Sales Awards Blog

We invite you to apply to be a preliminary-round judge for the 6th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Interested?  Apply here.

How does preliminary-round judging work?

• All sales award and customer service award judging take place in November 2011 - January 2012.
• All judging is done online so judges will be able to review nominations on their own time and at their own pace.
• Judges will be assigned categories based on their experience, function, and industry.
• There is no limit to how many (or how few) nominations judges can review.

What are the benefits of being a Stevie Awards judge?

• Judges get an inside look at how other organizations and individuals are achieving success and confronting challenges. 
• All active judges will receive a certificate of appreciation, suitable for framing.
• All judges will have a chance to win two free tickets to the February 2012 awards banquet in Las Vegas.

Need more information?

• Get the application form.
• Learn more about the judging and awards process.
• Meet the 2011 preliminary-round judges.
• Contact us at help@stevieawards.com.

Apply to be a judge and be a part of a worldwide coalition of business heroes.

What's your favorite reason for applying to be a 2012 Sales & Customer Service judge?

The following professionals have joined the sales awards final judging committee for the 2011 (5th annual) Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, the world's leading competition for sales awards, contact center awards, and customer service awards.

The final entry deadline for the 5th annual competition is December 31.  Get your entry kit here.

Johnny Anderson, VP-Sales, Bulldog Solutions
Damian Artt, Senior VP-Worldwide Sales and Services, Wind River
Kieran Callaghan, VP-Direct Sales, Dish Network
Bob Conlin, VP-Marketing & Business Development, Accero
John Cushman, VP eSales & Service, AT&T
Dan Dapper, VP of Worldwide Sales & Operations, Right Hemisphere
Brent Dierking, Director of Business Development, NorthStar EMS
Jessica Eker, VP, Global Life Sciences Practice, TransPerfect
Chris Harrington, VP Americas Enterprise & Omniture Channel Sales, Adobe Systems
Michael Haske, VP-Sales & Marketing, Paylocity
Paul Hoffman, President of Worldwide Field Operations, Informatica Corporation
Suzanne King, Director of Sales Operations, XO Communications
Shane Lewis, Assistant VP - Sales, Sundance Vacations
Chino Nakagome, CEO, Moon Cake Limited
Mitch Sobocinski, National Account Manager, DHL Express
Jeff York, Chief Sales Officer, Paycom

These distinguished sales professionals join the Board of Distinguished Judges & Advisors that will perform the final judging in late January to determine the 2011 Stevie Award winners, who will be announced at a banquet in Miami Beach, Florida on Monday, February 21.

The Stevie Awards are pleased to announce that the Sales Management Association has signed on as a sponsor of the 5th annual (2011) Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, which is accepting entries through December 31. This is the premier competition for sales awards and customer service awards in the world.

Get your entry kit for the awards here.

The SMA is a global, cross-industry professional organization for sales operations and sales management. The Sales Management Association promotes professional development, peer networking, best practice research, and thought leadership among professionals who support, manage, coach, and lead sales organizations. SMA provides on-line resources, tools, training, career development, and professional networking opportunities for members in 17 countries.

At the request of the SMA, a new category has just been added to the 2011 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, Sales Operations Leader of the Year. You'll find that category listed as #12 under the Individual Sales Categories.

SMA members get to enter four of the top Individual Sales Categories for free:

SMA members should contact SMA for the promotion code to submit to qualify for free submission.

Last but not least, sales awards honorees in the 2011 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service will be offered free membership in the Sales Management Association.

Finalists in the 2011 competition will be announced in mid-January, and the final results will be announced at a banquet at the Eden Roc Renaissance Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida on Monday, February 21.

One of the big changes/additions to the Stevie Awards this year is in our 5th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.  In the past this program honored only the achievements of sales, customer service, and call center professionals: individuals, teams, and entire departments.

For the 2011 awards (entries are being accepted now through the end of 2010), we've added a slew of new product awards categories in the SASCS.  We now have new product of the year categories as follows (the numbers are our internal categories codes):

90. Collaboration Solution – New
91. Collaboration Solution– New Version
92. Contact Center Solution – New
93. Contact Center Solution – New Version
94. IVR or Web Service Solution – New
95. IVR or Web Service Solution – New Version
96. Marketing Solution – New
97. Marketing Solution – New Version
98. Relationship Management Solution – New
99. Relationship Management Solution – New Version
100. Workforce Management Solution – New
101. Workforce Management Solution – New Version

Read the rest of this article...

I'm getting very excited about our next edition - the 5th - of the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, the world's premier program of sales awards, customer service awards, and call center awards. 

We had the early-bird deadline a few weeks back and entries submitted through that deadline were up about 25% from last year.  We have another deadline on November 12, and then we'll continue to accept late entries through the end of the year.  (The late penalty is just $35 per entry.)  If you don't have your entry kit yet, get it here.

I wrote the other week about all the new categories we have in the competition this year - check them out on the awards' web site.

Finalists will be announced in mid-January, and the program will culminate with an awards presentation and banquet at the lovely Eden Roc Renaissance Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida on Monday, February 21.  Some people have asked why we would schedule the event on a holiday (it will be President's Day in the U.S.A.), and we did that so that attendees can make a long weekend of it in the sun and surf of Miami Beach, without having to miss full day in the office!

Today I'd like to welcome ValueSelling Associates back as a sponsor of the 2011 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.  ValueSelling president Julie Thomas is a long-time support of the Stevie Awards, and we're delighted to have them back.  

From their web site: "ValueSelling Associates is the creator of the ValueSelling Framework, the sales methodology practiced by sales executives at FORTUNE 1000 companies around the globe. Through customized classroom instruction, e-learning, train-the-trainer and consulting, ValueSelling will arm your sales force with strategies, skills, tools and processes to:

• Increase revenue
• Access and dialogue with executive decision-makers
• Increase forecast accuracy
• Eliminate discounting
• Increase deal size"

We have several sponsorship slots still available.  To learn more, get our 2011 sponsorship guide.