CREDIT: THE GREAT CANADIAN SALES COMPETITION
This competition is open to all students; The only requirement to enter is a 30 to 90 second video pitch.

The Great Canadian Sales Competition is inviting Fanshawe students to enter for a chance to not only win incredible cash prizes but to also connect with top industry professionals and expand their knowledge of sales and where a career in sales could lead them.

Jamie Scarborough, cofounder of the Great Canadian Sales Competition and Sales Talent Agency, said the competition is a great opportunity for students. He said that there is a lot more to sales than call centres or be a door-to-door salesmen.

“Young people think of sales as just consumer sales, or what they think of as the worst part of sales like being a car salesman or selling Sham-Wows, or knocking on doors and selling encyclopedias,” Scarborough said.

Scarborough said he and other organizers saw a gap between what many students thought a job in sales would be like and the reality of corporate sales and what a job in the sales industry could actually be.

He said they wanted to “gamify” the student recruitment process and also give companies the opportunity to interact with students who were looking to work with them in the future

All students have to do to enter is film a 30 to 90 second pitch about anything they choose and then upload the video to the competition website. Students can enter more than one pitch as long as each video is about a different product. Students have until Jan. 30, 2016 to enter.

There are already almost 550 competitors in the competition, a huge increase from last year’s entrants. Only 220 students entered last year, and the entry period for this year’s competition has only been open for four weeks.

With 19 judges from a variety of powerful companies such as Google, Post Media, Corus Entertainment, Dell and Shopify, the Great Canadian Sales Competition can open doors for students and lead to connections that they may not have been able to make without this opportunity.

Though the sales experience may be enough of an incentive for many students to consider entering the competition, the final prize for the winner is $7,500, with another $1,000 prize for second, third, fourth and fifth place.

The top 25 finalists will earn a paid trip to Toronto for the final round and the Winners Gala on March 10, 2016.

Scarborough said he was inspired to form this competition after dealing with a number of companies who were noting a lack of young sales talent. He also said that the skills students can take away from the competition will not only help them improve their sales skills and therefore the chances of getting a job, but that the skills they will take away from it can be applied throughout their personal and professional lives.

“We want [students] to know that a corporate sales skillset is a really important skillset to have in any job,” Scarborough said. “Whether it’s selling yourself in an interview or selling something for a corporation, it always helps.”

Students can enter the competition by uploading their video pitch on the Great Canadian Sales Competition website until Jan. 30, 2016.