The first Southeast Asia Sales Competition a success!
The first South-East Asian Sales Competition (SEASAC) held at the end of February 2020 in Maha Sarakham Thailand was a great success; fortunately taking place prior to the expansion of Covid-19 expansion and most of the subsequent restrictions.
This event brought together university students studying sales from across Southeast Asia for an amazing competition hosted by Mahasarakham University. The event was organized by the South-East Asian Sales Competition (SEASAC), which is a European Union Erasmus+ program funded project created to support the professionalization of business-to-business (B2B) sales forces throughout the Southeast Asia region. Four European universities joined with seven universities from Indonesia and Thailand in an initiative that is expected to expand across Southeast Asia and introduce new methods of sales education to university students across the region.
In the thoroughly prepared role-plays, students had to make live-interactive presentations in front of buyers. This demanded knowledge of the sales processes, superb listening skills, and a genuine understanding of matching products to customer needs, as well as being able to demonstrate win-win negotiating techniques.
The competition winners were:
1st winner: Yuniarti, State Polytechnic of Batam, Indonesia
2nd winner: Kaknika Oeun, Mahasarakham University, Thailand
3rd winner: Lisa Russell, Rangsit University, Thailand
4th winner: Kanika Chhay, Mahasarakham University, Thailand
Keynote speaker, Prof. Dr. Chira Homgladarom, Secretary-General for the Foundation of International Human Resource Development, gave an informative speech that revolved around the importance of networking and effective collaboration and thanked the participating universities from Southeast Asia and the European Union for this exciting project.
Assistant Professor Dr. Pornlapas (Paul) Suwannarat, Lecturer in International Business, Mahasarakham Business School, Mahasarakham University, and the competition director said “Mahasarakham University was very pleased and honored to host this event. We are confident that this platform will be an opportunity to present talented people to the business community for many years to come”.
Head of the SEASAC project, Mr. Harri Lappalainen from Turku University of Applied Sciences (Finland), says “Despite the present focus on ‘social-distancing’ the methods taught in the sales courses for the competition present fundamental learning opportunities for all students on the principles of effective communication and negotiation, whether it be face-to-face, videoconferencing or in designing sales literature. It’s a fantastic opportunity for students, universities, and companies and we look forward to seeing it grow in the coming years”. SEASAC 2021 edition will be hosted by the Parahyangan Catholic University in Bandung, Indonesia and it welcomes universities from all over Southeast Asia to participate.
Further details on the South-East Asian Sales Competition and how to be involved can be found at www.seasalescompetition.com.
