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Mort Eichenberg is 79 years old. A sales representative for the Val-Pak franchise of Sacramento, California, he knows the secret to closing a sale: "Listening. I've been at this all my life and I know it is very important." On the wall of his office, a certificate shows he's right. Last year he won it for selling more than 500 advertisements for the Largo, Florida-based Val-Pak Direct Marketing Systems.
Eichenberg is one of 1,300 North American representatives selling for more than 250 franchise offices in this country and Canada. The offices mail the widely recognized blue Val-Pak envelopes to a geographical area representing on average 25,000 homes. Val-Pak envelopes end up in one out of every two mailboxes in this country. They contain roughly 26 coupon advertisements for mainly local retailers that have been sold by Val-Pak reps.
Jay Feagles is one of Eichenberg's best customers. He owns Feagles Inc., which operates 16 hair salons in the Sacramento area. Feagles lists two reasons for his Val-Pak seven-year...