Dundee students are attempting to outsell rival universities from across Scotland and England in a business competition.
Abertay University is hosting the prestigious contest which sees young businessmen and women attempt to sell under real life conditions to major players such as bank RBS and software and enterprise firm Salesforce.
The competition conference model is based on massive US sales events where colleges regularly compete.
The winners will go head-to-head against the best in Europe at a contest at Edinburgh Napier this summer.
Students from Dundee, Abertay, Aberdeen, Robert Gordon, Napier, Sheffield Hallam and Coventry universities are taking part.
Dr Gary Mulholland of Abertay’s Dundee Business School said the competition is both a learning opportunity and a chance for the cream of university sales students to make their mark.
He added: “We teach people how to capture the imagination within 30 seconds in an elevator pitch style and those skills will determine who succeeds in this competition.
“Working in the sales industry is both rewarding financially and personally and is a great way of meeting people and the different approach we take at Abertay puts our students on that path.”
The competition is also a golden opportunity for businesses across Scotland to identify student sales talent with a view to employing future stars.
It is the second year of the Salesforce Scottish Open Sales Competition 2017, which was first piloted at Edinburgh Napier last year.
Those taking part in the contest will compete across a range of tests, including a role play session where students engage in a business to business seller-buyer meeting, and a timed speed selling section to test nerves under pressure.
There will also be a range of talks and feedback sessions from industry experts over two days and the event will culminate in a gala dinner on Wednesday night.
Zane Powell, law student and director of start-up company UniJob App, said: “I took part in the first ever Scottish Open Sales Competition and this luckily coincided with the early stages of my business venture.
“The experience I gained in selling from the competition and the dedicated team of professional sales coaches was vital in helping me go forward and secure significant investment for my start-up venture.”
