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factory or the rep again, but not so with Barry and Mary Beth. They
respond in a timely fashion. If they can do something, they do it and
if they know something can’t be done they will say so. It is with their
follow-through and honesty that we are able to look good to our
clients and ultimately sell more. I constantly work hard to present
their product lines because they are a valuable part of my team.”
Chris Stauffer, Principal
Karen Stauffer, Vice President Sales
Company:
Cascade Marketing Group
Year Company Founded:
1997
Home Base:
Poulsbo, Washington
Territory:
Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana
Miles Traveled Annually:
Approximately 25,000
Before they were multi-line reps (MLRs):
Chris was a direct
supplier regional sales representative (Hit Promotional Products) and
was national sales manager for supplier Sweda. Karen was an account
executive for a distributor for seven years.
How they got into the promotional products industry:
Chris’ degree is in chemistry, but he found that field to be less exciting
than he’d anticipated. He met the national sales manager of Hit
Promotional Products at a social event and was brought in to inter-
view with company president, Bill Schmidt Sr., who gave him his first
opportunity in the industry as a western regional sales manager.
Karen’s degree is in communications/advertising. She answered a
newspaper ad for a distributor account executive in 1991. Dan
Carlson, the founder of the original Adventures In Advertising (AIA)
in Bellevue, Washington, brought her onto his team.
What they like most about being multi-line reps:
“We
enjoy the fantastic people we work with. We are grateful for the busi-
ness friendships we have developed over the past years, and have a
deep appreciation for our industry friends who have partnered with us
and enabled us to make a living doing something we truly enjoy. The
relationships we have developed on both the supplier and distributor
sides provide us the opportunity to find and create solutions for our
clients by drawing from multiple creative and reliable sources.”
Biggest difficulty for MLRs:
“This is a tough one, and we
hear this from so many suppliers and multi-line reps: the large amount
of requests we receive to do end-user shows. Because multi-line reps
carry such a wide breadth of product categories, we are invited to a lot
of end-user shows. We attend and work hard at some fantastic end-
user shows. The ROI for distributors and suppliers, though often hard
to measure, can be great. That said, it is very difficult for us when we
have to turn down some show invitations. We understand distributors
want to have a wide variety of products showcased, and bringing in
multi-line reps is a great solution for that. As a responsible partner to
our suppliers, we owe it to them and to ourselves to evaluate our part-
nership with the distributor and our suppliers’ partnership with the
distributor. (For example, are they using and partnering with our sup-
pliers and selling their products?) We consider the time management
and ROI, and then sometimes have to make the difficult decision
about which end-user shows to attend.”
Top issue affecting MLRs today:
“We can’t think of an ‘issue’
we are concerned about. We think there are tremendous opportunities
for multi-line reps in this industry. We feel so fortunate.”
What distributors should know about MLRs:
“Our partners
already understand how much we care about their success, and how
hard we are willing to work to succeed together. It is our responsibility
to continue working to ensure all of our distributors feel this, and uti-
lize all the experience, ideas and services we can bring to their team(s)
after we meet them at a show or leave their office.”
How distributors can help them do a better job:
“Engage
us in the creative and pre-sale process. Provide us with key details
about clients’ promotions, i.e., budget, event date and goals. Our
strengths lie in our ability to leverage our resources to develop creative
solutions for them and their clients. It’s fun going to offices and trade
shows to exchange ideas and share new products, but the real magic
happens when they get us involved in the creative process of a project
from the beginning. We can come up with some fantastic solutions.
We always remind our clients—when they call us with a project
―
that
they get an immediate staff of nine: the two of us and our seven
amazing supplier partners.”
Chris and Karen were nominated by:
David Johnson, Black
Rhino Marketing; Shawn Kanak, CAS, Towel Specialties; Sydra
Newell, SnugZ USA; Kellie Claudio, Sweda USA
What nominators say about Chris and Karen:
“They have
a breadth of knowledge and creative talent, always telling us of case
studies,” says David Johnson, president, Black Rhino Marketing.
“They come by several times a year and spend quality time with us,
presenting new products and ideas. They are so personable—it’s like
doing business with close friends. Suppliers seek out their services.”
Nominator Sydra Newell, business development manager, SnugZ
USA, is equally impressed with what the couple brings to the table:
“Karen and Chris Stauffer are a powerhouse of creativity and passion.
Not only are they one of the most enthusiastic rep groups we have,
APRIL 2015 •
PPB
• 77
PPB
BEST MULTI-LINE REP 2015 |
KINGS OF THE ROAD
Chris and Karen Stauffer