Sundance Vacations

Company: Sundance Vacations, Wilkes Barre, PA
Company Description: Sundance Vacations is a wholesale travel company specializing in prepaid condominium packages. Founded in 1991 by John Dowd, the company operates six sales locations nationally. Sundance is proud to be the recipient of the 2005 Torch Award given for ethical business practices from the Better Business Bureau serving Northeast and Central Pennsylvania.
Nomination Category: Sales Department Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Sales Department of the Year - Hospitality & Tourism

Nomination Title: Sundance Vacations nominates the King of Prussia Sales Center for Sales Department of the Year

1. Tell the story about what this nominated department achieved since the beginning of July last 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:

Sundance Vacations is a leader in the vacation industry providing its clients
with condominium-style vacations at a fraction of retail prices. Sundance
Vacations operates seven sales offices nationally. Although sales talent runs
deep in the company, the one team to be commended for their sales excellence
is the Sundance Vacations King of Prussia (KoP) Sales office.

The King of Prussia Sales office opened its doors on September 15th, 2004 and
employs 23 sales professionals. Consumer traffic since July 1, 2007 was 11,145
customers. The King of Prussia sales team wrote 2,651 sales that totaled more
than $19 million during that same period. Simple math will reveal an average
closing percentage of 23.78%. But sales volume and closing percentage are not
the only measurement of an excellent sales organization. Integrity and honesty
are the pillars that support the success of the King of Prussia sales team.

Each sales person signs an integrity statement during sales training in which
they pledge to present our vacation product in an honest and truthful way to
every consumer. As an additional quality control, web cams were also
installed in the sales presentation rooms nationwide. The King of Prussia
sales team was the first group to pilot this new use of technology. With this
tool, upper management can watch and evaluate the sales process from any
computer on the globe while local management uses the technology as a very
effective training tool. These commitments to an honest sales process is
embraced by the King of Prussia staff and contributes to their success.

The King of Prussia sales division was also the first to eagerly test "scent
marketing" within our company. Many other retailers like car dealerships,
department stores and casinos have already proven the successful use of a
pleasant scent to increase sales. The King of Prussia sales team uses a
microscopic mist of coconut and suntan oil scents to stimulate the olfactory
nerve to great success. In February of 2007, the volume was 780,000.
The corresponding sales volume in February of 2008 topped 1,250,000. It might
just be a coincidence, but the use of microscopic scent diffusers are now
being expanded as a result of the successful test by the KoP team.

The King of Prussia sales staff is also committed to giving back to the
community. They focus on charities that are important to their clients. If a
client suggests a charitable event or a donation idea; the staff eagerly looks
into every possibility to help that charity or organization. Sundance
Vacations employees support the Philadelphia Eagles Youth Partnership, the
American Cancer Society, and the Salvation Army to name a few. They play Santa
and collect toys for a non-profit daycare center that serves underprivileged
kids. Sales associates collect food, clothes, and toys for people in need.

The Sundance Vacations King of Prussia sales team is the leading sales team in
our organization but further I highly recommend this group of professionals as
THE model of a successful sales organization.

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]:

http://thestevies.com/SASCS08Attachments/SundanceVacations/

3. Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader(s) of the nominated sales organization:

Shane Lewis is the Director for the King of Prussia sale office and also
volunteers as the National Charity Coordinator for Sundance Vacations. Shane's
positive energy illuminates the King of Prussia sales office and his hard work
provides an example for his staff. Shane started as a salesperson in 2003. His
talent was immediately evident. He was soon promoted to Assistant Manager.
Shane also served as Assistant Manager in the company's Downers Grove sales
location until recently his promotion to Sales Director of the King of Prussia
Division in January 2008.

As a young boy Shane grew up in the Outer Banks of North Carolina where he
watched people vacation daily. He draws on this experience to easily sell
vacations as an important and required part of life.