Another rift in The Force

February 25th, 2011

Yet another controversy has reared its head and roars in the jungle. It seems that ASI is trying to find new customers by offering them a way to become a player in the business. They say: “Congratulations on taking the first step of owning your own promotional products distributorship. An ASI representative will be in touch with you soon to review this great business opportunity.” The link is at https://www.tryasinow.com/

Many of the comments and emails I read about this issue seem to castigate ASI for their attempt to feather their nest and expand their business. Hum… isn’t that what a business is supposed to do?

The last time I checked, the definition of “capitalism” reads: “an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods, by investments that are determined by private decision, and by prices, production, and the distribution of goods that are determined mainly by competition in a free market.” (Merriam-webster.com) Or: “Capitalism is an economic system in which the means of production are privately owned and operated for a private profit; decisions regarding supply, demand, price, distribution, and investments are made by private actors in the free market; profit is sent to owners who invest in businesses, and wages are paid to workers employed by businesses and companies.” (Wikipedia.org)

Without trying to be an apologist for ASI, I do believe that their practices are an effort to be capitalistic in their approach to business. They are a private company engaged in the selling of information and products that enable their customers to sell promotional products to end buyers.

The controversy is a holdover from the old PPAI/ASI rift that occurred several years ago. That is an issue that has never been and will never be resolved to anyone’s satisfaction. It set ASI on a course that put it in direct competition with a not-for-profit association and encouraged each entity to try and become more like the other in every way. The situation is exacerbated by which side of the line you stand upon while rendering your opinion. If you are an Association member, then you have an association viewpoint. If you are unaligned, then you have no opinion whatsoever.

The truth is that nobody who is not an Association member really cares about this. The people that ASI is encouraging to join the business are not, for the most part, “full time” distributors. They are people who resell products and services of some kind to businesses that are legitimate prospects for promotional product sales. Yes, they become competition for the small legion of distributors in the business right now. But if history is a guide, they are short time irritants who take an order or two from our best clients but in the long run, they are not a competitive factor. The unfortunate truth is that our industry apes the greater world. Most companies are competing against companies from more than 40 world market centers who are now playing in their game on their field.

One email I received alluded to “the rules” in the impression that there are “rules” for playing in the promotional marketplace. I will concede that there were once rules for the business when we had fifty manufacturers who controlled manufacturing and distribution of pens, mugs, caps and shirts. Today, however, we have 3500 suppliers trying to feed 30,000 salespeople by moving 20 billion dollars of merchandise through the distributor/supplier/end buyer pipeline. The only rule of the game left is “SELL, BABY!”

Today, most suppliers subscribe to the notion that one who sells promotional products to an end buyer and can produce a resale certificate is a valid sales partner. They don’t really care what they are called because the line between who is and who is not a “distributor” is blurred beyond recognition. Once someone learns the lingo, they learn how to bluff their way through the gate guards and act like a distributor. We don’t check and if you can “talk the talk,” we let you “walk the walk.”

The final dirty little secret is that we are really not a very supportive industry. Suppliers try to forge strong relationships with distributors but those are mostly built upon a “give me better pricing” landscape. There is very little loyalty and there can’t be. Everybody in the game is trying to make a living under the rules of engagement which are: “Buy at the best price and sell at the best price, and repeat as often as possible to as many as possible.”

That is the way our industry operates. End buyer companies find the distributor they like- one who takes care of them- and they stick together until the distributor or their supplier screws up. Not one buyer cares who the distributor spends their money with or what association they belong to. They only care if the distributor can find the product, insure delivery and do it right. Whether the industry thinks they are a “distributor” matters not a whit to the buyer. If they issue a purchase order then, as far as they are concerned, they are dealing with a legitimate “distributor.”

Well, kids, I have invested as much time as I can afford in this discussion and I’m going back to identify opportunities to engage in more…

Happy Selling!

Tags:
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off

Mortality

February 17th, 2011

February 17, 2011

God, I hate mortality. Really, really hate it. Yes, I know that I should be an adult and remember that everything I ever needed to know I learned in kindergarten and that everything lives and dies but still, I really hate mortality.

Last week we lost George Stubbler, a friend, colleague and peer. George was a guy who should never have gotten sick and died at this time. George should have lived long enough to have turned into a curmudgeon, something that would have been so foreign to him that we would have laughed and laughed at his antics. George would have made a terrible curmudgeon but he would have tried it on for size just for kicks and giggles.

I’m unusually sensitive to mortality this week because in the last six months, I’ve lost my mother, my cousin (two weeks ago), then Stubbi, and soon an old high school friend who is currently close to final life support, and finally, one of my best friends just lost her 53 year old first cousin to a plane crash.  I tellin’ ya… I really hate this.

Of course, I’m at the age where this is going to happen more often than before and I know how resigned I’ll get. I went through it with my Mom who lived to 93 and passed away in a retirement home where that sort of thing happened every day. My friends are in their late 50’s and 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and even a few in their early 90’s. I have a few friends who are much younger than I but not so many anymore as I used to.

If there is anything to be learned from this as it pertains to the selling profession, it might be to remember that our clients and colleagues are often friends. They are people we might have to live without but don’t wish to. Therefore, it behooves us to remember that one of the reasons we joined this business is because of all the industries in the world, ours is the only one that has more than 500,000 ways to say “Thank You!”  Of course, of all the ways available, the one that we can use every day, in every context and in every way is a simple, “Thanks for all you do.” “I appreciate what you do for me and us.”

It seems so simple yet it has such profound impact that there is almost no way to measure its value. Dale Carnegie ordained, “Be hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise.” I’ve taught it to my children and grandchildren as “tell people you appreciate them and thank them for their efforts.”

So, in keeping with my mentor’s, betters and teachers, I thank each one of you who might read this for all you’ve done for me and mine and for those others who might be too busy to tell you “Thank You!” before you’re gone.

I appreciate you.

Oh, and

Happy Selling!

Tags:
Posted in Selling: Philosophy, Uncategorized | Comments Off

Feet on the Street!

December 27th, 2010

December 27, 2010

I became a salesman in 1963 when I took an after school job selling ice cream. In 1973, I took my first “big time” sales job in a retail photo store. I am a salesman. That’s what I do. That’s how I roll. I like it, too!

This is germane because on 1/1/11 I will return to calling on distributors in my region after being off the street for some time. While I may be an anachronism in this modern world, I am the quintessential “feet on the street” salesman. I like calling on distributors and asking, “What is on your desk that I can help you with today?” followed by “What is on your desk that you don’t think I can help you with today?”

In 1995, I became a multi-line rep and did that for five years before starting to do national shows and sales full time for TradeNet. Multi-lines are one of the best resources a distributor or supplier has for developing loyalty between them.

In 2009 I began a year and a half experiment in “modern” selling that consisted of sitting in an office with a telephone and computer. It was agony. It was the single most unproductive period in my career because I wasted too much time on the computer. I tried to adapt… I really did… but to no avail.

My rightful place, in the Grand Scheme of Things, is on the street visiting distributors. The highest achievement attainable is to help a distributor land a client or get an order. What floats my boat is the ability to help clients and customers strengthen relationships with the end buyer and user of our products.

Since leaving multi-lining in 2000, the “New World Order” lets me do my job in a more intelligent manner. Normally, promotional product territories are stupidly large. This is a result of a combination of old style thinking, tradition and economics. Representation cost is significant to many, if not most suppliers. Therefore, the territorial system places a huge amount of real estate under the wheels of a rep’s car.

In my new world, however, I can concentrate on a manageable territory. I’ll call on Southern California, Arizona, Nevada and Utah. While even this abbreviated territory sounds like a lot of real estate, it isn’t. Territory management is a matter of deciding where to concentrate ones time to achieve the greatest return on investment. In my area, that means three days a week in LA and Orange County, one day a week in San Diego and a few trips a year to Salt Lake City, Phoenix and Tucson. Friday is “Office Day” for catching up on paperwork, follow-ups and sample requests.

I have hired a rep to carry my TradeNet products to distributors in the northern reaches of the traditional territory and in return I will carry his lines in the southern sectors. I’ve also once again hired my daughter to be my “stage manager” and keep me focused and on the street. This is a complete win/win for us, our suppliers and our distributors.  

Since 1/1/11 is only five days away, I’m heading to the storage unit to get my shelves ready for the new catalogs and samples so I’ll hit the bricks running on Monday, January 3. I’m jazzed and, as my grandkid says, “Life is gonna be EPIC!, PopPop.”

He’s right! It’s because I get to go back to what I know best…

Happy Selling!

Tags:
Posted in Selling: Philosophy | Comments Off

I effing LOVE Jeff Rundles!

December 17th, 2010

December 17, 2010

(Ed. Note: The strongest rain storm in five years will begin within the hour. We have the heater on, a fire on the television (video tape, not arson) and nothing else to do. You probably have snow up your kazoo and may be in the same boat. It’s the Friday before Christmas and business is cooling off for the year so sit down and read this long tome with a cuppa and some patience. Happy Holidays! ncw)

I effing LOVE Jeff Rundles! I do! I may be a little pissed at him (no response to my holiday calendar) but it only reminds me daily that I really miss him and his wisdom. (Sorry, Obewan… I shouldn’t embarrass you with “wisdom” but you have it in bushels. Deal with it.) As is the case with most of my stories, the “why” is more important than the “what” and that is never more so than here.

I have been blessed to find the best and most capable men available to mentor me in my time in history. Jeff is my writers muse. I worked for him for ten years and he dragged me from being a young, opinionated, passionate whippersnapper into a passable columnist and opinion writer. I hesitate to give him credit because it exposes him to the shots being fired at me from those who I piss off on a weekly or monthly basis, and trust me, there are more than a few.

Besides giving me an editorial voice, he helped me articulate in rhapsodic terms, the benefits, rewards, responsibilities and duties of my unchosen profession… sales. I lost touch with him over the last year due to upheaval, I think, in both our lives but found him on Facebook this morning and clicked on one of his articles. Read it after you finish this.

He talks about the business path available in the New World Order. He discusses the demise of the traditional business path that he treads and I avoid. It is a great discussion on the profession we belong to and that I’ve taught and preached for thirty-eight years.  It is genius and gospel and comes from the right hand of God. Trust me… I asked her and She said “Yes, Jeff is one of my right hand men.”

This excerpt gives you the gist: “Ever heard the term “rainmaker? “ You can call it “business development” all you want, but it is sales. I have spent my entire career working in the publishing business, and while I always thought I was the most experienced senior manager, no matter what, my boss, and her boss and his boss came out of the sales side of the business. Always. Every senior manager I know in just about any endeavor, and most of the very rich people I know, began their careers knocking on doors, cold calling, shaking hands. Sales.”

I have been writing about the virtue of sales for three decades. I came from a family of physicians and attorneys and since I didn’t like blood and guts, being a doctor was out of the question. I tried law school but realized that if I were to be successful, I would have to be a lawyer thus incurring the disdain of my family who were attorneys, (Lawyer: Richard Nixon. Attorney: Chief Justice Warren Burger) so there was very little choice left in the job barrel that looked inviting. My love of photography would have made a nice career but that didn’t work for the family either. (Although, those who received the 2011 Nowell Wisch Photo Calendar seem to really like it.)

Thankfully, my Uncle Seymour was an insurance salesman (nee “agent”) so I had someone to talk with around the dinner table on Sunday. As the youngest uncle, he had the most impact on me and pushed me toward sales. He said, “No matter what you do, no matter what you learn, no matter where you go, you will have to know how to sell something to someone if you are to succeed at anything. Learn how to sell.”

Unc was right. I’ve taught it to my daughters and now to my grandkids. Each one gets a copy of Dale Carnegie’s “How To Win Friends And Influence People” and Harvey MacKay’s “Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive” and I encourage them to read it each year on their birthday as I have for three and a half decades.

Frankly, my kids and grandkids may grow up to love or hate Jeff Rundles because his article will be added to the “Must Read” list in their lives. I think they will love him too because Jeff does as PopPop and D:)ad does. He makes the lesson both fun and rewarding. It is easy on the eyes and on the mind.

We have only two weeks left to prepare for 1/1/11 and three weeks before “Vegas!!!” Now is the time to clear the decks and prepare for the storm, clear out minds and fill them with positive thoughts and get excited again about being who and what we are… salespeople!

Now, finish your cuppa, fire up the Internet and go visit Rundles on Business.
(Thanks, Obewan… I really needed that!)

http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/rundles-wrap-up-sales-pitch/

Happy Selling!

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off

It’s New Year’s Again… darn it…

December 15th, 2010

I am prepared for New Year’s Day. Really. I am. I hope.

2010 has been one of the worst years I’ve ever had as a salesman.  While my performance has suffered, my output suffered more. This year has been a challenge from the very first day. On a personal front, I had to learn an entirely new way of doing business. I gave up my old profession and took on a newly created position of “virtual” salesman.  

I have two resolutions for 2011. Once again, 1) I will be a better salesman than I was in 2010. 2) I will learn what being a Top Performer means in the New World Order. Resolution No. 1 isn’t too difficult. Being a better salesperson this year is relatively simple to achieve. All I need to do is to pay attention to my actions and study what I need to know to be better.

There is no dearth of knowledge to be had. I get 21 trade publications from 11 different industries and each one has its own resident sales expert. Since there are only perhaps 12 foundational truths in the sales profession, their job is to recycle those in every column and class in such a way that someone will “get it” when they have not gotten it before. If I become better educated it stands to reason that I will perform better as a sales professional. Mostly, sales performance is simply performing the job of selling. If the sales year is 240 days, performing selling activity for those 240 days should insure a high degree of success… right? Well…

Part of the conundrum is that Resolution 1 depends upon mastering Resolution 2 in today’s market. Being a Top Performer is a tougher job for an older guy like me who is trying to learn the tools of the modern age. While I don’t feel 60 years old, when I look at my driver’s license it clearly states that I am. Given that I have perhaps 10 more useful years to my sales career, I have no choice but to learn how to become a Top Performer.

I plan to make a million dollars in the next decade. I know that I can but I’m not sure that I have the skills necessary to do it with the stamina this aging body can muster. Since a lot of my motivation is based upon a foundation of self-doubt, I have to go back to the basics and keep the dozen sales truths uppermost in my mind. The answer lies in the teachings of men such as Joe Charbonneau, one of my early sales mentors, and Dale Carnegie, the legendary trainer and author of “How to Win Friends and Influence People”.

Carnegie wrote his seminal tome of salesmanship in 1937. It is the bible of conduct for people who depend upon other people for their success. I used to read it every year on my birthday but I’ve neglected it for the last three as life piled up on me and other crisis took my attention away from the basics.

 Charbonneau taught, “If you want to become a Master at anything, study what the Masters do and be willing to do the same.” Employing the Charbonneau method requires that I ignore one of his basic tenants while studying the Top Performers, those Masters of Sales. Joe said that success is achieved by plodding along, doing activities that lead to success. While he was correct is one respect, the plodding along part is no longer relevant. Sales success today depends upon being different and doing different.

In my 35 years of selling, I have yet to uncover a shortcut to success. Everyone I respect has done the same thing; they observe the rules of perseverance and perspiration. They work every day at being more successful than the day before. However, the old days of sales activity nowadays depends upon using new tools and being media savvy. Therefore, if I am to become a Top Performer and be considered the best of the best, I have to focus and concentrate on adding new tools to my daily performance of the basics.

My new mentors are people like Dana Zesso, Jason Black and Charlie Johnson. These are the new breed of Charbonneau’s and Carnegies. Their subtle message is that I must rewrite the scripts that guide my selling actions. Scripts are particularly important for me since, at 60, I am starting to forget complex things. While I value creativity and laud spontaneity, I am not a spontaneous salesperson. I work off scripts, both written and mental, that are the result of years of practice and revision. I use scripts for everything. I even plan my responses to questions, pre-think my spontaneous quips and generally prepare for “business as usual” so it is business as usual.

To become a Top Performer, and achieve Resolution No. 2, I have to do more training. While selling is not as strenuous as, say, bicycle riding, “sales” is an active participation sport. It takes practice and training and more practice. Success comes to those who keep their eye on the ball, so to speak. Desire is also part of it. You must want to do it to be successful at it. However, desire is not something I think about any more. I have the desire to become a Top Performer within the ranks of my peers. What I need is more focus and discipline to do those actions that lead to greater success.

To be successful in my job today I need to help others be successful in their job. I need to communicate on a personal level. That means that I have to learn how to talk with my thumbs. I need to tweet instead of twit. I need to relate instead of preach. I need to not only be relevant but need to learn to be relevant in real time. I need to become a New World salesperson in the modern age. I think I’m up to it.

Wanna come along for the ride? See ya next year for the continuing saga of sales in the new age.

Happy Selling!

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off

Enthusiasm and Life

December 12th, 2010

Enthusiasm and Life

I sell promotional products. In the grand scheme of things, especially when judged at the end of the year when we judge such things, it doesn’t seem like much. Oh, I know that it helps contribute to the economy, the future of our employees and their families and even the eventual user of my products but as I take the 100,000 mile view of our spinning blue marble in space, I can’t see where it makes a difference.

Two incidents happened recently that reminded me of the innate value our industry has. The first incident occurred as I prepared for the New Year and its complications. As I helped my neighbor put up his “Santa’s Stuck in the Igloo Butt Out” blow up lawn decoration our lovely seven year old granddaughter reminded PopPop what the value and attraction of a promotional product brings to a life. It was gratifying and it reminded me why I love doing what we do. We create enthusiasm in life with little things.

She discovered a TradeNet coil bound notebook in the box of samples I staged by the door for my Monday morning “drop-in’s” and quickly realized it was something that would make her life better. She actually squealed in delight (a phrase that I’ve often read but never experienced). I watched my young one proudly write her name and age (a somewhat newly acquired skill) with an imprinted Sharpie on her new gift. Her excitement was palpable. She took the notebook to our cooking class that evening and proudly showed Grandma the notes she took on how to not hurt oneself with really sharp knives while cutting peppers and onions.

The second incident involved my wife’s cousin. He is a very successful lawyer from Chicago and managing partner of a firm with over five hundred attorneys and was in town for a convention. The organization, a group of finance bankers and lawyers, is very high powered and moneyed and they brought a nice, if not princely sum of much needed money into our local economy.

Her cousin was so excited by the things he collected at the tradeshow portion of the convention that he could hardly wait to show us his “loot”. Remember that this man could buy a controlling interest in any of the supplier factories that provided these items that he so treasured. Here he was, proudly showing me a pocket first aid kit, a mini Swiss army type knife, a portfolio, a briefcase and a polo shirt, all souvenirs from a tradeshow that he wasn’t even that excited to attend.

He couldn’t wait to get home and give things to his three sons. He even packed the knife in his suitcase so my friend Judy wouldn’t take it away as he passed through TSA at the Terminal One security checkpoint. He thought that my business must be really fun, and, while I do too, his enthusiasm for the business was contagious.

I really needed this infusion of enthusiasm and excitement. I need to be reminded for just a little while why I’m heading for a grueling week in Las Vegas next month and why I’m going to head out the door Monday with a box of “stuff” to give to my clients and customers.

So, to my granddaughter and my cousin, to my friends in the business and my employers, to my peers and betters, I say a hearty “THANKS!” I really needed that.

Happy Selling!

Ashley's Notebook

An important promotional item for a little girl.

Tags:
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off

The Four Questions

November 30th, 2010
Every year at Passover, kids ask “The Four Questions” at the Seder table. The theme is a query: “Why is this night different from all other nights?” Although every child knows the answers by heart, it is the asking that is important. For it is in the asking that the important lessons of the holiday are reinforced in minds that grapple with daily life from the preceding and toward the following 357 days. The questions are about fundamental truths upon which the religion is based.
 
Selling is similar in that the profession is based upon solid, traditional truths and behaviors that have stood us in good stead year after year and generation after generation. Much of the process of selling has descended from the process of learning history and tradition. For me, The Four Questions has transcended religion and morphed into a selling philosophy that is as immutable and true as the Ten Commandments. I follow them every day in every selling situation because I believe them to be “The One True Way”. 
 
My version of the questions is designed to not only achieve a higher level of professionalism but to look for undiscovered sales opportunities that can only be uncovered before you escape with the purchase order. They are based on a fundamental understanding of the human nature of salespeople. I do not believe that they apply to every sales situation but I know they work for people who sell promotional products.
 
My version of the four questions is:
 
1. “What else is on your desk that I can help you with today?” Your clients are only thinking about what they are asking you about. This question breaks their concentration and starts them thinking. Keep asking this until they say “Nothing more today.”
 
2. “What else is on your desk that you don’t think I can help you with today?” Your client thinks that you only sell what they have purchased from you in the past. You know you can be more helpful to them but they don’t know that. When you ask them what they need to source, it gives you an opportunity to redefine what they can expect from you and helps you increase your value to them. (Ever see a box of something that they bought from someone else in their office and, when you asked why they didn’t buy it from you heard, “You sell those?”)
 
3. “Is there anyone else in the company who might buy what I sell?” We are taught to ask for referrals in every sales seminar we attend but seldom actually do it. This gives you an opportunity to be helpful to someone else in their company and contribute more to helping them achieve their goals. It also gives you a chance to extend your reach into other departments within the company. If your primary contact leaves, you do not lose the account completely.
 
4. “Would you introduce me?” Referral names are desirable but introductions are indispensable. An introduction effectively removes the need for the first sales call and starts creating a positive relationship faster than would otherwise be possible.
 
I suggest that you try asking these four questions on your next sales call. They will help you make the most of every sales opportunity and just might drag you and your customer out of the recession faster. They will help you avoid passing over real money making opportunities and at this time next year, the answer to “Why is this year different from all other years?” could be, “I increased my sales!”
 
Happy Selling!

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

No Fleas on Me!

November 19th, 2010

I will celebrate my 34th year in the specialty promotional advertising products business at the next Expo. I have seen more amazing things happen than I could have ever imagined in the last three decades. Along with profound change, I’ve witnessed profound stupidity and ignorance. I’ve seen tremendous intelligence undermined by human nature and abominable behavior. In short, not much surprises me anymore.

Perhaps the most disturbing change I’ve witnessed in the business is our collective refusal to accept that the world within which we practice our craft refuses to remain the same. We are parasites because we are the hand maidens of advertising for almost every commercial activity going on in the world. Indeed, our very existence is dependent upon others for our survival.

Every industry is a parasite in some form. Every commercial activity depends upon another for its survival. A business needs customers or clients. A government needs taxpayers. Religion needs congregants with pocketbooks. We all depend upon the kindness of strangers for survival. Unfortunately, we, at least our industry, seem to view our symbiotic position as being above normal human behavior.

I’ve never quite understood why we seem to want to be held to a different standard of behavior in our commercial activity. We’re just another business. While we would like to be “special” we’re just another business. While we believe we’re as integral to the success of commerce as momentum is to the rotation of the earth, we’re just another business. As such, we’re subject to the vagaries of our customers and their buying behavior. Often times it just sucks.

Taking stock of the “business model” under which we work might imply that there is such a thing. There isn’t. There is no longer a model for business of any kind anywhere in the world. In fact, buyer and customer behavior is changing faster than underwear on a daily basis. There is a great reason for this and it has to do with the rate of change in the universe.

We are fleas on a dog that is simultaneously scratching, rolling in the dirt, scooting across the floor, jumping in the air, flaying around, biting and howling at other critters. Every flea on the dog is hanging on for dear life and trying to find a way to survive the chaos. At the same time, they are all trying to buy, sell, produce or consume together. What a mess!

One flea has an idea that seems promising and sells it to his neighbor for four bites of blood. Another flea imagines a wrinkle on the first flea’s idea and sells the similar idea for three bites of blood. Ultimately, a third flea who has absolutely no idea of economics figures that if he buys the idea for two and a half bites of blood and sells enough of them for two bites, he’ll make it up in volume and have more blood than he knows what to do with. The dog, meanwhile, has figured out that 2 out of 3 fleas have no idea how much it costs to sell their idea and will go broke and fall off, leading to a happier life with fewer fleas competing for the same amount of blood. That is commerce in the modern world!

Give enough dogs enough fleas and even the dog market will thin out. Not all fleas are the same and not all dogs are the same. For example, my best friend’s dog is made out of electronic devices like stereo’s and televisions. He used to be covered in fleas and they were voracious in their desire to have more electronic blood… “more! More! MORE!” He told me yesterday that he has never worked harder and made less money because the fleas are dying all over the place and he doesn’t know how to keep them alive so they will consume more electronic blood. He is facing the same market pressures that we are but he doesn’t find it unusual. His market changes almost every year as does his distribution system.

We’re all hurtling through space at a thousand miles an hour on a world competing for the same resources. Every flea on the planet is trying to find some way to get the upper hand and succeed. Every one of us has the opportunity to try and invent a new and different way of gaining our little bite of blood and often times, those opportunities provide new and exciting changes to status quo and life as we know it.

Frankly, if someone can do the job for 23 percent, then someone can do the job for 22 percent. If someone will buy an item for $5.35 then some seller will look for another who will buy it for more. Where does this leave us? It leaves us having to wake up every work day and think of another way to succeed in a market that changed overnight. The “Everything I ever needed to know I learned in kindergarten” guy made his money before kindergarten changed in the modern age. Nowadays, he wouldn’t need to hold hands crossing the street because Mom would drop him at the curb from a DVD equipped mini-van. Crossing the street is too fraught with danger in most communities.

The one constant we face is that when things come up, it’s frustrating. We would like life as we know it to be life as we knew it. Heck… putting food on the table is the most important thing we have to do. It’s a really big thing. The key to doing so is to be more inventive and innovative and learn how to roll with the changes. Of course, knowing how to hang on to the dancing dog helps, too.

Happy Selling!

Tags:
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off

“I am proud to claim the title…”

November 9th, 2010

November 10, 1775
Tun Tavern, Philadelphia

Captain Samuel Nicholas today formed the Continental Marines of the American Revolutionary War. Capt. Nicholas was heard to remark that he had high hopes for the group and looked forward to celebrating its 235th birthday on November 10, 2010. “Now,” he said, “Let’s go kick some British ass and establish the United States of America!”

I recently found this record of those proceedings while touring the Base Photo Lab at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego. Outside the door, several dozen recruits were lined up waiting for haircuts before having their graduation portrait taken for their Recruit Training Yearbook. They looked like they were what they were… kids being trained to shoot real bullets at real people. As a matter of fact, they looked like me, 41 years ago. I stood outside the photo lab (albeit in a different colored uniform) hoping that my zits wouldn’t be too visible when the photo arrived on my Dad’s desk… hoping that my parents would be as proud, although I was the only one who could “Proudly claim the title of United States Marine.”

Everything about the Marine Corps was designed from the ground up to be a fighting force. The founders knew that training was the key to success and that diligence was the result of commitment. They relied upon marksmen to hit what they were aiming at without incurring unnecessary casualties. For example, the top of an officer’s hat (cover) was adorned with a braid of rope so the sharpshooters stationed in the upper rigging of masted ships would not hit their comrades fighting below. They could be identified. Anyone not so adorned would be fair game.

Marines have exemplified the highest qualities we revere in our country. If you enjoy good schools, safety, security and even relative prosperity in this economy, it is likely that a Marine was there when those freedoms needed to be secured. Over the decades, Marines have been the first in and the last out of most every major conflict our country fought.

For the most part, the Marines are kids. I can say that because my grandson is only seven years away from being able to march on the grinder at MCRD in uniform. I was saddened by the sight that gladdened me, yesterday. I was proud of the young men I saw outside the service building and I was grief stricken at the knowledge that some, indeed perhaps many of them would not be here next year to celebrate the birthday of their Corps. Even worse was the knowledge that some, if not many of them, who would be here for the celebration would be missing important parts of their bodies. It is a sobering thought. Especially since 41 years ago my group of comrades was convinced that this day would be unnecessary thanks to our commitment. Ah, yes… the naivety, and the hope of youth.

Tomorrow, please take a moment to reflect upon those who guard the gates of freedom. Perhaps you can make a contribution to Operation Gratitude, the Wounded Warrior Project or the USO. Maybe you will see a uniformed soldier, sailor, airman or Marine and simply say “Thanks. We appreciate your sense of commitment… your sense of duty… your service to our country.”

If you need to be reminded of who is guarding the gate, take a look at this YouTube and be moved:

And, to my former comrades in arms and the Marines of today I say, Happy Birthday and Semper Fi.

ncw

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off

Shut Up Already… Over’s and Under’s are a fact of life.

October 25th, 2010

Over and Under Run Policy
October 25, 2010

Once again, in a few isolated forums, we are in a spirited debate over Over Run / Under Run problems in the business. As usual, it can be traced to the large number of uneducated buyers and sellers of promotional items. Once you understand the reason why it exists, you can make a decision whether to embrace it, decry it, accept it or ignore it. The Bottom Line: We are in the custom PRINTING business. All of us. We PRINT, SCREEN, EMBROIDER, HOTSTAMP, APPLY a name on something for the custom use of the user.

Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press in 1450 AD and the policy of commercially allowable over/under runs was established in 1451 with the advent of the Production Manager job, one who is entrusted to keep the customer, the salesman and the owner all happy.

The customer wants 1100 items delivered for their use. The owner wants 1100 items paid for. The salesman wants the commission on 1100 pieces and the Production Manager needs to account for spoilage on press, broken thread, bad registration, a percentage of bad quality molds from China, color shifts in the plastic, curling paper, machine breakdown, pressman brain freeze and a hundred other possible reasons why 1100 items into the machine does not mean 1100 shippable, useable and billable items out of the machine. The Production Manager understands that they may have to run 1200 items in order to ship 1100 because THIS IS A CUSTOM MANUFACTURING BUSINESS.

We live in a perfect world. We have developed a workable solution for the problem and it is called COMMERCIALLY ACCEPTABLE OVER/UNDER RUN POLICY. Almost all of us understand that 5% is a commercially acceptable variation between what you ask for and what you get. If you are new to the business or a 20 something without any experience, it is either unacceptable or not understandable but it is what it is. It makes things work. If you absolutely don’t want any overs or, perish the thought, unders, then PUT IT ON YOUR PURCHASE ORDER SO WE ALL KNOW WHAT YOU WANT. That way our Production Manager can decide what to tell the owner at profit/loss statement review time. Everybody is now on the same page.

Educate your twitter/facebook/myspace/blog using buyer on the reality of the business before it becomes a problem. They, their company and their thumbs will thank you. Explain it before they get a bill for 1144 items when they ordered 1100 or that they only received 1077 when they expected 1100.

Happy Selling!

Tags:
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off

« Older Entries