Schmidthorst Students Finish Second and Third in Gartner Ohio Sales Challenge

Written by Sydney Flora, Dean’s Communications Intern

Two Schmidthorst College of Business students placed in the top three out of thirty participants at the Ohio Sales Challenge on October 2.

Trent Graham, a senior studying Sales and Services Marketing, placed second in the competition. Noah Schumacker, a senior studying Sales and Services Marketing, placed third.

“This competition was a great way to practice the sales process," said Graham. "This experience will be highly beneficial to my future career in the sales world.”

The Ohio Sales Challenge is a virtual competition sponsored by Gartner, a technology research and consulting company, and included 10 participants each from the University of Cincinnati, Miami University and Bowling Green State University.

The contestants assumed the role of Gartner sales representatives attempting to sell “Gartner for CIOs”, a service that gives companies access to market research, cost optimization tools and access to an expert technology consultant.

Students were evaluated on their execution of the steps of the sales process, including the approach, needs identification, product/service presentation, overcoming objectives and the close. Gartner employees played the role of the prospective client, presenting sales obstacles that they commonly faced in day-to-day selling situations.

The 10 BGSU participants were in the Advanced Sales class taught by Dr. Greg Rich, Professor in the Department of Marketing. To prepare students for the competition, Dr. Rich had the students practice in class and complete role-playing scenarios.

“I am very impressed with how hard these students worked to prepare,” said Dr. Rich. “I am proud that they did so well and positively represented the Schmidthorst College.”

The competition was judged by Gartner employees and faculty members from the participating colleges, including Dr. Rich.

When asked how he prepared for the competition, Schumacker said “I think what really set me apart was constantly asking myself, 'Am I going to be the winner of this competition?’ This challenged my day-to-day actions and helped me be self-aware of what I need to do in order to contribute to that overall goal of places.”