Center for Sales Excellence Hosts Seventh Annual Showcase Boot Camp

March 8, 2023

Students enlist for a day of networking, career coaching, and interview prep as they receive hands-on training at the 2023 Center for Sales Excellence Showcase Boot Camp.

Nearly 180 students from Georgia Southern University’s Parker College of Business were on hand to make the most of the opportunity to meet with sales professionals and recruiters from fifteen partner firms, including C.H. Robinson, Mutual of Omaha, Tom James, Cardinal Logistics, and AJC Freight Solutions. The Center for Sales Excellence Showcase Boot Camp is designed to prepare students for a successful college-to-career transition, taking them from the classroom to the boardroom.

Since 2016, the Boot Camp has been a great success allowing firms the opportunity to get close, face-to-face interaction with the best and brightest that Georgia Southern University has to offer. This event is designed to be part educational and part networking opportunity, both of which are important aspects as students transition to professionals.

“The Sales Boot Camp provides an amazing opportunity for us students to further develop ourselves professionally, as we prepare for upcoming job interviews,” observed Mitchell Bliss, a senior marketing major from the Parker College of Business. “As we all know, time is money in sales, so for the recruiters and sales professionals to spend an entire day with us on campus, it is a priceless resource for students eager to learn more. Personally, I appreciate how much the corporate coaches were willing to go the extra mile and work with us on an individual level.”

The Boot Camp provides small-group interactions between students and industry leaders. Every 15 minutes, the corporate coaches rotate to a new table of students to discuss the next interview topic. The coaches provide the interview topics as some of the most frequent questions students might encounter in an interview for their first sales positions. The coaches provide guidance on how to best approach the question, and, then amongst the table, the students discuss from their unique perspectives. Once the time is up, the coach rotates to the next table, meeting a whole new group of students and discussing a new interview question.

“We have an outstanding Sales Center where we have developed a strong pipeline that has enabled students to launch productive careers in professional selling since 2007,” remarked Allen Amason, dean, Parker College of Business. “Sales is a dynamic and growing profession that offers ample opportunity to those with the right skill set and motivation. We believe that drawing together bright and motivated students, providing them with excellent instruction, and then coupling that with exposure to leading sales professionals, this is the formula that drives success in our program.”

Throughout the Boot Camp, networking time is built into the schedule so that the corporate coaches and students can get to know each other and discus their firms’ respective cultures, corporate initiatives, and upcoming hiring opportunities. “Our students love the opportunity to network and gain hands-on experience with active recruiters and sales professionals,” explains Travis Brickey, Center for Sales Excellence director. “The Boot Camp is another example of the holistic approach to sales education that we offer to our marketing and sales students. The relationships formed at this event are a true win-win for the program, our corporate partners, and most importantly, to the students as they embark on thriving careers in professional selling.”

The Boot Camp would not be possible without the support of the Center for Sales Excellence’s corporate partners. Rounding out the corporate partners in attendance included Enterprise, Federated Insurance, Herc Rentals, JEAR Logistics, OTR Solutions, Marquee Insurance Group, RNDC, TechQuidation, Granite Telecommunications, and Podium.