How can I sell the Canadian Government?

It was a packed house that attended the latest COPA breakfast seminar "the Government of Canada Procurement Strategy". Representatives from the Federal Government led an informative seminar on the ins & outs on how to sell products to the Canadian government. If you missed it, here is a synopsis of the discussion. 


Attendees await the start of the COPA seminar on
 "How to sell the Government of Canada" at the
Toronto Airport West hotel in Mississauga. 

Canadian Government representatives, Manny Argiropoulos, Guy Ranger and Paul Dorion presented the audience with a presentation that both informed and enlightened the crowd on how to get started on the path of gaining government business. Their advice? First and foremost - get your company registered as a viable supplier to the government of Canada at https://buyandsell.gc.ca/. That is the first step in unravelling the potential of a customer that represents over $50 million dollars in annual office related purchases and transmits over 300,000 annual transactions. That is a lot of pens, file folders and office chairs. The potential of this account is staggering and every business should be exploring how their offerings can be of interest to the government. 


Manny Argiropoulos from OSME tells
 the assembled COPA audience how to do business
 with the Government of Canada

The good news is that you don't have to be a large multi-national player in order to meet the criteria to sell products to the various federal government institutions, nor do you have to be the winner of the "Standing Offer" in order to still be able to earn some federal government business.


Mr. Argiropoulos, from the Ontario Region "Office of Small and Medium Enterprises” (OSME), first led the discussion on how to get started with the government. As in everything, the best place to start is at the beginning, and for government of Canada procurement, the beginning means going to the buyandsell.gc.ca website, which is the authoritative source for federal procurement including the new Government Electronic Tendering Service buyandsell.gc.ca/tenders  that replaced the old "Merx" government tendering site. Within buyandsell.gc.ca, in plain language, you will be able to get your business registered as a potential government supplier and you will have access to potential business opportunities for your firm. This website is the source on how to sell to the Government of Canada – one of the largest buyers of goods and services in Canada. Once you are registered, your company will be given a PBN - "Procurement Business Number", which means you are registered and can become a potential supplier for low dollar procurements with Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC), the Government of Canada’s main procurement group. You will use this number regarding all bids, tenders and invoices on any transactions involving PWGSC opportunities. Having a PBN can get you started - so go to the website and get your business registered. Having a PBN makes you known to government buyers.

Everything you need to know is available at https://buyandsell.gc.ca/ including all federal tenders that might be available to your company. There is a “google –like” search button that can help you navigate or search the site for potential business opportunities that might be of interest to your company.

Paul Dorion, team leader supplies,
discusses how to sell Office Supplies to the
 Federal Government

 Mr. Ranger, team leader furniture and Mr. Dorion, team leader supplies, head up the Public Works buying department teams for Office related products and they led a more specific discussion on how to sell products that are of interest to our industry. Here we learned the difference between "Standing Offer for Office Supplies" and a "Supply Arrangement". The standing offer is an offer that has been awarded to one or more office supply companies for a limited basket of goods that totals 1565 high volume items. It is not a blanket PO for the purchase of all of the items from the winning bids office supply catalogue. So even though you may not be the supplier of record on the standing offer there are still opportunities for companies that are government registered with PBN numbers and have products and services that are in demand but were not on the standing offer.

By having a supply arrangement with the government, your company can still be asked to bid on quotes for products not on the standing offer through a 3 quote competitive process. There are a set of predetermined conditions that must be met in order to qualify for the right to bid on contracts. Government of Canada offices have budgets up to $25,000 to purchase needed items that do not fall on the standing offer. A supply arrangement allows government clients to solicit bids from a pre-qualified pool of suppliers.  There are 110 agencies that are allowed to purchase on their own up to this limit. Accepting purchases through a credit card is a must, so be sure to be set up for this form of transaction. The good news is that all suppliers have an equal chance at this additional business.  


With our speakers (L to R): Manny Argiropoulos,
Paul Dorion and Guy Ranger from Public Works Canada


So the advice, get registered and then make contact with federal government offices in your area and let them know what you have to offer - it might lead to some nice orders and you may gain a long-term customer who should be able to pay their bills.

Editorial: If you didn't attend this seminar you really missed out on an excellent event with great information, that was attended by industry heavyweights. COPA is putting on some great shows that will help you in your business and if you missed this one, you really should consider attending a future seminar - not only for the information that you will pick-up but also for the  "Networking" opportunities that COPA makes available to all. I have always found these events to be a great place to meet and greet with colleagues that I rarely come in contact with or are completely new to me. It surprises me that many don't take advantage of the opportunities that COPA makes possible for all. COPA is here to help you further your business - take advantage of it.

Keep an eye out for the next event and hopefully we will meet up!!

For a transcript of this seminar or other information on COPA, contact COPA at events@copa.ca

October: Office Product Trade Show Season

Well if the leaves are turning colour it must be time for our industries annual trade shows. Those on the Vendor side of the business have attended two over the last two weekends - in both Toronto and Montreal.

Last weekend, the Basics group brought their dealers in from across the country to meet and greet at the Toronto Congress centre. A festive, around the world theme highlighted the annual show which was well attended. It was a busy Friday afternoon and early evening - and this reporter barely had time for a drink of water. It's always a good show if you are busy!!!! (Bad show if you spend your time talking with the other vendors).

Marnie Stone, of Stones Office Plus at the colourful Vision Global Media Booth.

I was there with my 3 vendors, American Tombow, Genuine Supply Source and Vision Global Media. We were super busy meeting with dealers from the Basics, Office Plus and Office Pro dealer groups. On a bright note - Vision was awarded with a Vendor of the Year Award in the category of "Best Service" by a small vendor. So we were really happy about that.  Thanks Basics, CIS and Guild dealers.

 

It's always great to renew old friendships and meet new friends at the annual show. We look forward to attending the show next year which will be held in..........Newfoundland!!!! That should really be something. I have been out to St. John's several times over my career and have always had a lot of fun. The people are very welcoming. I am sure the setting will make for a memorable event.

Sarah Fullerton of Fullerton Sales and Katie Huffman of Tombow,
at the Basics Office Products annual trade show.

The following weekend I ventured east, up the 401, for the annual celebration of the Quebec Office Product Industry - the AQIF show, which was held at Place Bonaventure in Montreal. A large turn-out of Quebec dealers and large enduser office product buyers attended this year's show that culminated with a Friday night masked ball. They always know how to "live life" in Montreal which is why it is always a popular stop on the annual trade show tour.  I never get tired of going to Montreal or working a show there.

I attended the show with Genuine Supply Source. GSS had a busy booth at AQIF as they presented their imaging supply products, including their popular "Fusion" Laser toner cartridges to the attendees. The show was solidly attended by dealers large and small, along with a numerous array of sales people from the larger Office Supply organizations. Plus the AQIF show attracted several large consumers. The GSS booth was busy as we met with many current customers and potential new customers.

John Brohman, Chantal Lussier and Dave MacMillan of Genuine Supply Source

I always look forward to the trade show season, they are great forums for meeting both long-standing customers and potential new accounts. Plus, - so long as you are busy, they are a lot of fun.

Birth of the paperclip......and other Popular Office Supplies

 In doing some research for this blog, I came across some pretty interesting information on some of this industries most popular products. Thought I would share them with you.

 

Paperclip

Where did the paperclip come from? Legend says that it was invented by a Norwegian patent clerk Johann Vaaler in 1899. His patent seems to have been for a clip made from "a spring material, such as a piece of wire, that is bent to a rectangular, triangular or otherwise shaped hoop, the end parts of which wire piece form members or tongues lying side by side in contrary directions". But there was nothing particularly special about his design - other similar designs had already been patented years earlier. Vaaler's title as the supposed father of the paperclip was given to him posthumously. And as the story grew, it accidentally managed to turn him into a folk hero of sorts in Norway. Long after Vaaler's death his countrymen created a national myth based on the false assumption that the paper clip was invented by an unrecognised Norwegian genius. Norwegian dictionaries since the 1950s have mentioned Vaaler as the inventor of the paper clip, and that myth later found its way into international dictionaries and much of the international literature on paper clips.

During the years of Nazi occupation, the paperclip was worn as a symbol of resistance in Norway. This was nothing to do with Vaaler being Norwegian but it was meant as a subtle sign - the binding action of the paperclip acting as a reminder that the Norwegian people were united together against the occupying forces ("we are bound together"). In the years following the war, the belief that Vaaler had invented the clip slowly began to spread. The story started appearing in Norwegian encyclopaedias and soon merged with stories of the resistance to elevate the paperclip into something approaching a national symbol. In 1989, the BI Business School in Norway erected a 7m-tall paperclip in Vaaler's honour. However, the statue is not actually of the same design Vaaler patented.

According to the Early Office Museum, the first patent for a bent wire paper clip was awarded in the United States to Samuel B. Fay, in 1867. This clip was originally intended primarily for attaching tickets to fabric, although the patent recognized that it could be used to attach papers together. Fay received U.S. patent 64,088 on April 23, 1867. Although functional and practical, Fay's design along with the 50 other designs patented prior to 1899 are not considered reminiscent of the modern paperclip design known today

 

The most common type of wire paper clip still in use, the Gem paper clip, was never patented, but it was most likely in production in Britain in the early 1870s by "The Gem Manufacturing Company". The earliest documentation of its existence is an 1894 advertisement for "Gem Paper Clips". In 1904 Cushman & Denison registered a trade mark for the "Gem" name in connection with paper clips. The announcement stated that it had been used since March 1, 1892, which may have been the time of its introduction in the United States.^[5] Paper clips are still sometimes called "Gem clips", and in Swedish the word for any paper clip is "gem". There are many types of paperclip, the most common being known as the Gem. Even in paperless offices, the paperclip lives on in the form of skeuomorphic design - attachments are added to emails using a paperclip icon.

Pink Pearl Eraser

The Pink Pearl eraser is instantly recognisable. It was designed as part of Eberhard Faber's range of Pearl pencils. A simple pink rhomboid, its distinctive colouring and soft texture were a result of the volcanic pumice mixed with the rubber and factice during the manufacturing process. Erasers are made from either natural or synthetic rubber, but the rubber itself is just used as a binding agent and typically only makes up around 10 to 20% of the eraser as a whole. Other ingredients are added, including a mixture of vegetable oil and sulphur known as factice. It is this factice which acts as the real erasing material. The eraser was launched in 1916, just as compulsory education laws were being introduced across the US.

Its low price and reliable quality meant it became a common feature in classrooms across the US. In 1967, the eraser was celebrated by the artist Vija Celmins, who produced a series of painstakingly crafted Pink Pearl sculptures from balsa wood, shaped and painted to look just like the real thing. Ten years later, Avon paid tribute to the Pink Pearl in its own unique way, producing a Pink Pearl nail brush ("Ten busy fingers after school, play and homework need a scrub-away brush to erase undernail dirt!"). The familiar bevel shape and colour of the Pink Pearl are still recognisable today in the version sold by Papermate, and the "eraser" icon in Photoshop (both in shape and colour) is clearly modelled on a Pink Pearl-type eraser. On Etsy today, crafters sell Pink Pearl magnets, Pink Pearl badges and modified Pink Pearl erasers with USB memory sticks embedded in them.

Glue Stick

In 1967, Dr. Wolfgang Dierichs, a researcher working at German manufacturing company Henkel, went on a business trip. He checked in and boarded the plane. He took his seat, fastened his seatbelt and got ready for take-off. By the time the plane landed, Dierichs had an idea that would go on to revolutionise the world (of glue). At some point during the flight, he saw something that inspired him. It was a woman carefully applying her lipstick, and as Dierichs watched her, he began to think that the lipstick form could have a different application.
 
 You could take that design, a thin twistable tube, and fill it with a stick of solid glue. It would be clean and convenient. You'd just remove the lid and apply as much as you needed. No pots, no brushes, just a stick of glue.  

The company launched the Pritt Stick in 1969. Within two years, the twist-up ease of the "Pritt Stick" was available in 38 countries around the world and today it is sold in more than 120 countries worldwide. Around 130 million Pritt Sticks are produced every year and more than 2.5 billion have been sold since the product was launched. 

Sticky Notes

In 1968, a scientist at 3M, Dr. Spencer Silver, was attempting to develop a super-strong adhesive. To work effectively, these adhesives needed to be sticky enough to stick to the surfaces being joined together, but also needed to be easy to peel apart. Working on one formula, Silver changed the amount of one of the chemicals and accidentally created a very weak but reliable adhesive. Accidentally creating a "low-tack", reusable, pressure sensitive adhesive. 

At first glance, it seemed useless, but he wondered if it could have some kind of application somewhere. For five years, Silver promoted his "solution without a problem" within 3M both informally and through seminars but failed to gain acceptance. He showed it to his colleagues, and even held seminars to explain its unusual properties. Initially, he thought the adhesive could be sold in an aerosol form - to be sprayed on the back of a sheet of paper or poster to create a temporary display. Alternatively, he wondered if it would be possible to create large notice boards coated in the material, to which memos or notes could be temporarily attached.

In 1974 a colleague who had attended one of his seminars, Art Fry, came up with the idea of using the adhesive to anchor his bookmark in his hymnbook. Fry worked in the company's Tape Division and part of his role involved developing new product ideas. In his spare time, Fry was a member of his local choir, and a couple of evenings after hearing Silver describing his discovery, Fry found himself becoming frustrated during hymn practice. The pieces of paper he used to mark the pages in his hymn book kept falling out. He realised this low-tack adhesive could be used to hold the bookmarks in place. He showed his bookmark to his colleagues but they weren't particularly impressed. One day, Fry was in his office preparing a report. He wanted to write a brief note for his supervisor so took one of his bookmarks and jotted down a few words on it and stuck it on the front of the report. His supervisor took another of Fry's bookmarks and stuck it next to a paragraph that needed correcting, adding a few comments of his own. Seeing this, Fry had a "eureka, head-flapping moment" and the sticky note was born.

The original notes' yellow color was chosen by accident, as the lab next-door to the Post-it team had only yellow scrap paper to use. 3M launched the product as "Press 'n Peel" in stores in four cities in 1977, but results were disappointing. A year later 3M instead issued free samples directly to consumers in selected markets with 94 percent of those who tried them indicating they would buy the product. In 1980, the "Press 'n Peel" was re-introduced in US stores as "Post-It Notes and they were soon a big hit.

Thumb Tacks, Push Pins and Drawing Pins

A thumb tack (North American English) or push pin is a short nail or pin used to fasten items to a wall or board for display and intended to be inserted by hand, generally without the assistance of tools. A variety of names are used to refer to different designs intended for various purpose. As its name suggests, the "drawing pin" was originally used by draughtsmen to hold down the drawings they were working on. These pins would have had different shapes and designs, having evolved from simple straight pins. As with the development of the paperclip, there is some debate over who exactly invented the drawing pin as we know it today. Some claim the pin was invented by a German clockmaker named Johann Kirsten sometime between 1902 and 1903 in Lychen. One theory is that prior to this, Kirsten used a simple straight pin to hold down his drawings as he worked.  ^[
Realising that a pin featuring a large, flattish head would be kinder on the thumb, he beat out a small brass disc and punched a nail through it. However, it wasn't Kirsten who benefited from his design. While Kirsten was able to sell a small amount of the pins to other local craftsmen, he still found himself short of cash and was forced to sell the design to factory owner Arthur Lindstedt. With a few changes, the pin made Lindstedt a fortune, with each worker at the Lindstedt factory producing thousands of pins each day for export all over Europe.

In the US, Edwin Moore invented the "push-pin" in 1900 and founded the Moore Push-Pin Company. Moore described the push-pin as a pin with a handle.

 

 

Speak Less, Be heard More!!!

The importance of "Listening" 

 Article #4 – Solutions for the Human Side of Business - By: Jonathan Creaghan  

In sales situations how much potential service opportunities and money is left on the table by not truly focusing on the client in front of you, but rather keeping to the way you think the meeting should go?

 

 

Case Study

The sales rep representative for an automotive company (let’s call him Michael) was directed to collect the tooling costs from a Japanese tier one customer. His goal was half a million dollars that was due. His usual strategy was to try to anticipate the other person like a general going to war. Playing out in his head the arguments he would receive, and his rebuttals. He would keep control of the situation. But this time he decided to play differently.

 

The idea of going through the meeting to prepare is a well suggested practice, but what happens if things don’t go as planned? Can you move with the meeting, staying flexible to meet the unpredictable?

 

Follow these basic rules:

1.       Keep your outcome clear in your head but not how it gets achieved

2.       Stay relaxed and open to the direction of the meeting – keeping it on track if needed but staying flexible to new opportunities

3.       Listen intently with your ears, eyes, and instincts. Listen for the deeper message

4.       Ask questions for clarification and feedback what you think you heard

5.       Focus completely on the other person - trying not to anticipate or complete their thoughts or sentences for them

6.       Meet people at their level of understanding

 

 

Case Study - Outcome

Keeping those six rules in mind forced Michael to speak less, allowing the relationship to evolve naturally. As his mind settled and his awareness grew, he heard clues and information that were new to him and which he was able to use. This deeper attention took the meeting out of the adversarial mind-set and into a new place of relationship and trust. The tier one buyer exclaimed after many minutes into the meeting “Michael san, finally we connect. Now we can do business!” It seems the buyer wanted something different anyway. Michael didn’t walk out with half a million dollars, he walked out with $1.75 million and advice on future bidding.

 

Trust yourself, trust others and trust the process

 

The buyer heard Michael more clearly, and Michael heard the buyer. Less talking means talking at the right time, saying the right things with the right level of intensity to be heard clearly. Sales meetings are about developing or reinforcing  trust. Let the trust evolve.

 

Who Needs New Products?

By: Norm MacLeod 

OP veteran and marketer extraordinaire, drops in to give us some tips on the launching of new products.

Having endured way too many ineffective new office product presentations over the last 30 years, the movie scene that usually comes to mind, both during and after the meeting, is from Dumb and Dumber . In the scene, the Jim Carrey character asks Lauren Holly if he has a chance of ever making it with her and she replies coldly, “One in a million”. At first he’s crushed, then his face lights up and he joyfully proclaims, “Yes, there is a chance!”

Vendors seem to think the continual launch of new products is the driving force to increased sales and market share. Some companies even mandate the amount of their sales they want  driven by new products. The result is a never ending parade of new products being developed and pitched to the industry usually tied around the annual catalogue reviews. What tactics do vendors need to consider when presenting new products to the sales/distribution channel?

 Let’s look at the motivators (or de-motivators) for the people involved in the introduction and launch of new products first. For the merchandising people who are the initial decision makers, they will ultimately have to sell and take responsibility for the addition to the rest of their organization, they literally could be putting their job and future on the line.

To the marketing people, new products are a major make work project. Whether the item has much future or not, there is a pressure to expose it to the danger of being sold. That means creating some sort of launch and promotional plan for it.

From the viewpoint of the dealer’s purchasing agent, new products are an unnecessary evil, another sku to maintain inventory on and a no-win shot-in-the-dark for that first order. Order too much and the item bombs for sure, too little and you have an instant out of stock.

To the dealer’s database people, it’s more setup work not helped any by the usual lack of support material; material that provides them with key sales features and modern essentials like search words consistent with the needs of their web-site’s search and sort functions.

 From the dealer’s sales person’s viewpoint, it is a distraction from their real job which is to keep current accounts happy and find new accounts.

How do you mitigate all these negatives? Simple! Do the brain work up front analyzing what elements of the new product make it a suitable candidate for the particular customer you are pitching it to. Answer these questions for the customer first:

• Is it a truly new product meeting a need that nothing else in their assortment meets?
• Does it have a superior feature set vs an incumbent item?
•  Is it a me-too product that will provide a better cost/higher margin opportunity (does it need a listing allowance or some other financial inducement)?
• Is it a line extension capitalizing on an existing positive sales trend?
•  Does it take out an existing product, is it a transition or is it an assortment expansion?
• Are there any customer tests, focus group results, market research studies that support the need for the new product.
• Is there a marketing campaign planned to expose the product to the customer base or will you support a dealer driven campaign with additional coop funds, sampling, spiffs etc?

After you have answered all of the above, you have to ask the hardest question of all…Does the item actually make sense for that customer? If it doesn’t then don’t pitch it. The more solutions you provide to the initial decision maker for all of the negatives detailed above throughout their organization, the more likely that you will succeed in getting placement.

Finally, if you have decided to pitch the item, then really sell it. Show some enthusiasm, do it with some pizzazz. Even then if it is rejected, the merchandising person will at least appreciate the effort you’ve made. It keeps the door open.