Asbury Sales Student Wins Global Competition
April 10, 2024
The Dayton School of Business (DSB) Asbury Sales Team competed in multiple events this spring, with students securing first-time wins in challenging new products and sales situations.
Lauren Harris ’25 and Julianne Knox ’27 participated in the National Shores Sales Challenge in Salisbury, Md. At the competition, the students competed to sell a Perdue Farms frozen chicken product to grocery retailers.
Both Harris and Knox placed second in the first round, placing them in the Top 20 (of 76) for that round and allowed them to move directly to the semifinals. The competition fostered perseverance in dealing with a variety of customers and featured a mingling event with the students and Jim Perdue at his family home on the Maryland shore.
Yuri Tirado ’24 and Franco Patino ’26 excelled in the virtual round of the Global Bilingual Sales Competition in February, winning second place for their team and receiving an invitation to the semifinals in Miami. This competition had the double challenge of a complex product (HubSpot software) along with the challenge of selling in both English and Spanish.
“When it comes to sales or meetings, it is very important to find the perfect balance to combine all the knowledge acquired; sometimes we have to trust our instincts and ourselves more than the information,” said Tirado. “Once graduated, I’ll begin my accounting position at EY, enjoying the challenges and opportunities that life gives us to learn from them.”
Patino won the Spanish competition, receiving coaching from one of the Sales Team’s former competitors, Juan Vidal ’23, who prepared the students in Miami. The performance earned Asbury a third-place finish overall.
“Having my mom travel from Argentina to Miami to see me and spend quality time with me was already a massive win,” said Patino. “Moreover, getting first place while embodying all the hard work done by Dr. George Allen and Juan Vidal was phenomenal. Overall, I’m grateful for the opportunities that the DSB facilitates for its students and for my astounding and loving family. Without them, nothing would be possible.”
“I am very proud of these four competitors who represented the Lord and Asbury well as they worked hard to prepare over the last several months and then competed well at their events,” said Dr. George Allen, Asbury’s Center for Professional Selling director. “Please join me in congratulating Lauren, Julianne, Franco, Yuri, and their coach Juan for their great performance.”
The DSB recently announced the Certificate in Professional Sales, an 18-credit program providing formal recognition of significant training in professional sales available to Asbury undergraduate Business students. Learn more.
The DSB offers five majors (Accounting, Business Administration, Finance, Marketing, and Sport Management), five minors (Accounting, Business, Entrepreneurship, Marketing, and Sport Management), the MBA program, the M.S. in Accounting program, and the Online Business Management program. Learn more: https://www.asbury.edu/academics/departments/business/.