Today we receive a lot of mail. Most of the time, a majority of the mail that I receive is a solicitation and/or junk mail. People are very busy; as a result they will skim their mail very quickly. They have to think that your message is compelling and relevant to them within the first 30 seconds. Otherwise, your mail will get tossed in the trash.

To make sure you get your mailing opened, you have to make sure that you are directing your message to the decision maker. The decision maker will be different depending on your product. It is important that your recipient see’s your message as valuable. In your mailing, I would ask catching questions in terms of the person you are trying to market to. For example, I would ask questions such as: Are you happy with your company’s current sales and marketing results?, Are you satisfied with your company’s standing in the marketplace?, Do you want to know how you can produce more?, If you lost ______ what would you do?, Do you have a backup plan in place if this happens?

The insurance industry does this when they want to sell insurance policies. You have to customize the message for your product or service. This message will get the decision maker thinking because everyone wants to produce more. In other words, you need a message that drives people to act.

Another thing that you could do is to offer a free trial of your work. You could also offer a discount to new customers. For example, you could offer a free consultation. Also, if you are sending the mailing to existing customers, I would offer them rewards for referrals. Make sure to provide a direct response card with paid postage for them to mail back.

Besides the copy and content of the message, it is important to make your mailing visually appealing to your prospect. The copy should be clean, neat and easy to read. Use colors and images that are visually appealing in your message. Make sure that prospects are aware of your presence on social media sites by including badges with link addresses.

Make sure that your business address, phone number and website are included in each piece of the mailing. This is a good precaution to take in case any piece of your mailing gets lost.

Trends in AI & Generative AI: Insights from The 2023 AI Summit New York 

Last week, I covered the AI Summit in New York. I was excited to learn about the trends in AI and generative AI and to see some commercial applications of these new technological advancements. 

Patrick Murphy of UAB led the AI Exhibitor hub. Patrick shared insights from his research on Entrepreneurship. He shared how start-ups use AI, and Generative AI to scale up and bring products to market. 

Generative AI is being used in the following eight ways:

1. Content and Asset Generative
2. Automated Processes
3. Ideation
4. Financial Management
5. Project Design
6. Optimized Structures
7. Acceleration and incubation
8. Ethics and Risk Management. 

There was a pitching completion where start-ups did pitches in multiple rounds. At the beginning of the competition, they received advice from judges on best practices. 

One of the start-ups that was of interest was Botwise. Jan Nowak shared how his team shared a use case on how they leveraged Language Learning models (LLM)using statistics and GPT solutions for rapid automation in customer service for Mylead.global is a platform that allows influencers to earn money. As a result, MyLead.global was able to screen influencers faster and better for their big brand clients.

AI-Powered Use Cases from across the board panel discussion

Leaders Saira Kazmi Ph. D. (CVS Health), Matthew Blakemore (Creative Industries Council) Taha Mokfi (HelloFresh), Kriti Kohli (Shopify), and Kris Perez (Data Force) share how they use chatbots, improving both the buyer and seller experience using AI. How AI can be used in video games to identify levels of violence and how AI can improve in healthcare and Radiology reducing the amount of time images are read while improving accuracy and detail. 

Another interesting Panel was by Tim Delesio CTO of techolution

Tim asked What’s driving the explosive rise of AI all of a Sudden?

The answer is the economics of the labor market.

On the demand side, he cited labor shortages and persistent high inflation. 

On the supply side, he cites the rise of ChatGPT and, major scientific and Technological breakthroughs in the past five to seven years. 

He shared trends in AI for 2024 that include:

1. Physical Labor with AI to help deliver small batch sizes with high-precision quality control
2. Improved customer engagement by providing a new generation of customer service agents using Generative AI 

Tim demonstrated some of these trends when he ordered a soda using an AI-powered robotic arm. 

The booth had another machine showing how AI can enhance inventory management when items are ordered. 

I was amazed to see some AI Tech that techolution brought to the marketplace.

On that note, I saw an AI-powered Kiosk by Graphen where a man ordered his food and paid. This company is using AI to revolutionize all industries.

Man orders food AI Kiosk

Man pays for food at AI Kiosk

There were so many great talks and exhibits. 

Additional pictures can be found on Instagram. 

I want to thank the AI Summit for having me as their guest. If you want to use AI and Generative to improve business outcomes, sign up for the AI summit in your city.

What do you think is next for AI and Generative AI?

Comment and share below.

Additional pictures can be found on Instagram. 

Sales has taught me to:

1.To go after what I want in life. Ask for the order if you will.

2. To stand tall in the face of rejection and negativity.

3. To look at rejection as a learning experience instead of a defeat.

4. To understand Customer needs. (Objections vs Stalls). (Buyer Motives)

5. To persist through obstacles and not to quit!

6. To examine and understand how a business operates.

Every person should try selling products at least once in their lives. It is a valuable learning experience.

Before my time as a Marketer, I worked as an Outside Sales Rep in the Dental Industry in Manhattan.

Field Sales/Field Marketing has taught me so much about myself.

What did selling teach you?

Comment and share.