The Stevie® Awards are the world's premier business awards. They were created in 2002 to honor and generate public recognition of the achievements and positive contributions of organizations and working professionals worldwide. In short order the Stevie has become one of the world's most coveted prizes.

There are six Stevie Awards programs, each with its own focus, list of categories, and schedule. One program is The Stevie Award for Sales & Customer Service, which is open to all organizations worldwide and recognizes the achievements of sales, customer service, and call center professionals. Sales awards are separated into four major categories: 

1. Sales Individual

2. Sales Team

3. Sales Department

4. Sales Achievement. 

Of special interest to ATD members is the Sales Training or Education Professional of the Year, which is part of the Sales Individual category. This award recognizes sales executives and sales professionals with a managerial role who manage, design, or deliver sales training or education in any aspect of work life.

Similarly, in the Sales Achievement category is the Sales Training or Coaching Program of the Year, which recognizes sales organizations for their development and use of sales training and coaching programs. 

Finalists for the 9th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service were determined by the average scores of 139 professionals worldwide during two months of first-round judging. Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award placements were determined in final judging by members of seven specialized committees, and announced at the gala banquet at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Nevada, in February.  

Sales Training or Education Professional/Leader of the Year Winners for 2015: 

• Gold Award: Efficiency Sales Professional Institute: Mark Jewell, co-founder and CEO

   

• Silver Award:

  • DXP Enterprises: Curt Tueffert, Sales Development Expert

  • FLOW Jamaica: Beverley Thompson, Director, Consumer Sales and Retail Services

• Bronze Award:

  • Extreme Networks: Michael Pellerin, Senior Manager, Training and Certification

  • Nudge: Clint Sanderson, VP of Sales

  • Ooyala: Bill Gibbs, Sales Operations Manager 

Sales Training or Coaching Program of the Year Winners for 2015: 

• Gold Award: Zions First National Bank: “Self-Correcting, Not Self-Destructing at Zions Bank”

• Silver Award: Swiss Reinsurance Company: “Swiss Re—On the Way to a World-Class Sales Organization”

• Bronze Award:

• GuideWell Connect: “Endurance Training for a Changing Landscape”

• GuideWell Connect: “Now That's a Stealthy Action Plan—Secret Shopper Training”