Good Form

Besides having strong professional relationship-building skills and in-depth product knowledge, effective salespeople also seem to be proficient multitaskers. Take Rose Shorma, for example. On the day she graciously took time to speak with Print Professional for this story, the vice president of marketing for American Solutions for Business (ASB), Glenwood, Minn., was in Las Vegas attending the PPAI Show, which took place Jan. 14-18 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center.

Cradling a cell phone as she made her way from the registration area to the show floor, Shorma simultaneously looked up booth numbers, greeted industry colleagues, fielded questions from ASB associates she encountered and took special notice of innovative new products on display, all without skipping a beat as she discussed her success—and yes, excitement—in continuing to offer business forms to her clients.

“Repeating orders—that’s what I love about forms. It’s like ‘ca-ching,’ ” exclaimed Shorma. “I still do a lot of order forms. One of my larger [accounts] is a multi-level company that sells through [in-home shows], and the convenience of having that sheet of paper to place orders on is huge.” She noted that a request for two million forms is not unusual for this account.

Shorma briefly passed the phone to her ASB associate, Randy Olson, while she examined a digitally printed, variably imaged calendar that would be perfect for one of her clients. “Forms are still very strong in the business-to-consumer market,” he affirmed. “Not so much with business-to-business, but anytime someone is selling something to a customer and uses order blanks, receipts and contracts, forms are necessary.” Olson added that he has also been very successful selling forms to resorts.

Reclaiming her phone, Shorma went on to confirm what most distributors know to be gospel: Thou shalt add value.

Undoubtedly, warehousing services and online ordering capabilities—particularly as they support ASB’s ACES online print management system and catalog program—give Shorma and other ASB sales professionals a competitive edge. “If I couldn’t offer warehousing and online ordering, I wouldn’t look as attractive to [my customers] as a company,” she said. “I can tie in the link of office supplies and the other services that we have.”

Bruce Zweber, another ASB employee, joined the company in 1994, but has been selling forms since 1981. The products currently generate 70 percent of his income. “The use of [ACES] has been absolutely imperative in my sales approach. It is vital to the programs that I am selling,” asserted Zweber. “Print on demand is becoming more important every year and continues to grow as a part of my product mix. It allows me to provide my customers with the print solutions ... they require. I constantly want to have a component to the products and services I provide that adds value in the eyes of my customers. It could run from simply having the product available for immediate shipment, to having specialty items.”

Shorma recalled her early days in the industry when she started with ASB 24 years ago, and went for training at the National Business Forms Association in Atlanta, as well as an additional week of forms design training. “If you are going to be of any service to clients, you have to learn the terms and know about paper and some of the mechanics of design. If [customers] are having problems with perfs or jamming or something else not working, you want to be the best help to them and you need to keep coming in with new ideas,” she said. “Otherwise, it’s no different than a restaurant always serving the same meal—unless [the restaurant] comes up with new recipes and finds out what people want, it isn’t going to last.”

Recognizing that technology is increasingly part of the solutions clients require, Shorma and Zweber have used this to their advantage. Shorma works with a software company, and whenever consumers buy the software, the company recommends her to provide the forms.

Zweber enjoys a similar partnership. “I push items that are not mainstream products, but are more on the cutting edge of technology,” he commented. “If possible, I try to create vertical markets to sell to by integrating my products with equipment and software companies. My product becomes part of the solution that is being provided by the software/hardware companies. Order sizes ... vary; they can range from one case to pallets,” he added.

Shorma still relies on her early training in forms design to enhance the overall service she brings to the table. “I do a fair amount of forms design, coming up with more creative ways to lay out [a form]—perhaps adding a perf or putting a backer on it. I’ll also [explore] ways to allow for more marketing by [adding copy] on the back of the forms, on the [receipt] stub or envelope—some way to help cross sell. Your form design skills start to separate the men from the boys, so to speak. If someone wants to come up with a new packing list and you can assist, maybe suggesting an integrated label, it makes a difference. Integrated products may not be new, but a lot of [end-users] still have[n’t] been educated about [them],” she explained. “Forms management programs have also been huge for me. Clients depend on me and that makes me more valuable to them. It can be so proactive, help to save money and [eliminate] rush orders.”

Said Zweber, “I assist with forms design about 20 percent of the time. The product types are print for direct mail pieces and cut sheet[s]. The repeat is almost 100 percent on these products.”

In addition to industry-serving publications, Shorma said trade shows are where she picks up new ideas and learns about new products. “Some of the security features ... you wouldn’t know [everything that] was out there if you didn’t meet with [manufacturers] and talk about what is going on. I also always check to see who won the awards for forms designs.”

According to Zweber, “The program that ASB has in having two national meetings a year brings the vendors to me twice a year. The meeting[s] also allow the cutting edge vendors to provide us information through their seminars. I’ve always found that plant tours give me a wealth of knowledge that makes it easier to sell the product to my customer base.”

Shorma’s cold-calling days are basically over, although that was how she started out building her business. Shorma now tends to pre-set appointments over the phone. ASB recently hired an employee to set appointments for its reps. “She is working as an independent and is paid per appointment, but she is doing so well we may hire her as staff,” said Shorma. “She’s getting some larger accounts, too. [The reps] may not always get the sale, but she’s getting them in to see the right people.”

Shorma went on to say that she is excited about ASB’s LIFE program, which is a mentoring program of sorts for new reps coming into the industry. Essentially, seasoned reps transfer their bottom 20 accounts—ones they are basically maintaining and no longer actually trying to develop—to the new sales people, who then give back 50 percent of the profits to the original account rep.

“The new reps can start achieving financial success, while we can make some money, yet have more time to live. Some reps are naturally afraid to give up a customer, but I think it is best for our clients and that is what the whole industry is about,” professed Shorma. “If the client now has a younger [rep] with more energy, spunk and willingness to look at newer ideas—maybe products [and technology solutions] the original rep wasn’t comfortable looking at—it could benefit everyone.”

It was time for Shorma and her associates to make the rounds of the expo hall for the exploration and education that will ultimately translate into added value and fresh new ideas for their customers. Seasoned pros and true professionals, they understand that success is not in the actual products, but proper application assessment. And sometimes, it is the tried and true and not the hip and happening that a customer needs.