inside - Confluence

CONTENT
Page 2
Human Resources
Page 3
Partners of the
Month
Page 4
Recruiting
Page 5
New Faces
Page 6
Finance &
Accounting
Page 7
Vendor Spotlight
Page 9
Energy Solutions
Page 10
Operations
Page 11
Partner
Features
Page 13
Marketing
Page 14
Anniversaries
Page 15
Techie Talk
“Indoff Provides
Products Solutions
to Your Business
Challenges.”
March 2016
INSIDE
11816 Lackland Rd.
St. Louis, MO 63146
President’s Prose
by Jim Malkus, Indoff President & CEO
“Beware the Ides of March…” It turned out that perhaps Caesar should have paid a bit
more attention to this warning, didn’t it???
As we near the quarter pole for the year (Shakespeare, horse racing – I’m working it this
newsletter), it is a good time to reflect on a few matters:
• Yes, the year is nearly 25% over. Look at your plan and get busy on it! Don’t have a plan
– put one together! Not sure how to do that – choose a goal then write down the steps
to achieve it. A poor plan faithfully executed is better than no plan at all…
• This will be a year where it is tempting and easy to sit back and bemoan our bad
fortune. The Presidential candidates will fill our ears with what is wrong and needs
fixed, and the media pundits will scare us to death with what will happen if so-and-so
gets elected. Filter it all out and just get out there and take care of your customers – let
the competition worry about matters beyond its control.
• The new Confluence is in beta-testing with several of you; if you’d like to start using it,
reach out to Partner Support and see if you can get added to the group.
• Need a new challenge or opportunity? Take a look at the LED world. We have numerous
Partners who are exploring this with their customers; Mark McCullough has secured a $90,000 project. It will require some effort on your part, but the reward for you and
your customers can be very significant.
• This is a big year for us all. We have a chance to push the Company to the $150 million
mark. Do you know someone in any of our industries who should be working for us?
Talk to them, give us their name and help yourself and the Company to grow.
The Company reaches its 45th birthday on April 20; that is a pretty remarkable run for a
little old sales company. Thank you to John Ross and John Temple for having started this up
in 1971, and thank you to everyone for all you do to keep Indoff moving forward.
INSIDE
Human Resources
by Robin Migdal, Indoff VP of Human Resources
March has arrived and our hope is that spring is soon to follow wherever you
may be! We had a great 2015 sales year and to that end, I would like to
congratulate the following 35 Partners that achieved the Million Dollar status:
“I would like to
congratulate the
following 35
Partners that
achieved the
Million Dollar
status.”
MH Division
Joe Vander Zanden - De Pere, WI
Steve Bloom – Tijuana
Darrin Wicks – Evansville, IN
Mark McCullough – Dublin, Ohio
Bob Goodwin - Palm Harbor, FL
Tim Stine – Elizabethtown, PA
Bill Jacobson – Reno, NV
Jeff Chambers – Atlanta, GA
Joe Gieseking – St. Louis, MO
Staci Deaton – Palm Harbor, FL
BP Division
Tom Vanhoozer - Fayetteville, GA
Sarah Brooks - Hendersonville, TN
Deanna Lies - Cheyenne, WY
John Erickson - Bristow, VA
CI Division
Georgine Golitko – Pittsburg, PA
Bill Brooks – Hendersonville, TN
John Kaiser – Wilmington, NC
Ken Groth – Boulder, CO
Aimee Klein – New York, NY
Dave Morrow – Charlotte, NC
Mike Fosmer – Omaha, NE
Bruce Lang – Temecula, CA
Vicky Pape – Anaheim, CA
Linda Miller – Wilmington, NC
Doug Black – Orange, CA
Dana Miller – Bakersfield, CA
Allied Division
Lee Key
Chris Koeneman
Ted Haines
Jim Burlingame
Dan Contestabile
PP Division
Al Hutton - Cromwell, CT
Mike Hollern - San Antonio, TX
Kristy Long - San Luis Obispo, CA
Betty Long - San Luis Obispo, CA
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Indoff Sales Partners of the Month
Congratulations to our top Partners from each division!
January
February
Material Handling:
Michael Marganti
$ 1,002,785
Commercial Interiors:
Georgine Golitko
$306,595
Business Products:
Darrell Reed
$74,640
Promotional Products:
Kristy Long
$182,258
Allied:
Lee Key
$211,892
Material Handling:
Mark Thompson
$140,928
Commercial Interiors:
Doug Fletcher
$267,904
Business Products:
Tom Vanhoozer
$103,627
Promotional Products:
Kristy Long
$181,197
Allied:
Chris Koeneman
$258,879
INSIDE
Recruiting
by Angela Suntrup, Indoff VP of Recruiting
Spring is here and so is our 2016 Partner class! Please welcome our newest
Partners!
Mark Miller MH
Mark Perkins CI
Bill Simms ES
Esperanza Bedoya-Sacco CI
Bryan Bell ES
Craig Farrar BP/CI
Jon Forrler ES
Jamie Roark MH
Mara Fricker ES
Dave Bonicatto ES
Howard Natalie MH
“Partners are a
tremendous
resource for
referrals, so who
better to
recommend
candidates who
support our goals
than you?!”
Partners are a tremendous resource for referrals, so who better to recommend
candidates who support our goals than you?! If you think you know someone
that would be a good fit for Indoff, please let us know! You will receive a $1000
referral bonus once your prospect generates $1000 in gross profit. Look for the
following qualifications in candidates:
• currently in outside sales in one of our divisions
• transferable customer base
• no non compete
• ability to work independently
If you don’t know someone to refer, reach out to your local vendor reps. They
may know of someone who is looking to make a change. They might also know
who is successful selling their products nearby or in a neighboring city. Having
vendors refer prospects who currently sell their products is a win/win situation.
Promotional Products Partners - I especially need your help and challenge you to
send in referrals! We would love to grow this group!
Don’t know where to send your prospects for more information? Direct your
referrals to our Recruiting landing page! This page has access to all divisions,
our recruiting video, information on compensation, vendor access, marketing,
technology and FAQ’s. Your referrals can also apply to become a Partner from
this page! Check it out!
http://join.indoff.com/newcareer/
Welcome to Indoff!
Meet the new Indoff Partners!
Jamie Roark
Material Handling
Gloucester Point, VA
Howard Natalie
Material Handling
Louisville, KY
Esperanza Bedoya-Sacco
Commercial Interiors
Philadelphia, PA
Craig Farrar
Business Products
Findlay, OH
Krista Carmon
Energy Solutions
St. Louis, MO
Jon Forrler
Energy Solutions
Alton, IL
Bryan Bell
Energy Solutions
Alabaster, AL
Mara Fricker
Energy Solutions
Clayton, OH
Dave Bonicatto
Energy Solutions
Lincoln, NE
Dave Snitkin
Energy Solutions
Franklin, TN
INSIDE
Finance & Accounting
by Julie Frank, Indoff Executive VP & CEO
It might have taken us a day longer to get there because of Leap Day, but March
has finally arrived and now we just need the weather to act like it. Not sure
why it was decided that we need an extra day in February every 4 years; I would
have preferred it to be in a month like June!
“My departments
have quite a few
projects in the
works this year,
primarily aimed
at making things
more efficient
for both Corporate
and our Partners.”
After finishing strong in 2015, with total sales topping $140 million, we are off
to a bit of a sluggish start in 2016. However, we are slightly ahead of 2015 and
feel confident that we will see strong sales out of our groups. After the overwhelming level of interest at the last NSM, we have our eyes on one division in
particular this year. Year-to-date we already have 52 partners placing orders in
the Energy Solutions group versus just 1 partner last year at this
time (although some were selling lighting under Material Handling). Out of
those 52 partners, 35 also sell in other divisions. We believe there is an abundance of opportunity in lighting for anyone who is interested in learning something new.
My departments have quite a few projects in the works this year, primarily
aimed at making things more efficient for both Corporate and our Partners.
We have added vendor ACH file uploads to our Canadian banking system, automated the settlement of credit cards and begun working on the design for an
improved Direct Bill Order Entry application. Once we complete these projects,
we plan to begin looking at virtualizing our credit files and automating the
approval workflow. We are always looking for ways to improve our processes!
On a personal note, I will be traveling to Ireland for 10 days in mid-March to
see the beautiful countryside and to watch my oldest son perform in the St.
Patrick’s Day parade. I hope that everyone reading this gets a chance to take
some time out for something fun and relaxing in the upcoming months!
Vendor Spotlight:
Miller Edge is a privately held family business originally founded in the United States by Mr.
Norman K. Miller in1936. First known as “Miller Brothers”, the company was formed in
Philadelphia, PA. Mr. Miller was issued the first ever patent for an “Electrically Activated Safety
Edge for Hangar Doors” in 1957.
Since then the Miller Edge product line has grown to include both touch sensitive and
non-contact sensing devices as well as related controls and accessories. Our products can be
found on driveway gates, storefront grills, mass transit vehicles, and in automated
manufacturing plants.
Our founder’s inventive spirit and entrepreneurial dedication live on through the company he
founded as Miller Edge continues to focus on innovative customer solutions, and continuous
quality improvement.
Miller Edge Quality
We strive to meet 100% quality in workmanship and materials for all products we manufacture.
We believe quality is a prevailing contributor to our performance as the American industry
leader in the door and gate markets. In an independent poll of Door and Access professionals,
Miller Edge has been consistently ranked #1 Safety Product Manufacturer.
Material Handling and Automation Safeguarding
As part of an overall plant safety program, Miller Edge safety mats and bumpers are used in a
wide assortment of automated manufacturing environments to help protect from damage or
injury. Our material handling products are used in a variety of industries including:
Automotive - Packaging - Chemical - Pharmaceutical
Welding - Furniture - Aerospace - Food
Combined with a full range of controllers and accessories, Miller Edge works with you to provide
reliable, efficient safeguarding solutions. Plant safety requirements are varied so we work with
you to discuss specific needs such as:
-Scissor lift toe guards
-Conveyor e-stops
-Robot work cell guarding
-Dock leveler safety
-Automatic Storage/Retrieval safety
-Machinery pinch point guards
-Automatic doors and gates
Contact Miller Edge for your automated Material Handling equipment guarding needs and we’ll
work with you to provide solutions for your customers.
Be sure to check out our Facebook quiz, featuring
Miller Edge, for the chance to win a Visa gift card!
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INSIDE
Energy Solutions
by John Vasquez, Vice President of Energy Solutions
Our effort to convert our customers to LED lighting is off to a very good start.
Since the NSM, we have had 127 Partners in the other divisions sign up to be
included in the ES group and I personally have assisted many of them with an
excess of $1 million in quotes. Mark McCullough has closed a $90k project with
one of his MH customers and Gregg Robertson, Jeff Lorimar, Kathleen
Lawson, Mike Wright, and Amy Thue are very close to getting orders for AEF and
HiLumz products. They, along with many other Partners, are finding out there is
a lot of interest from their customers in LED lighting. They have discovered that
by using just two vendors, HiLumz and Always Earth Friendly, 90% of existing
inefficient metal halide, mercury vapor, high pressure sodium, and fluorescent
fixtures can simply and very economically be retrofitted to LED.
“Currently less than
2% of the installed
built commercial
sector has
converted their
lighting to LED.”
These Partners have taken the time to read the training material, attend the
webinars, order the demo fixtures and have introduced LED lighting to their
customers. The customer reaction is always very positive – after all who doesn’t
like saving money, obtaining better lighting, reducing their maintenance cost
and perhaps getting a rebate from their utility company and a big tax reduction
from Uncle Sam?
As we discussed at the NSM, currently less than 2% of the installed built
commercial sector has converted their lighting to LED. It is projected by the
pundits that that share will grow to 70% in the next 10 years. Somebody is going
to convert your customers existing fixtures to LED; it might as well be you.
My goal is to continue to provide education on this opportunity. AEF and HiLumz
weekly webinars will continue. HiLumz has produced several installation videos
that can be customized for each Partner. I have written and updated the training
manual, LED Lighting for Dummies, that I guarantee will teach you all you need
to be a successful LED retrofit salesperson. Please email me if you would like a
copy.
LED lighting is an idea whose time has come. It will change the world the way
the semiconductor did 30 years ago. I know it can be quit daunting to learn
something completely new but retrofitting existing fixtures is not that difficult.
Give it a try, sell some AEF tubes to your brother in law and learn from your
mistakes; you will be glad you did. And keep LOOKING UP!
INSIDE
Operations
by Pam Hake, Indoff VP of Operations
Hello to everyone out there in Indoff Land. I hope this finds you all doing well
and hopefully enjoying some of the Spring-like weather that many of us have
been experiencing lately. As we are almost to the end of the first quarter, I
would like to use my newsletter article to talk more broadly about the company
we all call home.
This time I would like to focus on Indoff as a whole- The Big Picture if you will.
The question came up more than once recently, as to why Partners would be
interested in vendor information for other divisions. I think it is worth covering
again and explaining what we at Corporate believe.
“Although Indoff has
multiple divisions,
we are all one Indoff
family and the
success of each
division contributes
to the overall well
being of the
company.”
Although Indoff has multiple divisions, we are all one Indoff family and the
success of each division contributes to the overall well being of the company. It
is also good for everyone to understand what the other divisions do- and it
makes us all better Indoffians. It helps us all explain to customers, vendors etc,
who Indoff is, and the possibilities that Indoff brings to the table. This can be
extremely helpful when talking with customers, vendors and other industry
reps that might be a good fit for the Partner Program.
There are many products and services that cross division lines. Many of the
vendors in Confluence have open access for more than one division. Sometimes
promotional Products Partners need Binders or some other office supply logo’d
and at that point it would make sense to be familiar with a primary vendor for
such items. There is a ton of crossover amongst CI, BP and MH, BP and Promo,
and now ES with MH and CI. There are also opportunities to cross sell with
other divisions and do a commission split. We want our Partners to be a one
stop shop for the customer’s needs so always keep your eyes open for
opportunities in other divisions.
I hope that helps bring some perspective. Indoff has a unique model. We don’t
have a standard box to operate inside of.....we tend to “color” outside the lines.
After 15 years it still never ceases to amaze how great group of people we have.
The more educated we are about Indoff as a whole, the more we have to offer
our customers and your fellow Partners. In short there is plenty to be gained, if
we go a little out of our comfort zone.
Thanks for all you do all year long. It is my privilege to work with such an
amazing group of Sales People.
Partner Features
On the Blog
We recently began featuring an Indoff Sales Partner once a week on the Indoff blog.
Here are a couple of the Partners who have been featured so far:
1. What does “World of Opportunity” mean to you?
For me, “World of Opportunity” means freedom. Freedom from sales call reports,
freedom to work when and where I want, freedom to sell what I want. I can decide
on what products are best for my clients. I’m not limited to present only certain lines
of furniture and am able to offer competitive pricing on all office products. I can
shop for the best product at the best price.
Lori Beck
Business Products
2. What big project did you complete in 2015?
The biggest work project that I completed this year was getting my website
completed. It’s finally starting to pay off. I have also developed a relationship with
a company with over 500 locations. They’re starting to trust me on a few small
projects but at least they think of me first for these projects. I’ve been cultivating
this relationship for nearly six years.
3. What product categories do you plan to target in 2016?
I plan on targeting LED retro fit lighting in 2016. I see the opportunity that is there.
I thought the info presented at the National Sales Meeting for this category makes
this a “no brainer.” I think it is going to be fairly simple by working with the few
companies that were at the NSM.
4. What do you hope to accomplish in 2016?
I’m hoping to really expand the orders entered on my website with new customers
by doing various types of marketing. I’m also planning on selling lighting to my
existing customers.
1. What does “World of Opportunity” mean to you?
​The opportunity to do business (sell) my way, in my case Partner Marketing Site.​
2. What big project did you complete in 2015?
​ project in Saddle Creek, Georgia, that involved forty four order-picker ​platforms
A
and totes for a new warehouse.
Ken Welch
Material Handling
3. What product categories do you plan to target in 2016?
​Orderpicker platforms and possibly crane man-baskets​.
4. What do you hope to accomplish in 2016?
​Increase in order sizes​.
To read more Partner Features, visit
http://www.indoff.com/weblog/
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INSIDE
Marketing
by Adam Heck, Indoff Marketing Manager
Hello Partners,
As we are into mid March by the time you get the newsletter, I wanted to review
the marketing tips we have covered in the first few months of 2016. We have
been focused on building and storing an email customer list, and also how to
construct an email. We hope the tricks and tools we have mentioned have been
helpful in your marketing efforts. At the end of March, we will be covering how
to send the email and how to track your results.
Adam Heck
Marketing Manager
As we move forward into the second quarter of 2016 we will be covering how
to put together a case study and why case studies should be a big part of your
marketing efforts. We will also cover the print marketing tools that are available
to you, and strategies for using Social Media to market yourselves.
The goal of these tips is to help along those that are already using the tools
we provide to market to customers, and to provide some basic instruction for
those Partners that are interested in email, print or social media marketing, but
haven’t yet taken the plunge. If there are things you need help with, or you
just want to talk strategy, please let us know.
Lexy Kettler
Marketing Coordinator
Happy start of Spring!
2016
Holiday Schedule
Friday
March 25 - 1:00 p.m.
Good Friday
Monday
May 30
Memorial Day
Monday
July 4
Fourth of July
Monday
September 5
Labor Day
Thursday
November 24
Thanksgiving
Friday
November 25
Thanksgiving
Monday
December 26
Christmas
Monday
January 2, 2017
New Years
20 Years:
Brenda Charron
Business Products
Joplin, MO
Happy Anniversary!
15 Years:
Allen Peterson
Bob Edgley
Material Handling Material Handling
Pensacola, FL
Houston, TX
Al Weston
Business Products
Cheyenne, WY
10 Years:
David Eberbach
Corporate
Curtis Bradley Cherrie Bledsoe
Corporate
Corporate
INSIDE
Techie Talk
by Shawn Faulkingham, Chief Information Officer
Spring is my second favorite season of the year (behind Fall). I love cleaning and
organizing, and that is exactly what we have been doing in the IT Group.
Typically in the beginning of the year we replace a few PC’s at the Corporate
Office with the latest and greatest out there - and then we retire the
replacements.
Shawn Faulkingham
Chief Information
Officer
Colin Faulkingham
Chief Technology
Officer
This time we have decided to sell some of the retired models to our Sales
Partners inexpensively. If you are interested, and still on Windows XP, let us
know as soon as possible. We have reached out to a few of you to purchase one
our retired PC’s but we wanted to offer it to all Partners. Again, if you have
WindowsXP, give us a call. We have an offer you can’t refuse.
We also have been cleaning up our Data Center. We are consolidating our
equipment one weekend and re-cabling all of our equipment and patch panels
the next weekend. The first weekend was an all day outage; the second will not
be nearly as long. We are cleaning and “de-cluttering” our Data Center, to make
it easier to manage, and harder to accidentally pull or kick out a plug. In the
coming weeks, we may post a few before, during and after pics if you are
interested in seeing the progress.
We are also hard at work on our new Confluence application. Colin has released
it to a few Sales Partners for beta testing. He will be on-boarding Sales Partners
every so often until we work the kinks out of it. If you are interested in helping,
please let Colin know and keep your eyes out for updates from us.
Spring is also the time to look and see if we are still on track with our goals and
projects for the year. If necessary, we make adjustments and move forward. I
think looking at your goals every quarter at a minimum ensures a greater chance
of success.
Thanks for all that you do!
Shawn, Colin, David, Courtney and Jerome
Groupe Lacasse_Indoff_2016.eps 1 23/02/16 09:02:59