Sales Team ‘Rookie of the Year’

New UT competitors stun at international meet against students from 80 schools

A freshly formed team of sales students from The University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business and Moody College of Communication brought home “Rookie of the Year” and other honors from their second off-campus competition, the International Collegiate Sales Competition (ICSC) hosted in Orlando, Florida, by Florida State University last month.

Coached by volunteer Nick Thomas, sales director at Gartner Inc., the interdisciplinary team finished 13^th out of 80 schools for overall team performance. With 400 students competing, categories included real-life role play, a 90-second speed selling/elevator pitch, and a sales management case.

Students had opportunities to interact with 32 companies that provided real-world scenarios for the contestants and conducted interviews during a career fair at the event.

“The UT Longhorn Competitive Sales Team is getting noticed,” said Thomas, who participated in similar contests during his college career and began coaching at UT in 2024. “Don’t be surprised to see Texas onstage accepting more awards very soon.”

The four participants who traveled to Orlando are part of a larger Austin team who meet weekly to prepare sales skills under a program backed by the Professional Sales and Business Development minor, a joint program offered by Moody College of Communication and McCombs School of Business.

The group benefits from the dedication and forward-looking approach of faculty members, including marketing lecturer Gerald Nemeroff, who helps plan and execute internal sales competitions and practice sessions.

“We’re always looking for ways to prepare our students for life after graduation and to add value to our sales minor option,” said Nemeroff, who teaches at Moody College and Texas McCombs.

“The Orlando competition — a.k.a. the Global World Cup of Sales — was a great growth experience, fun for all and a validation that the sales minor is making a difference,” he said.

The minor is open to students of all majors at UT, and the curriculum includes theory, frameworks, and industry tools to help develop skills in analysis, communication, presentation, and persuasion. Competitions put these skills into face-to-face action.

Representing the UT Longhorn Competitive Sales Team in Orlando were:

Taylor Anderson, senior corporate communication major, sales minor — semifinals, role play;

Prerana Kalapatapu, senior economics and management information systems major — quarterfinals, role play;
 
Samantha Fulton, junior human dimensions of organizations major, business administration minor — finalist, speed selling;

Fulton and Serina Menon, junior corporate communication major, sales minor — 13th of 60 teams, sales management.

Thomas praises the students for their drive, talent, and rapid response to new challenges. For example, Fulton reached the finals in speed selling (160 students) by “memorizing two minutes of lines in one day and delivering them with enthusiasm to a massive crowd. Unbelievable,” Thomas said.

Also supporting the team at the meet was Lamar Johnson, recently retired executive director at McCombs and now an enthusiastic volunteer in the Marketing Department.

“I was amazed by the energy and professionalism exhibited by all the students and the hard work and great results achieved by our four superstars,” he said. “This was our first major competition, and our students topped more than 30 other first-time participants. We’ll be back!”

Thomas agrees. Next up are spring competitions, and he predicts outstanding results from the UT team. “And we won’t be rookies this time.”

Story by Sandra Kleinsasser