Tourtellotte gets brand recognition
By Andrew J. Manuse/ Daily News Staff
Friday, November 17, 2006

WAYLAND -- Mixed martial arts fighter Kenny Florian may not have won his World Lightweight Championship bout last month, but a local company has won name recognition for sponsoring him.

Tourtellotte Solutions Inc. -- a Wayland company that makes software for automating sales processes for the pharmaceutical, retail and consumer goods markets -- sponsored Florian when he lost a fiercely fought, five-round battle by decision to Sean Sherk in the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Oct. 14 in Las Vegas.

Ed Tourtellotte, president and CEO of Tourtellotte Solutions, who used to train with Florian, chose to sponsor the fighter in last month's bout for "brand recognition."

The fight will replay on Spike TV several times and Florian will give motivational speeches for the company through next fall, Tourtellotte said.

"Unreservedly, we're very happy we made the decision to sponsor him...we got a lot of calls and comments," Tourtellotte said. "There was a lot of positive reaction from customers and employees, (and) our potential customers and employees."

The sponsorship created "conversations" that might not have happened otherwise, Tourtellotte said. "There's been a lot of buzz" around the sponsorship, he said, which may result in new customers down the road.

"In our business, the gaining of customers is not an overnight thing," he said. "You're looking at a six-to-nine month sales cycle."

The sponsorship was a natural choice because Tourtellotte Solutions takes what may seem like "impossible problems" and tries to solve them with its software solutions, he said. Florian, the underdog, "has that same type of attitude in spades," he said.

The first of Florian's motivational speeches for Tourtellotte was on Oct. 25, when a crowd of 20-to-25 customers, including Home Depot, Staples, J.C. Penney and other buyers, showed up for the company's RockBlocks customer summit. RockBlocks is the company's global sourcing software for retailers.

"(Florian) talked about his career, how he handled setbacks and how he strove for continuous improvement rather than a particular goal," Tourtellotte said. "The audience was totally focused on what he was saying. You could have heard a pin drop. Then I realized it went well when a number of people went to get his autograph."