumni were able to see how the CLC impacts students and invests in their academic experience.

“It has been great to be involved and to be in the Collaborative Learning Center,” said Senior Leadership Giving Officer for Asbury Development Carolyn Ridley ’81, who served as a sales competition ‘customer.’ “In the development office, we’ve all been involved in the fundraising for this building and to get to be in the space and see how it’s actually being used is wonderful.”

The final four competitors’ rounds, which included a surprise ‘customer’ visit from Asbury President Dr. Kevin Brown, were livestreamed into the CLC Luce Auditorium with an awards luncheon following to congratulate the competitors and winner, as well as opportunities for the students to network with business sponsors who are sales professionals and discuss tips on how to succeed in a sales career.

“I was very impressed with the way our sales students diligently prepared by learning about a product and honing their sales skills through a lot of practice in and outside of class,” said Asbury Professor of Marketing Dr. George Allen. “The Eagle Sales Competition is available for Asbury students of all majors, and I hope we’ll see this event grow as more students realize the opportunity this event provides for skills development while having a fun experience with fellow students.”

The eight semifinalists included: Grace Sowers ’22, Juan Vidal ’23, Felipe Penuela ’22, Josiah Dongell ’23, Nick Pidgorodetskiy ’23, John Shoulders ’23, Caleb Wallis ’24, and Owen Vick ’23.

The Eagle Sales Competition final four placed in the following order:

• First place – John Shoulders ’23
• Second place – Juan Vidal ’23
• Third place – Grace Sowers ’22
• Fourth place – Owen Vick ’23

Allen and the DSB aim to utilize the space in the future to host sales competition events and to prepare for sales competitions around the nation.