2019 Amica Elon Sales Challenge

Develop your sales skills. Build your resume. Compete for cash prizes.

The Chandler Family Professional Sales Center has partnered with Amica Mutual Insurance Company to offer the Amica Elon Sales Challenge, a professional selling competition for Elon students. The challenge is open to students of any major.

Amica is seeking the help of Elon University students to generate awareness of all Amica has to offer college graduates and to market its Associate Adjuster position to college seniors. In two-person teams, students are tasked to prepare and record a role play in which one team member plays an Amica recruiter, who wants the other team member, who plays a prospective employee/college student, to apply for the Associate Adjuster position with Amica. No previous sales experience is needed.

Awards

First place: $1,300 in total ($650 per student)
Second place: $700 in total ($350 per student)

Applying and Timeframe

Elon University students work in teams of two. The competition is open to all Elon students. Each participating team needs to register by October 9, 2019.

A phone conference with Amica employees will be scheduled after the application deadline for teams to ask questions and gather information needed for the deliverable. The project key deliverable (recorded sales role play) is due on November 11, 2019. The Chandler Family Professional Sales Center will submit the recorded role play directly to Amica. A team from Amica will review the deliverables and select the winners.

Any questions can be directed to Nicole Filippo in the Love School of Business’ Office of the Dean or to Alex Waddell, senior claims supervisor at Amica.

Project Scope

The objective is for each two-person team (students role playing a salesperson representing an Amica recruiter and a prospective candidate who has to be convinced to apply for the Associate Adjuster position) to research and document Amica’s employer brand, including the promote-from-within culture. Students will need to prepare a sales presentation to sell/promote the Associate Adjuster position to college students.

In order to help teams come up with a fact-based role play, the following will be available to participants:

  • Scheduled phone interviews with members of the Amica team who started their career as an Associate Adjuster
  • Access to potential career paths and opportunities available to new college hires
  • Detailed outline of Amica’s Future Leaders Program
  • Descriptions for the Associate Adjuster position
  • Promotional videos for Associate Adjusters

Faculty Consultant

Participating teams will be assigned a consultant, who is an Elon faculty member. Consultants can advise and provide feedback, but teams have to prepare their own presentations and practice their role plays before the final and recorded role play.

Key Deliverable

The role-play video should be 10 minutes or less. Role plays will be scheduled through Kim Phipps and recorded in the Chandler Family Professional Sales Center in Richard W. Sankey Hall. The video links will then be submitted to Amica by the Chandler Family Center.

Presentations will be reviewed by the Amica team and winners will be announced following the presentations. The Amica team reserves the right to interview participating teams before announcing winners. Rating criteria will be provided to assist students with key deliverables.

The Amica Elon Sales Challenge was a great opportunity for me to apply what I was learning in my sales courses in a real life context. The challenge encompassed all of the topics that I had been exposed to through my coursework at Elon and competing in it was a great way to bring that all together and gain valuable experience.

– Kristen Wrigley ’18

About Amica

Company: Amica Mutual Insurance Company

Headquarters: Lincoln, Rhode Island

Company Overview: Established in 1907, Amica is the oldest mutual insurer of automobiles in the United States. Amica is a direct writer of personal insurance with auto, home, umbrella and marine coverages.

Amica has 3,700 employees nationwide and multiple offices throughout the country. We’re known in the insurance industry for our financial strength and exceptional customer service, and credit this success to our employees. We take pride in our promote-from-within culture, which supports growth and advancement of all employees. The company is consistently recognized as one of the best places to work in Rhode Island and has received numerous awards for its customer service to its policyholders.

Financial Ratings:

  • A+ (Superior) from A.M. Best Company*
  • Repeatedly recognized for exceptional service in auto and home insurance surveys by a leading consumer publication
  • No. 12 on Forbes’ List of Best Employers for Women

*A.M. Best Company. Jan. 24, 2019. For the latest rating, access ambest.com​.

Financial Strength:

Assets as of December 31, 2018 – $5.4 billion
Policy counts as of December 31, 2018 – 1.6 million

Scenario:

The insurance industry will have significant staffing challenges in the near future. The industry has an aging workforce, and thousands of employees will be approaching retirement over the next several years. Due to limited brand awareness, many college students will approach graduation with little knowledge of the opportunities within the industry.

While Amica is a leader in the industry, we share some of the same challenges. Our workforce, which is our competitive advantage, is aging. A significant number of our employees will be eligible for retirement in the next three to five years. The need to better brand ourselves as a place to start and build a career is extremely important.

Amica has a long-standing history of cultivating a promote-from-within culture that provides many opportunities for participants in our Future Leaders Program. However, many job seekers in college are unaware of the openings available at Amica. We need to amplify our opportunities for employment, development and advancement to the college audience, specifically in our core recruiting schools. We’re seeking the help of Elon University students to generate awareness of all Amica has to offer college graduates and to develop a campaign to market the Associate Adjuster position.

Judging Criteria – Video

Approach (5%)

  • Professional introduction
  • Salesperson (individual playing recruiter) gains candidate’s attention
  • Effectively builds rapport
  • Smooth transition into needs identification

Needs Identification (25%)

  • Uncovers decision process (decision criteria, what aspects are included in the student’s decision about applying for a job (ex. Open to relocation, only wants to apply for positions in NC, wants a position that relates to their major, etc.)
  • Effectively determines relevant facts about what the student is looking for in a career/company post-college
  • Effectively uncovers needs of the student that must be met in order for the student to be interested in applying for a position (ex. A position that will allow for intellectual challenges, advancement opportunities, etc.)
  • Gains pre-commitment to consider applying for the Future Leaders Program

Company/Position Presentation (25%)

  • Presents the positive aspects/benefits of the Future Leaders Program based on the needs of the candidate
  • A clear and convincing presentation the effectively explains the adjuster position
  • Effectively explains the leadership aspect of the adjuster role in the Future Leader’s Program

Overcoming Objections (15%)

  • Initially gains better understanding of concerns/objections candidate may have to applying for the Future Leaders Program adjuster position. Clarifies or allows candidate to clarify the objection.
  • Effectively answers the objection (ex. A student is interested in relocation but is concerned with the moving aspect; the recruiter explains Amica relocation package).
  • Confirms that the objection is no longer a concern of the candidate

Close (10%)

  • Persuasive in presenting a reason to apply for the Future Leaders Program

Communication Skills (15%)

  • Effective verbal communication skills (active listening; restated, rephrased, clarified, probed for better understanding)
  • Appropriate non-verbal communication
  • Verbiage (clear, concise, professional)

Overall (5%)

  • Recruiter enthusiasm and confidence
  • Demonstrates a clear understanding of Amica company culture