Penciled In

4. Go Dark
According to Guthrie and Mahre, darker colors are favored for planners and calendars. "We have a wide variety of colors and designs but black, navy and burgundy remain the most popular," said Guthrie. Mahre added brown and dark green as popular colors.

5. Reach Out To Note-takers
Mahre listed the best markets for planners are office workers and note-takers. "Traditional strong markets like real estate, education, law firms, accountants and banks still use large quantities of planners since they are a good value and ideal for note-taking," he said.

6. Sell During New Year's
Mahre noted the first day of a new year as the best time for beginning calendar and planner programs. He also mentioned that many orders come in late December. "Many last-minute requests come in starting in early December with rush orders," he said. Guthrie agreed, saying, "The majority of our calendar sales are still accomplished in the fourth quarter and into January." Though suppliers can fill last-minute December orders, your clients might not get the style, material or color they want so planning ahead is preferable. "Sometimes stock items may not be at ideal levels and this causes disappointment for everyone," Mahre explained.

7. Avoid Trendy Covers
Guthrie noted that new calendar trends appear often, but usually don't last long. Repeat calendar buyers stick to one style. "Repeat clients usually like to keep the same format they are used to using, so we don't change our stock formats very often," he said. If you must embrace a new calendar style, try bright colors. "We are seeing more covers with brighter color designs that are very appealing," stated Mahre.

8. Target Schools & Services
"One market that has come on very strong the last few years is the academic market," said Guthrie. "We sell a full line of academic planners to middle schools, high schools, colleges and companies that service the academic market," he added. Guthrie also noted services like hotels, car dealerships, banks, hospitals and the military as strong target markets.