Marketing Know-How The Ultimate 90 Day Marketing Plan How many new accounts can you land within the next 90 days? According to industry entrepreneur and consultant David Blaise, the number may be quite a bit more than you think, but it all depends on your approach. Here are three tips for planning your 90 day attack: Know Who You're After You can't market anything until you know who you are marketing it to. Do you want to target new prospects by geography, industry or program specialty? The more specific you get with regard to who you want, the quicker and easier it will be for you to reach them. Know What You'll Say Once you've decided who you're targeting, it becomes easier to determine what to say. What are the biggest issues and challenges your targeted prospects are likely to be dealing with? Ask them and keep track of what they say. It's the quickest way to get inside the heads of your target market. Know How You'll Say It When you know who you're approaching and what you have to say, it then becomes a matter of simply saying it, in an interesting manner, as many different ways as you can, using a variety of marketing methods. With a combination of phone, email and in-person visits, along with direct mail, virtual samples, spec samples and more, you can create top-of-mind awareness with your target market without driving them crazy. To learn how to put together a simple, cost-effective marketing plan designed to get results in 90 days, join industry speaker and consultant David Blaise at ASI Orlando for his session on “The Ultimate 90 Day Marketing Plan” on January 4, 2009. For complete details and to register now visit: http://www.asishow.com/Education Top Power Strategies Increase Margins in a Flagging Economy In this difficult economy, your clients and prospects are challenged, worried and stressed. What is your approach when you meet with them? Do you sharpen your pricing, negotiate better deals with your suppliers and take a deep breath (hoping your clients still buy), or do you take a different business approach that can increase your margins in a flagging economy? Your clients are looking for innovative ways to grow their business, especially during these tough economic times. This is your chance to step up and prove you are a promotional sales expert and demonstrate the power of promotional products. Here are a few tips to help you increase your worth to your clients and your bottom line margins: Always think strategically, be creative and provide relevant solutions to your clients’ needs. Build your business case for choosing advertising specialty products with specific ROI stats on the power of promotional products. Offer the best solution to increase their sales and help them grow their business, rather than simply provide the best commodity price. These days it’s all about results. Position promotional products as valuable marketing tools that can provide a “sales lift” to your client’s business and help them grow their business - and your business, too. For more power tips on how you can transition your business from transactional selling to consultative value-add selling and increase your margins in any economy, join industry expert Lisa Leitch at the ASI Show Orlando on January 4, 2009 and the ASI Show Dallas on February 5, 2009. For complete details on this class as well as others offered at the ASI Show, visit: http://www.asishow.com/Education/ORHome.html For more information on specific ROI Stats, view our webinar, Prove to Your Clients that Promo Products Work, at www.asicentral.com/webinars. Top Sales Session Eight Killer Steps to Attracting New Business It’s hard enough to get more prospects and new clients during a booming economy when people have money to spend. When the global economy takes a nosedive, it’s 100 times harder to get prospects talking, but the following eight steps for more effective prospecting can help attract new business. 1. Broaden Your Perspective Determine how you can create a leap in demand for your products and services. Don’t go solo. Assemble a group of advisors and get their input and creative ideas. Include people who have differing points of view from you. Not easy, but critical. 2. Be Nimble and Innovative You’ll never have all the facts. Make quick decisions. Be fearless and make tough choices. Create new uses for your products. 3. Dazzle Your Current Customers Your current customers need care and feeding. Don’t ignore them at the expense of new business, because they’re actually your best source for new business. 4. Prioritize Wisely The most important activity for any salesperson is to do what’s “closest to cash” as the first task of every single day—whether it’s following up with a prospect, writing a proposal or closing a deal. 5. Become the Expert Companies hire experts because they can’t afford to make mistakes. Position your company as the expert with a specific product or in a specific market niche. 6.  Stay Connected Network like crazy. Attend a minimum of one event a week. You never know who you will meet and what you will learn. Never let your network go down. Networking is an essential referral marketing activity. So go make connections and build your business. 7.  Don’t Cut Prices, Increase Value There’s a lot of chatter about cutting prices in a lagging economy. But by cutting prices, you’re cutting your profits even further. Instead, consider how to “get in and get started.” Divide your offering into smaller chunks, get results and create traction.

Product Spotlight   Seminar Spotlight The Ultimate 90 Day Marketing Plan: Create the Client Base of Your Dreams ASI Show! Orlando January 4, 2009 2:45 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. ASI Show! Dallas February 5, 2009 2:45 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. ASI Show! New York March 9, 2009 1:30 p.m. -2:30 p.m. Cultivating Key Accounts: Selling More to Existing Accounts ASI Show! Orlando January 3, 2009 11:00 a.m. – 12 p.m. ASI Show! Dallas February 4, 2009 1:30 p.m. -2:30 p.m. How to Leverage Your Client Base in Turbulent Times ASI Million Dollar Sales Summit ASI Show! Orlando January 3, 2009 2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. 10 Power Strategies to Increase Margins in a Flagging Economy ASI Show! Orlando January 4, 2009 1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. ASI Show! Dallas February 5, 2009 12:15 p.m. - 1:15 p.m. Adobe Illustrator: Logo Creation Using Basic Adobe Design Tools        ASI Show! Orlando January 3, 2009 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. ASI Show! Dallas February 4, 2009 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m ASI Show! New York March 8, 2009 1:30 p.m. -5:00 p.m. Eco–Friendly Apparel: Become a Green Expert ASI Show! Orlando Wearables University January 3, 2009 4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. ASI Show! Dallas Wearables University February 4, 2009 4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. How to Boost Your Supplier Ratings ASI Show! Orlando January 3, 2009, 1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. ASI Show! Dallas February 6, 2009, 8 a.m. - 9 a.m. ASI Show! New York March 10, 2009 8:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.   Free Webcasts Supplier Webcast: How to Have a Successful Trade Show Click here to view. Distributor Webcast: September - Supercharge 4th Quarter Sales Boost your holiday and 4th quarter sales with the hottest new products, styles and trends. Get holiday gift ideas, tips for selling awards and strategies for designing the most creative sales incentives for 2009. Click here to view. Distributor Webcast: October - How to Sell Clients on a Price Increase Don't let rising prices affect your sales or your profits! Learn how to proactively communicate price increases with clients and ultimately sell more and make more! Click here to view. Distributor Webcast: November 6th- Combat the Credit Crunch Struggling with higher prices, tighter credit and ever-increasing collection issues? Join our panel of industry experts and practitioners to learn how they are addressing these issues and flourishing in the wake of economic challenges - including the credit crunch. Click here to view. Distributor Webcast: November 18th- Prove to Your Clients That Promotional Products Work! Preview the results of ASI's revealing new study on the effectiveness of promo products. Learn how to use this information to acquire more clients and sell more promotional products to existing clients. Click here to register. Distributor Webcast: December - Become a Master at Selling Apparel Programs Get a sneak peek at hottest wearables and fashion trends for 2009. Catch this preview and get selling tips for the latest looks and hot new imprinting techniques that will convince your clients you're the "hippest, hottest" distributor around! Click here to register.   Free E-Newsletters Counselor® PromoGram® Advantages™ Hot Deals Wearables Style Successful Promotions® Trend Report™ Stitches Small Business™ Embroidery Business Insights™ Uniforms Trends Report™   Industry Magazines Counselor® Advantages™ Successful Promotions Stitches Wearables Uniforms

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Follow these tips and you will get more referrals by leveraging your contacts and clients. You will attract new business. You will accelerate your sales. And you will achieve higher results without increasing your cost of sales.

These strategies and many more will be discussed in detail by Joanne Black, America’s leading authority on referral selling, at ASI’s first-ever Million-Dollar Sales Summit. This program is specifically designed for sales reps exceeding $1 million in sales annually and is scheduled for the ASI Show Orlando on January 3, 2009. For more information and to register for this program, visit us at http://www.asishow.com/Education/ORMillionDollarSales.html

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Sales Strategy Session

Selling More to Existing Accounts

Selling to more people within an organization is a win-win for you and the client. By understanding their business, their markets and their goals, you’ll react faster and provide better solutions than the competition. Your clients will win because you’ll make them look good by selecting the right merchandise mix, staying within budget and meeting deadlines. You’ll win because you’ll gain a reputation for being creative, responsible and reliable to their needs.

To grow a key account, you must continually acquire more contacts and build additional relationships. To do this, you must be both discerning and determined. 

Be Discerning
Not every large or important client is the right match for your services. To be discerning you must review the client’s potential. Do they have any or all of the following key criteria that will make them a viable client for you?

• Sufficient staff that needs to be incentivized, recognized and rewarded
• A client base that requires programs rich in advertising specialty products such as mailings, gifts or items for trade shows
• Multiple divisions, offices and departments, including (and especially) marketing and human resources
• On-going programs such as recognition or celebration days for staff and/or clients
• A size of business that your staff, financials and capabilities can handle.

Be Determined
Are you willing to make the time to request referrals, identify other departments and contacts, communicate appropriately and regularly “work” the client? Determined sales reps will:

• Create a marketing plan and build information files as they dig deeper into the client contact base
• Focus on learning about the client’s business, employees and customers
• Dedicate themselves to making outbound calls and following up with consistent outreach
• Realize that the more people in the client’s company who can call him/her by name, the stronger his/her reputation will be
• Introduce themselves to everyone and leave a promotional product, even if they aren’t potential buyers
• Market themselves by utilizing branded merchandise to promote their name and company. 

Be diligent in your efforts. Don’t expect immediate recommendations or prompt return calls. Stay on course, following your plan. We’ve all heard the message that it is more cost-effective, time efficient, and profitable to sell deeper into an existing client rather than begin with a brand new one. Believe it - it’s true.

Tech Talk

Six Adobe Tips To Simplify the Artwork Process

Here are six simple tips to help you prepare and save better Illustrator files for your suppliers. This will make the process simpler, avoid unnecessary mistakes and costly errors, and make your supplier happier to work with you because they will not have to make changes to your files.

1. Always make sure that you are working in the CMYK color space, not the RGB color space when creating art that is either spot colors or process colors.
2. Convert all text to outlines to eliminate the need to send the screen and printer fonts for any type used in your design work.
3. When saving the file, be sure to embed any linked/placed art and graphics to eliminate the need to send the individual art files.
4. Always use product templates (when available) to create your art to the proper size and position.
5. Extend background images and color for proper bleed set-ups past the trim edges by 1/8” to 1/4”.
6. Double check your file’s color breaks by generating color separations to your own printer to be sure that the file is separating according to your design specifications.

And perhaps the most important “bonus” tip: Always double check your files before sending them.

For other simple tips on Adobe Illustrator, check out Michael Crawford’s Hands-On Adobe Illustrator class at the ASI Show Orlando on January 3, 2009 and ASI Show Dallas on February 4, 2009. For complete details on this class as well as others offered at the ASI Show, please visit: http://www.asishow.com/Education/ORHome.html

Green Promos

Become an Eco-Expert

By becoming an expert in the green movement, a distributor can help their clients not only do something positive for the environment, but also fulfill their corporate responsibility to shareholders and customers.

Here are some simple ways to be a green expert:

• Educate yourself on the terms, definitions and standards that apply to this product line.
• Attend trade shows, take classes and visit Web sites that educate and promote eco-friendly apparel.
• Align yourself with suppliers that are dedicated to this product line and understand what is involved in making sure that the product you sell is really green.
• Incorporate eco-friendly products into your own organization - it is amazing how much you will learn.

For Suppliers Only

Becoming a Preferred Vendor

Want to be a preferred vendor to a distributor? That can be easier said than done. Here are some keys to making it to the top of a distributors’ preferred list:

Be Responsive: Answer phone calls immediately (within two hours), and make top executives available to distributors if necessary.

Make it Easy: Like anyone else, distributors just want their lives—and their shops—to run more smoothly. By establishing online ordering systems, electronic Q&A reply programs, tracking methods and other tools that reduce timely phone calls, suppliers can help cut operating costs for distributors while boosting ordering efficiency and, ultimately, profitability.

Back ‘Em Up: More than anything, distributors love to have their marketing and sales efforts backed up by suppliers. That means coming up with creative product pitches, problem solving for the end-user, attending distributor sales meetings and other strategies to help distributors drive more business.

Make Few Mistakes: A missed shipment every once in a while can’t hurt business over the long run, right? Wrong. The truth is, most distributors (at least at larger firms) have established a grading system of sorts that helps them determine which suppliers make it onto their preferred vendor list, as well as who stays. Miss a ship date and your score could drop. Stop offering prices that boost margins, and your value could diminish. The good news? Preferred vendors who are consistent aren’t likely to fall off that list—at least not as long as their mistakes remain low.

Want to learn how to improve your supplier ratings on ESP? Attend ASI’s suppliers-only course, “How to Boost Your Supplier Ratings,” offered at ASI! Show in Orlando January 3, 2009, Dallas February 4, 2009 and New York March 9, 2009. For complete details on this and other supplier classes, visit: www.asishow.com/Education/ORHome.html