Business of Print

Set Examples Along the Way

I was scheduled to deliver a presentation on selling integrated print solutions to a peer group in Arizona last Saturday at 8am. Instead I was re-routed and had the unpleasant experience of delivering my mom’s eulogy in New York at the exact same time. While I enjoy speaking in front of groups large or small, the group of family and friends gathered for this speech was a tough one to make eye contact with. You must first understand that I’m terrible at funerals, even when I don’t even know the person! So you can imagine my emotions for this one.

After a nice dinner the prior evening with some family members I sat down and began writing the thoughts that I wanted to share about my mom’s time on this earth. As I began, the words just flowed. It was relatively easy to highlight the key points of her life. Even better, it was much easier to deliver than I could have imagined. Perhaps because the content was clear, meaningful and peppered with a few laughs was able to keep my emotions in check and get through it okay.

It wasn’t until a day or so later that I realized what had happened. Mom had left me good material to talk about. This was a page right out of one of Stephen Covey’s seven habits, “begin with the end in mind” and a not so subtle reminder that we’ll all be the subject matter of one of these speeches one day and that the things we do will become fodder for this final monologue. Has nothing to do with printing but everything to do with how we live our lives and pursue our dreams. 

No Shortcuts to Sales Leadership

During a discussion on The Hybrid Sales Reps of the Future that I facilitated at NAPL's TMC we learned that more print managers are taking control of the sales process for their business. They are stepping up their marketing efforts and beginning to look at CRM systems to help track and enhance the process. They’re striving to make the sales process a more repeatable event. As sales cycles continue to lengthen, particularly when they are selling both print and print related services, these leaders focus on how they go to market, their value proposition and how it’s delivered to their prospects and customers.

They are no longer leaving the sales process to chance and are making it a key management or boardroom issue. With the same intensity and passion as determining the strategic plan, the appropriate workflow system or evaluating a key capital expenditure for the company, these managers are now tackling the changing nature of the marketplace. This becomes a full time endeavor, as a transitioning industry needs the vision, strategy and tactical execution that can only come from the top.

• Taking risks with the status quo;
• Leadership priority focused on strategy, execution and results;
• Hiring the right people (Top Grading, Caliper, hiring committees, situational presentations)

The real answer though is more complex than buying a CRM or sending out more marketing stuff. It’s about challenging the status quo and sorting out the legacy sales issues inherent in the business. Many managers will tell you that they would like to expand and strengthen their client relationships. This would include addressing both the strategic and the transactional needs of their clients as they use print and print related services to drive their business. The first step in this process begins with calling on the right customers. They examine their current best clients and develop profiles that help them articulate what a great client might look like. This task helps to minimize the resources allocated to clients and prospects that may not lead to a profitably relationship. Next they enhance their go to market strategy by leveraging the strength of a selling team. These teams are made up of new business specialists, technical resources and great account management resources and join together to fully understand the goals of their clients and propose the solutions that will answer their needs and further differentiate themselves from the competition.

These leaders are working to take advantage of the structural changes and redistribution of market share within the industry. They understand that there is risk in trying new approaches but they also believe that doing nothing is not an option. Continued success!

Back to Basics

It was exciting to hear about the success stories from printers at Print 09. While the industry in general continues to struggle through these turbulent times there was some good news at the show. What were these companies doing that the others were not? Hard to pinpoint for sure but a few things they had in common:

• The owners and senior leadership could clearly describe their strategy and were focused on getting everyone in the company aligned to deliver on the effort;
  
• They had increased the marketing effort for the company so that their message was loud and clear to their clients and prospects. They were positioning themselves to be the leaders in their markets so that as things improved, they would be well positioned for success; 
• Many said their results were not acceptable this year, so they continue to take costs and time out of their workflow by using the technology that they already own to its fullest, continue to look at new technology and use the downturn to make sure they have the right people in the right positions;   
• Sales were still an issue with most firms as many of their top clients have reduced their print spend. While they hadn't really lost any clients, they just weren't spending like they have in the past. The companies that had several large clients that made up a large percentage of their revenue seemed to be more impacted than those with a diversified client mix. Most have reduced their capacity, hours and overhead to match the new sales level and some have compensated somewhat by a renewed focus [and success] on business development within inactive as well as new accounts;  

It was made clear that there were many factors that attributed to the success stories and that there were no silver bullets to be had. The key was having the company leadership identify what they could do with the resources at their disposal, in the markets that they were in and get busy. Pretty basic thinking no doubt. In these cases though, action spoke louder than words and they are making it happen. Continued success! 
  
  

Selling Systems: What's Your Story?

I'm looking to hear about company's that have embraced a particular selling system and have made it the standard for their company. At the upcoming Top Management Conference in March 2009, I'd like to highlight 2-3 of these companies and hold a panel discussion discussing their success.

If you've got a good story to tell, or for more information please contact me at mphilie@napl.org.