Competitions

Sales competitions are an excellent way for students to develop their selling skills and showcase their talent and for corporate partners to view our students in action. In addition to the annual All-MSU Sales Competition open to all Sales Leadership Minor students, we routinely send students to represent Michigan State University at national sales competitions. Demonstrating the quality of the Sales Leadership program and our students, MSU has an impressive history of performance at these events.

• National Championships

  2018 - National Collegiate Sales Competition Champions

  • Winning Team Members: Keegan Dashner, Selma Kijamet, Heidi Surdyk, Alyssa Cutcher (Coach: Marketing Doctoral Candidate Valerie Good)
  • Individual Competition Winner: Heidi Surdyk (Coach: Marketing Doctoral Candidate Valerie Good)

  2017 -  National Team Selling Competition Champions

  • Winning Team Members: Kelsey Clements, Brian Platte, Heidi Surdyk, Paul Butcher, Champions of the National Team Selling Competition (Coach: Dr. Stephanie Mangus)

  2016 – National Collegiate Sales Competition Champion

  • Individual Competition Winner: Abbie Newton (Coach: Dr. Doug Hughes)

  2015 – National Team Selling Competition Champions

  • Winning Team Members: Shamus Cook, Isaac Gilliam, Me-Rae Kim, Alex Pouba (Coach: Dr. Stephanie Mangus)

  2011 – National Team Selling Competition Champions

  • Winning Team Members: Matt Blumhardt, Evan Kline, Kaelyn Iciek-Nicks, Kelsey Rosen (Coaches: Dr. Doug Hughes, John Baxter, Alexs Hermans)

  2009 – National Team Selling Competition Champions

  • Winning Team Members: Lindsey Archambo, Anthony Housley, Melanie Pine, Mike Scavuzzo (Coach: Dr. Doug Hughes)

  2008 – National Team Selling Competition Champions

  • Winning Team Members: Matt Bishop, Darcy Dittrich, Kacey Prior, Jen Rhee (Coach: Dr. Doug Hughes)

                              

• Championships and Titles

  First Place Student, National Collegiate Sales Competition 2018, 2016 First Place (National Champion)

  National Team Selling Competition 2008, 2009, 2011, 2015, and 2017 

  World Collegiate Sales Competition and Sales Decathlon 2012 & 2014 Runner Up

  Semi-finalists or Quarter-finalists, National Collegiate Sales Competition 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015

                             

• All-MSU Sales Competition

  Each February, all students are invited to participate in the All-MSU Sales Competition, a tournament-style event where up to 60 students compete and where corporate partners and sponsors participate as buyers and judges. In the competition, students make a series of 20-minute one-on-one sales calls where they sell a technology solution (CRM or payroll service in past years) to small- to medium-size business buyers.

  The competition winner receives a $2000 scholarship, second place $1000, third and fourth $500, and all four finalists earn the right to represent MSU at the National Collegiate Sales Competition in Georgia (two as competitors and two as alternates).

  All-MSU Sales Competition Winners:

   

  

  2023 – Ryan Bandalene 

  2022 – Catherine Surian 

  2021 – Josie Miller

  2020 – Sydney Dehorn

  2019 – Maria Tomovski

  2018 – Heidi Surdyk

  2017 – Patrick Conway

  2016 – Abigail Newton

  2015 – Mackenzie Walters

  2014 – Greg Gariepy

  2013 – Maria Sasinowski

  2012 – Evan Kline

  2011 – Alexs Hermans

                                     

• National Team Selling Competition

  Each Fall since 2008, MSU has sent a team of four students to the National Team Selling Competition at Indiana University. In this competition, students are provided with a case study and business-to-business selling scenario a week or two before the competition. After preparing for several days, students then travel to Bloomington, Indiana to compete.

  At the competition, the team conducts an introductory 15-minute sales call to assess the prospect’s needs and then completes a second 20-minute sales call to present a solution and gain the buyer’s commitment to take action. MSU has won the national championship five times (2008, 2009, 2011, 2015, and 2017).

    

• National Collegiate Sales Competition

  National Collegiate Sales Competition Each Spring since 2009, MSU has sent two students to compete (individually) in the National Collegiate Sales Competition at Kennesaw State University in Georgia. In this multi-round tournament-style competition, students conduct a one-on-one 20-minute sales call where they sell a product or service (CRM or Payroll solution in recent years) to a small-business buyer. There is also a large Sales Career Fair held in conjunction with the event.

  In 2018, MSU placed first in the team category of this event and student Heidi Surdyk placed first in the individual category. In 2016, Abbie Newton placed first in this event besting 134 students from 67 universities across North America.

  National Champions (both team and individual): 2018 – Heidi Surdyk (individual champion), and championship team members: Keegan Dashner, Selma Kijamet, Alyssa Cutcher, Heidi Surdyk (Coach: PhD Candidate Valerie Good)

  National Champions: 2016 – Abigail Newton

     

• Other Competitions

  On occasion, MSU has sent students to other national and international competitions, with outstanding results. For example, both years that MSU competed in the World Collegiate Sales Open (name changed to Sales Decathlon in 2014), our students (Zororo Makamba in 2012 and Zach Doerr in 2014) finished as the runner-up in a field of approximately 200 student competitors from universities across the U.S., Canada, and Europe.

  Although this particular competition no longer exists, students interested in competing in other national or global competitions should contact Jennifer Rumler about the possibility of MSU support.