The Bottom Line for Top Line Growth: A New Way of Looking at Sales and Marketing April 21, 2011

Are outdated marketing methods hurting your sales? Local sales and marketing strategists will share ideas for cheaper and faster ways to capture new customers

If your marketing programs aren’t producing the results they once were, you could blame the lagging economy, or you could spend an evening learning how your sales and marketing programs can work together more efficiently. Sales and marketing have always been viewed as separate business units, but the most effective companies – both large and small – have now closed the gap between the two. By doing so, they’ve learned how to capture new customers faster and cheaper.

On April 21st, Sales & Marketing Executives International of Minnesota will host an interactive program, The Bottom Line to Top Line Growth: A New Way of Looking at Sales and Marketing, to give you tactics for creating a more cohesive and powerful sales and marketing team. Moderator Jeri Meola, president and CEO of Satisfaction Management Systems, Inc., along with presenters Teicko Huber, founder of Focus to Grow, and Margaret McDonald, director of marketing for Sonic Management Group, will share their personal experiences about how companies have transformed their business through greater collaboration.

Attend this session and you will learn how other companies have changed their way of thinking, allowing them to re-direct technology, and driving new business at every step of the sales cycle.
Have you implemented Sales 2.0 strategies? If you become an adopter of this approach, you will be at the front of the pack in sales and marketing. By applying technologies that wrap around services, you will be well positioned to become an industry leader.

At this session, you will:
•Learn how to connect inbound with outbound marketing
•Learn to align your business with decision makers, advocates, influencers and end-users
•See tools that leading companies have adopted to grow their sales pipelines and close business faster

SMEI Minnesota is the only internationally accredited sales and marketing chapter of Sales & Marketing Executives International in the state, and is targeted towards senior management in sales and marketing. This event is open to the public, but prior registration is required. Go to www.smeiminnesota.org to register for this event.

The details:
What: The Bottom Line to Top Line Growth: A New Way of Looking at Sales and Marketing
When: April 21st from 4:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Where: Fort Snelling Officer’s Club
Cost: $200 for event + new membership; $30 for members; $50 for non-members; $20 for students

About SMEI International and Minnesota:
SMEI International includes 27 U.S.-based chapters with locations in China, Mexico, Puerto Rico, India, Japan and Europe. The SMEI Minnesota chapter is the only internationally accredited sales and marketing chapter of Sales & Marketing Executives International in the state, and is targeted towards senior management in sales and marketing. The SMEI Minnesota chapter was started to take advantage of the long standing principles and benefits provided by the SMEI International Association. The local chapter has aligned itself with SMEI's five founding principles, it provides certification opportunities offered through SMEI, and utilizes the international resources well needed in this global marketplace. In addition, the local chapter, working closely with SMEI international, provides many other benefits as determined to be important to better serve the members, students, businesses, and communities in Minnesota.

About Jeri Meola:
Jeri is a founding partner of Satisfaction Management Systems, Inc. (SMS), As President and CEO of SMS, Jeri has expanded the company’s offerings by partnering with market leaders to foster true innovation, bring new ideas to market more successfully, and build loyalty to improve business results. SMS clients include: Kimberly-Clark Healthcare, 3M, Andersen Windows & Doors, Thomson Reuters, Datacard, Genie Industries, Concur, General Electric, Honeywell, Imation, Katun, Toro, RBS and Wells Fargo.

Passionate about the community that has helped SMS become successful, Jeri has held key positions in several vital charitable organizations. She is founding member and past Chair of the United Way Women’s Leadership Council, the past Secretary of WomenVenture’s Board, and past Chair of the Minnesota Council for Quality (MCQ). She has also been a board member of NAWBO and Executive Women’s Golf. Current affiliations include Minnesota Legislative Committee on Early Childhood Education, Minnesota Women’s Public Golf Association Board, Women’s President Organization and Heart Association Go For Red Women’s Executive Team.

In 2009 she was recognized as the NAWBO (National Association of Women Business Owners) Lifetime Achievement Award. Most recently she was awarded the Red Cross Humanitarian Award.

About Teicko Huber:
Teicko is the founder of Focus To Grow, a business-to-business management consulting and services firm that specializes in helping companies increase their sales velocity by aligning sales and marketing and enabling sales people to leverage the social web.

Teicko started his career with Cardinal Health, a $9.8B Fortune 500 global healthcare company; landing a job that required two years of sales experience and a business degree – which he had neither. Later, he was hired as the youngest sales professional for Focus Diagnostics where he swiftly rose to the top of the sales organization within one year, all while maintaining heavy involvement with the marketing departments of various companies.

Teicko has worked with many companies and has helped over 30 companies set record sales growth in more than 15 industries. His experience in all facets of sales and marketing organizations gives him a wide and deep perspective of how to solve both sales and marketing problems in a unique fashion using state-of-the-art technology.

About Margaret McDonald:
As the Director of Marketing for Sonic Management Group, Margaret is responsible for developing and executing marketing strategies for national independently-owned companies in the technology industry. Margaret’s specialties include brand development, promotional campaigns, social media marketing, lead generation, budget planning, public relations, we development and new product initiatives. She is responsible for building annual marketing plans and budgets for 20 member companies with annual revenue of 10-50 million dollars.

Margaret is a creative and visionary marketing executive with a dynamic background in marketing management, with expertise in identifying and capitalizing upon marketing opportunities to develop new business and drive sustained revenue.

Official Website: http://www.smeiminnesota.org