Sherry Puckett Novelli

Even small accounts can yield big gains for enterprising distributors. When targeting potential customers, distributors often think in terms of vertical markets, such as insurance, financial services and health-care. Within any vertical market, the biggest plums are presumed to be the larger businesses—corporations, hospitals and the like. But, don't overlook the smaller operations, such as individual storefront insurance agents, solo practitioners, and small group doctors' and lawyers' offices. Many distributors have profited by pursuing smaller professional office customers. For instance, when American Solutions for Business distributor Sherry Puckett Novelli, in Bowling Green, Ky., needed an orthodontist's services, she discovered that these specialists could give