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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Joe’s Crab Shack offers free crab tomorrow. That’s because it’s never tomorrow. All we have is today. I’ve talked to thousands of distributors in this industry who will never get wealthy because they’re postponing success. Here are the three things that most people are doing to postpone success
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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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When the discussion turns to delivering safe and compliant promotional products, and specifically how difficult it is to do, I usually go with this response: “You can either run toward the problem, or you can run away from it.”
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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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There’s no avoiding the fact that safe and compliant promo products come at a price. Rarely is a product that has been manufactured and shipped in a socially responsible and safe manner without a competitor in the marketplace at a lower price.
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A lot of distributors in our industry are spending many long days behind their desks. They’re entering orders, keeping the books and creating to-do lists—and doing it all over again the next day. But the truth is there’s no money on your side of the desk. You will never become wealthy sitting behind your desk doing $20-an-hour work day-in and day-out. If you want to achieve wealth, you have to go out and get it.
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As a consultant, I am often asked, “what are the characteristics of successful people in the industry?” One interesting note—it has nothing to do with gender, age or tenure in the industry. Instead, it has everything to do with the character and integrity of an individual. I have noticed through discussion and observation several factors that I believe truly make a champion. And by the way, becoming a million dollar salesperson isn’t the Holy Grail barometer of success. Success can be measured and identified on many, many levels.
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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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Promotional products are a communications tool that can engage all five senses. They are a creative way of not only informing, but for interacting with an audience by providing a sensory experience. Promotional products can be any tangible item usually imprinted with an organization’s message, branding or promise.
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