Businesses spent approximately $15.6 billion on promotional products in 2002, up from approximately $5.2 billion in 1992, according to Promotional Products Association International. Promotional products can stimulate new business, ensure customer loyalty and reward employees for achievements. What's more, they're natural sales additions for forms distributors. Promotional products offer median gross profit margins of 38 percent, experts say, and many sales are brokered--just like forms sales.
Here are 10 tips for increasing your portion of the promotional products pie:
1. Start with your most profitable clients. If you're just entering the market, study several of your top clients to better understand their businesses, customers and advertising needs. Select promotional products that specifically target those customers' issues. Rather than meeting with a
Businesses use promotional products to stimulate new business, ensure customer loyalty and reward employees for achievements. Popular products include award items, T-shirts, stress relievers, pens, baseball caps, calculators, bottled water, mouse pads, travel mugs, golf balls and more.
Courtesy of Prime Resources Corp., Bridgeport, Conn.
client and showing them catalogs with thousands of options, you can present three or four targeted products. When you sell this way, price becomes less of an issue.
2. Learn the trade by specialization. Some distributors mistakenly try to work with hundreds of different promotional products manufacturers and thousands of products. After learning about your clients' businesses and how they use advertising, chose 10 to 20 lines that carry products applicable to those marketplaces.
3. Don't offer deep discounts to get in a client's door. Forms distributors often don't charge enough for promotional products because they're accustomed to working with lower margins. Orders soon become price wars, and distributors aren't paid for the time it takes to research, develop and present the products. Once end users become accustomed to low prices, it's difficult to increase them.
4. Promote yourself with promotional products. Imprint golf balls, coffee cups, travel mugs and more with your company's name and contact information, then use the items as sales call leave-behinds. If you can't meet with a prospect, leave an item along with your business card and follow up later. Consider using unique products such as chocolate business cards--just make sure you leave an actual business card as well.
5. Create a showroom. End users often are more willing to purchase promotional products if they can see and touch samples. A showroom can include dedicated shelves for award items, mugs, desk accessories and more, as well as clothing racks for promotional apparel. Display high-end items at eye level. The room also can include shelves for a "catalog library" and a conference table for client meetings. Clean out the room regularly to avoid a cluttered appearance. You can donate unneeded items to charity.
6. Tag product samples when they come in the door. You don't want to search through hundreds of catalogs to determine who manufactures a particular item when a client asks, "How much is this?" If an item isn't premarked with the manufacturer's Advertising Specialty Institute number, label it yourself. Also, consider marking items with pricing information and minimum quantities required.
7. Create memorable presentations. When making sales calls, present customers with samples of hot promotional products, tagged with pricing information and minimum quantities required. Often, if manufacturers feel distributors are serious about selling their products, they'll supply samples free of charge. Also, consider purchasing a collapsible clothing rack that can be used when making apparel presentations in clients' offices. Make sure wearables are free of wrinkles and neatly hung on the rack. Consider labeling garments with custom tags and hanging them on wooden hangers sporting your company's name, logo and contact information.
8. Target events for product sales. Board meetings, company launches, ground-breaking ceremonies, company anniversary parties, and company buy-backs or stock announcements are ideal opportunities for distributors to sell high-end promotional products such as etched glass or crystal. What's more, you also can sell add-on products such as invitations, programs, brochures, presentation folders and more.
9. Join business organizations and tournament committees. Business organizations include professionals from a variety of business groups. Networking at these events can get you in a client's door, and you can gain further business through word of mouth. Also, serving on charity tournament committees gives you an advantage over competitors and allows you to closely oversee decisions about promotional products, colors, quantities, imprints and more.
10. Think seasonally. Many firms give promotional products to their customers at Christmas time; however, many companies experience difficult financial times at the end of the year. Encourage customers to purchase promotional products during the summer. Purchases can be staggered over several months to lighten the financial burden. Additionally, college student groups such as fraternities, sororities, clubs and other organizations use promotional products for events throughout the school year, but are restricted by budgets because they're self-funded. Approach group leaders about products at least one semester before events will take place.
--Kara S. Carpenter
