PromoKitchen Contributing Editor, Author at PromoKitchen

Community Post – Why I Lost Business But Kept the Relationship

Posted on February 15, 2015 by PromoKitchen Contributing Editor

The Greek philosopher Heraclitus said, “The only constant is change.” There have been numerous books written on the subject of change, and countless seminars and talks given on how important it is to embrace and adapt to change. It’s in these moments, when the tide shifts, or as author John Kotter says “Our Iceberg is Melting”, that we find out…

PK Podcast #72 – Staples

Posted on February 13, 2015 by PromoKitchen Contributing Editor

In this special episode of the PK Podcast, Mark Graham (commonsku), Larry Cohen (Axis Promotions), Jessica Hutwelker(Sunrise Identity) and Bill Petrie(Brandivate) discuss the pending Staples acquisition of Office Depot and the impact this could have on the promotional products industry. Enjoy!

Don’t Be a Salesman…Be An Advocate

Posted on February 10, 2015 by PromoKitchen Contributing Editor

This post was originally posted on the Perfect Imprints blog, written by the company’s owner, Patrick Black Hate is a strong word that I rarely use. With that being said…. I hate when salesmen with no passion approach or call me out of the blue. I hate being cold-called by people who are reading a generic script. Even if you ask a question, you get…

The Bel Promo Conundrum

Posted on February 4, 2015 by PromoKitchen Contributing Editor

By PromoKitchen Chef Nathan Bailey, President of Ideation Promos Amazing things happen after the ad specialty industry’s annual PPAI Expo in Vegas. Most people leave refreshed and motivated to have their best sales year ever. Many come away with new product ideas, strategies to implement, and marketing concepts to present to their clients. However, even with all the positive impact…

Salt & Pepper – The ASI Infomercial

Posted on February 2, 2015 by PromoKitchen Contributing Editor

Welcome to Salt & Pepper! Salt & Pepper is basically the PromoKitchen equivalent of debate team. The purpose of this monthly article is to open up discussion and conversation on different challenges facing the Promotional Products Industry. This month we tackle the subject of ASI airing infomercials to recruit people to join ASI. This initiative that has been met…

PK Podcast #71 – David Blaise

Posted on February 2, 2015 by PromoKitchen Contributing Editor

While distributors and suppliers represent the largest segment of the promotional products industry, it’s the consultants who often work behind the scenes to make sure the industry continues to thrive. In today’s episode, we wanted to explore the industry from the vantage of one of the most experienced consultants around, David Blaise David is an entrepreneur, author and business consultant…

PK Podcast #70 – Dan Pigott

Posted on January 28, 2015 by PromoKitchen Contributing Editor

In today’s podcast we explore the world from the vantage point of the multi-line rep. Multi-lines have helped establish the sales foundation for this industry, though in recent years their role has been threatened by shrinking commissions, factory direct sales forces, and the disruption caused by the internet. No conversation about the multi-line sales channel would be complete without today’s…

PK Podcast #69 – Golden Wang, ShinyFox

Posted on January 19, 2015 by PromoKitchen Contributing Editor

Chef Mark Graham received an email from a Chinese seller. Like most of us, he usually deletes these emails immediately. This time, however, he didn’t. Instead, he got the email’s sender, Golden, on the phone and asked him to join the podcast. Indeed Mr. Wang’s perspective on Chinese importing is much different than most of ours in North America. Join…

PK #68 – Gene Geiger

Posted on January 5, 2015 by PromoKitchen Contributing Editor

In this edition of the PromoKitchen Podcast Mark Graham chats with Gene Geiger about the recipe for good leadership, the importance of working as a team, and the future of the affiliate franchise model. It’s PK Podcast #68 – Enjoy! Thanks to the team at SmartEQP for making this podcast possible. SmartEQP.com gives independent distributors three…

Everything I Learned About Sales, I Learned From High School

Posted on December 19, 2014 by PromoKitchen Contributing Editor

The following article was written by Mark Graham and originally featured on the CommonSku blog If you want to master sales, take yourself back to high school. Yes, high school. Think about it for a moment. You’re a sales rep and you’re looking to bring your product/service to market. Within that market, there are all sorts of buyers, each with…