Sell Sell Sell... The Most Important Thing a Printer Can Do

Around this time of year, I get calls from printers asking why their company isn’t getting bigger and better. Are there new software programs that they should buy? Is there a new workflow system available that makes it easier to get work through production faster? Is there something that successful printers have and aren’t telling others about?

 There are obvious things printers can do to be more profitable. They can increase prices. They can cut costs. They can learn to read monthly financial statements and use them to measure their businesses’ ups and downs. They can organize the staff to let everyone know what their job is and who is responsible for what. 

 But the most important thing a printer can do is selling activities. Printers already have technology to make it easier to sell more, they just need to use it. The common print MIS systems compile sales information about your customers so you can make sure no sales opportunities slip through the cracks. The standard reports give you information to keep you busy talking and meeting with customers for the next six months.

Review the sales of your top 25 customers monthly. All the MIS systems have a standard report that lists customers by sales that can be searched by date. Since most printers get 50 to 75 percent of their total sales from just 25 customers, you must find out who your most important customers are. Everyone in your company needs to know your best top 25 customers so they can get the treatment they deserve. If you forget who the top customers are, your customers will forget they you are their printer. 

Make sure you visit your top 25 customers regularly to sell them something new. When was the last time you made a real sales call to Top 25 customers? Have you discussed new products and services with them? Face-to-face meetings will build a stronger relationship and make sure you are the first printer they think of when they need printing. You can’t efficiently ask a top customer for new business through an email or telephone call. Don’t confuse delivering a proof or picking up a repeat order with a sales call. Keep a record of when a Top 25 customer was visited and what you discussed with them. 

Measure the sales levels of each of your top 25 customers regularly. The main reason customers leave is because of inattention from the printer. Your first indication of problems will be when a customer’s sales start to drop. Know each month if a top 25 customers’ sales are growing or shrinking. I recently visited with a printer and found 40 percent of his Top 25 where no longer buying at the same volume and he didn’t realize it was happening. 

Use your customer list to prospect. You will want to call to verify the customer’s contact information. A simple call to make sure you have the right contact information may spark a selling opportunity or let you cleanse your customer list. You will also want to mail monthly to your customer list, so they won’t forget you are their printer and what you do. If you want an even bigger response from your mailing, follow-up with a personal call about the mailing’s call for action. This gives you another reason to call and build the relationship with the customer. Successful printers take time to talk to their entire customer list at least once a year.

Rejuvenate old customers. Who on your customer list hasn’t bought from you this year? Do you know why? Has the buyer changed and they don’t know you are the printer? Have they gone out of business? Did they have a problem with the last job they didn’t report? One of the most common reasons a customer hasn’t bought from you is that the buyers forgot you were their printer. The phone call will job their memory. Contacting the customers who you haven’t heard from in six months will help them remember you when it is time to order printing.

 Printers don’t have to spend all their time and money trying to find new prospects. Most can take the information they have stored in their MIS system to create a multitude of reasons to call a customer and ask for more business. The thing to remember is that people buy from people. Nothing is stronger than a personal contact with the customer and directly asking for their business. 

Got a question? John Giles is a consultant for the printing industry who welcomes calls and questions from readers. John works with Tom Crouser and CPrint International to help printers prosper. They are currently accepting new clients. He is the author of The DTP PriceList that is included in the 2018 Crouser Pricing Guide found at www.cprint.com. If you have questions about making your printing company more profitable, contact John at 954-224-1942, [email protected] or [email protected].