Price of Doing Business

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Christian Price has treated college like his first big sales territory - chased every lead, showed up prepared, and left a lasting impact at every step.

As a senior professional sales and marketing major at Commonwealth University-Bloomsburg, he turned internships, sales competitions, and club leadership into a full-time job offer months before graduation.

He's learned what might look like "just an internship" or "just a contest" can launch a career when you show up prepared, stay coachable, and focused on making an impact.

"At a larger, brand name school you're more likely to be just a number," Price says. "Here at Bloomsburg, so many people are willing to go out on a limb for you and connect you with the right opportunities. You work closely with professors, collaborate with your peers on real projects, and ultimately set yourself up to succeed as soon as you leave campus."

The Zeigler Edge

Employers know that Zeigler College of Business (ZCOB) graduates hit the ground running. Alumni know the value of a ZCOB education. Price utilized both to his advantage along with the Zeigler Institute for Professional Development (ZIPD) and membership in Pi Sigma Epsilon (PSE), a professional fraternity specializing in the advancement of sales, marketing, and management professions.

"It's a good opportunity to keep your professional self in check a little bit, says Price, serving as PSE vice president this school year. "It's good to make sure you're just doing the right things. That you're talking to the right people. So that ultimately, you can set yourself up for success after school."

Price credits PSE and networking events like the annual ZIPD Business Conference with giving him regular access to industry professionals and alumni. Among the benefits, often weekly with PSE, include bringing in recruiters, running resume and LinkedIn workshops, and organizing evenings focused on specialties like medical device and pharmaceutical sales.

"Anyone who's coming on campus to help you is definitely a resource you want to trend towards," Price says. "Talking with alumni who are already in roles you want can be powerful. If you come with a good set of questions, I'm sure it'll leave a pretty long-lasting impact with them. Who knows where that connection can lead."

Compete and Connect

Sales competitions, Price explains, are where theory turns into pressure-tested practice. He and fellow classmates spend weeks preparing a role-play scenario, then perform in front of judges while recruiters from a dozen or more companies watch nearby.

"You get to put yourself in a scenario where you don't know the product very well and you have to train yourself on it super quick," Price says. "You make yourself a little vulnerable and go out there and try and do well, so it's kind of neat."

The judges' feedback became one of his favorite parts.

"Just hearing some of the things that I do well have been consistent throughout my time doing these," says Price, adding judges have pointed out the small details like tone, social cues, and follow up questions. "Things that could make the difference one day when I'm in a room with someone trying to present a product or service to them."

Nuance of Networking

A turning point for Price came as an alternate in the International Collegiate Sales Competition in Florida his sophomore year. He only had to deliver a 60-second speed call but refused to let the rest of the week go to waste. "I was like … alright," Price says. "I'm going to use my time wisely while I'm here."

With more than a dozen employers on site, Price treated the event like a real-world networking lab. He walked the job fair, collected business cards, and followed one company, MPLT Healthcare, out to dinner to keep the conversations going.

"Sales is all social interaction," Price says. "You've got to figure out how to talk to people, especially different people. I thought I went out there and killed it - just communicating with a bunch of people and making contacts."

Internship Trifecta

Price's resume features not one, but three internships - each strategically adding a different layer to his sales toolkit.

Fastenal (learning relationships): After his sophomore year, Price landed his first internship with Fastenal in Bloomsburg by cold emailing contacts his advisor shared. He shadowed the branch manager on delivery runs and prospecting visits, seeing how long-term relationships actually look in the field.

"Just building rapport, making a human element to a transactional relationship was the big lesson," he says.

Bloomsburg University Foundation (conquering cold calls): His junior year, Price took an on-campus internship with the university foundation, spending evenings making roughly 80 cold calls to alumni for donations. By the end, he'd raised more than $2,000 and, more importantly, stopped fearing the word "cold."

TBP Converting (drive revenue): Last summer heading into senior year, Price interned at TBP Converting in Phoenixville, a materials converter and adhesive products company serving manufacturers across multiple industries.

This opportunity he was trusted with more freedom … and more responsibility. He prospected his own leads, called into the lower Northeast and Southeast, set meetings for outside reps, and closed a few sales himself.

"We would just rip cold calls," he says. "I ended up making like two, might have made a third sale. I probably got like four or five meetings for some of our outside reps too. So that was fun."

AI in Play

Prospecting from scratch pushed Price to get creative. Without a pre-made list, he built his own.

"I would literally just go on ChatGPT and be like, 'Give me companies that do glass and glazing, that do millwork, and are located in X, Y, and Z area,'" Price says. "And it would just pump out companies."

From there, Price said he cross-checked names in Salesforce and ZoomInfo, confirming revenue and fit before picking up the phone. Google Maps became another unexpected ally.

"People say look for the biggest roof," Price says. "Those are the companies you want to get inside. Big roofs mean a lot of infrastructure."

AI wasn't a shortcut. It was a way to accelerate the grind of prospecting so he could spend more time actually selling.

Impact Mindset

Price's work at TBP Converting didn't go unnoticed. The week before the internship ended, he delivered a final presentation to company executives. They called him back the next week.

"They wanted to give me a job offer," Price says. "I was excited, because that was my goal the whole summer. I wanted to work hard enough so that they would want me back."

A mental performance coach provided through the internship helped him lock in that intention from day one.

"He asked 'what's one word you would use to describe how you want to be through this internship?'" Price says. "I said 'impact.' I just wanted to go out and make an impact in any way possible."

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