Wome In Sales Awards Europe Magazine 2018

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SANNE CORNÉE NOORDAM THE MOST DISTINGUISHED SALES WOMAN OF 2018

C E L E B R AT I N G

SUCCESS

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Celebrating Success

All around the world, within a wide array of sectors, women continue to break down barriers and establish themselves as pivotal to successful businesses.

Tonight we celebrated the diverse achievements of women working in sales.

These incredible women are reaching new heights through hard work, dedication and strategic thinking.

This year we also celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Woman in Sales Awards, and we do so with a record number of nominations from 12 countries, (UK, Ireland, Germany, France, Belgium, Denmark, Hungary, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Austria, Sweden and Israel).

These awards are particularly distinguished, with submissions being reviewed by a panel of 33 respected senior executives within sales. Judging the WIS Awards is a significant undertaking, and so I would like to express heartfelt thanks to all of our 2018 judges for their time, support and invaluable efforts.

I would also like to thank the speakers who gave of their valuable time at the Women In Sales Summit, engaging the finalists throughout the day in a variety of lively panel discussions.

To our media partners, thank you for your support and commitment to the awards. We appreciate and value those partnerships.

None of us, however, would be here this evening if it were not for the vision and enthusiasm of the companies that nominated their outstanding female employees. To all of the companies that nominated this year, thank you for showing your support of the incredible women within your organisations, and thank you for being part of the process to encourage more women to consider careers in sales.

Finally, congratulations to all of this year’s nominees, finalists and winners.

Even if you were not shortlisted or did not win this year, we hope you have found the process interesting, challenging and worthwhile. Perhaps you will consider participating again in the future, or encourage colleagues to do so?

Furthermore, we hope you have enjoyed a fabulous evening with colleagues and peers at the biggest and best Women In Sales awards in the industry.

Thank you for being part of the 2018 WIS Awards. We hope to see many of you again next year.

Merry Christmas AFI OFORI

Managing Director, Zars Media

Find latest news about WOMEN IN SALES AWARDS EUROPE and share your experience of the event at: LinkedIn: women-in-sales-awards Facebook: WomenInSalesAwards Twitter: wisawards Google +: +Wisawards

In this magazine

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Fold Your Arms In New Ways: Personal Perspectives of a 2018 Women In Sales Summit Panellist

Will AI and Automation finally end the Sales and Marketing Feud?

12

Women in Sales Summit 2018 Speakers

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30

Bouncing Back From Failure

What Part Does Neuroscience Play in the Sales Process?

WINNERS

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Mental Health for Salespeople: a Topic that Needs a Discussion

16

THE

Women in Sales Awards Europe 2018 Judges

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34

The Judging Process

37

Women in Sales Awards Europe 2018 Finalists

55

And The WINNERS Are...

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5 Work-Life Balance Tips for Sales Professionals to Increase Productivity

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B2B Sales Trends to Watch in 2019

114

How to Lead a digital Sales Transformation

5 Reasons Why Emotional Intelligence Matters in Sales

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Re-Wired for Reward Is it Time We Changed How We Reward to Get Better Sales Results?

THE WOMEN IN SALES AWARDS EUROPE MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2018 published by Zars Media 8 Heathfield Court, Fleet, Hampshire GU51 5DX England, United Kingdom Tel.: 01252612025, info@wisawards.com

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3 Reasons Current Diversity Initiatives Fail Us

Graphic Design by: Brandbees www.brandbees.com

On the Cover: SANNE CORNÉE NOORDAM, THE MOST DISTINGUISHED SALES WOMAN OF 2018

Photography by: Paul Grace www.pgrace.co.uk Ramis Karamatov www.ramisphotography.com Printed by: HART PRESS Ltd www.hartpress.com

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Will AI and Automation finally end the Sales and Marketing Feud?

BY JAVAID IQBAL — Co-founder & CEO, TransformX, www.transformx.io

Organizations of today are looking at ‘Digital Transformation’ as their key to innovation, growth, and the discovery and creation of new business models and opportunities. An essential segment of this transformation journey is the adoption and implementation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Automation. This adoption leads to a new dynamic in the marketing and sales arena where customer experience, customer acquisition, and customer retention fast become breaking points for effective competition and the overall growth and profitability of any business.

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ales and Marketing have historically been cousins to each other. Born in the same family but want to do it all their own way and eat the whole cake while they are at it too. But the ‘digital’ phenomenon has changed that, or at least it is trying hard to. And the cousins have to entertain this intervention not because they want to, but because their hyperconnected customers now require to be wooed and engaged in a way that is personalized, content-driven, social and mobile. Dynamics that can get complex very quickly and does not leave enough legs for this cousin rivalry to stand on. Still, many ninjas representing each group attempt to hold their old school domains and grudgingly refuse to play ball, or grow up for that matter. Only if they knew, what is about to hit them. A recent

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leandata survey suggests that “51% of marketers are not satisfied with the level of communication between these two teams and 53% of sales professionals are not pleased with marketing’s support.”

More troubling than this is that American Marketing Association says that “90% of content created by marketing is never used to drive sales”. And if that wasn’t enough, Jeff Ernst in his book ‘The New Rules of Sales Enablement’ points out that "Salespeople spend 30 hours a month searching for and creating their own selling materials". Now, isn’t this a sad state of affairs. It is a sign of two groups wandering aimlessly and enabling a discord of this sort which can be catastrophic for any organization of any size and squanders resources unnecessarily.

So now that the case has been made to reunite the extended family, what about trouble within the immediate one? The sibling rivalry of the B2B and the B2C sellers? They too are often in lock step with each other

By 2020, 85% of interactions between businesses will be executed without any human touch — GARTNER

and the customers/consumers are often confused in the cross reference between their approaches of selling. But who gets to decide which one is right and who aims to bring harmony among this group?

Well, Forrester seems to care a lot about this topic at hand and its 2017 survey of Buyers suggests that “77% of them want integrated customized data and insights as part of the journey”. This means that B2B customers are starting to act more like B2C now (what a shock given the ease and stickiness the B2C process brings to the table). Forrester again in its 2017 B2B Buying and Selling Online Survey suggests that “71% of B2B buyers say purchasing from a website is more convenient” and “67% of B2B buyers find going online superior to interacting with a salesperson”. I rest my case. But Forrester says more. It goes on to describe the characteristics of B2B

customers as Known, Rational, Interdependent, Loyal and the B2C ones as Anonymous, Emotional, Independent, Transactional. It further argues that the new age B2B customer is now in fact acting more like a B2C ‘consumer’ with mixed traits out of the two. They list them as Anonymous, Emotional, Interdependent, Considered, Mutable. Forrester says this all in its 2017 Report ‘The Birth of the B2B Consumer’. The paradigm shift Forrester refers to makes it harder for the siblings to align as in essence, it’s a merger of the two but if they too want a shot at the modern day customer, they will just have to put their heads together and learn to coexist/merge.

Now, if this wasn’t complicated enough, enter the AI and Automation paradigm into the mix. This paradigm empowers every marketing and sales area with hidden extra firepower to act and play smart (both literally and figuratively). Navigation tactics, broad audiences and product offerings through predictive scoring, engagement paradigms are just the tip of the iceberg of what these intelligence and predictive mechanisms can add on. These mechanisms now have, among other things the capability to scan digital profiles throughout the internet to find leads that match a brand’s ideal prospect. And when it comes to marketing and sales, leads (at least the good ones) are the holy grail. After that, it just needs a little cousin collaboration between the two groups on the back end to engage and close those “perfect” prospects. These predictive engagement tools also determine the type of content that appeals to the type of targeted audience and can be leveraged to connect with them across all the channels for targeted success.

Gartner predicts that “By 2020, 85% of interactions between businesses will be executed without any human touch”. An aggressive stance as

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far as I am concerned but these predictors are a result of Machine Learning and Advanced Analytics that allow the opportunity to provide unprecedented level of personalized service and a super increase in revenue due to high conversion rates.

Human interaction at least for some more years is still key, at least in the developing world. But things change fast these days so we shall see.

But how much can AI and Automation help in keeping the two groups together anyways? And what happens when they really do work together? A study by SiriusDecisions shows, “B2B firms with tightly aligned sales and marketing operations achieved 24% larger three-year revenue growth, and 27% faster three-year profit growth.”

Also, Marketingprofs, states that “Organizations with tightly aligned sales and marketing functions enjoyed 36% higher customer retention rates and 38% higher sales win rates.” When marketing and sales teams work together, costs decrease, metrics soar, and sales cycles are more concise. Gone are the days when marketing handed

Organizations with tightly aligned sales and marketing functions enjoyed 36% higher customer retention rates and 38% higher sales win rates — MARKETINGPROFS

over a lead to sales and the process moved on from there. It’s all about Customer journeys now and with the way Enterprise Software giants like Salesforce, Microsoft, Oracle and others are tightly integrating all aspects of sales, service and marketing and putting a wrapper of AI on top/middle, it is just a matter of time when no one will know where marketing ends and sales really begins. It’s already happening in some instances as forward thinking organizations are subscribing the same instances of the same software to both marketing and sales teams in pursuit and engagement of the same band of customers. This leads to one combined ‘customer’ funnel that belongs to both sales and marketing.

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So where does this all go from here?

Will Sales and Marketing ever be on that one page? Or will the cousins split again? It's hard to tell really.

The software systems seem to have carved a path for businesses to operate the two groups as closely as possible. Even combine it where it can. But traditionalists that subscribe to theories of yesteryears are still not there. I guess it’s a wait and see game as to who will overtake who, but one thing is for sure, AI and Automation is here to stay and it is doing a damn good job of playing the mediator/interpreter between the siblings and the cousins. Who knows, it just might keep everyone together. What a noble being if you ask me. And here we thought machines were out to get us :-)

Innovation Audits | Automation Roadmaps | Learning Journeys W O M E N I N S A L E S AWA R D S / E U R O P E - D EC E M B E R 2 0 1 8 1 1

© Copyright 2018 TransformX, Inc. USA. All rights reserved.

Mental Health for Salespeople: a Topic that Needs a Discussion

BY ANDREW RUDIN — Contrary Domino Inc, www.contrarydomino.com

When you visualize a top sales achiever, what comes to mind?

A well-dressed, polished professional wearing a starched white shirt accessorized with a Mont Blanc pen, clipped to a conspicuously stain-free pocket? Someone with a winning smile who always seems proud, confident, and fit? These trappings often mask an insidious reality. The day-to-day experiences that salespeople encounter are emotionally stressful and can jeopardize mental health.

“I

am trying to get out of sales, but seems so hard to change fields because I have been in this for so long, so only way is to continue to be in sales and minimize the effects of depression on my job. Boy, let me tell you how tough that is. Along with depression comes low self-esteem — but a good salesman should have too much confidence, not the other way,” a commenter, Jake1777, wrote on Healthboards.com in 2008.

There are millions of Jake1777’s.

They go to work every day. They cold call. They talk with clients.

They close deals, too. People don’t like to read about them, let alone empathize with their angst. They get brushed aside in a cold sales culture that venerates quotabusting men and women who bring in the revenue bacon.

Blogs and articles spew idealizations of top producers as “superheroes”

who are relentlessly positive, tenacious, and goal-driven. People who don’t make excuses, and never quit. The others? Get rid of them.

Sayoonara. Adios, pal. Business is business. “Oh yeah, I used to be a salesman, it is a tough racket.” Blake’s mocking sarcasm in Glengarry Glen Ross. Everyone knows how resilient salespeople are, even the bad ones.

No need to be cordial.

It is time to dump the sales superhero archetype. Not only is it grossly misleading, it subverts the mental health risks that salespeople must manage. Difficulties of any magnitude can overwhelm the best salespeople. I have seen it. I have experienced it. And many highly successful peers have confided it to me. Among the professions surveyed in the National Survey of Drug Use and Health, Sales ranked #11 for jobs that can lead to depression, with a rate of 6.7 percent. I do not know a single sales veteran who has not slammed hard

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into an emotional wall somewhere.

Superheroes? Not at all. I call it being human.

People often self-select into sales because they like the simple calculus: make your number, stay on the team. Fall short, you are a bum. There is no ground in between. Even top-producers can be unceremoniously churned from their jobs when revenue attainment goes south. For many, the send-off “ceremony” is held in a sterile room or office. It begins with a formulaic conversation capped off with a terse handshake, and an escorted walk to HR for the obligatory exit interview.

“Sorry we had to let you go, but do not let the door hit you in the rear on the way out. Oh, before I forget – here is a box to carry your Achiever’s plaques.” If you want to retain a tiny ego in sales, it is best to start off with one that is over-sized.

On the other end, those prone to living quarter-to-quarter at

the bottom echelons of revenue production have a different, but no less humiliating, outbound experience. They are regularly reminded of their failing through corporate programs deceptively called Performance Improvement Plans. A better term would be slow-path-to-“you’re-fired.” “What percentage of the staff put on Performance Improvement Plans become productive employees?”

I ask clients. The frequent reply: “Zero.” I usually advise them to drop the program.

People like Jake1777 who clearly need help will find a dearth of compassion and earnest interest.

Managers take the toughness that

salespeople are expected to have as license to dish out condescension, and even abuse. “What have you done to justify your existence?” one sales manager I worked with asked a colleague who was below goal for the quarter. She was the top producer in our group, and though normally stoic, the question brought her to tears. In another situation, when I discussed with a senior executive who oversaw a division of 3,500 people about her decision to lay off most of the sales organization, she quipped, “I am not worried about it. Salespeople can always get jobs.” If she had added “let them eat cake,” I would not have heard through the steam blasting out of my ears.

People often self-select into sales because they like the simple calculus: make your number, stay on the team. Fall short, you are a bum. There is no ground in between.

Not everyone thrives as a salesperson. Not everyone can thrive. And not everyone thrives all the time. Senior managers must first stop regarding salespeople as unfailingly resilient. That is a harmful myth. They must acknowledge that significant emotional strains and hazards accompany selling, and understand that they carry deleterious mental health risks for high producers and low producers alike. No one is immune. They should care enough to learn and recognize the warning signs. The website for the National Institute of Mental Health offers more information.

Above all, companies must recognize that good mental health for every individual is a crucial part of sales readiness. Culture sets the tone. “Only one thing counts in this life. Get them to sign on the line which is dotted!” Blake said in Glengarry. A great motivating statement. One that might produce short-term revenue. But not one that preserves mental health.

Value is often debated and no doubt, through many a philosophising brandy glass discussion. Suffice to say that all disciplines including sales plays a role.

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Bouncing Back From Failure

BY RICHARD STEVENSON Head of Global Communications, Pipedrive, www.pipedrive.com

Sales people are intrinsically motivated, exceptionally optimistic and tirelessly creative, but there will always be a low point. Here are four ways that sales managers can better support their employees during the lows.

T

here's no shortage of inspirational quotes about failure. Failure is a steppingstone toward success, or an opportunity to begin again. Winston Churchill once said that "success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm." For all of these inspiring proverbs, though, failure is not something we talk at length about with others or accept as a regular occurrence. Failure, at its core, is deeply emotional and can cause us to question everything.

The fact is that sales people fail all the time – in fact, its part of the job. Research shows that only 66 percent of sales reps meet their sales quota on a regular basis. That would suggest that one-third of all sales reps fail to meet their targets.

So how do we deal with failure when it happens to us? We can either reject it or embrace it.

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According to a global survey of more than 1 million employees at Fortune 1000 companies, in about 85 percent of the companies surveyed, employees' morale sharply dwindles within the first six months of starting a job. This phenomenon is primarily attributed to bad management.

One of the biggest mistakes managers can make is to reject or ignore their role in how they influence and motivate their team. If we, as managers, spend the bulk of our time harping on the shortcomings of our team, morale will drop. Team leaders, instead, need to know how to navigate setbacks effectively and even use it to their team's advantage to forge ahead.

Sales people are intrinsically motivated, exceptionally optimistic and tirelessly creative, but there will always be a low point. Here are four ways that sales managers can better support their employees during the lows.

2 4 FOCUS ON IMPACT

1 UNDERSTAND THE ROOT CAUSE

The emotional ramifications attached to failing can often cloud one's judgment and make it seem like a whole team or process is broken rather than looking at a problem objectively. To find the root cause of a problem that is holding the team back or plaguing the entire organization, managers should take a step back and dissect the process, environment or sales pipeline so as to isolate the problem and find the root cause.

Sales managers, in particular, can adopt a data-driven approach to spot the root cause of the problem and remedy it. By doing so, they can reduce employees' anxiety levels, which allows workers to focus on improving in one precise area of their work rather than being caught up in an emotional maelstrom.

When people are proud of the work they do, they work harder, and the quality of their work is better. The employees who directly report to you want to know that their contributions have a real and positive impact on the organization. A significant reason why many employees leave jobs for new ones is that they don't feel like they or the work they do matter to the organization as a whole.

If the business, as a whole, is struggling, it's even more important to disregard the larger picture and focus on how the work your unit produces (and each employee who comprises that unit) makes a difference. For example, sales is a pillar of a company's success, so it's a manager's job to motivate the sales team on a more granular level (rather than looking at the company as a whole) to propel the team (and the company toward) prosperity.

BUILD CAMARADERIE Research shows that close work relationships boost employee satisfaction by 50 percent, and work best friends are seven times more likely to engage fully in their work. If we have work friends, with whom we can talk with about setbacks, like not reaching our target, we can solicit advice, learn from others' experiences and bounce back much more quickly than if we led the charge on our own.

Camaraderie gives employees a stronger sense of purpose, builds positivity and facilitates a "we're all in it together" mentality.

ADOPT A NEW APPROACH TO GOAL-SETTING Goal-setting is complicated. It is great for driving motivation and performance, but, often, our approach to goal-setting can be too simplistic. In an industry like sales, stretch goals have been proven to have a positive effect on workers.

Research suggests that for jobs that are transactional and where outcomes are precisely defined, ambitious targets work well. However, in more creative positions, employees thrive better when they are given more nuanced and inspirational goals.

As managers, we need to be aware that what works for some people does not automatically translate and work for others. As the manager, address employee goal-setting accordingly.

One-third of salespeople don't reach their targets on a regular basis, and because of that, managers must be motivated to show their employees that "failure" is a neutral, or even a positive, phenomenon. If we strip the stigma from failure, we'll understand how to use it to our benefit. The key is having the right outlook.

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What Part Does Neuroscience Play in the Sales Process?

BY MELANIE LILLEY — Trained Negotiator with a Global Consultancy, www.negotiate.org/uk, www.icd.company

‘Every interaction causes a reaction’.

From the first introduction of a potential purchaser to the confirmed agreement, the entire sales process is one of a succession of negotiations. How we manage these negotiations is critical to our success.

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e are all negotiating and influencing all the time. Most of our daily interactions involve a negotiation of some kind. From the obvious i.e. landing that next client/ job to the less obvious i.e. interacting with your team members. Once we stretch our interpretation of negotiating in sales, we are able to appreciate the opportunities we have to influence and impact. By the time we reach the official ‘across table’ negotiation we have eliminated our optimum time frame in which to impact and influence with purpose. Harvard recognises that over 80% of our potential outcome is achieved prior to the official negotiation taking place – and as women we are hard wired to think about others, seek to understand others and use our Emotional Intelligence, collectively known as our empathising tendencies. We have the

foundations in place to be very successful at a strategic level and negotiate naturally.

The impact of the exciting insights coming from neuroscience are giving us a wonderful opportunity to understand how to manage our behaviours, and those of others, to create ever more successful outcomes by applying the research to our organisational needs.

Decisions are made on trust, along with confidence in the seller, likeability and emotion, and this instinctively starts in our limbic system, one of the oldest regions of the brain. Trust and distrust are actually located in two different areas of the brain – distrust in the primitive reactionary amygdala and trust in the rational executive brain - Pre Frontal Cortex. So, for us to trust someone initially our brain needs to make a split second reactionary judgement and either process it to protect us (fight or flight, or stress and distress in current thinking) or allow us to begin a relationship

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‘We like people like us’

the science says so how can we use this to our advantage?

How well do you know the other person/people?

What overlaps are there in your lives? How old are they? What communication style resonates with this age group?

What can you find out about them (think social media platforms/mutual colleagues/reputation)?

What are their habits/hobbies? (In one particular negotiation we worked on we discovered a member of the other party was an avid follower of the Tour De France so a member of our team became a cycling enthusiast overnight) Watch them closely to discover what really drives them. In our negotiation courses a key concept is understanding the personal needs of the other party. Are they data driven? If so present an analytical case. Are they a big picture thinker?

Present visionary scenarios.

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How do they dress?

Can you emulate style or colour?

Have you ever noticed how you subconsciously mirror someone’s body language when you are comfortable in their company? We do this to subliminally say ‘I’m no threat, I’m a friend’ Try to mirror various positioning without making it obvious.

We can still subliminally influence when emailing or phoning. Repeat back words (without obviously mimicking), tone, pace – again this is all saying ‘we are similar’ and triggering subconscious reactions increasing Oxytocin (relationship/trust hormone), Dopamine (positive happy hormone), Endorphins and Serotonin (feel good hormones)

People are 6x more likely to make a deal with someone they like — C H R I S VO S S F B I I N T E R N AT I O N A L N E G O T I ATO R

(of course further down the line there are greater implications to trust). Would you trust in your gut instinct? We actually have a direct link between our brain and gut (and heart too) called the Vagus nerve which keeps constant communication between the two.

Our bodies read a person’s energy which we pick up within 10 feet and the process of connectivity begins.

So how can we begin to influence the buyer’s brain in this splitsecond moment of decision making?

How can you lock into the above?

Where can you find common ground between you and start a conversation? Research shows that even if we find just one nugget of common ground our brains inexplicably assume we have so much more in common. We always recommend starting any meeting with shared vision and objectives as this stimulates the Pre Frontal

Cortex, invokes empathy and says ‘let’s work together’.

How often do you consider the environment of your meetings?

Environment has an impact on emotion. When working with a particular government body (which was very keen to showcase its success stories, naturally) we had to advise that pictures around the walls of aircraft carriers, tanks and the latest weaponry were sending out a very aggressive and intimidating message to external contractors.

Of course, this is also a tactical use of power in some instances.

WATCH OUT FOR IRRITATORS Insults, rejection and microaggressions, whether intentional or unintentional actually cause physical pain. Upsetting someone

through exclusion or criticism for example, engages the same neural pathway through which physical pain is relayed, so we really do feel that perceived insult as a physical blow this is why you may forget a compliment but never forget a slight. Don’t damage that relationship unintentionally.

Think about your language and body language.

Dopamine, Oxytocin, Serotonin, Endorphins and Cortisol….they all play a key part in our everyday interactions (I like to think of getting my daily DOSE) and we have the ability to activate these neurochemicals within ourselves, and more importantly influence the power of them in others.

Take action to understand what it is that increases these levels in others. Really understand who you are communicating with and create a positive impact.

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HOW DOES YOUR BRAIN IMPACT YOUR SALES NEGOTIATION PROCESS? ● WHEN DID YOU START TO BUILD THE TRUST?

● WHAT IS STOPPING YOUR ASPIRATIONAL THINKING?

● ARE YOU MANAGING OR REACTING? ● WHO ARE YOU REALLY LISTENING TO THEM OR YOUR INNER VOICE?

EVERY INTERACTION CAUSES A REACTION - FIND OUT HOW WE CAN HELP YOU MANAGE YOUR SALES NEGOTIATIONS TO GREATER OUTCOMES USING COMMERCIAL NEUROSCIENCE AND PSYCHOLOGY. FOR AN INFORMAL DISCUSSION ABOUT YOUR NEEDS CONTACT US AT WWW.ICDCOMPANY OR INFO@ICD.COMPANY 2 0 W O M E N I N S A L E S AWA R D S / E U R O P E - D EC E M B E R 2 0 1 8

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16 M AY 20 19

AWA R D S D I N N E R

20 J U N E 20 19 J U D G I N G DAY

FINALISTS ANNOUNCED

N O M I N AT I O N S C LO S E

N O M I N AT I O N S O P E N

18 A P R I L 20 19

Women In Sales Awards North America 2019 Timeline

Find latest news about WOMEN IN SALES AWARDS NORTH AMERICA and share yout experience of the event at: LinkedIn: women-in-sales-awards-north-america Facebook: WomenInSalesAwards Twitter: WISAmerica Google +: +Wisawards

www.wisawardsna.com

*Dates Subject To Change

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Fold Your Arms In New Ways: Personal Perspectives of a 2018 Women In Sales Summit Panellist

BY MARK RIDLEY — Partner, Transform Performance International

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t’s early November at 11 o’clock on a Thursday morning. I am sitting on a stage looking out at the audience which is, in turn, gazing back at me expectantly. This is nothing unusual. Stages of varying size and complexity have been constant elements of both my personal and professional life for longer than perhaps I care to remember. My normal on-stage experience is to see very little beyond the first few rows due to the glare of the stage lights: but today it’s different. Today, instead of a deepening blackness, I can see to the back of the room. I can see every face. And every face, save for maybe two or three, is the face of a woman.

I am a panellist at the #WomenInSales awards. It seems the organisers feel that I can add some insight to the subject of neuroscience in Sales. On the stage I am sitting next to three women.

In this room, filled with around 150 people, I am one of four men. That is what is different about today.

Empathy is a word which we hear often these days. As emotionally intelligent professionals we make every effort to demonstrate empathy in our daily lives. As 11 o’clock becomes 11:01 I experience empathy in the truest sense of the word; and at the three levels we often talk about in the world of coaching. First, as a male in a male-dominated professional world I like to imagine that I have (almost) always displayed a cognitive empathy for women in my professional interactions. By this I mean that I can recognise their

I am suddenly feeling what it’s like to be a man in a woman’s world. I can feel what it might be like to be a woman in a man’s world.

perspectives. I am told that I can build professional relationships from a basis of understanding. At 11:01 yesterday morning, as the sea of female faces looks in my direction, I am also experiencing the second aspect of empathy: social empathy. I am suddenly feeling what it’s like to be a man in a woman’s world. I can feel what it might be like to be a woman in a man’s world. I will be frank: it feels new. It feels different, as though I have folded my arms in the opposite way to normal. I know they are folded, but it’s not the same. Try it: you will know what I mean.

It’s now 11:02. I am saying my first words. I hope I am making sense to the audience. I am listening to my inner voices. “This should not feel strange”, one voice repeats

and repeats...and repeats. “I want this to feel normal”, another voice interjects. This is the third empathetic moment: that of empathetic concern. In this moment, what I felt instinctively by agreeing to be a panellist in the first place becomes part of who I am. What is happening here, at the Women In Sales Summit, is so necessary. It’s so important. I am contributing in my small way to that cause. I feel proud.

I feel humbled, actually.

By 12:00 I am heading out into the London traffic in reflective mood.

I wonder how long it will be before all business people will be able to metaphorically ‘fold their arms’ the wrong way and still feel totally comfortable. I truly hope it will not be long. @WISAwards, you are brilliant. You are the future.

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Women In Sales Awards 2018 Judges, the Judging Process and Women in Sales Summit Speakers

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Women In Sales Summit 2018 Speakers The judging day comprised of more than just interviews. The finalists also took part in the Women In Sales Summit. Finalists were engaged throughout the day with panel discussions on mental health, neurolinguistics selling and work-life balance etc. The speakers for the summit kept the finalists engaged in thought provoking debates. At the end of the day finalists, judges and speakers took part in a networking drumming session which ended the day on an energetic note. We would like to express our sincerest thank you and gratitude to the speakers for contributing to the Women In Sales Summit and the judging day.

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ADEAL AHMED

ELLIE ENGLAND

MELANIE LILLEY

G I N I E KS T E I N H O L D E N

RUPINDER BAHRA

Business Manager Emerald Publishing Group

I A N M OYS E

SAM SMITH

CAROL KINSEY GOMAN

JOHN ALLISON

Commercial Director, Saltare Consulting

A L I S O N E D GA R

Managing Director, Sales Coaching Solutions

ALISON HOPE

Leadership Presence Coach & Leadership Contributor for Forbes

Sales Director Microsoft Advertising

Sales and Marketing Director, HPE UK&I Microsoft

VP Global Solutions EMEA Strategic Sales Lead, Kelly Services

S H E L L E Y WA LT E R S

Managing Director Enable Sales Academy

K E I T H P OV E Y

C E LY N N M O R I N

MARK RIDLEY

Speaker, Author, Dietitian, Wellbeing consultant

National Key Account Manager MetLife

Sales Director, Natterbox

C AT H E R I N E S C H A L K

Executive Director and Founder, Inkwazi Kommunications

Coach/TrainerAapplying Commercial Neuroscience to Behaviours and Negotiation

Executive Director Conversation Intelligence Africa

Head of Field Marketing UK&I, Verizon Enterprise Solutions

Founding Director and Partner, Transform Performance International

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8

NOVEMBER 2018 PA R K P L A Z A R I V E R B A N K LONDON UK

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ANNA HOLNESS

Women In Sales Awards 2018 Judges

Head of franchise, Telefรณnica UK

C H A R LOT T E E L M E R

Director of Partnerships, EMEA, Experian

C L A I R E C U R ZO N Managing Director, Brighter Directions

DA RY N E D GA R

Vice President, Digital Advisory, EMEA, SAP

DEBBIE GREEN

With the growth of the event, we had to increase the number of judges from 26 to 33. We would like to thank the judges for so generously giving their time to participate in the 2018 Women In Sales Awards.

Without their support, dedication and effort, the event would not have been possible.

Senior Sales Director, Public Sector, Oracle

E L L I E K R U PA Sales Director, Premier Foods

GLENN GRIGGS

Director of Sales and Board member, Ricoh UK

H E L E N WA R R E N - P I P E R Sales Director, Mars Pet Care UK

IAN MILLS

CEO, Transform Performance International

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JA N E S N O W D E N

Head of large market sales, Global Merchant Services, American Express

JAVA I D I Q B A L Co-Founder & CEO, TransformX

JO HARWOOD

Sales Director, Burton's Biscuit Company

K A R I N A GA R C I A C A S I L

Director, Global Sales Compensation, Adobe

L AU R A M O N I Z D E A R AGAO SVP Global Sales, SmartUp.io

L E E C OT T L E

Vice President EMEA, Interactions

MARK ZABLAN CRO, Sitecore

NEIL STEVEN

Sales Director Commercial Performance/Capability, Nielsen

NICKY OSBORN

Independent Sales Leader and Coach

NICOLA AMISS

Chief Commercial Officer, Imparta

N I K K I W I LTO N

Global Sales Director, Xchanging Technology

SOPHIE STEEL

Consultant Trainer and Performance Coach, The Sales Activator

P H I L H O LV E Y

Group Commercial Sales Director, Apogee Corporation

TA N YA LU C A S

Partner, Transform Performance International

R E B EC C A D E N I R O

Managing Director GB, Dyson

TED NEWELL

L E I G H A S H TO N

R O WA N JA M E S O N

CEO, The Sales Consultancy

Managing Partner, Industrial Markets Practice, Telefรณnica UK

LO R N A L EC K

S C OT T S N E L L

TO N I R E D M A N

MARK PETERSON

SEVERINE MELIS-COOPER

VA L AG N E W

Managing Director, Sales Activator

Senior Director, Global Market Development, OSIsoft

Vice President - Customer UK & Ireland, pladis Global

Director of EMEA Sales, Corlytics

Founder & MD, Assess Renew Collaborate (ARC)

Director, Sales Development, EMEA, Okta, Inc.

Head Global Accounts EMEA, Verizon

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The Judging Process THE JUDGES

THE FINALISTS TIME WITH THE JUDGES

A group of 33 senior executives from various industries were carefully selected as an evaluation panel of independent judges. Their objective was to review the nominations and interview each of the finalists.

This was an opportunity for the finalists to engage the judges by telling them the story of their success. Each judge awarded points across the same criteria. After the interview, all finalists answered one final question: “why they should win the award in their category?” to a separate panel of 3 judges. Each finalist’s overall score was the sum of the scores from the interview with the 3 judges for their category plus the scores from the other 3 judges on the final question. The finalist with the highest score in each category was selected as the winner in that category.

WHY AN INTERVIEW WITH THE JUDGES? An in person interview allows the judges to further assess each finalist’s sales skills, strategies and process etc. The interview also complements their review of the submitted nomination forms.

THE JUDGING DAY The judges were organised into 11 groups; each group was made up of 3 judges and interviewed a number of finalists within their assigned categories. Nomination forms and any supporting documents were reviewed by the judges prior to a nominee being selected as a finalist. Each nomination was evaluated and scored out of a total of 5 points. The next stage of the process was the in person interview with the judges.

THE DISTINGUISHED SALES WOMAN OF THE YEAR AWARD This award is for the finalist who impressed the judges the most and scored the highest among all the finalists.

FAQs WHO ARE THE JUDGES? WHERE DO THEY COME FROM? Zars Media invites judges from countries all over Europe. Judges may be executives with social innovation expertise, business people, educators and university administrators and leading practitioners in the field.

HOW DO YOU CHOOSE THE JUDGES? We usually look for executives with sales backgrounds and with more than 20 years sales experience. We actively recruit and also take suggestions from partners, mentors and past judges.

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WHAT DO THE JUDGES EVALUATE? Judges review all the entries within their assigned categories and give their scores as per the guidelines.

This will include reviewing the nomination forms and any confidential supplemental documents and project information that is included in the application.

IS THE JUDGING BY INVITATION ONLY, OR CAN I APPLY TO BE A JUDGE? We recruit judges after screening their profiles using LinkedIn and other news sources. We are happy to consider suggestions. If you'd like to be considered, or suggest future judges, please email judges@wisawards.com

Interested in nominating FO R T H E WO M E N I N SA L ES AWA R DS E U RO P E 20 19 ? www.wisawards.com

Women In Sales Awards Europe 2018 in numbers

16

33

SPEAKERS

JUDGES

A P P R O X I M AT E LY

150

N O M I N AT I O N S

12

78

COUNTRIES

FINALISTS

14

WINNERS

1

D I ST I N G U I S H E D WINNER

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MEET THE 2018

finalists C O N G R AT U L AT I O N S from Zars Media proud organiser of the Women In Sales Awards Europe 2018

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LO U I S E W I L LS

—

Best Woman in Software Sales

P R I YA N K A B H AT TAC H A RYA

—

Best Woman in Professional Services Sales

“Success doesn’t want to know your Gender, Nationality, Dress code nor Age…Success is imminent with sheer hard work, dedication, passion and talent!”

“You can have all the good things in life that you want, if you just help other people get the good things in life that they want.”

MARIA DUFFY

D E B O R A H B OY D - E VA N S

Best Woman in Financial Services Sales

Best Woman in Sales Support

“Remember, Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did. Just backwards and in high heels”

“Put the customer first, deliver with passion together… and have fun!”

—

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—

E M M A B L AC K B U R N E

—

Best Woman Sales Newcomer

“I always thought that sales was for alpha males, a career for whoever could shout the loudest, but at WiSA I’m surrounded by women who are redefining what success in this industry means.”

JO CORNISH

—

Best Woman in Consumer Sales

“PASSION, RESILIENCE AND BELIEF…achievement through endeavour”

SA R A H G U N D E RSO N

J OS E P H I N E M AG N A N I

Best Woman Sales Manager

Best Woman in Technology Sales

—

“Leaders are developers, team builders, imaginers, culture caretakers, roadblock removers and inspirers. Their success depends on enabling the success of others.”

—

“Believe in yourself. You are braver than you think, more talented than you know, and capable of more than you imagine.”

— ROY T. B E N N E T T

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A L E SSA N D R A G E N T I L E

—

Best Woman in Sales Support

A L E XA CA RT E R

“No mountain is too high; no dream is too big if you have the will and a very well-planned journey to reach it. Stay still yourself, be honest, be professional and most importantly live your work as a passion.”

AS H L E Y H OWA R D

—

Best Woman Sales Manager

“Don’t just work hard, work smart.”

—

Best Woman in Inside Sales

“A.B.L (always be learning)”

C H A R LOT T E A D E LGA A R D

BA R BA R A F U C H S

AGATA SZ Y L E R-S E I D L

Best Woman Sales Director

Best Woman in Financial Sales

Best Woman in Field Sales

“A leader without followers is just a random person going for a walk”

“Sometimes when we’re looking for a step up, we don’t have to look any further than ourselves. We’re all capable of more than we think.”

“Be always on the hunt for greater goals and crazy dreams. Don’t prevent yourself from moving up.”

—

—

— N AT H A N SAWAYA

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—

A L BA G Ó M E Z GA R R I D O

—

E M M A B RO O M

Best Woman Sales Newcomer

—

Best Woman in Software Sales

“Be self-motivated and adventurous.

Don’t wait for an opportunity to come to you - go out there and make it happen! Enjoy being taken out of your comfort zone!”

“A positive outlook, combined with energy, hard work and integrity achieves results.”

A N D R E A SA E LY- P U TZ

C L A I R E T H O M AS

Best Woman in Technology Sales

Best Woman in Professional Services Sales

—

“The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.”

— V I N C E LO M BA R D I

—

“A sale is not something you pursue; it's what happens to you while you are immersed in serving your customer.”

— U N K N OW N

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GW E N O K AG BA R E

—

Best Woman Sales Newcomer

P H I L I P PA B R A D L E Y

—

Best Woman Sales Director

"Doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.”

“Develop and hire diverse talent who all have the potential to exceed your own achievements.”

M U S I D O R A J O RG E N S E N

—

Best Sales Mentor

“There are three core attributes that I think it takes to be successful in sales; hard work, a willingness to learn and maintaining a positive attitude”

SAT N A M B H O GA L

S I N E A D N AS H

Best Woman in Professional Services Sales

Best Woman Sales Manager

“Think positive, work hard, step outside your comfort zone but don’t change your inner values.”

“It’s important to appreciate how others around you help contribute to your success”

—

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—

ST E P H A N I E B ROW N

—

Best Woman in Inside Sales

"Driven by ambition; defined by strength of mind”

R EG I N E SC H LU M B E RG E R

—

Best Woman in Technology Sales

“It is incredible to see so many amazing rolemodels in one place. I am humbled to have been selected as one of them and hope that we can help the next generation of women in sales on their journey with this - no matter if we win or not.”

M A R L E E N VA N D E RV E L D E N

—

Best Woman in Software Sales

“Collaboration is multiplication.

Teamwork divides the tasks and multiplies the success.”

HELEN HOPKINS

K E R RY W H I T E H U RST

Best Woman in Sales Support

Best Woman in Field Sales

—

“Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you.”

— D R. S E U SS

—

“I was so excited to find out that I had been nominated for a women is sales award, I am so proud that I am able to represent Telefonica and all the strong female leaders that I work both for and with.”

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GILLIAN CRABBE

—

Best Woman Sales Director

BETH BURNS

—

Best Woman in Sales Support

“Experience gives you knowledge, knowledge develops confidence, confidence leads to success.”

“Stay positive and say thank you.”

— ANONYMOUS

A N G E L A WO O D

A L I CJA N OWA K

Best Woman in Field Sales

Best Woman in Inside Sales

“If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way”

“Do not stop until you're proud.”

—

— N A P O L EO N H I L L

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—

C L A I R E A N D E RSO N

—

CASS I E F R E N C H

Best Woman in Technology Sales

—

Best Woman Sales Manager

“You can't build a meaningful and sustainable sales partnership without developing the relationship first and of course making your customer smile!”

“If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door. If you fall, pick something up. If it isn’t fun, it isn’t working”

ASO K A STA H L H O F E N

H E L E N BA L L A R D -W E I SS

J OA N N A P E R R I N

Best Woman Sales Newcomer

Best Woman Sales Capbility Manager

Best Sales Mentor

“Each day brings fantastic new opportunities to achieve your goals”

“Define success on your own terms, achieve it by your own rules and build a life you are proud to live.”

“Mentoring is all about paying it forwards – passing on your learnings and experiences to help others believe in themselves and be the best they can be.”

—

—

—

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SA N N E C O R N É E N O O R DA M SA R A SAV I D G E

—

Best Woman in Financial Services Sales

“I take the commitments I make to my clients, my colleagues and our business very seriously and will move heaven and earth to deliver on them.”

—

Best Woman in Software Sales

"Regardless of the situation, when you can’t change the direction of the wind – adjust your sails”

LAMEES SHAFI

—

Best Woman in Fiels Sales

“All you need is the plan, the road map, and the courage to press on to your destination” — E A R L N I G H T I N GA L E

S H A A N SA K I ST N E N

JA H R I N A B U R K E

Best Woman in Retail Sales

Best Woman in Sales Support

“There is no magic to achievement. It’s really about hard work, choices and persistence”

“Without Passion, You Don’t Have Energy, Without Energy, You Have Nothing”

— M I C H E L L E O BA M A

— WA R R E N B U F F E T

—

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—

SU SA N N E D I E H M

—

T I P H A I N E L E RO UX

—

Best Woman in Inside Sales

"I dream, therefore I become.”

— C H E RY L G ROSS M A N

Best Woman Sales Manager

RO I S I N C O R R I GA N

“I agree with my CEO Bill McDermot: “trust is the ultimate currency”.

It applies for customers and for employees equally and I’m convinced in our digital age this is getting more and more important!”

—

Best Woman Sales Director

“For me the key to being successful is all about the leadership of the team.

It’s not just what you are doing for them but more importantly who you are being for them. Lay the ground work for their success and stand back and let them shine.”

SIMONE COLLINS

JA N A K AU T E N B U RG E R

Best Woman in Technology Sales

Best Woman Sales Newcomer

—

“Allow yourself the work life balance to enjoy and appreciate family which in turn will provide you the state of mind to drive results”

—

“Do not allow people to dim your shine because they are blinded. Tell them to put on some sunglasses.”

— L A DY GAGA

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G E R I SA KS

—

Best Woman in Software Sales

“I am passionate about empowering and paving the way for women and their careers' in sales. Being positive, fearless and hardworking is how we make it happen for EVERYONE!”

HEERALI SHAH

—

Best Woman in Consumer Sales

“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.”

— C O L I N P OW E L L

E M M A B R A I T H WA I T E

DA I SY R E N DA L L

Best Woman Sales Manager

Best Woman Sales Newcomer

—

—

“Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men. Impossible is not fact. Impossible is a dare.

Challenge apathy with action & cynicism with hope.”

— MUHAMMAD ALI

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L AU R A M O LY N E UX

—

Best Woman in Sales Capbility Manager

“Be courageous, bring energy to everything you do and never apologise for your success.”

“It’s a privilege to work in a field where no two days are the same, and where I’ll never stop learning.”

L AU R A B E N TO N

—

Best Woman Sales Director

C H R I ST I A N E M U E L L E R

—

“If your chosen career path isn’t a battle, then you haven’t set your sights high enough! Everything amazing is worth fighting for, and every time you lose a battle, never forget that it’s these setbacks that eventually teach you how to win the war”

Best Woman in Inside Sales

“As someone who is passionate about diversity and equality for all, this for me meant that I am on the right path in my journey to be a leader in women’s empowerment globally.”

L E S L E Y B U RG E SS

—

Best Woman in Financial Sales

“The essential ingredients for success are planning, positive attitude and tenacity, with a generous dash of good humour!”

DA L I A A B D U L A M I N

—

Best Woman in Technology Sales

CAT H Y B R E N N A N

—

“Always believe in yourself, believe that when you leap, your wings will appear.”

Best Woman in Sales Support

“In my experience women bring a different perspective to the table, and a different way of connecting with people that impacts outcomes in a positive way.”

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SA R A H S I N G L E H U RST

—

V E RO N I CA K E STO N

—

Best Woman Sales Manager

“Support your team, empower them to achieve and the results take care of themselves.”

Best Woman Sales Director

“Raise your daughters to aim high, to have courage in the face of adversity and to be kind to others.”

SO P H I A K RST I N

T E SS H OW L E T T

Best Woman Sales Newcomer

Best Woman in Retail Sales

“Focus on the customer first. Listen to them, build a relationship and meet their needs, everything else will follow.”

“To believe to deliver the impossible”

—

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—

SUZ A N N E T I D M AS - C O L E

—

Best Woman in Technology Sales

“I never imagined I would work in sales - I have now spent over 35 years engaged in a challenging, rewarding, stimulating and successful career…in sales!”

SA R A H D U N N E

YA RU N N A H A R

Best Woman in Field Sales

Best Woman in Sales Support

—

“People buy from people they know and trust. It’s all about building relationships and maintaining them”

—

“Positivity is celebrated, positive action is rewarded. Take positive action in all aspects of your life and aim to be the best version of yourself.”

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C L A I R E CASS I DY

M A A RTJ E S P O O R E N B E RG

Best Woman in Sales Support

Best Woman in Financial Services Sales

“Work hard, stay positive and get up early.... it's the best part of the day!”

“You can’t do more than your best”

—

—

— M Y M OT H E R − A N K I E VA N G O G H

— G EO RG E A L L E N , S R

K RYSTA L GAY L E

IRENE CRELLIN

Best Woman Sales Manager

Best Woman in Technology Sales

“Start each day with a clear goal, a plan of action and a positive mind-set… you will thank yourself tomorrow!”

“Success isn’t about how much money you make, it’s about the difference you make in people’s lives.”

—

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—

D E N I S E O L B E RT

—

Best Woman in Inside Sales

L E T I T I A H R I STO D O R E SC U

—

Best Woman Sales Capbility Manager

“To succeed in sales and in many other dimensions you have to be creative and persistent”

“Excellence is about doing well at what matters most.”

H O L LY A N N C L A R K

DIANA VRIEND

K AT H A R I N A K A LC H E R

Best Woman in Field Sales

Best Woman Sales Newcomer

Best Woman in Software Sales

“Success is found in our differences, continuous development and determination.”

“Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow.”

—

“Women are more powerful when they come together, we must set an example to inspire young women to have the courage and confidence to succeed in Technology Sales.”

—

—

— A N T H O N Y J. D'A N G E LO

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The Women In Sales Awards this year attracted a very diverse group of nominees. We received a record number of nominations from 12 countries, (UK, Ireland, Germany, France, Belgium, Denmark, Hungary, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Austria, Sweden and Israel) representing some of the leading and most innovative companies in the world today. After many hours of reviewing nomination applications and a full day of interviews, we are pleased to introduce you to

the 2018 winners...

W O M E N I N S A L E S AWA R D S / E U R O P E - D EC E M B E R 2 0 1 8 5 5

2018 BEST WOMAN

in

software sales

& most distinguished sales woman of the year

CornĂŠe Noordam

Sanne

Success Factors Sales Manager General Business

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" WH EN YO U CAN ’ T C HAN G E TH E D IRECTIO N O F TH E WIN D, ADJ U ST YO U R SAILS AN D TH E IM POS SIB LE WILL B ECO ME POS SIB LE"

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2018 BEST WOMAN

in

software sales

& most distinguished sales woman of the year

A

fter recently winning the Young Sales Professional Award on March 8th, sponsored by the Sales Management Association (SMA) in The Netherlands, I was absolutely thrilled to find out I was nominated once again. Many organizations underestimate the importance of non-financial motivators. SAP realizes that individuals who feel appreciated are happier and more productive employees. As a result, individual recognition is taken seriously. The nomination for Best Woman in Software Sales, alongside the continuous trust my leadership team has given me during my career, is something I truly cherish.

The Women in Sales Summit was a fabulous experience. There’s no denying that software sales is still primarily a male-dominated field. While women may be under underrepresented in sales, organizations including SAP are making progress in supporting gender diversity.

Studies show we have unique qualities that result in being equally, if not more, capable than male sales representatives.

Nonetheless, it’s a rare occasion to sit in a room with 80+ passionate saleswomen.

With a well-structured agenda including various panel discussions, it has been an inspirational day which gave me new insights. What I loved most was the opportunity to network with other professionals. The diversity was incredible – young, experienced and diverse professional backgrounds.

Everyone has their own personal story and accomplishments - ready to share their lessons learned.

The judging process was an integral part of the summit. The moment I was called out to present to three senior judges was nerve-wracking.

Whilst I am a successful sales executive within SAP, I must admit that selling software is much easier than selling myself. Even though we have had weeks to prepare, talking about my accomplishments and successes is not something that comes naturally to me. Luckily the judges were extremely friendly and comforting – allowing me to be at the best of my ability during my pitch and interview.

I am extremely grateful and honoured to have won the award for Best Woman in Software Sales.

The recognition and exposure to a tremendous group of passionate sales professionals is indescribable.

Moreover, the confidence the award has given me will support my ambition to move into a management role. As SAP SuccessFactors Sales Lead responsible for General Business I hope to inspire other (female) young professionals to follow their dreams. After all, when you can’t change the direction of the wind, adjust your sails and the impossible will become possible.

Based on my personal experience, I would strongly encourage every organization to consider nominating individuals for WISA 2019. It is a terrific opportunity to express your gratitude as an employer and your nominee will have the privilege to develop themselves, extend their network and boost their confidence!

J U D G ES I M P R ES S I O N S

“A truly outstanding candidate, truly impressive” — LEE COT TLE

“Outstanding” — VA L A G N E W

“Amazing!

Very composed, very professional” — TONI REDMAN

“Great impact, great confidence, professional” — TA N YA L U C A S

“Exceptionally excellent” — TED NEWELL

“Incredible delivery, amazing content” — L AUR A MONIZ DE AR AGAO

W O M E N I N S A L E S AWA R D S / E U R O P E - D EC E M B E R 2 0 1 8 5 9

Roisin

Corrigan HCM Sales Director

S

urprised and humbled, are the two words that come to mind upon finding out about my nomination for this award, winning it is an honour and makes me incredibly happy. Having been a Sales Director with Oracle for 18 months, it was gratifying to be considered. I want to thank my amazing team members who initially submitted my name for consideration. I have no doubt that they themselves will be in line for awards in the future. I am someone who has always immersed themselves into every task with a hard focus on the overall goals. What I enjoyed most about this process was that it gave me the opportunity to break routine by pausing and reflecting on my experiences, accomplishments, and impacts that have happened over the years throughout my career.

Those who know me know that I am a hard worker but I do love to have fun. This award process has been enjoyable as it allowed me to meet some awesome women, take an introspective look at my career to date and identify areas of improvement for the future. There is still much to do but I am keen on achieving success. This process has also reminded me how fortunate I am to have such a supportive family, great friends, dedicated colleagues, and the many women and men who have inspired, supported, and challenged me to reach beyond my goals. Thank you all!

It is important to me to be in my position to use my abilities to help others progress. It is one of the main reasons I get out of bed every day with a smile on my face. I am very appreciative for the opportunities I have found in the Technology industry, specifically with Oracle. Through these opportunities I have been able to assist many both internally as well as on the customer end. I joined Oracle in 2013 with a goal to make a difference. In 2017 I was tasked with building and leading a team of high performing and talented HCM sales individuals. I am honoured and privileged to work with them every day. I have always had a real passion for guiding and encouraging people.

This passion extends beyond the boardroom to mentoring young women in STEM along with many others in various organisations. I in turn have been extremely fortunate in my career to be mentored by some incredible women and men.

This has identified the importance of ‘paying it forward’ and inspires me to help others achieve their successes.

For me personally the key to my success has been all about my leadership style of my teams. It’s not just about what you do with your team that’s vital but more importantly it’s who you are being for them. If you lay the groundwork for their success and stand back and let them shine, you will see them truly become their best and achieve many great things. What a feeling. As a hardworking, compassionate and results orientated leader, I truly listen for people’s greatness and engage with them at a human level. As a result my management style has led to greater engagement across the business and in turn better productivity. I push to instil confidence in the people I work with so that they can achieve whatever they desire. Those who have consistently stepped into this listening have gone on to do many great things.

Winning this award is an opportunity for me to increase my outreach and continue to grow, develop and most importantly give back. It enhances my opportunity to be an agent for change, to grow businesses, to expand my impact as a role model and ambassador for other women and men.

It will help me to forge equality in the world of sales and celebrate achievements.

Finally and for me personally I hope it will allow me to be an inspiration to others and show that no matter where you come from and no matter what life puts in your way ‘Anything is Possible’.

" IF YO U L AY TH E G RO U N DWO RK FO R TH EIR S U C C ES S AN D STAN D BAC K AN D LE T TH EM S H IN E, YO U WILL S EE TH EM TRU LY B EC O M E TH EIR B EST AN D AC H IE VE MANY G RE AT TH IN G S."

6 0 W O M E N I N S A L E S AWA R D S / E U R O P E - D EC E M B E R 2 0 1 8

2018 BEST WOMAN

sales director

W O M E N I N S A L E S AWA R D S / E U R O P E - D EC E M B E R 2 0 1 8 6 1

Emma

Braithwaite General Manager - Corporate Sector

T

his is the first time anyone from within Xerox UK had been nominated for WISA. Not being one to seek the limelight, I found the whole idea a little daunting at first. I then decided you know what, despite the nerves, I am going to do it anyway!

I was nominated by a female colleague in our Senior Leadership Team for the Sales Manager Category and sponsored by our Sales Director. Although I have had a very successful track record in sales throughout my career, I have only been in Sales Management for a few years and I work in a highly competitive and male-dominated field, at times being the only female sales manager. Understanding how other people see you has been really quite humbling.

Our industry is being heavily impacted by the changing technology landscape, yet we have worked extremely hard in my team to turn our sector revenue performance into growth.

In my first 2 years as a manager, I focused on ensuring I had the right mix of talent within the team and reprioritised what we focused on. Once the foundation was in place, we have gone from strength to strength and for the last 2 years, my team has achieved 200% of our annual sales plan setting the foundation for 15-20% revenue growth in 2019. To lead such a successful team has been an honour and a privilege.

I am passionate about Sales and removing old-fashioned perceptions that exist around the profession being selfish and arrogant. I believe you can succeed and breakthrough in a maledominated environment by retaining very altruistic core values and working collaboratively as a team. I think sales is a great career for women who naturally possess these qualities.

To hear that I was down-selected as a finalist was really exciting and I was quite overwhelmed. Having encouraged me to step out in faith, my family and friends were really proud to see me being recognised for my hard work and achievement's over the last few years. To see the feedback from colleagues, ex-colleagues and even customers surprised me more.

Being the first year that Xerox has participated in the WISA process, I literally had no idea what to expect. Despite this, I have had great support from my husband and some great friends within work who helped me prepare for the judging day. To keep me calm, they all kept telling me that I was a winner already and winning overall would simply be a bonus. I needed to simply be myself and enjoy the experience.

Stepping into the venue on judging day I could feel my nerves rising, however, the excitement and atmosphere was energising.

I felt a little daunted as I did not know anyone and I could see there were groups of women attending together from the same companies. I have to say that everyone was so welcoming and friendly and my nerves started to disappear, especially when I reached my table and realised that the tables were all mixed up

with passionate and inspirational women from a wide array of different industries. It was great to spend time with them throughout the day, to get to know them and to hear their stories.

When it was time for my table to go through the judging process, we were all really supportive of one another. It felt like we were all part of the same team despite having only just met. The presentation and questioning was over in a heartbeat and the judges were genuinely there to support you and to encourage you to do well.

The whole WISA Summit was inspirational. The panel discussions throughout the day were really topical and represented by some of the most inspiring women leaders around today. It was refreshing to hear them open up so personally and share their own experiences.

I will certainly be recommending that my business support WISA in 2019. In the busyness of life and the demands of work, it is a great opportunity to stop and pause for a moment and to recognise success. WISA is a great opportunity to meet and connect with women across a wide array of industries.

We have some great women in our business and having been through the process in 2018, I will be able to offer support and guidance to them next year.

For anyone nervous about the process, my advice would be to simply feel the fear and do it anyway. It takes a lot of strength and perseverance to be successful in an industry where women represent less than 25% of the salesforce. We need to do all we can to support and champion each other and celebrate our successes. The whole process will leave you invigorated and inspired.

I am really honoured and proud to receive this award.

The whole process has helped me to reflect on what I have achieved and that it’s ok to give myself credit for those accomplishments. I have grown in confidence through the process and I am eternally thankful for the support of my family who have given me the space to invest in my career over the years. I am also thankful to my colleagues who have supported me through this process and my loyal team who go the extra mile every year to ensure we succeed. I could not have done this without them.

" W E N EED TO D O A L L W E CA N TO S U PP O RT A N D C H A M PI O N E AC H OT H ER A N D C EL EB R AT E O U R S U C C ES S ES . T H E W H O L E PRO C ES S W I L L L E AV E YO U I N V I G O R AT ED A N D I N S PI R ED." 6 2 W O M E N I N S A L E S AWA R D S / E U R O P E - D EC E M B E R 2 0 1 8

2018 BEST WOMAN

sales manager

W O M E N I N S A L E S AWA R D S / E U R O P E - D EC E M B E R 2 0 1 8 6 3

Simone

Collins Client Partner

W

orking in the Telecommunications industry over the last 2 decades, I started my career as an Account Manager in 1999 and in 2017 was promoted to a Client Partner at Verizon Enterprise Services, post a successful 10-year tenure, managing and growing revenues within Verizon’s top 200 Global Accounts.

This year my role has been to sell to a range of the world's largest diversified tech-media organisations with leading brands such as Bloomberg, News Corporation and Booking. com. Targeted to map the business challenges to deliver solutions based on Verizon's extensive global capabilities and add specific value in terms of cost reduction, increased revenue and profitability whilst enabling digital transformation for the client it has proven one of my most successful years to date.

The judging day also provided the opportunity to meet and network with other successful women in Sales and the technology industry. The panel discussions throughout the day covered topics such as Neurolinguistics sales techniques to Mental Awareness in the workplace, these sessions were both enlightening and inspiring for me, It was also so refreshing and comforting to learn that so many of us are all faced with the same insecurities and struggles from the pressure of work-life balance.

My career has been one of self-motivation and self-belief and if I were to have any advice for other women in Sales would be… “Don’t give up believing in yourself and your abilities.

Remember all challenges can be overcome if you step back far enough to see the bigger picture and understand that as a determined female the qualities you possess could be the reason you win from the competition”

In my personal life over the same period I have had 4 children, most recently taking 2 short maternity breaks in 2015 and 2017 and am now very proud of my working mother status to 2 teenage boys and 2 toddlers.

Outside of my own win, I would also like to congratulate all of my other female colleagues from Verizon. This year there was a staggering amount of finalists from our organisation which is a testament to some of the amazing talent within.

Not returning to work after maternity was never an option for me, and whilst at times it has been a crazy juggling act trying to maintain the work-life balance. I have been further driven by the ever-changing, fast pace, technology industry and setting myself the personal goal to exceed my own performance, hoping to inspire other women that you can remain successful after a career break.

The experience has been such a positive experience for me and I am sure a great confidence boost to so many of the female newcomers within Sales, which surely will only further drive them in their own careers.

When I first heard I was selected as a WISA finalist, I felt proud that my hard work and results had been recognized. However, it also coincided with a very busy month end. Preparing for the Judging day plus closing out the month reminded me just how pressurized the role actually is. Luckily, it all came together in the end, not only with me finishing my month significantly over target but also leading me here now.

I would wholeheartedly recommend other organisations looking to show their appreciation to the many talented women working for them, to get involved and nominate in 2019.

Whilst preparing it also gave me the opportunity to reflect over my career and on achievements I have made. Hence on the day of the interview, I had the challenge to condense all the most notable within the last 20 years into just a 20-minute interview.

The judges were so warm and friendly and far from being nervous, I had so much fun relaying it to them. To learn I have won is truly amazing and really does validate my confidence.

" MY CAREER HAS B EEN O N E O F S ELF-M OTIVATI O N AN D S ELF-B ELIEF AN D IF I WERE TO HAVE ANY ADVI C E FO R OTH ER WO M EN WO U LD B E TO D O N ’ T G IVE U P B ELIE VIN G IN YO U RS ELF AN D YO U R AB ILITIES."

6 4 W O M E N I N S A L E S AWA R D S / E U R O P E - D EC E M B E R 2 0 1 8

2018 BEST WOMAN

in

technology sales

W O M E N I N S A L E S AWA R D S / E U R O P E - D EC E M B E R 2 0 1 8 6 5

Yarun

Nahar

Global Sales Enablement Manager

" I B ELIE VE TH E N U M B ER O N E WAY TO IN FLU EN C E PEO PLE INTO D O IN G SO M E TH IN G, B EHAVIN G IN A C ERTAIN WAY O R TH IN KIN G D IFFERENTLY I S TO AIM FO R A WIN-WIN ."

“K

nowing your stuff” and putting in the required effort are the foundational building blocks of being successful in whatever you do. This goes without saying. In addition to this, I follow a set of key principles and beliefs to help me accelerate success. There are so many of these that have guided me professionally and personally. I wanted to share a few of these principles with you that might give you some food for thought on your approach to achieving success.

Ever been told that there are no silly questions? Well, there are...but generally, asking questions is the fastest way to learn. In a constantly evolving world, the moment you stop learning is the moment you start falling behind. To ensure you’re asking the right questions, really think about why you want this piece of information. What is it going to help you achieve? This will help you get a much more focused, valuable answer the first time around.

I know you’ve heard this expression before…but did you really embrace it? In the world we live in today, we must wake up expecting change. Only when we truly expect it and accept it, can we respond better when ‘change’ takes place. When change occurs in our professional or personal life, we generally feel anxiety because we’re in unfamiliar territory. Right at this time, stop for a moment, absorb the change, think about how you need to move forward and action it!

How often do you get told to ‘be positive’? Being positive about something is great but it won’t amount to anything without positive action. Positive action is about analysing the various options and steps you could take to effect change and improve a certain aspect of your life. The hardest bit is to do what you know you need to do and take that positive step forward.

What one positive action could you take today to improve an important part of your life?

I believe the number one way to influence people into doing something, behaving in a certain way or thinking differently is to aim for a win-win. Try and articulate what’s in it for them.

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This sounds simple but most of the time you must consciously think about putting yourself in the other person’s shoes and asking, ‘why would they care about what I have to say or show?’. It doesn’t need to be a long document, just one solid reason, one sentence or one slide. This will help you win over stakeholders, win advocates and get your point across.

I wanted to share this as a principle because it’s a great way to build self-confidence and self-efficacy, yet so often dismissed.

How often have you been advised to reflect on what went wrong when something doesn’t go to plan? Probably a few times at least right? Have you ever been advised to reflect on what went right when something does go to plan? Probably not. A huge part of building self-confidence is to reflect on and celebrate things you do well…even the small wins! This helps to solidify your personal success factors, remind yourself of the value you add, and ultimately build self-confidence and efficacy.

While these 5 principles may help you as they help me to accelerate success, the only measure of this success is yourself! Having an inspirational figure to aspire towards is great motivation, but there are so many variable factors that go into an individual’s success that you should never totally benchmark your success against another individual. The time you spend on analysing somebody else’s success is time not spent on accelerating your own success. So, before you embark on adopting any of these principles, ask yourself, ‘what does success look like for me’. Success is individual, it’s personal and the race is only with yourself.

2018 BEST WOMAN

sales support in

W O M E N I N S A L E S AWA R D S / E U R O P E - D EC E M B E R 2 0 1 8 6 7

Sophia

Krstin

Senior Online Innovation & Propositions Manager

" I LE ARN ED H OW TO LE ARN, H OW TO C O M M U N I CATE WITH M O RE THAN J U ST WO RD S, AN D H OW TO U N D ERSTAN D AN D REL ATE TO PEO PLE WH O VIE W TH E WO RLD FRO M AN ENTIRELY D IFFERENT AN G LE THAN MYS ELF "

“S

o are you going to be a teacher or translator?” Upon graduating from university with a degree in Modern Languages, that was the most common question I was asked. Little did anyone know, including myself for that matter, that just over four years later I would be winning in the Best Newcomer category at the Women in Sales Awards.

I never set out to be in sales; I followed my love of languages with the anticipation that it would open doors, and in my final year at university I successfully applied for a place on O2’s Graduate Programme. O2 has been the best possible place to start my career. I’ve tried different roles, gained fast-track business and management experience, and most importantly I’ve been able to grow and challenge myself while being guided and supported along the way by my peers, managers, and senior leaders.

My main passion is customer experience, and I love being in a role which allows me to analyse and understand customer insight, as well as identify and then deliver on opportunities to bring new capabilities to create value, both for customers and the business.

Finding out I’d been selected as a finalist was a marvellous surprise. Until very recently I hadn’t really considered myself a salesperson, having only been in a sales role for just two months. I am very fortunate that O2 noticed my potential before I did, and I hope that I can continue to make my team proud. The Women in Sales Awards has offered me the chance to reflect on my journey so far, and allow myself to feel proud of my achievements. I was thrilled to have even been nominated, let alone get this far! I, like many others, struggle with imposter syndrome at times, however being a part of these awards has boosted my confidence and helped me to understand that experience isn’t necessarily a prerequisite for success.

During the judging day itself, I felt privileged to meet and be surrounded by so many remarkable women, and I enjoyed

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hearing their diverse stories and backgrounds. I will forever be grateful to the ladies I had the pleasure of being seated with on the day. Despite all our preparations, the waiting to present was nerve-wracking! Being the last group to go in front of the judges, we calmed each other’s’ nerves, shared jokes, and rallied around one another until the very last moment, and I will not forget that unexpected feeling of camaraderie.

The agenda on the day also provided a rare opportunity to learn about a varied range of topics, all within the context of women in sales, and I found the panel discussions very inspiring. Mental health is a topic about which I am hugely passionate, and it was this discussion in particular which has stayed with me and will be one of the many things I take back to my team. I believe mental health still isn’t talked about enough, and increasing awareness is crucial for both men and women alike.

I’m looking forward to sharing my WISA story with future nominees, and I hope to motivate those who are just starting out in their careers by showing that anyone can make an impact; drive can make up for experience if you apply it in the right way.

For me, Sales is about people, it’s about relationships and trust. While studying for my degree, I learned how to learn, how to communicate with more than just words, and how to understand and relate to people who view the world from an entirely different angle than myself. In hindsight, studying languages was the perfect in-road to Sales after all.

2018 BEST WOMAN

sales newcomer

W O M E N I N S A L E S AWA R D S / E U R O P E - D EC E M B E R 2 0 1 8 6 9

Christiane

Mueller

Adobe Stock Sales Specialist, Inside Sales

M

y journey at Adobe started 4 years ago with the acquisition of Fotolia now Adobe Stock; a then 10 year old startup, which provides a platform for digital assets. I have known this rapidly changing digital industry for over a decade now. As a Xennial, I can also understand the pain points of customers who received their analogue artworks to print not virtually but still via mail. And this was quite recently. I work out of Berlin.

Since I joined Adobe I have been delivering business-critical solutions to my customers. I am proud to work for a company that continues to revolutionize our future through technology, and also democratizes knowledge and participation in an ever fastermoving digitalized world. I love this challenging work.

I help my clients to deliver great experiences to their customers through our 3 cloud solutions. I also do more than that. Key to achieving my results is my approach as a champion of my customers at all times. This approach ensures a seamless endto-end experience in migrating to Adobe and of course to Adobe Stock. I specialize in Stock: the powerful new and integrated member of the Creative Cloud, formerly known as Fotolia.

I am motivated by seeing how the solution I offer to my customers changes their working life. In particular the impact it has on their creative workforce. With Adobe Stock, I can accelerate workflows and free designers from administrative work. This gives time back to them for what they do best– be creative!

My role and responsibilities have evolved and grown considerably over the last year with me moving under a new organization and leader. As one of the most experienced and successful team members, I help our rapidly-growing team with the onboarding of new team members, ensuring quick ramp up and better integration into the team.

Day: Get yourself a slice of the pie to empower women and win male allies. Or the work we put into the LGBTQI network, to gain visibility. Therefore Adobe wanted to give me the opportunity to make even a bigger impact. And as of today I am very happy to say: “I will do exactly that!”

As the judging day sat in the middle of our Q4, I did not have time to worry so much, as my mind was processing numbers and still is. What was very important to me though, was that my presentation was different from all the others. By using Adobe Spark, having done my research on the judging panel, I came confident and prepared.

Judging day itself was filled with so many and various aspects that it is really impossible to talk about it in just a few sentences. What I enjoyed immensely was the team spirit which developed over the whole day. Everyone was nervous upon arrival at the Plaza and stuck to their direct colleagues if they did not arrive alone. However, the setting was so friendly, supportive, and encouraging that soon it did not matter anymore from which company you were or if you met your direct competition. To be in a room with a group of women who all stand for excellence was a very powerful and empowering thing.

My passion for sales I inherited from my dad, who passed away 6 years ago. He trusted me at a very young age to sell furniture in his business. At the age of 14, my dedicated goal was to make the sale no matter what, which meant some customers got away with a great bargain! I learnt a lot since then and after years hitting my numbers, I was very proud to learn about my nomination for the Women in Sales Award 2018. I know my dad would have been too.

It has been a great pleasure and honour to be part of this process. I met inspiring speakers - using some of the insights I gained from the panel discussions directly in my following interview - and it was a great opportunity to network with the other finalists. I am sure the experience with the Women in Sales Award exceeded everyone’s expectations and some of the women I met will be companions for years to come, and we will develop our careers further - together.

Being selected as a finalist for an external award - with participants from all over Europe -meant for me that Adobe and my manager have recognized my results and achievements over the years. And these were not only the great results I delivered in sales. First and foremost because I was driving projects together with colleagues which stand for a lived and hands on diversity while smashing targets. For example an initiative on Equal Pay

And with this I can only advise Adobe and all the other companies: “If you want to show appreciation to a saleswoman who has contributed significantly to your company’s success, has been a role model or innovator on diversity projects, please nominate her for the Women in Sales award 2019. She will be thankful and proud and the people out there might be able to see more of her.

" KE Y TO AC H IE VIN G MY RES U LTS I S MY APPROAC H AS A C HAM PI O N O F MY C U STO M ERS AT ALL TIM ES." 70 W O M E N I N S A L E S AWA R D S / E U R O P E - D EC E M B E R 2 0 1 8

2018 BEST WOMAN

in

inside sales

W O M E N I N S A L E S AWA R D S / E U R O P E - D EC E M B E R 2 0 1 8 7 1

Lamees

Shafi

Client Executive

W

hen I heard I had been shortlisted again but as a finalist in the best field sales category, I was overcome with bundles of excitement and joy, after having been a best sales newcomer finalist last year, which was such an honour and exhilarating experience. I could not wait to tell my family and mentor who have been by my side throughout my journey and my bedrock of support. I spread the good news in my office that day.

Upon hearing my name as the winner of the category, I felt humbled. I could not believe I got selected as the winner in the best field sales category having only started my sales career 2 years ago. This is such a massive achievement and testament to my dedication. To be recognised and appreciated by my peers and the judges at this event for my hard work ethic and passion is such a great honour. I know this will serve as a further incentive to reach my full potential in all my endeavours.

I have been blessed with the opportunity to have one to one mentorship from an excellent senior executive mentor. I plan to utilise all the skills, knowledge and leadership qualities I learn to become an advocate and ambassador for a programme targeted at bringing women into sales.

Technology is disruptive and we need to be professionally disruptive by empowering and inspiring our fellow women to join us in a sales career. Only 10% of the sales population are women, I aim to change this by informing women at the grass root levels during their educational years about the opportunities available in a sales career. After all, information is power.

relationships along with delivering C-Level contacts whilst tackling one of my most challenging accounts yet to date. It truly shows anything is possible when you challenge and push yourself out of your comfort zone and go the extra mile.

I would definitely advise my company, Verizon to nominate other women for the Women in Sales Awards (Europe) as this is such a prestigious and illustrious stamp of credibility, recognition and acknowledgement to gain under your belt for your career progression within your company or elsewhere.

This experience really helps boost your confidence and helps your development. There is always a sense of achievement and recognition when one is recommended to be nominated by the company. Furthermore, it is a one-time opportunity to network and mingle with such highly established and well respected figures within our industry. It is definitely worth it!

I highly recommend all organisations to get involved with the WISA scheme in 2019 as it is a means to recognise and celebrate the achievement of women.

My advice for companies considering submitting nominations in 2019 is to find that diamond in the rough. Nominate someone who is authentic, passionate, tenacious, honest and caring in everything they do and stand for. That star who eludes potential and leadership qualities. Someone that delivers rapid and positive engagement at all levels. Always willing to challenge oneself and help others. All these key ingredients ignite and signify qualities of a team player, advocate and ambassador.

This is what a nominee for the Women in Sales Awards would truly represent and embody.

Initially, taking part in these awards was nerve wrecking and challenging. However once attending the WISA judging day event, it soon turned into a day of liberation, knowledge and determination. I felt more encouraged, inspired and empowered by being surrounded by such successful individuals and to be able to listen to their courageous and inspirational stories. This process was not as frightening as I had initially thought and met some fantastic people from all walks of life. By preparing for the WISA judging day, I was able to self-reflect on how I took a single threaded conversation into a much broader business led discussion, developed my own account plan, stabilised and built

"O N LY 10 % O F TH E SALES P O PU L ATI O N ARE WO M EN, I AIM TO C HAN G E TH I S BY IN FO RMIN G WO M EN AT TH E G R AS S RO OT LE VELS D U RIN G TH EIR ED U CATI O NAL YE ARS ABO U T TH E O PP O RTU N ITIES AVAIL AB LE IN A SALES CAREER . AF TER ALL , IN FO RMATI O N I S P OWER ."

7 2 W O M E N I N S A L E S AWA R D S / E U R O P E - D EC E M B E R 2 0 1 8

2018 BEST WOMAN

field sales

in

W O M E N I N S A L E S AWA R D S / E U R O P E - D EC E M B E R 2 0 1 8 7 3

Maria

Duffy Sales Manager

" I EN C O U R AG E YO U TO D RE AM B I G AN D N E VER TELL YO U RS ELF YO U CAN ’ T AC H IE VE YO U R G OALS. LO O K TO OTH ER WO M EN TO S H OW YO U TH E WAY AN D MAKE FU LL U S E O F TH E RESO U RC ES AN D TH E N E T WO RK ARO U N D YO U."

P

icture it. A grim, benefits office in an industrial town in the North East of England, circa 1988. A drunk, down to his last dregs of whiskey, throws a chair at a young woman who has just turned him down for a crisis loan payment. Fortunately, the chair didn’t hit me (drunks aren’t known for their aim!) but this is a memory that will never leave me as it was my introduction to the world of full-time work many years ago, a world hugely removed from my corporate Sales life at American Express today.

Without sounding like Billy Elliot, the mantra of my early career days was ‘if you’ve got a job, hang on to it’ because in the late 1980’s in the north of England, jobs were hard to come by. As a result of this, I worked (very successfully) in Public Sector organisations for over 25 years with a fear of leaving in case I faced unemployment. I had secure jobs, a steady income and a defined career path. What I didn’t have was fulfilment.

Fast forward to today and I work for a global, aspirational brand as a successful Sales Manager. My job brings with it a fulfilment I never thought possible and my financial rewards are on plan. How did I make it here from such a different background? With the constant support of other women telling me that I could do it.

Throughout my career, other women have constantly helped to illuminate the path for me. When feeling unfulfilled with my career on secondment in London whilst working for The Benefit’s Agency, it was a female flatmate working as an Account Manager who convinced me that I’d be good in Sales.

When working as a Sales Manager for an IT start-up company, it was the wife of a friend who convinced to apply for a job in Financial Services. Whilst enjoying the best year Sales year I’ve ever had at American Express, it was my Team Leader, (a successful, accomplished woman and a former nominee) who put me forward for The Women in Sales award.

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Traditionally, when first presented with an exciting challenge or career changing opportunity, my first thought would be ‘I can’t do that’. Becoming involved in the Women in Sales Awards has changed that response…..for good! I took my first Sales role in the Private Sector at age 42. My career in Financial Services commenced only 5 years ago. Despite my completely unrelated background, I’m the winner of the Women in Sales Award – Financial Services 2018, (which, trust me, still hasn’t sunk in!).

I’m living proof that anything is possible and that it’s never too late to push through your comfort zone to find fulfilment.

My mission now is to return the favour and illuminate the path for other women as they have for me. I’m particularly keen to direct my energies to 2 distinct groups: young women embarking on their initial career path and women in established, unrelated careers who want to make the change and move into Sales. The WISA’s have introduced me to the network I need to support me in this endeavour.

To all the women reading this, I encourage you to dream big and never tell yourself you can’t achieve your goals. Look to other women to show you the way and make full use of the resources and the network around you. Becoming involved with WISA is a great place to start. I’ve come a long way from that grim benefits office. The journey has only just begun.

2018 BEST WOMAN

financial services sales in

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Laura

Molyneux Category Development Manager

" I HAVE ALWAYS B EEN INVO LVED WITH FO RU M S THAT S EEK TO ADVAN C E WO M EN IN SALES LE AD ERS H IP RO LES, B U T WI SA HAS M OTIVATED M E TO G O E VEN FU RTH ER TO B E A P OS ITIVE VO I C E FO R FEMALE LE AD ERS H IP."

T

hroughout my early twenties, I was convinced that I wanted to work in marketing. I spent my spare time researching and applying for internships, and even founded a Marketing Society at University. I graduated in 2012 with a Masters in Marketing Management, but as I started looking at potential first jobs, I became increasingly drawn to the idea of working in sales. The customer interaction and fast-paced nature of the role appealed to me, and I joined the Customer Management graduate scheme at Unilever later that year. Since then, I have worked on a variety of roles across different categories and channels, and have now been at pladis for three years. My experience has taught me how rewarding a career in sales can be - whilst the retail landscape is dynamic and ever-changing, I have always believed that stepping out of your comfort zone is a key part of the development process.

Winning the award for Best Woman in Sales Capability is a huge honour. At the judging day, I was blown away by the scale of the awards, and I am so proud to be among the winners. Meeting so many inspirational leaders throughout this process has made it clearer than ever that we need to keep working to remove the barriers that women face in the workplace. I have always been involved with forums that seek to advance women in sales leadership roles, but WISA has motivated me to go even further to be a positive voice for female leadership.

I was delighted when pladis told me that I was one of the business’s nominations for the Women In Sales Award. I had followed the awards on social media the year before, and I was extremely excited to have the opportunity to participate in this fantastic initiative. Every stage of the awards has encouraged me to think about my strengths and areas for development. Given our pressurised and hectic day jobs, taking time to reflect on our work and achievements isn’t something we have the opportunity to do often. Whilst thinking about the judging day was initially daunting, the positivity and enthusiasm from everybody in the room quickly put me at ease. The group discussions were relevant and insightful, and hearing the panellists speak about their road

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to success was particularly engaging. Whilst a number of us were naturally nervous about the presentation and interview section of the day, the judges were extremely friendly and made me feel relaxed. The atmosphere throughout the day was about all empowerment and encouraging you to speak about your success. The day surpassed all my expectations, and I am thankful that I have had the opportunity to meet so many amazing women as a result.

I am extremely proud that all five pladis nominees have been shortlisted as finalists, as it is a clear reflection of how the business supports and encourages female progression. Coming so far in this process has already given us the opportunity to encourage people to think about the challenges that still act as barriers to women in the workplace.

I would encourage any business that is passionate about diversity in leadership to participate in the 2019 awards.

Whilst the issue of gender equality has been gaining momentum over the past few years, the sad fact remains that only 15% of sales executive roles are held by women. I strongly believe that WISA plays an integral part in addressing this imbalance and provides a clear platform for businesses to champion the valuable contributions that women make on a daily basis. Winning this award has encouraged me to be an agent for change, and I am excited to play a role in the shift towards a truly diverse sales environment.

2018 BEST WOMAN

sales capability manager

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Claire

Thomas Business Development Director

I

don’t think I’ve ever heard a young person answer the question, “What do you want to do when you grow up?” with the answer, “I want to work in sales!”. Having had such an incredible eleven years so far, I feel I owe it to others to share my experiences so more people consider sales roles in the technology sector and get the opportunity to have as much fun as I have. My career journey hasn’t always been smooth sailing. Very early in my first role, my manager told me that he didn’t think a career in sales was for me as he didn’t see my passion for it. Having someone doubt my determination for something I believed I could be good at made me even more focused on succeeding, so I took the feedback on board and made changes quickly. This was also my first lesson in resilience, a key skill for any salesperson. Fast forward eleven years and here I am, winner of the Professional Services category at the Women in Sales Awards 2018!

After a fantastic 5 years with Microsoft, I decided to find a role selling technology related professional services to give me the opportunity to get closer to my customers. Joining Hitachi Consulting was a great move. I’ve learned so much, met some amazing people and helped clients improve the experience for their customers and employees using modern technologies.

I’m blown away by the dedication of the people I work with in the utilities sector to supply clean water to us, protect the environment and provide power at the flick of a switch. It is an honour to work with these individuals and companies who are providing a key service to our society. Having a career so well aligned to my passion for helping others has led to many years significantly exceeding sales targets and I love simplifying the complexity of a professional services sale to make the intangible value you create tangible.

achievements in my career so far and remember the amazing teams I have worked with to win new opportunities. Key to award success – mentioning your Mum inspiring her classroom of students by talking about you being part of the awards!

In my one minute pitch, I gave my commitment to encourage more women to consider a sales career. We can all do our bit to spread the word to as many women, men, girls and boys about how fulfilling sales can be, so that more people actively plan to enter our profession and the technology sector. I’m already pencilled in to go back to my all-girls school for a career talk! I will also be asking senior leaders across Hitachi group companies to promote the Women in Sales Awards and will be driving further focus on the importance of diversity for organisational success.

I couldn’t recommend taking part in the awards and sales summit more highly. I’ve met some truly inspiring people, gained insight into the neuroscience behind successful sales and learned more about myself. For any company sitting on the fence about getting involved – a nomination for one of your team will do wonders for motivation, give your company a great opportunity to support women in sales and is quite simply a no brainer! And for anyone considering a career in sales…Henry Ford said, “You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do”, so go do it!

Thank you to everyone who invested their time to make the Women in Sales Awards 2018 such a success. It was an unforgettable experience!

After hearing I’d been selected as a finalist for the awards, I contacted everyone who had supported me with my nomination – my manager, my MD, my customers and my family - to say thank you. I put a lot of effort into preparation for the judging day, thinking about how I am different to the other high calibre candidates, so I’m absolutely delighted to have won. Taking part in the awards has given me the opportunity to reflect on the

" WE CAN ALL D O O U R B IT TO S PRE AD TH E WO RD TO AS MANY WO M EN, M EN, G IRLS AN D BOYS ABO U T H OW FU LFILLIN G SALES CAN B E, SO THAT M O RE PEO PLE ACTIVELY PL AN TO ENTER O U R PRO FES S I O N AN D TH E TEC H N O LO GY S ECTO R ."

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2018 BEST WOMAN

professional services sales

in

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Heerali

Shah

Business Account Manager

" I G EN U IN ELY ENJ OY WHAT I D O - I ENJ OY THAT E VERY DAY I S D IFFERENT, I ENJ OY TH E SATI S FACTI O N O F MAKIN G A SALE AN D I ENJ OY C O LL ABO R ATIN G WITH D IFFERENT TE AM S TO MAKE IT HAPPEN ."

I

f I told my 21-year-old self that my career would be in customer-facing sales, I would have worked with some of the largest and toughest retailers and I was doing it all successfully, I would not have believed it.

Graduating from the University of Warwick, with an Accounting and Finance degree I came out of University feeling lost on where I’d like my career to go. With a combination of having worked in a supermarket as a part-time job for 5 years and loving numbers I started off as a graduate working in a retailer’s head office, in the merchandising department, where I spoke to numerous suppliers. The ‘other side’ always appealed to me and therefore I moved to United Biscuits (now known as pladis Global) in the Sales team. And I’ve never looked back.

I have worked for pladis for 6 years, currently working as a Business Account Manager. I genuinely enjoy what I do - I enjoy that every day is different, I enjoy the satisfaction of making a sale and I enjoy collaborating with different teams to make it happen.

From the day I was put forward for the nomination, to winning the Category, the process has been fantastic. It has been great to take a step back and reflect on where I have come and all the things I have achieved to get here, something we don’t do enough of!

I was ecstatic to hear I was a finalist and I was excited about the next stage. In the lead up to the judging day, I naturally started to feel nervous. I used every spare moment to prepare, wanting to ensure I maximised this opportunity and my presentations were an honest reflection of myself. The judging day itself was an inspiring and motivating day – it was great to network with so many successful women, sharing stories about our successes and the same struggles we all face. The judges made me feel at ease and gave me every opportunity to succeed. I personally took a lot away from the panel discussions, covering a variety of topics that impact a career in Sales.

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I am honoured and immensely proud to be the winner of the Consumer Sales category. It has shown me that anything is possible and to continue to push forward because you never know what opportunities and experiences lie ahead. I am hoping from this experience, I can encourage and inspire many other colleagues around me to think the same.

I would personally like to thank pladis for putting my nomination forward and for all the encouragement and support. Everyone has been fantastic and has cheered all of us finalists along the way!

Within Sales, there continues to be a gap of females at senior positions. What WISA is doing is a great way to not only highlight talent within Sales but also gives the opportunity for individuals to grow and learn through this experience.

If you are a business considering submitting nominations in the future, I’d highly recommend this once in a lifetime opportunity. Pushing forward in my career hasn’t always been natural and easy for me and I am fully aware there are others feeling the same right now. Nominating and recognising your female colleagues not only allows you to show your appreciation but provides a confidence boost for them to reach new heights – something that will benefit you both.

2018 BEST WOMAN

in

consumer sales

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Shaansa

Kistnen Consulting Sales Lead

S

tunned… definitely the most appropriate word to sum up my initial reaction. It’s a privilege to be recognised internally as being successful but having this benchmarked against such a breadth of applicants is very humbling. After the initial shock I felt excited and one thing I remember clearly is being overwhelmed with calls/emails from colleagues and peers in recognition of this achievement.

For me this really cements the fact that whilst being selected as a finalist was a huge accomplishment in itself, winning has been the icing on the cake (no doubt that’s the competitive salesperson in me shining through!).

I really have had a very positive experience taking part in these awards. Key highlights being, further recognition internally boosting my profile and growing my network with individuals I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to meet across other companies and industries. It’s reinforced that I’m doing the right things and even though sometimes I might think it’s hard it is always worthwhile in the end. This has also been a great opportunity for me to take the time to step back and look at what I could be doing further to continue building my career and positively influence those around me.

Too often salespeople are tarred with the brush of being coin operated individuals who only care about closing a deal no matter what the outcome for the customer. Whilst I have come across these types of individuals over the span of my career that is certainly not the way to sell anymore nor the way I have ever engaged with a customer. Our business is not sales, it’s relationships built on a foundation of trust, collaboration and results - it’s always been about long term strategic partnerships, building solution focused, outcome based offerings which deliver business value and that’s why I’ve been successful.

Having won emphasises to me that all the hard work, pushes for change, new ways of working and long hours have been worth it. Being recognised really reinforces why we do what

we do, I therefore think it is important to take a minute and congratulate all finalists and subsequent winners on their journey through this process and their career successes. I genuinely look forward to continuing hearing about these and sharing our ideas for the future.

I would absolutely advocate more companies nominate their teams in 2019. The experience has been amazing, meeting other like-minded women has been truly inspiring. We need to continue to elevate and highlight the value women bring to the workplace and this is a great platform to do so. Personally, I have several nominations in mind and I will be leading the line at Oracle in terms of ensuring they are acknowledged.

Success breeds success, so it’s important that this win inspires other women in my organisation to push the boundaries, do things differently and never be afraid to challenge what is perceived as the norm, especially for those who believe you can’t be successful both in your professional and personal life. The rewards and recognition will follow I’m living proof of that.

Finally whilst this award recognises the individual contribution I’ve made its incredibly important that we remember “selling” is a team sport, and I thank my wider team at Oracle, customers and partners along the way as not only have they been integral in the recognition to date, it’s been great fun doing it!

" O U R B U S I N ES S I S N OT SA L ES , I T ’ S R EL AT I O N S H I P S B U I LT O N A FO U N DAT I O N O F T R U ST, C O L L A B O R AT I O N A N D R ES U LTS - I T ’ S A LWAYS B EEN A B O U T LO N G T ER M ST R AT EG I C PA RT N ER S H I P S , B U I L D I N G S O LU T I O N FO C U S ED, O U TC O M E BAS ED O FFER I N G S W H I C H D ELI V ER B U S I N ES S VA LU E ."

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2018 BEST WOMAN

retail sales

in

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Musidora

Jorgensen

Sales Director, Human Capital Management

"C OAC H IN G, M ENTO RIN G AN D D E VELO PIN G PEO PLE N OT O N LY B RIN G S B E T TER SALES RES U LTS, B U T IT ENAB LES TH E S U C C ES S O F TH E B U S IN ES S IN TH E LO N G TERM, WITH B E T TER S ELLIN G AN D HAPPIER , M O RE FU LFILLED PEO PLE WITH IN TH E B U S IN ES S."

I

am incredibly honoured and humbled to have won the award for Best Sales Mentor 2018 at the Women In Sales Awards Europe. Having built a career in sales over the last 20 years, I feel very lucky to have found a career that I love and that challenges, inspires and motivates me every day. And now being able to help grow others to fulfil their potential within sales is what I’m passionate about. To be recognised for my work in mentoring others up through the line is an incredible privilege and a reflection of the value of women supporting women.

“If you can’t see it, you can’t be it!” Throughout my education and career, I have benefitted from invaluable advice, support and guidance my own mentors, coaches and sponsors. But I, like a lot of my female counterparts, am regularly the only woman around the table in sales meetings. Ensuring that there are enough visible women in sales that can act as role models for others to aspire to is so important because I believe that there is a fantastic opportunity now to change that dynamic which will only enhance our collective sales initiatives and better cater for our client needs. For this to happen, we need to make mentoring women a priority and so my mission is to mentor, coach and sponsor as many women as I can, into positions that will make a difference in the world.

When I set off for University to do a degree in Psychology, I had ambitions of becoming a psychologist because I wanted a career working with and understanding people. However, a serendipitous ‘sliding doors’ moment in the student’s union one morning in my second year, found me in the sales presentation of a company recruiting for salespeople. One successful summer sales role later, I got the sales bug and never looked back! I ended up applying for and getting a graduate sales role at BT and having huge fun building my sales careers there and at HP and Oracle, learning about the ever-changing worlds of IT and Cloud Computing.

Sales for me is about listening to and understanding a customer’s business problem and then working with a team to construct a solution and ultimately seeing my customers success in the use of IT. Most importantly, it’s the career of working with people that I dreamt of and I’ve never regretted my choice for one moment. Now that I’m in a Sales Leadership role, the thing that I love most is nurturing, developing

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and supporting my teams to be successful through sales mentorship. Coaching, mentoring and developing people not only brings better sales results, but it enables the success of the business in the long term, with better selling and happier, more fulfilled people within the business.

When I’m working with my mentees, I focus on three things: building confidence to go for the stretch roles, inspiring risktaking and supporting future ambitions. This is important because, very often, having someone working with you who has trodden the path before you to advice, guide and support, helps with a lot of the self-doubt that comes with pushing through the proverbial comfort zone. And as a collective, unless we, as women, push through into those stretch roles, the visibility of women in in senior sales positions won’t be significantly impacted.

This is especially important to me because as the mother of three daughters, I want my girls to be able to see a very different landscape when they enter the job market in 10-15 years’ time than the one that they may see today. I want them to be able to see strong female leaders and saleswomen and have role models that they can aspire to.

The work that Afi and her team at Women In Sales Awards is doing is hugely important in raising the profiles and careers of the fantastic female sales talent that is out there. I encourage you to support the amazing saleswomen around you next year and nominate them for an award. The more we can widely celebrate their successes, the more we can slowly begin to increase the visibility of Women In Sales.

2018 BEST

sales mentor

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Congratulations to the next generation of WOMEN SALES LEADERS.

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Coming Soon Women In Sales Awards Singapore

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5

Work-Life Balance Tips for Sales Professionals to Increase Productivity

BY REBECCA (SMITH) TWOMEY — Director of Marketing, Criteria for Success, @RebeckerTwomey

Looking for some work-life balance tips for sales that will increase your productivity? Well, you’ve come to the right place! As a sales leader or salesperson, time is precious. You’ve got prospecting and selling activities, relationship building and networking events (for starters).

Then of course there’s follow-up and the thousands of emails you’ve got to deal with every day. And somewhere along the line, you’ve got to get some deals closed too! If your day is anything like mine, it’s a mad sprint from start to finish. And those non-stop busy days can cause a lot of havoc on our bodies—both mentally and physically. That’s why today I’m focusing on sharing some simple work-life balance tips for sales professionals that promote positive productivity.

Let’s explore this together.

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Finding balance in our professional and personal lives isn’t easy. Especially in sales. Most of us know that sales is driven by behavior. The more action we take, the more likely we are to succeed. But that doesn’t mean we should work our lives away.

Tip #1:

MAKE SLEEP A PRIORITY

Tip #2:

MAKE YOUR HEALTH A PRIORITY

•

Eating a healthy diet increases energy

•

Taking a lunch break boosts afternoon productivity

•

Staying hydrated keeps headaches away & helps with concentration

•

Exercising regularly curbs anxiety, stress, & depression

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•

You’ll recover from distractions faster

•

You’ll help prevent burnout

•

You will make better decisions

•

Your memory will improve

•

You’ll make fewer mistakes

Tip # 3: TAKE BREAKS

•

You’ll have a chance to refocus on your work

•

Your creativity will get a boost

•

You’ll prevent eye strain & body aches

•

You’ll lower stress by allowing decompression

Tip #4:

MANAGE YOUR TIME

•

Create weekly goals and you’ll establish a vision

•

Calendar your goals into time blocks and you’ll get more done

•

Cross your accomplishments off and you’ll reduce stress

Tip #5:

DON’T FORGET TO LAUGH!

•

You’ll reduce stress hormones

•

You’ll boost your immune system

•

Your memory will improve

•

You’ll improve your mood & happiness levels

•

You’ll promote creativity

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BY ROBIN MAR — Eleven Solutions, robinmar.co.uk

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T

he world of Sales is changing but what should you do about it and where do you start? Last year, alongside other sales leaders in companies including Xerox and EY, I undertook a project to investigate the key global trends that were impacting on Sales and Marketing. In particular we examined the way in which digital technologies, rapid communication and the breakdown of markets and platforms were transforming the way in which consumers and organisations did business.

The findings from our research, which were sponsored by the Association of Professional Selling, were documented in the article The Rebirth of Selling, which highlighted four key trends: 1.

The way we make buying decisions has changed

2.

Technology is enabling changes (but digital is not just technology)

3.

All selling is now social

4.

Sales is being reborn

These changes are impacting on almost every market sector and are leading organisations, large and small, B2B, B2C, direct and indirect to review and transform their sales and marketing operations.

In response to these shifts Microsoft has reorganised it’s entire sales force, Shell has built a digital highway populated with enablement tools for its channel partners, BuzzFeed has restructured its sales operations to provide increased digital focus and Home Depot is enhancing its digital procurement and B2B sales capabilities.

McKinsey have reported that B2B sales leaders who are using digital effectively enjoy five times the growth of their peers who are not Organisations that act pro-actively can achieve competitive advantage and those that fail to adapt to these new market dynamics will be left behind. It is no longer a question of whether to change but what to change and how?

In this follow up article I consider the key steps that you need to address when planning a digital sales transformation.

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Digital sales leaders achieve 5X more growth — McKINSEY

SUSTAIN

O4

"know when you've made it"

DIAGNOSTIC "know where you started"

O2

O3

O1

DIRECT

IMPLEMENTATION "KNOW how you'll get there"

"know where you're going" S A L E S T R A N S F O R M AT I O N I S A JOURNE Y WITH FOUR CLE AR STEPS

01.

GET INVOLVED – TAKE THE LEAD

02.

COLLABORATE – IT IS NOT JUST ABOUT SALES

The first and most important step is to get involved in leading the changes.

Digital offers buyers and sellers three key benefits:

Being digitally ready is a key concern for most CEOs. When technology investments are needed this will involve the CTO/CIOs. However, whilst tech will be a key enabler to deliver maximum benefits it needs to be aligned to a clear commercial strategy and this should be led

by Sales and Marketing. Your commercial strategy should drive the technology needs, not the other way around.

1.

The ability to break down barriers and improve access across different platforms, lowering costs and increasing ease of doing business.

2.

New ways to create and capture value.

3.

Deeper insights. For buyers this means more relevant services and for sellers this means deeper understanding of different buyers needs leading to incisive targeting and demand generation.

Whilst your first digital improvements might focus on taking cost out by replacing manual

processes it will quickly become evident that to truly maximise customer value requires an holistic view across the whole customer value chain. This is not just about the sales process but the whole generation-to-delivery process.

To deliver against this you might begin with cross-functional pilots but the most effective changes will require a re-examining of traditional structures and approaches.

Collaboration will be critical and this begins at C-level between the CIO, CMO and CSO. These have traditionally not been the strongest relationships so it will be important to invest time in building understanding and strengthening these internal alliances.

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It doesn’t matter how sharp your drill is, if you’re drilling in the wrong place you wont discover oil

03.

SET A CLEAR VISION – KNOW WHERE YOU'RE GOING When you begin this process resist jumping straight into solution mode.

This is the mistake that led to so many poorly deployed CRM systems, training programmes and unused tech.

How customers buy has changed, there are now more stakeholders involved than ever before and up to 80% of a buying decision is made before a customer makes direct contact with the seller. New competitors are disrupting traditional markets, customers want seamless access across multiple platforms and they value transparency and ease of doing business.

These changes are impacting on every organisation, they are changing the way in which we create value and how we market, sell and engage with customers. When planning your transformation you should begin with a clear view of where you want to get to. This is not about building a strategy to ‘go digital’ but creating a vision and strategy that will enable you to compete and thrive in a digitally enabled world. Time spent at this stage in the process will deliver significant value.

You need a unifying vision that is bold, transformative and shines a light on where you are going and what that place will look like. It needs to be a vision that will excite multiple audiences; it is for your teams,

customers, partners and colleagues.

In doing this consider the following questions: •

How will value be created in my industry in 5 years?

•

What new business models are emerging or could be created?

•

What real problems will customers be facing? What is broken and what are the unmet needs?

•

What sales channels are needed, now, immediately and in the future?

Above all else you need to start with a vision that describes what the digital version of your organisation looks like. This is needed even if your change is being inspired by a specific challenge. Declining sales or new competition might create a burning platform but will rarely lead to sustained momentum as energy levels drop once the immediate threat has been averted. A positive vision will help galvanise your people into action and to inspire them to keep going.

TIP Imagine that you are interviewing a potential new recruit, what would you say to them about where you are going and why they should join your organisation? If you are facing difficult challenges what is the vision that will inspire your people to lift their chins off their chests and start dreaming again?

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"You have to start with the customer experience and work backwards to the technology" — STE V E J O B S

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04.

CURRENT STATE – KNOW WHERE YOU ARE STARTING FROM

SA L E S S E E S T H AT P OW E R H A S S H I F T E D TOWA R D S B U Y E R S

To understand the scale and detail of the task ahead you need to know your current reality in as broad as context as possible. Don’t be myopic or be tempted to skirt over this process.

Your buyers are more in control of the buying process than ever before. The traditional model of Marketing creating campaigns and passing leads to Sales is changing.

Customers are self-serving, they research online and value expertise and ease-of-doing business. A seamless buying process will deliver greater loyalty. Sellers need to manage more complex and sometimes conflicting demands.

So when assessing the current state you need to take an holistic approach and consider the whole customer experience.

22% 22%

57%

Compared to 2-3 years ago, do you think that B2B / B2C buyers today are more or less dependent on salespeople during their decision-making process?

A Less dependent

B More dependent

C No change

Base: 115 global sales professionals Sourse: HubSpot Sales Perception Survey, Q1 2016

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Using data sellers are now able to better target buyers, streamline the buying process and anticipate next steps. Technology is enabling organisations to re-engineer their key processes, to remove bottlenecks and reduce costs; focusing sales resource where it creates most value.

In the past two decades we’ve witnessed the growth and professionalisation of inside sales. We are now observing the emergence of sophisticated data analytics and automation.

Salespeople are increasingly embracing social media to prospect, engage and influence buyers,

Sales Enablement

Digital Readiness

Programme Management

CHANGE

positioning themselves as experts and trusted advisors.

To make sense of these changes you need a stake in the ground that objectively assesses your current sales organisation. There are a number of tools available for this for example the excellent SEC Anatomy of World Class Sales Organisation or EFQM Management Model. Choose one that enables you to assess your capabilities from vision and strategy through to the delivery of results and be sure to take input from a broad church of people including customers, partners and internal colleagues.

Sales Strategy

SAM Programme

TIP One of the biggest barriers to any change initiative is a failure of individuals to see the need for change, asking members of your team to complete the current state assessment (and not just your managers) is a great way to begin the change process.

Channel Partnering

S A L E S V I S I O N & S T R AT EGY

SA L E S

Segmentation

C U LT U R E

C U S TO M E R & MARKET FO C U S

KPI / CSF

Rewards

R E S U LT S & R E WA R D S

Rewarding Stars

Hiring Capabilities

Performance Management

C U STO M ER SA L E S

S A L E S TA L E N T M A N AG E M E N T

Coaching & Training

Analytics & Insight

Customer Experience

CRM

Solution Development

C U LT U R E

SALES & MARKETING ALIGNMENT

Org. Structure Best Practice

SLAs Transfer

Value Proposition

SALES PROCESSES

Sales Process

Sales Tools

Executive Sponsorship

Opportunity & Bid Management

The two critical dimensions are a) How are we performing? and b) What impact will this have if we improve?

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05.

IMPLEMENTING THE CHANGES – KNOW HOW YOU’LL GET THERE Trying to address everything at once is a recipe for failure but similarly you must ensure that your changes are aligned across the organisation. When deciding where to focus consider the following:•

The impact of the improvement on achieving your vision

•

Resources available to you to deliver

•

Ease of implementation

•

Probability of success

Consider balancing your approach across areas that can deliver quick-wins alongside longer-

term initiatives. But in each case break your approach down into manageable chunks, use small-scale pilots rather than taking a big bang approach.

The pace of change, particularly in terms of new technologies can be frightening and the advice from Steve Job’s has never been more pertinent ‘’you have to start with the customer experience and work backwards to the technology’’.

Don’t get side tracked on what specific platform or application to choose but decide on the outcomes you want to deliver and work back from there.

5

— McKINSEY

CRITICAL CHALLENGES

V E RY HIGH

P OT E N T I A L I M PACT

Companies need to create the human-digital blend that is most appropriate for their business and their customers.

4 HIGH

3

M O D E R AT E

2 LOW

1 NO I M PACT

5

4

3

2

1

WO R L D C L ASS

GOOD

AV E R AG E

POOR

V E RY POOR

IDENTIFY YO U R C R I T I CA L CHALLENGES

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C U R R E N T CA PA B I L I T Y

steps. Technology can enable you to re-engineer your key processes, remove bottlenecks, reduce costs and focus your sales resource where it best creates value. It is also improving consistency and rigour and allowing managers to better focus their coaching and support.

Two key areas to consider are your people and processes.

PEOPLE Your people will continue to be a key differentiator but the specific roles and skills required are changing. We are witnessing a decline in the number of transactional sales roles, with simple and repeatable processes being automated.

Conversely, in more complex solution sales greater emphasis is placed on salespeople who can build trust and create value and this calls for broader commercial skills with enhanced business understanding.

The emergence of Success Managers who coach and teach clients in how to best maximise post contract value is a continuing trend that is moving beyond subscription and SAAS offerings into other product and service areas.

New skills are emerging for example the ability to interrogate, manage and utilise big data through data science and to connect with buyers through social channels. Customers continue to seek advice and expertise and the ability for individual salespeople to differentiate themselves through tailored content and points-of-view is becoming increasingly important.

The role of sales enablement,

which combines commercial and project management skills is now an essential part of many sales organisations as they transform and change.

Sales is being reborn. Doing more of the same, of selling faster and harder to bigger targets and shorter deadlines will not lead to better outcomes. This requires a different type of commercial leader; one who can embrace the demands for rigorous delivery alongside the need to meet changing customer expectations.

Today’s sales leaders need to lead and coach teams with increasingly diverse sets of skills, to deliver today as well as setting the vision and implementing the changes needed for success in the future.

PROCESSES Many sales processes were designed around a way of buying that no longer exists, with the salesperson at the fulcrum of a relationship through which every transaction flowed. This has largely now disappeared. Buyers now select how and when they want to engage, directly, remotely and in a manner that suits them. Your sales processes need to be designed around these new dynamics.

Using data you are now better able to target buyers, streamline the buying process and anticipate next

This is not just about creating a digital version of your current organisation but reviewing what can create greatest value. Consider how buyers want to engage with you. How can you remove unnecessary steps? What can be automated? Where does human interaction create value, where can it be reduced or increased?

Take a view across the whole customer supply chain and as mentioned earlier this may require you to re-examine traditional structures. For example, the interfaces between Sales and Marketing and where leads are generated through inbound or account based marketing with enhanced personalisation and content production.

TIP You are not unique, learn from others. Whatever changes you are making whether it is a training programme, reorganisation, new technology etc. someone else will already have gone through this before you. Seek advice from your network, reach out on Linkedin, ask suppliers and learn from their approaches.

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THE SOCIAL SELLING ADOPTION WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE

74.9% OF COMPANIES REPORT AN INCREASE IN THEIR SALES TEAM USING SOCIAL SELLING IN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS

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06.

KNOW HOW YOU ARE DOING – AND SUSTAINING THE CHANGES Whatever you say at the outset the expectation of quick change is almost always greater than the reality. After the initial rush of excitement fatigue can set in.

As a leader you will be embedded within the programme, you will receive regular updates and might get tired of hearing about every small detail. But your team doesn’t have this level of visibility and you need to ensure that they get constant updates on progress alongside reminders of where you are going and why.

Remember that not everyone will respond to the changes in the same way and at the same time. Some members of your team will be affected on day one others might not experience any changes for a few months. It is therefore critical

that you continue to demonstrate why you are changing and where you are going. You can never over communicate your vision. Here are some tips to ensure that your change sticks: •

Chunk it or junk it – break initiatives down into small manageable chunks

•

Celebrate success - especially on delivering early quick wins

•

Engage everyone in the changedon’t just rely on managers and team leaders, appoint champions at every level to lead on key initiatives.

•

Programme management – few programmes succeed without some level of dedicated resource, build the cost for this into your ROI.

TIP Appointing champions at all levels will provide you with insight, expertise and a cohort of flag-bearers for the change. Having a colleague tell you about the progress being made is far more compelling than top down communication.

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07.

BE THE CHANGE When leading a digital sales transformation the final thing to consider is what changes you are going to make yourself? According to Hal Gregersen, a leading expert on change and Executive Director at the MIT Leadership Centre, the most successful change programmes are led by leaders who have recognised the need to make changes in themselves. This is because those leaders understand the challenges in making a change first hand, they understand the barriers that get in the way, they see the temptations of sticking with the status quo and the importance of having sufficient support and encouragement.

Sales is all about change. As salespeople we want our prospects

TIP

to make the change to using our services and for our customers to experience the positive change from using them. Sales is being reborn, digital is changing the way we make buying decisions, it is enabling new ways for value to be created, and new ways of buying and selling are emerging.

We can either embrace these changes and thrive or ignore them and stagnate. This requires us to lead change within our own organisation, to ask ourselves what the digital version or our company looks like, to examine what skills, processes and solutions we need to succeed. As commercial leaders we need to become the change we want to see and start creating a successful future.

Companies need to create the human-digital blend that is most appropriate for their business and their customers. — McKINSEY

Get executive sponsorship. The changes will likely require support beyond your own remit. Get executive support to deliver a roadmap that places the customer at the heart of your organisation. This will help you to get access to resources and ensure collaboration happens right across the organisation.

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28.11.2019

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Re-Wired for Reward Is it time we changed how we reward to get better sales results?

BY NICK SQUIRE — Sales Director, Lincoln West Ltd ‘The National Sales Conference’

1977, Jimmy Carter replaced Gerald Ford, the Queens Silver Jubilee was celebrated, Elvis was found unceremoniously on the toilet in Memphis, the charts are dominated by Abba, but for me there was only one thing on my mind, winning a medal in the school sack race.

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A

las, my feet became entangled on the ‘B’ of Bang and my dreams were dashed for another year. 2007, my sons first school sports day, certainly a very different world, but seemingly also very different values with every participant getting a medal. This approach to everyone being a winner didn’t sit well with me, now in business we are starting to see the effects with some having a skewed view on achievement and entitlement.

Take a look inside your purse or wallet and I’d be surprised if you were not a member of the loyalty for reward generation. Its not salespeople’s predilection towards coffee that is driving loyalty schemes, but the fact that these schemes can alter buyer behavior boosting sales and frequency, especially when approaching a reward. Experiments into the “goalgradient hypothesis” conducted in 1934 concluded animals expend more effort as they approach a reward. In one of his early studies, Hull discovered that rats in an alleyway ran progressively faster as they approached the food, later experiments have shown humans mirror this hypothesis. One café experiment involving a loyalty “buy ten, get one free” scheme found that clients purchased coffee more frequently the closer they were to earning a freebie. Hold these thoughts, as Loyalty schemes are generally targeted at personal gratification in our private lives, and most act very differently in our work lives in response to potential reward.

My first foray into product distribution introduced me to the

world of Spivs/Spiffs, promotions set to boost sales of a vendors products over others. An early reference to a spiff can be found in an 1859 dictionary: "The percentage allowed by drapers to their young men when they effect the sale of old fashioned stock". The items were indicated by a barely discernible hieroglyph on the price ticket.

Fundamental success of a spiff appears to rely firstly on the reward for achievement being of worth to the sales person, but the ultimate success rests on changing ingrained behavior of the sales person to focus their efforts on the product being promoted in the spiff. As a rule this has generally been doomed to failure as a high percentage of people in sales follow the path of least resistance as they either feel the reward is unattainable, or question why they should disrupt their work habits when they are getting by just fine. Spiffs tend to end up with a winner more down to chance and luck rather than a concerted effort by the sales person to make change in their habits, a hollow victory for the vendor and a short lived loyalty from the sales person.

Reflecting on medals for all, and the perceived entitlement culture, perhaps its time we looked at how to reward outside of salary and commission. ‘Uti Possidetis’ (as you possess, so may you continue to possess) reflects many of the ideals that possession is nine tenths of the law, mirroring that sense of entitlement. With this in mind how do we create perceived ownership of the reward before any sales actions?

As a rule we find it easier to hold on to something than actually change

No person was ever honored for what he received.

Honor has been the reward for what he gave.

habits to get reward, especially if the reward appears beyond reach, e.g. people who own a home will change their behavior to keep possession of their home, yet more and more people are finding it nigh on impossible to get that deposit to get on the ladder, so rent.

Rather than shifting the mindset of the masses, work with what has been created. “Here is £1000, its yours, all you need to do is fulfill requirements by these dates, if you don’t hit the requirements I take some of the money from the reward”, setting clear expectations, deadlines and using visual stimulus (perhaps a pile of cash!) makes people fight harder for what they believe is their entitlement. I’ve likened this process to saying, “Today we climb Everest, but we start at the summit, all of the required things we don’t do, we slide down the mountain”.

As with anything in sales there is never one size fits all, we all tick differently, maybe its time you looked at re-wiring your thoughts on how you reward. Calvin Coolidge summed up reward for me with his quote “No person was ever honored for what he received. Honor has been the reward for what he gave”.

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B2B Sales Trends to Watch in 2019

BY MIKKO HONK ANEN — Co-founder, Vainu.io

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1

REAL-TIME SALES TEAMS WILL EMERGE At the moment, there are only a handful of companies that have a real-time sales team. Drift and Intercom were some of the first companies promoting this concept: a sales approach where new sales inquiries are being responded in real-time. The first RTS teams have focused heavily on online chat discussions, but we assume that the scope of RTS will expand to cover the whole sales process across multiple channels. Here at Vainu, we launched our own RTS team in September 2018, a group that works on well-defined target groups with speedy response times at the core of everything they do.

2

WELL-DOCUMENTED SALES PLAYBOOKS BECOME THE STANDARD Shareholders and executive teams love everything that scales. Not too long ago, we frequently saw posts on LinkedIn complaining how sales does not scale. In a world that is drowning in data, that's not true. If you're able to create a systematic sales process that leads to a profitable new business sales department, it very much meets the criteria of a scalable business.

More and more companies aim to document their sales plays so that they can A/B test what works and what doesn't.

Here at Vainu, we launched our own RTS team in September 2018, a group that works on welldefined target groups with speedy response times at the core of everything they do.

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3

AUTOMATED SALES PROSPECTING EMERGES (LEAD SCORING 2.0) There's nothing new in predictive or even prescriptive lead scoring; most marketing automation and CRM platforms provide this type of capability these days.

Unfortunately, this scoring is often based on only the data that is stored in that specific platform, making the scores far from perfect. In 2019, more companies will start adding new external data sources into their scoring algorithms, allowing them to predict future demand much more precisely. This is the first step in something we expect to be a reasonably lengthy process: the death of prospecting in B2B sales.

At the beginning of the next decade, the first companies will automate both inbound sales prospecting and outbound sales prospecting at scale.

These companies store all their customer and prospect data in one database and smart algorithms and search queries provide the list of the best prospects for all their sales reps, in real-time.

4

5 6

B2B MARKETING CATCHES UP WITH B2C MARKETING FROM 5 YEARS AGO

SALES OPERATIONS TURNS INTO A NECESSITY FOR TEAMS OF ALL SIZES

Whether you like it or not, it's safe to say that B2C marketing is years ahead of its B2B counterpart.

Google, Facebook, and other data powerhouses have transformed the way brands target, engage and serve consumers. The same is slowly happening in the B2B space, too.

Most large and medium-sized sales teams are supported by a sales operations unit. Traditionally, sales operations people have spent the majority of their time managing sales data, reporting sales results, maintaining sales collateral and training salespeople on the sales process, tools and technologies.

As B2B sales is becoming more of a science and less of an art, the role of sales operations is also changing rapidly. The mediocre teams will continue being support functions that are always fighting to get the resources they need and the attention they deserve. But the best-in-class sales operations teams are becoming real enablers. In the world where:

We are witnessing something we call "the war of contacts": all major tech ecosystems are expanding their offering with the goal of becoming that one master database for B2B marketing. Companies that started from different backgrounds, such as Zendesk (originally customer ticketing solution), Intercom (originally a chat solution) and HubSpot (originally a marketing automation provider) all have introduced new solutions with the goal of owning the most critical asset in B2B marketing: a master contact database with an understanding of decision-makers' needs, wants and desires.

EVERYTHING IS REAL-TIME (1st trend),THE AMOUNT OF DATA IS EXPLODING (3rd and 4th trend) AND A NEED FOR SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES IS INCREASING (2nd trend).

AI WILL GENERATE A BETTER SALES PITCH

No, AI won't replace humans this year, but we firmly believe that artificial intelligence will be used in creating personalized sales pitches.

For years, companies have recorded data about lost and won deals, and reasons behind those outcomes. At the same time, the new data sources are drawing a much more nuanced picture of each potential customer.

Already now seasoned sales professionals can come up with a personalized sales pitch to almost any customer that belongs to their ideal customer profile. And they can do so in the blink of an eye. We predict that this will soon be done at scale. And not by salespeople, but artificial intelligence algorithms that read all that data in no time, and learn based on new data added by users or analytics professionals.

The importance of having someone to tie all of that together is businesscritical. And Sales Ops is a natural place for where that responsibility lies.

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There are many skills required to be a good salesperson.

Confidence, motivation, passion and drive are all important, but perhaps the most important skill of all is emotional intelligence.

Reasons Why Emotional Intelligence Matters in Sales

BY RICHARD STEVENSON Head of Global Communications, Pipedrive, www.pipedrive.com

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What is emotional intelligence?

01

Emotional intelligence is the capacity to express and control emotions and to read the emotions of others and respond empathetically. The skill is becoming increasingly valued in the workplace as people become better educated about the importance of managing workplace stress and creating an environment that promotes mental health at work.

#

Mental Health America has identified emotional intelligence as one of the key factors in cultivating a mentally healthy workplace. People with a high level of emotional intelligence are often referred to as having a high EQ.

Emotional intelligence can be a real asset when handling objections. Each potential customer will have a unique set of needs as well as their own concerns in the early stages of the sales funnel. Empathizing with customers about their concerns and understanding their point of view makes handling objections so much easier.

Why emotional intelligence matters in the sales industry Emotional intelligence is a valuable skill to have in any career, but even more so in the sales industry. In a job that requires the ability to break down barriers with total strangers, overcome objections, build relationships and make connections, it's easy to see why the ability to control emotions and respond appropriately is important.

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OVERCOMING OBJECTIONS

Sales objections aren't a bad thing. They present opportunities. A question or objection is a crystal clear insight into a pain point you can solve. Smart, positive salespeople can turn objections into sales by preparing a proactive plan to overcome the most common sales objections.

#

03

BUILDING RAPPORT

HANDLING REJECTION

#

In sales there is no one-size-fits-all approach to building rapport with potential new leads. It takes an emotionally intelligent person to read the signals the individual is giving and adapt their pitch accordingly. If the lead seems open and chatty, the salesperson can go with a more informal approach – if the customer prefers to be addressed by their title, then a more respectful and formal tone should be used.

02

Rejection is an inevitable part of working in sales, but that doesn't make it easy.

Salespeople with high EQ understand that a "no" isn't a rejection of them personally, but of what they do. Emotionally intelligent people are less likely to become stressed or upset by repeated rejections – they are more likely to see it as an opportunity to improve their technique.

#

05

DELAYED GRATIFICATION Most people working in sales are chasing the buzz that comes from closing a deal. This can mean that sales reps focus most of their energy on closing deals, in pursuit of the instant gratification that comes with it. This approach can be detrimental to your sales funnel, as it means there are less leads entering at the top. Emotionally intelligent people tend to be more willing to do the work that leads to the reward – this is known as delayed gratification.

#

04

INDIVIDUALS WITH A HIGH EQ MAKE BETTER MANAGERS Working in sales can take its toll both mentally and emotionally. While there are adrenaline-pumping highs when your whole team feels like celebrating, so, too, are there low points where every path leads to a dead end.

An emotionally intelligent team leader can keep reps feeling positive during the tough times by boosting morale of the entire sales team. Their natural ability to read emotions means they're supportive and empathetic when team members are stressed or feeling pressured, and they know how to help people who might struggle with workplace stress or mental health issues.

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Reasons Current Diversity Initiatives Fail Us

BY RINA GOLDENBERG LYNCH Founder & CEO, Voice At The Table, www.voiceatthetable.com

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dvances in achieving gender balance in the corporate space are slow, at best. Despite the deafening cries for progress towards gender parity, progress is, indeed, evading us. The latest gender pay gap statistics in the UK prove the point, with the largest pay gap reported in the construction sector at 25%, followed by finance and insurance sector at 22% and education at 20%. The World Economic Forum predicts it will take the world another 217 years to reach parity, and many other reports show that, while we appear to be inching closer to a more diverse and inclusive world, progress is, well, patchy and sometimes questionable.

I have to ask myself the question why? After all, in my conversations with clients and other companies, it seems diversity and inclusion is an important part of the business agenda, and gender balance even more so. Most have already spent copious resources on various initiatives that intend to support and advance women - and, more broadly, diversity - within the organisation. And yet, few would claim genuine parity at all levels.

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If you ask me, part of the problem is the belief that we’re doing all the right things whereas the truth is that most of the current initiatives fail to shift the dial on diversity.

Here are 3 reasons for it:

1 ALL FEMALE LEADERSHIP

& OT HE R INI TIATIV ES

In many cases, executive teams are genuine about their desire to advance women. But they don’t recognise it as a central business priority and look at it as a project to be managed. Having identified it as an issue, they tend to look for the right person to address it which, in many cases, happens to be the one woman on the executive team. I have heard this story so many times.

These women, or other senior women in the organisation, are anointed as Head of People, or Gender Diversity Sponsor or similar, and are expected to single-handedly ‘solve the issue’. If they’re lucky, the board will agree to authorise resources to support the position in the form of additional help and/or budget. Yet in most cases, all the resources are going to be insufficient because the ‘problem’ cannot be solved by one or few individuals, and certainly not this particular ‘problem’ (because it’s not so much a problem but an unexplored opportunity).

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The intentions behind programmes that support the advancement of women in the organisation are great, but there are a number of problems with this approach: When programmes cater to women only, the overarching message the company is sending to its women is that there is something wrong with them and that it is trying to ‘fix’ them. This is particularly true of leadership programmes which intimate that women need more development than men to become leaders; Even successful female-only initiatives tend to backfire because, to the extent they succeed to motivate and engage women, by the time women go back to their unchanged work environment, frustration starts to set in as they continue to perform in an environment that fails to recognise the value of their authentic contribution; Initiatives that are aimed at a specific segment of the population tend to be divisive and fail to attract the requisite amount of support and inclusion to harness lasting progress.

2 AP PO INT ING A FE MA LE HE AD TO ‘TACKLE THE PROBLEM’

3 PA RACH UT ING WO ME N INTO SENIOR ROLES

In many cases, gender imbalance exists primarily at the very top. Many companies tackle the issue by bringing in lateral hires as they don’t appear to have their own senior female pipeline to address the disparity. Sadly, this is one of the worst solutions to this issue. Having spoken to a number of corporates who have taken such measures it becomes clear very quickly that there is no substitute for ‘growing your own’. Attracting senior women from elsewhere is, at best, a temporary solution. These freshlyhired women – like the the women who have been at the company for years – will be exposed to the very same culture that failed to produce the senior pipeline in the first instance. As a result, the new senior female leaders are likely to become disenchanted with their roles as they come to realise that they are not hired for their expertise and contribution but, instead (to put it bluntly), to tick a box. Even if they do succeed in making a contribution to the company that is genuinely valued, companies have to carefully guard these women from being hired away by others with a similar agenda. The reality is that there are not that many senior women out there who seem to satisfy the existing requirements for board or senior level hires (although, of course, many more women can indeed to the job) so, unless companies develop their own female leadership pipeline, they stand to lose those recent hires to others that have a similar approach to gender balance.

These are but a few reasons current initiatives fail to advance gender balance at work, and there are a number of others. A genuine shift in numbers of women at top layers requires a commitment to change that starts with you – that is every single person wanting that change. Leadership commitment has to be stronger than releasing budget and appointing a project manager. Leaders should role model the change they want and commit to starting to change their own mindsets and behaviours. Lasting, sustainable change takes time and perseverance; like anything worth having, it will take hard work.

Leaders who are serious about change and want to see a meaningful sustainable shift that pays the dividends of diversity of thought should consider enlisting external help. Organisations like our own who live and breath gender balance and inclusion can help you move the dial from wherever you are to the next level of inclusion.

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N O M I N AT I O N S C LO S E

N O M I N AT I O N S O P E N

17 O CTO B E R 20 19

Women In Sales Awards Europe 2019 Timeline

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