Chelsea Fishman is an account executive and senior marketing manager for Barker Specialty Company, the distributor based in Cheshire, Conn. In her dual role, she handles not just sales and customer service for her own clients, but also marketing initiatives to support the company’s entire sales team.
It’s a big job, and Fishman is always looking out for new ideas to share with her team. That’s what led her to Promo Marketing’s Back to Business Virtual Power Meeting – Winter Edition in January.
The event was the third in our virtual Power Meeting series connecting distributors and suppliers for one-on-one sessions designed to generate business. And Fishman saw firsthand why 92% of previous distributor attendees say they’d attend another Back to Business event.
Her meetings led directly to an order with BamBams for several hundred multi-use face coverings for a youth organization. They also led to $7,000 in orders with Victorinox Swiss Army after the supplier helped put together virtuals for a few of Fishman’s clients.
“Those virtuals turned into orders as soon as the client saw their name on the items,” she said. “These were items that I shared from a consultative and informative perspective. It wasn’t something they were seeking until I shared the Victorinox brand options. This alone made the event worthwhile to me.”
These weren’t huge orders, but for Fishman, the value extends well beyond the dollar figures. The event, she said, gave her a foot in the door to grow sales with these suppliers (and others), allowing her to build trust and lay the groundwork for more and larger orders in the future. Even a full a two months after the event, Fishman is still using what she learned.
“I took a lot of notes during these meetings,” she said. “When new opportunities arise and I am stumped on where to turn, I look back on my notes with vendors to see if any of them would be a good fit or perhaps help generate ideas for the current opportunity.”
Fishman’s is one of many success stories we’ve heard from distributors who have attended one of our Back to Business Virtual Power Meetings. (Check out this story about a distributor who added a quick and easy $2,000 to an order for work-from-home kits after our Fall event.)
Want to try one of the events and see for yourself? We’re hosting another round of relationship-building one-on-one meetings at the Back to Business Virtual Power Meeting – Spring Edition, happening April 26-29 and May 3-6. The event is free to attend for qualified distributors.
It all takes place on a virtual platform that allows attendees to schedule meetings, take notes, view supplier resources and more. It’s all of the productivity of our in-person Power Meeting events, from the comfort of your home or office.
Here’s what else to expect at the event:
- Business Development / Networking – Connections that lead to meaningful business opportunities.
- What’s Selling – Top suppliers from both the print and promo communities will showcase their latest products and trending items.
- Interactive Virtual Platform – Artificial intelligence matchmaking algorithm recommends supplier and distributor connections, so you’ll always be matched with someone who is relevant to you.
- Product Solution Showcase – Interact with products, view videos, request meetings and chat with suppliers and colleagues.
- Continue the Conversation – Supplier content, white papers, case studies and communication tools for all participants available for 30 days post-event.
For more information or to register, click here or contact Mike Cooper at [email protected].
