Print Solutions Magazine, June 2002 -- Promotional Products Feature Article

Selling With Savvy

Rob Fredricks has proof that promotional products can open doors. Less than a year ago, Fredricks, owner of distributorship DataPrint of Palm Beach Inc., Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., made a presentation to a regional office of a national construction company. What excited the prospect most? The promotional products samples Fredricks carried in his oversized briefcase.

Fredrick's first order from the client was for custom license plates for the front of employees' vehicles. He has since handled the client's letterhead, envelopes and business cards and has a verbal commitment for other printed products.

Distributors say ad specialties are a natural extension of the other printed products they offer. Yet success in the promotional products market requires more than ordering a few samples and showing clients an armful of catalogs. It means knowing, for example, that minimum orders vary widely by product. The minimum order for coffee mugs is usually 144, and wearables suppliers will do short runs of 24 but prefer to work in quantities of more than 100, according to Carol Saunders, director of marketing for A Business Printing & Promotions, a distributorship in Tampa, Fla.

Savvy promotional products distributors explain to customers that distributors can't always create artwork even if they have graphic designers. Designs for embroidered items must be digitized first, at a cost of $75 and up, Saunders says. Before switching manufacturers for an item, make sure the new supplier can accept the digitizing from the original vendor. If equipment isn't compatible, distributors will pay the digitizing fee again.

Understand the complexities of various printing processes, Fredricks says. For instance, let a buyer know its logo might look more like a sepia tone when produced on a leather coaster, he says. In addition, embroidery thread colors don't always match PMS colors precisely. (When working with picky customers, Saunders asks for thread samples and gets customer approval.)

Advice to Follow

The following tips can help ensure sales and marketing success when offering promotional items:

* Promote promotional products and pricing information online. As a subscriber to the SAGE® Information System, Fredricks includes a search engine for ad specialties on his web site. Customers can search by product and price point, saving Fredricks time and giving clients realistic views of how far their funds will go.

* Seek special events ahead of time. Everyone wants to sell year-end holiday gifts or red, white and blue balloons for Independence Day. But do you know about opportunities specific to your client base, such as National Nurses Day (early May)? Talk to your clients about special days, weeks or months that are important to them.

* Keep abreast of specials offered by manufacturers. A good deal might be just what you need to entice a client or prospect to try you out for promotional products. Saunders says Victoria Jorgensen, president of A Business Printing & Promotions, promotes such specials to members of her networking groups.

* Nail down a budget early. Otherwise, you'll spend too many hours researching products in several styles with a wide range of prices. If Landry's clients can't provide budgets (most can), he asks them, "If you don't have a price in mind, how are you going to pay for it?"

* Don't forget about the weather. In most regions of the country, summer isn't the time to order products containing chocolate, Saunders says. Obviously, ice scrapers and winter apparel won't sell well if your client has branches throughout Southern California, so plan accordingly. Anticipate seasonal changes by promoting relevant items months in advance.

* Keep clients' marketing needs in mind. Instead of waiting for your customers and prospects to come to you with oddball requests, talk to suppliers and scour catalogs for objects likely to please them.

* Devise a sample-request policy. One of Saunders' clients recently wanted to test a relatively new product: a wireless mouse. Saunders ordered three test models from a manufacturer so her client could decide on the best one for its needs. A Business Printing & Promotions generally passes the costs of samples to customers, but rebates those charges on large orders.

* Partner with other promotional products distributors. Landry's firm isn't an ASI member, so when he's stumped for a source, he asks other distributors for help. The partners find sources, give him pricing options and place orders. In exchange, Landry gives them a percentage of his profit.

Partners also refer Landry to clients searching for printed documents. Landry says this system has worked well, especially when his firm was new to the promotional products world. The downside: Sometimes Landry's partners are too busy to provide the information promptly enough to meet his customers' needs.

* Learn about lead times. Promotional products tend to have longer lead times than printed documents. If your clients are accustomed to getting printing from you quickly, prepare them for a longer wait. Also, know manufacturers' specific capabilities. For example, adding additional colors to a mug increases lead time by approximately one week per color, Saunders says. Items from overseas suppliers take at least six weeks to obtain, she says.

Katherine House, a freelance writer based in Iowa City, Iowa, is a frequent contributor to Print Solutions. Email us your comments at bholt@printsolutionsmag.com.

Thanks to Sun Manufacturing/bulletline®, Miami, for assistance.

Systems Selling Is Key to Success

Hesitant to enter the promotional products market because you don't want to be another order taker? Consultant David Blaise, a partner in Blaise Drake & Company, Reading, Pa., and author of the popular "Top Secrets of Promotional Products Sales" training programs, has this advice: "Promotional products people should be selling solutions to business problems rather than mugs and T-shirts."

This approach means relying on the systems-selling expertise many distributors already have. Begin by asking, "What's the biggest issue or problem facing your business?" Blaise says. If the client or prospect says "Morale," your response should be, "If we could put together a program to increase morale, would that benefit you?" The client practically is forced to say yes.

If your client's long-time customers aren't buying as many promotional products as they used to, suggest a customer re-activation program, Blaise says. Or, perhaps your buyer would be interested in a client referral program, rewarding existing clients for referring new customers. For example, a children's clothing store might provide educational toys to parents who refer new customers. You also could suggest what Blaise calls a "revenue-enhancement" program. "If the firm's average order size is $50, anyone who spends $75 or more gets a custom imprinted whatever," he suggests. A client-frequency program also might work well.

"It's much easier to go in and sell a program like this than say, 'Want to buy some mugs?'" Blaise says. Another advantage of selling promotional products this way is that systems sales inevitably require printing collateral (direct mail pieces, letters of appreciation, frequency cards), giving printing distributors a decided edge over competitors.

Blaise is offering a free copy of his audio tape, "Inside the Mind of a Promotional Products Customer" to Print Solutions readers. Call (800) 494-2721, ext. 130, or visit www.topsecretswebsite.com/ freetape. For information on consulting, sales training and the presentations "Top Secrets of Promotional Product Sales--Salesperson's Edition" and "Top Secrets of Promotional Product Sales--Owner's Edition" (available on tape
or cassette), visit www.topsecretswebsite.com.

3 Expert Tips

Distributors can enhance their systems-selling approach with these additional tips from Blaise:

1. Uncover true needs. "When customers say they want something new and different, they don't," at least not most of the time, Blaise says. What clients really need are products that help them meet goals. "They don't want something new and different unless it works," he says.

2. Make sure clients know the difference between giveaways and promotions. Giveaways don't provide results for your client and thus won't result in reorders, Blaise says. When a buyer says it needs 1,000 key chains, don't ask "What color?" Instead, ask, "Why? What's the message you want to convey?" If a car dealer gives away 1,000 key chains with its address and phone number on it, recipients are likely to stuff them in junk drawers, Blaise says. But if the dealership sends the key chain out and tells the same 1,000 recipients to bring the item in to the dealership to see if they've won a car, the dealer likely will generate sales.

3. Find out how recipients are using items. It sounds obvious, but it's easy to lose sight of this. If you're providing promotional products to increase morale, don't sell something employees will want to place on their fireplace mantels at home. Instead, choose something they'll keep on their office desks, Blaise says.

11 Ways Promotional Products Can Help End Users

Promotional products can help businesses and other organizations do the following:

1. Show appreciation to customers

2. Increase donations

3. Increase store traffic

4. Generate sales leads

5. Increase direct mail response rates

6. Reward focus-group participants

7. Open stores

8. Launch or promote products at trade shows

9. Reward employee performance

10. Celebrate anniversaries or enhance company picnics

11. Institute incentive or safety programs

Go to next page

Table of Contents