Business School students host 'Success in Sales' seminar addressed by industry leaders

A number of sales professionals from leading companies in the region addressed a GMIT student event called “Success in Sales” in the college recently (Tuesday 27 February).

The event focused on “what makes a great sales representative”. Speakers enlightened the audience on their experiences in different sectors and the importance of sales staff taking the time to hone their skills. Speakers included: Pat Gilligan, Head of Sales, Midlands and West, FBD Insurance; Ruairí Conroy, Managing Director of SiteMinder, a leading cloud platform for hotels worldwide, based in Galway; Clare Considine, Sales Development, SiteMinder; John McArdle, Director, Ipswitch, and Cristina Ponce Fernandez, IPswitch and GMIT Business School Graduate (Marketing).

The event was hosted by students from the Business School which was attended by over 150 students from GMIT Business degree programmes.

Professor Graham Heaslip, Head of the GMIT School of Business, says: “In every organisation sales bridge the gap between the potential customer’s needs and the products or services that the organisation offers. Having someone on hand who has natural or learned selling skills is important when customers come into or call a business. At GMIT we believe that successful selling is an important skill set. We stress that excellent salespeople are those that not only make the sale but create a long-lasting impact on the customer.”

Monica Nielsen, Lecturer in Sales and Marketing, School of Business, says “The event gave the students a chance to hear leading sales professionals discuss their careers in sales and also gave the event management students in the School of Business the opportunity to plan, organise and manage a seminar as part of their business degree. Most jobs coming on stream in recent years have a focus on sales and in particular ‘Inside Sales’. Companies such as Microsoft are employing hundreds of new sales staff and we want to make sure our students are availing of these sales roles opportunities in national and international companies.”

Chris Strauss Walsh, student leader for the seminar, says: “It was a great opportunity for students to network with industry leaders and hear their stories.”

For more information on programmes in the School of Business, see: http://www.gmit.ie/business/school-business