Which 5 advertising speciality distributors would be well suited to
distributing our Quark spinning top ( http://www.miclog.com/top ) and
interested in evaluating our product? Suitable distributors would have
several high-end items - not just mugs and pens; carry innovative
items; and have significant sales (~$3M+) or a first class web site. I
am seeking an actual answer - not information on how to research an
answer. This will require emailing or talking to the relevant sources
and getting to the point where they ask for a sample of our product. |
Request for Question Clarification by
ragingacademic-ga
on
22 Jan 2003 19:39 PST
swisscheese -
What you are asking for is five pre-qualified, interested prospects.
Google policy prohibits us to get involved in the actual sales process
- however, for the payment you have suggested, I could provide you 20
high probability contacts. I would not contact them, but I would
screen them for you - you could add some criteria if you'd like to.
thanks,
ragingacademic
|
Request for Question Clarification by
guillermo-ga
on
23 Jan 2003 01:07 PST
Dear Swisscheese,
Getting to the point where they ask for a sample of your product,
implies that you’re ready to send one to each of those five potential
distributors as a free of charge sample?
Regards,
Guillermo
|
Clarification of Question by
swisscheese-ga
on
23 Jan 2003 04:20 PST
ragingacademic - I was not aware of that policy although I am not sure
the task is really sales. Let's see what guillermo has to say first.
guillermo - Yes there is no problem sending complimentary samples.
|
Clarification of Question by
swisscheese-ga
on
23 Jan 2003 04:23 PST
pinkfreud - Thanks but BTDT.
|
Request for Question Clarification by
guillermo-ga
on
24 Jan 2003 07:52 PST
Hello Swisscheese,
Thank you for answering my request. Ragingacademic’s concern sounded
reasonable, so I asked the Editors, who considered that the required
task appears to be within Google Answers’ policies and guidelines.
Thus, if you agree, I’ll take my try on this question for a few days,
after which, depending on the results of my research, either I’ll
finish the job myself, or leave it to someone else’s try, posting in a
comment whatever useful information I might have gathered. Thank you.
Regards,
Guillermo
|
Clarification of Question by
swisscheese-ga
on
24 Jan 2003 08:22 PST
guillermo - Thanks for resolving the policy issue. I agree to your
proposal. Good luck.
|
Request for Question Clarification by
prof-ga
on
02 Feb 2003 19:21 PST
Hi Swisscheese,
Prof here. Glad to have you back! I answered your earlier question
about distributing your spin top. Apparently you decided to go the
direct route. :) That actually might not be such a bad idea as long as
you get involved with some distributors who are willing to work with
you. As I mentioned, a lot of distributors work from catalogs and
rarely get involved with one-product companies - especially those
outside the industry. On the other side of the coin, the promotional
products industry is driven by personal relationships, and there's no
reason for them not to work with you if they like you.
As you know, I'm familiar with lots of the big promo companies and
I'll be happy to make some calls Monday morning (tomorrow) and get you
the names and contact information for 5 interested companies that
would like to receive a sample and sales follow-up. I've got all the
current industry directories listed by sales volume, so I should be
able to complete the answer by the end of the day.
Thanks for the question!
Prof
|
Clarification of Question by
swisscheese-ga
on
03 Feb 2003 04:50 PST
Hi Prof - That's fine with me but I was under the impression Guillermo
accepted the task. I don't know if you can contact Guillermo to
clarify his intent. As for the strategy, IMO it is not efficient to
setup and do the show circuit etc for one product so I thought a
distributor would be more efficient. Let's see how the distributors
see the situation. - swisscheese
|
Request for Question Clarification by
guillermo-ga
on
03 Feb 2003 05:54 PST
Hi Swisscheese and Prof,
While I thank you, Swisscheese, for your consideration regarding my
taking the task, it seems to me that Prof has already a better
approach than I could get regarding the industry. For example, I don't
have a listing by sales volume yet. Then, if Prof is able to satisfy
your requirement today, it'll be better for both of you, and fine for
me. So I won't lock the question again, unless tomorrow I see it
hasn't been answered yet.
Regards,
Guillermo
|
Clarification of Question by
swisscheese-ga
on
03 Feb 2003 06:38 PST
Guillermo - OK, thanks. -- swisscheese
|
Request for Question Clarification by
prof-ga
on
05 Feb 2003 15:01 PST
Swisscheese,
Just wanted to give you an update. I've got several names for you and
should have this question complete tomorrow. Stay tuned! :)
|
Swisscheese,
Well after all this time, I certainly hope these leads work out. I've
gotten a variety of responses from the larger ASI member distributors.
Some have told me that the market for high-end executive gifts is the
smallest segment of the market. But of course, with the larger
distributors, this maket can still be sizable so that hasn't bothered
me. Most of the people didn't mind working with a smaller vendor, but
they did want to know if you were an "ASI Vendor". So at some point
that's probably going to become a necessity if you want to pursue this
industry through direct marketing in earnest.
Nearly everyone wanted also to receive a catalog. In my experience a
"one-sheet" will work well enough for your purposes. You may have
printed copies of the website and that will work just fine for now, I
believe. Salesmen use the catalogs and one-sheets to show the
customer. They usually leave several for their customer to look
through, or have custom catalogs made up for themselves.
I assumed that I'd have to be careful about screening since buyers
would be pretty willing to receive a free sample. But to my surprise
many people turned down a sample. Only the serious buyers wanted one.
I assume they're flooded with gadgets daily and only want another if
they're serious. Good news.
What I've told these people is that you will be sending them a sample
and literature, and will follow up with a phone call soliciting a
sale. They all understand this. However I would go to the expense of
shipping a rather nice presentation package. Maybe an ad agency can
come up with a cute delivery. Unfortunately, with this industry
especially, buyers expect to be wow'd by both the product and the
presentation. Also, remember that a sale may be for 100 units, so
you'll get paid back with one sale.
By the way, margins in this industry tend to run from about 25% to 50%
and sometimes a bit higher. But with the high ticket you have on this
item, I’d try to work with reduced margins to the distributor so you
can lower the suggested retail price a bit.
The first name is a good prospect. They have more than 20 branch
offices around the country and have a large sales force. Sales figures
are not disclosed but this is one of the top 100 companies in the
industry. He wants a sample and literature.
Global Docugraphix
http://www.gdxinc.com
Joe Cox, VP sales
314 Garden Oaks Blvd.
Houston, TX 77018
(713)694-7600
This lady’s company focuses on the gift market. While not as large,
she employs 5 salespeople and has sales of 3MM a year. The company
focuses on crystal executive awards, but offers a variety of other
high-end promotional products as well. I think it’s a great fit for
you because of their concentration on high-end corporate gifts. If you
can reel her in, she can help you a lot.
Regalo
http://www.regalo.com
Ellie Kittle, President
402 N. Pearl St.
Albany, NY 12207
(518) 426-9613
The following company is one of the very big players in the industry
and they have dozens of franchises around the country. So this is a
very good prospect. As of 2 years ago (the latest I have) sales were
12 MM, and I think that’s just corporate locations. He’s very
interested and wants a sample as well as several pieces of literature
to hand out to people on his staff.
Proforma Inc.
http://www.proforma.com
Bill Byrne, VP Sales
8800 E. Pleasant Valley Rd.
Cleveland, OH 44131
(216) 520-8400
The company below is very typical of the promotional products industry
and should be a good test of your acceptance in the industry. They
have about 5 sales reps and deal with a number of large national
accounts. They’re interested, although they say $50 is on the high
side of the corporate gift market. Of course, everyone has told me
that.
Francis Communications
http://www.franciscom.com
Kirk Francis
467 Chestnut St.
Nashville, TN 37203
(615) 259-3676 (27)
For what it’s worth, a number of people wanted to be directed to a
website. This guy was interested and you should follow up with him by
phone before you send him a sample. Not sure how hot he is since he
wanted to see the info online first.
Geoffrey Patack, President
Broadway Marketing
80 Fuller Rd.
Albany, NY 12205
(518) 489-3226
I’m going to go ahead and post what I’ve got now. I am working on a
couple more leads that I want to talk to again before I send you their
names. In one case I was referred to someone else, in another case he
wanted to look at the website and have me call him back. I’ll post
what I get off of those tomorrow.
Hope these work out. Let me know how it goes. And if you need
clarification, please ask. Thanks for the question!
Prof |
Request for Answer Clarification by
swisscheese-ga
on
07 Feb 2003 03:00 PST
Hi Prof - Thanks. Looks like good progress. I'll whip up a sell sheet
today and show it to you. Can you clarify what goes on the page. I
suppose, product shot, description, logo options, box for distributor
to stamp their address. Do we leave off our address? Leave off
pricing? Anything else? Do you think color laser printing would cut it
for now or do we go offset? If the retail is 49.95 what do you suggest
the distributor pays us? The end buyer pays 49.95? What kind of
packaging is generally used for such products - a plain unprinted box
or fancier? We have a 4/c retail box but I think it would not be ideal
in the ASI market. We also have a black unprinted box that I would
use. Do you think it is OK that the final product include our
instruction sheet showing our address/url along with the product
showing the end buyer's logo?
Regards, swisscheese
|
Request for Answer Clarification by
swisscheese-ga
on
07 Feb 2003 03:13 PST
Hi Prof - Just looked at the sites. If we really are in the pricing
stratosphere there are some things we could do to bring down the price
like removing the mirror and laser etc. although the laser is part of
the fun. Seems like it might be a good idea to get into a more normal
price level and get the volume up. What do you think? - swisscheese
|
Request for Answer Clarification by
swisscheese-ga
on
07 Feb 2003 06:37 PST
Hi Prof - Here is the sheet:
http://www.12321.com/ftp/temp/quarkasi.gif (it's a bit fuzzy on screen
but will print clean). -- swisscheese
|
Clarification of Answer by
prof-ga
on
07 Feb 2003 06:52 PST
Wow, these are good questions. Okay, let's see.
"Can you clarify what goes on the page. I suppose, product shot,
description, logo options, box for distributor to stamp their address.
Do we leave off our address?"
All of the above. No, you don't need to leave the name of your company
off. But don't put address or phone, or any other contact information.
No need for a box for distributor stamp. That's not done.
Leave off pricing? Anything else?"
No, do not leave off pricing. What you do is put a little chart on the
sheet:
1 to 12 - $49.95 (be sure to indicate your minimum order qty.)
13 to 24 - $44.95
etc. up to say 200. Above 200 call for pricing
Next to each price you need to put a letter A through D as I recall.
This reflects the commission the distributor receives at that price
level. You may put the same letter beside all quantities. Say, A, the
highest commission, 60% I think. Then they will know that they can
lower the price and to what level if they want. I don't recall the
exact code off hand but that's very important. Perhaps you can get
some guidance locally. Also be sure to put delivery time (the industry
standard is getting toward 7 to 10 days!), return policy, etc. These
are very important.
"Do you think color laser printing would cut it for now or do we go
offset?"
Color laser is fine. That's very common among smaller suppliers.
"If the retail is 49.95 what do you suggest the distributor pays us?
The end buyer pays 49.95?"
I would set the price for 1 to maybe 5 at $49.95. (Are you willing to
sell only one?) BTW, there will always be a setup charge to set up the
logo. For you this should be around $125 plus the cost of each item.
As the quantity goes up, they should make less per item, but you
should also charge less per item. So the price will drop fairly fast
with larger quantities. I'd set it so that over $100 you only make $5
or so each. You can raise the price when sales hit a million. BTW, new
products like this always make a big buzz - or they flop - rather
rapidly.
"What kind of packaging is generally used for such products - a plain
unprinted box or fancier? We have a 4/c retail box but I think it
would not be ideal
in the ASI market. We also have a black unprinted box that I would
use."
I'd offer a plain box standard with a fancy 4c box as an optional
upcharge. Delivery is always a consideration in an executive gift.
"Do you think it is OK that the final product include our instruction
sheet showing our address/url along with the product showing the end
buyer's logo?"
No way. You cannot send instructions with your address/url.
Distributors will have a fit. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't even
send it with the demo's you're sending out. They'll scream.
"If we really are in the pricing stratosphere there are some things we
could do to bring down the price like removing the mirror and laser
etc. although the laser is part of the fun. Seems like it might be a
good idea to get into a more normal price level and get the volume up.
What do you think?"
I agree that the laser is part of the fun. But pricing is a problem.
You're not in the stratosphere, just on the high side of the executive
gift market. I heard a lot of whistles when I mentioned the price. :)
What I would do is offer both options. That will dramatically help
sales. The added benefit is that you now are a multi-product company,
and that means more credibility. Your lower end product should have a
list price as cheap as you can get it. Make your money on multi-color
logo upcharges, boxes, rush delivery charges, shipping, etc. These are
real humans making the buying decision, and they're as susceptible to
a deal as you and I are.
Hope this helps. More later.
Prof
|
Request for Answer Clarification by
swisscheese-ga
on
07 Feb 2003 10:09 PST
Hi Prof
Thanks for the info - here's version 2:
http://www.12321.com/ftp/temp/quarkasi.jpg
We will make a version of the instruction sheet that has no company
info but do you see a problem with using the Quark brand on the
instruction sheet when the top will have the client's logo? It's a bit
unusual but IMO the Quark brand adds pizzaz and will only be seen on
the instruction sheet.
Regards, swisscheese
|
Request for Answer Clarification by
swisscheese-ga
on
07 Feb 2003 10:10 PST
... BTW the "3D" is the proper price code format based on a web site.
|
Request for Answer Clarification by
swisscheese-ga
on
07 Feb 2003 10:11 PST
... D = 35%.
|
Clarification of Answer by
prof-ga
on
07 Feb 2003 10:15 PST
Swisscheese,
I like it. Looks very professional. The Quark brand is no problem and
can appear on the top as well as all literature. You should push your
brand name. The distributors are only concerned about the customer
going direct next time. They may ask you to confirm a policy of not
selling direct to consumers.
I'm also having trouble getting back in touch with my other two
prospects. Hope it's okay, but I may not be able to get in touch with
them until Monday. These would be terrific prospects and I want to
pursue them.
Prof
|
Request for Answer Clarification by
swisscheese-ga
on
07 Feb 2003 10:46 PST
Hi Prof - Thanks for explaining the Dist's view. I was thinking about
the client view who might not like the co-branding but OK - let's try
it. No problem on waiting till you get thru to the distributors - good
luck. - swisscheese
|
Clarification of Answer by
prof-ga
on
07 Feb 2003 11:33 PST
There really shouldn't be any problem on the client side. I wouldn't
make your logo very big on the top, though. Talk to you soon. :)
Prof
|
Clarification of Answer by
prof-ga
on
10 Feb 2003 14:52 PST
Swisscheese,
As promised here are a couple of prospects that I think might work out
very good.
This one is one of the larger concerns in the industry. Sales as of 2
years ago were 12 million with 13 sales reps. He wanted to confirm
that we don't bill for samples, and is interested in a sample and
literature.
George Sagadensky
Incentive Innovations, Inc.
14242 Ventura Blvd., 3rd. Floor
Sherman Oaks, CA 91243
(818) 325-2500
This last one is very large (11 million) and has branch offices across
the area. This should be a good lead as well. Sample and literature.
He also wants a catalog of your other products.
Ken Yasuda, VP Operations
The Singleton Co.
2127 Westwood Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90025
(310) 474-7053
I hope one of these turns out for you. Even one well-placed sale can
put you on the map in a very big hurry. If that happens, just remember
me with a toast. :)
Prof
|
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3 Comments
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