Key Takeaways:
• Valerie Hayman Sklar built Corporate Specialties from a side business into a nearly 30-year promotional products company by consistently pursuing new business and referrals.
• Rising shipping and material costs are pushing distributors to recommend practical, frequently used and recycled products that deliver greater long-term value.
• Sklar believes branded experiences like live engraving, embroidery and on-site customization will continue to differentiate promotional products at events.
Print & Promo Marketing’s ongoing feature series, Executive Perspectives, tells the personal entrepreneurial stories of leading professionals in the print and promotional products industry. This month, Valerie Hayman Sklar, president of Corporate Specialties (asi/169026), discusses how her company has managed rising costs to deliver memorable experiences through custom products and branded activations.
PPM: How did you get started in this industry?
Valerie Hayman Sklar: I started with a side business supplying soaps and shampoos to small independent hotels, then moved into promotional products. Within two years, I left my job in marketing to build Corporate Specialties full-time. And that was nearly 30 years ago.
PPM: How do you set goals for yourself and your business?
VHS: I start by reviewing reports from the past few months and the previous year. I look at what orders will repeat and what won’t, then focus on how to replace the business with new orders. Client turnover is constant – people change jobs, budgets get cut – so I’m always prospecting and asking for referrals, especially within companies I’m already working with.
PPM: How does the economy continue to affect the industry?
VHS: Rising gas prices drive up shipping costs, which most people notice immediately. As oil and natural gas prices climb, raw material costs for plastic follow. Finding budget-friendly items is getting harder, so we try and find products that will be used in clients’ routines and used often, and also suggest recycled material, as it’s important to many companies and people.
PPM: What are some of the biggest changes or challenges the industry will face?
VHS: I love how popular the customer experience is with promotional products that show off the client’s logo and raise the bar at events. This includes laser engraving or embroidery on promotional items at trade shows, create-your-own pens as meeting icebreakers and adding patches to hats, tees or bags at client parties or grand openings.
PPM: What would people be surprised to learn about you?
VHS: I’ve been a clown in the Detroit Thanksgiving Parade. Recently, I’ve been exploring birding and trying to find birds to photograph.
