interlinkONE

The Secret Sauce

Posted by Jason Pinto on Friday, May 28, 2010 at 6:46 AM in Marketing

Kielbasa - Made by Leslie Glynn

Over the 11 years that I have worked at interlinkONE, I have come to rely on these three things as nearly always being true:

• Work is very busy
• Our crew knows how to have some fun
• Leslie Glynn makes amazing kielbasa

Let’s chat about that third item for a bit. I would estimate that Leslie brings her famous dish into the office about twice a year. Every time, the result is the same — people fight to get in line to grab some, and people take way too much (that is, if the goal was to share with everyone else… but honestly, it’s just not possible with this stuff.. it’s addictive). By about noon, the bowl is clean.

When it comes to our marketing activities, we all want people to feel the same way about our materials. We want our readers to yearn for the delivery of our monthly newsletter. We want our postcard to stand out in the pile of mail on our recipient’s desk. We want our sales team to run out of collateral while they were at a trade show (of course, we better have a 2nd batch nearby )

Is there a secret to producing marketing materials that give people that “must-have” feeling? No doubt, we all wish there was. But regardless, we keep plugging along in an effort to increase the impact of our campaigns.

Well, here are three things that I’ve learned from Leslie’s famous kielbasa that may also help you in your marketing efforts:

• The Build-Up:  Leslie brings her dish into the office early in the morning. Around 8am, she plugs in the crock-pot. About a half-hour later, our entire office is filled with the aroma of those sizzling pieces of meat and that mouth-watering sauce. However, there’s a catch — you can’t eat it yet! It’s still cooking. So, we all need to sit there and patiently wait for our chance to dig in. That anticipation factor absolutely helps to increase the demand of the kielbasa.
• Only on “Special” Occasions: Things are very busy at interlinkONE, and thus, we do have a lot of “gatherings” to help keep the camraderie up (and to keep people loose). We all wish that Leslie made her kielbasa for each and every one of these events. However, she doesn’t. She normally treats us a couple of times a year. So, when you do see her walk in the office with the crock-pot, you immediately know it’s going to be a very good day. And you start adjusting your to-do list to plan “kielbasa time” accordingly.
• It’s Better than Everyone Else’s: This is probably the most important factor. I’ve had kielbasa many other times at restaurants and cookouts. Well, the fact is, Leslie’s is the best that I’ve ever had. (To my Mom: Don’t hate me. Your kielbasa is good! But….)

Next time you sit down to review your latest newsletter, brochure, or just a marketing campaign in general, perhaps you can steal a trick or two from Leslie’s “recipe” to increase your own success.

(1) Comment Tags kielbasa, Leslie Glynn