Frank’s Chat with Santa Everyone is busy this time of year, but Santa and his North Pole Industries team feel the most pressure. I knew Mr. Claus would be very busy, but I needed to talk to him. Using the “Dialing for Dollars” process outlined in my latest book, The New Sales Guy Project, I decided to make a call.  I only had North Pole Industries' address – no phone number and no email.  Oh well, time to practice what I preach on getting hold of people.  I jumped over to Google and searched for a direct number for Santa Claus.  My search results were many, so I tightened up the search by adding “Santa Claus” and “phone number”.  Hidden in the first three results was a mention of his number (605-313-4000 don’t believe me give it a ring).  Entering the number, I ended up with, you guessed it, voice mail.  I left this message:   “Santa this is Frank Hurtte of River Heights Consulting.  You probably remember that we spoke briefly about th...

Ever wonder what Tacos and Transformers have in common? Pizza and Pulling Lube?  What they COULD have in common is AI Marketing. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal discussed how YUM Brands, the owner of companies like Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and KFC, uses AI-driven marketing campaigns to increase customer purchases and reduce customer churn. YUM uses AI to send targeted messages customized at an individual level, looking at factors like location, weather, time of day, day of the week, etc. They are also personalizing messages. AI utilizes pre-written messages and sends them based on the factors mentioned earlier. The goal is more personalized ads that are better-timed and speak to the customer rather than blasting them with generic, one-size-fits-all clutter. And guess what? We can do this in our industry.  Location: Let’s face it, Texas and Florida will need those industrial-size fans much sooner than Minnesota and Idaho. You could send messages to customers of your mo...

Kris Kringle, the jolliest boss of the North Pole, called a rare emergency meeting with his top elves. Why rare? Because the man believes in delegation and hot cocoa, not micromanagement. Yet, here we were: garland-lined gloom, cookie plates untouched, and Kris madder than a wet reindeer. The crisis? Supply chain chaos. Machines broken, parts delayed, sugar plums tasting suspiciously like spinach—classic holiday mayhem. And at the center of it all? A new procurement elf, Elf Pricedrop, whose cost-cutting suppliers had efficiency levels rivaling a hibernating polar bear. As Kris laid out the grim situation—Christmas potentially canceled—Elf Pricedrop took the floor, adjusting his fancy tie like he was about to drop some revolutionary wisdom. Instead, he dropped excuses. "We’ve saved money!” he cried. But the other elves weren’t buying it. Elf Evergreen, head of toy production, fired back: “We have machines down and parts are MIA. Your suppliers couldn’t deliver a sled in a snowstor...