Sales Efficiency Is a Must —Sherburne
Ask just about any of these new buyers of print how a printer can get their ear. They will tell you that they will talk to someone who demonstrates that he or she understands the industry, the business and the business issues the prospect is facing. Not only that, but the successful salesperson will have a solution in mind based on the research that he or she has done—before picking up the phone the first time or dropping the first postcard or letter in the mail.
Now, that’s not to say that you need to have all the answers. In fact, that would be an impossible requirement. But you do have to at least know what questions to ask!
One great example that comes to mind is an Israeli company, Oniya Shapira. It is one of the largest color digital printing sites in the world, with six HP Indigo digital color presses. The company had been printing statements for Cal (Israel Credit Cards Ltd.), an issuer of major brand credit cards, including VISA, Diners Club and MasterCard, along with retail credit cards and loyalty cards, using offset-printed shells with black-and-white digital overprinting. As it began to get into color digital printing, Oniya Shapira brought to Cal the innovative concept of adding promotional messaging to the statements using color and graphics.
Do Your Sales Homework
Ravit Spiegal, vice president of marketing, says, “In preparation for our sales efforts, we visited their Website, looked at all of their advertising and came up with a number of ideas that we pitched in a meeting with marketing. It is important to do this type of homework, so that you can help your customers understand the offered platform.”
Because of the increased cost per piece associated with color statements, Oniya Shapira recommended that Cal implement these statements for its VIP customers only. Much to their surprise, Cal decided to implement these innovative statements for all of its clients. And, to Oniya Shapira, this means a recurring print volume of 8 million impressions per month!
