Florida Direct Marketing Association Hosts “The Missing Link” Luncheon & “How To Stop Selling” Seminar on June 15, 2006

Florida Direct Marketing Association Hosts “The Missing Link” Luncheon & “How To Stop Selling” Seminar on June 15, 2006

Sales and Marketing Expert Kim Jones of ProActive Training and Consulting presents “The Missing Link”, examining and eliminating the disconnect between marketing efforts and sales results.

Fort Lauderdale, FL, May 22, 2006 – The Missing Link: Examining and Eliminating the Disconnect Between Your Marketing Efforts and Your Sales Results is the topic of the Florida Direct Marketing Association’s (FDMA) monthly luncheon being held Thursday, June 15 at the Westin Hotel on Cypress Creek Road and I-95 in Fort Lauderdale from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm. The monthly luncheon will be followed at 2:00 p.m. by a two hour “How To Stop Selling” seminar, also presented by Kim Jones. Both luncheon and seminar are open to the public. The combined cost to attend is $50 for members, $65 for non-members. Attendees are encouraged to register online at www.fdma.org in advance and save $10 over walk-up registration. Great networking opportunities at the event as well.

In many companies the sales and marketing departments often seem to be at odds with one another. Marketing departments tend to suspect that sales is letting opportunities slip away while sales is oftentimes unclear about the marketing department’s objectives and goals. “There is an assumption that things haven’t changed much in the sales arena,’ says Kim Jones, a Consultant at ProActive Training and Consulting, a South Florida-based sales and sales management training firm. “People still assume that the sales guys are all wearing white shoes and smoking big cigars. Customers are much more sophisticated and they’ve seen all of the old sales tricks that worked back in the 1990’s.”

The Missing Link happens when the marketing department is armed with high-tech tracking and measurement tools for things like ROI and campaign effectiveness. They expect the sales department to keep up. Meanwhile the sales department is oftentimes working to figure out how many cold calls it takes to find a decent prospect and how many more calls it will take to convert that person into a customer. “Marketing thinks sales is not capitalizing on the great opportunities they are creating and sales is looking at marketing asking, “What opportunities?”

Following the lunch program, Ms. Jones will present a 2-hour session from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. also at the Westin Ft. Lauderdale, called “How to Stop Selling”. This interactive, high-energy seminar will explore a number of ways that companies can dramatically improve their sales efforts. The program will include insight into why people who “should” be good in sales often are not, ways to avoid discounting your product or service and why the traditional model of “features and benefits” selling no longer works. The program is ideal for sales and marketing professionals who want to dramatically improve their effectiveness.

Kim has implemented numerous marketing and sales management solutions for companies including Burger King Corporation, Hillshire Farms, FPL Energy Services, Hyatt Hotels and The Palm Beach Post. A 10-year veteran of both sales and marketing management, Kim has extensive experience helping companies maximize their marketing programs and improve their sales results. She will share her experiences in developing effective marketing programs at the corporate level and working with managers to ensure that those efforts translate into sales in the field.

About the Florida Direct Marketing Association (FDMA)
The FDMA (www.fdma.org) has nearly 200 members, including catalogers, Internet retailers, financial services providers, publishers, book and music clubs and retail stores. “Direct marketing” is the art and science of sending one-to-one promotional messages directly to consumers, which allows marketers to measure response rates and campaign effectiveness.

FDMA luncheon meetings are typically held on the third Thursday of each month at the Westin Hotel in Fort Lauderdale. New members get their first lunch free when they join. Special membership rates are available for non-profit organizations as well. For additional information, please contact Keith Fletcher, FDMA Board President, at 786-357-3275.