HNB wins NASCO gold award in Banking and Financial category

Asiri Gamage of HNB (right) receiving the award from Shehan Selvanayagam, Chief Executive Officer, 

Loops Solutions

Hatton National Bank (HNB), the leading private sector commercial bank in the country, has demonstrated its sales prowess by winning a gold award at the recently concluded National Sales Congress (NASCO) Awards, the premier national event dedicated to recognising, honouring and rewarding sales people.

The gold award for the best Front-liner in the Banking and Financial sector category was won by Asiri Gamage, who is attached to the HNB Card Centre and outshone 22 other competitors from the corporate sector. It is noteworthy that this prestigious award was secured by HNB in the very first year that it applied for the NASCO Awards.

The NASCO Awards were launched 15 years ago by the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM) to recognise the best of the best in the sales profession and nurture the sales fraternity, enhancing the learning curve in salesmanship and management. NASCO awards are highly sought after in the sales field and Gamage underwent a rigorous selection process in order to secure this honour, being interviewed by top sales heads of local conglomerates and multinational giants.

HNB Retail and SME Banking Deputy General Manager Thimal Perera, commenting on the award, touched on its significance for the sales culture of HNB.

“The days when customers came to banks are long gone, and banks now need to go to customers. Therefore we have initiated an aggressive development plan for our salespeople in order to provide a boost to the overall sales culture of the bank. We have encouraged the entire HNB branch staff, irrespective of whether they are directly involved in sales or not, to be sales-oriented in their work. This award is validation of the value of these initiatives and will motivate other staff members to reach their full potential and aim for national recognition.”

HNB recently launched a significant initiative to transform itself in to a service-oriented bank, with the objective of staying ahead of the competition in line with the evolution of the industry, by forming a Direct Sales Force (DSF). 

The DSF consists of energetic and enthusiastic staff from all branches of the bank who are willing to take up the challenge and provide a personalised service to customers. 

They are being groomed to be world class salespeople and will be the pioneers in introducing a new sales culture to the bank.