PromoKitchen

PK #54 – Penn Holderness and Mike Mills

By Bobby Lehew on April 13, 2014 in Podcast

Promokitchen has been privileged to serve up some significant dishes for the PK community including celebrated authors Seth Godin and Dan Pink, and in that spirit of culinary art and haut cuisine, we’re serving what just might be the most delectable conversation yet, an episode featuring the geniuses behind two of the most successful Christmas viral videos of the 2013 season: the WestJet Christmas Miracle video and Christmas Jammies.

Penn Holderness is the Managing Partner and Creative Director at Greenroom Communications, a video production company that tells powerful stories through professionally produced videos and digital marketing, 14MM people have watched his Christmas Jammies video. Mike Mills is a co-founder and the executive producer at Studio M, the award winning video production company behind the WestJet Christmas Miracle video which took the world by storm, racking up 35 MM views in a few short months.

Join Mike and Penn and chef’s Mark Graham and Danny Rosin as they discuss: how to tell great stories, the elusive formula for making a viral video, the connection between being a good storyteller and a great salesperson and how to create video on a shoestring budget.

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PK #53 – Dave Regan

By Bobby Lehew on April 1, 2014 in Podcast

Experience talks … and it’s rather convincing. Dave Regan with the Vernon Company has joined us before but Dave’s back now and true to the PromoKitchen way, he openly shares more from his years of wisdom via the front lines of one of the industry’s most notable brands. Grab a cup of coffee and join Mark, Brad, and Dave as they bring years of collective wisdom from one of the most experienced and versatile professionals in our business … right to you door.

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Stop Selling Stuff – Part 1

By Brad White on March 20, 2014 in Sales & Marketing

Rare is the opportunity for suppliers to see their products in action. You create new products and market them to your distributors. You field requests for samples and you write quotes. You source products or you make them yourself. You carefully decorate them, box them up and ship them to an event. You have spent so much time and effort to produce and deliver tangible branding items, but you almost never see the most important part of the process: When that cared-for product is received.

Not received by your distributor partners nor their end-buyer clients, but when that product is put into the welcoming hands of the final audience. Whether with the tradeshow attendee, the employee being recognized or the shopper incentivized by a gift-with-purchase, you have zero visibility on the final destination of your hard work.

And you miss the moment when the magic happens. You miss the reaction of the person getting something for free. You miss the effectiveness that you created in extending the reputation of a brand. You are absent at the time when your product matters most. Thus, it is quite possible that you don’t completely understand the value of your contributions to the world of effective marketing. And maybe more importantly, it is possible that the marketing you use to communicate to distributor clients is totally wrong.

“This one comes in 12 different colors!”
“That one is new this year!”
“These ones are on sale!”

When marketing like that, you reduce your products to being just “stuff.” News flash: No one needs more stuff. Brands don’t need to pay millions of dollars for stuff. Target audiences don’t need to fill their event bags with stuff. Distributors have no value by selling stuff.

Brands do need ways to communicate with their audience and encourage participation. Target audiences do need ways to learn more about their options as customers. Distributors do have value when being a good partner in enhancing and extending the brands of their clients. So why are you just selling stuff?

Want some insight? Attend a tradeshow outside our industry. Find promotional products being used to encourage purchasing in a retail setting. Start asking your distributors how these products are employed by their customers. Then you will understand my point. After spending the better part of a week at a massive tradeshow, I can tell you that brands using promotional products don’t care about stuff; they do care a lot about promotional products that help to draw a crowd, create excitement and extend relationships with their audience.

I was a supplier for a long time, and I know how easy it is to focus on the stuff and not on the result. Complicating the problem, many distributors don’t know how their clients are using the products; therefore, they are unable to provide you with an understanding for the true value of your products as vehicles for branding.

So you make catalogs with pictures of stuff, you fill webpages with beautiful images of stuff. But you miss the magic. Apologies if my tone is harsh, but I’m trying to wake you from a nightmare you don’t know you’re having. Your products are effective, they are valuable and, as I could see with my own eyes, they are coveted—both by brands and their audiences.

Find the marketing value in the products you make. Lead with that. Market that. Define yourself not by the stuff you make, but by the incredibly important role you play in creating effective promotions.

PK #52 – Larry Cohen, Axis Promotions

By Mark Graham on February 26, 2014 in Podcast

From the day he opened Axis Promotions, Larry Cohen was a consultative promotional professional, twenty-one years before “trusted advisor” became a key component of most distributors’ value proposition. Over the past twenty-one years, Axis Promotions has grown from a one-person operation to over 50 employees and six offices. Larry, a newly aproned Chef in the PromoKitchen, sits down with Mark Graham and Danny Rosin to share his years of veteran insight including best practices as it relates to hiring, safety, compliance, the evolution of your brand, eliminating silos in the workplace, cultivating teamwork, and … dessert Tuesdays. Sit down, tune in, and savor the virtual dessert, successful journey, and exceptional conversation.

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The Evolving Salesperson: How Understanding Personality Traits Can Help You Grow

By PromoKitchen Contributing Editor on February 18, 2014 in Featured, Leadership

By Mary Erdmann, PromoKitchen Contributor

They say, “Salespeople are flaky.” They say, “Salespeople are shift.” They say, “Salespeople have a personality all of their own.” Well, I happen to believe that they are, in fact, right! Whoever they are…

I am an evolving person. I guess. Not by choice, but I have evolved.

Photo Courtesy of SalFalko via Compfight cc

I recently went through a huge transition in my work life. My trusty side-kick assistant, who professionally completed me in every way, has decided to leave me. It turns out that the love of her life wanted to move closer to family, and she was going with. Heavy sigh.

She was a main component in my business growth of 35% last year. As much as I understood, my insides hurt. She was gracious enough to give me two months so I could find a replacement and help train the new person. I vowed only to have this person be single and to sign a contract that binded them to me for life. (Wink.)

Early on, I had my doubts on the new person. Try as I might, I couldn’t figure out why I had those doubts. I kept telling myself that it was my nerves in starting over with someone.

One morning while singing in the car (my light bulb turns on often while singing out of tune…doesn’t yours?), it dawned on me: Her personality was extremely different. While I obsessed on figuring out her personality type, I came to the conclusion that she was a perfectionist. Historically, my personality has pissed off these types of people. I am a people person. I make jokes (if you can’t tell). I am drawn to the shiny objects, and I have to work at paying attention to details–which is the exact opposite of her.

To make this relationship work, I realized I had to investigate. I went back to the DISC profile tests I have taken. Throughout the company, we have all taken the tests a few times in our careers. We have even made jokes on our personalities because the results are always perfectly accurate! Here are the four main personality types:

Drive: People who score high in the intensity of the “D” styles factor are very active in dealing with problems and challenges, while low “D” scores are people who want to do more research before committing to a decision. High “D” people are described as demanding, forceful, egocentric, strong willed, driving, determined, ambitious, aggressive and pioneering. Low D scores describe those who are conservative, low keyed, cooperative, calculating, undemanding, cautious, mild, agreeable, modest and peaceful.
Influence: People with high “I” scores influence others through talking and activity and tend to be emotional. They are described as convincing, magnetic, political, enthusiastic, persuasive, warm, demonstrative, trusting and optimistic. Those with low “I” scores influence more by data and facts, not with feelings. They are described as reflective, factual, calculating, skeptical, logical, suspicious, matter of fact, pessimistic and critical.
Steadiness: People with high “S” styles scores want a steady pace and security, and they do not like sudden change. High “S” individuals are calm, relaxed, patient, possessive, predictable, deliberate, stable and consistent. They tend to be unemotional and poker faced. Low “S” intensity scores are those who like change and variety. People with low “S” scores are described as restless, demonstrative, impatient, eager or even impulsive.
Compliance: People with high “C” styles adhere to rules, regulations and structure. They like to do quality work and do it right the first time. High “C” people are careful, cautious, exacting, neat, systematic, diplomatic, accurate and tactful. Those with low “C” scores challenge the rules and want independence. They are described as self-willed, stubborn, opinionated, unsystematic, arbitrary and unconcerned with details.

In the past, I have always been a high “I,” meaning I am an influencer. But I decided to take the test again. In doing so, I revealed that in the past three years, I have evolved into a high “D”/high “I.” The results nearly made me fall off my chair. Strong willed and pioneering? Me?

When I got back on my chair, I realized that I have changed. As my business grew, I learned to be more efficient. I learned to be more productive. I learned to work at my attention to details. In contrast, after reflecting upon my new assistant’s personality, I came to the conclusion that she was a high “C.”

Now what?

The first step with anything is awareness. Now that I was aware of this hurdle, how do I overcome it? I researched the heck out of being a “C.” I learned that she loves rules and structure. I learned that she loves to hear why we do things and not just how to do things. She enjoys being accurate. She wants to do it right the first time. All admirable qualities of an assistant!

In knowing all of this and with a desire to make this partnership work, I have tried to evolve again. Just like I have to work at my attention to detail, I have learned that I need to work at providing her exactly what she wants.

In the past, my old assistant could read my mind. I could hurry to get things done, knowing that she would fill in the blanks. But this work style isn’t going to work anymore, no matter how long my new assistant has been with me. I need to do it right. I need to do it complete. If she is going to help me continue to grow my business, I am going to need to do things a bit differently. But I know this is something I can do.

This relationship is a give and take for sure. It is a partnership. There are things that she is going to have to learn to work with me, after all, it is her job to help me. It is a work in progress, but I feel confident that our relationship is building strongly, and I can’t wait until I can say that she completes me.

There are no two personalities alike. In working with clients, a good salesperson will shift into the personality that works best with their clients. It isn’t a new way of thinking, which is why I have taken the profile test–and used the results.

In fact, I have fired a few clients because I couldn’t be the salesperson that they needed me to and it is a-okay with me. I am happier to not work with those people, and I am a heck of a lot less nervous (which I’s and D’s hate to be). I enjoy my clients because I have developed a niche clientele that I work best with.

Now I know that internally within the company, understanding personality types works too. If we take the time to understand how we all work and how each of us likes to be addressed, we are all happier. Some people aren’t easy to figure out, and some are like an open book. I believe it is a salesperson’s duty to know internally and externally who we are working with. It is our duty as a servant leader in our lives and our organizations.

But as for this flaky, sketchy, evolving personality, I feel pretty darn confident as to where I am headed.

Mary Erdmann is a sales consultant at S&S Promotional Group. Learn more about her on LinkedIn and follow her on Twitter.

Editor’s Note: Want to know more? Erdmann has taken the DISC profile tests in classes where there is usually a fee associated, and she has taken the test here http://www.123test.com/disc-personality-test/. While the online test results are accurate, the descriptions and charts are not as complex and thorough as if purchased.

Downside Of The Data Fast Lane

By Tonia Allen Gould on February 10, 2014 in Featured, Technology

Photo Courtesy of bionicteaching via Compfight cc

Marketing data enables plenty of efficiencies for consumers. But convenience shouldn’t blind us to the potential hazards.

Marketers, technology platform engineers and creative leaders are rewriting the rules of consumerism and technology by mining the wealth of information and analytical data arising from our online lives. This is happening at breakneck speed, thanks to the proliferation of intuitive, work-from-anywhere, cloud-accessible businesses and the omnipresence of mobile devices. Data mining technology enriches clients, partners and even competitors by making business events measurable and by guiding business decisions with evidence rather than intuition.

The rush to gather data has become a condition of the science-fiction present we inhabit: It has made possible cars that park themselves, facial recognition software, drones meeting you on your porch with your Amazon purchases, and adaptive fulfillment technologies that intuitively guess what you’re likely to buy so it’s ready to ship before you even order it. It’s an astounding reality powered by transactional and behavioral data.

One innovation I find particularly intriguing is location-based commerce. Imagine pulling your car into a gas station and never having to swipe a credit card. Imagine making a quick stop at the grocery store and walking out with a gallon of milk without ever seeing a cashier. Imagine technology that knows who you are the minute you walk through the door and devices that scan your purchases and send that data back to your bank so you are appropriately charged.

These are just a few of the luxuries and conveniences that location-based commerce makes possible.

As an adaptive entrepreneur, I’m excited and intrigued by such changes, and I can’t wait to jump on the bandwagon if a new technology serves my businesses.

As a consumer, I’m confused and constantly catching up to the technology just like everyone else. And when I finally learn it, there’s something new and better on the market that I crave, and the process begins all over again.

As a promotional marketer, I think it’s cool that I can trace my t-shirt from its billowy, white cotton infancy on a farm that offers online assurance of its fair wages. I then can follow that cotton to the mill that makes the fabric, which is sent to a factory that also abides by fair labor standards. In that factory, the fabric is sewn into garments, which are then shipped to a U.S. distributor, where I can finally send it on to my decorator, who brands it and ships it to my client for distribution to end users. Meanwhile, my company has complied with International Labor Standards and safety concerns for my Fortune 500 clients- and I’ve been able to observe it all from the comfort of my own chair because there was an RFID tag sewn into the garment.

As a mother, I’m fearful of the possibility of my preteen, wearing a different RFID-tagged t-shirt, could walk into an Apple Store and reveal everything there is to know about him through the tag in his shirt or the iBeacon on his phone. It scares me that I have no way to protect my son from all that data mining, except perhaps zapping his clothes in the microwave before he goes out and checking the privacy settings on his phone. I worry that this new technology could interfere with my child’s fundamental right to privacy.

And what about the businesswoman driving conveniently past a toll booth with an EZ-Pass? It’s saving time, but could that very convenience enable some crazed lunatic to collect information about her? The data we make available makes stalking too easy.

Maybe moviemakers have given us a fair glimpse into our futures, and maybe these conspiracy theories are the result of my overactive creative imagination. Regardless, one thing is for sure: Consumers don’t have to accept data mining. If we don’t do it carefully, the problems will overshadow the benefits, and everyone will lose.

Having a wealth of data is a good thing–if you can make sense of it. Most companies are challenged with aggregating and analyzing the plethora of data being generated by their security applications and devices. This Dark Reading report, How Existing Security Data Can Help ID Potential Attacks, recommends how to effectively leverage security data in order to make informed decisions and spot areas of vulnerability. (Free registration required.)

This article, Downside Of The Data Fast Lane, is syndicated from InformationWeek and is posted here with permission.

PK #51 – Lon McGowan, iClick

By Bobby Lehew on January 28, 2014 in Podcast

Lon McGowan is the CEO and Founder of of iClick, a leading supplier of branded USB flash drives, writing instruments, mobile accessories, and apparel decoration whose journey provides an insightful, engaging, and enterprising conversation! Mark Graham and Brad White chat with Lon about culture, success in a highly commoditized space, growing your business, and commanding mindshare with resonant marketing strategies (such as “I want to work for them versus I want to buy from them”). Join the chefs as they discuss consolidation in the industry, advice for those starting out, and how to create a remarkable business that lasts.

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Sales: The Key To Making It Happen In 2014 (And Beyond)

By PromoKitchen Contributing Editor on January 25, 2014 in Sales & Marketing

By Dave Regan, PromoKitchen Contributor

Photo Credit: Håkan Dahlström via Compfight cc

Photo Courtesy of Håkan Dahlström via Compfight cc

Some like to rehash the pros and cons of the previous year, but it is much more useful to look ahead to the new season. Yet when planning, some scrutiny of the past 12 months might be beneficial: What worked? What did not work? What did we try or not try?

I often hear account executives say that they want to increase their business. Oh, really?

While managing salespeople, I am often in a position to suggest new ideas or approaches. I also take time to explore the ways that they are currently working in an effort to find out what is working for them and what is not.

These new ideas or approaches are examples of things that they can do, things that they can change. However, I too often hear people lamenting what has happened to them. Talking about the things that happened to them are, in most cases, examples of things out of their control, things that they cannot change.

In this situation, I think about a simple prayer that has guided me through much of my adult life:

“One should accept the things that they cannot change, that they should have the courage to change the things they can and most importantly that they should possess the wisdom to know the difference.”

The simplicity of this statement is incredible, yet many people don’t get it. Why? They keep doing the things that have not worked in the past and don’t try anything new!

There is an old saying that the definition of insanity is “when you do the same thing over and over again, expecting different results.” If the things that you are doing today are not working, you have the power to discontinue those activities. Replace them with other options.

Each of us has the power and the control to make things happen. The past cannot be changed, so learn from it and then let it go. In 2014 (and every new year), try new things, new approaches and new methods. You just might find some things that work better for you. It’s the key to making sales happen.

Dave Regan is vice president of sales and marketing at The Vernon Company. Learn more about him on LinkedIn and follow him on Twitter.

Be A Problem Solver: Do A Client Marketing Review

By PromoKitchen Contributing Editor on January 17, 2014 in Featured, Sales & Marketing

By Paul A. Kiewiet, MAS, CIP, PromoKitchen Contributor

Photo Courtesy of duncan via Compfight cc

The first of the year is a great time to reconnect with all of your best clients. Right after the holidays is the perfect time to set yourself apart from the competition by providing your customers with a value-added extra: The Marketing Review.

What the heck is a marketing review? How do you complete one? It can be very worthwhile–but only if you do the homework. Here’s what you’ll need to do:

1. Starting January 1, document all of the projects and promotions that you have done for a particular client. Provide all of the information that you can: What products they requested. What they ordered. How the project was distributed. What results were achieved (if you know them).

2. Write down other projects or promotions that the client may have done and not included promotional products or not included you.

3. Make a note of times where the client could have saved money or had a more effective program had he or she planned ahead or gotten you involved sooner.

4. Make a note of any significant competitive initiatives by your customer’s competition and of any market or economic trends that may have impacted the company’s business.

5. Make observations about what other advertising media your customer used last year. This can give you an idea of where you can find some extra budget money. Determine if any co-op advertising dollars were used from any top suppliers. This also can be a source of budget money for you.

6. Get out your 2014 calendar and check out Chase’s Calendar of Events or even Google upcoming events and significant days. Make a list of days, weeks or events that your  customer might be able to create solid promotions around.

Now, you’re ready to get to work. Create a professional looking document. Here are some potential headings for the sections.

I. 2013 Promotional Overview
In this section, recap the information from answering No. 1 and No. 2 above. Provide an objective view of what the client’s marketing efforts looked like to you.

II. 2013 Competitive Landscape
Here, provide observations of what you saw happening in the client’s industry. Mention the successes and failures of their competitors. Provide some research on what the industry was doing. This is a recap of homework done in No. 3 above.

III. 2014 Recommendations
In this section, outline the upcoming year and the projects that you wish to see repeated (and/or improved) and suggest ways that you can enhance some of the efforts you didn’t get a chance to work on last year. Suggest ways that promotional products can be used to make their other advertising media more effective or more measureable. Recommend ways to help your client advertise, recognize, motivate, promote, incentivize and train. Suggest how you can help the company grow its people, its presence and its profits.

IV. Executive Summary
Here, touch on the main points of your report. This is a place where you can point out the thoughts you developed in No. 3 of your homework. Point out how you can save money and how you can create more effective programs by getting involved in the marketing process earlier.

Do this for your best customers, and they will perceive you as a partner and a marketing professional committed to helping them solve their problems. And as I love to say, “Problem Solvers Always Make Money!”

Paul A. Kiewiet, MAS, CIP, is an international speaker, writer, coach and facilitator. Learn more about him on LinkedIn and follow him on Twitter.

Don’t Wait For The Super Bowl

By PromoKitchen Contributing Editor on January 8, 2014 in Featured, Sales & Marketing

By Ruth Verver, PromoKitchen Contributor

January is a great time of the year. As a business owner, you are setting your goals for the new year and putting your plans in action. You are probably still on a high from the holidays and getting geared up for all the industry shows. I’m a football fan and, for me, January is about the playoffs and building up to the excitement for the Super Bowl.

Although a lot of people watch just for the commercials, I am equally excited about both the game and the ads. In the days after the game, everyone talks about the commercials. You share your favorites with coworkers, you vote in online polls, and the most popular ones get a lot of attention…for about a week. After that, the excitement is over.

It’s shocking to me how many advertisers wait until Super Bowl Sunday to launch their best work. Yeah, a lot of people are watching. A lot of people will talk about you for a day or two. But there is so much competition that day, so much noise and so many distractions, that many messages get lost. With that in mind, why do so many companies spend so much time and money for the Super Bowl?

Although none of us are likely to create a commercial of Super Bowl magnitude for our businesses, we can choose to use the same philosophy as the large companies—or not.

Our marketing dollars must give us the greatest impact. As small business owners, we don’t have the time to get lost in the shuffle. As distributors, we all have a lot of self promos that we are hanging onto. They could sit on a shelf, fill a cabinet or they might even fill an entire closet!

Don’t wait for your Super Bowl. Take some time now to review what items you have and come up with the best ways to use them. If you don’t see a logical way to use them to help impact your business, then get rid of them and find something that will work for you and make you memorable.

Take some time to look at all the new and unique products coming out this time of year and think about using those to promote your business. Please don’t order the old items that are discounted as “special self-promo” offers. Take the same time and energy that you use on your own customers and come up with a creative strategy for your own promotional items. Use them as part of a direct mail campaign. Put a plan together to use them to gain the attention of some prospects. Send your customers a thank you gift at random times of the year. Make an impact by practicing what you preach.

We all believe in the power of the promo. So walk the walk and watch them do some good for you. Promotional products are not a 15 second spot that gets people talking for a few days, they’re better.

Ruth Verver is a partner at Paperclip Promotions. Learn more about her on LinkedIn and follow the company on Twitter.