TMA's CMS (Commercial & Marketing Services) Program was birthed in 2004 with seed money from Illinois' DCEO to assist manufacturers. A program began to help members craft marketing plans and increase sales revenue. Direction came in part from members of the Marketing Committee who acted as a sounding board. Inside of five tumultuous years, Marketing Director Kent Gladish and his team have begun the 100th plan with a TMA member.

To be clear, 100 have not been completed as quite a few are in the "work in process" stage where members have the advantage of calling CMS for assistance over time. With the radical volatility of the economy, many of these members are glad to have an "outsourced marketing director" - someone who knows their specific business and can offer suggestions based on the current climate.

Andy Koson, owner of Koson Tool is the 100th member to embark on the program. "I'm new to this whole marketing process and Kent Gladish has shown me the value and importance of it. I'm very excited and eager to see where this will take my business and might add that I'm confident that good things will happen."

Benefits of CMS have ranged from the development of a professional web site or a logo to nearly $1,000,000 of incremental sales into a new market segment. Each member ends up with a 3-5 page plan and direction for meeting their specific commercial goals. If you have an interest, please contact Kent Gladish at kgladish@tmanet.com or (847) 825-1120, ext. x1339.