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PPB
• FEBRUARY 2016
CONNECT
What was your first job in the promotional products industry?
I worked at a sports apparel company back when licensed
sports products were just coming into their own. I was a key
account manager and was responsible for my company’s rela-
tionship with the four professional sports leagues. I found that
I was writing orders for league sponsorship premium programs
thousands of units at a time, while my colleagues serving the
retail trade were writing individual units. I knew that I had
found my niche.
What motivates you in business and in life?
I try to do the very best job I can with every task I take on. My
dad passed away last year and he ingrained in me that if it’s
worth doing at all, it’s worth doing well.
What is your greatest professional accomplishment?
If personal success is the foundation for professional success,
then I have the best possible base to work from with my wife
and kids. And I love selling. It’s all I’ve ever done. Plus, I have
the honor and privilege of selling a world-class prestige
brand—the very best you can buy. My challenge is to commu-
nicate the Tumi brand to our promotional products distributor
base. Some get it and sell the brand very well. We broadcast
the Tumi brand at trade shows and other educational opportu-
nities. At Expo we demonstrate our products at
brand.
, the
incentive products showcase. We invest in a 20- by 20-foot
booth, one of the biggest at the show. It is a massive undertak-
ing. Seven or eight years ago I would stand there in the Tumi
booth and people would wonder what I was even doing there.
At last year’s Expo, by contrast, distributors were coming up to
talk to me with specific questions about recognition programs,
price points, incentives, and bringing some great opportunities
with them. Tumi and many other well-known prestige brands
are slowly but surely making progress with distributors.
What advice would you give to an industry newcomer?
I would advise any newcomer to get involved with the brands
that operate in our supplier space. There are more brands
than you can imagine that are incredibly eager to assist you
with incentive, recognition and corporate gifting programs.
They can drop ship, add logos and typically offer a wide vari-
ety of additional services. If you don’t have brands in your
selling portfolio, you are missing out on a huge opportunity
to add significant value to your client relationships, block
your competition and
do some purely incre-
mental business.
What is your secret to
success?
I’ve been very lucky.
There are a lot of ways
to define luck, but I’ll
use the definition of
luck that’s related to
effort. Luck is what
happens when prepara-
tion meets opportunity.
I’ve been fortunate
enough to have been
prepared when luck
came my way.
Julie Richie is associate
editor for
PPB.
Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. I’ve been fortunate
enough to have been prepared when luck came my way.
“
”
Mike with his wife,
Bridget (far left), son,
Philip and daughter,
Catherine.