2. Goal of the Exchange Process 1. Help each Member professional to expand their business networks in order for you to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of how you tackle you job functions. 2. Provide Members with a dynamic and reliable resource to help you solve problems and find new implementable ideas

3. Rules of Engagement 1. Do not use your HOLD button on your telephone – hearing elevator music in the next 60 minutes is not good! 2. No body language signs – please be aggressive and speak your mind and thoughts. 3. Please identify yourself with name and company before speaking. 4. Take Notes about who is saying what… 5. Warning: My goal is to facilitate aggressively so we can cover as many topics as possible. 6. Last but not least, I need your feedback on how to make this process better for you and the participants. 7. Keep in mind of Anti-trust laws.

4.  Steve (PRD) - Skype meeting with rep. group to review specifics of products. Met individually with the groups/reps  Bob (Nicolet) – Communicate the message clearly and consistently so they fully understand how to communicate/market.  Do you supply reps with targeted leads…. Steve (PRD) – Have a specific customer to target from a rep and compare lists, monitor the list to ensure they reach out to their group – 3 per rep Mark (Tech) – Not using reps, do you maintain a prospect list Question/Issue: Manufacturers reps performance (Bob Holbrook)

5. Question: How are companies handling marketing internally (who is responsible) or externally (what marketing companies)? (Craig Carrel)  Bob (Viking) – outside agencies (constant contact email system) bring someone internally to lead the charge.  Mark (Tech) – Sales Plan and then determine issues/tools and resources to handle reaching the tactics. Use outside experts in designing messages, use of constant contact, good to have a blend of inside/outside to maintain control over the messages. Provide press releases both business and human interest  Steve (PRD) – Re-launching website, changeable website to highlight specific concepts/ideas  Bob (Nicolet) – tactical group that brings their approach and gifts to the table to drive the marketing approach

6. Issue: New account development/increasing existing account profitability. (Bob Gafvert)  Bob (Viking) – Lead generation with outside company, but they need target markets and market area. CRM Software  Steve (PRD) – regional marketing companies  Mark (Tech) – Partnered with several universities where the students in their masters - identify characteristics to gain effective reports based on research.

7. Question: ROI for marketing tools: SEO, whitepapers, video, case studies, BLOG, LinkedIn? (Jamie Dewing) Steve (Quad) – Have SEO firm that is inclusive with BLOG, whitepapers, website – this helps drive the metrics. Cost per lead, number of hits, RFQs. Craig (Team 1) – upgraded website and have a niche focus, we have a BLOG, video which have lead to increased leads. Can be very time consuming. LinkedIn and Twitter these help reach the younger group Mark (Tech) – search engines you want be partnered with, you can register with them and they can automate. Once a year, re-index your website to be found SEO, if you change a period the web will then rescan and you are positioned higher on the list Craig (Team 1) – be careful to outsource, look at hiring a young person

8. Issue: Effectively screen potential opportunities/RFQs so as to not to miss any viable project opportunities, but not become a quoting service. (Philip Katen)

9. Issue: Finding target market and recognizing the right prospect (Damian Rybak)

10. Issue: Penalty clauses in sales agreement contracts, equipment purchases tied into sales contracts. (Max Leone)

11. Question: How are others finding, hiring, and motivating sales professionals? (Steve Erickson)  Mark (Tech) – Is it more valuable to have someone with sales skills and teach the technology or do you pull someone from tech experience and teach them skills  Bob (Nicolet) – Came from limited plastics, not to be the expert, but pass the person to the expert. My goal is to get the audience and get the prospect in the door and then get them in front of the right people to answer their questions. Key to have someone with sales background so they know how to “hook” prospects.  Craig (Team) – have you found success with someone not having any experience?  Bob (Nicolet) – it is valuable to have manufacturing experience. CPQ test to identify mentality - Asher Consulting  Bob (Viking) –Group of engineers have to learn to juggle customers, for us we have to fill our engineer group through university

12. Issue: Customer hesitant to change suppliers because of issues involved in tooling transfers – combating overseas molding suppliers. (Jimmy Distefano)

13. Issue: Pricing Strategy / Tooling and Part Quote Turnaround times (Jim Bednar)

14. Issue: Customers lack of personnel/planning consuming time. (Steve Lemper)  Bob (Viking) – we are involved 100% very time consuming  Craig (Team) – When we get kicked off by poor customer planning, lots of delays before kickoff, we do our best to be firm and communicate the date delay on first shots if they don’t get the information

15. Issue: Being a custom extruder with no stock catalog it can be challenging to market our services. (Chuck Marino)

16. Issue: Mange RFQs (Mark – Tech)  Bob (Viking) – done by sales group, they are responsible to submit RFQ 48 hour turnaround. Engineers are involved in estimation, entire group  Steve (Quad) – Do you send all your RFQs outside or are they internal  Bob – only send out a few so we don’t saturate, customers complaining. Toolmakers seem to be responsive, but still think they aren’t getting their fair share.

17. Issue: New market entry (Steve Lemper)

18. Mark Your Calendar for the Next Sales & Marketing Member Exchange Friday, April 5 at 11a.m. EST