Xerox Corp.

Help clients save money and improve efficiency with mailer products. Communication is the key. And the key to communication is being understood. If your customers can't understand you or don't want to take the time to hack their way through the dense forest of information you've sent them, then your words are falling on deaf ears. But fear not, intrepid distributors, your savior is here—mailers. That's right, mailers. Mailers can help end-users communicate more quickly and clearly, recoup receivables faster and save money. Best of all, most of the concept work has already been done. "Mailers are a good product to offer because

Offering variable printing means big changes, but also high margins. When 52-year-old scuba enthusiast Jane Young of West Palm Beach, Fla., received a travel brochure from Charlie B. Travels promoting a cruise to the Caribbean that included a scuba diving package for those aged 50 and older, her interest was piqued. Just three months later, she was diving off the island of St. Lucia with a group of her peers. That is just one example of the effectiveness of variable data printing making it obvious that, in an industry where printed materials are distributed by the millions, it pays to get personal.

Showing customers that cut sheets don't always cut costs can increase profits. Looks can be deceiving. Customers see cut sheets laser printed with black toner and automatically see it as an economical alternative to preprinted, multi-color, multi-part forms used in impact printers. And as customers are being lured away from multi-part forms by the assumed benefits of cut sheets, distributors' profit margins are being adversely affected. But according to Bill Powers, marketing manager for Carbonless Rolls at Appleton Papers, Appleton, Wis., "Distributors assessing the needs of forms users may want to encourage them to hold on to impact printers, at least for some

Xerox believes that digital color documents are infiltrating the corporate office in a big way. To back up this conviction, Xerox is spending $715 million of this year's R&D budget on digital color projects. If Xerox is right, demand for the digital products that result from this investment will rise dramatically over the next few years. For distributors, the projected demand for color could mean an opportunity for new or increased markets. Digital color printing capabilities can provide new types of products that most distributors do not currently list in their portfolios. These can include items such as: employee handbooks individualized to

ProForma Adds 500th Distributor — The Cleveland-based ProForma distributor network has added its 500th franchise. ProForma One Stop Marketing, Memphis, Tenn., has been opened by Kurt Wulff, a former sales representative for Moore. Wulff said that the decision to establish the distributorship was based on quality-of-life issues. Wulff chose ProForma because, "It will allow me to have more free time and minimize financial risk." ProForma was third among the Top 100 Distributors with sales of $175 million. The company expects to top $200 million in total sales for the 2000 calendar year. Precept CEO Deason Resigns Doug

Sherie and Tom Bartlett rocket Data Source toward the top By Erik Cagle She's the boss, he's the national sales manager. It's a formula that has been more than just a little successful. It has been that way since 1991 for Sherie and Tom Bartlett. Sherie was a company of one when she started her distributorship, Data Source, in 1989. Two years later, Tom--whom she married in 1988--came aboard from another distributor and brought along two co-workers and a number of large accounts. When the receipts were tallied at the end of 1991, Data Source was in the black to the tune of

More ways to distribute information By Stacey Wenzel We often start the month of January by making resolutions of how we can become more productive, successful and ultimately, happy in the new year. The process of evaluating the past year and taking action toward new goals in 1998 can be a useful technique, both personally and professionally. For distributors to have a prosperous 1998, it is important to further improve on areas that led them through a successful 1997 as well as develop new strategies for areas that proved to be less successful. One way to begin the new year on a positive note is to determine what