Sales Awards Blog

Wednesday, November 14, is the entry deadline for the 2013 Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service, the world's top business awards for contact center, customer service, business development, and sales professionals. (If you can't make the November 14 entry deadline, entries will still be accepted through January 15, 2013 with payment of a $35 late fee per entry.)

All entries are submitted online. You can begin your submission process by requesting your entry kit here. The entry kit contains all of the instructions you need about how to prepare and submit your entries.

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

To make the most out of your entries, we suggest reviewing last year's Gold winning entries. 2012 winners include: Adam Bain, Chief Revenue Officer, Twitter, Inc. (Senior Sales Executive of the Year), Direct Alliance (Government Sales Team of the Year), Joey Romaine, Customer Service Role Model and Innovator, Groupon (Young Customer Service Professional of the Year), United Parcel Service, Inc. (Front-Line Customer Service Team of the Year), and eCornell (Customer Service Department of the Year), among others. A complete list of 2012 honorees is available at www.StevieAwards.com/Sales.

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

Need help submitting entries to the 2013 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service?  Email us at help@stevieawards.com  or call us at + 1 703-547-8389.

Next Wednesday, November 14, is the entry deadline for the 2013 Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service, the world's top business awards for contact center, customer service, business development, and sales professionals. (If you can't make the November 14 entry deadline, entries will still be accepted through January 15, 2013 with payment of a $35 late fee per entry. You can request your entry kit here.)

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

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

Winners of the most recent edition of the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service included New York Community Bancorp, Inc. (Customer Service or Call Center Training Practice of the Year), Rob Jeppsen, Zions First National Bank (Sales Director of the Year), International Checkout Inc. (Telesales Team of the Year), Office Depot, Inc. (Customer Service Complaints Team of the Year), OppenheimerFunds Inc. (Contact Center of the Year), and SquareTrade Inc (Customer Service Department of the Year - Financial Services), among others. A complete list of 2012 honorees is available at www.StevieAwards.com/Sales.

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

Not sure which categories to enter?  Email us at help@stevieawards.com  or call us at + 1 703-547-8389 and we'll get back to you right away.

Today, Wednesday, October 10, is the early-bird entry deadline for the 2013 Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service, the world's top business awards for contact center, customer service, business development, and sales professionals.  

To begin your submission process, you should:

1. Request an entry kit.
The entry kit contains all of the information you'll need to be able to prepare and submit entries to this year's awards.

2. Review the categories.
The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service has more than 125 sales awards and customer service awards categories honoring sales excellence and best customer service practices for individuals, teams, and departments, plus categories this year for products and service and solution providers.

3. Submit your entries.
Select your categories, write your submissions according to the instructions, and submit your entries. All entries are submitted online. You can begin by registering here.

The entry deadline for the 2013 awards is November 14. Late entries will be accepted through January 15, 2013, with payment of a $35 late fee per entry.  Winners of the competition will be announced at an awards banquet at Paris Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, on February 25, 2013.

2012 winners include: Adam Bain, Chief Revenue Officer, Twitter, Inc. (Senior Sales Executive of the Year), Direct Alliance (Government Sales Team of the Year), Joey Romaine, Customer Service Role Model and Innovator, Groupon (Young Customer Service Professional of the Year), United Parcel Service, Inc. (Front-Line Customer Service Team of the Year), and eCornell (Customer Service Department of the Year), among others. A complete list of 2012 honorees is available at www.StevieAwards.com/Sales.

Need help answering  your early-bird questions?  Email us at help@stevieawards.com  or call us at + 1 703-547-8389 and we'll get back to you right away.

The early-bird deadline for the 2013 Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service, the world's top business awards for contact center, customer service, business development, and sales professionals, is quickly approaching on October 10.

If you haven't already done so, you can request your entry kit here.

The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service has more than 125 sales awards and customer service awards categories honoring sales excellence and best customer service practices for individuals, teams, and departments, plus categories this year for products and service and solution providers.

The entry deadline for the 2013 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service is November 14.  Late entries will be accepted through January 15, 2013, with payment of a $35 late fee per entry.  Winners of the competition will be announced at an awards banquet at Paris Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, on February 25, 2013.

2012 winners include, among others: New York Community Bancorp, Inc. (Customer Service or Call Center Training Practice of the Year), Rob Jeppsen, Zions First National Bank (Sales Director of the Year), International Checkout Inc. (Telesales Team of the Year), Office Depot, Inc. (Customer Service Complaints Team of the Year), OppenheimerFunds Inc. (Contact Center of the Year), and SquareTrade Inc (Customer Service Department of the Year - Financial Services). A complete list of 2012 honorees is available at www.StevieAwards.com/Sales.

Need help getting started? Contact us at help@stevieawards.com or call us at +1 703-547-8389.

There are nine sales awards categories specifically for teams in the 2013 (7th annual) Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service, the world's top business awards for contact center, customer service, business development, and sales professionals. (All organizations and individuals worldwide are eligible to submit entries for sales awards and customer service awards. The early-bird entry deadline, with discounted entry fees, is October 10; request your entry kit here.)

Our sales award categories specifically for teams include:

1. Global Sales Team of the Year
   Recognizing sales teams whose industry, client, or other focus has a global scope.
2. National Sales Team of the Year
   Recognizing sales teams whose industry, client, or other focus has a national scope.
3. Government Sales Team of the Year
   Recognizing sales teams whose charge is selling to government clients.
4. Field Sales Team of the Year
   Recognizing sales teams that obtain the majority of their business out of the office at face to face meetings with clients.
5. Telesales Team of the Year
   Recognizing sales teams that obtain the majority of their business by telephone.
6. Online Sales Team of the Year
   Recognizing sales teams that obtain the majority of their business via online and social media.
7. Sales Support Team of the Year
   Recognizing teams that provide administrative, logistical, or resource support to sales organizations.
8. Sales Operations Team of the Year
   Recognizing teams that help sales organizations to run effectively, efficiently and in support of business strategies and objectives.
9. Sales Management Team of the Year
   Recognizing the leadership teams of sales organizations for their achievements.

Information required for entries in these categories include:

1. An essay of up to 500 words describing the nominee’s accomplishments since July 1, 2011. 
2. A brief biography (up to 100 words) of the nominee.
3. 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.

2013 honorees will be celebrated at the 7th annual awards banquet at Paris Las Vegas, Nevada, USA on February 25.

Submit your entries by October 10 and receive discounted entry fees! All sales and customer service entries are submitted directly online through your account. You can begin by registering here.

There are eight sales awards categories specifically for individuals in the 2013 (7th annual) Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service, the world's top business awards for contact center, customer service, business development, and sales professionals. (All organizations and individuals worldwide are eligible to submit entries for sales awards and customer service awards. The early-bird entry deadline, with discounted entry fees, is October 10; request your entry kit here.)

Our sales award categories specifically for individuals include:

1. Senior Sales Executive of the Year
   Recognizing senior sales executives with titles such as Chief Sales Officer.  This category may also be used to recognize senior corporate executives for their role in driving sales achievements.
2. Worldwide Sales Executive of the Year
   Recognizing sales executives with responsibility for sales performance on a global level.
3. National Sales Executive of the Year
   Recognizing sales executives with responsibility for sales performance on a national level.
4. Sales Director of the Year
   Recognizing the achievements of sales directors at organizations of any size, of any type.
5. Sales Manager of the Year
   Recognizing the achievements of sales managers and sales professionals with a managerial role at organizations of any size, of any type.
6. Sales Operations Professional of the Year
   Recognizing sales executives and sales professionals with a managerial role for their achievements in managing sales organizations that run effectively, efficiently and in support of business strategies and objectives.
7. Sales Training or Education Professional of the Year
   Recognizing sales executives and sales professionals with a managerial role who manage, design, or deliver sales training or education in any aspect of work life.
8. Sales Representative of the Year
   Recognizing individual sales representatives for their personal contributions to organizations’ sales results.

Information required for entries in these categories include:

1. An essay of up to 500 words describing the nominee’s accomplishments since July 1, 2011. 
2. A brief biography (up to 100 words) of the nominee.
3. 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.

The 2012 Stevie Awards for Sales and Customer Service were celebrated in Las Vegas, NV, USA. 2011 honorees included: Adam Bain, Chief Revenue Officer, Jim Farley, Group VP for Global Marketing, Sales and Service, Weiming Soh, Director of Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand sales in China and the ASEAN region, Rob Jeppsen, SVP Commercial Sales, Zions Bank, Marina Totalca, Channel Sales Executive, Allan Rubin, Area Sales Engineering Leader, Avaya Southeast, and Mitsue Lincicum, Waikiki International Frontline Sales Agent.

2013 honorees will be celebrated at the 7th annual awards banquet at Paris Las Vegas, Nevada, USA on February 25.

Not sure where to start? All sales and customer service entries are submitted directly online through your account. You can begin by registering here.

The entry kit for the 2013 (7th annual) Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service is now available. 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 for sales awards and customer service awards.

Review the entry kit now -you'll find it online, here: http://www.stevieawards.com/pubs/entrykits/SASCS/SASCS13EntryKit.html

The entry kit contains all of the information you'll need to be able to prepare and submit entries to this year's awards.

The early-bird entry deadline, with discounted entry fees, is October 10. The final entry deadline is November 14, but late entries will be accepted through January 15 with payment of a late fee.

There's a lot that's new and different for the awards this year including new categories such as Best Use of Technology in Sales and Contact Center Manager of the Year. We've also added The Top 10 Awards, a new feature of the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service that will honor the ten organizations that submit the best body of work to the competition. To learn more about what's new and different for 2013, click here.

The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service feature a wide variety of categories to recognize best sales practices and customer service excellence including:

• Individual Sales Professionals
• Sales Teams
• Sales Achievements
• Sales Departments
• Individual Contact Center/Customer Service Professionals
• Customer Service/Contact Center Teams
• Customer Service Achievements
• Customer Service Departments
• New Products & Services
• Solution Providers
• and More

See all sales and customer service awards categories here.

Don't hesitate to contact us with your questions about how to participate in the 2013 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.

The Stevie® Awards is pleased to announce that videos clips of the 6th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, the world’s leading sales awards, customer service awards, and contact center awards program are now available to view on YouTube.

Watch the 2012 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service awards presentations here.

More than 350 professionals attended the business awards banquet which took place on Monday, February 27th at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. Our 2012 sales award & customer service award video clips showcase business award acceptance speeches made by individuals and organizations from around the world, including:

Rob Jeppsen of Zions Bank, Winner of the Gold Stevie Award for Sales Director of the Year
Rob's speech started the night off by recognizing the team effort behind all individual awards.

MarketBridge, Winner of the Gold Stevie Award for Sales Training or Coaching Program of the Year
MarketBridge's enthusiastic team accepts the Gold Stevie Award and expresses their gratitude for their strong partnerships.

Joey Romaine of Groupon, Winner of the Gold Stevie Award for Young Customer Service Professional of the Year
Honored for his efforts as a young professional, Joey Romaine keeps the awards show lively and the audience entertained.

Vodafone Turkey, Winner of the Gold Stevie Award for Sales Department of the Year, Telecommunications
Traveling from Istanbul, Turkey, Vodafone Turkey's humble speech brought to light the importance business awards have globally.

International Checkout Inc., Winner of the Gold Stevie Award for Telesales Team of the Year
Jackson Strobel, VP of Sales & Operations at International Checkout, and his "lean machine" sales team show the audience that size doesn't matter.

The 6th annual corporate awards banquet was the first to showcase our three levels of distinction: gold, silver and bronze as part of our 10th anniversary celebration. Previously, only overall category winners have received Gold Stevie Awards.

Want more sales and customer service awards celebration? Watch all acceptance speeches, listen to the live recording and view photos from the event.

Tom Schaff, Managing Partner of Big Swift Kick, is a member of one of the sales awards final judging committees for the 2012 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Final judging is now underway; sales excellence and customer service awards winners will be announced on February 27 at the 6th annual awards banquet in Las Vegas. Get your tickets here.

We asked Tom for some insights on what has influenced sales people the most over the past ten years.

What in your opinion has been the top business story of the past 10 years for sales people?
If you ask me, the biggest impact on salespeople and companies that sell over the last ten years is definitely the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

Why?
Companies buy differently now. Superstar salespeople need to sell to a whole different buying team.  What used to work doesn't anymore—especially if you are the little guy selling to a big company. 

Smart companies understand that, given the changes in buying, big companies are more afraid than ever of the small guy—but at the same time, they need their creativity and responsiveness. The exceptionally bright company has adjusted its sales processes away from the superstar rugged individual and instead doubled down on strategic processes that involve the selling team's executive management, supply chain, clients, and subject-matter experts. This adjustment to Sarbanes-Oxley has actually helped over 200 of our clients win their biggest deals in the history of their companies. Change can mean opportunity: Sarbanes Oxley, while difficult to implement, has been an incredible opportunity for those who have adjusted. Have you?

We had to ask: Why Big Swift Kick? 
After 17 years of performance consulting and training, my partner Andy Miller and I wanted to make a distinctive brand. We audited what made us different with clients and the answer that came up most often was: Candor. 

Further investigated, clients told us that our candor and straightforwardness, truth without apology, and real-world approach helped impact to happen faster. We quickly recognized that our favorite clients were the ones who needed us the least but wanted feedback the most. The least impacted clients were the ones who needed us the most—but couldn't handle the feedback. 

Big Swift Kick is for the CEO, VP, or HR executive who wants that "Big Swift Kick in the Acronym." Organizations that want to challenge the way things have always been done can count on us to honor what works, uncover what doesn't, and take massive action on areas of opportunity.

About Tom Schaff:
Tom Schaff is a managing partner of Big Swift Kick. He is also interim Chief Strategy Officer of Tony Robbins’ and Chet Holmes' consulting company, Business Breakthroughs International. He has worked with 62 of the Fortune 500 companies, a handful of the Inc 500, hundreds of privately held businesses, and a dozen private equity firms. A writer and thought leader on sales, Tom has assessed 30,000 sales people and organizational leaders. He is the official licensee of Tom "Whale Hunting" Searcy's compelling "big deal" selling system that has helped over 200 small companies win their largest-ever sales deals. Earlier in his career he co-founded Solution People, an innovation, creativity, training, and consulting firm, working with companies like Kraft, Unilever, McDonald's, AT&T, Quaker, and Kodak. Tom lives with his wife and two children in St Louis.

The final entry deadline for The 2012 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service is this Friday, November 18.

Start your submission process today! You can:

1. Request your entry kit here.
2. Review all of our sales and customer service categories. We have more than 90 categories, honoring sales excellence and customer service excellence for individuals, teams, and departments, plus new categories this year for products and service and solution providers.
3. Watch our helpful video tutorial on how to successfully enter submissions here.  
4. Review past winners' entries here.
5. Make the most out of your submissions and learn how to submit winning entries here.

Still have questions? Contact us at help@stevieawards.com, we'd love to answer your last minute questions!

Gonna miss the November 18 deadline?  Don't panic. Late entries will be accepted through January 18 with payment of $35/entry late fee.