Each year, Promo Marketing provides the definitive ranking of the Top 50 Distributors in the promotional products industry. For the next two weeks, we will be counting down the top 10 distributors of 2016 with exclusive interviews featuring the CEOs, presidents and owners of each company. Check back each day for more updates on the biggest companies in the industry. The full Promo Marketing 2016 Top 50 Distributors list will be published on Tuesday, May 30 and in our May issue.
No. 10: American Solutions for Business
Answers provided by Justin Zavadil, executive vice president of American Solutions for Business.
Promo Marketing: What led to your company’s success in 2015?
Justin Zavadil: In 2014 and early 2015, we made some key investments in acquisitions and technology that have really paid off. It has allowed us to bring on larger sales hubs and national enterprise customers. We continue to listen to our customers, understand what they’re looking for and make sure that we are able to help our sales associates meet their customers’ ever-changing needs. I believe our success comes from listening to our customers and employees.
PM: Besides sales numbers, what makes your company a Top Distributor?
JZ: We have, and will always have, a “sales first” culture. We don’t make any decisions at the home office without asking ourselves what our sales associates need and how they’ll be impacted. This is a dying philosophy in our industry and, because of that, unhappy salespeople are showing interest in ASB. When companies forget about their customers, they stop growing. We think, because of this culture, we offer the best tools and resources in the industry. This directly affects the growing sales numbers.
PM: What challenges do distributors face in the promotional products industry? How can they solve them?
JZ: There are a number of challenges that distributors face in this industry: product safety, Internet retailers and consolidation, to name a few. We believe that these can all be solved by doing what we do best: We become that extension of our customers’ marketing departments without being on their payroll. It’s simple—work for your clients to stay competitive and do the research that’s necessary to keep yourself and your customers in compliance with all rules and regulations
