Two sales reps have been a major help in spreading the word about Binc to bookseller accounts and are now encouraging other reps to do so, too.
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| Kate McCune | |
HarperCollins field rep Kate McCune worked in bookselling before joining the publisher 14 years ago. "I spent so many years being a bookseller and working with booksellers that I know a lot of people don't have a cushion," she said.
McCune, who is also a Binc board member, initially heard about Binc at trade shows. "My kinship to booksellers kind of made me predisposed to work with Binc," explained McCune. She also felt that it was critical to support independent booksellers. "This channel is hugely important," she said. "I think it's crucial that we're there to just help people have the lives they want to have and not have it go off the rails. It feels like a no-brainer to help out on that front."
In 2014, McCune and Kit Steinaway put together small, one-sheet kits for sales reps to take on calls. The idea, McCune explained, is for a sales rep to talk about Binc for just 30 seconds to a minute and leave behind some literature. McCune has found that a low-tech, face-to-face method, which she called the "pony express way," seems to be best for spreading information about Binc among both booksellers and sales reps.
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| Meg Sherman (along with many other bookfolk), in a Binc video of support. | |
Likewise, Meg Sherman, a sales rep at Norton, who was an independent bookseller for 13 years, is a major advocate for Binc. "Strong booksellers need stronger bookstores need a stronger book industry," she said.
"When booksellers aren't able to come to work because of things going on in their lives, when they're worried about how to pay their bills, they might leave [the industry] to take another job that they'd rather not take," she continued. "Anything we can do to help with that and keep those stores strong means a stronger industry and stronger communities."
After a series of historic floods in Colorado in 2013, she took notice of Binc's work. "They had worked with several booksellers at Boulder Book Store to help them in midst of the floods," recalled Sherman. "It was so immediate that they got on my radar."
Ever since, Sherman has been advocating for Binc. Sherman's territory as a sales rep covers seven Western states, and while giving rep talks around the region she takes time to mention Binc and the sorts of things they do for booksellers. And if she hears about a struggling staff member while speaking with store owners, Sherman doesn't hesitate to mention Binc. Sherman has also begun talking to other sales reps about advocating for Binc.
Sherman said has consistently been struck by Binc's multi-faceted efforts, which include providing grants to offset bills, advocating on behalf of booksellers while dealing with hospitals, insurance companies and similar institutions, and providing scholarships to booksellers to attend regional and national trade shows. "It really impresses me."