Turku Sales Competition with a touch of internationality

Text: Martti Komulainen
Photos: Martti Komulainen and Turku Sales Competition

The sales competition of autumn 2017 turned out to be particularly international, with participants from ten countries (Finland, China, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Spain, Poland and UK/Scotland). The finalists came from Germany and Austria. As the winner of Turku Sales Competition, the judges chose Marvin Mächt from Aschaffenburg University of Applied Sciences, Germany. 

Marvin Mächt in the middle. On the left, his teacher Ludger Schneider-Störmann, and on the right, Timo Holopainen from TUAS.

Sales competitions are a method widely used in sales education, creating a setting in which student salespersons meet corporate buyers in situations simulating real-life sales situations. Judges focus on evaluating the skill to create positive interaction, the sales and negotiation skills, and how well the presented solution responds to the needs of the customer.

In Turku Sales Competition of autumn 2017, the sales target was the service contract of Projecta, a technical trade company based in Finland and Estonia.
 
"Sales competitions offer a sales situation that is as realistic as possible, in which students can demonstrate the competence acquired during the Sales Semester in front of judges", explains Timo Holopainen, Principal Lecturer at TUAS and Director of Turku Sales Competition.

"The competition creates an environment for a valuable and unforgettable learning experience", he continues.
 
At Turku University of Applied Sciences, sales competitions have been used as a method of learning sales skills since 2010. Every year, TUAS organizes or participates in five competitions. Next spring, there will be students competing in one national and two European sales competitions in addition to Turku Sales Competition.