40+ years driving winning results in virtually every marketing medium
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How's 500% growth in both my last companies?
What could I do for you? Scope of Services
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First we start with a branding session like you've never had before.
Then we examine your current marketing, goals, targets, unique message and market positioning with fresh yet experienced eyes.
Then we put together a plan and strategy to connect and captivate in innovative ways that only a pro with 30 years of experience can provide.
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Just a few samples of my innovative promotions
How do you say "We're opening soon, right in your backyard?"
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The company was opening its second location in a new territory. Prospects in the area did not know us well, nor the warm family service we offered. I planned a frequency mailing to 250 top distributors in the area with the theme of "We're opening soon right in your back yard." Several backyard-themed branded products mailed first, ending with a real watermelon mailing NOT in a box - but addressed with a Sharpie - with a note taped to it, encouraging a call. Result: 226 accounts were opened, reps received 100% recall upon follow-up and $millions in new repeat business was won. (Yes, Mary Ellen mailed a watermelon, and every one of them arrived.)
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Ever get a cheesesteak in the mail?
Marketing a new native Philly rep to that territory? Sell the Philly connection! Each target account received in the mail a lunch bag with foil-wrapped replica cheesesteak. Not a cheesesteak? No, a T-shirt with the recipe for a great Philly steak on one side, and qualities of a good Philly rep on the reverse. Result: 95% appointment rate. We actually had to slow down the mailings to 25 a week so the rep could keep up! Cost: $0…100% co-op dollar funded. Won 2 Best Self-Promotion Awards.
How do you convey you've lowered prices in a memorable way?
When asked what was the one message a business owner wanted to convey to their T-shirt customers that they didn't know, the reply was, "People think we're on the high side price-wise. But we just lowered our prices." The solution was a frequency campaign, starting with 3-D direct mail, with a tiny ziplock bag with a teaspoon of dirt inside, attached to a postcard with short copy headlined, "Dirt Cheap." Then all employees were instructed to talk up the campaign to all incoming accounts after each of the three mailings. [Mailing 2, dominos (price dropping) and #3 a styrofoam toy glider (price nosedive.)] The most remembered of the 3 mailing? The DIRT. So at upcoming at trade shows, booths were dressed as garden centers with rakes, hoses and hoes, with T-shirts as flowers, and staffers dressed in gardening shirts with the same "Dirt Cheap" message growing out of their badge holders. Instead of T-shirt samples (which everyone else was giving to people who have piles in their screen printing shops,) we presented a can of dirt for their desk to grow a money tree. Results: calls up 27%, sales up even more. Packed booths to get a free plant and a tour the novel garden center in an apparel show!
How do you drive larger orders to a new rep with a charming accent?
A sales rep eager to inspire calls for larger quotes - rather than the smaller ones she was receiving- came to me for a creative mailing. She had a lovely intriguing British accent, very memorable. We targeted 250 prospects and selected a cup with the British flag, derby and the crown jewels sealed inside the base. The letter enclosed began, "I'd like you to read this letter with an English accent. That's because I have one..." It then introduced her as their personal "Queen of Quotes," explaining what quantities qualified for special pricing with her. The goal? To generate incoming calls, and warm receptions to her outbound calls. Results: 67 calls were received, and over 120 more remembered the mailing. Best of all, her sales with that base increased over $200,000 the following quarter.
How do you introduce a line no one knows how to sell?
Introducing the industry's first Organics line of tees and polos. Merchandise ordered, ready to stock. I researched the market of both our in-house sales force, and our thousands of customer resellers. The verdict: virtually no one really knew or understood what made organics special, nor why it was so much more expensive than standard goods. The solution: an 8-minute Organics Theater in our trade show booth, an educational Organics website site and e-z understand brochures to educate the market. Once the theater or website was viewed, each person received an official Organics Certification Kit which included a wall certificate stating the dealer was a Certified Organic Provider, with a window decal for their shop, showroom, car or truck. Results: 25,000 salespeople were trained over 3 months. Won best booth and Best Self-Promotion, with an unheard-of 60% response to our die-cut leaf trade show mailer, with lines to view our theater. Inventory: gone in 6 months!
How do you welcome 5000 new prospects like ultimate VIP's with $0?
You're opening up a brand new warehouse in a new location where another competitor has a stronghold. How do you make a big splash, and endear a large number of prospects to consider you as an alternative or new solution? Invite each person to be one of the dignitaries to cut the Grand Opening Ribbon... right in their own office. A pair of scissors was included with an announcement T-shirt and map of the new location, along with a catalog, all wrapped with a thick red ribbon reading "CUT ME!" Results: Thousands of new accounts were opened, activated and began generating sales from this mailing that cost $0. Co-op funds from our leading T-shirt provider were used to launch the mailing. Bottom line: $millions in new business.
Employee morale slump? Have fun. Involve them celebrating a milestone.
After almost two years of employees being inconvenienced that their parking was moved further because of a new warehouse being built, and more delays anticipated, management was faced with disgruntled teams months before the firm's 75th anniversary. I suggested "making lemonade" by celebrating the "big dig" with a BuildFest Celebration prelude to the firm's big year coming in a few months. With employees asked to wear "I dig working here" T-shirts, extended lunches, and fun activities with an interactive "build-your-own" catered lunch, employees mixed with managers to hear multiple thank you messages the entire day. In the last photo, you see colored backgrounds. Employees were asked to pose in front of their favorite color, and each of their photographs was morphed into a mural of a 75th Anniversary Family Tree debuted at the official celebration. Double WOW!
Need prospects at your open house? Plan an "experience," not a sales pitch.
An exhibit house with lackluster open house attendance needed help generating local prospects. Solution: create an experience, rather than a sales session. With a limited budget, I created "Exhibit Max: A Day of Exhibit Fitness," playing off the popular fitness craze. Prospects got to plan their experience based on a menu of events and activities that matched their needs. The day offered educational seminars on topics prospects wanted to learn, interactive tours of the entire facility hosted by multiple proud employee experts who were trained to explain the exhibit-creation process from start to finish, topic think tanks with other prospects, and an exhibit tune-up clinic for those who wanted a critique of their current booth. Results: 1300% more attendance. $Thousands in new business. A second open house was held 3 months later.
