Pradeep Edward - President, SLIM

The National Sales Congress (NASCO) 2018, organized by Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM), has gained national repute as a pinnacle event for sales personnel across all sectors. SLIM is proud to announce that the NASCO 2018 entry kit can now be downloaded at www.nasco.lk. Applications must be reached before 25th May, 2018. Applicants can call Dimithra on 0703463171 for further details. As the premier event dedicated to recognize the efforts and performance of sales personnel, NASCO is eagerly awaited by Sri Lanka’s sales professionals who rush to enter the keenly contested NASCO awards in a bid to revel in the spotlight of national attention from their peers, since it is the only national level event to recognize and reward the performance and potential of the sales force in the country. 

The NASCO awards have gained prestige and today a corporate’s success is determined by how many NASCO winners it has amongst its employees! Considered a rare achievement, every company jostles to enter its key sales personnel in the awards. NASCO 2018 is widely expected to attract a record number of entries. In order to make this event inclusive in nature, NASCO invites entries from companies regardless of their size as the awards are judged on the sales person’s strategy and quality. What’s more, English is not mandatory at the judging, and Sinhala and Tamil speaking sales personnel can also compete for the coveted NASCO awards. 

The judging for NASCO awards is uncompromising in its high expectations from true sales professionals and the judging panel comprises veterans across diverse industries. Companies need not fear entering their sales personnel because judging is carried out by judges who are not in the same industry as the candidate, thereby posing no risk of exposing strategic information. The immediate superior of a shortlisted candidate can even be present for the candidate interview process. 

Manthika Ranasinghe - Project Chairman, SLIM NASCO 2018

NASCO has met with repeated success year after year, with 110 companies from 22 industries taking part in the previous year’s edition, counting 550 entries in total. The immense value that a win at NASCO adds to the winner's resume and career advancement prospects explains its popularity. 

Moreover,  NASCO offers an enhanced awards ceremony experience because it not only empowers participants to benchmark themselves against the best of the best amongst sales professionals, but it also offers a free workshop after the grand finale, wherein SLIM makes recommendations to them about their weak areas identified during the judging and how to correct them. 
SLIM has revealed that participants can look forward to some exciting changes to the format. A new category has been added above the Territory Manager category while the judging process has been changed according to the current context. A reclassification has also been done of Industry and Business categories. 

As the National Body of Marketing, SLIM has been at the forefront of fostering marketing knowledge and best practices in the country. Organized for the 17th consecutive year, NASCO awards are being presented in 22 diverse business sectors under which categories territory managers, sales executives/sales supervisors and front-liners are recognised. In addition to Gold, Silver and Bronze awards, best female sales personnel are also recognised under each category.

In recent years, true sales professionals are scarce as the profession seemed to have has lost its attraction for young school leavers and graduates. As a result, managers from other professions who don't have hands on experience and knowledge in sales, take on the position of sales management which is not healthy for the future of the sales profession. 

SLIM NASCO fights to instill importance and recognition in the sales profession. A national level competition with participation from different industries has continuously improved the standard of the individuals. Hence, this competition has made a positive impact on the corporate sector. The sectors for nominations are: Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), Financial Services & Banking, Industrial, Media, Consumer Durables, Telecommunication, Fashion & Clothing, Healthcare, Modern Retail, Travel & Leisure, Insurance, Alcohol & Tobacco, and Corporate Selling.