Concord’s Jerry Brauneis named ASI Distributor Salesperson of the Year Finalist:
DISTRIBUTOR FINALIST
Jerry Brauneis
Concord Marketing Solutions (asi/166445)
Hitting the links is a great way to learn about your clients, especially if you’re a former golf pro like Jerry Brauneis.
In between putts, the “3 to 6 handicap” golfer split his time teaching aspiring golfers at a country club in Dallas and handling shop operations throughout Texas, primarily dealing with sales of equipment and apparel. After the birth of his first daughter, he moved back home to the Chicago area, bringing his expertise and passion to a new territory. Covering five states required a lot of travel, and as his family continued to grow, Brauneis took an opportunity to plant himself in the corporate side.
Since 2002, the executive vice president of Concord Marketing Solutions has increased his sales almost every year, including a career high 12% sales growth last year for the multimillion-dollar producer.
Get to Know Jerry
· What’s one fun fact about yourself? I never get bored.
· Sum up your selling style in one word. Collaborative
· What was your first job? Caddy at 11 years old
“My success is built on understanding the customer’s needs, not only from a product and program standpoint, but in every facet of their business,” Brauneis says. “I enjoy developing and sustaining relationships with long-term customers. Naturally, you get to know them better on the course.”
Specializing in the financial, insurance and professional services sector, Brauneis currently manages 20 online store accounts. Technology plays a major role in Concord’s success, as the company works closely with clients to help analyze its marketing and customer data in order to create significant ROI. “We make it clear from the beginning that we want to measure the success of our programs,” Brauneis says. “It’s about demonstrating new methodologies that positively affect our clients’ sales and marketing efforts.”
His knowledge of the corporate side has been a tremendous asset over the past year, as Brauneis has seen a surge in onboarding, as well as recognition and other programs. For example, he and his team created a program for “door openers,” in which a financial client targeted 1,000 potential customers they’ve never been able to get in the door. Brauneis’ team created two-minute videos highlighting a new product or service for the client to send out. The program was a hole-in-one – 25% of recipients responded, leading to many new sales opportunities. Says Brauneis: “Never stop considering what the client will need next, and what will best assist their business.” – JC