December Newsletter

December 2016

AIA CORPORATION

IN THE NEWS

LETTER FROM IT HAS AN AIA
YOUR CEO. INSIGHT UPDATE

Matt gives a quick We show more updates
overview of what is and enhancements with
going on at AIA the new AIA Insight.

INTRODUCTION

MONTHLYLETTER FROM THE CEO
RECAP

Hello,
It was exactly 39 days ago that I joined AIA. In that time I’ve met many of you through my travels to your offices
and at several AIA events. The theme that I hear time and again is that AIA is more than just a business partner,
we are a community, a family, and a network of entrepreneurs working together to attain success and meet our
goals.
Merriam-Webster defines community as, “A body of persons of common and especially professional interests
scattered through a larger society.” Yes, that’s how some may see a community. But I believe our community
current runs deeper and stronger than a simple dictionary definition can capture. We share innovative ideas,
inspire one another with success stories, and work together to overcome difficulties. We support business
growth by advising and coaching one another, and you challenge each other, and AIA, to think creatively and
strategically.
Each day I learn more about your business goals, your dreams, and your expectations of AIA as a strategic
business partner. We are rethinking our approach to marketing, technology and supplier relationships, while
continuing to build upon the ideals of our AIA community. You will have the opportunity to learn more at our
Town Hall meeting on Dec. 20 and at the Sales Kickoff Events in Las Vegas, Orlando and Dallas in early 2017. I
encourage you to join us and learn more about our initiatives that will make our AIA community even stronger.
Best regards,
Matt Gresge, CEO

Matthew T. Gresge
AIA Corporation
630-235-6177
[email protected]

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Mark Your Calendars!

What’s new? What’s happening? What’s on the horizon at AIA?

Find out at our Town Hall Meeting on Tuesday, December 20th at 3:00PM CT!

We will be having a Q & A session as part of the meeting. If you have a question you’d like answered,
please submit it to [email protected] prior to the webinar.

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ACCOUNT SERVICES Owner Profile

Saving Shipper Numbers DJ’s Print and Promo

Written By: Jaimee Adamson Written by Alisa Simmons

When shipping an order using your own shipper number or a third party Depending on how you look at it, DJ’s Print
account number, it can be difficult to remember all of the details. The and Promo has been in business for 2 years
wonderful thing is, Enterprise can do that for you! In your business unit, you or 17 years.
can save shipping accounts in your Preferences/Defaults for future reference Owner, Alisa Simmons, acquired DJ’s two
and use. years ago when she purchased the existing
When going into your business unit, click on the “Preferences/Defaults” distributorship from its previous owner. As a
button in the ribbon. To add a shipper number, simply click on the “Add Ship former marketing and communications
Acct Info” button at the top. A box will pop up for you to fill out. One thing to manager for 20 years, Alisa was very familiar
note is that you can only save one account for each carrier. If you have Fedex, with the names Leeds, I-Mark, Bullet and
only one shipper number for Fedex can be saved. The same goes for UPS. This many others. One of her distributors was
is a great feature to use to avoid having to remember all the shipper account DJ’s, and it was DJ’s that invited Alisa to a
details when using the AIA Third Party Freight Program. Enter in the details as SAGE show. It was at that time that they
seen below and click Save. first discussed retirement. Two years later,
they were ready to take the leap, allowing
To use this shipper number on an order, you will need to go into the delivery Alisa to acquire the distributorship.
details. After you have selected your ship method (for example UPS Ground), Alisa considers it a blessing to have acquired
you can click the “Retrieve My Ship Acct” button at the top and it will fill in a distributorship with a good book of
the information for you. If you have any questions regarding the shipping business and not having to start from
account information and this feature, please contact your Account scratch. Her client list continues to grow and
Coordinator for additional assistance. she and her staff of two (Taylor and Tiffany)
are busy strategizing with customers and
fulfilling clients’ marketing, PR, promotional,
apparel and printing needs
Alisa has two adult sons. Her 28-year old, an
alumnus of St. John’s University in New
York, is an email marketing manager for an
Austin, TX based film company. Her 25-year
old, a graduate of SMU was recently
commissioned a 2nd LT in the United States
Marine Corp and is based in Quantico, VA.

FINANCE

CInuvsotoicmese?rs Not Getting Their

Written by: Pauline Kemnitz

Besides the usual suspects of a typo in the customer’s In the event that notification is sent, AIA
email address or the customer is no longer employed will then notate the order and mail a copy
at the company, more and more businesses are of the invoice to your customer to ensure
‘upping the ante’ on their SPAM filters and email their receipt of it.
security to block potential online threats. What can you do to help offset this
Depending on the level of security, certain emails may issue? Have your clients add our invoicing
not even make it to the customer’s spam folder as email address
they are being blocked before it ever reaches their [email protected] to their
inbox. Some systems will notify the sender that the safe sender’s list to avoid the emails from
email has been blocked while others will not as they being blocked in the future. Please contact
do not want the sender to know they have emailed a your Collections Coordinator should you
valid address. have any questions.

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FIELD SALES

10 Rules to Follow When Emailing a Prospect

Written By: Mark Hunter

1. Use email as one prospecting strategy.
Email isn’t the only prospecting tool you can use. “Best Practice” prospecting is when you use email as only
one of your prospecting tools.
2. Write the email to be read on a smartphone.
A high percentage of emails are viewed on a smartphone, so your email must be as easy to read on a
smartphone as it is to read on a laptop.
3. Keep it short.
Emails should be no more than six sentences and no more than two to three paragraphs long. The prospect is
less likely to read long emails and even less likely to engage with you if the email is long.
4. Include no attachments or graphics.
Keep your email clean to allow it to load quickly regardless of the device being used, and to give spam filters
one less reason to potentially block your email.
5. Never send the same email twice to the same person.
Always assume the person has read your email. Sending the same message twice is telling the customer you
don’t trust them.
6. Include a compelling subject line.
Failing to give the prospect a subject line they will find interesting is inviting on a high non-open rate.
7. Focus on the first 100 characters of the email.
Since such a high number of emails are viewed on a smartphone, it’s important to ensure that what is seen
initially is as powerful as possible.
8. Never send more than three to four emails in a six-week period without receiving a response.
This minimizes the likelihood of the email being tagged as spam by their email filters. The specific factors used
will vary, but being sent to the spam or junk folder is not something you want to risk.
9. Do not make the email a shopping list of everything you do.
Each email you send must be focused around one specific point. Turning your email into a shopping list is
putting too much in front of the prospect at once.
10. Use email tracking software to monitor key emails to see if they were opened.
Even the best email is useless if you don’t know that it’s been opened and read.

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FIELD SALES

2016 YTD Billed Sales Leaders - November

PLATINUM GOLD SILVER

Jim Peterson John Hearn Mike Keith

Branding Stop, KS Sandbox Group, WA Making the Mark, KS

Kit Jones Steve Condon Lisa Gapen

Platinum Promotions, OR Branded Merchandise Group, CA Generate Sales and Marketing Solutions, IN

Brian Hallin Mark Campbell Shelly Vaughn

Image Architects, CA JohnRa Marketing, MA Remainstobeseen, TN

Jon Darrohn Valerie Hayman Sklar Kip McCarl

Logo Concepts, CO Corporate Specialties, MI Great Lakes Corporate Identity, MI

Bill Swertfager Tom Akers Diane Hall

AIA/Imprint Experts, NY Multiplicity Group, MI Promotions Plus, IA

2016 MTD Billed Sales Leaders - November

PLATINUM GOLD SILVER

Brian Hallin Lori & Dave Alter Mike Keith

Image Architects, CA A to Z Promotions, FL Making the Mark, KS

Jim Peterson Bob Ware David Hurst

Branding Stop, KS Promotional Alliance, TX QuickConcepts Promotions, GA

Dwight Darling Eugene & Eileen Maresh Melinda Fontaine

Pinnacle, CA Say it with Style Promotional Logic Branding, VA
Solutions, NV
Jon Darrohn Kathy Sipes
Craig Gail
Logo Concepts, UT Sipes Promotional Concepts, TX
Elegan Promotional Products, IN
Delisa Laterzo Lisa Gapen
Randy Philipps
Touchmark Promotions, CO Generate Sales & Marketing
Access Solutions, TN Solutions, IN
Betsy Kirby
Peggy O’Donnell Sharon Cook
The Allied Group, NH
Mid Valley Promotions, CA Momentum Marketing, WA

TECHNOLOGY SERVICES

Please take a moment to watch the latest AIA Insight A moment’s
video to learn more about what we have released and insight is
what is upcoming for AIA Insight. sometimes worth
As we move into December, we are quickly wrapping up a life’s experience!
business testing of Order Entry and Point-of-Need ~ Oliver Wendell
eLearning for AIA Insight. If you have not yet tried the Holmes Sr.
new web platform, we strongly encourage you to log in
and try MVP Central and the AIA Insight platform this
month.
During December, Owner beta testing of AIA Insight will
begin. We look forward to sharing the feedback on their
testing of the new web-based order entry process. The
good news is our project plans are still on track for an
end-of-December release of Order Entry and Point-of-
Need eLearning in AIA Insight.
We hope you enjoy the new AIA Insight platform and our
new MVP Central module. We are excited about the
upcoming release of Order Entry and the continued
additions and enhancements that will come in future
releases. Please contact us if you have any questions.

TECHNOLOGY SERVICES

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SUPPLIER RELATIONS

Pacific Western Sales Announces
New Warehouse Location

Beginning January 2017, Platinum Plus Supplier PWS (Pacific Western Sales) will be opening a warehouse in
Portland, Tennessee. This means that PWS will now have locations on both the East and the West Coast! Shipping
times and costs will be reduced once the warehouse is fully operational. From now until January, you may begin
seeing orders ship out of their Tennessee warehouse. Please continue to send orders to
[email protected] and your request will be handled accordingly.
Effective November 1st, Leed’s has restored lead-times for all decorating methods. Leed’s is currently operating on
their standard 5 day lead-time for new art, 3 day for reorders and 1 day for SureShip orders.
On November 14th, American Apparel filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. As a result of this, Gildan Activewear
announced that they had entered into an agreement to acquire the worldwide intellectual property rights of
American Apparel. Gildan intends to purchase inventory from American Apparel while the bankruptcy proceedings
are finalized. Please make note that in the short term, mill times may increase for American Apparel items.
The MVP Spreadsheet that is currently located on AIA Connect will be removed on December 31, 2016. From that
day forward, all MVP Information will be available on MVP Central within AIA Insight. If you have not yet logged in
to AIA Insight, go to https://aiainsight.com and use your AIA Enterprise user credentials to log in and register.

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MARKETING SERVICES Question of the
Month!
4 Reasons Why Catalogs Still Work in
a Digital Marketing Era Each month AIA will pose a
question to you, our
Written by: Kaitlynn Marciniak owners, to get your
opinions and advice on a
1. Catalogs offer a physical experience. specific topic. Some of your
Catalogs are unique in that they offer your customer a completely sensory experience. answers may be featured in
They are able to easily flip through pages, fold corners, write in the book and circle an upcoming newsletter
items they like or intend to purchase. Catalogs also allow your customers to browse article.
anytime, anywhere without the hassle of booting up a computer or draining phone We look forward to your
batteries while on the go. responses!
2. Catalogs Generate Ideas.
It goes without saying that catalogs generate ideas, plain and simple. In a recent study Our question
done by management consulting firm Kurt Salmon, 58% of consumers surveyed said this month is:
that they get ideas from browsing through catalogs. 30% said that they have a retailer’s
catalog in hand when making an online order and 90% stated that they’ve purchased What are your
products that they first saw in a catalog. techniques to break
3. Catalogs are an excellent avenue to showcase your products in a visual way. into new industries?
Nothing is more frustrating as a consumer than looking at a product and asking the Tell us here!
question, “ well this is great, but how can I use it?” In most cases, catalogs have a nice
blend of products and lifetyle images with products included. This allows your
customers to see how these products can be used. It’s also beneficial in the case of
wearables as customers are able to see how a product will look once it’s on the body.
4. Catalogs serve as great reminders!
With the exception of cards, invitations, etc. receiving mail as an adult is generally
pretty boring. By sending your customers catalogs you’re not only putting your
company at the front of their minds but you’re also sending a little bit of color and
happiness to their mailboxes.

Be on the lookout for 2017 Idea Book Ordering beginning next week!

Events

AIA Events Join the Evolution!

Greetings AIA Family!

If we haven’t yet had the pleasure of meeting, I’m the new Event Planner here at AIA. Planning meetings and events has
been a lifelong career and passion for me and I’m very excited to join the AIA family and get to know all of our Owners!

We are working on many exciting things for AIA Events for 2017 and beyond. It’s a huge commitment on your part to
take time away from your family and business to attend our events. We want you to feel that these events are well
worth your time and money; they will be packed with impactful and relevant content and opportunities to help you
grow your business. Having a little fun and being able to connect and network with Owners and Suppliers in the AIA
family will be equally integrated into every event.

Watch as the AIA Evolution Begins starting with the Sales Kickoff Meetings in Las Vegas, Orlando and Dallas. If you
haven’t signed up yet, please do so. You won’t want to miss out!

Sales Kick-Off Event, Las Vegas Registration

Sales Kick-Off Event, Orlando Registration

Sales Kick-Off Event, Dallas Registration

Other AIA Events, with opportunities for all Owners to attend, will be announced in the coming months.

Make sure to mark your calendars for the AIA National Sales Event at the Omni Interlocken Denver for August 1-4, 2017.
A very affordable resort room rate will make early or late extensions very appealing for this awesome event and
destination. Work hard and play hard!

Vicky Mischler
Event Planner, AIA Corporation
[email protected]

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AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Meet Our Award Winners & All-Star Team!

On November 9th, 2016, AIA Corporation held its 3rd Annual Employee Awards Ceremony at the Bridgewood Hotel in
Neenah, WI. Your votes selected the following Award Winners. Please join us in celebrating!

Gary Goodhart, Director Kevin Coffey- e-Commerce Guy Dupuis, Director of Field
of Field Sales Specialist Sales
Save the Day Award- Save the Day Award-Runner Outstanding Performance
Winner Up Award-Winner
Outstanding Performance
Award-Runner Up

Congratulations to our perfect score All-Stars!

All-Stars are determined by the Business Growth and Satisfaction
Survey. Any AIA department that regularly interacts with Owners
was rated on a 5.0 scale based on Responsiveness, Knowledge, and
professionalism.

(Pictured from left to right: Heidi Marks, Jaimee Adamson, Corey
Hetherington, Naomi Peterson)

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AWARDS & RECOGNITION

AIA Corporation Hits Transaction Milestone!

AIA Enterprise has recorded its 2 millionth order type transaction (orders, quotes, and samples). The Two
millionth order transaction was entered by Scott Barnes of Tarheel Promotions.
Paul Weller, AIA’s Information Technology Director, commented, “This is an exciting milestone for AIA. Our
Owners have always viewed AIA Enterprise as a reliable and efficient business platform for order processing, and
we’re making it even better with a significant investment this year to upgrade Enterprise to a new, web-based
platform, called AIA Insight. AIA Insight was launched in September and we are adding more features and
functionality in the coming months.”
In addition to the AIA Insight upgrade, the team at AIA is exploring cloud-based technologies that will allow for
smoother communication and an efficient flow of information and data. Matt Gresge, AIA’s new President and
CEO firmly believes that cloud based technologies will give AIA distributors a significant advantage because of its
scalability, increased collaboration tools and the ability to work from anywhere. Matt says, “Moving to cloud
computing will allow AIA to keep pace with technology trends that help our distributors stay connected with each
other, the industry, and AIA. It offers the agility that we need to stay on target in a fast paced industry and will
allow us to bring trending sales and marketing tools to the Owner community on a more timely basis.”
Stay tuned for more exciting changes as we roll into 2017!

AIA Corporation is a network of promotional marketing
distributorships throughout the United States. The
independently-owned and operated offices develop
strategic marketing and promotional solutions for
organizations of all sizes using top-quality branded
products and creative techniques.
With over 275 Sales Affiliates and Franchisees, AIA is
among the 10 largest distributors in the promotional
products industry that includes over 22,000 distributors.

IN THE NEWS

800 W. Winneconne Ave.
Neenah, WI 54956

www.AIACommunity.com

800.460.7836