USI students excel at National Collegiate Sales Competition

The University of Southern Indiana Professional Selling Team competed in the 2012 National Collegiate Sales Competition (NCSC) at Kennesaw State University in Georgia March 2-5. Two USI seniors, Lucas Ball and Cody Sharkey, competed against 126 students from 64 universities across the United States and Canada. The team finished in the top 50 of all competing universities.

“The purpose of the NCSC is to encourage students to strive to reach their unimagined potential,” said Chad Milewicz, team coach and assistant professor of marketing. “The students who pursue that challenge are rewarded with potential job offers and a powerful learning experience that will stay with them the rest of their life.”

Inaugurated in 1999, the NCSC hosts the top collegiate sales students and faculty from the most elite sales programs in North America. The largest and oldest sales role-play competition in the world is sponsored by national and global companies who recruit students at the event. The 39 companies sponsoring this year’s event put on a two-day private career fair for participating students. Event director Dr. Terry Loe said that about 70 percent of students who attend leave with job offers.

Students compete over a three-day period as sales consultants in a series of role-plays. “USI helps us develop the necessary skills to be successful, and the NCSC gives us the opportunity to showcase those skills at a national level,” said Sharkey.

Ball, Sharkey and alternate team member Adam Kaps were recruited for internships and job opportunities by global organizations such as Tom James, UPS, and Vantive, and national companies such as Wyndham Vacation Ownership and Cox Media Group.

“The 2012 NCSC offered invaluable experience not only to the competitors, but to the alternates as well,” said Kaps. “Aside from actually competing, I was able to observe and participate in role-plays with the USI team leading up to the competition, and make connections with professionals from multi-million dollar companies.”

Applications to join the 2013 USI Professional Selling Team and take part in the NCSC career fair are available and can be obtained by contacting Milewicz at cmmilewicz@usi.edu.