Four Tips for Closing the Deal From Promo’s Top Salespeople

One of the most essential ingredients for success in the promotional products industry is cultivating a top-notch sales strategy. In promo, it’s all about relationship building and consultative selling. Sounds simple enough, but what does that mean in practice?

Every year, ASI Media selects the top salespeople in the promo industry, highlighting their biggest wins and most creative projects from their careers. We also ask these go-getters for their best sales and productivity tips to help elevate the industry as a whole. If you’re looking for inspiration on how to score more promo sales, consider these strategies from some of the branded merch realm’s highest achievers.

1. 

   Danni Zupan

   Become a trusted partner, not just an order taker: Danni Zupan of Counselor Top 40 distributor BAMKO works with Amazon, Microsoft and other well-known brands. Her work on revitalizing a recognition program for U.S.-based Amazon drivers helped to increase her personal sales more than 900% from 2023 to 2024. She spent over a year on discussions and collaboration with Amazon to help create a fully custom, built-from-scratch technology platform tailored to the client’s needs. “Find the clients that resonate with you and that you have a bond with,” Zupan said on an episode of the Promo Insiders podcast. “It makes your day so much better than bending over backwards for people who don’t appreciate it.”

2. 

   Katie Kailik

   Be a good listener: Katie Kailik of New Jersey-based promo supplier Peerless Umbrella thrives on customer-centric selling, with a focus on listening to clients’ pain points and responding with solutions. “It comes down to empathy,” she says. “It’s identifying with my customers – understanding their needs, their goals, what they’re working on, and then doing everything in my power to support them to the best of my abilities.” Instead of leading with products or a straight sales pitch, Kailik recommended during a recent episode of Promo Insiders that salespeople start with one-on-one business development meetings focused on understanding goals and challenges.

3. 

   Jan Meuth

   Go above and beyond: Jan Meuth, vice president of business development at You Name It Specialties, a Counselor Best Place To Work, has amassed a stable of fiercely loyal clients during her long career in promo, thanks to her willingness to go the extra mile. For instance, several times a year, she facilitates a large hat order for Crawford Electric Supply – ensuring that the right hat gets to the right branch and that each product is properly invoiced to ensure that marketing exec Jenny Conway can allocate costs correctly. “It’s a nightmare, but Jan makes it easy on us,” Conway adds. She’ll also take the time to help clients translate tricky logos to merch in the most effective way. “I like to help clients think outside the box,” Meuth says.

4. 

   Jackson Williams

   Take initiative: Jackson Williams of American Solutions for Business (ASB) attributes his well-honed work ethic to his early success in the industry. The 27-year-old earned ASB’s 2024 Rookie of the Year award, after growing his revenue by 340% last year. Williams, however, says he’s slower to pick things up compared to industry veterans, instead relying on long hours and lots of diligence to level the playing field. “I tell people all the time, it’s one of the hardest things I’ve done in my professional career, for sure,” Williams said during an episode of Promo Insiders.

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