Don't overpromise. One of the worst things you can do is fail to deliver on a stated task. Sometimes it's wiser to turn down a job than to accept it and not deliver. "I will not take on a job that's bigger than I am or that's over my head. So I will gladly tell [clients] 'This is not for me,'" says Linda Litterio, owner of Premier Promotional Products and Gifts, Lower Burrell, Pa.
Surround yourself with manufacturers. If clients seek a specific product, Litterio wants the ability to provide them with it. She makes a practice of learning about new manufacturers and their capabilities. "You have to know who's out there and what they offer," she says. Currently, Litterio keeps tabs on nearly 125 manufacturers of promotional products.
Develop an expertise. "Find out what your specialty is," Litterio says. She sells all kinds of promotional items but is particularly knowledgeable about plastic products. She doesn't advocate restricting yourself. Selling apparel, for instance, is not Litterio's strongest suit, but "When you have a good client that doesn't want to go somewhere else, of course I'm not going to say 'no,'" she says.
Linda Litterio, owner of Premier Promotions and Gifts, Lower Burrell, Pa., works with nearly 125 manufacturers of promotional products to meet all of her customers' needs. A local steel manufacturer, however, turned a routine request for stainless steel travel mugs into a challenge, giving Litterio a chance to demonstrate the value her business offers.
Research Leads to Right Product
The client called and asked for the imprinted mugs, with one important stipulation: They must be manufactured in the United States. The client intended to give the mugs to visiting dignitaries, and being a U.S. steel manufacturer, "They could not give something away that was stamped with 'Made In China,'" Litterio says. No distributors the steel manufacturer approached could find a U.S. manufacturer of stainless steel mugs. When they asked Litterio for help, she immediately agreed, telling the client "It's 99 percent sure I'll find someone, because I won't take 'no' for an answer."
Within five days of accepting the job, Litterio's research led her to manufacturer The Keystone Line, based north of Lower Burrell in Erie, Pa. The mugs met her client's manufacturing requirement, and pricing was competitive with overseas alternatives. Litterio found the manufacturer so easily that she thinks the other distributors simply failed to look, hoping the client would give up on mugs and choose another product or accept mugs shipped from overseas.
The client gave Litterio the go-ahead to order several hundred 14 oz. thermal-insulated, dual-wall stainless steel mugs with the company's logo imprinted on one side and a safety slogan--"Drink to your health. Work Safely."--on the other. They've since reordered the mugs a number of times and referred Litterio to contacts in the company's other plants.
--Andrew Brown
A local steel manufacturer charged Linda Litterio, owner of Premier Promotional Products and Gifts, Lower Burrell, Pa., with supplying 14 oz. thermal-insulated, dual-wall stainless steel travel mugs manufactured in the United States. Litterio met the challenge by working through manufacturer The Keystone Line, Erie, Pa.
Insulate yourself from client's budget cuts. When selling to clients, Litterio says, "You have to approach it from the perspective of, 'You need these things.'" By providing superior service and solutions, the company also will come to think of your business as necessary. That said, "Pricing will always be an issue, but the bigger the company, the more they'll be interested in service," Litterio says. "Once you've established yourself as reliable, price becomes secondary."
