Sally has my vote!

The countdown has begun! Two weeks from now,  the most influential inside sales experts will gather for AA-ISP’s Leadership Summit in Minneapolis on May 10th and 11th. The line-up of speakers, authors and sessions is impressive. These two days will be packed with information designed to energize and educate you to a new level. If you haven’t signed up, I highly recommend that you carve out time to attend this fantastic event. You can even use my promo code “TeleSmart” when registering and get a discount of your attending this conference.

One of the highlights of the event is the Awards Ceremony, which recognizes some of the most influential inside sales professionals. Last year, I was honored with this award and hope to hold on to my crown again this year. But wait, there’s room for more — so Sally Duby gets my personal vote for most influential inside sales professional 2011.

For the past 15 years, Sally has been at the helm, running Anneke’s Seley’s successful company, PhoneWorks. Her leadership has helped PhoneWorks achieve tremendous growth. She has also been instrumental in developing Silicon Valley’s Telebusiness Alliance, a thriving professional organization of inside sales managers and directors who meet on a bi-monthly basis to talk trends, compensation, tools, etc.

Like Kevin Bacon, everyone seems to be within 6 degrees of Sally Duby. Over the years, I have found myself in so many situations where I mention Sally Duby’s name and suddenly, I’m family — everyone knows Sally!  If I ever start a Perez Hilton- type gossip blog or an Entertainment Today show around the inside sales industry, Sally will be my main source.

The inside sales field is one of the most complicated and confusing industries out there, but Sally Duby gets it — inside and out. She knows the field, the people, the processes, and the technology, and deeply understands how it all changes within seconds. She knows how companies never really believe they have arrived, because once they do . . .  it’s time to tear it down and put it back together.

Sally has recently taken on a new position managing the SMB business for Skype, working closely with another inside sales powerhouse, Cathy Sidwell. Together, these two will transform Skype and make inroads into areas we never thought possible. I’m excited to see it happen and wish her luck!