Untitled Document

The Story Behind the Printing

© Bill Farquharson, Print Tec Network

I use this example in almost every presentation I give. It illustrates just what is wrong with the way sales people sell.

This is one of my favorite lessons in printing sales. It's one that I think every sales person in every profession needs to understand. Sadly, few do and we all suffer for it. Let me begin by describing a situation and seeing how you react to it.

You are walking through a client's office and come across a document. Any document. Let's say it's a saddle-stitched booklet with the title "Farqco Health Benefits for Its Employees." You pick it up and leaf through the pages, noting the following specs in your Palm Pilot-like memory:

6 x 9 inches
64 pages with cover
Black over black
2 Color cover
Clinton era health regulations

So, with lightning-like efficiency you grab it and immediately run towards?c.whom? Where is your first stop? What will you do with this opportunity? Riddle me this, Batman: what is your best chance of earning this order versus winning a bid situation?

It seems to me there are two types of sales people in general and printing sales people specifically: order takers and order earners. For the order taker, think of Herb Tarleck, the sales rep with the loud jacket from the old sitcom, WKRP in Cincinnati. He was brash and brazen and possessed the selling skills of a McDonald's counter person. As for the order earner, think Lieutenant Colombo, TV's low-key crime investigator. Both would approach this situation differently and would come away with different results. But before you read any further, answer my question from a paragraph ago: what is your best chance of earning this order versus winning a bid situation?

The Herb Tarleck Approach
The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. These is a lesson we learned in eighth grade math and one that holds true for printing sales as well. In fact, most follow it in their search for a sale. They make haste to the buyer in an effort to spew a low price in the hopes that an order can be forthcoming. There is little to no work involved in this approach and it meets the minimum requirements of the job. No boss would argue with a sales person who is bringing in jobs to quote, right?

Herb would grab the health benefits book and use the most economical and direct path to the Purchasing Agent's office. Once there, he would breathlessly proclaim his "me-too" ability to print this piece. His idea of qualifying the job is to ask questions like, "How many do you order?" "When is the next time this is going out to bid?" "Can I offer you a price?" Then, pleased with his performance, he would head to the exit where is 1975 Oldsmobuick awaits and scream back to the shop where a tale of great success is spun to the boss and boys in the back.

There are two possible results in this scenario. First, Herb wins the bid and the job is his to print. In this case, he is awarded an order, but it is the client who actually comes away the victor as he/she has secured a low price from a willing printing sales person. Most likely, if given the opportunity, even Herb's price could have been bettered with just a couple of phone calls. After all, there is ALWAYS a lower price out there.

The other possibility is Herb loses the bid. The impression left by the process is that Herb and Herb's shop are price-only printers and the buyer now knows which buttons to push to obtain a better deal, especially if Herb offers to "meet or beat any price out there" as he is likely to do. Herb can now expect to be bullied by this client for the rest of his days. Not a great future in store, eh?

The Lieutenant Columbo Approach
Remember Lt. Columbo? This Sunday night character favorite of mine is a wonderful model for the printing sales person. "Let me ask you something" became a catch phrase for the 1970s as the good Lieutenant queried his way to the heart of the matter by asking question after question until the situation?\the story behind the matter?\became clear to him. Can you see where I am going with this?

Lt. Columbo would take the Health Benefits booklet and head down the hall as well. However, instead of rushing to the Purchasing Agent's office, he would make a visit to Human Resources, the source of the booklet and the likely "owner" of the document. Once there, he would begin and follow a process of questioning the piece until he was completely satisfied he knew its purpose, goals, issues, weaknesses and potential. Along the way, he would learn the names of the players involved, thereby expanding his network and net worth in the account and planting seeds for the future.

Note that he is asking many of the same questions as Herb, however he is going deeper into the issue for questions that get beyond specs and quantity. For example, "How many do you order?" might be followed up by "and how long does that last?" which in turn leads to "how long before the inventory is made obsolete by a change in rules or regulations?" Like the TV show, there seems to be no end to the questioning.

The net result of this approach is win-win for Lt. Columbo, the more consultative sales person. Either he earns an order at his price thanks to a possible redesign or suggestion made to improve the usage of the piece or he leaves a good impression in the minds of each of the people he came across along the way. Everyone knows where to shop for a cheap product or service, but how many places can you think of where the service matches the price charged?

And the Winner Is
So, as Columbo might say, "Let me ask you something: whom would you rather emulate? Lovable Herb will win his share of orders. However he will last only as long as his low price. His victories will be short-lived. Lt. Columbo, on the other hand, will find rich rewards and loyal customers. He will earn his money through carefully and painstakingly learning the story behind the orders. Now, if only he could earn enough money to get that raincoat cleaned!