PPB April 2019

feed back Send feedback on articles in PPB or opinions on industry issues to JamesK@ppai.org . Asking For Referrals In The Year 2019 Promotional Consultant Today’s article, “Why Your Team Isn’t Asking For Referrals,” shared tips from Joanne Black, the founder of No More Cold Calling, on how to best encourage sales teams to ask for referrals. However, the changing nature of business and communications offers other options to make those connections. In my humble view, asking for referrals the old-fashioned way is dead. In the old way, we asked for referrals with no clue who our customers knew. We were all asked for referrals this way, and we said we would do it. But getting other people referrals didn’t stay top of mind for even a few moments after we said we would. So, after we asked our customers for referrals we lost all control of the process. Most people found that old way painful and non-productive. In the new world, with LinkedIn and other social media, we can see who our customers know and ask our customers to either introduce us to some of their connections or ask for their permission for us to reach out to their connections and reference the work we do for the customer. That puts us in control of generating referrals. There’s a new digital world and with it comes a new, better way of referral selling. GREG MUZZILLO, SR. Founder Proforma Independence, Ohio PPAI 196835 Reflections On Building The Right Workplace Culture In the February issue, Danny Rosin, CAS, co-owner of distributor Brand Fuel, shared “20 Ways To Create An Emotionally Secure Workplace”—lessons he’s learned in developing his company’s culture. Danny, thanks for sharing. Getting a glimpse into your company culture always puts a smile on my face. I love the ‘Hair Chair for Tardiness.’ I assume that the last person arriving gets the last open chair, the one with the crazy wig requirement? On a macro level, I couldn’t agree more about how critical it is to build a culture that supports individuality and emotional security, with safe and productive work conditions. The challenge is to do this in a virtual environment. My team of six all work from their homes in different cities. My partial list would be: No. 1 Bad hair days don’t matter, everyone’s on video. No. 2 With two ears and only one mouth, listen twice as much as you speak. No. 3 Respect everyone’s time by providing an agenda and start and end the meeting on schedule. No. 4 Meet you at the virtual water cooler: set up 15-minute— maximum—meetings for a quick huddle call, using video when at all possible. BOB LEVITT Field Sales Director Staples Promotional Products La Mirada, California PPAI 108945 Danny, I loved what you shared. For almost 30 years, I have been sharing ideas similar to yours with clients, suppliers and distributors. You are special. I hope you receive lots of hugs and feedback from your team. You are definitely an ‘Anthropomaximologist,’ a title given to me by a client years ago and a leadership/recognition program I developed to recognize all who help others maximize joy and performance. I’m glad to share ideas any time with you. Thank you for who you are and what you stand for! FERN SILVER President Fern Silver & Associates Libertyville, Illinois 8 | APRIL 2019 |