Stay Out of My Pond

I used to live in a townhouse community that had a fairly large lake. From time to time we had some really cool ducks that visited us. It turns out that the State of California has rules about how many ducks are allowed on a pond of that size. So they posted a sign: "Five ducks maximum on this pond." Can't you picture a flock going by and dad duck is saying "No Ma. That pond is all full up, too."

In the advertising specialty business, we have a whole bunch of rules. Suppliers are not supposed to sell to end users. Distributors are not supposed to import direct. Suppliers shouldn't own distributors. You know these rules.

Unfortunately, there are a whole bunch of ducks in this business who don't know how to read. And that's just how it is. More and more distributors are doing supplier-like things. More and more suppliers are not sticking too closely to the rules about selling end users.

How should this effect you, as an advertising specialty sales professional. You could complain, make phone calls, send e-mails, and letters. You could get mad, sulk, and moan away the day. But none of those activities are going to put food on your table. So, hit the road, Jack. Go sell something.

I make this statement, knowing in my knower that I'm right. If you stick to business, do a great job for your customers, and keep making those calls, you will get a percentage of the business. You will make pretty much as much as you are willing to work for. You will lose some because a competitor imports directly. He has costs that he probably isn't considering in his quotes. They may come back to haunt him. But you will lose some deals like that anyway.

You will lose some because a supplier goes around you. You won't deal with him anymore, and slowly the word will spread. As he sows, so shall he reap.

Forget about it. Move on. Get Going. Find another pond.