Product category:
General Print Supplies, Services for Printers
News Release from: Cavendish | Subject: Digital print sales
Edited by the Printingtalk Editorial
Team on 06 September 2005
Beating Pain Barrier Key To Digital
Print Sales
Success in selling digital printing is based to a great extent on a print sales representative's ability to find a digital print buyer in 'pain', according to the consultancy Cavendish.
Success in selling digital printing is based to a great extent on a print sales representative's ability to find a digital print buyer in 'pain', according to the consultancy Cavendish Cavendish's Colin Thompson said that the pain is followed by an accurate diagnosis of its causes, which involves print, making the individual with the pain aware of alternatives (hopefully, via a digitally printed product) and then, selling the digital solution
This article was originally published on Printingtalk on 27 Apr 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
Related stories
New Report Claims Digital Print Is Way Forward
Tremendous challenges are facing today's businesses in terms of printing, finishing, inserting, mailing and connectivity by telephone, fax and the world-wide-web.
Print Management Specialists Better For Customers
In an attempt to control escalating printing costs that can consume two per cent - three per cent, organisations have turned to traditional print outsourcing providers, according to Cavendish.
Thompson commented: "As with many other suggestions on how a print sales representative can be successful in selling digital versus offset print, the sales techniques used by successful, professional print sales representatives is not significantly different in offset versus digital sales.
What is important is the digital sales person must embrace the 'pain' concept and react more vigorously to its solution.
Training and information is the key to success." He explained that the 'pain' person is not normally the purchasing agent.
Further reading
500-Page Digital Production Report On CD-ROM
Tremendous challenges are facing today's businesses in terms of printing, finishing, inserting, mailing and connectivity, according to the Cavendish consultancy.
Effective Leadership Skills Increase Producivity
Whilst the skills gap in the UK workforce is routinely cited in the media, the importance of employing highly skilled, well-trained managers and leaders cannot be underestimated.
Simplified Communication Within Print Management
Colin Thompson presents the fourth in a series of articles on the importance of a Print Management Service Programme: Simplified Communication.
Their major pain points include finding the time to listen to the increasing number of voicemails from new print sales representatives that seek a first-time appointment.
They also suffer from attempting to differentiate one printer from another in a world of largely commodity print.
They also have difficulty in attempting to buy on some criteria other than price.
The key 'pain person', according to Thompson, is often an executive in charge of marketing, sales, trade exhibitions, distributor sales, public relations, human resource management, or the chief executive, chief operating officer, or chief financial officer.
They are the individuals who are most effected by the success, or otherwise, of a print campaign.
"Any early prospecting must first identify the key executives by name and title, normally contained within their company's annual report, those people who report to the appropriate sector for filing company accounts, databases and on the company's web site.
If a private company, Google searches on the company's name often turn up the names of the key executives of the company.
In addition, the now forbidden practice of just stopping by a prospect's premises to gather information is quite okay.
It could be an excellent opportunity to meet the CEO's or marketing person's administrative assistant, or to obtain the names of appropriate individuals who might have a 'pain', as well as to obtain samples of their recent literature," said Thompson.
And he continued: "So now comes the print sales representative's pain - getting an appointment to see an appropriate executive.
For the digital print sales representative whose company has already produced solutions to the pains of other buyers, the process should be relatively simple.
Today's buyers simply want solutions.
They want something better than that offered by competitive printers.
For the purchasing agent, that's normally a better price.
For executives, it is more sales, a higher average sale per customer, more customers, higher customer retention and better profits per sale.
In addition, they would look for a reduction of excess inventory, a faster time to market, increased brand recognition, enhanced communication with customers, employees, stockholders, and stakeholders, as well as improved employee relations and knowledge, together with a faster and more successful response to customer problems." He said that the representative should begin by asking the person in pain what they would like to achieve with their investments in communications and print.
"This can get their attention.
After a period where print seemed to take second place to internet investment and the concentration of marketers was on web site development and deployment, print is regaining some of its lost prominence.
That is especially true as marketers who relied upon e-mail found their promotions considered as spam and undesirable.
Direct mail is returning as an important budget item in a marketer's budget because broad-based internet promotions were simply not as effective as highly targeted printed messages - a key advantage of digital print," observed Thompson.
In his opinion, print companies should talk to customers and prospects about helping with solutions to increase awareness, quality and cost saving remedies.
Following that the next question should be to ask the prospect if they are interested in making the value of their company's web site more effective.
The digital print sales representative, therefore, can find prospects with their minds open to using targeted, short-run or variable print as a segment of their marketing budgets.
"In addition, a second important factor is the growing desire to have a web-to-print option, whereby individuals visiting the buyer's web site will find themselves contacted via a direct mail piece based on the characteristics the recipient entered on that site.
This should be one of the prime driving forces for the ever increasing sales of variable printed products in the next two to three years.
That makes the next question to ask a marketing executive or their associate if they want to make the value of their web site more effective.
Selling the value of a web-to-print solution almost automatically sells the digital printing capabilities of the printer," said Thompson.
He added that the same can be said for selling a more personalised and individualized message to a range of people respoinsible for various functions in the company who can see the value and use it.
Thompson concluded: "Top dogs in organisations simply have the need to communicate better but have to be shown how variable, personalised printing can answer an immense need for targeting the recipients of the communication.
'Pain' brings successful results for all if they are part of the solution.
The global trading market keeps changing and so do digital printers to stay successful.".
• Cavendish: contact details and other news
• Email this article to a colleague
• Register for the free Printingtalk email newsletter
• Printingtalk Home Page
Search the Pro-Talk network of sites
