A Message From Don Romeka CEO

Thanks to a strong IntelEvent Team, a Strong Customer Base, and a good economic climate we enter the 4th quarter of 2005 with a lot of exciting momentum.  I expect the 4th quarter to be our best ever.  I can’t begin to tell you how many partners we have earned in the 4th quarter over the past 7 years, but it is a very large number.  Most of our customers know they need our software, but the commitment to change has to be there too.  Good old Uncle Sam helps on the motivation in Q4, no one likes sharing their profits with the Tax Man.  In addition to increasing sales, profitability, and productivity, IntelEvent is also a business expense.  (Please check with your accountant on your specific savings.)

Every day I get more and more fired up about the strength of our simple business model.  If we take care of our customers they will take care of us with future purchases and referrals.  It starts with TRUST and continues with TRUST.  I want to illustrate how the strength of this TRUST has helped us enter the Australian during this past quarter.  About 7 years ago, just after starting IntelEvent, I took a trip to Australia.  I was seeking the business of a very large Australian prospect that had been running on a DOS based system for many years.  Again, at the time I was just starting out and had 10 customers, and a long term vision.  As always I focused on earning the TRUST of my potential customer, and shared with him what the software could and couldn’t do.  We were a close runner up in this case.  We had lost to a competitor that has been in business for a long time, and had “promised” the world to this large account.  I vowed that the next time I went to Australia, I would have customers in Australia, and I would spend more time enjoying the country…

Thanks to Andrew Ehler, our Sales Manager, and a number of our great customers, Peter Worth (second picture), Managing Director of AVD, signed up with IntelEvent this August.  Peter had pulled a few “all-nighters” because of the time difference and spent a great deal of time calling IntelEvent customers.  Peter took us through one of the most thorough due diligence processes ever.  I think Peter felt he was taking responsibility for the entire country of Australia.  After Peter Worth decided to go with IntelEvent he called Durham Audio Visual.  He knew that Peter Durham was looking for software and Peter Worth educated Peter Durham on his findings and his ultimate decision.  Thus Peter Durham from Durham Audio Visual signed with us soon there after…

Seven Years Later...I flew to Australia from LAX on Sept. 19th at 10:30 PM and arrived in Sydney, Australia Sept. 21st at 6 am.  I lost a day flying to Australia, but this time we had already gained 2 customers in Australia.  I had scheduled a lunch with the very large prospect I had met with 7 years prior.  The Managing Director had sold his ownership position to a publicly traded company the prior year, and oh by the way, the software company competitor that promised him the world was not able to deliver on its promises, hence they were still running the DOS based system.  While in Sydney, I was able to connect with Lex Strauss, Manager of Durham Audio Visual’s Sydney operation.  I owe a special thanks to Lex for taking the time to help me understand some of the different Australian words and phrases.  I arrived in Melbourne from Sydney Sept. 22nd about 11:30 PM.  Peter Worth of AVD had arranged for me to stay downtown Melbourne at the Grand Mercure Hotel. The city was pumping with excitement and my hotel was in the middle of it.  This was the weekend of the Grand Final.  The Grand Final is the equivalent to the Super Bowl in the United States.  Australian Rules Football originated in Melbourne and out of the 16 teams in the league the finalists were the Sydney Swans and the West Coast Eagles.  The streets of down town Melbourne were filled with loyal fans, there was a big parade, and every possible venue had some sort of Grand Final Party.  Because AVD is in-house at most of the Downtown Venues, I was able to meet most of Peter Worth’s team in action on that Friday.  Saturday was the Grand Final.  Peter Worth had arranged an amazing Grand Final Day.  Consisting of a Huge Event called the Grand Final Breakfast where Peter introduced me to John Howard the Prime Minister (first picture).  John Howard took the time to talk to me for a few minutes.  I get the feeling he wants us to succeed in Australia.  The Grand Final game itself was amazing, a special thanks goes out to Peter’s friends who helped me understand the game.  The Sydney Swans won a very close game.  The day following the Grand Final, Peter Worth along with his family showed me around Melbourne.  Melbourne is the Sporting Capital of Australia.  They have so many sporting venues.  I personally like Rod Laver Tennis Arena best (maybe that is because I am married to a tennis-pro).  I must point out that both AVD and Durham do a tremendous amount of business during the Grand Final.  The following week I was able to catch up with Peter Durham, Managing Director and Dave Marmo, General Manager of Durham Audio Visual.  Peter and Dave showed me around Melbourne also, and we enjoyed some drinks together at a place right on the water…I departed Melbourne at 10:30 am on September 29th and arrived at LAX at 7:30 am on September 29th.  How about that for productivity!

The reason I am sharing this story with you is that it illustrates IntelEvent’s business model.  We are founded on TRUST.  Sometimes in the short term the truth hurts, like it did 7 years ago with the large prospect in Australia.  In this case the truth came back to help, and I am proud to be in Australia completely founded on TRUST.  Again I am proud of my team, we earn the trust of our customers every day, and in turn our customers share that trust with others.

Please read on and enjoy the rest of this Newsletter.  Again, to my team and our customers, Thank You!

Don Romeka
dromeka@intelevent.com

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