The direct marketing thread

**suityou01** · 6 August 2009, 08:16

CRM tool of choice is SugarCRM

Just configuring the email campaign tool. Emails getting stuck in the queue at the moment.

**OwlHoot** · 6 August 2009, 08:21

Originally posted by suityou01 View Post

CRM tool of choice is SugarCRM

:::

"Commercial open source" - How the flip does that work?

**Mehmeh** · 6 August 2009, 08:24

Very interesting.

I have zero clue on all this stuff, but certainly would like to learn.

Am planning propose a remote working contract with an old client (so I can do a season in canada snowboarding), think they would go for it (at the right price), but they have a new person holding the purse strings so want to create a pitch and everything.

any advice on where to start with it all? (am googling elevator pitch now)

ta

**suityou01** · 6 August 2009, 08:27

Originally posted by OwlHoot View Post

"Commercial open source" - How the flip does that work?

Quite a good model hactually. The commercial version is the latest stable release with support. The community version is the unsupported free one. Bugs are raised by the community, thus making the commercial version less buggy on each release.

Kind of like the beta program.

**suityou01** · 6 August 2009, 08:32

Originally posted by Mehmeh View Post

Very interesting.

I have zero clue on all this stuff, but certainly would like to learn.

Am planning propose a remote working contract with an old client (so I can do a season in canada snowboarding), think they would go for it (at the right price), but they have a new person holding the purse strings so want to create a pitch and everything.

any advice on where to start with it all? (am googling elevator pitch now)

ta

Well as far as the old client goes that is up to your relationship with them. I would get in front of the new FD and try and win them round.

Breakfast clubs and business networking events are my next big push, as everyone raves about them. Basically you go along at say 7am, to the breakfast club. You have an informal chat/networking until 7:30 when you have breakfast. Then afterwards you have a round the table introductions where you get to use your elevator pitch. I think the term comes from being able to sum your business up quickly and generate business in a brief summary, such that could be given in a short trip in an elevator.

With the contacts I make at breakfast club and from hitting the phones, I can add them to the CRM database, and send targetted email campaigns.

I think the first step is identifying who your ideal customer is. One man band, SME (50 - 100 users), Bluechip etc etc

Then go and find some.

**ThomasSoerensen** · 6 August 2009, 08:36

Originally posted by suityou01 View Post

On the bench as of today. Market looks sh!te. You just don't know if the ads are real or not, as the pimps are playing games. As Obama said, never waste a good crisis. I am marketing my company locally as best I can on tight budget.

I have already developed an "elevator pitch" and hope to try this out at breakfast club next wednesday morning (I have never been to breakfast club, but a.n. other contractor tells me it is worth it)

I am hitting the phones tomorrow. I will post back on progress here and hope for this thread to encourage other contractors to do likewise, and swap war stories.

I'll prolly get flamed in the next few posts, but this is CUK right?

Let's get off our a*ses and drum up some trade.

Lazy bugger. Why not hit the phones today. All the tech stuff you can do tonight.

**KevinS** · 6 August 2009, 08:36

My mate has done the breakfast club thing.. There are 3 in our area and he tried all 3 to decide which one would be the best value for money - they all have a similar format (at each meeting, try to bring a lead for one other member)..

He also joined the local RoundTable (as the one another friend belongs to includes a director of a well known software company)..

Good luck!!

**chef** · 6 August 2009, 08:37

courtesey of Wikipedia

"Elevator Pitch

An elevator pitch is an overview of an idea for a product, service, or project. The name reflects the fact that an elevator pitch can be delivered in the time span of an elevator ride (for example, thirty seconds and 100-150 words).

The term is typically used in the context of an entrepreneur pitching an idea to a venture capitalist or angel investor to receive funding. Venture capitalists often judge the quality of an idea and team on the basis of the quality of its elevator pitch, and will ask entrepreneurs for the elevator pitches to quickly weed out bad ideas and weak teams"

**chef** · 6 August 2009, 08:41

maybe stating the obvious but have you signed up to Linked In and joined various work related groups..

The direct marketing thread