Kevin Baumgart comes from a technology background, having spent nearly 20 years working with startups and guiding them through their early growth. Eventually, he formed a connection with an apparel decorator, who in turn introduced him to another, and another.
Before he knew it, and like so many others, he found himself part of the print and promotional products world.
“I built this business around helping apparel decorators and now promo distributors grow sales,” says Baumgart, president of Sales Ink and a speaker at the upcoming ASI Show in Chicago. “It’s been a wild ride, but a fun ride.”
Baumgart has taken what he’s learned from helping tech companies with sharp upward trajectories and applied it to partners in print and promo. In Chicago, he’ll be sharing insights during two sessions: “Niches Make Riches: How To Stand Out in a Crowded Market” and “Consistent Pipeline, Zero Burnout: Create an Outbound Sales Process That Works,” both on Education Day on Tuesday, July 21.
“We find a lot of distributors make a call here and there or send an email or two, and that falls flat often,” he says. “So that strategy should be an outbound campaign or an outbound sequence. It shouldn’t just be one or two emails. It should be a combination of calls and emails over a cadence.”
Baumgart, working with industry pros across a variety of specialties, says that he’s seen firsthand the confluence of print and promo together to create a wide-reaching sales opportunity.
“As a distributor, you can lean into apparel decoration and apparel printing really easily just through contract decorators,” he says. “You can have this new product and this new service that you didn’t have before.”
Register for ASI Show Chicago here.
Podcast Chapters
0:25: Baumgart’s transition from tech startups to working with print and promo companies
1:52: Bringing proven B2B sales strategies from tech to promo
4:28: How distributors can accelerate growth by expanding into adjacent product categories
6:49: Cross-selling and becoming a one-stop shop
7:12: Achieving scalable sales growth
8:18: Using CRM technology for clearly defined sales processes
9:43: Investing time rather than expecting a “silver bullet” for growth
Key Takeaways
• Kevin Baumgart leveraged his technology sales background to help print, promo and apparel companies implement more sophisticated sales strategies.
• Consistent outbound sales campaigns with multiple touches are far more effective than sporadic emails or phone calls for generating new business.
• Distributors can drive significant revenue growth by cross-selling apparel, print and promotional products to existing customers.
• Using contract decorators allows distributors to expand into apparel without major operational investment.
• Successful business growth depends on getting three fundamentals right: the right people, a defined sales process and the right technology.
• A CRM and standardized sales workflow are essential for managing opportunities, staying organized and creating a predictable sales pipeline.
• Long-term, predictable growth requires intentional investment in sales, technology and business development rather than relying solely on referrals and repeat customers.
