Sales students score at national competition
April 10, 2003
KALAMAZOO -- Two seniors in Western Michigan University's new Sales and Business Marketing Program have scored among the top students in the nation in a national competition.
Jeremy Fulks and Toni Cassise, both sales and business marketing majors in the Haworth College of Business, teamed up to compete in the National Collegiate Sales Competition held in Atlanta March 28-29. WMU placed fifth in overall competition and Fulks snagged the event's third highest individual score. Sixty students from top sales programs at 30 universities nationwide participated in the competition.
Cassise, a native of Sterling Heights, Mich., and Fulks, who is from Ortonville, Mich., were chosen from among 10 finalists in WMU's Sales and Business Marketing Program to attend the event. The national competition was conducted over a two-day period. During the first day, students "sold" a product during a 20-minute, unrehearsed sales role-playing activity, with a seasoned sales executive playing the role of the buyer. Students were video taped, observed and rated by a group of industry professionals and professors from around the country. The next day, the students "sold" a service under similar circumstances to a different buyer. The top three scorers competed in a "sell-off" to determine the competition's final ranking.
"We're incredibly proud but not surprised that Jeremy and Toni made such a great showing," says Dr. Steve Newell, associate professor of marketing, who coached the duo. "They deserve to be commended for their hard work and dedication to the Sales and Business Marketing Program, the Haworth College of Business and the University."
The Sales and Business Marketing Program has approximately 300 majors and is one of only a few programs in the nation to offer a major concentrated in sales. Founded in 2000, the program is nationally recognized and already considered to be among the best of its kind in the country.
Media contact: Jessica English, 269 387-8400, jessica.english@wmich.edu