Network Solutions

Company: Network Solutions, Herndon, Virginia
Company Description: Network Solutions is the leading provider of online solutions for small businesses.Our full range of services include: Website design, E-commerce, online marketing, SSL certificates, e- mail and domain name registration services. Our customer service has been recognized by JD Power and Associates for the second consecutive year for providing an “outstanding customer experience.”
Nomination Category: Individual Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Best Customer Service Executive

Nomination Title: Shelley Rawlings, SVP - Customer Service & Sales

1. Tell the story about what this nominee achieved in the past year (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

In 2006, Network Solutions took great strides to centralize focus of the
organization while integrating two company acquisitions. At the hub of this
effort was the customer service and sales organization, expertly led by Shelley
Rawlings, senior vice president of Sales & Service. Since joining Network
Solutions in 2002, Shelley has focused on rejuvenating, rebuilding, and growing
the Customer Service organization into a profitable and successful team that
delivers stellar service, knowledge and support to customers while exceeding
revenue objectives. With more than half of the entire company reporting to
her, Shelley brings extensive industry expertise, strategic direction and an
eye for improving sales, but most importantly an enthusiasm for her job, the
company and her teams. In the words of Champ Mitchell, CEO of Network
Solutions, "She accepts and masters challenges and has the highest energy level
I've ever seen…Her potential is limitless." 

3 to 1: Beating the Odds
Integrating unique and separate organizations is never easy, but in the case of
Shelley Rawlings this was a challenge met with a smart strategy that focused on
the best results for the teams, customers and company. In less than six months
Shelley seamlessly folded two call centers in St. Louis and Toronto into the
Network Solutions Customer Service organization in Herndon, VA by understanding
their individual processes, developing appropriate training programs to
leverage their skills and experiences, and most importantly by getting to know
the people on the teams and understanding the issues going on in order to
effectively plan, organize and implement a successful integration. Her focused
efforts for this integration resulted in an 18 percent decrease in employee
turnover since she joined Network Solutions, the hiring of 56 new people for
her team and increasing overall customer satisfaction from 82% to 84%. 

Community Building: Internal and External
As a driving force within Network Solutions, Shelley has worked
across internal departments to insure that not only are the various groups
aligned with a singular focus to deliver better solutions for customers, but
also to insure that the “voice of the customer” is understood by product,
marketing, engineering and other critical groups whose work impacts the efforts
of her customers service, sales and support teams. These efforts have resulted
in her customer service team exceeding revenue goals by an additional $6
million, generating nearly 15% of the company’s overall revenues and reducing
the customer churn rate to less than 1% per month.

In of the town Hazleton, PA, Shelley also recognized her role as an executive
leader and implemented programs for employees to become more active in their
community. The Hazleton team supports the Greater Hazleton Volunteer Center by
participating in cleaning up playgrounds, supporting diaper and canned food
drives, and creating a new website for the center. 

Leading by Example
With the unusual ability to combine strategic focus to the bottom line, an
intense level of energy and the commitment and an ability to connect with her
teams, Shelley demands the best of herself and inspires her teams to deliver
their best. Today, her entire organization generates nearly 75% of the company
revenues and handles more than 60,000 customer contacts weekly. Shelley’s
efforts to expand her people’s knowledge base, broaden their sales capabilities
and implement a consultative approach to customers has created
powerhouse team leaders, enthusiastic and dedicated teams, and ultimately
greatly contributed to the overall success of Network Solutions.

2. List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:

BLACK ENTERPRISE
http://www.blackenterprise.com/ArchiveOpen.asp?Source=ArchiveTab/2006/02/0206-19.htm

J.D. Power & Associates Call Center Certification
http://vocuspr.vocus.com/VocusPR30/ViewNewsOnDemand.aspx?ArticleID=100046_24089_1
6489319&Preview=true

MonsterCommerce Acquisition
http://www.thewhir.com/features/shih_Network_Solutions_Buys_MonsterCommerce.cfm

Network Solutions Recognized for Best Improvement in Customer Service by User's
Choice Awards
http://www.tophosts.com/articles/003105.html

Network Solutions Recognized for Support of Hazleton Volunteer Center
http://www.vcgh.org/breakfastofchamp.html

3. Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the nominee:

Shelley Rawlings is the senior vice president of Sales & Service for Network
Solutions, responsible for customer service strategy, sales, operations,
marketing execution and new channel/partners. Prior to joining Network
Solutions in 2002, Shelley spent 15 years with MCI Communications, where she
most recently was director of program management, responsible for developing
and implementing call center support plans for the company's entry into local
phone service. 

Shelley is a member of the Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals, the
Institute of Customer Service, the Association for Services Management and the
International Customer Service Association. Shelley graduated from Towson State
University