Business Opportunities

CED's Third Engage Program Highlights Sales and Marketing

Area Executives and Industry Experts to Speak at Engage: Sales and Marketing June 24

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 15, 2004--The Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED) is presenting its third Engage program on a key issue facing innovation-based companies - sales and marketing. CED's Engage: Sales and Marketing will be held June 24 from 4:30-8 p.m. at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School.
Recent studies show that companies are continually evaluating how to maximize their sales and marketing budgets. According to a survey from Web services firm Interland, 69 percent of small business owners consider the Web a "critical" marketing tool. Companies are also investing significant time and money in other marketing tools, including search engine keywords, e-mail marketing and direct mail.

As companies look for effective ways to spend their sales and marketing dollars, CED is offering the next Engage program to provide relevant tools for emerging companies. In addition to previously announced keynote speaker and sales expert Marty Clarke, CED's Engage: Sales and Marketing will also feature concurrent panels with entrepreneurial executives, consultants and other sales and marketing experts.

During five concurrent sessions, panelists will explore sales and marketing's impact on the innovation economy. Confirmed speakers and session topics at Engage: Sales and Marketing include the following:

Market Definition: Hitting the Right Target

-- Keith Boswell, Partner, Market Acuity, LLC

-- Chris Newton, Chief Executive Officer, Intervolve, Inc.

-- Kim Shulman, Manager of Program Marketing, Red Hat, Inc.

-- Rick Thompson, Vice President of Marketing & Sales, Flashpoint Technologies

Maximizing ROI While Marketing on a "Shoestring" Budget

-- Gary E. Ban, Chief Executive Officer, Summus, Inc.

-- Marco Fregenal, President & COO, Ultimus, Inc.

-- James Neiser, Chief Marketing Officer, StrikeIron, Inc.

-- Joseph Schachle, Senior Vice President of Marketing & Sales, Inspire Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

-- Grace Ueng, President & Founder, Savvy Marketing Group

Sales Channels - Determining the Best Channel Strategy for Your Business

-- Kathy Barton, Vice President of Marketing, Peopleclick, Inc.

-- Jack Huisman, Director of Sales, StrikeIron, Inc.

-- Donna Peek, Manager of Outsourcing Business Development, SAS Institute

-- Ken West, Principal, Technology Communications Group, LLC

Finding and Retaining Dynamic Sales & Marketing People

-- Don Alexander, Director of Business Development for Life Sciences, Carlyle & Conlan, Inc.

-- Jo Ann Farr, Director of Human Resources, Plectrum, Inc.

-- Mike Goolsby, Senior Director of Sales, Inspire Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

-- Scott Place, President, Maverick Marketing

-- Ed Ungemach, Worldwide Sales Manager, IBM Websphere

-- Bill Warner, Managing Partner and Founder, Paladin & Associates

The Art of Selling - Qualifying Prospects to Closing the Sale

-- Tom Furr, Vice President of Sales, Smart Online, Inc.

-- Lon Lohmiller, Vice President of the Eastern Region, Rand Worldwide

-- Deb Lovig, Vice President of Marketing, Smart Online, Inc.

-- Mark Self, Serial Entrepreneur

The program kicks off with these five interactive sessions at 5 p.m., followed by Clarke's keynote address at 6 p.m. Engage: Sales and Marketing concludes with a networking reception from 7 to 8 p.m. The program cost is $50 for CED members and $75 for non-members. Additional details are available online at www.cednc.org/engage.

About CED: The Council for Entrepreneurial Development, located in Research Triangle Park, NC, is a private, non-profit organization formed in 1984 to stimulate the creation and growth of high-impact companies in the greater Research Triangle region. CED provides education, mentoring and capital formation resources to new and existing high-growth entrepreneurs through annual conferences, seminars, workshops and monthly programs on entrepreneurial management and finance. CED, which celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2004, is the largest entrepreneurial support organization in the nation with more than 3,500 members representing 1,000 entrepreneurial companies, financiers and professional firms. www.cednc.org

Contacts


The Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED)
Robert Albright, 919-549-7500 ext. 123
ralbright@cednc.org

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