We talked to Jeff Bourland, owner of Proforma Southwest, to find out what works when it comes to managing sometimes demanding customers, turning challenges into successful sales, and customer service do’s and don’ts. Bourland has been in the industry for more than 20 years, so it’s safe to say he knows a thing or two about good customer service…
Read MoreAt any stage in your career, the goal for every distributor should be to structure a business that’s strong enough to continue when you’re no longer running it. Impending retirement is not the time to slowly run down your company until you’re ready to close shop. When you’ve done the heavy lifting up front, the business is more likely to thrive—making it all the more appealing to your successor when the time is right…
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Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is nothing new. It’s a strategy businesses have actively employed for years to rank their web pages higher than their competitors in order to generate new leads and sales opportunities. These days, it’s a necessary component to any digital framework, promotional companies included. So, whether you’re ready to graduate to…
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What happens when your professional goals are met, your business has grown and matured, and you’ve decided to transition out of it? You’ve built your business from the ground up and you have a proven track record of success, which can translate to big resale value—if that’s the way you want to go. Now is the time for you to plan for the future…
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Companies grow and evolve. Culture and values have to evolve with them. Our first Core Values were about who we are at work. Our new ones are more about how we work together. The biggest learn for the management team through the Core Values project was that people want to be part of something that inspires them. If employees are inspired and happy, it shows—and it leads to happy customers…
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Owing to the ubiquity of writing instruments, some observers might think that it requires little effort to sell them. But if distributors want to up their pen sales, there’s a few things they’ll need to know. Promo Marketing connected with Bill Mahre of ADG Promotional Products and Amy LaPlante of Pilot Pen to learn how a few practical steps can help distributors take their writing instruments sales to the next level…
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Prospecting is a necessity for any promo business, but it definitely has its ups and downs. It can occasionally feel like all your hard work just isn’t cutting it. In a world of competition, standing out against other businesses can be one of the most challenging aspects. Distributors have to constantly think about what will grab the attention of potential clients. Strategies that worked in the past might not necessarily work today. Whatever your approach may be, the good news is that there are ways to make prospecting go more smoothly…
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On Tuesday at the PPAI Expo 2019, Vince DiCecco, president and owner of Your Personal Business Trainer Inc., shared five sales secrets for promo distributors navigating the ever-evolving economy…
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It was 2010, and Delta Marketing Group was at a crossroads. As the recession bottomed out, the company lost its top three clients. To survive, it would have to reinvent itself as more than just a promotional products seller. For Cathy Houston, vice president for Delta Marketing Group, that meant one thing…
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How’s a small or independent distributor supposed to compete with Amazon and the mega online promo distributors? It’s a question we hear a lot, especially as those large distributors grab more and more of the market share. But there might be a simple answer: Don’t even try…
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