Front row, left to right: Jackie Stutz, Emma Boson, Jenna Bower.
On Wednesday, Nov. 13, nine Tippie students were to compete against Iowa State students in the fourth annual PepsiCo Team Sales Challenge. However, the PepsiCo staff who were to be the teams’ advisors and the judges were called to a corporate meeting on short notice. So, the Department of Marketing decided to hold the event ourselves.
Tippie students participating were Emma Boson, Jenna Bower, Tristan Garcia, Derrick Johnson, Emma Laporte, Jackie Stutz, Mia Qu, Samuel Wright, and Chase Woods.
After welcoming comments from Dean Sarah Gardial and Sr. Associate Dean Amy Kristof-Brown, the three teams got the case at 9AM and had 3 ½ hours to put together, record their sales presentations and turn them in to the administrator.
The recorded presentations were then provided to four external judges to score on an established rubric. They provided their scores on Wednesday, Nov. 20, with all three teams’ scores separated by only 4 points. In the end, Team 2 (Derrick Johnson, Emma Laporte, and Jackie Stutz) were the winners.
The participants revealed afterwards that they enjoyed the competitive nature of the event and the opportunity to implement their critical thinking skills outside the classroom.
Participant, Sam Wright, commented, “Learning on the job and in high pressure situations is really valuable and you learn so much more than just sitting in class. It really is incredible how much more you learn.” With 50% of business graduates and nearly 80% of Marketing majors starting in sales-related positions after graduation, the competition allows students to improve their skills and become comfortable with selling.
A big congratulations and thank you to all who participated! If interested in participating in the future, stay tuned for announcements of the Spring Team Sales Challenge. We hope this event will be sponsored by a local company, with prizes for the winning teams!
