If you are a sales professional, business manager or entrepreneur who attends trade show or a monthly association meeting events as a business development investment you are investing of your resources of both time and money.

You invest your time;

• researching various trade shows and evaluating whether the event will attract the right target market for your business
• your time attending

You invest your money;

• trade show registration/booth fees & staff time
• travelling costs

Attending events helps to raise the visibility of your business in the marketplace and generates prospect leads for your business. These leads come in 2 forms,

1. attendees you met and with whom you started a conversation and
2. the attendance list which includes attendees you did not met and with whom you could start a conversation.

Back at the office, the questions are;

• how do you maximize your attendance investment by following up with the highest number of prospects and driving that traffic into your follow up sales funnel?
• what are the next steps to follow up and
  • continue the conversation with attendees you met?
  • start the conversation with the list of attendees you did not met?

In the past, for trade show follow up marketing, we would mail out sales literature and then try to get prospect on the phone, but follow up methods are changing.

Today, I help my clients utilize the technology they currently have, to build their next follow up steps.

• First, database set up to centralize all of the prospect leads, a CRM Customer Relationship Manager such as ACT, Maximizer or Goldmine.
• Second, set up an email blaster such as Swiftpage with ACT to send out emails.
  (Swiftpage can also work without ACT)

The great thing about this newer methods is that we can collect statistics, for example, about delivery. Depending on your follow up next steps, you may also be able to track the additional traffic your follow up drives to your website.

If you are interested in learning more about how to follow up and maximize your trade show or networking event attendance, I offer several options.

2 hour sessions Follow up – Discover Your Next Step and a session about taking action and implementing the follow up steps in your business Follow Up – Take Action. This session is about database set up, database maintenance and outbound cold calling.

Follow Up Training - Set The Stage For Follow Up and Automate Your Follow Up Process. Attend yourself and bring this business training for your office. You will learn how to build a Follow Up System that maximizes your business development investment and help get you past that 1st contact to the 2nd and beyond to the 5th contact where 80% of sales are made. You will save time, stayed organized and drive more traffic to your business!

Questions? No problem. Contact Cheryl Scoffield, Follow Up Specialist.

Our next meeting is on Friday, Aug 6, 2010 at 8:45 am

Our free business networking group invites you to join us and share referrals. Our business blog offers you an opportunity to promote your own web site.

Members, please be advised that your $5 attendance fee is payable at the door.

NEW for VISITORS and PROVISIONAL MEMBERS only: attendance fee is $10 at the door, until you become regular members. To become a member of this group, please fill out this application form.

To make things easier for you and e-Spot staff, please consider paying $10 or $20 in advance. Your credit can then be used to cover your substitute’s fee, or will be carried over to your next meeting. Receipts will be issued by the e-Spot quarterly.

Boris Mahovac R.G.D.

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 Oftentimes businesses rebrand for the latter reason in order to go out after a more lucrative or attractive target market. In the case of East Side Mario’s (ESM), this was indeed the case. Having developed a strong brand as a “family friendly” restaurant with a gregarious New York City theme, it symbolized an affordable, convenient and comfortable place for families to eat out.

 However, ESM was eager to move its business model up-market by appealing to a more upscale client. As a result, it removed its Statue of Liberty logo and replaced it with a more traditional Italian symbol – the tomato. It also got rid of its infamous marketing jingle, “Badda Boom Badda Bing” due to its association with NYC.

 What happened next is an age-old problem that occurs when rebranding involves an attempt to enter a new market. By changing its target market through changes to its marketing messages, restaurant appearance and menu, ESM alienated its existing clientele while failing to make significant inroads with the upscale segment it was attempting to go after.

 So what can be learnt from this experience? First of all, rebranding should never be entered into by any business without considerable deliberation and analysis. And while going after a new and perhaps more lucrative client segment is always tempting, it may not necessarily be the best option, particularly when the new market you’re entering is as competitive as the restaurant industry.

 Indeed the competitive landscape should always be a primary consideration in any rebranding exercise. Always ask yourself this question – does the image I’m trying to portray or the market I’m trying to appeal to create any competitive challenges for my business (i.e. are there existing businesses with similar ‘brands’ going after similar or identical customers, and if so how successful are they?).

 The key to rebranding – and the key to developing a sound marketing strategy– is finding a niche in the market you can profitably compete in and exploit, one where your products and services effectively align with the needs and expectations of that particular target market. When you find that niche and are successful in exploiting it, you’ve latched onto the proverbial golden egg. And that’s why going after a new segment may not be the most sound business decision, and in fact can be highly risky. At the least, make sure your rebranding strategy is based on sound business fundamentals, and that these support the objectives of the firm.

Our next meeting is on Friday, July 23, 2010 at 8:45 am

Our free business networking group invites you to join us and share referrals. Our business blog offers you an opportunity to promote your own web site.

Members, please be advised that your $5 attendance fee is payable at the door.

NEW for VISITORS only: attendance fee is $10 at the door, until you become regular members. To become a member of this group, please fill out the application form.

To make things easier for you and e-Spot staff, please consider paying $10 or $20 in advance. Your credit can then be used to cover your substitute’s fee, or will be carried over to your next meeting. Receipts will be issued by the e-Spot quarterly.

Boris Mahovac R.G.D.

Sign up for my next Contacts2Clients Business Seminar

Let's connect:

Don’t miss out on our next ‘BUSINESS TIPS BREAKFASTS’ at Lezley’s Restaurant, 355 Plains Rd. E., Burlington, L7T 4H8, B-905/333-4431. Brant St. exit from QEW Westbound; Waterdown exit from 403 Eastbound; Fairview St. exit from QEW Niagara. LEARN up to the minute information on business to grow their business.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010   - Follow Up To Maximize Sales Opportunities

80% of sales are won on the 5th to 12th contact - yet 48% of all business people never follow up beyond the first contact.Getting prospects costs money! Implementing a step by step system makes sure every prospect is followed up and your sales opportunities are maximized.  

Cheryl Scoffield, Sales Facilitator at Executive Sales Support. www.executivesalessupport.com

These morning events (for women only) will be the second Tuesday of the month starting at 8:00am and ending at 9:30am.

The cost is $10.00 for WOMEN WHO EXCEL members; $20.00 for one-time only guests — cash only. 

Receipts will be given out at the door. You pick and pay for your own breakfast.

Preregister at 905/547-7135×3 or wwe@hwcn.org.  www.womenwhoexcel.com REGISTER TODAY!

On MONDAY, July 12th, at 7:00 pm, The Blue Angel Gallery & Theatre will host a script readings /workshops.

Donna McRae and Christine Whitlock will workshop their teen horse feature film script ‘DOUBLE STEED’.

Christine Whitlock will workshop a teen comedy script ‘PIG OUT’.

Christine Whitlock will workshop a children’s drama script ‘RECESS BULLY’.

Interested readers or actors (bring your acting resume and headshots – no emails please) or writers (to submit future materials) please contact at Christine Whitlock, Co-ordinator,

905/547-7135 x 1.

Readers / actors and crew have been picked for future productions by on-site directors and producers.  No experience needed.  Ages 10+. We welcome all levels of reading and acting.

The event starts at 7:00pm until about 10:00pm.  All attendees pay $5.00 for coffee and snack.

We are now in our third year helping writers, actors, directors, and producers connect.

Join us the second Monday of the month all year round. http://www.cjcpinc.com/script-readings/

Thanks to the Lions Club – Hamilton Central for their generous donation.                                 

The Blue Angel Gallery & Theatre, 243 James Street North, (just south of Barton St.) Hamilton, Ontario, Canada (free street parking) 905/522-8735, Cynthia Hill, owner / curator.

Christine Whitlock
Writer / Publisher / FilmMaker / Events

CJ CREATIVE PRODUCTIONS INC.

PO Box 3533, Station C

Hamilton Ontario Canada  L8H 7M9

B: 905/547-7135 x 1 or 1-800-363-0268 x 1

E-mail:   cjcpinc@hwcn.org   

www.cjcpinc.com

Order our feature films on-line:

‘SHARP TEETH’, ‘VAMPIRE DENTIST’

& ‘MARINA MONSTER’.

See the trailers!

(Also cycling route books.)

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2857730/

OTTAWA — Home prices in some of Canada’s biggest cities rose 0.8% in April, according the latest Teranet-National Bank house-price index released Wednesday.

That followed a 0.3% rise for March, and marked the 12th straight month that prices have risen.

“At the national level, April continues the best string of consecutive monthly price increases since September 2006,” Marc Pinsonneault, economist with National Bank Financial, wrote in a report. “Home prices are now 2.9% above their recession peak, a situation that contrasts with the one prevailing in the U.S., where prices are down 30% from their peak.”

The index takes into account price trends in six urban areas. Prices in Halifax were up 1.9% for the month, Montreal and Ottawa home prices were ahead 1.1%, Toronto was up 0.6%, and Calgary and Vancouver were both ahead 0.8%.

It marked the first time in five months all local areas saw monthly gains. Calgary, however, remains the only area among the six still short of its pre-recession high, which it achieved in August 2007.

For the year, the national composite home price index was up 12.9%.

Canwest News Service

Our next meeting is on Friday, July 9, 2010 at 8:45 am

Our free business networking group invites you to join us and share referrals. Our business blog offers you an opportunity to promote your own web site.

Members, please be advised that your $5 attendance fee is payable at the door.

NEW for VISITORS only: attendance fee is $10 at the door, until you become regular members. To become a member of this group, please fill out the application form.

To make things easier for you and e-Spot staff, please consider paying $10 or $20 in advance. Your credit can then be used to cover your substitute’s fee, or will be carried over to your next meeting. Receipts will be issued by the e-Spot quarterly.

Boris Mahovac R.G.D.

Sign up for my next Contacts2Clients Business Seminar

Let's connect:

Are you attending trade shows, monthly association meetings & networking events to get new prospects? Business Development  costs money.
Do you have a plan in place and implemented, for staying in touch with the new prospects you meet?

If you are interested in learning more about how to follow up and maximize your investment, I offer several options.

2 hour sessions Follow up – Discover Your Next Step  and a session about taking action and implementing the follow up steps in your business Follow Up – Take Action. This session is about database set up, database maintenance and outbound cold calling.

Follow Up Training - Set The Stage For Follow Up and Automate Your Follow Up Process. Attend yourself and bring this business training for your office. You will learn how to build a Follow Up System that maximizes your business development investment and help get you past that 1st contact to the 2nd and beyond to the 5th contact where 80% of sales are made. You will save time, stayed organized and drive more traffic to your business!

Questions? No problem. Contact  Cheryl Scoffield, Follow Up Specialist.

I am a Gifting Specialist and quite simply…I work up a little magic, throw in some sparkle and voila, the perfect gifts are designed for your clients.

My specialty is designing Custom Gifts that provide a “WoW” factor….for your best customers.

As a Full Service Gift Company we provide gift wrapping services, branded gifts, gift baskets, gift boxes, flower arrangements and wreaths. From one gift to hundreds;  we are definitely not your ordinary gift basket company.

Business Profile:

Wreath Queen’s Owner Kristeen Sopeju Edwards’ and her unique style and philosophy to gifting is a “Gifting Specialist” like no other!

With her background and Certification in Floral Design and her love for what she does, Kristeen has quickly become the “Gifter of Choice” for many businesses across the GTA.

Nominated in 2008 for the Oakville Award for Business Excellence (OABE) and recently added as the only Canadian Regular Contributor for Trends and Tips Magazine (Trade Publication for Gift Basket Professionals) Kristeen continues to bring a fresh, young and fun design appeal to the world of gifting.

Contact Wreath Queen for your Client, Employee and Corporate Gifting needs  or visit www.wreathqueen.com.