FRP350 Id Nov12

User Manual: FRP350

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INDEPENDENTS
GIVE BACK
EVEN MORE
IN THESE TOUGH
ECONOMIC TIMES
Doing Good
Doing Well . . .
November
2012
PREVIEW:
United Stationers
2013 Marketing
Program
Page 38
THE
WINNERS’ Circle
CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
Seventy Years and
Counting for American
Office Products, CA Dealer
Congratulations to Alan Bennett and his team at American Office Prod-
ucts in Canoga Park, California, who this year are celebrating their deal-
ership’s 70th anniversary.
AOP started out in 1942 as a typewriter repair and office supply com-
pany with a retail store that operated under the American Typewriter
name.
The company’s typewriter business is long gone and today, reports sales
manager Dennis Watson, office supplies account for the lion’s share of
sales—about 70%—with furniture and a growing cleaning and break-
room business making up the rest.
As with most dealers, business has been challenging in recent years,
says Dennis, but he notes welcome signs of stronger growth this year,
particularly on the furniture side, with more project opportunities show-
ing up as more customers decide they’ve put off that long-planned move
or remodel long enough.
That spells new opportunities for the dealership’s 28 employees and
they’ve been moving aggressively to make the most of them, adds
Dennis.
Chicago Area Chamber Endorses Local
Independent as Preferred Office Products Partner
Earlier this year, we had the unpleasant experience of reporting on the El
Paso Chamber of Commerce and the way it waxed loud and long about
the need to support local small businesses in its marketing materials and
then turned around and cut a sweetheart deal with Office Depot to endorse
the Florida-based big box as a preferred supplier for its members.
The good news this month, though, is that not all chambers share the El
Paso organization’s “bucks at any cost” mentality.
In Elmhurst, Illinois, just outside of Chicago, the local chamber has been of-
fering a similar deal to its members but instead of going outside the commu-
nity, they’ve partnered with Don Rathje and his team at locally owned and
operated West Suburban Office Products.
The deal has been in place now for about three years and, reports Don, it has
proved a genuine win-win-win for the dealership, the chamber and the cus-
tomers they both serve.
“Having the chamber’s endorsement doesn’t guarantee we’ll get the business
but it has certainly opened doors and brought us new accounts,” he says.
That’s good news for Don and his team and also for the rest of the Elmhurst
chamber’s members. Unlike in El Paso, it’s nice to see an organization that
not only talks about the importance of supporting local businesses but also
is willing to do something about it!
In Good Times and in
Bad, Independents’
Commitment to
Giving Back Stays
Strong
This month we highlight an aspect of our industry that
makes it truly special: its commitment to supporting wor-
thy causes and giving back to the community.
As reported elsewhere in this month’s issue, the industry
once again this year set a new record in fundraising ef-
forts on behalf of the City of Hope cancer research and
treatment center.
Independents played an important role in that effort and
they’re also hard at work on similar causes in their own
communities.
Independents are some of the most competitive people
in any industry. Most of them know just one speed and
that’s pedal to the metal, 24/7. But they’re also some of
the most generous people you’ll ever find.
Running a small business has never been easy, and you
don’t need me or anyone else to tell you how challenging
it’s been over the past few years.
But none of that has stopped independents from helping
those in need. If anything, as reflected in this month’s
cover story, they’ve stepped up their efforts and found
new and innovative ways to do good at a time when it’s
needed more than ever.
And they do it all with a minimum of fanfare. Indeed, if
you asked most independents why they’re so involved in
the community, they’d probably be hard pressed to come
up with an answer.
Chances are, you’d either get something along the lines
of “We’ve always done it,” or a puzzled look that you’re
even asking the question.
So as dealers wind down their Breast Cancer Awareness
Month promotions and start preparing to collect Thanks-
giving dinners for the homeless, adopt families in need
for Christmas and work on similar efforts, we’re proud to
recognize what is truly a remarkable track record of gen-
erosity and good citizenship.
And as always, if you’re doing something special that
you’d like to share with the rest of our industry, just drop
us an email and we’ll take it from there.
NOVEMBER 2012 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 2
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Showtime at Gulf Coast Office Products,
FL Dealer
There was plenty of interest in Gulf Coast Office Products’ ad specialty
offerings at their recent consumer show.
It was showtime and then some last month at Pensacola, Florida-
based Gulf Coast Office Products, as Mark Wright and his team
hosted over 600 customers and prospects at their fourth annual
consumer show.
The turnout set a new record for the event, reports GCOP’s Linda
Malamo, due in no small part to the outstanding support provided
by the 22 participating exhibitors.
“All our vendors provided door prizes for the event and we had close
to 50 of them on offer,” says Linda. Prizes ranged from HP printers
and HON office seating to travel vouchers and gift certificates.
In addition, the show also provided an opportunity for the dealer-
ship to show its outstanding community spirit.
“Every year, we sponsor a local non-profit as part of the show ac-
tivities and give them a table and organize a raffle to raise funds
for them,” Linda explains. GCOP also matches funds raised,
adding further support.
“Our show has become a great opportunity to give back to our
customers and to the community at large and everyone has a great
time,” reports Linda happily. Not surprisingly, she adds, the GCOP
team is already hard at work planning to make next year’s event
even bigger and better!
TN Dealer Evans Office Supply
Hosts Consume Show
Also hosting their annual consumer show recently were Todd Coffey and
his team at Evans Office Supply in Morristown, Tennessee.
Evans’ fifth annual show drew some 350 attendees to the dealer-
ship’s distribution center and furniture showroom and featured 18
different vendors, who all provided door prizes. Among the 50-plus
items up for grabs: office seating, shredders and coffee makers.
It was very much an order-writing show, Todd reports, with plenty
of show specials on offer to encourage attendees to get their
checkbooks out.
Porter's Office Products Announces Merger
with WY Dealer Knobe’s Office Supply
It’s been a busy couple of months for Mark Porter and his team
at Porter's Office Products in Rexburg, Idaho.
In our last issue, we reported on Porter’s acquisition of the com-
mercial office products business of M&H Office Supply, another
independent in Blackfoot, Idaho.
Now comes word of another deal involving Knobe’s Office Supply
in Jackson, Wyoming. Knobe’s owner Chet Knobe has joined the
Porter’s organization and will serve as account executive for its
new Jackson customers.
“We’re delighted to welcome Chet Knobe and Knobe’s customers
to the Porter’s family and looking forward to sharing with them
our unique brand of Blue Cow service,” commented Mark.
The dealership brands itself with Blue Cows service because,
Mark says, blue cows are “rare, never before seen and unique,
just like the outstanding customer service provided by our deal-
ership for close to 90 years.”
New Ownership Team at MD Dealer Rudolph’s
Office & Computer Supply
In Baltimore, Maryland, new ownership is in place at Rudolph’s Office
& Computer Supply. The dealership was established in 1985 and has
evolved to become one of the area’s most successful independents,
with a strong emphasis on state and local government contracts.
Heading up the new ownership team is majority owner Mai Anh Jones,
who will succeed founder Bonnie Rudolph as chief executive officer.
The company said Bonnie will stay involved with the organization as
chief operating officer, providing guidance and leadership as she has
for the past 32 years.
The transition came in the form of a stock purchase and it’s been busi-
ness as usual at Rudolph’s, reports president Christina Ensley.
And just what does business as usual look like these days? “Wonder-
ful,” answers Christina, pointing to the addition of a number of signif-
icant new contracts and solid growth in the office furniture and jan-san
categories for the dealership this year.
Also driving sales growth is a new business development effort on the
commercial side of the house, spearheaded by VP of new business
development John Wallace, who joined the dealership from Staples.
NOVEMBER 2012 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 4
WINNERS CIRCLE continued from page 2
CONTINUED ON PAGE 6
Integrated Business Solutions, VA Dealer,
Finds New Technology Opens Doors to
New Furniture Opportunities
One of the private offices in a recent IBS project
For many dealers today, office furniture represents one of their
best growth opportunities. But going beyond the basic desk-file-
credenza sale and moving upstream to more project-oriented
business is not always easy, particularly with tight budgets and
limited resources.
But if Tom Hardee’s recent successes at Integrated Business So-
lutions in Virginia Beach, Virginia, offer any indication, the barriers
to more ambitious furniture sales may well be coming down some.
Tom recently closed a $10,000 deal for three offices and a confer-
ence room that previously, he says, would probably been out of
reach. What made the difference? United Stationers Visual Planner
software from Animated Vision.
Using Visual Planner, Tom was able to put together a 2D and 3D
view of the floor plan as well as a detailed proposal for the entire
project in less than 20 minutes. And just 48 hours after presenting
the proposal to his customer, he learned that the job was his!
“Furniture only accounts for about 20% of our business and hav-
ing access to the design and specification tools to grow has been
a challenge,” Tom says.
“Visual Planner has certainly changed that,” he reports happily.
“It’s very intuitive and I really didn’t’ need any kind of formal train-
ing on the program before I was able to use it. It’s made life a
whole lot easier for us and opened the doors to some exciting
new
opportunities, even in these challenging times.”
NOVEMBER 2012 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 6
WINNERS CIRCLE continued from page 4
DBL312-2011LN
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Think Independently
BMI OP RevelationTM
The Truly Independent Software
Solution for Office Product Dealers
Competition in the Office Product industry is fiercer than ever. Your
independence is what sets you apart. OP RevelationTM advanced dealer e-
commerce and business management software from BMI lets you remain
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The choice is always yours in terms of the content you want to feature on
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Warren’s is a true family business. President Warren Roberts with marketing director
Jen Roberts (standing) .and vice president Melissa Roberts Bors.
Warren Roberts’ first words, when I talked with him for this article were, “I
know you’re going to ask, ‘What’s the secret of our success?’ so I’ll tell you
up front: It’s exceeding customer expectations every day.”
After I heard more from Warren, I will tell you that this is much more than a
slogan. “Our livelihood depends on our customers’ satisfaction,” Warren
NOVEMBER 2012 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 8
SECRETS OF SUCCESS:
Warren’s Office Supplies, Springvale, Maine
Exceeding Customer Expectations—Every Day
by Jim Rapp
states, “and everyone who works here understands that.
We focus on what we do well, repeat it over and over
again and try not to get distracted by what the compe-
tition is doing.”
Warren was an outside rep for a retail office product
store, then purchased the business in 1981. It’s grown
over the years, mostly through acquisitions—in Portland,
Maine, in 1998, Skowhegan, Maine, in 2003, and three
very small dealers recently—one in Bath, Maine, and two
in New Hampshire.
Staying Close
to the Customer
Warren, along with twin daughters Jen and Melissa and
every employee, follows a program that keeps them in
almost daily contact with customers.
The program includes periodic personal visits, even to
those customers who order online. Drivers don’t just
make deliveries. They talk with customers, ask if they’re
happy with the products and the service, regularly drop
off gifts and samples and report back about problems
or questions customers may have.
Some years ago they adopted the Pencil Man as their
mascot, using him in all their advertising and promotion.
“We do a monthly e-mail newsletter featuring the Pencil
Man, with contests and other means of feedback,
reports Warren.
“With increased online ordering, we saw a need to use
new ways to stay in touch. The newsletter includes the
latest adventures of Pencil Man. We ran him for Gover-
nor during the last election. The newsletter always in-
cludes a trivia question, and sometimes has a coupon
for free Famous Amos cookies, recipes and so on.”
Warren says that much of the growth of the business
comes from new customers. “We know we need to go
out and see a certain number of prospects every day, and
everyone gets involved. Our drivers deliver welcome kits
prior to our rep going in for the initial appointment. We
also make phone calls to prospects introducing our cus-
tomer service team. When we go in for the appointment,
the account is already set up, with their customer code
and password, and our rep delivers a complete informa-
tion packet designed specifically for that prospect.”
Warren, Jen and Melissa Roberts have built a very suc-
cessful and growing family business in this mostly rural
coastal part of Maine. Their future looks great—another
fine example of what independent office products deal-
ers are doing across the country.
nWarren Roberts,
President and founder
Melissa Roberts Bors,
Vice President
Jen Roberts,
Marketing Director
nSupplies, furniture,
printing, beverages
nFounded: 1981
nSales: $3.5 million
nEmployees: 16
nPartner: S.P. Richards, TriMega
nOnline sales: 52%
nwww.warrensofficesupplies.com
Day ree of the storm and still no
power and we have been told by
local authorities and our power
company that it could be up to 10
days for power restoration. We
have hundreds of downed trees
over power lines and over 20% of
local cell towers are still down, so
cell service is still very touch and
go. Phones are completely down, as
are UPS, USPS and Fedex.
—Chris Corday, Ace Depot,
Northvale, NJ
We were forced to postpone our Pro-
ductivity Show but our oces are
open and working. Our Internet
lines and website are running at less
than 20% normal speed as Verizon
indicates 50% of their routers re-
main under water.
—Sid Lerman, Weeks Lerman
Group, Maspeth, NY
My family and my sta 's families
are all well and safe. We are now
dealing with the inconenience of
not having electric, phone, Internet
etc at home. I decided to drive into
the oce this morning (the day
aer the storm) and to my surprise
all services were available and two
of our three websites are up and
running with short sta.
—Alex Minzer, BulkOfficeSupply.com,
Hewlett, NY
Our dealership was not too aected
by the storm but unfortunately
most of our employees have lost
electricity, hot water and heat and
have no gas for their cars. One of
our employees lost his two-story
home and another watched as his
car oated together with hundreds
others on Coney Island. I counted
130 cars standing in line for gas
yesterday and they were only dis-
pensing $20 of gas per car. Sandy
has made a historic impression in
the Tristate area that we will never
forget.
—Michael Tsveitel, Plexon, Inc,
Brooklyn, NY
Power out but we are all ok. Oper-
ating on iPhones and iPads with
car chargers. We lost two days of
sales and we'll see what tomorrow
brings.
—Rob Mallin, Village Office Supply,
Somerset, NJ
Our New Jersey facility is totally
dark and probably will be for a
couple of days. Fortunately, we
transferred the phones to our
Kingston, New York, location so
we won't miss any NJ business (not
that there is any).
—Buzz McKernon, American Printing
& Office Supply, Kingston, NY
We have power at the business,
however I am without power at
home and the house is unlivable
with about 3 to 4 feet of water on
our ground oor. Lots of fun.
—Jordan Kudler, Crest Office
Products, New York City
Aer getting hit with back-to-back
storms last year, we learned our
lesson and installed a generator
and put together a disaster reco-
ery plan, so we were able to make
the appropriate preparations prior
to the storm. We closed Monday
and Tuesday as we didn’t want our
employees to have to drive through
the wild weather.
Deliveries continue to be dicult,
especially by the shore since many
roads remain closed and/or ooded.
We have oered assistance to our
customers and our trucks were used
by the emergency response teams in
surrounding towns to transport sup-
plies to their shelters.
—Bob Shulman, Suburban Stationers,
Middletown, CT
No power at the business all last
week. It just came up today
(Sunday). We have been closed all
week and unless there is fuel on line
this coming week, business will be
at a standstill.
—Dave Garbus, Huntington Business
Products Centre, Long Island
By the time it was over,
Hurricane Sandy had
killed at least 90 people in
the U.S., left 8.5 million
without power and
generated damage and
destruction that one
estimate put at as much
as $50 billion.
The good news for the
office products
community—and it was
good news— was that
there were no initial
reports in the industry of
fatalities or serious injuries
caused by the storm. But
that was where the good
news ended, as dealers
from North Carolina to
Maine struggled to get
back to some kind of
normalcy in the wake of
an unprecedented
weather disaster.
With our thanks to
Independent Stationers
and TriMega for their help,
here’s a summary of
reports from dealers in the
states most affected by
Sandy on its impact in the
days immediately
following the storm.
NOVEMBER 2012 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 10
Special Report:
Independents Take a Hit from
Hurricane Sandy
Photo: NJ Governor's Office/Tim Larsen
THANK
YOU
Heroes for Hope -
$100,000
3M
ACCO Brands
Avery Dennison
Domtar
Fellowes Inc.
Georgia-Pacific
The HON Company
Newell Rubbermaid
Office Depot
OfficeMax
OPI
Quill
S.P. Richards Co.
Smead Manufacturing
Company
Staples Inc.
The Godfrey Group
The Office City
United Stationers
Champions for Hope -
$50,000
AOPD
Esselte
Frey Gaede
Hewlett Packard
Innovative Storage
Designs
International Paper
Office Partners
TriMega
Diamond Circle -
$25,000
Bic
Independent Dealer
Magazine
Nestle Waters
Pilot Pen
Quality Park
Safco
Saunders
Shurtech Brands
Soporcel
Honoree’s Circle -
$17,500
Coca-Cola
Golden State Business
Alliance
Harbinger National
HiTouch Business
Services
HSM of America
Support for City of Hope by the National Office Products Industry has been tremendous over
the past 30 years, and this year is no exception. We would like to extend our sincere thanks to
everyone who contributed toward the “Building Hope” initiative. The initiative raised over $9
million this year and brought our 30 year cumulative total to more than $100 million for
City of Hope. We are grateful for every contribution, as your generosity helps City of Hope
push forward the time when cures for cancer and other life-threatening diseases will be found.
To learn how you can get involved, please visit
www.cityofhope.org/NOPI.
SCOTT LIGHT
President, GP Professional Washroom & Wiper
Solutions and Communication Papers
Georgia-Pacific and 2012 Spirit of Life® Honoree
Building
Hope
RESEARCH
TREATMENT
EDUCATION
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Industry Raises Record $9.5 Million in
Support of City of Hope
S.P. Richards’ Wayne Beecham, outgoing chairman of the National Office Products Council,
congratulates Spirit of Life Award honoree Scott Lite while Dr. Michael Friedman, City of Hope
president and CEO, holds the check for a record $9.5 million that was raised by the office prod-
ucts industry during this year’s campaign.
The National Office Products Industry fundraising campaign for the City of
Hope celebrated its 30th anniversary in style last month, when it concluded
yet another record-setting year at the annual Spirit of Life Gala in Chicago.
Over 700 attendees honored this year’s Spirit of Life award recipient, Georgia
Pacific’s Scott Light, whose campaign raised a record $9.5 million.
Next year’s campaign, which will mark the100th anniversary of City of Hope,
officially gets underway March 11-12, with the annual City of Hope Tour.
For more information, visit www.cityofhope.org/nopi.
A whistle-blower lawsuit unsealed last
month in Los Angeles Superior Court claims
Office Depot overcharged dozens of govern-
ment agencies by millions of dollars under a
contract it held with the U.S. Communities
state and local government agency purchas-
ing consortium.
The case, according to the U-T San Diego
newspaper which first reported the story,
was filed under seal in March 2009 and
seeks triple damages for overcharges and a
$10,000 penalty for each inflated invoice,
possibly bringing the total damages sought
into the hundreds of millions of dollars, the
newspaper reported.
The newspaper said the case is known as a
qui tam proceeding, under which a whistle-
blower aids the government and benefits
from any penalty. Such cases start in secret.
The government investigates the claims and
attempts to reach a settlement before the
seal is lifted and litigation proceeds.
All governments participating in the con-
tracts could receive a portion of any settle-
ment or judgment, but some have joined in
active litigation — which could entitle them
to a larger share of any payout, according to
U-T San Diego. They include the cities of
Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Pomona,
and school districts in Merced, Stockton and
Monrovia.
“We believe Office Depot deliberately over-
charged the city and are taking steps to re-
cover the overcharges,” a statement from the
city of Los Angeles said. “We cannot com-
ment further on matters in litigation.”
The lawsuit claims Office Depot intention-
ally misapplied discounts and changed
prices in violation of its agreements, the
newspaper reported. It also claims the
company failed to fulfill lowest-price guar-
antees and switched some customers to
an alternate pricing option without telling
them it would likely cost them more money.
Nearly all of the lawsuit’s claims were in-
vestigated by the Florida attorney general
in 2010 and Colorado attorney general in
2011, the newspaper reported. Both attor-
neys general set aside all but the price
plan-switching allegation in settling with
Office Depot for a combined $6.3 million.
In 2011, Dallas County accused Office
Depot of not offering its lowest prices
through the contract, and is demanding
$1.8 million. Earlier this year, Detroit Public
Schools claimed it was overcharged at
least $1 million more than the company’s
lowest prices and received a settlement for
an undisclosed amount.
For more on Office Depot’s problems with
its state and local government business,
please visit the Depot State
Contract Watch
section of the INDEPENDENT DEALER
website
www.idealercentral.com/Pages/Watch_List.
NOVEMBER 2012 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 12
CONTINUED ON PAGE 14
If you have news to share - email it to
Simon@IDealerCentral.com
New Lawsuit Seeks Triple Damages from
Office Depot for Alleged Overcharges
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Continued Dealer Growth, New
Programs Front and Center at
TriMega National Convention
At this year’s TriMega National Convention, the
group’s president, Charlie Cleary, gave members
kudos for their ability to become more effective
e-marketers and grow share in hot new product
categories like jan-san, managed print services
and ad specialties.
Even though margins continue to be
squeezed and new account acquisition is
tougher than it has ever been, those chal-
lenges and others like them have not pre-
vented progressive independents from
reinventing themselves to become more
effective e-marketers and grow share in
hot new categories like jan-san, managed
print services and ad specialties.
That was the message from TriMega pres-
ident Charlie Cleary at the group’s 2012
National Convention last month.
TriMega took as its theme for this year’s
meeting Propel 2012 and the focus was
very much on generating forward progress
and plenty of it, as members gathered in
Orlando to hear updates on TriMega pro-
grams, meet with some 120 supplier part-
ners on the tradeshow floor and learn from
industry experts and each other.
Citing mega-trends and developments
such as the entry of the big boxes into the
office products business, the emergence
of online ordering and consolidation of
players at every point in the channel,
Cleary said dealers have witnessed, re-
sponded to and at times created some
monumental changes in our industry.
“With the barrage of changes on a non-
stop pace, we are still here to tell the story
because we’ve been hungry, we’ve been
resilient, we’ve been aggressive, we’ve
been decisive, and we’ve been relentless
in our focus to win market share,” he told
TriMega members.
“We’ve not been afraid of big ideas and
we’ve been fearless in our desire to keep
growing, progressing and advancing,” he
added.
Reflecting the overall strength of the inde-
pendent dealer community, Cleary re-
ported TriMega currently is “570 members
strong, $400 million in direct purchase vol-
ume, $1.6 billion in wholesaler purchase
volume, and $32 million in rebates paid out
to TriMega members over the past year.”
He said members are up 2% in purchase
volume year-to-date with outbound sales
higher than that and offered kudos to them
NOVEMBER 2012 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 14
INDUSTRY NEWS continued from page 12
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for investing in new technology, embracing
the Internet and social media and adding
feet on the street to generate market growth.
At the convention, TriMega introduced a
number of new programs and initiatives
designed to help keep the momentum
going forward for its members. They in-
cluded:
• The Orange Project, TriMega’s new
initiative in partnership with whole-
salers S.P. Richards and United Sta-
tioners to help members grow their
jan-san business
• OP on the GO, the group’s first ever
iPad and tablet Catalog App
• TriMetrics, a new benchmarking tool
to help dealers manage their busi-
ness better and smarter through in-
sights into best practices dealer
metrics and performance data.
• Additional growth from TriMega’s
Point Nationwide national account
program, currently on track to gener-
ate its first $2 million month.
• Continued growth of the group’s edu-
cation program, with record participa-
tion in its TriWebinars and Triumph
sales training series
• Launch of the TriMega ThinkTank, a
new initiative that seeks to take
member networking to the next level
by facilitating best practice sharing,
peer-to-peer learning, creative brain-
storming and problem solving
through monthly teleconferences
Also at the meeting, TriMega recognized
several members for outstanding support
of the organization. They included:
• Office 360, Indianapolis, for greatest
dollar growth in direct and wholesale
purchases from TriMega suppliers
over the past 12 months
• Atlas Stationers, Chicago, for great-
est percentage growth in direct and
wholesale purchases
• Office Environment Company,
Louisville, and Bishop’s Office
Needs, Houston, for greatest per-
centage growth in direct purchases
• Missouri Office Systems, Kansas
City, MO, and Ables-Land, Tyler, TX,
for greatest dollar growth in direct
purchases
In addition, TriMega named Brown &
Saenger, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Cus-
tomer Service Point of the Year under its
Point Nationwide program.
The group also honored the following
manufacturers for their support:
• Global/Offices to Go—Top Growth
Award
• Smead Manufacturing—Top Marketer
• Rubbermaid Commercial Products—
Top Emerging Supplier
• ACCO Brands—Champion for
Independents, a new award
presented for the first time this year
As reported last month, next year TriMega
will partner with Independent Stationers to
host EPIC 2013, a joint convention set for
September 18-20 in San Antonio.
NOVEMBER 2012 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 15
INDUSTRY NEWS continued from page 14
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Independent Stationers Rolls Out 2013 M-Power
Marketing Program
The Independent Stationers dealer group last month an-
nounced an enhanced M-Power Integrated Marketing Pro-
gram for 2012.
The IS M-Power program was first introduced in 2005 and has
expanded with a focus on current marketing trends such as social
media.
The program has benefits for both Independent Stationers mem-
bers as well as participating manufacturers, IS said. The group’s
members can take advantage of eMarketing through the use of
banners, electronic flyers, specials, direct mail marketing, social
media marketing, training opportunities and more at no cost as a
value-added benefit of membership.
Manufacturers benefit by exposing their brands to all IS members
and all of their customers, which strengthens their brand
“The M-Power program is a great resource for our members due to
the vast number of marketing tools available to them from our manu-
facturer partners”, said Janet Eshenour, Independent Stationers di-
rector of marketing.
“And, because many of the eMarketing materials are loaded to
the dealers’ websites for them, it’s a lot less work for them to up-
date on a quarterly basis. The impact to manufacturers is signifi-
cant as well because they can reach all members at one time and
an unlimited number of customers.”
S.P. Richards Launches CampaignAdvantage, New
Managed E-Mail and Social Media Program for
Independents; Names New Northeast Region VP
Wholesaler S.P. Richards last month announced the launch of
CampaignAdvantage, an automated e-mail and social media plat-
form designed to provide independents with a powerful new tool
to reach their customers and prospects.
S.P. Richards said the program offers an ideal solution for those
dealers looking to consistently deploy marketing campaigns via
e-mail and social media, but who have been hindered by time or
resource constraints.
For dealers already leveraging e-mail marketing and social media,
CampaignAdvantage will provide the perfect complement to their
efforts, the company added.
Included in CampaignAdvantage integrated marketing campaigns
are promotions sent directly to the dealer‘s provided opt-in e-mail
NOVEMBER 2012 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 16
INDUSTRY NEWS continued from page 15
CONTINUED ON PAGE 18
database of customers, posted to their Facebook page and
tweeted from their Twitter account. All these activities take place
without any effort on the part of the dealer.
All dealer customer e-mail lists are housed on a secure server and
S.P. Richards has no visibility into this confidential information,
the company said. Additional program support material will in-
clude editable flyers and web banners and be available through
S.P. Richards new MarketingOnDemand Portal.
Coleson Chase, S.P. Richards project manager for the program,
said, “CampaignAdvantage will provide dealers a turnkey pro-
gram to jumpstart or augment their e-mail and social media mar-
keting efforts. Combined with the additional tools supporting each
campaign, dealers will be able to drive significant product aware-
ness and sales with very little investment in time.”
For additional details on the program, contact your local S.P.
Richards sales representative.
Separately, S.P. Richards announced the appointment of Ray
Sreca to division vice president for its Northeast region. In his
new role, Sreca will take on sales and operations oversight of the
company’s Baltimore, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Pitts-
burgh, Richmond, Syracuse and New Jersey distribution centers.
Sreca has managed the company’s New York distribution center
since 2009. Prior to that, he ran the Richmond distribution center
which was named the company’s 2008 Branch of the Year.
Susan Roberts Elected to BSA Board
Susan Roberts of the Unified Sales Associates rep organization
has been elected a member of the Business Solutions Association
(BSA) board of directors. Roberts will represent BSA’s manufac-
turer representative members on the board.
“BSA is pleased to have a person of Susan’s stature and experi-
ence,” said BSA president Mike Wilbur. “She adds to a very
strong team on this year’s board. We look forward to working with
Susan and know that she will bring new ideas and energy”
Roberts began her industry career in 1983 as an outside sales rep
NOVEMBER 2012 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 18
INDUSTRY NEWS continued from page 16
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for a Dallas-based office products dealer. She had a two-year stint
at Container Corporation of America, but was recruited back into
office products by Scott Rice of Texas.
In 1994, she joined the Mid America Marketing rep firm as a ter-
ritory manager and became an equity partner in 1997. In 2005,
she merged Mid America with Unified Sales Associates to form
the Unified Sales of today and is an equal owner/principal.
Baumgartens Launches SICURIX, In-House ID
Systems for the School and Office Channels
School and office supplies manufacturer Baumgartens last month
introduced SICURIX, a new program developed to offer compre-
hensive identification card-making systems.
SICURIX allow any size organization, school or government entity
to fulfill a large part of their security initiatives in-house, Baum-
gartens said.
The program includes name-brand printers and accessories such
as ribbons and cleaning kits. Additionally, badge holders, badge
reels, lanyards, ID cards and card-holders, and RFID blocking de-
vices are available.
"The school and office supply industry has the power to lead and
quickly fulfill the need and increasing demand for secure environ-
ments," says David Baumgarten, vice president and general man-
ager. "SICURIX in depth coverage meets these demands. Now a
dealer working with any organization can handle the initiation, con-
tinuation or expansion of an ID program with SICURIX.”
Clover Announces Settlement with Canon
Clover Technologies Group last month announced it has settled
its disputes with Canon in the International Trade Commission
and the federal district court in the Southern District of New York.
The disputes related to certain laser printer cartridges. The set-
tlements will result in Clover’s dismissal from both lawsuits, the
company said. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
Clover said it is pleased to be able to continue to offer its cus-
NOVEMBER 2012 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 19
INDUSTRY NEWS continued from page 18
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CONTINUED ON PAGE 20
tomers and the market its full line of remanufactured laser car-
tridges, including the HP and Canon models involved in the law-
suits.
Clover remains committed to producing genuine remanufactured
products that respect the intellectual property rights of others, the
company added.
Safco Introduces Runtz Ball Chair to
Put a Bounce in Children’s Seating
Safco Products has introduced Runtz, a new line of seating
specifically for children.
Safco said the chairs are designed to create a space that
“screams fun, including a bounce factor that allows children to
move even when they need to take a seat.”
The bright, energy-filled colors coat an anti-burst exercise ball
that will put a little bounce in how they sit, keeping their energized
bodies moving even when they are seated for a project, home-
work or snack time. The exercise ball also helps with posture, and
many studies are showing that movement can actually help chil-
dren concentrate better and help them retain more of what they
learn, Safco said.
The chair comes with a choice of mesh in Licorice, Bubble Gum or
Sour Apple and features four powder-coated legs and a pump that,
according to Safco, ensures every child will be bouncing off the
walls before you know it!
AOPD Welcomes Supplies Network as New Business
Partner
American Office Products Distributors, (AOPD), the national
accounts dealer marketing organization, has announced the
addition of Supplies Network to its Business Partner Program.
Supplies Network is the largest privately owned, wholesaler of IT
consumables in the U.S.
“AOPD is delighted to have Supplies Network join our Business
Partner Program,” stated Bud Mundt, AOPD executive director.
“As a premier wholesale distributor of IT Products and related
services, Supplies Network will benefit our dealers in providing
world class service to their consumers, in this very important
market segment.”
Greg Welchans, president of Supplies Network said, "We are
pleased to announce the establishment of our partnership with
AOPD. Their values associated with high levels of customer
service, order fulfillment and problem resolution fall in line with
our core values as a distributor. We are particularly pleased with
their value associated in working with
NOVEMBER 2012 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 20
INDUSTRY NEWS continued from page 19
CONTINUED ON PAGE 21
dealers and keeping their dollars local in terms of distribution. We
are happy to be a part of the team."
Smead Offers Organized Office Facebook Tab
As part of its ongoing program to support dealers’ social media
efforts, Smead Manufacturing has introduced the The Organized
Office Facebook Tab.
The Organized Office is a Facebook tab with regularly updated
organizing content sponsored by Smead, but which is generically
branded to match the dealer’s communications.
The tab allows dealers to provide valuable content to their fans
and encourages visitors to LIKE their page to view the content,
Smead explained.
“As dealers, we are always looking for suitable content for our
websites and social media pages and the more assistance we
can get from our manufacturers the better,” said Bonnie Hunt of
Perry Office Plus in Temple, Texas.
“The Smead Facebook tab is really easy to install and represents
a reall win-win for us, Smead and our customers.”
Midwest Representatives Rebrands as Midwest
Resource Group
The Midwest Representa-
tives independent rep group
announced last month it
has changed its name to
Midwest Resource Group, Inc.
NOVEMBER 2012 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 21
INDUSTRY NEWS continued from page 21
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The company said the name change reflects the significant
changes and expansion in business activities since it started op-
erating in 1965.
The company’s operations today encompass expanded activities
that include regional and national channel coverage, national
key account coverage, administrative services, integrated
content marketing, showroom services and consulting, the
company said.
The company will continue to operate with its current manage-
ment structure and the headquarters will remain in Buffalo
Grove, lllinois. New e-mail addresses and a new web domain
are being implemented.
“Our repositioning illustrates and conveys the multiple busi-
ness services we offer,” says Steven Glass, managing partner
at Midwest.
“The foundation of our organization is sales focused and we suc-
cessfully deployed services that support the sales process for our
manufacturing and reseller partners. The key to our organization’s
success continues to be a clear understanding of the complexity
of the industry and marketplace.”
Industry Veteran Buz Baetz Retires
After an industry career that spans 42 years, Buz Baetz has
decided to retire, effective December 1.
Buz started in the office products industry in 1967 with Fountain
Pen Supply, the business his father co-founded.
Buz purchased the company from his father in 1987. In 1994 he
sold the company and joined Sanford Corporation, where his last
position held was director of sales, fine writing instruments.
He left Sanford in 2004 and after a brief excursion outside the
industry, joined The Highlands Group rep organization in 2008 as
an account manager in the Mid-Atlantic.
“Buz has served the company well and he will be missed,” The
Highlands Group said in a statement.
He and his wife Jackie will continue to reside in Monkton, MD.
When asked what he plans to do in the coming years, his
response includes plans to spend more quality time with his four
children and five grandchildren while also taking time to improve
his golf game and work with some local charities he has been
involved with like Habitat for Humanity.
Our own best wishes go to Buz and Jackie for much success in
the next stage of their lives!
NOVEMBER 2012 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 22
INDUSTRY NEWS continued from page 21
CONTINUED ON PAGE 23
Newsmaker Interview:
Sharon Avent, President / CEO
of Smead Manufacturing
When Smead president and CEO Sharon Avent received the
2012 Leadership Award from the Business Solutions Associa-
tion (BSA) at its annual meeting in Dallas last month, it repre-
sented industry-wide recognition of a truly remarkable career.
Avent got her start in the industry as an hourly office employee
at Smead back in 1965. She has come a long way since then,
as reflected in an equally long list of honors that includes not
only the BSA Leadership Award but also the City of Hope’s
Spirit of Life Award and recognition from the National Associa-
tion of Women Business Owners’ (NAWBO) as its “Business
Owner of the Year.”
In the following interview, Avent discusses the nature of leader-
ship in the office products industry and offers her own perspec-
tive on some of today’s critical business issues.
nSharon Avent received BSA’s 2012 Leadership Award from immediate past
president Joe Templet of United Stationers (left) and current president Mike
Wilbur of Cosco Industries at the association’s annual meeting in Dallas last
month.
NOVEMBER 2012 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 23
INDUSTRY NEWS continued from page 22
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nFirst of all, congratulations on your award. I’m
wondering, as the recipient of this year’s
Leadership Award from BSA, how do you
personally define leadership in the office
products industry?
AVENT:
I think leadership is a combination of factors. Consis-
tency is really important in our industry but so are quality of
service and the level of representation we offer to our dealers.
Leadership is also about our ability to listen and respond to
our partners in the channel and the common customers we
serve.
Leadership in our industry also involves being able to change
quickly and proactively, not just in terms of providing a steady
stream of new and innovative products but also in the way we
communicate in the marketplace.
There are a whole range of new communications methods and
media and if we aren’t using those new tools and giving our deal-
ers the ability to use them as well, we’re not fulfilling our role.
I would also consider our efforts to protect the integrity of our
products an aspect of the leadership we provide.
We patent a lot of our items to protect our intellectual property
and also to protect our dealers and the customers we serve
together from inferior, copycat products.
High ethical standards and support of industry trade associa-
tions like BSA and NOPA are also important. I think people
know that we’re very ethical and that comes from the top man-
agement down. And our people have always been involved in
industry organizations and working to advance the industry as
a whole.
The City of Hope is the most visible cause in our industry and
we have a record of giving there that’s second to none. But
there are many other charities and non-profits that benefit from
our industry’s generosity. For an industry our size, we provide
remarkable leadership when it comes to giving back.
Finally, a commitment to giving back is a key component of lead-
ership in my view. Our industry supports so many worthy causes
and that’s something we can all be very proud of.
nOne of the key aspects of the BSA meeting
where you received your award was
technology and the association’s drive to
develop standards for e-content and other
marketing elements. How important is this
effort from your perspective and how would
you rate BSA’s own leadership in this area?
AVENT:
The standards development effort that BSA is under-
taking is extremely important for everyone in our industry.
As a manufacturer, we spend a lot of time and effort putting to-
gether e-content and if everybody wants it in a different format, it
becomes very difficult and time-consuming.
If we can come up with standards that everyone can accept and
use, it will be a tremendous benefit, not just for the manufacturer
but for the rest of the industry as well.
Putting it simply, what saves the manufacturer time and money
will translate into savings for our partners in the supply chain.
nThere have been growing efforts in recent
years to provide a more hospitable place in
the industry for women—I’m thinking in
particular of the Office Products Women in
Leadership organization (OPWIL). Do you
think women get fair treatment in our industry
today?
AVENT:
It’s certainly better than it was. There are more women in
top positions in their companies—I’m thinking of Bonnie Swayze
at Alliance Rubber and Iris Rubinfeld at Master Manufacturing, for
example—and it was encouraging to see the recent election of
Susan Roberts of Unified Sales Associates to the BSA board and
the growth of the OPWIL organization.
At the manufacturers meeting during the BSA Forum, I was also
pleasantly surprised by the number of women in the room.
We are making progress, but there’s still a long way to go and I hope
we will see more growth opportunities for women emerge in the
industry so we can continue to move forward.
nPredictions of a paperless office are hardly
new but a number of factors—the advent of
iPads and tablets, thumb drives and cloud
computer, for example—do seem to be
driving down demand for paper quite
significantly. As the chief executive of a
company that is heavily paper-intensive,
what’s your own take on what’s happening?
AVENT:
We’ve been talking about the paperless office for many
years but it’s certainly been slow in coming. There are a lot of
people out there still who like working with paper—I know I’m
one of them! Having said that, there’s no question there are
some significant areas of our economy where paper use has
either disappeared or is seeing some significant declines.
Healthcare is an obvious example, where the walls and walls
of traditional files and filing systems have been replaced by
electronic data storage.
NOVEMBER 2012 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 24
INDUSTRY NEWS continued from page 23
CONTINUED ON PAGE 25
We certainly can’t ignore those trends and we don’t. They
make it more important than ever for us to emphasis the de-
velopment of innovative new products, so that we and our
dealers can remain relevant in the new environment.
nSmead was one of the very first supporters of
our new “Made in the USA Central” website
and it is clearly a key part of your overall value
proposition. How do you think consumers
view that “Made in the USA” message?
AVENT:
We see support for Made in the USA growing stronger
and stronger. We get a lot of comments from consumers
through our social media platforms and they tell us they’re
thrilled that we’re still Made in the USA and that we have such
a broad range of Made in the USA products that they can pur-
chase.
People have seen so many jobs exported to China and other
places and it’s become a big concern. It’s certainly a major
issue for the American worker.
When we highlight Made in the USA, it’s a plus for all of us
and if we don’t promote it, we’re not doing our own job.
The other point worth making is that the Made in the USA
message fits very nicely with the Buy Local campaigns that so
many independent dealers have organized in recent years.
Those are two messages that complement each other very
well.
nAny final words for the dealers?
AVENT:
Only to thank them for their business and to emphasize
our belief that independent dealers are not only important to
Smead’s business but to the office products industry as a
whole.
Whether they have a store, a traditional commercial operation
or an online-only business, the independent dealer, even with
all the changes we’ve seen, is still very much a factor in our
industry.
At Smead, we’re very proud of our record of support for inde-
pendent dealers and very open to any suggestions they might
have on ways we can build on what’s in place and make that
support even stronger.
NOVEMBER 2012 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 25
INDUSTRY NEWS continued from page 24
Introducing an exciting new online resource from
INDEPENDENT DEALER
showcasing the very best in office products made right here at home.
www.idealercentral.com/Pages/Made_in_the_USA
ADVERTORIAL
The benefits and efficiency of online ordering
are hard to dispute, but a number of dealers
are urging greater industry caution in light of a
recent series of episodes involving fraudulent
orders placed online to GSA vendors.
This latest scam has some familiar elements, but it comes with a
new twist. This time the perpetrators of the online fraud have
made it appear that the orders were generated by a large govern-
ment agency, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
According to reports NOPA has seen from federal law enforce-
ment officials, investigated dealer losses amount to more than
$100,000 since the scam was first reported in July. It seems to
have been launched in late 2011. Here are some common fea-
tures of this latest scam:
• Perpetrators of the fraud have hacked government data-
bases to obtain the names and e-mail credentials of ac-
tual federal employees and have then used those
credentials to set up accounts with Schedule 75 vendors.
Order sizes have ranged from several hundred dollars to
as much as $20,000 using stolen government credit card
numbers.
• Federal investigators believe that this scheme is orches-
trated with help from recruited “repackagers,” individuals
who knowingly or unknowingly have accepted work-from-
home positions and who serve as intermediaries to re-
ceive the shipped goods at their residences. Once the
order has been placed online, the orchestrator of the
fraud “spoofs” a disconnected phone number to call the
GSA vendor and obtain shipping and tracking informa-
tion, which is then passed along to others who pick up or
in some instances steal the goods from the doorsteps of
the “repackagers.”
To date, dealers in New Jersey and Texas in particular, as well as
some in Georgia and possibly New Hampshire, have been im-
pacted by this scam.
While known cases of fraud so far have been linked only to mis-
appropriated EPA employee names and e-mail addresses, other
federal agencies’ employees’ information may also have been
compromised.
Government officials advise that any orders for HP toner car-
tridges placed in the name of the EPA or its employees should be
verified before acceptance through the EPA Office of the Inspec-
tor General.
You also can utilize Google Maps using the “street view” function
to determine if the shipping address is a residence or business
location.
If fraud is suspected, dealers are encouraged to contact the FBI,
ideally before processing the incoming order, in case there is an
opportunity to process the order under their supervision.
NOPA members may contact NOPA president Chris Bates in con-
fidence at cbates@nopanet.org to obtain contact information for
the federal investigators handling these fraud cases and more de-
tailed information on how to best assess the possibility of a fraud-
ulent transaction.
In all instances, it is important that dealers receiving suspect toner
orders document the occurrence with copies of e-mails, online
chat conversations or audio recordings of telephone conversa-
tions.
Federal officials caution, however, that you must first advise
someone that you plan to record the telephone conversation
following the rules set forth in your state’s consensual recording
regulations.
In sum, knowing your customers still matters—perhaps more than
ever—given the growing problem of identity and credit card in-
formation theft and the ease of arms-length web-based ordering.
When in doubt, check, and establish internal processes within
your business systems whenever possible to provide “trip wires”
that will flag suspicious incoming online orders, as well as orders
from customers that exceed your established size limits.
NOVEMBER 2012 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 27
NOPA
news
Online Fraud on the Rise Again
in the Office Products Industry
Ofce Products Marketing & Advertising
4211 North Division
Comstock Park, Michigan 49321
616.785.6061
When it comes to
community involvement
and supporting deserving
causes, no one does it
better than today’s
independent office
products dealers.
NOVEMBER 2012 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 29
Doing Good
ile Doing Well
When it comes to community involvement and supporting deserving causes, no
one does it better than today’s independent office products dealers. But some
do it better than others and as a result, they gain the attention of just about
everyone in the markets they serve, which certainly contributes to the dealer’s
long term success.
Investing in your community has many rewards and helping your business is
only one of them.
“Think about it as a win/win for everyone,” says Jennifer Smith of Innovative Of-
fice Solutions, Burnsville, Minnesota. “Anything you do or your people do makes
your community a better place. It doesn’t matter whether big or small, everyone
wins.”
Dealers all across the country tell me their cities and towns have much greater
needs in these tough economic times. I’m happy to report that they and their
employees are doing more than ever before to help their communities.
We should all be proud of what the independent community is doing in this
regard.
As you read about the fine work of the dealers noted in this article, please
keep in mind that there are many more that we would like to mention, but
that would require dozens more pages. We will be mentioning others in
future issues of INDEPENDENT DEALER. Just drop us an email
(simon@idealercentral.com) to let us know what you’re doing.
Get Everyone Involved
“Don’t be afraid to get everyone involved in your good work,” advises
Jeff Gau, Marco, Inc., St. Cloud, Minnesota. “We’re an employee
owned company, so any money we give takes away from
our bottom line. Yet we’ve agreed to give about 5% of
our profit to worthy causes and have been doing so
every year since 1981.
“Our major effort each year is the United Way,
with funds divided among the 23 locations we
serve. This year we raised $115,000.
“Fund raising activities go on through the
year. We have our own rock and roll band
that plays at various fund raisers. We
have a soup cook off that raises money
for food pantries. We try to put some fun in
by Jim Rapp
Independents
Give Back
Even More
in These Tough
Economic Times
CONTINUED ON PAGE 30
everything we do, to support the charities
where employees are involved, and to pro-
vide work time to accomplish their goals.
“There’s no question that all this effort
helps our business. We say, ‘all things
being equal, why not buy from a good cor-
porate citizen?’ And our customers do.”
In Memphis, Yuletide Office Solutions
gives back 9% of its net company income
each year and sometimes even more, re-
ports Yuletide’s Justin Miller.
In addition, every Yuletide employee is re-
quired to be involved in at least two com-
pany volunteer activities each year.
“There’s a lot to choose from and some-
thing is happening every month of the
year,” Justin says. “We partner with a num-
ber of customers, so our people get to
know a lot of customer people. Memphis
is known as the most giving city in the
country, so there’s no shortage of commu-
nity work to be done.”
Yuletide is a major supporter of Meritan
Case Management, which provides serv-
ices for seniors, foster care for children,
and assistance for the visually impaired
and the developmentally disabled. One of
their biggest fund raisers is the Midnight
Classic Bike Tour, when hundreds of cy-
clists start out at midnight on a 23-mile
race through the streets of Memphis.
Yuletide follows the riders with four of their
trucks, picking up people having trouble
completing the race, along with their
bikes. Other employees serve as spotters,
stationed all along the route.
Yuletide is also a major supporter of the
Church Health Center, which provides af-
fordable healthcare for uninsured people
and their families. It is the largest faith-
based clinic of its type in the country, car-
ing for more than 50,000 patients last year.
Phillips Office Solutions in Middletown,
Pennsylvania, is another independent with
an outstanding record of support for wor-
thy causes.
“We notify all employees, on a monthly
basis, of the various things that they can
be involved with in the various communi-
ties where we operate,” HR director
Christy Meyers told us.
“Typically, these are causes that someone
here has an attachment to, such as
autism, Down Syndrome, prostate cancer,
cystic fibrosis and many more. One of my
favorite fund-raisers is our ‘soup lunches’
program,” explains Christy.
“One day each week, an employee or em-
ployees donate one part of the lunch and
everyone pays $5, with all proceeds going
toward the adoption of a number of needy
families. Our service to these families in-
cludes an enormous Thanksgiving feast.
Our employees also select gifts for these
families and personally deliver them.
“Our fundraising has gone far beyond just
NOVEMBER 2012 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 30
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soup,” adds Christy. “When employees made
their favorite dishes, lots of people asked for
recipes. This led to the development of a
cookbook featuring employees’ favorite
recipes, with sales benefiting the holiday pro-
gram.”
Phillips also has a kickball team that raises
money for Downtown, Inc., a York, Pennsylva-
nia group working to reduce urban blight.
An additional layer of en-
gagement with employees,
customers and vendors re-
garding community involve-
ment comes in the form of dealership’s social media
presence. “We use Facebook, Twitter and so on on a
daily basis,” Christy reports, “showing pictures of all our
activities and keeping everyone informed of upcoming
events.”
Schools Get Special Attention
Of all the causes that dealers
and their employees support
in their communities, educa-
tion tops the list.
“Some years ago we de-
cided that instead of giving Christmas presents to
all our customers, we would use that money to support one char-
ity in a substantial way,” reports Peter Ives, The Ives Companies,
New Orleans.
“We selected St. Michael’s Special School, which helps students
with major learning difficulties. It’s been a wonderful experience
for us all, because we get involved with
their activities and fund raisers. It’s de-
veloped into a lot more than simply
making a financial contribution.
“We support many other causes, in-
cluding adopting a needy family for
Thanksgiving, but helping this special
school is the highlight for us.”
Friends Business Source, Findlay, Ohio, gives
up to $500 worth of supplies to any teachers
who submit one-page essays about any innova-
tions they’re doing in their classrooms. Five win-
ners are selected.
“We wanted to recognize these teachers who go
beyond the ordinary to help
their students,” say Friends’
Ashley Barger. “It’s a natural
since school supplies is an
important part of our busi-
ness.”
Innovative Office Solutions
(IOS), Burnsville Minnesota,
gets lots of publicity by being the of-
ficial supply partner for both the Min-
nesota Vikings football team and the
Minnesota Wild hockey team, while
helping charities they promote.
“Every time the Vikings make a field
goal, we donate $250 to the Vikings
Children’s Fund,” explains IOS’s
Jennifer Smith. “We partner with a
customer, with the donation going to
their charity of choice.
“The Wild team picks a charity of the
month during their seven-month season and we do a huge pack-
age for each one. It’s a program that generates a lot of television
exposure and we are always mentioned as a contributor.”
Last year, Marco employees took
on a "Build a Fence" project at a
local youth organization.
Employees constructed a
wooden fence at the rear of the
building and returned this year
to complete the project by
painting the fence.
Some of the hundreds of
backpacks Innovative Office
Solutions helped fill and donate
to local area school kids in
need.
Al Lynden (second from left) and
his team at Chuckals Office
Products had good reason to be
smiling after raising $14,000
divided between the City of Hope
and a local organization that
maintains a golf course designed
specifically for disabled soldiers
and veterans.
NOVEMBER 2012 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 31
COVER continued from page 30
CONTINUED ON PAGE 32
Artlite’s Bert Light gets ready to take to the
skies one more time to help a sick child in
need.
IOS also works with the Minnesota Twins
baseball team every year supporting their
charitable activities.
“We pick one school and working with the
Twins, give away hundreds of backpacks,
filled with supplies, to the schools most in
need,” notes Jennifer. “We appreciate the
help that United Stationers has given us
with this work.
“Every month each department in
the company has some charita-
ble activities going on, and each
quarter one charity is selected
that the whole company is in-
volved in.
“Most recently, it was a shel-
ter for battered women and children. The
employees select the charity, then every-
one here gets involved, including the em-
ployees’ families. This goes far beyond
giving money. We develop relationships
that continue on and on over the years. I’m
so proud of our employees for all the great
things they’re doing to make this a better
place to live.”
Speaking about making a better place to
live, Garrigans.Com, Springfield, Ohio, has
been doing just that through its annual
“Pay It Forward” scholarship awards pro-
gram.
Local high school seniors submit a short
essay on how they would make Springfield
a better place, with the winner receiving a
$500 scholarship.
Over the years, Garrigan’s has also
worked with interns from the local junior
college, enlisting them on new business
development efforts.
Joe Garrigan also participates as a judge
at the local college where students de-
velop business plans, competing with one
another.
“It’s not only a lot of fun,” Joe says, “but it
keeps me in touch with the business chal-
lenges of today.”
“There’s nothing more important to the fu-
ture of our country than the education of
our children,” states Addison Jones, The
NOVEMBER 2012 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 32
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CONTINUED ON PAGE 34
A 35-member team from Miller’s
Office Products helped raised more
than $16,000 for City of Hope at a
Walk for Hope fundraiser in
Washington, DC, earlier this year.
COVER continued from page 31
September 18 - 20
It’s going to be BIG...
Supply Room Companies, Ashland, Vir-
ginia. “The education market is an impor-
tant part of our business, and we need to
give back as much as we can.”
The Supply Room Companies do just that.
They’re a cosponsor with the Virginia PTA
of the Virginia Lottery’s Super Teacher Pro-
gram. The lottery recognizes one teacher
in each of their eight districts, with a $2,000
cash award. Addison’s company gives
each of the teachers’ schools
or classrooms $2,000 of sup-
plies.
Last year, a middle school in their territory
was nearly destroyed by a tornado. An-
other school had a very destructive fire.
The company collected furniture and sup-
plies for both, spearheading a major effort
in those communities.
Another fundraiser that not only raises
close to $700,000 for the Special
Olympics organization but also draws
thousands of supporters and spectators is
the annual Polar Plunge at Virginia Beach.
The event takes place in February and the
Supply Room sends a team of their hardi-
est people to join the thousands of partic-
ipants who take the plunge into the icy
Atlantic Ocean to “seize the freeze” for a
worthy cause!
Further afield, the dealership has donated
furniture and supplies to schools in
Afghanistan, and supports the City of
Hope, by sharing manufacturer incentives
through the AOPD program.
Getting
Customers Involved
As I talk with dealers around the country,
more and more of them are working side by
side with customers to be good corporate
citizens. It doesn’t matter whether a partic-
ular effort was started by the dealer, cus-
tomer or someone else, the resulting
NOVEMBER 2012 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 34
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CONTINUED ON PAGE 35
Phillips Office Solutions team
members get involved in the
dealership’s annual adopt-a-family
program, donating toys, clothing
and other gifts to local families in
need. The dealership also
publishes a cookbook featuring
employees’ favorite recipes with
sales of the cookbook benefitting
the holiday program.
COVER continued from page 32
friendship is a benefit that money can’t buy.
Social media has become an important
contributor to this working together, as
messages fly back and forth but between
employees at all levels.
Last year, SunDANCE Office Supply in
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, just outside of
Tulsa, started a special “Help Us Help
Tulsa” campaign that has proven very suc-
cessful on several levels.
Under the program, SunDANCE donates
3% of one day’s sales each month to a
particular charity. They pick a day when
sales are the highest, usually Wednesday
or Thursday. On Monday of that week, they
send emails to all customers, announcing
the charity—the list includes a local food
bank, Habitat for Humanity, the American
Red Cross, or a homeless shelter.
“As you might imagine,” says Sun-
DANCE’s Dyan Condry, “sales on that day
increase dramatically, yet sales the day or
two before or after do not drop off.
“We get the word out by blog, website,
tweeting and flyers that our drivers deliver.
When we talk to potential clients, this ef-
fort has been most helpful. On each of
these days, we already give away $800 to
$1,000 and we’re hopeful the amount will
continue to increase as time goes on.”
Customers of Chuckals Office Products in
Tacoma, Washington, not only know pres-
ident Al Lynden but just about everyone
else who works there. That’s because
Chuckals supports the charities of its cus-
tomers, as well as its own, and everyone
gets involved.
“This is the fifth year of our charity golf tour-
nament,” Al explains, and this year we
raised $14,000, with half going to the City
of Hope and half to the Friends of American
Life golf course, which is designed specifi-
cally for disabled soldiers and veterans.
Chuckals supports many other organiza-
tions throughout the year, including the
holiday dinner fund, which provides holi-
day dinners for needy families during
NOVEMBER 2012 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 35
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Part of the promotion for the “Help Us Help Tulsa”
campaign from SunDANCE Office Supply
COVER continued from page 34
Thanksgiving and Christmas.
“Last year we raised $2,000 by collecting
toner cartridges and this year we expect
to raise at least $2,500,” Al said.
So Much More to Tell
In Atlanta, Bert Light of Artlite Office Sup-
ply serves as a volunteer pilot for Angel
Flight Soars, which flies people who need
medical treatment in other cities, all at no
charge. Bert has flown more than 40 times
this year. The organization flew more than
3,000 mission last year. Bert works hard
raising money for the cause, and asked
that we mention S.P. Richards and United
Stationers as important contributors. Their
website is: www.angelflightsoars.com.
“We support many individual employee
causes throughout the year,” says Wayne
Stillwagon, Miller’s Office Products, Lor-
ton, Virginia, like walking to end
Alzheimer’s and providing school supplies
for children in an employee’s church.
“Earlier this year, 35 of our people partici-
pated in the Walk for Hope, a fundraiser to
benefit the women’s cancer research,
treatment and educational programs at
City of Hope, raising more than $16,000.”
They recently did a Jeans Wednesday ini-
tiative whereby staff can “buy” the right to
wear jeans on Wednesdays, with the pro-
ceeds also going to the City of Hope.
“We patterned it after a similar program at
United Stationers,” Wayne explained.
NOVEMBER 2012 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 36
COVER continued from page 35
Office Products Women in Leadership (OPWIL)
is a professional organization connecting women in
leadership roles within the Office Products industry.
Together we can learn, develop and grow while forming
professional connections and developing lasting friendships.
Join our conversation on Facebook and LinkedIn for more information.
An intrepid team from The Supply Room
Companies gets ready to brave the element in
support of the Special Olympics organization at the
annual Polar Plunge in Virginia Beach, VA.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 37
Miller’s are strong supporters of the Amer-
ican Red Cross, Salvation Army and Joy
Ranch, a home for children in distress. The
company provides computers, monitors,
printers and furniture for the facility.
“If everyone does a little bit, a lot gets
done,” contends Nathan Goldberg at Spe-
cialized Office Systems in Phoenix and Las
Vegas. “We support many causes through-
out the year, many that our employees
favor and many that all of us participate in.
We contribute a portion of sales dollars to
all first orders going to the Cerebral Palsy
Foundation. We participate in a cancer
awareness program, we work with special
needs children and adults, and always
adopt several families for the Christmas
holidays.”
Office Products Plus, Ridgeland, Missis-
sippi, donates $5 to a charity for each
toner cartridge returned. “This has
amounted to thousands of dollars over the
years,” says market development man-
ager Kimberly Cleland. “We keep cus-
tomers informed of all our charitable activ-
ities in our monthly emails, as well as
those of our customers.”
They also support and promote “Box Tops
for Education,” where more than 200
brands work together, including Avery,
Boise, Kleenex, Scott paper towels and
Hefty products. Last year the national or-
ganization raised $59 million.
Karen and Dwight Bogart at Convenience
Office Supply, Austin, Texas, are well
known in Austin for their charitable work,
which we’ve mentioned in INDEPENDENT
DEALER a number of times.
Most recently, the company partnered with
The HON Company to donate a chair to
the silent auction at a big fashion show
supporting Hospice, attended by more
than a thousand women. “Of course, the
chair was pink” Karen reported.
One of their major efforts, working with
customers, supports a shelter for abused
women. “It’s important that we get the
word out to everyone in the community,”
Karen explains, “not just about what we’re
doing but what the needs are of those or-
ganizations we support.”
A Proud Tradition
Independent dealers should feel good
about everything they’ve done and con-
tinue to do to make their communities bet-
ter places.
As you know from reading this article and
from your own experience, independents
are leaders when it comes to helping their
cities and towns in a hundred different
ways, outshining the big boxes, chain
stores and online sellers that have no local
community involvement of any kind.
So don’t be shy. Tell the world what you’re
doing and promote the causes you believe
in. And let us know about your community
involvement, so we can let the rest of the
industry know about it in future issues.
NOVEMBER 2012 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 37
COVER continued from page 36
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Today’s successful reseller doesn’t just care-
fully monitor more diverse elements of their
business than ever before; they also proac-
tively map out how those elements combine
to create the “total customer ex
perience.”
That means how the customer perceives
and reacts to the reseller’s business de-
pends not just on the sales rep, or the
website, or the email strategy, but a whole
range of different touch points—the deliv-
ery, the invoice, the customer service rep,
the hours of operation, etc.
And making a promise in one area of the
business that is not fulfilled in another cre-
ates a disharmony that can—and often
does—adversely impact customer satis-
faction and loyalty that cannot be fixed by
marketing alone.
United Stationers is focused on helping re-
sellers understand all customer touch points,
so you can move beyond just “marketing,”
to understand how to build a winning busi-
ness culture and total customer experience
that generates greater mind share, market
share, and profitability—and that cannot be
successfully attacked or replicated by the
competition.
It is a balanced blend of all elements of the
business into a holistic customer ap
proach.
To map out this level of success first requires
understanding the importance of each of
these elements:
• Observe and understand the end
consumer
• Build your brand
• Maximize the power of integrated
marketing
• Achieve the “total customer
experience”
Observe and Understand
Today’s Diverse
Consumers
The office products market is changing.
While the economy has a major impact on
office products, there are other forces at
work as well. Understanding, responding
to and tapping these forces is vital to your
profitability.
Buyers are changing: demographics, ex-
pectations and priorities are shifting, and
with those shifts come new ways to ap-
proach potential buyers.
The Empowered User
Office purchasing has long been the duty
of purchasing agents and office managers,
NOVEMBER 2012 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 38
CONTINUED ON PAGE 39
Mapping Reseller Success for 2013 –
Much More than Marketing
By Megan Ogden, Senior Manager, Marketing, United Stationers Supply
but United Stationers’ consumer research
indicates that is changing—and quickly.
While purchasing agents may still hold
power with regard to contracts, empow-
ered users purchase 61% of what a typical
company buys. Empowered users:
• Buy what they need when they need
it, using company credit cards or
expense accounts and they are less
likely to go through formal purchasing
functions.
• Work in businesses of all sizes.
• Respond to convenience and may
purchase what they need for the
office while doing their personal
shopping.
• Are less aware of supplier contracts,
spending limits or options.
Part of the key to reaching empowered users
is to understand the difference between B2B
marketing and B2C. Traditional business pur-
chasing agents are B2B buyers and are typ-
ically marketed to using
B2B techniques of rela-
tionship selling. B2C buy-
ers need to be marketed
to using consumer tech-
niques such as targeted
email campaigns and
website marketing.
The Generation
Consumer Gap
The workforce is now three generations
strong and you need to customize your ap-
proaches to reach each type of consumer:
Generation Y/The Millenials (born between
1980 and 1994), Generation X (born be-
tween 1965 and 1979) and the Baby
Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964).
The demographics of decision makers and
empowered users working within your
customer base can vary greatly in their
value systems, communication prefer-
ences and consumer behavior.
As you plan the future of your business,
you need to address how you will reach
and interact with all three generations of
consumers in your market.
Understanding consumers is not a one-
time event; it must be built into your busi-
ness strategy. Understanding macro
demographic trends can be accomplished
NOVEMBER 2012 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 39
UNITED STATIONERS PREVIEW continued from page 38
CONTINUED ON PAGE 40
NOVEMBER 2012 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 40
UNITED STATIONERS PREVIEW continued from page 40
DBL367-2012LN
PRIME PROTECTION
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via United Stationers’ consumer research as well as other market-
place studies that are available.
However, micro trends—those impacting your own
customers buying from you today—must be
understood by analyzing the data you have
at your disposal.
Today, there are many CRM (Cus-
tomer Relationship Management)
systems available that help you
mine and analyze your cus-
tomers’ buying information to
determine not only what they’re
buying, but what they’re NOT
buying—and based on market
trends—who else might they be
buying from besides you?
Build Your Brand
—the Foundation of
Your Business
Understanding today’s changing consumers is one challenge; cap-
turing their loyalty through the customer experience that you build
CONTINUED ON PAGE 39
is another. That’s why building a powerful
brand is so important.
Your brand is the foundation of your busi-
ness. It is the reason customers recognize
you and try you, and it is also the reason
they keep coming back. It is the promise
you make, and how you consistently de-
liver on the promise.
Today, consumers have more control than
ever. They have the power of choice, and
with the proliferation of social media, they
have the power of voice. The brands that
are winning in a consumer-controlled en-
vironment are the ones that consistently
deliver an exceptional customer experi-
ence.
Your brand point of difference guides your
customer experience. Some brands are
built on price, others style, selection or
unique service. But successful brands all
have a framework that enables the organ-
ization to integrate and proliferate the
brand beyond marketing to every aspect
of the operation, which in turn guides
every customer interaction.
What is your brand? Your brand consists
of multiple elements:
• Logo + tagline + message—your
company’s face and voice to the world.
• Your brand promise — a promise you
make to follow fundamental principles
with every customer interaction
• Only YOU do—it is built on your point
of difference
• Your customer experience —it exists in
the minds and perceptions of your
customers
• Consistently executed branding—it
must come through in
EVERY marketing touch
point and customer
interaction
The importance of presenting
a consistent image is why
United Stationers’ dynamic
marketing cover portfolio now
offers 136 cover tracks offering
an array of brand styles and
personalities, so that you can
choose one that’s appropriate
for your business.
• Graphic Focus features
covers that are engaging,
creative and filled with personality.
They bring fun to catalogs and
customer experience.
• Product Focus makes products the
hero of the cover theme. They feature
everyday products that lend a more
professional and sophisticated
aspect to the customer experience.
• Patriotic covers offer a patriotic flavor
and approach for a timeless look and
feel.
• Lifestyle covers show people going
about their workday. Resellers can
use this track to bring their customer-
service focus to the forefront.
Maximize the Power of
Integrated Marketing
The consumer landscape in today’s multi-
channel market continues to shift. Web-
sites, mobile platforms and social media
networks are growing more and more im-
portant and catalogs and flyers remain
tried and true marketing tools.
In order for your brand to consistently
reach your target audiences, you will need
to utilize multiple communication channels
and integrate them effectively.
Every aspect of your marketing mix
shapes your customer experience. Con-
sistent and thoughtful integration of every
marketing touch point will shape that ex-
perience and impact your brand percep-
tion.
Customer touch points represent an inter-
action between you and your customer.
The optimal number of annual touch
points may be over 200, requiring a bal-
ance among different types:
• Marketing touch points—inbound
and outbound marketing activities
• Service touch points—customer
service calls, business reviews,
service visits
• Operational touch points—product
delivery, drivers’ visits impacted by
uniforms, trucks and packaging,
packing slips and invoices
Because consumer demographics and be-
havior are changing, so is the way that
customer touch points should be utilized.
For example, younger consumers commu-
nicate much more heavily via social media,
which require a commitment not just to
sending messages, but receiving mes-
sages and acting on them.
We have entered the era of “content mar-
keting,” often referred to as inbound mar-
keting. It is the concept of attracting
customers to you with compelling content,
information and engaging conversations.
Inbound marketing activities help you get
found by people who are looking for what
you are selling. Inbound marketing in-
cludes activities such as:
• Search engine market-
ing (SEM)
• Search engine opti-
mization (SEO)
• Blogging activities and
participation in social
media (Twitter, Face-
book, YouTube, Pinter-
est and LinkedIn)
• Public relations
Inbound marketing is a way to
gain the attention of your mar-
ket. People who are attracted to
your content through inbound
marketing activities are more
NOVEMBER 2012 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 41
UNITED STATIONERS PREVIEW continued from page 40
CONTINUED ON PAGE 42
likely to buy because they are actively
looking for products or information and
have found your dealership in the process.
This is the future of marketing and resellers
need to get ready for it.
Outbound marketing, on the other hand,
refers to the messages resellers send out
into the world to generate leads and sales
with the hope that the recipients have an
interest in what you are selling and will re-
spond. Outbound marketing includes:
• Traditional advertising (newspaper,
magazines, radio, TV and outdoor)
• Direct mail and direct response such
as catalogs, flyers, mailers and email
• Tradeshow participation, sales calls
and telemarketing
• Events
While inbound marketing has not yet re-
placed outbound marketing, it is rapidly
gaining attention, particularly when it
comes to acquiring traditional B2B cus-
tomers.
Today, resellers need to create more in-
bound marketing opportunities, and re-
sellers need to be smarter about their out-
bound marketing efforts. To be successful
with inbound marketing, resellers need to
integrate and extend content across every
touch-point.
Inbound marketing can’t be solely the do-
main of your marketing team. It must be
central to your entire operation. This
means resellers need to look at the way
they communicate with their customers.
Your sales and marketing team needs to
understand the importance of social
media, connect with customers via social
media, and use those channels to advance
the sales conversation.
Part of the reason that communicating is
shifting to inbound techniques is because
consumers are hit with thousands of mes-
sages on a daily basis. The actual number
of messages may vary—some say 2,000,
others 5,000; either number is significantly
more messages than a human being can
process. As a result, consumers have had
to become effective at tuning out and fil-
tering these messages.
What’s more, we live in a world with infor-
mation readily accessible on a wide range
of topics. Consumers who have grown up
in the digital age expect to learn about
what they buy. They will seek out content
sources and are most easily reached with
inbound marketing tactics.
The most successful inbound marketing
efforts will occur only when resellers have
refined their brand platform to make the
transition.
Start by building a cross-functional team
that communicates and converses in a so-
cially networked world. Then create a
website that supports content for inbound
marketing.
As the front door to your business and the
central hub of all your marketing activities,
you’ll want to evaluate how your website
measures up to the websites of your prime
competitors.
NOVEMBER 2012 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 42
UNITED STATIONERS PREVIEW continued from page 41
CONTINUED ON PAGE 43
Those are the sites that empowered users
visit on a regular basis, so if your website
doesn’t compare favorably, and especially
if it’s not friendly for mobile users, you
won’t be able to attract and hold this vital
customer group.
Integrated
Marketing Campaigns
Your inbound and outbound marketing ac-
tivities help lay the ground work for out-
standing acquisition, retention and growth
campaigns.
The most successful efforts will involve in-
tegrated campaigns that employ a variety
of messaging tactics to capture the great-
est number of business opportunities.
While many resellers may not have the
wherewithal to develop integrated market-
ing campaigns on their own, United helps
simplify the process with its SmartMaps
included in the 2013 Marketing Power kit.
The SmartMaps offers sample campaigns
that target small business customers (busi-
nesses with 5-19 employees), medium-
sized customers (20–99 employees) and
large business customers (100–249 em-
ployees). All three of the SmartMaps offer
sample campaigns for acquisition, retention
and growth.
As an example a retention campaign for a
medium business customer starts by dis-
tributing an Everything for the Workplace
catalog, a Marketing Distribution Kit with
sample products and literature, a Smart-
Deals Xtra flyer and an eDeals email. For top
results the Marketing Distribution Kit can be
personalized with your company’s logo.
Growth campaigns are designed to cross-
sell new categories to existing customers
and expand the share of business you get
from them.
There are a number of ways to grow cur-
rent business but the most common ap-
proaches are to guide customers to
purchase additional product categories
from you or to expand the items within a
category that they are already purchasing from
you.
Position your firm as a single-source provider
and point out the comprehensive nature of
your product offering.
You can do this by targeting medium sized
companies with your offering of furniture,
Jan/San or technology products.
Promote your Jan/San offering with cus-
tomers, for example, by sending them
United’s Janitorial, Breakroom & Safety
Source catalog followed by mailings of the
quarterly Safety & Security Zone flyer.
A sample acquisition campaign for a medium
business customer employs consistent weekly
touch points to remind prospects of your deal-
ership and drive their buying behavior.
Start by sending a welcome postcard, fol-
lowed a week later by a flyer and followed a
week after that with a telephone call.
Keep track of your results and repeat the
process with a second flyer and another fol-
low-up call if needed.
NOVEMBER 2012 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 43
UNITED STATIONERS PREVIEW continued from page 42
CONTINUED ON PAGE 44
At any time during the campaign, when a
prospect becomes a customer send a
Welcome Kit identified with your logo. If no
order or appointment is made, delete the
prospect and try again in three months. Achieve the Total
Cutomer Experience
Companies that provide an exceptional and
fully integrated customer experience are winning
in today’s market.
To accomplish that, first you must observe and
understand consumer behavior—both macro
trends and the behavior of your own customers.
You must build and constantly reinforce your
brand, And you must maximize your use of in-
tegrated marketing, employing a mix of both in-
bound and outbound techniques in which every
member of your staff reinforces your brand ex-
perience at every touch point.
Today, mapping your success is about much
more than just “marketing” to your customers;
it’s about solving their problems in a way that
builds loyalty and repeat business.
United Stationers’ Marketing Power system and
other resources are important elements you can
rely on as you build a
business that stands out from
the crowd, giving you the edge today’s ever more
crowded and noisy marketplace.
NOVEMBER 2012 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 44
UNITED STATIONERS PREVIEW continued from page 43
CONTINUED ON PAGE 46
Furnish Profitable Solutions
Furniture marketing has never been more about having the right
products and right marketing tools to reach the market profitably.
With United Stationers you are able to get the furniture and ac-
cessories you need, where you need them, when you need them,
as well as Marketing Power components to help you profitably
target furniture buyers.
United offers products from more than 60 industry-leading sup-
pliers with in-stock, quick ship and special order (fabrics, finishes
and sizes) availability.
Over 4,000 furniture items are available for next-day delivery from
the multi-million dollar inventory at our 30 regional distribution
centers.
From the breakroom to the boardroom, we have everything you want
to sell: desks (contemporary and traditional), chairs (executive, man-
agement, high performance task, task and specialty), files (lateral
and vertical), bookcases, storage cabinets, shelving, tables, recep-
tion furniture and more.
Reaching furniture buyers with the right vehicles is critical to your
success. That’s why we have created a comprehensive assort-
ment of tools including annual catalogs, promotional flyers, sales
support aids and value-added services and made all of them easy
to incorporate into your marketing strategy.
The Furniture Solutions catalog is the backbone of any furniture
marketing program and features a best-in-class selection of more
than 5,500 in-stock furniture products.
Appealing to both transactional and contract buyers, the catalog
promotes single and multi-unit project purchases. Within the Fur-
niture Solutions catalog, items are organized by a “good-better-
best” merchandising strategy and arranged by major product
categories to help customers quickly find the product they require.
The catalog also contains information icons, tips, solutions and
facts together with suggested companion and accessory products
to simplify the office planning process. Reference guides, planning
guides and an industry glossary help your customers understand
the furniture market better.
According to United research, dealers who employ the Furniture
Solutions catalog generate four times the furniture revenue com-
pared to dealers who only use the full-line catalog. Quarterly Fur-
niture Solutions flyers promote additional furniture sales and can
be used effectively as tools in your acquisition, retention and
growth campaigns.
NOVEMBER 2012 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 46
UNITED STATIONERS PREVIEW continued from page 44
DBL366-2012LN
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more about DURAFRAME®
CONTINUED ON PAGE 47
Email promotions build awareness, create
inquiries, generate phone calls and are an
effective tool to increase furniture sales.
Email offerings include monthly and bi-
monthly vehicles to help increase your fur-
niture sales.
Monthly Flyer on the Fly promotions show-
case furniture items with aggressive pric-
ing and feature customizable PDFs that
dealers can send to their customers.
Bi-monthly dealer cards feature promo-
tional items available for 60 days. An
HTML email with dealer pricing is included
as well as a customizable PDF for end-
user pricing.
In addition, eDeals Furniture Boosters are
available as a single offering for furniture-
only resellers. These email promotions can
be customized with reseller branding and
delivered to a list of customers the first
Thursday of every month.
Alera is United Stationers’ proprietary of-
fice furniture line designed to meet the
needs of all size offices and all levels of
employees across a broad range of pro-
fessional industries.
Alera office furniture offers an impressive
balance of quality, innovative design, preci-
sion styling and premium ergonomics. Its
broad line of high-quality furniture is compa-
rable to large name brands at big box stores.
Marketing tools that support the Alera line
include the quarterly Alera Flyer which fea-
tures Alera desks, chairs and other furni-
ture items at aggressive consumer pricing
up to 50% off.
The Alera SmartMap is a great tool that
shows the depth and breadth of the Alera
chair line and makes it easy for end users
to find the ideal seating solution. In addi-
tion a full line of PDF brochures covering
the entire Alera line are housed on United’s
Solutions Central web portal at solution-
scentral.ussco.com.
New for 2013 is the Alera website—
MyAlera.com—which provides furniture
buyers with real-time product information.
MyAlera.com uses state-of-the-art Internet
marketing technology and a dealer network
tool known as Local Lead Engine. Using the
Alera website’s optimized strength and
Local Lead Engine’s precise technology al-
lows each individual dealer to achieve un-
matched search marketing results.
Each Alera office furniture dealer can now
be part of a virtual dealer network that
major search engines can index and rank.
As such, Alera dealers increase their online
exposure and maximize lead generation
from local customers who are actively
searching for their products and services.
To simplify the process of designed work-
spaces for customers United makes avail-
able Visual Planner. This user friendly tool
lets you design customized workspaces
so that you can provide a visual presenta-
tion to your customers and close the sale
more quickly.
Developed with the needs of the furniture
salesperson in mind, Visual Planner is a
web-based layout and presentation tool
that lets your—or your customer—be the
office space designer.
With just an Internet connection you can
go from an empty space to a fully de-
signed suite complete with proposal in just
four easy steps. In addition, Visual Planner
includes all the furniture available in the
Furniture Solutions catalog, including
quick-ship and special order furniture, so
there is nothing to download, install or
maintain.
United Visual Planner uses a drag-and-
drop function so you don’t need to spend
time learning complicated CAD-based de-
sign programs.
Even though the program can be learned
independently, training and support are in-
cluded. Plus, it allows up to 25 users per
license per location, which makes it ex-
tremely cost-effective.
With United Visual Planner you have the
convincing power of illustration to close
large furniture sales.
NOVEMBER 2012 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 47
UNITED STATIONERS PREVIEW continued from page 46
It’s getting near the end of the year and
that means it’s time to celebrate your 2012
successes and plan for even greater suc-
cess in 2013. And it’s also time to give
your sales force their annual checkup.
You do that for your own health so why not
do it for your sales health, too? The
biggest obstacle to doing though is know-
ing just what to check, so that’s what
we’re going to talk about in this month’s
column.
Being a sales manager in this industry can
be a challenge but the good news, when
we’re talking about positioning ourselves
for an outstanding 2013, is that there really
aren’t that many things to consider.
As a manager, you only have two variables
to work with in order to generate results,
and only two methods by which to maxi-
mize those variables.
The two variables are quantity of sales ac-
tivity and quality of sales activity. The basic
equation looks like this: (Quantity of sales
activity) x (Quality of sales activity) = Re-
sults.
In other words, the more you do of some-
thing and the better you do it, the better
your results will be. Your job, as sales
manager, is to maximize the number of ac-
tivities performed in your sales funnel, as
well as the quality of those activities. To do
this, you have two things to work with:
your people and your processes.
The first thing to ask yourself, as part of
your checkup, is: “How many of my peo-
ple are capable of achieving my 2013
goals?”
I like to rate my salespeople in three cate-
gories: Green, Yellow, and Red.
Green salespeople are
those who either are cur-
rently meeting goals and
that we expect to continue
to do so, or who are properly ramping up
to meet goals (in the case of new sales-
people or salespeople who have been on
a performance improvement plan).
These are the ones that you’re not worried
about. You’d still like to work with them to
improve their performance, but you’re not
losing sleep over whether or not they’re
going to be with you. Your main task with
these salespeople is to continue to develop
their skills and work to retain them.
Yellow salespeopleare
in doubt. Their perform-
ance is not meeting goal
and you’re unsure if they
are capable of meeting goal.
You should be troubleshooting these peo-
ple. In fact, any salesperson who is Yellow
should currently be on a Performance Im-
provement (or Probationary) Plan. These
could also be salespeople who are so new
that they don’t have an established per-
formance pattern yet.
Red salespeoplearen’t
going to make it. You’ve
been working with them
and you realize that it’s
simply not going to work out.
Projecting their achievement out into the
future, they simply don’t have a time when
they will reach goal. If you have any of
these people, you should be in the
process of releasing them.
NOVEMBER 2012 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 48
Time to Give Your
Sales Force Their
Annual Checkup
By Troy Harrison
CONTINUED ON PAGE 49
=(
=l=)
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=)
Now that you’ve done the big picture cat-
egorization, it’s time to look at each one of
your sales reps individually.
Do you conduct a formal annual evaluation
of your sales reps? If not, this is as good a
time as any to implement that process.
If your company doesn’t have an evalua-
tion form that they use, there are several
available on the Internet for a free down-
load; get one and tailor it to your needs.
In looking at each of your salespeople,
evaluate their performance with our two
variables: quantity of activity and quality of
activity.
You should have sales activity metrics in
place. If not, I’ll discuss those in a moment
when we talk about sales processes.
Start with quantity of activity. For each of
your people, compare their activity num-
bers from 2012 (use the entire year if pos-
sible; that levels out spikes from big weeks
and small weeks) with your activity met-
rics.
Are they doing enough prospecting calls?
Initial Appointments? Proposals? If not,
you know there is untapped potential
available simply by getting them up to
standard.
Don’t neglect this with your top perform-
ers. Your instinct probably is to leave your
top people alone. Remember, however,
that every call your top performers make
is more valuable than your average per-
formers, simply because it has a higher
likelihood of turning into a sale.
Making Top
Performers
That’s what makes them your top perform-
ers. If they’re not maximizing their time,
you are losing potential sales.
For each rep, create a strength and weak-
ness matrix. What are they especially good
at? What do they struggle with? What can
you do to alter and improve their quality of
activity?
Again, don’t neglect strengths. Sometimes
it can be more beneficial and profitable to
build on a strength than to fix a weakness,
especially if the weaknesses aren’t pre-
venting them from hitting your goals. For
Yellow salespeople, it’s a bit different.
You’ll want to focus on fixing whatever
weaknesses create a barrier to results.
A Professional
Development Plan
Create a Professional Development Plan
for each Green and Yellow rep (remember,
the plan for Red reps is termination).
Make it part of the evaluation we dis-
cussed earlier and work toward achieving
those goals on a consistent basis. Yellow
reps should have a deadline for hitting goal
and making the transition to Green.
Now, let’s take a look at your processes.
You should re-evaluate and validate your
sales metrics at least once a year.
If you don’t already have sales metrics,
start with the simple version: Sales metrics
are the amounts of each activity that your
sales rep performs in a given time period
(I prefer to manage by the week).
I like to keep it simple by using Calls for
Appointments; Initial Appointments; Pro-
posals, and Sales (sold deals).
These are the major junctures in the sales
process. Work backwards from number of
sales needed in a given time period and
then use your expected ratios to get your
numbers.
For instance, if you need one sale per
week, figure up your closing ratio from
proposals to sales. If it’s 50%, then you
need two proposals per week. How many
initial appointments yield a proposal? How
many calls get you an appointment?
It’s not hard to get these numbers with a
little study. This creates a road map for
sales achievement, as performed by a
competent salesperson who can use
these numbers to achieve your goals.
For those of you who have these numbers,
you should re-validate them annually. Ra-
tios can change over time. For instance,
when voice mail became prevalent, it took
more calls to get an appointment because
salespeople were able to get hold of fewer
prospects by phone.
Similarly, when the economic downturn
happened, closing ratios on proposals
moved downward.
Once again, take the activity results of
your Green salespeople only to re-validate
the ratios and numbers. Are you seeing big
changes in the ratios? It might be time to
revise your metrics.
Don’t use Yellow or Red salespeople on
this. It will skew your ratios downward.
What we want is to mirror and match the
results of your successful people.
One other piece of advice: Don’t revise
your metrics down, instead revise your
goals up.
For instance, if you’re finding your closing
ratio is improving, the idea isn’t to allow
your salespeople to perform less sales ac-
tivity. It means that your results (sold deals)
should get better.
The Best Time to Hire
After you’ve terminated Red salespeople,
don’t worry about “the best time to hire.”
The “best time” to hire is always NOW. Get
your hiring processes started.
Finally, this is also a good time to think
about any other needs you might have
from management or even programs (such
as lead development programs) you’d like
to set up with other departments. Get
those on the agenda as soon as possible.
We all wish we could hit the ground run-
ning for the new year with 100% Green
salespeople who are ready, willing, and
able to knock it out of the park. For many
of you, that won’t be possible. But now is
a good time to take a look and see where
you really are today and put the right steps
in motion for 2013.
Troy Harrison is the author of “Sell Like You
Mean It!” and the president of SalesForce
Solutions, a sales training, consulting, and
recruiting firm.
For information on booking speaking/training
engagements, consulting, or to sign up for his
weekly E-zine, call 913-645-3603, e-mail
TroyHarrison@SalesForceSolutions.net, or visit
www.SalesForceSolutions.net.
NOVEMBER 2012 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 49
SALES FORCE CHECKUP continued from page 48
NOVEMBER 2012 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 50
If I Could Only…
By Tom Buxton
If we could sell only $10,000 more per
month, I would be happy and not worry
anymore!”
Same person five years later: “If we could
only sell $150,000 more per month every-
thing would be fine.”
Ok, so I confess, that person was me when
I owned an office products dealership. It
took my wife’s wise counsel to focus more
of my energy on being thankful, rather than
worrying and being ungrateful.
Her words were something like, “Would
you stop whining and be grateful for what
your company has accomplished?”
But thankfulness is an emotion that we typ-
ically don’t spend much time cultivating.
However, if our life goal is to be happy at
home and within our businesses, most
studies seem to indicate that the best way
to achieve it is through being thankful.
Would it not make more sense, especially
at this time of year, to seek thankfulness
rather than happiness?
But what do we have to be thankful for this
year, personally and in the office products
business? Take just a minute to reflect and
I think that you will find many things to give
thanks for. The following is a short list of
things I am thankful for:
Personally: Living in a great country, living
next to a great country called Canada, not
having an election for two more years, cel-
ebrating 30 years of marriage with my wife
Jenny, having survived the college educa-
tion of our daughters, knowing that God
loves me.
Professionally: Opportunities for sales and
margin growth still exist for all independent
dealers; wholesale partners are helping
broaden the base of products that dealers
can deliver to their customers; a more level
playing field between us and the so-called
“big boxes;” buying groups beginning to
cooperate with each other.
There’s more: More younger people begin-
ning to get involved in the business; signif-
icant improvements in the Internet ordering
platforms available to independents; the le-
gality of the “S” corporation.
See, I told you there were lots of things to
be thankful for and isn’t it great that we
have a day on November 22 to celebrate
it.
I urge you to be kind that day and even
give your co-workers or employees per-
mission to not come to work.
Find some time to be thankful for every-
thing that you have, as well as the lottery
you won by being born at the time and
place that you were.
And maybe, if you want to be really wild,
you could work on being thankful for one
extra day. Crowds on “Black Friday” are
horrible anyway. Happy Thanksgiving!
Tom Buxton, founder and CEO of the
InterBizGroup consulting organization, works
with independent office products dealers to help
increasesales and profitability. For more
information, visit www.interbizgroup.com.

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