by BECKY GOFF
Little Apple Post
MANHATTAN - The Advanced Selling class at Kansas State University organized the 12th annual National Strategic Selling Institute's benefit auction to raise money to award to students and the Coming Together for a Cure charity created by alumnus.
Working together, students gathered items for the auction and sold tickets to the event, raising more than $186,000 this year for merit awards and scholarships.
Additionally, more than $18K was raised for Coming Together for a Cure, which was founded by a K-State alumni in Wichita.
Forty-eight students were presented student merit awards throughout the auction based on the student's participation and performance in the Advanced Selling class.
The top six students received Ninja Sales Cat awards in recognition of their performance in class.
The students include: Anders Runyan, senior in professional strategic selling, Weatherby Lake, Missouri, earned top performer in the Ninja Sales Cat Award. Additional winners of the Ninja Sales Cat Award included Hannah Broyles, senior in professional strategic selling, Olathe; Francesca Duntz, senior in professional strategic selling, Overland Park; Charles Kuenzi, senior in professional strategic selling and management, Sabetha; James Neis, senior in professional strategic selling, Topeka; and Bailey Ballard, senior in professional strategic selling and marketing, Rogersville, Missouri.
Sponsors of the Ninja Sales Cat awards include: U-Stop Convenience Shops, Mark and Chris Whitehead; Charlie Morrison; Ron and Janis Jackson; Mike King, Luminous Neon Art & Sign; and Kelly Kitchener, Kelly Kitchener Agency Inc.
Designed to simulate real-world sales environments, the Advanced Selling course helps students develop as salespeople, improving their skill sets and receive coaching from faculty to continue to meet or exceed their goals.
"I want our students to come out of this class with a full understanding of what it's like to be a member of a sales force," said Dawn Deeter, director of the National Strategic Selling Institute. "I want them to experience the highs and the lows and the realization of the hard work and mental toughness needed to be successful. The fundamental purpose of this class is to give our students a realistic preview of what it is like to be a salesperson so that they hit the ground running in their first sales role and experience success faster than their peers."
The 2024 auction raised the more money than the preceding classes and exceeded the goal the students had set for themselves.
The National Strategic Selling Institute in the College of Business Administration has been named one of the top sales programs in the country for 12 straight years by the Sales Education Foundation. In the fall of 2018, Kansas State became just the 19thuniversity in the U.S. to offer a major in professional strategic selling. Students can also earn a certificate in professional strategic selling, which is open to all majors at the university. The professional strategic selling program introduces students to the fundamentals of sales, and the innovative curriculum and sales labs allow students to develop the skills they need to be successful.
For more information on the National Strategic Selling Institute, please contact [email protected].