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SurePayroll, Inc.

How to EnterCompany: SurePayroll, Inc.
Company Description: SurePayroll,is the trusted provider of easy online payroll services to small businesses nationwide. Whether a business has 1, 10, or 100 employees, A wholly owned subsidiary of Paychex, SurePayroll delivers peace of mind by combining innovative, industry-leading technology and personalized support from an award-winning, U.S.-based customer care team. www.SurePayroll.com.
Nomination Category: Sales Awards Individual Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Sales Representative of the Year - Other Services Industries

Nomination Title: Roger Zhang, Sales Representative

Tell the story about what this nominee achieved since the beginning of July 2012 (up to 525 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:

Bucking a generational stereotype Roger Zhang, 26, is far from just any millennial. His quiet perseverance and keen understanding of what drives small business leaders, propelled him into the leading sales seat at SurePayroll and into the top tier of parent company Paychex’s more than 2000 reps.

In only his second sales position, having graduated from University of Illinois in 2009, Zhang has shattered expectations and found himself outselling veterans 20 years his senior.

How does he do it? The answer is easy – a deep understanding and empathy for his customers and an ability to hear beyond the words merely spoken.

“I get them talking and I really listen. Not just to their words, but to the things they are not saying. I begin almost immediately to put myself –actually visualize myself – in the customer’s shoes,” says Zhang. “Every decision maker has a different motivation. I know that our service is not a commodity and each business is unique – they are not just a lead. I’m on a very short buying cycle and I know I must quickly establish a relationship by digging deeper. I enjoy the inside bragging rights, I enjoy taking a sale from our competition. But most of all I take great pride in the fact that our service is going to help them actually make their lives easier.”

Zhang credits his success to two things. The first is SurePayroll’s intensive training program which focuses on learning payroll from the ground up – teaching reps to do payroll the old fashioned way so they can intimately understand a customer’s pain. The second – beginning at a tender age.

Zhang came to the United States at age 4 – his parents, Chinese immigrants, looking for a better life. Zhang says he watched and learned from his parents, his true mentors. He watched their laser focus on achieving their dreams and how they methodically set and achieved goals.

“My parents never gave up. They set a goal and then worked and worked until they achieved it. I’m like them. I need goals – it’s one of the reasons I enjoy sales. I love that my job is measured and that the bar keeps getting set higher and higher. The great thing about it is that there is complete clarity around my contribution. I know exactly how well I am doing and what that means to SurePayroll. I don’t allow myself to lose focus,” said Zhang.

Zhang joined SurePayroll in May 2011 and has proven himself a standout performer. In FY 13 he sold 580 units totaling $421k in new revenue, 8% higher than his next closest teammate. He sold 129 units more than the same period last year - 29% growth, the largest growth amongst reps during that time period. His performance for FY 13 earned him “Inner-circle of Excellence” recognition at Paychex National Sales Conference putting him in the top 1% of performance in a company with more than 2000 sales reps. Zhang is the first and only SurePayroll rep to earn this designation. “I don’t want to be mediocre I want to stand out - that says it all!

 

Provide a brief (up to 125 words) biography about the nominee:

26 year old Roger Zhang is a standout performer. Graduating from University of Illinois in 2009, SurePayroll is only his second sales position. Zhang joined SurePayroll in May 2011 and by 2013 he has skyrocketed to the top 1% of performance not only at SurePayroll but at its parent company Paychex which boasts more than 2000 sales reps. The son of Chinese immigrants, Zhang says his parents taught him to be laser focused on the goal and to resiliently pursue and achieve his dreams.