Cleanlink News November 13 2009
Pro-Link Awarded GSA Contract
Pro-Link, Inc., a nationwide jansan buying and marketing group based in
Canton, Mass., announced that they have been awarded a General Services
Administration (GSA) contract, allowing their members to market paper,
trash can liners, and soap products to United States government owned
and operated facilities throughout the country.
A GSA contract allows vendors, such as Pro-Link’s distributor members, to sell directly to the federal government.
According to Mike Nelson, Vice President of Marketing for Pro-Link,
attaining a GSA contract has been a fairly long and cumbersome process;
however, he believes it will greatly benefit the organization’s
distributor-members.
He adds that an application for other GSA contracts to market several
other cleaning products, such as chemicals and floor pads, is expected
to be finalized within the next 60 to 90 days.
“This has significant sales potential for our members,” says Nelson.
“In almost all cases, it is difficult to sell to federal government
buyers without a GSA contract. Pro-Link has taken this action for its
members to open up an entirely new, and [we anticipate] fairly large
market for them.”
Indicating the size and potential of the GSA contracts, Nelson says
that the federal government now buys approximately 20 percent of all
janitorial products sold in the United States. “So you can see how
significant this is for our members,” he adds.
Nelson also points out that to the best of his knowledge no other jansan-focused buying group has a GSA contract.
Nearly all of Pro-Link’s distributors signed up for the GSA program
soon after it was announced. To help it’s distributor take full
advantage of the opportunity, Pro-Link has developed a sales training
manual for its members entitled “Selling to Uncle Sam: I Want You to
Sell to Me,” to help familiarize its members with the program and how
it works.
“There are many benefits for our members being able to market to the
[Federal] government,” Nelson says. “And one of them that is that the
government is recession resistant, so this could not have come along at
a better time.”
