Who’s with me?

Since we launched the company, Fowler has been dreaming about a Jigsaw member conference. I always know when he’s about to start talking about it. Right after his first beer (of the two it takes to get him giddy) on Friday afternoon at the bi-weekly poker table, he gets this mi

schievous twinkle in his eyes and off he goes: “you guys will all know when we’ve made it when we’re at the Texas Hold ‘em tournament portion of the Jigsaw National Sales Event in Vegas, with cigars, brown spirits, $100 buy in, a huge Silver plaque with all the previous winner’s name engraved on it…it’s going to be awesome!” I always listen in a

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mused silence, thinking of how long I will have been traveling on a yacht with my family by the time this actually happens… kind of like most people’s “what if I won the lottery” fantasy. The rest of the Jigsaw employees at the table, mostly developers, just laugh and call the bet, because Fowler can’t wax prolific when he has a good hand.  

Please understand, Jigsaw is successful, but we’re no Salesforce.com, spending 40% (or whatever that figure is) of their revenue on marketing parties.  Particularly when it comes to travel, our frugality is legendary - we go two-to-a-room in Idaho at the only yearly Jigsaw sponsored function - so we’re not about to fork over 6 figures to underwrite a top tier event anytime soon, right? Well, betting fans, lace up your skates, because Hell might have frozen over at Jigsaw. Last week our executive staff decided to let me take a crack at organizing the first annual Jigsaw Nation Sales Event for members, partners and salespeople.

Right now the exact  agenda, speakers and location  are all negotiable, but Jigsaw will be hosting up to 1,000 of our closest friends somewhere in the Bay Area  in late July 2010 for a day of sales oriented learning and celebration.  We’re going to have a golf tournament, a silen

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t auction for Jigsaw points, contests around the best 60 second video sales pitch, a cocktail bash and yes, a Poker Tournament at our brand spanking new office in San Mateo. This is going to be a blast! Before you let your eyes roll up to the ceiling, please understand that this is much more than a Jigsaw coming out party/boondoggle (although I challenge any true salesperson to not have a great time). I’ve spoken with at least 100 Jigsaw members and sales leaders who have drilled into my head that what salespeople need right now is help corralling all the new technology, processes, management techniques and communication  vehicles so they can get back to crushing their numbers . We’ll have experts on all phases of the sales funnel, social media, and Sales 2.0 as well as good old fashioned “blocking and tackling” instruction.  

Jigsaw partners from all related fields will be in attendance to help you optimize your comp. plans, master executive reporting, understand the customer, make your lead generation efforts produce direct revenue results. Everyone that gets in front of an audience of any size will be personally vetted by Fowler and me for motivational talent as well as field expertise. At the end of the day (literally, not the worn out expression), you and/or your sales team will be ready to knock down castle walls and lay waste to their quota.

It may look like I’m out ahead of the crowd, virtually channeling FrankTheTank (“We’re going streaking… everyone’s doing it”), but this is happening. Be on the lookout for updates about the event in this blog, in your email, on the Jigsaw site and Community, via telephone (that’s right, I’ll be dialing you up to make sure you come) and in person (I get around). Don’t be ducking me, Stanley. You know you need to be there. Talk to me about it at SFDC’s Dreamforce in San Francisco this week. Jigsaw is Booth 1112 and we’re co-hosting the Marketing Cloud party at the St. Regis Thursday at 6PM. RSVP here.