Georgia Southern Again Recognized as a Role-Play PRO in the RNMKRS Fall 2024 Sales Competition
Top student honors and high-performing universities celebrated at the Fall 2024 RNMKRS Results Reveal Ceremony.
STATESBORO, GA (December 4, 2024) – Among nearly 3,000 student competitors across three competitions, totaling 120,000 virtual conversations, Georgia Southern University once again proved to be a dominant presence as the students worked diligently to beat the bot in the AI-powered RNMKRS sales role-play challenge. Competing in two of the three competitions, the Advanced Selling course, led by Dr. Linda Mullen, competed in RNMKRS PRO, while Dr. Lindsay Levine, Dr. Billy Jones, and Prof. Travis Brickey led each of their Professional Selling courses into the RNMKRS Standard competition.
In the two role-play competitions, RNMKRS hosted 1,614 student competitors in the Standard role-play competition and 66 students in its Pro Role-Play competition. With 40 different universities represented, students from Georgia Southern’s Parker College of Business competed against some of the nation’s top collegiate sales programs, including, University of Arkansas, Auburn University, University of New Mexico, Indiana University Southeast, and University of Georgia. Known as a program for producing students with grit and perseverance, Georgia Southern’s Center for Sales Excellence went to work to defend its title, maintaining its reputation as a perennial RNMKRS high-performer and one of the nation’s top sales programs!
“Since 2007, the Center for Sales Excellence has produced some of the nation’s best prepared and most resilient young sales professionals in the industry,” exclaimed Linda Mullen, associate professor of marketing at Georgia Southern University. “Retiring at the end of the fall semester, this is my last time coaching the advanced selling students through RNMKRS PRO. For eleven semesters in a row, the students at Georgia Southern University have excelled in the RNMKRS competition. I am extremely proud of this group for demonstrating the grit and determination needed to succeed. Thank you RNMKRS for challenging our sales students, continually pushing the bar higher in the field of sales education!”
Notable honors earned in the RNMKRS PRO Role-Play sales competition include:
- RNMKRS PRO Top School – Georgia Southern University (#1 overall) amongst 7 competing universities
- RNMKRS PRO # 1 Role-Play Sales Competitor – Morgan Moody (#1 overall, score of 8,484) amongst 66 competitors
- Ten students recognized in the RNMKRS PRO Role-Play Top 10 – M. Moody (#1), M. Gilsenan (#2), E. Baldwin (#3), K. Coley (#4), A. Merry (#5), N. Pollard (#6), M. Niglio (#7), C. Turner (#8), D. Foreman (#9), A. Jones (#10)
- RNMKRS PRO most role-play attempts – Logan Cordova (200 total attempts, #1 overall)
- RNMKRS PRO Top Coach Recognition – Linda Mullen, Ph.D.
“The RNMKRS PRO sales competition has been a valuable experience that has contributed to my growth in so many ways,” explained Morgan Moody, a senior marketing major with an emphasis in sales & sales management. “Throughout the competition, I developed effective communication skills, gained experience overcoming objections, and learned how to maintain an efficient flow during meetings. RNMNKRS has taught me the importance of listening to the buyer’s needs and adjusting my response to properly address those needs. I am grateful to Georgia Southern for providing me the opportunity to showcase my sales skills and I’m excited to apply these skills after graduation!”
Notable honors earned in the RNMKRS Standard Role-Play sales competition include:
- RNMKRS Standard Top School – Georgia Southern University (#2 overall) amongst 37 competing universities
- Two students recognized in the RNKMRS Standard Role-Play Top 1% – Jackson Custer (score of 9,445) and Oliver Sterzer (score of 9,424) amongst 1,614 competitors
- RNMKRS Standard Role-Play most role-play attempts – James Kenny (138 total attempts, #9 overall)
- RNMKRS Standard Top Coach Recognition – Dr. Lindsay Levine and Prof. Travis Brickey
“Having no role-play sales experience, the RNMKRS competition proved to be a challenge,” noted Jackson Custer, a junior supply chain management/logistics major. I spent many hours perfecting my sales pitch. It was a roller coaster at times, as Alex would go from being my best friend to getting on my last nerve! RNMKRS helped me become more resilient, and with that, my confidence grew. If you get the opportunity, do not take RNMKRS for granted; it was a great experience and now I’m considering a career in sales.”
Alex, the AI bot, is programmed to respond to students as they lead a mock sales meeting. Developed and continually enhanced by an alliance of university faculty advisors, the RNMKRS competition scenario has students representing Dell Technologies as they sell the company’s Dell Latitude Rugged laptop computer line to a police or fire department. Students virtually ‘meet’ with Alex, going through the steps of a sales call. RNMKRS evaluates each student based on his or her performance, and the institutions were then ranked based on their students’ results. RNMKRS consists of three competitions, Speed Sell, RNMKRS Role-Play Standard, and RNMKRS Role-Play Pro. The Pro version was introduced in the fall 2022 semester for the Advanced Selling courses.
Center for Sales Excellence, Georgia Southern University
Located within Georgia Southern University’s Parker College of Business, the Center for Sales Excellence is recognized by the University Sales Alliance as one of the nation’s top sales programs. Established in 2007, it is the mission of the Center to have a positive impact on the sales profession through education, research, and service. The B.B.A. in Marketing offers the students of Georgia Southern University an emphasis in Sales and Sales Management.
Through the Center, students gain experience with sales role-play in our dedicated labs, with many going on to compete in some of the nation’s most prestigious sales competitions. The Center also works to bring students together with companies in the industry looking to hire the best and brightest minds. It is the goal of the Center to be the preeminent sales program in the nation.
RNMKRS Virtual Sales Competition
Launched in 2018, RNMKRS empowers students to communicate and influence decisions using bias-free interactive technology. The student competitors compete in role-play challenges that aid in helping them hone their selling skills by speaking with Alex, an artificially intelligent customer bot that listens, adapts, and responds while scoring students and giving them feedback. Students improve their selling skills and refine their communication and empathy skills along the way. All of this activity takes place on their personal digital device.
RNMKRS is utilized in sales classes taught at Georgia Southern University as a means to provide students with an ample amount of sales role-play experience.
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