Kirk unCorked

Too Busy to Blog? Should Never Happen!

2007-05-30T16:32:00.000-07:00

I'm always impressed when our pastor is telling us how to live better if he includes the fact that he doesn't always get it right, either. You may not have even noticed if I didn't point it out, but the posting on this blog ended abruptly last Summer, with only a few here and there since then. This is NOT the ideal way to run your blog. Once you have a loyal following you want that group to keep coming back. If they always see the same posting at the top, they will eventually stop visiting. So, do as I say, and not as I do. Make sure that you keep a backlog of good posts to keep you going during dry spells.

It isn't that I ran out of things to say (ask my wife), it's just that I became distracted by what seemed to be things of greater priority at the time. This is not an excuse, but merely an explanation.

So, even though my days are chock full from morning to night, I am going to set a good example and keep three or more posts coming to you weekly. Please bookmark this page or even use your Atom or RSS feeder to subsribe. Ready or not, I'm back.

P.S. Our new website is AMAZING. Visit it now at http://www.californiasprings.com

The World Is Flat by Thomas Friedman

2006-12-07T19:34:00.000-08:00

Ten times, at least, this book stared out at me from the bookshelves of my local Barnes and Nobel or the airport shop. Ten times I couldn't part with $25. The good news is that I finally bought it for $15.79. The bad news is that I could have started using the material inside this miraculous book much earlier had I not been so cheap.

The premise of the book is fairly simple and may cause you to think, as I did, "Oh! That's obvious! I don't need to spend money and time to find out that young people in India are doing customer service and support jobs for major tech companies. I know that some companies in the advertising specialty industry are using Russian, Chinese, and Vietnamese artists to do production art. I know that the best way to get a package from Los Angeles to London overnite is UPS.

What I didn't know was that UPS now handles fulfillment for Nike, computer repairs for Toshiba, and assembly for Nikon. What I didn't think of was that I could actually outsource almost my entire office operation to India. I received a complete education in how I could have kept and even increased my business with Target, K Mart, Toys R Us and others by getting some of our products made off shore, packaged, labeled, and bar coded exactly as these companies wanted. We decided we did not have the core competancy to handle the exacting details required by these retailers. But Asian supplier do, and they are only too happy to work with US importers as middlemen to the majors.

Almost every page was an eye-opening experience. The writing is totally accessible to the non-technical reader. For non-fiction the material is very engaging.

I love to prognosticate about the future, and believe that a large part of leadership is based on an ability to be future oriented. In The World Is Flat, Friedman gives us plenty of ideas about what the future might look like. He does this from both a business and a geopolitical standpoint. If your not into politics, you can skip lightly through these sections. However, they are extremely instructive in understanding such issues as why S. Korea does so well and Saudi Arabia is so backward.

In other posts I have tried to persuade those who read these virtual pages that the future of the smallest businesses are just as threatened by a failure to keep up with the kinds of changes Thomas Friedman illustrates throughout the book as are major corporations like Ford.

If I had a rating system from 1-10 for business books, this one would get an 11. You should just click right here and buy it now. (Full disclosure. I make 6% if you buy the book through clicking on that spot. I also make 6% on anything you buy at Amazon if you go to Amazon through my blog. This fact, however, in no way shades my opinion of this book.)

I will have more to say about Thomas Friedman and The World Is Flat in future posts.

Design Your Own Bottle

2006-12-01T16:14:00.000-08:00

When developing new products over the years, I have usually figured I had to budget many tens of thousands of dollars for engineering, design, molds and tools, initial set up and such. I have never been in a place where I could create a completely new product for $4000 or so.

But, molds for bottles only cost about that much. And it will only cost you about that much to develop a totally unique bottle concept for your client. Do you need a bottle that is bigger, smaller, shaped different, embossed, debossed, or has a hole in it. We have done quite a number of these special projects this year.

The most common approach is to emboss the bottle at the top in what is called the grip ring area. This allows you to step and repeat the customers logo or name several times. Another method is to emboss or deboss a name, logo, or product 3d on the side of the bottle. If this is done with some parts of the deboss level to the rest of the bottle, you can also print on this part of the deboss.

But sometimes, your client will need a completely different look. We will engage our art department, marketing guru's, and manufacturing team to help you come up with the perfect solution.

A major benefit of creating a special product like this is that the client is now pretty much locked into you and that product for many future promotions.

Call me personally to get the ball rolling. 1-800-245-3737 ext 223

Advice From Steve Jobs

2006-11-22T14:44:00.000-08:00

Some folks are gifted. Some are lucky. Some are just amazing. I think of the 4 careers of Ronald Reagan. Or how about the guys who started YouTube 3 years ago. Then there's Steve Jobs. In some ways he isn't as famous as his arch rival, Bill Gates. But Gates only started one successful company. And lets be honest, most of his stuff was copying others.

To Jobs goes credit for Apple MacIntosh, IPod, ITunes, Apple Retail, and Pixar. Any one of those would have been enough for one guy. For all of his success, he isn't a very elegant speaker, but he gets asked anyway. He recently gave a commencement address at Stanford that had quite a few points well worth noting:

"I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. No big deal. Just three stories.

The first story is about connecting the dots.

I dropped out of Reed College after the first six months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?

It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out, they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: "We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?" They said: "Of course." My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college.

And 17 years later, I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents' savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back, it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out, I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.

It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned Coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the seven miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one example:

Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn't have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can't capture, and I found it fascinating.

None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, its likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course, it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards 10 years later.

Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

My second story is about love and loss.

I was lucky that I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents' garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years, Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4,000 employees. We had just released our finest creation – the Macintosh – a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew, we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so, things went well. But then, our visions of the future began to diverge, and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30, I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.

I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down – that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me that I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.

I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.

During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the world's first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I retuned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.

I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle.

My third story is about death.

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything that all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

About a year ago, I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn't even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor's code for "prepare to die." It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.

I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I'm fine now.

This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I hope it's the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept:

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand, not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960s, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors and Polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.

Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish." It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Thank you all very much."

– Steve Jobs – June 2005

HT to Corporatelogo.com
and to their original source, Charley Johnson, who is Vice President of Salt Lake City-based SnugZ USA.

Why Don't You Have A Blog Yet?

2006-11-19T15:21:00.000-08:00

No matter what size your distributorship is, or if you are an salesperson for a distributor, I am convinced that a blog is the least expensive, easiest method you can use to increase your customer list and your contacts with existing customers.

If you have an existing website, you are ahead of those who don't. However, by now you are certainly aware of how difficult, time consuming, and expensive it is to keep that site current, relevant, and as good or better than your competition. We spend at least 40 hours per month on CaliforniaSprings.com, and we could easily spend twice that much. A blog can be kept updated and exciting with 5 - 10 hours per month.

Making your website Search engine friendly is really hard in this industry. There are millions of sites fighting for "advertising specialty" and "promotional products."

With a blog, every article can have potential key words that might draw someone to your site. You could be talking about solar active color change bottles. You will likely have a high location for color change, solar color, solar active bottles.

Blogs are way more personal. They don't feel like your "selling." At least if you do it right. This post is filled with attempts to sell you. But the article is about how you can do something to improve your business. It should seem perfectly fair that I use my own products as examples in the post. Of course, the material in the post has to be true and helpful.

But how easy this would be for you. Examples of promotions that you have done, that you have heard about, or from other writers on the subject will be very useful to your customers.

If you specialize in small businesses, ideas or recommendations for articles about small business make excellent posts. Motivational ideas are very useful for almost everyone.

If you don't have a website, a blog gives you some kind of web presence. They can be 100% free except for you time.

They establish you as more than just another salesperson. Just the fact that you are able to communicate as a writer gives you more credibility. And truly, most of your blog can be copies of other peoples works (give them credit) with a quick cover comment from you. You still become more respected by your clients and potential clients.

You can add personality in a blog that is not quite as appropriate in a website. Pictures of your vacation or your family work here. Short stories of your exploits or the charity work you are involved in give you more depth.

Very little has changed in how to start or optimize your blog since I wrote on this subject last year. Go here and here and here. Today is a perfect day to start.

Ran Across This One - Couldn't Help Myself

2006-11-16T13:48:00.000-08:00

Regular readers of this blog saw this last year. Excuse me for posting it again, but it is sooooooo right on in helping to make my points about marketing instead of selling.

New Product Idea
Originally uploaded by Randy Kirk.

Snore Stop paid this guy big money to be their billboard. Why am I wasting my time selling water bottles? I'd even do it in 4 color process.

A Perfect Ending

2006-11-13T14:43:00.000-08:00

As I've talked to many of you over the past 90 days, it is amazing how many have had much bigger problems than our nasty moving experience. I have friends in the business with health problems (big ones), family issues (is there anything worse), and business issues that make mine look like a walk in the park.

On a really bad day, other peoples problems help to get me through mine. But I do feel a new burdon for that person and their business as a result. In a few cases, I hope I've been able to offer an idea or two that was worthwhile. So call me or e-mail me if you have something going on that might use a few minutes of counsel. Two our three people actually think I have useful counsel to give sometimes.

Anyway, back to the story. We have had the best ever September-November in the history of the company. We normally lay off a few folks this time of year. We have been doing overtime. And our employees have really responded with outstanding quality and productivity.

So, for those who are going through a tough period. Take heart. Better days are ahead.

The Longest Five Miles

2006-07-11T22:02:00.000-07:00

A few months ago, we lost our lease. We fruitlessly argued with our landlord of 15 years that September would be much better for us, moving-wise, since it would be in our slow season, but NOOOO!

After months of trying to figure out the wisest way to do this move, we finally located a building almost as nice as the one we've been in, and proceeded to organize the move. For those of you who do business with us, you already know that we have been blessed with a staff beyond compare. But they outdid themselves on this move. Every aspect that was under the control of our people went of flawlessly.

The only thing we could not do ourselves was electrical. We have 8 blow mold machines, two extruders, and 5 printing machines. These all need peripheral things like chillers, transformers, and air compressors. They are all integrated, and of course, they all require power. As of Wednesday the 12th, we are one week behind plan on having power. We are at full capacity on printing, but only half on bottle making. I have been pulling out what is left of my hair in large clumps.

OK! The truth. I am frustrated. Customer service people are the ones huddled in corners, not wanting to answer the phones. But as I told them today. We will do the best we can with what we have been given. Then we will be past all this and it will seem trivial a few months down the road. One of my friends at church just found out she has cancer. I don't have any problems at all.

Our new address is 13920 Mica St, still in Santa Fe Springs, CA 90670 (just five miles from our last location.) Our 800# is unchanged - 800-245-3737. We will have full production on Saturday. Don't hesitate to call and place your order to help us make up this lost week.

Updates!!

2006-05-26T14:44:00.000-07:00

We may not be able to send out email blasts to remind you to check out the incredible content here at Kirk Uncorked. Thus, we would humbly suggest that you bookmark the page right now, AND sign up for email updates to your right. I won't use that email for any other purpose, and when I send out an email, it will clearly show it is from Kirk Uncorked.

Now may I suggest that you look down the right hand column of this page. There you will see 144 articles on subjects ranging from Credit and Collection to How to Start Your own Blog and why. Whenever you are faced with a question about how to proceed in your business, or looking for new ideas of how to build or improve your sales, just come here and look through the list.

We at CaliforniaSprings.com have been so busy that I haven't had time to add anything for a couple of weeks. I will be hitting the keys again soon. So there will always be new articles of inspiration and encouragment. But don't forget to look through the archive, too.

Houston Chronical Review of New Book

2006-05-22T15:21:00.000-07:00

In case you don't get the Houston Chronical, I thought you might like to check out what they thought of my new book. I promise. I didn't pay this guy to say this.

Complex topics, digested easily

By STEVE POWERS
For The Chronicle

IN recent years it has become startlingly clear that while many of the biggest companies are constantly paring payrolls, the number of small companies is rising significantly.

But this statistic hides a lot of painful setbacks. Unfortunately, statistics on businesses with 10 or fewer workers show that 65 percent of them fail within the first five years.

With that in mind, Randy Kirk has revised his 13-year-old book to more reflect how the business world has changed. In 1993, he wrote "When Friday Isn't Payday". With this new guide, he has revised and updated the book to better reflect new information, tax laws and the growing importance of electronic commerce.

Kirk seemingly covers every aspect of operating a small business. The 300-plus pages are packed with lots of charts, lists and anecdotes about establishing and running a small business.

The book is divided into five stages of small business development, from the beginning to the process of growing and on into the future. The stages are titled: Before You Begin, Opening the Doors, The First Three Years, Managing Yourself and

Others and Managing Your Assets.

Each of these sections has subtopics that cover crucial aspects of successfully running a small business.

In section two, a subsection offers a comprehensive look at preparing a business plan.

It's obvious that Kirk has done his homework and has experience with running a business.

This book could serve as a textbook for how to run a small business.

Motley Fool

Tom and David Gardner are co-founders of the Motley Fool, which since 1993 has grown from a personal finance Web site into a media company with a syndicated newspaper column, radio shows and books.

"The Motley Fool's Money After 40" is their latest foray. This book addresses the 75 million Americans between 40 and 65 who are contemplating how they'll fare during retirement.

The authors have divided the topic into three sections: Having Enough, Having More Than Enough and Having It All.

Having Enough addresses the subject of organizing finances in order to preserve what one already has and how to calculate what is needed.

Having More Than Enough goes deeper, tackling Social Security and touching on estate planning, caring for elderly parents and teaching a child to be financially independent.

In Having It All, the authors take the whole concept a step further, showing the reader how to live a healthy, productive life, one with hobbies, adventures and another career.

The authors cover many subjects but never dwell on any of them at mind-numbing length. They hit the highlights and quickly move on, making it easy to comprehend.

...

"Running a 21st Century Small Business"

By Randy W. Kirk Warner Business Books, $14.95.

Getting PR

2006-05-20T20:43:00.000-07:00

We in this industry are a biased bunch. We believe that promotional products are the smartest way to increase business, create loyalty, reward behavior, etc. And were it any other way, this blogger would be the first to chastise you.

However, if we believe in our own stuff to the exclusion of all else, that would be a mistake also. Promotional products represent a very fine element among many in what should in most cases be an integrated campaign strategy. And so it is for your business as well. You need to be totally educated and in tune with all the other elements that might go into your customer's overall plan. This will help you to better position yourself with the client and better advise him as to appropriate specialty items to use.

In addition, you need to advertise and promote yourself. One of the most cost effective and least utilized methods of promotion is the PR campaign. For our purposes today, I'm going to limit the scope of this post to how you, as a salesman or owner in the promotional products business might use PR to increase your visibility, and thus your sales.

First, lets discuss the types of PR you might be able to use. I would break these down into three types. First, there are the people in the news releases. When someone is hired, promoted, or even leaves for a better position, there is an opportunity to run a release. These are unlikely to be picked up by even a local paper unless there is a professional photo, so be sure to include one.

Make every effort to find a personal interest angle to improve the chances of getting some ink. Is the person active in local charities or other organizations? Have they had some kind of major impact on the community or in the industry? Do they have a rsume of note? Or, are they related to someone who meets one of those criteria.

The second kind of PR that is likely to get printed is where you, your company, or one of your employees is getting recognized for something. This could be an award, a position in a service club or charity, or an invitation to speak or write. Once again, pictures are very important. The best pictures are those that show the local talent receiving the recognition in some kind of ceremony.

The third, though by no means last, PR effort that can pay dividends is an announcement of a new product, a move, a grand opening or other event, or a substantial change in the way you are going to do business in the future (e.g. merger, acquisition, line addition, reorganization.)

On another day, I'll give the details of how to write up the release, who to send it to, and methods for increasing the likelihood of publication. We'll also touch on the internet as a tool for PR.

Short Idea For Your Consideration

2006-05-20T18:00:00.000-07:00

There are only three ways to increase your sales volume:

1. More customers to sell the items you already carry

2. Sell more of what you sell to your existing customers

3. Sell something else to new or existing customers

If you will take 10 minutes to study that list, you might find that this is the most important post you've ever read, here or anywhere.

The Rude Salesman - What is Rudest Thing of All

2006-05-18T08:05:00.000-07:00

Time for a major admission. When I was younger, I used to use 4-letter words. I suspect there were also some words with 5 letters or so that were just a vulger as the 4 letter kind. I also used those kinds of words in some sales settings or when dealing with salesmen I managed (I used "salesmen" on purpose. I never swore in front of women.)

Somewhere along the line I asked myself: "Will I make one more friend or sale because of my language use. Moreover, might I actually lose friends or sales due to my choice of words. I decided that day to end the use of any and all vulgar words in all settings.

Now, the other day I read this article.

The Rudest Thing You Can Do at Work

The rudest thing you can do at work is to use profanity.
That's the word from a Harris Interactive survey of 2,318 employed adults conducted for Randstad USA, a leading workforce solutions company, about behaviors that interfere with work performance. Fully 91 percent of those surveyed cited profane language as the rudest workplace behavior.
Top 9 office etiquette pet peeves:
Using profanity: 91 percent
Being spoken to in a condescending tone: 44 percent
Public reprimand: 37 percent
Micromanaging: 34 percent
Loud talkers: 32 percent
Cell phones ringing at work: 30 percent
Using speakerphones in public areas: 22 percent
Personal conversations in the workplace: 11 percent
Using PDAs during meetings: 9 percent

Swearing at work--even if it seems like everyone else is doing it, too--can leave a bad impression, according to James O'Connor, founder of Cuss Control. Not only that, but it makes you unpleasant to be around and can endanger your relationships as people lose respect for you. Most of all, it shows you don't have control and could even lead some to think you have a bad attitude or a lack of character. "Swearing is complaining, and it can be infectious," O'Connor told Training magazine. "It also reflects on an individual's lack of maturity and inability to cope with daily aggravations."

To help you stop swearing, devise a new list of tension-releasing words. For example, instead of saying you're "pissed off," try one of these: angry, mad, livid, fuming, irate, furious, enraged, incensed, upset, infuriated, spitting mad, disappointed or frustrated.

Nice to know I made a wise choice. Sorry to think how many I offended before I figured it out.

You Might be UNLISTED

2006-04-12T15:10:00.000-07:00

My current bedtime reading is Marketing Without Advertising by Michael Phillips et al. One of the primary themes throughout this book is that the most important advertising for our businesses is being LISTED. The editors mention the obvious like Yellow Pages, Web pages, and the Chamber of Commerce. But I suspect that all too often, our small businesses haven't even taken care of the obvious.

So, are you listed? Do you have a decent sized ad in the yellow pages? The ad should be well thought out. If you are unclear about how to do a great yellow page ad, do the research in dozens of yellow pages at your local library or on line. My personal preference is to make sure my ad is completely different and more eye-catching than my competition. It is crucial to use the copy writing techniques discussed elsewhere in this blog: headline must say it all, lots of copy, promises, action statement.

Some of my distributor friends are members of several chambers in their area. I would want to own all or part of the back page of the chamber directory. I would be disinterested in inside ads, but I would sure make certain I am listed.

Web presence? If you search this blog, you will find all kinds of info on how to do your website and a blog. You should be doing both.

Are you listed on all the industry lists? ASI, PPAI, Sage, etc. Join as many as you can afford. Don't worry about the politics. You want folks to find you. This is a good way.

Are there community web sites or other group sites that would help people find you? Could you set up a group? Start a blog about your city, or some aspect of your city that would be likely to draw business or non profits to the site. Of course 15% or more of the content could be advertisements for your services. Get a couple of non-competitive companies to help with the site. Get folks who have a unique story to tell about the area or who have excellent writing skills.

We learned this lesson in spades in 2005. We spent 100's of hours making our listings on ESP and Sage broader, deeper, and more complete. More than any other effort last year, we are seeing a big payoff from that effort. How can you increase your visibility by being on lists that people are likely to use to find folks like you?

Price Matters to the Promotional Products Buyer

2006-04-12T13:45:00.000-07:00

Many top motivators in this industry will cause you to experience cognitive dissonance when they maintain that price is way down the list of what truly matters to your clients. To the extent that you have followed the above methods and established yourself as a member of the marketing team, and not just another swag salesman, these pundits are correct. However, in the trenches there are various reasons this perfect scenario doesn't always play out. Examples include:

1. The buyer has to or wants to send it out to bid, no matter how much he appreciates your extra effort.
2. The buyer doesn't care about your value added skill set. He just wants 1000 pens for the meeting.
3. There is a buyer change, and the new guy is trying to make a name for himself. Being stupid, he thinks he will make a name for himself through saving dollars, and you have no time to educate him.
4. You receive a bid offer or phone call request and have no opportunity to establish any kind of rapport.

These kinds of situations are highly nuanced and thus there are no easy answers. Rather I would propose a set of principles and strategies to follow.

A. Small unsolicited requests for pricing or bids. Attempt to determine whether you really have a long term opportunity here to develop important business or referrals. If not, offer your standard pricing and terms and move on.

B. Assume that the price list supplied to you by every supplier is a starting point. A big part of your job is to sell the supplier on why they should give you a price that is lower than eqp for an order of the minimum. You can then use this price and low margins to "buy" the business when there is a long term strategy in mind. This is really where the big boys play. This is why traditional distribution channels are always being stretched and challenged.

Using this type of strategy over the long term or for every client is a recipe for disaster. You need the margins. Your supplier needs the margins. And if your main customer base only buys from you on price, there WILL come a day when a competitor WILL find a way to beat you.

Also know that there is a niche for a certain kind of distributorship which discounts all of the time as a strategy. They do this by keeping extremely low overheads and offering no extras. There may also be hidden costs such as payment in advance, freight handling charges, etc. To be this kind of distributor you must create that kind of business. I personally don't know how to do it, so can't offer direction or advice.

C. A major client tells you that his business will always be a bid situation. This is my favorite kind of challenge, and one where winning is not assured, no matter what direction you take. But consider the options. You can sell them at low margins and get some or all of the business. You can sell them at decent margins, and win a few contracts. You can work your butt off to get better pricing from your supplier and work on low margins and get almost all of the business. You can SELL this client on changing his buying procedure.

What is his goal in bidding out all the work? What are his specific goals for the overall promotional products area? What does success look like to him? More than likely his "bid everything" strategy is imposed from above or is just the best he can come up with with his limited creative skills.

By determining if there is a way for him to feel more successful or, better yet, look more successful to those grading him, you can now build a pitch for your comprehensive approach as a supplier. You may even be able to use a trial close that helps him create a success grid: quality products and printing, arrives on time, problem free administration, excellent pricing, successful campaigns.

D. Keep in mind the Kirk 10% principle. Outstanding approaches to any situation will be trashed by 10% of the buyers. We made an initial call on KMart 20 years ago. Our product was already in Target and doing well. Three highly successful, professional salesmen with three piece suits entered the buyer's lair at 7:00 a.m. Part of the buyers intimidation strategy was to see first time product presentations super early.

We decided to ask the critical questions first . How many turns did he expect? How many dollars per foot? This type of thing. We knew that our item was getting outstanding turns and returning excellent dollars per foot at Target. This was the "professional way" to approach the client.

The buyer got irate and told us that he wasn't interested in training us in KMart's retail strategy. He just wanted to know what did our product do? How much did it cost? We left with our tails between our legs. This strategy works 90% of the time. P.S. We got the business anyway.

Google Ad Words - 7 Things You Need to Know

2006-04-05T16:22:00.001-07:00

Have you paid any attention to one of the largest advertising engines in the world. One that didn't exist a few years ago, but now is making Google one of the most valuable companies on planet earth.

You know what Adwords are? They are those sponsored ads on the same page with your key word search. You look up the keyword "How do I lose 15 pounds" and on the right hand side of the page are 100's of little 4 line ads. Those advertisers are paying 5 cents or $5 each time you click on the ad and are transported to their sales pitch.

Disclaimer. There are 1000's of people who know more about this than me. But I suspect that I know more about it than 95% of those who visit here from time-to=time. So, based on my limited knowledge, here are 7 things you can take to the bank.

1. This method of advertising will continue to be a major and growing way to drive people to your business. Your competition is already doing it. Go to keyword promotional products and see how many ads there are.
2. Your customers will also be spending more of their advertising dollar on this type of ad.
3. Becoming a sophisticated user of Adwords may be one of the most important things you can do to grow your business.
4. If your customer is using adwords to draw people to his website with the intention of selling them something online, he needs promotional products to seal the deal. This is and will be a huge market for your and my kind of stuff. I will do a whole article on this within the next two weeks.
5. There are dozens of smaller search engines who have their own version of Adwords. Sometimes you can get more bang for your buck on these.
6. I truly believe that the combo of e-mail blasts, great website, and blogging will be enhanced by Adwords advertising. If this approach to marketing is not in your immediate pile for your future, you may miss the boat.
7. The reason Adwords is so cheap is because only a small percent of the business world has discovered it. The reason Google stock is so expensive is because smart folks know that when the other 95% figure out how to use it, the bidding war will push the cost much higher. NOW IS THE TIME.

Support Your Blogman

2006-04-05T16:07:00.000-07:00

I found an article on line the other day that said a ranking of #100,000th or less on Amazon.com meant your book was doing Ok. Your publisher would be pleased. Obviously, a ranking of #1 or #99 or #5000 would be better than 99,890, but I'm trying to be realistic.

Up until now, my ranking for Running A 21st Century Small Business has been around #100,000 most week days. I had one day at around #5600, but one Sunday I was #246,325. Overall, I'd say my publisher would be on the fence about the success of the book.

Now, I figure there are 70,000 distributor sales people. If you all would just buy one each, my numbers would start to climb. And, if you believe my press, and the reviews, its a really good book. (My Mom thinks so too.) (Don't ask my Wife.)

To really turn this into a major hit, you could use it as a motivator for your clients. You could give them away to your business clients. Even better, you could sell your b2b clients on using the book as a specialty item, with their name on the cover.

So. Help me out here. My oldest son is almost 17. The college bills are coming up soon. His auto insurance is $4000 a year. I could use some sales. (Buying bottles helps, too, but that's for another post.)

Click right here to buy the book. E-mail me at Randy@Californiasprings.com to discuss using the book as a self promo or as a promotional.

Use Your Celebrity to Build VIRTUAL CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS

2006-04-05T09:14:00.000-07:00

During the course of a conversation with one of my customers discussing the ways to reach customers in the current climate, we coined the word Virtual Customer Relationship.

As a sales professional, you are only able to manage about 200 accounts. Of those you might have 20 "A" accounts, 50 "B" accounts, and 130 that send you a fig now and again. What if you were able to magically double that number or even end up with 100 "A" accounts and 1000 others. I'm betting a bunch of my time and effort that it can be done.

You see, it is impossible for the supplier in the Promotional Products Industry to know 60,000 sales people. It is even impossible for suppliers to "know" all 17,000 distributors. It would take 50 Customer service people on staff for us to know half of the distributors and a fraction of the sale forces of those distributors.

It's a bit like that in your neighborhood. I'm guessing that there are at least 10,000 potential clients within easy driving distance of your office. Moreover, there is really no territory by geographical boundary in this business anymore. I talk to distributor sales people all the time who have clients throughout the USA and even some in foreign countries.

How can you get to "know" 1000 or more customers? The key to this is a slightly different question. How can you "be known" by 1000 or more customers?

When I was in the bicycle business, doing those books and trade show seminars, I would be walking back to my booth at the show, when perfect strangers would wave at me. They knew me through my "minor celebrity." They hopefully also respected me for my position and/or my knowledge. If that respect could turn into orders, the job was complete.

I believe you can do this through blogging, e-mail newsletter, seminars, and other such almost free marketing. Here are the steps:

1. Get busy doing good work in the community that you hope to sell. That community might be a city, a region, a hobby, a profession, a non-profit, an industry, etc. Take jobs, get elected to office, seek the presidency.

2. Establish some communication form (blogs, e-mail, etc.) where you are invited by your customer base to visit them weekly or more frequently by a "free means." These contacts must be exciting, informative, useful, or mention the name of the client once in a while. (Sorry about that last one, but it is true.)

3. Build your reputation. It might take 6 months. It might take 3 years. It shouldn't take much more than that. Seek speaking opportunities at service club breakfasts or lunches. Set up events that will help the cause (and yours.) Send out PR releases in trades and local papers.

4. Develop an expertise in some aspect of what you do. Two or three expertises would be even better. Learn everything there is to know on the subject. Use this information to write articles or do interviews in trade rags or in local papers.

5. Potentially, aggregate articles you write into a book (at least 120 pages.) Get a publisher if possible. If not, self publish. Sell the book or give it away when you speak. Get book stores in your area to carry the book (on consignment, if necessary.) Offer the book on your blog or website. Try to get others to offer the book.

6. Now, when you write or call, you are "known." Some folks will call you or send orders through your website because they know you. When you send out a mass mailing, faxing, e-mail, or product sampling, your picture should be part of the headline.

7. Don't let this stuff go to your head. Keep it in perspective. Remember how easy it was to do. Your success has less to do with your skill than with the fact that 999 out of 1000 never tried it.

TEN Things You Can Do To Guarantee $1,000,000 in Sales This Year

2006-03-30T10:24:00.000-08:00

Don't expect to see some huge major revelation in the following list. If you have been reading my blog, every one of these has been covered in the past 12 months. My guess is that you aren't doing them. Maybe one. Maybe two. Maybe none. But the list is foolproof, if you should ever decide to own every item on the list. Please note that if you click on the short versions below, each one will take you to a full article on the subject.

1. Set goals - The process of setting goals is one of the most effective ways to increase sales. This is something you do nights and weekends, not during the sales day.
2. Make lots of cold calls - If you're not at $1,000,000 yet, you need more customers. Use e-mail, mailers, networking, etc. to create prospect lists.
3. Prepare and educate yourself in your lines, your industry, and your craft (sales). Read books, listed to CD's, attend seminars on success and selling. As much as humanly possible, do this in evenings and weekends.
4. Execute - Getting the order is less than half the battle. You will generate more sales from existing customers than from new ones. Give your clients 110%.
5. Do everything with enthusiasm. There is no substitute for an enthusiastic attitude, and enthusiasm can be a substitute for many other shortfalls.
6. Create a niche that you can exploit. Don't try to be all things to all people. You can't know 500,000 products.
7. Establish a market driven approach. I suggest website/blog/e-mails.
8. Ask existing customers for testimonials and leads.
9. Don't ever give up. Invest in your future with whatever it takes for a year or two. The dividends will last for years.
10. No excuses. Don't be ruled by the economy, the customer, the suppliers, your boss, your bank, or your bad attitudes. It's 100% up to you. I guess I've never written an article on this subject. I need to do that.

Does this list make sense to you? Would you add to it? Subtract from it? A different order of importance? Let me know in the comments.

Would You Like to See Your Name Up in Lights?

2006-03-30T09:21:00.000-08:00

The Next Part of this story is only for those of you who intend to be in the business for the long haul. If you're just passing through, this will make no sense at all to you. In order to accomplish this next phase, you will need to invest 200-300 hours with no real hope of a return in the first 6 months. (200 - 300 hours is 2-3 hours per day for 100 days. I can write an entire book in that amount of time.) In other words, it seems like a lot of hours, but in terms of your career it is a pretty small investment.

Become a Minor Celebrity

I'm stealing the headline from Dan Kennedy, again, but I have lived the principle in four industries. Dan Kennedy says that he hopes he is never recognised in a restaurant, but he darned well better be recognised at a trade show in his industry.

For you, that means your local chamber, Kiwanis, Optimist, Rotary, 10K runs, etc. Do you have to be a city councilman or on the school board to accomplish minor celebrity in your area? Not at all. But depending on your skill set or personality, here are a few ways you can dramatically increase your visibility, and thus your network, which will convert into an entree'.

Service Clubs and Chamber - Every town has Rotary, Elks, and at least two political parties. That is only the beginning of the groups you can join to help out in your neighborhood and help grow your business. Also think scouts, kids baseball, basketball, soccer, PTA, or parks and recreation.

Event management - Maybe your town has concerts in the park, 10 K runs, bicycle safety week. The list is too long. Find out what these events are. If you can't sell them stuff now, help run the event. Establish your credentials as an event planner.

Swag expert - Hold seminars for marketing people in the proper use of promotional products.

Non profits - If I have to list these for you, you haven't done your basic homework yet. Churches, foundations, shelters, and so many more are in very great need of people to help out. You get some really nice feel goods for the work you do, and start to build your reputation at the same time.

Associations - It is certainly a good idea to belong and be active in your local ad specialty business groups. However, other business groups, networking associations, and the like can be a great place to generate business and increase your celebrity.

Fewer New Articles

2006-03-29T17:47:00.000-08:00

Someone asked today: "Your not blogging as much these days?" Sadly, it is true. However the reason is at least partly due to a good thing. Another caller said: "Yeah! My business just jumped on March 1." Well, so did ours. Thanks to many of you. But I come home exhausted just trying to keep up.

Don't lose faith. I will put up some new material over tomorrow and over the weekend.

Six Reviews of "Running A 21st Century Small Business"

2006-03-19T14:51:00.000-08:00

Check out the reviews that are popping up at Amazon.com. You may know some of the reviewers personally. Here's one:

"An excellent book that covers starting up a business from "Soup to Nuts". This should be required reading for any entrepreneur before taking the financial risks involved in any such undertaking. As with all things learned, this book provides a solid starting point to continue to grow from. Randy covers . . ."

Read the rest here, and buy a copy of the book!!

Global Warming. What! Me Worry?

2006-03-17T09:07:00.000-08:00

Hopefully, you are now sending out e-mails on a regular basis to your customers and prospective customers. YOU'RE NOT?!?! Well, no time like the present to start. In this day and age, you have to be in front of the customer all the time. Your competitor will be. If you aren't, it could be the fatal difference.

When sending out e-mail blasts, whether to your own personal 50-500 list or to a larger list, the most important element is the subject line. No one knows better than you how many e-mails can be hitting the inbox on any given day. I get 200 a day. You might get more. The client is going to open your e-mail based on three major things:

1. Does he get the e-mail at all? Or did it go straight to the junk file? This will, in part, be determined by the subject line. Certain words or phrases are going to trigger automatic filters which will send your important information into e-mail oblivion.
2. Who is the e-mail from? When I look at the sender, I know whether previous materials have been useful.
3. The subject line. If the e-mail is received, and the sender is someone who commonly sends good stuff, my final decision to open now, open later, or send to trash is based on the subject.

If you are still wondering what this has to do with global warming, I'm just about there. Current events will not be filtered out. Current events create interest - "Why in the world is Joe sending me an e-mail about global warming?" Current events are not just the same old thing. And current events will be very important to those who follow them.

Of course, you must be careful. The tie-in can't be too far fetched. Global warming, for instance, could be a tie in to earth day promotions, recyclable promotional items, an actual article of great interest, or a cute play on words of some kind.

This is just one way to play the subject line game. For more on this subject check here
and here

How To Introduce the New You to Your Best Prospects

2006-03-16T15:05:00.000-08:00

Dan Kennedy famously tells of a fellow who opened a deli. He decided to give away free meals for the first month. He advertised to residences and businesses in a five mile radius that there was a no strings attached free meal available to all comers.

You can imagine that he had lines out the door. And, according to Dan Kennedy's telling it, the restauranteur never had to advertise again. He was full up.

Obviously, to do such a promotion, the business owner must know that the product or service is going to win over the client. The results would not be so good had he given away all those meals and folks didn't like the food.

We grabbed a page from that book in our 100 free bottle offer. We knew we were offering better customer service than pretty near anybody in the business. So, we figured if distributors tried us once, they would be back over and over again. And even for salespeople who already knew of our amazing customer service, they could prove it to one of their customers with 100 free bottles on us.

How could you use an approach like this to round up a bunch of new customers? In fact, you could do exactly what we did. You just have to make sure that the money you spend on the free swag gets delivered on time and has a measurable impact on some aspect of your client's business.

Obviously, you would always want to use this approach to get a larger order at the time of the 100 free offer. The math works out a lot better if some of the customers you offer this idea to, actually end up buying 500 and paying for 400.

Why You Do the Thing You Do

2006-03-15T11:35:00.000-08:00

I have heard many different reasons given why employers choose certain people over others, or why some are more successful in sales than others. Height, looks, skin color, and sex come to mind. Better reasons include: completes what he starts; does what she says she will do; follows up.

If I were to compile such a list, I think the top item would be enthusiasm. Not just the general kind of wild-eyed optimism that some accuse me of having, but a specific passion for the task at hand. So ask yourself, are you passionate about selling promotional products to your customers? Why or why not?

A really good Advertising Specialty salesperson would say something like, "I love helping my clients to become more successful at what they do. I am so invested in their event that I am as excited as they are to see what the results are. I even fine tune things along the way for maximum success."

When you think like that, you arrive at your clients office with your vast understanding of what works and what doesn't in various circumstances. You can site examples from non-competitive situations which will help to point the way. You stop short of taking over their management of the idea, and help them to feel 100% ownership of the idea and the results.

And you do so with great ENTHUSIASM

Promotional Products should DO NO HARM

2006-03-09T15:22:00.000-08:00

Doctors make a promise when they enter the profession to "do no harm." When they evaluate, prescribe for, operate on, and discuss health issues, this must always be in the back of their mind. Surely, the swag we sell has the potential to do harm in a way that most advertising does not. While it is possible to run an ad that insults people or irritates them, most ad execs think that even negative exposure of this kind can have long term benefits. "Write bad stuff about me, just spell my name right."

It just isn't the same with promotional products. If I open an envelope to get at the pen, I expect the pen to write. If it doesn't, or worse yet, I end up with an ink stain on my shirt, I will remember who sent that pen. And it won't be so that I can increase my business with them.

If I am dealing with a company who is attempting to persuade me that they produce quality products or services, and they gift me with an inferior product or one that doesn't work, there is an immediate translation in my mind that if they can't get the Tchotchky right, why should I believe they can do anything else right?

To make this equation even more critical for you as an ad specialty seller, the buyer who is responsible for the campaign will hold you directly responsible for every complaint he receives. Am I wrong?

Therefore, I think you should have the words "Promotional Products should do NO HARM" on your business card, on your stationery, at the bottom of your e-mail, and on your forehead. (That recommendation is in jest, but you get the point.) If you need to teach the buyer anything it is this: "Promotional Products should do NO HARM." You gain three huge benefits if you are able to make this lesson stick.

1. You won't lose the account due to bad products
2. You will position yourself differently than your competition.
3. You will generate more dollars of revenue from higher quality products.

Google - The Latest

2006-03-09T14:45:00.000-08:00

Shocking News Update: Depending on your situation, it may not matter much where you are on Google's search engine.

If you are primarily interested in local business, make sure that your website or blog is being advertised on a regular basis by e-mail, regular mail, promotional give-aways at BTB events in your area, and other traditional ways of getting your street address and phone number out. Whenever possible, get e-mail addresses from any and every possible client. Then send them something INTERESTING two to four times per month.
As pointed out in another article on this subject, the combination of Promotional Products are other such key words and your local city, cities, county, etc., are where you want to be first on Google. You might even want to buy position.

If you are more national in scope and hoping to get lots of drive-by traffic from folks searching on various search engines, the name of the game is now frequent changes and lots of incoming links. If you can get your favorite suppliers to start a distributor locater, links from industry sites get very high points in determining your position. It is worth it to spend the time developing the links.

But even national accounts should be working the hardest on developing e-mail lists and giving updates by e-mail to willing recipients. If you really want to increase traffic, be prepared to pay for it.

Personal Blog or Website

2006-03-02T22:25:00.000-08:00

I first posted this almost a year ago. It is more true than ever, but I don't see very many new blogs starting up.

Do it today!!! I normally build my case before I try to close the deal. In this case the admonition is just too important. You, as a distributor salesperson, whether independent or employed, need to create a personal blog or website today. Briefly, there is little difference between the two. A blog is a website which generally has a look and feel of a public personal journal. It looks like what you are reading now.

A website can look like a blog, but websites cost $60 to $100 per year or so. Most blogs are free. Blogs are usually real easy to work with. Many website providers do a great job of making website creation easy, also, but they are still a bit more complicated.

Now I'll tell you why. It is getting harder and harder to get folks to open e-mails you send out as advertising. We all know how hard it is to get appointments or even get phone calls returned. So how do you get your unique style in front of the client. Your blog can be used to offer non commercial ideas and advice (like this one), that your client may find interesting and useful to doing their job. If you can capture folks with the blog, they won't mind that there are advertisements for your services on the page or even in some of the posts.

Now, later, your e-mails can refer to the blog (e.g. giving a teaser about a recent post.) Your potential client will be far more likely to open your e-mail for that information than they are to see an offer for bicycle water bottles. Well, actually, that might be the one thing they would all want to know about : ) but you get my drift.

Much more about this later. Please comment about your successes or failures or ideas regarding blogging for business.

What You Learn at the Front

2006-03-02T15:55:00.000-08:00

With our new policy here at American Quality Products of trying to answer every call within three rings, we have added my phone to the CS bank. If everyone in CS is on a line or out to lunch, I'm next in line to pick it up. Well, you can imagine that I've learned much from this.

1. 20% of our calls want to know the e-mail for the art department or our fax #.
The art department is art_dudes@CaliforniaSprings.com. The fax is 562-903-0606

2. 20% of the call are checking on order status.

3. 20% of the folks who hear a male voice ask if this is customer service.

4. We get lots of calls for our lesser known items: baby bottles, spray misters, ice cores, and 14 ounce bottles. I get almost no calls for my favorite item and one of our best sellers, lenticular bottles.

5. Well over 1/3 of those calling are first timers who saw one of our products on ESP.
The number for SAGE is not even close.

New Book Update

2006-03-02T14:35:00.000-08:00

The new book, Running A 21st Century Small Business, rises on Amazon.com from 234,000 best selling to 5,600. If you go look right now it will undoubtedly be the 9,876th best seller or some other number. It really jumps all around. In any case, hopefully you'll go visit and buy one for your use. Or you might consider purchasing several as a PROMOTIONAL PRODUCT that you could give away to your small business customers.

Now, it would seem to me that there would also be an opportunity to offer this book to banks, insurance companies and others as a promotional product. If you would like more info on that, send me an e-mail.

Promotional Products Should Communicate the Message

2006-03-02T11:08:00.000-08:00

A very, very, very long time ago I sold padlocks for a living. The unique proposition that we offered was a padlock shaped like a discus, and aptly named the Discus. Its claim to fame was that it was almost impossible to defeat. Sales were doing ok, but not great, until one day we produced a new point of purchase display. It had a sample of the lock attached to a hasp, and the display card said simply "The Strongest Padlock Ever Built." In a very short time, the Discus dominated the sales in the stores where that display was posted.

In order for you to become invaluable to your customers to the point where cost will no longer matter, you need to be certain that their message is delivered with maximum impact using your vehicles. You may or may not be able to affect what words they use, but you can certainly attempt to persuade them regarding their use of color, location, size, and products that are the most likely to create the desired action. And, don't hesitate to be bold enough to recommend a change in the text, too.

Most promotional product vehicles have little room for the message, and/or the advertiser may wish to keep the image "low key" in order to make the gift more appealing. Ironically, this same customer may opt for the lowest common denominator in terms of product quality, resulting in a negative image, and less use of the product.

For these situations it becomes even more critical to do two things:

1. Think long and hard about the desired image. Even if it's only the corporate logo, we can create action. For instance, can we do the corporate logo with a .com address? Instead of My Company Inc., it becomes MyCompany.com. Can I at least get the website or 800 number in the image? How about a tag line, if nothing else? If my image is just a swoosh, I don't need a tag line or an 800 number. If my logo is not so well known, a short tag line - "Strongest Padlock Ever Built" - will have 10 times the impact of just "Discus."

2. Make certain that the gift is accompanied by collateral materials which create action. I never want to be accused of stating the obvious, but I also want these recommendations to be complete. By adding brochures, coupons, audio tape, cd's, dvd's, a second premium item with action implications, or gift/prepaid cards, you increase the potential return on investment many fold.

It is interesting that bicycle-style water bottles lend themselves so well to these two elements. You can have a low key message on the bottle with an action brochure, hang tag, sticker, gift card, or 2nd premium inside or outside of the bottle. At California Springs Line, we offer all of those services.

Communication hasn't changed, except to the extent that there is much more of it. Every week there is a new guru who thinks he has invented a new way of selling or marketing or communicating. While some of the vehicles may change (internet, cell phones), the things that reach decision makers' hot buttons haven't. And especially when you have a limited number of words or images to use, it is no time to experiment.

Visceral, emotion-packed, clearly annunciated offers move people. "End Itchy Scalp With One Treatment Per Month - Guaranteed Call 800-555-5555."

If you have the room, you can add bullets and explanations later, but that line tells the whole story and includes a promise and action to be taken.

Is it too bold to tell your customer what you think their campaign should look like? Only if you do it in a condescending way. You can even give someone else the credit. "My other customer used this approach to great success." "I was reading about this campaign the other day. This is what they did." At some point your stock will be so high with your customer that they may be calling you for advice.

If you consistently read this blog and other commentors in the industry, you can become a master marketer. There are also some outstanding books I have and will reference that can increase your sophistication rapidly.

New Book Gets First Review

2006-02-27T18:00:00.000-08:00

I may not post every review, but hopefully you'll indulge my posting those as nice as this in the Houston Chronical.

I don't know if this review caused it, but Running A 21st Century Small Business moved from #160,000 best selling to 5,600th best on Amazon. If you and all your friends go buy one, maybe we could get into the 100's!

I'm also wondering. Would this book make a good promo product? Banks? Insurance Companies? Warner says they can personalize it in small quantities.

Promotional Products Should Be Delivered On Time

2006-02-16T12:00:00.000-08:00

You've been knocking on the door of this important potential customer for over a year. You have established yourself as #2. If the other guy slips up or can't do it, you get the next call. Today is your day. They need 300 water bottles by Friday, 4 color process. The other guy had the order, but it can't be delivered by the deadline. You know that this is your chance to become #1. How much control do you have over your own destiny?

According to David Blaise's "Top Secrets of Promotional Products Sales," 85% of the quality of your customer service depends on the customer service of your supplier. To be honest, if I were in your business, I would not like those odds. So, how can you increase your control over your own failure or success?

Two strategies stand out. By far the most important element is Supplier Selection. The second and still hugely important element is not overpromising. Let's visit these two, one at a time.

If you have been in the Promotional Products Biz for any length of time, you have had to deal with a missed event, many near misses, and more than a few dozen nerve-frazzling might-have-been missed deadlines. Even those promotions that go off perfectly may often be plagued with uncertainty between placement of the order and delivery due to art, documentation, raw material shortages, imprint problems ... I better stop before I make you depressed.

As a supplier it takes a real big set of nerves to say this, but if a supplier messes you up or gives you heartburn, whose fault is it really? There are plenty of resources and methods available to determine the capabilities and track record of potential suppliers. If you blindly select a supplier because they are the only one you can find for a certain product, or the only one that can hit your price point, you are setting yourself up for disaster.

Referring to David Blaise again (Top Secrets of Promotional Product Sales), he maintains that you should test every new supplier by calling and asking for samples. How is the phone response? Do samples arrive when promised? Do they arrive at all? How do the samples look? Even if everything goes well, was there any part of the experience that showed potential for doing even more than was asked for? Did the customer service person attempt to learn more about your use, so that they could recommend other options? Did they explain color choices, advise regarding stocking or timing issues, or discuss art possibilities?

You should, if you or your company doesn't already do so, create a database of suppliers. No, not just a wall of catalogs or reliance on ESP or SAGE. This database should have suppliers you have used rated by some kind of code. Many of our best customers use us exclusively for sports bottles. They don't even look at our competitors. We are highly rated based on prior performance. Why risk using another supplier?

Do we ever mess up? Sure. But it is our philosophy that when we do, we will do whatever is necessary to make it up. We have had an employee drive 400 miles to make a Saturday morning delivery. We have overnighted product at our expense to England. You need to have 100 or more suppliers who you know will always get it done, and done right.

Your customer calls and wants a dispenser of hand soap with their name on it. And they want it in two weeks. You have no one in your database of preferred suppliers who offers hand soap in dispensers. What are your options?

As suggested earlier, my first step would be to ask all about the project. Demographic, strategic plan, reasons for short window, budget, etc. Half of my reason is to boost my image with the customer by being a professional marketing assistant. The other half is to create the maximum number of options for serving him.

Checking all my normal resources, I determine that there are a couple of companies in the industry that can meet the need. Neither my company nor anyone I know has ever purchased through them before. I check ESP and SAGE with mixed results on their performance history. I call both and ask for samples and pricing. One company is adequate, the other sloppy. Both say they can meet my deadline.

I would go back to my customer and explain the exact truth. I have located an adequate supplier. I have no experience with that supplier, but they say they can make the date. I explain where the ratings come from and how I reached my conclusion. Then I suggest alternative solutions that would use companies I know can hit the date. If the customer decides to go forward with the project have I shifted some of the responsibility to him? Not at all. To the extent that I take the order, I am still on the hook. Any failure to deliver on time will certainly be laid at my feet.

If I take the order, I will now follow it very closely, leaving nothing to chance. I will ask for commitments for each stage of the process. When will art files be faxed? When will labels be finished? What day will product be shipped? What is the backup plan if something goes wrong?

Then I will establish my own back up plan. In our discussions, what product would the customer most likely accept in an emergency? Make sure that the backup supplier is in a position to take a rush order.

Knocking the Competition - Bottled Water is Super Bad for the Environment

2006-02-12T15:27:00.000-08:00

I don't believe in knocking the competition. I believe that it is much better to point out the strengths of your own product or service, and to sometimes even praise the competition for what they do well. Sometimes there are exceptions to this rule. I think this is one of them.

The US and now the rest of the world are going crazy over bottled water. Clearly there may be slight advantages in convenience and taste when compared to straight tap water, but it is hard to see much advantage at all when compared to filtered or RO (reverse osmosis) water.

The price we are paying for any slight benefit is way more than the high cost we pay for the water itself. My wife tells me that she can get the 16 ounce bottles for $4 per tray of 30 bottles. That would be about $1 per gallon. Of course, when we buy it one bottle at a time a 7/11 or a trade show, the cost might be $10 a gallon.

A fellow blogger, Michael Williams pointed me to this article.

That has translated into massive costs in packaging the water, usually in plastic bottles made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) which is derived from crude oil, and then transporting it by boat, train or on land.

"Making bottles to meet Americans' demand for bottled water requires more than 1.5 million barrels of oil annually, enough to fuel some 100,000 US cars for a year," according to the study. "Worldwide, some 2.7 million tons of plastic are used to bottle water each year."

Once the water is consumed, disposing the plastic bottles poses an environmental risk.

The study, citing the Container Recycling Institute, said that 86 percent of plastic water bottles in the United States end up as garbage and those buried can take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade.

I would think that it would be obvious that we to the extent that we are worried about the water in our tap, or don't like the taste, it would make way more sense to filter it, or get home delivery, and then put the water into California Springs water bottles for ease of transport to the office, games, picnics, etc. Our bottles will generally be useful for up to five years. Hmmmm. Seems like an easy decision.

So, for those of you who care about the shortage of oil or the size of our landfill problems, start stearing your clients away from disposable bottles to reusable bottles.

Tracking Results - Is Anyone Paying Attention

2006-02-10T11:55:00.000-08:00

Question #2. Is anyone in your client's organization tracking results to determine what works for them?

Last time, we discussed the importance of getting a truly complete understanding of the reasons for the promotion, and other details that will help in making wise decisions regarding the product to be used. Today, we want to look even harder at the primary reason anyone does a promotion: To cause the end user to take action!

Call me crazy, but I would be shocked if even half of your clients are measuring the results of the promotions you are providing. The reason I'm so certain of this is that the products we send out, and the other products that I know are being sent out, do not have any method associated with them that would allow for measurement of action.

Let me say it another way. Most of the bottles we ship have a brand, and nothing else, printed on the body of the bottle. Slightly less than half of the artwork we receive includes a phone number and/or website. Less than 10% call for action suggested by the advertiser.

Assuming that some of those who are including a website or phone number ask visitors to the website or callers to the number how they came to hear about the company, then we might have 20% or so of all promotional products being tracked for results.

If there is no tracking of results, there is no way to know if you are doing your job well. If there is no way to determine whether or not you are doing your job well, you have no leverage for keeping your client in the face of competition.

Oh sure, there are some other ways to judge performance. Do sales go up in the period of the promotion? Are there less injuries on the job? More inquiries during the roll out? But these are pretty squishy numbers. Not the kind I'd like to use to justify my position with my customer.

YOU CAN DRAMATICALLY INCREASE YOUR VALUE TO THE CLIENT AND SPECIFICALLY TO THE BUYER BY HELPING HIM ESTABLISH A CRITERIA FOR SUCCESS AND A METHOD OF MEASURING RESULTS.

Comment from Jeryn Freeman

The one area I'd like to see expanded is tracking results - question #2. In a high percentage of situations, the customers have no idea what they expect or want to achieve. Questioning typically elicits vague thoughts: "be nice to our employees" - "show our employees that we care about them - or appreciate their work" - "just a little something for our sales reps to leave behind" and so on. This is the point in the conversation where most of us smile nicely & change the subject. We don't know what questions to ask, or we do ask a couple of 'targeting' questions & get blank stares or more vague responses.
Or maybe the customer says "We want to increase sales of product XJZ."
This is an area you could write a whole book on - & I think you have the skill to do that.

Comment from Joanne Rush-Worrall

However, when I read the article, it seems to assume (in the instance of your sport bottle at least) that everyone who only uses a logo or web site on the bottles you sell doesn't have a tracking mechanism to make the promotion work. That assumes too much. I believe you can still track the success of a promotion without emblazoning the promotional product with your entire message. It's incumbent on the promo products rep to set that stage.

When I meet with my clients BEFORE the event, I always ask them what they're trying to accomplish with their upcoming promotion, and then we set a second meeting where I present the promo program. If their goal was to get their message into the hands of 200-300 potential clients, we present the promo give-away as a "trade off" - the booth visitor "trades" information on their need in return for a promotional product. The client ends up with the pre-qualified leads they need and the potential new customer has a usable item that will remind him of the company when the actual follow-up sales call is made. Those prequalified leads are not "squishy" numbers in my book. Those are a solid sales starting point for the client.

Even if the results do not meet expectations, they establish a basis for the next promotion. Should we change the promotion, the product, the copy, the art, the timing? Or do we lower expectations, and rerun the promotion with minor adjustments?

You can now also take the results back to your brain trust and review the project. When you come back to your client with polished recommendations based on highly skilled thinking, it will doubly impress.

To show that we at American Quality Products are more than talk, we are creating ways for you to accomplish the very goals we are proposing. California Springs line now offers two easy methods to promote action and create measurable results. Available for immediate shipment, removable 4 color stickers that can be attached anywhere on the bottle. Also available now, Hang Tags designed to go inside or outside of the bottle. For full information go here.

With the use of these stickers or hang tags, the bottle art can remain pristine, therefore increasing the likelihood of daily use over many years. At the same time, the end user has a "coupon" that directs him to take action.

Next Time - In your dealing with clients you can only control about 15% of the quality of the customer service. Who controls the other 85%?

Part One: Promotional Products Should Produce Results

2006-02-03T15:10:00.000-08:00

Early in my career when I first hired an advertising agency and began to evaluate the power of advertising, there were many advertising agents and space sellers who would boldly declare, "You just have to try stuff and see what works." There are two profound questions in that statement:

#1. Do our customers, the advertisers, assume that we are clueless about what works?

#2. Is anyone in their organization tracking results to determine what works for them?

If our customers assume that we don't know what works, it would be because our industry has not been providing them with trained professionals who have education, training, and experience in what works. To the extent this is true of you, the deficiency can be made up with this blog, other free resources on the web and in the public library, coursework at local colleges, and mentoring from more seasoned sales people. In some cases, your supplier may have folks on staff (as we do) who can provide professional consulting with regard to pinpointing products and approaches that have the greatest likelihood of success in any given promotion.

However, before even a seasoned expert can provide solid advice, there needs to be a set of criteria clearly laid out as to objectives, budgets, logistics, end user profile, and the context into which the promotion fits. I can't begin to tell you how often I speak with salespeople, even owners, in this business who don't know much, if anything, about these criteria. A distributor's client called and asked for a quote on 1000 bottles, so the distributor is now calling me to get the quote. What if the bottle they are asking to be quoted is totally wrong for the user they are trying to reach? The results in such a case, can turn out to actually hurt the image of the company, rather than enhancing it.

Here are the primary questions you should be asking:

1. What is the demographic of the end user? Age, sex, lifestyle, occupation, hobbies, family size, education level, etc.

2. What is the way in which the specialty item will be used? Give-Away - trade show, school or similar; part of package deal, prize (for what?), "thank you" for donation, motivator, leave-behind for sales, mailing, etc.

3. What product, service, or other reason is the item being used to create action? What action is desired?

4. Is the desired action more likely to occur due to one viewing of the message? Or is there an advantage to many viewings over time?

5. What is the budget per end user? Total budget?

6. How many end users must be served?

7. What is the overall marketing plan regarding the message or the product being promoted?

8. When is the product needed?

9. Are there any items which the client prefers or will dismiss out-of-hand?

Julie Papadis says

*Randy, I think you should put "scissor" cut out lines around this, so one can cut out, laminate and tape to desk, monitor etc. These questions alone
would lift the image of our industry from one of "used car salesman" to "educated marketing diva," in my case, or "educated marketing agent." We would become a key member of their marketing team instead of the "purveyor of woogets, gidgets and more."

Upon asking these questions 90% of the buyers will be impressed that you asked - 10% will be annoyed. But you will gain three huge benefits from asking them:

1. Those who are impressed will now think of you as a marketing resource, not just a swag salesman.

2. You will gain information that will help you with the overall company strategy that might open doors to future opportunities.

3. Most importantly, you will have clear criteria for making excellent recommendations through your own knowledge and experience and by gathering ideas from those whom you trust.

Next: Is Anyone Tracking The Results

More About Kirk (Me)

2006-02-02T14:32:00.000-08:00

Truly there is a time and a place for humility. Then, at other times it is appropriate to lay out ones' credentials. For instance, in applying for college or a job, great care goes into the preparation of the resume. When I send a book offer to a publisher, it goes with a massive marketing proposal that includes every possible superlative about yours truly. Even well known folks accept a flowery introduction before a speech. What am I getting at?

Simply this. I am going to spend an entire month of writing here at "Kirk unCorked" on a single topic. I believe that it will be the most useful information I have ever passed along to any business audience. I want to use the next few paragraphs to convince you that you should not only read every word, but that you should encourage your friends and associates to do so as well.

After graduating from UCLA Law, I began a career in the bicycle industry. In addition to owning companies which manufactured, distributed, sold, and/or advertised various products and brands in that industry, I wrote every book written about bicycle retailing through 1995. I was also the most featured speaker at trade shows for 20 years.

In 1993 Warner Books published my book, "When Friday Isn't Payday." Inc. Magazine referred to it as a 'Business Bible.' Out of over 50 business books published that year, Inc. rated "When Friday Isn't Payday" among the top three. That book was eventually published as one of the first e-books, and was translated into Chinese.

This month Warner will publish my new book, "Running a 21st Century Small Business"

I, with my partner of 25 years, Terry Brown, have now been manufacturing and selling the California Springs Line as a supplier in the advertising specialty industry for 12 years. In the past year I have undertaken to get a full understanding of the industry to better serve you in this blog, and to better equip our company, American Quality Products, to serve you as a customer.

During my career to date, I have brought numerous innovations to the table. Now, the time has come to do so in this industry. My research indicates that many of the ideas that will be presented over the next 4 weeks are leading edge and some are completely new. You will have to be the judge of that. I know with certainty that these ideas used in your business will increase your standing with clients and therefore increase your money-making potential.

How To Get 100 Orders in 100 Minutes

2006-02-01T19:41:00.000-08:00

Most of you saw our offer on Feb. 1, 2006. Some thought we were crazy. Others thought we were exhibiting pure genius. I suspect it was somewhere in the middle. We offered 100 printed bottles 100% free, no strings, to the first 100 distributor salesfolks who placed an order for same.

The e-mail blast went out over Blastmaster at 10:30 California time. The first phone call came in at 10:31. At 12:20 we took our 100th order, just 100 minutes from the start time. We estimate that we talked to 300 distributors sometime on the that day. We are guessing that we will continue to hear from people about this for many weeks.

We expect many of these 100 piece free orders to turn into 500, 1000, 5000, 10,000 and even larger orders in the next 60 days. We expect some of these new advertisers to place additional orders for bottles with our distributors for years into the future. We have already had two requests for large quantity quotes that resulted directly from the promotion.

How can you do this?

1. Like any good marketeer, you must first determine what it is you want to accomplish. Next, how much are you willing to spend? Then, how will you communicate your offer.

2. Let's assume you also want 100 new customers, you're willing to spend $4000 for that result, and you will communicate by e-mail and phone calls.

3. Make phone calls to 10 of your most important suppliers. You want to know if they are interested in working this promotion with you. How many of the item(s) they most want to promote would they like to be in each order. Suggest 100.

4. Your goal is to get them to agree to no set up and 50% EQP on 10 or 20 such orders. And you are shooting for $.40 average net including shipping. If you can get an average commitment of 10 orders from 10 suppliers, you have your 100 sets.

5. Send out your first e-mail on this subject. I would make it a teaser. No real details. "I've been trying to sell you on using our company for your promotions for quite a while. Next week I'll be sending you an e-mail with an offer you will not be able to refuse. Stay tuned."

You may want to do some fun graphics, create some humor around it, or provide some links, p.s.'s, etc. that might cause them to move towards an inquiry or order now.

If you are hoping for 100 orders, I would think this should go to at least 1000 potential customers.

6. On the scheduled day, send out the e-mail making the offer. "We want your business so bad, we are willing to give you 100 items with your logo and other information custom imprinted for absolutely $000.00 Free. No strings. No one free with one. No obligation to ever buy from us again." Show the 10 items that are being offered. Big letters "Your choice."

Of course, there is on catch. "We have only 100 of these available and this e-mail has gone to about 1000 potential customers. The offer is first come first served until we run out. All we need is your official P.O. by fax or e-mail for 100 of one of these items at $0.00 for a grand total of $000.00 to secure your free product."

Simple, straightforward, and has to work. Your budget is only $2000. Only give away 50 orders. You get the idea.

Incrementalism Works

2006-02-01T08:17:00.000-08:00

If you ever tried to tackle a really big job? One of those jobs where the goal looks overwhelming like losing 100 pounds or writing a Book? How about making 1000 cold calls! Surely that would be a great goal to set. There is a big secret to getting these kinds of things done, and with low anxiety.

You have to do it a piece-at-a-time over time. You need to agree in advance how long you will take, and how much you will do each day, week, or month. When I write a book, I estimate the number of pages, lets say 250. I can write 2 pages an hour, so that is 125 hours. I can set aside an hour a day Monday-Thursday and two hours on Saturday. So I have 6 hours per week. So, 22 weeks to write the first draft. It is no longer an elephant in my plate. Just today's quarter pounder.

Want to make a 1000 cold calls. Do it in 250 days (50 weeks X 5 days) at 4 calls per day. Couldn't possibly take more than 1 hour per day to make those 4 calls. If anyone reading this has the slightest doubt that your business would increase substantially as a result of making 1000 cold calls next year, please leave your comments.

Where are the Marketers

2006-01-30T08:08:00.000-08:00

Had a conversation yesterday with a friend who works for a major LA based advertising agency. He has for the last 10 years worked on major auto accounts. His statement about the caliber of the marketers he deals with was amazing. "Most of the marketers are dead enders. They have been put out to pasture in the marketing department, because they failed to make it elsewhere. They don't have any idea what the end game is."

So, take heart. It isn't only the swag buyer at the local small business that doesn't have a clue. He went on to say: "We end up doing the work for them. We help them determine a goal for their ads. We help them come up with ways of measuring results. It isn't our job, but we do it."

Watch this space. Coming later this week will be the beginning of a month long series that will address this issue in totally new ways. Wednesday: The introduction.

This Is Rule #1 at California Springs Line

2006-01-26T18:00:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry to say this is the last Walton Rule

Rule 10: Swim upstream. Go the other way. Ignore the conventional wisdom. If everybody else is doing it one way, there's a good chance you can find your niche by going in exactly the opposite direction. But be prepared for a lot of folks to wave you down and tell you you're headed the wrong way. I guess in all my years, what I heard more often than anything was: a town of less than 50,000 population cannot support a discount store for very long.

My thought - Over the course of the next 4 weeks, you will be seeing the introduction of our new Supplier Plus program. Talk about swimming upstream. Stay on the Line.

Walmart Overhead 18% - Everybody Else 21%

2006-01-24T17:57:00.000-08:00

If you have a 3% advantage on overhead you can slowly destroy your competition.

Rule 9: Control your expenses better than your competition. This is where you can always find the competitive advantage. For twenty-five years running — long before Wal-Mart was known as the nation's largest retailer — we've ranked No. 1 in our industry for the lowest ratio of expenses to sales. You can make a lot of different mistakes and still recover if you run an efficient operation. Or you can be brilliant and still go out of business if you're too inefficient.

My thought - It takes more effort to increase sales than it does to cut costs.

Satisfaction Guaranteed

2006-01-23T17:55:00.000-08:00

No introduction needed.

Rule 8: Exceed your customer's expectations. If you do, they'll come back over and over. Give them what they want — and a little more. Let them know you appreciate them. Make good on all your mistakes, and don't make excuses — apologize. Stand behind everything you do. The two most important words I ever wrote were on that first Wal-Mart sign: "Satisfaction Guaranteed." They're still up there, and they have made all the difference.

My thought - No comment can make it clearer

Sam Walton on Success - Rule #7 - No Ivory Towers

2006-01-18T17:50:00.000-08:00

Wasn't it Walton who ate lunch in the company cafeteria. Great lesson here.

Rule 7: Listen to everyone in your company and figure out ways to get them talking. The folks on the front lines — the ones who actually talk to the customer — are the only ones who really know what's going on out there. You'd better find out what they know. This really is what total quality is all about. To push responsibility down in your organization, and to force good ideas to bubble up within it, you must listen to what your associates are trying to tell you.

My thought - Sam Walton also spent time on the front line. Don't ever stop making calls, taking complaint calls, etc. There are no barriers to talking to me at American Quality Products. 800-245-3737 ext 223.

Rule #6 - Loosen Up?

2006-01-17T17:46:00.000-08:00

We Californian's (even the transplants) have understood this one for a long time. You know, they tilted the country on San Diego and all the loose nuts and flakes slid into SoCal.

Rule 6: Celebrate your success. Find some humor in your failures. Don't take yourself so seriously. Loosen up, and everybody around you will loosen up. Have fun. Show enthusiasm — always. When all else fails, put on a costume and sing a silly song. Then make everybody else sing with you. Don't do a hula on Wall Street. It's been done. Think up your own stunt. All of this is more important, and more fun, than you think, and it really fools competition. "Why should we take those cornballs at Wal-Mart seriously?"

My thought - I resemble this remark. (That's one)

Did Walton Write These Rules Specifically for our Industry?

2006-01-16T17:40:00.000-08:00

Once again, this rule seems to be made for our sales efforts. Maybe this would be a good way to start your very own blog. These rules just shout: "BUY PROMOTIONAL PRODUCTS!"

Rule 5: Appreciate everything your associates do for the business. A paycheck and a stock option will buy one kind of loyalty. But all of us like to be told how much somebody appreciates what we do for them. We like to hear it often, and especially when we have done something we're really proud of. Nothing else can quite substitute for a few well-chosen, well-timed, sincere words of praise. They're absolutely free — and worth a fortune.

My thought - Words are free, but a little $1-$10 gift along with the praise makes a bigger impression.

Walton Said "Information is Power." Rule 4

2006-01-14T17:34:00.000-08:00

Like Rule 3, this should be right up our alley.

Rule 4: Communicate everything you possibly can to your partners. The more they know, the more they'll understand. The more they understand, the more they'll care. Once they care, there's no stopping them. If you don't trust your associates to know what's going on, they'll know you really don't consider them partners. Information is power, and the gain you get from empowering your associates more than offsets the risk of informing your competitors.

My thought - Have you established a blog yet. This can be a way of communicating with your clients and the other members of your office.

Rule #3 for Business Success from WalMart Founder

2006-01-12T16:32:00.000-08:00

We are in the motivation business. How can you use the following as a sales tool?

Rule 3: Motivate your partners. Money and ownership alone aren't enough. Constantly, day by day, think of new and more interesting ways to motivate and challenge your partners. Set high goals, encourage competition, and then keep score. Make bets with outrageous payoffs. If things get stale, cross-pollinate; have managers switch jobs with one another to stay challenged. Keep everybody guessing as to what your next trick is going to be. Don't become too predictable.

My thought - Are the shoemaker's children going without shoes? Are you doing a good job of motivating those who answer to you?

Business Success List - Sam Walton

2006-01-10T16:29:00.000-08:00

Here is second rule, out of ten, offered by WalMart founder, Sam Walton:

Rule 2: Share your profits with all your associates, and treat them as partners. In turn, they will treat you as a partner, and together you will all perform beyond your wildest expectations. Remain a corporation and retain control if you like, but behave as a servant leader in your partnership. Encourage your associates to hold a stake in the company. Offer discounted stock, and grant them stock for their retirement. It's the single best thing we ever did.

My comment - Pay special attention to the "servant leader" part. It may not always be possible to share profits. It is always possible to think bottom up instead of top down.

Sam Walton's 10 Secrets of Success

2006-01-10T16:23:00.000-08:00

We all know who Sam Walton is. He was the fellow who built the largest retail business in the world in on lifetime. So maybe his list of what he thinks it takes to become successful would be impressive. However, this list is so powerful, I think we should contemplate them one day at a time. Do you ever read a self help book straight through and never do any of the things that were recommended, even though they all made so much sense at the time. Me, too!

So, today, just one element of business success from Sam Walton.

Rule 1: Commit to your business. Believe in it more than anybody else. I think I overcame every single one of my personal shortcomings by the sheer passion I brought to my work. I don't know if you're born with this kind of passion, or if you can learn it. But I do know you need it. If you love your work, you'll be out there every day trying to do it the best you possibly can, and pretty soon everybody around will catch the passion from you - like a fever.

My view (humbly) - If you did only this, you will be successful.

Investor's Business Daily's Top 10 Secrets to Success

2006-01-06T17:45:00.000-08:00

Here is one view of the top secrets to success based on polling successful people.

1. HOW YOU THINK, IS EVERYTHING:
Always be positive. Think success, not failure. Beware of a negative environment.

2. DECIDE UPON YOUR TRUE DREAMS AND GOALS:
Write down your specific goals and develop a plan to reach them.

3. TAKE ACTION:
Goals are nothing without action. Don't be afraid to get started now. Just do it.

4. NEVER STOP LEARNING:
Go back to school or read books. Get training and acquire skills.

5. BE PERSISTENT AND WORK HARD:
Success is a marathon, not a sprint. Never give up.

6. LEARN TO ANALYZE DETAILS:
Get all the facts, all the input. Learn from your mistakes.

7. FOCUS YOUR TIME AND MONEY:
Don't let other people or things distract you.

8. DON'T BE AFRAID TO INNOVATE; BE DIFFERENT:
Following the herd is a sure way to mediocrity.

9. DEAL AND COMMUNICATE WITH PEOPLE EFFECTIVELY:
No person is an island. Learn to understand and motivate others.

10. BE HONEST AND DEPENDABLE; TAKE RESPONSIBILITY:
Otherwise, Numbers 1-9 won't matter.

I think I will see if I can find other lists and report back.

Florida Show Coverage at Corporate Logo Blog

2006-01-04T22:19:00.000-08:00

Adam Wright at Corporate Logo has a new blog. Right now he is covering the Florida ASI show. Check it out at http://www.corportatelogo.com. Lots of other good stuff there, too.

Would You Like A Free Copy of My New Book

2006-01-04T22:12:00.000-08:00

Warner is releasing my new book later this month. I have about 25 copies that I can give away. The only catch is that I need reviews. Not long ones. Basically, I need reviews at Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and for use in my blogs and other promotional activities. If you are interested, call me at 800-245-3737 ext 223, or send me an e-mail at Randy_Kirk@CaliforniaSprings.com.

Top 50 Gadgets of Last 50 Years

2006-01-04T21:25:00.000-08:00

PC World has listed their picks for the gadgets that changed everything. You can see their list here.

The limitation on their list was that it had to be a gadget that PC World would have written about.

What about the most important breakthrough products of any kind in last 50 years.

#1. E-mail
#2. WWW
#3. Ball Point Pens
#4. Commercial jets
#5. Personal computers
#6. Digital Cameras
#7. Electronic Games
#8. Home washers, dryers
#9. Microwave ovens
#10. Copiers (commercial and consumer)
#11. Cell Phones
#12. Sonograms
#13. Medical and pharmacological too numerous to list
#14. Wireless technology
#15. Freeways
#16. Containerization of shipping
#17. Overnight shipping
#18. Credit/Debit cards
#19. Online banking and bill paying
#20. Bicycle Water Bottles

Keep Competition Out

2006-01-04T14:57:00.000-08:00

We've all been in situations where we have worked hard to land a client. We've had to sharp shoot the price, work overtime on proposals and art ideas, but at long last we have earned our spot. Two months or a year later it is time for the repeat order. Now the client wants to shop.

Time honored methods of dealing with this problem include charm, persuasion, in-kind services (marketing, special features for free), or volume rebates and such. Here is a really unique approach you can add to add to your weapon belt. Custom molding. I would venture to say that several or even quite a number of the companies that you already do business with have a way to make the product "custom." The Caliifornia Springs Line has the ability to change the shape of the bottle, emboss or deboss one or more surfaces, or change the information in the "grip ring." Click here to see an example. These mold changes cost from $1500 - $5000. This cost can be paid for separately by the client, in which case he owns the mold. Or you can include the cost in the piece cost in which case, you can say that you own the mold. Whichever way you do it, generally it locks in the client to you as supplier. The customer will assume that he would have to pay for a new mold change if he were to go with another distributor.

We have seen this approach result in end users staying with our distributors for four or five years or even longer, when they might have shopped the project. While I use our product as an example, others of your factories can do the same thing.

Most Unique Promotional Products of 2005

2006-01-03T21:52:00.000-08:00

Have you seen this study. I think you'll find it amusing and maybe even helpful.

THE GIFT THAT KEEPS THEM GUESSING
Advertising and Marketing Executives Surveyed Reveal Most Unusual Premium Items

MENLO PARK, CA -- We've all received quirky holiday gifts from friends and family -- but they're not the only ones who get creative in their giving. Some companies have presented premium items to current and prospective customers that are innovative, if not downright unusual. The Creative Group, a specialized staffing service providing marketing, advertising, creative and web professionals on a project basis, recently asked 250 U.S. advertising and marketing executives to describe the most distinctive premiums they've heard of a firm giving.

Those surveyed were asked, "What is the most unusual or unique premium item you've ever heard of a business distributing?" Here are some of their responses:
"Live snakes"
"Rocks"
"Umbrellas with holes in them"
"Candles that smelled like burning rubber"

"Many companies provide unique promotional items to reinforce their brands and encourage the use of their services or products," said Tracey Turner, executive director of The Creative Group. "Creative professionals, especially, enjoy receiving inventive premiums. The key is to make them memorable and useful. People should want to keep them."

These next items certainly fit into the "useful" category:
"Reading glasses"
"Sledge hammers"
"Rakes"
"Pillows"
"Thermometers"

The following premiums appear decidedly less helpful:
"Toy outhouses"
"Bricks"
"Plastic cockroaches"
"Pigeons"
"Chicken wishbone paperweights"
"Lab coats"
"Miniature airline seats"

Then there were those items that truly fit the "premium" bill:
"Rolex watches"
"A free flight on a private jet"
"Harley-Davidson motorcycles"
"A $2,000 shopping spree"
"Golf lessons"

Some organizations tried to win business by tempting the taste buds:
"Treasure chests of spices"
"Boxes of marshmallow Peeps"
"PEZ candy"
"Ice-cream sandwiches"

One company created a buzz with its offering:

"They sent a can of bees."

And, finally, there was the firm whose premium item went over with a bang:

"We received a cannon."

The survey was developed by The Creative Group and conducted by an independent research firm. It includes 250 responses -- 125 from advertising executives among the nation's 1,000 largest advertising agencies and 125 from senior marketing executives among the nation's 1,000 largest companies. The Creative Group has offices in major markets across the United States and in Canada and offers online job search services at www.creativegroup.com.

One List of Best Business Books of 2005

2005-12-18T21:46:00.000-08:00

I haven't read any of the books on this list, so have no opinion. However, for those who are looking for business books and would appreciate a solid opinion from a solid source go here

The best business book of 2006 will be published in a few weeks. Running a 21st Century Small Business, by ME is due to come of the presses at Warner Books in mid January. I am looking for reviewers and will send a preview copy to anyone who is willing to write a review. The reviews will appear on various blogs, will need to be put up at Amazon and other books sites, and may be used for other purposes. Send me an e-mail or call if intersted. Randy_Kirk@californiasprings.com 800.245.3737 ext 223

The Lion, The Donkey, and the Fox

2005-12-15T08:13:00.000-08:00

No, this is not the next book in the Chronicles of Narnia. However, as the story goes, these three characters were doing some rabbit hunting. After a very successful day, the lion asked the donkey if he would divide up the spoils among the three great hunters.

The donkey did his best to evenly divide things and proudly showed the lion the three piles of dead rabbits. The lion summarily killed the donkey, and threw his carcass onto one of the piles.

The lion then called the fox over and asked him if he would be so kind as to divide up the days kill. After a while the fox invited the lion over to examine his work. Here was a giant pile of rabbits with the donkey on top. The fox had one scraggly rabbit for himself.

Seeing this, the lion asked how he had become so good at counting. The fox replied: "I learned my skills from the donkey."

This little story is an object lesson in the importance of learning from those who have actually had experience. My partner has had 40 years of experience selling, marketing, and advertising products in at least 15 different markets. I have now put in 35 years in about 25 markets. We stand ready to assist you in any way we can to maximize your efforts with your clients. Call 800-245-3737. Ext 222 for Terry or 223 for me.

Google Yourself - Update

2005-12-14T08:04:00.000-08:00

In yesterday's e-mail, I received this:

As a habit I Google just about everyone I encounter in daily or working life. While doing your search (nice job on getting a top 5 ranking with a relatively common name)

In a phone conversation earlier this month with a new business acquaintance, he asked:
"Are you the Randy Kirk that wrote the book RUNNING A 21st CENTURY SMALL BUSINESS?" I was amazed that he knew this, since that book won't even be available until January, 2006.

Google is the new "Who's Who." If you are doing business, some of your clients are going to want to know if you have any credentials. One of the fastest ways to move your own name up the list on Google is to create and post to your own blog. There are numerous articles in the archives of this blog that can get you started with your own site. You can also use the search feature.

Fire Your Customer?

2005-12-13T16:43:00.000-08:00

For long time readers you will recognize this next post. However, in the past 4 days, two speakers whom I respect have made this point. Therefore I think it bears repeating. For some of you it will be the first time.

When you've been around the block as often as I have, it takes quite a lot to really change a major part of your thinking. However, I belong to a group called C12, which is made up of Christian CEO's who discuss ways to make their business better and to act more Christian as leaders. In one of our meetings we were discussing stewardship. The basic thrust of stewardship is to make sure you are wise in the use of your assets.

After your personal attributes like sparkling personality, devastating good looks, and killer drive, your number one asset is your customer list. And for my entire business career up to that day, it was all about adding to that list. Once, when running a wholesales business, we didn't even do credit checking for the first two years. Every new customer received automatic open account.

Several years ago some wisdom started to creep in. The old 80/20 rule suggested that 80% of my business was going to come from 20% of my customers. Therefore I needed to give them 80% of the attention. It never quite works out that way, but it did make me rethink a bit.

Then there were those admonitions about current customers being a less expensive source of new business than prospects. That seemed pretty wise, but it didn't slow down my voracious appetite for adding to the customer base.

What did change me was this stewardship thing. What was the real cost of my current customers? Were they paying their way? Some customers only buy promotionally priced items. Do they buy enough of the low margin stuff to justify the expense of their account? Some customers take up twice as much operator time per order as other customers. There are those who never have and never will buy more than the minimum. How much time can I devote to them? AND, the big one, some customers don't pay on time, and there is a real cost of funds and collections that must be taken into account.

Armed with this new info, I looked at my customer list with new eyes. Sure, I have some personal friendships that keep me selling somebody and spending more time than their account justifies. I have customers who have been late paying for 10 years, and I still sell them. But, if I start adding up margins + time + payment history, and the answer is a negative number, then it may be time to just pull the plug.

Just to make sure that you believe my testimony, we pulled the plug on $400,000 per year when we dropped Target and K Mart. It just didn't add up.

What Did You Sell This Time Last Year

2005-12-12T12:48:00.000-08:00

I subscribe to about 1000 marketing, selling, business, e-mail, web, and other kinds of newsletters. Ok, I'm also known as something of an exaggerator.

In any case, sometimes they contain ideas that are quite worthy of repeating. The latest such instance was a story about one of our own, Omaha Steaks. They have, or at least had, a practice of sending out an annual listing of their customer's usage from the prior year. In other words, every time I might use Omaha Steaks to thank someone, reward someone, or gift someone, they would show up on this list.

Of course, some of these things repeat. Some kinds of promotions and events are the same every year. With this list in hand, I could refer to it all year long to make decisions about gifts, rewards, or a thank you in 2006.

We are going to start sending out reminders to our customers (promotional products distributors and their sales professionals.) We'll send them out about a month ahead. If you aren't already doing this for your customer .....

VOTE! NEW NAME CONTEST!

2005-12-09T11:26:00.000-08:00

There were well over 100 entries to the Name That Blog Contest. We want to give all of you regular visitors a chance to participate. First timers can vote also. The vote will not be conclusive, it will be a part of the equation. Actually, calling it an equation is way too scientific for what we are doing. Here are the top ten names based on the feelings of our 5 judges thus far.

Promotional Products Think Tank

Promo Coffee Talk

Ideas That Sell

Tips of the Trade

Selling Matters

Business Builder's Blog

Let's talk pro...

Promo Chat

Promotional Product Buzz

Kirk Uncorked

You can vote by e-mail at Randy_Kirk@CaliforniaSprings.com or by clicking on the comment button and posting your opinion. Thanks for your help. The winner will be announced in next Friday's blast and post.

Are You Blogging Yet?

2005-12-08T12:38:00.000-08:00

Have you created a blog yet? You should really do so. It will take you a few minutes to create one, a few hours to get the hang of it, and only a couple of hours per week to keep it current. It can pay off really big in the long run. Oh, and if nothing else, it is a great place to show off your grandkids.

Want Something Really New To Show Your Clients

2005-12-07T12:34:00.000-08:00

I love new stuff. I love conceptualizing, designing, developing, packaging, marketing, and following the sales of new products. I also love presenting new things. My guess is that you do, too. In fact, you likely think you should have two or three new ideas every time you walk into a client's office.

I know for a fact that we have things in our catalog that you have never seen, much less shown your customers. We send random samples totally free with no freight charge. (Bags and polycarb bottles may require payment.) We will do spec bottles for free if the opportunity is a good one.

Take 5 minutes and check out our website at http://www.CaliforniaSprings.com. You will see that we do things many others can't. Who else has a baby bottle that you can offer in 50 colors and print in 4 colors? Who else offers a 9 ounce bottle? And no one else has a crystal clear 32 ounce bottle for only $1.79 (c)?

To those who are paying close attention, you are correct, this is a re-run. But it is re-run season.

Why Future Gaze

2005-12-01T16:38:00.000-08:00

My wife can't quite figure out why I spend so much time reading newspapers, web sites, and watching TV news. I explain that I do it for business reasons, but I think if you asked her, she'd say she thinks I do it for fun.

Sure, I like politics, world affairs, and the study of trends. But I look back on so many mistakes made by those who should have known better. How is it possible that we don't have enough rooms or books in some of our schools. It wasn't that hard to look at government stats and see the echo baby boom coming years before it hit. At 1,000,000 kids PER YEAR extra, almost 25%, it should have been a slam dunk to plan for that pig as it went through he python.

With that said, check out this report in the news last week.

Manufacturers Report Worker Shortage
# Factories are struggling to find enough qualified employees after cutting 3.4 million jobs since 1998, a trade group says.

From Reuters

WHINGTON — More than 80% of U.S. manufacturers say they cannot find enough qualified workers to meet customer demands, according to an industry study released Tuesday.

After losing 3.4 million factory jobs since 1998, employers are struggling to find enough high-skilled machinists, technicians and engineers to keep production lines humming, the National Assn. of Manufacturers said.

Of more than 800 manufacturers surveyed, 13% reported a severe shortage of qualified workers and 68% said they experienced a moderate shortage.

"The survey exposes a widening gap between the dwindling supply of skilled workers in America and the growing technical demands of the modern manufacturing workplace," said association President John Engler.

The report, released by the association, the Manufacturing Institute and Deloitte Consulting, found 83% of manufacturers were struggling to serve customers because there were not enough qualified workers.

Some struggled to produce enough to meet customer demand, whereas others could not meet targets for productivity or customer service.

The exodus of baby boomers from the U.S. workforce, a negative stereotype of manufacturing and a drop in the number of American students pursuing technical or engineering degrees are fueling the problem, Engler said.

The news Monday that General Motors Corp. would be cutting 30,000 jobs does not help the industry's image, but Engler said the United States remained a manufacturing powerhouse — especially in innovative and high value-added production.

Lowering costs, as foreign automakers have managed to do, will ensure even labor-intensive products can be built here, he said.

"There will be a lot of people building cars in America for a long time," Engler said.

When manufacturers struggle to find enough qualified workers, Jeffrey Owens, president of Peoria, Ill.-based Advanced Technology Services, helps fill the gap.

"It's a pretty significant problem," said Owens, whose 1,500 workers provide factory maintenance for heavy machinery maker Caterpillar Inc. and industrial and aerospace conglomerate Honeywell International Inc., among others.

"A lot of people are retiring who are extremely talented, good people, and there's nobody coming in behind them…. The younger generation doesn't consider manufacturing a viable career alternative," Owens said.

Although the image of backbreaking labor in steel plants or on assembly lines may be what most Americans still think of when they imagine factory work, Owens said the modern workplace was often more about computers.

"You really use your brain a lot more than you use your back," he said. "There are some guys that can really work magic with the machinery to keep it running. Sometimes it's more of an art than a science."

Look at all the amazing information in that article with regard to potential business for you. Use of promotionals for recruitment, retention, and job skills training. Or how about the choice of who you call on for future business. How hard should you look at manufacturing companies whose product lines are easily sourced in other countries?

So, if you ever happen to meet my bride of 19 years, tell her I really do have business reasons to listen to talk radio.

Baby Boom Wealth Transfer

2005-11-28T14:30:00.000-08:00

The baby boom’s leading edge is turning 60 this year. That means roughly speaking, 1,000,000 more adults will turn 60 each year than has been the case prior to the baby boom. Now, of course, this has been true of this age group for 60 years. They have been impacting schools, politics, consumer spending, and much more as they have moved through the age groups like a pig in a python.

One need not be a prophet to predict that the coming dramatic increase in us old people will result in great business opportunities in health care, leisure living, and golf clubs. However, there is a little talked about impact that may be the biggest headline of all.

The baby boom’s parents are just about to transfer the biggest stack of wealth in the history of the world to their kids. With the USA’s current average life expectancy at 79 or so, at least one parent of most baby boomers are still alive and trying like crazy to spend their money on themselves.

What will be the impact of this wealth transfer to this huge population bulge. Will they be even more hedonistic than now, lavishly spending the money on themselves? Will they become philanthropic, believing that they can secure a place in heaven by spending some of their money on others less fortunate? Will they merely accumulate more bucks in preparation for handing down an even greater largess to the smaller X gen that follows?

How the boomers deal with this mountain of dough will have enormous impact on the US and World economy over the next 10 years. Getting a handle on that trend and its effects may greatly impact your own personal fortune. What do you think the effect will be? How will this effect the use of promotional products?

ET - Phone Home - Aliens Potential New Market?

2005-11-25T10:14:00.000-08:00

If the Canadians are right, intelligent life forms may be visiting earth right now.

On September 25, 2005, in a startling speech at the University of Toronto that caught the attention of mainstream newspapers and magazines, Paul Hellyer, Canada’s Defence Minister from 1963-67 under Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Prime Minister Lester Pearson, publicly stated: "UFOs, are as real as the airplanes that fly over your head."

Mr. Hellyer went on to say, "I'm so concerned about what the consequences might be of starting an intergalactic war, that I just think I had to say something."

Hellyer revealed, "The secrecy involved in all matters pertaining to the Roswell incident was unparalled. The classification was, from the outset, above top secret, so the vast majority of U.S. officials and politicians, let alone a mere allied minister of defence, were never in-the-loop."

Hellyer warned, "The United States military are preparing weapons which could be used against the aliens, and they could get us into an intergalactic war without us ever having any warning. He stated, "The Bush administration has finally agreed to let the military build a forward base on the moon, which will put them in a better position to keep track of the goings and comings of the visitors from space, and to shoot at them, if they so decide."

Marketing opportunities abound. If they are really intelligent, they will realize that the way to gain advantage in America is through the use of incentives. Sports Bottles come to mind.

Search Hint for Promotional Products

2005-11-19T17:55:00.000-08:00

Most of you use ESP, Sage, or other industry search methods to find products. However, from what I understand, maybe 25% of the total searches are through internet search engines. Of course, Google gets most of that.

I have been playing with an idea for a while that I can now pass on to you. If you are unclear as to the nature of the product you are looking for, and you want to speed up the process a bit, use google "images."

For example, type "Imprinted Sports Bottles" into your Google Search tool. This will give you the normal list. California Springs should show up about 5th on the page. Now, at the top of the page you'll see the other choices of search methods. Click on "images." Now you will see all kinds of pictures of imprinted sports bottles as they are shown on various web pages. You will see a couple of ours on the first page, another on the second page, and so on.

Pretty neat, huh?

Tooooooo Many Choices

2005-11-17T16:35:00.000-08:00

As mentioned earlier, we are doing some remodeling at the Kirk house. Storage in the garage, built ins for the den, all new kitchen, new sunroom on the back, exterior paint, carpet. No, it hasn't been such a great year! We refinanced. : )

Anyway, the point is this. The only really hard part of all this change was the monumental amount of choices. The decision for a kitchen faucet was more difficult and took longer than creating and introducing a new product line. Home depot must have 200 faucets alone. That doesn't count what you find on line. I'm exhausted just recalling it.

I can tell you, Mrs. Kirk was pretty stressed by all the choices, too. First, you review, then you select, then you change your mind, then ........no matter what your choice, you second guess yourself and suffer buyers remorse.

THE LESSON

Limit the choices you give your client. Do the culling for them. Bring them the best of the lot. Let them be the one to say, "I need to see it in red or bigger or with bells on." Let them be the one to say, "I don't like any of those ideas, what else do you have." I think you will be amazed by how frequently they will be very pleased to have their choices reduced to a reasonable number.

Prognostication - Future Gazing - Naval Contemplation

2005-11-15T15:43:00.000-08:00

Call it what you will, from time-to-time I will provide my own special take on what the future holds. I promise not to rehash anybody else's stuff. This will all be original, and probably way off base. Here's the first one.

NOBODY WILL LEAVE THEIR HOUSE ANYMORE

According to Wired Magazine, Americans now live in twice as much square footage per person as the did 50 years ago. This last month saw the introduction of 4 new ways to watch TV. Movie attendance is down. Home delivery of Pizza and Chop Suey is up.

I've been in the bicycle industry for 34 years. Parents aren't buying bikes for kids anymore. They're buying electronic games.

My wife and I like to go out, just the two of us, every Friday night. Choices, even in LA, are: restaurant, movie, play. She says to me last Friday: "Why don't we just do on demand using our 85" TV with theatre equal surround sound. (I have been accused of exaggeration once or twice.) But, you can now buy a projector for $2500 that will pretty much cover your wall with fantastic clarity and depth. Sound systems for under $1000 are phenomenal. And you don't have to worry about cell phones going off or folks talking through the whole thing.

If the TV and the game console don't have it, the computer does. By two years from now, it will all be the same thing anyway.

SO! Question? How will folks never leaving their house effect our business.

$150 Per Hour Consultant - Free to First __ Who Call In

2005-11-11T14:20:00.000-08:00

I won't bore you with the resume' of the consultants who are standing by ready to assist you for free. However, $150 per hour would be a cheap rate for either of these two fellows. There is no obligation, nor will either of these experienced sales and marketing types try to talk you into more hours on a paid basis. In fact, they will never ask you to pay a nickel for their advice.

You've no doubt guessed that these two marketing gurus are my partner, Terry Brown, and your's truly. We will be more than happy to talk about any aspect of your business or sales quandaries. We'll even pay for the call 800-245-3737 ext 223 for me and 222 for Terry.

You can judge my expertise for yourself by reviewing my writing. I can tell you that in 35 years in business I have not met a better salesman than Terry. He can also be very helpful in marketing, art, and some aspects of computer art. You know his work. Our catalog, web pages, and e-mail blasts are all fundamentally his.

Why would we give away our time? Just cause we like you!! Sure, maybe you'll buy a bottle or two from us someday.

Marketing Lesson 101

2005-11-10T15:37:00.000-08:00

I know there is a marketing lesson here, but I can't quite figure out what it is. This sculpture sold for $23.8 Million. At auction, no less. I'm not some old fuddy duddy who doesn't appreciate modern art or things that are unusual. My favorite artists include Escher.

I know there are some outstanding marketers who are reading this blog. Help me out here. Why? If we can get the secret, maybe we can replicate it.

Does Google Know Who You Are?

2005-11-10T15:36:00.000-08:00

Go ahead. Put your name in the Google search engine. Do you show up in the top ten? Top 50? Top 100? Now try my name, Randy Kirk. Do you think it would help your business to have your name at the top of the list in Google?

As important as it is today, I think it will be huge in the future. As the internet becomes more and more complex, you are going to want a "personal portal" where you can send folks that will get them to all of your activity. If you can say: "just Google my name" you have created that portal for free.

Well, not totally free. In order to have your name recognised by Google, your name needs to appear on the web. One of my friends has a name that is much more common than mine. Mike or Michael Williams. But if you Google his name, using either first name, he is in the top three. He has only one blog (a very good one), but he also paid for Google advertising in the right column for a while. Doesn't cost much, because no one is competing for that keyword.

The other aspect that isn't free is the time spent on the blog. However, if you have a website, you can put names on that. You can also get listed on association websites. If you send out PR releases for web news groups, and they print your PR release, it will help move your name up the list. You can also participate in forums. Note that one of the reasons my name is seen in the top listings is from participating in a forum.

Get busy. You may be shocked at how many others have your same name. Start building your very personal brand now. In 2006, I'll be reporting on a new aspect of communication and selling that will make this branding even more important.

Testimonials - Who? When? What? Where? How?

2005-11-08T15:20:00.000-08:00

The last few weeks have seen quite a few testimonials from friends of this site. I've used some of them in an article a while back. Some are listed in the right column. And some will show up in the future. It is really hard to beat a testimonial for getting customers to get on board or stay on board.

If you go here you can read an article that is at least as good as what I'm going to say about testimonials below. But my post is shorter.

WHO?

Don't be bashful. Ask any existing customer for a favor. "Please help me. Would you mind writing a quick note about our relationship that I can share with prospects?"

WHEN?

Every day wouldn't be too often. The more of these you can amass, the more really good ones you can use for various purposes.

WHAT?

Sometimes you'll want to help the customer along somewhat with what you'd like them to say. Fast, courteous, creative, thinks outside the box. Make a list. Even create a few short sentences or paragraphs.

Where?

Use it in mailing pieces, on your website, in e-mails (even as part of your signature), as a handout when making a sales call or at a trade show.

How?

Make the collection of testimonials one more thing in your list of monthly goals. I want to generate $50,000 in volume, make 40 sales calls, send out 500 mailing pieces, and get 5 new testimonials.

Numbers Promotional Products Sales Professionals Should Know

2005-11-07T15:37:00.000-08:00

Want to make $100,000 gross next year? Do you know what it would take to do that?

$667,000 in sales @ 30% average margin and 50-50 commission split is $100,000.

Therefore you need average sales of just $55,555 per month.

That would work out to about $2600 per day.

Of course, we all take vacations, holidays, sick days and such. Maybe, to be sure, we'll make it $3000 per day.

That is a really good way to look at it. But here is another way.

1. One major order per year $100,000 or more
2. Two really good orders per year $50,000 or more
3. 5 good orders per year of $20,000 or more - one every other month
4. 10 nice orders per year of $10,000 or more - one per month
5. 20 decent orders per year of $5000 or more - two per month
6. 50 ok orders of $2000 or more - less than one per week
7. 200 orders of $300 or more - less than one per day

That is barely more than 1 order per day. 290 per year.

Just thought you might like to know.

Consequences of Boring Correspondence

2005-11-03T15:39:00.000-08:00

Time to send your customer list another mailing or e-mailing or faxing? It may be the time because:

A. You send one out at this time every month (week, quarter)
B. You haven't done one in a while, and you need the business
C. You've never done one and it seems like a good idea
D. The person on staff who usually does it is out, and you have to do it.

Whatever your reason for sending out a mass correspondence, even if it is an expected and highly anticipated piece, don't send it if its boring.

Don't Get Junked

Because what you are sending out is generally seen as a sales piece, even if like my blasts to you there is non-commercial content, you are always on the thin line of being discarded. If you aren't in the mood, or have nothing interesting to say, but you go ahead and send some lukewarm blah anyway, you have further tipped the scale with regard to your next piece. The second time is death. The third strike, you're out.

This can also be true even if your material is pretty smart and pithy, but too narrow to appeal to everyone on the list. You'll note that this blog moves around from things about selling to marketing to web sites to e-mails to even personal stuff. That is intentional. You might not be interested in the first post on the page, but when you scroll down, hopefully you'll find one or two articles that keep you coming back.

Make it Delightful

Conclusion. Everything you write to your customer should be written with one question in your mind: "Is this delightful?" Don't always count on your own stuff being great when there is so much material on the internet available for outstanding content.

P.S. If I write something really boring, please note in the comment section. : )

Sold Any California Springs Products Lately?

2005-11-01T15:55:00.000-08:00

Business here at American Quality Products is actually pretty good for this time of year. However, we have capacity for a bit over 30,000 bottles per day, and right now we are only making about half that. You could make your customer, your family, and me very happy if you would write a nice 1000 bottle order today. It would be win-win-win!

If you have not yet visited our very, ultra, uber, cool website, you really should.

Blog Advice - Top Ten Mistakes

2005-10-31T19:05:00.000-08:00

Blogging rule? I thought you just signed up with Blogger and start writing. I hope nothing that I've said previously about blogging left you with this idea. It is easy to get started, but like anything else worth doing, it takes time, research and thought to get it as right as possible. I'll keep directing you to articles and blogs that will help you.

For a five minute tutorial that just provided me with the most quality information per minute in my blogging career visit Jakob Nielsen's Alert Box.

Here is #1 as a sample

1. No Author Biographies
Unless you're a business blog, you probably don't need a full-fledged "about us" section the way a corporate site does. That said, the basic rationale for "about us" translates directly into the need for an "about me" page on a weblog: users want to know who they're dealing with.

It's a simple matter of trust. Anonymous writings have less credence than something that's signed. And, unless a person's extraordinarily famous, it's not enough to simply say that Joe Blogger writes the content. Readers want to know more about Joe. Does he have any credentials or experience in the field he's commenting on? (Even if you don't have formal credentials, readers will trust you more if you're honest about that fact, set forth your informal experience, and explain the reason for your enthusiasm.)

For our purposes, since we are business blogs, our "about us" is even more important. Make it very personal. I'm going to change my right away.

There are 9 more here plus all the other advice on websites and blogs FREE.

A Personal Brand - Part II

2005-10-31T15:47:00.000-08:00

In Friday's post, we discussed the importance of having a personal brand, and that the first step was to create a slogan that provided your customer with a view of how you were going to help them deliver advertising to their clients.

Now this slogan needs to become part of the culture, and every aspect of your business should wrap itself around that branding. Years ago, when we only served the bicycle industry, we came up with the slogan "Enhancing the Bicycling Experience." Each new product needed to somehow make Bicycling more fun, less hassle, faster, easier. You get the idea.

Our sales presentations, catalogs, POS materials, were all produced with the slogan in mind.

If your new slogan were to be a take of on ours, it could be "Enhancing Your Brand." Your opening pitch to a new client could be "Your company is not about your latest product or service, it is really about your brand. The value is not set by a potential buyer based on the ability of the company to sell or make or deliver. The value is in the perceived worth of the brand. My job is to help you build that brand. While we're at it, sales and profits will also improve as you use promotional products strategically."

The brochure you leave, the website you build, the e-mails you send, and the blog posts you write should all point back to this idea.

Now, when the client begins to discuss the next promotion, or the repeat of one they've done for years, you have the opportunity to become a critical resource for them, by pointing out how to make minor or major changes in the plan that will enhance the brand.

A Personal Brand

2005-10-27T22:17:00.000-07:00

As you may recall, I've been listening to TOP SECRET. And I have been learning a lot. Now, if I'm learning a lot, and I've been in the sales and marketing biz for 3 or 4 decades, imagine what YOU might learn if you're a bit shorter in the tooth than me. So spend a few dollars and buy the system.

But that wasn't what I was planning to talk about. David Blaise, author of the Top Secret Method, points out over and over again, that we are NOT in the product business. Rather we are in the business of getting a message to our customer's customer. We sell space on products to do that.

If we agree that we sell space for messages, how come our business cards and websites make it appear like we are really selling things? Why are we slaves to the newest thing, instead of creative ways to make our sales vehicles more effective? Most important of all for the purposes of this post, does our personal branding reflect this POV? I suspect not. And at this very moment, even California Springs Line has missed this point.

We know that we are providing an advertising vehicle, and you can find evidence of that throughout our website and our catalog. However, you won't notice it in our branding. That is now in the process of being changed. Watch for the difference SOON!

How can you reestablish your distributorship or your rep business in a way that will clearly indicate what business you are in. The first step would be to change your company or personal slogan. Ours is "Yes! We Can!" I think "Yes! We Can!" is something you want to hear from a supplier, but it doesn't suggest that our company in any way provides good ways to get action out of end users.

What if our slogan was "Products That Move People?" Or possibly "Sellers of Moving Billboards?" If you will spend even 15 or 20 minutes thinking about it, I'll bet you come up with several ideas for a slogan that would identify the SPECIAL UNIQUE THING that you or your company brings to the client.

What Next? You'll have to wait until Monday for that.

Suppliers Who Offer More

2005-10-26T11:36:00.000-07:00

This supplier offers a price grid on their web page, so that you can check out what is available by quantity by price.

This supplier offers a list of recommended markets for their products from A - Z

This supplier offers over 50 color choices

This supplier can turn around huge rush orders within days

This supplier has a website that is so easy to use that you can bring your customer to the website and check out ideas with them by phone.

Can you guess who this post is referring to? Check out the links if you're not sure.

WEBSITE - FreePromoTips.com

2005-10-25T08:20:00.000-07:00

I received an e-mail the other day from a reader who wondered how I have time to write posts for this blog and still do my day job. I don't. And as a result I am way behind in bringing you some of those resources I promised a couple of weeks ago.

An outstanding resource which is completely free and created by a fellow distributor is FreePromoTips.com. I'm pretty sure Jeffrey Solomon (a pretty suspect last name for a fellow who is so serious about his faith that it takes up a major page on his website) expects to make a dollar or two with FreePromoTips.com, but it comes off like a labor of love.

He also sends out an e-mail, and this month's lead story follows:

DO SOMETHING FOR KIDS IN NEED! By the time the holidays come, Hurricane victims will be forgotten. There will still be many people in need. ESPECIALLY KIDS! The Promotional Products Mentoring Network (PPMN), in conjunction with the Junior League of Mobile, Alabama are helping these kids! Click here for details on how you can participate. It's easy! Let's make their holidays brighter!

If you are not receiving the FreePromoTips.com e-mail, you can sign up for it on his site by going here.

A Blog by Any Other Name Would Still . . . .

2005-10-24T10:43:00.000-07:00

The contest is in high gear. We have had quite a number of entries. Some of them are very, very good. And some aren't. We would love to receive some more, and I know there are many very creative souls out there who should be putting their ideas in the hat. Send those ideas to my email: Randy_Kirk@CaliforniaSprings.com before Veteran's Day.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about go to the contest post here.

How to Sell the Majors

2005-10-19T14:13:00.000-07:00

How to Sell the Majors

Every sales professional who is interested in earning a substantial living salivates at the idea of landing the "big account."
For most of those same salesfolks, however, the idea of making that call is about as appealing as eating crushed glass. The best part of such a fear on the part of most means that the few who are willing to take the risk of rejection at the top levels have fewer competitors.

I first learned this concept in high school. I wasn't the prettiest face on campus, didn't letter in any sports, and weighed a wopping 105 pounds at 5'10" when I graduated. Somehow, though, I was able to date all the most prized young women. As I reviewed this unlikely combination, I could see that most of my male friends didn't even have the nerve to approach the top prospects.

So, lesson one - Make the call. The worst thing they can say is, "no." But they can't say, "yes" until you make an offer.

LESSON TWO

Be prepared. Know your stuff, and review sales motivational literature before a major call. This buyer is used to hearing from people who are professional. Make sure you know obvious things about the company, and maybe hit the internet in advance to learn some less obvious things. Be certain to ascertain the need. Do not just jump in with product ideas or details of how you can offer better service or price or terms or whatever. Find out what this buyer needs that he isn't getting or may not have even thought about before you arrived.

Buyers in big companies are more likely to be interested in their job track than in the company. Be sure as you listen to the needs, you take into consideration how this will make him look good. How will you save him time? Who, exactly, will be interested in his success or failure on this project?

LESSON THREE

Make sure that your company is prepared to deal at this level. Are there demands and requirements that are beyond the scope of your company's infrastructure? Can you handle the financing? Will they require so much of your time that you will mishandle your smaller accounts? Have you established a solid base of Suppliers who you can count on for quality, on time delivery, and rushes.

LESSON FOUR

Do you have a large enough base of business to be able to not be dependent on a single account. When we first opened our business, we decided we would not go after any majors until we had $1,000,000 in sales from solid small and medium sized accounts. From that point forward, we also have tried to limit our exposure from any one account to 10% of our total business. That way, if they change buyers, go out of business, or have a very bad year, we still have 90% of our business coming in strong.

Promotional Products Niches

2005-10-18T21:44:00.000-07:00

Everyone in the PP business has the same suppliers available, and therefore the same list of products to offer their customers. So how does a sales professional or a distributor differentiate themselves from others. We discussed price in the last post on this subject. Not a good choice in my mind, at least not for the long term. Here are a few others:

1. Terms - It is common in this industry to require payment in advance on the first order and deposits on some other orders. A niche would be to give everyone open account without any credit check at all. Just look the client square in the eye and say "I'll find you if you don't pay," with a crooked grin. Risky. Sure, but count it as a promotional cost. Like retailers who put their product display hooks, there will be losses, but the losses will be offset by the potential gains. Like the price approach, this should be used in a limited way to gain share, and then dropped.

2. Hours - Make yourself available any time of the day or night. Tell the client that it is ok to call at 10:00 p.m. or 3:00 a.m. if there is an issue. Give them home phone, e-mail, cell phone, etc. It is unlikely that many if any will abuse this. It just makes you different.

3. Rush - Offer same day delivery at no extra charge. Sure, you will be charged extra. Yes, it will cut your margins. It is designed to build biz, and then be taken away later...quietly. Be sure that you have a stable of dependable same day suppliers in the key product categories.

4. Resume' - Print up a resume' just like the one you might use to get a job. Include the opening paragraph: "Seeking opportunity to help build sales with an growth oriented company. Hoping to find long term position where I can grow with the company." Then list education and employment history followed by Case Histories with clients you've worked with.

Present the resume at your first meeting, and make it clear that you aren't kidding. You are truly desirous of becoming the head of their promotions department, and intend to bring the sum total of your talent, experience, and personal involvement to insure the success of their promotional efforts. Then do it. This, unlike the others is a much longer term niche. But even this doesn't last forever with $1000 per year clients. Your time must be allocated appropriately to the profit opportunity.

I could go on offering ideas for niches. Maybe you have created one that you'd be willing to share. Just hit the comment button below and help your fellow reps.

NICHE Yourself

2005-10-17T15:23:00.000-07:00

Sounds kind of perverse, doesn't it? But you have been doing it all your life, whether you realized it or not. You have been trying to differentiate yourself from the competition. If you were a second child, you very likely started laying claim to talents and styles that your older sibling didn't already own before you started talking.

As you got older, you vied for attention in your neighborhood, your school classroom, and on the baseball field. In the teens, you needed to stand out among the others of your sex in an effort to attract the best of the opposite sex. With all that training, you'd think we would all be doing a great job of niching ourselves in the business arena. But alas, it isn't always so.

Our first inclination seems to be to just sell it cheaper. And that can be a method of entree into a crowded field. I have used it myself. However, it is not generally a good strategy for the long term, unless like WalMart, you have also built in a very substantial difference in the cost of delivering your product/service.

Generally, it is better to offer superior products, service, or information, and let your client know that you price competitively, but that you can't swim with the bottom feeders and give them the service they need or demand.

I'll come back to this on Wednesday. It might be the most important thing you'll ever read in this place.

WIN! Help Me Name This Blog

2005-10-10T13:19:00.000-07:00

If I asked you to tell me the name of this blog,could you? You may have visited this site once, or twice. Maybe you drop by one or more times per week. But I'll bet you, nobody knows the name of this blog. "Selling
Promotional Products" is certainly apt and descriptive, but it is ultimately... BORING!

For the last couple of weeks I've been trying to come up with a new name. So far nothing is grabbing me. So I thought it would be fun to have you help me name it. We're all in the logo and icon and branding business. What better group to brainstorm with.

We don't have a big budget for this blog, but how would a $100 Macy's gift certificate sound. The judges will be chosen at my whim. Whatever we decide is final and will be totally arbitrary, except that we liked it best. We'll run the contest from Columbus day to Veteran's day 2005. Entries must be e-mailed by 11:59 November 11, 2005, to be
considered.

I reserve the right to add additional prizes for the winner and runners-up as ideas come to me.

Here are some things to consider in naming this blog.

1. The new name needs to fit into this sentence: "Hey Cindy, have you been reading those great sales ideas at FILL IN THE BLANK?"

2. The name needs to be inviting and charming. Or not, if you don't think so.

3. Most of the readers are women.

4. Very few who visit are leaving comments. The name might be something that would make it clear that this is not a one way conversation.

5. Does the name lend itself to a slogan or other short description? Like Randyhut, We Deliver Sales.

6. The name could include the idea of connecting or networking or conversing. But it doesn't have to.

7. Will the name look good next to a picture of me? (Just kidding)

OK. Send your e-mail to Randy_Kirk@CaliforniaSprings.com. I will acknowledge receipt of your entree. If you don't receive an acknowledgment within a day or so, send it again or call me. (1-800-245-3737 ext 223)

We will announce the winner at this blog with an unveiling of the new name, look,and logo design. We will post your picture if you'll allow us, and we will send out a publicity release to other websites and magazines.

In order to win, you must be a Promotional Products Distributor owner or employee.

PS. If you don't want to spend your winnings at Macy's, we can send a Gift Card for Starbucks or Best Buy or Your Choice Here.

Garbage Disposal Installed

2005-10-08T10:53:00.000-07:00

Our new kitchen is almost finished. The contractor assured us it would be done in three weeks. I'm pretty impressed that it may be done in a little over six. Future articles might use this experience as examples of customer service - not.

Just about the last thing to go in will be our new In-Sink-Erator garbage disposal. Its the full one horsepower unit with reverse for clearing out jams. The cost with tax and installation will be about $395.00. My first thought. That is so inexpensive. Sure, you can get a disposal for $100, but this top of the line is $395.00. We've spent way more than that on dinner for four...maybe even for two in Paris.

I'm guessing that $395.00 isn't that much money for you either. Imagine if you could make an investment that small which guarantees a 10X return or your money back? The TOP SECRETS program by David Blaise does just that.

There is a very good reason why the folks at TOP SECRETS offer a money back guarantee. No one who uses their methods will fail to increase sales and profits. You can spend a few hours reading through my blog and you will see many of the same ideas that you get in the over 6 hours of CD's. However, what is offered here are sales tips that will provide you with daily pep talks. David Blaise offers a comprehensive package with specific action steps.

Our company is 25 years old with sales of over $4,000,000, but I am already implementing things in our company that I heard in the TOP SECRETS CD's. I could not recommend this program more highly. Please note that we will receive a commission if you purchase any products from TOP SECRETS by clicking through to their site at any of the links above or this one. If you would rather call 800-494-2721 and place your order, please tell them you heard about it at Randy's Blog. Do it right now before you forget and miss out on $3950 in additional commissions this year.

Seasonality

2005-10-08T07:55:00.000-07:00

Much of what I write in this place is advice that is well researched and tested by blood, sweat, and tears. Today I take on a topic which I know a lot about, but which continues to be a thorn in my side. From talking to many of you, I know that most, if not all, advertising specialty professionals also fight the battle of revenue fluctuation by season.

As of today, our company only sells bicycle style water bottles. If this product was only used by bicyclists on bicycles, it would be pretty clear that sales would be much stronger in warm months than in cold. However, as this product became a major player in the promotional products industry, the usage changed dramatically. Our bottles are now seen in gyms, offices, warehouses, kitchens, living rooms, and autos. They are used by golfers, toddlers, walkers, oldsters, and even teenagers. Our largest end user categories are home centers, pharmaceuticals, insurance companies, banks, transportation companies,military recruitment, and fast food chains.

So we thought (silly us) that our seasons would flatten out. Honda should need just as many bottles in January as they do in July. Of course, many of you could have warned us that November to February is not so terrific for mugs or pens either.

So what are the answers? Do we get used to the idea that we will buy our Christmas gifts on credit cards that offer no interest/no payments until April? Here is my short list. I'd be interested in hearing what you've come up with.

1. To some extent we may have to live with seasonality. That may mean that we lower overhead during those months, or that we squirrel away money during the good days.

2. Offer discounts to major customers who will warehouse product for year round use anyway. We have several customers who buy 100,000 or more bottles per year. We offer them better pricing to take product October-February when our equipment and people might otherwise be idle. This frees up our resources for those who can only take product in season.

3. Develop specific off season markets. For water bottles we found that gyms, schools, military recruiting, and retail promotions were year round businesses. We put more emphasis on these groups. This year we have started to develop concepts that turn water bottles into gifts, greeting cards, and calendars.

4. Get a part time job at Macy's for the Holidays. (Just kidding.) But that is my whole list of ideas. This blog can be a place where we in the industry share ideas that can benefit everyone. So just hit the comment button and tell us how you manage your off season.

Welcome to First Time Visitors

2005-10-06T11:46:00.000-07:00

The red carpet is down and I am pleased to invite you into my blog. For some of you, it may be the first time you have even visited a blog. Blog stands for WEB LOG. Basically this is a journal of ideas and recommendations to help you become more successful at Selling Promotional Products.

I try to post an article every weekday, though I miss from time-to-time when I'm busily trying to insure speedy delivery of one of your projects. We will be sending out one of these blasts from BlastMaster every Friday as a reminder to visit the blog, but you might want to bookmark this site right now so that it will be easy to find all the time.

THE IDEA LIBRARY

There are about 60 articles in the archives. When you have an extra few minutes, you might want to browse those. My Mom feels that many of those articles are very useful (Please be prepared for my version of a sense of humor. My Mom never reads this blog, but she does read my personal blog.) Over the next few weeks, I am going to concentrate on recommending other excellent resources to help you sell. Some of these will be paying me for their endorsement. I will tell you when that is the case. However, I thoroughly research anyone who I endorse. They must pass muster with me, or it doesn't matter how much they pay, I won't pitch them.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES

So you might note that I have recommended 101 Ways To Get Your Foot in the Door. It is a very useful little book. I don't get paid to say that.

On the other hand, the only comprehensive training program for distributor sales people that I can recommend is Top Secret. I am being paid a small commission if you click through the above link or any link on this site and purchase their system. Or if you call them at 800-494-2721 and say that you called because of Randy's blog, I will be getting a little check. I will give a more thorough review of Top Secrets in a coming post. Successful folks in any career are those who continuously educate themselves.

Sales professionals are particularly inclined to forget one or more of the important elements of their job. Not because there are so many of them, but because each is difficult in its own way.

For over 30 years I have been writing articles and books on sales and marketing. I hope this free resource will give you the perfect stimulation at exactly the right time to bring in a few extra dollars each week.

Encouragement

2005-10-03T11:07:00.000-07:00

The last two weeks have not been great weeks. Personally, professionally, businesswise, there was not a lot to shout about.

However, in the midst of some dark days, a couple of strangers and a couple of friends offered words of encouragement totally unrelated to my circumstances. In other words, none of them knew of my trials, or of how these few words lifted my spirits.

There are many ways to charge folks up, give them a lift, or just propel them down the road to greatness. Some bosses, family members, or friends think criticism gets that job done. In all fairness, I have had someone criticize my work, suggest that I could do much better, and it has resulted (after a short pity party) in a better final product.

However, I can so clearly remember when I had the first chapter or so of one of my books in rough form. I took it to my partner. He read it and told me it was excellent, and that I should absolutely continue. That short bit of encouragement propelled me through the next year of writing, editing, and slogging that resulted in a published work.

Have you encouraged anyone today?

Personal Inventory and Annual Review

2005-09-30T15:20:00.000-07:00

I know! I said I can't recommend Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill anymore. There are too many crazy ideas about Sex Transmutation and such. However, today is the next to the last time I'm going to draw from the book an excellent nugget that you can really use to build your career.

Take a personal inventory. Actually write it down. The good stuff. The bad stuff.

Now set goals to correct or forget about bad stuff plus improve or maintain good stuff.

Next, make a plan with real specific methods for how you're going to do this.

Each year on New Years eve or day or your birthday or any day you pick, review your goals and plans and give yourself a grade card.

What might some of the personal inventory items look like:

I have a good attitude
I am a negative thinker
I feel good about myself and who I am
I get up early and work hard all day
I set goals, make plans, and then execute
I work well with others
I am giving back to my community
I am disciplined in my habits
I have certain habits I want to make or break
I have a pleasing personality
I don't give up
I give my clients more than is expected
I have personal integrity
I am a good spouse and/or parent
I keep my commitments

You get the idea.

Start today!

Nice Comments Department

2005-09-27T16:21:00.000-07:00

It is very lonely being a writer. Blogging is a bit better than books or magazine articles where you're lucky to get a couple of letters with even a decent selling book. But last Friday I received four nice comments about the blog in one day. In 25 years of writing, I've never had such a day. I can't help myself, here are some snippets of what they had to say.

As you read these, think about these two things. These emails all resulted in connections with new potential customers. In two cases they resulted in substantial publicity. This is how the blog idea is supposed to work and can work for you. Are you blogging yet?

Dear Randy,
I am a very small distributor looking to grow and I found your blog very informative and motivating. I don't know how I got on your list but I appreciated the blog. Keep up the good work.

Robin Curlee
Robin.Curlee@AAMSLeads.com
817-437-8959 Mobile

Dear Randy,

...What I found most interesting is your personal approach and commitment to Christian values...

It looks like you may have some good information to share.

Best regards,

Jeffrey Solomon
www.freepromotips.com

Hi Randy,

I started reading your blog, but lately have not had time. What I did read was great and I think it's really refreshing to read (free of charge) some great information on selling in general without having a product from a specific supplier pushed in my face. I like the way you mention your products just a little but not overbearingly. Although I haven't ever used your products your blog is working as when someone asks me about a supplier I tend to give out your name...

Thanks,
Sue G.
Lee Wayne Corp
Scottsdale Az.

Corporate Logo Gives a Mention

2005-09-26T15:14:00.000-07:00

Karen Butler of Corporate Logo Magazine sent an email the other month, suggesting we should keep in touch. Well she really reached out and touched me this time with a very nice mention in this month's mag and on the website

To make things even more special, she took the germ of an idea that started here with Women-Our Market, was followed up with an interview with Andrea Lerned, and she just fleshed it out wonderfully.

I am so impressed with the article that I would like to just repeat the whole thing in my blog, but that isn't quite how things work in the blogosphere. Let me give you a couple of teasers so that you make the very wise decision to go read the entire article.

Smooth Sale-ing

When working with a female buyer or creating a promotion for female recipients, distributors should keep several key points in mind.

1. Women like products that have a specific use.

"I'll drink beer from a martini glass. I have my morning coffee in a pilsner if it's the nearest thing. Heck, I've been known to sip chocolate milk from a brandy snifter. I have no style or taste when it comes to this sort of thing. Upon speaking with the ladies I work with, I learned this was a decidedly male affliction."

Nick Rericha, director of sales, ETS Express in Oxnard, Calif.

2. Your sales presentation style matters.

Many female clients respond better to a softer sales tactic, with a key-point detailed presentation of product utility and quality. Many male clients respond to a harder, more in-the-face sales tactic. Both are looking for the quality features of products, but the presentation of these features needs to be different.

Janet Trachter, vice president marketing and sales, Starline USA Inc. in Grand Island, N.Y.

3. Appearances are important.

Of course, in the article, the details of #3 appear along with subjects 4-8. And there are at least another 10 important tidbits of info that might make you money today or tomorrow if you will only go here.

So, thanks Karen for making me famous for my alloted 15 minutes, and for great research on the subject of marketing to women.

Case Studies Needed

2005-09-24T15:46:00.000-07:00

We have decided to add a new concept to this site. Over the next several weeks we are going to create a list down the right side column of the page that will contain case studies by end user subgroup. So, one for insurance, one for auto dealers, etc. Our goal is to make this blog even more valuable to you by creating an idea generator that you can turn to whenever you need to do some brainstorming.

If this is going to be as good as possible, we need a bunch of case studies. It would be nice if we had twenty case studies on auto dealers so that we would need subtopics like new cars, fleet, web, etc. A huge benefit of the web is the way all of us turn into collaborators. So collaborate, please. Send case studies. Send me one or two right now, before you forget.

Google Offers New Service - Very Worthwhile

2005-09-23T14:56:00.000-07:00

You can now do a subject search for BLOGS at Google. I typed in Promotional Products and here is one of the articles I found. Really good material. This is what blogging is all about. Everybody sharing their best ideas.

I'll keep checking stuff out on the blogoshere and point you to the good ones, but it is so easy to do yourself. Many of the distibutor blogs are designed for their customers. These will give you super ideas for your own blog.

Need 100,000 of Something, RUSH!

2005-09-21T16:54:00.000-07:00

Whenever I tell a customer that we offer 100,000 one color in one week if necessary, they usually laugh. Most of us would like to get an order for 100,000 of anything, rush or not.

But seriously, folks, with most manufacturing going offshore, it can be pretty tough to find major quantities of anything remotely complicated in s short window.

But California Springs line makes almost everything we do right in Santa Fe Springs, CA. We have total capacity of about 35,000 bottles per day. Usually, we have orders for at least 25,000 of those. So, you need 20,000 in two days. We can usually do it. You need 50,000 in 4 days. Call. And if you need 100,000 in 7 days, we're ready to make it happen.

Oh. Normal things like 1000 bottles with up to two ink colors same day are SOP.

So, make sure you put our name on your list of people to call when the customer just figured out they need it NOW!

Home Runs or Base Hits

2005-09-21T15:03:00.000-07:00

During the Roberts Hearings for Chief Justice, baseball analogies seemed all the rage, so I'm just picking up that ball (whoops! That's football.)

Terry and I were discussing corporate marketing strategy the other day, and he said: "If only we could get another home run like that project we did . . ." I shook my head in ready agreement, thinking back to the nice revenue and profit stream that was generated by that long ball.

However, while the homers are pretty to watch and bring everybody to their feet, it seems like the guys who win the World Series generally get more hits. Oh, they also make fewer errors. One more. They always show up. That last one, is an inside baseball phrase that means they are ready to play and play at 110% every day.

I'm going to make a prediction here. Go out swinging for singles, and once in a while you're going to knock it out of here. Go out swinging for homers and you're going to get far fewer hits of any kind, and many more strike outs. The home run strategy can work, but the odds favor the singles hitter.

Attributes of Leadership

2005-09-20T13:21:00.000-07:00

Borrowing heavily (ok, outright copying) from Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, below are the attributes of leadership that he found when interviewing 100's of successful leaders.

1. Unwavering Courage and self confidence
2. Self Control
3. Keen sense of Justice
4. Definiteness of Decisions
5. Definiteness of Plans
6. Habit of doing more than one is paid for
7. Pleasing Personality
8. Sympathy and Understanding
9. Mastery of Detail
10. Willingness to assume full Responsibility
11. Cooperation

Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich

2005-09-19T10:31:00.000-07:00

Finished another one of those classics. The date published on this one was 1990, but the copyright was 1960. There were many amazing elements in this book.

1. It has much to offer in the way of advice for anyone who chooses to get rich, especially if that is a priority.
2. There is some pretty comical things that they need to take out in a rewrite if they haven't already.
3. I can no longer recommend this book. I have changed, and there were too many things that Napoleon Hill believes that I no longer do.

The basis of Think and Grow Rich is mind control. He made famous the phrase "Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve." This basic premise still works for me, if I don't get too technical. For the vast majority of folks, if you put this motto on your mirror or fridge, it could definitely inspire you to better things.

It is so easy for sales people to get all mired down in negative thinking. A positive outlook, belief in your God given abilities, and being passionate about success will pay big dividends in life.

To his great credit, Hill point out early and often that success comes with planning, a right attitude, and an understanding of what will need to be sacrificed to get to real big time wealth. He repeats that "If you truly desire money so keenly that your desire is an obsession, you will have no difficulty in convincing yourself that you will acquire it."

Most of us commoners don't desire money at that level. I think I may have in my 20's and 30's. But now I find myself much more interested in family time, my church, and giving back with no expectation of return. So, read Hill with a skeptical mind, but Og Mondino tells it more to my liking.