With the assistance of Simon, Inc. the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce is embarking on an innovative approach to increase membership and sponsorship revenue through a process that helps prospective clients identify their own needs.

“We liked Simon’s straight-forward approach right away,” says Tom Fricano, vice president of member services. “That approach mixes well with the way our chamber likes to do business with our prospects and clients. Simon teaches a professional and open methodology that resonates well with businesses in the Atlanta area.”

“Professional selling is a discovery process,” says Al Simon, founder and president of Simon, Inc., a Duluth firm that offers training and coaching based on the Sandler Selling System. Al Simon is an authorized licensee of the Sandler Sales Institute and has utilized these concepts since opening his doors as Business Development Improvement, Inc. in 2001. “Our process is not about being ‘in the prospect’s face’, but about helping them discover what they want to buy from you,” says Simon.

Under the contract for training and coaching, which began in April, Simon will be working with the organization’s four membership representatives and supervisor Tom Fricano. Simon will consult on sales techniques, strategies and other activities.

“Sales is about a win-win relationship,” says Simon, who teaches sales and sales management methodologies that Simon says are pertinent to today’s competitive marketplace. “The Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce has a high quality offering for businesses of all sizes. Their sales efforts were already effective when we started, so we are working to raise them to an even higher level of excellence. We use a well respected and repeatable methodology that has proven effective for sales managers, sales professionals and business owners who want to increase revenues.”

The Gwinnett Chamber, which is considered one of the fastest growing chambers in the nation, was recognized recently by the Georgia Department of Economic Development as the state’s only “entrepreneurial friendly” county with more than 700,000 population. “Our goal is to become the most member-focused chamber in the nation, forging a positive agenda and vision for Gwinnett’s future. Everyone is welcome here, and we constantly strive to produce the quality programs and events that put our member businesses in a position to achieve their goals and dreams,” says Demming Bass, vice president of communications and business services.

Simon works with businesses to increase revenue and gross profits, fatten pipelines and shorten sales cycles with programs offered both on site and at his Duluth classrooms. The programs include sales management, which teaches how to effectively lead sales

people, a President’s Club, which meets weekly and includes individuals selling their

employer’s or their own service or product and corporate training and development, which is offered onsite for a dedicated group of sales professionals. Besides the Gwinnett Chamber, Simon’s clients include the Gainesville-Hall County Convention and Visitors Bureau, PlyMart, Inc., Allstate Insurance, Flag Bank, Quantum National Bank, Wegener Communications, Tech Systems, Inc., Athens MicroComputer, and others. According to Simon, individual coaching is also available.

Simon, Inc. is located at 2180 Satellite Blvd, Suite 400, Duluth, Georgia. Simon may be contacted by phone at 770-281-9090 or information is available on the web at www.simonsayssell.net.

Additional Information Provided by the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce:

Helping Gwinnett and metro Atlanta business succeed is the business of the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce. From answering questions and providing a host of useful information to promoting growth in Gwinnett County, the chamber is working everyday to help make Gwinnett a place where businesses thrive and success truly lives.

Gwinnett County remains one of the fastest-growing counties in the United States and at the center of Gwinnett’s growth and development is the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber has a finger on the pulse of the community and is able to identify and target issues of importance to businesses in the county. Within the chamber, businesses of all sizes have a strong and powerful impact on important community issues.

The chamber also offers free-flowing channels of communication with local and state officials on a regular basis. They facilitate the establishment of new businesses and the expansion of existing ones, creating more paying customers to consume more goods and services, more jobs closer to home and a more balanced tax base. The chamber has a strong alliance with government, education, homeowners and developers to create a better community for all.