Thunder Sales Competition
April 14th, 2026
All day event, see schedule for details
SUU Ballroom (ST145)
Welcome to the SUU Annual Thunder Sales Competition! As the highlight of the Professional Sales program every year, Thunder Sales aims to provide experiences for you to practice the sales skills you've been learning all year long and connect you with potential employers. You do not have to be in the sales program or even have taken a sales class to compete! This competition is open to all students on campus, for any major and any class.
Registration is open! Sign up by April 7 to reserve your spot.
Schedule
- April 6, 2026 from 9:00-11:30 am - Negotiation Workshop
- April 7, 2026 from 2:30-5:00 pm - Beginner and Advanced Role Play Workshop
*The Thunder Sales Workshops are designed to help competitors prepare for the competition, answer questions, and refine their tactics. Both workshops are open to all competitors. It is not required to attend the entire workshop.
(Please note, timing is subject to change)
- 9:00-11:30 am - Negotiation Competition
(Please note, timing is subject to change)
- 11:00-1:00 pm - Thunder Sales Career Fair
- 1:30-2:45 pm - Advanced Role Play Round 2
- 3:00-5:00 pm - Beginner Role Play Round 2
- 5:00-5:30 pm - Keynote Speaker
- 5:30-6:00 pm - Advanced Role Play Round 3
- 6:00-6:30 pm - Beginner Role Play Round 3
- 6:30-7:30 pm - Dinner
- 7:30-8:00 pm - Awards Ceremony
Competition Details
The annual Thunder Sales Competition hosts 5 main events through the course of the competition, the Negotiation Competition, Career Fair, Sales Role Play Competition (with both beginner and advanced levels), a keynote speaker, and dinner. New to this year is the addition of an after party following the awards ceremony! Details for each of the competitions is provided below.
The Career Fair will run from 11:00 am-1:00 pm and is open to all students on campus and any company who’d like to attend. Please note, priority attendance will be given to companies who are sponsoring and participating in the various Thunder Sales competitions. This opportunity is provided so students can engage with prospective employers and it is a great recruiting tool for our partners. Appetizers will be provided and all students will be eligible for the new raffle drawing which will include prizes from our attending career fair vendors!
SUU ProSales will host three Thunder Sales Workshops to help students better prepare for the competition which are open to any and all participants. These workshops are to provide assistance in refining and working speed and role play pitches as well as negotiation tactics. We will have experienced students in attendance to provide sample pitches and aid in the improvement of pitches and negotiation plans. Dates and times will be provided to competitors after registration.
For further details, please review the competition rules and for a breakdown of the individual parts of the competition see the information below.
The Negotiation Competition will take place on April 13 and is held as a multiparty negotiation. Students are divided into groups with up to 6 students in each group with groups being assigned after registration. Each student will be assigned a role to fill within their groups. Your objective is to compete individually in your assigned role to secure the best terms for yourself within the group.
Competitors are given the case study and their assigned roles prior to the competition date. The case studies will outline the various terms and item(s) to negotiate. All relevant details will be provided in the case study.
Competitor groups are given 150 minutes to complete the negotiation and will be judged based on what items or conditions they can negotiate as well as on their performance within the negotiation. A neutral judge will sit in on the negotiations with the competitors to evaluate the competition.
The Negotiation Competition will have 1 winner from each group of students. The winners of the competition will receive a prize of $350 each. In the case of a tie, the tie will go to the student who acquires the best financial benefit, determined by the judge.
The Role Play Competition will have two tracks to compete in, the beginner track and the advanced track. All students across campus are invited to compete. Beginners also includes students currently enrolled in the MKTG 2930 - Foundations of Selling class and those with little to no selling experience. Advanced students include those taking sales classes with course numbers of 3000 or higher and those with advanced selling experience. The beginner track will only accept 42 registrations, the advanced track will only accept 24. *Please note, students currently enrolled in sales classes are required to compete.
The rules, structure, scoresheets, and case studies for the beginner and advanced tracks will be the same. The case study and other competition materials will be sent to you after you complete your registration. During registration, please use an active, valid email address in order to receive these materials and other competition information and updates.
For Role Play Round 1, you will be simulating the prospecting step of the sales process. You will be required to contact your assigned judge through a prospecting email and get them to commit to a meeting with you, this meeting will take place on the competition day in the Role Play Round 2. You will not move on from Round 1 until your judge commits to the meeting! No additional scores will be provided this round. As long as your judge commits, you will move on to round 2.
Further instructions will be provided after you register. Your judge and buyer contacts will be provided the week before the event. Please view the competition rules for further details.
For Role Play Round 2, you will be simulating the discovery step of the sales process. As you meet with your prospect (your judge and buyer) from Round 1, you will need to learn what your prospects' needs are, learn about their business, learn about their interest in buying as well as their ability to buy, then secure a commitment to receive a proposal. If you advance, your proposal will be presented to the prospect in Round 3.
For this first round, you are given 15 minutes to learn about your prospect and gain the opportunity to advance to the next round. Each student will privately present one at a time to your assigned judge and buyer, each judge and buyer seeing 4-6 students.
Judges will score each participant based on the criteria found in the competition rubric. There will be 6 finalists, the highest scores from each judge will determine the finalists.
All specific instructions for this round can be found in the case study given after registration. A Role Play example video is provided below.
For Role Play Round 3, you will be simulating the proposal and closing steps of the sales process. The top 6 finalists from Round 2 will be competing in this round. For your final meeting with your prospect (your judge and buyer), you will need to come prepared with a professional proposal of a product or service (outlined in the case study) and a financial commitment required in the proposal. In your meeting, you will present this proposal to the prospect and close the deal with them.
For this first round, you are given 20 minutes to present and close. Each student will privately present to your assigned judge and buyer. As before, judges will score each participant based on the criteria found in the competition rubric.
The top 3 scores from each track will determine our winners. In the beginner track, 1st place will win $250, 2nd wins $200 and 3rd wins $100. In the advanced track, 1st place will win the grand prize of $1,000 and a unique 3D printed Thor Hammer, 2nd receives $500, and 3rd receives $250.
The Career Fair is an opportunity for all participants to meet many of the judges before and after the different competitions. It is an opportunity to network, to meet with friends, and relax so you are better prepared. Though this portion of the competition is not required to be attended, it is highly encouraged.
Dinner will be provided for all Negotiation and Role Play attendees (judges and participants). Advance notice of additional guests is required and space is limited. If extra space is available, it will be provided on a first come first serve basis. Please contact mareebeach1@suu.edu.
New this year, we will be hosting an after party immediately following the awards ceremony. Please join us for fun, non-alcoholic drinks and live music
Due to the generosity of our competition sponsors, a scholarship fund has been created for our sales students. Funds are still growing and details are still being determined. Stay tuned for more information!
Sponsors
Previous Events
1st: Luke Perkins - $1,000
In the first round of this year’s competition, students were challenged to deliver a 15-minute sales pitch based on a provided case study to a panel consisting of one judge and one buyer. Each student presented privately, with judges and buyers evaluating up to eight students each. This high-stakes round determined who would move on to the final meeting—a simulated deal-closing scenario.
This is the cornerstone event of the competition and was featured prominently. Luke Perkins took home the $1,000 grand prize, making a strong case for both his selling skills and the value of preparation.
Congratulations to our Case Study finalists:
- Luke Perkins
- Josh Miles
- Isaac Iverson
- Penelope Campion
- Tanner Moss
- Tyler Haymond
The winners of this year’s speed pitch competition include the following:
- Abigail Jones
- Dax Hill
- Miranda Garza
- Isaac Van Drimmelen
- Josh Miles
- Alice Annaccarato
- Kade Andra
- Jack Fairchild
For more details about the 2025 competition view the official competition press review.
1st: Luke Perkins - $1,000
2nd: Josh Miles - $500
3rd: Emree Olsen - $250
Due to unforeseen circumstances, the competition shifted to a virtual event. Using online video conferencing, and personal recordings, the program still managed a successful competition despite the challenges.
"Thunder Sales was great! It provided me with the opportunity to get out of my comfort zone and really grow my professional sales skills. One of my favorite parts of the competition was the opportunity I had to network and connect with all of the partners and sponsors from some of the top companies in Utah and the nation! Every student should be getting involved with the Professional Sales program at SUU to set themselves up for success after graduation no matter what career path they choose!"
-Luke Perkins, First-place Competition Winner.
Despite having to forego the usual activities for the annual Thunder Sales, such as a career fair, dinner for students, and competing in person, the Professional Sales program still managed a successful competition and offered students valuable experience in their future fields.
For more details about the 2024 competition view the official competition press review.
1st: Marlee Ressler - $500
2nd: Carter Barlow - $350
3rd: Luke Perkins - $200
Out of the 48 people who signed up, a total of 12 awards were handed out, which included $50 and $100 gift cards to the second and first place personal pitch winners, respectively, as well as up to $500 to the role play winners.
Carter Barlow, a recent SUU graduate who studied business management and marketing and served as a Professional Sales Ambassador during the 2022-2023 school year, has done several competitions throughout his time in the program and enjoys the competitive nature of the event. He won one of the $100 first place prizes in the personal pitch along with second place $350 prize in the final role play round.
In Barlow’s experience, the competitions he’s participated in have been highly valuable for developing skills in sales, communication, and networking, and they’ve allowed him to hone his competitive side. According to him, there were a few reasons he participated in this competition.
“I was a Professional Sales ambassador, and I’m in the advanced professional sales class so it was part of our grade as well, but I honestly just competed because I wanted to win,” Barlow says.
His desire to compete and win is what brought him second place in the role play portion, and through his active participation in Professional Sales at SUU, Barlow has learned that preparation is the most important factor in sales and for these competitions. He advises that anyone else interested in these events should prepare as much as they can in order to be prepared for whatever might be thrown at them.
In addition to second place in the role-play competition, Barlow took one of four $100 first place titles in the personal pitch, with the other winners including Marlee Ressler, Dani Nikolashin, and Alexis McIff. The four $50 second place winners were Amberly Mikkelson, Luke Perkins, Miranda Garza, and Chantel Clark. From the role play, Ressler also took both the $500 first place and $100 People’s Choice awards, and Perkins took the $200 third place award.
1st: Matthew Matheson
2nd: Davis Chipman
3rd: Megan Bury
Over 30 students participated in this year’s competition, students Matthew Matheson, Davis Chipman, and Megan Bury earned the top spots. Matheson took home a Thor hammer - a unique prize created by the SUU Makerspace - along with his top choice of prize from Zonos.
“This was an incredible opportunity to get hands-on experience in professional sales,” said Matheson. “It was exciting to have Zonos come and sponsor the competition. Kurt Wankier prepared our class well. We practiced hard and the result was rewarding. I’m so excited to see the Sales Program continue to grow at SUU.”
The competition began with a series of speed pitches to judges from the local business community. Students from disciplines across campus competed and winners included Jo B Shurtliff, Cameron Morgan, Megan Bury, Madelyn Tebbs, Davis Chipman, Jordan Howe, Keiko Schwartz, and Megan Allart.
Following the speed pitch, students of the new Advanced Selling Techniques class presented three minute case study pitches to judges from the event sponsor, Zonos. The night finished with a final round of pitches from five finalists, seniors Isaiah Tate, Megan Bury, and Matthew Matheson and juniors Ethan Vawdrey and Davis Chipman.
Contact
For more information, general competition questions, concerns, etc, please contact Maree Beach at (435) 865-8433 or mareebeach1@suu.edu. For questions regarding the case study and pitches contact Kurt Wankier at kurtiswankier@suu.edu.