How can suppliers help you sell? Here are 5 stories of awesome teamwork that turned into sales!
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ADVANTAGES JANUARY ’10 67 BY SHANE DALE WWW.ADVANTAGESMAG.COM JANUARY 2010 67 GREAT SUPPLIER ASSISTS How can suppliers help you sell? Here are five stories of awesome teamwork that turned into sales. I t pays to be picky, especially with suppliers who can help you make or break a deal. Do your research on each supplier you work with, says Chris Piper, former promotional product sales rep and current owner of distributor-consulting firm Breakout Strategic Merchandising. Your suppli- ers should be providing solution-oriented program sales around their products. “Anyone can sell prod- uct; it is those who present creative solutions using the product that will succeed,” Piper says. Here are qualities favorite suppliers bring to the table, as shared by the distributor partners who love them. Quality: Product Expertise Mark Ziskind isn’t an expert on calendars. Fortu- nately, he doesn’t have to be. “Hands down, the best supplier partner to have on a call is the Norwood cal- endar group,” says Ziskind, COO of Caliendo Savio Enterprises (asi/155807 ( ( ). 7 7 That’s because Norwood Promotional Products specializes in calendars, and Dustin Wicks, the account manager who works directly with Ziskind, knows his stuff. Wicks is an invaluable tool to have at meetings with clients, Ziskind says. “He’s not only showing poten- tial layouts of what their calendars will look like, but there are a lot of technical questions that he’s there to answer,” he says. “The average rep won’t know all the answers, so when he comes along, it’s impressive. He adds value. The guy has expertise, and the more knowledge you can share at the meeting, the better chance you have of closing the deal.” Cutting through the garbage with clients is crucial in helping his distributor partners win a sale, accord- ing to Wicks. “What I try to do is present not so much the fluff, but more specifics,” he says. “So, I find out what type of customer the distributor works with, and instead of the show-and-tell mindset, try to be a lot more consultative. When you have the expe- rience and you’ve seen it work, you’re speaking a little more intelligently.” Wicks says that a good supplier rep remembers that, while he or she may be an expert on a given item, there’s a good chance that the distributor isn’t. “A dis- tributor working with thousands of products may not know much about how calendars work,” he says. Ziskind’s company has recently been trying to woo the business of a financial company. Without Wicks, he says he wouldn’t have a prayer of winning the company’s business. “They have a big calendar pro- gram that they’re running with a local printer. I guess things aren’t running smoothly with the current cal- endar provider.” As usual, Wicks provided his outstanding mockups, and attended the initial meeting with the prospective client. “He can go in and say, ‘I’m from the factory, and here’s how many millions of calendars we do,’ ” Ziskind says. “So much of our business is just having continued on page 68 >>
Transcript
ADVANTAGES JANUARY ’10
67
B Y S H A N E D A L E
WWW.ADVANTAGESMAG.COM JANUARY 2010 67
GREAT SUPPLIER ASSISTS
How can suppliers help you sell? Here are fi ve stories of awesome teamwork that turned into sales.
It pays to be picky, especially with suppliers who can help you make or break a deal.
Do your research on each supplier you work with, says Chris Piper, former promotional product sales rep and current owner of distributor-consulting fi rm Breakout Strategic Merchandising. Your suppli-ers should be providing solution-oriented program sales around their products. “Anyone can sell prod-uct; it is those who present creative solutions using the product that will succeed,” Piper says.
Here are qualities favorite suppliers bring to the table, as shared by the distributor partners who love them.
Quality: Product ExpertiseMark Ziskind isn’t an expert on calendars. Fortu-nately, he doesn’t have to be. “Hands down, the best supplier partner to have on a call is the Norwood cal-endar group,” says Ziskind, COO of Caliendo Savio Enterprises (asi/155807(( ). 77
That’s because Norwood Promotional Products specializes in calendars, and Dustin Wicks, the account manager who works directly with Ziskind, knows his stuff.
Wicks is an invaluable tool to have at meetings with clients, Ziskind says. “He’s not only showing poten-tial layouts of what their calendars will look like, but there are a lot of technical questions that he’s there to answer,” he says. “The average rep won’t know all the answers, so when he comes along, it’s impressive. He adds value. The guy has expertise, and the more knowledge you can share at the meeting, the better chance you have of closing the deal.”
Cutting through the garbage with clients is crucial in helping his distributor partners win a sale, accord-ing to Wicks. “What I try to do is present not so much the fl uff, but more specifi cs,” he says. “So, I fi nd out what type of customer the distributor works with, and instead of the show-and-tell mindset, try to be a lot more consultative. When you have the expe-
rience and you’ve seen it work, you’re speaking a little more intelligently.”
Wicks says that a good supplier rep remembers that, while he or she may be an expert on a given item, there’s a good chance that the distributor isn’t. “A dis-tributor working with thousands of products may not know much about how calendars work,” he says.
Ziskind’s company has recently been trying to woo the business of a fi nancial company. Without Wicks,he says he wouldn’t have a prayer of winning the company’s business. “They have a big calendar pro-gram that they’re running with a local printer. I guess things aren’t running smoothly with the current cal-endar provider.”
As usual, Wicks provided his outstanding mockups, and attended the initial meeting with the prospective client. “He can go in and say, ‘I’m from the factory, and here’s how many millions of calendars we do,’ ” Ziskind says. “So much of our business is just having
continued on page 68 >>
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the confi dence that you will do what you say you will do, and he helps with that. That’s huge.”
In every part of the sales process with this client, from the creation of the mockup to the product pre-sentation, Wicks is an active participant. “It’s not that I know everything or that I’m answering every question,” Wicks says, “but it makes the end-user feel good knowing that they have someone from the manufacturer and that we can answer questions and keep the fi re lit.”
Because of the added value that Wicks brings to the table, “It looks like there’s a good chance that we might win this program,” Ziskind says.
Wicks is effective because he recognizes that his dis-tributors’ success is important to his own. “With the
economic times in the industry, it’s tough out there, so we really try to stress that partnership – if you go down, I go down, so why not try to pick it up and be aggressive with it?” he says. “Once you have that trust, you start being aggressive and go after that market.”
Quality: Pricing PerspectivesTo some suppliers, ad specialty distributors are noth-ing more than faceless buyers. “I buy from a lot of promotional product suppliers, and a lot of them don’t know who we are,” says Pete Redondo, director of value-added services for Regency Print Solutions (asi/306196(( ). “You have an inside salesperson who you 66never hear from unless you call them.”
But a new distributorship like Redondo’s needs
more than that very basic level of service to complete sales and build confi dence with its current and poten-tial clients. One of his primary supplier contacts is Jack Keegan, sales executive for Cutter & Buck (asi/47965(( ). “He knows how clients think, who the buyers are we should be talking to, and gives us some competitive market info,” Redondo says. “He says, ‘These are the other brands you’re selling against, this is the perception about this product in the mar-ketplace, this is what’s reality, and this is how you can communicate.’”
One of Keegan’s best assets is his ability to con-vince Redondo’s clients – many of whom have a rigid budget – to spend more than they had originally planned. Keegan says he likes to use an analogy of spending more on a piece of equipment, such as a copy machine, that will save the end-user money in the long run if it lasts longer than a cheaper machine. “Especially in a down economy, you don’t want some-thing that’s going to wear out or have a lot of replace-ment costs or repairs,” he says.
“Using that analogy, it kind of brings the end-user to an area where they’re familiar. If it’s said to have a longer life, they think, ‘We should pay a little more,
continued on page 70
Wicks is effective because he recognizes that his distributors’ success is important to his own:
“With the economic times in the industry, it’s tough out there, so we really try to stress that partnership
– if you go down, I go down.”
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but in the long run it’ll be the most affordable option.’ So, we’re taking something from the end-user’s world and bringing it into their promotional decision.”
When Redondo was trying to sell an international air-and-sea freight company on a series of logoed men’s and women’s polo shirts, for instance, Kee-gan convinced him to encourage the client to spend more than the initial budget. “We were up against some other distributor and they had a fi xed budget,” Redondo says. “We were told, ‘We need to buy x amount of shirts, and the budget’s really tight and we do not get to deviate, period.’ ”
While Redondo was willing to make the sale at the price they wanted, that would have led to Regency “cannibalizing our own profi t margin,” he says.
That’s when Keegan advised Regency to ask prob-ing questions, such as whom the shirts were for, the image that the company wanted to portray with the shirts, if they would be worn in public, and for what occasions they would be worn.
These questions led Redondo to discover that the company’s previous polo order had lasted them less than a year, at which time the shirts wore out and were no longer wearable in public. So, he put one of Cutter & Buck’s shirts, a blue Birds Eye Polo, in the hands of the client’s reps. “So, they’re touching it and thinking, ‘Hmm, which one would I rather wear?’ ” he says.
The company decided to spend 25% more on the Birds Eye Polo shirts that would last them at least a
year longer than the previous shirts. The 100-shirt order resulted in a 40% profi t margin for Regency. “Not only are we in the door on apparel, but they said they have a trade show coming up in March and they wanted to talk to us about helping them plan for that,” Redondo says.
The key, Keegan says, is to never settle for selling your clients a subpar item, even if they insist that they won’t spend more. “Some people get into a routine of, ‘OK, this is how high my customer will go,’ but you need to go talk to the customer, especially new ones, and talk about how quality garments actually are the least expensive,” he says.
Quality: The Speed You Need A mark of a top-notch supplier, according to Bar-bara Burcham, owner of Ad-Specialties & More Ltd. (asi/113357(( ), is its ability to quickly turn around last-77minute requests. That’s why she loves Crown Prod-ucts (asi/47700(( ). “They will go out of their way tomake sure an order goes smoothly, even if it means they have to work overtime,” she says.
Recently, Burcham had a rush order for back-packs in a special material and special color for one
continued on page 72
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The company decided to spend 25% more on the Birds Eye Polo shirts that would last them at least a year longer than the previous shirts. The 100-shirt order resulted in a 40% profi t margin for Regency.
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continued on page 74
GREAT SUPPLIERS
of her best clients, MillerCoors. Initially, Miller-Coors wanted 250 metallic drawstring backpacks that refl ected the change on the Coors Light beer cans of turning from white to blue for their “color-change” cans.
When Burcham told the aptly-named Kevin Speed, territory sales manager and outside sales rep for Crown Products, that MillerCoors decided to increase the order from 250 to 2,500, Speed informed Burcham that he was out of stock – but he didn’t let that stop him.
“Kevin immediately found another bag that was
more expensive because of extra bells and whistles that they could replace them with,” Burcham says. “We sent a sample of that on to the client. They loved it and we went with that.
“Not only did he come through with a rushed sam-ple, but he got the job out the door in time for their event. The factory stayed overtime to get them out in time for a jazz festival. The quality of the bags was great and the imprint remarkably vibrant. Each bag was $5.84, and they ended up with tons of them.”
Five thousand, to be exact, as MillerCoors liked the backpacks so much that they doubled their order the
following week – and again, Speed came through. “He got them out again in record time,” Burcham says.
A short time later, Speed came through again with another order from MillerCoors. “He saved the day when we had another supplier drop the ball,” Burcham says.
This time, MillerCoors wanted 600 football-shaped hand-clappers for a football game in Ala-bama. “We sent our order into another supplier,” Burcham says. “They accepted the order and then had a question, placed our order on hold and then completely forgot about it.”
Naturally, Burcham turned to Crown Products. “They called us at the last moment and said, ‘Can you please get these out on time?’” Speed says. “I pretty much just told her, ‘Let me see what I can do.’ I con-tacted arts, prep and our production team. It was really tight, but we went ahead and got it out on time for them.”
And Speed didn’t even charge rush fees on the order, according to Burcham. “He got us hand-clap-pers made that day and shipped to our client just in the nick of time,” she says. “He is unbelievable.”
The aptly named Kevin Speed was able to
quickly come up with an alternate backpack – at a higher price, no less – and the client loved it.
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Quality: Fair-Mindedness A supplier that cares about its distributor part-
ners will put the same effort and quality into small orders as it will the large ones, according to Crissy Manwaring, owner of Manwaring Innovations LLC (asi/258431(( ). That’s why she enjoys working with In Your Face Apparel (asi/62494(( ).
“They treat the small orders with just as much
respect and attention as the big orders,” she says. “I don’t think anybody really enjoys doing 25 pieces. After all the time invested, it’s a write-off. But in our industry, we’re only as good as our suppliers.”
Manwaring specifi cally enjoys working with Brenda
GREAT SUPPLIERS
continued on page 76
Your Suppliers Should Do This …Chris Piper, former promotional product sales rep
and current owner of distributor-consulting fi rm
Breakout Strategic Merchandising, says the supplier
should:
1. Be part of your team. “The supplier representa-
tive needs to be seen as a partner, not a vendor,”
Piper says. “A partner gains the trust and loyalty of
the distributor and provides the confi dence that he
or she is available to support the needs of the dis-
tributor.”
2. Provide personal service. “The supplier rep-
resentative is usually seen and heard two to three
times per year and at times is diffi cult to reach,” Piper
says. “The supplier should always have an assigned
inside representative that is knowledgeable about
the representative’s territory and distributors within
it, creating ease of process for both parties.”
3. Provide the answers. “Suppliers need to pres-
ent their product as a solution to the distributor’s
clients, helping the distributor separate himself
or herself not as a vendor but as a partner with
their client,” Piper says. “Many suppliers present
the product, not the solution their product can
provide.”
4. Make success stories available. “Suppliers can
help by providing case studies that speak to the suc-
cesses their products have had,” Piper says. “These
case studies would be available via Word docu-
ments so the distributor can customize with his or
her logo and contact information, which they could
then include in their regular client contact materials
and presentations.”
5. Give you free e-proofs. “Provide e-proofs at no
charge or tie in an incentive for the distributor if the
supplier wants to charge for an e-proof,” Piper says.
“The supplier should provide a random sample at no
charge with the e-proof, which then creates a ter-
rifi c presentation and sales tool for the distributor.”
6. Offer proactive selling exercises. “Suppliers
should set up private Webinars that help the distribu-
tor sell the product,” Piper says. They should create a
self-promotional program, which engages the distrib-
utor quarterly with their company, and they should
put in place measurable help to track the ROI of the
distributor programs.
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Zavala, a sales consultant with In Your Face Apparel who specializes in rhinestones and glamour imprints. “She has been incredibly helpful in creating quotes and suggesting the product or imprint method that would best accomplish my clients’ visions,” Manwar-ing says.
Zavala came through on a 39-piece order for Arbonne, a local cosmetics company. The order included short-sleeve cotton/poly tees and long-sleeve shirts in a variety of sizes and colors. “Talk about a pain in the butt to pull an imprint,” Manwar-ing says. “I don’t think that any two were identical in terms of size and style.”
When Arbonne said that the original rhinestone-logoed shirt design looked “goofy,” Manwaring asked Zavala for options. “I called Brenda, and she said, ‘Let me call the art department, and they’ll have some-thing back in two hours,’ ” she recalls.
“Our graphic designer is really good about improv-ing our art proofs or revising if we need to,” Zavala says. “We’re able to turn it around within a day. Her Arbonne customer was extremely picky.”
Zavala’s team quickly sent Manwaring four differ-ent proofs at four different price points. Each placed the stones at different points on the shirt.
Manwaring says the employees at Arbonne weren’t quite sure what they wanted. That’s why the addi-tional proofs saved the day. “The artwork went back three or four times before everyone was really happy,” she says, adding that it was remarkable for In Your Face Apparel to exert so much energy for such a small order and “to do a couple of rhinestone embellish-ments and design a shirt that just looks fabulous to the customer.”
Arbonne ended up with a series of shirts that it really liked after a series of proofs. “They were able to redo the plot until it was perfect,” Manwaring says. “They did it in a few hours. It was just an amazing customer service experience for such a small order.”
Zavala realized that, while this was a small order, the supplier-distributor business relationship can’t sur-vive without her being prompt and coming through every time. “Quick response is key,” she says. “I try to respond to distributors as soon as I get the e-mails. For the most part, I answer within 20-30 minutes.
“I love helping customers and I’m sure they can tell through the phone that I’m very quick about getting quotes to them right away.”
Quality: Innovation Melanie Fathali had been out of the industry for nine years when she took a job with Logomark (asi/67866(( ) 66two years ago. She was attracted to the six in-house design centers that Logomark had opened around the country. “Things have really changed, and I just thought the design center concept was brilliant,” she says.
These design centers allow distributors and their potential clients to come into a Logomark offi ce and view products, and discuss business on neutral turf. “The distributor can schedule time to be alone with the products and bring their end-users,” says Fathali, whose offi cial title with Logomark is design
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center manager. “When they’re in the design center, you see the bonding that goes on. You can see every-body relaxed.”
That’s one of the reasons that Michelle Valdes, owner of Graphics Cat (asi/213057(( ), likes working with 77Logomark – so much, in fact, that she has stayed with them through four different companies.
“It has been a fi ve-year relationship,” she says. “I get more support from Logomark than any other supplier. They are always quick to respond, which is important to me, and have never missed a deadline.”
Simply put, “They make me look good,” Valdes says.Another way that Logomark has made her look
good is through providing options for clients who aren’t sure what they want. Such was the case when Valdes was trying to win the business of Tesla Motors, an electric vehicle company. She immediately called upon Fathali to help. “Without hesitation, she put
together some quality spec samples,” Valdes says. Fathali says she capitalized on the homework that
Valdes did in reviewing Tesla to help her appeal to the company. “She did the research on them. She had the connections and she gained their trust,” Fathali says.
Fathali took a look at Tesla’s logo and colors, along with the feel of their products. “And then I just instinctively knew what products to offer,” she says. “It’s easy to predict a lot of times what someone’s going to like.”
Ultimately, Fathali picked out three items on her own – two high-end pens and a keychain – for Valdes to present to Tesla. “All items were laser engraved with their logo already on it,” Valdes says, who adds that Fathali had to act quickly. “I set the Tesla meeting only five days in advance. They were not only impressed with the quality of the items but that I had them done in only five days.”
Tesla didn’t go with the pens or keychain, but Fath-ali’s effort inspired the company to place an order with Graphics Cat for 50 badge pulls that cost Valdes only 75 cents each. “I couldn’t fi nd anyone that could beat that price,” she says.
Fathali also allowed Valdes to meet Tesla’s two-day deadline to complete the order. “I received e-mails and phone calls to ensure that my order would be delivered on time,” she says.
Soon thereafter, Tesla ordered 700 champagne fl utes from Graphics Cat via Logomark for its annual Christ-mas party. “I couldn’t have done it without the help of Melanie and the Logomark team,” Valdes says. “They have always been so quick to respond, provide the best quality and, most important to me, have the absolute best service.”
Fathali says she didn’t realize how much grunt work was involved on the distributor’s end until she rejoined the industry two years ago. “A dis-tributor spends a lot of time looking for accounts. I think suppliers need to realize that,” she says. “They have to find the account, cultivate that rela-tionship, and I really think that is a huge part of their job.” ▲
Shane Dale is a contributing writer for Advantages.
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Logomark has six in-house design centers around the country. They allow distributors and their
potential clients to come in and view products and discuss business on neutral turf.
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