Feature Story

Billinge and Murante

Chairmen of the Boards
By Gretchen Cain

“Most of our employees came to In the News, looking for a family, found it, and never left.” – Tom Billinge, president

“Realizing our dreams is the core of In the News. We ask a lot of our employees, but because it’s their dream too, they are amply rewarded.” -- Barry Murante, vice president

“Soon we were targeting a market of wedding announcements, business promotions, restaurant reviews, and all the other good news that was fit to re-print.” – June Murante, manager

Hurricanes, property insurance, taxes … all have had an effect on businesses in 2007, but there is an upside to an economy that’s down. While manufacturers without a clear niche in the marketplace are folding, others with a solid customer base are continuing to brand their product lines and expand into new and discarded territories. It is survival of the fittest.

A case in point is In the News, Inc., a manufacturing company in Tampa, whose tenacious owners are not only optimistic about better times ahead, but have set the bar higher for sales profits than ever before. Tom Billinge, president, and Barry Murante, vice president, are expecting to increase weekly sales at their company from $200,000 to $250,000. “We can do it,” said Billinge of the 1.25% increase. “It is so important to continually set goals. We have weathered many tough times, and we’re not afraid to forge ahead.” This resilience comes from more than 30 years working together as partners in the custom lamination and engraving of plaques business. It is also a result of understanding people and what motivates them, beginning with each other.

During a recent trip down “memory lane”, Billinge, a transplant from Pennsylvania, and Murante, from New Jersey, recalled it was 1978 when they first met in Jacksonville, Florida, and became fast friends. The country was in a recession and the economy was uncertain then, too. Murante said he isn’t sure if it was “instincts or innocence,” both men being in their early twenties, that led them to the Gator Bowl and opportunity.
With plaques hand-made by Murante, and Billinge working the crowd, they sold out their inventory to fans and players who wanted a remembrance of the Clemson Tigers (17) victory over the Ohio Buckeyes (15). With foresight, Murante had made plaques for both teams, so they could expect at least 50% of the attendants to be interested in their product. Their experience with football team players and coaches, who gave it their best at the Gator Bowl, win or lose, was a foreshadowing of the day when they would have their own “team” of 100 employees working for them at In the News, Inc., and occupy their own 22,000 sq. ft. building on three acres at 8517 Sunstate Street, off Waters Ave.

Billinge and Murante realized early on two important factors critical for business success, the first being to match one’s natural talents with the job. Billinge was the salesman, with the gift of knowing how to identify a customer and close a deal, and Murante, an artisan, understood the importance of crafting a high-quality product. They have continued in those roles.

Secondly, planned expansion is key. After claiming the college market with newspaper clippings and photos of sports team winnings mounted on plaques and laminated for display purposes, the next logical product sale was college graduation diplomas.

“We built our company, one employee at a time,” said Billinge. Like the proud parents Billinge and Murante called upon to buy college diplomas, they explained how, in addition to themselves, they started with two part-time high school kids, and their headquarters was a small, rented warehouse without air conditioning. Eventually, they were able to add a third part-timer to work in the production end, and then Murante’s sister, June, came aboard to help with sales orders. Each morning she read the local newspapers and began making telephone calls to people whose stories had potential.

The business name, In the News, was a hook to catch the customer, who related it a television show or radio broadcast. “Soon we were targeting a market of weddings announcements, business promotions, restaurant reviews, and all the other good news that was fit to re-print,” said June. In order not to “run up” the telephone bill, June focused her sales calls on local people. The company’s big breakthrough happened in the late 1980s when the cost of telephone service became competitive enough that the growing sales staff was able to reach beyond the immediate area to the “long distance” customer.

Today, In the News, Inc. subscribes to more than 6,000 publications, including newspapers from every major city in the United States, business journals and trade magazines, and has a customer base of 500,000. The production is still done on site to preserve control of the order and delivery time.

“Since high turnover is a company’s biggest liability, any credit due our success goes to our devoted and dedicated employees,” said Billinge. “Most of our employees came to In the News looking for a family, found it, and never left.”

“When we are hiring, we aren’t screening for a specific skill. Our jobs don’t require college or trade union skills, but we are looking for employees who will buy into our dream, and make it theirs too,” said Murante. “Realizing our dreams is the core of In the News. We ask a lot of our employees, but because it’s their dream too, they are amply rewarded.”

By industry standards, employees receive an impressive benefits package and, as the occasion merits, even gifts to keep them motivated. For example, each employee who celebrates his or her seventh anniversary with In the News, Inc. receives a Gucci designer watch, a twist on the traditional “gold watch” employees at companies often receive upon retirement. Murante was first to receive a Gucci, and it generated such excitement among employees, the partners decided to make it a seventh anniversary tradition.

Billinge explained how sales calls at In the News, Inc. differ from telemarketing at other companies. “Because of our ‘feel good’ product, when we call, we are not bothering anyone. The nature of the sale lends itself to a positive conversation. People love to receive acknowledgement, and we emphasize this by congratulating them, or their family member, on the accomplishment, whether they actually buy or not,” said Billinge. Billinge said each call is “qualified” to ensure the right person is contacted because this can lead to referrals, even “golden eggs.” For instance, if a satisfied customer tells at least five other people within five days of his positive experience, and if those five people each make a purchase, and spread the word, within about a month’s time, there could be 25 additional sales.

In addition to referrals, Billings said the sales team practices vertical marketing. The display of an article or photo is pitched to several different people. He used the example of selling a mounted photo of a snazzy mustang from the cover of an automobile trade magazine, not just to the owner of the vehicle, but also to the person who supplied the interior upholstery, painted the body, etc.

The information to be engraved on the plaque, and where the plaque will be displayed (in an office wall or near the entrance to a restaurant), determines the type of sale. An award or promotion could be classed as a “fun or personal sale,” or in the case of a new business, it is a “value-added” sale. Murante compares presenting a celebratory plaque to a friend or family member to taking them out to dinner. “The difference is the plaque will be hanging on the wall, long after the dinner is over,” he said.

Asked if they had it to over again, both Billinge and Murante laughed and said they wouldn’t change or improve anything. Everything that happened, from the time they met in 1978 until now, has been a progression and the “perfect marriage” between the printing and the engraving business.

gcain@ij.net (727)403-6726

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