Grambling, LA – Two Grambling State University students have won exclusive employment opportunities by coming out on top of the first Cisco Invitational Sales Competition at Grambling State University.
Zana Hall, a junior engineering technology major, won a summer internship with Cisco Systems.
Sponsored by the Fortune 500 Corporation, Cisco Systems, Inc., The Cisco Sales Competition was an invaluable experience for showing what to expect when dealing with real-life situations as a sales representative for a company,” Hall said. “The competition was very intense as you had to sell the customer into going to the next step in purchasing a solution to meet their needs. Participating in the role-play scenario and receiving positive feedback from the Cisco representative and GSU faculty members on how to improve your selling skills was immeasurable. I’m thankful to Dr. Olusegun Adeyemi for nominating me!”
Meanwhile, Kenneth Tanner, a senior marketing and computer information systems major, has earned advanced placement in the hiring process for full-time employment at CISCO Systems and consideration for the CISCO Sales Associate Program.
“I am very excited, and I am ready to see what is next. By me winning, I get to skip three rounds of interviews, and I get to go to the last round of interviews to compete for a full-time position,” he said.
The Cisco Invitational Sales Competition is a dynamic, one-day sales competition that challenges top university students to engage in a sales conversation with a potential customer. The discovery round tested each student’s ability to ask effective questions, build rapport and identify the customers’ business issues and initiatives.
The students with the highest scores moved on to the second round to further engage the customer. During this round, students took on the role of a Cisco Systems account manager and led conversations with a new, potential customer. Tanner’s job was to pitch Cisco products to a cash-strapped school district looking to save money on energy costs.
“My mom is a teacher, so I was definitely able to relate to our customer. I think the biggest thing was me relating to the client and building a rapport, letting them know that I wasn’t just there for myself, but to build a relationship with them as well,” he said.
Vel Malone, project manager for the Cisco Sales Competition, said this competition gave students an invaluable opportunity to gain sales experience and compete for employment opportunities.
“Hosting the Cisco Sales Competition was a first for our university, and the competition itself was an awesome opportunity for our students,” she said. “I got to witness our students work hard to prepare for the challenge of assuming the role of salesperson/account manager, engage in sales conversations with potential customers and come out victorious. Our students proved that they can think critically.”
Grambling State University would like to thank Scott McGregor of Cisco for sponsoring the competition; Erick Valentine, dean of the College of Business; Curtis Hansen, Greg Bolden and Oscar Gomez of Cisco for serving as judges for the competition; and Greta Carter, Donald White and Rickey Warner of Grambling State University for serving as coaches.
Cisco Systems, Inc. is an American, multinational technology company, headquartered in San Jose, California, that designs, manufactures and sells networking equipment. The University will continue partnering with Cisco for internships and full-time employment.
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