The Great Northwoods Sales Warm-Up is a 2½ day national collegiate sales competition that showcases the talents of 60+ "hot" marketing and sales students from across the United States. It is a transformative learning experience; many student competitors describe the event as the greatest decision of their college career.

The Sales Warm-Up connects college students with corporate recruiters who share their passion for sales as a profession. It also provides a venue where faculty can network and exchange best practices with one another.

The sales competition is open to undergraduate business students who are currently enrolled as full-time students. Students must be currently enrolled in or have completed at least one college-level professional selling course. Student groups must be accompanied by a faculty adviser.

At the Sales Warm-Up, students work hard, play hard, and get results.

WORK HARD

All Sales Warm-Up contestants make two different 20-minute sales presentations to sales professionals who act as buyers. A panel of sales managers from sponsoring companies evaluates students on all elements of the sales call including their ability to communicate effectively and act in a professional manner. Following each presentation, Sales Warm-Up contestants have a half-hour debriefing session with one of their judges. This one-on-one time with a sales professional is highly valued by our students and their faculty coaches, and it is an activity that distinguishes our sales competition from others. Students also will receive their evaluation sheets and a link to a digital recording of their presentations.

Students have many opportunities throughout the Sales Warm-Up to meet sponsors and learn about career opportunities at their companies. Contestants and registered non-contestants can submit their resumes prior to the competition to the Sales Warm-Up staff for inclusion in a resume booklet that is distributed to sponsors. Events like the Northwoods Opener and Career Fair are designed for networking. Special incentives for students further promote interaction.

PLAY HARD

We work hard at the Sales Warm-Up, but we make time to have fun. The Fun Night Dinner & Entertainment is a fun and relaxing way to spend Friday night. Saturday's Warm-Up Trivia Contest hosted by UW-Eau Claire marketing faculty can get a bit silly. Students compete for prizes brought by sponsors and universities by answering questions about little known facts about competing universities. The Wisconsin cheese head is always one of the first prizes to go. Drawings for the mystery corporate representative and professional development incentive are held during this event.

GET RESULTS

At the Hormel Cool-Down Celebration Banquet Saturday evening, we feast on a dinner featuring top of the line Hormel meat products. We view photos from the weekend taken by UW-Eau Claire's award-winning photographers. The top three Sales Warm-Up contestants and the top sales person from each school are announced. All receive awards and cash prizes. Every student contestant receives a certificate of participation and the famous Sales Warm-Up blanket.

AWARDS Winners will be announced and awards will be presented at the Saturday night Celebration Banquet. All student competitors will receive a certificate of participation. Individual Awards Best Overall Sales Person: $1,500 plus a custom suit valued at $1,000 from Tom James First Runner-Up: $1,000 Second Runner-Up: $750 School Champion Award Best Overall Contestant from each school: $150 and a trophy

SPECIAL INCENTIVES Learn about internships and career opportunities Each student will receive a card for the Career Fair to be stamped by Career Fair representatives. Student participants with the required number of stamps will be entered into a raffle to win premium prizes! Meet Sales Warm-Up sponsors at the Career Fair.