Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Page 1
InternatIonal Housewares representatIves assocIatIon
Field Sales Professionals Serving the Home • Housewares • Gourmet • Hardware Industries
August 2012The Subject is Taxing ............................................... Page 2Tech Bits .............................................................. Pages 3-4IHRA Member / Associate Member Ads ............ Pages 4 - 6(4) Mfrs Seeking IHRA Members .............................. Page 7Trade Show Calendar .............................................. Page 8
IHRAREPorter
Continued on page 2 >>>>
by Terry BrockMarketing Coach
Activities don’t matter by themselves. Results matter.
Losers like to engage in feel-good activities. They think that they are “doing something,” and that is the final goal. They (erroneously) think that just by checking e-mail, sending a few Twitter Tweets,
posting a message or two, or saying “Hey!” to some friends on LinkedIn, they are getting results. Nothing could be further from the truth. In social media – just like everything else in life – what matters is not the activity ... or even the effort expended. What matters always is getting the results you need. Studying is good; results are what matter most. This is a principle that works in social media just like it did throughout human history. Today, it translates to social media when you get results. In business school they told us that “results” meant generating a profit. Bottom line, Sparky, is that’s what it is all about in business! Yes, people matter. Yes, connecting with people is more important than anything. However, if you’re flying a plane, your number one mission is to make sure that the plane arrives at the destination safely. Holding hands, singing “Kumbaya” and smiling are nice, but let’s get the plane safely on the ground! In business, we have to always focus on generating the results needed. The other day I was talking to a social media guru about Klout score. Klout is a way to quantitatively measure how much influence someone has. Objectively, it is a very important number and, yes, many business decisions are made about it. As I was talking with this social media expert, she told about how you can do certain things to increase that score. After a few comments, I asked, “That’s nice, but how is that going to translate into money in the bank?”
Long ago we went on the road with a Texas Instruments handheld calculator and trunkful of samples. Motel 6 really was a six dollar place to stay. We got upset when gasoline went over $1/gallon
but were happy to pay it when gas stations closed after selling out early each morning. In that hazy past we were primarily servicing department stores and their many branch locations. Fortunately we survived to present day by adapting, and we just have to keep adapting faster. The handheld calculator which was far superior to mechanical comptometers in buying offices is still useful but integrated into iPhones and iPads. Motel 6 is still out there, but more likely costs $66 or $106 a night. Gasoline at $1/gallon would be a blessing today. Most of us no longer have department store customers in our territory. Flash forward to 2012 and e-commerce has replaced department stores. Our cars get better gas mileage to adapt to much more expensive fuel. We don’t need to stop at a phone booth to call the office. One of the big-gest influences on our changing world is a guy who was an anti-social, ill-mannered, barefoot, jeans-wearing hippie when many of us were wear-ing suits to department store appointments. Steve Jobs made a huge impact on the World and our business. He popularized personal comput-ers and made historical impacts on everything from music to personal communications. His contemporary, Bill Gates, is just as responsible for changing our world. Today we travel with their technology and possess more electronic communication and computing power in our pockets than the largest corporations had when we were on the road counting stock in branch stores. We are still in business because we have adapted to the Tsunami of
change.
by Peter Bang-KnudsenBang-Knudsen, Inc.Former IHRA President and Chairman
In social media, it’s not activity but the results that matter
iRepThe times they are a
changin’….. Bob Dylan
Page 2
Brock (continued from page 1) I believe that today, Klout score is directly related to money in the bank for many professions – not all, but for many. Successful entrepreneurs today have to be very careful to not get caught up in the activities that might help lead to an activity which could lead to an activity that might, perhaps, someday make some money. Sometimes you’re better off making a personal phone call or in-person visit to a key prospect or customer rather than just sending a Tweet. Other times, you’re better off sending a compelling, business-building post to 2,000 friends on Facebook who might do business with you, rather than attending another “networking” lunch that leads nowhere. There is no cut-and-dried answer for every circumstance. Sorry. I wish it was easier. You have to think. You have to use judgement. But whatever you do, in social media or any other area of life, first determine what your ultimate goals are. Then craft your plan with activities that will achieve those goals. Execute with brilliant efficiency on those plans. Keep track of the results you get and measure them against your ultimate goals. Social media is powerful and is where successful business people play today. Use the tools. Have fun. Just always remember that you are focused on results-driven achievements rather than tension-relieving activities. That can not only boost your Klout score, but also make for a much better bottom line.
Terry Brock is a marketing coach who helps business owners market more effectively leveraging technology. He shows busy professionals how to squeeze more out of their busy days by using the right rules and tools. You can reach Terry at 407-363-0505, by e-mail at [email protected] or through his Web site at www.terrybrock.com. Also look for Terry on Twitter at TerryBrock.
The subject is taxingby Stanton B. HerzogApplebaum, Herzog & Associates, P.C.IHRA Accountant and Financial Consultant
In a 5 to 4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled on June 28 that most of the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010” was consti-tutional.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion that rejected the individual insurance mandate under the commerce clause of the Consti-tution, but upheld it as part of Congress’s power to tax. In addition to upholding the individual insurance mandate, the ruling means that the tax changes scheduled for 2013 were also upheld as constitutional. These include an increase in the Medicare tax on wages
and a new Medicare tax on unearned income for single taxpayers with in-come over $200,000 and married couples with income over $250,000. Also, the threshold for deducting unreimbursed medical expenses for those under age 65 will increase to 10% of adjusted gross income,up from the current 7.5% threshold. Though future tax legislation could change these provisions, you should be aware of them in your tax planning for this year and next. To discuss how this landmark Court decision could affect your tax situation, give us a call.
Stanton B. Herzog, CPA, principal in the firm of Applebaum, Herzog & Associates, P.C., Deerfield, Ill., serves as IHRA’s accountant and is a regular contributor to The REPorter. He participates in Expert Access, the program that offers telephone consultations to IHRA members. You can reach Stan Herzog at 847-405-0400 or fax him at 847-405-0405, or e-mail him at [email protected].
Page 3
Continued on page 4 >>
Tech Bit 80 - Measure Your Website
I’ve recently been asked to look at a couple of company’s websites. The first thing I check, by looking at the home page sources, is whether they are doing any kind of analytics. Analytics involves adding a little bit of code to each page of your website that lets you track how many people visit each page, how they get to your website, and if they come from a search engine, what key-words they searched on to find you. Measuring what is happening on your website is vital if you want to improve it. The good news is website analytics is free. Yes I said it’s free. Google offers a free website analytics service. All you need to do is go to google.com/analytics. That page will tell you more about the ser-vice and on the right side let you sign up using your Gmail email address (you can get one of those free too). Google offers this extremely useful free service because they can collect additional information about web surfers’ habits which lets them improve their service. Google is a very data driven company, often testing things as small as 1 pixel changes in the vertical spacing of search results. And Google’s idea of a small test is several million data points. You won’t be getting several million data points. Many of the websites I have looked at (my own in-cluded) only get a few dozen visitors a day. But if you look at the data for a month, or even a year if you have a low traffic website, you can be looking at several hundred data points. I recommend you set up your own Google Analytics account rather than let your web host or developer add your site to their account. My reasoning is the same as I’ve mentioned before. You don’t want to have your ability to access your data controlled by someone else. Fortunately its easy. Once you have signed up for Google Analytics (which involves logging in with your Gmail account and accepting the terms), you establish a new profile for your website, which really only asks for the website URL and what time zone you are in. After you click on create you are given the tracking code you need to paste into each page of your website. Here’s where using a content man-agement system like Drupal or Wordpress makes it easy. With Drupal, you download the Google Analytics module, enable it and fill in the account number (it starts with a UA). Most of you didn’t create your own website, so clicking on the “Email these instructions” link on the page opens a box with the text of an email you can copy and paste into an email to your web developer to ask them to add the tracking code for you. Then sit back and wait. Google Analytics works with a 24 hour delay so any data collected today won’t appear in your reports until tomorrow. In reality, most sites don’t get enough visitors that you’ll see any useful reports for a week or two. When you do have enough data to be useful, there are lots of interesting things to be learned from the basic report. For most people, the plot of how many visitors you get a day is most exciting. But wait, there’s more! Take a look at the Bounce Rate. It is a percentage of people who visited your site, took one look and clicked the back button. If its high, you are getting people visiting who aren’t interested in your products/services (I have that problem). Another interesting statistic is the average time someone spends on your site. If its 30 seconds, there’s not much interest in your company. But if its 10 minutes, that’s great!!! The other two reports on the dashboard page I find interesting are the Content Overview (lower right corner) and the Traffic Sources Overview (lower left corner).
Here’s a continuing feature in The REPorter
“Tech Bits”
Gregg Marshall, CPMR, CSP, CMC, is a speaker, author and
consultant. He can be reached by e-mail at gmarshall@vendor-tech.
com, or visit his website at http://www.vendor-tech.com/
Page 4
The Content Overview shows you the pages most visited on your site. Knowing what parts of your site are being visited the most tells you what your visitors are most interested in, and where you should be spending more time developing additional content, or that you might have a naviga-tion issue that is keeping people from finding the content you think is important.The Traffic Sources Overview is mildly interesting in itself, but clicking on the view report link takes you to another page that shows you which search terms people are using to find your website. If you are like me, you may not know what terms people are using to find you (part of my problem is my business is really in several markets). The search terms report is a key when you start looking at Search Engine Optimization. Without a good list of search terms it is hard to optimize your site for the search engines.I’ve just brushed on a small part of what you can do with Google Analytics. There are books written just about this useful free tool. By far the most important thing you can do today is get your account set up and collecting data. Then you can explore GA’s other features and, most importantly, know where you website traffic is coming from and what they are looking at.
Tech Tips (continued from page 3)
?HOW IS YOUR BUSINESS DOING?RPMS tracks dollars or units for bookings, orders, shipments, or paid commissions. Review those values by customer, principal, sales rep, product, territory, distributor or combinations. RPMS offers the most complete array of standard reports in the rep software industry, including fifty-four different report setup forms, each with dozens of different sort sequences, filter and data value selection criteria. All RPMS reports can be printed, previewed for immediate display, or exported for E-mail to many different formats, including PDF and Excel. If there’s something you don’t see, custom reports are available with Crystal Reports or other ‘bolt-on’ report writers – or the RPMS staff can write one for you.
“I can’t believe how much data we can see with this system and all the different ways we can resolve it for our principals, customers, or sales reps. RPMS is an indispensable tool in our agency.”
Paul Wilhite – Integra Marketing Inc., Norwalk, CA
ARE YOU BEING PAID WHAT YOU OUGHT TO BE PAID?Commission pressure is acceptable – commissions unpaid or paid incorrectly will put you out of business. RPMS tracks unpaid commissions accurately and relentlessly. Generate full and attention-grabbing Commission Aging and Late Order reports for your manufacturers. Calculate and print (or E-mail) clear and understandable commission statements for all your sales reps.
“We typically find thousands of commission dollars every year because of RPMS – and we’ve been using it since 1992.”
George LeCavalier – EMi Marketing, Littleton, CO
IS INPUTTING INFORMATION SIMPLE AND FAST IN YOUR CURRENT SYSTEM?RPMS Version 7 data entry forms are fast and easy. Field-level ‘locks’ save hundreds of keystrokes. Data can be entered from orders, acknowledgements, invoices and/or commission statements. The optional E-Data wizard even loads electronic text or Excel files directly.
“We needed a system for information to analyze our business with a minimum amount of data entry. The RPMS Edata Feature enables us to upload data we receive electronically from many of our factories. Even when we have to key data the process is fast and simple. When I look at the amount of information versus time spent, I am extremely happy.”
Anne Forbes – Forbes, Hever and Wallace, Inc., Flower Mound, TX
SOFTWARE ANSWERS FOR REPS
11771 W. 112th St., Ste. 200, Overland Park, KS 66210 • 1-800-776-7435 • www.rpms.com • [email protected] Box 15298 Lenexa, KS 66285
Page 5
Manufacturers: Contact These Performance-Proven, Multiple-Line, Field Sales Professionals to learn how they can profitably bring your products and programs to market.
Bang-KnudsenBang-KnudsenRepresenting gourmet
housewares to leading retailers in the Pacific Northwest for over three decades.We know the territory.
542 First Ave. So. Suite 500
Seattle, WA 98104206.767.6970
www.bang-knudsen.com__________________________
Contact:[email protected]
With more than 1,600 active accounts, an average of 15 years of sales experience per sales rep, and a 32 year business track record, companies hire us as the sales and marketing company of choice.Learn more about how J.Grob is helping upscale manufacturers and importers expand their business.
Contact: John GrobJ. Grob Associates, Inc.
P.O. Box 149 • Kensington MD 20895P: 301.933.8657 • F: 301.933.0239
Manufacturer’s Representatives specializing in Home Décor, Wall Décor, Frames, Bath Décor, Photo
Storage, Furniture, Housewares and Gifts
Primary Account Representation Kohl’s Jo-Ann StoresIllinois Wisconsin Ohio
Professional Account Management 30 Years Experience
Efficient Account Penetration•Quality Customer Service•Market Trend Direction•Product Development•Sales, Inventory & Profitability Analysis•
www.thebarringtongroup.netContact: [email protected]
16W273 83rd Street, Suite DBurr Ridge, Illinois 60527Phone: (630) 655-2924
Trusted Business Partners
Page 6
Manufacturers: Contact These Performance-Proven, Multiple-Line, Field Sales Professionals to learn how they can profitably bring your products and programs to market.
Over 50 years of sales experience in Minnesota • Wisconsin
North & South Dakota with special emphasis on:
TARGET • TARGET DOT COMWAL-MART.COM
PREMIUM & INCENTIVE • GROCERY
Mark J. Glotter612.822.9501
Cell: 612.414.8055 • Fax: [email protected]
Specializing in Housewares, Homestore
&Giftware Industries
Since 1973 Representing Vendors in the
Six New England States&
Upstate New York 51-13 Morgan Drive, Norwood, MA 02062781-352-1400 (phone) 781-352-1450 (fax)
www.northeastgroup.com
Tel: 781-806-5129 Fax: 781-806-5131
Representing Housewares, Tabletop and Giftware to all
Major and Independent retailers in New England and Upstate NY
for 20 years
Contact: [email protected]
440 Totten Pond Road Suite 100Waltham, MA 02451Phone 781-890-0111
Serving theMetro New York Area
Since 1984
Housewares, Tabletop, Storage/Closet
Specialists at:Avon
Bed, Bath & BeyondDollar General
Macy’s
49 Park StreetMontclair, NJ 07042
Phone: 973.783.3338Fax: 973.783.3148
www.goldenmarketinggroup.com [email protected]
Page 7
Manufacturers Seeking IHRA Field Sales Professionals
Ad Rates 1/8 page: $1001/4 page: $1753/8 page: $2501/2 page: $3253/4 page: $475 Full page: $675
Reruns of same ad within 12 months are at 50% discount!
Ad Dimensions1/8 page: Vertical, only 3 11/16” h x 2 7/16” w
1/4 page: Vertical 7 1/2” h x 2 7/16” w 1/4 page, Horizontal 3 11/16” h x 4 15/16” w
3/8 page: Horizontal only 3 11/16” h x 7 15/16” w
1/2 page: Vertical 7 1/2” h x 4 15/16” w 1/2 page: Horizontal 3 11/16” h x 10” w
3/4 page: 7 1/2” h x 7 15/16” w
Full page: 7 1/2” h x 10” w
Manufacturers:Are you looking for
well-qualified,performance-proven,
field sales professionals?
Instant HOT Lines . . . A onetime eMail thatprovides immediate informationon your line, only, to reps inspecific territories orthroughout the world
Contact [email protected]
MAN LAW BBQ line of premium BBQ tools and accessories looking for key account reps for the following accounts: Sears, Kmart, Ace, Do it Best, Safeway, PC Richard, A & P, Macy’s, Belk, JC Penney, Dillards, Costco, plus many more.
MAN*LAW is a brand of IHRA Manufacturer Member, Parasia
Parasia International LTD. / MAN LAW BBQ6050 Main St. • Suite 101Rockford, MN 55373763-267-7900 office • 612-232-4773 cell763-267-7902 faxhttp://parasia-international.comhttp://manlawbbq.com
Person to Contact: Eric M. HalbergeMail: [email protected]
PRODUCTS: Pet Leashes & Collars, Groom-ing Tools, Training Pads & Wipes. We now have “green” products that are extremely hot in the marketplace!! This line includes organic cotton and recycled polyester leashes and collars. Our pricing is extremely low since we are a partner in a joint venture, vertical plant in China where we also manufacture our own webbing!
More information at: petzbest.com
If interested, Contact:
PETZBEST PRODUCTS GROUPP.O. Box 37West Hempstead NY 11552(516) 575-4272 Fax: (516) 575-4739
Person to Contact:Kathy Pancila, VP SaleseMail: [email protected] Territories Open: U.S.A., Canada, Mexico
IHRA
Seeking field sales professionals . . . .
PRODUCTS: Tufted Floor Covering
Products, Carpet Runners, Rugs, Mats
TERRITORIES AVAILABLE:All USA, Canada, Mexico
CHANNELS:Retail Stores
GROSS SALES:$8,000,000
In Business Since 1970
CONTACT Mr. Yannis Nikolaidis,
General Manager
eMail: [email protected]
Nikotex CarpetsAnthokipi Neas Efkarpias
Thessaloniki 56010Greece
PRODUCTS: Frames, Mirrors, Photo Albums, Wall Décor
MCS Industries, Inc.2280 Newlins Mill RoadEaston PA 18045P: 610.253.6268F: 610.923.7564www.mcsframe.com
Person to Contact:John AlvatoreMail: [email protected] cc: [email protected] Territories Open: Northwest, South, Midwest, MidAtlantic and West Coast. Also looking for Account Specialists
Years in Business: 31
Gross Sales: $100 - $300 million
IHRA
Page 8
2012 - 2013 CALENDAR OF EVENTS
If we are missing any events you think should be on our
calendar, please let us know at: [email protected].
Thank You!
August3 - 6Kansas City Gift ShowKansas City, KS
4 - 6Orlando Gift ShowOrlando, FL 4 - 7San Francisco Intl Gift FairSan Francisco, CA 8 - 14Seattle Gift ShowSeattle, WA 12 - 15CGTA Gift ShowToronto, ON Canada
12 - 15ASDLVLas Vegas, NV
18 - 23 New York International Gift Fair New York, NY 18 - 23 Gourmet Housewares Show at NYIGF New York, NY
19 - 22Alberta Gift ShowEdmonton, AL Canada
26 - 29Montreal Gift ShowMontreal, QU Canada
September 8 - 10Dallas Total Home & Gift MarketDallas, TX 10 - 13New York Home Fashions MarketNew York, NY 16 - 17Vancouver Gift ExpoVancouver, BC Canada 21 - 23Atlanta Fall Gift ... & Holiday MarketAtlanta, GA
21 - 23Chicago Market: Living & GivingChicago, IL 30 - Oct 2L.A. Mart Fall MarketLos Angeles, CA October5 - 8Kansas City Gift ShowKansas City. KS
9 - 12New York Tabletop MarketNew York, NY 13 - 18High Point MarketHigh Point, NC
January 20139 - 16Atlanta Int’l Gift ... & Holiday MarketAtlanta, GA 20 - 22Winter Fancy Food ShowSan Francisco, CA
Page 9
The IHRA
InternatIonal Housewares representatIves assocIatIon
Home • Housewares • Gourmet • Hardware Multiple-Line, Field Sales Professional:
If you’re not a member of IHRA, you owe it to yourself to join the organization that is your voice in the industry and the manufacturers’ resource for finding
Well-Qualified, Performance-Proven, Field Sales Professionals
For complete information about “first-timer” membership and an application, contact us at:
847.748.8269 • 800.315.7430Fax: 847.748.8273
[email protected] • www.ihra.org
2012 IHRA Board of Directors & Staff
*Chairperson: John Grob, J. Grob Associates, Inc.*Immediate Past Chairperson: Mark Glotter, Marketshare Sales, Inc.*Executive Director: Bill Weiner, Weiner Association Management
Directors: (terms ending end of 2012)Don Blunt, Blunt Enterprises Inc.Steve Figman, The Summit GroupEric Halberg, Unique Value Marketing, LLC
(terms ending end of 2013)Chelsea Gorczyca, The Belwether Group, LLCSteve Grossman, CPMR, GM Partners*Meghan Peake, CPMR, The Barrington Group
(terms ending end of 2014)Jacob Bang-Knudsen, CPMR, Bang-Knudsen, Inc.Frank Brady, Brady Marketing CompanyJohn Grob, J. Grob Associates, Inc.Kent Kulovitz, Kulovitz & Associates, Inc.
*Member of Executive Committee
Past Chairs John M. Clampitt Steve Grossman, CPMR Jay L. Cohen Tom Rooney Peter Bang-Knudsen Donna Peake Jim Adams James Ayotte David Silberstein Kent Kulovitz Mark Glotter
StaffAdministrative Assistants: Stephanie Baron, Kathy GreenFinancial Director: Myra Weiner
IHRA
