The samy award: sales & marketer of the year.

• Position: SAMY Awards

When a company succeeds, it's easy to give credit to the president or CEO. When a product makes a big splash, it's natural to praise the developers that made it. While those rounds of applause aren't unearned, praise is due for the backbone of any company: sales and marketers.

Without sales, a company's revenue would plummet, and without marketing, customers wouldn't know about even the most innovative products. In the following pages, we've recognized 17 of the state's top sales and marketers--but if there are any we've forgotten, go ahead and give them a pat on the back.

Also, new this year we're honoring some of the most innovative marketing and PR campaigns from local companies and agencies. Utah is filled with creative teams who pour their talent into catching the attention of media-saturated consumers. Kudos to all our 2017 Sales and Marketer of the Year award winners!

ERIC MARCHANT

SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE, JOLT SOFTWARE

Building a startup is no easy task. Eric Marchant and his colleagues have been working on building Jolt, an operations platform for businesses, "from [its] basement days to now."

"Helping to build an early stage startup has been a roller coaster. When I started with Jolt we only had a handful of users, no defined sales process, and no training. It was a major undertaking for us to learn how to sell our solution," says Marchant. "Through grit, a lot failed attempts and some sheer luck we have gone from a handful of test users, to today Jolt has a presence in over 500 brands. I have been fortunate to hold a major role in that early hard-fought growth."

In 2015, Marchant increased his sales 575 percent over the previous year, and in 2016, that number has climbed 200 percent more. "The combination of the pace of the company and the sharp people I work with on a daily basis has made the last three years one of the fastest personal growth periods of my life," he says.

SCOTT HARDY

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL MANAGER OF INSIDE SALES, VIVINT SMART HOME

Scott Hardy joined Vivint Smart Home in 2013, and even though his previous career was in strategy and product marketing roles, he loved the opportunity his new position gave him to contribute to the company's success.

"I've found there is no more exciting place to be than in the crosshairs of generating revenue," says Hardy. "Your sales strategy puts your company to the ultimate test--does your value proposition resonate with consumers and encourage them to purchase your services?"

Hardy oversees a team of 300 salespeople, digital marketers, strategists and analytics professionals. Since 2013, Hardy's team has achieved almost 50 percent annualized growth rates and has played a pivotal role in helping the company cross the one-millionth customer milestone.

"See sales as a worthy profession and master your craft," he advises. "Don't just blindly pursue a payday; learn from those around you and apply those insights to become a better salesperson."

JEFF ROSSI

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD

A career in sales was always intriguing to Jeff Rossi. "The concept of delivering something of value to someone in need has always captured my attention, from my early days in the lawn mowing business to selling second-day donuts in junior high and eventually to commercial real estate," he says.

Today, Rossi is the executive director at Cushman & Wakefield, and in his 14-year career, he has achieved a total sales volume of $1.5 billion, with sales in 2015 totaling $400 million. He has been a Cushman & Wakefield top 10 broker in 2011,2013-15, and is currently No. 2 in the office for 2016.

"The rewards are in the personal relationships that I take away from each project that I work on," says Rossi. "Each project lasts for several months, involves some very challenging conversations, and requires many hours of attention. That type of investment in the client typically yields a successful project, but also a [life-long] connection."

JEFFREY R. THOMAS

REGIONAL PRESIDENT, ZIONS BANK

Jeffery Thomas was director of Executive Banking for Zions Bank since 2010 and recently became regional president. It's a job, he says, that allows him to meet new people, understand their goals and then facilitate the achievement of those dreams.

"Seeing an employee achieve a goal or get a promotion is so fulfilling. Watching a client's business rapidly grow and feel that we played a part is impactful," says Thomas. "Most importantly, sales is a vehicle to have communication and relationships with so many people."

Caring about the relationships you form, says...