It's day three of The PPAI Expo, the largest event for promotional products professionals. As the Mandalay Bay Convention Center is abuzz with suppliers and distributors, Promotional Consultant Today is featuring articles from some of our industry's top speakers who will be presenting education sessions this week. Enjoy the following contribution from Cliff Quicksell, MAS+, president of Cliff Quicksell Associates.

For decades, the promotional products industry has bred reactive salespeople. I have interviewed top performers over the years and one trait seems to surface more times than not. It's not the verbalizing of having "great customer service," it's actually putting that statement into practice well beyond what most would consider good customer service.

I recently re-read a blog post by a gentleman that I consider one of the most amazing business minds today, Seth Godin. He makes you think—if you choose to do so and I do. Look at thisportion of his post that appears under the heading of "What does your BRAND stand for?"

"If you tell me about service and quality and customer focus, you haven't answered my question, because a hundred other brands stand for that. If you are what others are, then there's nothing here to own or protect or build upon. … Are you one-of-a-kind or even one in a million? … A brand that stands for what all brand stand for stands for nothing."

In a congested industry where the barrier to entry is lower than ever, it is imperative to go beyond—way beyond—what is deemed good customer service. We must constantly look at ways, methods and systems that will push the perception of our company as being "one-in-a-million."

There are many ways to be different, really different. Today I want to discuss the idea of helping your clients plan, and being proactive for them in order to become a better strategic partner. Developing an event or planning calendar is one great way to accomplish this. Like you, your clients are incredibly busy and more times than not, the products and services we offer are an afterthought. How many times have you had a client call you and say that they forgot something for an event and can you please help them get it? While this is not completely unavoidable, how often it happens can held to a minimum if proper planning comes into play.

A year or so ago I was working with a client/friend of mine who wanted me to go on a call with him to a major corporation. Before we walked in the office, he asked me how this was going to work. I said, introduce me, however you'd like, and then let me take over. After the niceties and introductions, I began to ask questions—lots of questions. As I surmised, the client was always in a last-minute mode (as are most. She was very busy and was challenged every day to measure or validate her marketing spend). I shared with her that she was not getting all of the "horsepower" from our company (my client had introduced me as his marketing/creative director) and we wanted to be more if they would allow us. She asked how I saw this working. I mentioned that we were currently doing $8,000-$10,000 and we realized that there was much more we could do. We explained, in detail, the services we provided well beyond just promotional merchandise, and that for our top clients we work proactively in the background to ensure that all of their events are tended to timely and cost efficiently. This seemed to spark her interest and she wanted to know more. We explained how we create a marketing/event calendar in our system and by doing this we could proactively work in the wings on developing concepts, ideas and perhaps products that would fit her budget and goals. She was intrigued and agreed to give it a go.

The next day, my client called me and said that he had received the list of events, some large and some small, that the client had planned for the entire year along with the description and goals of each event. We did a brief analysis of the projected spend of this company and it was over $325,000. Obviously there are no guarantees but the potential opportunity was much greater than what he was currently getting.

Here are a few brief steps that can get you on the right road to creating a great marketing calendar. And by the way, this is a great practice for you, as well for your company.

  1.  Ask the client for a list of events for the year, their objective and proposed outcome, and their proposed marketing budget for each event.

  2. Plug these into your Outlook Calendar (or whatever program you choose) in the following way. You can set up multiple calendars in your system and for your larger clients with multiple events. I highly recommend this.

    a.    The actual event date

    b.    Tickler one month out

    c.    Tickler three months out

  3. Create a file system for things you receive via email or in the mail and for ideas you get from colleagues. I generally have multiple bins on my return from a show or convention that are labeled with the client, and within that bin I have a folder for each event. As I get ideas on what may work for that event, I write down or tear pages from a magazine or catalog and I place them in the appropriate folder.

  4. As the event comes up three months out, I send a reminder emails to the client to set a meeting to discuss the upcoming event. I may have secured spec samples, created story boards and/or developed a theme or two for discussion.

This approach has proven very successful for me; remember I was and still am, at some level, working in your shoes. I am not a theorist; I have lived it for over three decades. Clients that had over the years truly appreciated this approach because it helped them stay on track, knew I was working for them and had the best interests of their company in mind. It saved them time, money and heartache, and in today's busy world that speaks volumes.

The key here is to be proactive, not to be in the typical reactive mode. Only the top three per- centers go the extra mile. You will be amazed that if you put this into practice you will develop additional time management skills that will make you more productive and profitable. Be a three percenter!

Source: Cliff Quicksell, Jr., MAS+ has been involved in the promotional marketing and sportswear industries for 25 years. During this time, he has achieved the Master Advertising Specialist designation and has been actively involved in PPAI by serving on various committees, as a facilitator at all PPAI shows and as a member of PPAI's Ambassadors Speakers Bureau for more than 15 years. Cliff's passion for education and training is exemplified by his having served five terms as the education chairperson for the Chesapeake Promotional Products Association. Cliff has received several awards including a PPAI Golden Pyramid award 14 times and PPAI's Ambassador Speaker of the Year Award six times. In 1997 he was an inaugural recipient of PPAI's Distinguished Service Award.

Don't miss Cliff at the following free sessions:

For more education sessions and to register for the show, go to expo.ppai.org.