The Bryant University Sales Competition (BUSC), originally scheduled to be an in-person event, proceeded as scheduled as a virtual competition on March 19. With the help of Carousel, the event’s presenting partner, the competition was hosted on WebEx, a video conferencing platform that enabled students and judges to meet in virtual rooms.
BUSC is a one-day sales competition in which Bryant students enrolled in Personal Selling and Sales Management courses compete in three areas: role-play sales pitch, speed sell e-pitch, and social media. Students also have the opportunity to network with sales professionals from sponsoring companies.
Bryant’s sales program is designed to give students both a theoretical background and applied experience in the field of sales. Students learn the concepts of the selling process and effectively apply those skills in selling products, services, or ideas to have successful careers.
In the past, students and judges would gather on campus for face-to-face meetings. This year, due to the University’s decision to transition to remote learning in light of the COVID-19 crisis, the applied experience requires WebEx as a delivery tool. Students, who are now taking Bryant classes while living at home, were able see and converse with judges, and do such things as share short videos prepared for the traditional “speed sell” round.
After the competition, students had an opportunity to schedule a virtual networking meeting with representatives of each participating company.