SALES SUPERSTARS The British Excellence in Sales & Marketing Awards (BESMA) – celebrating the UK’s top sales professionals
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ritain’s finest sales professionals have been honoured at BESMA, the UK’s “Oscars” for sales managers, salespeople and sales and marketing teams. The glittering ceremony, organised by the Institute of Sales and Marketing Management (ISMM), took place recently at London’s prestigious Grosvenor House hotel. “BESMAs” are awarded by the ISMM after a rigorous judging process by experienced sales experts. The ISMM’s president, Sir Eric Peacock, welcomed some 900 finalists, sponsors, guests and the media, explaining that BESMA seeks to reward the efforts of both individual sales professionals and sales teams in driving company performance, as well as recognising the key role of sales in creating a thriving UK economy. Sir Eric noted the exceptional quality of this year’s BESMA candidates and thanked the judges for their efforts in the challenging task of selecting the winners, before handing over to the evening’s celebrity host, Irish comedian and TV personality Dara Ó Briain, who duly handed out the coveted trophies. Winners include Kevin Henderson from sales performance management specialist Xactly, who won Sales Professional of the Year. Another key individual award, Sales Manager of the Year, went to Adam Clarke from ticket and events app Dice. Companies that excelled include AXA Insurance for Customer Service Team of the Year, and Yell, which won Telesales Team of the Year, as well as having the Telesales Professional of the Year in Karen Malone.
Natasha Brigo, events manager at the ISMM, says: “Each finalist should feel incredibly proud of themselves as this was one of the toughest judging processes for BESMA that we have ever seen. We were amazed by the incredibly high calibre of nominations from across such a wide range of industries.” Brigo continues: “This was our largest awards night ever and it was a delight to have so much talent in one room.” Congratulations to all the winners and finalists, who are listed on the following pages, along with each category’s sponsor and judges.
STUDENT OF THE YEAR SPONSORED BY LRI
WINNER: Aaron Parsons, Jewson 2ND PLACE: Josh Allison, SIG Construction Accessories 3RD PLACE: Ashley Martin, Pitney Bowes JUDGES: Alan Fry, L&D Consulting; Lorna Leck, The Sales Activator
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