Success is relative. Playing the riff in "Smoke on the Water?" No problem for a touring musician, big deal for a rookie guitarist. Running a 10-minute mile? Business as usual for a seasoned track star, lifetime achievement for a Print+Promo editor.
It's no different in the print and promotional products industry, where distributors range from one-person, home-office operations to multi-location, thousand-employee enterprises. For some, success is connecting with people, solving problems. For others, it's making millions. And for others still, it's somewhere in between.
But there's one common theme to every success story: It doesn't come easy. It requires dedication, hard work and even a little luck. We can't help with those things, but we can point you in the right direction. Here, we've compiled the best tips from industry experts published in Print+Promo over the last year. Because no matter what path to success you take, it never hurts to have a map.
Build relationships
"Don't sell. Connect. Build a relationship. Find out what makes [prospects] tick, what their challenges are. Engage them, and sooner or later, they will ask you to sell to them."
- Rick Greene, MAS, regional vice president, HALO Branded Solutions, Chatsworth, Calif. From "The Lost Art of the Cold Call: Why cold calling is still worthwhile—and how to do it right," Print+Promo, March 2014
Don't be a stranger
"World-class support involves researching cutting-edge products, vetting qualified vendors, finding flexible shipping solutions, and streamlining accounting functions—all, most importantly, in person. Clients must see your face, laugh at your jokes, see pictures of your kids, and know that they can call you with any question—big or small."
- Joe Falcone, president, The Sourcing Group, New York. From "A Slam-Dunk Success: Tales from a Top Executive," Print+Promo, January 2014
Be transparent, accessible
"There's far too much waste in our industry, and it hurts the returns that marketing departments see from their investments in branded materials and experiences. Better information—made more transparent and accessible—is the solution. It's the only way to reduce price discrimination, to better balance capacity across the industry, and to make better matches between jobs and the manufacturing environment where they are produced."
- Eric D. Belcher, CEO, InnerWorkings, Chicago. From "People Have the Power: Thoughts on present accomplishments and future success from this year's top three distributors," Print+Promo, November 2013
Adapt to change
"We have short- and long-term goals that are constantly being adjusted for market conditions. As a distributorship, we are able to react quickly to these changes to better serve our clients by incorporating the latest technology or products into their campaigns or projects. We spend a lot of time keeping up with these changes, and our clients value our efforts. We work as an extension of their marketing department and are constantly bringing in new ideas and information, which will assist them in tackling the next challenge ahead. Being well-informed puts The PFM Group and our clients in a position for success."
- Chip Schindler, member, The Printing Fulfillment and Mailing Group LLC, Medford, N.J. From "Communicating Value: Tales from a top executive," Print+Promo, November 2013
Add value
"Once you're close to a nice order, go back to your supplier partner and see if they'll offer any better margin to you for working to secure the order with them. Then if you can offer fulfillment/distribution services, special packaging, additional cards, tags, accessories items, you can upsell and create something special for your clients."
- David Frank, senior account executive, Jack Nadel International, Los Angeles. From "MVP Sales: 5 steps to being your company's most valuable salesperson," Print+Promo, July 2013
Learn from the best
"I often read biographies about successful professionals, or observe their styles, and identify traits that I would like to incorporate into my management style. Sometimes I can do this. In other instances though, I cannot, because there is only so much tweaking I can do to my personality and style. I try to focus on the big picture and always ask myself, 'How can I move the company forward today?'"
- Ross Silverstein , president and CEO, iPROMOTEu, Wayland, Mass. From "Being the Leader You Want to Be: Understanding your personality to enhance your leadership skills," Print+Promo, June 2013
Diversify
"Large accounts can be very rewarding, but it is wise to have a variety of account types in your portfolio. A good rule of thumb is to look at each account and analyze how your business would be impacted if you were to lose that account—not only from an immediate financial standpoint, but also long-term. How long would it take to replace that revenue and what would the cost of that be? This could move you to work on mixing up your current blend."
- Diane Morsch, director of sales and marketing, Bristol ID Technologies, Lima, N.Y. From "The Big One: 6 tips for landing the large account," Print+Promo, January 2014
Delegate
"Know your strengths and weaknesses and learn to let go of the day-to-day stuff; it will bog you down. When I hired my first CSR (customer service representative), my business almost doubled. When I let go of the day-to-day, we grew by 25 percent the first two years and 50 percent last year. You aren't needed for everything. Get good people and empower them."
- Brandon Kennedy, president/owner, Proforma Progressive Marketing, Bakersfield, Calif. From "The Million Dollar Question: Are you on the fast track to the good life? Members of Proforma's Million Dollar Club and Multi-Million Dollar Club have answers," Print+Promo, August 2013