Assignment: Improve Sales
Sponsoring School Spirit
It may seem roundabout, but one of the best ways to sell into the education market is to target the businesses in the area instead of the actual school. "Some schools will contact local businesses to advertise on the item and the business will donate the item to the school," said Jeanna Abercrombie, sales manager for Wharton, Texas-based Pepco Promotional Products. These local sponsorships are lucrative for the businesses and also for distributors. "These 'sponsorships' or ad space present a tremendous sales opportunity for distributors," said Mike Stoeck, director of sales and marketing for Stouse Inc., New Century, Kan. "If the distributor sells the ad space, often times the ad dollars will exceed the typical retail value of the items and the distributor can provide the product to the school for free," he explained. "It's a 100 percent profit for the school and the business gets great advertising," added Abercrombie.
- Companies:
- Pepco Promotional Products
- Stouse Inc.