Everyone Is In Sales

You might think that salespeople are those individuals who make cold calls, have expense accounts or go out and “knock on doors.” Or maybe you think that salespeople are those who have the word “sales” in their title and are “supposed” to develop business for your organization. Maybe you’re thinking “Sales is not my job” or that you’re not in sales because you work in accounting or production, or you’re the owner. What do these job functions have to do with sales? The short answer: everything.

This concept is not limited to those with direct sales-related responsibilities—it includes even those whose function may not be “front-line sales” in nature. No matter a person’s title or job description, Everyone Is In Sales.

Success in sales is not about how much you talk, it’s about how well you actively listen. It’s not about how often you share your company’s accomplishments, it’s about the number of solutions you can bring to your customer’s business. And it’s not about how much you enjoy spending time with other people, it’s about making every such encounter a valuable and meaningful experience. No matter what title you have, sales or otherwise, these things are important.

Sales is a part of the communications process. In fact, we are reframing the word “sales” to “communications,” so begin thinking dialogue instead of monologue. This type of sales/communications is not about gimmicks, shortcuts or techniques learned in seminars. Moreover, it has nothing to do with fast talking, bait-and-switch tactics or misleading others. Sales is about relationships, integrity and authenticity. It’s about trust and being a good listener. It’s about caring for others. When you do these things, you are in sales—because you are a communicator.

Everyone Is In Sales because we all have information we desire to share with others. If something is important to you, don’t you try to express it to another person? You may not think of this as sales, but it is. If you are in accounting, you have to communicate with people to get your job done, collect money and close the monthly books. This means you are in sales, because without others you could not get your job done. If you are in IT, when a problem develops, you have to communicate to someone what is going on and troubleshoot. This, too, is sales—just a different kind. Even if you are talking to your boss in your review or talking to the principal about your child’s low performance in school, you are selling your position.

In all of the above instances, isn’t it true that we are selling or trying to communicate a certain message? Are we not trying to get our point across and be heard? Everything we write, say and do involves sales, or as we have reframed it, communications. In order to be successful in any function in an organization, you must realize that you play an important role in the sales process. From there, the goal is to perform this role with the utmost in ethics, honesty and integrity. Sold yet?

by Ryan T. Sauers

***Ryan T. Sauers is president/owner of Sauers Consulting Strategies, whose focus is growing the sales of printing- and promotional-products related businesses.

The newest trends in promotional item distribution happen to coincide quite closely with the newest trends in business and society. The most  significant new trends that have emerged are the growth and emergence of different types of technology, general efficiency, maximized utility, and green friendliness. Promotional USB drives, portable screwdriver kits, and water bottles made of recycled materials are examples of these trends.
Hi-Tech Accessories – nearly one in three people in the U.S. own a smartphone and one in ten own a tablet computer. Of course, all of those folks love to accessorize their devices. Custom cases, portfolios, styluses, stands for tablets, car mounts, desk stands, chargers, speakers, headphones, screen cleaners and wipes are all popular advertising media.

Bright, Vibrant, Full Color Logos – Life comes in full color so why shouldn’t your promotional products? Full color logos used to be limited to certain promotional products or worse, had to be built up from a series of expensive spot colors. Luckily, change is in the air! For 2013, many of our vendors offered full color printing on a wide range of products, including logoed bags, imprinted drinkware, promotional apparel and more. And they’re coming at a cost savings to you.

Certification – What do you do to protect your brand? It’s a question that more and more organizations are considering. We’re proud to be at the forefront of a growing trend in the industry by offering select promotional products that are endorsed in the follow areas: Quality Assurance, Supply Chain Security, Environmental Stewardship, Product Safety and Social Compliance.

These new trends and themes can be applied to almost any company and any business. You just need to help your clients find a way to integrate these promotional items into their general marketing strategy. If your clients have any sort of online businesses, services, or products – any technology based promotional product would be well suited.

For example, many top universities distribute logoed USB drives to help spread their brand to prospective Trends for 2013 students. If their business thrives on making life easier or more efficient for their clients or if their business clients could use a product that has multiple or versatile uses, items that fit the efficiency model are effective promotional products for them. Finally, if their company participates in any green initiatives, they can prove this by distributing environmentally friendly  promotional products.

Apparel suppliers are preparing to introduce their newest products inspired by seasonal changes and flattering fits.  Fashion trends for 2013 include a variety of bright colors like compass gold, true royal, ink blue, oak moss and purple orchid. There is still a  strong demand for polo shirts but the requests have shifted from cotton to moisture-wicking fabrics and from traditional polos to “fishing  shirts” or polos with single pockets on the chest and versatile designs like athletic wear that can be worn to the office. It’s also been noticed that  when a client orders shirts, they want the men’s and ladies’ shirts to match in style and color.

Stay up to date with promotional product  industry trends. From colorfully printed products to eco-friendly offers, the promotional items you promote can make a big impact on your  customers.

2013 T-Shirt Trends
Here is what is popular with t-shirt for 2013:
Fitted Cuts – Bulky is out
Blends – Cotton / poly and cotton / rayon are in
Fabric Treatments – Wicking , anti–microbial and more
Colors – Neon’s and heathers are hot
Decoration – Not just screen print and full front – a variety of decorations are now offered.
Education Market – Student groups & campus organizations are big t-shirt users
Sports – Teams and organization us t-shirts as their top fundraising item
Uniforms – T-shirts make an inexpensive uniform for many types of clients (restaurants, lawn service, construction companies and more)

As salespeople, we have to have a multi-faceted skill set. We must possess organizational, presentation and time management skills, just to name a few. One skill that requires special attention is the ability to ask questions… not just any questions, but the right questions.
The better our questions, the better chance we have of getting the right answers from our customers and prospects. Asking questions will get us information, but developing the ability to ask the right questions will lead to better information, as well as help us establish rapport and trust with our customers.
The best questions to ask are open-ended questions. Questions that simply require a “yes” or “no,” as a rule, don’t take us anywhere as far as uncovering a customer’s true needs and wants. Open-ended questions get our customers to participate. The information received allows us, as promotional product consultants, to formulate a viable solution to their particular business opportunity.
These type of questions allow us to create a dialogue, an interchange that is more conversational as compared to an interrogation.
Is there a formula for structuring open-end questions? I believe the best method is the one entrenched with journalism students, early on in their education. The approach they are taught for effective questioning consists of the five W’s and How.

The five W’s are: Why, Who, What, When and Where. Following this outline will help with any customer, in any industry.

For example, when talking to a customer and probing for information, a line of questioning could be as follows:
Why is your new inventory tracking system being installed?
Who in your company will be involved in implementing your new inventory tracking system?
What are the key benefits to this new system that you would like to communicate to your stakeholders?
When will you need my proposal and product recommendations to help promote this new system?
Where do we go from here?
How much of your budget do I have to work with?

Obviously, each potential program invokes its own set of questions, and the time to start the questioning process is before we begin any work. Also, it is important to take the position that there are no stupid questions, as long as they are asked in a sincere manner.

It never fails that an innocent question will lead to an entirely different set of opportunities and possibilities, which change how the opportunity is approached and handled. It’s very rare that one individual has all the answers.

Naguib Mahfouz, a Nobel Prize winning author, put it this way, “You can tell whether a person is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a person is wise by his questions.”

-Steve Horner, MAS

CSPIA is an acronym for the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. This act was signed into law on August 14, 2008.

The CPSIA law is a comprehensive overhaul of consumer product safety rules.  Significant new requirements for children’s products have been added.  A key requirement is product compliance certification. In general, the act sets new standards for the amount of lead and other chemicals that products can include.  Part of the act is specific to Children’s items.  This law creates new standards, for not only the type of chemicals that can be included, but it also sets new testing requirements and product tracking regulations, (in case a recall is necessary) for products that are to be used by or distributed to children.

Compliance to the CPSIA is MANDATORY!

Always discuss the following with your Bankers Promotional Consultant:

• Who is the intended audience?
• Will the item(s) be distributed to children 12 years or younger?
• Could the item(s) or artwork be appealing to children 12 years or younger?
• How and where will the item(s) be distributed?

By answering these questions, your Bankers Promotional Consultant will be better able to assist you in selecting the appropriate products.

If you would like further information about this subject, please go to www.cpsc.gov.

Will Promo Products Impact November Voters?

There are many state, county and city offices on the ballot for this November.  Much money is being spent now and into the fall to get exposure and name recognition for those seeking an office.  The results of an industry survey could help you land one or more orders from candidates in your area.

A recently completed industry survey looked at what impact promotional products have on voters.
Nearly three-quarters of registered voters who responded say it’s important that election-related promotional products are made in the United States. That’s just one of the key insights revealed in the exclusive study, which analyzed the responses of registered voters to try to understand how promotional products, including logoed and branded apparel, will influence voter opinion in this November’s elections.

The election season is poised to mean big business for promotional products sales representatives and distributors of promotional items and apparel. ASI estimates that $870 million will be spent on promotional products, including $350 million for federal elections alone. According to the survey, more than two-thirds of respondents have taken an action as a result of receiving a promotional item.

Survey Summary:

Promotional products increase awareness of the candidate and can influence one in four votes.

Items that are useful and not perceived as pricey should be used.

Half of the respondents that took action from receiving a promotional product visited the candidate’s web site.

Nearly one-quarter of Democrats and males donated money after getting a promotional item.

Over 60% felt a product should be Eco-Friendly.

Preferences for which promotional item to use varied with writing instruments appealing to Republicans and Independents and apparel items appealing to Democrats.

Proving the influence that promotional products can have on voters, the ASI survey found that 34% of men and 24% of women are more likely to vote for a candidate after receiving a promotional item.  It’s clear from the election survey results that candidates need to pay close attention to how they brand their campaigns and get out their core messages, since what they choose to sell or give away can sway voters to pull a lever, give money – or choose the other guy.

Research provided by the Advertising Specialty Institute

Want to know more about what USB Drives are, how much data they can hold and what kinds of data you can store on them?  Click the following three images for more information!

Bankers Recognizes Its Stars During Annual Meeting

Bankers Advertising Company held its National Sales Meeting—Gathering of the Stars—at Harrah’s St. Louis in Maryland Heights, Missouri, on March 25-28 with PPAI’s Executive Vice President Bob McLean as an invited guest.

From left: Bob McLean, PPAI executive vice president with Bill Bywater, chairman, Bankers Advertising Company; Joan Tucker Hunt, director of business development, The Hunt Group; and Lewie Hunt, MAS, consultant, The Hunt Group.

During the first morning’s breakfast program, McLean provided an update on PPAI’s activities and initiatives, and honored Bankers as one of the oldest Association members having joined more than 100 years ago.

“I really enjoyed learning more about Bankers and its sister company, supplier TruArt,” says McLean. “Still being somewhat new to the promotional products industry, I came away with a deeper understanding of one of the industry’s largest and oldest companies. It was an honor to be a part of this annual event.”

The three-day event included inside sales training, breakout group discussions, a table top show, a factory tour of supplier Quick Point, Inc. and the company’s annual awards presentation recognizing individuals for their sales achievement and years of service.

by Rachel Manthey

Your customer’s success at a trade show can hinge on the choice of promotional products to fuel traffic at the show. Promotional products are used for communication, motivation, promotion and recognition.  They can also build goodwill, communicate a message and create awareness.  When assisting a customer plan for a trade show, explore these questions:

1.     What does the client want to achieve by giving an incentive item?

2.     What message/slogan does the client want to promote?

3.     What is the budget?

4.     What benefit will recipients get from this gift?

5.     Will it be given to every visitor or a select group?

6.     How will the potential audience be informed about the gift?

7.     How will the premium’s effectiveness be measured?

Once you’ve answered those questions and have developed the approach, you may want to turn to Evans Manufacturing, a great resource of trade show premium gifts. Here are some ideas by industry:

• Give water bottles (Evans item #4208 28-ounce bike bottles available in 5 colored bottles and 10 colors of lids) and badge clips (Evans item #2022 Heart Secure-A –Badge available in seven colors, and can ship in 48 hours) to those attending a health related trade show.
• Provide golf tools such as Evans #3900 Eagle Divot Repair tool available in 33 colors or item #3875 Mairage Tee Pack from Evans and golf towel holders from Evans item #3960 to those attending a trade show centered on the sport of golf.
• Offer travel related items such as Evans #1750 Explorer Luggage Tags or the #1780 Secure-A- Case Luggage Strap to trade show participants in industries where heavy travel occurs, including sales.

• Suggest for safety fairs the brightly colored#3505 Bandage Dispensers with patterned bandages, available in 29 standard colors and four recycled colors that cover nearly all corporate colors needs.
• Financial institutions can really make a statement and drive traffic to their booths by distributing one of the four new coin banks that are Uniquely Evans this year; especially the #2230 Globe Bank. This modern, oval-shaped globe is a real attention getter. There is also a House N Home Bank (#2211), a cash Cube (#2200) and Action Pig (#2205). Watch the tail move as you drop coins in the pig bank!

Don’t forget to encourage clients to follow up after the trade show. They should set aside time within one week after the last day of the show to follow up, then 30, 60 and 90 days after.  Mailable pieces from Evans can be useful for these contacts, such as the six-inch leading edge ruler with pencil clasp. The brightly colored Valu Magnet Clip dropped off at a show attendee’s office will catch attention.  The Java sleeve, a new product for Evans, will fold for easy mailing or storage but has a large imprint area to really stand out in front of the recipient.

By Megan Mitchell

Imagine a small business owner who, like many at the beginning of their start-up, is eager to build a customer base but doesn’t know the best way to reach them. He has a limited budget and only a few marketing tools at his disposal. In this situation, what is the next logical step? How can he make a meaningful impact to his target audience?

Enter promotional products. While traditional marketing plans can be complicated and expensive, promotional products are a cost-effective advertising method that works. There is POWER in the promotional product! According to a recent study, 76% of customers could remember who gave them a branded item. Compare that to 53% of those who could remember a television ad or the just 27% who remembered an online advertisement.

Promotional products help you gain referrals, improve return business and increase customer recall. Give a customer a useful product just once and she will continue to use it for years! Not only that, but 76% of recipients have a better impression of a company after receiving a product from them. You are building goodwill with current and potential customers – something that distracting, traditional advertising can’t offer.

To see even more benefits of promotional products, click here. If you want help putting together a marketing plan of your own, contact us today! Use this example, featured in our 2011-2012 Idea Book, as inspiration to grow your business:

The bank business is very competitive – there are usually several in every town! To get people to sign up for a savings account, one bank took a special approach. They started a campaign called “Save Up for a Rainy Day” and ran local TV commercials about everyday people getting caught in tough situations. The commercials showed how savings accounts are not only great for retirement funds or college savings, but also for life’s unexpected expenses. Adding to the theme, the bank decided to give away logoed umbrellas to those who started a savings account and deposited $50. Not only did their ads show the benefit of a savings account, but the umbrella offer helped seal the message in customers’ minds and worked as an incentive to sign up for the bank!

In a study of U.S. recessions, McGraw-Hill Research analyzed 600 companies from 1980-1985. The results showed that business-to-business firms that maintained or increased their promotion expenditures during the 1981-1982 recession averaged significantly higher sales growth, both during the recession and for the following three years, than those that eliminated or decreased promoting. (more…)