Competition Overview

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APRIL 2, 2025


Competition Sales Teams

Twelve sales teams from high schools in New Jersey will participate in the High School Sales Challenge. The competition will include a preliminary round (Sell You), consisting of a podcast interview where they will need to sell themselves, and a final round (Sell Your Idea), where they will need to sell their idea in another podcast interview. Trophies and prize packs will be awarded to the top four students in each round and the overall competition winners. Additionally, every participant will receive a certificate of participation.

The Competition Sales Teams include Student Competitors, Student Alternates, and Faculty Coaches.

Student Competitors: Three juniors and seniors from each high school will participate in the sales competition as Student Competitors. The high school sales competition is a co-curricular program, and students interested in pursuing a career in business, specifically in professional sales, marketing, social media, entrepreneurship, or related fields, will benefit the most from this experience.

Student Alternates: Each high school can have a maximum of 12 Student Alternates participate in the sales competition. Student Alternates consists of students of all grade levels (freshman to senior) interested in experiencing the sales competition but were not selected as Student Competitors. These students will participate in all aspects of the event except for the Selling You and Sell Your Idea Role-Play Competition. The high school sales competition is a co-curricular program, and students interested in pursuing a career in business, specifically in professional sales, marketing, social media, entrepreneurship, or related fields, will benefit the most from this experience.

Faculty Coaches: Each high school should have at least one Faculty Coach to prepare and support their sales team during the competition. The Faculty Coach will select the Student Competitors and Student Alternates and ensure they register before the deadline. They will also review the sales competition role-play with the students and provide them with practice sessions and developmental feedback before the event.

Competition Components

Sell You - Podcast Interview: Students engage in a ten-minute mock podcast interview role-play with a podcast host with the objective of selling themselves. The role-play is evaluated and scored on various aspects of the podcast interview, including organization and structure, delivery and style, overall communication effectiveness, and the ability to communicate value and gain commitment and trust.

Sell Your Idea - Podcast Interview: Students engage in a ten-minute mock podcast interview role-play with a podcast host with the objective to sell their idea or cause. The role-play is evaluated and scored on various aspects of the podcast interview, including organization and structure, delivery and style, overall communication effectiveness, and the ability to communicate value and gain commitment and trust.

Competition Guidelines

  • The competition occurs at the state-of-the-art Russ Berrie Institute Sales Lab at William Paterson University, 1600 Valley Road, Wayne, NJ 07470.

  • All contestants must report to their designated room 15 minutes before their scheduled role-play time.

  • Each role-play is limited to 10 minutes and will be video recorded for learning purposes. The video recording will begin once the role-play starts and stop once the time has expired.

  • Each contestant is evaluated on what transpired during the role-play session. Judging criteria is provided separately.

  • Judges and competition assistants are only permitted in the evaluation room.
  • Notes, visual aids, smartphones, and computer devices are not permitted during the role-play session.

  • Information regarding each role-play is confidential. Sharing this information with other contestants is strictly prohibited. Violation of this rule may result in elimination from the competition.


Competition Training Materials

Below are the role-play scenario and training materials for the High School Sales challenge. We ask that each student use these materials to prepare for the competition.


Role-Play Scenarios

2025 High School Sales Challenge
First-Round Role-Play (Download PDF)

2025 High School Sales Challenge
Second-Round Role-Play (Download PDF)


Support Document

I.M.P.A.C.T. Selling Framework


Competition Training Session

WATCH VIDEO

Wednesday, March 25, 2025
4:30 PM - 5:30 PM ESTVirtual Meeting