Two weeks ago I participated in #PrintChat – a weekly twitter discussion hosted by @QuadGraphics every Wed at 5pm ET. The topic: Choosing a Print Partner. QuadGraphics began posting questions such as:
1. Selecting a Print provider can be confusing, what should buyers and marketers look for?
2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of working with a Printer that understands other channels?
3. What role do Customer Service and Relationships play when picking a provider?
All great questions – but what was interesting to me and what spurned this post, was that it was mainly Print Providers responding to them, and as a buyer, I was shocked at what they think we think!
In a general overview, based upon my 22-year career in Advertising & Marketing, here are my thoughts on the above. I cant say if it’s typical or atypical, but certainly it will offer some insight.
When you start working somewhere, they either have a vendor list and established relationships you are expected to work with, or they are expecting you to bring in resources. These resources are most likely people and companies you have worked with before and you know you can trust. All the cold calls, welcome to your new job emails, can I send you samples and requests to have lunch etc are most likely a waste of your time. HOWEVER, if you have something new, or something cool, or are up on a new multichannel technology that can help ME – I am interested in meeting you.
If I call you, then I have already done my research and I need something specific. Help Me. I don’t need to hear about your other services or how you can do better on pricing than Vendor X, nor do I want to take a plant tour. If you just help me with what I’ve asked for and every phone call doesn’t turn into a 20-minute pitch about something else, I might just come back for more work. Now the caveat again to this is if you can HELP ME by adding to or teaching me something that would work for the project I am calling you about, then you have attached a great value to your service and more likely than not I will be back for more work.
Despite the sentiment during PrintChat, I think Print Providers have an opportunity every day to establish themselves as thought leaders if they are up on, or ahead of the latest and greatest techniques and technologies. There are plenty of buyers who cannot (or will not) ask their colleagues questions for fear of feeling stupid or antiquated, or they just don’t know what is out there and how to produce it. Don’t sell. Just send the info, or call and invite me to a seminar you are holding at your office, or offer to come to mine and meet with the Production & Creative Depts to show us something we haven’t seen before, or a new way of doing it. Why wouldn’t I buy it from you after you took the time to establish yourself and your company as a knowledge resource?
Relationships matter. Answer your phone and your emails in a timely manner. Don’t pawn me off on a CSR after you made the “sale” that has been in the job for 2 weeks and cant answer my questions or offer any value from a printing standpoint. Deliver on your promises; keep me informed of any issues that arise and dont resolve them without any input from me. Yes, bring solutions, but if you fix my file and I don’t know there was an issue, my backup in the server is of no future use. Don’t fish, or check in every two weeks to see if anything is brewing. If it were, I would have called you. At some point, it just gets annoying and please realize you aren’t the only company doing it.
Bottom line: Be there when I need you as I need you, communicate, produce great work with competitive pricing, deliver on time and on budget, and we will have a long and prosperous relationship!
Too tough? What are your thoughts?
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Ps… To join in on a PrintChat – just follow the hashtag #printchat on Wednesday’s from 5-6pm ET. The easiest way to follow the stream is from http://tweetchat.com/. Sign in with Twitter and enter printchat in the “hashtag to follow” field on top. The screen will basically become a chat room and only those tweeting with #printchat will show up in it. If you have any questions on this let me know.
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- Most useful hashtag when writing (elleamberley.wordpress.com)
- How to Use Twitter Hashtags (lockergnome.com)
- Twitter Chat series Part 1: How to Participate in a Twitter Chat (jtdabbagian.com)
11 Responses
Deborah — A very well written article and insight from a print buyer. You give some good advice for salesreps to follow upon making a connection.
A question I have for you after reading the post is this — Do you have suggestions for salesreps on how to get through to those buyers that won’t open an email, take a phone call, respond to mailings, or return voicemail messages? It is extremely hard to offer a new service when the buyer won’t even open a line of communication.
Deborah — A very well written article and insight from a print buyer. You give some good advice for salesreps to follow upon making a connection.
A question I have for you after reading the post is this — Do you have suggestions for salesreps on how to get through to those buyers that won’t open an email, take a phone call, respond to mailings, or return voicemail messages? It is extremely hard to offer a new service when the buyer won’t even open a line of communication.
Well – what is in your email? Is it a newsletter about your company? A sales pitch? What are you communicating on the calls you are making, the vm’s you are leaving, and in the packages you are sending?
Let’s start there and then I can help… I dont want to assume I know how you operate 🙂
Well – what is in your email? Is it a newsletter about your company? A sales pitch? What are you communicating on the calls you are making, the vm’s you are leaving, and in the packages you are sending?
Let’s start there and then I can help… I dont want to assume I know how you operate 🙂
Great post Deborah! You are dead on, even as a vendor I see it with our suppliers. Not sure it’s out of lack of understanding, laziness, or just good ‘nough mentality – but I fear its getting worse in our industry not better. There is nothing worse than taking time to go to a supplier requested sales meeting and have them walk me through a swatch book or read their powerpoint – show me something NEW, something I can’t google and find out the answer to. And yes, please respond promptly and accurately.
Great post Deborah! You are dead on, even as a vendor I see it with our suppliers. Not sure it’s out of lack of understanding, laziness, or just good ‘nough mentality – but I fear its getting worse in our industry not better. There is nothing worse than taking time to go to a supplier requested sales meeting and have them walk me through a swatch book or read their powerpoint – show me something NEW, something I can’t google and find out the answer to. And yes, please respond promptly and accurately.
When contacting new prospects, I usually state either in an email or voicemail the following:
•That I’ve done some research and see that they have a catalog or any other publication available
• I’m looking to learn more about their printing needs to determine if we would be able to provide new ideas or different options for their publication that would help market and sell their products/services.
Just like most, I ‘m not getting them to respond. How do you go about providing the new ideas or services that you suggest if you don’t already know what their needs or pain points are?
When contacting new prospects, I usually state either in an email or voicemail the following:
•That I’ve done some research and see that they have a catalog or any other publication available
• I’m looking to learn more about their printing needs to determine if we would be able to provide new ideas or different options for their publication that would help market and sell their products/services.
Just like most, I ‘m not getting them to respond. How do you go about providing the new ideas or services that you suggest if you don’t already know what their needs or pain points are?
Hi David…
You are making too many assumptions, the biggest is that I (or any print buyer) is going to take time out and explain our printing needs when we obviously have them met already. If we didnt, we would be LOOKING for a solution. There is no Printer on the planet who doesnt claim they can do a better job than another, and quite frankly regardless if that is true or not, the one/s we are currently using either we have a RELATIONSHIP with, or the company does – so that angle can move into the “insulting” area and out of defense alone I doubt you will get very far.
I have been reiterating this point many times (mainly in LinkedIn) but here it is again – WHAT VALUE can you add to a machine that is already working? What VALUE can you add to ME as a buyer so I am more VALUABLE at my job? It doesnt lie is reviewing my printing needs over a fishing phone call. It lies in bringing something unique to the table – and NOT selling… for example… in your example I produce catalogs. Catalogs need to be be mailed. The USPS has introduced a few programs lately around Direct Mail. Send out a newsletter explaining them. Invite a bunch a print buyers to a lunch and have a USPS rep there to explain them. TEACH me something, add value – dont SELL. When I leave your office – give me a bag of samples and your card, even some printouts of info from the meeting on your company letterhead so your name and phone number are there whenever I reference it. If I have found VALUE in the info and can apply that to saving my clients money on postage, YOU are now a valuable resource to ME and since you just offered it with no strings attached, I am MORE LIKELY to come back and see if we can work together, or maybe try one of the new DM programs through you since in my mind you are now the “experts” on this. This was accomplished without ANY pitching, fishing, and especially any follow up calls from the meeting. Dont want to have a meeting? – you can do the same by sending out the info over email stating you will be sending a package with reference material on new USPS DM programs. I will open that. I will call you if I have questions. If you try to sell me when I call, I probably wont call back… but if you tell me you are there if I need any more help, then again, you have become a resource. That alone will separate you from the 47 other Printers who have contacted me this week and I am more likely to move to trying you, or corresponding with you.
Hi David…
You are making too many assumptions, the biggest is that I (or any print buyer) is going to take time out and explain our printing needs when we obviously have them met already. If we didnt, we would be LOOKING for a solution. There is no Printer on the planet who doesnt claim they can do a better job than another, and quite frankly regardless if that is true or not, the one/s we are currently using either we have a RELATIONSHIP with, or the company does – so that angle can move into the “insulting” area and out of defense alone I doubt you will get very far.
I have been reiterating this point many times (mainly in LinkedIn) but here it is again – WHAT VALUE can you add to a machine that is already working? What VALUE can you add to ME as a buyer so I am more VALUABLE at my job? It doesnt lie is reviewing my printing needs over a fishing phone call. It lies in bringing something unique to the table – and NOT selling… for example… in your example I produce catalogs. Catalogs need to be be mailed. The USPS has introduced a few programs lately around Direct Mail. Send out a newsletter explaining them. Invite a bunch a print buyers to a lunch and have a USPS rep there to explain them. TEACH me something, add value – dont SELL. When I leave your office – give me a bag of samples and your card, even some printouts of info from the meeting on your company letterhead so your name and phone number are there whenever I reference it. If I have found VALUE in the info and can apply that to saving my clients money on postage, YOU are now a valuable resource to ME and since you just offered it with no strings attached, I am MORE LIKELY to come back and see if we can work together, or maybe try one of the new DM programs through you since in my mind you are now the “experts” on this. This was accomplished without ANY pitching, fishing, and especially any follow up calls from the meeting. Dont want to have a meeting? – you can do the same by sending out the info over email stating you will be sending a package with reference material on new USPS DM programs. I will open that. I will call you if I have questions. If you try to sell me when I call, I probably wont call back… but if you tell me you are there if I need any more help, then again, you have become a resource. That alone will separate you from the 47 other Printers who have contacted me this week and I am more likely to move to trying you, or corresponding with you.
And this, in a nutshell, is why I was never good at sales. I think we all know that buyers don’t want to be interrupted or stalked just so I can tell you all about my product and how much more amazing it is than what you’re already using (even if that’s true). But sales people have sales managers who continue to insist on managing them the old-fashioned way. And that way involves a quota of cold calls, a quota of appointments, and a quota of closed deals.
Today I work in marketing, which is a much better place for adding value and education to the lives of our prospects and clients. Sooner or later we will all have to acknowledge that prospects spend far more time researching us on the internet and through friends than ever before, and marketing is now spending more time with prospects than sales people.
What advice do you have for those poor salespeople who are required to call you 8 times before they are allowed to stop harassing you?