Toshiba Tec’s drive to lift standards and focus on customer experience has been recognised with a new award from the Institute of Sales professionals (ISP) which demonstrates Toshiba’s integrity and commitment to professional development.
The company which specialises in imaging, printers and software solutions, has secured an Investor in Sales award which is conferred when at least 75% of a sales team passes the ISP’s ethical registration exam. The exam tests selling skills, knowledge, professional ethics and decision making.
To qualify, candidates must score at least 85%. A new exam has to be taken every two years so salespeople must keep their skills and knowledge up to date to remain on the ISP’s professional register of competent, ethical salespeople.
Receiving the award, Simon Coulson, head of national sales at Toshiba Tec said:
“Achieving the Investor in Sales award is a proud moment for our salespeople and for the company as a whole. As a widely respected global network, we hold ourselves to a high standard and the ISP’s professional registration and ethics exam ensures that our people have the skills, knowledge, and ethical conduct to provide the best experiences for customers. Their results are a testament to their continued commitment to strive for sales excellence and professional development.
“Our membership of the ISP is massively important for the way we do business and underpins the culture, vision and values which are central to Toshiba. One of our core values is to ‘do what is right, not what is easy’, and often the sales sector has a reputation for doing more of the latter. We hope that by gaining this celebrated award, both our current and prospective customers feel assured of the positive partnership they can expect when choosing our services.
“We are in growth mode and regularly developing salespeople. They are hugely valued members of the business, and they hold themselves accountable to a vision statement which they formed as a team: ‘Working together to create bespoke solutions, delight our customers and deliver excellence’.
“The ISP accreditation echoes this statement, and is not only a reminder of our investment in the skills and growth of our sales team, but also of the hard work and integrity which the ISP promotes. This is part of our continued effort to professionalise sales within Toshiba.”
Toshiba Tec currently has several members of their team with level 7 masters or level 6 bachelors degrees and the company wants to continue on this positive trajectory of growing its highly-trained team.
Simon commented: “To pass the ISP’s registration exam is no easy feat, but to achieve the pass rate required to qualify for this award is an even harder one. We even had one individual achieve a 100% pass rate first time round! I am immensely proud of them all, and thrilled that together we have been recognised with the Investor in Sales status by the ISP.”
Patrick Joiner, ISP managing director, who presented the award said:
“Many congratulations to the team at Toshiba Tec for passing our registration exams and gaining our Investor in Sales award. We have been working in partnership with Toshiba for many years and their dedication to professional excellence is clear to see and a testament to their hard work.
“One of Toshiba’s proud commitments states that they keep their customers ‘in mind all the time and everywhere’, and the work by their sales team clearly demonstrates this ambition to develop professional excellence and give their customers the best possible support and buying experience.
“Toshiba operates in a highly competitive market so standing out from the crowd is important, and at the ISP we know that building sales skills, knowledge and customer service by focusing on professional development makes a real difference. As an employer you attract top people who care about their careers and want to progress. This not only makes them good at their jobs and attentive to their customers, but also loyal to their employers because they feel valued and supported. Professional development is not only the right thing to do, it’s also clearly good for business.”