2008 united stationers catalog preview

OCTOBER 2007 INDEPENDENT DEALER PAGE 1

2008 United StationersCatalog Preview

See page 20

Inc 5000 Honors Go to Several Industry Firms

Inc magazine published its annualranking of the country’s outstandingsmall businesses recently and there weremore than just a few industry firmscelebrating their inclusion. Our congra-tulations go to the following finecompanies:

� Apex Facility Resources, Seattle,Washington (No. 257), which grew fromsales of $934,000 in 2003 to $9.5million last year.

� BuyOnlineNow.com, Rochester,Minnesota (No. 1,047) 2003 revenue of$2.8 million versus $12.3 million lastyear.

� BizChair.com, Kennesaw, Georgia (No.1,147) 2003 revenue of $5.9 millionversus $24.2 million last year.

� Letterfolders.com, Northvale, NewJersey (No. 1,172) 2003 revenue of $1.7million versus $.6.9 million last year.

� Office Essentials, Inc., St. Louis,Missouri (No. 1,460) 2003 revenue of$4.4 million versus $15.4 million lastyear

� MyOfficeProducts, Brentwood,Tennessee (No. 2,075) 2003 revenue of$20.8 million versus $56.7 million lastyear

� Sunbelt Office Products, Norcross,Georgia (No. 2,138) $14.4 million lastyear versus $5.4 million in 2003.

� Kershner Office Furniture, King ofPrussia, Pennsylvania (No. 2,350) 2003revenue of $1.8 million versus $4.5million last year

� Lindsey Office Furniture, Houston (No.2,726) $6.7 million in sales last yearversus $3 million in 2003.

� New Day Office Products &Furnishings, Portsmouth, Virginia (No.2,765) 2003 revenue of $1.2 millionversus $2.8 million last year

� InstallNET International, Crofton,Maryland (No. 3,003) 2003 revenue of$4.8 million versus $9.9 million lastyear.

� OfficeScapes, Denver, Colorado (No.3,011) 2003 revenue of $46.1 millionversus $95.8 million last year.

� Garvey's Office Products, Niles, Illinois(No. 3,943) 2003 revenue of $13.5million versus $22.3 million last year.

� Innovative Office Solutions, Burnsville,Minnesota (No. 4,101) 2003 sales of$8.8 million versus $14 million last year.

Corporate Interiors, Delaware Dealer,Earns a ‘Best in Business’ Award

Also gaining some nice press recognitionrecently was Steelcase dealer CorporateInteriors which received a “Best inBusiness” award in the state of Delawarefrom the Delaware News Journal.

The award was based on responses to asurvey of employees, executives andmembers of the business community.Companies were judged on the basis offactors that included management,work/life balance, pay and benefits.

Sandia Office Supply, NM Dealer,Expands with Acquisition of Belew’s

In Albuquerque, New Mexico, ToddSandoval and his team at Sandia OfficeSupply are celebrating a major expansionafter signing a letter of intent to purchaselocal dealer Belew’s Office Supply.

The deal, which is due to close nextmonth, nearly doubles the size of Sandiaand, says Todd, makes it New Mexico’slargest independent. Over the next severalmonths, the two dealerships will beconsolidating operations in Sandia’s17,000 sq. ft. distribution center, with mostof Belew’s staff coming over and close to30 employees on board after theacquisition is finalized.

continued page 4


IntroducingOur 2008CatalogPreviewsStarting with this issue and running throughDecember, INDEPENDENT DEALER istaking an in-depth look at one of themost mission-critical elements ofbusiness for just about anyone in theoffice products industry—the whole-saler’s catalog.

This month the spotlight falls on UnitedStationers and their catalog plans fornext year. In November, it’s the turn ofthe AMW family of wholesalers and weclose out the year in December with S. P.Richards and its 2008 catalog plans.Along the way, we’ll look at some of thefirst-call dealers for each wholesaler andhow they go about introducing their newbooks to the marketplace.

Even though more and more business ismoving online, many of the dealers wetalked with said their catalogs still playan important role. Customers still wantand value their big books, they said, butincreasingly, they use them primarily forreference, to track down a particularproduct before going online to get theirprice or order.

Eventually, no doubt, web sites withmore powerful search capabilities andgreater speed and functionality will woocustomers away from print for referencepurposes, too. But no one we talked withsuggested that would be happening anytime soon. In the meantime, we hopeyou enjoy this early look at next year’sbooks and find it useful for your ownplanning.

And as always, if there’s anything elseyou’d like to see in INDEPENDENTDEALER to help your business, don’thesitate to give us a call or drop us aline (PH: 703-379-8583; E-mail: [email protected]).

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While Todd says he was “born and raisedin the office products business”—hisparents started their own dealership in1978, eventually selling to BoiseCascade—Sandia is relatively new—justfive years old.

But, Todd notes, it’s been five years ofsolid growth and he is quick to creditSandia’s membership in AOPD as amajor factor behind its success. “Wecouldn’t have made the acquisitionwithout AOPD,” he says, “and they’vebeen a big factor in helping us securesome major business.”

Chuckals Selected as Vendor under New Air Force BPA

Congratulations are also in order forTacoma-based Chuckals Office Products,which recently announced its selection asone of only ten office products vendorsunder the Department of the Air Force’snew Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) foroffice products. Chuckals has served as asupplier to the Department of the Armyunder a similar BPA for the past three years.

FTS, NY Dealer, Celebrates 60th Anniversary

In Fulton, New York, about 30 miles northof Syracuse, Roger Falconer and his teamat FTS Office Discounters have also gotplenty to celebrate, as the dealership notonly is marking its 60-year anniversary,but also is enjoying a year in which salesare up a healthy 22% on 2006.

Founded in 1947 as the Fulton TypewriterStore, FTS today is very much a one-stopshop for its growing base of customers.In addition to office supplies, thedealership sells and services copiers,printers and other business machines,operates its own in-house print shop andcopy/fax center and offers promotionalproducts.

And, says Roger, that’s just thebeginning. “If we have a customerlooking for something out of the ordinary

that goes way beyond office products,we have no problem trying to find it forthem,” he says. That “whatever it takes”approach to customer service has led thedealership into the sign making business,magnetic products and more, but it’s allprofitable and underscores thedealership’s position as a genuine one-stop shop for all business needs.

Roger himself is a relative newcomer to thedealership and the industry. He and his wifeJanet bought the business about eighteenmonths ago and haven’t looked back since.“FTS is something of a diamond in therough,” he says. “It was a company thatwas functioning well but not doingeverything we could to grow the business.”

Since coming on board, Roger has put amajor emphasis on new business deve-lopment and has also been pushingonline sales, which currently account for 50percent of supplies orders and growing.

Roger is the first to admit that he’s stillnew to the industry and very much in alearning mode. But if results over the pastyear and a half offer any indication, he’squickly picked up the finer points ofrunning an independent dealership andFTS looks well set for its next 60 years.Congratulations!

Wrigley’s Office Supplies, PA Dealer,Moves to New Facilities to SupportContinued Growth

In Boyertown, Pennsylvania, Bret Wrigleyand his team at Wrigley’s Office Suppliesare stretching out and looking forward tocontinuing growth after moving recentlyfrom the distribution center they hadcalled home for the past twelve years toa much expanded facility just ten milesdown the road.

The move has just about doubled thedealership’s operations—from 6,000 to12,000 sq. ft.—reports Bret, and not onlyhelped efficiencies but also given it amore visible location that has beenbringing in more walk-in traffic.

In addition, the new facility has made itpossible to set up an office furnitureshowroom and hire two additionalsalespeople. “We’re finishing up a pretty

decent year right now,” says Bret happily,“and looking forward to continued growth.”

Barefields, MS Dealer, Gives BackThrough ‘Bare Cares” Program

When Paul Macza bought Jackson,Mississippi-based Barefield WorkplaceSolutions three years ago, he found himselfthe owner of a full-service office furnitureand supply dealership with a tradition ofservice to businesses in Mississippi thatgoes back over sixty years.

Barefields has always supported localcharities and other worthy causes, butwhen Paul came in as the new owner, hebrought with him a commitment to getthe company even more involved. Theresult: Bare Cares, a program by whichthe dealership reaches out to the com-munity and gives back in some veryconcrete ways.

In addition to participating in the local“Relay for Life” organized by the AmericanCancer Society, an annual Kidney Walkfundraiser and supporting a local animalshelter, Barefield staff for the past threeyears has played Santa at a nearby homefor abused and neglected children.

“Each year, our employees sponsor anumber of children at the home and aimto fill their complete Christmas wishlists,” reports Paul. “They go out and buythe gifts and then deliver them to the home…the children love it and our employeesget pretty excited, too!” And, of course, itgives the dealership valuable visibilityand underscores its position as an activemember of the local community.

Like most small businesses, Paul says it’shard for Barefields to find the time tosupport all the deserving causes that areout there. “We evaluate each one as itcomes in and generally tend to supportthose that one or more of our employeeswants us to champion,” he says.

As the dealership notes on its web site,“We believe in using our resources tosupport the community we live in.” Withsales this year running a solid 50 percentahead of 2006, Paul and his team havegot plenty of good reasons to be givingback.


Ask your technology provider or United Stationers Account Manager how you can benefit from Unitedʼs new content.

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Thatʼs a blueprint for success.

Get customersʼ attention. Get customersʼ attention. Make their online experience simpler and faster. Provide them with helpful information that gets them to spend more and come back again. Seems like a simple plan, but making it a reality takes superior content on all the right products, plus back–up support to help you deliver on your promises to customers.

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by Jim Rapp

What do you call a dealer that startedfrom scratch in March, 2002, built thebusiness by hiring reps from across thecountry and setting them up asindependent businesspeople, shippingproducts to customers directly fromwholesalers, and billing and collectingfrom a central headquarters?

To make the definition more difficult, thisunusual enterprise began purchasingdealers outright and has made sixacquisitions since March 2005.

Chairman and CEO Bob Rolfe explains:“Two of the four original founders, MattKing and Butch Johnson, had worked forRadar Business Systems in Nashville, oneof the many independents that sold to therollup U.S. Office Products.”

“A third member of the group, John Frisk,had also sold his Tampa business, JFOffice Products, to USOP. The fourthmember was John Burch, who came fromoutside the industry.”

After a year in business, the founderswent outside to two private equity fundsfor additional capital. At that time, Rolfejoined the board of directors, by virtue of

the private equity firm that he represented.In 2004, Matt King, the founding chairmanand CEO, left the company, and Rolfebecame CEO and chairman of the boardon January 1, 2005.

Changing DirectionThe original strategy of the company wasto go across the country and recruitexperienced industry sales reps whocould bring their customers and a book ofbusiness with them.

In a short period of time, they recruited 50reps in 15 markets, but as Rolfe explains,“The project ran out of steam for a wholehost of reasons. What we found out isthat there was an element of stickinessinvolved, and only about half of the reps’book of business was coming to us.”

Rolfe says they will continue to recruitreps, while expending much of theirenergy on dealer acquisitions.

Six Acquisitions and CountingSince March 2005, MyOfficeProducts hasbought six dealerships: Batey’s, Franklin,TN; Summerville’s, Akron, Ohio; ACTOffice City, Charlotte, NC; WhittingtonOffice Products, Tupelo, MS; Workzone

Office Products, Dalton, GA, andGetItQuick.Com, Raleigh, NC.

Says Rolfe, “Our company playbook ispretty simple. We try to position ourselvesbetween the true small independents andthe power channel, with no retail and nowarehouses. What we hope to bring tothe industry is a world-class sales rep,covering his or her own book of business,supported by an equally world-classcustomer service team, and offering it upat a competitive price.”

That’s quite a challenge. With the recentacquisitions, the company now has morethan 100 salespeople. They currently useThalerus software, are a member of OfficePartners and their first call wholesaler is S.P.Richards, with United Stationers as backup.”

The owners say that their independentrep program is working and will continue,yet their latest effort—acquiring old-linedealerships, mostly in the Southeast, andconverting them to stockless resellers,appears to be an area of much greaterinterest.

Is this a model for the future? That maybe as difficult to determine as it is togive it a name.


MyOfficeProducts,Inc.Brentwood, Tennessee

� Robert O. (Bob) Rolfe,Chairman & CEO

� Employees: 250� Reps: 105 in 40 markets

and 15 states� Founded: 2002� Sales: $85 million� Partners: S.P. Richards,

Office Partners� Future plans: More

acquisitions

MyOfficeProducts’Executive Committee(Left to right): JohnBurch, Butch Johnson,John Frisk and BobRolfe

MyOfficeProducts, Inc.: A New Twist on the Stockless Model

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SBA Judge Rules Faison ‘UnusuallyReliant’ on Corporate ExpressAn administrative judge has ruledDenver-based Faison Office Productswas “other than a small business” whenit was awarded a contract to provideoffice supplies to the California Instituteof Technology’s Jet Propulsion Labor-atory in Pasadena because of its ties withCorporate Express. The Jet Propulsion Lab had issued anRFP for office supplies as a 100 percentsmall business set aside in November2005 and awarded Faison the contract inMarch of the following year. Yorba Linda, California-based OfficeSolutions, one of the dealers who alsoresponded to the RFP, submitted a sizeprotest and after a series of appeals andcounter appeals, the final ruling, issuedby SBA administrative judge Thomas B.Pender, found Faison “unusually reliantupon Corporate Express to qualify for theRFP.”Said the judge in his ruling, “The totalityof the circumstances show a very strongand deliberate relationship betweenAppellant [Faison] and Corporate Expressthat gives Corporate Express the powerto control Appellant through thatrelationship.”“I guess you could call this a victory forthe independent dealer channel but fromanother perspective, it’s amazing howmuch and for how long the system hasbeen abused,” commented OfficeSolutions president Bob Mairena. “There has been at least $130 million insales between Corporate Express andFaison in 2006 and you can probablyassume that this number can be easilymultiplied as there are other similarprograms amongst the other big boxes,”Mairena added. “I may be naive but I ammore disappointed that large companieswho preach corporate responsibility, touttheir commitments to the environmentand to small businesses, yet do exactlythe opposite. Because of their significantresources, they choose to look forloopholes within the SBA and

government rules and clearly don’tchoose to do the right thing.”For the complete version of JudgePender’s ruling, please CLICK HERE.

Office Depot Settles Lawsuit Claiming It Overcharged in CaliforniaIn the wake of last month’s report thatauditors for the state of Georgia hadfound what they described as “perfor-mance problems” with the office suppliescontract held by Office Depot, nowcomes word the Florida-based chain hasagreed to pay $2.3 million to settle alawsuit that claimed customers inCalifornia were overcharged by faultyscanners at the checkout line.Under the settlement, Office Depot alsoagreed to participate in a statewideprice-check program to ensurecustomers are charged the right amount;offer $5 coupons to the public, or $5refunds for customers who were over-charged; and pay more than $285,000 toprosecutors in nine California countiesfor costs related to the investigation. Office Depot did not admit anywrongdoing in the settlement.

Britannia Partners with Acsellerate for Dealer Sales IntelligenceDealer technology provider Britannia hasannounced it is partnering withAcsellerate Solutions to provide salesand business intelligence technology toits BritNet dealers. Acsellerate is an on-demand business intelligence servicedesigned to help dealers in officeproducts and related distributionindustries drive sales, optimize marginsand increase retention rates. “We are very excited about the integra-tion with Acsellerate,” said Britanniaproduct manager Jeff Jones. “It’s not justabout selling to more customers. It’sabout understanding your business andmaking informed decisions to increaseyour overall profitability.” Under an agreement between Acsellerateand Britannia’s parent company eCom-

merce Industries, Britannia customerswill receive special pricing on Acsellerate.The software is already integrated withthe BritNet platform and has beenimplemented at customer sites.

ECI2 Supports Technology Survey EffortDealer technology provider eCommerceIndustries (ECI2) is collaborating on aspecial project with the Office FurnitureDealer Task Force to promote dealerparticipation in the task force’s DealerBusiness System Requirements Survey.The Task Force developed the survey toassess the technology needs of officefurniture dealers and to measure howwell current software meets those needs.“ECI2 is proud to be able to support thisimportant effort, and we encourage everyfurniture dealer to participate,” said MarkGoldman, ECI2’s product manager, officefurniture. “The results will be a greatresource for the entire office productsand furnishings industry.”The survey, which was developed by theOffice Furniture Dealer Task Force incooperation with the Solomon Coyleconsulting group, is designed “to givedealers a voice with their primarysoftware providers and manufacturers,and collect meaningful data that can beused to help develop better software forall dealers,” according to David Solomonof Solomon Coyle.

For more information, visit www.SolomonCoyle.com

AOPD Welcomes a New Member

Hinesville, Georgia-based VIP OfficeFurniture & Supply has joined AmericanOffice Products Distributors (AOPD). Theaddition brings AOPD’s total membershipto 58 dealers, with 120 locations pro-viding distribution throughout the UnitedStates, Canada, Puerto Rico andAustralia.

continued page 10


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Industry Newscontinued from page 8

United Stationers Releases New,Improved Product Content

United Stationers has released itsenhanced product content, ECDB(Electronic Commerce Data Base) 2.0 toresellers and industry technologyproviders for fourth quarter, 2007. Theenhanced content, in XML format,includes more information than ever beforefor nearly 40,000 products, United said.

United said the information will benefitconsumers by helping them more easilyfind the products they’re looking for andbetter understand the product choicesavailable to them, so they can make moreinformed buying decisions. It will helpresellers continue to elevate their e-commerce activities, United said, withproduct data that can boost sales,reduce customer service time required to sell products, and improve profitability.

“This is a major step in our continueddrive to enhance the end-consumershopping experience, and to furtherenable resellers’ access to technologicalresources that keep them stronglycompetitive,” said Mark Hampton, seniorvice president of marketing for United.“Our investment in internal resources hascreated a strong synthesis of technology,merchandising, and marketing necessaryto build a world-class content capabilityfor resellers. Our customers need a fullcomplement of cross-media publishingservices from us, and the contentimprovement is the foundation we needfor dynamic electronic and printpublishing.”

United said the new content includessignificantly more data in a more versatileformat, with a “granular” approach thatlets resellers use the fields they want tobuild their specific e-commerce appli-cations. Enhancements include:

• Much more persuasive selling copythan previously available for eachproduct, plus up to ten bulletedselling points for many products

• A greater number of productattributes covering such facts asproduct dimensions, materials,colors, construction, recyclinginformation, and more.

• More intuitive product hierarchies, toaid product search.

• Greatly improved photography,including individual photos foralmost every SKU, plus alternateviews of many products.

• Color logos for all brands, enablingthe reseller to make stronger brandpresentations.

• Improved data for matchingcompatible supplies with the user’sequipment as well as improvedaccessibility to MSDS information forapplicable products

• Enhanced warranty and packaginginformation

continued page 12


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Resellers who access United’s dataprimarily through a technology providershould direct any questions to the ap-propriate system provider. Resellers whohave been getting United’s existing ECDB1.0 directly from United each quarter willcontinue to receive version 1.0 until theyspecifically request version 2.0 from theirUnited account manager. Both versionswill be available for a transition periodlasting into next year, after which timeversion 1.0 will be discontinued.

A free introductory kit on ECDB 2.0,including technical specifications, a samplefile, usage guidelines, and an order form,is available on request through Unitedaccount managers.

ActionEmco Promotes Reagan to EVP

Wholesaler ActionEmco has promoted JackReagan to executive vice president.Reagan, a 24-year veteran of the officeproducts industry, began his career inprocurement and purchasing at a largeindependent dealer in New Jersey.

After 10 years there he accepted theposition of director of purchasing at BTSummit and was eventually promoted tovice president of merchandising for BTNorth America, where he was responsiblefor catalog development, merchandisingand procurement. He joined ActionEmco inJanuary of 2000 as senior vice president ofmerchandising,

“Jack’s contribution to ActionEmco’ssuccess—his leadership, management skillsand industry experience—person-ifies allthat is good about our company. He is oneof the most respected merchandisingexecutives in our industry and we are quitefortunate to have him in a senior leadership

role,” said Mike Maggio, ActionEmcopresident and CEO.

Dallas Pen Celebrates 60 Years

Wholesaler Dallas Pen celebrated its 60thanniversary last month, with a specialanniversary party at its Annual Fall Show.

Founded in 1947 as a retail card shopand fountain pen repair center, thecompany today is 100 percent wholesale,carries a broad assortment of writinginstruments, office supplies, school sup-plies and more, and operates out of a49,000 sq. ft. warehouse. It currently coversTexas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas,New Mexico, Tennessee, Alabama,Mississippi, Missouri, and Kansas with sixfull time sales people and eight customerservice specialists.

Trendway Names New SoutheastMarket Manager

Trendway has hired Nicole M. Quinn asits newest market manager in the com-pany’s southeast sales region, where shewill be responsible for developing projectopportunities and sales results with thecompany’s dealer business partners inGeorgia and Alabama.

Quinn, who will work out of the Trend-way’s Atlanta office, previously was withMayer Fabrics of Indianapolis as OEM

southeast market manager. Before thatshe worked in sales for Atlantic BusinessSystems and Corporate Environments ofAtlanta.

Appointments and Promotions at VisionBusiness Products

Vision Business Products, a marketing andbuying organization for IT supplies, imagingsupplies, hardware and accessories,recently announced several senior appoint-ments and promotions. They include:

• Mac Rogers topresident andchief operatingofficer tooversee day-to-day operationsand tacticalgrowth.

• Wes Pollock to vice president of saleswith responsibility for driving sales andrevenue in the company’s U.S.operations as well as its Canadianwholesale division.

• Mary Bunch to vice president ofmarketing and vendor relations, whereshe will manage all marketing activitiesand supplier programs for the US,Canada, and wholesale divisions.

continued page 13


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OPMA Launches New Web Site

Office Products Marketing & Advertisinghas announced the launch of their newlyredesigned website at www.opma.com.OPMA said the site provides an in-depthlook at company services via its neweasy-to-navigate, freshly designed inter-face. Users will have quick access to fulldescriptions of company capabilities,examples of printed work, an issues andsolutions area for prospective clients,and a staff directory, OPMA said.

The dealer ordering area has alsoreceived a facelift, allowing dealers tomore easily access program informationand order forms.

continued page 14


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Despite all the changes and all the fiercecompetition, office products is still arelationship business and that aspect of theindustry was very much front and center atthe 2007 Office Products Executive Summitin Naples, Florida last month.

The meeting, which took as its theme“Building Relationships,” was co-spon-sored by the Office Products WholesalersAssociation (OPWA) and the OfficeProducts Representatives Association(OPRA) and brought together theindustry’s leading manufacturers, whole-salers, independent rep firms and, for thefirst time, the industry’s leading dealerbuying and marketing groups for threedays of business meetings, industryeducation and networking.

Keynote speaker Stephen M. R. Coveyemphasized the importance ofrelationship building for attendees in athought-provoking presentation on theimportance of trust, which he describedas “the currency of the new economy.”

Said Covey, “The nature of the neweconomy is interdependence. We’re allconnected today and interdependencethrives or dies upon trust or its absence.”

Trust is something that can be taught andlearned, he contended. “When we don’ttrust,” Covey said, “it changes the dynamicsof our relationships and partnerships andintroduces redundancies and bureaucraciesthat take time and cost money. Our en-vironment becomes politicized and peoplebecome disengaged.”

The presence of trust, he argued, bringswith it a huge benefit dividend that createsincreased speed and new efficiencies inbusiness relationships.

At the meeting there were plenty ofopportunities to build relationships andstrengthen trust among business partners, asmanufacturers, wholesalers, rep firms anddealer group executives met to review currentprograms and plan for the year ahead.

Barry Frahm of O Henry received the 2007OPWA Leadership Award at the meeting.

OPWA presented Pilot Pen’s Ron Shaw with aspecial honor, the Recognition Award, to mark46 years of outstanding personal leadershipand management expertise in a long anddistinguished industry career.

In addition, OPWA member honoredindustry leaders and companies for theircontributions to the industry.

OPWA presented a special honor, theRecognition Award, to Ronald Shaw ofPilot Pen Corp., who is retiring after 46years of industry service. This one-timespecial award was presented to Shaw foroutstanding personal leadership andmanagement expertise throughout hiscareer, initially with BIC Pen Corporationand later as chairman and CEO of Pilot.

In addition, OPWA presented its 2007Leadership Award to Barry Frahm of O Henry Inc. The only person who hasserved as president of both the WholesaleStationers Association (WSA) and National

Association of Writing InstrumentDistributors (NAWID), Frahm has beeninvolved with O Henry Inc. for more thanforty-five years and became CEO of theGreensboro, NC company in 1972.

Manufacturers honored at the meetingincluded:

� Baumgarten’s Inc.—Manufacturer of theYear (Office Products), and 3M (runners up)

� Zebra Pen Corp.—Manufacturer of theYear (Writing Instruments), and Pentel ofAmerica (runners up)

� Stanley-Bostitch—Innovation of the YearAward for its Tripod Flashlight

Also at the meeting, OPWA re-elected asits president Joe Templet, senior vicepresident of trade development for UnitedStationers.

“OPWA continues to be an importantorganization in the office products industry.We bring together wholesalers and manu-facturers at the senior management level inbuilding and furthering business rela-tionships,” Templet said.

“Our Executive Summit is the only placewhere these people can come togetheralong with the representatives, buyinggroups and other interested third-partiesserving the office products industry.”

Also re-elected as OPWA officers wereAlan Goldner, United Supply Corp.—vicepresident and Jack Reagan, ActionEmco—secretary/treasurer. Gregg DeVriesremains on the OPWA board of directors asimmediate past president.

Paul Ventimiglia, Pentel of America, waselected manufacturers' division chair.Michael Wilbur, Shachihata, and JimMatese, Pilot Pen Corporation, were elec-ted to the board. Other board membersinclude Jim O'Brien, S.P. Richards; BobbieMelugin, Dallas Pen Company; BarryGreenberg, PPI Wholesale Office Supplies,and Bill Cardone, Mead Westvaco.


‘Building Relationships’ is Theme of 2007 Office Products Summit;Associations Honor Industry Leadership, Innovation

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Yuletide Office Supply, Memphis“One thing I’ve learned isthat it’s difficult if notimpossible to bid from alist that Staples or one ofthe other giants provides.It has very little to do with

what a particular customer buys,” says Justin Miller. “Forcomparison, I want at least three months of purchases and Iwant to see the actual invoices. I talk with the customer’speople in accounting, make it as easy as possible for thedecision-maker, and then come back with a proposal.”

Miller says that some reps give up too easily. “I recently gota $100,000 customer that I’ve been working on for nearlyfive years. The buyer would not see me, so I finally said,‘What’s going on? Why won’t you at least talk to me?’ Hefinally agreed to see me, and as it turned out, the onlyreason he ignored me for so long was because he thoughtthe entire topic not worth his time. So you don’t alwaysknow why you’re turned away.”

Yuletide uses business reviews routinely to keep customersin the fold. They insist that key decision-makers are present,hopefully including the CEO, the CFO and of course, thepurchasing people.

continued page 17


Why does one of your best long time customers switch toStaples, Office Depot, or another giant just because oneof their reps came calling?

“Because you haven’t done what you should have done to protect your investment,” saysJustin Miller of Yuletide Office Plus in Memphis.

“In most cases it’s nobody’s fault but your own,” says Miller. “The customer either does notknow the value you provide, or does not know the risks he or she is taking with a big boxsupplier. The customer should know both of these things and the person that should havetold them is you.”

While there may be other reasons for losing a customer, such as a new buyer or an edictfrom the customer’s home office, everyone would agree that it’s a whole lot easier to keep acustomer than get them back.

The dealers I talked with are not only good at customer retention, and getting customersback, but also do a bang-up job of taking customers from the big boxes—customers they’venever had before.

Let’s take a look.

ReadyFOR THE

Big Guysby Jim Rapp

Ready for the Big Guyscontinued from page 16

The presentation starts by talking about the customer—notjust purchasing history, but mentioning things that arehappening there—any recognition they’ve received, theirsales and profits if available, and something about theirpeople, particularly buyers and others they work with in thecustomer organization. “We look at their web site and talk totheir people in advance to get this information,” Miller said.

The meeting continues with a discussion of new productsand services and any good things that have happened sincethe last visit. It’s interesting that much of what’s covered inthe review is also used when making a proposal to aprospective customer—talking about the history of Yuletideas well as what is known about the prospective customer.

Another key to retention is a “Let’s update your contract”discussion, Miller says. “You say, ‘I notice you’re buyingsome items not on the contract and there are a few items onthe contract that you never or seldom buy. Let’s add the non-contract items and help save you money.’”

Your customers will appreciate the advice and it opens thedoor to an opportunity to sell other products such as furnitureor equipment, he points out.

S&T Office Products, Saint Paul, Minnesota“The greater Twin Cities market is verylucrative—some of the country’s largestcorporate headquarters are locatedhere, so it’s very attractive for the power

players to blanket the market with promises of conversionallowances, phantom deep discounts and rebates—anythingto buy the business.”

Those were the first words I heard when I asked S&T’s VickiGiefer and Frank Tschida how they manage to hold on toalmost every customer, while at the same time taking someaway from the big guys.

“We think we earn our customer’s business every day withgreat customer care, a newly upgraded online orderingsystem that works in combination with scanning to cutordering time in half, and we’ve implemented SmartChatinstant messaging so our customers can send us ‘real time’messages to get answers to questions without having tointerrupt their workflow,” they told us.

“The biggest thing we’ve done is to work hard on retentionand maximization with our customers during businessreviews. A customer report card and a usage report allow usto go over some key metrics with our customers and ask for

opportunities in other areas—our greatest success has comein the cleaning and break room supplies segment this year.Everyone needs paper towels or a box of tissues and theseare things our customers don’t associate with ordering fromtheir office products distributors.

“We are in contact with customers at a minimum of every sixweeks with e-mail messages that are pertinent andvaluable—we provide an electronic copy of our quarterly flyertwo weeks prior to it hitting the street so they have thechance to start saving on those items right away. We findcustomer ‘lunch and learns’ to be effective—we have anupcoming event on ergonomics. We had one on productivityin the spring and try to have those three times a year.

“Our sales reps go into meetings prepared. They do theirresearch and know recent key happenings, either with theirpotential customer or in their industry as a whole. I believe amessage on the importance of keeping the money in thecommunity hits home with customers based in our area. It’sour way of living our Smart brand.

“So, to sum it up, it’s to say we use a heavy dose of commonsense combined with understanding our key audiences andtailoring our message accordingly. We lean heavily on the factthat customers want and need personalized service.”

Kramer & Leonard, Chesterton, Indiana

“I hate to admit it,” says Kramer & Leonard’s Greg Fox, “butsometimes we take customers away from the big boxes onlybecause they consistently over promise and under serve.”

“We have no trouble competing with the giants if theprospect will listen to our story. We are having more successwith larger accounts than ever before. Here’s an example—we lost out on a three-year supply contract with the state ofIndiana that was awarded to Corporate Express. After oneyear, the contract was given to us. We don’t know why, butwe have a good idea.

“A major problem in getting back customers who have gone tothe giants is ego—the buyer doesn’t want to admit that he orshe made a mistake, at least not to the boss. So we tread verylightly and find other reasons for the buyer to buy from us.”

Fox lists other reasons why they’re so successful in com-peting with the big boxes:

In addition to supplies, we have a furniture division—HermanMiller and Kimball franchises, and are also a showcase dealerfor Hon.

continued page 18


Ready for the Big Guyscontinued from page 17

- We have professional designers on staff, and projectmanagers

- We are a Sharp equipment dealer, with a completeservice department

- We offer not only technology products, but service andeducation. We will have a technology show forcustomers next month

- We have reps that specialize in the education andhealthcare markets.

Kerr Office Group, Elizabethtown, Kentucky

“One of our goals is to be the largest independent in thestate, but we have a lot of work to do to get there,” saysKerr’s John Wright.

At the rate they’re going, the goal may very well be in sight.With two retail stores and a commercial business, this smalltown dealer is making a name for itself while taking businessaway from the big boxes, Wal-Mart and other retailers.

How are they doing it? Not unlike the other independentswe’ve just discussed—through a variety of approaches, from“support your local businesses” campaigns, to a “we provideeverything you need” message and to making the retailshopper into a commercial customer.

Neither John Wright nor owner Brian Kerr can say enoughgood things about industry consultant Krista Fleet. “She hashelped us in many ways,” says Kerr, “but the most importantwas demonstrating how to make a professional businessreview. Previously, we just talked with buyers. Now we go tohigher levels—CEOs, CFOs as well as buyers. This hasliterally turned our business around. We now make fullpresentations. We talk about our company, its history, andour community involvement. We discuss past relationships,what we know about the customer or prospect, then wecover their past purchases, the savings they’ve made, andthen we talk about what they’re not buying from us—forexample, jan/san or breakroom supplies.

“Sometimes we walk into a prospect and ask, ‘Whatproblems are you having?’ We then try to find a solution—there is no hard sell. This happened recently when we calledon a city purchasing agent. The problem: Not enough storagespace for the large quantity of paper they were required tobuy from one of the giants in order to get the best price. Thesolution was easy: We will deliver as needed at the contract

price. Now they’re buying everything from us!”

Kerr concluded by saying, “We’re taking a lot of businessaway from the boxes. In the last three months, we’ve pickedup four accounts, each with $25,000 or more in annualpurchases.”

El Paso Office Products

“Never give up” seems to be the motto of Sandy Grodin,owner of this El Paso dealership. Specializing in federal, stateand local government contracts, Grodin lost, then regained, anearly $2 million contract with a major Texas school district.At the end of a three-year contract, he lost the renewal to oneof the power players.

The school district, after less than a year of a three-yearcontract, dropped the power player for alleged contractviolations, at which time Grodin tried to pick up the contract,but was kept out of the bidding and the new contract wasawarded to another power channel supplier.

Not to be put off, Grodin successfully filed a request underthe Texas Public Information Act to see the other contracts.The result: El Paso Office Products got the business back.Says Grodin, “We know it’s possible to fudge on contractsand use all sorts of tricks to get the business. Whatindependents should do is collect this information and use itto educate contract customers and prospective customerson what to be looking for and alert them to the potentialrisks.”

As these stories illustrate, there are lots of ways to battle thebig boxes and emerge victorious. Yet I’m convinced, afterlistening to one success story after another, that the mostimportant factor that runs through all the explanations is thewillingness and the courage to take on all comers, then puttogether a plan to do it.

These highly successful independents, and many like themacross the country, do not wait until they’ve lost a customer toone of the giants, and then try to get it back. They’re proactiveand use all the tools that have been mentioned and more.

Now, let’s hear from you on your big box battles.

What are you doing to battle the Big Boxes?

Give us a call at 703-379-8583, or drop us an

e-mail at [email protected].



We often talk about the office productsbusiness being a “relationship business.”We would like to think that our rela-tionships with our suppliers, customersand employees are what make thedifference between a successful dealer-ship and one that is not growing.

I’d like to challenge everyone’s thinkingthat it’s not just because you have theserelationships that your business willprosper, but that you continuouslynurture them. If you intentionally, deli-berately and proactively work on buildingyour “Ships”—partnerships and relation-ships—you will have personal sustain-able growth.

But ships need to be solid andpurposeful, so let’s explore what thatreally means and discover how you canbuild your ships to last a lifetime.

PartnerShips Understand the other person. What aretheir needs and their circumstances?

Ask questions, listen, find out what ishappening in their business, not justwhat is new and important with yours.Really understand the other’s wants andneeds. Just because a customer hasbeen with you for a long time, that doesnot make it the determining factor of agreat PartnerShip. It is the quality ofunderstanding what each other wantsand needs and that together, you areworking toward a common goal, with apurpose.

Reciprocity- How can we worktogether to meet each other’s wantsand needs?

This is an important word. You need toreciprocate, since a PartnerShip is notjust one-sided. If you have a PartnerShip

but feel like the other party is not holdingup their end of the bargain, that you arealways giving and they are taking, thenthere is no reciprocity. A PartnerShipshould not feel unfair. Perhaps you needto outline clear expectations for eachother’s actions.

Execute with care, trust, and integrity

Typically a PartnerShip is an agreement,where something is getting executed,implemented or accomplished. Care,trust and integrity are the foundationsand will ensure you execute youragreement better and faster.

Exceed the other’s expectations

Sometimes in a PartnerShip you mightfeel “I have given it all I got!” Both partiesalways need to try and exceed what isexpected, then no one gets complacentor taken for granted. Remember, thenumber one reason customers leave isbecause they feel undervalued orignored—not price.

RelationShipsKnow your role and your purpose inthe relationship

Whether you are a father, grandfather,mom, boss or employee, you play a roleand should be very clear on what thatrole is, and your purpose in theRelationShip. As a business owner orsales manager, your role is to create andshare your vision, build a business planand get results through others. Youremployees are looking to you to be the“fearless leader”. Are you playing thatrole?

What value do you bring?

Ask yourself, What value do I bring tothis RelationShip and what areas do Ineed to work on? If you do not bringvalue to the other person, then there maynot be a purpose or need for yourRelationShip.

Empathy, understanding and anemotional connection

Empathy is to recognize, perceive andfeel directly the emotion of anotherperson. This is difficult and I often coacharound thinking with your head, heart,and gut, so you can begin to understand,put yourself in their shoes and feel thepower of that emotional connection. Youwill make better decisions.

Constantly work on it!

Like a marriage, ShipBuilding takes con-stant attention and work to besuccessful. Where I see RelationShipsfail often are between managers andtheir employees. The expectations arenot clear; they leave well enough alone,and may not recognize their respon-sibility to continuously develop thatRelationShip to create loyalty.

Many of the focus areas for “Ship-Building” may sound similar. But the keyis creating sustainable, loyal “Ships” withcustomers, business partners and em-ployees. Consider the following:

� Continuously show you CARE

� Demonstrate TRUST

� Exceed EXPECTATIONS

� Ensure RECIPROCITY

So I ask you, What do your “Ships”look like?

Take a moment and consider one or twovery important relationships andpartnerships. How can you make your“Ship” better, stronger, moremeaningful? What can you do different,to build your ships so they arepurposeful and solid and strong enoughto last a lifetime?

Krista Fleet is president of K Coaching, LLC anexecutive coaching and consulting practice thathas helped literally hundreds of independentdealers maximize their full potential and strengthenkey business partnerships.

For more information, visit the K Coaching web siteat www.kcoaching.com.


ShipBuildingBy Krista Fleet

http://www.kcoaching.com

It might seem like it’s a ways off but before you know it, the new catalog season will be hereonce again. Starting with this issue and running through the end of the year, INDEPENDENTDEALER is offering an early look at the 2008 catalogs from United Stationers, AMW and S. P.Richards and previewing some of the new products you can expect to find in them.

Along the way, we’ll be highlighting some of the techniques dealers use to bring their newcatalogs out to the marketplace and how they go about collecting their old ones.

First out of the gate: United Stationers


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United Stationers’ use and developmentof catalogs as cornerstone marketingtools dates back to the 1930s. Catalogshad already become an increasinglypowerful marketing medium as em-ployed by Sears Roebuck, a pioneer ofmass-market retailing.

United Stationers, under its originalname of Utility Supply Company,helped promote the use of catalogsin the office supply industry. Overmany years of analyzing consumermarket needs, and with a later shift incompany strategy to selling only toresellers, United’s catalog grew tobecome the largest and most widely-used book in the industry by United’sreseller cus-tomers and their consumeraudiences.

As vertical markets and other seg-mented audience needs arose, United

respondedwith various niche catalogs,focusing specifically on furniture,technology, janitorial and sanitation, andvarious narrower product groups withinthe office supply sphere—basic officecommodities, school products, legal andaccount, medical office, etc.

continued page 22


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CATALOGSfrom page 21

In recent years, United has continued torespond to changing consumer inter-ests as well as resellers’ evolving

selling models. A shift to web-

based shopping and electronicmarketing methods has prompted anew look at catalogs.

“Catalogs are just one tool in anintegrated marketing approach,” saysJeannie McCarthy, United’s director ofcampaign management. “We need tofocus not just on the catalogsthemselves, but how they relate to othermethods of shopping and how they cancontribute to an overall target responserate for a given marketing campaign.”

United’s creation of a ConsumerGeneral Line Catalog several years agoresulted from research into theconsumer marketplace that showed theemergence of several distinct types ofoffice products buyers, with differentstyles of catalog shopping:

� More sophisticated and knowled-geable buyers who often know whatthey want and seek the broadestpossible selection of brands alongwith factual product information in a

“reference-style” printed catalog.United’s Reference General Linewas targeted to their needs.

� Less sophisticated buyers who some-times do not know exactly whatproducts they want and don’t mindspending more time shopping in acatalog. For these buyers, Uniteddesigned the Consumer General LineCatalog, with inviting layouts, more“sell copy” and broad categories ofitems grouped together to remind theconsumer what else to look for.

“Dealers told us that they liked much ofwhat we had done in our ConsumerGeneral Line Catalog, including thecleaner layout, consumer-friendlyshopping, and two editions a year, saysBob Burnette, United’s director ofchannel marketing. “But they also toldus they’d prefer to combine thesefeatures with the current ReferenceGeneral Line, to have just one edition,so we responded to their needs.”

continued page 23


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CATALOGSfrom page 22

The result is United’s 2008 Catalogprogram which features a General LineCatalog with the best of both worlds: a twice-a-year book with the improvedgraphics of the former Consumer GeneralLine, but with a broader selection ofproducts and alphabetical organizationlike the Reference General Line.

United’s 2008 program also features aversion of the General Line designed forGovernment buyers, with a JWOD insertand many special identifiers for thisspecialized audience. And it offers avery broad assortment of other nichecatalogs and promotional flyers to reachvarious consumer audiences and satisfymany different dealer selling models.

“Our programs continue to evolve at arapid rate in an effort to provide ourindependent dealer partners withprograms that are relevant to thebusiness issues they face every day,” says Ed Rodham, United’s vice

president of marketing. “We are focusingon building a solid eCommerce and Content foundation so that we are best-positioned to help our customers, giventhe fact that new technology and newcapabilities are emerging every day.”


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More and more office

supplies business may be

moving online, but

wholesaler catalogs

continue to play an

important, though changing

role. That was the message

that came through loud and

clear from the United

first-call dealers we talked

with about what they do to

introduce the new books.

Here’s what they had to say:

� Steve UnruhBertelson Total Office SolutionsMinneapolis

We view the introduction of newcatalogs as a great time to get in front ofthe customer. We generally schedule atraining session about 1-1/2 weeks priorto delivery to review new features andbenefits of the books and we develop ascript for our sales force to use that wehand out at that meeting so they canpersonalize it for their own use. We alsowork with our vendors to bring in asupply of new product samples to handout with the new books.

We also believe it’s very important to getthe old books off the street to eliminateconfusion, reduce orders fordiscontinued products and help keepour fill rate up. We hold a contest withprizes for whoever brings back the mostof our own old books and there’sanother prize for whoever brings backthe most of our competitors’ books.

Our outside sales force delivers thebooks to anyone within our delivery areaand anyone outside that range is maileda copy of the new book with a coverletter, a selection of samples and detailsof our first quarter specials.

continued page 25


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CATALOGScontinued from page 24

We use the list price lined out version ofthe general line catalog and will put about8,000 copies out into the market. We don’ttrack distribution of the big book tooclosely, but we are very much concernedabout the smaller catalogs we use…twoversions of United’s EDLP catalog, anaggressively priced acquisition catalogand a second version focused oncustomer retention. Obviously, it’s criticalthat the right version of the EDLP bookgoes to the right group of customers.

With the advent of the Internet, thecatalog has developed from an orderingtool to a reference tool. Our customers willuse the catalog to find the product and theSKU number and enter it on our web siteto get their price and order.

It’s really evolving and I think the largereference book will start following whatthe big boxes have done and we’ll see itshrinking down from 35,000 items tocloser to 11,000.

� Lyle DabbertBrown & SaengerSioux Falls, South Dakota

We put out two books, with about 8,000copies between the two of them. We’lluse the wholesaler’s general line catalogand our buying group’s 6,000 SKUcatalog. We also use a series of differentvertical market catalogs covering jan-san, furniture, technology and medicalsupplies, to underscore our ability toserve as a one-stop resource for ourcustomers.

We use United’s general line catalogwith retail prices lined out and the 3,000SKU’s from TriMega’s TriMini cataloghighlighted. Internally, we’ll assign pro-duct numbers to the catalogs in oursystem and track distribution just as if itwas a regular order.

We believe the salespeople need to

deliver the new books personally andthey will go through the catalogs andpresent new features at the time ofdelivery. Also at that time, they willcollect our old books, as well as booksfrom any competitors, that they bringback for recycling.

We see our customers using the whole-saler’s big book primarily as a reference,while the smaller contract catalog goesto anyone in their company with theability to do purchasing.

Forty-six percent of our supplies bus-iness is currently coming in online, butthere are still a lot of traditionally-minded people out there who like to usethe catalog to research products andthen go online for their prices.

As the Internet continues to controlmore and more of our lives, I suspectwe’ll see fewer and fewer catalogs, butnot in the short term.

continued on page 26


Welcome to BUY LOCAL CENTRAL, our one-stop resource to help your customers keep theirmoney where their house is!

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CATALOGScontinued from page 25

� Jeff DemarcoMidwest Office SupplySpringfield, Ilinois

We use the lined out retail version of thegeneral line catalog and distribute about5,500 copies out to the marketplace.Two-thirds of our books are eitherdelivered by outside sales force, mailedor included with orders. The remainingthird, which go to low volume accountsor customers who are too remote for aregular sales call, are delivered byUnited with an outside wrap introducingthe new book.

We’ve used this approach with lowvolume and remote customers for the

past two years and have had very strongDecembers during that time. This year,we’re adding a new wrinkle to theprogram, with a flyer that will offer a free-cookies premium for the first order fromthe new book.

We have no formal program to collectold catalogs, but our SAP software cantrack which book customers are usingto order and identify when old books arebeing used.

� Paul SavorySouthwest Office SupplyPortland, Oregon

For us, the catalog is still our most valuablemarketing tool. Depending on the size ofthe account, the new catalogs will bedelivered either by our outside salespeopleor our drivers or, for customers outside ourdelivery area, by UPS.

Our salespeople will deliver about 40percent of the new catalogs and they’realso responsible for picking up our oldbooks and any of our competitors’ booksfor recycling.

We keep track of who gets the newcatalogs and how many they get in an Excelspreadsheet and offer cash incentives forpicking up old books and prizes such asmovie tickets or pizza coupons for whoeverbrings back the most.

Our online business is growing but there’sstill a lot of people who like the catalog.They’ll use it for research and then orderon our web site.

Coming Next Month:

AMW2008 Catalog Preview

http://www.interbizgroup.com

True confessions: I double majored in

Psychology and History at a Christian Liberal

Arts school in Minnesota, mostly because I

hated math. Before registering for my

freshman year, I analyzed the college

catalog to assure myself that once my high

school education was complete, there

would be no more algebra, geometry, or trig.

I dreamed of a college experience filled

with classes about people and with lots of

free time for intercultural dialog (AKA dates)

with Swedish and Norwegian natives.

However, in spite of my best efforts, my

research failed to uncover the fact that in

order to graduate with a degree in

Psychology, I would have to take the worst

of all math classes: Statistics.

Consequently, I waited until the last

possible moment to take the class—my

diploma was withheld at graduation—took

it at a less difficult school, and nearly failed.

Most entrepreneurs I know, especially

those who love the sales game, aren’t

especially fond of statistics either. We

would rather cold call in five buildings with

“No Soliciting” signs and guards at every

entrance than attempt to understand the

implications of a current Profit & Loss

statement. When I owned my own

dealership, International Office Products,

there were at least two reasons for not

reading my P&L:

| I already knew our sales needed to

grow in order to be solvent.

| I didn’t really understand how to

read one anyway.

However, the best thing I ever did for my

employees and for the company’s future

was to become educated on how statistics

affect a business. Sales, product cost,

gross margin, overhead expenses, and net

margin are all numbers that must be

measured and managed.

I hired a trustworthy CPA to prepare the

statements, balance sheets, and tax

returns and I learned from his expertise and

counsel. I became educated, in spite of my

fears and our profitability regularly ran in

the 6-8% range.

I am certain many of you have learned the

same lessons about statistics, but are you

using them to manage your company and

its future? Many dealers I counsel or

engage with are reporting under 3% profit

before taxes, and it’s often because they

refuse to allow their financial statements to

influence their decision-making.

Make the effort to understand what the

financial linchpins of your business are and

spend time comparing them to others in

your industry.

Let me give you a few specific examples of

how knowing your financial information and

comparing it to the overall marketplace can

help your company become more

profitable and increase the chances that it

will be viable for the long-term.

Operating Costs/Expense Management

In 2006, the big boxes reported overall

“cost to do” that ranged from a low of

20.8% for Staples to a high of 26.8% for

Corporate Express. In the Executive

Summary of NOPA’s 2007 Dealer Financial

Comparisons report, the typical inde-

pendent dealer reported costs of 28%,

while high-profit dealers managed to a cost

of 25.1.% of revenues.

This data gives the range that every

commercial dealer (except those with retail)

must manage towards to be successful. If

your costs are not within this range, find

someone you trust to help you determine

where to reduce expenses.

If your costs are lower than 25% and your

company is profitable, you might consider

investing in new sales tools or aggressively

going after market share by lowering your

sale prices to attract new customers.

Total Revenue per Employee

This metric seems much more mysterious

than it really is. To determine if you have the

right amount of employees for the size of

your business, take your revenue for the

past year and divide it by the number of full

time employees.

The big boxes report that they sell between

$300,000 and $350,000 per employee.

Successful independents average at least

$240,000 in sales per employee and that

number needs to steadily increase.

Owners and managers should determine a

strategy to increase Internet sales, conso-

lidate delivery routes and review the

company’s stocking strategy for low dollar,

low volume items in order to increase this

number.

In conclusion, it’s all right to hate statistics.

But at the same time, we must recognize

the profitability of our company depends

upon them. So while you continue to hate,

make sure you don’t avoid a solid

education on statistics and their impor-

tance for your business any longer.

Tom Buxton is founder and CEO of InterBiz Group,a consulting firm that works with independentoffice products dealers to help increase sales andprofitability,

For more information, visit www.interbizgroup.com.Tom will be leading a short webinar on Thursday,October 11 (2:00 PM Eastern) to discuss specificfindings of the 2007 NOPA Dealer FinancialComparison report. Please contact NOPA atwww.nopanet.org or call 1-800-542-NOPA formore information.


Lies, More Lies and Statistics!

By Tom Buxton

Lies, More Lies and Statistics!

http://www.interbizgroup.com

http://www.nopanet.org

By Trish Brock

Most salespeople have been involved ina “lunch and learn” but often withvarying degrees of success. This seem-ingly easy venue for designers to gaininsights into new products and trendscan often be more problematic than not.Sometimes the attendance is less thanexpected or pays little attention, andwhat should have been a sizzlingexperience can often turn into a dud.Sound familiar?

Know Your Audience

It is important to understand the nature ofarchitectural and design firms. Their focusis on “billable” time, so taking time fromtheir day that can’t be charged to aclient/project can often be a challenge.

There are many dealers, rep groups andmanufacturers who are calling them daily foran “audience” so your competition is fierce.To make it worse, many firms even go so faras to discourage or at best, limit the numberof “lunch and learns” they will permit.

Even though it is clearly to their ad-vantage to know about new products andtrends, it’s simply not a priority for manydesigners who often work for architects, agroup that often regards furniture asnothing more than decorative.

The senior designers have sat throughcountless product presentations through-out the years, and for the most part feelthey have seen it all. Yet these are thepeople who specify your products andwho you want to see.

The younger designers are eager to learnand will certainly benefit from impartedinformation, but may not have the influenceto spec your products on projects.

Be Realistic

It’s important to be realistic aboutattendance. Emergencies and deadlineswill take priority over any other com-mitment, so you should expect somepeople to not show up and be ready to bepleasantly surprised when they do.

It’s also important to be realistic and clearabout the goals for your lunch and learn.Is it to show new products, develop arelationship, create a better awareness ofyour own products and services, haveyour products specified on a certain pro-ject or simply a “maintenance” call to stayin front of clients and prospects?

Maybe you are new to your dealershipand want them to associate you with yournew company, or possibly there are anumber of new designers with whom youwould like be better acquainted.

Be clear about what you want toaccomplish so you can focus your effortstowards your goal. Showing up andhoping they like you isn’t going to get youto your goal.

So how do you get the whole departmentto your presentation and not just a fewwho are looking for the free lunch?

Here are some tips that might help:

1. Give them a reason to come. Do alittle research about projects they areworking on or may have just beenawarded, and gear your presentationtowards possible products andresources you can make available to

them. Or better yet, ask if there are anytopics or products they want to learnmore about, or issues they need helpwith and gear your time accordingly.Getting their input will certainly assureyou of a topical presentation!

2. Acknowledge they have limited timeand ask for only an hour. If people wantto stay longer and ask questions, that’sgreat. But be sure to finish on time.

3. Be prepared and know your stuff. Beconcise and don’t ramble on. Limit howmuch you intend to cover and rehearseyour presentation. Even though you mayhave a lot to share with them, know thatthere is a limited amount of informationthat can be absorbed at one time. Pickyour most important message and stayon topic.

4. Make it fun and be sure it’snewsworthy. Be entertaining andengaging. And make it worth their time.Don’t come in to show products theyhave seen many times before. Somesales people fail to recognize that this isa great opportunity to make a lastingimpression as well as to relayinformation. If you don’t, you may notget many opportunities for another.

5. Make it memorable and different fromwhat your competitors might be doing.Have some interesting leave-behinds ormaybe even some sort of door prize forattendees, such as a spa treatment,movie passes, gift certificates to a hotnew restaurant, etc.

continued page 29


10 TipsFor GREATLunch and Learns

Lunch & Learnscontinued from page 28

6. Make a point to bring a great lunchand become known for doing so. Ifpeople know they can expect aninteresting lunch instead of some boringbox lunch, they will be more inclined toshow up. Call ahead for a head countand any dietary preferences. You mayeven ask which restaurant is the currentfavorite of the group and then have themcater the lunch. The day before, you mayconfirm the head count again andpossibly share the menu. Some hungryarchitects may also decide to drop inwhen tempted by an interesting menu.

7. Pay attention to comments andquestions, and make notes. Try to listenmore than you talk. Instead of making apresentation, engage in an interactivedialog so you can learn more about yourgroup and its needs. Follow up with eachof the attendees with any additionalinformation relevant to their questions.

8. Change the format. Ask them tolunch so YOU can learn. While they eat,you get their thoughts and ideas on howyou can best help them in the future.One senior manager from a dealer askedfor input on how to best structure theirsupport of the A&D community, whatthey look for when choosing a dealer towork with, what makes one dealer betterthan another, etc. The response wasgenerous and very insightful and gavethat dealer a better perspective on thetrue needs of the A&D community.

9. Change the venue. Consider an afterhours event at your showroom instead ofa lunch in their conference room. Thisinvolves a bit more planning and carefulstaging of your showroom, but theopportunity to get more people involvedat a single time could be worth the extraeffort. It might also be a greatopportunity to get multiple design firmsthrough your showroom. Bringing in anoted speaker or nationally recognizeddesigner is a great drawing card as well.

10. Follow up with thank you notes toeach attendee, noting comments andany questions that came up during yourtime with them. And stay on top of whatwas discussed. If you were able to makea connection with some of the designers,continue the dialog on a one-on-onebasis over coffee a few weeks later.Don’t wait until your next lunch and learnto let them see or hear from you.

Lunch and learns are great venues toshare information and develop strongworking relationships with the A&Dcommunity. They can be difficult toschedule and attendance is often spotty,but with some imagination and carefulplanning, you can create a reputation foryourself and stand out from your com-petition. When you are able to achievethat, they will start calling you instead!

Trish Brock is a well-known industry consultantwhose cross-functional consulting group, TrishBrock & Associates, specializes in helping dealerprincipals and their management teams solveidentity, branding, sales support materials andweb site challenges. For more information,contact Trish at 720-277-3035 or email:[email protected].



http://www.regencyof.com/

Senators Snowe and Bond Call for Review of HUBZone ProgramSenate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

Ranking Member Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) and Sen. Kit

Bond (R-Mo.) recently requested that the Government

Accountability Office review the Historically Under-utilized

Business Zone (HUB-Zone) program administered by the

Small Business Administration.

Congress created the HUBZone program in 1997 to promote

economic development and employment growth in distressed

rural and urban areas by facilitating access to federal

contracting opportunities. Unfortunately, according to Senators

Snowe and Bond, federal agencies have routinely failed to

meet the program’s statutory contracting goal of awarding 3

percent of prime con-tracts to HUBZone small businesses.

“I am deeply concerned about the underutilization of the HUBZone

program,” said Senator Snowe. “According to the Federal

Procurement Data System, just 1.94 percent of prime con-

tracts are going to HUBZone small businesses. That’s far less

than the 3 percent goal Congress has set. Moreover, out of

Maine’s 41,026 small businesses, only 118 are HUBZone

firms. Clearly, the HUBZone program is not realizing its

potential and could be more effective.”

“Small businesses are frequently at a disadvantage when it

comes to government procurement,” said Senator Bond. “We

created the HUBZone law specifically to give these com-

panies government contracting preference in return for

locating and providing critically-needed jobs in our nation’s

cities. Unfortunately, the SBA is not carrying the load in

implementing this important program.”

The letter Senators Snowe and Bond sent requests that GAO:

– Examine the barriers that inhibit small business fromutilizing the HUBZone program

– Analyze the obstacles that federal agencies areencountering in implementing the HUBZone programto award contracts to certified HUBZone firms;

– Recommend legislative or regulatory proposals toincrease small business utilization of the HUBZoneprogram, as well as to mitigate any implementationdifficulties facing federal agencies; and

– Propose recommendations to ensure that economicallydepressed areas of the country are properly classifiedas HUBZones.

continued page 31


SSmmaallll BBuussiinneessss IIssssuueessDDrraaww SSuuppppoorrtt iinnCCoonnggrreessss oonn BBootthhSSiiddeess ooff tthhee AAiissllee

by Paul A. Miller

Two important programs for small business are currently drawing support onCapitol Hill, one from the Republican side and one from the Democrats.Here’s a closer look at each one.

Paul Millercontinued from page 30

Senators Snowe and Bond have requested that GAO provide a

timeline for a response within 30 days.

Senate Small Business Committee ChairmanTakes Aim at SBA’s Lack of Support forWomen-Owned Businesses Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) has been pushing hard in support of

Women’s Business Centers. In August, he succeeded in forcing

the Bush Administration to implement new legislation that pro-

vides permanent funding to the centers. This ensures they will be

able to receive grant funding as soon as Congress appropriates

the funds.

“The Center for Women and Enterprise in Worcester and Boston

has been a lifeline for small businesses in Massachusetts, and

I’ve been fighting for years to make sure that they’re not punish-

ed for their success by losing federal funding,” said Kerry, chair-

man of the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

In Massachusetts, women-owned businesses generate over

$30 billion in sales and employ more than 177,000 people,

according to Kerry. However, although women-owned busi-

nesses account for 30 percent of privately-owned firms, they

still receive less than 3 percent of all federal contracting dollars.

In May, Congress passed into law a permanent renewal grant

program for Women’s Business Centers and the Small Business

Administration, at the urging of Senators. Kerry and Olympia

Snowe (R-Maine), said they will implement the program by

January 2008.

Paul Miller is a founding partner in Miller/Wenhold Capitol Strategies, LLC,providers of direct and grassroots lobbying, legislative and regulatorytracking, advocacy planning and implementation and related services. Beforesetting up Miller/Wenhold, Miller served as government affairs director for theNational Office Products Alliance and the Office Furniture Dealers Alliance(NOPA/OFDA). In addition to his lobbying and regulatory monitoring activities,Paul also provides consulting services to businesses on selling to the federal,state and local government markets.

For more information, visit www.mwcapitol.com.


http://www.mwcapitol.com

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Confronting Reality:Doing What Matters to

Get Things Right”by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan

By Chuck Inwood, Nickerson Business Supplies, Monroe, Ohio

One of GE guru Jack Welch’s golden rules is that you act on thebasis of things as they are, not on how you’d like them to be.One book that will help you do just that is “Confronting Reality:Doing What Matters to get Things Right” by Larry Bossidy andRam Charan.I’ve found this a very useful book in my own dealership, as away of helping me think more effectively about our basic

business model and what we should be trying to do to make itstronger and more profitable. There are a lot of good ideas andinformation in this book, but specifically, the three main pointsI got from it are:- The six habits of highly unrealistic leaders: Filtered Infor-

mation, Selective Hearing, Wishful Thinking, Fear, EmotionalOverinvestment and Unrealistic Expectations of CapitalMarkets. Often knowing the roadblocks to effectiveness is asimportant to knowing the shortcuts. The authors’ discussion ofthese bad habits provides warning signs we can checkourselves against, as we try to confront reality.

- A business model that looks at external realities, internalactivities and financial targets. The authors discuss aniteration process that helps you address changes and testrefinements of your model. This is a great framework forexamining your business as it is and how it could be.

- Focusing on customers by creating a demand chain orcustomer chain. The idea is to think of your supply chain andflip it around, focusing on the elements needed to provide anexperience to your customers that differentiates your com-pany from your competitors. Instead of us deciding what’simportant to our customers, the authors suggest we’re betteroff if we let them tell us. What a great idea!

No matter what kind of operation you run, we all need to under-stand the realities of the world in which we do business, andhave a way to mesh our own business goals and actions withthose realities. That’s what this book gives us. Make time toread it and you’ll find it well worth the effort!


http://www.installnet.com

http://www.installnet.com/

By Bill Kuhn

In the last issue of INDEPENDENTDEALER, I discussed the reasons whyyour best people stay and why theyleave. Knowing those reasons, the bigquestion becomes… What can youspecifically do to keep them?

1. Know where your talent lies

How well do you know your staff?Effective managers must understandthe background, skills, and behaviorsthat affect the performance of each oftheir direct reports. In Peter Drucker’sfinal article, he cited effective practicesthat every executive should follow. Hislast—which he said should be a rule—was “Listen first, speak last.”

Listening will help identify where thosetalents lie. Furthermore, the willingness tolisten builds trust and opens dialog. Onceyou build mutual trust, you begin to trulyhear the voice of the individual, leading toa better understanding and the ability tosee the person’s true talents.

2. Build relationships

People want a sense of belonging.Friendships at work are important—more time is typically spent with col-leagues at work than with family.

The most effective managers create asense of belonging and harmony byconnecting people to each other, andbuilding a culture based upon col-laboration, teamwork, and a strongsense of community.

3. Provide job enrichment or career transitions

Studies indicate today’s workers willchange jobs—even careers—five toseven times in their working lifetimes.

Can you develop and keep talentthrough career changes within yourown dealership?

A client CEO who excelled in identifyingpotential and helping his key staff growbegan by building his group of directreports into an excellent team. As the teamdeveloped, there were re-assignments,most of his team (who showed talent) weregiven what he referred to as “stretchgoals” as well as broader responsibilities,and for some, a radical functionaldeparture from what they had been doing(basically a career change).

If your organization is small—with limitedslots to fill—keep your best talent byenriching current jobs and demonstratinghow the job a talented person holds canbe expanded with opportunities forpersonal growth and income.

4. Provide learning anddevelopment opportunities

Generations X and Y place a highpriority on learning and development.Learning must be an ongoing process(not only for new employees, but for theexperienced as well), one that includeseducation, training, understanding, andexposure to the variety of real-lifesituations that occur in your dealership.

For your key employees, developmentshould also tie in to successionplanning. Going back to our first point,succession planning includes under-standing where talent lies and knowingwho has the potential to get yourdealership where you want it to be.

5. Re-recruit your talent

In your organization, assume all your“best” are free to leave. How do you re-recruit your talent? First, never take avalued employee for granted. Second,

continually market your company tothose already on board, not just topotential applicants. Third, never stoprecruiting the people you’ve hired.

I’ve worked with an exceptionalpresident whose philosophy is, “Givethem (the highly talented) responsibility,challenge them, and see what they dowith it. Tell them they’re the best, andthey’ll come to believe it and actaccordingly.”

His articulation of this philosophystands as a beacon for what everymanager who aspires to greatnessshould believe and be doing: “I want tomake every direct report highly market-able, so they can have such a resumeof achievements that they can alwaysmove on to a better job if they chooseto leave.”

This president has had no turnover ofkey talent for over seven years, and thecompany’s value has increased almostten-fold over that same period.

6. Tailor your programs—no oneapproach fits all

As I’ve said before, no one approach tomotivation and no single set of rules willwork today. Taking a “one size fits all”stance is a recipe for disaster. Everytalented employee you have is different.It’s not easy, but if you expect to keepthe best talent, your programs must beflexible and tailored to the individualsyou’ve worked so hard to find.

Bill Kuhn, principal of William E. Kuhn &Associates, is a noted industry consultant, writer,and speaker with over 35 years of industryexperience. He consults with dealer principalsand their management teams in areas of strategicplanning, leadership and organizationaldevelopment, marketing, financial management,valuation and merger/acquisition. For moreinformation, contact Bill by phone 303-322-8233,fax 303-331-9032, or e-mail: [email protected].


Keep the TalentYou Have!


Chances are if you’ve been to anyindustry meetings in recent years, you’llhave seen Dick Dodge. He’s been oneof the more active members of thedealer community, with a long list oforganizations and special committeeshe’s served on. A past chairman ofNOPA, Dodge is currently serving on itsIndustry Standards Committee andspearheading the fight against illegalpass throughs. He is also currently vicechairman of the TriMega Board ofDirectors, serves on the SAP DealerCouncil and has served on the DDMSAdvisory Council.

Over the past 30 years, Dodge hasgrown his dealership, T. H. E. Office Cityin Redwood City, California, into one ofthe leading independents in the SanFrancisco Bay Area, with 45 employeesand over 30,000 sq. ft. of distributionfacilities in Redwood City and Stockton.

But there’s another side to Dick Dodgethat’s far removed from his office pro-ducts business.

Before he bought his dealership, Dodgehad a 12-year career in the trans-portation industry, so when an openingcame up on Port Commission in 1980,it seemed like a good idea to apply.Commission members are appointedby the local city council and evidently,council members like the job he’s beendoing, since they’ve re-appointed himfive times since then.

By the end of his current term, Dodgewill have served on the commission for30 years, including six times as chair-man, which makes him one of thelongest-serving commissioners of anyport in the country. And while he says itusually takes no more than four or fivehours a week, it’s far from just anhonorary position.

The Port Commission consists of fivemembers from the business communitywho serve staggered five-year terms.Once appointed, the commission op-erates autonomously and runs the Portas a profit making enterprise. And thathasn’t always been easy.

“When I started on the commission, wewere in a difficult situation,” Dodgerecalls. “The port was almost bankruptand we were facing a couple of lawsuitswith big liability potential. We reallyneeded to start growing revenue andkeep costs under better control.”

It was certainly no overnight process,but today, the port is prospering to thetune of about $3 million in net profit peryear. And even though it has legalauthority to levy taxes, it’s funded allcapital improvements from its ownrevenues and, says Dodge proudly, isone of the few ports in the country thathas given money back to its host city—to the tune of over $1.2 million in justthe past two years alone.

Dodge’s involvement on the com-mission has not been totally without itsown rewards, of course. It has openedthe doors to many contacts that haveled to new business over the years andprovided travel opportunities as acommission representative throughoutthe world.

But as Dodge talks about his role on thecommission and reflects on the past 30years, what comes through moststrongly is an entrepreneur’s pride inhelping to take an operation that wasstruggling and turn it into a healthy,growing business.

“I have been very fortunate over theyears to have had very good peopleworking in our dealership and theydeserve a lot of credit as well,” he says.“It’s been a very full agenda, but Ihonestly feel that I have gotten a lotmore out of my involvement with in-dustry affairs and the Port Commissionthan I have put into it.”


The Other Side:

Of Dick Dodge

http://www.arygroup.com/

As independent dealers, our biggestadvantage and strongest point of dif-ferentiation versus our key competitionhas always been our service and flex-ibility. But if we aren’t careful, all thatcould soon be changing.

Increasingly, the end user’s perception ofgreat service is being defined by theease-of-use and functionality of theonline ordering experience and unfort-unately, our key competitors have out-invested and out-shown us in this area, atour expense.

They have become the industry leaders inthe online space, and have developedsome of the best business-to-business e-commerce sites in the world. They haveset the standards in the office productsspace for online ordering and we need tooffer our customers a user experiencethat’s functionally comparable to them.

Fortunately, there are alot of exciting develop-ments that will soon bebenefiting the inde-pendent dealer channel.

S.P. Richards has step-ped up to the platewith a major invest-ment in enhancedcontent to enable ourwebsites to provide fastand relevant searchresults to consumers,side-by-side productcomparisons, listingsof companion products,value added up-sellproducts, rebate info,etc. I understand UnitedStationers has similarcontent related initia-tives in the works thatare due to be intro-

duced to the market soon.

ECI2 has also been quite proactive in thisarea. They have invested in completelyrewriting their front end software usingthe latest web-based programming tools,creating an improved user interface andlayering on additional functionality.

Equally important, they have written theprogramming necessary to integrate allthe new content available from SPR,allowing us to catch up to the competitionin the areas where we were mostdeficient. Other systems vendors havealso been making similar investments inorder to keep dealers technologicallycompetitive.

While these have been the most criticaldevelopments to bring us closer to paritywith the competition, efforts still need tobe accelerated to more rapidly reach andsustain parity in this critical service area.

For example:

| Now that the new content is starting tobe actively used by consumers, it willrequire additional tweaking.

| The wholesalers need to aggressivelywork with all the systems vendors tooptimize integration of the new contentin the various software platforms.

| The wholesalers and systems vendorswill need to enable dealers and buyinggroups to efficiently integrate their ownproprietary content with wholesaler-provided content to provide the kind ofseamless, integrated experience theconsumer demands.

| Similarly, the wholesalers and systemvendors will need to allow the dealer tocontrol the search experience, asneeded, to enable the dealer tooptimize the overall value the dealeroffers to the consumer.

| The systems vendors have to moreaggressively pursue improving their e-commerce software to fully catch up interms of speed, ease-of-use andfunctionality. I believe it should be theirNumber One priority at this time,taking precedence over backendoperational enhancements.

| Dealers need to pursue e-commerceupgrades to their sites as quickly aspossible.

The wholesalers, system houses anddealers who provide the best e-com-merce solutions will outperform theircompetition and ultimately retain and gaincustomers. Competitive online solutionshave become a game-defining issue, andwill have increasingly significant conse-quences within our channel. If we don’tplan accordingly, we will only have our-selves to blame for the consequences.


by Steve DanzigerPresident, AAA Business Supplies &

Interiors, San Francisco, CA

THELastWord

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2008 united stationers catalog preview

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