Coach's Corner
by Fred Albrecht
We ended 2013 with a bang with both bookings and billings, hitting a record. While we are still finalizing the total revenue, we will exceed 22 Million in billings, including freight. Sales were up just under 8%, order count was a record topping 30,000 orders. Once again, we have increased our sales for 14 consecutive years, every year we have been in business.
On January 23rd 1999, Suzie and I created Albrecht & Co., with a dream and a plan. That plan included building a company by associating with people dedicated to making this industry their profession. Today, we are just as committed to continuing to grow our company - one great person at a time, with our internal employees as well as the sales representatives and business owners we attract each year.
We are proud to be the only distributor in the industry of over 30,000 distributors to be included in the Top Best Places to work, winning the honor of top distributor once again in 2013. We believe with the sales and support teams we have in place, we can reach our goal of $25 Million in 2014. Our 5 year plan is to break the $30 Million barrier. Our plan is very simple, help our existing sales reps grow their business to reach their goals and dreams. We realize every individual has their own individual dream and we are here to support and help you achieve those dreams, whether it means just maintaining your existing business or growing dynamically to reach Millions and Multi Millions in sales. (Yes we have reps who want to build their business to the Multi Million and Beyond). We will continue to attract great new prospective sales representatives and business owners who are looking for great partners, we will not waiver in our diligence to find the Best of the Best rather than simply look to grow for growth's sake like the vast majority of our competitors.
We hope you will join us in Texas as we return to the state where we celebrated our very first convention with 10 sales reps and 4 of us from the main office. Our convention will be very unique, just as we are unique. We will give you exposure to the true power of Proforma with over 100 suppliers from the print, promo and multi-media industry, over 90 education sessions and many of the Million Dollar and Multi Million Dollar owners to learn and earn more in 2014. Yet, we will ensure a special celebration just for you and our reps with that intimate atmosphere and special attention to detail you have come to expect from our events.
Let's start 2014 with the same fury it ended!
Fred & Suzie |
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Niche + Unique = Multi-Million Dollar Success
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Niche + Unique =
Multi-Million Dollar Success
How can you differentiate your business from all of the competition? Jim Shindler, one of the partners at a $6.5MM sales office, shares his proven process that sets them apart from the crowd. Find out how Jim uses eCommerce as his big game-changer in today's video.
Success does not start in the future. Success starts now. What's next now...
Do it now!
Gregory P. Muzzillo, Sr.
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2014 Proforma Albrecht Sales Meeting and Awards Banquet -
Sunday July 20th through Wednesday July 23rd.
We are thrilled to announce the location and plans for our 2014 Sales Meeting and Awards Banquet. Each year we try to do something a little different. While the Cincinnati venue and our special "up close and personal" theme was a tremendous success, we did not feel an "exact" repeat would be as powerful. We carefully examined all of our options including the traditional, "Trade show" experience, like Vegas or Orlando. Partnering with the marketing Team at Proforma, we have been able to negotiate a very special arrangement to make it possible for us to create a very special event for our reps in conjunction with the Proforma Annual Convention located in Grapevine.
It is not TOO early to sign up, just ask John Snodgrass, Cathy Rossner and Peggy Johns, they have all signed up for the convention already. It is particularly important to jump on the bandwagon as soon as possible in order for us to plan for our venue and for you to secure the best rooms possible. Our experience is they go fast for the convention! You are getting a jump start on all owners as Proforma has not made their "big" marketing push yet!
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Hotel: Gaylord Texan Resort (an exquisite Marriott Resort)
1501 Gaylord Trail - Grapevine, Texas
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I wanted to personally introduce our new inside sales support from Leeds. We met with the Leeds management team and specifically requested a new inside customer support person who is dedicated to helping us grow our business with Leeds and make it as easy as possible to do business with them.
They listened and I am happy to introduce our new Leeds Support Rep: Nikki Wysocki  Up Close & Personal
Nikki Wysocki, Leeds Support Rep
This is my 10th year at Leed's. I started in 2004 as clerical and had 3 promotions in a year to my current position. All have been within Customer Service. I've covered almost all territories since then from CA to PR, FL, GA, NC, and most recently, OH. I do mostly Leed's and Trimark, JB for Leed's (all custom Journalbooks orders need to go through JB, but I can help with that process), and I am one of the few that does have Bullet knowledge and access to their system. Personally, I am single with no children, 32. I enjoy reading, boxing, kickboxing, power lifting, and photography, which my actual degree is in. I love all the Pittsburgh sports teams! The Steelers are at the top of the list followed by the Penguins and last, but not least, the Pirates. I truly bleed black and gold! Although, when I was younger, I lived in Colorado and I started out being a Broncos fan. I also love to travel! Some of my favorite places I've ever been to are Bar Harbor, ME, Bozeman, MT, and Folly Beach, SC, which is my favorite vacation spot! Music is another huge part of my life and always on wherever I go! I have a very eclectic music taste and like everything from country to hip-hop. Variety is the spice of life! My life motto is "Truth hurts, but honesty is the best policy". And to me, relationships are everything! Secret - I have 7 tattoos :)
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Stopping the 40 Hour Work Week Published January 3, 2014 | By Pamela McCafferty for the Proforma Blog
English: Ford Quadricycle by DougW of RemarkableCars.com at The Henry Ford museum in Dearborn, MI. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
It's 5:00 PM and your fellow co-workers have packed up their stuff to go home - but not you. You think by working longer hours a week that you are more accomplished than someone who only works a normal 40 hour work week. Your assumption is probably wrong. You may be asking yourself, "Why is there an eight-hour work day in the first place?"
The answer: The birth of the Industrial Revolution. During the Industrial Revolution companies attempted to maximize the work of their factories by keeping them open as long as they could. That meant that typically, the work days were anywhere from 10 to 18 hours per day, six days a week. But a British man named Robert Owen started a campaign that suggested it was wrong for people to work more than eight hours per day. His slogan was, "Eight hours labor, eight hours recreation, eight hours rest." However, Owen did not see his efforts come true; that didn't happen until Henry Ford implemented an eight-hour work day in 1914 with the Ford Motor Company.
Working excessive hours can cause physical, emotional and mental issues. How you ask? Below are some key issues that are associated with working long hours:
1. When you are so consumed by a project and you don't want to take a break you think a quick fix is to start chowing down on junk food or ordering takeout. But over time the more junk food and takeout you eat and the less you exercise, you will start gaining weight and may develop health problems such as high blood pressure.
2. When you don't let your mind rest you can't recharge your batteries and your work can actually suffer more. If you take a break from work and nap, listen to music, read a book, get a snack, exercise, etc. you can recharge your batteries and be more productive after taking a step back.
3. You stop having a social life because you have a deadline to meet and going out for one drink with your group of friends for an hour will put you so far behind that you can't take the risk.
A study, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, shows that a combination of stress, raised blood pressure and unhealthy diets came from long working hours, which may be the cause of thousands of workers' serious health problems.
Additionally, an interesting fact is that in Europe, there is an actual ban on working more than 50 hours a week. In six of the top 10 most competitive countries in the world (Sweden, Finland, Germany, Netherlands, Denmark and the United Kingdom), it's illegal to demand more than a 48-hour work week. Maybe the United States will soon adapt something like this in the future.
Hopefully, this information will make you think more about your health and happiness than spending more time on your work. |
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Happy Chinese New Year!
The Chinese factories celebrate the New Year from January 29th until February 5th. Please plan your overseas orders accordingly to meet your import needs. Our Made in the USA factory continues to grow as a viable alternative.
Thank you,
Bernie Mike,
Mike Brothers
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 Announcing Our New Name!
If you have not gotten your 2014 custom catalogs yet, then they should be due to arrive any day now. If you need blank ones, they are available now in our warehouses so you can place them on-line or let me know and I will get them out. We have great new lines this year: Marmot, A4, J-America, Dri Duck, Gemline and FUL (not new but it's in our catalog this year). Please be sure to check out our Devon & Jones. We have updated our corporate attire with great new styles and fabrications (check out pages 8-13).
Remember, we offer a sample discount program every year where you get 50% off of our Private Label brands (Devon & Jones, Chestnut Hill, Harriton & Authentic Pigment) and 25% off of the Retail and the brand new items in the Trade Mill brands. The new sample code is SAMP14. The limit is: 2 per size/color/style and up to 25 samples per year per account.
alphabroder.com 800-523-4585
alphabroder is the coming together of our four brands (Alpha, Broder, NES Clothing and Imprints Wholesale), into one name that will lead this company into the future.alphabroder was formed from the direct input of our customers' needs and wants, as well as our desire to increase our speed and efficiency.
We've all started our careers as either an employee of Broder, Alpha, NES or Imprints Wholesale. Although we won't be using those brand names going forward, we should all feel that alphabroder is our creation, molded from the best practices of each brand to form one company we can all proudly call our own.
We're excited about our new name and you should be too. We are now able to speak to our customers with one clear voice, one clear direction and one simple purpose: to consistently deliver the best, most complete assortment of promotional apparel products. Let there no longer be any
confusion, we are alphabroder - one brand for everyone.
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If you would like to review any of our past issues, we now have them archived.
Click Here for the archive page. |
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Fred Albrecht 513-753-2580
Proforma Albrecht & Co. |
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