College Students Compete for Scholarship Prizes at Steel City Sales Challenge

Regional colleges and universities are preparing to compete for $5,000 in scholarship prizes at the annual Steel City Sales Challenge hosted by the Center for Leadership in Professional Selling of the Palumbo-Donahue School of Business.

Sales-focused students from Duquesne, the University of Pittsburgh, Robert Morris University, the University of Dayton and West Virginia University will compete in the event on Saturday, Oct. 27, at 11 a.m. in the Center for Leadership in Professional Selling on the fourth floor of Rockwell Hall.

“The second annual Steel City Sales Challenge is a wonderful opportunity for Duquesne’s professional sales program,” said Dr. Ryan Luchs, chair of management and marketing in the business school. “This competition gives our students the chance to immerse themselves in the sales process of Steel Dynamics, Inc., a large domestic steel producer. In doing so, they learn how to execute the consultative selling model that is valued by many employers.”

Registration in the Steel City Sales Challenge is limited to 30 students, who will compete in a preliminary round of sales role-playing. Top scorers will move on to a final round of sales role-playing. Sales professionals will serve as judges and evaluate the students.

The competition venue, the newly constructed Center for Leadership in Professional Selling, features simulation labs that provide students a professional space with a variety of settings to role-play their sales approaches.

“The competition allows us to showcase not only our students but also our new facilities at the center,” Luchs said. “Our goal is to become one of the finest professional sales programs in the country, and the Steel City Sales Challenge is a big part of that effort.”