Top Takeaways

TMC: Stop Time

It's keynote time. All things come to an end, and TMC 08 ends with Marshall Goldsmith, a keynoter back by popular demand. He's addressing industry leaders on, guess what, leadership. One of his key coaching techniques to teach leaders not what to do -- but what to stop. He picked it up from Peter Drucker.

One thought was on the quality of ideas versus commitment to making them succeed. Smart CEOs try to keep making things better, but sometimes by improving a person's idea by 5% can decrease his or her personal commitment to implementing the idea by double digits. Why? Because they don't look at it as their idea any more!

Print leaders come to TMC to share ideas, find some new things to do, and to Goldsmith's point, also stop some things. It's time to think and decide what works and what doesn't. What works for you?  And if it's several things, don't worry. Goldsmith recommends improving just one thing at a time. It's more than enough and usually makes a huge enough difference.

-- Rhona Bronson

TMC: Best Practices

Practice makes perfect. It can get you to Carnegie Hall and it can get you print customers. TMC is starting to wrap up with an overview by three printers on best practices, which by definition, don't happen overnight, but with alot of dedication and-- well, practice.

Rick Schildgen, CL Graphics (Crystal Lake, IL), uses consistent marketing to stay front of mind with customers.  As a result they tend to think the company's larger than it is, which doesn't hurt. One of his key tools is an annual "wow" package as well as monthly update written by him to clients.  In his updatek, he even writes about going to conferences like TMC, because customers like to know that he's staying up-to-date.

Bill Woods, Jr., EPI Companies (Kennesawk, GA), says his role as CEO is really to be chief cheerleader. He says it's his favorite role. Employees get caught up in fighting fires, but as the face of the company, he feels it's his job to show perspective and let them know that regardless of all the daily challenges, overall they are doing well.  He calls it "Damn It Control."

Bill Gilmer, Wordsprint (Wytheville, VA), talked about his company's incentive plan. Wordsprint is smaller, entrepreneurial site and he concentrates alot on sales. He doesn't look at labor as a variable expense. Like the tides, he's the gravitational pull for the numbers.  If he's out selling, guess what?  All sales efforts rise.

Other cool ideas:

1. Schildgen has a key supplier program and takes his suppliers to lunch, not the other way around.
2. Gilmer went out every afternoon in '06 to see customers. He says you get what you focus on and he focused on sales and  it grew by more than 20%.
3. Schildgen believes in giving back.  He looks to give 1% of sales to community service, some through in-kind services. He specializes in nonprofit markets and having a good heart helps endear him to them.

-- Rhona Bronson

TMC: Green Sales

You can spend an hour with Larissa Crum at TMC, or days with her at Management Institute in August.  One hour will convince you to spend the time with her in DC this summer.  But, here's the one hour gist, or at least a 2 minute piece of it.

There's no difference between sales management and going green. Why?  Sales responsibility is no different than any other type of responsible management.  The key issues are sustainability, chemistry, and knowing the landscape. Sales Stewardship so to speak.

1. Chemistry:  Your clients have got to like you. The chemistry has to be good.
2. Landscaping:  You can't be on a client's team if you don't understand their landscape (or playing field). Don't sell them shade plants (even if they have a shady spot) for their sunny patio particularly if they're planning a big garden party this weekend. In print terms: The client doesn't need a digital sales person, a fulfillment rep, and a database guru. They need one point person (the contractor) who can then bring in the specific team experts as needed.
3. Coaching:  A sales team like a sports team has star players. You can treat your players equitably or fairly. Larissa recommends fair over equitable. After all, would you pay the same for Eli Manning (NY Giants) as John Beck (Miami Dolphins)? If you wouldn't for a quarterback in football, why would you for a sales rep in printing?

Sales, by definition, is supposed to bring in revenue and profits, so if that isn't a green initiative, what is?

-- Rhona Bronson

TMC: W2P Biz Models

There's an ongoing controversy about the success of W2Print technology to gross sales or increased profitability.  Some claim that it increases sales and profitability. Others say no. The issue is really the biz model.  Some are simply procurement models which allows people another tool to order. But that doesn't necessarily result in either plus sales or profits.

Biz models that contain solutions to overcome pain points are the best way to increase sales and profits.

-- Howie Fenton

TMC: Marketing Games

CMOs, chief marketing officers,  average very short career spans.  So, if printers think they have problems marketing, imagine the life of a marketing person!  One has to wonder if CMOs can't seem to get it right or find career stability, how can printing sales reps?

According to Peter Winters of The Winters Group, that's exactly what's supposed to happen.  In his session "Big Ticket Selling to the CMO" he advises printers to become marketing partners and discover where a client fits on the Big Marketing gameboard before trying to sell him or her anything.

The takeaway is that in today's world clients such a bank executives, publishers, and others are facing their own challenges and don't know where to turn. Winters suggests that you make the sales call and put yourself in the chain but not by providing solutions -- at least not at first.  Rather than boast about your great applications (read VDP,PURL or whatever you've got that's hot), first find out the marketing problem the client's facing.  Only then do you even have a chance at being part of the solution, preferably longer-term.

P.S. I've been the Marketing head of a publishing operation. In 10 years (apparently a long, and hardy marketing career), a few printers did try to call on me.  Mostly, I'd refer them to Purchasing or our Ad Agency because I wasn't buying printing.  I was buying media reach.  Our agency was buying the brochures. Well, I guess that was Winters point afterall.  Don't sell what the CMO isn't buying.

You can't be in the game if you don't know what game the CMO is playing, or what's considered a home run for the CMO with his or her superiors.  For too many CMOs the game's over fast and printers never even get a chance to be considered part of the team.

-- Rhona Bronson

TMC: VDP

In an earlier seminar, Thomas Carroll of RR Donnelley noted that he thinks the printing industry has doctors beat in terms of acronyms. VDP is one of them.

InfoTrends' Barb Pellow led a panel that included:

Steve Ebanks – Partner, Xerographic Digital Printing, Orlando, FL

Tom Mercier – President/CEO, Bloomington Offset Process Inc., Bloomington, IL

Walter Payne – President, Image/Mark Business Services, Gastonia, NC

There are as many questions as answers, but InfoTrends is reporting that companies with digital platforms are averaging healthy annual revenue growth. Some key points that came out of it:

1. Judgment is required – by client and campaign – as to whether discretely charge for all services or use some activities (particularly the first out-of-the-box effort) as loss leaders. None of the three, specifically, yet charge for data archiving.
2. Sales involves calling on marketing or brand management. Often marketing departments are not fully aware or informed of 1-to-1 or on demand print collateral capabilities.
3. It's now a requirement for printers aka marketing service providers to cultivate and research the customer vertical industry requirements to the point of attending association meetings where the marketers and professionals gather.
4. Problem solving usually extends to fulfillment and mailing. Mailing implies inhouse Postal expertise. Client databases are rough and require hygiene, cleaning up, especially at first. Client education can include regular attendance at sales meetings, internal training aids and tools to make adoption (particularly by retailers or field sales people) easy and susceptible of enthusiastic reception.

Bob Whitton -- Research & Engineering Council of NAPL

TMC: At Will or At Risk

Afternoon breakout sessions were packed full, which is quite a testament to the pull of a TMC topic after two days and after-lunch.  I sat in one on employment law, and the conversation was lively, to the point, and helpful.

Here's one tidbit:  At -will employment only works for anyone not in a protected category of any sort. Since many employees are either over 40, belong to a minority, or have even a "perceived" rather than real disability, At -will may not be viable at all.

If you need employment advice, NAPL has contracted with Fox Rothschild (Philadelphia, PA) for free labor and employee relations phone consultation for members only.  It's not unlimited, but it can point you in the right direction. For more info, call Melanie Martin-Iuso at NAPL 1-800-642-6275, ext 6318.

-- Rhona Bronson

TMC: Phone Philosophy

Do you remember the old phone marketing campaign "Reach out and touch someone"?  Turns out they were ahead of their time.  According to Jim Mikol, Executive Vice President of Leo Burnett ad agency (Chicago,IL), touchpoints are the KEY measurement tool for ad agencies, marketing campaigns and print.

Clients are looking for ROI every which way but up, and just giving out deliverability rates, drop percentages, households reached doesn't cut it any more.  The key is ACTION. Do you, the services you provide, the products you produce inspire your client's customers to take action?  Only then do you have a satisfied customer of your own.

How does a littler guy do it?  That was one of the questions from the audience. The answer?  Get partners. Talk to clients and get clear on the action they want. Find the services you need to expand your offering to client.

-- Rhona Bronson

TMC: Culture Club

Every organization has a culture... what's yours? Is it a "Bobby Knight" culture with intense competition, loud admonishments and lashings in the public square, or is it more of a Jim Collins culture, where your people are your greatest asset and development and success go hand in hand? Have you identified and measured your culture lately? If not, the Organizational Culture Inventory is the way to go. This handy tool will tell you where you're at and what you need to do to improve your culture. You may be surprised by what you find. Contact me; I'll get you culturized!

-- Susan Reif  sreif@napl.org

TMC: War-ring Generations

Cary Grant is alive and well and masquerading around as RR Donnelley's Thomas Carroll. And, like Cary Grant, Carroll (who's thinner, but just as engaging) gets his message across with humor and a dash of debonair. What's his message?  If you want to attract and keep your employees, speak to them in their language, which is defined by their generation.

Since most printing company owners are either Traditionalists (WW II and Korea influenced) or Boomers (Vietnam influenced), they need to understand how GenX'ers and Millennials talk (Gulf War and 9-11 influenced). Carroll tells how he banned cell phones in the pressroom and likely put an entire generation of employees into dis-connect, but he knows enough about them to find other ways to attract and keep today's newest employees.

Want to keep a young employee longer than (OMG) 3 years?  Make them feel safe, wanted, connected and provide lots of life experiences.  After all, they're the kids of helicopter parents. They expect you to look out for them. 

-- Rhona Bronson