Loading ...Are You Worth It? (August 2008)
What print buyers think is good as gold in a sales call.
By Graham Garrison
There was probably a moment during the call when Marty Peterson thought to herself, “What exactly is this guy selling?” Peterson, partner and director of production services for Eric Mower and Associates, doesn’t mind hearing out a sales pitch from printers hoping to lure new business. She just couldn’t believe that the print sales rep in front of her was puffing his chest and telling her how good he had been – at selling insurance.
“Fortunately, I have had few bad sales calls – just ones that were not a good fit for the type of work I do,” Peterson says. “I did have one rep though who kept telling me how successful he had been at selling insurance. If he was so successful, why wasn’t he still selling insurance? The rep had minimal knowledge about printing and could have been trying to sell anything. There was not a good reason to partner with him when there are so many bright and knowledgeable people vying for my business.”
If time is money, consider that in any sales call with a potential or current client, you are essentially being paid for your presentation. Does that kind of paradigm change your way of thinking? CANVAS spoke to a handful of print buyers to get their thoughts on what they like to see in sales calls, what is worth their time, and what’s not.
Ground rules
With $220 million in capitalized billings, Eric Mower and Associates (EMA) is one of the top 20 independent agencies in the United States. EMA has offices in seven cities, with some 260 professionals delivering full-service, integrated marketing communications to national and international clients. Its specialties include B2B marketing, public relations, brand promotion and consumer advertising.
From an individual standpoint, Peterson is in charge of the production and traffic departments, keeping costs down and maintaining a smooth workflow. She’s handled projects for clients such as Apple, FedEx, Siemens and Motorola, to name a few.
In short, Peterson is busy. Her schedule isn’t exactly free for unannounced visits, so if a print sales rep shows up unannounced at her place of work, chances are he or she is out of luck for an impromptu appointment. Peterson says that by calling or e-mailing ahead and making an appointment, a sales rep sets the first impression that he or she regards Peterson’s time as valuable.
“When an unknown sales rep just drops by, it shows that they did not plan ahead, their time is not in great demand and they do not realize how busy a production person can be,” she says.
The same goes for the Penn State Alumni Association, which needs jobs produced that can range anywhere from 8,400 to 259,000. It had almost 750,000 direct mail pieces printed last year. Megan Miller, production manager for the association, says convenience is key for queries.
“Asking for the person’s time is most important,” she says. “If it’s more convenient, that person is more likely to be responsive.”
Hot topics
John Pritchard receives the same type of cold call from various print sales reps three or four times a year. Pritchard is the general manager of MDSI, a publishing and content company providing information, communication and educational services to providers, manufacturers and distributors involved in the business of healthcare. He works directly as the publisher of the Journal of Healthcare Contracting and Hospital COO, so he’s become used to these types of solicitations, and he even understands the need for sales reps to generate new leads (half of MDSI’s publications are geared toward healthcare salespeople). He just believes there needs to be some substance in the call besides a friendly greeting.
“They’ll call up and say ‘Hey, we’d like to be your printer and if you’re interested in hearing more please let me know,” says Pritchard. “But they have no real message.”
If a print sales rep has done a little more research on MDSI, they’ll talk shop about pricing. Pritchard says it’s eerie how frequently he’ll get sales calls where the print rep offers price quotes that may be 6 to 8 percent less than his current production costs, but it’s not nearly enough for him to consider moving his publications. Instead of hellos and small savings, he says he’d rather hear about a printer’s strengths and services.
“I’d really rather have a printer call and say ‘We want to be your printer because we offer this service and this service,’” he says.
Peterson says she has met plenty of reps who are knowledgeable and passionate about their products. What makes them stand out, however, is the value they can deliver.
“The best sales calls are when a rep has valuable information such as new technologies, new information of what is going on in our market place and can tell me right off why I should be doing business with them,” Peterson says. “The best sales reps have a reason to get back to me. That keeps them on my radar for a few days. They can answer questions about their equipment and why they think it is the best – what sets them apart from the rest. They can speak intelligently, not only about the company they represent, but our industry as a whole.”
Information on variable digital printing, sustainability and direct mail are hot topics and well received by print buyers. Does your company use alternative sources of power like wind? What are you doing to offset your carbon footprint? How will your systems streamline production and cut costs? All of these questions are worth a customer’s time and money.
If you’re planning on leaving reading materials of your company’s product offerings, include samples.
“I have to see it to believe it,” Miller says. “A call followed by a sample followed by another call would be most effective.”
To be sure though, delivery is just as important as substance. Miller says that a recent pitch that caught her attention involved the president of the print company walking her through a virtual tour of their capabilities by using a Web cast. Printers can earn points by putting the extra effort into their presentations, but doing one’s homework on the print buyer is a must.
“I don’t want presentations on services that don’t apply to my needs,” Miller says. “[There is] no need to show me or discuss your magazine printing specialty if I don’t do production for a magazine. Know your audience. I like it when it is obvious the sales rep did their homework on Penn State, on the Penn State Alumni Association, and on me.”
Selling problem-solving
The sale begins with the call, but it probably won’t end there. Pritchard says he’s more and more interesting in hearing about subscriber services that printers may offer, helping his company track readership. Miller and Peterson
emphasized how important the support structure of a printer is during the actual project.
“I cannot tell you how important a good CSR is,” says Peterson. “I realize things can go wrong, but I value a rep or CRS who calls with a problem and offers a good solution. This type of relationship becomes more of a partnership striving to produce great work at a fair, competitive price.”
“Sell your shop and stand by your customer,” Miller recommends. “I want my contact to be available for issues throughout the process and be willing to assist with problems that arise from both sides, from within their own shop and from the customer side,” Miller says.
If the print buyer has taken the time out of their schedule to hear you out, then the open communication shouldn’t stop there. Hopefully, the sales call is only the beginning of exhibiting value to your customer.
