The event 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 included 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.”
