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Monday
May 20, 2013 4 Ways to Connect with Customers Through New MediaFiled under: Tip of the Day
Yes, it’s a brave new world, folks, and unless you’re out there working the interwebs you’re missing out big time. This month’s Counselor story titled “Rules of Engagement” focuses on how distrubutors can boost their sales by utilizing 4 innovative means to better market to clients. Click here to read the story … and in the meantime, here are the 4 basic tips: (Click the link for more explanation)
Tuesday
February 26, 2013 Top 10 Fastest-Growing and Slowest-Growing Job SectorsFiled under: Tip of the Day
That’s the question Counselor magazine asked in its March issue for the article “Hot New Markets“. Read on to find out about five new markets that offer big sales opportunities in 2013. And in the meantime, here are the 10 fastest-growing and slowest-growing sectors in the U.S. between 2010-2020. HOT!
NOT!
Monday
April 2, 2012 Ask A Supplier - Kim Newell, World Wide LinesFiled under: Special Feature
As a complementary online exclusive to an April article on how to be better partners with suppliers, Kim Newell (at right) of World Wide Lines is available to answer any supplier-related questions you may have. Just send an email to Staff Writer Jennifer Vishnevsky (jvishnevsky@asicentral.com) with your question and she’ll forward to Kim. Once Kim has had a chance to respond, all of her Q&A’s will appear here. Good luck, and don’t miss out on this chance to ask a well-respected industry supplier a question!
Friday
February 3, 2012 Fastest-Growing Ad Specialty CompaniesFiled under: Awards From Counselor PromoGram:
So what are you waiting for? Enter the awards now! To see the fastest-growing companies in the ad specialty industry from the past five years, click here. Below are the #1 fastest-growing suppliers and distributors in the industry for the past five years, along with their % of growth. 2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
Thursday
February 2, 2012 Introducing Score! from Wearables MagazineFiled under: Fun, Wearables, site updates
And anytime you can combine sports and the job, well that’s just gravy man! Which brings me to the point of this blog … Beginning with the January 2012 issue and occurring every other month, Wearables magazine has unveiled a brand-new section called Score! that will drop some knowledge on how to win more sports business through sales strategies and trends. In addition to the great magazine content, Editor C.J. Mittica has included an online component that includes everything from case studies to favorite sports lists. The inaugural Score! focuses on basketball. Read the article here, and check out the online exclusive here. And as a quick supplement to the blog, the following are the top 10 most-popular NBA jerseys (Source: InsideHoops.com), followed C.J’s top 3. Enjoy!
C.J.’s Top 3:
What’s your take? Which NBA team jersey do you think is the best?
Monday
July 12, 2010 Tip of the Day - Win Back A ClientFiled under: Tip of the Day
From Counselor’s July 2010 issue.
Wednesday
June 30, 2010 Tip of the Day - Make A Great First ImpressionFiled under: Tip of the Day
With that in mind, selling today requires your strongest, smartest efforts in person to get noticed among the crowd and earn the opportunity to interact with buyers on a transactional level. Read on to learn how longtime sales pros think and act so that they make a standout first impression. “In fundraising, I realized the one thing I absolutely had to demonstrate in the first meeting was that I was a good listener,” Lampton says. “It takes discipline to keep asking questions and making notes rather than jumping in and talking, so you have to practice it. But doing that makes other people so comfortable that they think, ‘If I go with this person, they’ll listen to my problems and challenges.’ You’ll be remembered even if they don’t have any immediate needs.” For Deb Johnson, co-owner of On Target Promotions (asi/287578), the approach goes like this: She demonstrates a bit of knowledge about the prospect’s company and their industry, and then she frames her job in terms of the benefit it brings to clients. “I say that we use promotional products to keep their name and brand image in front of clients, to increase the effectiveness of direct mail and to motivate,” she says. Then, she asks questions about overall business objectives, who the targets of their programs are and what they’ve done in the past. Only after all this does she ask about immediate needs for which she could offer ideas. Valerie Atkin, president of dkspecialties (asi/181469), points out that there’s a difference between showing confidence and showing arrogance. “Don’t go in and say, ‘I’ve done a lot of research and I know all about your business, and I know exactly what you need,’” she says. Johnson adds, “Your initial knowledge shows respect, but your questions show humility in recognizing that you must learn more in order to do your best for them.” An example: Sharon Schamehorn, co-owner of Elite Sportswear & Promotional Products (asi/186738), recently spoke on the phone with the head of a safety products company who wanted items for his trade-show booth. She began by asking him about pressing topics in that industry, as well as the present state of his business in particular. “He just lit up and went on and on – he actually wanted to spend more time talking to me than we had. At the end, I got three orders instead of one.” With several generations coexisting in the business world these days, there might be a temptation for a rep to try to adapt his or her personality to match that of the prospect in order to make a connection. Big mistake. “Reps are taught to mirror the mannerisms and pacing of a prospect, but you still have to be yourself,” Lampton says. “Anything more is you trying to manipulate the situation. If the prospect senses that, you’re done.” Atkin strives to finds common ground if the prospect is noticeably younger. For example, “I’ll try to find out which recent movies we might have both seen. I just want them to feel like, ‘This is a real person who I have something in common with, not just a salesperson interested in my money.’ Come at it as two people simply having a conversation about whatever is going on in the world, and then shift over to business.” On the other side, Joanne Franklin, president of Joanne Franklin Packaging & Promotions (asi/198020) notes that companies are always looking for unique and fresh ideas from the promotional field, “so a prospect who is considerably older, while they understand the value of experience, is also probably quite open to hearing ideas from a younger person who has new perspectives.” Bring to the table one or two cool new ideas to show that you are plugged in, but also demonstrate that you can cater to their entire audience. “Don’t walk in and come across as overly cool or hip – it’s too limiting,” she says.
Friday
June 25, 2010 Tip of the Day - Gain More New BusinessFiled under: Tip of the Day
But how to do it? How can you find new business when clients are still hesitant to break open their marketing banks? The simple answer could be to call new prospects, to expand your marketing efforts to include new target markets. But it takes a deeper and more strategic effort than that. It means focusing on referral programs, making new partnerships and becoming an expert in areas that may have previously been foreign to you. Here are three ways distributors can ramp up their new-business-generation efforts right now. Get Referrals “Last year was the time for distributors to get proactive, maybe even the year before,” she says. “When business is really good” it’s easy to get complacent and ease up on new business development. Distributors who do that risk losing sales skills and ultimately becoming “order takers” – never a stable market position. Instead, the time to ask for referrals is when you’re at your highest point with a client and that’s when they’re first doing business with you. “There’s a euphoria when a deal closes that distributors can use to their advantage to ask for business referrals,” says Drew Stevens, president of Stevens Consulting Group, and author of Split Second Selling. After landing a referral, it’s vital to thank clients for that new business, says Daniel Murphy, president and founder of The Growth Coach, a coaching franchise system. “Most small businesses don’t send a periodic gift of value,” he says. A $25 gift card to Starbucks sent periodically, or after a referral results in an order, builds rapport for future referrals, Murphy says. Cast The Net – Locally How to determine the best places to network? One point to remember is that bigger isn’t always better. Too often distributors attend large-scale trade shows or networking events, thinking volume is the key to more sales, only to find disappointment when leads don’t develop or pan out. Volume is indeed important, Miller says, but in local, more intimate settings that offer better one-on-one pitch potential. Just make sure that one-on-one face time doesn’t keep you focused on one person for the entire meeting. “You don’t want to be stuck in a corner with someone,” Miller says. “If you find yourself talking with someone for too long, you have to disengage and move on.” Cold-Call In Cyberspace “Someone posted a note saying they were looking for speakers,” Horowitz says. “I had been wanting to go from being a national speaker to being an international speaker for years.” He sent a proposal and was invited to Davos not too long after. On another occasion he landed a speaking engagement through Twitter. Indeed, business opportunities abound almost anywhere, particularly online. Begin to create a presence online by signing up on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. Then enhance your online following by sending regular e-newsletters to both clients and prospects. The key, though, to a successful newsletter is to not make it a hard-sell marketing piece – it should offer some value to recipients so that they remember you and your company as a trusted resource and marketing expert. From Education Adviser, vol. 26
Wednesday
June 23, 2010 Tip of the Day - Self-Promote With T-ShirtsFiled under: Tip of the Day
Novelty shirts are a great way to show clients who may have stopped spending that you’re still current, fun and capable of appealing to youthful clients who are driving much of the market today. “Customized T-shirts are a great way to get the foot in the door with your clients,” says Bayo Simmons, CEO of All Fashion Services (asi/37166). Consider a self-promotion using novelty T-shirts with an innovative design that integrates your logo and brand colors. Novelty tees are big in summer, and with Labor Day and endless company picnics, outings and events, this is a great time to remind your clients about the quality and creativity of your products. It’s also just in time for back-to-school, and novelty tees are especially popular with the school-age crowd. From WearableStyle, vol. 123
Tuesday
June 22, 2010 Tip of the Day - Attract More Clients to Your WebsiteFiled under: Tip of the Day
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