Sources: Dawne Martin, 785-532-4383, dmartin@k-state.edu;
and Larissa Bakker, 913-676-8039, Larissa.bakker@nmfn.com
News release prepared by: Katie Briscoe, 785-532-2753, kbriscoe@k-state.edu
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
THREE K-STATE BUSINESS STUDENTS FROM GREATER KANSAS CITY EARN SCHOLARSHIPS FOR PROFESSIONAL SELLING SKILLS
MANHATTAN -- The RPS Financial Group Inc. of the Northwestern Mutual Financial Network has awarded scholarships to three business students in Kansas State University's College of Business Administration as part of a sales competition conducted in the department of marketing's professional selling and sales management course.
For the competition, 150 students from three sections of the course participated in sales role-playing scenarios with professionals from the RPS Financial Group. Competing students developed seven- to 10-minute sales presentations. To narrow the competition down to its finalists, the presentations were videotaped and the top 20 were selected by the competition's sponsor and class instructor. Winners were selected based on both their presentation and interview scores.
The first-place winner, Chris Coffey, junior in management information systems, Leawood, received a $1,000 scholarship for his project concentrated on selling Sprint Nextel communications devices to a sales and distribution company. His products ranged from personal digital assistants for executives and salespeople to Nextel Push to Talk phones for truck drivers and distributors.
Landon Todd, senior in marketing, Lenexa, was awarded second place and a $600 scholarship for his home cleaning service sales proposal. The third-place winner, Brianne Leese, senior in marketing, Overland Park, earned a $400 scholarship for her destination wedding planning sales proposal. Leese sold her service to couples around the world by developing promotional brochures and budget sheets.
"Northwestern Mutual Financial Network has been a strong partner with the K-State department of marketing for the past five years in promoting the skills associated with superior sales performance among our students," said Kevin Gwinner, department head. "Students benefit from the financial scholarships they provide, but more valuable is the one-to-one advice many of our students receive from their sales professionals during this role-play activity. We greatly appreciate their commitment to K-State and our marketing students.
The RPS Financial Group Inc., Overland Park, has been a Northwestern Mutual presence in the Kansas City community since 1905, helping individuals and organizations work toward financial security. Since fall 2004, the company has contributed $16,000 in scholarships for K-State marketing students.