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.
