14. iPROMOTEu
www.ipromoteu.com
Principal: Ross Silverstein, President & CEO
PM: What are your thoughts on 2012? Your expectations for 2013?
Ross Silverstein: 2012 was another strong and record-breaking year for iPROMOTEu. More than 100 experienced distributors and salespeople affiliated with iPROMOTEu in 2012, and many of our existing affiliates grew their business considerably in 2012. I have high expectations for 2013 as well. Thus far, we already are enjoying double-digit growth and we are off to another consecutive record-breaking year.
PM: How do you motivate your sales force, and why?
RS: We motivate iPROMOTEu affiliates with money and recognition; they are both important—for different reasons. Money encourages our affiliates to reach goals and surpass milestones while recognition causes our affiliates to feel good about their performance and their association with iPROMOTEu.
PM: How much emphasis do you put on company culture? What kind of culture have you worked to create and maintain, and why?
RS: The iPROMOTEu company culture has always been important to me. From day one, we wanted to be perceived as a professional, forward-thinking and fun organization. iPROMOTEu enjoys a reputation for innovative ideas and for professionalism and success; iPROMOTEu is widely recognized within the industry as being the distributor organization with the most energy, enthusiasm and camaraderie; and iPROMOTEu certainly is known for throwing the best industry parties. Our reputation for professionalism, innovation and fun [didn’t] happen by accident. Nor did our success occur by accident. We work hard, we do a good job, and we make sure our Affiliates are happy. Our Affiliates, and distributors and salespeople in general, want to be a part of a professional, growing, vibrant organization. iPROMOTEu is all that and more.
18. Boundless Network
www.boundlessnetwork.com
Principals: Henrick Johansson, President and Jason A. Black, CEO (Pictured)
PM: What are your thoughts on 2012? Your expectations for 2013?
Jason Black: 2012 met expectations—company grew 30 percent through both organic and inorganic growth. Continue to see the consumer side change—seeking technology combined with excellent customer service. A key driver of our growth will be leveraging our technology platform to meet both the changing landscape of the promotional buyer and the continued interest in leveraging their organizational purchasing power.
[For] 2013, from a Boundless perspective, the company will continue growth of 20 to 30 percent. In Q1/Q2, the company is rolling out several new customer-facing technology solutions that we believe will elevate our value proposition for our sales partners to another level. We expect to continue to take market share as fast-paced sales professionals join the network and customers migrate to the Boundless platform.
PM: How do you motivate your sales force, and why?
JB: Several ways … first and foremost, our organization is motivated by money and providing value to their customers. Boundless provides our partners with the best technology platform to win in the promotional industry. Our investment has proven to pay dividends as it enables our partners to maximize both the customer value, which increases their personal earnings.
Secondly, the company thrives on innovation and pushing the limits with investing in people, processes and technology. Because we are entrepreneurial, we are attractive to other partners that have a “work hard/play hard” mentality.
PM: How much emphasis do you put on company culture? What kind of culture have you worked to create and maintain, and why?
JB: Very important, as culture represents the lifeblood of our organization. The success of our people, both within the industry and personally, is very important to the Boundless management team. The fact the company has only lost one sales professional in 18 months is a true testimonial of the strong “be boundless” culture.
27. Sunrise Identity
www.sunriseid.com
Principal: Mitch Mounger, CEO
PM: How much emphasis do you put on company culture? What kind of culture have you worked to create and maintain, and why?
Mitch Mounger: To us, company culture makes all the difference. We do have many of the standard perks you hear about today such as flexible work schedules, dogs in the office and beer in the fridge, but, these things do not determine our culture. Our culture is defined by the team’s desire to make a difference. We foster that environment by opening our books and letting our team know how we are doing. We clearly define the difference between winning and losing and give them the power to go makes us winners.
Newton Manufacturing
www.newtonmfg.net
(Newton does not disclose earnings, but third-party estimates state around $53 million in sales in 2012)
Principal: Mancil Laidig, President
Answers provided by Robin Hand, Vice President of Sales (Pictured)
PM: How much emphasis do you put on company culture? What kind of culture have you worked to create and maintain, and why?
Robin Hand: As an employee-owned company, we maintain an ownership culture where employees understand that they have a direct stake in the success of their company. Employees at all levels are encouraged to share their ideas and actively participate in the growth of the company. As a result, our employees are driven to provide a high level of support to our representatives and their customers.
