51视频

05/14/2025
By Ed Brennen

Deeyana Tourserkani had a lot of ground to cover with her client in the 10-minute meeting 鈥� saving for the kids鈥� education, planning for retirement, picking the right life insurance policy. So, after a few pleasantries, she got right down to business.

鈥淚 know in our last meeting you said you鈥檇 love to be on the beach with a pi帽a colada someday, but could you put a number to how much you鈥檇 need to maintain your current lifestyle while still saving for that retirement that you envision?鈥� Tourserkani asked as she opened her black leather folder brimming with Northwestern Mutual financial planning information.

Tourserkani wasn鈥檛 really selling 529 college savings plans and life insurance; she鈥檚 only a junior in the Manning School of Business. And her client, James Day, wasn鈥檛 really looking to buy; he actually works for Northwestern Mutual as a finance representative.

The 鈥渕eeting鈥� was part of the first-ever 51视频 Sales Challenge, a case competition hosted recently by the university鈥檚 fledgling Sales Hub at the Pulichino Tong Business Center. The daylong event featured 11 students from the Manning School鈥檚 Sales Team and 10 students from visiting Plymouth State University vying for cash prizes in role-play scenario and elevator pitch categories.

鈥淏uilding professional sales skills is worthwhile, no matter what kind of business you鈥檙e in,鈥� says Tourserkani, an honors听finance and accounting student from Acton, Massachusetts, who serves as co-captain of the Sales Team. She was UML鈥檚 top finisher, winning $250 for placing third in the role-play competition.

The Manning School offers an undergraduate 鈥淪ales and Customer Relations鈥� course, but it is looking to expand its sales curriculum, according to Professor Berk Talay, chair of the marketing, entrepreneurship and innovation (MEI) department.

鈥淥ur vision is to be the premier provider of sales education in our region,鈥� says Talay, who notes that the school is developing a customer relationship management (CRM) course. A third sales course would allow the Manning School to be nationally accredited for sales education, he says.

The Sales Hub is sponsored by companies from a variety of fields, including ALKU and Black Diamond Networks (consulting and staffing), UKG (workforce management solutions), Fastenal (industrial and construction supplies) and Northwestern Mutual (financial services).

Besides financial support, the companies鈥� employees serve as judges and role-playing participants at case competitions hosted by schools 鈥� or by the companies themselves.

鈥淲e love being involved with the next generation of sales professionals, and we鈥檙e happy to be introduced to them as students, when we can help them determine what they鈥檙e looking for as they head into their full-time careers,鈥� says Leah Palermo, director of campus recruiting and development for Northwestern Mutual. 鈥淲e have great internship opportunities, and being involved in these competitions opens the door to meet more amazing students.鈥�

Sales Team co-captain James Cordon, a senior marketing and accounting student from Brockton, Massachusetts, joined the team as a sophomore. In his first competition, hosted by ALKU at its headquarters in Andover, Massachusetts, Cordon finished in last place 鈥� but came away with a summer recruiting internship at the company.

鈥淐oming back to school that fall, my passion for sales grew,鈥� says Cordon, who as a junior won a competition at ALKU (earning $1,500) and took third (and $1,000) at another at Robert Morris University in Pennsylvania.

鈥淥nce I learned the sales process, it became a lot easier,鈥� says Cordon, who 鈥渄efinitely鈥� plans to work in sales after finishing his degree in December. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a whole structure and framework to it that I find interesting.鈥�

Mehar Rustogi, a senior marketing and management student from Los Angeles, finished second in the elevator pitch competition at UML (earning $100) and made it to the semifinal round of the role-play competition.

鈥淚 have a passion for sales. I鈥檓 the type of person to strike up a conversation with the person sitting next to me on the plane,鈥� says Rustogi, who says the key to being a good salesperson is active listening. 鈥淟et them do more of the talking and ask open-ended questions to lead them to their pain point.鈥�

Rustogi, a transfer student who will graduate in December, learned about the Sales Team while taking 鈥淣ew Product Development鈥� with Visiting Faculty Lecturer Bill Phelps, the team鈥檚 advisor. Phelps joined UML in January of 2024 after a 25-year sales career, primarily in the engineering sector.

鈥淚t鈥檚 so much fun working with students and gearing them up to be professional salespeople,鈥� says Phelps, who also sees the experience as a 鈥渉uge win鈥� for the company sponsors. 鈥淭hey're not spending time teaching them what it means to be a salesperson; they already know how to sell. Now, they just need to know what they're selling.鈥�

The Sales Team, which has grown this year to around 20 members, meets at least once a week to practice their personal 60-second elevator pitches and review case studies from sponsors for upcoming competitions.

Victor Cardoso, a junior accounting and finance student from Dracut, Massachusetts, joined the team last fall to become a more articulate speaker. He won a speed-sell competition at ALKU earlier this year and made it to the final round of the role-playing competition at UML.

鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely been a confidence-booster for me,鈥� he says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of pressure in the competitions, speaking with the buyers one-on-one in front of judges, but it teaches you to think on your feet.鈥�

The Sales Hub plans to host an elevator pitch competition in the fall.

鈥淚 would love to see more students join and go to more competitions next year,鈥� says Tourserkani, the co-captain. 鈥淲e鈥檙e all so much better communicators now than we were at the beginning of the semester. I know I鈥檓 a different person today.鈥�