Ethan Laudato part of KSU National Collegiate Sales Competition Team, Takes First in Nation

2020 Apr 27

For the third time in the event's 22-year history, Kennesaw State took the top prize this week at the National Collegiate Sales Competition. And, for the first time in the event's history, they did so without ever leaving their homes.

Each spring, the National Collegiate Sales Competition invites hundreds of students to campus to showcase their talents and to network with peers and corporate recruiters.

With other major events across the country being cancelled or postponed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the organizers of the NCSC used technology to ensure the competition continued safely and that students did not lose valuable experiential learning opportunities.

The NCSC ran from March 27-30, and the event took their in-person competitions and networking sessions entirely online. While the change posed a few challenges, the organizers were committed to maintaining the quality that students and sponsors have come to expect.

"For our young people, it's important to see that when these challenges come up, there are leaders who're going to move forward through the challenge," said Terry Loe, co-director of the Michael J. Coles College of Business Center for Professional Selling and co-founder of the NCSC.

The change in format was not enough to hinder the success of Kennesaw State's team, who won first place. Kennesaw State previously finished first in 2016 and 2005. This year's team had 21 members participate, including Ethan Laudato.

The full team roster includes Michael Barger, Zach Brown, Avery Christman, Alyssa Gerold, Avery Green, Mary Brittain Harden, Maggie Harrison, Tori Horne, Ryan Hunter, Eric Jacobs, Sam Kroll, Ethan Laudato, Michell Marshall, Nick Martino, Matt Norton, Connor Pruitt, Thomas Rowen, Adam Stickler, Michael Smoak, Hannah Teague, and Trace Vanaman.

Started in 1999, the NCSC is the world's oldest and largest collegiate sales competition. This year's event featured 140 competitors from 70 universities. Students assume the role of sales professionals and compete in three rounds of 20-minute mock sales calls with representatives from the event's corporate sponsors portraying the prospective buyers. Judges include corporate partners and faculty from participating schools.

While students, buyers, and judges have traditionally been in the same room, this year corporate sponsor Gartner provided 18 WebEx meeting rooms for participants and judges to cycle in and out of. Judges had 10 minutes to discuss the roleplay before the next began, and then recorded their scores on a shared Google document.

"The format of the competition is exactly the same," Loe said. "The only thing that's changing is where people are sitting when they do a sales call."

While event organizers overcame several challenges moving to virtual competitions, students have also had to rethink their approaches.

Michael Smoak, captain of the Kennesaw State Sales Team and 3rd place winner in the individual category, acknowledged that there have been some growing pains preparing for a virtual sales competition, but was confident that the experience will be a valuable one.

"It's 2020," he said. "A lot of sales are now conducted this way. Having foundational knowledge about what it takes to sell virtually is very important."

Events across the country - and across campus - have all been forced to evolve in the era of social distancing. Despite the challenges of converting massive competitions from major, destination-based events into virtual meetings, the organizers of the NCSC remained dedicated to bringing these experiences to the students who have spent months preparing to compete.