Good News from GeorgiaShows What Can HappenWhen IndependentsWork Together on the BigIssues

From Georgia this monthcomes a story that showsjust how far independentshave come in their ability towork together on importantissues.As we report elsewhere inthis issue, Georgia dealerswent head to head against

lobbyists from Staples and others and suc-ceeded in securing passage in the state legis-lature of a bill that would replace the state’scurrent sole source approach to buying officesupplies with an open market, free competi-tion system that would provide a much morelevel playing field for independents.It’s not yet a done deal, though, as governorSonny Perdue has to add his signature beforeit becomes law. But even if the worst happensand he vetoes the bill, it’s still a pretty impres-sive achievement by the good guys by anymeasure. There’s always been a fair amount of skepti-cism in the industry about dealers’ ability towork together on important issues—they areafter all called “independents” for a reason.But so far, the Georgia dealers have made remarkable progress, thanks to a unifieddealer effort and an important assist fromNOPA, the dealer groups, industry wholesalersand others.We’re hoping that next month we’ll have moregood news to report in the form of final pas-sage of this bill, which could well serve as amodel for other states that for too long haveshut out independents in favor of sole sourcecontracts with one or more of their big boxcompetitors. Surely at this point, there are enough auditors’reports and attorney general investigations outthere by now to make even the most enthusi-astic consumer of big box Kool-Aid questionthe wisdom of sole source contracts when itcomes to buying office supplies?Congratulations to the dealers in Georgia fortheir recent wins and let’s hope we’ll havemore of the same to write about in our nextissue.

Keeney’s Office Plus,Seattle Area Dealer,Beats Back Big BoxCompetition to Retain LocalCounty Contract

Congratulations to Lisa Keeney McCarthyand her team at Keeney’s Office Plus in Red-mond, Washington, just outside Seattle.

Last year, Keeney’s took on Office Depot,Staples and Corporate Express in a com-petition for the local county office suppliescontract, estimated at $1.7 million a year,and came out the winner.

Keeney’s had held the previous five-yearcontract and they beat back big box ef-forts to wrest it away after the county con-ducted an extensive review of bidssubmitted that took into account a rangeof factors including the ability to interfacewith the county’s purchasing system,overall customer service, accepting pur-chasing cards, providing desktop delivery,small business status and more, in addi-tion to pricing.

The county values Keeney's outstandingpast performance and its cooperation asthe county upgrades its purchasing prac-tices, county finance director Ken Guy toldthe local Seattle Post-Intelligencer news-paper, adding that the county’s spendingon office supplies has declined under thenew contract.

Not everyone was as happy with the newcontract award. Rick Israel of fellow Seat-tle-area independent Complete Office gar-nered front-page headlines in thenewspaper when it obtained a copy of aletter Israel sent to country officials charg-ing the award process was replete with“egregious mistakes, incompetence andbias” and arguing that the contract shouldhave gone to Office Depot instead.

Israel’s argument, however, was undercutjust days after the article appeared, whenone of Complete’s own sales team sent

out an e-mail broadcast tocustomers and prospects in-

forming them that “We feel thereis a real possibility that Office Depot

may end up going into bankruptcy” andsuggesting “a real possibility Office Depotcould end up like Circuit City and beforced to liquidate the company.”

Meanwhile, county administrators stuckby their choice of Keeney's and said thecontract ultimately could prove to be amoney-saver and delivers on the county’sofficial policy of helping out small busi-nesses.

Chuckals Office Products, Tacoma, WA Dealer, Receives GSA Contract Renewal

Also in the Pacific Northwest, congratula-tions are in order for the hard-working pro-fessionals at Tacoma, Washington-basedChuckals Office Products, who recently re-ceived renewal from the General ServicesAdministration (GSA) of its contract as aFull Catalog supplier to the federal govern-ment nationwide.

Chuckals has operated as an authorizedprovider of office supplies to the U.S. Gov-ernment for the past five years, during whichtime it was selected as one of only 13 ven-dors under the Department of the Army’sBlanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) for officeproducts and it holds similar BPAs to pro-vide office supplies to the U.S. Air Force andthe FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia.

In addition, Chuckals has earned specialrecognition from the government’s Ability-One Program in support of the blind andpeople with other severe disabilities as an“Outstanding Distributor.”

“We are gratified by our GSA contract re-newal and the response over the past fiveyears of government buyers to the per-sonal service and high value offering weprovide our customers,” said Chuckalsvice president Al Lynden.

APRIL 2009 INDEPENDENT DEALER Page 2

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McCarty’s Office Machines, Kansas Dealer, CelebratesFiftieth Anniversary

Congratulations are also due to Jim McCarty and his team at Mc-Carty’s Office Machines in Parsons, Kansas, which this yearmarks its 50th anniversary.

McCarty’s was founded in 1959 as a typewriter repair shop byJim’s father, A.H. McCarty. Jim came on board in the service de-partment in 1968 and worked his way up in the business until be-coming president in 1979.

Along the way, the dealership diversified into office supplies andfurniture and added a second location, in Coffeyville, Kansas, tobroaden its coverage of the southeast part of the state and ex-pand into Northeast Oklahoma.

The dealership is very much a family-owned and operated oper-ation, with Jim’s son James serving as sales manager and han-dling most of its Canon copier business. Jim also gives plenty ofcredit to sales manager Kevin Moore, a veteran with some 25years at the company, and Jim Bogner, service manager, a 30-year veteran of the company.

Western Theme for Skags 2009 Consumer Show

Tim McDermott and his team at Skags Office Products roundedup plenty of potential new business in Miami recently at their an-nual consumer show. Theme for this year’s event was “How theWest Was Fun” and over 375 customers and prospects mosiedon down to the Skags corral to check out some exciting newproducts, show specials and door prizes.

“Business in Miami has been challenging given the state of thereal estate market and the overall economy, but the mood at theshow was very positive and we certainly got a lift in business fromthe event,” reports Tim.

Today’s Business Products, Cleveland Area Dealer,Earns Special Honors from Local Chamber

In Cleveland, Rick Voigt and his team at Today’s Business Prod-ucts (TBP) also have something to celebrate. Since Rick’s deal-ership first opened in 1984, community involvement has been akey priority and TBP’s outstanding work in that area earned spe-cial recognition recently, when it was honored by the local Cham-ber of Commerce with its annual Pride Award.

“The Pride Award is given to a business, individual, organizationand partnership that demonstrate an impact on the communityand the residents above and beyond employment responsibili-ties,” explained chamber executive Lisa Masotti.

“Today’s Business Products has been a ‘staple’ of the communityfor nearly a quarter of a century and rarely is there an event in ourcommunity that they are not either a financial supporter of or anactive participant (if not both),” she added.

The dealership has been particularly active in support of the localschool system and education in general, Rick told us, with activ-ities that range from making the dealership’s own conferenceroom and training facilities available for school meetings and serv-ing as a partner in the community’s “Cities That Read” programto staff volunteers who serve as tutors and mentors for students.

Like most dealers, TBP has found the past few months challeng-ing, but Rick reports, the dealership has stepped up marketingefforts in response and recently sent out a thousand special “Wel-come Boxes,” with their new catalog, product samples and anaggressively priced sales flyer that has already provided a wel-come sales boost.

Garrigan’s Office Plus, Springfield, Ohio Dealer,Launches Innovative Student Intern Program

Interns Kraig Cole (left) and Nick Hendrickson (right) with Garrigan’s OfficePlus president Joe Garrigan.

In Springfield, Ohio, Joe Garrigan and his team at Garrigan’s Of-fice Plus have come up with an innovative new program that is agenuine win-win for all concerned.

It provides Joe and his team with extra help, offers bright youngstudents valuable exposure to real-world business experienceand, most importantly, makes additional support and serviceavailable to the dealership’s customers.

Working in cooperation with Wittenberg University in Springfieldand Cedarville University in Cedarville, Ohio, Garrigan’s is offeringpaid internships to college seniors and juniors with an interest inbusiness, marketing or communications.

“Even in these days of tough challenges and fierce competition,we’re compelling proof that there’s still room for well-run, family-owned and operated businesses,” said Joe. “Also, as Garrigan’scelebrates its 70th year of continuous operations, the programprovides us with an innovative way to give back to the communityand support two of our leading educational institutions.”

APRIL 2009 INDEPENDENT DEALER Page 4

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Initial response to the new internship opportunities has been ex-tremely positive. "Office supply buyers seem to be gettingyounger and are definitely more computer-saavy,” says Julie Gar-rigan, business development manager at the dealership. “Thesecustomers relate well to the interns. Our warehouse and customerservice staff really enjoys the fun and excitement this team bringsto work each day. They help everyone step up their game.”

Adds Joe, “It's a great opportunity to work with the next genera-tion. The interns are very enthusiastic with a ‘can do’ attitude. It'sa breath of fresh air!"

Feedback from the interns themselves is just as positive. “Work-ing at Garrigan’s has been a great experience for me,” com-mented Nick Hendrickson, a business management majorat Wittenberg. “Not only have I learned many things relatedto the selling process, but I have become better equippedto enter the business world because of it.”

Added Kraig Cole, a communications major atCedarville, “The Garrigan's internship experience isthe perfect real-world complement to the theorieswe're learning in the classroom. A serious student couldn'task for more than to learn something in school on Monday andthen be able to apply it in practice in the workplace on Tuesday.”

Looking for a way to be a good corporate citizen and help yourdealership and its customers at the same time? The Garrigan ap-proach might be just the answer in your community!

Twin Cities Dealer Helps Get Students ‘Wild AboutReading’ While Strengthening Key Business Ties

From Burnsville, Minnesota, just outside the Twin Cities, comesword of yet another independent who has come with an original

way to give back to the community.

Appropriately enough, the dealership in questionis Innovative Office Solutions and, ex-

plains president Jennifer Smith,the program not only has astrong “good corporate citizen”dimension, but also helps

strengthen important business re-lationships.

“As a dealership, we have alwaysstressed the importance of partnering

with our customers and it’s even better

APRIL 2009 INDEPENDENT DEALER Page 6

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APRIL 2009 INDEPENDENT DEALER Page 7

Winner’s Circle: continued from page 6

when you can do that and help the com-munity at the same time,” says Jennifer.

Earlier this year, Innovative did just thatwhen the dealership partnered with thehometown Minnesota Wild hockey team onWild About Reading, a special programaimed at helping to increase student literacy.

For the program, participating classes ingrades K through 6 were invited to submita written Wild About Reading cheer withthe winning entry voted on by visiting theMinnesota Wild web site.

The contest drew an amazing 180,000-plus online votes. Winners were treated toa private tour of the Wild’s home rink, afterwhich they were read to by some of theteam’s top players.

Not surprisingly, the program generatedplenty of goodwill both for the hockeyteam and for the dealership. “Feedback onWild About Reading was really over-whelming,” Jennifer reports. “We do a lotof school business and the teachers, ad-ministrators and the kids themselves werereally excited about the program.”

Convenience Office Supply, Austin, TX Dealer, Provides Much-Needed Support for Local Hospice

Hospice Austin is one of the oldest andlargest non-profit programs of its kind inTexas, providing quality end of life care tothose in need regardless of their age, di-agnosis or ability to pay.

Over the past 30 years, they’ve helped lit-erally thousands of terminally ill patientsand their families, and they rely heavily oncontributions from the local community,particularly in these challenging times, tocontinue to fulfill their mission.

The hospice is a long time customer ofConvenience Office Supply in Austin, butfor Convenience’s Karen Bogart, there arefar more important reasons to support theorganization. Karen’s mother receivedhospice care before she passed, and that

gives Karen’s own involvement a specialdimension.

Last year, Karen spearheaded a specialfundraiser at a local museum that broughtin over $33,000 for the hospice and shecurrently serves as secretary of Les Amisde Hospice Austin, one of the organiza-tion’s key support groups.

“One of the reasons why we support Hos-pice Austin is that nearly 85% of its finan-cial resources go directly to benefit thepeople they serve,” Karen explains.

“It’s the kind of organization none of uswould want to need, but it’s there for thosewho do need it and we’re proud to supportit,” she says. And we’re proud of anotheroutstanding independent who’s finding aspecial way to give back to the community!

New VP of Sales atBuyOnlineNow.com

Mark Melius was recently appointed tovice president of sales at online resellerBuyOnlineNow. Melius, a veteran with 22years of industry experience, joined Buy-OnlineNow in 2006 as director of sales.

Prior to BuyOnlineNow, Melius spent fiveplus years with wholesaler S.P. Richardsand held sales positions at several officeproducts companies, including OfficeDepot's Business Services Division andCorporate Express as well as local inde-pendents.

Superior Business Products,Schenectady, NY Dealer, Adds New Employee

Schenectady, New York-based SuperiorBusiness Products has expanded its salesforce with the addition of Janet Voloshen.Voloshen, who comes to Superior fromStaples, will focus on new business devel-opment for the company.

In Memoriam:

Rebecca A. Rosa

Rebecca A. “Becky” Rosa,formerly corporate secretary ofRosa’s Inc. in Richmond, Indiana,died last month at the age of 89.

Born February 13, 1920, in Liberty,Indiana, she lived in Richmondmost of her life, where she wasactive in many communityorganizations, including the Girls'Club of Wayne County, whichnamed its headquarters in herhonor.

Survivors include her son, RobertR. Rosa, who operated the familydealership for many years beforeretiring in 2008, and his wife Jane,a daughter, Jo Ann Lucas and herhusband James of Columbus,Indiana, as well as fivegrandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. She was precededin death by her husband, RobertW. Rosa, who died in 1995.

Memorial contributions may bemade to Girls Inc., of WayneCounty, 121 N. 10th St.,Richmond, IN 47374, or a charityof the donor's choice.Condolences may be sent to thefamily via the guest book atwww.doanmillsfuneralhome.com.

we are all in this togetherShachihata believes that it is our responsibility to preserve the environment

and to develop ecologically sensitive products and services.

When we develop new products, we use recycled or ecologically renewable materials wherever possible. Our efforts are evident in our many products

which qualify as ECO products (more than 50% recycled content).

In an effort to minimize waste, we develop high quality products that have a long life. We create products that are refillable and have

replaceable parts. This helps reduce waste and improves our environment.

Our manufacturing processes are as ecologically safe as possible. The water we use in production is filtered to remove debris and salt before it goes

down the drain and out to sea. The solvents we use to clean our ink tanks are recycled and reused. We also reuse our scrap materials in production.

Shachihata’s ECO line of products is another example of Shachihata's commitment to the planet, not just for today but for the future as well.

©2008 Shachihata Inc.For more information call: 1800.851.2686

by Jim Rapp

In Aesop’s fable, “The Tortoise and the Hare,” the tortoise wins the race be-cause the rabbit falls asleep while waiting for the tortoise to catch up. OfficeSystems, Watertown, South Dakota, celebrated 50 years in business on April4 and can certainly be characterized as the tortoise, outlasting all of its com-petitors with slow but steady growth over the years.

The business started as Cook’s Office Machines, selling Olivetti calculators.Over the years, it has expanded to include more machines, furniture andsupplies.

In 1981, a group of salespeople left Cook’s to form the rival Office Systems,Inc. In 1988, Maury and Judy Vockrodt bought the company, and in 2004they acquired Cook’s, bringing the two companies back together.

“We had a 12% sales increase in 2008, but it has not always been that good,”states Maury Vockrodt. “Our growth has been slow but steady. We take a longterm view, adding lines and expanding our coverage area over time.”

It’s Our PeopleThe company’s motto is, “Our People—The Measurable Difference,” andit’s one that is borne out in employee length of service.

Listen to this: Two women in the purchasing department each have 28 yearswith the company; the seven salespeople average more than 15 years ofservice, with five of them with the company from 17 to 23 years; anotherrep recently retired after 28 years; the nine service technicians averagenearly 14 years with the company.

“This is the major reason why our customer retention is so high,” says Vock-rodt proudly.

“‘Word-of-mouth’ is our best advertising,’ Vockrodt continues, but we stillneed to be price competitive, while stressing value.”

“Being a one-stop shop also helps us get new accounts,” he says, “andwe regularly add new product lines and services, such as jan/san and inte-rior design.”

Office Systems has also expanded its coverage area, going nearly 100miles out to include much of eastern South Dakota and western Minnesota.

Giving BackThe Vockrodt family and Office Systems employees are heavily involved inall sorts of charitable work, including Junior Achievement, Big Brothers andBig Sisters. They and nearly half of their employees tutor grade school stu-dents for one hour each week, under HOSTS (Helping One Student to Suc-ceed), a mentoring program that helps students who need assistance inreading, writing, thinking and study skills.

In the United Way annual Fair Share drive, 95% of all employees participated.

Looking to the future, Maury sees a growing family business. He is proud ofson Joel and of all the dedicated and long-time employees who are movingthe business forward.

Fifty years of slow but steady growth. Quite an achievement!

APRIL 2009 INDEPENDENT DEALER Page 9

SECRETS OFSuccess

Slow andSteady

Wins theRace

Celebrating 50 Years of

Growth at OfficeSystems, Inc.

Office Systems, Inc.Watertown, South Dakotan Maury Vockrodt, President (seated)

Joel Vockrodt, Vice Presidentn Supplies, Furniture, Equipmentn Founded: 1959n Sales: $5.8 millionn Employees: 34n Partners: is.group,

United Stationersn Online Sales: 25%n Web: www.orderosi.com

http://www.bmiusa.com

A group of independent dealers inGeorgia is celebrating after their hardwork resulted in passage of a bill intheir state’s General Assembly thatwould result in a far more level playingfield on which to compete for thestate’s office supplies business.

As in other states, the sole source ap-proach in Georgia has run into majorproblems, with state auditors findingovercharging and other pricing irregu-larities related to its sole source con-tract with Office Depot that ultimatelyled them to terminate that contract lastyear.

Thanks to an aggressive lobbying ef-fort by Georgia dealers, the GeorgiaGeneral Assembly last month passeda bill that would take the state’s officesupplies purchasing out of the handsof the Department of Administrative

Services (DOAS), administrators of thesole source contract, and put in placean open market, free competition sys-tem instead.

That bill is now on Governor SonnyPerdue’s desk awaiting his signaturebefore finally becoming law.

“The dealers did a wonderful job oflobbying on this bill,” commentedState Sen. Eric Johnson, one of thebill’s leading advocates in the GeorgiaSenate. “They were up against an ex-ecutive agency (DOAS) and somehigh-priced lobbyists from Staples butthey did a fantastic job of learning howto lobby very quickly and made theircase very effectively.”

In addition to the dealers and lobbyistsfrom Staples, lobbyists from Hewlett-Packard Co. were also working thecorridors of the state capitol on the bill.

HP’s involvement on the bill provokedwidespread concern among inde-pendents and in response, the com-pany issued a statement indicating ithas taken a neutral position on the bill.HP “is not aligning with any specificchannel partners in this matter,” thecompany said.

HP said its interest with the State ofGeorgia is “focused on ensuring thatwe continue to meet the state’s officeproduct requirements with HP Originalsupplies.”

HP said it will “continue to promotecustomer choice in terms of how ourcustomers procure HP product” andthat it “continues to support the Inde-pendent Reseller community.”

“Our successes so far on this bill showwhat independents can achieve whenwe work together,” commentedJuanita Strickland of Malone OfficeEnvironments. Strickland paid specialtribute to NOPA for its role and for theway it has helped coordinate dealer ef-forts on this effort and similar initiativesin other states.

“NOPA has really taught us how to beadvocates,” she said. “We don’t justhave to sit and take it any more on is-sues like this,” she added, “With thecurrent state of the economy, it’s moreimportant than ever for government,particularly at the state level, to besupporting small business and our billdoes just that.”

After their success in the General As-sembly, dealers and their opponentshave now shifted their attention to thegovernor’s office as they wait on Per-due to decide whether to sign the billor veto it. Stay tuned!

APRIL 2009 INDEPENDENT DEALER Page 11

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If you have news to share - email it toSimon@IDealerCentral.com

Georgia Dealers Win First Round in Effortto Level Playing Field on State Contract

For more information on these stories, visit:

n www.nwanews.com/nwat/News/75020

n www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2009-03-19/article/32509?headline=City-Says-Office-Depot-Overcharged-on-Supply-Contract

n http://blog.laptopmag.com/source-office-depot-associates-routinely-lie-about-notebook-stock

The drumbeat of bad news and negativepublicity continued this month for OfficeDepot, with new allegations of over-charges on a supply contract and a reportby an online magazine that the companyroutinely tried to scam laptop computerbuyers into purchasing extended war-ranties and other extras.

And while we didn’t have room for it in theheadline, the company is also being suedby Washington County, Arkansas, whichclaims seven $349 chairs it purchased lastyear “have been defective almost sincetheir initial usage in that they have beenbroken down and have now become to-tally unusable.”

The $2,500 at stake in Arkansas pales incomparison, however, to what officials forthe City of Berkeley, California, foundwhen they looked at their purchases fromOffice Depot.

The city’s director of finance said OfficeDepot overcharged the city by as much asa quarter of a million dollars during thecourse of a three-year, $550,000-a-yearcontract for office supplies and recycledcopy paper.

Berkeley’s investigation was prompted byanalysis presented to the City Council lastOctober by Diane Griffin, president of Rad-ston’s Office Plus and a member of theboard of directors of the National OfficeProducts Alliance (NOPA).

Griffin’s analysis found while Office Depotpromised a 55% discount to the city forproducts not on its “core item” list, Berke-

ley received only a 39.7% discount onthose non-core items, and was over-charged an estimated $250,000 as a re-sult.

However, the city’s finance director saidhis office was also looking at purchasesbeyond the time frame covered by Griffin’sanalysis (July 2006-November 2008), rais-ing the possibility that the city’s estimateof the Office Depot overcharges could runhigher than $250,000.

Griffin herself said she believes the OfficeDepot overcharges on its City of Berkeleycontract are accumulating at a rate of$8,000 a month.

It is not clear if the city will attempt to col-lect the money it believes it was over-charged and, if so, if there are anyprovisions in the contract to do so, a localnewspaper reported.

Meanwhile, Laptop magazine reported onits online blog that Office Depot retail em-ployees routinely lie about notebook stockto customers if they are unwilling to buyextras such as Product Protection Plansand Tech Depot Services.

Reporter Avram Piltch said he had gone tohis own local Office Depot store in searchof a Gateway netbook and had been sur-prised by how aggressively the sales as-sociate tried to convince him not to buy itand then, when that failed, aggressivelytried to convince him to buy its correspon-ding tech services.

A post about his experiences on the mag-azine’s blog produced some surprising

comments from several different readersclaiming to work for Office Depot.

A reader who identified himself as “OfficeDepot Employee” wrote, “I know of severalstores in my market that will ‘feel out’ thecustomer to see if they are the type to pur-chase these services. If the customer letson that they only want the computer andno services…then that store simply claimsto be out of stock!”

Piltch said he had contacted one reader,identified as “Rich,” and verified he was acurrent Office Depot employee who toldhim he had been instructed to lie aboutnotebook stock both by one of his fourstore managers and by a district manager.

“I have witnessed lying about the availabil-ity of a notebook, and have been told to doso myself,” Rich told Piltch. “Basically theydrill it in your head that if you don’t sellPPPs, you’re gonna get fired. It’s gotten sobad to the point where the managers arestarting to find loopholes in the system.They would rather sell one laptop with aPPP than ten laptops with nothing. Theydon’t care,” he said.

Following publication of the initial story,Piltch interviewed a number of additionalOffice Depot employees from differentstores in completely different parts of thecountry who contacted him to corroborateRich’s account and add more detail, in-cluding new allegations that some associ-ates alter the price of clearance items toinclude the cost of Product ProtectionPlans or Tech Depot Services.

APRIL 2009 INDEPENDENT DEALER Page 12

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Depot WoesContinue As City of BerkeleyFinds $250,000 inOvercharges onSupplies Contract andAllegations Surface of Warranty Scam on Laptop Sales

http://www.sprichards.com/abc/default.html

Federal Jury Awards Workers $2.5 Million in Staples Fair Labor Lawsuit

A federal court jury in Newark, New Jersey, hasawarded almost $2.5 million to 343 plaintiffs ina case brought against Staples under the fed-

eral Fair Labor Standards Act.

Following a six-week trial, the jury unani-mously determined that Staples had failed

to comply with the law in classifyingthe employees as exempt under

the Act and failing to pay themovertime. The jury also found thatStaples had acted willfully in vio-

lating the law.

“This is the first of several collective and class action lawsuitsagainst Staples for misclassification of store managers that arenow pending in the federal courts,” said Seth Lesser of KlafterOlsen & Lesser, one of the plaintiffs’ two trial counsel. “We hopeto be able to now move those other cases to trial on behalf of therest of Staples managers.”

Staples’ liability could be increased, as the court has yet to hearapplications for the imposition of liquidated damages in anamount equal to the jury verdict and for attorneys’ costs and fees.

New Report Finds Massive Tax Breaks for Big Box

Retail Development Leave Nothing to Show in the

Way of Local Tax Revenue or Job Gains

A new study that analyzes 15 years’ worth of public investmentto encourage shopping center development and big box retailingconcludes that special tax treatment and similar incentives havedone little to encourage overall economic growth.

“Despite an enormous commitment of public funding to supportretail development, neither taxable sales nor retail employmenthas grown significantly region wide,” concludes the study, titled“An Assessment of the Effectiveness and Fiscal Impacts of theUse of Local Development Incentives in the St. Louis Region.”(www.ewgateway.org/pdffiles/library/regdev/tifrpt-012609.pdf)

It also concludes that development incentives have done nothingto boost tax revenue in the area studies and says “the overall fiscalhealth of local governments in the region is increasingly tenuous.”

The report (http://newrules.org/retail/news_slug.php?slugid=381)was released by the East-West Gateway Council of Governments,a metropolitan planning organization governed by top officialsfrom a seven-county area that also includes the city of St. Louis.

Between 1993 and 2007, the study estimates that use of just twoincentive programs alone—forgone tax revenue from tax incre-

APRIL 2009 INDEPENDENT DEALER Page 14

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ment financing (TIF) and special develop-ment districts—cost taxpayers $2.5 billion.

About 80 percent of this was directed toretail development, including many largeshopping centers filled with chain storesand located in affluent suburbs.

Although TIF and other development in-centives were intended to be tools for re-vitalizing blighted, low-income urbanneighborhoods, these programs havemore often funded suburban sprawl and“exacerbated already significant economicdisparities between communities,” thestudy charges.

For their $2.5 billion in incentives, the re-gion’s taxpayers have done little more thanhelp move retail activity from older urbanareas to richer suburbs, the study found.Retail sales per capita for the metro regionhave been flat or declining for the past 15years.

Nor have the subsidies produced signifi-cant job gains. Although TIF-financed big-

box stores and shopping centers created32,550 new retail jobs, some 27,150 retailjobs were lost at existing businesses, re-sulting in a net gain of only 5,400 jobs.That works out to a public cost of$370,370 per job created — a staggeringfigure considering that the average retailjob pays $18,000 per year.

Competition for retail sales in the regionhas left more communities losers (losingtaxable sales to surrounding areas) thanwinners, according to the study.

The study also found that relatively little ac-countability comes with these massivegiveaways. Because of lenient reporting re-quirements, it is impossible for citizens andlocal governments to monitor whether in-centives are actually producing economicbenefits or to demand refunds in the eventthat promised jobs do not materialize.

AOPD Adds Texas Dealer

American Office Products Distributors, Inc.

(AOPD) has announced the latest additionto its network—Lufkin, Texas-based Story-Wright. This brings AOPD’s total member-ship to 63 dealers with 144 locations,providing distribution throughout theUnited States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Eu-rope and Australia.

S.P. Richards Announces E-Content Upgrades andEnhancements

Wholesaler S. P. Richards has announcedseveral new upgrades and enhancementsrelative to its Enhanced E-Content initia-tive.

The company said dealer technologyprovider ECI has announced new capabil-ities for ecInteractive, DealerStation anddForce 1 and 2 users of S.P. Richards’ En-hanced E-Content. The new features in-clude the ability to upload custom itemsand also to apply custom search rankings.

APRIL 2009 INDEPENDENT DEALER Page 15

Industry News: continued from page 14

Phone: 888.632.5515 Email: sales@imagestar.comFax: 888.635.7479 Web: www.imagestar.com

Visit Image Star’s booth at ITEX to learn more about I.S. Connect. You Can Win $1000!

I.S. Connect is Image Star’s new service offering designed to

help you integrate in ways that can reduce your costs and

improve efficiency. Now you can transmit orders to Image Star.

Contact us to get your password and set us up on your system.

continued on page 16

S.P. Richards also announced technologyprovider Red Cheetah has activated theSPR Enhanced Web Search engine for allS.P. Richards First Call Dealers, as well asfunctionality that will give Red Cheetahdealers the capability to upload customitems into the search.

Finally, S. P. Richards said its Canadianoperation, S.P. Richards Canada, has re-leased its new Enhanced E-content to in-dustry system providers and theircustomer base and re-launched its item-info.ca product information web site.

SYNNEX Launches Virtual Flyer Program for Dealers

Technology products distributor SYNNEXnow has a virtual flyer for resellers touse. The flyer is designed to be an elec-tronic version of the physical flyer andneeds flash player v10 or newer to viewit. Resellers can use it by putting a “but-

ton” on their own web site to link to the vir-tual flyer.

Each URL is unique for the reseller and theflyer can be customized just like the phys-ical flyer to include custom pricing, the re-seller’s logo and a reseller call to action,SYNNEX said.

The virtual flyer is free for resellers that pur-chase 500 copies or more of the physicalflyer per month. If the reseller purchasesless than 500 pieces, or if they only wantthe virtual flyer, the cost is $50 per month.Discounts are available for multi-monthcommitments.

To view the sample virtual flyer for March,visit suppliesnmore.concentrix.com/virtual_flyers/flyer_service/active/276/105/virtualFlyer.asp or for moreinformation, contact Bob Evans at SYNNEX (PH: 510-668-3558; E-mail:bobe@synnex.com.)

International Laser GroupLaunches Managed PrintServices Div.

International Laser Group (ILG) has an-nounced development of what it calls atotal managed print solution for laserprinter, parts and copier distributors, deal-ers and service professionals.

The solution includes data capture, analy-sis, proposal, contracting, fulfillment, on-site service, customer management,business analysis and total cost of owner-ship, ILG said. ILG also said it will providetraining on the solution and continuedsupport.

For more information, contact the manu-facturer directly at (800) 937-2880, or visitwww.ilglaser.com.

APRIL 2009 INDEPENDENT DEALER Page 16

Industry News: continued from page 15

continued on page 17

Schwab Hires Peter Leon asNational Sales Manager

Schwab Corp., a wholly owned subsidiaryof SentrySafe, has hired Peter J. Leon asits new national sales manager.

Leon comes to Schwab with more than 20years of sales and marketing experiencein the office products and mass marketchannels. He has held a number of key po-sitions with various companies in the in-dustry including Southworth, A. T. Cross,AMPAD and MeadWestvaco.

Most recently Leon was executive vicepresident of sales and marketing for Emis-sive Energy (Inova Brand).

Jim Lee Joins Tombow asNational Sales Manager

Jim Lee has joined writing instruments andcraft supplies distributor Tombow as na-tional sales manager – office productsmarket.

Lee comes to Tombow after serving mostrecently with The HON Company, wherehe spent the last 15 years working in a va-riety of channels, as both a territory man-ager and as a national account manager.He will report to Jeff Hinn, vice presidentsales.

Dealer Coach Krista MooreSchedules ComplimentaryWebinar April 20

Executive coach Krista Moore, presidentof K.Coaching and a regular contributor toINDEPENDENT DEALER, is offering acomplimentary webinar “as a gift to herloyal readers, clients and friends.”

Set for April 20 from 12-12:45 pm EDT, thewebinar, It’s about TIME- Time Manage-ment, is designed to help dealers regaintheir sense of urgency, motivation andplanning so that they can be more produc-tive, have more fun and create work lifebalance.

Limited seats are available for this webinarand will be reserved on a first-come, first-served basis. To register, click here.www.kcoaching.com.

APRIL 2009 INDEPENDENT DEALER Page 17

Industry News: continued from page 16

Chicago in 1919 was not exactly a haven ofpeace and tranquility. The country as awhole was struggling to return to normalityafter what was all too optimistically called“The War to End All Wars.” The city itselfwas in the grip of an influenza outbreak thatwould claim more than 20,000 Chicagoansbefore it ended. None of that, however, was particularly im-portant for a budding entrepreneur likeJohn Doolittle. Doolittle had started outwith a manufacturing plant on the NorthBank of the Chicago River in the city’sdowntown, just a few blocks west of Michi-gan Avenue.

There, he made the DoolittleDoodle Pad, a product that he sold to localstationers and art supply houses in theChicago area. One of his customers sug-

gested his basic pad might make a nicecalendar item, so he added some lines anddates to the pages and the Doolittle Calen-dar Company was born.Fast forward 90 years and the businessJohn Doolittle started, now renamed theHouse of Doolittle, is still going strong, stilllocated in the Chicago area and still sellingprimarily to independent office productsdealers.The company today is owned and operatedby Ron Stavoe, who purchased it from theDoolittle family back in 1978. While Stavoeand his team are justly proud of the entre-preneurial spirit that fueled the company’sgrowth during its early days, the materialsand methods they use today couldn’t bemore different.“Back then, of course,” Stavoe points out,“most manufacturers didn’t think about theimpact of what they were doing on thebroader environment. You did what you hadto do to make your products and nobodyworried about hazardous chemicals orwasting precious, non-renewable re-sources. Sustainability as a concept didn’teven exist.”While that approach to manufacturing mayhave been just fine for John Doolittle 90years ago, for Ron Stavoe and his wife Jane,it was simply unacceptable.“A few years after we bought the company,we started looking seriously at ourprocesses and our materials and seekingout ways to make our products in a moreenvironmentally responsible way,” he recalls.By that time, Stavoe and his managementteam, led by current president Bill Blethen,had pretty much re-engineered the entireDoolittle line. They added desk pads, ap-pointment books and wall calendars to thebasic calendar SKUs and introduced at-tractive new colors, textures and improvedgraphics to differentiate the company fromits competitors.But that wasn’t enough. “It was clear thatconverting our operation to one that usedrecycled materials was something weneeded to do,” says Stavoe. “We were pio-neers in the green movement back then,but we felt our customers would go alongwith us as long as our products looked asgood, performed as well and cost no morethan they had before the conversion.”Unlike its competitors, Doolittle’s entire

product line todayis made from recycled content.Over 200 different SKUs—calendars, ap-pointment planners, desk pads, wall calen-dars and memo pads—are made using100% recycled paper at no additional costto the consumer.And as a further reflection of its green com-mitment, the company contributes 5% ofits profits each year to organizations help-ing to preserve the environment.Leadership on the environment is just oneelement of the Doolittle value proposition,however. “We’ve got broad wholesaler sup-port, our products are still 100% made inthe USA and we’re not in any of the massmarket channels like Wal-Mart or Target, sothe dealer doesn’t have to worry aboutbeing undercut on price by a competitorjust down the street,” Stavoe points out.The gamble Stavoe and his team took 20years ago when they con-verted 100% to recycled haspaid off handsomely. “TheHouse of Doolittle productline has been green now for20 years,” Stavoe reportsproudly. “In that period, wehave seen double-digitgrowth annually in almostevery year, including 2008.”That’s an impressivetrack record by any mea-sure. The company has aslogan that defines itsline as “Products that keeptomorrow in mind.” Bycombining a commit-ment to the environment with an equallyfierce commitment to its distribution part-ners, the future does indeed look bright forDoolittle and its dealers, not just from anenvironmental perspective but also for con-tinued sales and profit growth.

APRIL 2009 INDEPENDENT DEALER Page 18

Vendor Profile: House of Doolittle

NinetyYears Old

and Livingthe ‘Green

Dream’

Inspiring Life

Join esteemed members of the National Office

Products Industry for the annual Bob Parker

Memorial Golf Outing commemorating former

City of Hope Spirit of Life® honoree and National

Office Products chairman, Bob Parker.

His legacy and your generous support continue

to help City of Hope save more lives.

To register, visit www.cityofhope.org/nopi,

contact Cathleen Tighe at 866-905-HOPE or

e-mail ctighe@coh.org

The Bob Parker Memorial Golf Outing at Pinehurst

May 11 to 12, 2009Pinehurst Resort, Pinehurst, NC

Bob Parker, former Spirit ofLife® honoree and NationalOffice Products Industrychairman

continued on page 21

NOPA held its annual Legislative Confer-ence in the Washington, DC area lastmonth and there was good news for allindependent dealers, as a senior officialfor the National Industries for the Blind(NIB) issued a call for a new partnershipbetween NIB and small business.

NIB president and CEO Kevin A. Lynchsaid government agencies and the smallbusiness community are both currentlymissing opportunities to work togetherfor mutual benefit.

He welcomed increased participation bythe independent side of the office prod-ucts industry in the AbilityOne program(formerly known as JWOD), noting thatover 300 small businesses are currentlyauthorized to sell AbilityOne productsand commending the industry’s buyinggroups for posting sales increases forAbilityOne in the 2007-08 timeframe.

Stressing the value of partnership rela-tionships rather than competing forbusiness, Lynch said NIB wants to workwith NOPA and its members going for-ward, to create a win-win for all partiesand identify ways to increase dealersales and grow employment opportuni-ties for people served by NIB.

He suggested formation of a joint

NOPA-NIB working group to exploreways to work together on issues wherethe two parties see challenges and op-portunities to grow business.

Chris Bates, NOPA president, welcomedNIB’s interest in exploring the potentialfor more significant collaboration be-tween independent dealers and NIB.

“NOPA has long sought to foster a prac-tical dialog with NIB that would define amore significant role for our dealer mem-bers in creating mutually profitable gov-ernment business opportunities basedon the combined capabilities of inde-pendent dealers, NIB and its affiliatenon-profit agencies around the country.”Bates said. “We look forward to begin-ning such a dialog in the near future.”

In addition to Lynch’s presentation, theNOPA Legislative Conference featuredan update from GSA assistant commis-sioner Joseph H. Jeu on the agency’scurrent procurement priorities and keyinitiatives and a dealer panel discussionon issues relative to state and local of-fice products contracts.

Attendees also spent a full day on Capi-tol Hill where they met with their ownelected legislators on issues such asgovernment procurement, healthcare re-

form and the need to elevate the head ofthe Small Business Administration (SBA)to a Cabinet-level position to recognizethe importance of small business and itscontributions to the overall economy.

Conference attendees gave this year’smeeting some rave reviews. “I am verypleased with the conference and the op-portunity for small business to affectsome change,” commented SharonStepien, manager of national operationsat AOPD. “Until you are here and see itup close, you can’t appreciate just howmuch of a difference you can make.”

Dewith Carrier, president of Office Cen-tre/Teacher’s Pet in Crowley, Louisiana,met directly with one of his senators andtwo members of Congress during theconference. “This is my fourth year at-tending the conference and every year Ilearn more and more,” he said. “Not onlywas I able to address my concerns andthe concerns of other small independentdealers on the Hill, but the sessions of-fered by NOPA really helped me to un-derstand how much NOPA does onbehalf of the dealers.”

Added Jim Cope, president of Corner-stone Office Systems in Fairfax, Virginia,“Having attended every year, I am al-ways impressed by the usefulness of theinformation and the value of bringing to-gether a group of independent dealersfrom different states to discuss emerg-ing trends and state and local businessopportunities,”

APRIL 2009 INDEPENDENT DEALER Page 20

At NOPA LegislativeConference, Senior NIB Official

Calls For New Partnershipwith Small Business

NOPAnews

More than 30 independent office

products dealers from throughout

Texas met last month with Ron Pig-

ott, director of the Texas Procure-

ment Services and Support (TPASS),

to discuss his agency’s plans for a

new office supplies RFP.

Chris Bates, NOPA president, helped

organize the dealer delegation that

attended the session and consoli-

date comments and coordination of

presentations on how the state can

make its RFP more “small-business

friendly.”

AOPD executive director Bud Mundt

also attended the session, while

is.group and TriMega staff con-

tributed actively to the pre-meeting

discussions and outreach to obtain

dealer input for the presentations.

Karen Bogart, Convenience Office

Supply (Austin); Julian Grubbs,

Shelby Distribution (El Paso), and

Bob Anders, SEWCO (Amarillo, Lub-

bock, Odessa) made presentations

based on accumulated experiences

—positive and negative—with other

recent state contract RFPs. (A copy

of the presentation that NOPA and

Texas delivered at the meeting can be

downloaded from www.nopanet.org).

“TPASS was greatly impressed with

the professionalism and coordination

of independent dealers’ views on the

design of the pending Texas state

contract RFP,” Bates reported.

TPASS director Ron Pigott thanked

dealers for their focused consensus

suggestions on the new RFP and

noted that the constructive tone of

their presentations was comparable

to those made last summer to the

agency, he added.

NOPA is preparing detailed written

follow-up comments to TPASS that

will highlight key points and add ad-

ditional details.

Representatives of the big box com-

panies advised that they also would

provide written comments, but did

not make any oral presentations at

last month’s meeting.

APRIL 2009 INDEPENDENT DEALER Page 21

NOPA News: continued from page 20

California Issues New RFP on State Office Supplies ContractThe California Department of GeneralServices (DGS) last month issued itslong-awaited Request for Proposals(RFP-DGS 56956) in preparation forawarding a new state-wide, sole-source office supplies contract.

With coordination assistance fromNOPA, association members through-out the state have been working forseveral months to influence thescope and terms of the RFP and ex-plore a variety of approaches to facil-itate broad independent dealerparticipation in a new state contract.

The RFP contains a number of chal-lenging provisions. The large size ofthe state means dealers will need toachieve an unprecedented degree ofcooperation among themselves andwith industry wholesalers to suc-cessfully bid and execute the result-ing contract.

DGS estimates the annual value ofthe three-year contract at $24 millionfor the 2,700 items included in the“core” list.

The State also has included the op-tions of two one-year extensions be-yond the original term. In addition,the awarded bidder will be requiredto allow local government agenciesto participate under the state-widecontract.

To maximize the likelihood that finalbids will be valid, DGS has devel-oped a very explicit RFP for this con-tract and will follow a systematicprocess that allows pre-registeredbidders to submit a draft bid to theagency for review.

Questions on the RFP are due April10 and a strongly recommended bid-ders’ conference will be held on April

17 at DGS’s offices in West Sacra-mento.

Confidential private discussions alsowill be conducted with qualified bid-ders before final draft bids are due onMay 14. DGS said it expects to issuethe sole-source contract award July17, 2009.

The primary RFP document and RFPexhibits are available on the NOPAwebsite (www.nopanet.org) or bycontacting the California Departmentof General Services.

Julie Matthews of the ProcurementDivision of DGS is the central pro-curement official for this RFP(Julie.matthews@dgs.ca.gov; Tel: 916-375-5918).

Texas Dealers, NOPA Meet with Texas State Purchasing Officials

By Jim Rapp

Change always provides opportunity. There’s no denying that thebad economy is changing a lot of things, including a dealer’s abil-ity to maintain sales volume. Customers are buying less and evenif you retain every one, you’ll need an increasing number of newaccounts to take up the slack.

Although getting new customers in these tough times may appear more difficult, thatmay not necessarily be the case, when you consider:

n Many prospects are now looking for ways to reduce costs (and that’s a goodreason to see you).

n Downsizing creates new buyers (and they haven’t heard your story).

n More end users are looking to outsource services (and you can providethem).

n There’s growing unhappiness out there with the big box (lack of) valueproposition (and that’s another reason to see you).

We reached out to successful dealers around the country and to a broad range of in-dustry consultants, trainers, wholesalers, manufacturers, and buying groups for ideason ways to grow business in tough times. Here’s what they told us.

APRIL 2009 INDEPENDENT DEALER Page 22

continued on page 23

“Selling the one-stop shop idea has reallyworked for us,” says Rod Lingenfelter ofMerrifield Office Plus in Enid, Oklahoma.“Whether we’re selling coffee, office sup-plies, design services or furniture, westress the savings any customer can makefrom just having to work with one order,one delivery, one invoice and only onecheck to write. This resonates with every-one today, but sometimes you really haveto make a case with the prospect to getthem to realize how much they can save.”

Lingenfelter makes three additional points:

1) Some customers believe that thenational players offer a wider se-lection of products, but that’s nottrue. “The two wholesalers have amuch larger selection, plus whatwe buy from other sources notonly gives us more SKUs, butmore product categories,” hepoints out.

2) Buying online from the big boxescan be pretty lonely—there’s no

one to talk to, if you have a ques-tion or problem. “We talk a lotabout the personal touch, not justthat we are always available butthat we contact every customer ina variety of ways, including phoneand personal visits,” Lingenfelterexplains.

3) Providing coffee service gets thedealership on the inside andmakes it easier to talk to the cus-tomer about other products andservices.

Selling the Non-Traditional Customer

This point is reinforced by Maury Vockrodtof Office Systems, Inc. in Watertown, SouthDakota. “When we added a jan/san offer-ing, we thought initially of selling it only toour regular customers,” Vockrodt explains.

“But when we learned that cleaning serv-ices and other non-office users was ahuge market and not particularly well-

served, we went after that business aswell, including high volume contract users.We were fortunate in obtaining contractswith several large users.” But that was notthe end of the story, because Office Sys-tems then began selling supplies and fur-niture to these new accounts!

In Whitinsville, Massachusetts, Old ColonyStationers has had similar success target-ing non-traditional sales opportunities.

“We’ve been very successful with promo-tional products/ad specialties,” reportsOld Colony’s Dale Bloem. “Our reps are re-quired to make five non-traditional coldcalls per week. Many purchase little or nooffice supplies, but once they make a pur-chase and are satisfied with our service,it’s surprising all the other items they buyfrom our catalog. The ‘buy local’ ideahelps, because most of our competitors on these specialty lines are from distant lo-cations with no local representation,” headds.

APRIL 2009 INDEPENDENT DEALER Page 23

Cover: continued from page 22

continued on page 24

Southern Cali-fornia has been

particularly hardhit by the real es-

tate meltdown butthat hasn’t stopped

Vince Mudd and histeam at San Diego Office

Interiors (SDOI) from addingnew customers.

They’re offering an innovativenew service that is unique in

their market area and striking achord with an increasingly environ-

mentally-friendly customer base.

It’s called a sustainability audit andthey charge the client on an hourly

basis, much the same as for other serv-ices.

They start by taking the client through theirown “LEED Certified” building, which isnot only quite impressive, but also demon-strates that they are environmentallyknowledgeable.

“We do a thorough evaluation of the client’sjob site,” says Mudd, “following federalguidelines, noting where they are deficientand advising what will be needed to bringthings up to standard. Sometimes the clientthinks something is up to standard whenit’s not. For example, task lighting doesn’tquite make it, or the panel system containslittle or no recycled content.

“It’s not that the client always wants to beLEED-Certified, but they want to move inthat direction as they remodel or buy newfurniture, and now we are the people theycan consult moving forward,” he con-cludes.

Industry consultant Jim Heilborn suggeststhat furniture dealers sell annual servicecontracts.

Since customers are buying few newpieces these days, they must maintainwhat they have. Customers are contacted

monthly or quarterly, with the dealer han-dling everything from refurbishing, stor-age, moving, painting, etc.

The service provided might include some-thing as simple as adjusting locks, replac-ing keys or making minor repairs but itgives the dealer an inside track when theclient is ready to buy again.

A Foot in the Door

Any salesperson who has made even afew cold calls will tell you that the most dif-ficult part of the job is getting past thegatekeeper, whether calling on the phoneor in person.

Tom Buxton of Interbiz Group teachesreps not how to get past the gatekeeper,but rather to recognize this person assomeone important in the organization.

“When you start by saying, ‘Hello, myname is X, I’m from Y and I want to talk toZ,’ you just ran over the gatekeeper,” saysBuxton. “Perhaps the gatekeeper is alsothe buyer. Perhaps he or she will provideimportant information about the needs orproblems that directly affect the productsand services you sell. Exactly what youshould say will depend on what this personsays in the first few minutes of the conver-sation. The key word is ‘recognition.’”

Understanding the changing decision-mak-ing dynamics of your customers is critical,contends Andrew Ritschel of Electronic Of-fice Systems in Fairfield, New Jersey.

Ritschel says that decisions on copiersand printers are now more often made bythe IT department, rather than the pur-chasing department or office manager.“It’s important to work with both sides,” hestresses, “so that you don’t find yourselfout of the loop.”

And when you can’t get to the person youwant to talk with, either by phone or as awalk-in, he suggests the following tech-

nique: Ask for a department, like accountspayable, that you know is unlikely to bewhere the person you’re looking for is lo-cated. When the A/P person answers, yousay, for example, “Are you the person whohandles copier purchases?” When theysay no, you say, “Would you please switchme to that person,” or something similar.

Getting Outside Help

In Ames, Iowa, Ed Minnick of Storey Ken-worthy reports great success using an out-side service from industry consultant andtrainer Tom Ketchum and his SalesTactix or-ganization to help them get new customers.

“We’ve always had a new account push,”says Minnick,” but Tom has given us a realshot in the arm. We work together on thescript, he lines up appointments and wemake the sales calls. We then review whathappened, what worked and didn’t workand what we want to do next. We have agreat close ratio. It’s revitalized our wholeorganization.”

Mt. Lebanon Office Equipment in Mt.Lebanon, Pennsylvania, sells a broadrange of products and services, includingsupplies, furniture and postage meters.

To help them find new business, they sub-scribe to “COSTAR”, an online real estatedatabase that provides up-to-the-minuteinformation about all real estate activity intheir market area, plus the names of build-ing owners, managers, and tenants on abuilding-by-building basis.

“We’re big on networking,” states Mt.Lebanon’s Jim Droney. “Our people net-work with LEED groups, we form associa-tions with local construction companiesand office movers and that gives us an in-side track.”

Independents have traditionally been re-luctant to spend money on outside help,

APRIL 2009 INDEPENDENT DEALER Page 24

continued on page 25

Cover: continued from page 23

yet the ones who do say that the return oninvestment is spectacular.

We asked several industry consultants fortheir thoughts and ideas on getting newbusiness. Here’s what they had to say:

n Neil Saviano, Longbow ConsultingGroup: “Use the technology you have,gather all the information you can be-fore approaching prospects, recordeverything that happens and developfollow-up plans. With a good CRMprogram, you can automatically postprospect history and pull together in-formation from different sources. Thekey point—the system needs to bemonitored all along the way to seewhat happened at each stage of theprocess.”

n David Fossler, Sales Works Mar-keting Central: “Your best prospectopportunities may be in your databasemanagement program. A good placeto start is with inactive accounts oraccounts that buy infrequently. Somemay be large users, but buy little fromyou. It’s easier to sell customers whoknow you, and with an increasingnumber of people being laid off, buy-ers may have changed.”

n Krista Moore, K Coaching: “It’s anew game today and dealers need tore-assess their prospecting ideas andplans. We are teaching our dealerclients something very different andseeing them have great success lead-ing with price. We tell dealers theyshould show how they can offer low-est cost on the essentials, an efficientand easy ordering system, tips andtechniques for using fewer suppliesand perhaps guaranteed savings. Getthe business now and begin buildinga relationship that you can nurture soyou can make it more profitable in thefuture. An account in the hand is bet-ter than two in the bush.”

Resources Unlimited

There has never been a time when inde-pendents have had more resources avail-able to help them build their businesses,whether from wholesalers, buying groups,manufacturers, NOPA, and, of course, thevery publication you’re now reading.Here’s just a small list:

n United Stationers: “ConvertingProspects to Customers” seminar;aggressive pricing plans; basic officeneeds catalog; other selling skillscourses; specialty flyers and catalogs,such as furniture, Green, jan/san, etc.

n S.P. Richards: Contract-type cata-logs that can be custom priced; flyerswith special promotional offers; Flex-Flyer—dealer selects own productsand prices; customer appreciationbox which can be filled with samples;imprinted dealer promotional products;specialty catalogs—Go Green, andothers.

n Tri-Mega and is.group both offer anever-increasing number of seminars,webinars, promotions and aggressivepricing programs that can help theirmembers get new accounts.

Gotta Have a Plan

What comes through loud and clear fromboth dealers and consultants is that youmust have a plan, you must work the plan,and recognize that getting new customersis a job that never really ends.

“We are quite specific on what our sales-people do every day,” says Tricia Burke ofOffice Equipment Company, Louisville,Kentucky. “Every rep agrees to make acertain number of prospect appointmentseach week, as well as contacting currentcustomers on a regular basis, regardlessof how they place orders.”

Burke says it’s also important to get every-one involved in setting goals, whether it’sfor sales, margins or online sales growth.

The company also holds a number ofevents during the year that attractprospects. “We recently held a Lunch andLearn on paper, led by a United Stationersrep. Every year we hold a holiday vendorshow and this month we will have a pro-gram for administrative professionals onthe Green initiative.”

Craig Lund of Value Added Business Serv-ices in Columbus and Jackson, Ohio,couldn’t agree more on the importance ofongoing customer contact.

“We had 50% sales growth last year,”Lund reports proudly. “I attribute much ofit to the high level of our direct involvementwith customers and prospects. For exam-ple, we do custom printing. If the customerdoesn’t have the space, we store the itemsand ship it out as needed. We regularlypresent seminars on a variety of topics,conducted by our own knowledgeablepeople. A recent program for cleaningpeople centered on paper products andchemical supplies and how it related toGreen requirements.

“When we contact prospects, we simplyask questions and talk about how theymight improve what they offer to their cus-tomers and employees. We do not men-tion price. We talk about transaction costsand the savings that can be made byworking with a single source vendor.”

As the dealers and consultants highlightedabove indicate, new business is still outthere in these challenging times. Hopefully,the ideas presented here will be helpful asyou develop your own plans to bring innew customers.

If you’ve come up withsome new approachesthat are working well,please let us know so thatwe can share them withyour fellow independentsin future issues.

APRIL 2009 INDEPENDENT DEALER Page 25

Cover: continued from page 24

5. Maintain accurate records of accounts payable andwatch your leverage. I continue to be amazed at the num-ber of dealers who have inaccurate vendor files, sometimesfinding an accounts payable balance that is 50% or morethan what is shown on a balance sheet.

Dealers have gone out of business because they didn’tknow what they owed suppliers and found out too late thatthey were unable to meet creditors’ demands.

One of the best ways to know and control what is going onin a dealership is for the dealer principal(s) to review andsign checks, better yet, approve “high-dollar” and “non-routine” purchase requisitions before the cash is even com-mitted.

Additionally, take steps to reduce other current liabilitiesand debt. Watch leverage (debt-to-equity); it is the indicatorof who owns your firm’s assets—lenders or shareholders.

6. Forecast cash flow on a monthly or semi-monthlybasis. Dealers should have a good understanding—aheadof time—whether additional financing will be required.

Determine how much cash you will need month-to-monthby preparing a six-month rolling cash forecast of receiptsand expenditures.

Better yet, prepare it on a weekly basis, since cash inflowsand outflows frequently vary significantly within a monthlyperiod.

Be realistic in preparing forecasts. About 75% of the time,my experience has shown that forecasts are too high andoptimistic. The forecast should provide space for both aforecast column and an actual column, so that compar-isons can be made—both as a control measure and as anaid to improving future forecasts.

7. Establish a four- to six-month cash cushion. Be sureyou know the minimum liquidity you will need to stay inbusiness. Develop contingency strategies that provide acash cushion with the ability to survive in emergency situ-ations for at least 120 days, preferably six months.

Make banking relationships a high priority—bankers don’tlike surprises. Additionally, evaluate your access to lines ofcredit.

It’s obvious, in these times, that even your most reliablebank may decide, voluntarily or otherwise, to significantlychange their borrowing practices, including terms, limits,and covenants. Be ready if that happens!

8. Prepare quarterly pro forma balance sheets. Fortu-nately, a (slim) majority of dealers prepare a budget and aprojected income statement for the coming year.

However, almost no one I know of prepares a pro forma(budgeted) balance sheet. If the balance sheet is more im-portant than the income statement in turbulent times, thenwhy do we not forecast what our balance sheet will looklike?

Pro forma balance sheets are fairly easy to prepare pro-vided a dealer has prepared cash forecasts as describedearlier.

9. Be constantly committed to managing your balancesheet. Don’t be too quick to answer that you are. Begin byaccepting and understanding the importance of the bal-ance sheet adage: “Survival is a function of liquidity andbalance sheet discipline.”

When I say “constantly,” I mean reports and follow-up thatare quarterly, monthly, sometimes even weekly.

Ten Essential Action Items for Managing Your Balance Sheet (part 2)

By Bill Kuhn

APRIL 2009 INDEPENDENT DEALER Page 26

Last month, I covered four key action items in managing your balance sheet: assessing your per-formance against meaningful benchmarks and performing action items associated with managingthe asset side of your balance sheet (including working capital, receivables, and inventory).

The remaining action items concentrate on the liability side of your balance sheet, some extremelyimportant financial reports, suggested strategies, the necessity of commitment and some toughquestions to answer and address.

continued on page 27

When I say “committed,” I mean a commitment by owners and em-ployees. All areas of your dealership can participate in improvingyour working capital cycle as discussed in last month’s column.

10. Finally, ask yourself these tough financial questions. If theanswer is not “yes,” take steps to correct the situation.

n Do you focus first on your balance sheet (including yourROA, return on assets), then cash, then profit margins andfinally volume?

n Is your working capital cycle managed proactively, in-stead of reacting to sales, collections and inventory?

n Are your financial reports accurate and provided on atimely basis?

n Are your decisions based upon painstaking budgetingand forecasting, including cash forecasts and pro formabalance sheet statements?

n Are your managers, salespeople and staff held account-able for those aspects of financial performance that they in-fluence or control?

n Do you have the financial capacity and capability (finan-cial talent) to achieve your goals, both short and long-term?

n Have you developed your worst-case staying power, i.e.,the length of time your resources allow you to stay in busi-ness?

n Do you know your real financing requirements and whereyou can get these finances—both internal and externalsources?

n Finally, do you know what your business is worth today—and are you positioning yourself toward improving itsvalue?

Remember the words of Peter Drucker: “In turbulent times, thebalance sheet becomes more important than the income state-ment.”

Your financial strength is based upon your balance sheet. Man-aging it, and forecasting future ones, must be a high priority. Yourbalance sheet is the key to your survival and financial strengthand you should treat it accordingly.

APRIL 2009 INDEPENDENT DEALER Page 27

Bill Kuhn: continued from page 26

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Time management seems to be thenumber one challenge among ourcoaching clients. I often hear them talkabout being stuck in the office doing ad-ministrative work and getting distractedduring the day with urgent, time-con-suming customer needs.

Business owners find themselves work-ing in the business instead of on thebusiness, and sales reps often find theirtime controlled and managed by theircustomers, instead of them taking con-trol and managing the customers better.

Many clients take our Time Manage-ment webinar course or include timemanagement skill development as a partof their executive coaching program. Itdoes seem as though everyone wants tobe more organized and more productive,so they can be less stressed, have asense of work-life balance, and makemore money.

Before we can even begin to tackle thischallenge and start changing habits,however, it is important to first under-stand and appreciate how precious a re-source time is.

Time is JustTime is the only truly democratic re-source. No one gets more or less timethan anyone else, regardless of your po-sition, your power, your nationality oryour gender.

Each of us wakes up every day with1,440 minutes. That’s it; no more, noless. We all have an equal amount oftime to do with whatever we choose.

Time ExpiresTime is perishable. It’s impossible tokeep it, slow it down, or use it later.That's why so many of us should recog-nize that we need to take advantage ofevery moment. Once time is gone, itcannot be regained.

This is always easy to understand whenyou lose a loved one and reflect on howquickly a period of time in your life haspassed. Such moments often make uswish that we could stop the clock orslow it down.

Time is PricelessTime is undoubtedly one of the world'smost valuable resources. It is up to eachand every one of us as individuals to re-alize its potential.

Those that use time to its fullest capacitywill experience the maximum benefit. Itis not just about how much work you getdone in the time you have allocated, buthow you value the time that you have al-located for the areas that are most im-portant to you and to others.

So how exactly do you manage thisdemocratic, priceless, expiring re-source? The dictionary describes “timemanagement” as “the process of organ-izing the activities in your life to deter-mine what tasks have priority.”

Why is it so important and why do somany people say that they need tohave better time managementskills?

Most people realize the value oftime and want to be more or-ganized so that they are fo-cused on the most impor-tant activities. We alsoknow that organizingtasks within a time-line enhances prod-uctivity, increas-ing the qualityand quantity ofwork.

Often this isan exerciseof self disci-pline, andthe ability tomanage avaluable re-source toaccomplishmore thanone other-wise might ina given day.

When coachingmany entrepreneurs andsales executives, we have ob-served some common time

APRIL 2009 INDEPENDENT DEALER Page 28

it’saboutTIME

By Krista Moore

continued on page 30

Plot 100% of your time—where it is today, and where it should be. Share this withyour boss and ask for clearer expectations or ways that you can be more productivewith your time allocation.

Where What itit is should be

Admin Tasks ______% ______%

Account Management ______% ______%

Prospecting ______% ______%

Meetings/Training ______% ______%

Pricing/Quoting ______% ______%

Other ______% ______%

Plot 100% of your time

Where What itit is should be

In front of customers ______% ______%

Not in front of customers ______% ______%

Ineffective delegation

Many individuals have a hard time delegating tasks. Theytend to think that they can do it themselves better andfaster than someone else. If you want to make a signifi-cant difference managing your time, you must begin todelegate more effectively. We like to think of delegationas a three-part function:

n Clearly define the task to another person, andgain their understanding of the value of the jobto the business and for them personally.

n Establish expectations for the quality of workand the specific deliverables, and answer anyquestions to eliminate confusion.

n Set a specific date and time deadline and/oragree upon a status update.

Krista Moore: continued from page 28

management problems. The top threeinclude unclear expectations and objec-tives, ineffective delegation, and insuffi-cient planning.

If you are able to address any of thesethree, you will recognize a significant dif-ference in the amount of free time youcan earn.

Unclear expectations and objectives

It is important to know your expected“time allocation” for your different jobfunctions, before you can manage your-self to them.

Unfortunately many people are unclearon exactly what is expected of them ona day-to-day basis.

There is nothing worse than showing upfor work and not having a to-do list, andnot being sure what you need to get ac-complished.

All of a sudden you start spinning yourwheels, reacting instead of responding,taking care of business, doing generalhousekeeping, and looking busy.

But are you really being productive? Areyou really focused on the items and thetasks that you and/or your boss are ex-pecting you to be focused on?

We use the following exercise to helpsales reps understand the percentage oftime they allocate to certain activities.

APRIL 2009 INDEPENDENT DEALER Page 29

Insufficient planning

Often sales reps find themselves “putting outfires,” doing product research and pricing,spending unproductive time on weekly standingappointments, or keying in orders and doing fol-low-up rather than proactive sales planning andexecuting.

The best advice is the old adage, “Plan yourwork and work your plan.”

Begin defining your specific activities and priori-tizing them using your schedule or calendar.

Track and measure your ability to meet your owndeadlines. By getting into this habit, you will notonly be planning your sales activity for a periodof time, but you'll develop great work habits byholding yourself accountable to actually gettingthe activities done within a certain timeframe.

What are your monthly personal CPR Activities?

Conversion – Example: Close two new accountsthis month

Schedule: Spend one hour a day makingoutbound calls for appointments(60 calls a week).

Penetration – Example: Introduce furniture intomy top ten accounts that aren’tbuying it from me.

Schedule: Take a sample chair on the 14thand 18th of the month anddemonstrate to five customerseach day.

Retention – Example: Personally drop off choco-lates to your top ten accounts andthank them for the business.

Schedule: Tuesday the 2nd–all day.

Time will continue on its steady pace and there’snothing we can do to control that. But we cancontrol how we arrange and manage our use ofit every day.

Take the time to outline clear expectations forothers so they can be more productive. Use ourthree-step process to delegate more effectively,and begin to plan and schedule your own activi-ties for greater results.

Remember, you have the same amount of timein a day as your competition. It is entirely yourchoice what you do with it.

APRIL 2009 INDEPENDENT DEALER Page 30

Krista Moore: continued from page 29

Krista Moore is Presidentof K Coaching, LLC an

executive coaching andconsulting practice that

has helped literallyhundreds of independent

dealers maximize their fullpotential through

enhancing theirmanagement systems,

sales training, andleadership development.

For more information, visitthe K Coaching web sites

at www.kcoaching.com,for coaching and

consulting programs andwww.opwebinar.com for

the latest online trainingcourses.

At that moment, you know your relationship is in periland any money that you made in the past may beflushed down the drain of an RFP.

Over the past few months I have been contacted by nu-merous dealers that are facing this issue and in somecases the callers sound as if they have lost all hope ofretaining the customer and possibly even their dealer-ships.

Consequently, I thought that it might be helpful to ad-dress this challenge head on, because unless you haveinoculated your customer against the wiles of the com-petition, every account you serve is at risk.

First, let me define the word “inoculate.” When we weregrowing up, our parents would take us to get shots sothat we would not fall victim to polio, diphtheria andsimilar diseases.

I was never afraid to receive these vaccines, becausemy mother assured me that they would keep mehealthy. Only later did I find out that the vaccine wasoften a less virulent form of the actual disease I hopedto avoid. It seemed a bit strange to attack the very thingthat threatened my health with a weapon made from the

malady’s own structure.

However, what doctors discovered long ago and whatwe need to remember is that the controlled introductionof a disease can minimize the risk of catching the bugitself! Yes, I guess that I am calling your competitorsbugs or diseases, but hopefully you still get the idea.

If you want to retain your largest and most profitablecustomers in this or any other economy, you must takegreat care of them and find a way to inoculate them fromthe competition.

If you just take great care of them without asking toughquestions like, “What will happen when someone elsecomes in with the offer of a lower price?” the risk ofthem catching the “cost-savings” disease will be height-ened.

By the way, many reps would rather be involved in ahundred different bid situations than risk the relationshipwith a single customer by asking questions designed todiscern what their client actually thinks about them.

Many of them act as if competitors simply don’t existwithin their account base until it is too late. They behave

APRIL 2009 INDEPENDENT DEALER Page 31

continued on page 32

Can You Please Send Me OurUsage?

By Tom Buxton

Is there a more frightening phrase in the officeproducts business than that question when itcomes from one of your best customers?

as though the fact that they know theircustomers’ birthdates, favorite sportsteams and possibly shoe sizes will keepthe “bad guys” away. The bad news isthat such knowledge, though laudable,will not stop anyone from trying to savemoney or their own jobs by switchingsuppliers.

So, what should you do if you receive acall asking for usage from one of yourlargest accounts?

First, acknowledge that your customerbelieves that you and/or your rep havenot done enough to address their com-pany’s needs.

Secondly, attempt to discover all the rea-sons that your customer is considering abid and use that knowledge to formulatequestions to ask your other clients thathave not yet gone out to bid. (By the

way, if you’re lucky the person asking forusage may only be asking for their datain order to budget for next year. If you arevery lucky.)

Whatever you do, do not grovel, offer tocut prices precipitously or otherwise looklike you are guilty of overcharging them.

Instead, try to position yourself as theircoach in the bid process and freelyadmit that if they decide to ask for aprice-only comparison other dealersmight look quite attractive.

If you are upfront with the customer,have added significant value in the pastand can accurately predict how the bidprocess will go, your company has atleast a 30% chance of getting last lookand retaining the business.

(Becoming a coach during a bid is a

complex process so, because you are anIDealer reader, feel free to contact me ifyou have further questions about this orany other bid situation, and I will give yousome assistance for free.)

Above all, learn from your mistakes.Make a point of reaching out to all yourkey customers with probing questionsabout what they value in suppliers longbefore they consider going out to bid.

Ask your reps if they have had a “tough”conversation with their customers and ifthey have suggested cost saving alter-natives, both in products and process.

Your current customers represent the“blood” that feeds the body of your com-pany. Make sure that your blood is pro-tected from any competitive diseases!

APRIL 2009 INDEPENDENT DEALER Page 32

Tom Buxton: continued from page 31

Tom Buxton is founder and CEO of InterBiz Group, a consulting firm that works withindependent office products dealers to help increase sales and profitability, for more

information, visit www.interbizgroup.com.

APRIL 2009 INDEPENDENT DEALER Page 33

Stop theAbuseby Paul A. Miller

Paul Miller is a founding part-ner in Miller/Wenhold CapitolStrategies, LLC, providers ofdirect and grassroots lobby-

ing, legislative and regulatorytracking, advocacy planningand implementation and re-

lated services. Before settingup Miller/Wenhold, Miller

served as government affairsdirector for the National OfficeProducts Alliance and the Of-

fice Furniture Dealers Alliance(NOPA/OFDA). In addition tohis lobbying and regulatory

monitoring activities, Paulalso provides consulting serv-

ices to businesses on sellingto the federal, state and local

government markets. Formore information, visitwww.mwcapitol.com.

Stop the abuse was the call from Chairwoman Rep.

Nydia Velazquez (D-NY), chair of the House Small

Business Committee, during a hearing last month

that focused on the Small Business Administration

(SBA) and abuses within some of its programs.

One target of the Committee’s scrutiny was SBA’s

HUB Zone program, which is designed to help eco-

nomically distressed areas in what are called His-

torically Underutilized Business Zones.

Investigators from the General Accountability Office

(GAO) reviewed 36 firms awarded government con-

tracts in four cities with HUB Zones: Huntsville, Al-

abama; Dallas and San Antonio, Texas, and San

Diego.

They found that 19 of those firms — more than half

— failed to qualify for the program while still collect-

ing $30 million in HUB Zone contracts and $187 mil-

lion in federal contracts. 

In one instance, investigators looking into a com-

pany that had a HUB Zone contract with the Army

found themselves knocking on the door of a resi-

dential trailer.

They also reported that last year, businesses were

receiving HUB Zone status after applying over the

Internet and without even talking to a single person

at SBA.

These abuses are troubling for all of us in the small

business community, but we shouldn’t be surprised.

They are a symptom of the overall problem at the

SBA: lack of money and human resources to truly

be in a position to support small businesses in any

meaningful way.

SBA is hardly perfect, but the real source of the

problem lies with the past and current Administra-

tions that have failed to provide the agency with the

resources it needs.

Under President Clinton, the SBA Administrator was

a Cabinet-level position and we hope the new Ad-

ministration will follow his example. The abuses un-

covered by GAO during the recent hearing

highlights just how important this change would be

to help put an end to abuses of this kind.

No one is saying that all Hub Zone firms are cheat-

ing the system, but abuse does seem to be wide-

spread. NOPA has been leading the charge the past

several years to bring much needed reform to these

programs.

We estimate legitimate small businesses have lost

tens of millions of dollars through what we call

“pass-throughs.”

We believe that closing this loophole by changing

the definition of Affiliation will go a long way towards

cutting down the abuses we have seen in recent

years and make it much harder for large companies

to use small businesses as fronts to gain a larger

share of the federal market.

It’s hard enough as a small business to compete for

federal contracts when the deck is stacked against

you. But when you throw in abuses to the socioe-

conomic programs and “pass-throughs,” success

in the federal market becomes even more elusive.

Thanks to NOPA and dealer partners like AOPD,

is.group and TriMega, independents are winning,

even with these hurdles.

If legitimate small businesses are going to have a

fighting chance under these programs, they need to

be cleaned up.

I hope Congress will follow the lead provided by

Chairwoman Velazquez and hold those who abuse

these programs accountable by immediately revok-

ing their contracts and preventing their participation

in the federal market for a minimum of five years.

Like more than just a few inde-pendents, Wayne Robinson ofRoswell Office Furniture Outletin Roswell Georgia, is an ac-tive member of his local Ro-tary Club.

So when Wayne’s Rotary in Al-pharetta, Georgia, agreed tosponsor a luncheon for Geor-gia Interact Club students at alocal high school two yearsago, it seemed routine and nomore than just another oppor-tunity to be a good corporatecitizen.

But what happened at thatlunch became for Wayne alife-changing experience.

By chance, he found himselfsitting next to someone fromShelterBox, a charity that pro-vides emergency aid for vic-tims of floods, fires, earth-quakes and other disastersaround the world. And as hisnew friend told Wayne theShelterBox story, somethingclicked.

“I’d been on some interna-tional service projects for myRotary Club in the past, butthis was something on a muchhigher level and I wanted toget involved,” he recalls.

A few short months later andafter an intensive, nine-daytraining program in the UK,Wayne found himself on aplane bound for Lima, Peru, aspart of a ShelterBox team charged with helping victims of a mas-sive earthquake that had left thousands homeless.

The ShelterBox itself is just a heavy-duty plastic crate and itcouldn’t be more unassuming. It’s what’s inside the crate, how-ever, that matters.

Depending on need, each ShelterBox contains one or two 10-person tents and a range of other emergency items such as ther-mal blankets, cooking utensils and a stove, water containers andpurification tablets and a basic tool kit. There’s also always a chil-dren’s pack containing drawing books, crayons, pens, etc.

When he’s not on a ShelterBox mission, Wayne sells office and

residential furniture out of a9,000 sq. ft. showroom in theAtlanta suburbs. And while likemost dealers, he’s had morethan his share of businesschallenges over the past fewmonths, they all pale in com-parison to what he’s seen as aShelterBox volunteer.

Over the past two years,Wayne has gone on missionsto Peru (twice), Zambia, Belizein Central America and Haiti toprovide help to victims ofearthquakes, floods and hurri-canes.

“Being part of a ShelterBoxResponse Team can be an in-credibly chaotic experience,”he reports. “There’s usually amaze of bureaucratic red tapeto negotiate and once you getto the crisis zone, it’s not un-usual to find thousands ofpeople in need when you’veonly got shelter for just a fewhundred.”

But even in the face of almostinfinite need, the ShelterBoxprogram makes a difference.Last year alone, the organiza-tion deployed over 12,000boxes that provided desper-ately needed resources forover 120,000 people.

“It’s certainly been one of themost dramatic and rewardingexperiences in my life,” saysWayne.

“Getting the boxes to where they need to be can sometimes bevery frustrating for any number of reasons,” he admits candidly.“But when you see the faces of people who have lost everythingas they open the boxes and starting setting up the tents, you re-alize you’re not just giving them shelter, you’re also providing thehope that one day they can recover from what is often near totaldevastation.”

ShelterBox is funded entirely by charitable contribution anddonors can sponsor boxes and learn where they are deployed. Ifyou’d like to find out more or add your own support, point yourweb browser to www.shelterboxusa.org. Tell them Wayne Robin-son from Atlanta sent you!

APRIL 2009 INDEPENDENT DEALER Page 34

THE

Other SideWayne Robinson ofRoswell Office Furniture Outlet

On a Mission of Mercy for People in Need

There’s no question that these are among the mostchallenging times any of us have faced. But thatmakes it all the more important for dealers to avoidgetting caught up in a “slow economy” mentality. Ifthere ever was a time when you need to be at thetop of your game, that time is now.

We all need to focus on stealing accounts from Sta-ples, Depot and Max. Customers, now more thanever, are looking to save money. They still need of-fice supplies to run their business, even in a sloweconomy. They are tired of big business and finallyresponding to the “Buy Local from companies thatcare about your business” message.

Most dealers today are cutting back to reduce theirexpenses. Certainly, it’s important to watch yourcosts, but at the same time, we all need to spendmore on advertising, marketing and sales than weever have.

At Chicago Office Products, we have partnered withUnited Stationers and that partnership has yieldedsignificant advantages for us. They really are help-ing us with advertising, hiring and training salesreps.

We are sending different marketing pieces to all ofour active customers every two weeks. We havetaken full advantage of United’s extended e-contentand our web designer has incorporated it into ourweb site. Our web sales now are running at 50% oftotal supplies volume.

We also e-mail monthly newsletters and monthlycustomer surveys using Constant Contact andusing a product called sales-i to analyze customerbuying trends and identify what they are buying andmore importantly, what they are not buying.

As a result, our reps automatically get e-mails on aweekly basis when customers buying habits arechanging. We have developed some great cus-tomer review reports and our reps use these reportswhen meeting with customers to ask for other busi-

ness that is leaking to other suppliers.

Also, there are some good people with industryknowledge out there today who are looking for workand that means it’s a great time to pick up new em-ployees.

We have hired a sales manager, a warehouseworker/driver and a customer service rep that wedid not have to train and they became productiveimmediately. We have also promoted a couple of in-side reps to outside sales and hired a new outsidesales rep.

We are providing more feet on the street and morecustomer touches and demanding that all our em-ployees commit to a higher level of excellence incustomer service.

Earlier deliveries, double checking orders for accu-racy and follow up to make sure customers arehappy with our service are all helping to increaseour business.

Lastly, we are working to improve our image—bothto our employees and our customers. We have putour drivers in uniforms to make us look more pro-fessional. Sales reps must wear suits and ties whencalling on customers. We redecorated our offices,purchased new office furniture, expanded our con-ference room and added a lunchroom.

In our warehouse, we are working on cleaning up,painting the floors, getting rid of dead stock andcleaning all the shelves and merchandise. I feel thatour employees will be more productive if they havea nice place to work. They all seem to have a muchmore positive outlook and are working as a team toincrease our sales. This includes monthly salesmeetings and weekly operations meetings.

The bottom line: There are a lot of positivethings we all need to be taking advantage of,so that we can use this time of opportunity togrow our business.

APRIL 2009 INDEPENDENT DEALER Page 35

TheLASTword

By Ken HendersonPresidentChicago Office Products

One Dealer’s Perspective on the Economy