Upcoming Events Archived Events Before and After: Oct 18 - Sept 27 - Aug 22

SME Morning Workshop & Luncheon



Location: Metropolitan Ballroom, Hwy 394 & 100 - 5418 Wayzata Blvd. Minneapolis  Directions

Leo Steidel

Morning Workshop
Into the Lives of Your Customers!
Leo Steidel, VP software The Weidt Group

Understanding “buying scenarios” is the key to increasing online sales.

When you understand the context in which your customers select and buy your products you can create software tools that save them time, simplify their lives, and lead to sales. A well-designed online catalog is a must, but only the starting point.

Advanced software tools allow you to leverage the interactive power of the PC sitting right on your customer's desk. You can turn their own PCs into powerful marketing tools that will:

  • Increase sales
  • Decrease support cost
  • Reinforce your brand
  • Create customer loyalty
  • Raise switching barriers

You can offer software tools that:

  • simplify product selection
  • easily or automatically configure products
  • make it easy to design using your products
  • help the customer create custom products
  • let your customer visualize your product in their solution
  • and more...

In this session we will lead you through proven techniques to gain a true understanding of your customer's buying scenarios and solve their problems in ways that generate sales. We will include real-world examples, results, and lessons learned.

Leo Steidel is VP of software at the Weidt Group, and has been leading technical software product development teams for more than twenty years. He holds several patents in the area of person/machine interface design.

The Weidt Group specializes in developing advanced interactive catalogs and software tools for product selection, design, and purchasing. The Weidt Group shipped its first commercial software package in 1985.

Mike Veeck

Luncheon Presentation
Sales Executive of the Year
Mike Veeck

Okay. So maybe Disco Demolition Night didn’t go exactly as planned. At least he tried. In fact, Mike Veeck has made a career of trying what other people wouldn’t dare. Who else would hire a dog (Miami Miracle) and a pig (or series of pigs—St. Paul Saints) to deliver baseballs to the home plate umpire, a nun to give massages in the stands, and mimes to perform instant replays between innings?

Mike Veeck makes dreams come true. What makes him special is how he does it. Mike has made a career of understanding that people need to laugh. As part-owner of six baseball teams and a consultant with two, he has served to put fun back into baseball. He has proven that his ideas are not specific only to baseball, acting as an advertising professional, popular speaker, founder of the Veeck Promotional Seminar, all-around idea mean, and devoted father.

It is with the belief that anything is possible and no idea is too silly that his teams routinely set attendance records. This is a Veeck family tradition. Mike inherited his love of the “little guy”, the person with great potential who might be overlooked for one reason or another. In 1947, his father, Bill, signed Larry Doby, the American League’s first black player, to a contract with the Indians. Fifty years later, Mike signed Ila Borders, the first woman to play professional baseball, to a contract with the St. Paul Saints.

The Veeck family practically invented the concept of “fan-friendly” with such ideas as Bat Day and post-game fireworks. They knew that, if you want to find out what fans want, you have to listen to them. If you want to make them laugh, you have to use your imagination. Last season, the Charleston RiverDogs gave away a funeral. This year they will give away a divorce.

Mike began his baseball career in 1975 as Assistant Business Manager and Director of Marketing for the Chicago White Sox, helping his father rekindle interest in Chicago’s South Side team. After Disco Demolition left a bad taste in the mouths of baseball’s executives, Mike went into advertising, serving as Vice President of Client Services for Wexler, McCarron & Roth. He later started his own firm, Noble Veeck Advertising.

To return to baseball, Mike took over as President of the Miami Miracle in the Florida State League. Within months, the Veeck name again became synonymous with fun at the ballpark. In 1993, making yet another huge leap of faith, Mike invested in the St. Paul Saints of the long-dormant Northern League. Despite the presence of a Major League team only seven miles away, the Saints continually sold out, setting an all-time short season attendance record in 1995.

In addition to overseeing the Goldklang Group’s six baseball teams (Charleston RiverDogs, Evansville Otters, Ft. Myers Miracle, Hudson Valley Renegades, St. Paul Saints, and Sioux Falls Canaries), he acts as a consultant for teams in Portland, Oregon and Brockton, Massachusetts, runs an advertising agency, and travels the country speaking to groups. He has brought his wisdom and humor to groups like 3M, Major League Baseball, General Mills, Anheuser Busch, the American Bar Association, and NASCAR. He has also appeared on 60 Minutes, ESPN’s SportsCenter, ABC’s Nightline and Wide World of Sports, CBS Sunday Morning, National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition, and Late Night with Conan O’Brien.

Mike lives in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina with his wife, Libby. He has two children, Night Train and Rebecca.