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Sales and Business Marketing Association Q and A

Getting involved in student organizations is one of the most important aspects of a Haworth College of Business experience. But as the world adjusts to social distancing, these key campus groups have had to rethink how they will deliver on their initiatives.

Student leaders in the É«É«À² Sales and Business Marketing Association have found ways to help their peer members flourish, even without the opportunity for face-to-face interaction. From virtual role-play, to connecting with employers online and more, the organization continues to deliver on its mission of engaging members and providing them with unique opportunities to grow both as students and young professionals.

Here, SBMA President Cooper Frost and Director of Member Engagement and IT Sarah Obermeyer speak about how the organization continues to prosper in a virtual format.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, why did you decide it was important to continue to offer SBMA meetings remotely?

Obermeyer: Spring is a critical time for students to find internships or full-time jobs after graduation. We knew that with the cancellation of in-person instruction, job hunts were going to become much more difficult. At SBMA, we’ve always prided ourselves on being a resource for students, and that’s what we wanted to continue to do during this challenging time. 

A lot of students are finding themselves with more time on their hands while sheltering in place, so we realized it was important to offer resources they could use to grow as young professionals. We saw the importance and value of offering interactions with employers because it would help students with their career goals. Additionally, we knew that it was important to give students professional development resources online.

How did you ramp up quickly to deliver on these goals?

Obermeyer: As soon as in-person instruction was suspended, we started to plan how to best serve students. We decided that anything we did from that point forward was to focus on our main mission: getting our members opportunities to become employed and develop professionally. 

I built our at the start of this academic year, so I instantly started adding new pages and content. Our next step was to reach out to employers. We had a team of five individuals headed by our Director of New Business Camden McDonald. Student members Ryan Demas, Kaleb Jonker, Jared Bishop, Cooper Frost and I all started to contact employers. After that, things started to fall into place. We asked businesses to sign up to do virtual webinars via Zoom, which functioned like an Employer Night. We also received plenty of professional development resources from partnering companies as well. 

What sorts of feedback have you been getting from students about how the virtual offerings have worked for them?  

Frost: Participating students have been grateful to see each other on a social level, especially through organized interaction. Through this transition we have attracted new members to SBMA and new employers to the University. In doing this, we have helped four companies build out sales internships along with filling new entry-level positions. This process is helping forge new and stronger bonds between employers and É«É«À².

Any particular success stories?

Frost: Right before one of our virtual employer webinars, three of our members were notified that their internships were getting cancelled. But because SBMA was already actively speaking with recruiters, alumni and business owners, we were able to assist all three of these members with getting interviews within 24 hours. I am thrilled to say that all three students are now employed in new internships, along with many of our other members.

What elements of the online offerings might you keep in the future when in-person meetings are able to take place again, and you have the option of both in-person or virtual delivery of programming? Why?

Frost: Through this transition, SBMA has created three virtual tools that we will continue to use in some way moving forward. These tools will help SBMA better support members, recruit new students and stay connected with alumni. They include:

• Our website, SBMAwmu.org. We aggregated professional development videos from employers so that any business student could watch them and earn base-level SPuRS credit. This library will be moved to the organization’s internal site for members to view in the future.
• Virtual tutoring. SBMA typically works with student associates at the Robert S. Kaiser Sales, Negotiation and Leadership Lab to offer assistance to sales students. Through this transition, SBMA redesigned tutoring efforts by offering role-play assistance virtually. By having additional volunteer members available to role-play with students virtually in the future, lab associates will be able to help more students in person during busy times. 
• Online store. In lieu of getting SBMA merchandise in person, we have created an online store that allows members to purchase gear and have it shipped directly to them. Additionally, the new online store allows us to connect with SBMA alumni by providing unique apparel options for them.

For more information about joining the Sales and Business Marketing Association at É«É«À² Michigan University, visit the .