Why Printing Companies Struggle to Hire Sales Talent

The challenge of hiring strong sales talent is one of the most frustrating problems printing companies face. Owners know growth depends on sales, yet open sales roles often sit unfilled for months or attract candidates who aren’t even close to a good fit. This issue is not caused by laziness, lack of ambition, or a shrinking workforce alone. It’s the result of how printing companies structure sales roles, communicate opportunities, and support their sales teams after hiring.

Many printing companies assume that good salespeople will naturally understand print, learn quickly, and succeed with minimal structure. That assumption quietly repels high quality candidates who are used to modern sales environments with clear expectations and real support. At the same time, it attracts candidates who struggle to sell complex solutions.

This article breaks down why print sales hiring is so difficult, what most companies get wrong, and how printing businesses can reposition sales roles to attract and retain stronger talent.

The Print Sales Role Is Often Poorly Defined

One of the biggest hiring barriers starts before a job is even posted. Many printing companies do not clearly define what success looks like in a sales role.

Common problems we see with sales role postings include:

• Vague job descriptions that say “sell print” without explaining how
• No clarity on whether the role is inbound, outbound, or hybrid
• Undefined expectations for activity, pipeline, and revenue targets

Sales professionals want to know exactly how they will be measured. When a role feels ambiguous, experienced candidates assume the company lacks process and leadership.

“If you cannot clearly explain how a sales rep succeeds in the first 90 days, strong candidates will not apply.”

Print sales is complex. It involves custom pricing, long buying cycles, and multiple stakeholders. That complexity must be acknowledged and structured, not glossed over in these postings.

Compensation Models Often Repel Top Performers

Sales compensation is one of the most misunderstood areas in print industry recruitment. Many print companies either underpay sales reps or structure compensation in a way that feels risky and unclear.

Common sales compensation mistakes include:

• Commission only roles with no base salary
• Extremely long ramp periods with little income stability
• Complex commission formulas that are hard to understand

Top sales talent looks for:

• Predictable base pay
• Clear commission structure
• Confidence that pricing and margins allow them to earn well

And it’s not just top talent that needs this. People new to sales need to feel like they are getting into something that has promise. The easier it is to understand and how clear it is in how they are going to generate income, the more comfortable they will feel and the more vested they will be in the role.

“If a sales candidate cannot quickly understand how they make money, they will assume the company is hiding something.”

Print margins can be tight, but unclear compensation signals deeper operational issues. Strong salespeople avoid those environments.

Print Sales Jobs Are Marketed Poorly

This is honestly one of the most significant factors for not finding the right sales talent at printing companies. Many print sales jobs are posted like generic help wanted ads and they focus on what the company needs instead of what the candidate gains.

Typical job postings emphasize things like:

• Years of experience
• Industry knowledge
• Cold calling expectations

What is often missing:

• The type of customers they will sell to
• The kinds of projects they will manage
• The support systems in place

Salespeople want opportunity, not chores. They want to know:

• Will leads be provided?
• Is marketing generating demand?
• Is there a CRM and quoting process?

If you don’t have these things in place, then you could add to the list of responsibilities for a hire that they will be the one creating and setting up this infrastructure for you. In many cases top talent is looking for challenges like this, that give them the ability to create and actually grow something rather than just another sales role.

If your job post reads like a warning label, it will attract the wrong people.

Most Print Companies Do Not Support Sales After Hiring

Hiring sales talent is only half the battle. Retention is where most print companies fail. The last thing you need is to market the sales job, interview, find the right candidate, see they perform well, then lose them unnecessarily.

Many new hires are given:

• A phone
• A price list
• A list of old accounts

Then they are told to go sell.

This lack of structure creates frustration and burnout. Sales reps feel unsupported, struggle to quote accurately, and lose confidence quickly.

High performing salespeople expect:

• Onboarding plans
• Sales scripts and positioning guidance
• Clear handoffs between sales and production

Additionally you can invest in sales support as they sell more and grow in the role by getting more advanced CRM capabilities, sales training or investing in AI to assist them operationally.

“Salespeople do not quit print companies because of print. They quit because of chaos.”

When sales feels reactive and disorganized, good reps leave for industries with better systems.

Print Sales Requires Education, Not Just Persuasion

Selling print is not transactional. It requires educating buyers about materials, finishes, timelines, and tradeoffs. We all know this, but when it comes to recruiting, training and supporting print sales talent, many print service providers fail to do this well.

Many sales candidates are discouraged because:

• Training focuses on products instead of problems
• There is no guidance on consultative selling
• Sales reps are expected to memorize specs instead of learning buyer intent

Printing companies that struggle to hire often undervalue sales education.

Strong candidates want to:

• Learn how buyers make decisions
• Understand how print fits into marketing strategies
• Position value instead of price

Without this foundation, sales roles feel overwhelming rather than empowering. The more sales teams learn the better they get, which generates more revenue and more institutional knowledge for bettering the company overall.

The Industry Itself Has an Image Problem

Print sales roles compete against SaaS, tech, and professional services. Those industries market themselves as modern, scalable, and innovative.

Print is often perceived as:

• Old fashioned
• Price driven
• Declining

This perception is not accurate, but it is widespread.

Printing companies that fail to address this lose candidates before interviews even begin.

To counter this, companies must:

• Highlight innovation and technology
• Show how print integrates with marketing
• Share real growth stories

You can’t rely on an industry to fix that image problem for you, you need to actively shift perspectives on your own by highlighting why you are exciting, valuable and a great industry to be in.

Sales talent wants to sell something they believe in. Printing companies must help reshape that narrative.

Lead Quality Impacts Hiring More Than Owners Realize

One hidden reason print sales hiring fails is poor lead quality. This comes in many forms and quality can be defined in many different ways, but that’s inherently the problem. Here we outline a few examples:

When sales reps spend most of their time…

• Quoting price shoppers
• Fixing order mistakes
• Chasing low margin jobs

They quickly lose motivation and in many cases can’t pay their bills.

High quality salespeople want:

• Qualified leads
• Defined ideal customers
• Marketing support that filters noise
• And a business aligned on the sales direction

“You cannot attract strong sales talent if your pipeline is only filled with low value work.”

Improving marketing and lead qualification makes sales roles more attractive and sustainable.

How Printing Companies Can Fix Sales Hiring Long Term

Improving print sales hiring requires structural changes, not quick fixes. Your business has the responsibility to shape the future of your sales efforts. It’s not easy, but it’s well worth the investment.

Key steps include:

Clarify the role

• Define responsibilities
• Set clear performance metrics
• Communicate growth paths

Modernize compensation

• Offer stable base pay
• Simplify commissions
• Align incentives with profitability

Improve onboarding

• Create training plans
• Document sales processes
• Support reps early

Upgrade lead flow

• Improve marketing quality
• Focus on ideal customers
• Reduce random quoting

These changes signal professionalism and stability, two things top sales talent actively seeks.

Printing companies do not struggle to hire sales talent because people do not want to sell print. They struggle because the roles are often unclear, unsupported, and positioned as high risk. When printing businesses invest in structure, clarity, and modern sales practices, hiring becomes easier and retention improves.

Sales talent follows opportunity. Print companies that build real opportunity will stop chasing candidates and start attracting them.

The preceding content was provided by a contributor unaffiliated with Printing Impressions. The views expressed within may not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of the staff of Printing Impressions. Artificial Intelligence may have been used in part to create or edit this content.