For many Americans, home is where the office is. According to a recent Gallup poll, adults employed full-time reported working an average of 47 hours each week, essentially tacking on an extra day to the workweek. This number has remained relatively steady over the past decade, and as more executives push a “do more with less” agenda on their staff, it only has one direction to go: up.
The good news? This growing time investment creates plenty of opportunities for distributors to score big with the cubicle crowd. From writing instruments and staplers, to lanyards and portable Bluetooth speakers, the options are endless. That’s why Promo Marketing decided to nail it down to three tried-and-true office and desk products. Read on for pointers on selling these items to office spaces across the country.
1. USB Drives
How to Pitch: No longer reserved for tech enthusiasts, USB drives have evolved into a popular promotional tool. Try pitching versatility. “You can store many types of electronic files on a USB drive,” said Gene Fu, vice president of sales and marketing for KTI Networks/KTI Promo, Houston. “From text files to design files, and music files to video files, USB drives can store just about whatever you need.”
What to Avoid: Fu said the biggest mistake distributors make with USB drives is selling false information. “There is a slogan that gets thrown around of ‘Tier-one Chip,’” he shared. “This gives a person a false sense of a more premium product. Saying this will deliver an empty promise to the end-user, as this is neither an honest definition nor a regulatory verification of what truly that slogan refers to.” Instead, distributors should sell USB drives on the premise that they can hold many types of different files, from professional-to-personal.
Practical Selling: USB drives are more than just a “skinny stick” that stores files. “They can be customized into 2-D or 3-D shapes that can be tailored to the different needs of each client,” Fu said.
2. Desktop Calendars
How to Pitch: Though many are swayed by the charms of technology, a printed calendar is still a useful tool for recording appointments, reminders and other important information. This especially holds true for “visual” people like Tim O’Boyle, president of JournalBooks/Timeplanner Calendars, Charlotte, N.C. “Many business people still rely on printed planners, and many families place one ‘family’ planner in a central location in the home to keep track of meetings, appointments, practices, etc.,” he said. “I rely on my smartphone for a lot of things, but I am also a visual person and I like to be able to glance at my President Monthly Planner that stays on my desk all year.”
When pitching desktop calendars to prospects, distributors should evaluate the demographics of the audience their client is trying to reach. Calendars or planners can then be customized to fit those needs. O’Boyle offered the following example. “Weekly planners work well in financial markets, while monthly planners are probably a better fit for schools,” he explained. “[Distributors] should also suggest creating ad space for co-op advertising and sponsorships.” Other clients might opt for trendy planners with more of a retail feel. Think full-color products, hybrid planner/journal combinations and impressive made-to-order decorations, O’Boyle said.
What to Avoid: Some distributors forget that a well-designed desktop planner is essentially a strategically placed ad that lives on a client’s desk for 365 days. “The cost per day for that ad is very low with a high ROI,” O’Boyle commented. “[…] I feel that many distributors do not fully understand or appreciate the effective, long-lasting advertising that calendars can create.”
O’Boyle added that many distributors don’t realize they can sell calendars throughout the year. JournalBooks/Timeplanner Calendars does print stock academic calendars designed for the school year, but the company also produces hybrid planners that can start in any month of the year, along with quarterly planners that can begin in January, April, July or October.
A Case Study: A high-end fashion and fragrance designer wanted to purchase a holiday gift for the managers of its North American retail stores. “They wanted a planner with a high-perceived value and required the ability to customize the planner with unique features,” O’Boyle recalled. “Our creative team worked with the distributor to create a one-of-a-kind Weekly PerfectPlanner that included luxurious faux-leather covers, full-color inserts, a custom calendar in English and Spanish, a satin ribbon bookmark, employee personalization and imprinted gift boxes.
“The end product stayed within the original budget, while impressing the end-client and their employees with a stunning gift presentation,” he concluded.
3. Stress Relievers
How to Pitch: Stress relievers have been around for quite some time—available in every shape, color and size you can imagine. Maybe you’re concerned it’s an oversaturated market. The solution? Get creative with your pitch. Jason Emery, vice president of Toddy Gear, Chicago, encouraged distributors to give their clients options. In other words, think beyond a squeeze toy. “By creating a significantly higher quality piece with full-color dye sublimated decoration, and making it a multi-use product with value to any business person, the Toddy Gear Stress Ball/Screen Cleaner brings to life one of the industry’s staple items,” Emery said.
Collecting impressions is another selling point. Emery maintained that a product like the stress reliever/screen cleaner isn’t just for the recipient, but rather for anyone who comes into contact with it. “Place it on your desk, and watch as people pick it up and play with it while they wait for you to get off the phone,” he said. “When they’re done playing with it, use it to release tension or to clean the screen of your computer, tablet or smartphone.”
What to Avoid: Emery urged distributors not to dismiss stress relievers as a “cheap throwaway.” After all, there’s a reason they’ve been successful for so long. Get reacquainted with stress relievers—remember what drew you to this product in the first place. “Get a sample, use it for a week or two and see how it fits into your daily routine,” Emery said. “By merely having one on your desk, in your home or in your bag, you will find that you use it more often than you thought.”
Practical Selling: Is your client throwing a dinner or award ceremony? Sidestep the typical giveaways (e.g., picture frames) in lieu of something unexpected. As Emery pointed out, if guests have seen those items before, your message is probably being missed. He suggested building a pyramid of Toddy Gear’s stress balls/screen cleaners at the center of each table at your corporate event. “It not only starts a conversation, but also brings a level of fun and playfulness to what, in some cases, can be a dull evening,” Emery said.
