Only in its first year, the Professional Selling Program has established itself as a leading program nationally. Students in the program participated in two sales competitions during the fall 2019 semester. "Competitions are extremely valuable for students. Students prepare extensively, interacting with our corporate partners in role play scenarios. At the competition, students demonstrate their skills for hiring managers from highly respected companies," says Assistant Professor of Marketing Lori Rumreich, who developed the program and officially launched the Professional Selling specialization in 2019.
Byrum students attended the National Team Selling Competition at the IU Kelley School of Business in October, with 19 teams from around the country in attendance. Student teams participated in two sales meetings, first to gather information related to a new inventory system, and then to present a product solution to meet the customer's inventory needs. The student team of Anton Berry, Cameron Fox, Georgia Hinkle, and Daniel Root took fourth place in their track, scoring ahead of students from Penn State, University of Washington, and Winona State University.
Byrum students Bryce Carmack, Ivan Guillen, Daniel Root, and Michael Schiefelbein competed individually at the Ball State Regional Competition in November. They had 15 minutes to complete a complex selling scenario while a panel of sales executives judged their performance in real time. Judges praised the Byrum students' confidence and preparation.
The new Professional Selling Program in the Byrum School has gained national recognition in a short time. It was recently named a 2019 Top University for Professional Sales Education by the Sales Education Foundation. The Byrum School is ranked in the Top 10 for Best Sales and Marketing Colleges in Indiana by Universities.com.
"Our goal is to prepare these students for service to the world, wherever they land. We believe that our program, framed within the context of our Franciscan values, will provide organizations with a diverse group of graduates who are ready to make an immediate impact," says Byrum School Executive in Residence and sales team coach, Robert Kubacki.
About the Professional Selling Program
The Byrum School's new Professional Selling Program is dedicated to the development of professional sales leaders. The program offers students from any business major the opportunity to obtain a specialization in Professional Selling. The specialization consists of nine credit hours earned from a choice of courses that include Selling and Sales Management, Promotion, Advanced Professional Selling, Negotiation, and a sales internship.
The Byrum School's current industry partner is Aegis Worldwide and the school expects support will grow in its initial year. For more information about how to work with the program, contact Dean Greg Rawski, grawski@marian.edu.
About the Competitions
The National Team Selling Competition at Indiana University was judged by competition sponsors Altria and 3M Corporation. The Ball State Regional Sales competition was judged by sales executives from Sherwin Williams, Aegis Worldwide, Fastenal, Centas, and others. The Byrum School teams were coached by Professor Lori Rumreich, Executive in Residence and former sales executive Robert Kubacki, and marketing student Logan Marsh.