Three Great Reasons to be Proud of What You Do

If you’re anything like I am, you’re looking forward to a better year in 2021 with an effective vaccine, an increase in sales and finally being able to travel again! To say this has been a difficult year would be an understatement! That being said, I believe the promo industry has survived and even thrived (in some instances) better than many other business sectors.

Here are three positive attributes that I believe can make us all feel proud of the Promo Industry and what we do!

1. Resilience: Resilience has been defined as the ability to adapt and respond to all types of adversity.  With that definition in mind, the promotional products industry is a resilient industry.  Although the Pandemic remains challenging, many of us have managed to stay afloat during this difficult time. Our most trusted suppliers are helping us by quickly providing PPE, work at home tools, appreciation gifts and easy drop ship options. Savvy distributors are able to stay resilient by developing a greater online presence and staying in touch with prospects and clients via Zoom, email, social media and direct mail. It hasn’t been easy, and there have been casualties along the way, but our resilience has kept us going.

2. Relationships. The promotional products industry is an industry built on strong relationships. The good relationships we have with our supplier partners, multi-line reps and customer service representatives help us all to be more successful. The relationships we build with our clients creates trust, loyalty and has them coming back for more. And, most importantly, the relationships we have with our colleagues in online forums and social media groups help us to solve our toughest business challenges, get great selling ideas and stay connected in a digital world.

3. Reframe:  To reframe is a way to look at problems from a different point of you. We’ve all had to reframe our expectations this year. The goals you started out with at the beginning of the year may not have been achieved. You may have lost clients and doubted your business survival skills, that’s only natural. The important thing is that you look at this from a different perspective, and focus on to what’s going well.  Most of us have had to change the way we do business this year, in many ways these changes were happening well before the Pandemic. The promotional products industry is evolving.  Buyers know more and expect us to know more. A strong online presence, a thorough knowledge of your client’s business and their challenges and an updated, mobile friendly and easy to navigate website (that spotlights why a client should do business with your company) is a must to survive and thrive these days. Life and business always will present us with adversity, what’s important are not the adverse conditions, but how we respond to them!  

Be proud of what you’ve accomplished this year. You’ve made valuable contributions to help our economy grow! 

 © 2020 Rosalie Marcus

Here’s wishing you a happy, healthy holiday season and a prosperous 2021!