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GM flies 500 to Phoenix and puts them up at golf resort & spa

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Jersey_Guy, May 7, 2009.

  1. Jersey_Guy

    Jersey_Guy Active Member

    I know you have to try to drum up business, but as the comments on the story show, your PR margin of error with these things is very, very thin when billions in government aid is the only thing keeping you out of bankruptcy. And as a PR guy, you have to have a better response then, "Well, yeah, but they're paying for their own golf!":

    http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2009-05-06-resorts-fleet-gm_N.htm#uslPageReturn
     
  2. cranberry

    cranberry Well-Known Member

    Re: GM flies 500 Phoenix and puts them up at golf resort & spa

    I have no problem with it. Sales is a competitive part of the industry.

    The guests are GM's fleet and corporate customers, which accounted for 27.6% of GM's business in 2008. Fleet customers can buy dozens of vehicles at a time.
     
  3. PCLoadLetter

    PCLoadLetter Well-Known Member

    Re: GM flies 500 Phoenix and puts them up at golf resort & spa

    So are they not going to buy any cars if they aren't flown to a resort?
     
  4. Twoback

    Twoback Active Member

    Re: GM flies 500 Phoenix and puts them up at golf resort & spa

    They might buy Toyotas. Nobody's looking over their shoulder and screaming at them.
     
  5. cranberry

    cranberry Well-Known Member

    Re: GM flies 500 Phoenix and puts them up at golf resort & spa

    Like it or not, schmoozing is part of sales. Human beings, for some reason, react positively to being treated well.
     
  6. mustangj17

    mustangj17 Active Member

    Re: GM flies 500 Phoenix and puts them up at golf resort & spa

    Yeah they need to sell cars to the fleet owners. Hopefully they makes sales out of this.
     
  7. PCLoadLetter

    PCLoadLetter Well-Known Member

    Re: GM flies 500 Phoenix and puts them up at golf resort & spa

    Toyota isn't spending my money.
     
  8. RickStain

    RickStain Well-Known Member

    Re: GM flies 500 Phoenix and puts them up at golf resort & spa

    So you want to give a competitive advantage to the company you don't have a stake in?
     
  9. PCLoadLetter

    PCLoadLetter Well-Known Member

    Re: GM flies 500 Phoenix and puts them up at golf resort & spa

    I'm tired of the corporate "if we don't pay for lavish resort trips we'll go out of business!" bullshit.

    I'm very, very skeptical that this gives anyone a competitive business advantage. (And if my fleet buyer is going with GM because they sent him to a resort and Toyota didn't, I'm firing my fleet buyer.)
     
  10. PeteyPirate

    PeteyPirate Guest

    Re: GM flies 500 Phoenix and puts them up at golf resort & spa

    I'm in sales, and I see the competitive value of this kind of thing all the time. The clients you take on a deep-sea fishing excursion or host at the box for a Caps playoff game are historically more likely to give you their business than the ones whom you just ask for it.
     
  11. Twoback

    Twoback Active Member

    Re: GM flies 500 Phoenix and puts them up at golf resort & spa

    Indeed. But if you want GM to get a return on spending "your" money, how do you suppose they're going to do that without, you know, selling some freaking cars?
     
  12. Armchair_QB

    Armchair_QB Well-Known Member

    Re: GM flies 500 Phoenix and puts them up at golf resort & spa

    It's not the trips and lavish resorts that seal the deal. It's the hookers and blow they get when they get there that gets it done.
     
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