INSIDE - Confluence

INSIDE
July 2015
11816 Lackland Rd.
St. Louis, MO 63146
“Indoff Provides Product and Services for Everything from Floor to Ceiling”
CONTENT
Page 2
Human Resources
Page 3
Partners of the
Month
Page 4
Recruiting
Page 5
New Faces
Page 6
Finance &
Accounting
Page 8-9
Partner Meet
& Greet
Page 10
Operations
Page 11
Vendor Spotlight
Page 13
Marketing
Page 14
Anniversaries
Page 15
Techie Talk
President’s Prose
by Jim Malkus, Indoff President & CEO
By the time you read this, we’ll be into the middle of July and hopefully the return of
summer’s heat. Whether it was Texas and particularly the Houston area in April and May
or our own region in June and early July, many of us have had enough rain for a while. We
would be quite happy to ship our clouds off to the drought-stricken regions of the country
right about now…
July means the year is half over – wow! Specifically for Indoff, the first six months of the
year were very good –
• We secured over $67,000,000 – outstanding!
• We already have seven $1,000,000 Partners – again, outstanding! Bob Goodwin, Staci Deaton, Georgine Golitko, Aimee Klein, Lee Key, Chris Koeneman and Tom Vanhoozer all achieved this level in the first six months of the year.
• Our class of 2015 wrote $1.8 million in business in the first six months, putting them solidly on course to contribute over $5,000,000 in sales in their year of hire.
• We have begun our first overhaul of Confluence in a long while; initial visual proto types are done and working models will be coming along soon.
Perhaps the best news is that our strong sales seem to be widespread; while we do have
one $2,000,000 order, we haven’t booked anything else that is extraordinarily large. This
speaks to an overall strength in our business that is very encouraging.
What can we do to keep it going? My short, simple answer is just keep doing the right
things, and that extends to all of us. We may search for a “magic bullet”, but I’ve grown
convinced that the magic bullet is having a plan, attempting to execute that plan and
working hard at achieving results. I think this holds true at both a corporate level and at
an individual level. Dust off your 2015 plans and make sure you’re still working on
achieving your goals.
The 2015 National Sales Meeting is rapidly approaching, and it will be full of ideas and
opportunities for all of our attendees. If you haven’t yet responded to Robin Migdal, I urge
you to work hard to clear your schedule and attend. I promise it will be worth your time
and effort.
Thank you all for all you do for Indoff throughout the year. I hope that you have a safe,
happy and prosperous summer season. Please just remember that most important word
of the season – sunscreen!
INSIDE
INSIDE
Human Resources
by Robin Migdal, Indoff VP of Human Resources
“With great freedom comes great responsibility” (with apologies to Peter Parker…)
Hello everyone and I hope you all had a great July 4th! Much of modern life
(and certainly Indoff life) revolves around our hard-earned freedom to do as we please (within
reason), but along with this freedom comes responsibility. Here are two HR reminders:
• It’s not fun to think about, but check your beneficiary designation on your 401k and group life policies. If it is not current – due to a death, divorce, or other – that’s too bad – it will be followed. Don’t do that to your family; keep it current and correct!
• Speaking of 401k, have you reviewed your contribution rate, investment mix and balances lately? Are you comfortable with where your dollars are invested? Nobody else cares about your retirement as much as you do - take the time to do the best you can for yourself.
“We’re only
halfway through
the year; check
your progress
and work smart
to join us in
San Antonio!”
Links to all of the necessary websites or forms can be found on the HR page on the Intranet;
if you have any questions about these important topics, please just let myself or Pam Hitpas
know.
We are half way through 2015, and we want next year’s Champion’s Circle Sales Partner
Meeting to be our biggest and best ever! The JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country is the
location, and the dates are April 30 through May 4, 2016. Attendance for this meeting is
based on your gross profits generated for 2015. Gross profit goals are as follows:
Gross Profit > $220,000 = one free trip to the meeting, private sleeping room
and Chairman’s outing
Gross Profit > $110,000 = one free trip to the meeting
We’re only halfway through the year; check your progress and work smart to join us in San
Antonio! Thank you all for all you do for Indoff, and I hope you are enjoying a great summer!
National Sales Meeting 2015
Don’t forget to write this year’s National Sales Meeting on
your calendars! It will be held in Saint Louis, at the
Saint Charles Embassy Suites/Convention Center on October 22-25.
Also, keep in mind, the Champion Circle will be held
April 30-May 4 in 2016 at the
JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort.
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Indoff Sales Partners of the Month
Congratulations to our top Partners from each division!
May
June
Material Handling:
Steve Bloom
$414,361
Commercial Interiors:
Chris Cobler
$321,607
Business Products:
Tom Vanhoozer
$97, 896
Promotional Products:
Kristy Long
$82,505
Allied:
Chris Koeneman
$288,702
Material Handling:
Steve Bloom
$305,541
Commercial Interiors:
Aimee Klein
$341,855
Business Products:
Tom Vanhoozer
$124,116
Promotional Products:
Kristy Long
$128,443
Allied:
Lee Key
$417,474
INSIDE
Recruiting
by Angela Suntrup, Indoff National Marketing Manager
Everybody has their own definition of Freedom! The # 1 reason a Partner joins Indoff is for
freedom!!! Our Partners enjoy setting their own hours, pricing and profit margins. Our
Partners enjoy freedom from NO call reports, NO quotas or micromanagement. Just imagine
your life if you had to check in with Pam Hake everyday or ask for time off!
To entice you to look for new Partners that would enjoy working with this kind of freedom,
we are excited to announce our new Partner referral contest for 2015! Dig up your industry
contacts because you could be going in……………
THE MONEY MACHINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The #1 reason a
Partner joins
Indoff is
for freedom!!!!
Now through October 21, 2015, for every qualified* name you submit to the Recruiting
Department, we will enter you in to a drawing for time in the cash machine! We will hold the
grand drawing on Thursday, October 22nd at the National Sales Meeting. Please send in your
referrals; we will have someone enter the machine on your behalf if you are not present! In
addition to the cash machine, we offer $1000 referral bonus if you refer a rep or owner that
becomes and Indoff Partner!
2015 Recruiting Recap
The Recruiting Department has hired 59 Partners through June. The class of 2015 has
contributed $1.8 million in sales!!!!!!!!!!!
# of Hires
11
11
13
24
59
Division
MH
CI
BP
ES
Partners
Congratulations Class of 2015!
Welcome to Indoff!
Robert Diaz
Material Handling
Scott Kimmel
Business Products
David Vorster
Material Handling
Tim Wallace
Business Products
Jim Olsen
Commercial Interiors
Brian Teeling
Energy Solutions
Tony Revetta
Jacki Wiggins
Business Products Business Products
Curt Ekstrom
Energy Solutions
RJ Timlin
Energy Solutions
Wyndan Skye
Energy Solutions
Vince Kobbe
Energy Solutions
Bob Seraphin
Energy Solutions
Steve Higgins
Rack Express
Heath Derkowski
Rack Express
Robin Milner
Rack Express
Jim Patterson
Rack Express
Mike Zinda
Rack Express
Mark Thompson
Rack Express
Joe Sasson
Rack Express
Not Pictured:
Joel Eisenberg
Commercial Interiors
Katie Cullen
Credit Department
Yvonne Perry
Accounts Payable
Not Pictured:
Brenda Vincent
Commercial Interiors
Not Pictured:
Sara Daughtridge
Business Products
INSIDE
Finance & Accounting
by Julie Frank, Indoff Executive VP & CFO
July is a time we all celebrate our nation’s freedom. The word Freedom is frequently used
at Indoff to describe our Partner program. It is one of the main reasons Partners join us and
the primary reason they stay. To be successful in a non-managed, straight-commission sales
position, you not only have to want your freedom, you have to thrive in that type
of environment.
What are some of the Freedoms you enjoy while working at Indoff?
“The word
freedom is
frequently used
at Indoff to
describe our
Partner program.”
• Freedom to set your own schedules – I may be in the corporate office from 8:30-5:30, 5 days a week, but Partners aren’t punching a time clock. We know as professional sales people you work as hard as you need to taking care of your clients and managing your orders.
• Freedom from credit risk – As long as you follow our credit policy, submitting credit
applications and online order approval requests as needed, then Indoff will assume all risk for your customers ability to pay. If they go out of business or file bankruptcy, you will not be responsible for payment of their outstanding balance.
• Freedom to set your own prices and margins – There are a few Corporate guidelines that must be followed for us to pay the most competitive commission rates. Within these
parameters, Indoff allows you the opportunity to manage your pricing and maximize your earnings potential.
• Freedom to choose your vendors – We do not dictate where you buy your product from or even pressure you to use a certain one. We offer marketing tools to all of our vendors through Confluence, we pay our bills on time to maintain good working relationships and we communicate with our vendors when there are job issues we need them to resolve.
• Freedom to pursue customers in any geographical region – Indoff does not work with
territories therefore you can support a regional or even national customer from your home office. We encourage you to reach out to Indoff partners in other regions to assist with
remote site visits and installations; however, you can choose who you want to work with or to do it all yourself.
At a time when we are thinking about why our country is such a great place to live, it’s nice
to remind ourselves why our company is also a great place to work! I hope each of you enjoy
a long, healthy, safe and happy summer.
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Partner Meet & Greet
1. How did you celebrate the Fourth of July this year?
This Fourth of July, my wife, Kathy and I got to spend some time with 2 of our 5
grandchildren in the morning. Then we ran errands and split an appetizer at
Applebee’s. Later we had a private pool party with just the two of us with my
world famous Vodka and Diet Tonics with lime. In the evening, I played America
the Beautiful on my trumpet for all of the neighbors to hear.
2. If you could witness any event past, present or future, what would it
be?
I just did. The legalization of same sex marriage in our country.
Tom Groves
Business Products
3. What advice would you give to a new Indoff Partner?
Don’t EVER leave Indoff. And, if you do think about leaving, CALL ME! Been there,
done that.
4. Do you have a big project in 2015 you are looking forward to?
This year, I worked with one of our excellent Commercial Interiors partners for a new VA clinic that was installed in
upstate New York. We even got help from Randee Walsh for the appliances, so we had 3 divisions working together
on the project. This customer is doing an even larger project this fall in Louisiana. The three of us look forward to
working together again on that one.
5. How long have you been in the business?
I have been selling pencils for 29 years.
6. Are there any new product categories you have started selling recently, that you would recommend to
other Partners?
Can’t think of any.
7. What’s your favorite movie?
Sweet Home Alabama. “So I can kiss you anytime I want to.”
8. Why Indoff?
I have been telling recruits for years about the beauty of Indoff and the flexibility to enjoy life while you earn a living.
I am learning that even more since my wife just recently retired from 29 years of teaching. We can spend the days
together doing anything we want, and I can still take care of my customers. Mobile Confluence rocks!
9. If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?
I would like to be a much better piano player.
10. If you could have any super power, what would it be?
To be able to make life better for people who are struggling financially.
Continued on next page:
1. How did you celebrate the Fourth of July?
As you know, Indoff is an International company, since I live in Mexico and operate the
Mexico division of Indoff, we celebrate the Mexican Independence Day in September.
We worked through the US Holiday.
2. If you could witness any event past, present or future, what would it be?
The birth of all my children, once again.
3. What advice would you give to a new Indoff Partner?
Learn Confluence completely. Use the reports.
4. Do you have a big project in 2015 you are looking forward to?
Steve Bloom
Material Handling
We have two: A double bridge crane at Parker with 70’ span and a 14,000 lb VRC at
Sunpower.
5. How long have you been in the business?
21 years. Before that I worked as a patent engineer in my house.
6. Are there any new product categories you have started selling recently, that you would recommend
to other Partners?
We have reduced our product lines to those in which we are experts in: Cranes, conveyors, and plastic containers.
7. What’s your favorite movie?
Groundhog Day.
8. If you could be any fictional character, who would you choose?
Kyle from Terminator.
9. Why Indoff?
Work from home office, choose my own hours, make lots of money.
10. If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?
How to speak every language.
11. If you could have any super power, what would it be?
Telescopic vision.
1. How did you celebrate the Fourth of July this year?
Barbequed and watched fireworks.
2. If you could witness any event past, present or future, what would it
be?
I would like to be alive during the time of Jesus.
3. Do you have a big project in 2015 you are looking forward to?
Waterways.
Chris Koeneman
Allied
4. How long have you been in the business?
11 years.
5. If you could be any fictional character, who would you choose?
Dr. Who.
6. If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?
A lot of things.
7. If you could have any super power, what would it be?
The power to make money on demand.
INSIDE
Operations
by Pam Hake, Indoff VP of Operations
Freedom the Indoff Way
The long awaited, much anticipated sequel
Greetings in Indoff Land. So maybe the title is more than a bit over the top, but now that
I have your attention, let’s review. To recap my previous pieces regarding the Freedom
that Indoff Partners enjoy:
You have the Freedom to work from home (or almost anywhere), set your own schedule,
decide who you call on and when, and decide what products to offer your
customers to best serve their requirements. You don’t have a boss or supervisor
tracking what you are doing. You have no call reports to submit (If you wrote them, I
would have to read them, heaven forbid). Within our simple guidelines, you set your
pricing. We don’t change the deal, and we give you the freedom to do what you do
best- SELL.
“We don’t
change the deal,
and we give you
the freedom to
do what you do
best - SELL.”
I hear one of my fellow Indoff Managers thinks you wouldn’t want to check in with me
every day. Really……..Okay, so she is right, But let’s face it, over 400 of you, one of me,
that would be impossible to accomplish. Nor would it be productive.
I get the question on a pretty regular basis, is it okay to sell outside my immediate area?
You are not limited by a geographical territory. Your only limits on whom you sell to or
call on are if the account is already owned by another Partner in your division.
You have the freedom to decide how you go to market & how you spend your marketing
budget to promote your business. There are myriad of possibilities:
• Join the local chamber of commerce or networking group, and attend their meetings & functions
• Advertise in a local publication
• Partner Marketing Sites/ Niche Marketing sites
• Supplies Direct for BP Partners- there is no cost to you so be creative and consider
offering customers a discount for placing their first order via Supplies direct
• Review your customer list-which ones have you lost touch with? Reach out to them
You have heard it all before. It is up to you within our simple corporate guidelines, on
how you manage and cultivate your Indoff Business. Use that to your advantage. If you
have additional ideas you want to share, use your division discussion boards and pay
attention to what others send there. If you have a question about an opportunity or
idea, contact me, I am happy discuss it with you!
Thanks for all you do for Indoff all year long. Enjoy the rest of your summer.
Vendor Spotlight:
Indiana Furniture
About Indiana Furniture
Our Vision
Indiana Furniture will be a relevant solution for the contract furniture dealer market. We will
provide the tools necessary for our employees and sales team to consistently deliver the services
and message to attract dealer partners and our mutual clients to experience the Indiana
Furniture difference time after time.
Our Mission
Our mission is to create Value for our customers through Reliability, Flexibility, Integrity, and
Speed. We want every Indiana Furniture experience to be warm, worry-free, and comfortable
through respect and trust.
Our employees and our communities are vital to our success. We will support both with
investments and resources necessary for them to prosper.
More than Words
Key to both our mission and vision statements is the Indiana Furniture experience. We believe
that it’s the time spent and ease of a transaction that creates a lasting, mutually successful,
relationship. And, that is where true value is created. Yes, we have quality products at an
attractive price. Lots of manufacturers do. Where Indiana Furniture can set ourselves apart, and
by extension, our dealer partners, is with service. We empower our Customer Service Team to
make decisions. We work hard to provide the necessary tools and services to help our dealer
partners win projects. And, we excel at worry-free after-sales service.
•
•
•
•
Drawing Services – [email protected]
Standard Product Quoting Services – [email protected]
Custom Product Quoting Services – [email protected]
Installation Support Services – Requested through Customer Service.
Value is in performance. Our entire company is focused on providing value by maintaining
reliable lead-times and shipping consistently. Most standard products ship within 3-weeks. And,
with a better than 97% average on time shipping record, you can count on Indiana Furniture to
deliver when we say we will.
Relevant Solution with a History of Integrity
As we celebrate our 110th anniversary, we pause to appreciate the history that has made Indiana
Furniture a success. The quality wood craftsmanship behind Indiana Furniture started back as
early as 1905 in Jasper, Indiana, under the name of Jasper Novelty Works. Jasper Novelty Works
manufactured a line of wood novelty tables, roll-top office desks and library furniture. When
the name was changed to the Indiana Desk Company, our company gradually phased out these
lines and began manufacturing a line of office desks, teacher’s desks, and office tables. This step
was the early formation of the well-constructed office furniture lines of Indiana Furniture, as we
know them today.
At present, Indiana Furniture offers a wide variety of contemporary and traditional office
furniture. Our product lines include wood and laminate desks, credenzas, bookcases, file
cabinets, computer support furniture, work and conference tables, upholstered swivel chairs,
side chairs, sofas and various office furniture component products in various price ranges.
Indiana Furniture backs its quality promise by offering a 12-year warranty on all case goods and
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INSIDE
Marketing
by Adam Heck, Indoff Marketing Manager
Hello Partners,
Along with the freedom from micro management and vendor selection, Indoff
also offers the freedom to market yourselves as you see fit. We would like to offer
another way to possibly market your services to customers: using a vendor email as
the beginning of an email marketing piece.
Adam Heck
Marketing Manager
Lexy Polich
Marketing Assistant
As you all are aware, vendor emails come into us at the corporate office and are
forwarded out to the message boards. We try to send out emails from vendors
that we are set up with or that could be a helpful new vendor. We also know that
not everyone opens or reads the vendor emails. But these vendor emails can have
another purpose other than informing you of products vendors are pushing
(or being annoying) - they can be the subject of an email marketing piece.
When we get emails in from a vendor that we think would make a great marketing piece, we will attempt to adjust the verbiage and take out the vendor info so it
fits into an email marketing piece that can be sent directly to your customers. We
encourage you to take a look and let us know if you find any that you would like
to send to your customers. Any vendor product email can be updated and spun
around to make it a viable customer facing marketing piece.
We will take a look at all the manufacturer’s products that we come across and we
ask that you do the same. If it’s a product or vendor you think would work well
on a marketing piece, it’s likely that other Partners can also benefit. Typically the
vendor piece will already include images, and the necessary info that a customer
would need and all we would need to do is take out the specific vendor info. The
bottom line is this saves you time and effort and provides ready-made email
marketing subjects.
Happy Anniversary!
Congratulations to the following Partners and Corporate staff who are celebrating their
employment anniversaries with Indoff!
Marsha Olinghouse
Commercial Interiors
20 Years
Al Hutton
Commercial Interiors
20 Years
Dave Ballard
Commercial Interiors
20 Years
Chris Sigler
Business Products
10 Years
INSIDE
Techie Talk
by Shawn Faulkingham & Colin Faulkingham
Summer is here, and it brings lots of sun, vacations and general outdoor enjoyment! As
a full-time tech nerd(work and home alike), it’s nice to unplug. It’s nice to enjoy what
the Earth has to offer without technology - lakes, beaches, forests, hiking trails, oceans,
canyons, etc. For thousands of years, we spent the vast majority of our time outside in
the sun and fresh air. It’s amazing how rejuvenated you feel after being in the woods for
an afternoon or sitting on the beach listening to waves gently lap the shore. I try at least
once a week to visit the outdoors with my family without bringing any technology - a
few hours to soak up the fresh air, to have actual conversations and to enjoy just...being!
One of my favorite quotes from Lord Byron sums it up nicely: “There is pleasure in the
pathless woods, there is rapture in the lonely shore, there is society where none intrudes, by the deep sea, and music in its roar; I love not Man the less, but Nature more.”
Ahhhh…
Chief Information
Officer
So, on to what we are currently working on in Indoff IT:
New phone system - After being plagued with intermittent downtime and limited
functionality and reporting, we are moving our current phone system to Windstream
the second week of July. It will allow us more functionality and better reporting. The
transition should have a negligible impact on calls inbound and outbound.
Disaster Recovery / Business Continuity – in late July, we will begin implementing a
system of backups that will allow us to restore our Cloud infrastructure in a Tier 3 data
center in Pennsylvania. It is vital that we have the ability to bring our system online in a
timely fashion in the event that we have a disaster here in Saint Louis. While it is a
scenario we hope never plays out, it is an eventuality that we have to plan for and protect against.
Chief Technology
Officer
Confluence upgrades - Colin and Jerome are working hard on a new set of interface
features in Confluence. With the explosion of mobile devices over the last few years, we
need to have a set of tools that responds natively to the plethora of mobile devices –
tablets and smart phones, primarily. They are also working on the “back end” of
Confluence to make Confluence more modular with our ability to add/remove
functionality and how we communicate with outside sources.
So summer will be a busy time for us. Don’t forget to read the IT Blog – the current
riveting read is thoughts on security! And as always, if you have any questions or
concerns that are IT related, please feel free to contact me. If I don’t answer you back
right away, I may be in the woods somewhere...
Shawn Faulkingham
“Chief Nerd”