“Engaging Promotions, Get Results”

It’s been an incredible ride, like riding a helicopter on a warm evening along the Big Sur watching a beautiful sunset.  It’s been wonderful; and I love it.  My tenure in the Promotional Products industry has been a steady ride of building significant relationships, lasting friendships and a deep sense for the importance of giving back to my friends and peers.  As a speaker and consultant in the promotional products industry, I have this burning desire to share experiences and information that will continue to help in raising the bar of professionalism within the industry.  I though, am just one individual who really enjoys giving back, much like my peers like Paul Kieweit, Jay Busselle, and so many others that would simply fill these pages.  But it’s this desire that makes this industry an unbelievable place to work and live.  While I have written three books and published over eleven-hundred articles and probably spoken publicly internationally to over 300,000 people, I learn so much by listening to others.  It’s this free exchange of information, without paranoia, that strengthens a group, an industry, and an individual. This is your opportunity to read and absorb some incredible stories, many of which mirror yours, that will make you more profitable and a much more sought after professional in your respective market.  Don’t be afraid to share.

When I look at many of the thought leaders in our industry, the one common thread they all possess is they LOVE what they do, in fact it goes beyond a love for their craft, they have a passion for what they do.  Do you have that passion?  They are different, mavericks and for that they get TOP dollar for what they produce.  Do you?  What are you worth? Think about that; if someone said, “Bill/Sarah, I have no interest in what you have to sell, but I understand you’re a creative person, what would you charge me an hour for your creativity?”  If you can’t answer that question, you’re in trouble.  Before you can excel in business you must understand your worth.  Could anyone build a custom promotion like you?  No, it takes a maverick, someone who’s willing to step out beyond the norm of selling stuff and begin selling like a promotional consultant.  Do you want to get paid more, make more profits - start thinking differently!

What is it you do?

I sell solutions not stuff, a hundred years ago, in its infancy, that’s what this industry was all about, selling stuff with your name on it.  But now it’s more than that, it was more than that back then, but we’ve evolved.  Promotional Products motivate, engage, excite, inform and can change the direction of any businesses.  Several years ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Don Anderson an aspiring promotional consultant that emulated the way I sold.  A quick story of how powerful a well thought out program can reap remarkable results.  Don shared he was approached by a lawn care company who asked him to develop a door hanger for them to use as a marketing tool, announcing and promoting their new lawn care special.  Don seized the opportunity by asking them if they were open to a different methodology of promotion, noting that most people just “deep six” (throw away) that type of solicitation.  Don proposed the company tie the promotion to a seasonal event, Easter.  He suggested the company take a piece of muslin cloth and print the promotional information on the cloth with natural soybean ink, then bundle a pinch of Texas wild flower seeds in the cloth tie it up and place it inside a plastic Easter egg.  He further suggested that the company employ the boy scouts in a good will project, having the boys toss the eggs in the front yards of over 5,000 residents in the Houston area, the night before Easter.  

The results were staggering, of the 5,000 pieces sent, over 1,800 phone calls were received by the client, a 44% response rate.  Would the client have seen the same results with a door hanger?  Most likely not.

Thinking differently, out of the box is what gets results, it’s the uniqueness  which stands out.  My rule is: “As long as it does not harm anyone emotionally, spiritually or mentally, the gloves are off”, my job is to get results, not to sell stuff that sits on shelves, but concepts and products that motive, move and inspire.  How does one think differently?  During my thirty plus years as a speaker and consultant, I have had many people tell me that they weren’t creative, not true – it’s the thinking differently and not worrying about what people say or think of your ideas that makes the difference.  Here’s an interesting statistic: from birth to age six, 94 percent of your ideas were considered creative and innovative; however, when you reach age forty the percentage drops to four (4) percent.  Why?  As we grow-up we are conditioned by our parents to be quiet, don’t do that, that’s a stupid idea, act your age – personally I’m glad I never listened to those comments.  Thinking openly, without reservation is where brilliant ideas are born.  Think about that, if you have children and the Maytag man delivers a washer to your home and the box finds its way into the yard, what does that box become to a kid?  A car, a fort, a spaceship any number of things.  To watch a child’s mind open up is like seeing a fountain of untapped possibilities. 

There is a book by Roger Von Oech titled; “A Whack on the Side of the Head”, which speaks incredible to the creative process.  In his book one chapter talks about how to think differently and how to jumpstart your creative juices and the creative process.  Von Oech suggests that one way is to ask the question; “What if?” and then think about things differently.  What would computers look like if we had ten fingers on each hand?  If a human you could run 100 miles and hour for long periods of time, how would transportation be different?  Think about that.  He also states another good practice that works well, is to compare two unlike objects and draw comparisons, example: a cat and a refrigerator, what do they have in common?  They come in different colors, different sizes, shapes, textures.  They both hold milk and food; they have a tail (power cord).  One person at one of my seminars said, “They both sit there on the floor looking stupid doing nothing…” sorry cat lovers.  But the reality is it makes you think differently and stretches your creative horizons.  The idea of comparing two unlike objects is what I did one year to develop a personal self-promotion that had tremendous results.  While walking a show I happened on the Victorinox© booth where they sell Swiss Army™ knives, I had just finished VonOech’s just mentioned and it dawned on me, ‘what do I and a Swiss Army knife have in common?’.  I designed a marketing piece that addressed each function of a Swiss Army knife and how that functioned related to me a salesperson.  Scissors: we tailor promotions to fit your budget; Toothpick: we pick and probe though all of the product offerings to bring you a promotion that makes you smile” etc..  <insert photo> My goal was to use the piece as a door opener, one that had multi-utilitarian purpose.  The packaging even had value, the magnet attachment that could be removed and used as a follow-up piece.  I targeted one-hundred and thirty-seven prospects and had an amazing eighty-four percent result rate, seeing over ninety key prospects. 

A few years after, I got into the swing of marketing and selling more like a boutique agency, developing more and more programs like the one mentioned above.  Wanting to target forty-seven key marketing managers, I decided to try something different.  I created a small box where I placed a mouse pad, a pen, a BRC (business reply card) and a printed computer mouse.  The copy on the front of the box read; “…now it’s easier than ever”…and inside, “…to catch me…”.  The mouse had an actual mouse trap attached to the cord.  The purpose was to entice them to my web site, fill out the response card thereby giving me feedback to the ease of use of the site and any suggestions they may have to make it more appealing.  Surprisingly over ninety-four percent of the recipients logged on and gave me feedback either by phone, fax, e-mail or via the response card.  In addition, several people actually placed orders on the site, an astounding $54,000.00 of business the first month.  Development of the piece, products and mailing of the campaign totaled approximately $300.00, a significant return on investment and response rate.

These are but a few examples of what can be done with a little ingenuity and creativity, many other examples are available through PPAI (Promotional Products Association International) or ASI (Advertising Specialty Institute) each has archived numerous examples of creative promotional programs.

Do yourself a favor.  Think creatively.  Know your value. Share your passion with others.  You’ll make our great industry better and stronger; and you will become stronger and more profitable.

As always, Continued Good Selling - CQ