The Modern Sales Team ONCE UPON A TIME, the promotional products business was all about handshakes and catalogs, and for those who remember the good ol’ days, the idea of a data-driven sales team might still feel foreign. But in today’s marketplace – where buyer expectations, competition and technology are all accelerating in tandem – digitally enabled sales teams are proving to be more efficient, more responsive and more profitable. Your small firm may love to tout its boutique approach and experience – but that doesn’t mean you should stay in the stone age. Now, modern companies aren’t replacing human connections. They’re enhancing them with better insights, tighter follow-up and tools that give reps the ability to do what they do best: sell. Decisions Backed By Data, Not Gut Feelings Traditionally, sales reps in promo have relied heavily on instinct and long-term client relationships to guide their work. While those relationships still matter, they now live in a more complex environment. Clients are juggling more priorities. Orders are smaller and more fragmented. And decisions often come down to speed, value and responsiveness. That’s where a good CRM – customer relationship management platform – earns its keep. A solid CRM gives sales leaders and individual reps a real-time view of account activity, sales pipelines and performance benchmarks. It also helps prevent leads from slipping Even promo’s smallest firms can fight back against the big guys with some widely available tools and best practices. By Tanaisha Dunbarger 20 • SEPTEMBER 2025 • PPAI Voices | Innovation Ground Picture / Shutterstock.com
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