8 PARTNER INSIGHTS
Tim Stine
9 PARTNER SUPPORT
Courtney Brazell
11 ACCOLADES
Employee Milestones
7 BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Using
AL SYSTEM JIB CRANES
From the CEO
GJim Malkus CEO
reetings – we held our first ever National Sales Meeting in conjunction with Global Industrial’s Trade Show last month, and it was a success. Due to late rescheduling and some folks maybe not wanting to visit Las Vegas in late August (it’s a dry heat…), our numbers were down a bit but the enthusiasm, camaraderie and education were all great. The meeting gave all of us more opportunities to meet with our Global colleagues; most of the senior management team of Global attended our awards dinner on Tuesday evening. Thank you to all who participated, and we look forward to seeing many of you in Boulder next May and more of you at our next Sales Meeting the year after.
The primary focus of our meeting was opportunity. Indoff Partners are a remarkably resourceful, talented group; one of our great strengths is the incredible breadth of knowledge possessed across our Partner group. The meeting pointed out numerous opportunities to expand an individual Partner’s business –through new customer markets, rack inspections, teaming, outdoor furnishings, Promo for All, shop.indoff or the wide variety of product available from Global Industrial. Michael’s article in this newsletter explains nicely some of the “marketing” rationale behind offering the shop.indoff site to your customers, and Courtney recounts the incredible ease of the Promo for All program as well as sharing some testimonials from Partners who have worked with Margaret. As you plan your 2025 year, add one or two new products, tools or markets to your basket; the energy from having something new to talk about will have a positive impact on all of your efforts in the coming year.
The Indoff Partner Program is grounded in a few simple beliefs:
1. It is the Sales Partner that brings the value to the transaction; this is why we pay industry-high commissions
2. Every Sales Partner and each customer is different, and the Partner knows the best way to service the customer – this is why we do not dictate vendors, sales approaches, etc.
3. Partners are responsible for local sales and service; Indoff corporate handles administrative matters.
We haven’t changed these principles in 30+ years, but we do continue to try to offer additional tools and opportunities to our Partners.
It’s hard to believe that Q4 starts next week, but time marches on…while you work hard to close out 2024, take some time to begin thinking about 2025. Opportunity abounds; you just need to choose one or two new channels, products or services that are right for you and your customers.
Enjoy your autumn, and let’s close 2024 out strong. Stay safe, stay well and thank you all for all you do for Indoff!
INTRODUCING ARCADIA WHITE
The latest addition to our OS Laminate line of finishes.
Arcadia White is a bright white-wash wood finish that breathes freshness and vitality into any office setting. This elegant, minimalist finish enhances natural light, making your space feel open and invigorating. Embrace the elegance of Arcadia White — because your environment matters as much as your work does.
Newest Partners
BUSINESS PRODUCTS
PROMOTIONAL PRODUCTS
COMMERCIAL INTERIORS
Newest Corporate
Accounts Receivable
Jennifer Burgess Christine Davis
Scott Moore
Trish Hinkle
Erika Hamilton
Nick Kalafatis
Chance Lacy
E-Commerce
The E-Commerce Advantage: How Shop.Indoff.com Helps You Succeed
IMichael Dormagen Marketing Director
n today’s fast-paced, tech-driven world, businesses must adapt to stay competitive. While in-person sales remain essential to who we are, integrating an e-commerce platform into your interactions can transform how companies work with you and help you grow your relationships. Shop.indoff.com helps elevate the customer experience, streamlines operations, and increases revenue. Here’s why adopting shop.indoff.com is a smart move.
Today’s consumers expect a seamless shopping experience across all platforms, whether shopping online or speaking with you in person. Shop.indoff.com helps you meet those expectations by providing features like online ordering and timely delivery, giving customers more flexibility in not only how but also when they shop. Customers will have 24/7 accessibility, allowing them to shop conveniently. This increases your chances of capturing sales from customers who might not have time to call or wait for you to visit their physical location.
This digital and physical sales integration creates a unified, positive experience that fosters customer loyalty and repeat business. Customers will appreciate the convenience and flexibility, which can lead to increased brand loyalty and positive referrals. Additionally, shop.indoff.com can help you with your explanation as to who Indoff is and what we do. Pull up the website, log in, and show them what we can offer online to reinforce what you can do on a larger scale. They’ll walk away with the idea that we can provide them with almost anything their business needs.
Additionally, one of the primary advantages of having an e-commerce platform is extending your reach beyond geographical boundaries. Your footprint limits in-person sales, but online platforms open the door to the whole country. One connection can lead to opportunities at other locations or businesses on the other side of the country.
That said, we understand the power of face-to-face interactions and how most of our Partners go to market. Because of this, we offer, and will continue to grow, a database of resources for you to take advantage of, from catalogs to seasonal fliers, training materials, and more. These can be used in your digital efforts and in conjunction with other materials, such as our divisional slicks and idea books.
Click Here to View our Global Industrial Collateral
Click Here to View our Global Industrial Training Materials
Integrating shop.indoff.com with your in-person sales strategy can be a game-changer for you and your customers. It increases your reach, streamlines sales, enhances the customer experience, and provides you with additional opportunities. Combining online and offline efforts can set you up for long-term success by creating a more efficient, accessible, and customer-centric approach. Embrace the benefits of e-commerce and watch your business grow!
“Take the Stairs”
Using data to help Partners see positive results and growth in their business.
WTom VanHoozer Vice President, Business Development
hat an awesome time spent in “Lost Wages” last month with 85+ Partners and spouses that were able to attend. I walked away from that week refreshed and reinvigorated to finish the year out strong……. what about you? I have been with Indoff for 15 years and this NSM was as impactful for the Partners in attendance as any has been. We were able to interact with several of the Global Industrial leaders, and Richard Leeds, Chairman of the Board, spoke with us and joined us for our awards dinner. Global really is embracing the Partner program and wants to see us succeed, but that success will be driven by YOU, the Partner.
In Corporate Corner Live!, I shared a couple of stories with those in attendance. First was the difference between being a Bison and being a Cow. Both come from the same genetic family; however, the Bison runs into the approaching storm while the cow seeks shelter – not surprisingly, cows get stuck in storms and frequently perish while the bison survive. How many of you get stuck in your own storm? It might be a customer that is not ordering from you right now or a customer that demands your time with no payout for your time spent. Successful Partners know when to come in from the storm… I also referenced a book I read recently called “Take the Stairs” by Rory Vaden. It is an easy read, and it talks about how the most successful leaders take 7 steps to Achieving True Success. I strongly recommend you take the time to read it. It could change the way you look at your business and even some of your personal goals in life. Spoiler Alert – turns out “taking the stairs” might be good for your health and your career…
All year I have been walking along side 125+ Partners helping them with insights into their data that we have created through our Dashboard. This is an ongoing commitment to help analyze data collected throughout the year and look for gaps in a Partner’s business. It is NOT mandatory, but Partners using this are seeing positive results and growth in their business. It is FREE for me to meet with you and share the data; why wouldn’t you want to do this?
Finally, are you on target for Boulder in the Champions Circle next year? Do you want to be with the best of the best? For the first time ever, there are 2 paths that can get you there. The Growth path of 10% over last year (min of $500k in sales) and then $1.2m in Sales is an automatic trip. If you have never been on the Champions Circle Trip, it is a must do trip for sure. Let me know when you want to schedule some time and help you chart your path.
Let’s start planning 2025! Are you setting goals? Does your customer have plans for spending in 2025 that involves you? If you do not know these 2 answers, find out. You will be better equipped, and your customer will know that you are a true partner in their needs as well.
Partner Insights
Promoting Global Industrial
Ihave a customer who is a kitchen cabinet manufacturer here in my area with corporate ties to the United Kingdom. Over the last couple years, I sold them a number of different products.
I was asked to make a site visit to look at new applications for additional lift tables. When I arrived, I looked at 8 or 9 areas where they were considering purchasing lift tables. This visit took place about one month after the Global Industrial (GI) purchase of Indoff. After I met with the customer’s engineer, he took me into a conference room where he introduced their purchasing manager who opened his laptop and said they were looking at lift tables manufactured by GI. I told them that we had recently been purchased by GI and that if they could give me the specifications there was a good chance I could offer them better pricing, etc.
The GI lift tables were about half the cost of any other domestically priced lift tables and the GI units included electronic toe guards which are about a $1,500 option on other units. Shortly after that I sold them a couple of the GI units. I had concerns about how these units would hold up or what would happen if I needed parts, but all of the units come standard with a one-year warranty. The customer ran over one of the power cords, and since Global had never had to replace this part before it took them some time to source the part. However, in the end they provided this part free of charge even though it was not a manufacturers defect.
Several months later this same customer came back and ordered 27 and 18 of these two different lift tables. We shipped most of them from stock, but the balance of 12 units needed to be built and shipped in. Jim helped in making sure the back ordered lifts got ordered correctly; the remaining 12 units took about 12 weeks to deliver, but the customer is very satisfied.
When I promoted Global Industrial to this customer’s purchasing folks, I told them if they find anything on GI website and want to send it to me, I will get them a specific quote for whatever they need. Some of the items I have sold them are as follows: storage cabinets, aluminum shelving, two tier lockers, aluminum dunnage racks, Stanley measuring tapes, fork mounted rug poles, Florsheim waterproof shoes, squeegees, pallet carousels, fiberglass folding ladders, semi-automatic stretch wrapper & ramp, and a total of 45 lift tables.
If we simply promote to our customers that we have access to any of the Global Industrial products, you never know what you are capable of selling. When I promote this to my accounts, I simply ask them to give me an opportunity on these items. I just promoted Global to another existing customer earlier this week, and he asked me to quote them Orbis containers that I just received the order for.
Tim Stine MH Partner since 1997
Partner Support
Accelerate
Your Success with Promo for All
ACourtney Brazell Vice President, Partner Support & Programs
fter an amazing National Sales Meeting where energy is high and strategies are fresh, maintaining momentum is crucial for turning enthusiasm into tangible results. Our Sales Meeting combined with Global Industrial’s Trade Show brought new insights, innovative ideas, and a renewed sense of purposetranslating this enthusiasm into sustained action and ongoing success is our challenge.
During our sales meeting, the overarching theme was the breadth of internal programs and tools that can elevate your sales performance. We offer programs focused on understanding and meeting customer needs while allowing you to leverage your incredible relationships with your customers.
In January of 2022 we hired Margaret Wiggemansen to join Partner Support and launch our Promo for All initiative. This program provides opportunities to create revenue outside a Partner’s primary division and make clients aware of the Promotional Product Division at Indoff. The Program is quite simple - Partners provide client contact to Margaret who communicates product ideas, sources needed products, creates/modifies artwork, places orders in Confluence, communicates shipping and follows up after the order is delivered.
Promotional Products are more than just branded pens and mugs; they’re a powerful tool for increasing brand visibility and building customer loyalty. Margaret shows your customers that promotional products can be cost-effective, and she works within their budget to help them choose the right product(s). Customers have purchased apparel, water bottles, onboarding gifts, journals, golf accessories, and even ice cream scoops! The possibilities are endless!
Margaret handles everything, including all communication for the customer, while you get 40% of the gross profit without doing any of the work!
See what Partners are saying after working with Margaret:
“Just wanted to give a shout out to Margaret Wiggemansen and Promo for All A Concrete engineering customer of mine remembered seeing the email and reached out needing a product for a trade show that was happening soon. Margaret was able to help them out and get it done when they needed it. I didn’t have to do anything. You never know!! I suggest sharing the introduction with your clients!”
Dana Miller, Commercial Interiors Sales Partner
“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 commission statements.”
Jack Kasten, Business Products Sales Partner
“I introduced Margaret to one of my best customers, Torch Technologies, as “my” Indoff specialist on Promotional Products. She took it from there and did all the work. My customer has now placed several PP orders with Margaret and has been 100% completely satisfied with the entire process. I have been selling this customer Office supplies and furniture for 20 years and now finally promotional products thanks to Margaret and the Indoff Promo for All program. My last commission for the job Margaret did for me was $1200. Get on board partners!”
Darrell Reed , Business Products Sales Partner
Here’s a quick video on how it works: CLICK HERE
Indoff + Kellex = Success
Partners of the Month
Brian
Dana
Rob
Keith Harris, TAS
Bob Barroll
Chris Koeneman
$599,041
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Geoff
Doug
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Chris Koeneman
$637,856
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Darrin Wicks
Tina Johnson
Robin & Rob Dean
John Hollern, TAS
Chris Koeneman
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Anniversaries
Eddy
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