Sometimes You Just Have to Impress
By: T.J. Tedesco
For: High Volume Printing
Published: February, 2001

There is no substitute for attentive and courteous service, grace under pressure, accurate and timely information and most of all, genuine concern for your customers and their purchasing needs. However, sometimes you have to WOW! ’em with something different. Sometimes you just have to impress.

A word of caution: Don’t construe today’s suggestions as a recommendation to overdo it. Printing sales depends on creating real value in the minds of key business influencers at carefully targeted companies. If you’re perceived as being only a “suit” with an expense account or worse, a trickster, you’re not going to get very far.

A lot of sales reps do as they should: They identify suspects, select prospects, convert as many as possible into customers and ask for referrals. They knock on pre-qualified doors, get quoting opportunities, tweak job specifications, service the heck out of the jobs they win and feign utter surprise when they lose. When I started selling print, this is how I tried to operate too. But deep down I thought, “There must be a better way.”

On-The-Spot Quotations
A decade ago, I was happily selling print. Then, the ownership of my company changed. The new leadership gave their print sales reps a freer reign and encouraged us to quote our own jobs – with three conditions. We had to:

1. Know printing fairly well
2. Have a head for numbers
3. Take responsibility for the profitability of the work we brought in house.

While some members of our sales team ran scared and left the company, others embraced the change, attended the print estimating training seminars and altered their selling styles.

I got a laptop computer – back then they weren’t cheap – and converted the estimating principles I had learned into a computer program. While developing this program, my sales manager asked me to get signoffs from our estimating department until he was confident that my numbers were good. Within a couple of months, I had him convinced and he cut me loose as long as I quoted house stock and called for prices on all outsourced operations.

Once in the field, a funny thing happened. Customers that occasionally threw me a bone were fascinated my laptop, which at that time was still a novelty. Most were surprised that I could do estimates in front of them within in minutes on a program that I wrote myself. When they found out that I would stand by my prices, my industry stock went up dramatically. Almost overnight my business doubled.

When I started doing on-the-spot estimating, I was afraid that I would be deluged with requests and end up being a glorified mobile estimator. As it turned out, this never happened. Even though I got a lot more calls than before, once print buyers had seen my program work, they usually gave me the specs and let me get back to them. This meant that I received all the benefit of doing on-the-spot estimating without significantly decreasing my active selling time. Like every other print rep, I still had to navigate the maze of voicemail, gatekeepers and other sales barriers, but when face-to-face with new prospects, invariably they wanted to see my system work.

On-the-spot estimating isn’t for everyone, and won’t be permitted in some companies, but if you are reasonably good with numbers and know your craft, you might want to give it a try. It will take a lot of effort on your part – plan on at least a half year – but if you get there, you certainly will impress.

Convert Any Restaurant Into Your Private Country Club
Do you have country club style customers but live on a MacDonald’s budget? Here’s how to make any public restaurant your own private club.

A few hours before your lunch or dinner reservation, go to your chosen restaurant and introduce yourself to the Maitre D’. Explain that you have an important engagement and request that he and his wait staff greet you by your last name (i.e., Mr. Smith) while you’re there with your client. Then, pre-sign a credit card slip and give instructions that they are to write themselves a 25% gratuity when you leave, as long as they follow your directions. Give the restaurant a self-addressed stamped envelope and ask that the credit receipt be mailed to you without presenting the bill at the table. When the meal ends and business is concluded, simply get up and walk out with your customer.

Invariably, your guests will be amazed that the restaurant knows you so well. If asked about the bill, just say, “It’s taken care of.” The point is: If you’re this prepared for a meal, how prepared will you be when a large stream of work is coming your way? Undeniably, this restaurant tip is blatant showmanship, but it works.

Take Advantage of The Weather
Americans appreciate hard work. Your printing customers want to know that you will do everything you can to ensure the success of their projects, no matter what impedes your way. U.S. Postal Service letter carriers have entered our folklore by not letting rain, snow or sleet stop the mail. Use bad weather as an opportunity to create the same image of dependability of yourself in your customers’ minds.

During a snow- or thunderstorm, the last thing you probably want to do is fight the weather and sell. If you have existing appointments and your clients are still there, make the trip – as long as you can get there safely. I used to love hearing, “I can’t believe you came in this weather.” My response was, “I keep my commitments.” My effort almost always created a favorable impression and usually led to more business opportunities. The ones that thought I was a lunatic gave me work just to get me out! Although I’m no longer a print sales rep, I still do my best to get to my consulting engagements – even when airline flights are canceled. On more than one occasion, I’ve driven from one airport to another in different cities just to get to where I need to be.

Be On Your Clients’ Schedule, Not Yours
Some people like to get to work early; others like to stay late. If you’re dealing with a clientele that keeps unusual schedules, adjust yours to fit theirs. I once sold to customers who owned their own manufacturing businesses. Many of these people began their days very early and were relatively available in the wee hours, but became more and more difficult to see as the day progressed. I had one customer that owned a $100 million business in a remote corner of my territory who usually was available for a 6:00AM breakfast. Even though I had to leave my house at 3:00AM to meet him, his company soon became one of my largest accounts.

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Actions still speak louder than words. As you’re struggling to differentiate yourself, use your prospecting activities as a preview of how you will handle business once you win it. Impress print buyers with your knowledge, presentation and effort. Don’t tell ’em, show ’em – and watch your print sales numbers grow.

T.J. Tedesco is a “hands-on” marketing, sales, coaching and training consultant to the post press industry. He is the author of Binding, Finishing & Mailing: The Final Word, and Win Top-of-Mind Positioning, both published by GATFPress and available at Amazon.com. T.J. can be reached at (301) 294-9900 or tj@growsales.com.