Corporate and agency print customers have common expectations from the printing industry. Naturally, high-quality printing at a fair price is Number 1. I rarely see bad printing anymore. It's easy to get jobs done well. So, tuck that expectation in your breast pocket.
In the past two years, we’ve heard quite a Quick Response (QR) Code buzz in the printing industry. In an increasingly wireless world, they offer instant gratification. Invented in Japan in 1994, these codes are becoming more commonplace in the United States, particularly as smart phone usage grows.
There are many creative uses for 2-D codes and many yet to be invented. Careful thought and execution is the key to success when incorporating 2-D codes into a business model or marketing campaign. Properly executed, they are a great way to augment a business.
It only takes one negative experience to alienate consumers.
The consistent threads that run among all of these sales standouts is their behavior and aptitude, like buyer research, sales planning, sales presentation skills, overcoming objections, listening skills, closing skills, sales service skills, responsiveness, technical know-how (product knowledge) and level-headed serenity.
What if you decided to challenge a prospect or customer? What if you asked them some provocative questions about the way they are doing things in order to get them to think a little differently and look at things another way?
You cannot teach initiative. You cannot teach passion. You cannot teach drive. It’s either there or it isn’t. Tapping into these sales basics can transform the backroom coordinator into a selling machine. It’s not a given, and it’s not an automatic.
Many companies are simply not up to the task of reinventing themselves, preferring to stay with what has always worked and go down with the ship. Let’s look at RadioShack. The company has tried just about everything.
Resist the temptation to become the discounter in your industry. Discounting is rarely a sustainable pricing strategy and discounters tend to be flash-in-the-pan businesses. When you offer convenience, safety and peace of mind to customers, pricing objections tend to melt away.
My last PI blog post dealt with print buyers screening sales calls. It doesn’t mean your calls won’t be returned—just that you’d better leave something memorable in that voice mail. The last thing I want to do is put words in your mouth when you call a prospect.
I think the term delivery no longer works in this high-tech world. Delivery, for me, is a guy riding a bike with a package under his arm or the FedEx/UPS person dropping of that overnight delivery. No, we need a new term. Some say “touch” is the correct word; that could work, but not for me. I like communicate.
What is it about the rivalry that exists between the Production Department and Sales People? As long as I have been in sales, I have been aware of its presence. That doesn’t mean I understand it, however.
