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Seeding the ground

Carrier’s tip leads to shipping deal

Raymundo Ortiz, a Gilroy, CA, letter carrier, used the Customer Connect program to help generate new revenue for USPS.

A sales lead from a letter carrier in California has resulted in a local shipping deal worth almost $18,000 for the Postal Service.

While delivering mail on his route, Raymundo Ortiz, who works at the Gilroy Post Office, took an opportunity to talk with the owner of a seed warehouse who was looking to save money on shipping.

Ortiz asked the customer to fil out a lead card and then submitted the information through Customer Connect, a joint USPS and National Association of Letter Carriers program that encourages participants to identify sales opportunities.

Thomas Damore, an inside sales representative, followed up with the customer and closed a shipping deal worth $17,996 in new estimated annualized revenue for the Postal Service.

“After noticing parcels awaiting pickup by a competitor, Ray asked his customer if she was interested in saving money,” said Dorothy Muir, small-business specialist at USPS headquarters in Washington, DC. “It was the right question at the right time.”

Sales generated from Customer Connect leads are included in the USPS Delivering for Main Street campaign to raise revenue through sales leads from employees.

The Postal Service is encouraging as many employees as possible to submit at least one lead through any of its six lead programs by Sept. 30.

Postal employees with ACE IDs can submit leads through the new Employee Lead Entry site on Blue by selecting the “Submit a Lead” link under “Featured Topics.” Employees who do not have an ACE ID can access the lead entry site through LiteBlue by selecting “Submit a Lead” under the “Resource Index” tab.

Customer 360 users can click on “Submit a Lead” to access the lead entry site on that platform. Letter carriers who use a mobile delivery device, or MDD, can enter leads while on street mode, under option “U.” Business Connect Portal users have to enter a lead through the lead entry site if an activity requires sales assistance or has resulted in a sale.

The Small Business and Lead Generation Programs Blue page has more information about Customer Connect and the other employee lead programs: Business Connect, Clerks Care, Mail Handlers, Rural Reach and Submit a Lead.