Winners Announced for 2012 National Sales Awards
LONDON, November 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --
- Jason Manford reveals UK's leading sales professionals -
- Lawrence Dallaglio and Lee McQueen decide the Field Sales Executive winner live -
- LivingSocial, Teeofftimes.co.uk and Everything Everywhere amongst winners -
The UK's leading sales professionals have been revealed at the 16th National Sales Awards in partnership with Huthwaite International. Hosted by Jason Manford, the event saw over 800 leading business and sales professionals recognise outstanding sales teams and individuals, who are contributing to economic growth, with a focus on ethical, smart and professional selling.
Winners include LivingSocial, Teeofftimes.co.uk, Everything Everywhere, Royal Mail and O2, with the prestigious Sales Team of the Year Award presented to O2's Bid and Contract Management Team, as judges felt they represented exceptional business acumen and vision over the last year. Marie Dunkley, Head of Sales at Hitachi Capital Business Finance was awarded the Sales Director of the Year title for developing her team successfully, as well as her business plan development and delivery. The Newcomer of the Year Award went to Phil Smith, CPM Royal Mail Sales Team, who was recognised for his ability to establish commercial success early in his career.
For the first time ever, the Field Sales Executive award was judged live at the National Sales Awards event, with five finalists in this category given two and a half minutes to prove their superior selling skills, by delivering their most impressive sales pitch to the audience and judges. The judging panel included Lawrence Dallaglio, former England rugby captain and now Sales Director for contact centre services in Serco's new UK & Europe Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) business, as well as Apprentice winner Lee McQueen - who decided that Sohiab Khan from Virgin Media was the overall winner of the award.
Lee McQueen, Founder of Raw Talent Academy, said: "This was a true test of a good sales person, selling to a live audience of over 800 people and managing to keep their pitch clear and concise. All the candidates did brilliantly, but Sohaib was crowned the winner for his confidence and delivery - you could tell he knew the product inside out."
Lawrence Dallagio added: "A great sales pitch by Sohaib, he deserved to win the accolade - they really won over the crowd and judges. A big congratulations to all the winners."
The National Sales Awards has distinguished itself by its robust judging process, with around 50 directors and sales professionals participating as judges. This year the judging panel has included Maria Armstrong-Gimblett, Director of London Sales at Marriott Hotels International, Allyson Stewart-Allen, CEO of International Marketing Partners, Ray Harrison, Head of Training & Development (Customer Transformation) at Barclays Bank and Kim Leitch Business Development Director at the Institute of Customer Service.
Steve Lane, National Sales Awards Business Director, said: "This year's winners showcase the talent and skill within the UK's sales industry. These are the people at the frontline of UK businesses, so it's promising to see such a high calibre of winners."
Tony Hughes, CEO of Huthwaite International, said: "Congratulations to all this year's winners. They have proven their mettle in tough times, which is the mark of true skill and professionalism and they deserve to be spoken of as the very best in the industry. Huthwaite is delighted to be supporting the sales industry through the National Sales Awards. We know, through our recent research and the sheer weight of numbers of people we train every year, that buyers are presenting new and different challenges to sellers. These rewards show just how well the top salespeople respond."
For more information visit http://www.nationalsalesawards.com
The full list of 2012 winners -
Category Winner
Field Sales Executive of the Year Sohaib Khan, Virgin Media
Silent Edge Newcomer of the Year Phil Smith, CPM Royal Mail Sales Team
Highly Commended
Sarah Toms, Venn Digital
The Direct Line Group Customer
Collaboration Award Metro Bank PLC
Virgin Media Contact Centre
Sales Team of the Year Serco in Partnership with LivePerson & BT,
Serco Group PLC
Telephone Sales Team of the Year Door to Door Sales Team, Royal Mail
Field Sales Team of the Year LivingSocial Field Sales Team
Sales Support Team of the Year Bid and Contract Management Team, O2
Customer Service Team of the Year Sweatshop Sales team, Sweatshop
Sales Management Team of the Year Wesleyan Hospital Doctors Sales Segment,
Wesleyan Assurance Society
Telephone Sales Executive of the Precious Benson, Pitney Bowes
Year
Direct Line Group Sales Team Leader Jay Hares, Everything Everywhere
of the Year Highly Commended
Chris Stanley, CPM
Account Manager of the Year Rob Saunders, Teeofftimes.co.uk
Highly Commended
Anna Hutchison, IHG - UK & I Managed Estate
Strategic Account Manager of the Chris Curd, Telefonica 02 UK
Year Highly Commended
Mark Crossley, Telefonica UK
Sales Target Sales Manager of the Neill Rees Hughes, CPM
Year
Sales Director of the Year Sales Marie Dunkley, Head of Sales, Hitachi Capital
Director of the Year Business Finance
Huthwaite International Sales Team Bid and Contract Management Team - O2
of the Year
Notes to Editors:
About The National Sales Awards
Open to individuals, teams and organisations from all sectors across the UK, the National Sales Awards, in partnership with Huthwaite International, recognise the UK's leading sales professionals with a focus on ethical, smart and professional selling. Now in its 16th year, the National Sales Awards is the UK's leading awards programme for the sales industry and is owned and organised by UBM Awards & Partnerships. Visit http://www.nationalsalesawards.com for further information.
Huthwaite International
Huthwaite International is a leading behavioural change consultancy specialising in the area of sales performance improvement. Blue chip companies worldwide trust it to deliver measurable results by challenging, improving and sustaining performance at all customer touch points through its academic research-based methods.
The company focuses on the customer to provide innovative skills advice for progressive individuals and organisations in sectors such as IT, financial services, healthcare, telecoms, manufacturing, legal and professional services. Specialised services include the Huthwaite Virtual Training Campus and Sales Toolbox. Training initiatives include negotiation skills development, selling to procurement, customer service skills and sales performance improvement such as the pioneering SPIN® Selling.
Established in 1974, Huthwaite has UK headquarters in Wentworth, South Yorkshire, and handles international projects through its associated companies throughout Europe, USA and Asia Pacific. For more information on Huthwaite's cost-effective services and solutions, please visit http://www.huthwaite.co.uk
For further information or interview opportunities contact:
Rachel Branigan
PR Manager
UBM Awards and Partnerships
Tel: +44(0)207-955-3843
Email: Rachel.branigan@ubm.com
Annelle Botha
Head of PR and Marketing
UBM Awards and Partnerships
Tel: +44(0)207-234-8753
Email: annelle.botha@ubm.com
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