Caxton Excellence Awards' Field Salesperson of the Year

To enter, sales people had to qualify as being proven, proactive strategists who think 'out of the box'. After some tough decisions had been made, nine contestants successfully went forward to compete in the semi-final stage of Field Salesperson of the Year. Conducted at branch level, all contenders were judged by their overall sales performance, meeting and exceeding sales targets. Individual's selling and copyright skills, and overall customer, product and competitor knowledge were then put to task through interactive exercises managed by participating judges.

The final phase put four contestants through an intense half-hour interview, challenging participants to metaphorically sell ice to Eskimos! Once all three phases were complete, individuals were judged on complete criteria to identify their selling ability and passion for the business.

"The Field Salesperson of the Year is expected to fulfil a customer consultant role, which involves strategising with clients on total and synergistic media opportunities. Michelle Proctor fulfilled these requirements beyond expectations and was awarded the accolade. Jolene Spies of Benoni City Times was highly commended and the overall entrant standards were very high," says Gill Randall of the Newspaper Advertising Bureau, the specialised community newspaper advertising sales company.

Judging the final stage of Field Salesperson of the Year were: John Arnesen, Managing Director of the Marketing Federation of Southern Africa, Kathy Barrable from the St Thomas Group and Justin Dodd from Mr Carraway & Co advertising agency.