SellPromos - Promotional Products Industry Portal - General Industry Discussion

Trade Show Booth Displays

mick — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 16:20:18 GMT

Can anyone recommend a good supplier of trade show booth displays...preferably located in or near the Southeast U.S.? Thanks!

Having fun with your business

Lizzieanne — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 02:35:28 GMT

Hi All,

I have a question - if you decided to just have fun in your business, how would it look? What would you do and what would make it fun? I have been having a bit of fun and a little shameless self promotion with my giraffe moment. I had buttons made and I wear one all the time - people ask about it, I tell the story and usually give them a button. My plumber liked the idea - his clients talked about it- - so I made up a little ziplock bag with a button and a card that has my name and an explanation. I'm interested to hear how it is going, he wasn't at breakfast this morning and I won't be there next week.

Am I the only one having a bit of fun?

Lee

Distributor / Supplier Relationship

Tony Karlicek — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 23:40:11 GMT

I am just curious why a site that is supporting the distributor / supplier sales relationship would allow an add that say 'Get Instant Chinese Supplier Quote in 5 mins".

Not doubt - we have to earn our keep.

But, if there was an add that said "SUPPLIERS: Get direct end user leads in 5 mins"

There would be tremendous backlash.

Just wanted to open it up for discussion as more customers we call on today tell us they direct import all time, but if I said, 'Yeah, and we sell direct all the time" there would be a problem.

But we do not, never have, never will, just not interested.

But - need some help from my peers here - how do we restore the relationship?

Thanks for your time.

Tony

It's time to cross the line. Are you ready?

Chris Miller — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 13:39:22 GMT

This is a good little message. Thought I would share. :)

Help!

bagtobac — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 22:07:53 GMT

I can only find one company that makes adhesive labels with led flashing light. There must be more.

Heat transfer print vs. Silkscreen print...

skarma — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 20:34:11 GMT

I compared pricing to either have silkscreen or heat transfer print done on dark t-shirts. Not much difference in costs actually but now that office has 'in house' heat transfer machines, I am being suggested to encourage my customer to use 'heat transfer' instead of silkscreen that I have always used in the past.

Could I read some comments for the above in your opinion and experience with t-shirts imprints method?

Much appreciated...:juggle:

5 ways on how to please your customers

promodirect — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 12:19:56 GMT

Your customers are the backbone of your business. If you are a new player in the market, the first and most important factor that will help you determine your future goal is the strength of your customer base. You need to develop and execute different strategies to expand and stabilize your customer base. Once your customers start following your brand name, the next step towards achieving greater results is to delightfully gratify your customers. We offer you five ways to successfully please your customers.

Satisfy their needs

Your products and services should satisfy the requirements of your customers. Make sure you do a thorough research of the kind of lifestyle your customer lives, the age and gender group he belongs to. The products and services you offer should reflect your concerns towards your customers.

Reach out to your customers

Your customers expect you to solve their issues. Your approach towards your customers should be positive and solution-oriented. Give out a patient ear to them and set up a plan to address and solve their problems.

Share your company information

Customers are always attracted towards companies that follow transparent business and communication practices. Let your customers know more about you through the social networking channels that are readily available today. You can also send them a monthly update in the form of a newsletter to keep them updated. READ MORE

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Which is the best medium of promoting a business?

promodirect — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 12:21:46 GMT

Q. Which is the best medium of promoting a business?

This is a crucial question to be answered and the results more crucial for any entrepreneur, business owner, researchers & analysts.

We know there are various mediums that are used to promote a business or service. An example can be a traditional television media. Likewise there are other mediums too, that are been listed below. You have to choose one among these that you believe is the best medium of promoting a business.

1: Print Media (Includes Newspapers, Magazines etc)

2: Digital Media or Broadcasting (Includes Television, Internet, Radio etc)

3: Promotional Media (Includes Imprinted Gifts, Promotional Products, Giveaways etc)

4: Communication Medium (Mouth Publicity etc)

Along with your answers you can also post any references from the web or research studies which explains about the distinctive media for marketing & advertising business.

Thank You for answering to this thread!

Regards,
Andy

How to use Social Media Tools to expand your customer reach

promodirect — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 10:44:24 GMT

There are different credible ways to use online marketing tools that can bring in more traffic and potential customers. Online marketing provides the needed scope to your audience to participate in the brand promotion process as the trend of involving audiences and target customers in the promotion activities has increased globally. Another popular yet economical way to expand you customer reach more effectively is to use social media tools. Here are some tips to make your brand more prominent in the social networking space.

Create a company account

Create a company account on any of the social media outlets like Facebook, Buzz or Twitter. Write a good and authentic introduction of your company and explain the kind of business you do.

Interact with your customers

Keep your tone friendly yet informative. Listen to your customers by asking them simple questions and try to address their concerns. Provide interesting bits of useful information on a daily basis. READ MORE

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New Electronic item for Doctors Gift

gfinelogo — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 14:19:36 GMT

I need a "new" electronic item (350 units) for a doctors gift.
Net from $9 to $12. I've done USB drives and they don't want MP3 player.
Any and all suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

New Custome/Prospectr Discover Questionnaire

PhilBertels — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 18:29:40 GMT

I am looking for a Discovery Phase Questionnaire to help lead a new prospect marketing department to find potential pain points. Not the usual "what is the purpose of this promotion" type stuff, but more of a "what are your challenges that you have in your department overall" type.

Any help would be appreciated

How to Become Irresistibly Attractive in Business

promodirect — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 12:55:35 GMT

Are you wondering how your competitors seem to attract success in their business?
Well, it�s easier than you think.

One solution to success in business is by becoming irresistibly attractive to your customers. In order to achieve that stature, being totally authentic in your work is extremely important. It is also important to understand the current trends among your target audience.

Following are 5 tips to be irresistibly attractive in business:

Be organized and optimistic

Never say die. Be optimistic about your objectives and make sure you are organized in your approach to achieve them. Plan realistically and spot opportunities where others see problems.

Be open-minded

Having an open mind to different views and suggestions will always help you craft your business towards betterment. If an opportunity comes your way, think before being dismissive.

Listen

Listening to your clients or customers well will help you evolve eventually. Do not hesitate to request for feedback and interact with as many customers whenever an opportunity arises. This will help you strategize foolproof solutions. Read More

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Please vote for our t-shirt design!!

rcasner — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 13:25:22 GMT

Please vote for our design, #6, and help us win an Ipad!!!! We are currently in 2nd place and voting ends tomorrow (Friday).

Please do not vote for the top 3, but only ours so the vote is not diluted!

#6!!!!
http://lakewood.advocatemag.com/2010...ontest-ballot/

Thanks!

your opinion Please

debbiew — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 21:05:29 GMT

I ordered embedments from a supplier. The item embed'ed cracked on all the pieces. No pretesting was done - but that is not my problem- I gave them a PO, they need to take it from there. They ran 1 more piece to see if they could solve the problem by lowering the temperature of the acrylic-- problem solved- the pieces did not crack. (missed my event date = unhappy customer) So here is my gripe - Mfg is charging me for the cracked embedments less 40% as a courtesy. And if I don't pay, they will not ship the reorder. They got me! Never been held hostage by an order before. Oh they did make the 2nd pc prototype as a courtesy - I think this is entirely on their mfg depts error
Input fellow distributors?

SUPPLIERS that PUT CONFIDENTIAL INFO in/on Catalogs including Electronic-based ones

A G — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 17:59:43 GMT

SUPPLIERS that PUT CONFIDENTIAL INFO in/on Catalogs including Electronic-based ones (like PDF or JPG catalogs &/or Catalog Sheets, Flippable Online Catalogs, in the Contact or other areas of supposedly 'Client-Safe Websites' and WHAT DISTRIBUTORS SHOULD DO ABOUT IT.

This morning I received (as we all do - among the dozens of emails daily, which I not only don't mind, I encourage them), a PDF catalog. In this case, the supplier is PACIFIC HANDY CUTTER also know as Handy Line (or, as shown on their catalog, HandyLine.com .

JUST BELOW is a copy of my RANT on them and ALL OTHER SUPPLIERS who keep on slipping in CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION in their SALES LITERATURE from which we all mostly sell (even I who tries to enhance profit margins from list prices that don't allow enough profit margin to make an order sufficiently profitable (if you are selling on anything below $200 - $300 in person or on the phone, you can't make enough money on a 'C' or 'R' or lower discount to be truly profitable on that order, unless it is an exact reorder with NO changes in the imprint.

Below is the e-mail I received from PACIFIC HANDY CUTTER. I am quite certain they have been in this industry/trade since either the early 90's or more likely the 80's or earlier! And yet, if you open the PDF file they sent, which is the SAME as on their WEBSITE, they have their CONFIDENTIAL INFO on both the FRONT PAGE and at the BOTTOM on the LAST PAGE!

I both e-mailed AND phoned Vickie Bannon, who sent me the e-mail, telling her that it is FAR TOO TIME CONSUMING to SPEND ONE'S TIME removing or trying to cover or eliminate every scintilla of CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION on SUPPLIERS' catalogs�and JUST AS MUCH SO on electronically based ones, like this PDF file, as on ANYTHING!

She said that what is on the PDF file was meant for DISTRIBUTORS' EYES ONLY! Oh really? How about for SALESPEOPLE's EYES (how many distributors does this kind of shenanigan spawn), as well as DIRECT PURCHASES by CUSTOMERS??? When I asked her what she expected distributors, like yours truly here, could use to show customers their product line, she said we could take them to www.handycutterline.com. BUT, alas, the SAME pdf file, even the "flippable page" catalog ALL have the VERY SAME CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION in the PLACES as what was on/in the PDF file she sent me. So, so much for being absolutely disingenuous!

Obviously, too many of these suppliers view us as IDIOTS! Or they know that the amount of CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION is SO GREAT, that MOST WILL BE UNABLE (by sheer limits of time) to REMOVE IT, so their TROJAN HORSE will accomplish their consiracy�to wit, to make DISTRIBUTORS their unwitting sales force that works for them for FREE (for THEM anyway)!

Sometime, somehow, we need to get an ARMY OF DISTRIBUTORS to BARRAGE suppliers who do this with e-mails asking them NOT to do it, so that we either DRIVE THEM OUT OF THE TRADE COMPLETELY (so they have to drum up ALL of their own CUSTOM CUSTOMERS on their own DIME), or so they CHANGE COMPLETELY and hopefully FOREVER to eliminating ways and means by which SALES PEOPLE and OUR CUSTOMERS can use their SALES LITERATURE we hand them to CONTACT THEM DIRECTLY and do business with them DIRECTLY! � END of my e-mail to a couple of DISTRIBUTOR FRIENDS.

Send me a 'PM' (Private Message) with your DISTRIBUTOR COMPANY's NAME, YOUR NAME, YOUR ADDRESS, PHONE #, and E-MAIL ADDRESS, so that I can CONTACT YOU when we get SUPPLIERS who do this, to TRY TO GET THEM TO NOT DO THIS.

For a NUMBER OF YEARS I tried to REMOVE or COVER UP 'CONFIDENTIAL INFO' - Company Name, Phone #, Toll-Free #, Fax #, e-mail address, physical and/or postal address, or other such information. BUT THERE IS NOT TIME or RESOURCES for ANY ONE DISTRIBUTOR - REGARDLESS OF YOUR COMPANY'S SIZE, to do this AND remain SUFFICIENTLY PROFITABLE. Two or three, or five or 10 or 15 minutes multiplied by the MANY SUPPLIERS who do this takes MONTHS & YEARS OUT OF OUR LIVES WE COULD PROFITABLY (BOTH FOR US AND FOR THEM) BE SELLING, RATHER THAN TRYING TO PREVENT THE DIRECT CONTACT BETWEEN OUR SUPPLIERS AND OUR SALESPEOPLE &/OR CUSTOMERS OR POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS.

Of course, I wouldn't mind providing this FREE SERVICE to SUPPLIERS if they would all send me MONTHLY CHECKS sufficient to cover my MORTGAGE, my VEHICLE COSTS, the food I put on the table for my FAMILY, my family's CLOTHES, our MEDICAL COSTS, etc, etc, etc - ad infinitum, ad nauseum.

MILO PEARSON
Ad Gifts
Ogden, Utah