Inside Indoff Newsletter - Q3 2022

CEO Message

Jim Malkus Chief Executive Officer

Happy Holidays! Since I wasn’t given a topic to cover this month, I’m going to share random tidbits…

YTD Secured through 8:17 a.m. on November 9 is $162,571,967…we will have our best year in our history (heck, we could shut down now and have our third best year in history). We already have 34-million-dollar producers, led by Staci Deaton’s $11.6 million in secured sales – impressive!!!

In support of these sales successes, we have processed 74,778 sales orders for over 10,000 different customers, and we have paid 99,537 vendor invoices to 2,675 different vendors. Our Partners have activated 2,327 new bill to accounts and 4,841 new ship-to locations…

Individually, none of this would be possible. As a group, we’ve achieved some remarkable results… I’d like to close with some commentary on the Indoff experience. If you look around at our group, we’re a collection of folks who maybe didn’t fit in the best at some of our jobs. We’re independent, perhaps a bit stubborn but extremely loyal. We’re humbly proud of what we’ve accomplished, and we cherish the relationships we have within the Indoff family. We are a very, very unique sales organization and success story that I am very proud to be a part of.

Stay safe and stay well this holiday season – Covid and the flu will be taking their best shot at you. I hope you have time to enjoy the season, and I thank you all for all you do for Indoff.

Finishes include: Cherry, Coastal Gray (pictured), Espresso, Honey, Mahogany, Maple, Modern Walnut, & White

Rich in styling and superior in construction, the OS Laminate Collection is an intelligent solution to any workstation need. Available in a wide range of components and sizes, it can be easily pieced together to create the configuration that best suits your needs. Attention to detail in design, quality of hardware and use of premium grade laminate work surfaces ensure years of trouble-free use.

Dick Satnick

Robert Willey

Jeff Bellamy

COMMERCIAL INTERIORS

Melissa Fite David Wetmore

Confluence Promo Popups Boosting Prospective Promo Prospects

Courtney Brazell Director of Partner Support

On behalf of the corporate folks, we are sincerely appreciative of the response / cooperation we have received from the Partners. Yes, there were a few issues, which caused some frustration, however, we believe that we are past such and that over time we will all reap reward (commission) from this effort.

As Jim Malkus shared when announcing this effort: “we have invested in infrastructure, technology and most recently, marketing, to help drive our company forward. One of our unique advantages is our ability to assist our customers across many of their needs – warehouse and storage, furnishings, supplies, promotional items, energy savings and even appliances. Our customers are not always aware of all that we do. The more we can publicize these, the better for us all.”

Indoff understands that the Partner has a trusted relationship with their customers and we would not market to those customers unless we knew we would provide the same excellent service that you provide your customers. We waited for 9 months until we received enough positive feedback about Mrs. Promo-for-All (Margaret Wiggemansen) that we were extremely confident that any Partner would want her interacting with their customer.

Since launching this effort just 3 weeks ago, we already have 600 prospective promo prospects. We believe it is in everyone’s best interest to grow this effort.

As you may recall, previously, a Partner had to prepare and forward to Margaret a listing of customers and contacts; this slowed our participation rate. In order to expand the program, increase Partner and Corporate earnings and make it simpler to participate, we introduced a “pop up” in Confluence.

We encourage you to take a minute to put in any notes that you think are germane and to provide contacts when possible. For those who have not yet entered an order - you only enter a contact for each new customer and once a name/email is provided, you will not receive this pop up again for that customer.

I want to reiterate what Jim shared when announcing this: “This effort will promote the Indoff brand, a positive for us all. We expect Partners to participate. We believe that additional interaction with our customers is good for all of us; it further ingrains the trust and belief that they can call Indoff (our Partners) for anything. Our goal is to increase awareness, cross-selling and commissions by expanding the Promo for All program; we’ll report back on our progress as we proceed”.

Although a lot of thought went into this effort, we are always interested in your thoughts on how we can continually automate and update technology to make marketing to your customers easier. Please feel free to reach out to Partner Support at partnersupport@indoff.com or directly to Margaret Wiggemansen at margaret@indoff.com should you have questions or concerns.

Promo for All

“Working with Margaret is Seamless”

Margaret Wiggeman sen Promotional Products CSR

As of November 2022, there are over 80 Partners actively participating in Promo For All. With multiple orders, Partners are seeing their 40% commission increase monthly. This program was announced last November at the National Sales Meeting and has grown into a successful partnership between Partners and clients, while serving clients promotional/branding needs.

BP Partner Julie Thompson states, “Working with Margaret is seamless. She keeps you in the loop from start to finish. You give her the lead and she will do 100% of the work. Where else do you make a commission doing that little? My experience has been nothing but wonderful with Margaret from my very first order.”

The entire process is meant to be simple, easy, and trouble-free. Reach out to Margaret to refer clients, and every promotional product order from your client brings YOU 40% commission. Margaret handles the entire process - sourcing of products, client quotes, ordering in Confluence, approving proofs, monitoring shipping, and client follow up.

Jack Kasten, who has multiple clients ordering promotional products through Margaret, states “working with Margaret has been a great experience. The process has been extremely easy on my end, starting by simply mentioning promo items to my accounts. When an account has interest in promo items, I make the introduction to Margaret and she handles things from there. It has worked out very well with multiple accounts and makes for a nice boost in my commissions.”

Don’t miss out on this great opportunity! Join Promo for All today!

Reach out to Margaret Wiggemansen at margaret@indoff.com for more information.

Every Warehouse Manager is at Risk and you can help them avoid fault

Brad Anderson Sales Partner

Every Warehouse Manager is at risk – and you can help them avoid fault. I was introduced to Grabber Construction by Piedmont forklift handling (a competitor). I am a big believer in working with the competitors. Some call it “co-opetition” whereby you compete and cooperate with those organizations who, like me, have the customers best interest in mind. The people at Piedmont respect what I can do for customers that they cannot do and vice-versa. Rather than be threatened by one another, we often work together and in so doing we keep other competitors out while maintaining a “trusted advisor” relationship with the customer. I had partnered with Piedmont on other projects.

Piedmont learned that Grabber Construction had a fatality at one of their locations and were looking for a third party to provide rack inspections. Piedmont recommended me. I did an initial review of the facility near where I live. Even though this facility was only 20,000 square feet (slightly smaller than their average size facility) I identified numerous rack safety issues, that resulted in $15,000 of immediate rack repairs. Knowing their size and the potential, I did this first rack inspection at no charge. After repairing the rack at this location, I went back and did a full facility inspection. I shared a detailed report of all the deficiencies I found and this resulted in another $23,000 in revenue (mainly protection devices - guarding and column guards, end of row guards, etc.). Unbeknownst to me, another Grabber location had also done a safety audit for which they paid $ 8,000.00. My write-up was shared with the HR manager, who was responsible for her facilities audit, and the feedback was that mine was more thorough and professional. As such, Piedmont has decided to hire me to roll out a nationwide facility inspection effort. Regarding inspection fee, they shared, “as long as your inspection isn’t more than $8,000, that is fine with us.” I am bidding the inspection fee based upon where the facility is located, how much travel is involved, etc.

The fee makes the effort worthwhile, however the product add on revenue and ensuring a safe environment is my greater motivation. Furthermore, I will be their nationwide go-to in the future. Rack repair is a constant requirement in every warehouse. And once you do a good job, you become their go to…this won’t be something they bid out in the future. The 40 locations are nationwide and range from 20-30K sq’. Piedmont specializes in hidden deck and sorting fasteners and other materials that a construction company would use when building homes.

I recently lead two webinars for my MH peers. The second session was taped and can be found on the intranet at https://bit.ly/3DOSdOs. You will also find an example of a rack audit checklist as well as a copy of the report I provided.

Here are the highlights of what we discussed:

1. Why do inspections?

• Many customers’ Safety or Human Resources Departments now require them. Customers have no idea what needs to be looked at. If they depend on themselves to do an accurate inspection, they will be telling on themselves.

• Being proactive in identifying potential accidents.

• Improve your relationship with your customers.

• Provide consistent reporting across their company. If your customer has

• multiple locations you can supply the same format for each location.

• MAKE MORE MONEY.

2. Where should you start?

• Knowledge of the requirements from OSHA/ANSI and RMI.

• Knowledge of the requirements from your municipality and what is more common in your area.

• Find out who the OSHA Inspectors are in your area and foster a relationship with them.

• Talk to your customers. Ask them who their Safety people are and find out what their requirements are (if any).

• Partner with your competitors.

3. How do I do inspections?

• The only bad inspection is NO INSPECTION.

• Familiarize yourself with the codes and regulations.

• Look at inspections others have done and formulate your own inspection form (or use others).

• Supply your customer with a professional inspection report to include deficiencies and pictures.

• Include a quote for all repairs. REMEMBER once an inspection is done and deficiencies are reported, the customer is required to address these problems. If they do not, and an accident occurs the fines they incur are going to be much higher. Consider protecting yourself by sending the inspection report to your customer by registered mail.

4. How do I charge for this service or make additional money?

• What you charge is up to you. Sometimes you will charge more or less or even nothing for this service depending on the customer and possible future business.

• Take into consideration your time and if any equipment (scissor lifts) will be required to do a proper inspection.

As a final note, along with other partners we are working with Colin and Courtney to provide a template in Confluence in order to be able to automate this process. I’ve even spoken with Jeff about having a tablet such that I can go onsite, fill in the data from the audit, upload pictures and have a professional inspection document that can be easily shared with our customers.

Building Relationships by listening to my clients/prospects

Amie Svec Sales Partner

Until Covid, my career in commercial furniture centered primarily on corporate office spaces. Through Indoff’s marketing efforts, last winter I had an opportunity to bid on educational spaces. Being new to the sector, I first reached out to Indoff Partners for insights. The support available within our Partner community is truly a gift!

While I didn’t win any bids from the school district, I did become a trusted partner. The district had plans to upgrade media and career technology spaces. The construction manager who was charged with furniture procurement reached out to me to help.

Our team’s ability to provide space planning services and furniture solutions were valuable to the stakeholders. Using live design sessions, we collaborated with teachers and administrators to plan spaces that met the changing needs and new teaching styles required across the district.

Last week I attended EdSpaces 2022 in Portland, Oregon with Indoff Partner, Terry Paden. Terry has been selling educational furniture for decades. He introduced me to many of his trusted vendors in the industry and shared his experiences.

What a fantastic trade show! In addition to seeing products and meeting reps, the educational opportunities were hugely valuable.

We heard directly from stakeholders involved in the process of planning new educational spaces. What are their drivers? What strategies are most helpful? What they would do differently next time? These insights prepared me to ask better questions, understand goals, needs and priorities.

Here are some take-aways as to how we as dealers can minimize risk for our clients and become good advisors for our clients and prospects.

• Create budgets and timelines early in the process.

• Offer pilot programs so clients can test drive furniture and layouts.

• Understand established cleaning protocols and specific concerns to specify only surface materials that are compatible.

• Encourage feedback from all stakeholders.

Listening to my clients/prospects and responding to their feedback is how I build relationships. That strategy works across the board no matter which sector is your concentration. Engaging with them to understand their goals, being intentional about choices, and providing the service they deserve is the reason I do what I do. It is not about selling furniture; it is about becoming a trusted partner. I think Indoff calls us “Partners” because of the trusted relationship we have with Indoff. I also believe that we are to have a trusted relationship with our clients and our model allows us to be such.

Indoff Retirement Savings Plan

Robin Migdal Vice President Human Resources

Since 1990, we have offered and administered the Indoff Incorporated Retirement Savings Plan. We currently have 359 Participants and a Plan asset value of over $31,000,000. We are proud to offer this important benefit to all who help make Indoff work.

In January of 2021, MassMutual sold their retirement plan business to Empower, a Great West Life company. Both Mass Mutual and Empower are highly rated, secure financial institutions. On November 1 of this year, our plan was finally moved to the Empower platform. We do believe the new participant website provides a superior experience for all of us; if you haven’t looked at it yet, I urge you to take a moment and go to https://participant.empower-retirement.com/participant/#/login - register and use some of the available tools.

If you have any questions or issues with the site, please reach out to me. I wish everyone a wonderful holiday season!

FOCUS NOT ON OURSELVES but on our loved ones

Jeff Ross President

I‘ve frequently heard Indoff people speak on this organization as a family. In my case (and for some of you also) that has a double meaning. I sometimes wonder if the remark isn’t apotheosis (I hope that word impressed you – I’m always trying to show my family I’m not that dim). A lot has occurred this year for my family, and probably for yours as well. Some family members are going through challenges, and some seem to be the steady, consistent person they’ve always been.

Last weekend I was in NYC to cheer my oldest daughter as she attempted her first marathon. Most of you are old enough to remember the kickoff to ABC’s Wide world of Sports: ABC WW Sports 1978. Because of the unseasonable warmth and humidity, I saw a lot of that this past Sunday (including the leader collapsing at mile 21).

My daughter was averaging a respectable 4-hour pace, when I cheered her on at the end of mile 24. I then jogged over to the finish line to see her cross and walk with her back to our hotel. After searching for an hour, I assumed we missed each other, and I headed to our hotel to meet her there.

I was very glad I could be there to experience this with her, and to support her. And I must admit, I was a little proud of myself for being the type of father to make this effort and show my interest in her life. I had been tracking her pace via the GPS app. Right as she approached me, she began walking. Based on her pace, it must have been the first time she’d walked. And there I was, super Dad, to encourage her. She looked at me blankly, said nothing, and began running again. I was proud of how I was right there for her when she needed me.

Unbeknownst to me, she fainted just after I saw her. Hours later, at the ER, she told me how she had woken up in an ambulance with no idea what occurred. The last thing she remembers is about mile 21. She may have “needed” me but it wasn’t to be told “you can do it.” She needed to walk awhile – maybe even that last 1.3 miles. She needed someone to take her mirror glasses off, look into her eyes, and determine if she was ok.

What is the point of my story? I showed up for my daughter, but I didn’t say/do the right thing. I was focused on what I thought she needed based on my own experiences. But then she’s not me and I’m not her.

At the time I write this, Thanksgiving is 13 days away, Christmas 44. You may have feelings about time with family. You may not even want to show up. And, if you do show up, you may not know the right thing to say or do. Families provide a lot of joy and some sorrow also. I think sometimes we don’t show up when we should have. I’d encourage you to give that some thought. And sometimes when we do show up, we say or do the wrong thing.

Let’s not focus on ourselves but on our loved ones, our friends, our peers. And if we do say or do the wrong thing, let’s not beat ourselves up about it. If it’s not obvious, I’m talking to myself here. If you can relate to it, I hope it gives you something to think about.

If we do not speak prior, I wish you and your family, your friends and your peers a time of peace and thanksgiving this holiday season.

Client Gift Ideas for the Holidays

Langston Tann

GET TO KNOW Your Corporate Staff

I went to UMKC and got my bachelor’s degree in both Marketing and Management. I then came back to STL and worked for Veritiv doing packaging and distribution. I stayed there for 3 years until the branch closed, which happened to be right before the pandemic. Then after the pandemic, I got a job here! I started as a temp to hire here in May of 2021 but became a contract employee in August of 2021. I was born and raised here in St. Louis City by fantastic parents. My dad’s name is Melvin Tann, he used to be a personal and family therapist with his own practice. My mom’s name is Jacqueline Turner, she worked for BJC Hospital for almost 30 years as a OBGY. Both of them are now retired. I have one older brother named Chandler who was born and raised here as well and is just under 2 years older than me.

FUN FACTS

Cooking is probably my favorite hobby but I also love playing basketball/ watching sports, listening to music, and playing video games.

My background is in recruiting and human resources. I have held various customer services and human resource-type roles such as recruiter and Human Resource representative. I have been working at Indoff since April 2021. I have 2 siblings one older brother and one younger sister.

FUN FACTS

Some of my hobbies include reading, baseball, and playing games like darts or bags. I live on the same street as my last name.

Jacob Teson

My background is in business administration with an emphasis on finance. In terms of my career, I spent roughly three years working as an accounting intern at a different company, but I wanted to take the next step and start working in the real world. Since July 2022, I have been working as a temp accounting specialist at Indoff Inc. I’ve learned a lot about my job and the variety of responsibilities I carry out every day as the accounting specialist. In my current role, among other things, I deal with insurance, accounts receivable, and accounts payable.

FUN FACTS

I go roller skating Friday nights and Sunday morning every week

I like to play video games (I do have a PS5)

I love spending time with my family

I am an old lady in a young body

Latia Jackson

Victoria Bloom

Marsha Olinghouse

Nicole Stinson

John Hollern, TAS Bob Barroll Chris Koeneman

Victoria Bloom Stacy Bernhardt Jim Riley Keith Harris, TAS Bob Barroll Chris Koeneman

Bill Jacobson Doug Fletcher Jim Riley Mike Powell Bob Barroll Chris Koeneman