WP Students Clinch Team Championship in 16th National Sales Challenge

William Paterson University clinched the Overall Team Champion title in the 16^th National Sales Challenge, hosted on campus last week by WP’s Russ Berrie Institute for Professional Sales. Competing on William Paterson’s winning team were senior Jessica David and freshman Felix Camacho.

The three-day event attracts top sales students from the U.S. (and beyond) as competitors, with executives from major corporations serving as judges. There were 25 teams competing this year – 22 from universities in the U.S., two from Canada, and one from Hong Kong. In total, 100 students took part.

“The success of our National Sales Challenge reflects our excellent, well-rounded bachelor’s degree program in professional sales,” says Anthony “Tony” Bowrin, dean of William Paterson’s Cotsakos College of Business. “Our sales graduates are among our most successful, benefitting immensely from our curriculum, our passionate faculty and alumni, the simulation environments and technology in our Russ Berrie Institute for Professional Sales, and our strong relationships with corporate partners around the state and country.”

The National Sales Challenge includes two contests. In the speed selling contest, student-competitors meet with executives to deliver a two-minute sales pitch highlighting why they should be hired. In the role-play contest, student-competitors conduct a fifteen-minute sales call meeting. Judges score the students’ performances, and they advance to subsequent rounds.

In addition to the Overall Team Champion title, WP shone in the speed selling contest, where David won first place and Camacho won third place.

During the robust three-day event, student-competitors also took part in a career fair on campus, corporate presentations, and sales career networking sessions.

“Between the experience they gain competing live in front of top executives, where they receive face-to-face candid feedback on their performance, as well as the career events and presentations we organize, the takeaway for students from this event is invaluable,” says

WP marketing professor Mike Chao, director of the Russ Berrie Institute for Professional Sales.

Ron Jones, an instructor in the Institute, served as the competition coach for WP’s winning team.

Results from the 2023 competition can be found here.

11/27/23