President's Letter

A Natural Resource
by Mike Valentini
OK, Mr./Ms Distributor, your best client has just called and given you this challenge: 

“We want to give an item to our client base that will go on or near the desk – NOT in the desk drawer,  nor in the pencil cup (and we don’t want a pencil cup), nor the pocket, brief case, purse or backpack.  It must appeal to young, old, male, female, white collar, blue collar, high tech, low tech, and no tech.  It must be high utility, have universal appeal, and by the way, we don’t want to spend a lot of money”.

Wow!  This sounds like it should be our newsletter riddle.

What would you do?  Go to the search engine you instinctively use for projects like this?  Given all these parameters your client has given you, once you start feeding all this data into your computer, it might start smoking and hissing.  Or maybe just sit down with a few hundred catalogs to search for the perfect item?

Here’s an idea – contact your friendly, neighborhood supplier rep.  There are many  factory and multi-line reps that can be an incredible source for ideas that seem impossible.  As a multi-line rep, I have about a dozen distributors that will periodically contact me looking for ideas for a project on which they are currently working.  I’m usually contacted by email for such projects, and I am not so naïve to think that I’m the only rep they are contacting for this project – usually this is an email blast that is going to another dozen reps.  But that’s OK – let the best idea win.

I am frankly surprised that more distributors don’t tap into this effective and free resource.  As reps, we invite these opportunities as it gives us the chance to plug our products into your clients’ needs.  For you as a distributor, it puts 10-12 reps and their little brains working for you.

I recently had a local distributor email looking for a rather nice gift idea.  I replied with several ideas and two weeks later got an order in excess of $30,000.00.  I know this sounds contrived, but unlike a lot of the stories I tell, this one is actually true.

Do yourself a favor – create a contact group in your address book with the names and email addresses of your favorite reps.  The next time you encounter a tough project, put that resource to work for you.

THE SAAGNY FOUNDATION AWARDS 2010 SCHOLARSHIPS
“The selection of the 2010 Foundation Scholarship Awards has been completed. This year we had 30 outstanding entries. Our impartial judges completed a thorough review and grading of each entry and the recipients are:”
Scholarship Winner Lauren Silverman Morgan R. Duhe
Parent/Guardian Beth Silverman Pamela Meling
Company
The Vernon Company (D) E. Northport, NY Distinctive Promotions (D) Flanders, NJ
The SAAGNY Foundation Scholarship program was established to help further the educational goals of SAAGNY member companies’ employees, owners and immediate family who have been in the promotional products industry for at least two years. Applicants are eligible for scholarships as full time (12 credits or more per semester) undergraduate students at any accredited school (Community College, Technical School, Vocational School, 4-year College or University).
Scholarship awards are based on overall merit with points assigned for grade point average, letters of recommendation, outside activities and community involvement. Scholarships are awarded in the amount of $1,000 annually for up to four consecutive years (total $4,000.).
“The SAAGNY Foundation Scholarship program has been in place for twelve years and we’ve awarded a total of 36 scholarships representing a $120K investment in the future; there are currently five active scholarships in addition to the two 2010 scholarships,” said Ellen Bernstein, MAS, The SAAGNY Foundation Chair.
Founded in 1995 by several Past Presidents of SAAGNY, The SAAGNY Foundation puts its energy into helping charitable organizations, located throughout the Tri-State area, that are traditionally overlooked by corporate contributors and other large donors. The Foundation’s focus is on charities that help children whether they are ill, homeless or abused. This is achieved through both financial and in-kind donations from distributors and suppliers in the promotional products industry and through various fundraising events. The SAAGNY Foundation is totally volunteer driven and is led by a dedicated Board of Trustees.
The SAAGNY Foundation, Inc. is tax exempt under section 501 (c) (3) of the IRS Code. Contributions to The SAAGNY Foundation are tax exempt to the extent of the Code.

The winners of the Best New Products at the expo were:
Under $10: Noah Smashlight from Bentcil
Over $10: World Globe Magnetic Puzzle from Smarte Goods

SACDV MEMBERS - TAKE ACTION NOW - CAN YOU AFFORD NOT TO?
THE PROBLEM
As a result of a new law signed this year, beginning with payments made in 2012, every business will be required to issue to ANY VENDOR OF SERVICES or property which the business has paid more than $600 a year for those services or property, an information report form, also know as a 1099. The form 1099 must also be sent to the IRS. In addition to issuing the forms a business will have to get taxpayer id numbers from all of those vendors and withhold payments to any such vendor until it receives the number. Penalties apply if you fail to issue the 1099.

Under the existing law, businesses issue form 1099 only to individuals who provide services to a business. The new law makes two changes: the 1099 must be issued to corporations of all sizes and shapes as well as to individuals and a 1099 must also be issued to individuals and corporation that provide property to a business, for instance if you rent your office space from someone, you would know have to issue them a 1099.

The payments that are included under this are not only those made directly by check but also those made by other means such as credit cards. Think about the airlines, hotels, rental cars and restaurants that appear on your credit card bill. You MIGHT NOT think of them as vendors of goods and services, but that is what they are. Also, if you are in the business of selling or distributing goods (our supplier/distributor chain) all of your suppliers of products or services are also vendors under the new law. Can you imagine having to collect tax id numbers and issuing 1099 forms to all of your freight carriers as just one example of what can and will happen if this new law is allowed to go through?

As an industry the vast majority of us are small businesses, with annual revenues less than $1 million, which is primarily driven by a series of many small transactions with a large number of suppliers over the course of a year.

Do you have an accounting department or staff (manual or automated) ready to collect ID numbers and start issuing 1099 forms? Can you imagine the paperwork burden associated with tracking, collecting tax id numbers and submitting form 1099 for virtually every transaction over the course of a year? Will this put a lot of our members over the edge and force them out of business?

Without repeal of this new law, companies must submit IRS form 1099 for all goods and services purchased in excess of $600. This could even include such typical business transactions as utility bills, airline tickets and car rentals.

TAKE ACTION

WE NEED ALL MEMBERS TO SPEAK OUT ON THIS ISSUE NOW WITH YOUR SENATORS. To do so, go to PPAilaw.org and follow the instructions. Click on your state, select your Senators, a sample letter on this issue will appear, please use or change to wording that reflects what this bill means to you and your company. This is something that you can and should do more than once, why not set up an appointment to do this once a week, call, write, email, do anything you can to catch the attention of your Senator and their staff.

If you have any questions on this issue or need help in finding your Senators and putting a letter together please contact Michele Jennrich, MAS your legislative chair. mjennrich@optonline.net or 973-605-5180

Feed us some news to share with others!
Since our newsletter is a bi-monthly publication, perhaps you have noticed our new SACDV Briefings that is sent out every 2 weeks.  This is our way of reaching out to you, more often, in a compact and succinct format.  But we need your help!  Please share with us, via Janet McMaster, SACDV Secretary (jmcmaster@geiger.com) any news you have to share about your company or your family.  Think of this as a grass roots campaign to bring us back together, getting to know one another again, in this age of online technology.  Maybe you received an award or some type of business recognition - tell us about it.  Perhaps you had a child graduate from college - let's celebrate it!  This is YOUR organization and YOUR publication.    

SAVE THE DATE

January18th, 2011
SACDV/NERA Winter Showcase
Springfield Country Club
Springfield, PA

Calling All Members!
SACDV needs you to volunteer! Volunteering doesn’t mean giving up all of your free time. In most cases it’s just a couple of hours a month or helping out with a specific short term project. We are particularly in need of a couple of industry professionals with a background in marketing, social media and website maintenance. If you this is you or someone you know please reach out to Michele Jennrich at mjennrich@optonline.net.

Last Riddle Answer: Cabbage or Lettuce Last Issues Riddle Winners Joe O’Fria – Pennsylvania Promotions

This Issues Riddle: I can be any colour you can imagine. You see me in everyday life. I have been around for many, many years, look around... you can probably see some of me right now. What am I?