Elevating the Standard of Customer Journeys

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Wed, Aug 23, 2017 @ 01:39 PM

Customers today can interact with organizations across multiple platforms. So how do you track the unique and complex experience of every customer? NICE Customer eXperience Analytics (NICE | cXa) created the digital and analytical transformation necessary for organizations to monopolize the global consumer-centric economy.

Their commitment to end-to-end visualizations of the customer journey has greatly helped organizations recognize pain points and engage insights to transform customer experiences. This is how they won the Silver Stevie Award for Best Cloud Contact Center Technology and the Bronze Stevie Award for Sales Performance Management Suite in the 2017 Stevie Award for Sales & Customer Service.

Elevating the Standard of Customer Journeys

NICE_CXA_200X200-(2).jpgAttempting to elevate the standard of customer journeys more broadly, using both innovative technologies and practical thought leadership, is a real challenge. Robert Zoch, head of Customer Journey Solutions, believes their ‘Total Voice of the Customer and Customer Journey Solutions’ are the most capable tools now available for helping large businesses optimize their customer experiences. Zoch shares why winning a Stevie matters in their industry.

“We can make our case loudly and continuously, but the judgment of professionals through the Stevie Awards will always mean more for a great many enterprise technology users.”

Keeping Up with Continuous Change

It's become imperative for brands to have technologies keep up an expanding array of channels by which customers interact with brands. NICE knows customers want low-effort experiences that are enabled by capable self-service tools; but NICE also knows they need to ensure brands can live up to these expectations. Zoch says NICE is proud of how long they’ve been able to meet these demands.

“NICE celebrated 30 years as a global brand. Our particular division finished 2016 with a bang, forging contracts to provide several global brands with Customer Journey Solutions. Among other highlights, we were able to demonstrate an annual ROI surpassing $130 million for five such brands, which include telecommunications, healthcare and financial services. That type of performance is hard to ignore, and these awards represent another rung in our climb to market dominance.”

People are Key to Our Business Success

NICE believes their client relationships are "partnerships," and not only does this help ensure they achieve their goals, but also provides insights to continuously refine solutions to serve the needs of their marketplace. Zoch explains how placing a strong emphasis on customer success with a special team ensures their technologies’ best practices and strategies to accomplish their goals.

“Our value proposition lies in helping brands understand their customer journeys, and fittingly, we apply that same principle to the way we interact with our customers.”

Zoch continues to say they also have a strong commitment to their own people and they're proud to offer benefits to their employees that “many companies do not have.” Just some of the benefits they offer include: paid travel insurance, legal and pet insurance, generous paternity leave, benefits for children with disabilities and much more.

“As a collective body we are deeply committed. So, we respect and listen to each other, drawing from our experiences and learning from our respective skills and backgrounds. That’s why people want to work at NICE.”

Topics: customer service awards, sales awards, stevie awards for sales and customer service, contact center awards, Customer Service Team of the Year

Nominate Your Customer Service and Contact Center Stars

Posted by Michael Gallagher on Thu, Sep 22, 2016 @ 10:14 AM

The 11th Annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service recognize the achievements of contact center, customer service, business development and sales professionals worldwide. Entries for the 2017 competition are now being accepted.

October 19 is the early-bird entry deadline with discounted entry fees. The entry deadline is November 16, but late entries will be accepted through January 11 with payment of a late fee. Winners of the eleventh annual competition will be announced at a gala awards banquet on February 24 at Caesars Palace Hotel in Las Vegas.

REVIEW THE ENTRY KIT HERE.

SASCS_15_blog_image-1.jpgToday we will highlight the Customer Service and Contact Center Individual awards categories.

The customer service and contact center individual categories recognize individual contact center and customer service 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, 2015. 
(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. Front-Line Customer Service Professional of the Year
    Recognizing the achievements of customer service professionals who directly engage customers. This category is split into five separate categories:
    a. Business Services Industries: recognizes achievements of professionals in business services industries such as advertising, consulting, marketing, public relations, recruiting, etc.
    b. Financial Services Industries: recognizes the achievements of professionals in the accounting, banking, financial services, insurance, etc. industries.
       c. Other Service Industries: recognizes achievements of professionals in services industries such as financial services, healthcare, hospitality & leisure, legal, media & entertainment, real estate, retail, etc.
       d. Technology Industries: recognizes achievements of professionals in technology industries such as computer software, computer services, computer hardware, internet/new media, and telecommunications.
       e. All Other Industries: recognizes achievements of professionals in all industries not covered by the other Front-Line Customer Service Professional of the Year categories.
  2. Back-Office Customer Service Professional of the Year
    Recognizing the achievements of customer service professionals who work behind the front lines of customer service organizations for their achievements since the beginning of July 2015.

    57. Young Customer Service Professional of the Year
    Recognizing the achievements of customer service professionals under the age of 30.

    58. Customer Service Manager of the Year
    Recognizing the achievements of customer service managers and service professionals with a managerial role at organizations of any size, of any type.

    59. Customer Service Leader of the Year
    Recognizing the achievements of senior customer service and call center executives.

    60. Contact Center Professional of the Year
    Recognizing the achievements of non-executive professionals who work in a call or contact center.
  3. Contact Center Manager of the Year
    Recognizing the achievements of contact or call center managers for their achievements since the beginning of July 2015.
  4. Contact Center Leader of the Year
    Recognizing the achievements of senior contact or call center executives for their achievements since the beginning of July 2015.

Customer Service and Contact Center Individual Stevie winners in 2016 include:

Front-Line Customer Service Professional of the Year - Financial Services Industries 
GOLD STEVIE WINNERS:
eMoney Advisor, LLC, Conshohocken, PA USA: Jennifer Collins, Success Coach
eMoney Advisor, LLC, Conshohocken, PA USA: Joseph Pearson, Client Support Specialist
SILVER STEVIE WINNER:
AllClear ID, Austin, TX USA: Benjamin Miller, Senior Licensed Investigator
BRONZE STEVIE WINNER:
Paycor, Inc.; Cincinnati, OH USA: Jon Southern, Implementation Solutions Manager

Front-Line Customer Service Professional of the Year - Other Service Industries 
GOLD STEVIE WINNER:
DHL Express United Arab Emirates, Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Juanita Santos, Contact Center Advisor
SILVER STEVIE WINNER:
DHL Express Bulgaria LTD, Sofia, Bulgaria: Radoslava Pavlova, Key Account Desk Advisor

...and more. See all Stevie winners here.

Topics: best customer service, customer service awards, stevie awards for sales and customer service, contact center awards

The 2016 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service Name Chairs for Final Judging

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Thu, Jan 28, 2016 @ 11:24 AM

The Stevie Awards are delighted to announce the seven distinguished professionals who will chair the final judging committees of the 2016 (10th annual) Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service competition.

The Stevie Awardsfor Sales & Customer Service are the world's top sales awards, customer service awards, business development awards, contact center awards, and more.

Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie placements from among the Finalists will be determined in final judging, which is ongoing  Results will be announced at the 10th annual awards dinner in Las Vegas on March 4.  Tickets are on sale now.

The seven committee chair selections are based on the categories being judged. Final judging chairs helped to form their committees, each of which will be comprised of 5-20 other executives.  Here are this year's final judging committee chairs.

SALES TEAM/SALES ACHIEVEMENT/SERVICE PROVIDER
Chair: Rob Jeppsen, Senior Vice President & General Manager, HireVue Accelerate

HireVue, Inc., South Jordan, Utah

Rob-Jeppson.jpgRob Jeppsen is a senior executive at HireVue, a fast-growth technology company that is launching a game-changing tool for Sales Leaders worldwide, and aims to revolutionize how sales leaders coach their teams and develop the world's greatest sales teams. Prior to joining HireVue, Rob was the SVP of Sales at Zions Bank from 2005 to 2015, where he helped lead a team of about 300 commercial bankers in a full-service offering of products to help grow and manage businesses.

Rob loves moving the Sales needle and has worked for, and consulted with, many organizations on sales, sales processes, leadership development, and the commercialization of new products and services, with emphasis on the technology and financial services sectors. Rob also enjoys building and driving growth of emerging organizations. He sees relationship development, business development, marketing, and corporate strategy as key ways to engineer value in organizations.

Rob is invited to speak at over 100 events each year. His 6-course training series, The Business Performance Series, was recognized as "Sales Training Curriculum of the Year"​ in the 2012 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service and has been successfully taught to over 900 businesses. Since 2007, Rob has received 15 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service in categories such as Sales Team of the Year, Sales Coaching Program of the Year, Sales Process of the Year, Sales Director of the Year, and Senior Sales Executive of the Year.

SALES DISTINCTION/NEW PRODUCT & SERVICE
Chair: Mike Hart, Vice President, Sales, Lennox Residential

Lennox Industries, Inc., Richardson, Texas

Mike Hart serves as the Vice President of Sales for the residential division of Lennox International. Mike joined Lennox in 1994 and is responsible for leading the residential sales, business development, national account, and customer service teams in the United States and Canada.

16-SASCS-SD_NP-Chair-Mike-Hart.jpgMike has over 30 years of experience in sales, sales leadership, brand management, distribution, retail, general management, M&A, operations, and coaching with multiple brands and channels in the heating and air conditioning manufacturing industry. Mike also volunteers as a board member of the Air Conditioning Heating Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) Education and Training Committee. He also contributes as a board member on the sales advisory board and the marketing advisory board at the University of Texas at Dallas.

Mike has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management and Marketing from the University of Maryland, and a Master’s degree from the University of Texas at Dallas. He spends his time mentoring and developing his team, profitably growing and exceeding sales, margin, and earnings objectives, implementing effective people processes, creating a culture of growth, accountability and teamwork, improving productivity and efficiency, providing effective sales leadership and coaching, as well as exceeding market share objectives. His 762 member sales team is responsible for $1.65B in revenue.

CUSTOMER SERVICE SUCCESS & CUSTOMER SERVICE/CONTACT CENTER ACHIEVEMENT
Chair: Jo Wimble-Groves, Business Support Director

Active Digital, Lamberhurst, Kent, United Kingdom

Jo Wimble-Groves is a Director of the successful Kent-based company Active Digital, an award-winning business mobile communications company. Jo has spent the last 20 years of her career working on customer experience and team strategy. Her commitment to delivering an exceptional level of service and building her successful team has led to a number of European and global awards.

16-SASCS-CSA-Chair-Jo-Ann.jpgSince starting the company aged just 16, Jo credits her success to an innate passion, dedication, and zeal for business, along with an intuitive ability to identify good opportunities. Jo was voted “35 under 35” in Management Today magazine in 2010. Active Digital also named one of the “Top 6 Customer Service Business Leaders in Europe” at the European Contact Centre and Customer Service Awards in 2013. The company also won the Gold Stevie Award for Front-Line Customer Service Team of the Year - Technology Industries in the 2015 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.

Established in 1996, Active Digital clients include Olympic teams and rugby clubs. Its core business is providing mobiles, tablets, fixed line, and apps to UK organizations of all sizes.

CUSTOMER SERVICE/CONTACT CENTER INDIVIDUAL
Chair: Michael Anthony, Managing Director

OnForce (a division of Beeline), Jacksonville, Florida, USA

Michael_Anthony_Cus_Service_CSI.jpgMichael D. Anthony is General Manager of OnForce, a strategic business unit of Beeline. He is an innovative leader with more than 20 years of experience in the technical services industry. He is a passionate customer advocate who believes that a client-focused culture is the key to growing a successful business.

Michael joined Beeline in 2005 and recently transitioned from his role as VP, Client Services with Beeline to lead the OnForce business unit. Michael is a veteran of the U.S. Navy and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in applied mathematical economics from the State University of New York at Oswego.

SALES INDIVIDUAL/BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Chair: Jackie Coffey, CHIE, Vice President, Telemarketing
GuideWell Connect, Jacksonville, Florida

16_SASCS_SI_BDChair.jpgAs Vice President of Telemarketing, Jackie Coffey is responsible for the overall direct-to-consumer telesales capability serving numerous clients in the health care vertical for GuideWell Connect. Coffey leads the multi-channel sales contact center specializing in new acquisition, welcome programs and retention for Medicare, Under 65, small group, and ancillary products.

Prior to GuideWell Connect, Jackie worked with Florida Blue for 22 years holding leadership positions in sales, marketing, and communications with Florida Blue. Before Florida Blue, Jackie held advertising and marketing positions with Shepherd Advertising Group, Mease Hospital, and other health care companies.

Coffey holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from the University of Tampa, and she is a Certified Call Center Manager through Purdue University’s College of Call Center Excellence. Coffey is a Certified Health Insurance Executive (CHIE) and a 2013-14 graduate of the Executive Leadership Program sponsored by America’s Health Insurance Plans. In The 2014 International Business Awards, Jackie won the Bronze Stevie Award for Executive of the Year–Health Products & Services.

CUSTOMER SERVICE/CONTACT CENTER TEAM
Chair: Kadir Mustafa Öztürk, Executive Vice President, Alternative Delivery Channels & Digital Banking Projects

Intertech A.Ş., Istanbul, Turkey

After receiving his Bachelor of Science degree in engineering from Istanbul Technical 16-SASCS-CST-Chair-Kadir-Mustafa.jpgUniversity in 2000, Kadir worked at various companies on website development. In 2003, he started at DenizBank A.Ş. as a software engineer. In 2005, Kadir joined Intertech A.Ş. as a software engineer, fulfilling his duties in Internet Banking and Web Projects at Alternative Distribution Channels Department. He was named ADC Department Head in July 2010. In this position he has led many successful projects in Internet/Mobile Banking and CRM fields.

In August 2012, Kadir was promoted to the position of Executive Vice President in charge of ADC and Digital Banking Projects at Intertech A.Ş. He is responsible for Channel Management, Internet Banking, Mobile Banking, ATM and Kiosks, Call Center, User Experience, and Design Teams under the globally awarded inter-Vision product of Intertech A.Ş. He is currently running local and international banking projects.

Kadir is married with two children. He enjoys spending his leisure time on world cinema and history of moviemaking.

 

CUSTOMER SERVICE DEPARTMENT
Chair: Rebecca V. Eclipse, Chief Customer Experience Officer, 
Globe Telecom, Inc., Bonifacio Global City, The Philippines

16-SASCS-CSD-Chair-Rebecca-Eclipse.jpgRebecca V. Eclipse is the Executive Vice President and Chief Customer Experience Officer of Globe Telecom, Inc., and heads the Office of Strategy Management and Customer Experience.  

Responding to the speed of change and evolution of the telecommunications space, Rebecca draws wisdom and insight from 5 years in consulting and over 25 years of experience in the telco industry–from financial management, revenue assurance and fraud, internal controls, and business operations to strategy development and management, process and quality management,and, more importantly today, customer experience transformation.

Topics: customer service awards, sales awards, stevie awards for sales and customer service, contact center awards, business development awards, solution provider awards

Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service Announce Finalists in 10th Annual Competition

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Thu, Jan 21, 2016 @ 11:00 AM

Finalists in the 10th Annual Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service, an international competition recognizing excellence in disciplines that are crucial to business success, were announced today.    

Deutsche-Post-DHL.jpgA 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. Organizations with five or more Finalist nominations include Carbonite, Inc., Cisco Systems, Delta Air Lines, DHL Express, Digital Risk, eMoney Advisor, LLC, GuideWell Connect, HomeServe USA, Human Resources Development Fund, iHeartMedia, Inc., John Hancock Financial Services, Lennox Industries, Inc., LiveWatch Security LLC, Marriott Vacations Worldwide, MTM Inc., Nuance Communications, Odeabank, Revana, Sales Partnerships, Inc., SoftPro, SurePayroll, Inc., Turkiye Is Bankasi A.S., Visualize, VIZIO, Inc., Wells Fargo, WePay Inc., and Wyndham Vacation Ownership. 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, March 4 at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel 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 2,100 nominations from organizations of all sizes and in virtually every industry were evaluated in this year’s competition, an increase of 11% over 2015. Finalists were determined by the average scores of 115 professionals worldwide, acting as preliminary judges. Entries were considered in 59 categories for customer service and contact center achievements, including Contact Center of the Year, Award for Innovation in Customer Service, and Consulting Practice of the Year; more than 50 categories for sales and business development achievements, ranging from Senior Sales Executive of the Year to Business Development Achievement of the Year; and categories to recognize new products and services and solution providers.

More than 60 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 25.

Beginning today through February 12, 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 March 4.

Sponsors of the 10th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service include Sales Partnerships and ValueSelling Associates.

 

Topics: customer service awards, Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, sales awards, stevie awards for sales and customer service, contact center awards, business development awards, Finalists

How a Stevie Award Winner’s Strategy Contributed to DHL’s Success

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Thu, Nov 20, 2014 @ 09:53 AM

Strategy to Revenue, a global sales performance company, won a Gold Stevie® Award in the Sales Awards categories of the 2014 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, the world's top sales and customer service awards program. The 2015 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service are currently accepting entries. 

GET THE ENTRY KIT HERE.  

Strategy to RevenueStrategy to Revenue’s Stevie Award winning nomination outlines how they worked with DHL Global Forwarding to achieve sales excellence. We talked with Matt Downes, Executive Vice President of Global Sales & Marketing, about what his company is doing to help its clients, and what he brought back from his experience at the Sales & Customer Service Awards in Las Vegas last February.

To provide some background on his company’s mission and vision, Matt explained that the company was established in 2008 and named Strategy to Revenue (STR) in order to telegraph that sales training should be deployed both to support the implementation of a company’s go-to-market strategy and to deliver revenue in line with the business plan. Said Matt: “We believe sales training is important only if it improves aligned sales performance and accelerates revenue.”

The founders of STR had many years of experience in leading premier sales training companies that provided sales effectiveness solutions to global organizations in transformation. “Our collective experiences have directly informed our point of view and our approach,” Matt told us.

A True Partnership

We asked Matt what winning a Gold Stevie® Award had meant to his company.  He told us that it had been a tremendous accolade for STR.  “The award is recognition that our innovative thinking and our approach to tackling the sales performance challenge head on is working,” he said. “What makes it extra special is winning this award in collaboration with our client DHL, as we have managed to develop a true partnership in supporting their growth strategy where the sales organization is at the heart of this success.”

He added: “Without doubt, the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service is one of the most respected and well known awards in the sales training and performance industry, so to be ranked up alongside other leading companies is fantastic for STR.”

Innovative Thinking

We asked Matt for some insight into his company’s innovative thinking. “We think few sales enablement or training programs have delivered the intended business impact because most training providers have failed to address obstacles in sales performance improvement,” he told us.  The examples he cited include:

- a lack of individual and team motivation to learn;

- inability to transfer learning into behavioral change in the field;

- difficulty in integrating new marketing collateral and product/service information into sales activity;

- poorly implemented tools supporting misaligned processes;

- inability to adapt to different customer requirements and situations; and

- lack of sales organizational/cultural alignment. 

Collaboration is Key

Continued Matt: “We also recognize the changing role of the Salesperson and, perhaps more importantly, the Sales Manager, as well as the increasing contribution that technology makes to learning. These obstacles present challenges to be resolved. This is our mission: to accelerate revenue by addressing these issues head on and resolving them. We can only do this in collaboration with our clients and other suppliers, so collaboration is key.”

A Source of Competitive Advantage

“Our continued focus is to work with our global clients to create sales performance programs that are motivating, embrace the culture of the organization, and are seen by the Sales team as a source of competitive advantage,” Matt explained. “In the right circumstances, we believe that Salespeople will take responsibility for improving their performance and see learning as a formidable tool to help them.”

Improving Sales Performance

We asked Matt for some tips on how companies can improve their sales performance.  Following are some of his suggestions:

“Making a shift in sales behavior and productivity in the sales organization continues to be one of the hottest topics for every company out there.” suggested Matt. “What has become absolutely evident over recent years is that without sales leadership and first-line sales management alignment and com-mitment to any sales training initiative, the chances of a successful impact on sales performance are slim. 

“We have seen this happen all too often at companies that invest in high profile programs such as value-selling methodologies, value-proposition messaging, sales skills, or business acumen.  When they review the impact 12 months later, they recognize that it didn’t move the needle.”

Pipeline Management

According to Matt, there are two things that STR is absolutely focused on and which the company believes will help tackle this: 

“Firstly, investment into the sales management to ensure a consistent cadence and approach to pipeline management, and performance coaching aligned to the business metrics driving revenue and margin.  Sales Managers need to be able to anticipate potential issues in the pipeline before it’s too late, and then translate that into positive action through coaching. 

“Secondly, a ‘Certification’ approach to any sales training program that hits the field and a focus on evi-dence and observation that a change in sales behavior is taking place.”

Comments Matt: “I would argue that for every training dollar you spend, 30% should be focused on ensuring it is adopted in the field, otherwise the other 70% is being wasted. If companies can get these two things right–and at the same time ensure they have a solid customer-aligned Sales Process, sales tools automated inside the CRM, skills curriculum and effective proposition messaging, and collateral from marketing–then the chances of success are significantly improved.”

A Perspective on Sales Performance

We asked Matt if there were any online tools he found particularly useful in his work. “There are so many blogs out there right now covering thought leadership, insights, and opinions on the sales performance challenge,” Matt told us.  “I find the Top Sales World website very good as it brings together a number of thought leaders and blogging sites that all have good perspectives.  We also have our own STR Google+ site, where we comment on interesting blogs and post our own insights.  Check it out!”

Making A Difference

Finally, we asked Matt what personally motivated and inspired him about his work. “What keeps us all inspired is constantly looking to push the envelope when it comes to motivating sales organizations to improve their performance,” he told us. “The combination of talent inside STR–including our sales best practice experts, our content and creative designers, and our multimedia and learning technologies team–means we have all the ingredients to bring new thinking to market quickly and to execute these solutions with our clients to make a difference.  Not many companies can do that!”

About Matt Downes

Matt is one of the founders of STR and leads Global Sales & Marketing for the company.  Prior to STR, Matt spent eight years working for other global sales training and performance companies engaging with Fortune 500 companies.  During that time, Matt lived in the US and led a sales transformation practice before returning to the UK to launch STR in 2008. 

Outside of work, Matt is passionate about sport and is kept busy enjoying life with his wife Rosie and their three children Joe, Olly, and Bella.  Matt holds a BSc in Business Information Technology Manage-ment.

About Strategy to Revenue

Strategy to Revenue designates itself the 'Revenue Acceleration' company, delivering strategic consultation and sales execution programs that help businesses transform the way their sales forces sell. STR has created a unique position in the sales training industry by combining sales and management best practice, instructional and creative design expertise, and technology and broadcast media to make sales performance programs engaging and motivational for the sales force. For more information, go to: www.strategytorevenue.com

Topics: customer service awards, business awards, sales awards, contact center awards, business development awards

Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service Issues Call for Entries

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Mon, Nov 03, 2014 @ 11:13 AM

The Stevie® Awards, organizer of the world’s premier business awards programs, has issued a call for entries for the 2015 (9th annual) Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service

Stevie Award WinnersGET THE ENTRY KIT HERE.   

All customer service, contact center, business development, and sales departments, teams and professionals worldwide are eligible to be nominated, in addition to new products and services used by those professionals. The 2015 awards will recognize achievements since July 1, 2013.

The entry deadline is November 19, but late entries will be accepted through January 13 with payment of a late fee. Winners of the ninth annual competition will be announced at a gala awards banquet on February 27 at the Bellagio in Las Vegas.

The 2015 program offers new categories for business development professionals including Business Development Executive of the Year, Business Development Professional of the Year (for non-executive professionals), and Business Development Achievement of the Year.

The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service feature more than 135 sales awards, customer service awards, business development awards, new product awards, and call center 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 Operations Professional of the Year
  •     Sales Team categories like Global Sales Team of the Year and Field Sales Team of the Year
  •     Sales Achievement categories such as Sales Turnaround of the Year and Outbound Marketing Program of the Year
  •     Sales Department of the Year 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 Customer Service Management 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
  •     New Product and Service categories like Best New Business Intelligence Solution and Best New Relationship Management Solution
  •     Solution Provider categories such as Sales Consulting Practice of the Year and Incentive, Rewards, or Recognition Provider of the Year

2015 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 voting.

Winners of the 2014 edition of the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service include Cars.com, Comcast, CubeSmart, Delta Air Lines, Etiya, eZCom Software, FedEx, HubSpot, Kohl’s Department Stores – Credit Division, OfficeDepot, SAVO, ShopKeep POS, Vestmark, and VIZIO, Inc., among others.

The 2015 competition will be judged by more than 200 professionals around the world.

The 2015 entry kit and a complete history of the awards program are available at http://www.StevieAwards.com/Sales.

About The Stevie Awards:
The Stevie Awards are conferred in six programs: The American Business Awards, the German Stevie Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, and the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at http://www.StevieAwards.com, and follow the Stevie Awards on Twitter @TheStevieAwards.

Sponsors of the 2015 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service include ValueSelling Associates.

Topics: customer service awards, business awards, stevie awards, new product awards, sales awards, contact center awards

A Simple Methodology Spells Sales Success for Stevie® Awards Final Judging Chair

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Wed, Jan 29, 2014 @ 02:33 PM

Mike Ortegon, Director of Global Sales Operations at HomeAway, a Stevie® Award-winning online marketplace of vacation rentals based in Austin, Texas, will Chair the Final Judging Committee for the Customer Service and Contact Center Team categories of the 2014 Stevie®ST SD Chair ORTEGON Awards for Sales & Customer Services, the world's premier sales awards and customer service awards. The results will be announced on February 21 at the gala awards banquet in Las Vegas. We talked to Mike about the challenges facing today’s sales teams.

“Today’s sales professionals are challenged by savvy customers and prospects,” says Mike Ortegon, Director of Global Sales at HomeAway.  “Thanks to digital and social media advancements, they have many channels of information and are consequently better informed during the purchase cycle. As a result, it is essential for sales professionals to stay one step ahead in preparation, to anticipate upselling and cross-selling opportunities, and to be consultative throughout the process.”

We asked him what steps he would recommend companies should take to establish standardized sales procedures across countries and regions. “You might be prone to think a unique product or service requires a special sales process,” Mike told us. “Some may even argue the selling process has to continually change, but my experience is that the change is occurring in the buying process, as noted above. Today’s buyers are more informed than ever.”

Simplified Methodology

“Many sales people are familiar with the ‘four, five, six, seven...sales cycle’ methodologies,” added Mike. “In reality, each of these can be boiled down to four steps: Qualify; Research; Propose; and Close. A simplified methodology enables people to focus on the sale, not the process.”

Concluded Mike: “It is always important to pay close attention to cultural differences, although just because someone speaks a different language doesn’t mean a different sales process is needed. For example, in some countries such as Southern Europe and Asia, face-to-face selling is a common practice, while other cultures are fine with a phone call. In any scenario, you still need to qualify, research, propose and close.”

Benefits of a Stevie® Award
HomeAway won a Gold Stevie® for Sales Operations Team of the Year in The 2013 Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service. As Chair of one of this year’s Final Judging Committees, he is fully aware of the benefits of being a winner.

“Winning the Stevie® Award really brought to light the effectiveness of the HomeAway team in their first year together,” Mike told us.  “It brought about an even greater appreciation for the experience, talent, and determination possessed by each individual. It was great to be rewarded for our hard work and, ultimately, the team had better camaraderie and became even more motivated to improve sales effectiveness.”

Added Mike: “Winning the Stevie® Award in 2013 showcased the HomeAway sales team’s focus on adding value to the organization through industry-leading tools and best practices.”

Creating Lasting Memories

We asked Mike what most inspired him about his role at HomeAway.  His simple answer: he gets his inspiration from the HomeAway team and product. “We have fantastic people who are passionate about their work,” he told us. “Ours is a product that helps families and groups find their ideal getaway and focus on the most important part of traveling together: creating lasting memories.”

About Mike Ortegon:

Mike Ortegon joined HomeAway in March 2012 and is the Director of Global Sales Operations. In this role he is responsible for supporting sales leaders across the globe with tools, training, and sales insights to help make well-informed business decisions; and to run effective and efficient teams while aligning to corporate strategy.

Previously, Mike worked for Harte-Hanks as Global Account Director focusing on multichannel, data-driven solutions for Fortune 100 companies. Throughout his career, Mike has been in management, operational, and sales and marketing roles in North America, EMEA, Latin America, and APAC.

About HomeAway:
HomeAway is the world’s leading online marketplace of vacation rentals, with sites representing more than 773,000 paid listings of vacation rental homes in 171 countries. Through HomeAway, owners and property managers offer an extensive selection of vacation homes that provide travelers with memorable experiences and benefits, including more room to relax and added privacy, for less than the cost of traditional hotel accommodations. The company also makes it easy for vacation rental owners and property managers to advertise their properties and manage bookings online.

Topics: customer service awards, stevie awards, business award, sales awards, stevie awards for sales and customer service, contact center awards

Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service Announce Finalists in 8th Annual Competition

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Thu, Jan 23, 2014 @ 10:59 AM

SASCS logoFinalists in the 8th Annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, the world’s top honors for customer service, contact center, business development, and sales professionals, 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, and sales awards categories.  Organizations with Finalists in multiple categories include AllClear ID, Bluegreen Vacations, Cars.com, Delta Air Lines, DHL Express, EMKAY, FedEx TechConnect, Canada's FreshBooks, John Hancock, Lennox Industries, LiveAnswer, Marriott Vacation Club, Marsh U.S. Consumer, Parlant Technology, PetRays Veterinary Telemedicine Consultants, Property Insight, Richardson, Salesforce, SoftPro, SurePayroll, Inc., Turkey's Turk Economy Bank, ValueSelling Associates, VIZIO, Inc., Turkey's Vodafone, and Wyndham Vacation Ownership. 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 21 at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Nevada.  Tickets are now on sale.

More than 1,500 nominations from organizations of all sizes and in virtually every industry were evaluated in this year’s competition, an increase of 36% over 2013.  Finalists were determined by the average scores of 129 professionals worldwide, acting as preliminary judges.  Entries were considered in 43 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; 43 categories for sales and business development achievements, ranging from Senior Sales Executive of the Year to Sales Training or Coaching Program of the Year to Sales Department of the Year; and categories to recognize new products and services and solution providers. 

More than 100 members of seven specialized judging committees will determine the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award placements from among the Finalists during final judging, to take place January 27 - February 5.  

Beginning today, the general public will be able to cast their votes for their favorite providers of good customer service in the People’s Choice Stevie® Awards for Favorite Customer Service Department.  Voting is open at http://www.stevieawards.com/Service.peopleschoice. Winners of the People’s Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite Customer Service in multiple industries will be determined in mid-February and honored at the awards gala in Las Vegas on February 21.

About The Stevie Awards
Stevie Awards are conferred in five programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.  A sixth program, the German Stevie Awards, will debut later this year.  Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide.  Learn more about The Stevie Awards at www.StevieAwards.com.

Sponsors and supporters of the eighth annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service include the BusinessTalkRadio Network, Competence Call Center, and ValueSelling Associates.


Topics: sales excellence, best customer service, best sales department, business awards, stevie awards, Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, company awards, contact center awards, customer service excellence, Customer Service Team of the Year, award-winning customer service, best sales practices, peoples choice stevie awards, sales award, Sales & Customer Service, sales team awards

1 Week to Sales & Customer Service Awards Final Entry Deadline

Posted by Michael Gallagher on Tue, Jan 07, 2014 @ 12:34 PM

Submit your entries today at www.StevieAwards.com/Sales

Tuesday, January 14 is the final entry deadline for the 2014 (8th annual) Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. These are the world's top honors for contact center, customer service, business development, and sales professionals. All organizations and individuals worldwide are eligible to submit entries.

Review the entry kit now - you'll find it online, here. The entry kit contains all of the information you'll need to be able to prepare and submit entries to the 2014 awards.

BellagioThere's a lot that's new and different for the awards this year, including our new Grand Stevie Award trophy.

Finalists will be announced on January 22.  All Finalists will ultimately be named Gold, Silver, or Bronze Stevie Award winners.  The winners will be announced during a gala banquet at the Bellagio in Las Vegas on Friday, February 21.  (Attendance isn't required to win.)

The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service feature categories to recognize achievement in every aspect of the worklife of sales, business development, contact center, and customer service professionals:

  • Individual Sales Performers
  • Sales Teams and Departments
  • Sales Achievements
  • Individual Customer Service and Contact Center Performers
  • Customer Service/Contact Center Achievements
  • Customer Service Departments
  • Solution Providers to Sales and Customer Service Professionals
  • New Products and Services used by sales and customer service professionals

Don't hesitate to contact us with your questions about how to participate in the 2014 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.

P.S.  Need a few extra days to enter?  Contact us.

Topics: sales excellence, customer service awards, business awards, stevie awards, sales awards, excellent customer service, contact center awards, customer service excellence

10 Days Until Sales Awards & Customer Service Awards Early-Bird Deadline

Posted by Michelle Rutkowski on Mon, Sep 30, 2013 @ 04:50 PM

Wednesday, October 9 is the early-bird entry deadline, with discounted entry fees, for the 2014 (8th annual) Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. These are the world's top honors for contact center, customer service, business development, and sales professionals. All organizations and individuals worldwide are eligible to submit entries.

The Stevie Awards For Sales Review the entry kit now - you'll find it online. The entry kit contains all of the information you'll need to be able to prepare and submit entries to the 2014 awards.

If you miss the early-bird deadline, the final entry deadline is November 13, and late entries will be accepted through January 14 with payment of a late fee.

There's a lot that's new and different for the awards this year, including our new Grand Stevie Award trophy .

The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service feature categories to recognize achievement in every aspect of the worklife of sales, business development, contact center, and customer service professionals. Category changes and additions for 2014 include the fact that it is now free to enter the Sales Meeting of the Year category. The following categories have been split into multiple categories based on industry:

  • Sales Representative of the Year
  • Front-Line Customer Service Professional of the Year
  • Front-Line Customer Service Team of the Year
  • Back-Office Customer Service Team of the Year
  • Contact Center of the Year (Up to 100 Seats)
  • Contact Center of the Year (100 or More Seats)
  • Award for Innovation in Customer Service
  • Customer Service Department of the Year - Computer Software has been split into two categories, based on the number of employees in the entire organization

Selected winners of the 2013 Stevie Awards For Sales & Customer Service included:

The following professionals led the final judging committee for the 2013 awards:
  • Customer Service & Contact Center Individual & Achievement
    Chair: Angela Blevins, Vice President of Customer Care, Bluegreen Corporation, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
  • Solution Provider Chair: Robert P. Gillespie, Executive Vice President, Corporate Director of Employee Development & Training, New York Community Bancorp, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio, USA

  • Sales Team Chair: Robert Jeppsen, Senior Vice President of Commercial Sales, Zions First National Bank, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

  • Sales Department and Sales Achievement Chair: Fred Kessler, Founder, Sales Partnerships, Inc., Westminster, Colorado, USA

  • Sales Individual Chair: Corbett Kull, Senior Vice President of World Wide Sales & Market Development, PacketVideo Corporation, Palatine, Illinois, USA

  • Customer Service & Contact Center Team Chair: Jenifer Page, Senior Vice President of Operations, Paylocity, Arlington Heights, Illinois, USA

  • Customer Service Department Chair: Alice Sesay, Director of Customer Advocacy, Capital One, Dallas, Texas, USA

  • New Product & Service Chair: Mathias Strandberg, Head of Digital, Valtech, London, United Kingdom

If you'd like to apply to participate in the 2014 Stevie Awards For Sales & Customer Service judging, you can apply online.

Don't hesitate to contact us with your questions about how to participate in the 2014 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.

Topics: customer service awards, business awards, stevie awards, sales awards, excellent customer service, contact center awards, customer service excellence