Bauer Sales Students Take Top Spot at State Farm Sales Competition
Program for Excellence in Selling Students Take Home the Team Award in Sales Competition
Published on November 12, 2013
Ricardo Guerra and Juan Rueda, marketing students from the Program for Excellence in Selling at the C. T. Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston, won the Team Award in the State Farm Sales Competition on Nov. 8. Guerra won first place overall and first place in role-play and third place in marketing plan contests. Rueda won third place in the role-play contest.
Two students from the Program for Excellence in Selling at the University of Houston C. T. Bauer College of Business recently won the top Team Award in the State Farm Sales Competition, held at Central Missouri University.
Marketing students Ricardo Guerra and Juan Rueda – who both also competed in the 2013 National Collegiate Sales Competition – represented the Bauer College, competing against individuals and teams from Louisiana State University, Texas State University and Western Michigan University.
Guerra claimed the overall champion award, placing first in the role-play portion of the competition and third in the marketing plan, while Rueda took the third place spot in the sales role-play contest.
Each year, the competition gives college students the opportunity to pitch their marketing ideas and to showcase their sales skills. Two representatives from 10 universities across the United States participate in the competition.
Students competed individually in a sales role-play and marketing presentation; the competition’s overall rankings were based on a cumulative score of these two major components.
This was the fourth year the competition has taken place and the third year the Bauer College participated. In 2011, Bauer student Grace Moceri competed and won first place for her role-play.
Prior to the competition, the students worked hard to prepare individual comprehensive marketing strategies for State Farm’s Drive Safe and Save program.
“We tried different things than we had in the past; we reached out to professors who are very knowledgeable in developing and implementing marketing strategies,” Rueda said. “They helped us understand how to leverage the perfect combination of creativity and feasibility for our marketing presentations.”
This year, the Bauer College competed with schools such as Louisiana State University, University of Southern California, Wake Forest and Texas State University. Last year’s winner, Western Michigan University, placed second overall.
“This competition gave me real-world experience,” Guerra said. “Whether it was practicing a role-play or developing a marketing plan, it was a good experience. Competitors were able to network with business professionals from different industries. It has helped me from a professional standpoint as well as an educational one. “
Guerra and Rueda both participated in 2013 National Collegiate Sales Competition, which took place at Kennesaw University earlier this year. Guerra placed in the top 15 and the team placed fourth out of 67 schools.
Clinical Assistant Professor of Marketing Amy Vandaveer, who was the coach for the NCSC team, also assisted the students in the role-play component of the State Farm competition while Bauer Marketing Professor Carl Herman helped the students with their marketing strategies.
"I'm so proud of Juan and Ricardo,” Vandaveer said. “They are exceptional student representatives who worked tirelessly on their marketing plans and sales skills to win first place for our program. It's a real testament to the education and students we have in the Program for Excellence in Selling. They took the knowledge and skills learned in the classroom and translated it into plans and scenarios that are applicable in a company, State Farm. It reiterates the quality of our program and our exceptional students."