Sales Awards Blog

3 New Sales Teams Categories Added to Stevies' Sales Awards

Posted by Liz Dean on Wed, Nov 16, 2011 @ 05:41 PM

Sales & Customer Service LogoWe have added three new sales teams categories to The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, which recognize the members of individual teams within your overall sales department. (Request your entry kit for the 2012 awards and it will be emailed to you right away. The entry deadline is November 18.)

Submit your entry to our three newest Sales & Customer Service categories:

1. 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.

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

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


Recognize sales excellence and customer service excellence in one of our other sales teams categories:

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

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

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

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

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

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


All entries in these categories require an essay of up to 500 words describing the nominee’s accomplishments since July 1, 2010 a brief biography (up to 100 words) of the nominee and an optional inclusion of links to online news stories, videos, photographs, press releases, etc. that support your nomination. See all of the Sales & Customer Service categories here.

Recognize your company's sales performance and nominate teams by submitting entries for sales awards that highlight sales excellence here!

Tags: sales excellence, sales team, sales teams, sales awards, The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, Sales & Customer Service, Sales Performance

8 Categories Honoring Individual Sales Professionals in The 2012 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service

Posted by Liz Dean on Tue, Nov 08, 2011 @ 02:19 PM

Sales & Customer Service LogoThe Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service recognize the achievements of call center, customer service, and sales professionals worldwide. Recognize your company's sales performance and nominate individuals by submitting entries for sales awards that highlight sales excellence. (Request your entry kit for the 2012 awards and it will be emailed to you right away.  The entry deadline is November 18.)

Individual Sales Awards:

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 VP of Sales of the Year
Recognizing VPs of sales with responsibility for sales performance on a global level.

3. National VP of Sales of the Year
Recognizing VPs of sales 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.

All entries in these categories require an essay of up to 500 words describing the nominee’s accomplishments since July 1, 2010 a brief biography (up to 100 words) of the nominee and an optional inclusion of links to online news stories, videos, photographs, press releases, etc. that support your nomination. See all of the Sales & Customer Service categories here.


Need help choosing the best category? Contact us at help@stevieawards.com.

Tags: sales excellence, sales awards, The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, Sales & Customer Service, Sales Performance

3 Ways to Improve Employee Performance and Boost Sales

Posted by Liz Dean on Tue, Oct 25, 2011 @ 12:12 PM

Q&A with Leslie Stretch, President and CEO, Callidus Software, a provider of sales performance platforms which won the Stevie Award for Computer Software Company of the Year in The 2011 International Business Awards. (Entries for The 2012 International Business Awards open in January, request an entry kit and join our mailing list for all Stevie Awards updates!)

What are your top 3 tips for improving sales performance?1011stretch

1. Hire the right sales people. Hire scientifically using search-and-selection methodology; use social media and video interviews on the web; and hire fast. 

2. Coach scientifically.  Usually 80% of your sales people will be B players, while 20%— the A players—will bring in 80% of the sales.  You need to improve the B players with regular coaching and training sessions.  Track and trace the behaviors of your sales staff, comparing B with A. Use tools to build up the coaching plans. Avoid generalist HR reviews. They don’t work with sales people.

3. Make it easier for your sales people to sell, but also make it easier for your customers to buy.  If we make things too complicated for the customer, why should they buy?  Put everything a sales person needs in one place and make all your information accessible.  If you make it easier for the sales staff, you’ll dramatically increase sales.  

What item of news recently caught your eye and why?

The acquisition by Hewlett-Packard of the British software firm Autonomy. This piece of news fascinates me, as Autonomy is a company that was started by Cambridge University scientists that has now been bought for $12 billion. Silicon Valley seems to be getting bigger, with recent acquisitions such as Google’s purchase of Motorola Mobility ($12.5 billion) and ABC News’ alliance with Yahoo!  

Do you have a favorite business app?

My favorite application at the moment is our own iCentera, a.k.a. Callidus Central.  Wherever I am, I have my Mail open and iCentera, which has all the information about my customers that I need to know.  Everyone at Callidus is an iCentera user.  It keeps us up-to-the-minute on everything that is happening.  

On my phone, I have to say my favorite app is Talking TomThe cat repeats everything you say in a funny voice yet is very good at picking up accents, even those from the North of England. My wife is from Manchester, so I use the app to create reprimands to my children that they’ll think are from their mother.  

If you could choose another profession, what would it be?

I’m a frustrated musician and would happily spend more time playing the guitar or the piano. 

What quality or qualities do you most value in your business associates?

Honesty, loyalty, and persistence.  I find that the expectation of a lot of people who come to Silicon Valley is that they are going to phone in rich in just a couple of years.  But the reality is that it takes much longer.  There are a lot of overnight successes here that actually took a decade or more. Not only does it take a long time, you have to overcome adversity.  I admire people who have vision, can see where they are going, and have the tenacity and determination to stick with it.  

What do you think is the worst bad habit to have at work?

Managers who take liberties with their staff’s time.  As a manager myself, it’s something that I’m afraid I have to confess I do too often, but it’s important to set a line between work and home life and try not to cross it.  It’s bad for people if you soak up their personal time. It builds resentment and alienation.  It’s counter-productive, yet you think you are being super-productive because you are working out of normal hours.  

As someone at the top of your profession, what keeps you inspired or makes you hit the ground running in the morning?

The job is never done.  The vision we have for Callidus Software is to be a Software as a Service (SaaS) company that provides the best tools, is the best company to work for, is the best company to invest in, and is the best company to buy from.  I only started on this four years ago, so there’s still a long way to go, but it is the need to make Callidus Software the #1 SaaS company that drives me on.  

About Leslie Stretch:

Leslie Stretch is President and CEO of Callidus Software. Under Leslie’s direction, Callidus has transformed into a recurring revenue based business that is the leader in sales talent lifecycle management solutions and business process outsourcing. These solutions include sales selection and onboarding, goal management, incentives and rewards management, and sales talent optimization for the sales force and call centers. At Callidus, Leslie has also pioneered patent-pending methods for successfully using performance indexes to measure and predict propensity for success in hiring different sales roles.  

Prior to joining Callidus Software’s executive board, Leslie worked for Sun Microsystems for nine years. At Sun, he held the position of Senior Vice President of Global Channel Sales and was the Managing Director of Sun Microsystems U.K. Ltd. Before joining Sun, Leslie held senior sales positions at Oracle Corporation U.K. and was instrumental in accelerating the growth of its Scottish and Canadian operations. Throughout his career, Leslie successfully directed and motivated large sales organizations and facilitated strategic deals.

About Callidus Software®

Callidus Software is the market and technology leader in Sales Performance Management (SPM). Callidus' award-winning SaaS platform—the Callidus Cloud—is a comprehensive SaaS suite designed to help businesses drive more effective selling at each stage of the sales talent lifecycle, from improved sales hiring—the foundation of strong sales performance—to improved campaign execution, to high frequency coaching and development. The Callidus Cloud suite includes Callidus' 100% multi-tenant, high-availability SaaS infrastructure; its Sales Selection, Sales Effectiveness, Sales Performance, and Learning modules; SPMConnect for data management; and Reporting & Analytics. Callidus Software powers more than 2.5 million users across the globe. For more information, please visit www.callidussoftware.com.

Tags: Sales Performance, 2011 International Business Awards, Sales, Employees, Managing Employees, Employee Performance, Leslie Stretch, Callidus Software, Computer Software Company of the Year, The Stevie Award