EAU CLAIRE — Ryan Mansfield, a marketing major and one of UW-Eau Claire’s graduates this year, said a part of sales is competition and a certain degree of competitiveness.
So when he participated this past year as a student in the advanced sales classes in the University’s College of Business, he said it was fun to find those other students while participating in their fundraiser for the L.E. Phillips Career Development Center.
But another aspect of sales is explaining the value, such as how their fundraiser is going to a good cause, said Mansfield.
“Selling yourself, marketing yourself is the biggest part of the equation in that, because there is not a whole lot of incentive in that besides a tax write off. You’re helping a bigger cause, but explaining the value in that is where the sales part comes in,” he said.
Since 2009, students in the advanced sales class have participated in and worked hard for a fundraiser in which all the money goes towards the L.E. Phillips Career Development Center, or CDC. As an organization, the CDC in Eau Claire helps provide job opportunities across the eight counties to nearly 1,500 residents with disabilities or disadvantages.
As this fundraiser has been going on for the past 15 years, the program has raised more than $700,000 by selling things like golf sponsorships and items for auction. This year, students sold items to auction for the 35th annual CDC Charity Golf Outing in August.
It was a sales job. We had a CRM (customer relations management) system,” said another student in the program, Sawyer Kirtchmeyer, reflecting on the experience. “We were cold calling just like you would in a real job… the whole sales process is what we were doing.”
“It’s cool to see the real world application of what you’re learning in school,” said Mansfield.
This year’s class set a record by accumulating a total of $57,000, which Kirtchmeyer said was crazy considering that their class was much smaller than the one with the previous record in 2021.
“That was great that we were able to — with less students, raise more money — and that just shows determination and skills that this class has that’s graduating,” said Kirtchmeyer.
He continued, and said that part of their motivation for doing the sales is also because of who they’re doing it for.
“It is one of the biggest fundraisers for the L.E. Phillips Career Development Center — they’re a non-profit…” said Kirtchmeyer.
“They get benefitted from this as well, as we are not getting paid commission. We’re honestly doing this because we know we’re going to help out a really nice organization.”
With both Kirtchmeyer and Mansfield graduating and looking to go on into sales, they both said this experience gives them experience which is directly related to their fields of interest.
In the university press release, Lenita Davis, professor of marketing and supply chain management and executive director of the professional sales program, said, “This enduring commitment to service exemplifies the university’s core values and its mission to empower students to become responsible global citizens… We are immensely proud of our students for their exceptional dedication and hard work in organizing this year’s L.E. Phillips CDC Golf Tournament… Their commitment to making a positive impact in our community is truly commendable, and we are thrilled to see their efforts culminate in such a significant contribution to the L.E. Phillips CDC.”
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