Sales team places ninth
The UD Sales Team placed ninth overall at the National Collegiate Sales Competition at Kennesaw State University, March 31, outside of Atlanta, Ga. Competitor Mike Lamorgese, far right, earned seventh place, out of 136 competitors. Courtesy of UD Sales Team
By: BYRON HOSKINSON-Staff Writer
The University of Dayton Sales Team recorded its highest finish since its establishment in 2008 in both the team and individual competitions Monday, March 31.
The team finished ninth of 67 at the National Collegiate Sales Competition, the largest and oldest collegiate sales competition in the US, according to Tony Krystofik, director of the Fiore Talarico Center for Professional Selling.
Mike Lamorgese, a senior marketing major with a sales management emphasis, finished seventh of 134 in the individual rankings at the NCSC, which took place March 28-31 at Kennesaw State University in Atlanta, Ga.
Krystofik said prior to Lamorgese’s top ten finish, the highest finish by a UD student at the NCSC had been 17th.
According to Lamorgese, the competition involved being placed in scenarios in which he was tasked with selling a specified product to a client that also scored his performance based on the successfulness of the sale.
Lamorgese said the mock clients regularly used tactics intended to disrupt his presentation and concentration.
“During one of my sessions, [the client] just stood up and walked out,” Lamorgese said. “We only had 20 minutes, so leaving for five really threw my plans off balance.” Lamorgese said he was able to close the sale without difficulty.
Krystofik said the UDST is selective and open to junior and senior marketing majors with a sales management emphasis.
The team is based in the Center for Professional Selling, which was dedicated Oct. 17, 2013, after a $1 million donation by Fiore Talarico, a 1974 UD graduate and Houston-based businessman, according to an Oct. 14, 2014 University news release entitled “Million-Dollar Sale.”
Krystofik said the Center was donated to “strengthen the curriculum and sales management courses at UD.”
“It’s allowed us to have a physical space where the students can put into practice what they’ve learned in UD’s classrooms,” he said.
Krystofik said he began working at UD as an adjunct professor in 1997 after leaving IBM. He said in 2005, the school of business created a sales management emphasis, which is attained by completing a block of three courses that include Principles of Selling, Sales Management, and any one of three other sales-focused marketing electives.
UD is one of only 48 colleges in the US with a sales program, said Kyrstofik.
Krystofik said during the following year, 2006, he was asked to help create a sales center to develop the sales program. Subsequently, the UDST was founded in 2008 followed by the sales club in 2010 and finally the Center for Professional Selling in 2013.