Ten Steps To Top Marketing

1. APPOINT A MARKETING DIRECTOR WITHIN YOUR ORGANIZATION
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2. DO YOUR HOMEWORK
Champion first conducted market research to identify what keeps CIOs up at night (virtualization and data management) and then designed a marketing strategy.

3. DON'T BE AFRAID TO SPEND MONEY
Champion decided to hold a series of symposiums in three cities around the country, choosing high-end hotels and restaurants to hold the events and kick-off dinners.

4. ATTENDANCE COUNTS
Champion enlisted every employee in the company and devoted a single day to cold-calling CIOs. The result: 150 confirmed CIO attendees in a single day.

5. TAP YOUR VENDORS FOR MONEY AND RESOURCES
Vendors love these events and are willing to pay because the smart ones know solution providers are often better at pulling these things off than they are.

6. BRING IN OUTSIDE, MARQUEE SPEAKERS
CIOs won't sit through PowerPoint sales pitches from your salespeople or vendors. Champion brought in an industry analyst to give a market overview on virtualization and data management.

7. SPEAK YOUR CUSTOMER'S LANGUAGE
One size doesn't fit all, even among CIOs. Champion followed up the keynoters with afternoon workshops for business-oriented CIOs and technology-oriented executives.

8. FOLLOW UP EARLY AND OFTEN
Within 48 hours, Champion sent follow-up letters and e-mails to everyone who attended and to those who were invited but didn't show up. Telephone calls to the CIOs followed a week later.

9. CONSISTENCY
Once you find the winning formula for your organization, repeat that methodology again and again. Champion used what it learned in virtualization and data management to craft other campaigns.

10. COUNT THE MONEY
Champion's symposiums resulted in $8 million worth of new business and an additional pipeline of $20 million.