Business Strategies for the Distributor Sales Professional
It's no longer enough to sell customers on product alone. Give the customers what they want: an experience. How does that high-end folder with the fancy die-cutting add value? Why is synthetic film a better match for a menu? How can end-users maximize space on a brochure?
We must have skipped a month or two back there. How else could it be September already?
Low-tech. Boring. Unsexy. Woefully utilitarian. As promotional items, calendars might seem about as interesting as a sixth-grade play on the metric system (about two hours too long and as exciting as repeatedly listening to a small, affectless human dully counting to 30). Repeated counting to 30 aside, thankfully the boring reputation of calendars is more myth than fact.
Are you in search of the next "it" product? Well, look no further. Here is a small sampling of what the various vertical markets can offer your customers.
4236 B.C. Following the 365-day cycle of the star Sirius, ancient Egyptians record the very first year. An auspicious day for humanity to be sure, but even more so for those in the calendar business. After all, without the star-gazing and detail-obsessed people hanging out by the Nile all those years ago, they'd be without a job.
Headquartered in St. Charles, Ill., Warwick Publishing announced the acquisition of The Winthrop-Atkins Company. This purchase will enable the two companies to provide a most comprehensive line showcasing the full breadth of calendar marketing. The two family businesses have also excelled in innovating a vast array of USA-made paper specialty products, including presentation folders, photo frames and accessories, greeting cards and a wide variety of other creative custom promotional paper specialties.
Rank: 1 Company: Ennis, Midlothian, Texas Sales $(000): 559,397 Principal Officer(s): Keith Walters, Chairman, CEO, President Employees: 6,200 Locations: 42 (*Does not include sales figures for Block Graphics, acquired 08/09/06.) Rank: 2 Company: Champion Industries, Huntington, W. Va. Sales $(000): 135,000 Principal Officer(s): Marshall T. Reynolds, CEO Employees: 768 Locations: 22 Rank: 3 Company: Western States Envelope & Label, Butler, Wis. Sales $(000): 111,000 Principal Officer(s): Mark S. Lemberger, President, CEO Employees: 733 Locations: 5 Rank: 4 Company: Printegra, Peachtree City, Ga. Sales $(000): 87,706 Principal Officer(s): Casey Campbell, President, CEO Employees: 822 Locations: 14 Rank: 5 Company: PrintXcel, Montrose,
