PPB April 2019

Chris Yoder Owner/President, 5Y Marketing, Waukesha, Wisconsin Nominators: Heidi Sturmfels, Promotion Select, Inc.; Taylor Borst, American Solutions for Business This year Yoder celebrates 21 years in the promotional products industry. He started his career selling pagers and made an impression on a distributor in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The distributor liked his persistence and offered him a job as a sales rep. He moved his family to the Milwaukee area and worked for two distributors before deciding to make a big switch. In 2006 he joined supplier Ash City as a hybrid factory rep and became a full factory rep in 2014 after the company was acquired by alphabroder. He opened his own rep company, 5Y Marketing, in 2016. Secret to success. I believe that my time as a distributor , and seeing what they encounter daily, has helped me to earn their trust. They believe that I understand how best to support them and their work with their clients. This credibility has allowed me to make deeper connections with many of my customers. My supplier partners know that I am going to work hard and try to get them as many opportunities as possible with my clients. It is truly a team effort to be successful, and I do everything I can to promote my suppliers in a very positive light with distributors. How distributors can help. Information is critical so that we can all be efficient in either helping with projects or resolving order issues with suppliers. If a client can take the extra step to give me full details, the process will move much faster and the results will be better for both of us. Biggest challenge. We are all business owners who don’t have control over a lot of the daily processes. There is consolidation of suppliers that is entirely out of our hands. There is the pull of trying to go deeper with our current clients versus trying to expand our territory base for our supplier partners. You must be very nimble as a multi-line rep, work smarter with both sides of the business and control the effort level that you put in to be the most successful. What he wants distributors to know. I understand that most distributors are very busy and pulled in many directions. I hope distributors realize that we, as reps, have many of the same issues that we face each day. We all want to maximize our time in meetings so they are efficient and have value. If we are not showing that to you, please tell us. Any rep who values his or her relationship will make the changes necessary so that our meeting time is beneficial. We really are here to support you and your clients in the best possible way. On our end, please show up for meetings with a plan and stay focused so we can accomplish something great together. Alternate career. Professional athlete , but that ship has sailed. I believe that I was meant to be in sales and/or service in some capacity. I really like being around people and trying to achieve something together. There is a slight chance that I may be competitive, so that plays into my career choices. About Chris. “ The way Chris maintains relationships is more fitting for the modern way we do business in this industry—he’s genuine and honest in a way where you feel you know his real personality rather than him putting on a sales facade. Another way he accomplishes this is his use of social media. He connects with everyone in his personal and business circles so that we all get to see what’s happening in his life on both sides. From our perspective, we get to see how connected he is with his family and understand his values and priorities—and how they align with ours.” – Taylor Borst Tina Berres Filipski is editor of PPB . Best Multi-Line Reps 2019 | FEATURE | APRIL 2019 | 59