Where to Look for Hot Markets

(To listen to an audio recording of Bill Farquharson reading his latest blog post, click the embedded player or download the linked mpg3 file.)

One of the most common questions I get from printers and printing sales reps is, “Where do I look for leads?” It used to be—way back in the days of yore—that prospecting was as simple as checking someone for a pulse. If you felt a lub-dub in their wrist, they were a prospect for printing.

These days, however, not all industries pass the lub-dub test since not a lot of them have a lot of lub-dub in their businesses. This makes prospecting a lot harder and validates the importance of that question: “Where do I look?”

I think my favorite source for the Hot Market is the Wall Street Journal. Every day, new opportunities arrive on my walkway, making the 25 foot walk to retrieve the paper worth the potential embarrassment of the neighbors seeing me in my bathrobe and bunny slippers. The Journal reports on the financial well being of American business, chronicles trends and reports on companies that are unique, innovative and growing. I’d say that’s worth the $99 annual subscription alone!

Take Saturday’s Journal, for example. Scanning the pages quickly, here’s what I find:

1. Banks and lenders are finally giving credit to customers again;

2. There is an article about the dramatic increase in gym memberships at this time of year; and

3. Retailers had their best Holiday season in years, but now worry about keeping it going in the New Year.

The key to selling print effectively and profitably is not focus on selling print as much as understanding how your print solution can be applied to help the client solve a problem. This requires strategy and creativity.

How could you help banks to get the word out that they are willing to loan money again?