PPB April 2019

NeilMihan, BBA Principal, Promotional Resource Group (PRG), Vaughan, Ontario Nominators: Kippie Helzel, MAS, Keystone Line; Dan Edge, Peerless Umbrella Mihan got into the industry by seeing the light—literally. After studying marketing in college, he had great success selling a clever squeeze flashlight (Pressalite) to retail stores and later became the Canadian rep for the product. Later, he added other products before transitioning the company into a multi-line rep firm in 1998. The company has grown over the past 20 years with long-standing, strong supplier partnerships and continues to increase coverage across Canada. It currently employs five people, four in sales roles. Secret to success. Honesty, hard work and out-of-the-box thinking . I’m always trying to do things differently, better and faster. If we say we are going to do something, we do it. We decided long ago to be a national multi- line service provider and built it over time to include bilingual representation inside Quebec. We wanted our eight product lines on one accurate search engine and did this with the help of SAGE. To our amazement, distributors actually use this tool and often. How distributors can help. A lot has to do with having knowledge of their client base. That’s a tricky topic. It’s also helpful to have a Dropbox or cloud- based system of logo storage that is only accessible to people they trust. This way we can easily make up samples for their clients. Biggest challenge. Being a multi-line rep is a tough gig. It's long hours, travel and lots of follow-up. Suppliers understandably expand their product categories and this can create overlap with other lines. What he wants distributors to know. We can bridge the gap. One big value we bring is a relatively unbiased opinion of the popularity and success of items. We have sales data from suppliers and will recommend the products we know are strong or items we feel will be. We can help with product sampling, special pricing based on our knowledge of their business, suggest program opportunities/pricing and other helpful and profitable tidbits. We also collect and post video content, flyers and other social campaigns that can be easily shared in print, via email or reposted onto various social platforms. Alternate career. Inventor. I’ve always liked inventing products and I have a couple of patents on products. I would be in a marketing role with some company bringing new products to life. About Neil. “ Neil is outstanding in his comprehensive commitment to his supplier lines. He not only reps the product, but he counsels us on sales and marketing strategy, key account development and more. He is constantly educating himself on the current technology developments in and outside of the industry, and how we can maximize that. He works to perfect his individual platform and to advise us on ways to improve our data position. He gives honest input on our strategy when asked and is not afraid to bring up things that he feels from his perspective can benefit our growth opportunities. He is a partner in the truest sense of the word.” – Kippie Helzel, MAS One big value we bring is a relatively unbiased opinion of the popularity and success of items. —NeilMihan Best Multi-Line Reps 2019 | FEATURE | APRIL 2019 | 55