So, the polls have opened amidst a flurry of activity and unsurprisingly, excitement levels are extremely high; This initiative, which was created initially in a light-hearted moment, has now grown into the most prestigious event for authors of sales related advice, and the weekly and monthly results are eagerly anticipated by literally thousands.

This though, is the BIG one, and it carries significant kudos for the winner. You only have to look at the calibre of the finalists this year: They include some of the best known gurus in the sales and marketing arena; Zig Ziglar, Jill Konrath, Keith Rosen, Paul McCord, Ivan Misner, Kevin Eikenberry, Mike Brooks and many more. It’s going to be a tough fight, that’s for sure.

The poll closes at 6pm Eastern/11pm GMT on November 30th and the result will be announced at Noon Eastern/5pm GMT on New Year’s Eve – so at least one person is probably going to be celebrating a little bit harder!

The public poll represents 50% of the marks awarded and the other 50% is contributed by the expert panel, our team of unsung heroes, who give up their time every week, to ensure that our high standards are maintained – let me introduce them:

The Adjudication Panel (In alphabetical order)

 Terri Dunevant brings over 25 years of diverse experience to the training and speaking industry. Her unique insight in people skills comes from her multi-faceted background, from cheerleading as one of the original Seattle Seahawks “SeaGals”, to sweeping awards as a Senior Advertising Consultant, to currently training nationally for Fortune 500 companies. www.wincourage.com

 Kevin Dwyer is a pragmatic change management advisor and founder of Change Factory based in Melbourne, Australia. The Change Factory view of what is generally missing in sales development can be summed up by the phrase “Training is not enough” Kevin’s interest in sales is in developing the reinforcing loops of corporate goal, strategy, marketing and sales tactics, KPIs, recruitment, career and competence development, coaching and counselling that influences more customers to move through their buying process with the selling organisation. www.changefactory.com

 Nigel Edelshain is CEO of Sales 2.0 Companies use Sales 2.0′s telesales and consulting services to take their sales to the next level, typically boosting results 3 – 10 times. The company applies the latest Sales 2.0 tools and techniques in its telesales operation and shares resulting breakthroughs in sales methodology with clients through its consulting practice. www.sales2.com

  Cindy King is a Cross Cultural & International Sales Specialist. She runs an international internet marketing company, King Business Tools based in France, where she helps mid-sized companies expand internationally by providing affordable international content marketing solutions. http://getinternationalclients.com/ 
 
 Craig Klein is a seasoned sales executive. He founded SalesNexus in 2002 built on the premise that businesses win when their sales staffs implement best practices through efficient contact management. Klein saw a real need in the marketplace for a contact management solution that was easy for sales reps to use, yet didn’t require expensive hardware, software, or IT support staff, The SalesNexus hosted CRM service offers a reliable, secure, and user-friendly product that businesses around the globe have come to rely on for their CRM needs. www.salesnexus.com 
 
 Steve Martinez is the author of Sales Impactivator a sales e-publication for success oriented individuals. As the President of Selling Magic, his company teaches business professionals how to automate the selling process, preventing sales people and business owners from experiencing the hard lessons in selling. Steve has consulted with businesses around the country sharing his 25 years of sales and marketing experience to eliminate sales failure. Steve uses his experience as a National Sales Manager and National Account Executive to share the real-world lessons in sales. www.sellingmagic.com 
 
  Lee B. Salz, President of Sales Architects, is a sales management guru who specializes in helping companies hire the right sales people, on-board them, and focus their sales behaviors. In Lee’s widely-acclaimed book “Soar Despite Your Dodo Sales Manager” (WBusiness Books, 2007), he presents his sales architecture® methodology to the world and “The Sales Marriage” (Sales Gravy Press), Lee’s second book, is due to be released in February 2009. He is also the brains behind Business Expert Webinars www.SalesArchitecture.com.

 Bill Sayers speaks, coaches, leads education sessions and provides management consulting services to a variety of companies. For the past five years Bill has run his own sales consulting practice. He has recently completed the writing of his new book – “Funnels and Forecasts – The Great Game of Sales”. He has been a professor at George Brown College teaching Personal Selling Skills to the Sports and Event Marketing Graduate Program, and is on the faculty of Canadian Professional Sales Association and Canadian Management Centre. www.TheSayersGroup.com 
 
 Dr. Greg Stebbins is an internationally recognized authority on Sales Psychology with an emphasis in individual and organization transformation. He is the President of PeopleSavvy and a master at improving the greatest asset of any business—its people. With more than 30 years of business experience, he applies a wealth of knowledge, street smarts, and high impact ideas to the challenges his clients have. He is also the author of the best selling and widely acclaimed book, PeopleSavvy for Sales Professionals. www.peoplesavvy.com

There is one glaring ommission from the weekly cast, but as I said to Jill Konrath last night, I think it right and appropriate that I stand down from voting on this one. I have friends who are in the pot, and that would have affected my judgement, no matter how hard I convinced myself that it wouldn’t. If you enjoy someone’s work, you will be biased.

So, the gladiators have entered the arena, let battle commence.

If you haven’t voted yet, you really should – just click on the “Vote Here” banner at the top.

Today’s News: I think that’s more than enough news for one day, other than to tell you that I will be announcing two new senior appointments within the Sales Corporation next week – more soon.

Tomorrow: I’ll be announcing the nominees for this year’s JF Awards, so be sure to join me

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