The Push to Portable

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Think Personalization
Szymczak suggested looking for items that can personalize electronics, like cases or headphones. "The current trends amongst computer accessories is the ability to be different and customize to cater to their own style, whether it's skins, speakers, mouse pads, etc.," he said.

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Judge a Tablet's Cleanliness
Newell mentioned screen-cleaning supplies as a product category that has boomed along with the rise of portable electronics. "The biggest trend we have seen is screen cleaners. With most computer accessories being some type of touchscreen, [the screen cleaner] market has drastically grown over the last couple of years," she explained.

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Learn Internet Slang
Remember when tweeting was reserved for birds? And friending would have been a really weird way to describe how you met someone new? Those terms have now become immersed in our language, and other equally odd terms will in the future. Computer and internet lingo is ever-changing, but is worth knowing. Szymczak stressed that distributors need to dedicate time to learning computer terms. "Clients are much more likely to buy from an educated salesperson, rather than someone who can only respond 'I'll find that out for you—give me a day,'" he advised.

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Think Outside the Office
"Many of the products can be used in everyday life," said Szymczak. "Sell clients on the fact that their end-users can use these items for work and play. When end-users are outside of the office, it's a great branding opportunity outside of the work environment," he added. He offered a few examples of office-to-home products. "Headphones and audio accessories are the prime examples of function for work (SKYPE calls, presentations) and leisure (music, gaming)," he said.

Newell offered an example of a computer promotion that was able to move outside of the office. "One of our most popular items is our laptop sleeves with a full-color imprint. One of our customers used this item for their national sales conference and gave them to all of the attendees to store their paperwork in during the meeting," she explained. "I love this item because they took an item that has use and functionality outside of the conference and gave their attendees something they could use then and when they returned home."