Twilley Sales Academy students compete in national sales competition

The image features ECU's Twilley Academy of Sales Leadership at the "Selling with the Bulls" event. Four professionally dressed students—Diya Thaker, Roz Burgess, Josiah Ortiz, and Parker Raven—are smiling against a purple gradient background.

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Four students from the College of Business Twilley Sales Academy recently competed in Selling with the Bulls, a national sales competition hosted by the University of South Florida’s Muma College of Business on Feb. 20-21.

Billed as the toughest test in sales education, the competition featured 112 students from 31 universities and tested participants on the full sales process, including prospecting, networking, needs identification and closing.

Representing East Carolina University, Roz Burgess, Josiah Ortiz, Diya Thaker and Parker Raven faced an additional challenge when a winter storm prevented them from traveling to the in-person event. Instead, they competed virtually, overcoming an automatic point deduction against teams attending in person.

Despite the setback, Burgess earned a Winners Circle award, recognizing competitors who ranked among the top performers in every category, even though he was unable to compete in networking due to the virtual format. Ortiz won first place in the prospecting voicemail category, demonstrating excellence in sales messaging.

The Twilley Sales Academy continues to build a reputation for developing elite sales professionals and competing at the highest levels in national competitions.