INSIDE November
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 New Faces Page 4 Recruiting
Page 5 Partners of the Month
Page 6 Finance & Accounting
Page 8-9 Partner Meet & Greet Page 10 Operations
Page 11 Maple Ridge Farms Spotlight
Page 12 Holiday Schedule Page 13 Marketing
Page 14 Anniversaries Page 15 Techie Talk
President’s Prose by Jim Malkus, Indoff President & CEO
Welcome to the holidays! I’m writing this the Monday after Halloween, so the major holiday season is upon us. Our theme for this newsletter is broad – either the “best of 2014” or “what we’re looking forward to in 2015”. I’ll go for a little retrospective on 2014. • January – received a customer testimonial that is too good to not share again. “She (competitor) asked if she could come by…I told her she’d be wasting her time…I told her (who I used), and she said ‘Really? I’ve stoled so many of their customers…First, ‘stoled’ is not a word…I cannot put enough emphasis on CUSTOMER SERVICE…she felt her customer service was better… at that point I was ready to bitch slap her…” You can’t make up testimonials like that. • March – rearranging the office and moving the Allied folks in was a lot of work, but the results have been worth it. The place looks great, and we’ve reorganized along our current functional lines. Plus, it is always fun to work with LeAnn… • April – another sales meeting, another reminder of the awesome talent that chooses to work here at Indoff. The opening session with Partners answering “Why Indoff?” was special, and the perfect end point to the session was the Linda Miller orchestrated “Top Ten Answers to Why Indoff?”. We look forward to next October’s gathering. • July – launching our Energy Solutions group with John Vasquez heading up the effort. We’ve added some great people already, and we’ve seen a recharging of interest in this field among our existing Partners. This is a great opportunity for those who want to investigate it and devote some time to learning the business. • August – Bill and Sarah Brooks booking a $960,000 furniture order; we always celebrate nearly $1,000,000 orders. • September – Darrin Wicks booking a $1,050,000 rack order; see my August note. We will end 2014 with our best sales year since at least 2005 and perhaps since 2000 when we last had the Best Buy account. I am thankful for the continuing chance to work with such a dedicated group of great people. As we head into 2015, our opportunities seem limitless thanks to the talents of all of our Partners and staff. I’ll preview 2015 in the January newsletter, but for now let me thank all of you who make Indoff what it is – the best place for sales professionals. Thank you all for all you do for Indoff, and I wish each of you a safe and blessed holiday season!
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Human Resources
by Robin Migdal, Indoff VP of Human Resources Happy Holidays to all of you and your families. I wish each of you a safe and blessed holiday season and a happy, healthy 2015! It is the time of year to reflect on how fortunate we are. At corporate, we try to remember this throughout the year. Every holiday season, we collect canned goods and clothing for the Salvation Army in conjunction with our world famous Box Decorating contest. We started having $2 jean day on Friday with the proceeds going to the Salvation Army along with our canned goods and clothing. We also did the ice bucket challenge to support ALS. As you head into the holiday season, please remember to give thanks for what we have.
“It is the time of year to reflect on how fortunate we are. At corporate, we try to remember this throughout the year.”
As we head into 2015 we face the challenge of ObamaCare. Our first step was the survey that we sent to all Partners. We continue to keep our options open to be able to offer affordable health care in the future. We will keep you all informed as we head down this road and need any further information from you. The Internal Revenue Service has announced the 2015 plan limits applicable to our 401(k) plan. There is an increase from 2014 as follows: • Limit on elective 401k deferrals for 2015 is $18,000 • Catch up contributions for workers aged 50 and older is $6,000 • Social Security taxable wage base is $118,500 Another big event to look forward to in 2015 is our National Sales Meeting being held here in St. Louis at the St. Charles Embassy Suites/Convention Center. Please mark your calendars for October 22- 25, 2015. Invitations will go out in the Spring, but block the dates off now! Thank you to everyone for your efforts in making 2014 another great year for Indoff, and best wishes to all for a safe, happy, healthy and prosperous 2015!
Welcome to Indoff!
John Koeger Recruiter/Sourcer Corporate Office
Connie Brame Payment Coordinator Corporate Office
Lisa VanDyke Greensboro, NC Commercial Interiors
Joe Aragon El Paso, TX Commercial Interiors
Colleen McCaffrey Accounts Payable Corporate Office
Aristotle McDaniel Moreno Valley, CA Business Products
Cami Wiseman Staff Accountant Corporate Office
Harvey Vincent Tyler, TX Commercial Interiors
Lexy Polich Marketing Assistant Corporate Office
Not Pictured:
Not Pictured:
Not Pictured:
Phillip Pall Burnet, TX Material Handling
Matt Duggins Perry Hall, MD Commercia lnteriors
Mina Carrie Rancho Cucamonga, CA Energy Solutions
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Recruiting
by Angela Suntrup, Indoff National Marketing Manager
Happy Holidays (wow this year flew by)! I am looking forward to a great 2015! Our goal for 2015 is to hire 90 Partners! This will be a big task but with the help of John Vasquez recruiting Partners in the Energy Solutions division we should be able to obtain this goal! The Recruiting department is also excited to see the Indoff Mentor Program grow in 2015! Currently we have 9 Partner’s who have brought on mentees. These 9 mentees have written over $560K in business in 2014. Thank you Mentees! You are the future of Indoff!
“I am looking forward to a great 2015! Our goal for 2015 is to hire 90 Partners!”
Claudette Quintanilla Steve Vining Rocke Warren Jonathan Hitt Heather Rumsey Heath Waters Ron Wilson Jack Kasten Kaycie LaGrone Curious about how the mentor program works? Maybe the mentor program is not for you, check out our other retirement options: Mentor Program: Hire and train a replacement new to the industry, and share commissions on your customer base after you retire. Several Partners have brought on board a family member or friend to train and turn accounts over to them, and this approach helps with that process. New Hire Program: Find and help hire a qualified replacement and earn significant overrides on your accounts after you retire. Partnership Agreement: Sell your accounts at retirement to an existing Partner; split commissions on your customer base after you retire. This has been successfully done by many Partners over the years. If you have a referral or know someone else that would be a good fit for Indoff, please let me know at
[email protected]. If the they are hired then you will receive a $1,000 referral bonus once your prospect generates a $1,000 in Gross Profit.
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Indoff Sales Partners of the Month
Congratulations to our top Partners from each division! September
Material Handling: Darrin Wicks $1,070,931 Commercial Interiors: Georgine Golitko $511,720 Business Products: Dan Fossing $88,485 Promotional Products: Kristy Long $126,295 Allied: Lee Key $311,673
October
Material Handling: Bob Goodwin $564,497 Commercial Interiors: Aimee Klein $234,269 Business Products: Tom Vanhoozer $119,904 Promotional Products: Kristy Long $250,953 Allied: Lee Key $246,483
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Finance & Accounting
by Julie Frank, Indoff Executive VP & CFO
Well here we are beginning November, just two months left in the year, and once again planning for the year ahead. When we were asked to write about the best of 2014, so many things immediately came to mind. This was a year of change and growth for Indoff. The acquisition of Allied in November of 2013, marked the first time Indoff has purchased a company to achieve growth and diversification. For the first two months following the purchase, we mainly watched and learned the new business. Then in the first two quarters of 2014, we fully incorporated them into our offices and our systems. At the same time we moved Allied into our building, we did a major reworking of our office layout. The departments are now more self-contained and there is a much better workflow. A big thanks to LeAnn Pashina for her help with the drawings and aesthetics.
“When we were asked to write about the best of 2014, so many things immediately came to mind.”
In April we had another fantastic NSM, with perfect weather and great attendance by both Partners and vendors. For those of you who were there, you might remember one of the more memorable moments was when the ceiling started bouncing during the awards dinner. It was a flashback to several years before when we actually had an earthquake during the meeting, however this time it was caused by a prom on the floor above us. In June, I made my first trip to the NeoCon furniture show in Chicago. I had heard stories about this massive show at the Merchandise Mart, but it really is something you have to see for yourself to appreciate the enormity of it. I really enjoyed seeing our vendors and the depth of their product offerings. In August, I joined a group of Indoff Sales Partner on an AIS factory visit. Boston is a great city to visit in the summer and the AIS group knows how to show off both their city as well as their operations. I would strongly recommend this trip to anyone for anyone who does business with AIS or wants to learn more about them. The same day I flew back from Boston, I was welcomed back with a big bucket of ice water dumped on my head. The corporate office participated in the ALS water bucket challenge and raised a lot of money for this worthy cause. We will always remember our Marjie (who died from ALS) as the model employee and overall great person. Winding down the year, we are excited about our new Energy Solutions division. We already have 7 new Partners active in the division and 5 existing Partners who are selling lighting. We think this can be a big area of growth for us in 2015. What else are we looking forward to in the upcoming year? Well on a personal note I will be sending my eldest child off to college in the fall. Considering I started with Indoff prior to having children, that means I have been here a long time (18 years to be exact). Looking back at all the changes we’ve implemented since I’ve started and knowing the talented group of employees we have, I won’t be surprised by anything that’s yet to come!
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Partner Meet & Greet
1. What is one career goal you accomplished in 2014? Getting on the PA Costars state contract to sell office supplies to non-profit organizations 2. What are you most thankful for in 2014? The health and happiness of family and friends and my lifestyle that I can be there to help make that happen.
Lori Beck Business Products Altoona, PA
3. If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do? Call my husband! He's a financial planner. Then I'd help a few relatives and friends, get my daughter the big truck she wants, and move to Myrtle Beach sooner than planned. Obviously there's many charities that I'd like to help too. 4. How long have you been in the business? Let's just say I remember carbon paper, the little white tabs of typewriter correction sheets and mimeograph stencils. Someone else besides Tom G, please say you remember these too?
5. What is one thing you are most proud of? My relationship with both sides of the family. 6. What’s your favorite movie? "An Officer and a Gentleman" from years ago and "The Bucket List" from a few years back 7. Why Indoff? This has been a very hectic year, both personally and professionally. I've moved my daughter from Pennsylvania to Texas, had several family members with medical issues and traveled a bunch. As long as I have the internet, I'm working. I've released orders from 30,000 feet above, in hospital waiting rooms, at our vacation home, hotels, and in the car as either my husband or daughter were driving. I'm very glad that I don't have to be in a traditional office setting! 8. If you could learn to do anything, what would it be? I'm a very amateur landscape photographer and would like to perfect the different techniques used in photography. I also think that playing the saxophone would be "cool". 9. If you could have any super power, what would it be? I'd like to be able to wiggle my nose like Samantha on "Bewitched" to get things done! 1. What is one career goal you accomplished in 2014? Grow my business! 2. If you could witness any event past, present or future, what would it be? My oldest son becoming a United States Marine! Graduation date 12/12/2014! Oooh Raahh! 3. What are you most thankful for in 2014? My Wife and Family.
Chris Drowne Business Products Omaha, NE
4. If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do? Sorry, I don't play. 5. How long have you been in the business? 22 Years. 17 with Indoff!
Partner Meet & Greet
Chris Drowne continued...
6. What is one thing you are most proud of? My children growing up, becoming young adults, and making good choices. 7. What’s your favorite movie? Star Wars Episode 4. I saw this movie 13 times in the theaters when I was a kid. 8. If you could be any fictional character, who would you choose? Fog Horn Leg Horn, free spirited, and he has some of the best lines hands down.... "The boy talks so much, his tongue gets sunburned" LOL! 9. Why Indoff? Opportunity, Opportunity, Opportunity. Indoff has always been loaded with "The sky 's the limit" possibilities for those who want it. 10. If you could learn to do anything, what would it be? I would love to learn how to be a great cook. 11. If you could have any super power, what would it be? The ability to go super fast. I'm such a "Steady as she goes" kinda guy. 1. What is one career goal you accomplished in 2014? Moved into our new design studio building. 2. If you could witness any event past, present or future, what would it be? The signing of the Declaration of Independence 3. What are you most thankful for in 2014? My Family, Friends, and work partners which happen to be mostly one and the same
Donna Sutton Commercial Interiors Asheville, NC
4. If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do? Pass out $100.00 bill to anyone I spotted committing an unprovoked random act of kindness. 5. How long have you been in the business? A really....really....really long time
6. What is one thing you are most proud of? Pride goeth before destruction...... 7. What’s your favorite movie? Medicine Man 8. If you could be any fictional character, who would you choose? Laura Croft, love the strap on guns! 9. Why Indoff? Because it's F'ing great! It's FINANCIALLY stable, It's allows FREEDOM, and FLEXIBILITY and it's FUN! 10. If you could learn to do anything, what would it be? To speak several foreign languages. 11. If you could have any super power, what would it be? The cloak of invisibility.
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Operations
by Pam Hake, Indoff VP of Operations
Hello out there, in all corners of the Indoff World. 2014 is winding down very quickly. Before you know it, Thanksgiving and Christmas will be here. You still have a little time to reach the goals you set for 2014, it’s not too late. It is also time to look towards goals for 2015. Many of you may think, she says that every year. That is very true; however, as Indoff Partners you have a tremendous amount of freedom to run your own business in your own style. We attempt to put out reminders of the basics & most relevant information. If it makes a difference for even a few of you, then it is well worth the effort.
“There is no time like the present to kick start your idea and put it into play.”
Have a Great
We are on track to generate $130 million this year as a company. Over $12 million is attributed to Allied Appliance, which became a part of Indoff last November. Allied has been a really good addition to the Indoff mix. This year we have added the Energy Solutions Division. Several Partners in our MH Division have been doing lighting for a while. For a couple of them, this is pretty much exclusively how they make their living. We believe the timing is right to get in on this area of sales that is poised to take off; both with those that are environmentally conscious and all of the new laws affecting this area for industry. How about you as an Individual Partner? Salespeople by nature are always looking to increase their sales. Do you have an idea for a new niche market or a category or item that you want to add to your mix? There is no time like the present to kick start your idea and put it into play. If are unsure if it is a good idea or think it may be a little outside the box, give me a call or send me an email. At Indoff we aren’t limited by the restraints that many stocking sales companies have. Let’s take a serious look at your ideas. There is no time like the present to get the ball rolling. BP Partners, with business off in your industry as a whole, the key to growing your sales again is to add to your mix. We have been saying it for a couple of years now, and doing our best to give you the tools to get started adding some very basic lines. Are you selling JanSan, Breakroom, or Keurig? If not, why not? Do you have other lines that you have added that would make sense to your fellow Partners? Single Sourcing is becoming more important to customers and the more you can supply for your customers with, the less likely they are to shop around. Lastly for this month, take the time to pay attention to the vendor communications that Adam Heck puts on the appropriate division discussion boards. Keep an open mind and be willing to look at selling products that are new to you. Most vendors will help you with some educational opportunities and product information. We do this for you as Partners, in order to take advantage of as many product offerings as possible. Who knows, you may come across something that you already know a particular customer needs. I will end my message for this time here. Take advantage of what is right in front of you. Here is hoping that you make 2014 go out with a bang, and great 2015 with a great attitude and a great plan!
November Vendor Spotlight
Believe it or not, it’s almost the end of the year! Maple Ridge Farms has some great tips on how you can increase your 4th quarter sales so you can reach your end-of-year goals! Take a look: The Easiest Way to Increase Your 4th Quarter Sales – Food Gifts It’s easy to sell holiday food gifts if you know a few basic points. The best place to start is with your existing customers. According to American Express, half of all business gifts purchased for the holidays are food gifts. Business food gift sales are estimated to be about $5 billion dollars. If your customers aren’t asking to buy food gifts from you, chances are it’s because they don’t know you sell food gifts. Here are 7 Key Facts to help you secure their business: 1. Convenience! Rather than sending an employee to the store or spending hours on the internet trying to find the right gifts, clients can easily purchase their food gifts from you. 2. Gifts to promote your client’s company and help build their brand. When recipients open their gift, the first thing they’ll see is your client’s logo. 3. Value driven pricing. Our volume purchasing and the absence of certain middle-men allows clients to purchase gifts from you for less than they would have to pay elsewhere for stuffy, overpriced brand names. 4. Fresher gifts taste better! Our gifts are packed-to-order just before the order is shipped, not made up many months in advance like so many gifts from the mail-order and retail giants. 5. We can arrange for shipment to the client or directly to each recipient. We will even enclose their greeting or business card. 6. No catalogs or promotional literature in your client’s gifts. Maple Ridge Farms never puts its catalog or promotional literature in your client’s gifts which is a very common practice for the giant food gift companies. 7. No risk . . . because all gifts come with a 100% Money-Back Guarantee. Be proactive! Make sure you clients know it is easy to purchase their holiday food gifts from you! Maple Ridge Farms has been named the top food gift company in the promotional products industry for 14 years in a row. Business gift programs are our only business, so we understand your needs. For 35 years we have been helping businesses strengthen their relationships with their customers and employees – and we’re eager to put the experience to work for you!
Indoff Holiday Schedule Providing Retractable Barriers For Industrial Safety
Indoff corporate will be closed the following days during the Holiday Season: Thursday, November 27th - Happy Thanksgiving Friday, November 28th - Day after Thanksgiving Thursday, December 25th - Merry Christmas Friday, December 26th - Day after Christmas Thursday, January 1, 2015 - Happy New Year
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Happy Holidays!
Halloween Celebration at Indoff!
The Indoff office celebrated Halloween by dressing up, having a chili cook-off and our 3rd annual pumpkin decorating contest! Congratulations to Allied Appliance for winning the contest!
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Marketing
by Jacque Etherton, Indoff Marketing Manager This time of year is always hectic, both personally and professionally. It is the holiday season which is wonderful and stressful in it’s own right. It is also the time of year to look back at what worked for you professionally in 2014, and think about your plans for 2015. This quote to me sums up what you have to do professionally this time of year “Don’t dwell on what went wrong. Instead, focus on what to do next. Spend your energies on moving forward toward finding the answer.” - Dennis Waitley
“In the marketing department there is quite a bit of change happening.”
Also this time of year often lends itself as a time to reflect and with that you often contemplate things you could change. In the marketing department there is quite a bit of change happening. In September, Laura Rusbarsky took a new position outside of Indoff, and I have also taken a new position. It has been a pleasure working with everyone and Indoff has been a wonderful place to work! Adam Heck will be helping to take over the marketing department. As well, there is a new Marketing Assistant, Lexy Polich. Lexy has been a joy to work with in the short time we’ve worked together, and I know she will do a great job. I asked Lexy to write a short introduction. Hi, my name is Lexy Polich and I am the new Marketing Assistant at Indoff! To give you a little bit of my background, I just graduated from Lindenwood University this past May and majored in Corporate Communications. Prior to joining Indoff, I interned at the American Diabetes Association and helped coordinate the annual Step Out: Walk to Stop Diabetes event. I look forward to working with all of you and helping you meet your marketing needs. Wishing everyone a wonderful Holiday Season and a Happy New Year!
Happy Anniversary!
Congratulations to the following Partners and Corporate staff who are celebrating their employment anniversaries with Indoff!
Mark Seeto Material Handling 15 years - November 15th
Tom Cherney Business Products 15 years - November 1st
Dennie Stieber Business Products 15 years - November 8th
Barb Radice Business Products 15 years - November 15th
Kathy Barber Business Products 15 years - November 15th
John Landro Business Products 10 years - December 1st
Mark Adams Business Products 10 years - December 1st
Bob Frederiksen Business Products 10 years - December 1st
Not Pictured: Chris Koeneman Allied Appliance 10 years - November 8th
Colin Faulkingham VP of e-Marketing 15 years - November 17th
Linette Going Credit Processor/Addressbook 15 years - December 16th
Cheryl Boring Customer Service Rep 15 years - November 1st
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Techie Talk
by Shawn Faulkingham & Colin Faulkingham
Out with the old and in with the new! 2014 was really a great year for Indoff. We integrated Allied Appliance into our systems and are seeing growth in most divisions. Here is a quick recap of 2014 in IT-Land: • Training Courtney Brazell as a System Support Analyst and Jr. DBA – what a joy it has been to add her to the group! • We integrated Allied into Confluence and our accounting systems • Replaced our 25-year old phone system with a new VoIP Phone system from Toshiba • Implemented a new storage platform and UCS servers • Many fixes/upgrades and new functionality in Confluence
Director of IT Systems
Vice President e-Marketing
“Out with the old and in with the new! 2014 was really a great year for Indoff.”
Plans and projects for 2015 include: • Public Web Site (www.indoff.com) update – coming in late January 2015! • Our first update to the infrastructure of Confluence since we launched it • Building on the infrastructure changes with interface updates to make Confluence more mobile-friendly • Implementing a new DR/BC plan (Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity – Jim made me explain this acronym…) • Security enhancements to help guard against man-made disasters – hacking, phishing and spoofing, oh my! • Continued training for Courtney and David. This list is not comprehensive but a broad overview of what we will be focusing on (with more detail and timelines in December). Ultimately, our end goal is to keep Confluence available, secure and fast. As technology changes, we continue to update our systems to keep up with all aspects of technology; hardware, software, virtualization and development. We continue to strive to make technology easy to use for our Partners, and we will continue that in 2015. Enjoy your upcoming holidays with family and friends!! Shawn, Colin, Jerome, David and Courtney
