PPB October 2015

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and less time sourcing and ordering
pens, mugs and t-shirts; more time
acquiring new customers and less time
finding the cheapest presentation folder.
The good news for office supply
resellers is that this is what happened.
The industry is tough but almost 5,000
companies compete everyday and in
the markets we are in we beat them
regularly. We can now do everything
they do: convenient online ordering
and competitive pricing, and beat them
with the advantages we have as owner-
operated local companies.
Phil Bertels
President
Give Back KC Ink
Shawnee, Kansas
UPIC: GiveBkKC
Thank you for addressing this
issue. As a regional salesperson calling
on distributors in my territory, I tire of
hearing this lament. I believe that sup-
pliers are sometimes blamed for the
Goliaths receiving better pricing than
the Davids and that’s not the case. You
hit the nail on the head when you sug-
gested, “Get rid of this client as they
value price above everything else …”
when dealing with those price-shop-
ping clients. Those clients have pro-
grammed their vendors to keep their
margins low and their creativity at bay.
And really, isn’t utilizing our creativity
what it’s all about?
Kim Reinecker, MAS
Regional Sales Manager
Starline USA, Inc.
Houston, Texas
UPIC: STAR0009
Recognizing The Importance
Of Sensory Media
The July issue of PPB featured an
excerpt of the book Sensory Media by Jae
M. Rang, MAS, chief inspiring officer of
Oakville, Ontario-distributor JAE
Associates Ltd. Her book captures years of
study on the mind and human behavior
relating to promotional material.
This is a great piece with content
I’ll be using for my upcoming presenta-
tions. I have been speaking on Five
Sense Branding for the past year at
shows and with regional associations
about this exact subject. Martin
Lindstrom is another well-known
author on sensory branding and I also
incorporate his content and stats into
my presentations.
Thank you for raising the awareness
in PPB’s July issue. We, as an industry,
have the medium that helps bring
greater value to traditional forms of
advertising and social media.
Chris Piper, CAS
Regional Vice President, Northwest
HALO Branded Solutions
Bend, Oregon
UPIC: HBS
OCTOBER 2015 • PPB • 9
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