Elon University seniors Meg Anderson and Charley Costa won top honors last weekend at the 2010 Russ Berrie Institute National Sales Challenge at William Paterson University in New Jersey. Their achievements marked the second time in a month that students from the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business finished first in a national competition that attracted teams from some of the nation's leading business programs.
The 2010 RBI Sales Challenge brought sales students from across the country to meet with representatives from major corporations for competitive events including sales call role play and speed selling. Anderson took first place in the sales role play and speed selling events, and first overall in the championship round.
Costa placed second in the speed selling event and third in the championship round. Elon’s team of Anderson, Costa, Lauren Fredrickson and Cody Lance was named the top school team at the competition. Michael Rodriguez served as faculty coach and advisor for the Nov. 4-6, 2010, contest.
Students prepared for the competition by taping and critiquing sales call role plays and rehearsing sales pitches with sales executives, including members of the Chandler Family Professional Sales Center board and Earl Honeycutt, the center’s director.
“It was clear that we were more prepared than other schools at the sales challenge and that clearly paid off,” said Anderson, a marketing major. “I hope that our team’s success has brought attention to the Love School of Business and its sales program.”
Twenty-five schools participated in the 2010 RBI Sales Challenge, including Villanova, St. Catherine, Ball State, Baylor, Michigan State and last year’s winner, Florida State. This was Elon’s first appearance in the RBI Sales Challenge.
Costa and junior Stephen Azar won first place in October in the 2010 Eller Ethics Case Competition, a national contest hosted by the University of Arizona that exposes students to a timely business ethics case they could face in their professional careers.
– Information provided by Callie Young, Martha and Spencer Love School of Business