SLIM NASCO 2018 felicitates top sales professionals in the country at gala awards ceremony

The prestigious National Sales Congress (NASCO) 2018, organized by the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM), concluded on a celebratory note on 21st of August at the BMICH Colombo, amidst a gathering of distinguished guests from the corporate fraternity. The gala awards ceremony commemorated the role of sales professionals in driving success for corporates – by recognizing and rewarding winners of NASCO 2018. The event was graced by the Hon. Sajith Premadasa M.P. Minister of Housing & Construction as the Chief Guest and Mr. Wasantha Mallikarachchi, Past President SLIM as the Guest of Honor, who bestowed prizes on the winners. The overall winners list includes Sameera Buddhika Herath of Unilever Sri Lanka Limited won the ‘Outstanding Territory Manager of the Year’ award; Malinda Mendis from Allianz Insurance Lanka Limited won the ‘Outstanding Sales Executive of the Year’  award; W W Charith M Fernando of Hemas Manufacturing (Pvt) Ltd won the ‘Outstanding Front Liner of the Year’ award; and Pasikku Hennadige Thanusha Nimari of Sadaharitha Plantations Ltd proudly walked away with the coveted ‘Outstanding Female Sales Person of The Year’ award.

Commenting on SLIM NASCO 2018, Pradeep Edward, President of SLIM and the CEO of Lanka Hospitals Diagnostics, said, “As the premier event dedicated to recognize the efforts and performance of sales personnel, NASCO is growing in stature with each passing year, evidenced by the growing number of entries. SLIM NASCO has become the premier sales awards event in the country and is serving as the ideal motivational tool to inspire sales professionals to optimize the skills and enhance capacity. We are committed to enhancing the scope of the awards to support the sales profession to meet emerging global trends.”

Expressing his satisfaction with the outcome, Vice-President-Events of SLIM and the General Manager – Marketing of Derana / Power House, Roshan Fernando, said, “We are delighted with the unequivocal success of SLIM NASCO 2018 and congratulate winners. On behalf of SLIM, I would like to express my gratitude to the distinguished panel of judges and headed by Stephan Paulraj and to Nandana A. Wickramage, Advisor to the panel of judges, for having invested their time and effort in selecting the best of the best sales professionals in the country and for maintaining the highest judging standards. The winners should be proud of their accomplishment at SLIM NASCO 2018.”

The Project Chair of SLIM NASCO, Manthika Ranasinghe noted, “SLIM NASCO is at the forefront of bringing recognition to sales professionals in the country and this would not be possible without our valuable sponsors and partners in SLIM NASCO 2018, whose support made this national level competition become a total success. Running this event is a massive task but the hard work and dedication of the SLIM Council, Staff of SLIM, and the fellow members of the Project Committee makes it seem easy! Sales professionals play a pivotal role in the business organization and make a significant contribution to the growth of the economy and SLIM NASCO upholds its support for all sales professionals in the country.”

SLIM’s 2018 edition of NASCO recorded the highest-ever participation - with as many as 700 entries from 22 industries. First-time companies debuting in this year’s competition were as high as 28. The highest participation in the competition this year is recorded from the FMCG, Banking, Finance institutions and Insurance sectors. In terms of categories, 250 front liners, 200 supervisor/ executives, 150 territory managers, 50 regional sales managers, 25 national sales managers and 25 coordinators have sent in their applications.

More importantly, adopting an inclusive approach, SLIM NASCO 2018 deemed that English was not mandatory and organizations could communicate freely in Sinhala and Tamil as well. As the National Body for Marketing in Sri Lanka, SLIM has been in the forefront in fostering marketing knowledge and best practices in the country, and SLIM NASCO is the only national event which recognizes and rewards sales personnel covering a spectrum of business sectors.