SLIM NASCO 2018 felicitates top sales professionals at gala awards ceremony

 The prestigious National Sales Congress (NASCO) 2018, organised by the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM), concluded on a celebratory note on 21 August at the BMICH, 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 recognising and rewarding winners of NASCO 2018. 

The event was attended by Minister of Housing and Construction Sajith Premadasa as the Chief Guest and SLIM Past President Wasantha Mallikarachchi as the Guest of Honour, who presented the prizes to the winners. 

The overall winners list included Sameera Buddhika Herath of Unilever Sri Lanka Ltd. who won the ‘Outstanding Territory Manager of the Year’ award; Malinda Mendis from Allianz Insurance Lanka Ltd. who won the ‘Outstanding Sales Executive of the Year’  award; W.W. Charith M. Fernando of Hemas Manufacturing Ltd. who won the ‘Outstanding Front Liner of the Year’ award; and Pasikku Hennadige Thanusha Nimari of Sadaharitha Plantations Ltd. who won the coveted ‘Outstanding Female Sales Person of the Year’ award.

Commenting on SLIM NASCO 2018, SLIM President and Lanka Hospitals Diagnostics CEO Pradeep Edward said: “As the premier event dedicated to recognise 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 optimise 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, SLIM Vice-President – Events and Derana/Power House General Manager – Marketing Roshan Fernando said: “We are delighted with the unequivocal success of SLIM NASCO 2018 and congratulate the 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.”

SLIM NASCO Project Chair 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 make it seem easy! Sales professionals play a pivotal role in the business organisation 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 organisations 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 recognises and rewards sales personnel covering a spectrum of business sectors.