Start 'em Young

My son, a college senior at Cal Poly, participated in the National Collegiate Sales Competition in Atlanta this past weekend. Over 130 other students from over 60 major colleges and universities competed in an individual tournament-style format some have referred to as the “Olympics of Collegiate Selling.”

Contestants were tasked to sell a popular SaaS-based solution to real executives from major organizations. Each were evaluated on their approach and rapport,needs identification, presentation, handling of objections, closing and communication skills. Each student had to win school level competition to advance to the national event.

Wow. I never saw this type of formalized academic sales training and development when I was in school. Nothing like starting ’em young. Good for the students; good for the recruiters.

My son made it to the quarter finals. In his final sales call he said he was uncovering needs so well that he hit the time limit before closing. Hmmm. Proud Pops nevertheless.