By Linda Bishop

“I’m writing an article on why print buyers decide to fire printers. Do you have a good story?”

I emailed my request to four print-buying pros. Seconds later the first reply arrived in my in-box.

“I just fired one and I’ll be happy to tell you why,” MAF wrote.

MAF buys print for a large Northeastern university. She spends millions of dollars annually and is required by her administration to get three bids on every job. We talked by phone and she told me her story.

“Art (yes, it’s a fake name) worked with my predecessor. He was used to dropping in whenever he was in the neighborhood.” MAF said. “I stopped that because I’m too busy to deal with unannounced visits. I told Art if he wanted to see me, make an appointment. After that I hardly ever saw him.”

“But you still gave him opportunities to quote,” I said.

“Yes. I liked the company. I’d known the owner for years and they did a good job. Art got plenty of chances, but his prices were consistently high.”

“Did he call to discuss the situation?”

“Once in a great while he’d call wanting to go over twenty old quotes. I would have been happy to go over one or two, but I wasn’t going to waste my time going over every single quote he’d done in the past three months. It was ridiculous. Those jobs were long gone.”

“Would you have told him where his pricing fit in if he’d asked sooner?” I said.

“Sure,” MAF answered. “Everyone knows I have to bid, but I’m fair about it. I bid printers against others with similar capabilities so they have a real chance of getting work.”

“But Art never followed up.”

“No. Then one day he calls me with an attitude.” MAF laughed. “He informs me that his company is in business to print, not quote. If I don’t start sending him some business soon, he’ll ask that the account be reassigned.”

I laughed in turn. “Now that’s a threat,” I said. “What did you say?”

“I told him reassigning the account was a good idea, and asked him to have the owner of the company call me.”

“Did the owner call?”

“No, Art never told him about the conversation. But one of jobs Art had quoted finally hit the mark and he’d won it. After that conversation I wasn’t interested in working with him, so I called Art’s boss and told him what had happened.”

“What did he do?” I asked.

“He reassigned the account to a young salesperson. This guy is still learning but he’s got lots of energy. He came in and we had a heart-to-heart talk. I explained that I’d be happy to do business with him and his company but the pricing had been high.”

“Did he adjust?”

MAF said, “Yes. He talked to the owner. Since then he’s won six bids.”

Wow. Going from getting nothing to winning six bids is a significant improvement for any company. That compelling story illustrates three important points.
• If you’re bidding lots and getting little, then it pays to have a conversation with the buyer and find out what’s going on.
• Even in bid situations, the salesperson plays a large role in determining how much work flows into a plant.
• Are your customers buying because they like you or because they like your company? If you assume it’s because of you, maybe it’s time to find out for sure.

I spoke with three other print buyers, and their information was equally powerful.

UF works for a boutique design firm that produces complex projects. Her jobs often require color correction, serious prepress expertise and intensive press checks.

We had lunch together in downtown Baltimore at a Thai restaurant.

“I don’t deal with printers who have ‘hearing problems,’” UF said.

I laughed. “I love that line.”

UF smiled back at me. “There’s no sense explaining something complicated to someone who won’t listen.” She leaned forward, serious now. “My work is difficult. I don’t like it when print salespeople do the yes-yes head-nod while they’re quoting. Then they get the job. If yes-yes turns into oops-we can’t-do-that, I’m not happy.”

“Do you fire printers for issues like that?” I said.

“I have a ‘three strikes and you’re out’ policy. I’ve done this for a long time. I know there are problems. I expect printers to fix them. If they don’t . . .” She shrugged.

“So you don’t fire printers because they have problems. But you do fire them if they don’t get the problems fixed.”

“That’s right. I don’t want reps bringing me donuts or flowers. I want a rep who brings me a proof that’s right.”

UF sees her printers as partners. So does HK who works for a major corporation in the marketing communications department.

“I don’t usually have to fire printers,” HK said. “That’s because I’m careful about who I chose to work with. I want my vendors to be my partners. They’re an extension of my internal team. My work has tough deadlines. I need the salesperson to take an active role, and I don’t have much patience for order takers.”

It was another lunchtime learning conversation. I met HK at a restaurant in an Atlanta suburb.

“Define an order taker,” I said.

“They have no depth of knowledge. They don’t know how my stuff gets produced in their shop. They don’t understand my pain—particularly when it comes to quick turnarounds.”

“If a new printer calls on you, what do you want them to know?”

“You better know what equipment you have, and what sheet sizes you can do. And you should be able to tell me what your house stocks are. It would be really nice if you showed me paper samples.”

HK paused before adding, “I don’t want you to tell me you can do everything because I don’t believe it. Besides, if I wanted to deal with a broker, then I’d call a broker.”

We talked a little more. Then HK returned to the office to put out the afternoon’s fires.

The last person who gave me input was LK. She does freelance project management. Often, she works with printers chosen by her clients. For that reason, vendors occasionally underestimate her influence and treat her poorly.

Big mistake. LK has the power to refer salespeople. If you’re a salesperson looking to build your business then you want positive word-of-mouth.

LK is good at what she does because she’s efficient. Before I had a chance to speak with her in person, she responded to my request for information in an email.

She wrote: I fired my last printer because:
You sold your company’s capabilities to me, and then had me deal primarily with your CSR, stepping in only when crises occurred as if doing me a favor. Even so, I wondered if the crisis would’ve occurred if you—and not your CSR—had been paying closer attention to my project!

You kept showing me examples of print work not in line with our work or budget, or telling me how lavishly your other (bigger) clients treat you. Sure, I like knowing what else a printer can do but are you telling me you’ve got bigger fish to fry?

You did not call me when a simple call to double-check might’ve prevented a problem from becoming a disaster. And when everything hit the fan, you were quick to describe why it wasn’t your fault, and what I coulda/woulda/shoulda done.

Frequently interrupting, you assume control of the conversation when I try to describe upcoming projects—the specs, the unresolved concerns—thus you get your production sheet completed, but I’m not sure you ever heard me! Then, days later, you call with queries about the very details I tried to discuss with you.

You have no ideas. You’re not consultative. You’re a glorified messenger in a nice suit and expensive car. The only time you look energized is when the issue at hand concerns you (your weekend, your car).

When I have a query or concern, you step back from owning the issue and say, “Let me have you talk with prepress. All that software stuff is gobbledy-gook to me anyway. Hold on and let me transfer you to that department.”

You don’t return my phone calls. My emails are unacknowledged.

I CAN’T fire you. Every day you remind me in ways big and small that you’re “bullet proof.” But if I were the decision-maker, you’d be the LAST person I’d hire to print my jobs.

LK may not have the power to fire this sales rep, but she certainly won’t recommend him. And she certainly won’t go out of her way to make him look good to her client.

If I was still selling printing, I’d share this article with my clients using it as a way to open a discussion and find out what I could be doing to service them better.

As UF said, “Why assume when all you have to do is ask a question?”

Good advice from a smart print buyer. Act on it today.