University's Student-to-Student Mentoring program improves sales skills of mentors, mentees
Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013
MANHATTAN -- Students studying sales at Kansas State University now have the opportunity to be mentored by and provide mentoring to their peers, all to improve their sales skills.
The new Student-to-Student Sales Mentoring program in the College of Business Administration's National Strategic Selling Institute gives students the chance to learn and develop the skills needed to be a strong candidate in the sales industry.
"By improving their sales performance, students can improve their grades and become more competitive in the job market," said Dawn Deeter, the J.J. Vanier chair in relational selling, professor of marketing and director of the college's National Strategic Selling Institute. "Whether as a mentor or mentee, a student will gain an understanding of buying and selling processes."
In the Student-to-Student Sales Mentoring program, students can practice their selling skills throughout the semester, taking the information from the classroom and applying it in real-world situations. They also can enhance their learning experience and opportunities, while receiving feedback in a comfortable environment from other students.
Student mentors also will gain experience from the program. By serving as the buyer during role-playing, they will learn insight into the role of the seller.
This year's student sales mentors are Tyler Maneth, senior in marketing, Andover; Blair Wilen, junior in social sciences, Manhattan; and Ariel Johnson, junior in business administration, Chicago, Ill. Their job is to help students prepare for role-playing, get ready for job interviews through mock interviews, and prepare the university's sales team, the Sales Cats.
Office hours are conducted in the sales lab. Students can meet with student mentors on a first come, first-served basis during office hours, or appointments may be set up through email to the mentors: Maneth, manetht@k-state.edu; Wilen, bwilen@k-state.edu; or Johnson, ajohn446@k-state.edu. Check the whiteboard outside the sales lab for the most updated office hours for each mentor.
