Smiles All Around After BBSO

Baylor’s Center for Professional Selling hosted its annual Baylor Business Sell-Off (BBSO) last month, which was sponsored by dental equipment provider Henry Schein.

The BBSO is comprised of two main components: an individual competition and a team-selling category; each giving students the opportunity to engage in realistic sales situations where they can demonstrate and improve upon their personal selling skills. Students play the role of a salesperson making a sales call to a live business executive. Every sales call is recorded and uploaded to the web and then judged by business executives from around the country. Along with gaining feedback and experience, the top-five performers are awarded cash prizes, with the 1st place winner receiving $750.

“The participants represented the high level of sales skill I have come to expect from Baylor students,” remarked buyer Randall McLemore, DFW Regional Manager for Henry Schein.

The case for this year’s competition was shaped around the sponsor as the students presented a payroll product (ADP Run Mobile) to a growing dental practice. Henry Schein provided seven sales executives as buyers and they engaged with students from 3:00 – 7:00pm. Four representatives from Waco-based The Dwyer Group served as buyers from 7:00-9:00pm. Each sales call is capped at 20 minutes and involves the buyer simulating a real-life situation having other meetings and questions throughout the presentation.

“As a buyer I was impressed with the sales student’s preparation, professionalism, and sales aptitude as these are the skills any sales organization look to hire,” said Dean Kyle, Zone General Manager for Henry Schein.

Once each student completed a sales call, that video was uploaded to the Internet and sent off for judging. Over the weekend, more than70 volunteer judges watched 3 – 12 sales calls and critiqued the introduction, needs identification, presentation of the product and overall presentation.

The top-six eligible Pro Sales finalists, Joseph Chen, Alex Dixon, Pres McKissack, Eric Prevatte, Austin Smith and Simeon Brown will compete in February in a final BBSO round to determine Baylor’s five representatives at the National Collegiate Sales Competition (NCSC) in Atlanta, GA. Top place-winner, Joanna Murrieta will be graduating and starting her career with 3M in December. Along with attending one of the top national sales competitions, these students will experience the largest national sales career fair in the country that NCSC boasts.

About the Center for Professional Selling
Dedicated to excellence in sales education and based in the university’s Hankamer School of Business, the Center for Professional Selling is recognized as one of the premier global information resources for the sales profession. For more information on the Center for Professional Selling, visit https://hankamer.baylor.edu/prosales.