The Internet, the obvious low barrier to entry, unskilled salespeople, the economy—each of these drive price wars and ultimately erode profits. Additionally, these issues relinquish control over to the client thus giving the client ultimate control to manage and drive the process. However, it doesn’t need to be that way. Choose to be different!
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The discussion on how businesses operate continues online in various forums. I believe these types of conversations should be handled carefully.
There clearly are companies who operate in ways that are contrary to the traditional supplier/distributor model we are comfortable with. However, some companies are being judged by what people perceive is really happening, without an understanding of what is actually happening.
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Responding to a need in our industry, a group of savvy distributors and suppliers have come together to create a badly needed resource. Their mission is to bring truth and justice to our industry.
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Some topics never really go away. Like “the wave” in a stadium, an issue comes around… there is a lot of standing up, screaming, arm waving, then it passes by just as quickly as it came. The topic making the rounds is the current challenge to the longstanding supplier-distributor relationship model our industry is accustomed to.
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For a word that means so many different things to different people, it makes sense to ensure that we’re all on the same page when it comes to our understanding of compliance. Particularly so when it comes to the manufacture and supply of promotional products, where the meaning and application of the term differs from company to company. And with the industry focus shifting more and more toward compliance, I thought that for this week’s column a review of some of the most frequently asked questions that we get about compliance might be helpful.
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“Thank you.” Powerful couple of words there, right? Thanks for holding the door. Thanks for introducing me. Thanks for helping with my dead battery. When someone does something for you, a sincere expression of gratitude is just the right thing to do.
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We all have our breaking points in our personal and business lives. A supplier recently did get mad at me and was not controlled in responding. The experience got me thinking about different approaches to handling business situations.
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After noticing a discrepancy in my credit card batch total, I called my credit card merchant and was informed that one of my customers who had placed a $500 order for mugs disputed the credit card charge! Distributors, has this ever happened to you?
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The promotional products industry for decades has bred reactive salespeople. As I have interviewed top performers over the years, one trait seems to surface more times than not. It’s not the verbalizing of having “great customer service,” no, it’s actually putting that statement into practice well beyond what most would consider good customer service.
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