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Nominees prove they have what it takes in tough times

The economic downturn and the outbreak of Sars hit Hong Kong hard last year, leaving many sectors struggling to survive.

The sales sector was left reeling as the once booming property market hit rock bottom, tourists stayed away in their droves, and locals chose to stay at home and keep their hard-earned dollars locked up.

But Hong Kong's economic woes failed to prevent sales professionals from finding innovative ways to succeed, as this year's 36th annual Distinguished Salesperson Award (DSA) has shown.

The DSA, organised by the Sales and Marketing Executives Club of Hong Kong,  attracted a wealth of top salespeople this year, with 127 nominees from 42 companies, including nine firms entering for the first time.

Their fields of expertise ranged from property to car sales, insurance, mobile phones, internet broadband delivery services and tourism.

Club chairman Titus Yu Hon-ki  said this year's nominees proved they could still provide outstanding service in a weak economy.

'In the past year, the economy was still not too good,' he said. 'These salespeople  proved  they can still perform outstandingly in economic hard times. The quality is getting better despite the difficult times. People don't want to buy as much as before, so salespeople are forced to perform better.

'The demands made on salespeople is much greater in bad economic conditions. This year the nominees performed better than ever.'

DSA organising committee chairwoman Dona  Chan  agreed. 'The 77 DSA awardees and the 19 OYSA [Outstanding Young Salesperson Award] awardees have  demonstrated excellent product knowledge and a high degree of professionalism,' she said.

'They have set examples not only for their own colleagues but also for their competitors and all who aspire to join and excel in the sales profession.'

This year's theme was Dedicated Professionalism, which encourages  loyalty to the employer  and requires nominees to be dedicated to a long-term career in sales.

'We chose Dedicated Professionalism as the theme for the 36th year of this programme in order to highlight the importance of sustaining and manifesting the professionalism of the sales and marketing industry.'

The Sales and Marketing Executives Club is affiliated with United States-based Sales and Marketing Executives - International, the largest association representing sales professionals in the world.

The Hong Kong club operates under the Hong Kong Management Association.

The DSA was launched more than 50 years ago in the US, and started in Hong Kong in the late 1960s; the OYSA was initiated in 1985 to encourage sales professionals under the age of 25.

'The objective is to give recognition to salespeople,' Mr Yu said. 'Secondly, the companies use the award so that their salesmen can do their best to improve the quality of salesmanship. When these companies win a DSA, they can build their company's image.'

In the assessment procedure, each company is invited to nominate five salespeople for the DSA, or three for the DSA and two for OYSA, Ms Chan said.

Nominees must write a short essay giving their reasons for choosing a career in sales, outlining their contribution to the advancement of their profession, and offering their views on the year's theme. They then have an eight-minute interview, which is in two parts.

'This interview is the most important part of the judging process,' Ms Chan said.

In the first part, the nominee  introduces the firm's products or services in a four-minute sales presentation,  and answers questions in a one-minute challenge from the judges.

In the second part, considered the more challenging section in the evaluation process, the nominee conducts a three-minute creative sales presentation.

'The nominees are given a product that is not sold by them,' Mr Yu said. 'It could be a pencil or a calculator. After one minute of preparation, they give a sales pitch to the judges based on instinct and requiring a creative response.'

The nominees' total score  in both assessments decides whether they have been successful in the awards, and the overall winner is chosen from the section winners.

Ms Chan said the DSA is an effective programme that adds strength to a company's sales team.

'The awards generate publicity and increase sales volumes during the competition,' she said. 'Salespeople gain recognition, self-exposure and motivation,  and further enhance their selling skills and self-confidence.'

The highlight of the awards is the presentation ceremony, to be held tonight at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai. The awards are sponsored by HSBC.

Organising committee

SME Club chairman: Titus Yu

36th DSA chairwoman:

Dona Chan

Executive secretary:  Jennifer Au

Members:  Seneca Chan,  Phoebe Chow,  Angel Chung,  Gerald Ip,  Tina Lui,  Shirley Ma,  Jacky Mok,  Kathy Wong,  Marco Tsang and  Cheryl Yue

ADJUDICATORS

Professor Andrew Chan,  Allan Chiang,  Winston Chow,  Tony Hau,  Angela Keung,  Ko Chi-sum,  Daniel Lai,   Henry Lam,  Michael Lee,  George Lung,  Victor Mok,  Alex Tang,  Kelvin Wong,  Michael Wu and  Kelly Yu



Recognition for a job well done