1 WorkflowOne Headquarters: Dayton, Ohio Annual Sales $(000): 1,200,000 Principal Officer(s): Greg Mosher, Chairman; Mike Zawalski, President, CEO Locations: 140 2 Proforma Headquarters: Cleveland Annual Sales $(000): 293,933 Principal Officer(s): Greg Muzzillo, Founder, Co-CEO; Vera Muzzillo, Co-CEO Locations: 600 3 American Solutions for Business Headquarters: Glenwood, Minn. Annual Sales $(000): 249,022 Principal Officer(s): Larry Zavadil, President, CEO Locations: 455 4 InnerWorkings Headquarters: Chicago Annual Sales $(000): 160,515 Principal Officer(s): Steven E. Zuccarini, CEO
Megabyte Express
Rank: 1 Company: WorkflowOne, Dayton, Ohio Sales $(000): 1,000,000 Principal Officer(s): Greg Mosher, Chairman, CEO Locations: 150 Rank: 2 Company: Proforma, Cleveland Sales $(000): 293,000 Principal Officer(s): Greg Muzzillo, Founder, Co-CEO; Vera Muzzillo, Co-CEO Locations: 650 Rank: 3 Company: American Solutions for Business, Glenwood, Minn. Sales $(000): 239,776 Principal Officer(s): Larry Zavadil, President Locations: 410 Rank: 4 Company: GBS, North Canton, Ohio Sales $(000): 90,143 Principal Officer(s): Eugene Calabria, President, CEO Locations: 12 Rank: 5 Company: Merrill Corp., Monroe, Wash. Sales $(000): 83,950 Principal Officer(s): Mark Rossi, President Locations: 6 Rank: 6 Company: The Shamrock Companies, Westlake, Ohio Sales
When it comes to self-promotion, individual distributors do it their way. Distributors specialize in helping companies run and grow their businesses. So, it stands to reason that these savvy sales professionals would know a thing or two about promoting their own products and services. Here, three distributors discuss their strategies for increasing customers and profits. Interestingly, all three reported a reluctance to seek outside assistance, the general consensus being that advertising and marketing firms cannot fully comprehend the unique role distributors play in the marketplace. Tenacity with Finesse For David Donnelly, president of Suncoast Forms & Systems, Sarasota, Fla., the most effective
Distributors use a variety of tools to stay afloat in a technology-driven world. In a world of technology-driven consumers, distributors rely on a number of practical tools to help them maintain business practices. From e-mail to direct mail, fax broadcasting to user-friendly management techniques, distributors arm themselves with an arsenal of new—and old—technology in order to meet customers' needs. Larry Trainor, president of Trainor Business Forms & Printing, Des Plaines, Ill., said e-mail, industry brochures and the Hubbard Management Technology aid in his company's selling needs. Trainor remembers the days before electronic art was available all too well. "Before e-mail, we had to
Offer services that close the gap and raise the bar. A major portion of the business forms industry has turned into an outsourcing industry," someone told me during a phone interview the other day. "It's undeniable that [manufacturers and distributors] are so much more valuable because of the services, not just the documents, they provide." That person was Alan Olivero, president of Matrix Imaging Solutions, Niagra Falls, N.Y.—a supplier specializing in electronic data transfer and document processing, largely serving end-users with bill, invoicing and other statement needs. His point is more than valid. Over the course of a few years, the story behind the
Business card production gets faster, cheaper and easier online By Sharon R. Cole and Demian Faunt IT'S NOT EASY to trace the history of the business card. Having established an almost icon status, not many people can remember a time when its appearance has deviated too far from a 2x31&Mac218;2&Mac253; slice of white, plate-stock paper. A seemingly simple construction, these handy cards were known in the printing industry for creating tedious work that reaped little reward. In fact, many manufacturers and distributors classified them as an add-on sale. But times have changed, and those in the forms business are being sold on the idea