Sealing the deal: Sales Cat team wins big at International Collegiate Sales Competition
Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2017
MANHATTAN — The Kansas State University Sales Cat team beat out a field of 70 of the top university sales programs to win the overall team championship at the 2017 International Collegiate Sales Competition.
Hosted each year in Orlando, Florida, by Florida State University, the International Collegiate Sales Competition is the largest and most prestigious university sales competition in the world.
The Kansas State University team is comprised of students in the College of Business Administration's National Strategic Selling Institute, which has been named one of the top sales programs in the country for six straight years by the Sales Education Foundation. Making up the winning team at the contest were Lanessa Aurand, sophomore in business, Belleville, and Rachel Kipper, senior in marketing with a minor in economics, Olathe.
In addition to their team championship, Kipper also won first place in the individual competition, with Aurand taking home third runner-up honors out of a field of 140 student competitors. This was the second overall team championship win for the pair this fall, after also winning the E.J. Gallo Sales Competition at the University of Missouri in October. Aurand also won first place in the individual competition at that event.
Sales competitions allow students to test their selling skills against their peers from other top sales schools through role-playing scenarios, including cold calling, case competitions and speed selling. Marketing instructor David Lehman is the head coach for the Kansas State team.
"We couldn't be prouder of Rachel and Lanessa's performance at the International Collegiate Sales Competition," said Dawn Deeter, professor of marketing and director of the National Strategic Selling Institute. "Having success in these competitions helps bring recognition to what we are doing at K-State to prepare students for successful and fulfilling careers in sales. They also provide a great opportunity for our students to network with their peers and interact with employers from around the country at career fairs and workshops."
In addition to competing as part of the K-State Sales Team, the students are earning a certificate in professional strategic selling from the National Strategic Selling Institute. The certificate program is open to all majors at the university, and allows students to distinguish themselves by demonstrating professionalism and competency in selling skills. Beginning in fall 2018, Kansas State will become just the 19th university in the U.S. to offer a sales major.
