Sales Awards Blog

As the November 18 deadline for The Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service approaches, we encourage everyone to submit their entries for the 2012 awards as soon as possible- get your entry kit here.

Here are the top 10 reasons why you should enter:

1. Great staff recognition. Applying for the Stevie Awards is a simple (and affordable) way to recognize your employees' sales excellence and customer service excellence.

2. Free publicity. Stevie Awards winners are not only recognized in an awards ceremony but receive acknowledgment globally via press coverage and our radio cast and Internet streaming. 

3. Company size equality. You don't have to be a big company to win a Stevie. Small organizations have just as much chance to win sales awards and customer service awards as big companies do. 

4. Flexible categories. There are dozens of categories for customer service, call center, contact center, and sales professionals, teams, and departments.  And there are a range of categories to recognize products and services and solution providers.

5. Networking opportunities. Stevie Award winners will be recognized during a gala awards dinner attended by executives from around the world.

6. Low entry fees. The entry fees are nominal compared to the publicity boon your firm can reap when you become a Stevie winner.

7. Earn industry status. The Stevie Awards for Sales and Customer Service is a great way to benchmark your achievements against competitors in your industry.

8. Oscar-like trophies. The Stevie Award trophies are magnificent - among the most coveted prizes in the world and produced by the same company that the Oscars use.

9. Great PR for your company. Stevie winners can get extra copies of their awards to share with employees, executives, and clients.

10. The Stevie Awards are the world's premier business awards - and you know you and your team deserve that kind of positive recognition.

What's your number one reason for applying for the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service?

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On Monday, February 21, more than 200 customer service, call center, and sales executives from the U.S.A. and several other countries will gather at the Eden Roc Renaissance Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida for the presentation of the 5th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.  Tickets are still on sale.

This is the world's premier sales awards and customer service awards competition. More than 800 entries were submitted this year, and 35% of them were recognized as Finalists through the scores of more than 50 preliminary judges. This year's Finalists are listed here - what do do you think of them as a group?

Can't get to Miami on Monday? Look for the announcement of the final results on the awards' web site on Tuesday morning.

Here are the organizations that have already booked their tickets for Monday's banquet.

Accenture BPO Services of BC  Vancouver BC Canada     
American Support  Chapel Hill NC
Archipelago Learning  Dallas  TX                 
Assurant Solutions  Atlanta  GA                
Assurant Solutions, Lawton, OK
Bronto Software Durham NC                        
Bulldog Solutions, Inc., Austin, TX
Capital One Financial Corporation  McLean  VA       
Carnival Cruise Lines  Miami  FL                  
Catapult Technology  Bethesda  MD                 
Ceridian Corporation  Minneapolis  MN                
ChannelAdvisor  Morrisville  NC               
CIGNA Government Services  Nashville  TN              
Comcast, Philadelphia, PA
Competence Call Center AG  Headquarters  Vienna Austria                               
Constant Contact, Waltham, MA
CustomInk.com  McLean  VA                
Cvent, McLean, VA
Daxko, Birmingham, AL
DeVry  Inc.  Oakbrook  IL
DiCentral Corporation  Houston  TX     
DYMO Endicia  Palo Alto  CA
eCornell  Ithaca  NY
EMKAY, Itasca, IL
Epicor Software Corporation, Irvine, CA
Everything Everywhere - Customer Operations (T-Mobile and Orange), United Kingdom               
Family Heritage Life Insurance Company of America  Cleveland  OH                               
Force3, Crofton, MD
Gazelle, Boston, MA
GlassHouse Technologies, Framingham MA       
IHG Salt Lake City UT
Infogroup  Omaha NE
Informatica Corporation Redwood City CA        
Information Builders, New York, NY      
iolo technologies  Los Angeles  CA       
Kraton Polymers, Houston, TX     
L-com Inc.  North Andover  MA
Litle & Co, Lowell, MA    
LiveOps, Santa Clara, CA
LivePerson, New York, NY
Marriott International  Bethesda  MD
Marriott Vacation Club International  Orlando  FL          
Marsh U.S. Consumer, Urbandale, IA
Mayo Medical Laboratories  Rochester  MN             
MD On-Line, Inc., Parsippany, NJ
Merchant Warehouse  Boston  MA                 
Métier  Ltd.  Santa Rosa  CA                      
Model Metrics, Chicago, IL
Mondial Assistance  Richmond  VA                 
Oakwood Temporary Housing  Los Angeles  CA           
Office Depot  Inc. Boca Raton  FL                 
OnStar, Detroit, MI
Overstock.com, Salt Lake City, UT
PAETEC Holding Corp.  Fairport  NY                 
Paycom Payroll LLC, Oklahoma City, OK
Paycor  Cincinnati  OH                    
Paylocity  Arlington Heights  IL                    
PetRays Veterinary Telemedicine Consultants, The Woodlands, TX        
PHH Arval  Sparks  MD                      
Portugal Telecom, Lisbon, Portugal        
Prescription Solutions/UnitedHealth Group, Irvine, CA
PSAV Presentation Services  Long Beach  CA          
Rosetta Stone, Arlington, VA
Safelite Solutions  Columbus OH
Sales Management Association  Atlanta GA            
SilkRoad technology, Winston-Salem, NC
Sundance Vacations  Wilkes Barre  PA              
SurePayroll  Glenview  IL                    
Tahitian Noni International  Provo  UT              
TATA Motors Ltd  India                
Telecom Italia SPA  Rome Italy               
Teva Neuroscience  Inc. Kansas City  MO             
The Brooks Group, Greensboro, NC
Toshiba America Business Solutions Inc., Irvine, CA     
TRUMPF Inc.  Farmington  CT            
TRX, Inc., Atlanta, GA               
US Postal Service Business Alliances, Southeastern, PA                           
USANA Health Sciences  Inc . West Valley  UT          
ValueSelling Associates, San Diego, CA      
Walker Advertising Inc, San Pedro, CA
Wheels  Inc.  Des Plaines  IL

The following professionals participated in preliminary-round judging of the 5th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service from November 2010 to January 2011.  Their average scores determined the Finalists in the sales awards, call center awards, and customer service awards categories.  We can't thank them enough for their work this year.  Entries were up more than 60% over last year, so they had their work cut out for them!  Special thanks to Frank Powell of PetRays and Shannon Russell of Seattle Pacific Industries, the two judges who scored the most entries and are thus the winners of two free tickets to the February 21 awards banquet in Miami Beach.

Cheryl Alaniz, Director, Member Services, Topco Associates LLC, Skokie, IL
John D. Allen, President/CEO, Allen Worldwide Solutions Ltd, St. Thomas, ON Canada
Jane Blackwell, Community Outreach Manager, High Point Bank & Trust, High, Point, NC
Jeffrey Brooks, Senior Manager, Support Services, Peak 10, Charlotte, NC
Dawn Collier, Customer Service Manager, Sunco Carriers, Lakeland, FL
Patricia Cotter, VP Worldwide Operations, Netezza Corporation, Marlborough, MA
Derek Cunningham, VP-Sales, DAXKO, Birmingham, AL
Jan Delory, President, Sales Vantage Point, Raleigh, NC
James Donovan, VP/General Manager, National Inside Sales, Cbeyond, Atlanta, GA
Carolyn K Edwards, Communications Consultant, London, United Kingdom
David Figueroa, Adoption Analyst, eSales & Service, AT&T, Bothell, WA
Heisha Freeman, VP, Client Development, Quantum Relocation Services, Dallas, TX
Michael Gerard, VP, Sales Advisory Practice, IDC, Framingham, MA
Steve Gershik, Chief Marketing Officer, The Brand, Art & Technology Studio, Beachwood, OH
Jaki Glenn, Regional Senior Sales Representative, Taleo Learn, Taleo, Belton, SC
Bob Gooderl, Associate VP - Client Services, Symetra Financial, Bellevue, WA
Shane Hallen, Regional Vice President, Sales, PAETEC, Plymouth Meeting, PA
Joshua Harris, Senior Director, Program Sales, Direct Alliance Corporation, Tempe, AZ
Bill Hicks, Director of Business Development, The Sales Management Association, Atlanta, GA
Marie Holliday, EFT-ADV, MAAMET, President, EFT Spain, Murcia, Spain
Dustin Johnson, Vice President of Sales Operations, Market Force Information, Norcross, GA
Amanda Kendall, VP of Customer Exeprience, Unionbay Sportswear, Kent, WA
Patti LaChapelle, Manager, Training and Development, Marriott International, Bethesda, MD
Rebecca Lane, President, Epitome Health and Beauty Ltd, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom
Seleste Lunsford, Executive Consultant, Sales Performance, AchieveGlobal, Tampa, FL
Robyn McNeely, Continuous Improvement Coordinator, CIGNA Government Services, Nashville, TN
Sharon Metzung, Publications & Graphics Manager, Lake Metroparks, Concord Township, OH
Jay Mitchell, Managing Director, Motum, LLC, Irving, TX
Alan Moak, VP & COO, Assurant Solutions, Atlanta, GA
Sean Murphy, Executive VP - eCommerce, CustomInk, McLean, VA
Reghunath Nair, Training Manager, Oman Insurance Company (PSC), Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Adam Patenaude, General Manager, Aloft Hotels, San Antonio, TX
Summer Poletti, Director of Client Relations, Payroll Tax Management, Inc., Santa Ana, CA
Matt Popinski, Director of Support Services, DAXKO, Birmingham, AL
Frank Powell, Marketing Director, PetRays, The Woodlands, TX
Bridgette Ridgeway, President & CEO, TaylorField, Brown Deer, WI
Peter Rifkind, Director of Client Service, UltraLinq Healthcare Solutions, Inc., New York, NY
Shannon Russell, Compliance Manager, Seattle Pacific Industries/Unionbay Sportswear, Kent, WA
Scott Sachs, Senior Director, Call Center Operations, Assurant, Wayne, PA
Stu Schlackman, Owner, Competitive Excellence, Richardson, TX
Kristina Schwende, Owner/Program Developer, Sabre Business Skills, Richmond, BC Canada
Ansa Sekharan, Senior VP, Global Customer Support, Informatica Corp., Redwood City, CA
Randy Selleck, Senior Director, Call Center Operations, Assurant Solutions, Atlanta, GA
Paula Sellergren, Director of Marketing, Mather LifeWays, Evanston, IL
Donnovan Simon, Director, Sales Support, SMART Technologies, Calgary, AB Canada
Alexsis Stephens, Human Resources Manager, Assurant Solutions, Lawton, OK
Ralph Stewart, Marketing Director, Maintenance Connection Inc., Davis, CA
David Stuart, Customer Support Manager, Halogen Software, Ottawa, ON Canada
Janice Sutherland, Head of UK Sales Contact Centres, Bank of Ireland, Bristol, United Kingdom
Christopher Tepas, Chief Marketing Officer, EMKAY, Itasca, IL
Linda Varrell, President, Broadreach Public Relations, Yarmouth, ME
Sundy Visbal, Director of Digital Strategy, Womenetics, LLC, Decatur, GA
Julia Zamorska, VP of Corporate Communications, iolo technologies, Los Angeles, CA

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.

Oakwood Temporary Housing, headquartered in Los Angeles, California, won a Stevie Award for Sales Process of the Year in the sales awards categories of the 2010 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.

Oakwood, a provider of furnished and serviced apartments worldwide, knows that being successful in sales takes more than stamina and ingenuity: Having a process helps ensure reliability and success. Until 2009, Oakwood’s sales team had been functioning on the fly—doing what seemed right, with no metrics, no benchmarks, and no methodology. Based on the company’s experiences and research, Oakwood realized that identifying and institutionalizing its best practices would be a key driver in building its success.

As a result, Oakwood’s sales and sales operations teams instituted the “Sales Playbook,” a process that has completely transformed how they do business. The goal has been to achieve a best-in-class sales-and-marketing framework.

According to Oakwood, the main focus of this process was to teach their sales team how to “win fast and lose fast.” As a result, the team now spends less time on losing prospects and more focusing on winnable deals that positively impact the bottom line.

Challenges
Oakwood had no overarching best practices or processes for the sales force to follow. They needed to create a system that would achieve consistent results and reduce time between qualifying and closing sales.

The system also needed to outline what “success” looked like for Oakwood, to identify top performers’ practices, and to propagate them among the masses. This system would develop a definition for managing opportunity that would provide clear, measurable objectives to determine if a sale was progressing.

Major Initiatives
Oakwood sales leadership conducted an intensive interview process and led a cross-functional team to identify top performers’ best practices. By combining those ideas with outside best practices, they decoded the tools and resources needed to gather, get, and grow business and to focus on the Single Sales Objective (SSO).

SSO moved Oakwood from an account-management mindset to an opportunity-management mindset and provided the objectives necessary to determine if sales were progressing.  The system also defined a common language to articulate key strategic components.

		Read the Rest of This Article...

Preliminary judging opened this week for the the 2011 (5th annual) Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, the world's premier honors for customer service and sales professionals.  There are more than 40 sales awards categories in the competition, and more than 30 customer service awards categories.

Once of the great things about preliminary judging of the Stevie Awards is that anyone can apply to participate.  Interested?  Apply online today.  If your application is accepted you'll be able to judge online, at your convenience, anytime through January 7.

There are two big reasons why you should spend a few hours participating as a preliminary judge:

1. Judging is a great badge of honor to put on your resume or CV.  Active judges are always acknowledged on the awards web site (here's the list of the 2010 judges) and in the awards dinner program.
2. You'll get to read and evaluate a lot of great success stories in your field, whether it's customer service or sales, and there's no better way to measure the pulse of achievement in your professionals, especially when those stories of success are coming from industry leaders.  Last year's winners, for example, included Macy's, FedEx, AT&T, SAS Institute, DHL Express, Royal Caribbean International, and more.

And here's a bonus third reason why you should participate: the two preliminary judges who score the most entries will receive two free tickets to the 5th annual awards banquet, slated for Monday, February 21 at the Eden Roc Renaissance Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida.

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

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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.