After a successful performance at a national college sales competition last month, the SJU Sales Club has gained some momentum toward their goal of recruiting more members.
Started in 2019, the SJU Sales Club is a student-run organization that meets twice a month to discuss sales-career topics, meet influential sales and marketing professionals and further develop their understanding of sales in relation to all areas of business. It is open to all majors and draws anywhere from 30 to 60 members to meetings and events.
“I think Sales Club offers a really unique set of skills, just because we don’t have a sales major or minor,” said Lily Weil ’22, club president. “This is a way to expose students to this set of skills.”
Twelve club members attended the annual Selling with the Bulls sales competition, hosted at the University of Southern Florida for the past 17 years. Held Feb. 17-19, the competition this year brought in 110 students from 28 universities to showcase their sales skills while networking with companies who are actively recruiting.
St. Joe’s has participated for the past three years and placed fourth overall this time around. Club members Meghan Prince ’22, Abigail Nolan ’22 and Amanda Fanning ’22 won individual awards for placing in the winner’s circle among all participants. Prince also won an award for placing third in the networking sector.
At the competition, participants partook in simulated aspects of the sales process such as networking, prospecting, discovery calls and sales meetings.
“The benefits were getting the real-world experience before actually having a job in that industry and being able to better navigate those situations that they put you in before you actually have to deal with that,” said Pat Slavtcheff ’23, who took part in the competition.
The club itself also offers that experience to participants, according to Weil. The club teaches students how to pitch themselves to employers, which is a key skill for students of all majors, Weil said.
“If you want to go into the sales industry, you have to have the skills to sit in front of someone for a job interview and be able to know what your benefits are, what your features are and be able to basically sell yourself to an employer,” Weil said. “That’s what I want people to get out of it.”
Donald Townsend, visiting professor of strategic marketing and advisor for the Sales Club, said he has seen an increased interest in the club and attributes that to current members posting about the Selling with the Bulls competition on social media and LinkedIn. He also has been actively working to recruit students.
“I go and see all the Principles of Marketing students and talk to them about the Sales Certification Program and Sales Club every year during the semester,” Townsend said. “I’m trying to build interest at the freshmen and sophomore level.”
The Sales Certification Program offers students a way to prove their preparation and ability for a successful start in sales jobs and business careers, according to Townsend. It consists of taking three designated sales electives, working a sales internship and active membership in the Sales Club.
As the club strongly complements the Sales Certification Program, members are strongly encouraged to join, but aren’t required to, Townsend said. He ultimately pitches the club as an opportunity for students to familiarize themselves with the sales industry prior to entering it, and to prepare themselves for any business related career.
“It makes you a little bit different,” Townsend said. “You can take a marketing major, a real estate major, or an insurance major, and take a couple classes, do an internship and be able to get a certification by me and by the people that you work for.”
