Distributor News

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), Washington, announced it renewed its two-year partnership agreement with the Minority Business RoundTable (MBRT) to continue joint outreach efforts to minority entrepreneurs.

Wayland, Massachusetts-based iPROMOTEu hosted its sixth annual “Thank You” Reception in Las Vegas during The PPAI Expo. The Beatles, Ed Sullivan and Buddy Holly impersonators provided fantastic entertainment, and Las Vegas showgirls added to the festivities. Steve Slagle, president and CEO of PPAI, extended some words of welcome to the crowd. More than 200 iPROMOTEu affiliates, prospective affiliates, guests, and representatives of some of iPROMOTEu’s leading preferred suppliers attended the event.

HALO/Lee Wayne, Sterling, Ill., presented the company's 2009 Supplier of the Year award and 2009 Supplier Representative of the Year award at its annual awards gala held at the Las Vegas Four Seasons Hotel, Las Vegas.

Dan Jellinek, vice president of talent acquisition for Touchstone, Mason, Ohio, announced the acquisition of C3 Marketing, Atlanta, and the addition of Becky Cross to the company's leadership.

Wayland, Massachusetts-based iPROMOTEu announced 17 promotional products distributors affiliated with iPROMOTEu in December 2009. These new affiliates, in aggregate, have an estimated annual sales volume of more than $6,000,000. Presently, more than 470 distributors from 46 states (plus Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia) are affiliated with iPROMOTEu.

Proforma, Cleveland, announced record-setting expansion in 2009 with the addition of 150 new members to the company's network, bringing the total number of Proforma owners to 722. The number of new owners added in 2009 surpasses the company's previous best year when 118 new owners were added in 2004.

WELCOME TO THE one story on the financial industry you're going to read this year that isn't about the recession, federal bailouts or corporate crime. Even better, the phrases "main street," "Pay-Czar," and "AIG" will appear in this sentence only. We won't even make cracks about Ben Bernanke's ridiculous beard or sedate, listless facial expressions, tempting as it may be. In fact, as far as we're concerned, there's not even any bad economic news to report. The financial industry is doing just fine.

A prospect, like everyone else, is in some kind of pain. A distributor’s job is to both uncover that pain and understand how the right promotion will help alleviate it. My PARTNERS model is a simple acronym that will help you explain the features and benefits of your offering in such a way that your prospect will understand how accepting your offer will relieve his or her pain. Follow it, and you’ll dramatically accelerate your selling career. P—Pain: uncover, understand and translate it. To learn how you can move your customers, you must have a strong understanding of their core issues, as this is