January 01, 2008

Sixteen companies signed on to sponsor the Russ Berrie Institute National Sales Challenge (NSC). Sponsors got their obligatory plugs in printed matter and on banners at the event. But, more important, they got the opportunity to meet the students and watch them in action. That, says Brian Ferreira, vice-president of sales for McKesson Pharmaceutical, is valuable.

“Many of these selling programs are quite young. I think you’ll start to see more companies looking at the students who come out of these programs, because they’re prepared for selling. So it benefits us (McKesson) to be here and to be involved with programs like this to meet the students and introduce them to our company. We get to see them in a selling situation. That’s an advantage,” says Ferreira.

AT&T had never sponsored an event like the NSC before, but Jeremy Tudor, the company director of emerging sales professionals and internship programs, is quite sure they will do so again. Tudor and his team walked away from the day with 18 prospective candidates. Considering that the company will need between 50 and 100 sales representatives over the next 12 months, he says that it’s a very worthwhile investment of time. “This one opened our eyes. By doing this, AT&T is reinventing ourselves in the recruitment area,” he says, stating that he would ordinarily spend much more time and resources recruiting 18 candidates by other methods.

For Pam Webster, corporate recruiting manager of Enterprise, the benefit lies in meeting not just the students, but the teachers as well. “The professor provides an opportunity for Enterprise to build a relationship with the school. The students will graduate, and we’ll move on to students from the next class. The professors will be there year after year and are an important connection to the students,” she says.

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2008 © SELLING POWER