The following professionals participated in preliminary judging of the 2017 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service from November 2016 through January.  Their average scores determined the 2017 Finalists.  We thank them for their time, insights and support.

The 11th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service gala is on Friday, February 24 where winners will be announced. Tickets for the Las Vegas ceremony are on sale now.

Asburche Adalan, Business and Sales Development Mgr., DHL Express US, Miami, FL USA
Amit Kumar Agarwal, Sr Manager, FarePortal India Pvt. Ltd, Gurgaon, Haryana India
Shelly Alder, Manager, Domestic Customer Service, J.R. Simplot Company, Boise, ID USA
Scott Anschuetz, CEO, Visualize-Inc, Birmingham, MI USA
David Araujo, Direct Sales Supervisor, DHL Express São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
Benj Arriola, SEO Director, Myers Media Group, San Diego, NC USA
Bilal Asci, Customer Value Group Manager, n11.com, Istanbul, Turkey
Ronald Joseph, Avecilla Process Auditor, Globe Telecom, Manila, Philippines
Stuart Bankey Manager, Community Management Rackspace,San Antonio, TX USA
Mike Bare, CEO, BARE International, Washington DC USA
Nick Broadbent, VP Global Support, DataCore Software, Reading, United Kingdom
Randi Busse, President Workforce Development Group, Inc., Massapequa Park, NY USA
Pembe Candaner, Founder, President, JobzMall, Tustin, CA USA
Lucia Caron, Manager, Customer Support, Verint Systems Inc., Herndon,VA USA
Beth Castro, AVP - Commercial Enablement, AT&T, Houston, TX USA
Joe Cherian, Regional Vendor Manager, Vonage, Chennai, Tamilnadu,India
Brian Correia, Director, Sales & Client Services, Solstice Dental & Vision, Plantation, FL USA
Marc Cowan, Fellow at the Institute of Supply Chain Management, Dolphin International, United Kingdom
Emilia D'Anzica, VP, Customer Engagement, WalkMe, San Francisco, CA USA
Robyn Davis, Trade Show Strategy Specialist, When I Need Help, Columbia, SC USA
Luis Deza, General Manager, Canto Rodado Consulting, Miraflores, Lima, Peru
Sheryl Dobson, Director of Customer Support, J2 Global Cloud Services, Ottawa, ON Canada
Alan Dowler, Operations Manager, Hamilton Jewelers, Princeton, NJ USA
Eve Dumovich, Publisher, Snowline Publishing, Ashford, WA USA
Caroline Edwards, Consumer Information Centers Product Manager, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Tennessee, Chattanooga, TN USA
Andrew J. "Flip" Filipowski, Executive Chairman & CEO, SilkRoad Technology, Winston, Salem NC USA
Shannon Gregg, Director, Sales Operations, TeleTracking,Pittsburgh, PA USA
Tara Griffin, Senior Solutions Consultant, Genesys, Flagler Beach, FL USA
Heidi Guzman, MBA, Consorcio Kairos, VILLAHERMOSA, Tabasco, Mexico
Nabyl Hassain, Director of Telesales, DHL, Miami, FL USA
Mary Henson, Membership Care Coordinator, United States Equestrian Federation, Lexington, KY USA
Deepak Kumar, Hotkar Manager, Jasper Industries Private Limited, Hyderabad, Telangana,India
Lin Hui Kai, Deputy Manager, Cathay Life Insurance Co., Ltd Taipei, Taiwan
Adam Ihrig, Business Analyst, JPMorgan Chase, Heathrow, FL USA
Linden Ingram, EVP Sales, Imparta Inc, Austin, TX USA
Joann Kay, Customer Care Director, GraduationSource, Port Chester, NY USA
UMUT KECECIOGLU, Mobile Services Manager, Yapi Kredi Bankacilik Üssü, Kocaeli, Turkey
Tony Keesee, Director of Customer Care, VPay, Richardson, TX USA
Joshua Kelley, Supervisor, Leadership Operations Training, MTM, Inc., West St Paul, MN USA
Kathy Leckey, Vice President of Marketing, SomethingNew, New York, NY USA
Sandra Lynch, Account Manager, John Hancock, Boston, MA USA
David Madacsi, Senior Technical Customer Support Engineer, GrassValley, Lakewood, CO USA
Wessam Massoud, Programme Delivery Manager, Abu Dhabi Systems & Information Center (ADSIC), Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Rowena Maxwell, Senior Manager, Accenture, London, United Kingdom
Judy Mod, Founder, CEO, Chief Adoption Officer, RevenueSphere, Atlanta, GA USA
Anni Mollett, SVP, Senior Credit Products Manager, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, Dallas,TX USA
Thomas Moor, Global Director, Strategy and Planning, Sartomer (a business unit of Arkema), Exton, PA USA
Ann Moreth, Sr. Customer Service Engagement Manager, UPMC Health Plan, Pittsburgh, PA USA
Jason Morris, Director of Operations, SRS|Acquiom LLC, Denver, CO USA
Rajendran Nair, VP, Marketing, Rootstock Software, Fremont,CA USA
Tracy Neiser, Customer Service Manager, Active Exhaust Corp., Toronto, ON Canada
Ken Overly, Vice President, Operations, EFG Companies, Dallas, TX USA
Kadir Mustafa, OZTURK Executive Vice President / ADC & Digital Banking Solution Projects, Intertech Bilgi Islem ve Pazarlama Ticaret A.S.,Istanbul, Sisli, Turkey
Leticia Padilla, Corporate Recognition and Citizenship, Concentrix, Fremont, CA USA
Lou Reinemann, Director, Customer Care, SmartBear Software, Somerville, MA USA
RJ Riemer, VP Support Operations, VIZIO, Inc., Dakota Dunes, SD USA
Toni Roberts, VP, Customer Service & Operations, Delta Dental of Michigan, Ohio & Indiana, Farmington Hills, MI USA
Vicki Rollins, Sales Operations & Marketing Professiona, Glenaden Homes, Inc., Toronto, ON, Canada
Sharon Rudd, Organisational Development & Sales Consultant, TNT, Mascot, NSW, Australia
Stu Schlackman, Owner, Competitive Excellence,Richardson, TX USA
Paula Seeger, Library Technician 2, University of Oregon Libraries, Eugene, OR USA
Randy Selleck, Sr. Director, Call Center Operations, Assurant Solutions, Atlanta, GA USA
Bill Shelton, Senior Vice President, USHEALTH Advisors, Grapevine, TX USA
Melda Sofuoglu, Channel Experience & Operations Development Manager, Call Center Operations & Experience & Development, Istanbul, Turkey
Andrzej Szczepaniak, Deputy Director, Central Settlement Services Bank, Zachodni WBK S.A., Poznan, PA Poland
Will Tarrant, Managing Partner, Service Metrics Group, Plano, TX USA
Asli Tas KAYABAS, Psychologist, Trainer, Founding Partner, Awards Consultant, Kuzey Academy, Istanbul, Turkey
Özge Tekalp, Director, Türk Ekonomi Bankasi A.S, Istanbul, Turkey
Julie Thomas, President & CEO, ValueSelling Associates, Rancho Santa Fe, CA USA
Kelly Thomas, Assistant Vice President, Transfer Agent, OppenheimerFunds, Inc., Centennial, CO USA
Irem Tuzunalper, Founder & CEO, EXTRA Loyalty Solutions Co., Istanbul, Turkey
Lori Van Dyke, Manager, Customer Care, Access One Inc,Chicago, IL USA
Chris Vasan, Communcations Lead, Cisco Systems, Inc., Raleigh Triangle Park, NC USA
Madalina Vilau, Managing Director, Expo Media, Bucharest, Romania
Sunil Wadhwa, VP - Customer Success, Druva, Sunnyvale, CA USA
Charles White, Principal Administrator, International relations officer (retired), European Commission, Brussels, Belgium
Nicolette Wuring, Managing Director, Customer Management Services, Amstelveen, Netherlands

Freelancer is the world's largest freelancing and crowdsourcing marketplace by number of users and projects.  The company recently won two People’s Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite Companies in the 13th Annual International Business Awards. We got a chance to talk to Sebastián Siseles, the International Director of Freelancer about how the group connected with the Stevie Awards years ago and how they’ve seen the value of winning .

The 2017 International Business Awards opens for nominations on February 1. Request your entry kit here and it will be emailed to you as soon as it's available.

Sebastián remembers when they, “became acquainted with the Stevies back in 2012, when a well-known media outlet announced the winners of the IBAs. We were convinced right away of its importance as it recognizes the achievements of the world's most important organizations and its leaders. The following year, in 2013, we decided we were ready to apply to the awards as Freelancer.com had grown to be an outstanding company. That same year we were honored with our first Stevie Award.”

Freelancer.com has become a staple in connecting employers and freelancers to do work together 24/7 across the globe. Sebastián relayed that, “Freelancer.com is the world's largest freelancing and crowdsourcing marketplace by number of users and projects. We connect over 23 million employers and freelancers globally from over 247 countries, regions and territories. Through our marketplace, employers can hire freelancers to do work in over 900 areas such as software development, writing, data entry and design right through to engineering, the sciences, sales and marketing, accounting and legal services.

Sebastián stressed the importance of their vision, which is providing jobs and changing the lives of at least one billion people all over the world. For example, in the Philippines, Freelancer.com partnered with the government's Department of Science and Technology to extend online freelancing opportunities to Filipinos in rural areas with limited employment options.

Sebastián continues that they also have, “an ongoing partnership with the Malaysian government’s Multimedia Development Corporation, which provides education for Malaysia’s B40 communities.”

Recently, the company concluded its first round of the Train-the-Trainers program, which educated fifty (50) trainers who will be deployed across Malaysia to help underprivileged Malaysians find online work.

Freelancer.com has been a global success, Sebastián reflects on their first nomination:

“At the time of the nomination, Freelancer.com hit the 15 million users milestone and we wanted to acknowledge our community by putting together an e-book: https://issuu.com/freelancercom/docs/15mm_ebook

Sebastián also notes the significance of winning a Stevie:

“Receiving an award is always an honour for Freelancer.com. It also serves as recognition for the team for all the hard work. We always try to be part of the amazing Stevies Gala and the chance of networking while being there is just awesome.”

“Our community celebrates with us whenever we share the news with them and this seems to further boost their trust on the marketplace. They are always deeply informed about the nominations and always eager to cast their votes for us,” Sebastián adds.

Sebastián highlights the results from winning a Stevie:

“Freelancer.com has gained a lot of exposure due to the awards that we were honored with in the past three  years which led to an increase in user acquisition. With each award, we have reinforced our leadership in the freelancing market, especially with the People´s Choice Awards.”

"Here are links to press releases on our Stevie Awards since 2015":

• http://press.freelancer.com.s3.amazonaws.com/FreelancerWins9Awardsat12thAnnualInternationalBusinessAwards.pdf
• http://press.freelancer.com.s3.amazonaws.com/FreelancerStevieAwards2016.pdf
• http://press.freelancer.com.s3.amazonaws.com/Freelancer.com2016GrandStevieAwards.pdf
• http://press.freelancer.com.s3.amazonaws.com/SteviesPeoplesChoiceAwards2016.pdf

Freelance work is growing exponentially. Sebastián reports their findings in this growing sector:

“Expanding opportunities for entrepreneurship and jobseekers’ preferences are driving changes in the online freelancing and crowdsourcing industry. And as seen in our growing number of users from around the world (currently at 23 million), more and more businesses and entrepreneurs are hiring freelancers online and a growing number of skilled professionals are providing services in their fields of expertise.

Sebastián details their industry highlights in, “seeing more employers from small businesses to major companies now collaborating with freelancers through crowdsourcing. An example of this  is  NASA’s partnership with Freelancer. Not only are they crowdsourcing the best ideas through a contest on Freelancer.com, they are putting together a virtual team of freelancers from around the world through remote collaboration. For example, they will hire a graphic designer from Latin America, a web developer from Asia, and  an internet marketer from North America.  These freelancers are working together as a team despite their locations. This is why we are continuously looking for ways to equip our community based on how their needs are evolving.”

Lastly, we asked if there is an inspirational story related to Freelancer.com that might appeal to our blog readers. Sebastian shared their 15 million users e-book that contains stories of how Freelancer.com helped change the lives of our users: https://issuu.com/freelancercom/docs/15mm_ebook

Here are recent stories from Freelancer in the Philippines:

• Freelancer Ian Fosgate
• Freelancer Sonny Aldave

ValueSelling Associates has been a sponsor of the Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service for nine consecutive years

We spoke with Julie Thomas, President & CEO of ValueSelling Associates. Julie will be presenting awards at the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service gala in Las Vegas on February 24. She shares her thoughts and sales industry insights.

The 2017 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service announced finalists last week. People's Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite Customer Service voting is now open through February 10. If you missed the Sales & Customer Service entry deadline this year, check out The American Business Awards Customer Service Awards categories. 

What does ValueSelling do?

ValueSelling Associates offers its customers a conversational, question-based sales methodology that is simple, logical and scalable. We offer customized training on the ValueSelling Framework®, interactive reinforcement tools and consulting services that empower sales organizations around the globe with a proven formula to qualify prospects, accurately forecast and close more deals. We work with business-to-business sales organizations who are working to improve their sales productivity. Some of the challenges that we address with our clients include reducing discounting, improving forecast accuracy, more effective qualification, and selling the breadth of the product line.

What is the organizational vision?

The vision is to continue growing our well-respected global business. We’re motivated by our clients’ results. Witnessing the effectiveness of the ValueSelling Framework when working with world-class sales teams such as Adobe, Alere, Kamstrup, Autodesk, Cisco, Google, Monster, NCR, Rockwell Automation, Servicemax, Siemens, and ServiceNow, keeps us fired up. 

We invest in and integrate the most current adult-learning concepts into our customized classroom instruction, on-demand courseware and tools, leading to thousands of participants each year developing skills that measurably increases sales productivity. We know adults learn more when they are having fun,  so we strive to deliver unique and exciting experiences for our clients.

What sets your company apart in your industry?

The ValueSelling Framework is easily applied to complex B2B sales. Our methodology gives you a framework to have a conversational, question-based dialogue. So, instead of pitching, you’re engaging. Instead of presenting solutions, you’re collaborating and competing based on value, and by that, I mean the value confirmed by the individual and the organization.

How did you first become acquainted with the Stevies?

I met Michael Gallagher, President of The Stevie Awards, over 10 years ago. We became involved with the Stevie Awards at the very beginning. We welcome the opportunity to recognize our clients’ individual and organizational impact through this prestigious organization.

What’s it like for your clients to win the Stevie Award?

We put a lot of thought into which clients to nominate for the Stevie Award for Sales & Customer Service. It’s thrilling to be with them at the gala in Las Vegas, celebrating their achievements.  There are high fives, champagne toasts and lots of celebrations when the awards are announced. Our clients prove time and again the power of the ValueSelling Framework and correlate that to their outstanding results. During the Gala, we get an opportunity to toast and applaud their dedication and successes.

What inspires you to continue your work?

It’s fun! Each organization is unique. There are many different challenges: meeting revenue numbers, forecasting more accurately, growing strategic accounts, and difficulty accessing high-level executives, among others.

What’s inspiring is watching how our team and the ValueSelling Framework methodology is a wonderful solution to enabling our clients to resolve their business issues. It’s transformative, not only for individuals, but for entire teams and organizations. We pride ourselves on enabling the entire organization to wrap around our framework, create a common language and leverage a common toolset. When everyone inside a company is focused on value for their customer, then, they are well positioned to develop long-standing customer relationships.

What changes do you expect in your industry in the future?

Over the past few years, we’ve seen a lot of emphasis on sales software solutions and technology tools such as sales asset management and marketing automation platforms. Used well, these are great tools for supporting the sales effort.

Another key trend is the increase in inside sales – not telemarketers, but true inside sales professionals who build relationships and sell products and services solely over the phone and the web. The tools and techniques to become proficient and communication are different when you never build a face-to-face relationship.  That said, the inside sales professional will continue to need and leverage a successful sales methodology.

In the end, it comes down to people connecting with people virtually and social selling is a technique that is needed by sales, but success in sales requires having real conversations  either in person or by phone about the business issues and problems a buyer is facing.

On-demand courseware will become more prevalent, but the critical success factor will be presenting information in a way that keeps adults tuned in. That means smaller chunks of learning and just-in-time learning. That’s why our eLearning modules include interactive quizzes and scenarios. It’s not enough to just show a canned video or slide with a talking head. Gamification and user-centric learning is here to stay.

Given the uncertainty in the world, I expect that businesses are going to seek tried and true solutions. For over 25 years, the ValueSelling Framework has been helping organizations around the world maximize their sales productivity, better qualify prospects and improve win rates.

Is there an inspirational story related to your organization that might appeal to our blog readers?

Market Track, the leading provider of timely market intelligence solutions serves more than 1,700 brands, retailers, manufacturers, and agencies. Market Track supports clients with comprehensive analysis of the advertising, promotional, and eCommerce landscape to optimize engagement with consumers throughout their purchase cycle.

Business Issue: How do you get an entire sales team on the same page with a single methodology given the requirements of a steep growth trajectory and the continual addition of new sales professionals with various sales training and backgrounds?

Problem: In 2008, Market Track’s value proposition was murky. There was no proactive client or prospect engagement. The close rate low.

The management team knew sales would fuel future growth plans. And because the sales team was selling an intangible—tech-enabled service—they had to sell on value. Market Track called on ValueSelling Associates to install a sales methodology that could be implemented consistently to drive rapid growth.

Solution: Market Track has quintupled its revenue since adopting ValueSelling Associates’ proprietary sales methodology. Such sales improvements have allowed the firm to make 11 acquisitions in 8 years and broaden its portfolio.

The resulting, expanded organization successfully integrates new sales executives and managers with a consistent methodology and approach across each of the acquisitions so the company is supported, not stymied by additional team members.

Market Track's overall adoption is stellar because the sales methodology and tools are easy to apply in a war room or deal review. With a common sales process, the team maximizes their weekly gatherings, sharing best practices—new templates, better conversations, more innovative strategies—all honed to engage Market Track’s buyers.

Market Track continues to organically grow as they keep a pulse on their clients’ advertising, promotion, and eCommerce initiatives. In 2016, the firm had its best first half ever. Justin Hartanov, Market Track EVP (recently appointed to lead Market Track’s international expansion) and 10-year ValueSelling practitioner, swears by his team’s consistent practice of ValueSelling principals.

To learn more about ValueSelling, visit http://www.valueselling.com/

Finalists in the 11th Annual Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service, an international competition recognizing excellence in disciplines that are crucial to business success, were announced today.    

A diverse group of organizations and individuals around the world are among those recognized in the customer service awards, contact center awards, business development awards, and sales awards categories. Among the organizations with the most finalists are Carbonite, Inc. (Lewiston, ME USA), Delta Air Lines (Atlanta, GA USA), Deutsche Post DHL (offices globally), Festival Walk (Hong Kong, China), Guidewell Connect (Jacksonville, FL USA), HomeServe USA (Norwalk, CT USA), IBM (Armonk, NY USA), John Hancock Financial Services (Boston, MA USA), and Vizio, Inc. (Irvine, CA USA).

For a full list of Finalists by category, visit www.StevieAwards.com/Sales.

Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners will be announced during a gala banquet on Friday, February 24 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. Tickets are now on sale.

The awards are presented by the Stevie Awards, which organizes several of the world’s leading business awards shows including the prestigious International Business Awards and American Business Awards.

More than 2,300 nominations from organizations of all sizes and in virtually every industry were evaluated in this year’s competition, an increase of 10% over 2016. Finalists were determined by the average scores of 77 professionals worldwide, acting as preliminary judges. Entries were considered in 61 categories for customer service and contact center achievements, including Contact Center of the Year, Award for Innovation in Customer Service, and Customer Service Department of the Year; 53 categories for sales and business development achievements, ranging from Senior Sales Executive of the Year to Sales Training or Business Development Executive of the Year to Sales Department of the Year; and categories to recognize new products and services and solution providers.

More than 130 members of seven specialized judging committees will determine the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award placements from among the Finalists during final judging, to begin January 23.

Beginning today through February 10, the general public may vote for their favorite providers of customer service in the People’s Choice Stevie® Awards for Favorite Customer Service. Voting is open at http://peopleschoice.stevieawards.com. Winners of the People’s Choice Stevie Awards in multiple industries will be determined in mid-February and honored at the awards gala in Las Vegas on February 24.

“We are very pleased with the quantity and quality of nominations received in this year’s competition,” said Michael Gallagher, founder and president of the Stevie Awards.  “The final judges are in for a treat, because they’re going to review many remarkable, inspiring stories of workplace success from around the world.”

Sponsors of the 11th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service include Sales Partnerships, Inc. and ValueSelling Associates, Inc.

An interview with Fred Kessler,  CEO of the highly respected sales outsourcing firm, Sales Partnerships, Inc.

Sales Partnerships has provided outsourced sales solutions since 1997. Among their many Stevie Award wins, the company recently won the Silver Stevie in Sales Outsourcing Provider of the Year - along with a slew of other Stevie Awards in multiple categories. They were named as a Grand Stevie-winner in 2016 and are also a sponsor of the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service for the second consecutive year.

We got the chance to talk to Fred Kessler, CEO of Sales Partnership, Inc., about how the group first submitted nominations to the Stevie Awards years ago and how they’ve remained involved since then.

The 2017 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service has closed for nominations. The 2017 American Business Awards offers Customer Service Awards categories and will accept entries through February 16. Late entries will be accepted through March 15. 

REVIEW THE ENTRY KIT HERE.

Fred looked back on when they first, “heard about the Stevies in 2007 and knew it was something we wanted to be a part of. That year marked our first win – as the winner of the top Sales Outsourcing Provider. We’ve repeated as winner in that category several times.”

Sales Partnerships has become known for helping companies overcome their challenges. Fred relayed that, “Sales Partnerships helps top brands navigate the challenges of market expansion and customer engagement via field engagement and outsourced sales solutions. Utilizing our proprietary technology and best practices, Sales Partnerships provides integrated sales and marketing solutions for market launch, customer engagement, customer acquisition and retention.”

Since 2007, Sales Partnerships has continued to win Stevie Awards.Fred explained why their involvement with us has been beneficial: “We first got involved in participating in the Stevie Awards several years ago when we were just signing some of our first big accounts. We thought it would be a good way to get our name out there, network some of the other participating companies, and learn from each other.”

Being recognized for progress in your field is important; Fred explains why the Stevie Awards matters to the firm:

“We take pride in the wins. Recognitions for being the best at what we do are important.”

Fred also acknowledged how winning Stevie Awards has directly affected their business.

“Our Stevie wins have helped reinforce the reputation we’ve built over two decades of being the industry leader in Sales Outsourcing. “

We asked Fred what trends have come and gone over the years and how they have stayed relevant:

“Old school approaches to sales are increasingly failing. Field representatives aren’t there to just parrot information about products. Market targeting and approach have to be far more than just intuition or guessing about where the best opportunities will exist. Today’s success in field engagement requires getting the best talent, constantly honing them, and equipping them with best tools and analytics about their territories. Smart applications of big data, cutting edge use of analytics to maximize sales, and leveraging real time information to adjust and to maximize markets is now the requirement to be competitive. Today’s best field engagement teams will require evolution of the best practices and technologies – the industry is in a state of renaissance that will separate those willing to take the steps to achieve the best results and those left behind.”

Though the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service feature more than 135 Sales Awards, the Sales Partnerships vision has remained focused on continuing their success in changing times.

“The vision of Sales Partnerships is to continuously develop best of breed solutions to allow for engagement with customers in the field as branded representatives for our clients. We serve as an extension to our clients’ brands which allows them to expand their market presence in ways difficult to do on their own. This provides brand protection and focus not possible through resellers or independent rep organizations. ”

Fred concluded that, “We focus on developing the most productive processes for recruiting, training, field management, territory management, and analytics to drive maximized marketing and sales goals for our clients. Large companies trust us to be their field forces globally. We strive to always deliver far above any other option they could have used while vigilantly protecting and advocating for their brands.”

Learn more about Sales Partnerships here 

The 15th annual American Business Awards, the premier business awards competition in the U.S.A. which attracts more than 3,000 nominations from organizations nationwide each year, is accepting nominations for the 2017 program. 

REVIEW THE ENTRY KIT

The American Business Awards recognize achievement in every facet of the workplace. Full entry details are available at http://www.stevieawards.com/aba. The entry deadline is Thursday, February 16 but late entries will be accepted through Wednesday, March 15. 

There are more than 50 categories to recognize management executives and teams. 

All organizations operating in the U.S.A. are eligible to submit nominations -- public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small. 

Information to be submitted online for entries in these categories for the 2017 ABAs will include

a. An essay of up to 650 words describing the nominee's accomplishments since January 1 2016

b. In bullet-list form, a brief summary of up to ten (10) of the chief accomplishments of the nominee since January 1 2016

c. 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

Management Awards categories include:

A39. Management Team of the Year
  a. Business Products Industries
  b. Business Services Industries
  c. Consumer Products Industries
  d. Consumer Services Industries

Executive of the Year (e.g. CEO, President, COO) 
A01. Advertising, Marketing, & Public Relations
A02. Aerospace & Defense
A03. Apparel, Beauty & Fashion (a new category for 2017)
A04. Automotive & Transport Equipment
A05. Banking
A06. Business & Professional Services
A07. Chemicals
A08. Computer Hardware
A09. Computer Software
  a. Up to 500 Employees
  b. 500 or More Employees
A10. Computer Services
A11. Conglomerates
A12. Consumer Products - Durables
A13. Consumer Products - Non-Durables
A14. Consumer Services (a new category for 2017)
A15. Diversified Services
A16. Electronics
A17. Energy
A18. Financial Services
A19. Food & Aeverage
A20. Health Products & Services
A21. Hospitality & Leisure
A22. Insurance
A23. Internet/New Media
A24. Legal
A25. Manufacturing
A26. Materials & Construction
A27. Media & Entertainment
A28. Metals & Mining
A29. Non-Profit or Government Organizations
A30. Pharmaceuticals
A31. Real Estate
A32. Retail
A33. Telecommunications
A34. Transportation
A35. Utilities 

A36. Maverick of the Year: recognizing the individual who's affected the most positive change on his or her company and/or industry since the beginning of 2016
  a. Business Products Industries
  b. Business Services Industries
  c. Consumer Products
  d. Consumer Services

A37. Tech Innovator of the Year (recognizing the individual who's contributed most to innovation, within their organization and/or industry, in the U.S.A. since the beginning of 2016)
  a. Hardware/Peripherals
  b. Services
  c. Software
  d. Other

A38. Woman of the Year: recognizing the achievements of women in the workplace since the beginning of 2016
  a. Business Products Industries
  b. Business Services Industries
  c. Consumer Products
  d. Consumer Services

Winners of Management Awards in the 2016 American Business Awards include: 

Management Team of the Year - Business Products or Services Industries
GOLD STEVIE WINNER:
Black Knight Financial Services, Jacksonville, FL: Black Knight Financial Services Management Team

Management Team of the Year - Consumer Products or Services Industries
GOLD STEVIE WINNER:
Jeunesse Global, Orlando, FL: The Team Behind the Billion-Dollar Jeunesse Brand

Executive of the Year - Advertising, Marketing & Public Relations
GOLD STEVIE WINNER:
97th Floor, Lehi, UT: Chris Bennett, CEO

Executive of the Year - Automotive, Transport Equipment & Transportation
GOLD STEVIE WINNER:
Donlen Fleet Leasing and Management, Northbrook, IL: Tom Callahan, President

...and more. See the full list of 2016 Management Stevie Award-winners here.

Dubai Statistics Center won a variety Stevie Awards in 2016. They were the top winner in the 2016 Stevie Awards for Great Employers. The Emirati government organization won five Gold Stevie Awards, including Employer of the Year – Government or Non-Profit. The five Gold Stevie wins earned the organization the Grand Stevie Award trophy for Most Honored Organization. In The 2016 International Business Awards, they were named as a Top 10 Organization in the Best of the IBA Awards.

The 2017 Stevie Awards for Great Employers and The International Business Awards will open for entries later this year. Request your entry kit from the links above and it will be emailed to you as soon as it's available.

We spoke with Naeema Abdulla Abdulwahid the Unit Head – Creativity & Innovation Strategy & Corporate Excellence Office at Dubai Statistics Center. 

When we asked what the Dubai Statistics Center does, we received a packed mission statement that depicts cultural priorities, passions, and pride in their work, community, and culture.

Naeema relayed that the Dubai Statistics Center (“DSC”) “provides smart and innovative statistical services with the highest levels of accuracy, reliability and transparency, which have a direct contribution to the sustainable development for the Emirate of Dubai and supporting the happiness of the community and future generations, by utilizing best technologies, practices and international standards with the support of the center's happy and creative work family.”

Naeema had a simple and clear response when we asked about the vision of DSC: “Statistics that support in the creation of happiness and sustainable development.” Happiness and sustainability are recurring themes we can all appreciate.

The story behind their nomination goes beyond recognition and highlighted an extension of goodwill and vision.

“We are a distinguished organization. In-line with Dubai Statistics Center leader’s vision to obtain international recognition as credit of our accomplishments, we participated in the The Stevie Award due to the organization’s good reputation on an international level, specifically The International Business Awards.” Naeema expounded, “Moreover, we considered this an opportunity to exchange experience and knowledge with others internationally.” 

Naeema continued, “We first became acquainted through previous participations of entities and organizations in the UAE and based on the good reputation and reviews of the awards in various media channels.”

When asked her thoughts on winning the Stevie Awards Naeema shared, “a feeling of happiness and pride as DSC has achieved internationally recognized accomplishments and records achieved for the first time on the country’s level and the Arab region.” Naeema recalled, “keeping up with the award requirements and criteria motivated DSC staff to work in unique and distinct ways. This resulted in the center being highlighted as a distinguished international organization.”

On company results since winning their Stevie Awards, Naeema articulated that, “Spreading the culture of excellence among employees and our motivation to achieve international achievements has been one of the key goals which DSC leaders have sought to achieve since 2006. Winning the award has encouraged the DSC to win in other prestigious awards.”

Understanding the inspiration behind our Award Winners’ work is always a curiosity. To that regard, Naeema let us know, “The existence of our ambitious leadership with a vision for the future is embodied in one person: His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President of the UAE, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai. He always seeks to make Dubai a leading city in all sectors to achieve prosperity and happiness for all segments of the society.”

Learn more about the Dubai Statistics Center here 

Brand activation agency Geometry Global nominated Time Warner Cable Business Class in the Marketing Campaign of the Year category of The 2016 American Business Awards. The campaign won a Gold Stevie Award. 

Interested in submitting nominations for marketing awards or any of the other 200+ awards categories in The 2017 American Business Awards? Review the entry kit here.

To learn a bit more about the Manhattan-based agency who submitted Stevie-winning nominations on behalf of Time Warner Cable, we connected with Account Supervisor Riley Sistrunk. Located in the “Chocolate factory” building, our appetites were sufficiently whetted.

“Geometry Global is the world’s most effective brand activation agency driving action conversion, and purchase through award-winning programs for our clients.” Riley began, “Our expertise includes shopper, digital, experiential, relationship, promotional and trade marketing.”

If you haven’t worked at a Agency in New York City, you may wonder what folks like Riley do, so we asked and Riley answered, “As Account Supervisor, I serve as a day-to-day lead for our Time Warner Cable Business Class client – partnering together to identify new opportunities for their business, oversee creative development of those ideas and act as their voice for our internal teams and third-party partners. It’s a great opportunity to get to build a strong client relationship and master the category.”

When asked about Geometry Global’s vision, Riley let us know, “Our organization is built around the belief that brand activation is not about sell, sell, sell but inspiring people to buy well. It is an approach to our work that transforms brand equity into action through pivotal ideas. Ideas that create meaningful, valued engagements with people at the precise right moment that matters to them and connects them to the product, service or brand that best meets their need.”

Time Warner Cable is a well known brand so we asked a bit more about the story behind the award submission. “While it’s a fairly common practice for our agency to submit for awards, we were particularly keen on submitting this campaign for nomination because its timing.” Sistrunk replied, “The challenges facing our clients’ business from their acquisition were mounting and with the positive results of the campaign it made a great ‘betting the odds’ story for us to tell.”

“We first learned of the Stevies while searching for competitive samples for a category audit.” Riley continued, “Our competitors had been known to submit for this award and after a little research into the Stevie American Business Award we decided it was the right award for our team to be entering into as well.”

Winning awards is always exciting but we wondered what it was like for an agency to win “Campaign of the Year.” Riley obliged with a story. “The announcement of our win could not have been more timely. We found out about our win while on a shoot for the next quarter’s production of the campaign. A big cheers erupted around the set as we made to the announcement to our team, clients and crew. It was a wonderful honor to be named Marketing Campaign of the Year (Internet/Telecom) by the Stevie Awards. Our clients and teams are extremely proud of the campaign, so to be recognized further our belief in the strength of this work.”

Riley continued, “This win has further strengthened our partnership with our clients. A win like this is always a welcome opportunity to celebrate success with our clients and a chance to be awarded additional projects because of it. Also, it’s be great for our clients within their own organization. Awards demonstrate to their fellow teams and leadership internally that they are high-achieving brand stewards for the corporation and will be increasingly relied as subject matter experts.”

What of results? We wondered how winning the award has affected Geometry Global. “This campaign and the results from it have gone on to be used as leading B2B and Telecom case study for our agency in new business pitches.” Riley recounted, “Our pitch teams have found it extremely valuable to showcase our capabilities and expertise within the category.”

We wanted to understand what drives folks like Riley in the ultra-competitive agency world in NYC. “I find two sources of inspiration to continue my work. Tangibly, there’s an excitement for our work, an urgency to every project that makes coming in to meet with a team of high-energy people to tackle a new assignment very rewarding.” Said Sistrunk, “There’s a great sense of accomplishment building something from scratch. More conceptually, I continue to be inspired to pursue this line of work for its opportunity to influence culture at large. As advertisers, we have the skill to reflect back an attitude or view of society with a new interpretation, much the way an artist does. That power to inspire change in others toward a goal is what makes this job so attractive compared to other business disciplines.”

Since change is the only constant, we asked Riley about his predictions of the future of the industry. “Advertising is a very flexible and fluid industry. There are many creators out there pushing forward with new ideas, testing and learning as they go and challenging everyone to keep pace. In the future, I see a shift to even more branded storytelling as consumers increasingly reject old ways of doing business and have begun to explore more socially conscience products. Creating and communicating an own-able brand identity that aligns with these new consumer expectations for a different economic model will be key to future success.” Riley mused, “And, the sooner we embrace those trends, the sooner we can position ourselves as thought leaders in the space.”

Learn more about Geometry Global at http://www.geometry.com/us 

The 15th annual American Business Awards, the premier business awards competition in the U.S.A. which attracts more than 3,000 nominations from organizations nationwide each year, is accepting nominations for the 2017 program. 

REVIEW THE ENTRY KIT.

The American Business Awards recognize achievement in every facet of the workplace. Full entry details are available at http://www.stevieawards.com/aba.

There are 29 categories to recognize public relations professionals, agencies, departments, and campaigns.

All organizations operating in the U.S.A. are eligible to submit nominations -- public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small. The entry deadline is Thursday, February 16 but late entries will be accepted through Wednesday, March 15. 

Information to be submitted online for entries in these categories for the 2017 ABAs will include:

a. An essay of up to 650 words describing the nominee's achievements since January 1 2016.  In the communications campaign categories, this will be a description of the campaign: its genesis, development, execution, and results to date

b. In bullet-list form, a brief summary (up to 150 words) of up to ten (10) of the chief accomplishments of the nominee since January 1 2016.  In the communications campaign categories, this will be a list of the chief features and results of this nominated PR program

c. Optional (but highly recommended), a collection of supporting files, works samples, and web addresses that you may upload to our server to support your entry and provide more background information to the judges

The Public Relations Awards categories are: 

C01. Public Relations Agency of the Year

C02. Communications Department of the Year

C03. Communications Team of the Year

C05. Communications or PR Campaign/Program of the Year
         a. Arts & Entertainment: campaigns/programs undertaken to promote or raise awareness of an artistic or entertainment endeavor, event, or program.
         b. Communications Research: recognizing research conducted for the development of business / communication strategies.  (new category for 2017)
         c. Community Relations: campaigns/programs that aim to improve relations with communities in which the sponsoring organization has an interest, need or opportunity.
         d. Crisis Communications: campaigns/programs undertaken to deal with an unplanned event and requiring immediate response.
         e. Events & Observances: campaigns/programs that generate awareness of or document commemorations, observances, openings, celebrations, and other types of events.
         f. Global Issues: campaigns/programs that demonstrate effective global communications implemented in at least two countries.
         g. Healthcare: campaign/programs in the healthcare sector, including business-to-business and consumer campaigns.  (new category for 2017)
         h. Internal Communications: campaigns/programs undertaken to inform or educate an internal audience, such as employees or members. 
              - At organizations with up to 100 employees
              - At organizations with 100 or more employees
         i. Investor Relations: campaigns/programs undertaken to communicate information to a company's investors and the investment community and/or to manage the company's relationship with investors. 
         j. Issues Management: campaigns/programs undertaken to deal with issues that could extraordinarily affect ongoing business strategy.
         k. Low Budget (under $10,000): campaigns/programs that cost no more than $10,000 to plan and implement.
         l. Marketing – Business to Business: campaigns/programs designed to introduce new products or promote existing products or services to a business audience.
         m. Marketing – Consumer Products: campaigns/programs designed to introduce new products or promote existing products to a consumer audience.
         n. Marketing – Consumer Services: campaigns/programs designed to introduce new services or promote existing services to a consumer audience.
         o. Media Relations: recognizing effective traditional media relations in a PR campaign. (new category for 2017)
         p. Multicultural: campaigns/programs specifically targeted to a cultural group.
         q. New Product Launch: campaigns/programs undertaken to introduce a new product or service to the marketplace.
         r. Reputation/Brand Management: campaigns/programs designed to enhance, promote or improve the reputation of an organization with its publics or key elements of its publics.
         s. Public Affairs: campaigns/programs specifically designed to influence public policy and/or affect legislation, regulations, political activities or candidacies.
         t. Public Service: campaigns/programs that advance public understanding of societal issues, problems or concerns.
         u. Social Media Focused: campaigns/programs designed to be implemented primarily through online social media.       
         v. Sponsorship: campaigns/programs that promote or create awareness of sponsorship of an event or activity. (new category for 2017)
         w Technology: campaign/programs in the technology sector, including business-to-business and consumer campaigns.  (new category for 2017)
         x. Travel & Tourism: campaigns/programs designed to advance the interests of clients in the transport, travel, hotel or tourism industries. (new category for 2017)

C06. PR Innovation of the Year: this category will recognize singular innovations in communications practice, research, technology, or management since the beginning of 2015.

C07. Communications, Investor Relations, or PR Executive of the Year

C08. Communications Professional of the Year: for non-executive communications, PR, and IR professionals.  There is no entry fee for this category.

There are a number of other ABA categories that should be of interest to communications professionals, including many of the corporate publications and annual report awards categories, web site awards categories, app awards categories, video awards categories, and live event awards categories.

World’s Top Honors Accepting Nominations Through January 11

The final entry deadline for the 2017 (11^th annual) Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service is Wednesday, January 11.  Entry kits and complete details on the competition are available at http://www.StevieAwards.com/Sales.

REVIEW THE ENTRY KIT HERE.

These are the world’s top honors for customer service, contact center, business development and sales professionals.  All organizations and individuals worldwide may submit nominations.  The 2017 awards will recognize achievements since July 1, 2015.

Finalists will be announced on Thursday, January 19.  Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners in the competition will be announced at a gala awards banquet on Friday, February 24 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.   Attendance is not required to win.

The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service feature more than 135 sales awards, customer service awards, business development awards, new product awards and solution provider awards categories. Entrants may submit any number of nominations to any number of categories.   

The competition will be judged by more than 150 professionals around the world, and nominees will have access to all of the judges’ comments about their entries – an invaluable resource.

The 2017 program offers new categories for new products and services and solution providers. New categories for new products and services include Customer Service or Sales Book of the Year, Customer Service Training Product of the Year and Sales Training Product of the Year. The new solution provider category for 2017 is Leadership or Management Training Practice of the Year.

2017 will see the return of a popular feature of the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. All finalists in the Customer Service Department of the Year categories will be included in the People’s Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite Customer Service, a worldwide public vote. Voting will open January 19 and close February 10.  Winners of the public vote will receive a special crystal People’s Choice Stevie Award trophy.

Winners of the 2016 edition of the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service included Cars.com, Comcast, CubeSmart, Delta Air Lines, Etiya, eZCom Software, FedEx, HubSpot, Kohl’s Department Stores, Office Depot, SAVO, ShopKeep POS, Vestmark, and VIZIO, Inc., among others.

The 2017 entry kit and a complete history of the awards program are available at http://www.StevieAwards.com/Sales.

An interview with Tabatha Conway, Marketing Director, Creative Lodging Solutions

Corporate lodging services provider Creative Lodging Solutions (CLS™) was presented a Silver Stevie® for Sales Growth Achievement of the Year at the 2016 Stevie Awards for Sales and Customer Service in Las Vegas. Chief Sales Officer Cindy Rudovich also was named Senior Sales Executive of the Year - Bronze Stevie-winner.

Review the entry kit now to see how your organization can win Sales Awards. The final entry deadline for the 2017 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service is January 11.

What does Creative Lodging Solutions do?

Creative Lodging Solutions (CLS) is an award-winning travel management company that provides customized lodging programs for corporate clients nationwide. Our services provide assistance with lodging expense control, negotiated rates, consolidated billing, and travel policy adherence. CLS has reserved over 11 million traveler nights.

What is your role in the organization?

I’m the Marketing Director.

What is the organizational vision?

Creative Lodging Solutions’ founding vision is to create profitable companies that allow us to provide revolutionary generosity. To fulfill our vision, we must be profitable; however, we are not in business solely for the betterment of our own lives. We exist to make a difference in the world. It is our philosophy that you cannot take it with you when you die but you can send it on ahead.

What sets your company apart in this category?

Creative Lodging Solutions’ fast-paced growth is fueled by our sales team who consistently surpass their annual goals despite any slowdowns in the economy or industry sectors we serve. The sales team has proven to be resourceful in expanding CLS’ market share with revenue exceeding $138 million in 2016.

How did you first become acquainted with the Stevie® Awards?

We’ve participated in various Stevies awards programs for several years.

What was it like for your company to win this award?

We were honored to win a Silver Stevie for Sales Growth Achievement of the Year. It was an exciting recognition for CLS’ sales team.

How has the win affected your business?

Winning this award provided our sales team with national recognition for their accomplishments which propelled them toward ongoing success.

What results have been gained since you've won this award?

Our client base increased by 26% and revenue has increased by 17% so far in 2016 with numbers continuing to climb.

What inspires you to continue your work?

Creative Lodging Solutions has an amazing team that’s truly passionate about serving our clients. The organization’s owners continue to invest back into the company with new technologies and a new corporate headquarters built in 2015. It’s exciting to see the results of our work as we expand and create new jobs while giving back to the community.

What do you expect to change in your company in the future?

Creative Lodging Solutions currently focuses on long-term and project based stays. We plan to enhance our services in 2017 and offer additional business travel solutions to our clients.

Learn more about Creative Lodging Solutions

Awards Recognize World-Best Achievements in Sales, Business Development
and Customer Service

The Stevie® Awards, organizers of the world’s premier business awards programs, have announced that Sales Partnerships, Inc., which provides turnkey, outsourced selling solutions, has signed to be a sponsor of its Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service program for the second consecutive year.

The 2017 (11^th annual) Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service are accepting nominations through January at www.StevieAwards.com/Sales.  The program recognizes the year’s best achievements in sales, business development and customer service.  The awards will be presented at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on February 24. 

Sales Partnerships is an industry-leader in outsourced services for building business-to-business field sales teams and field engagement teams for Fortune 500 companies.  Sales Partnerships has been providing outsourced sales solutions since 1997, and is one of the most highly respected sales outsourcing firms in the market.

According to Fred Kessler, CEO of Sales Partnerships, “The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service has grown to be the premier honor for sales professionals worldwide, and it’s proven to be an outstanding platform on which Sales Partnerships can interact with sales leaders in a wide variety of industries.  We’re delighted to sponsor the awards again in 2017.”

The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service feature more than 135 sales awards, customer service awards, business development awards, new product awards and solution provider awards categories. Entrants may submit any number of nominations to any number of categories, which include:

•         Sales Individual categories such as Senior Sales Executive of the Year and Sales Representative of the Year
•         Sales Team categories like Global Sales Team of the Year and Online Sales Team of the Year
•         Sales Achievement categories such as Sales Turnaround of the Year and Sales Training or Coaching Program of the Year
•         Sales Distinction categories in 13 industry groupings
•         Customer Service and Contact Center Individual categories such as Front-Line Customer Service Professional of the Year and Customer Service Leader of the Year
•         Customer Service and Contact Center Team categories like Contact Center of the Year and Back Office Customer Service Team of the Year
•         Customer Service and Contact Center Achievement categories such as e-Commerce Customer Service Award and Award for Innovation in Customer Service
•         Customer Service Department categories in 11 industry groupings
•         Customer Service Success categories in five industry groupings, to recognize the customer service-related achievements of organizations without a formal customer service function
•         New Product and Service categories like Best New Business Intelligence Solution and Best New Marketing Solution
•         Solution Provider categories such as Sales Consulting Practice of the Year and Incentive, Rewards or Recognition Provider of the Year
•         Business Development categories such as Business Development Professional of the Year and Business Development Achievement of the Year    

The 2017 program offers new categories for new products and services and solution providers. New categories for new products and services include Customer Service or Sales Book of the Year, Customer Service Training Product of the Year and Sales Training Product of the Year. The new solution provider category for 2017 is Leadership or Management Training Practice of the Year.

The 2017 competition will be judged by more than 200 professionals around the world.

Stevie Winners in the 2016 edition of the awards included Adobe Systems, Cars.com, Comcast, CubeSmart, Delta Air Lines, DP DHL, Etiya, eZCom Software, FedEx, HubSpot, IBM, ISN Software UK Ltd., Kohl’s Department Stores, Office Depot, Ooyala, SAVO, ServiceMax, ShopKeep POS, Sirius Decisions, SugarCRM, VIZIO, Inc. and Vodafone Turkey, among others.  The full-text of Gold Stevie-winning nominations are available on the website.

The 2017 entry kit and a complete history of the awards program are available at www.StevieAwards.com/Sales.

About Sales Partnerships, Inc.
Sales Partnerships, Inc. was founded in 1997 with the mission to combine best practices in sales recruitment, training, management, quality assurance, and selling technologies into a complete services platform that consistently delivers exceptional results for our clients. Sales Partnerships has been recognized and awarded multiple times as the best sales outsourcing firm in North America, for innovation in the fields of applied sales technology, best service offerings, one of the best places to work, and for the individual accomplishments of its sales professionals and key leadership team members.  Visit http:// www.salespartnerships.com