Inside Indoff - June 2019

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INSIDE Indoff

“Indoff Provides Solutions to Your Business Challenges.”

June 2019

lian p m co e d o o. c r e e r i h F n ew a s ha

11816 Lackland Rd. St. Louis, MO 63146

Prose CONTENT President’s

by Jim Malkus, Indoff President & CEO Page 2 Human Resources Report Page 4 Recruiting Report Page 5 Champion’s Circle

Welcome to summer! Even if it is still cool where you are, spring’s days are numbered. As we ease into summertime, there are a few things to keep in mind: •

•

Page 6 Finance & Accounting Report

SUPERIOR PALLET RACK FLUE SPACE CONTROL.

Page 7 Vendor Relations Report

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The WorldStop allows your sprinkler system to be triggered as needed, so your warehouse will be safe and in compliance with local fire codes. When your warehouse needs a hero, count on WorldStop to save the day. Check with your insurance carrier about possibly receiving a premium reduction.

Page 8-9 Partner Spotlight Features

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Page 11 Anniversaries Page 12 Social Media & Partners of the Month

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Page 13 Marketing Report

JACK ROURKE | JROURKE@WWMH.NET | 630-914-6949

Page 14 New Additions

CHICAGO, IL | CHARLOTTE, NC | DALLAS, TX | LOS ANGELES, CA | SEATTLE, WA | ALLENTOWN, PA

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Page 10 Operations Report

Page 15 Techie Talk

•

•

Customers have choices; they don’t need to buy from us. They can shop on-line, they can call a competitor, they can ask a buddy for a referral. Work hard to make it easy for our customers to buy from us. Return calls, resolve problems, update them as to status – don’t give them a reason to even consider another source.

Vendors are under no legal obligation to sell to us. If a vendor sends you a lead, make sure you let them know how it turns out, even if it doesn’t become an order. Help us resolve any invoicing discrepancies so that we can get bills paid timely and keep vendors happy to deal with us.

Partners, Corporate Staff, vendors, customers – no one has to work with Indoff; anyone is free to move on. Treat everyone with respect and appreciation and it will come back to you many times over in loyalty, the extra effort when you need it most or maybe the last look at a project.

Sales are cyclical, but long-term success is the direct result of long-term consistency of effort. Call on customers and prospects, e-market, network formally or informally, quote in a timely fashion, resolve problems if any – customers notice the people who do these things routinely and reward them with loyalty.

Since this publishes near the Memorial Day holiday, I’ll make a few remarks regarding the holiday. We are here today and enjoy the freedoms we do thanks to the sacrifices of many.

Many have fought and died to protect the ideals that define our nation today. Do take the time this weekend to think about that, to be grateful for that, and to express some appreciation for the many who are no longer with us.

Finally, because appreciation was a bit of a theme in this note, I appreciate you. Indoff could not survive without everyone’s contributions; there are no “unimportant” pieces of the puzzle.

I hope you have a wonderful summer, and I thank you all for all you do for Indoff.

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INSIDE Indoff

Human Resources

by Robin Migdal, Indoff VP of Human Resources Greetings – we’re just back from our 6th Champions’ Circle meeting month in Clearwater Beach, and a good time was had by all. We had 85 Partners, 60 spouses and 10 corporate employees in attendance, and the Sandpearl Resort was the perfect location for the event. Our 7th Champions’ Circle meeting will be here before you know it in 2022, and I look forward to seeing you all there!

INSIDE Indoff

Techie Talk

by Shawn Faulkingham, Chief Information Officer Late spring / early summer is upon us - warmer temps, high humidity and severe weather here in the Midwest! We just had our Champions Circle Meeting in Clearwater Florida, and it was a blast! Between seeing dolphins, pirate ships and general relaxation on the beach, it was great to hang out, talk and laugh (a lot!) with all of you that were there. We also had a few breakout sessions between Craig, Colin and myself talking about Marketing, Confluence and Cloud Computing/IT Security.

The month of May is open enrollment for our dental, vision and voluntary life coverage, open to all employees who wish to join our dental or vision, make changes or cancel existing coverage. Please contact either Pam Hitpas or myself with any questions you may have.

Robin Migdal Indoff VP of Human Resources

In March, Jim and I met with our MassMutual Plan Advisor for our annual plan review.

Our Retirement Savings Plan had just over $27 million in plan assets as of December 31, 2018, down 2% from the prior year end due primarily to negative investment income. Our plan had 392 participants with an average balance of $68,891. A separate benchmarking report was provided to compare our plan to other 401k plans.

Here are some highlights from that comparison: • Participation rate – 87% - top quartile • Deferral rates – 9% average – top quartile (well into top quartile – 6% is 75% break).

• Company match – 5% of 6% (0.3% match) – lowest quartile. With our year-end profit sharing, this gets to 1.5% which remains in the lowest quartile.

• Fees – 0.56% of assets – lowest quartile • We offer 19 investment options (number includes 5 target date funds); industry average is 18.7 • Our investment offerings cover 7 of the 9 style boxes, missing only midand small-cap core funds. This is consistent with prior years and not considered a significant short-coming.

In summary, our plan remains well-designed and delivering the opportunity to save for retirement that it is designed to do.

An overview of participant accounts did not reveal any troubling issues. The average participant holds 5.5 funds, largely unchanged from the year prior’s 5.6. In our plan, we have over 200 Participants holding only one fund, but 199 of them are holding either a target date or the guaranteed rate fund. There are 12 participants with only one fund holding that is an equity fund.

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The next corporate holiday is Monday, May 27th in observance of Memorial Day. Have a great summer, and thank you all for all you do for Indoff!

Here are some of the points I talked about in my session:

Shawn Faulkingham Chief Information Officer

Colin Faulkingham Chief Information Officer

• Cloud Computing • Indoff has its own “private” cloud. We use a system from Cisco called Unified Computing System and software called VMWare vCenter to manage all of our Virtual servers and infrastructure. It allows us to scale up or scale down RAM, CPU, network and storage. It also allows us to work on hardware issues without any disruption. Highly resilient to failure, stable and scalable performance makes your experience with Confluence better than ever!

• Indoff ’s future will be in the cloud. We have been researching cloud providers like Amazon, Google and Microsoft and other private clouds and will most likely adopt a “hybrid” cloud approach; some servers in our cloud, some servers and applications in a separate private or public cloud.

• Applications to manage passwords and security • I talked a bit about all the latest threats that we face in terms of viruses, trojans and ransomware. Please make sure that you are using good antivirus(AV) like Trend Micro or ESET. It’s time to get rid of the free AV and purchase the software so scans and updates are automatic!

I will be sending out emails with more details regarding the applications we recommend that you use for AV, Malware and password management. It’s extremely important that you remain diligent with emails you receive that have attachments! Make sure you know it’s legit; it’s the biggest attack vector for Viruses and Ransomware.

As always, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We will help you in the quickest way we can!

Thanks for everything you do!

Shawn, Colin, David and Courtney

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Welcome!

Meet the New Additions to Indoff

2019

June 10th-12th Showroom 11-115

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INSIDE Indoff

Recruiting

by Angela Suntrup, Indoff VP of Recruiting

Marketing

by Craig Pennington, VP of Marketing

Recruiting and hiring have changed significantly over the years. Remember when a company had a job opening and they would place an ad in the newspaper? Or what about hanging up a Help Wanted sign to attract applicants? I would like to share with you how Indoff has adopted a multi-faceted approach to Recruiting quality Partners.

As many of the other newsletter contributors have written, our Clearwater experience was a great opportunity to celebrate past achievements and discuss future goals. Since this was my first chance to attend, I had the pleasure of meeting several of the Partners face-to-face for the first time. And while Indoff Partners come from different areas of the country, or even different countries, and work in different verticals, it was obvious that they all share many common traits. If I had to boil it down to one trait that impressed me the most I think I would choose passion. A passion for their customers, a passion for Indoff and a passion for improving on how we do business.

We found our newest Partner, Joe Smith, on LinkedIn (the names have been changed to protect the innocent). We sent him an email to see if he was interested in the Indoff opportunity. Unfortunately, the timing was not right for Joe. Our Recruiter entered Joe into our Goldmine database which allowed us to keep in contact with him in a timely manner. As part of our Recruiting procedures, Joe received an email and a follow up call from a Recruiter 6 months later. Guess what? This time the timing was perfect!

I can assure you that the people in the corporate office share that passion as well. To help drive our improvement in the area of marketing, we are putting in place a Marketing Advisory Board for each of the different divisions. These four person teams will help guide marketing in how we message and brand Indoff and the different divisions. They will keep us in sync with current trends within the marketplace so that we have relevant and topical marketing that is reaching the ultimate consumer, the people who buy from you.

It was great seeing so many Partners at our Champion Circle meeting in Clearwater, FL earlier this month! I wanted to share a story that I told at the meeting about Recruiting a recent Partner.

Angela Suntrup VP of Recruiting

INSIDE Indoff

Craig Pennington VP of Marketing

Joe was interested in making a move but wanted to investigate Indoff further.

Who did Joe call first to find out about Indoff? He contacted his local Vendor reps to see what they had to say about Indoff. Joe was happy to learn that his Vendor reps gave glowing remarks about Indoff. It also helped that the Vendor mentioned we paid our bills on time and that they were happy to work with us!

Next Joe reached out to some local Partners by using the locations section on our website. He wanted to see what they had to say about Indoff. Of course, after talking with our Partners, Joe was ready to come on board!

While we understand many Partners desire to see something done right away we have to weigh speed against doing it right. I believe most will agree that it is more important to implement branding and marketing tactics that resonate with customers over “throwing something against the wall and seeing if it sticks.” On the flip side, that’s not to say that we plan on dragging this process out. I look forward to bringing you more information as we move the strategic planning along. So thank you for your patience and the passion you all bring to Indoff.

This story reiterates why we do what we do (Vendor Relations, Partner referrals, Recruiting, a social media presence, well maintained database, referral contests, finder’s fees, etc.) and it takes all these facets working together to grow our Partner count.

Marketing Note: I am pleased to inform Indoff World that Michael Dormagen has joined the company in the Marketing Department. Michael brings several years of marketing and sales experience to the job as well as a background in graphic design. Please join me in welcoming Mike to the family.

If you know someone in our industries looking to make a change feel free to reach out to me. We offer a $1000 referral bonus when you refer someone that becomes an Indoff Partner! http://join.indoff.com/newcareer/

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Follow Us! Stay connected with Indoff by following us on social media! You can find us on several social media platforms via the usernames provided below:

Wherever and whenever you need quality commercial office furniture and chairs, BBF will provide speed, service and value you’ll love.

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• 14 new seating collections • Bonded leather, fabric and mesh designs • Numerous color options

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Congratulations to our top Partners from each division!

March Material Handling Staci Deaton - $399,185

Material Handling David Perry - $1,100,203

Commercial Interiors

Commercial Interiors

Georgine Golitko - $628,948

Bruce Lang - $564,967

Tom Vanhoozer - $226,386

Deanna Lies $180,425

Business Products

Business Products

Promotional Products

Promotional Products

John Hollern - $107,213

John Hollern $72,253

Lee Key - $215,150

Lee Key $380,544

Allied Appliance

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April

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INSIDE Indoff

Happy Anniversary!

Finance & Accounting

20 Years

25 Years

by Julie Frank, Executive VP & CFO Clearwater was an excellent location to celebrate the success we had in 2018!

The resort was beautiful and we had a great group of Partners and spouses who attended. We did miss those who didn’t qualify or could not make it, but we hope to see all of you at the next Champion’s Circle meeting in three years!

Julie Frank Executive VP & CFO

Theresa Guest May 7

Staci Deaton May 9

What makes these meetings different than the National Sales Meetings we hold every 18 months?

Bob Lovely May 26

15 Years

There are many differences; one of the best is that it’s held at a beautiful resort destination outside of St. Louis. In addition, you are with a smaller, more intimate group, who are all very educated, passionate and successful at what they sell. The formal meetings are limited to just a few hours in the morning and there are many opportunities for fun and relaxation.

We did cover a little business on the trip, with Colin holding several classes on Confluence. Shawn covering the important topic of security and Craig talking about our future marketing plans. Just enough meeting time to make it a legitimate business trip (in case our tax accountants are reading this).

Mark Waters June 15

On a final note, I want to express my sincere appreciation to my department managers who stayed back to run the office in our absence. Thank you to our Controller Cami Heimos, our Credit Manager Shannon Algee, our Collection Manager Cherrie Bledsoe, our Accounting Manager Maurice Belle, and our Appliance Group Controller Ashley Hawkins, and to all the other department managers who we wish could have been there too. Without their dedication to all of our Sales Partners and staff, the trip would not have been possible.

Tom Howse June 15

10 Years

So will we see you at the next Champion Circle meeting?

Mark McKay

June 1

6

Darren Lawson Mike Van Meter Mary Van Meter Mark Rockwood

June 4

June 15

June 15

June 26

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INSIDE Indoff

Operations

by Pam Hake, Indoff VP of Operations Clearwater Champions Circle Meeting

Hello to everyone in Indoff Land! The Clearwater Champions Circle trip has come and gone, and I believe it was a rousing success! The beach and the resort were beautiful, the food was amazing and the camaraderie was wonderful – thank you to all who attended!

We heard from each Partner in attendance about what got them there. There were numerous perspectives, from a really large project or two from a major customer to finding out the needs of their customers and just being there to supply whatever that was.

Pam Hake VP of Operations

We did receive requests for specific information that Partners would like made available. These included 1) an up to date Corporate Function list and 2) a way for Partners to list their special skills (design, high-density mobile shelving for example) or their niche products. Maureen and I are working on the Corporate Function list now; I plan to get that out this week. The skills/niche products list will follow shortly; it will take a little more time. We need to determine the best way to accumulate and make the data available; we’ll be sharing that with you once we’ve made that decision.

Indoff Appliances Did You Know?

Indoff ’s Appliance Group specializes in sales to multi-family, multi-tenant customers. What does that mean for you? If you sell to a University, have you thought of inquiring about their in-room refrigerators? Indoff ’s Absocold compact refrigerators are made in North America and are the highest quality compact refrigerator available – many of our units are still in use 20 years after they were purchased.

Selling to a property management company? We represent all of the major manufacturers of kitchen and laundry appliances – GE, Whirlpool, Amana, Frigidaire, Hotpoint, Speed Queen.

We can help these customers with renovations or replacements, and we have highly trained, experienced Sales Partners available to work with the customer.

Hospitality is more your gig? We have the above – Absocold is the spec for several Marriott brands – as well as the industry’s leading PTAC and TTW heat/cool units – GE, Whirlpool, Frigidaire, Amana and Gree. Our Allied folks average over 10 years of experience and can again help from replacing one unit all of the way up to outfitting a brand new property.

Interested? Reach out to Josh Long, our Appliance Group GM, today and see if we can’t further solidify your relationship with some of these accounts. Earn residual income while the Appliance Group manages quotes, delivery and any after the sale questions that may arise.

If there are suggestions for other tools that would help Partners, please send those suggestions to me or to Partner Support.

We continue to focus on ways to grow our business; obviously, each of you is a part of that. There are many ways that you can work to grow your own Indoff sales.

The one that I think is easiest and right in front of you is Cross Selling with your fellow Partners. Indoff has countless solutions to offer your customers other than just what you can provide; get to know your fellow Partner and grow your sales as well as theirs. You can also add something to your own mix like lighting, jansan, breakroom supplies etc. I would be happy to discuss any possibilities if you like just let me know.

For those of you who didn’t make the most recent Champions Circle, start the work now to make it to the next one in 2022. We don’t know where it will be held yet, but it is bound to be fabulous. I look forward to seeing many of you there!!

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Get To Know....

Dan Sortman

Commercial Interiors

Digital Marketing Coordinator

What excites you about joining the Indoff team?

What excites you about joining the Indoff team?

The opportunity to continue selling Material Handling Solutions to a network of customers that I have developed over 35 years in the business, with the resources of a much larger organization.

I’m really looking to help take Indoff to the next level when it comes to Marketing initiatives. There is an opportunity to make a huge impact and that’s extremely exciting.

Why did you decide to join Indoff?

Why did you decide to join Indoff?

I looked into the company 8 years ago when I closed Sortman Crane & Hoist, Inc. at the end of 2010.

Went with another firm initially but when new layers of management were added and the overall job satisfaction deteriorated it was time to move on!

I saw the job posting that included a lot of different aspects of marketing including website initiatives, videos, graphics, social media etc. I was really interested as I have experience in all of them and knew that every day would be something fresh and challenging as opposed to only doing 1 specific task daily. Everyone during the interview process was extremely friendly and I knew it was going to be a great fit.

How long have you been in the Matieral Handling industry?

35 years, starting with a one person company selling mostly hoist and crane projects to contractors servicing Water and Wastewater Treatment Plants that were being added in the Ohio Valley. Incorporated in 1992 with a full service crane fabrication, assembly, install and service company and built up to 23 employees and $5 million in sales annually.

What strengths do you bring to Indoff?

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Michael Dormagen

How long have you been working in the Marketing?

Six years in general marketing with experience in Social Media, SEO, PPC, Web Design, Graphic Design, Account Management, Video, Email, and more.

What strengths do you bring to Indoff?

Extensive knowledge of running a business from prospecting customers for applications to researching best products to provide custom solutions.

I bring quite a bit of knowledge and experience to different aspects of marketing as opposed to being a one trick pony. Additionally, I’m a self-starter and I’m extremely motivated by seeing finished products

How do you enjoy spending a day off?

How do you enjoy spending a day off?

At a beach, pool or sand volleyball club with a beer in close proximity.

Sleeping in, playing video games, spending as much time with the wife and dogs as possible, and finishing the day off with a cooking session at the grill.

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