by Don Sanders
Paper flow in the promotional products industry often overtakes people on a daily basis. Distributor mailrooms are filled with catalogs, postcards, and flyers sent by suppliers trying to sell things. Every year more and more suppliers enter the industry, which makes the problem even worse.

To keep paper from overtaking your office, you must make paper containment a priority. Do you face paper problems in your office by making piles of catalogs in every corner or by laying “specials” sheets everywhere or by allowing fax sheets to pile up by the fax machine?

Are there loose files everywhere? Are supplier invoices lying around unattended?

Paper management can slow you down everyday if you allow it to do so. In order to increase selling time, you need to control all paper that makes its way into your business.

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The following story describes how one new distributor was overwhelmed by paper:

When I started selling promotional products in 1981, I made my splash at the winter Dallas show. Since it was my first trade show to attend, I had no idea how many suppliers would be exhibiting. When I walked onto the show floor, I was overwhelmed by the sheer number! It just did not seem possible that I was going to be able to visit them all in just two days time. Once I recovered from the initial shock, I began trying to stop at each and every booth. After all, I needed to know what each supplier sold in the event that a prospect wanted to buy a particular product.

I spent eight hours each day going from one supplier booth to the next, having my badge scanned. I do not know exactly how many I did manage to visit, but it must have been most of them. When I arrived back home in Kansas City, I felt confident that I had accomplished my mission. I now knew what most of the suppliers in the industry offered. Little did I know that I also created a huge problem!

After I had been home about three days, the catalogs started arriving by mail and UPS. For more than two months, catalogs arrived every day, to the point that boxes and large envelopes were stacked in every corner of my small office. I even had to start making piles on the floor to accommodate the sheer numbers of catalogs. Needless to say, I was so overwhelmed by all of those catalogs, that I quickly learned a lesson from the experience. Every person entering this industry had better have a “paper” plan, as well as a business plan, in place!


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HOW TO HANDLE CATALOGS

It is impossible to keep up with every catalog sent to your office, but here is one way to handle them.

Divide each one into a category. Create categories based on the primary (usually the first) products shown in each catalog (i.e., wearables, caps, desk items, bags, vinyl)
Make separate files for five favorite suppliers in each category and place several catalogs from each supplier in their individual files.
When you receive catalogs from new suppliers in a particular ctegory, place it in a one single bulk “miscellaneous” file behind your favorites. By keeping your favorite files close at hand, you can readily fulfill almost all customer requests. If the need arises, you still have easy access to additional ideas from your back-up bulk file.
ALWAYS KEEP FILES ORGANIZED

At the end of the every year, decide whether your original five suppliers per category are still your favorites. If so, keep them in place; but if not, replace them with new ones from your bulk file. If your sales volume merits it, you can now expand the number of suppliers in each category. Choose a few new ones from the bulk file, now making a total of eight preferred vendors. Throw out the others from the bulk file and start over again. Repeat this process every year.

SOME SUPPLIERS SELL EVERYTHING!

Many suppliers today offer everything under the sun. So how do you file them? Solve this problem by placing them into categories based on the first products shown in their catalog, which tends to be their specialty. For instance, Prime Resources has historically specialized in plastic products, so we file them under “Plastics.” AAkron Rule, another favorite, has always been known to us for its fine pencils, so we file them in our “Pen and Pencil” file. For your own purposes, place suppliers’ catalogs in file categories that make the most sense to you.

CONTROLLING FAX SHEETS

Fax sheets need to be organized to prevent the possibility of their being misplaced. You do not want to find yourself in a jam when you cannot prove to a supplier that you approved the artwork for a particular order. A lack of paper management here can end up costing you hundreds of dollars, so here’s how to control fax sheets:

Attend a local flea market and buy a couple of old Frito-style chip racks (or some modern equivalent)
When fax sheets arrive, clip important ones to the holders.
By doing this, you will always have every pertinent fax at your finger tips, but off the top of your desk or in piles.
KEEP IT CLEAN FOR PROFIT

By keeping an organized system in place, you will stay a step ahead of the mounting paper flow in the industry. In fact, by having a proper place for key materials, you will no longer dread the daily influx of supplier information. A good organization system will help you know exactly which new products can make you the most money and cause fewer headaches!