8 More Pen-selling Tips You Might Have Missed

"Distributors can win this war if they arm themselves with the knowledge of how quality pens are constructed and turn this knowledge into a competitive advantage," he suggested. To do so, he strongly recommended going beyond the catalog page and talking with your supplier to learn as much as possible about the product. Fleming stated that there is a vast amount of qualitative information, like plastic strength or ink quality, that simply isn't printed due to space restrictions. There are plenty of details worth knowing about pen construction, but Fleming specifically singled out product safety and socially compliant manufacturing as areas to investigate. He also stressed the value of getting a sample before the sale and familiarizing yourself with how the pen writes.

"By obtaining samples of products they're interested in selling and using them prior to offering them to customers, distributors can verify that the quality of workmanship stands up to their expectations," he said. "A distributor's personal recommendation and guarantee means a lot to buyers and can make the difference in getting the sale." (From the article, "Writing off the Cheap Talk: Seven tips on rising above price wars with writing instruments.")

That's it for this week! Thanks for reading everyone, and see you all next Monday!

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MONDAY MIKE FACT: I picked up a new hippie-dippie shaving cream this weekend and it's preposterously luxurious. My face feels like a smooth, relaxed heaven right now.