MIT Sales Competition



I wonder what we'll be selling for the next round of the competition.  ©

I entered the MIT Sales Competition as a way of learning something about sales - I'll need to develop this skill if I am to have any success with my entrepreneurial aspirations. I never expected that I could actually progress past the initial phase to the final round - but indeed I have. I head to Boston in two weeks.

The competition consists of two rounds. In the first round, entrants from thirteen different schools participated in a cold-call competition. Each participant cold-called a judge, who evaluated our performance. To this judge, we each attempted to sell supply chain management software; the actual scenario was based on a case we were given. From Kellogg, perhaps ten people participated. The top three scoring individuals from each school progress to the next round in Boston. I am fortunate to be among those three for Kellogg!

My strategy for the cold-call paid off: I spent most of the call asking questions and eliciting concerns so I could "pitch" what I was selling against those concerns. It was a bit clunky in places, but the judge responded favourably to my approach. I'm also sure the fact that I smile a lot (and that people say you can "hear" someone smiling) helped build rapport.

The next round takes place in Boston, on Saturday 17th October. It will consist of a 1-on-1 selling role play, as well as a group selling exercise - where the participants from each school sell something as a group. I hadn't anticipated getting this far, so I'm continuing to view this whole thing as a learning experience. Hopefully my fellow Kelloggians and I do well in representing out school.

7 comments:

  1. this sounds like an interesting experience! best of luck in boston :)

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  2. Congratulations and ATB! Once again, i love the way you write, specially when you start with a Dilbrt strip.

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  3. all the best for the next round!

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  4. Congrats man! That is fantastic. I'd buy supply chain management software from you.

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  5. Thanks for the vote of confidence, Orlando! :-)

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  6. How did this competition go?

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