Sales Awards Blog

If Your Sales Team Has Been Nice, Not Naughty, in 2014...

Michael Gallagher — Wed, 24 Dec 2014 18:26:00 GMT

Happy holidays and all the best to you and yours for 2015 from everyone at the Stevie Awards!

How has your salesforce performed this year? Have they worked wonders? Grown revenue? Grown your client base? Increased customer retention and satisfaction? Do you have individual sales teams or performers you'd like to recognize? Well we have a suggestion for you: nominate them for a Stevie® Award in the 2015 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. The final entry deadline is January 13. Complete details are at www.StevieAwards.com/Sales.

These are the world's top sales awards and customer service awards. The list of sales organizations and performers who've been recognized over the years reads like a who's who of sales excellence: AMD, IBM, Marriott Vacation Club, Richardson... the list goes on. (You'll find complete lists of winners going back to 2006 on the website.) There's no greater public recognition you can pursue for your star performers than a Stevie Award. They could receive plaudits from esteemed judges around the world, and accept one of the world's most stunning trophies on a stage before more than 400 of their peers from around the world, during a ceremony that will be broadcast on radio across the U.S.A. (and simulcast worldwide.)

You've got a few weeks yet in which to prepare submit your nominations to the awards. Here's what you need to do to get started and make sure your team is nominated.

1. Review the Categories
There's a wide variety to choose from. Find the list of them below. There are categories to recognize entire departments (by industry), specialized teams, executives, as well as the sales reps who are pounding the pavement (or the phones or keyboards, as the case may be).
TIP: Ask yourself this question: What do we want to be recognized for? The answer(s) to that question will help you to choose your categories.

2. Prepare Your Entries for Your Categories
The entry requirements are listed below on the categories list . Most categories require only an essay of up to 650 words about what the nominee has achieved since July 1, 2013. (The nominee can be an entire company, a single person, or any size group in between.) You also have the option to supplement your essay with any number of supporting materials to impress the judges. These could include video clips, images, press clippings... whatever you'd like to include to help tell the nominee's story.
TIP: Read some of the past Stevie Award-winning entries to get a sense of the types of entries that score well with our judges. You'll find links to Gold Stevie-winning entries going back to 2006 on the website.

3. Submit Your Entries by the Deadline
The deadline again is January 13. It's easy to submit entries through the website - begin here. It will take you no more than a few minutes to submit your entries online if you've already prepared them.

4. Contact Us for Help
Email us at help@stevieawards.com at any time, or call us at +1-703-547-8389 with your questions about category selection, entry preparation, the entry deadline...whatever. We're here to help.

Sales Categories in the 2015 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service

SALES INDIVIDUAL CATEGORIES
The sales individual categories recognize individual sales professionals.
Information required for entries in these categories include:
(a) An essay of up to 650 words describing the nominee’s accomplishments since July 1, 2013.
(b) Optional (but highly recommended), a collection of supporting files and web addresses that you may upload to our server to support your entry and provide more background information to the judges. At the very least you should provide a link to the organization's website.

1. Senior Sales Executive of the Year
Recognizing senior sales executives with titles such as Chief Sales Officer. This category may also be used to recognize senior corporate executives for their role in driving sales achievements.

2. Worldwide Sales Executive of the Year
Recognizing sales executives with responsibility for sales performance on a global level.

3. National Sales Executive of the Year
Recognizing sales executives with responsibility for sales performance on a national level.

4. Sales Director of the Year
Recognizing the achievements of sales directors at organizations of any size, of any type.

5. Sales Manager of the Year
Recognizing the achievements of sales managers and sales professionals with a managerial role at organizations of any size, of any type.

6. Sales Operations Professional of the Year
Recognizing sales executives and sales professionals with a managerial role for their achievements in managing sales organizations that run effectively, efficiently and in support of business strategies and objectives.

7. Sales Training or Education Professional of the Year
Recognizing sales executives and sales professionals with a managerial role who manage, design, or deliver sales training or education in any aspect of work life.

8. Sales Representative of the Year
Recognizing individual sales representatives for their personal contributions to organizations’ sales results. This category is split into four separate categories:
   a. Business Services Industries: recognizes sales representatives in business services industries such as advertising, consulting, marketing, public relations, recruiting, etc.
   b. Other Service Industries: recognizes sales representatives in services industries such as financial services, healthcare, hospitality & leisure, legal, media & entertainment, real estate, retail, etc.
   c. Technology Industries: recognizes sales representatives in technology industries such as computer software, computer services, computer hardware, internet/new media, and telecommunications.
   d. All Other Industries: recognizes sales representatives in all industries not covered by the other Sales Representative of the Year categories.

SALES TEAM CATEGORIES
The sales team categories recognize the members of individual teams within your overall sales department. For example, the team may service a particular customer segment or a single client, or may work in a particular sales territory.
Information required for entries in these categories include:
(a) An essay of up to 650 words describing the team’s accomplishments since July 1, 2013.
(b) Optional (but highly recommended), a collection of supporting files and web addresses that you may upload to our server to support your entry and provide more background information to the judges. At the very least you should provide a link to the organization's website.

20. Global Sales Team of the Year
Recognizing sales teams whose industry, client, or other focus has a global scope.

21. National Sales Team of the Year
Recognizing sales teams whose industry, client, or other focus has a national scope.

22. Government Sales Team of the Year
Recognizing sales teams whose charge is selling to government clients.

23. Field Sales Team of the Year
Recognizing sales teams that obtain the majority of their business out of the office at face to face meetings with clients.

24. Telesales Team of the Year
Recognizing sales teams that obtain the majority of their business by telephone .

25. Online Sales Team of the Year
Recognizing sales teams that obtain the majority of their business via online and social media.

26. Sales Support Team of the Year
Recognizing teams that provide administrative, logistical, or resource support to sales organizations.

27. Sales Operations Team of the Year
Recognizing teams that help sales organizations to run effectively, efficiently and in support of business strategies and objectives.

28. Sales Management Team of the Year
Recognizing the leadership teams of sales organizations for their achievements.

SALES ACHIEVEMENT CATEGORIES
Information required for entries in these categories include:
(a) An essay of up to 650 words describing the nominee’s accomplishments since July 1, 2013 in the area covered by the category.
(b) Optional (but highly recommended), a collection of supporting files and web addresses that you may upload to our server to support your entry and provide more background information to the judges. At the very least you should provide a link to the organization's website.

30. Sales Turnaround of the Year
Recognizing sales organizations for improvements since July 1, 2013, over the prior year. Improvements in revenue, operations, and training will be considered in this category.

31. Sales Growth Achievement of the Year
Recognizing sales organizations for their improvements in sales growth - in revenue and/or units - since the beginning of July 2013, over the prior year.

32. Best Use of Technology in Sales
Honoring sales organizations for their innovative use of technology to improve sales operations, drive sales growth, and/or improve customer satisfaction since the beginning of July 2013.

33. Demand Generation Program of the Year
Recognizing sales organizations (and their colleagues in marketing) for their demand generation programs.

34. Outbound Marketing Program of the Year
Recognizing marketing programs that use advertising, promotions, public relations and sales.

35. Inbound Marketing Program of the Year
Recognizing marketing programs that rely on content generation, lead development, and prospect cultivation.

36. Sales Process of the Year
Recognizing sales organizations for their development and use of sales process methodologies.

37. Sales Training or Coaching Program of the Year
Recognizing sales organizations for their development and use of sales training and coaching programs.

38. Sales Meeting of the Year
Recognizing sales organizations for creativity and effectiveness in their sales meetings. There is no entry fee for this category.

39. Award for Innovation in Sales
Recognizing new ideas and developments within sales that enabled organizations to implement creative selling and business development strategies, since the beginning of July 2013, to win new customers and grow revenue.

SALES DEPARTMENT CATEGORIES
The sales department categories recognize everyone who works in sales in your organization, regardless of their role or location.
Information required for entries in these categories include:
(a) An essay of up to 650 words describing your sales department’s accomplishments since July 1, 2013.
(b) Optional (but highly recommended), a collection of supporting files and web addresses that you may upload to our server to support your entry and provide more background information to the judges. At the very least you should provide a link to the organization's website.

40. Sales Department of the Year - Computer Hardware
41. Sales Department of the Year - Computer Services
42. Sales Department of the Year - Computer Software
43. Sales Department of the Year – Distribution & Transportation
44. Sales Department of the Year - Financial Services
45. Sales Department of the Year – Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, and Related Industries
46. Sales Department of the Year – Hospitality & Tourism
47. Sales Department of the Year - Industrial & Manufacturing
48. Sales Department of the Year - Media & Entertainment
49. Sales Department of the Year – Public Services & Education
50. Sales Department of the Year - Services
51. Sales Department of the Year - Telecommunications
52. Sales Department of the Year – All Other Industries

New Business Development Awards Categories in the Stevie Awards

Michael Gallagher — Mon, 15 Dec 2014 23:38:00 GMT

Business development has long been mischaracterized as the little sibling of sales. Even a major business magazine published an article asking, "What exactly is business development?" Many business development professionals may feel a bit like Rodney Dangerfield, never getting no respect.

We at the Stevie Awards know what business development is, and we're pleased to introduce a menu of categories to recognize business development professionals and achievements in the 2015 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. The final entry deadline for the 9th edition of these awards is January 13. Get the entry kit and full details at www.StevieAwards.com/Sales.

These new business development awards categories will recognize the achievements of individual business development professionals, and singular business development achievements in a variety of industries.

Information required for entries in these categories include:
(a) An essay of up to 650 words describing the nominated organization's accomplishments since July 1, 2013.
(b) Optional (but highly recommended), a collection of supporting files and web addresses that you may upload to our server to support your entry and provide more background information to the judges. At the very least you should provide a link to the organization's website.

Here are the business development awards categories to choose from.

130. Business Development Executive of the Year
Recognizing the achievements of business development executives since July 1, 2013. (Professionals at the VP level or higher.)

131. Business Development Professional of the Year
Recognizing the achievements of non-executive business development professionals since July 1, 2013. (Professionals at a Director level or lower.)

132. Business Development Achievement of the Year - Financial Services Industries
Recognizing singular business development achievements - agreements, deals, implementations, and/or performance results - in any of the financial services industries since July 1, 2013.

133. Business Development Achievement of the Year - Hospitality & Leisure Industries
Recognizing singular business development achievements - agreements, deals, implementations, and/or performance results - in any of the hospitality and leisure industries since July 1, 2013.

134. Business Development Achievement of the Year - Media & Entertainment Industries
Recognizing singular business development achievements - agreements, deals, implementations, and/or performance results - in any of the media and entertainment industries since July 1, 2013.

135. Business Development Achievement of the Year - Services Industries
Recognizing singular business development achievements - agreements, deals, implementations, and/or performance results - in any of the services industries (business or consumer) since July 1, 2013.

136. Business Development Achievement of the Year - Technology Industries
Recognizing singular business development achievements - agreements, deals, implementations, and/or performance results - in any of the technology industries since July 1, 2013.

137. Business Development Achievement of the Year - Transportation Industries
Recognizing singular business development achievements - agreements, deals, implementations, and/or performance results - in any of the transportation industries since July 1, 2013.

138. Business Development Achievement of the Year - All Other Industries
Recognizing singular business development achievements - agreements, deals, implementations, and/or performance results - since July 1, 2013 in any industry not addressed by categories 132 - 137.

Finalists in these and all other categories in the 2015 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service will be notified on January 21 and publicly announced on January 22. The Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners will then be announced at a gala awards banquet at the Bellagio in Las Vegas on Friday, February 27. Attendance is not required to win, but if you attend you'll mingle with more than 400 sales, business development, customer service, and contact center professionals from around the world.

Questions about how to prepare and submit entries to the awards? Contact us.

5 Days of SPAM - Lessons Learned from Holiday Email Marketing

Michael Gallagher — Thu, 05 Dec 2013 19:18:00 GMT

Becky Johns, Vice President of MarketBridge in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, will chair the final judging committee for the Sales Achievement categories in the sales awards section of the 2014 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. (The final entry deadline for the 2014 competition is January 14 — get your entry kit here ) She shares some timely advice on the do’s and don’ts of holiday emails.

In the U.S., the dust has finally settled on yet another record-breaking Black Friday and Cyber Monday. While retailers and shoppers recover from the highs and lows of record breaking sales, near riots, and yes, even the token Taser fight, it’s time to pay homage to the real victim of the holiday shopping melée: your Inbox.

I’ve just finished spending some time sifting through my email over the past five days. Most of the Holiday Shopper-targeted emails were caught by spam folders, which ironically enough included an email from a national grocer with a special on canned goods (yup, SPAM stuck in spam). Some of the fortunate few survived the treacherous journey past the spam detectors and managed to make it into my actual Inbox … only to lie un-opened and largely ignored over the last few days.

Going through this exercise was both exasperating and somewhat deflating, especially when you consider that retail marketers have likely been planning and conceptualizing these Holiday Shopping emails for months. As a marketer and reformed spammer myself, I can’t help but ask the question: Is this the best we can come up with?

The answer, obviously, is NO. We can do better! And we don’t even have to Taser ourselves to get our creative juices flowing. (Side Note: why are there so many of these videos on YouTube?).

Here are my thoughts on the 4 key lessons from 5 days of Holiday Shopping emails I reviewed.

Day 1: Thursday, November 28^th

Theme of Emails Received: ThanksGivingYouNotice

Apparently there’s a marketing rule that on Thanksgiving Day, every email subject line needs to involve a pun—at least, all the 84 retailer whose emails I received thought so. A quick subject line sampling (WARNING: these will likely result in you uploading a Self-Tasering video on to YouTube): “Gobble Up Our Sale,” “It’s our Thanksgiving Sales, Pilgrim,” and my personal favorite: “Did You Save Room … In Your Closet?” Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for a good pun (see the above SPAM/Spam wordplay). But on a day when you are competing with every other retailer for mindshare—all of whom apparently are trying the same tactic—none of these messages will lead to increased open rates. Beyond this, NONE of these emails had any hint of personalization, leaving me with the feeling that the Retailer was offering me nothing specific. So why should I even bother clicking on that email, as opposed to the 83 others that I received?

Lesson #1: Customize consumer messages to the individual. I’ve worked with many subscriber lists over the years and spent years cultivating engaged buyer communities solely by building relationship with prospects through email. The one thread common to all of the top-performing emails was the customization and personalization of the content and top-line message. Using what we know about the consumer can help tie relevant messaging to the right buyer at the right moment. Imagine if just one of the retailers picked up on my brand preferences and told me about an exclusive sale just for me. It would certainly peak my interest—definitely more than “Did you Save Room… In Your Closet?”

Day 2: Friday, November 29^th

Theme of Emails Received: Groundhog Day

On Friday, I woke up to double the amount of emails from the previous day. The tone of the day had changed, however, with most of the emails relying on the time-sensitivity factor that marketers love to use to drive reactions: “Today Only,” “Hurry, These Deals Won’t Last,” and “Time Is Running Out.” But as the day progressed, I started to notice the same emails from retailers popping up for the second, and—I kid you not—third time. If the message had changed or evolved over the course of the day to tie together a story or theme it would have been an interesting strategy, and a compelling message to the consumer. But the same email multiple times simply smacks of laziness and, as a consumer, this would only make me twice as likely to hit the “Report As Spam” button.

Lesson #2: Reinforce your message, but do so by weaving together a story or narrative. Change the copy and/or the creative—and certainly the subject line! Sending the same email multiple times leaves a bad impression with your subscriber base. Adjusting your message can spark interest where the first email did not, thereby casting a wider net.

Over the weekend the emails continued their urgent theme. Some retailers “unexpectedly” extended sales, with new warnings about the impending end to the blowout savings. While it’s clear most retailers were following the tried and true method of putting the savings + urgency in the subject line, all these emails and offers seemed to get muddled together when they were stacked one on top of the other: “Up to 30% off everything,” “20%-40% savings,” “Half Off on Sale Items.” By adding your message to that heap, you are simply ensuring that your message will be simply passed over.

Lesson #3: Dare to be different. The few retailers that caught my attention were ones that set themselves apart by not focusing on the savings in every blast. One that induced an immediate click was titled: “Thank you for your loyalty.” In a sea of messages aimed at asking me to do something, it was refreshing to see one thanking me for simply being a previous customer. With that said, the same retailer hit me up later with a 20% off discount for my loyalty, but I dutifully obliged by checking out the offer, feeling slightly more appreciated at this point.

Day 5: Monday, December 2^nd

Theme of Emails Received: Groundhog Day… Again

With Cyber Monday came a similar string of emails and tactics as Black Friday. By this point, there wasn’t much new to report—and that is precisely the point. As a consumer, I was fatigued by the emails and started to ignore emails from retailers that I knew had bombarded me over the previous 4 days. Luckily, no Tasers were in sight …

Lesson #4: Less can be more – or rather, more can be too much! In a period where we know consumers are being inundated with messages, we shouldn’t feel compelled to add to the chaos simply to compete. Consumers respect brands that respect them as valued customers and not targets. Craft the right message by personalizing and customizing it, making it unique, and be strategic in when and how often you deliver that message. At least, that’s how retailers incite action and loyalty from me—and certainly not by the traditional “Taser And Awe” tactics that flooded my Inbox over these 5 days.

About Becky Johns
Becky Johns works with clients to improve marketing and sales productivity by developing and executing integrated data-driven marketing and sales strategies. At MarketBridge, her experience centers primarily on building brand loyalty through customer acquisition, engagement, and retention programs and on developing online and social media communities. In addition, she has expertise in enabling sales teams through innovative training and sales readiness programs. In her eight years with MarketBridge, Becky has managed accounts and initiatives across healthcare, retail, travel and hospitality, financial services, and high tech industries. Prior to MarketBridge, Becky’s background in marketing and advertising included client and agency positions working in both B2B and B2C engagements.

Becky has led her teams at MarketBridge to win back-to-back Gold Stevie Awards for Sales Training Program of the Year in the 2012 and 2013 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service; to be awarded the 2011 Marketing Innovation Award for Customer Retention and Loyalty by Merkle and the CMO Council; and to win a Silver Stevie Award for Brand Experience of the Year in the Marketing Awards categories of The 2013 American Business Awards. Becky's list of clients includes MasterCard, Saks Fifth Avenue, Humana, HSBC, Capital One, Guitar Center, Expedia.com, K12, Microsoft, Symantec, SAP, and Neustar.

About MarketBridge
MarketBridge is a leading global provider of digital marketing, sales enablement, and customer analytics solutions for Fortune 1000 and emerging growth companies. MarketBridge helps companies scale revenue growth and increase sales productivity by increasing digital customer engagement (social, mobile, on-line communities, e-commerce) and building robust customer analytics engines that focus marketing investments and sales activity on the right customers, with the right messaging and solution, through the right marketing and sales channels. Follow MarketBridge at: http://blog.market-bridge.com/

Social Selling: What the Oracle Sales Team Is Learning from a Stevie Award Winner

Michael Gallagher — Wed, 23 Oct 2013 20:31:00 GMT

Jill Rowley of Eloqua won the Gold Stevie Award for Sales Representative of the Year in the sales awards categories of the 2013 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, the world's top honors for sales, business development, contact center, and customer service professionals. (The entry deadline for the 2014 edition of the awards is November 13 - get your entry kit here.) Just before the award was presented in February 2013, Eloqua was acquired by Oracle Corporation . Jill talked to us about the profound effect on her career that these two events have had.

Reaching the Pinnacle
After winning the Stevie Award for Sales Representative of the Year in the 2013 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, Jill Rowley had to ask herself: “Where do I go from here?” She had reached the pinnacle of her profession by being recognized in a leading international awards competition. With a trophy case that was already stuffed with awards, Jill realized that what she really wanted to do moving forward was not to win more awards, but to focus instead on helping others to achieve similar success.

At around the same time, Eloqua was being acquired by Oracle. To say that Jill was not excited when she first heard about this might be an understatement. Being more of an entrepreneurial sales person, she had relished the ability to move quickly that Eloqua had offered her. Oracle, on the other hand, seemed like a big, political, hierarchical organization that would slow her down—or so she thought. Contrary to her expectations, Jill has found that working at Oracle has been a “shockingly awesome experience.”

Social Selling Training
Seeing that Jill’s expertise in “going social” had resulted in extraordinary sales at Eloqua, Oracle tasked her with educating their sales force in her award-winning methods. She has now designed a social selling training program for Oracle sales staff, instructing on the why’s and how’s of leveraging social media platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter.

- The Why
Jill encourages sales people to read the same things that their buyers read, and to be in the same spaces. She explains why: “It’s all about changes in the buyers’ own circumstances. Nowadays they are online and self-educating via search and social networks, like using LinkedIn to find new staff. Sales people need to be where their buyers are—offline and online.”

At which point, adds Jill: “A light bulb goes on in their minds: Going social=building your sales pipeline!”

- The How
Having evangelized the why, Jill then moves on to the how. For this, Jill has been put in charge of Social Selling & Social Business Evangelism and Enablement at Oracle, for which she is devising a series of training modules.

A Sense of Fulfillment
In less than a year, Jill has transferred from the small but successful company that was Eloqua—where she was the top sales rep and self-styled EloQueen--to the mega-company that is Oracle, with a worldwide salesforce of over 20,000.

Any change is hard, and at first Jill was hesitant to make the move, but she says: “Joining the Oracle team has evolved into an incredible opportunity to help other sales professionals modernize their beliefs and behaviors, something that I find incredibly rewarding.”

“The external valediction of the Stevie Awards, the recognition by others in my industry, has given me a sense of fulfillment. I am now amped up and looking forward to helping others and to working on a much bigger playing field.”

Defining the Modern Sales Professional
Says Jill: “Winning my Stevie Award back in February is partly what has allowed me to mentally shift gears. Instead of filling up my own trophy case, I am helping the sales people at Oracle to become modern sales professionals. They are no longer selling to customers: they are helping their buyers to buy.”

Jill feels she is making real progress in her profession because she is helping other sales people to “go social.” Not only is she helping to change the sales culture at Oracle, she is driving that transformation by being a thought leader in the space of social sales.

Jill’s goal is to elevate the profession of salesperson worldwide. As she says, she is “shockingly surprised” at how well her new life is going. In fact, she concludes, “I’m the luckiest girl at Oracle.”

Oracle and Eloqua
You can read more about Oracle and Eloqua on the Oracle Eloqua Blog.

About Jill Rowley
After six years in Consulting and thirteen years in Sales at Salesforce.com and at Eloqua, Jill has made an about-turn in her career: She now leads the Oracle Social Selling initiative. Jill is currently responsible for evangelizing and enabling Oracle's global sales team on the Why, What, and How of Social Selling.

As an award winning, top selling sales executive, Jill utilized social media in her selling process. She mastered the art, and as a result is one of the most referenced experts in today's shifting world of B2B sales and marketing. From LinkedIn to Twitter to YouTube to SlideShare to Facebook, Jill practices the ABCs of Social Selling: “Always Be Connecting and Curating” quality content.

Jill defines the modern sales professional as an information concierge, a content connoisseur, an insights professional, and a mini-marketer with a personal brand.

About Oracle
Oracle engineers hardware and software to work together in the cloud and in your data center. For more information about Oracle (NYSE:ORCL), visit www.oracle.com.

Are You an Effective Sales Rep? Take a Stevie Awards Winner's Test

Liz Dean — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 15:31:00 GMT

Dan Seidman, CEO of Got Influence? in Barrington, Illinois, USA, won the Gold Stevie® Award for Sales Training or Education Leader of the Year in sales awards categories of the 2013 Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service, the world's top business awards for contact center, customer service, business development, and sales professionals. Here Dan discuses sales excellence.

This is a test, not a quiz. Quizzes are easy.

This is a test that will give you a true measure of your understanding about sales skills.

This is a test. The right answers will improve your performance throughout the rest of your selling career.

Ready? Answer the following three questions (and don’t cheat—write down the first answer that hits you):

Who are you REALLY competing with?
What is the #1 PROBLEM encountered by anyone who sells anything?
What is your RESPONSIBILITY on a sales call?

Now that you’ve written your answers, let’s work our way through each of these questions.

1. Who are you REALLY competing with?
No, it’s not you—though that might be the second smartest answer. In training sessions I’ve had salespeople tell me: It’s the cheapest competitor; the rep with the best rapport; the most persistent rep; or even the rep who offers the best bribe.

(And by the way, you do compete with yourself, in the sense that you can improve. By not improving, you are simply getting in your own way.)

Here’s the answer: You REALLY compete with the best sales professional that your buyer has ever encountered.

Think about that. Someone before you set a standard by which you and all others are measured. This might include how professionally you dress; your skill with words; your ability to sell without pressuring; your ability to ask the right questions; or your skill at reframing the issues. Or it might reflect on your ability to quantify whether an investment in your solution will provide a worthy return on that purchase. Pack these together and you get the Best of the Best. That’s the framework for the buyer.

This buyer is probably not consciously comparing you against such elevated standards, but he or she somehow just remembers the experience of sitting down with that true selling pro. So you’d better not be using old sales tactics that everyone’s heard a hundred times. You’d better truly distinguish yourself from other reps in order to gain a commitment from the buyer.

What do I like best about this answer? Outstanding selling pros will think: “Hey! I can be the one who sets the standard for all those other miserable reps out there. I can be the best.” And it gives them the incentive to work hard to outperform everyone they’re competing with.

How well do you want to attain selling immortality? You’ll need great training, or at least to adopt new strategies. Try reading about, listening to, and viewing the latest sales techniques, and hang out with the best sales pros you can find.

2. What is the #1 PROBLEM encountered by anyone who sells anything?
The most popular response to this question? No money.

(I debunk this quickly in training by sharing a 12-page, single-spaced document of responses to the price objection. I have even compressed this masterful montage of objections and responses into one page—in a very tiny font!—so that reps can carry it around with them as a reminder that they have the flexibility to deal with any resistance related to money.)

Others respond that the #1 problem is no training, bad prospects, or the inability to reach the real decision-maker.

The real answer: The #1 PROBLEM you encounter is that you are chasing poor prospects.

Mention this to a room full of sales managers and their heads start nodding vigorously, like a freeway full of cars with bobble-head dolls during an L.A. earthquake.

We all do this: We look at the size of the sale or the prestige of the prospect or that smiling buyer and think: “YES! It’s a YES! They’re buying!”

Wrong. People really do hate to hurt your feelings, even if you’re a total stranger who has wrangled an appointment out of them. A prospect who acts nice, then tells you that they’ll get back to you, is not a good thing. It’s a disaster. So if someone says: “I’ll think about it and let you know,” you know. Chasing poor prospects is the biggest time-waster in the sales world.

This problem can be eliminated: Simply identify your perfect prospect and only court a prospect who fits that profile.

Who is your perfect prospect? Just look back at some of your best existing clients. Identify how you sold to them; what their needs were; how long it took to get to the real decision-maker; how quickly they made a decision. If you and your team can clearly identify a perfect prospect, you’ll stop chasing the poor ones.

3. What is your RESPONSIBILITY on a sales call?
(Hint: The answer has to be correct 100% of the time, whether you are talking about face-to-face meetings or phone calls.)

Here are some answers that are correct, but NOT 100% of the time: selling the buyer; educating the buyer; discovering the buyer’s needs; handling objections; finding the decision-maker; identifying the time frame for a decision; gaining an idea of the available budget; and so on.

The answer that is true 100% of the time? Your RESPONSIBILITY on a sales call is to GET A DECISION.

If getting a decision is your key focus, it drives all your activity and language choices.

Here’s the how and why of decisions: You get a YES, that’s good—you sold them. You get a NO, that’s good—move on. You get a next step, that’s good—set the appointment for that next step. You get an “I’ll think it over,” that’s BAD, that’s not a decision. So preempt that problem by asking your buyer to commit to a yes, no, or the next step.

This is the single most important concept any sales pro can learn and put into play.

The key to pulling this off is to draft a script that covers your rules of engagement. (You can use the script on the phone, but for face-to-face you’ll need to memorize it—while sounding spontaneous, of course.) The script might start: “Mr./Ms. Prospect, our conversation today is to determine whether we can work together. So at the end of our time, let’s figure out if it’s yes or no, or whether we need to set a next step …”

That’s just a snapshot of how this would work—and work it does, rather well, in fact.

How Did You Do?
You’ve finished the test and you have your three answers. How did you do? Did the responses here create a bit of an AHA! moment or two or three? Perhaps they made you say: “Ouch, I need a little work here.”

Think about how well your organization’s sales training measures up to these standards. You can produce smarter sales pros by teaching them concepts that mediocre reps won’t know.

Remember, to improve performance you must change behavior, and each of the three best responses requires a behavior change to put them into action.

Have some thoughts on these ideas? Please share them with me.

About Dan Seidman:
Dan Seidman is CEO of Got Influence? and one of the top sales coaches in the United States. He is the author of the 600-page Ultimate Guide to Sales Training, (Pfeiffer, 2012), and six other books, including The Secret Language of Influence and Sales Autopsy! Dan is also a consultant to the world’s leading training organization, ASTD (74,000 members), where he is helping to design a global sales-training program.

Dan is a former athlete with three Olympic gold medals for playing on the U.S. basketball team. He is married and lives in Barrington, Illinois.

120 Rockstars of the 2013 Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service

Liz Dean — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 15:12:00 GMT

The following professionals participated in the preliminary-round judging of the 2013 Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service, the world's top business awards for contact center, customer service, business development, and sales professionals. Their average scores determined the 2013 Finalists in the customer service awards, contact center awards, and sales awards categories. This year's Stevie Awards winners will be announced at our annual awards gala at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas, NV, on Monday February 25. Learn more about the event and reserve your table today. We thank our judges for their enthusiasm, time, and insights.

Ahmed Al Hai, BRM Specialist, ADCO, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Cheryl Alaniz, Director, Member Services Grocery, HBC/GM, NFR, & Frozen, Topco Associates LLC, Skokie, IL, United States
Kenneth Amormino, Director of Call Center Operations, Time Warner Cable, Charlotte, NC, United States
Joann Amoroso, Manager, Client Support Services, Dean Evans and Associates, Centennial, CO, United States
Paul Bilodeau, VP Sales & Marketing, The Brooks Group, Greensboro, NC, United States
Greg Brink, Marketing Services Manager, Search Optics, Ferndale, MI, United States
Jim Brodo, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Richardson, Philadelphia, PA, United States
Amanda Browning, Data Integrity Manager, Unitiv, Alpharetta, GA, United States
Gregory Brush, VP, Sales, InsideView, San Francisco, CA, United States
Ana Castellanos, VP, Chief Human Resources Officer, Oakwood Temporary Housing, Los Angeles, CA, United States
Chris Cerbini, Staff Development and Quality Control Manager, North America, World Courier Inc., New Hyde Park, NY, United States
Peter Chiarelli, Sales Manager, Cablevision, New York, United States
Susan Cloutier, Operations Manager, Mayo Medical Laboratories, Rochester, MN, United States
Jason Copeland, Senior Manager, National Sales Group, SurePayroll, Inc., Glenview, IL, United States
Irene Corpuz, Senior Analyst, Change Masters International - MENA, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Brian Correia, Director, Sales & Client Services, Solstice Dental & Vision, Plantation, FL, United States
Tom Cross, CEO, TECHtionary, Boulder, CO, United States
Andrew Curtis, Manager, Product Specialists, iCIMS, Hazlet, NJ, United States
Kelly Dantas, Media Director, SDI Distributor, Yonkers, NY, United States
Robyn Davis, Owner, When I Need Help, Knoxville, TN, United States
Brent Dierking, Director, Business Development/Strategic Planning, NorthStar EMS, Birmingham, AL, United States
Alan Dowler, Operations Manager, Hamilton Jewelers, Princeton, NJ, United States
Basil Dsouza, AVP, Customer Experience Management, Cactus Communications Pvt Ltd, Mumbai, India
Eve Dumovich, CEO, Snowline Publishing, Ashford, WA, United States
Annette Eland, Claims Customer Service Manager, Esurance, Rocklin, CA, United States
Eric Engwall, President, E.G. Insight, Inc., St. Paul, MN, United States
Richard Feinberg, Professor, Department of Consumer Sciences and Retailing, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, United States
Cheretha Ferguson, Director of Marketing and Sponsorship, The J3 Agency, Pembroke Pines, FL, United States
Andrew J. “Flip” Filipowski, Executive Chairman & CEO, SilkRoad Technology, Winston Salem, NC, United States
Joey Fister, Director Emergency Recovery, Avaya, Plano, TX, United States
Simone Fojut, Chief Editor, CallCenterProfi, Wiesbaden, GA, United States
Stephen Giersch, Director Instructional Design, Marriott Vacations Worldwide, Orlando, FL, United States
Gina Giordano, VP, Customer Feedback, Macy's, New York, NY, United States
Abhishek Goel, Founder & Chief Customer Officer, Cactus Communications, Mumbai, India
Karen Greco, Director, Business Optimization, Unified, New York, NY, United States
Robert Gregory, VP of Customer Support, Media Temple, Culver City, CA, United States
Jimmy Griffith, Director, Solution Center Operations, Assurant Solutions, Ft. Worth, TX, United States
Shraddha Gurjar, Assistant Manager, Client Loyalty, Cactus Communications, Pvt Ltd, Mumbai, IN, United States
Josh Hatala, Marketing Specialist, AIReS, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
Brian Hayes, Customer Service Manager, PPC, East Syracuse, NY, United States
Peggy Heafey, Director, Intermediary Partner Care, Marriott Intl., Inc., Omaha, NE, United States
Jane Henry, Owner, LOOMLAB, South Pasadena, CA, United States
Paul Hoffman, President, WW Field Operations, Informatica, Redwood City, CA, United States
Phillip Horvath, SVP, Professional Services, Merchant Partners, Redmond, WA, United States
Tunde Hubina, Customer Care Director, UPC Direct, Howald, LA, United States
Greg Ives, Director of Global Services, ChannelAdvisor, Morrisville, NC, United States
Scott James, Program Manager, Member Advisory Center, Arizona State Retirement System, Phoenix, AZ, United States
Joshua Johnson, Director of External Relations, Digital Talent Agents, Columbia, MO, United States
JP Jones, Owner, Collipsis Web Solutions, Tulsa, OK, United States
Molly Kapoor, Head of Customer Service, Birla Sunlife Mutual Fund, Mumbai, India
JoAnn Kay, VP of Customer Service, GraduationSource, Port Chester, NY, United States
James Koons, Support Team Manager, Listrak, Lititz, PA, United States
Mike Krause, President, Sales Sense Solutions, Inc., Rochester, NY, United States
Elzbieta Krawczynska, Quality Specialist & Trainer, Bank Zachodni WBK, Poznan, Poland
Rajesh Kumar, Assistant VP, Agency, Oman Insurance Company PSC, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Shane Lewis, Assistant VP of Sales, Sundance Vacations, Kennett Square, PA, United States
Russell Lundstrom, COO, Southfork Ventures, Denver, CO, United States
Mervat Mansour, Quality Manager, Tawam Hospital, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates
Wessam Massoud, Program Delivery Manager, Gov. Contact Centre, Abu Dhabi Systems & information Centre, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Akshay Masurekar, Associate Vice President, Training & Mentoring (Customer Delight Department), Cactus Communications Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai, India
Maria Mattsson, Manager, Guest Services, Royal Caribbean International & Azamara Club Cruises, Miami, FL, United States
Colin McKillop, CEO, Butcher Enterprises, Windsor, ON, Canada
Curtis McLaughlin, Customer Support Manager, AllClear ID, Austin, TX, United States
Jay Mitchell, Managing Director, Motum, LLC, Irving, TX, United States
Simona Mollova, CEO, Investment JSPK Credit Consult - JSK, Sofia, Bulgaria
Brian Moriarty, Vice President North America Sales, General Cable, Highland Heights, KY, United States
Dave Morse, VP Customer Service, Location Based Technologies, Irvine, CA, United States
Gina Musick, VP, IT Manager I US ITS Loan Loss Share, TD Bank, Fort Pierce, FL, United States
Pat Mussieux, Founder, Wealthy Women Leaders, London, Canada
Emily Nelson-Crain, VP of Member Services, Agility Recovery Solutions, Charlotte, NC, United States
Whattkim Ong, Principal Consultant, Mamsa Consultants PTE LTD, Singapore, Singapore
Lisa P Oswald, Vice President, Travelzoo, New York, NY, United States
Mark O'Toole, Managing Director, Public Relations & Content Marketing, H|B, Newton, MA, United States
Steve Pappageorge, Dean of the College of Continuing Education, New Programs and Outreach, DeVry Inc., Downers Grove, IL, United States
Darry Pinto, Assistant Manager, Client Relations, Cactus Communications Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai, India
Melanie Pope, Director, Australian National Paramedic Support Foundation, Aspley Qld, AL, Australia
Churchill Prince, Founder & CEO, Sales Intellect Company, Chennai, India
Mike Prusinski, Chief of Staff, Tiversa, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
Janet Quadras, Sr. Manager, CRM, Cactus Communications, Mumbai, India
Jesintha Rajaratnam, Managing Partner, Joje India Consultants-Finance & HR, Mumbai, India
Dennis Reno, Vice President, Customer Portal Experience, Oracle, San Francisco, CA, United States
Peter Rifkind, Director of Client Service, UltraLinq Healthcare Solutions, Inc, New York, NY, United States
Elizaveta Rybinskaya, Customer Service Director, Quelle Russia, Moscow, Russian
Scott Sachs, Sr. Director, Call Center Operations, Assurant, Wayne, PA, United States
Russell Sarder, Chairman and CEO, NetCom Learning, New York, NY, United States
Jodi Sawyer, Director, John Hancock, Boston, MA, United States
Stu Schlackman, Owner, Competitive Excellence, Richardson, TX, United States
Paula Seeger, Supervisor, Customer Service, Hotline, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States
Dan Seidman, CEO, GOT INFLUENCE?, Barrington, IL, United States
Randy Selleck, Sr. Director, Call Center Operations, Assurant Solutions, Atlanta, GA, United States
Bahar Sensoz, Customer Complaint Management Specialist, Turk Telekom, Istanbul, Turkey
Bill Shelton, Senior Vice President, USHEALTH Advisors, Grapevine, TX, United States
Ramin Shokrizadeh, Product Manager, FreshBooks, Toronto, ON, Canada
Clayton Shold, President, Salesopedia, Oakville, Canada
Donnovan Simon, Director, Customer Systems & Global Alignment, SMART Technologies, Calgary, Canada
Manu Singh, Contact Center Manager, Dubai First, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Ravinder Singh, Director, Search Engine Marketing, Kulwant Advisory, Nairobi, Kenya
Cate Sommervold, CEO, pharmaCline, Sioux Falls, SD, United States
Calvin St Juste, Department Manager, CapitalOne, Laurel, MD, United States
Tanja Steinbach, Bachelor of Science, Inxmail GmbH, Freiburg, Germany
Andrzej Szczepaniak, Deputy Director, Central Settlement Services, Bank Zachodni WBK, Poznan, Poland
Will Tarrant, Cofounder/Owner, Service Metrics Group, Plano, TX, United States
Özge Tekalp, Director, Türk Ekonomi Bankasi A.S, Istanbul, TX, United States
Bob Thomas, Director of Business Development, Prorizon, Kennesaw, GA, United States
Kathy Townend, Product Manager, Europ Assistance, San Diego, CA, United States
Sean Tracy, Director of Client Services, Property Insight, Carol Stream, IL, United States
Lillian Valdes, President, At Your Service Hospitality Strategic Quality Trai, Miami, FL, United States
Heather Valentine, Vice President Global Sales, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Manakin Sabot, VA, United States
Lori Van Dyke, Manager Customer Care, Access One Inc, Chicago, IL, United States
Vincent Vanden Bossche, Managing Director, Call Communications, Ottenburg, Belgium
Tina Vasile, Customer Care Manager, Safe2Drive, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, United States
Amy Veasley, Director of Call Center Operations, Assurant, Addison, TX, United States
Dave Venance, Solution Architect, 4Point, Ottawa, Canada
Madalina Vilau, Managing Partner, Expo Media, Bucharest, Romania
Brian Ward, SVP Client Engagement, Stylesight, New York, NY, United States
Glenn Wohl, eAwareness Manager, AT&T, Bridgewater, NJ, United States
Nicolette Wuring, Managing Director, Customer Management Services, Amstelveen, Netherlands
Julia Zamorska, VP of Corporate Communications, iolo technologies, Los Angeles, CA, United States
Oleg Zeldin, CEO, Apex Berg Contact Center Consulting, Odintsovo, Russian
Guo (Peter) Zijiang, COO & GM Assistant, Wuhan Kindstar Diagnostics Co., Ltd, Wuhan, China

3 Ways to Improve Sales in 2013, From a Sales Awards Judge

Liz Dean — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 20:09:00 GMT

Fred Kessler, Founder of Sales Partnerships, Inc., is Chair of the final judging committee for the Sales Department Awards categories of the 2013 Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service, the world's top business awards for contact center, customer service, business development, and sales professionals. (Finalists of the sales awards, contact center awards, and customer service awards will be notified on January 23 and winners of the 2013 edition will be announced at an awards banquet at Paris Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, on February 25, 2013. You can purchase tickets for the awards gala here.)

As the founder of a company specializing in sales outsourcing solutions, what top 3 tips would you give to organizations wanting to improve their sales?

The “little numbers” create the big numbers. If you wait until after a quota period to react to sales performance, you will lose almost half of your opportunity to increase sales. Even when you team is above target, there is a temptation to assume everything is optimal when it likely isn’t. Review the stats that are key performance indicators for the creation of new deals and act on that data since it will ultimately generate your success or failure.
Big personalities don’t equal sales. Research shows extraverts have no higher likelihood to succeed in sales than the average sales representative. The problem is, they are often the most promoted and well recognized. Assess new candidates based on what they have achieved historically that is analogous to your environment; and whether they have the ability to solve problems you present them with in real time.
Check your ego. You may have designed the sales process you are currently using, but that doesn’t mean it’s the right one. Get trusted, independent advisors to review your data and ideas. Look at your sales force from an outside perspective, then ask: “Is this the right direction for us?”

What item of news recently caught your eye and why?
Daniel Pink’s new work on selling, To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others, uses data akin to those Rackham used a decade ago. It’s one of the first new looks at sales using metrics and data in a long time. It’s creating a buzz for good reason.

What is your favorite business app?
Google News and its variants.

If you could choose another profession, what would it be?
Teaching business courses. Less than 60 U.S. universities offer classes in sales, and of them, only about a dozen even offer a minor in sales. In the real world, however, it’s sales that determine the fate of a company—and it’s often the best incubator for future company leaders.

As someone at the top of your profession, what keeps you inspired or makes you hit the ground running in the morning?
What inspires me is helping our teams and individuals hit new records in overall sales. It’s exhilarating to see someone break a sales record or set a new bar for the team or the industry. Every day I ask: What am I doing to help our teams get ahead?

About Fred Kessler
Fred Kessler founded Sales Partnerships, Inc. (SPI) in 1997, with the addition of co-equity owner Aaron Kullman as VP of Operations early in 1998. The focus of the company was to change how the market sold products and services, and to create an environment for sales reps that showed respect and honor for what they did. Kessler built a company not only to help its clients but also to build the skill-sets of his own personnel and to give them better lives.

Kessler has been recognized as an innovator and pioneer in changing how the business of sales is done, both In his role as President of SPI and in his overall career in sales and sales management. He is a regular speaker at Industry events ranging from sales metrics through buyer motivation, and at Inc. Magazine’s Growth Conferences

About Sales Partnerships, Inc.:
Sales Partnerships, Inc. (SPI) employs over 100 sales representatives in 7 U.S. cities. The company aims to help its personnel succeed by investing in training and development in order for them to mature into the most talented individuals they can be. SPI leverages this focus on internal development to provide best-of-breed services for its clients.

One Grand Reason to Enter the 2013 Sales & Customer Service Awards

Liz Dean — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 19:22:00 GMT

The final entry deadline for the 2013 Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service, the world's top business awards for contact center, customer service, business development, and sales professionals, is tomorrow, January 15, and we thought it would be helpful if we shared one grand reason you should enter the 2013 awards.

Here's one more giant reason you should enter the 2013 awards: This will be your final opportunity to win the traditional, large Gold Stevie Award trophy. After this edition of the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, the large trophy will become the Grand Stevie Award in all of our programs, and a new, smaller Gold Stevie trophy will be conferred. The Grand Stevie Award trophy will be awarded to only a handful of organizations in each of our four competitions and the new Gold Stevie Award trophy will be the same size as the Silver and Bronze Stevie Award trophies. Read more about this here.

The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service feature more than 125 sales awards, customer service awards, and call center awards categories honoring sales excellence and best customer service practices for individuals, teams, and departments, plus categories for products and service and solution providers. If you haven't yet done so, you can begin your submission process by requesting your entry kit here.

Finalists will be notified on January 23 and winners of the 2013 edition will be announced at an awards banquet at Paris Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, on February 25, 2013.

Have last minute questions regarding the 2013 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service? Email us at help@stevieawards.com or call us at + 1 703-547-8389 and we'll get back to you right away.

5 Days to Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service Final Entry Deadline

Liz Dean — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 21:18:00 GMT

Tuesday, January 15 is the final entry deadline for the 2013 (7th annual) Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service, the world's top business awards for contact center, customer service, business development, and sales professionals.

If you haven't yet done so, you can begin your submission process by requesting your entry kit here. The entry kit contains all of the instructions you need about how to prepare and submit your entries.

The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service feature more than 125 sales awards, customer service awards, and call center awards categories honoring sales excellence and best customer service practices for individuals, teams, and departments, plus categories this year for products and service and solution providers. The 2013 awards will recognize achievements since July 1, 2011.

Information generally required for 2013 entries include an essay of up to 525 words describing the nominee’s achievements during the eligibility period; links to any online materials that support the nomination; and a brief (125 word) biography of the nominee.

To make the most out of your entries, we suggest downloading our 5 Tips for Winning Sales Awards in the 2013 Stevie® Awards tipsheet, reviewing past winners' entries, and watching our short video, How to Enter the 2013 Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service.

Winners of the 2013 edition will be announced at an awards banquet at Paris Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, on February 25, 2013.

Have questions regarding the 2013 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service? Email us at help@stevieawards.com or call us at + 1 703-547-8389 and we'll get back to you right away.

3 Tips on Beating the Competition, From a Sales Awards Judge

Liz Dean — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 17:25:00 GMT

Robert Jeppsen is the Senior Vice President of Commercial Sales at Zions First National Bank in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, and is the Chair of the final judging committee of the Sales Individual categories of the 2013 Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service, the world's top business awards for contact center, customer service, business development, and sales professionals. (January 15 is the last day that late entries will be accepted for the 2013 edition. All organizations and individuals worldwide are eligible to submit entries for sales awards, contact center awards, and customer service awards. If you haven't yet done so, you can request your entry kit here and it will be emailed to you right away.) Here Rob shares some useful tips on beating the competition.

As one of the top sales executives for a growing financial institution, what top 3 tips would you give to sales individuals seeking to make their mark in sales?

Understand that HOW you sell is far more important than WHAT you sell. Products are copied almost immediately, especially in financial services. While products will be copied, experiences can’t be. Making the client experience your priority, from the initial sales process on, is the most sustainable competitive advantage you can have.

Discover the process that works in your marketplace. With the right process you can do things that would otherwise be impossible. Process gives you predictability in sales, which may be the most desirable thing a business can have. This is particularly important in complex sales environments like financial services. For example, in commercial banking, studies show that it takes a minimum of 6-8 calls to a potential client before they actually get serious about considering the new banker as a viable option. Here’s the problem: Most bankers quit calling on a prospect after 2-3 calls, the perspective being that there is no opportunity. In reality, at this point a banker is only 25-30% of the way to the stage of being seriously considered. Process allows you to have indicators that not only help to win more business, but also provide confidence about where you are in each transaction. Once you discover it, the right process can be a huge and ongoing competitive advantage: less than 10% of salespeople currently use a milestone-based process as part of their regular approach to winning and retaining business.

Products don’t matter. My first law of sales is simple: “Products have no value. Products only derive value.” Rather than have your call preparation be about product knowledge and product fluency, my suggestion is to learn the breadth of problems a product can solve and why those problems matter. Nobody likes a “Press Play” salesman who just switches on a product pitch. If you can be fluent and comfortable in having conversations about the impact—preferably a dollarized impact—of solving a business problem, you will find that your sales cycle time shrinks and your win rate will rise pretty quickly. One of the most important skills a salesperson can have is fluency and confidence in deriving value. The better you are at this, the more successful you will be.

What item of news recently caught your eye and why?
The most important news topic to me right now is U.S. fiscal policy. New tax laws will have a huge impact on business owners and will create significant changes in our business environment. With change there is always opportunity, and I want to be sure to be close to the changes that are inevitably coming in the short term. We saw a lot of business owners move into “hunker down” mode as the election drew near. The jury is still out on the impact to business owners and their ability to grow. As a financial institution that has been the #1 SBA lender in the Western United States, the economic environment for business owners is the most significant issue right now. A lot of clients are asking us for insights into what the implications will be for them, and I want our team to be able to provide meaningful advice.

What is your favorite app?
Like many sales leaders, I am on the road a lot and not able to attend many events back home with my family. I miss a lot of the games that my kids play in, so an app that has been a real difference maker for me is GameChanger. It allows an absentee Dad to “watch” a game by posting play-by-play updates, and for a Coach, it provides instant stats and match-up/coaching suggestions. (And as a sports fan, another app I don’t know what I would do without is ESPN ScoreCenter, which provides scores and news of sports leagues around the world.)

If you could choose another profession, what would it be?
I would be a basketball coach. The most fun I’ve had came when I was a volunteer coach for a local high school’s varsity basketball team. It was in a less-affluent part of our area and many of the boys had never had the experience of learning the relationship of preparation and success. They hadn’t had a winning season since 1972. But we had a winning season that year, and qualified for the state tournament…a quick turnaround. I am in sales because I love the competitive element. It gives me that thrill of competition I used to have as an athlete. But as much fun as it has been to achieve my own success, I have found the most fulfillment when I guide a team to a point where the collective group wins instead of just me. A much larger challenge is a much more fulfilling one. Coaching a NCAA D1 team would be about as good as it gets!

As someone at the top of your profession, what keeps you inspired or makes you hit the ground running in the morning?
I love winning. At Zions, we have a big team and big challenges. Last year, every single one of our 10 regions hit goal. We had 31% growth in a down economy, and we beat our 2007 production numbers with fewer people.

There are big challenges in our industry right now that require big plans and big execution. I like taking the NOT out of CANNOT and helping people realize they can do things that others simply don’t think is possible. I like to go out and do things that are just too inconvenient for my competitors. It is a ton of fun and it makes everything worthwhile.

About Robert Jeppsen:
Rob Jeppsen is the SVP of Commercial Sales for Zions Bank. With over 16 years of direct sales and sales leadership experience, Jeppsen has worked in publicly-traded organizations, privately-held organizations, and has successfully led sales teams in the technology, pharmaceutical, and financial services sectors.

Jeppsen is a regular speaker at conferences nationwide and at universities in the Western United States. He is the creator of the Zions Bank Business Performance Series, a tool offered to Zions' clients interested in building a world-class sales system. The course was taken by over 500 businesses in the 2010-2012 period.

About Zions First National Bank:
Zions First National Bank is a subsidiary of Zions Bancorporation, which operates more than 500 offices and 600 ATMs in 10 Western states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah and Washington. As a full-service bank, Zions offers commercial, installment and mortgage loans; trust services; foreign banking services; electronic and online banking services; automatic deposit and nationwide banking and transfer services; as well as the more familiar checking and savings programs. For more information, go to https://www.zionsbank.com