In March, I decided to join the UND Sales Team. My professor extended an offer to become a member, and after thinking it over, I decided that I wanted to try it out. I quickly found out that I was to compete in the Twin Cities Collegiate Sales Championship in April. I was nervous at first, as I did not know anything about the team or what they do. The anxious feeling toward the upcoming competition made me spend more time reviewing materials than I otherwise would have, so in a way it was positive. The team had six members, including myself, competing in the TCCSC. Other team members who did not compete did provide crucial assistance in practicing for the competition through role plays and research. The first round took place on Zoom days before the rest of the competition. With this being my first time competing, it was nice to get some jitters out before we made the trip to the Cities. The first round went smoothly for myself and my teammates, which gave us all some confidence going into the following week. The in-person competition was from April 12-14, with one round occurring per day.   

On April 11, the UND Sales Team set course for Minneapolis, and arrived that evening. After getting some much-needed dinner, we spent the rest of the night reviewing the case study while the Timberwolves lost to the Los Angeles Lakers. I had a lot of trouble sleeping that night, which is not normal for me. I’m not sure if it was pregame jitters, uncomfortable hotel pillows, or a mix of both. Whatever the cause, I only got a couple of hours of shut eye on Tuesday night, so Wednesday morning consisted of heavy doses of caffeine. After role-playing our rounds in the hotel lobby, we headed over to the Graduate Hotel where we would stay for the next two nights and dropped our stuff off there. The aesthetic of the Graduate was bewildering. It felt like I was staying in the 1970’s due to retro paintings, old-fashioned landline phones, and wooden hallway walls. The Graduate was one of my favorite hotels that I have ever stayed in. We had about a 10-minute stroll from the Graduate to Huntington Bank Stadium, where the competition took place.   

Once we got to the stadium, we attended the welcome ceremony where rules were explained further. After the initial ceremony, we had a few hours to continue preparing for the first round in one of the stadium’s suites. While the extra time was helpful, the anticipation only made my nerves grow. By the time my turn came around, I was just ready to get it over with. I and about ten others each stood outside of our respective suites, waiting for our queue to enter the room. Another competitor likened the structure of the event to Monsters Inc., with all of us waiting to enter a room to “scare.” This was extremely accurate and lightened the mood before the round. I went into the suite, and there were three judges sitting behind my prospect. After a 16-minute discussion with my role-playing buyer, I walked out of the room feeling thankful and relieved that it went smoothly. By the time we regrouped as a team and discussed our rounds, it was time to get some food. We went to Buffalo Wild Wings, relaxed a little, and headed back to the hotel. Much like the night before, the rest of the night was spent preparing for the following round. I slept much better on Wednesday night than Tuesday and woke up feeling rested and eager to compete.  

On Thursday, we competed at 12:30. The time leading up to Thursday’s round felt much different than the day before. I was feeling relaxed and confident after getting through Wednesday’s round. There was a Flag Football class playing a game on the football field, so I spent some time watching them play. Thursday’s round was the same setup as Wednesday’s, just with a different rubric. The round went well for myself and my teammates, and it felt nice to be done competing individually. We were not sure if we would make the final round, as only 6 of 17 teams would qualify. While we awaited results, we attended the competition’s career fair where we talked to potential employers. That night, there was a dinner for all contestants where we would find out who qualified for the final round. After much anticipation, the six teams were announced and UND sadly was not one of the six. We all felt bummed out, but happy that we had the opportunity to represent our school. We spent the rest of the night playing poker and blackjack with fake money at the competition’s “Casino Night” and hanging out at a TopGolf simulator inside the Graduate. Overall, I am extremely happy that I made the decision to join the UND Sales Team, and I am looking forward to competing again in the fall. 

Garrett Webber is a Dakota Student General Reporter. He can be reached at [email protected].