Good Products... Good Prices!

Recently, I had an "Ah Hah Moment." Don't laugh when I tell that I'm just now realizing that at its core, we are an industry that's based on products and price. ...Really?? This revelation came after my wife and I went to a trade show recently.

In FreePromoTips.com, the popular business resource program I publish, we focus on business content and work with a few great suppliers to showcase how products can provide promotional marketing solutions. When I go to a trade show, I have a different agenda than most distributors. I'm primarily focused on reporting what's happening at the show and looking for new products to share with our large audience. I'm also a distributor that's affiliated with a large company.

In my distributor business, we've positioned our company as a solution provider, using slogans like: We Don't Sell Stuff...We Provide Solutions. We also created a PPAI Pyramid award-winning campaign based on The Marketing Toolbox... all the tools you need to build your business. I network with like-minded people and generally, I don't think too much about just selling product and price. That's not to say that what we do is not price-challenged or doesn't focus on stuff. I just don't think much about it.

It's been many years since my wife has attended a trade show, as she's busy with other things. She does understand the industry and it was at her urging that we expanded our apparel decorating business to include promotional products many years ago. After the show, I began receiving a barrage of product-focused e-blasts, which initially I saw as a negative result of her going to this show. My wife got many badge scans!

In the weeks since this show, it hit me that you never know what can come to you through an e-mail blast. Prior to this show I had most of this stuff blocked. Lately I've had a flurry of nice products opportunities come my way.