At iPROMOTEu, we love our Affiliates and are committed to helping them achieve their goals. We also believe in sharing their stories — how they got into the promotional products business, what led them to join our organization, how we’ve supported their success, and what they enjoy most about working with us. Check back often for more Affiliate success stories, and be sure to sign up for our newsletter to be notified when new spotlights are available.
B Marked Promotions is an innovative advertising specialties company based out of Steamboat Springs, Colorado. It was founded by Dan Hagney in 2013. B Marked Promotions’ biggest priority is connecting with customers and providing the highest quality products on the market in order to make any occasion special. They help their clients brainstorm and plan effective marketing strategies to meet their goals and stay within their budgets.
B Marked Promotions has a diverse customer base. “I learned a long time ago to diversify,” said Dan. “We went through a big loss in 2007, so right now we have clients all over the country and in different markets such as healthcare, finance, engineering, law, and resort hospitality to name a few. You name it, we cover it.”
Dan began in the promotional products industry in 2005 when he joined another distributor as a salesperson. After nine years of working for the distributor, he decided he was ready to start his own company. Having had nearly a decade of experience in the industry, he knew what it would take to be successful. And so he reached out to a handful of companies that could help accelerate and support him in his new venture.
Ultimately, iPROMOTEu stood out among the pack. “From the beginning, iPROMOTEu was just there to help. The initial process with them was so easy. They view our relationship as them working for us and not the other way around,” Dan said. “An important thing for me was being able to keep my name. It really allows for the autonomy of your own company.”
Benefits of Affiliating with iPROMOTEu
Being able to leverage iPROMOTEu’s in-house specialists is extremely valuable to Dan’s business. “Since I became an Affiliate of iPROMOTEu, I’ve been in the top 100. The hands-on attention I receive because of this has allowed me to grow my business even more. The relationships I’ve developed with dedicated specialists at iPROMOTEu have helped me grow in different areas such as marketing, print packaging, and even business development,” Dan said. “I know that I can rely on iPROMOTEu to help me in these areas.”
Relying on iPROMOTEu even helped Dan close a big deal recently. “I had the iPROMOTEu team help me work through an RFP, and I was able to land a really large client because of their help. Now I’m working to circle back around with the client and grow our relationship with them.”
Dan also takes advantage of iPROMOTEu’s out-of-office support. “iPROMOTEu also has a really capable team of individuals that they dedicate to covering Affiliates in the Elite 100 who might be out on vacation or away from the office. When you run a business, it’s nice to be able to step back for a little bit and just take some time for yourself,” Dan said. “I have a vacation coming up soon, and I’ve never done this in more than six years of being a business owner, but I may leave my computer at my office because I know I can rely on iPROMOTEu to handle things while I’m gone.”
Not only has iPROMOTEu helped Dan grow his business, but they’ve also made it easier for him to manage things on the go. “iPROMOTEu has increased its technological capabilities to allow for use of different platforms even on the go, such as placing an order through my phone, which allows me to be more nimble as a salesperson. If I’m at a meeting and a customer needs an order placed, I can do it right then and there.”
When asked to cite just one thing as the greatest benefit of his affiliation with iPROMOTEu, Dan said it would have to be the relationships he has made. “When I say relationships, it’s really a three-pronged approach to relationships. There are the relationships I’ve made with the iPROMOTEu team whom I know I can rely on to execute what’s needed for my business. Then there are the relationships I’ve made with various vendors through events and channels that iPROMOTEu has created. And lastly, there are the relationships I’ve made with other iPROMOTEu Affiliates,” Dan said.
“When you own a company in this industry, you’re kind of on an island unless you have a big team. But having other Affiliates that you can bounce ideas off of and become friends with is huge because we can talk about what we’ve done with clients, and it really allows us to leverage our relationships from a work perspective in a non-threatening way. It’s a very symbiotic relationship with other Affiliates.”
A Successful Affiliation
Along with the valuable relationships he’s made and the service offerings he takes advantage of, Dan also appreciates iPROMOTEu’s commitment to constantly improving. “If there’s a piece of the puzzle that’s missing and you tell iPROMOTEu, they’ll work on it,” Dan said. “They’re always working to improve. It really does feel like they work for us and that they are our employees. When I voice concerns, questions, or suggestions, they seem to always get taken care of.”
Looking ahead, Dan and B Marked Promotions are excited about growing responsibly. “We’d like to grow our business 50-70 percent in the next year or two, but we want to grow responsibly. I want to be able to hire more team members if we need to, and just really make sure we’re accommodating our growth by staffing up accordingly. We’d also like to focus on some larger clients in order to achieve exponential growth rather than just being able to say we gained 10 clients.”
Dan recognizes the impact iPROMOTEu has made on his business and appreciates how great of a relationship he has with the iPROMOTEu team. “I wouldn’t be able to do what I do now without iPROMOTEu, period. I managed to find a nice relationship spot with them and it’s working great for me. There’s no way I could be in the elite 100 and have grown my business the way I have without iPROMOTEu,” said Dan.
Since affiliating with iPROMOTEu, B Marked Promotions has seen a growth of 25%. “If I managed all of what iPROMOTEu manages for me, I wouldn’t be able to be doing what I’m doing every day. It’s allowed me to grow my business and know that I can continue to grow it further because I know I can rely on them to support me in that growth.”