Seeking Sales Leaders

Back in May, I noticed a peculiar email in my inbox. It was from a distributor nominating his outstanding sales rep for Sanitary Maintenance’s Sales Leader award. I found it strange because we were months away from sending out nomination requests. And yet, this distributor was too excited to wait. He had a deserving candidate and he wanted us to know it. Even though it was unexpected, I certainly appreciated his enthusiasm and was pleased to already have one submission for the program.

For the rest of our readership, don’t hold back any longer. We are on the lookout for the next crop of Sales Leaders. This annual distinction is awarded to the reps who go above and beyond to make this industry great.

Sales reps know it’s one thing to get your foot in the door, but it’s another to actually close the deal. Our program acts in a similar way. Great sales figures are always an impressive way to get noticed, but we want reps with a bit more. For example, last year we honored one rep who worked through cancer treatments and another who arranged for a customer to attend ISSA/INTERCLEAN (unafraid of the competing products he’d find there).

If you have a worthy candidate and you’re not the only one who feels he or she deserves the honor, encourage others to chime in. One winner last year was nominated by three different people, each with his own reason for recognition.

These are just a few examples of last year’s winners. If someone at your company is in the same league — or is even better — then be sure to fill out a nomination form at www.cleanlink.com/salesleaders by Dec. 2. If you’ve nominated people before, but they didn’t win, that doesn’t mean they don’t have a shot this year. Just like in sales, one phone call rarely results in a new customer. Try again and see if they stand out from the pack this time.