Did you see our yard signs promoting the upcoming TIES Connection Fair?
What is a Connection Fair?
Think of our Connection Fair like an ultra-focused and less rigid career fair highlighting companies looking for technical, industrial, and engineering salespeople. No suits or resumes required. Come explore the world of technical sales as you are. And yes, you can even come just for donuts and coffee!
Connection Fair Industry Participants:
- SRS Distribution
- Keating Auto Group
- Century A/C
- Hussmann
- Ryerson
- ABB
- Eaton
- Endress+Hauser / Vector Automation Controls
- GHX (Sunsource)
- Hajoca
- Lennox
- Rubber & Gasket Company of America (RGA)
- RS Group
- Texas AirSystems
- Victaulic
- …and growing!
Event Overview
The TIES (Technical, Industrial, and Engineering Student) Sales Showdown is a technical sales roleplay competition for students in the College of Engineering at Texas A&M University. Each semester, TIES brings ~200 student competitors together with industry partners who serve as judges and buyers. The event unfolds over two rounds, which are separated by an afternoon networking session and an evening reception. The afternoon networking session is like a career fair, but without the “swag” so that participants can focus on making connections (or dare we say… ties?).
Value to Students
Students benefit from this event in several ways. First, TIES is a developmental opportunity that functions as the output of the work students do in their Sales Engineering class and lab sessions. It is a way for students to demonstrate the skills they’ve acquired during the semester. Second, TIES is a way for students to connect with industry partners offering internships and employment opportunities in technical, industrial, and engineering sales. By attracting the world’s best technical sales organizations, TIES helps students lay the groundwork for their success post-graduation. Third, students who perform exceptionally well in the TIES Sales Showdown win monetary prizes and receive valuable recognition from their peers, the University, and our industry partners.
Value to Industry Partners
Industry partners benefit from this event primarily in terms of talent identification and selection. There are countless career fairs and job boards that can inform students of an organization’s internship and career opportunities, but TIES goes further by creating an interactive arena where industry partners can see students in action, provide feedback to further their skill development, and build deep relationships along the way. What all this means for industry partners is an enhanced ability to fill internship and employment positions with carefully selected talent.
Industry Involvement
There are two ways for organizations to participate in the TIES Sales Showdown.
1) Direct Sponsorship – there are a limited number of direct sponsorship opportunities available each semester, including: product sponsorship (e.g., where your organization’s product/solution is what “is sold” in the roleplays), buyer role sponsorship (e.g., where your organization is used as the buyer/prospect in the roleplay scenarios), and sub-event sponsorships (e.g., where you sponsor the networking reception or awards banquet). Direct sponsorship opportunities start at $25,000.
2) Consortium Membership – there are also consortium membership opportunities that allow an industry partner access to the TIES Sales Showdown. A consortium is a group research project focused on an issue facing industry partners. While we offer multiple large scale strategic consortia that start at $50,000, the simplest way to be involved in the TIES Sales Showdown is by joining our developmental consortium on recruiting. This consortium collects data from students throughout the semester and culminates in a report back to member firms that details how they are perceived by students, which engagement activities most positively impact these perceptions, and what types of students tend to perceive them most favorably (suggesting the types of students to target). Developmental consortium membership is $5,000 per semester.
Example Schedule
| Day 1 | ||
| Time | For Students | For Industry Partners |
| 8AM – Noon | Round 1 roleplays. | A small group of partners will act as buyers in Round 1. |
| Noon – 1PM | Lunch Break. | All partners join for Round 1 judging. |
| 1PM -5PM | Networking session / Connection Fair. | Networking session / Connection Fair. |
| 6PM -8PM | Reception and finalists announced. | Reception and finalists announced. |
| Day 2 | ||
| Time | For Students | For Industry Partners |
| 8AM -11AM | Final Round roleplays for finalists. | Observing and judging finals. |
| 11AM- 1PM | Awards luncheon and closing remarks. | Awards luncheon and closing remarks. |
Contact and Coordination
For more information, please contact Dr. Willy Bolander at wcbolander@tamu.edu.