National Clothesline

As I enter another year as a consultant for drycleaners and performing seminar after seminar, I frequently run into people who recognize my mug from my articles in National Clothesline and the manual whose cover I currently grace.

But no matter how hard I work and how much I get out there, I will never have the distinction of having my face seen by as many people as Ray Kramer.

Believe it or not, Rex Carrigan and I have to take a back seat to the most recognized man in drycleaning delivery history.

Seriously, we may have knocked on thousands of doors through the years, but Ray Kramer has not only appeared on many a doorstep, but also inside mailboxes and even in many living rooms.

So who is he?

OK, so you are asking “Who is Ray Kramer?”

Ray is the man who has been on Sanitone’s route marketing materials since 2001. As I travel from coast to coast, I continually see this man on many a flyer, door-hanger, delivery vehicles, store-front signs and even a billboard.

You know who I am talking about, this guy is everywhere and he has directly and indirectly been involved in the development of many drycleaners’ routes and overall business.

He truly represents the importance of branding and the overall display of how to market your route. I made it my personal goal to find out who this man is in real life, and let me tell you, the journey is worth sharing.

In a recent seminar in Boston, I was attending a cocktail party and chatting with a couple of folks from Sanitone.

As the conversation got going, I starting to talk about “that old man” who is everywhere, on every marketing piece and how I sometimes got sick of looking at him on the stacks and stacks of door hangers that I and others have put out.

Little did I know that Connie Kramer, who is the marketing director of Sanitone, was actually “that old man’s” wife. Instantly, I switched gears and said, “He is the best looking man I ever met!”

After a few laughs, I explained that I really wanted to find out who he is and what he does in real life. So I flew to Cincinnati and met the man who can be seen on thousands and thousands of door hangers.

Ray Kramer has been in the manufacturing and sales business for many years and, yes, he has never delivered or picked up anyone’s drycleaning.

The actual truth of the matter is that when Sanitone had prepared for the photo shoot for their annual licensee marketing kit, the model was sick and Connie Kramer called her work-from-home husband to stand in. They had set up with cameras, lights etc, and needed someone to represent the perfect delivery driver.

Ray agreed and the rest is history. The image of a perfect delivery driver has been represented by a man with a friendly smile and pleasant appearance.

Instantly the Ray Kramer piece outsold any previous marketing image in Sanitone’s history.

Four years later, he appeared again in the ever-so-famous “walking towards you with a bag” pose. This picture is still very popular with many of you.

The funny thing is that Ray charged Sanitone a round of golf to photograph him; many of you whose business has grown this past decade owe him one, too. Trust me, he loves the game and would be willing to fly out to play 18 holes with any of you.

The point of this article is that it is critical in every marketing aspect to be able to do three things.

One, taking my example of putting my foot in my mouth in my initial conversation with Connie Kramer, you must be able to dance on your feet and positive results will be achieved. Although I wasn’t trying to be malicious, I was setting myself up for trouble.

Two, present your route to a prospect just like the simple image Ray Kramer had. A clean look, representing your product, with a friendly smile, painting a clear picture of how the route works

When you keep it simple, you will have success in building your routes.

The third and final aspect is that if there are some specific prospects you are targeting, they may only be a few people away. I have always wanted to meet this mysterious man on the door hangers, and a chance meeting in Boston allowed for this to come true.

Thus, in turn, if you are working on building your routes, referrals are always a great option. Your dream client or commercial account may only be a few people away, as long as you don’t stick your foot in your mouth.

By the way, Ray has retired from the modeling business but still appears on many classic marketing pieces. Sanitone has traded him in for a younger model, literally. But I can only imagine how people have seen him hanging on their door when they get home, wondering if he is really their driver.

You have to admit, though, that it would be nice to have a route driver who is clean-cut, pleasant-looking and appears absolutely trustworthy.

Thanks to the folks at Sanitone for allowing me to visit and thanks to Ray for spending an afternoon with me. I tried to get him to actually go door-to-door, but he said he was late for a round of golf.