The third ply of the form, given to customers, includes two small ads from businesses within the hotel, parking rules, and instructions for opening room doors with guest keys. As a distributor who sells to an industry that values multiple copies, Gill admits his clients differ from companies that rely on computers to keep records. However, the outlook for distributors in other parts of the country may not be as bleak as it appears, he says. Gill points out that large direct-selling manufacturers have closed a number of facilities, creating an open market for distributors who want the business. But on the other hand, there's still a little bit of mistrust in the computer.
People like to know they have a hard backup.
If all else fails, Gill says it doesn't hurt to remind customers about Uncle Sam. Our company is still forced to file copies of our invoices and keep them for five years. Compared with Gill's unit set and continuous forms success, Dennis Diodate's traditional products' business isn't exactly booming. But despite a 25 percent drop in traditional forms sales over the past three years, the San Jose, Calif., distributor says traditional products still make up a large portion of his business. Business has changed though.