Norwood & BIC Graphic North America, Clearwater, Fla., announced late Thursday that its field sales team will soon be unified and cross-trained to sell and support both product lines. Over the past year, distributors have increasingly requested one contact—not only would this be more convenient for customers but also more effective, allowing field sales account managers to offer comprehensive programs and promotions incorporating items from both brands. Based on this feedback, NBGNA has been testing dual-brand account managers in each region with very positive results. The new structure will be in place January 1, 2012.
NBGNA recently announced the appointment of Lori Bauer to vice president of field sales. Under the new structure she will have five regional managers reporting to her:
- Eileen Lynch – regional manager, Southeast
- Dave McMullan – regional manager, Northeast
- Matt Storlien – regional manager, Central
- Megan Sears – regional manager, West
- Mark Wingrove – regional manager, Canada
Each regional manager will oversee a cross-trained team of account managers.
Recognizing the importance of a well-trained, professional and knowledgeable sales force, Kevin Wicks, formerly regional manager of Norwood Central, has been appointed to the newly created position of sales training and development manager. Kevin will be responsible for developing the skills of NBGNA’s entire sales force, immediately focusing on the product cross-training required over the next few weeks to ensure that each field sales account manager is up-to-speed on both product lines.
Mike McMillan, vice president of national accounts, and Jill Stirnkorb, director of insides sales, will continue to manage their respective teams. The Norwood Publishing sales team, servicing Norwood Calendars, will continue to operate independently. Rob Babb, vice president of sales for Norwood Publishing, continues to lead this division. Dave Saracino, recently appointed to the position of vice president business development, will continue in his role.
The integration of the Norwood & BIC Graphic field sales team has resulted in territory shifts to ensure optimum coverage and attention. Distributors will be contacted by their assigned account managers over the next two weeks.
“Our distributors have consistently requested one dedicated sales representative for both Norwood Hard Goods and BIC Graphic product lines,” said Bauer. “This is just one more way we are simplifying business processes to benefit our customers.”
The NBGNA sales and marketing teams will be conducting their annual National Sales Meeting in Las Vegas just prior to PPAI Expo. “We are looking forward to kicking off 2012 with a new, fresh approach to selling our product lines,” continued Bauer. “Being able to sell both brands will allow our sales representatives to better service our customers—making it easier to develop comprehensive business plans inclusive of both product lines.”
The promotional products division (BIC APP) remains as a profitable piece of the BIC Group that posted nine month year-to-date sales increase of 3.8 percent, profit increase of 14.3 percent and earnings per share increase of 16 percent. Senior BIC management is committed to the BIC APP long-term business plan.
Established in July 2009, BIC Advertising & Promotional Products (BIC APP) is a leading global supplier of a wide range of custom imprinted products to the advertising and promotional products industry. In North America, BIC APP operates under the BIC Graphic and Norwood trade names.
For more information, visit BIC Graphic USA’s website or Norwood’s website.
