‘Perfect Practice Makes Perfect’ for Georgia Southern in the RNMKRS Fall 2023 Sales Competition
Top student honors and high-performing universities were recognized on November 11 at the Fall 2023 RNMKRS Results Reveal Ceremony.
Among a record 5,663 student competitors, totaling 90,000 AI 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 virtual RNMKRS sales role-play challenge. Competing in two unique role-play competitions, the Advanced Selling course led by Dr. Linda Mullen competed in RNMKRS Pro, and four sections of Professional Selling, led by Dr. Lindsay Levine, Dr. Billy Jones, and Travis Brickey, competed in the RNMRKS Standard competition.
Across two of the three competitions, RNMKRS hosted 1,844 student competitors in the Standard role-play competition and 134 students in its Pro role-play competition. With 55 different universities represented, students from Georgia Southern’s Parker College of Business competed against a bevy of North America’s top programs, including, Boston College, Florida State University, University of Hawaii, Auburn University, University of New Mexico, and Toronto Metropolitan University. Known as a program for producing students with grit and perseverance, Georgia Southern’s Center for Sales Excellence rolled up its collective sleeves and went to work defending its reputation as a perennial RNMKRS high-performer and one of the nation’s top sales programs!
“Each semester, the students continue to raise the bar and exceed expectations in the RNMKRS sales role-play challenge,” explained Travis Brickey, marketing lecturer and director of the Center for Sales Excellence at Georgia Southern University. “Scores that would have won the competition just a few years ago, are now barely cracking the top 10. Competition brings out the best in our students, the repetition is the key, perfect practice truly does make perfect!”
Notable honors earned in the RNMKRS Pro Role-Play sales competition include:
- RNMKRS Pro Top Schools – Georgia Southern University (#1 overall) amongst 5 universities
- RNMKRS Role-Play Pro #1 Sales Competitor – Jane Flemming (#1 overall) amongst 134 competitors
- Seventeen students recognized in the RNMKRS Pro Role-Play Pro Top 20 – J. Flemming (#1), T. Williams (#2), A. Alter (#3), D. Lord (#4), A. Sullivano (#5), L. Bates (#6), J. Carnes (#7), K. Hultgren (#8), C. Burleyson (#9), D. Lawson (#11), A. Hutchinson (#12), P. Richards (#13), M. Underwood (#14), K. Tyre (#15), K. Hanley (#16), T. Copeland (#18), A. Waters (#20)
- RNMKRS Pro Role-Play most role-play attempts – Dylan Reilly (170 total attempts)
- RNMKRS Pro Top 1% Coach – Linda Mullen, Ph.D.
- RNMKRS Pro High Volume Coach – Linda Mullen, Ph.D. with 4,804 AI conversations
“RNMKRS has helped me grow as a student and I truly believe it will help me with my career after graduation,” noted Jane Flemming a junior pursuing a B.B.A. in marketing with an emphasis in sales & sales management. “In any sales position, you have to be resilient, and RNMKRS has taught me the importance of continuous practice and never giving up. I am so thankful that Georgia Southern has introduced me to RNMKRS, it has been an amazing experience!”
Notable honors earned in the RNMKRS Standard Role-Play sales competition include:
- RNMKRS Standard Top Schools – Georgia Southern University (#2 overall) amongst 54 universities
- RNKMRS Role-Play Standard Top 1% Sales Competitors – Ankit Hirani (#11 overall), Mohammad Sameed Khan (#13 overall), and Austyn Skelton (#16 overall) amongst 1,844 total competitors
- RNMKRS Standard Role-Play most role-play attempts – Edgar Hernandez (191 total attempts)
- RNMKRS Standard Role-Play South Regional Champions – A. Hirani, C. Johnson, I. Ptacek, A. Banich, M. Sameed Khan
- RNMKRS Standard Top 1% Coaches – Billy Jones, Ph.D. & Travis Brickey
- RNMKRS Standard High Volume Coaches – Lindsay Levine, Ph.D. (2,534 AI conversations) & Travis Brickey (2,400 AI conversations)
“It’s always difficult without first giving it a try,” explained Ankit Hirani, a junior pursuing a B.B.A. in marketing. “When I first heard that I had to talk with an AI bot, with my accent, I wasn’t sure how I would tackle the assignment. But with practice and daily improvement, I experimented with my speech and began to achieve the desired results. To do well, I recommend a lot of repetition with the full role-play!”
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 Center Alliance and the Sales Education Foundation 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 Marketing B.B.A. program 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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