Sales & Marketing Society of the Mid-South

Billions of dollars are spent every year on creative and artistic advertising campaigns that don’t resonate with consumers because they fail to reach them where and when they want to be reached.

This was the message from Maria McLendon, a marketing and communications leader who shared her expertise in market segmentation, targeting and positioning with attendees of the Sales and Marketing Society of the Mid-South March luncheon. McLendon is a marketing and public relations consultant who is skilled in orchestrating internal and external resources in order to develop and implement effective advertising and sales promotion programs.

“Great ads and marketing can be lost if we are not fully aware of who is receiving the message,” McLendon said. “We have to know our customers inside and out. To have a successful campaign, we must identify our ideal customers, and then reach them when, where and how they want to be reached.”

“Maria’s presentation was timely and well received by our SMS audience,” said Lori Turner, Managing Partner, Red Rover Sales and Marketing. “As business owners and marketers, its easy to get excited about all of the new and exciting marketing delivery channels, thanks to the explosion of social media, but it’s critical that we don’t lose sight of the fundamentals — proper market segmentation, understanding the common traits of those segments and messaging accordingly.”

The Sales and Marketing Society of the Mid-South is a network providing continuing education to sales and marketing professionals with the intention of continually improving the standards for professional selling, sales management and marketing. Its primary goal is to provide educational events and services for sales and marketing professionals. In addition to being a source for education and information, SMS is also involved in sponsorship and scholarship programs for college students from the University of Memphis, Christian Brothers University and Southwest Tennessee Community College.

Check out the photos from the Luncheon, courtesy of Gary Baldwin:

Our February luncheon was another great success. We were excited to have Susan Stephenson, who did a wonderful job explaining and discussing the current banking industry.

She is the Co-Founder, Co-Chairman and President of Independent Bank in Memphis, Tennessee.  Established in 1998, Independent Bank is now an $800 million institution, the second largest bank headquartered in Shelby County.  One of the fastest growing financial institutions in Tennessee history, Independent Bank is also one of the top performing banks in the state and country in terms of earnings, margins and asset quality.

Prior to starting Independent Bank, she was Chairman, President and CEO of Boatmen’s Bank of Tennessee.  When named to the position in 1995, the 37-year-old Stephenson was the first female Chairman and CEO of a Tennessee bank.  Following their acquisition of Boatmen’s Bancshares, Nations Bank appointed her President of their Memphis/West Tennessee market.

She provided a thought-provoking lecture that was timely and interesting. We appreciate her spending time with our group.

Come and join the Sales & Marketing Society of the Mid- South on June 17th at Holiday Inn Select as we welcome Emily Yellin as our Guest Speaker.

Emily Yellin is the author of “Your Call Is (Not That) Important to Us” and was a longtime contributor to The New York Times. She has also written for Time, The Washington Post, The International Herald Tribune, Newsweek, Smithsonian Magazine, and other publications.

Register online at: http://bit.ly/info/19c0C8

There is no charge for members. The cost is $25 for guests and $15 for students. Lunch is included. Guests may pay at the door. SMS accepts Cash, Check, Visa, MasterCard and American Express.

This month we welcome Matt Ryan, Regional VP of Marketing for Harrah’s Casino. Matt’s going to talk to us about Marketing in a Competitive Environment, which is something that any sales or marketing professional can certainly relate to!

This month is unique because the board of directors has decided to allow every Sales & Marketing Society member to bring one guest free of charge! That’s right- if you are a member of the SMS, you can bring a guest to the May 20th luncheon for FREE! I hope that every member is going to take full advantage of this great offer and get some new people into the SMS that would be good prospective members!

Details of the May luncheon are available on the SMS website and you can also register through that link.

May Luncheon Sponsor- Red Rover Company
We are excited to have Red Rover Company as the sponsor for this month’s luncheon. Red Rover is a marketing and communications company, and Lori Turner from Red Rover is on the SMS board of directors. About Red Rover Company:

At RedRover our mission is to break through the attitudes, barriers and processes that hinder your sales organization’s success. Then, we re-engineer your sales organization in the spirit of our RedRover mascot to make it smart, hard-working, confident and loyal.

The result is a sales team ready to dominate its territory and taste success, while you get to savor the profits. Once the sales force is in tip-top condition, and only then, your company is finally positioned to see an attractive ROI from marketing and communications initiatives.

We’ll help there, too. We’ll use what we discovered about your industry, business and sales organization to develop marketing communications that break through a cluttered, noisy marketplace to reach the right people with the right message.

Specialties
• Sales development/coaching
• Market research• Branding
• Target marketing
• Communications
• Promotions
• Public relations

—–This Pack Has Your Back—–

If you would like to join us at the luncheon, then please fill out the following form and we will find a member that you can join as a guest! You can send us an email at: info@sms-midsouth.org