Kansas State University

MANHATTAN -- Just call them the champions of sales.

Four Kansas State University students earned honors at the recent Victaulic Sales Invitational, a part of the university's Sales Week activities.

More than 40 students participated in the event, which was hosted by the National Strategic Selling Institute in the College of Business Administration and sponsored by Victaulic.

Students participated in a mock sales call, in which they sold the Victaulic's "Quick Vic 107" coupling to a construction manager for the new College of Business Administration building on the university campus.

"I was impressed with the level of preparedness and professionalism of the students," said Dawn Deeter-Schmelz, director of the institute, professor of marketing and the J.J. Vanier distinguished chair in relational selling.

Competition judges included three representatives from Victaulic, along with representatives from the institute's business partners, including C.H. Robinson, Frito Lay, Multiview, Unifirst Corporation, Northwestern Mutual and Manhattan Broadcasting Company Inc. Allison Horton from Victaulic served as the buyer.

The institute hosts sales competitions twice a year and prepares students on the university's Sales Team for competitions across the country.

"These events provide such a great opportunity for K-State students," Deeter-Schmelz said. "Not only do they get to practice their selling skills and receive feedback from experts, but they also get the chance to perform these skills in front of recruiting personnel. Students are sometimes invited to job interviews based on their role play performance."

Winners of the Victaulic Sales Invitational include:

Tyler Maneth, senior in marketing, Andover, $100 for third-place tie; Tina Ratcliff, junior in entrepreneurship, Madison, $500 for first place; Lee Beck, senior in marketing, Olathe, $100 for third-place tie; and Jake Pritchard, junior in finance, Valley Center, $300 for second place.