Amanda Gianotti is a recognition specialist. She obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Loyola University in 1986. She spent a few years selling medical supplies before being recruited into the family awards business. Amanda worked closely with her father, a Harvard MBA, learning every aspect of running the business.
In addition, she participated in industry based training to learn everything from how to build a trophy to the most complicated fabrication methods for custom products. In 2018 Amanda celebrated her 30th year with Allogram. Also in 2018 Amanda completed the Goldman Sach’s 10,000 Small Businesses program.
Amanda currently serves on the board of the Award Associates of America. AAA is an invitation only buyers’ group of the nation’s top awards industry professionals. Allogram joined the AAA in 2006 and Amanda was elected to the board in 2015. Amanda also serves on The Awards and Personalization Association board and on a local non-profit board, The Red Devils. Amanda’s past board positions include Genesee Valley Outdoor Learning Center, Hereford Lacrosse and the West Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce. 
Amanda, along with team member Mike David, developed and patented a product called Allolight. Allolight is an LED base used to illuminate acrylic. This product won first place for Best New Technology and third place for Best New Product at the industry’s international trade show in February 2001. Amanda continues to develop new and innovative products for the recognition industry.
Amanda resides in Baltimore, MD and is the mother of 4 daughters. With only the youngest at home, she is on the brink of an empty nest and looking forward to traveling. Her oldest daughter has joined her in the family business. Daughters number 2 and 3 are working as mechanical and civil engineers respectively. The youngest is a sophomore at University of Maryland studying civil engineering.
Connect with Amanda on LinkedIn and follow Allogram on Facebook and Twitter.
Transcript
Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for GWBC Radio’s Open for Business. Now, here’s your host.
Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Lee Kantor here. Another episode of GWBC Open for Business. And this is going to be a good one. Today, we have with us Amanda Gianotti with Allogram. Welcome, Amanda.
Amanda Gianotti : [00:00:29] Thank you. It’s good to be here.
Lee Kantor: [00:00:31] Well, before we get too far into things, tell us about Allogram. How are you serving folks?
Amanda Gianotti : [00:00:36] Well, we are a recognition specialist. We fabricate all sorts of custom awards to promote engagement, and goodwill, and anything positive.
Lee Kantor: [00:00:52] Now, how did you get into this line of work?
Amanda Gianotti : [00:00:55] I am second generation. It’s a family business. My parents started in 1984.
Lee Kantor: [00:01:01] And then, at some point, you decided, “Hey, this sounds like a good career choice,” and you got involved?
Amanda Gianotti : [00:01:09] Well, not exactly. I graduated with a degree in Biology and sold medical supplies for a while. And my father saw how good I was doing in sales. And so, he recruited me to sell awards. And it took him a couple of years to convince me, but I’m glad I joined the business. It’s been a great run. I’ve been doing it now for 32 years now.
Lee Kantor: [00:01:33] Now, what’s it like being part of a family-owned business as opposed to kind of when you were in the medical sales at the beginning of your career where it, probably, wasn’t a family-owned business?
Amanda Gianotti : [00:01:45] Well, family-owned businesses certainly have their challenges. I think family is harder on family than they are on outsiders, but there’s a lot of benefits that go along with that. Now, when I was in my prior career, I was an outside sales representative. So, my closest supervisor was about 150 miles away from me. So, I still worked pretty independently. So, I don’t know that it’s necessarily a fair comparison, but it has been great. And in 2015 or 2016, my daughter joined the business. So, now, we have a third generation involved.
Lee Kantor: [00:02:20] Wow. That must be pretty rewarding.
Amanda Gianotti : [00:02:24] Absolutely.
Lee Kantor: [00:02:26] Now, does it impact your company culture being family-run?
Amanda Gianotti : [00:02:33] Well, we try to have a culture of openness. And honesty and integrity are definitely top of mind across the board; although, I had an employee ironically resigned the other day, and she did it with sadness. She needs more money and I can’t pay her more. But she said, “Although I’ll never have the last name, I always felt as I was part of the family.” And I think that’s a good thing.
Lee Kantor: [00:03:02] Now, do you think that having it kind of go through generations that that impacts how you treat the employees? Does it become more of a family? Do you look at it, we’re all in this together more, you think?
Amanda Gianotti : [00:03:14] Oh, I definitely look at it as we’re all in this together. And I mean, I consider every one of my employees my work family. And I try to keep up with what they’re doing in their personal lives and try to be a part of that as much as I can.
Intro: [00:03:28] Now, does that transfer that kind of attitude in that culture? Do you try to transfer that to your clients? Because in in a way that when you’re helping them with recognition and awards, you’re helping them create the culture that they desire.
Amanda Gianotti : [00:03:44] That’s true. But I think with the clients, we take a little more of a professional approach, not quite as personal. Maybe that’s wrong. I’m not really sure. But we try to be at the top of our game at every stage of the order. So much of what we do is custom, and people come to us, and they just don’t know what they want, and they don’t know what’s possible. So, we really educate a whole lot during the sales process. So, we try to present ourselves as friendly, absolutely, and professional, but the industry expert, the one who can help guide them through their choices.
Lee Kantor: [00:04:20] Now, what does an engagement typically look like? Is this the first time they’ve ever done awards? Like how do you get them-.
Amanda Gianotti : [00:04:28] Generally, I mean, a lot of our business is repeat business. So, they’re familiar. But for a new engagement, sometimes, they’re coming from a competitor, and they’ve done things in the past, and they’ll send pictures, “Can you do this? Can you do that?” But many times, it is the first time. And they have an idea of what they think they might want until they find out maybe what it costs or what’s involved. And then, we offer them a solution that fits their budget better or their timeline better, and just offer education along the way. We try to give good, better, best options to hit any of their price points. Most things are driven by budget, unfortunately. So, we are conscious of that. And there’s different manufacturing techniques we can use that will allow us to do things faster, more efficient with a similar look, kind of mocking the high-end look without the price.
Lee Kantor: [00:05:27] Now, like you said, a lot of your work is repeat. Is this situation, especially with a new client that you’ve helped them with this award, and then this becomes just like a regular part of their way that they deal with their staff and their team?
Amanda Gianotti : [00:05:43] Yes, correct.
Lee Kantor: [00:05:46] And when you take that kind of long-term view, that must breed kind of loyalty and like you have to think in the longer term, it’s not a transaction anymore because they want to have a solution that they can just kind of rinse and repeat, right? So, they don’t have to kind of recreate the wheel every time.
Amanda Gianotti : [00:06:07] Yes. And it’s relationship building, and it’s building trust. And that’s a huge part of it. And earning their business, and earning their trust, and getting them to believe in us, and understand what we’re offering them, and to be able to just trust us and partner with us. Really, our clients are our partners because we’re trying to help them achieve their goals.
Lee Kantor: [00:06:33] Now, when it comes to awards, what is it that a person who hasn’t been giving awards out should know about the importance of recognition?
Amanda Gianotti : [00:06:45] Oh, my. Well, recognition, it’s been proven. The power of recognition is real, and it’s strong, and you can make someone feel so much better about themselves and the job they’re doing, really, by just saying thank you, but by complimenting that thank you with a token. And it does not have to cost much. It can be very inexpensive, but it’s very effective. And every time they see that token, they’re reminded of that memory that they had when they were given it, and the good feelings, and the goodwill, and the positive nature that goes along with that.
Lee Kantor: [00:07:25] Now, when you’re working with a new client, especially about leveraging this power of recognition, is it a conversation where you’re trying to get to the heart of what is the objective like? Is this something that you’re doing as an incentive for a salesperson? Or is this just something to talk about the culture of the company, like you want to incentivize kind of positive behavior? Like how do you kind of wrap your arms around the kind of the why behind the award?
Amanda Gianotti : [00:07:55] You know, it’s all of the above and 50 more factors. And it all depends. It depends on the situation. It depends on the company. It depends on what their goals are, absolutely, and we need to know that. So, everything is variable. And that’s what makes the business a huge challenge, especially for onboarding new people because to learn all the variables is difficult. There’s nothing set in stone and everything has an exception. So, although we say we don’t do X, Y, Z, well, we can do it as long as this, this and this fall in place. So, there’s really no set-in-stone rules. There’s just guidelines.
Amanda Gianotti : [00:08:38] And the most difficult challenge is to figure out exactly what is the customer’s goal, what are they trying to accomplish, and what is their timeline because that definitely limits what they can do. And then, we go to work to try to match a product to elicit those feelings that they want when the recipient receives it. A lot of times, I say we’re masters of the perfect moment. We work with our clients to determine how they want that perfect moment to look. And then, we go to work to create a product that will elicit those feelings.
Lee Kantor: [00:09:16] Now, we’re talking a lot about recognition, but it sounds like a lot of your work is customizable. So, therefore, to me, would open up to things like gifts as well. Does your service go beyond awards to, also, personalized gifts?
Amanda Gianotti : [00:09:30] Absolutely, yes. Personalized gifts are part of our line, for sure. And signage, and name badges as well, identification type products.
Lee Kantor: [00:09:40] So, now, when you get into that side of the business, is that a different, I guess, occasion for the recognition, or award, or gift in this case?
Amanda Gianotti : [00:09:50] Well, gifts are pretty similar in that you’ve got to consider the recipient, and what they might like, and what your goal is, and, of course, what your budget is. Signage and identification is different, and that’s generally more cut and dry. You’ve got a need, a set of specs you have to meet, but recognition is much more fun.
Lee Kantor: [00:10:11] Now, how do you kind of stay top of mind with your customer to let them know you do these varying things? Because I would imagine the occasion for one may not think of you for the other thing.
Amanda Gianotti : [00:10:22] That’s very true. People tend to think of us in silos, and that’s a big challenge to cross over those silos and make that connection that, hey, we do this too. One way we try to bridge those gaps is in our showroom. The showrooms are all equipped with sections of gifts, and signage, and awards. And then, the awards are broken down in different categories. So, hopefully, when they’re in browsing one, they see another.
Lee Kantor: [00:10:52] Now, in the journey that you’ve been on as an entrepreneur and taking over the business, you decided to become a certified women-owned business. Can you talk about why that was done and what impact that has made in your business?
Amanda Gianotti : [00:11:07] Well, there are some advantages to being woman-owned when it comes to government contracting. So, that was probably the main reason I initially looked into it. But the networking and friendships that are made by getting to know other women in business is invaluable. We look out for each other, we do business with each other, we pass leads to each other. And that’s just a great tool to have in your tool belt, but the friendships that have been made over the years are incredible.
Lee Kantor: [00:11:44] Now, I’m looking at your bio here, and it says that you are active in a lot of boards related to your industry. Why was that important to you to kind of lean into the organizations that serve the whole industry and take leadership positions?
Amanda Gianotti : [00:12:03] Well, with 30 years experience in the industry, it’s what I know. So, that’s where I can give back the most. So, I serve on two different industry-specific boards. One of them is for very selfish reasons. It’s a group of the top 70 retailers in the country. And when we get together, there’s so much information exchanged. A lot of what I know I owe to that group. And then, the other group is sort of the association that governs the industry, so to speak. So, to be able to share that information on an association level, and pass on best practices, and improve the industry as a whole benefits all of us.
Lee Kantor: [00:12:45] Now, any advice for young people out there who are maybe getting involved in this industry, and they don’t know how to plug in? Like there’s one thing a lot of people join a bunch of organizations and associations, but they don’t kind of lean in and don’t take leadership positions. They don’t volunteer. They think that just by joining is enough. Do you have any advice for those folks that are new in the industry?
Amanda Gianotti : [00:13:11] I would say to get active in the association and learn from the other members of the association, take advantage of whatever educational opportunities they present. That’s going to be the best way to grow your business and learn. And if we’re not learning, we’re going to die because you’ve got to constantly learn, and change, and adapt. 2020 is a great example of that. Look at what COVID has done to everyone. So, by having a professional association to lean on, you have a source of education, and opinions, and different resources to pull from.
Lee Kantor: [00:13:53] Now, has your work changed in the fact that probably some of your customers are now in this kind of new work-from-home environment, and they may not see their employees as much? Is this may be more of a reason to create recognition opportunities and gift-giving opportunities?
Amanda Gianotti : [00:14:12] Absolutely. I mean, the need for recognition has not gone away; yet, business is dramatically down because of COVID, and work-from-home has really changed the employment climate, and it’s something I really think businesses need to look at strongly. I have four daughters, the youngest of which is a sophomore in college. So, they’re adult grownups, and they’re out there in the workforce. And my one daughter shared a story with me the other day that really resonated. She has been working from home since March. She has not been into her office at all. Her entire office has gone remote in all their locations. And they have multiple locations across the country. And she got married during COVID and a package showed up at her door. And we get packages every day from Amazon, but we know what’s in them because we’ve ordered them on. This package was from her work. She was completely elated at the fact that they took the time to send her a wedding gift.
Amanda Gianotti : [00:15:14] And you can get that same effect for these Zoom meetings, or Microsoft Teams, or whatever you’re using. You could send a package, do not open until Tuesday at 2:00, and have everyone open on-screen together, and take some screenshots, and just build that camaraderie, and help your culture along, and make people feel like they’re still connected because some of them haven’t been in the office rubbing elbows with anyone for months.
Amanda Gianotti : [00:15:44] And just the way she presented that to me, and you could just hear the happiness in her voice that it’s really something, I think, that’s kind of untapped right now by employers. I don’t think they’re doing it much. We’ve done some of it, certainly. We, certainly, are talking it up. But there’s added expense with that. Shipping each gift, even if it’s a $10 gift, and you add another 10 in shipping, you’ve doubled your budget to get it to them. And then, you have to rely on the carriers to get it to them on time, and they’re all struggling with their extra workload. So, there’s challenges abound, but work-from-home has definitely changed the climate.
Lee Kantor: [00:16:26] But that’s why you need kind of an expert to guide you to really maximize the opportunity, because the lay person may not understand all of the variables and had to really get the most bang for your buck.
Amanda Gianotti : [00:16:38] Yes, absolutely.
Lee Kantor: [00:16:40] So, now, if somebody wanted to learn more, have a more substantive conversation with you or somebody on your team, what’s the website?
Amanda Gianotti : [00:16:47] The website is allogam.com. It’s A-L-L-O-G-R-A-M dot com.
Lee Kantor: [00:16:55] Good stuff. Well, Amanda, thank you so much for sharing your story today.
Amanda Gianotti : [00:16:59] Thank you. It’s a pleasure.
Lee Kantor: [00:17:00] All right. This is Lee Kantor. We will see you all next time on GWBC Open for Business.
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