Bauer Sales Students Continue to Lead the Nation at National Collegiate Sales Competition
Program for Excellence in Selling Students are Third Runners Up In National Competition
Published on March 11, 2013
Program for Excellence in Selling students Ricardo Guerra, second from right, and Nicole Pinkelman, far right, placed as third runners up during the National Collegiate Sales Competition. Also pictured (from left) Sonya Brooks, contributor and 2012 national championship competitor, 2nd overall, Raul Giron, alternate, Juan Rueda, alternate, Kyle Jarrell, contributor and PES program manager and Amy Vandaveer, co-coach.
A team of four students from the Program for Excellence in Selling at the University of Houston C. T. Bauer College of Business recently placed as third runners up at the 2013 National Collegiate Sales Competition held at Kennesaw State University.
Competitors Nicole Pinkelman, who placed fifth overall, and Ricardo Guerra, who placed in the top 15, together claimed third place runners up out of 67 schools from U.S. and Canada with team alternates Raul Giron and Juan Rueda.
The University of Houston, ranked first in the preliminary standings after back-to-back national championships and over ten years of elite competition history, were the most recognized school at the competition.
“Seeing first-hand that I was a part of a school that other teams and coaches held with such high accord was incredible,” Pinkelman said. “The entire bar was raised in that in order to beat the University of Houston, you had to elevate your sales. At the end of the day, it lets you know that the University of Houston’s Program for Excellence in Selling truly is the leader and innovator in sales education in the nation.”
The competition required the 134 students to prepare a sales presentation for a mock meeting with a buyer lasting 20 minutes. Each competitor was recorded and graded by a judging panel on criteria, such as needs identification, approach and communication skills.
With numerous competitors and elite sales talent, companies were in full force to recruit, giving the University of Houston students an even bigger opportunity. Overall, the competition offered a special experience for yet another group of PES students.
“It was an amazing experience to be among so many different schools that have great sales programs. Being able to compete at the national level was incredible,” Guerra said. “The most important part for me was that it was a means to represent my school and my program and the ultimate feeling was being able to represent something that has given so much to me.”
Receiving several national champions in its history, current coaches Amy Vandaveer, Marketing lecturer at the Bauer College, and Taylor Herbert, a sales professional at Tom James, PES alumna and former competitor of the 2011 national championship team, are proud of the team and what University of Houston has amassed over the years.
"The 2013 UH NCSC team continued to prove that the Program for Excellence in Selling at the University of Houston is the elite sales program in the nation,” Vandaveer said. “We are the only university to have three National Championships, two back-to-back, and this year the team worked tirelessly to uphold that standard of excellence and exceeded all expectations. I'm so proud of them and how they represented the university, the sales program and themselves as consummate sales professionals, proving that our students truly are the best!"
As the students celebrate their current success, they are already looking forward to helping those who come after them.
“Thanks to the program, I have so many open doors. I feel like the sky is the limit for what we can do now,” Guerra said. “The future holds a lot and it is our duty to return the favor and help the program and students.”