Editor’s Note – September 2025

Harrell Kerkhoff

As we get closer to the next edition of the ISSA Show North America — scheduled for November 10-13, 2025, at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, in Las Vegas, NV — I would like to draw attention to a new item for this year’s event.

The Global Collegiate Sales Competition (GCSC) is designed to bridge the gap between academic excellence and industry innovation. It represents a strategic investment in developing the next generation of sales professionals specifically for the cleaning industry. Modeled after other successful collegiate sales competitions, the GCSC is designed to create a platform where emerging talent meets industry opportunity in a high-energy, competitive environment.

The Competition will take place over two days during this year’s ISSA Show North America. On Wednesday, November 12, participants will navigate through a carefully crafted series of challenges designed to simulate real-world sales scenarios in the cleaning industry. That includes:

• Speed Selling Rounds – Competitors perfect their elevator pitches and demonstrate quick thinking under pressure in a fast, high-stakes “Shark Tank” like setting.
• Immersive Role Plays – Students will engage with actual products and services from today’s cleaning and custodial marketplace, showcasing their ability to understand and communicate value propositions in direct one-on-one pitches while being graded by a panel of judges.
• Industry-Specific Challenges – Each activity puts the competitors in front of potential hiring managers and influential business executives.

The Grand Finale is set for Thursday, November 13, as top performing teams take center stage on the ISSA show floor with a live audience. Exhibitors and attendees are invited to witness these finalists demonstrate their sales skills — culminating in cash prizes for the top three winners during the Role Play and Speed Selling rounds.

This inaugural competition features 10 elite college teams, each comprising of four sales students. Representatives from universities across the United States will provide students with diverse perspectives and approaches. A key benefit to this event is direct industry exposure as participating students will gain invaluable insights into the cleaning industry’s products, challenges, and — most importantly — opportunities.

“The GCSC represents an unprecedented opportunity to connect with pre-qualified talent who have demonstrated specific interest in our industry,” according to ISSA. “This isn’t just a competition — it’s the future workforce pipeline in action. Attendees can witness the energy and fresh perspectives these students bring to the industry. Their innovative approaches to selling cleaning solutions may inspire new strategies for future business development.”

One of the main topics that is continually brought up during my interviews with different jan/san distributors is the need for more members of the younger generation to enter the cleaning industry. Programs like the Global Collegiate Sales Competition will help. This very subject is discussed during the September 2025 issue of Maintenance Sales News, featuring Quartermaster Facility Supplies, a distributorship based in Indianapolis, IN.

“It’s often said that the cleaning industry is not very ‘sexy’ for those younger people who are considering a career choice. Therefore, there is a great need for industry leaders to reach out and help the industry become friendlier and more appealing to younger people,” Quartermaster President Aaron Anger said in the article. “It’s also critical to give those people space to properly learn today’s products and processes that are needed to maintain a facility.”

Well said Aaron!

I would like to thank everyone for their continued support of Maintenance Sales News. Please send news items and story ideas to my email address at: harrellk@rdgmedia.net.

Harrell Kerkhoff

Editor, Maintenance Sales News