Nicholls College of Business Administration will host its tenth annual Bayou Sales Challenge starting today, filled with role-playing competitions and a career expo showcasing the marketing techniques of five local colleges.
The Bayou Sales Challenge will have awards for the best team scores out of Nicholls, Louisiana State University, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Southern University or Xavier University, as well as individual awards for the role-playing competitions.
Chuck Viosca, associate professor of marketing, said the day starts with a panel discussion from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. in room 113 of Powell Hall that is open to the public.
“There are some sales representatives from the industry that come in and they talk a little bit about themselves and their companies,” Viosca said. “The students who are competing, and any other students who want to attend, ask questions, and that’s always very enlightening and interesting. Students ask questions like: ‘It’s kind of scary starting out on commission. How did you get though that? What do you find challenging these days? What do you like about your job?’ Those kinds of things.”
After the panel discussion, the event shifts into competition mode with the first round of closed role-plays.
“Every student has the same scenario, selling the same product, to the same customer,” Viosca said. “The customers have some things that are going to be standardized. For example, they’ll have the same needs, problems, and they’ll throw out the same objections regarding things like price, or security. The students have to navigate through that.”
While the students are doing the role-playing exercises, there is one person playing the customer from a company and other company representatives watch the role-play live in another room to score and judge each student throughout. Students compete on an individual level, but also for the highest team score in the same event. After round one, the highest scored students move on to the semi-finals on Friday. The rest of the students get to compete in a wild-card round for a second chance at the semi-finals.
“Friday morning is the semi-final competition which is another role play with a different customer, situation, and objectives,” Viosca said. “Those who aren’t in the semi-finals compete in a pressure round where they get ten minutes with the customer that gives them one more chance to shine and display their skills.”
 The companies will judge the students resulting in a team champion, individual champion, runner ups and a pressure round champion.
While students are participating in their final role-play challenges, the Bayou Sales Career Expo will take place from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in room 210 of Powell Hall, where companies set up booths in pursuit of students for possible job opportunities. The expo is also open to all students, but it is requested that students dress professionally.
“A lot of students get placement out of this event which is really nice,” Viosca said. “We’ve placed students from Nicholls through this event and the other schools too so it’s a great opportunity and a great job market. It is very focused. A lot of career fairs have everything under the sun and students are interested in all kinds of things, but this is a concentrated career fair where the companies know they will be exposed to students who are very interested in sales, and that is what the companies are looking to hire.”
The award ceremony is from 12:15 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Plantations Suites of the Student Union.
“Last year ULL won, and LSU the year before, but Nicholls is hoping to reclaim the title,” Viosca said. “The prize is really job opportunities. A lot of times students who do well in the competition, companies are handing them cards to talk about opportunities. So you can really earn the ultimate prize, which is a job, and ultimately what the competition was designed to do.”
To prepare for the competition, students use the same tactics as they do in class.
Seth Vaughn, marketing senior from Berwick, said.
“I’m not too nervous about it. We did so many role-plays in our classes so this is just another one to me,” Vaughn said. “Knowing the product is the main thing and worry because if you don’t know the product they can get you with questions. Knowing and understanding what we’re selling and being prepared for any questions.”
“There are certain points to hit during the role-play, and some people hit all those points but they sound so robotic and scripted,” Vaughn said. “They move on because they hit all the points, but obviously they are not as good of a salesman as someone who may not hit all the points but listens to the client and understands all their needs.”
Megan Cloutet, business administration senior from Covington, said although she is nervous to compete with other colleges, she feels well-prepared.
“I took the MKTG 320 and the MKTG 420 which is the professional sales class that I have to take for my major,” Cloutet said. “That really helped to prepare me because I already knew how to set up a good outline.”
Viosca said the Sales and Interactive Training Laboratory is a key tool used for the role-play exercises that students participate in.
“Our sales lab comes in handy. We were the first university in Louisiana to have a sales lab in 2003,” Viosca said. “Basically, it’s like any other behavioral lab like in psychology or education, you have observation rooms. These role-plays are students’ exams in the sales class. It’s intimidating, but it’s also skill building. It’s very free form, like an essay and it can go in any direction. That’s how we train them in the classes. The first class we build up their skills in a lot of different areas, teaching them the nuts and bolts of selling and in the advanced class it’s all about practice.”
The lab features three role-play rooms, a control room and a professional conference room, with each of the role-play rooms equipped with professional video cameras and one-way observation mirrors.
“Students can watch the recording of themselves like athletes watching film of the game to self critique,” Viosca said. “As a faculty member I’m going to grade and critique their role plays, but they do that as well, so that’s how they learn and improve their skills. Students can even pull up that information over the internet to access it at their convenience.”
Emily Gilcrease, marketing senior from Houma, said in the sales classes offer at Nicholls, students can really become accustomed to the feeling of role-playing and making a pitch.
“Once you get the hang of it, it’s not so nerve-racking, plus I’ve been in sales for two years and we don’t have the same exact process, but I meet with decision makers,” Gilcrease said. “It comes more natural, as compared to rehearsed, when you actually have more experience in it.”
Gilcrease was recently invited to the National Collegiate Sales Competition in Georgia. She said sales competitions are the ideal place to hone in on skills and pursue job opportunities. Gilcrease is excited about the Bayou Sales Challenge because job opportunities will be more local.
“I’m just hoping to get some more positive feedback,” Gilcrease said. “Of course everyone wants to win, but I just want to do the best that I can to know that I gave it my all.”