Contact, Wait, Repeat, Repeat, Repeat...

Sales efforts begin with a new contact...sometimes a cold call, sometimes a referral.  The new person doesn't really know you, but may suspect you are a sales person and try to avoid direct contact.  The question of whether this may become a successful sale depends mainly on the sales person and their level of motivation.

Do you want to sell your product?  How badly do you want to sell your product?  Is it really something that would be good for the customer?  If so, why give up easily?

New contacts tend to avoid you.  There are actually statistics to back up this statement.  The blog post below is by Matthew Parker on Printing Impressions blog page.

By Matthew Parker

 

Here are Three Scary Facts:

In 2007, it took an average of 3.68 call attempts to reach a prospect (source: TeleNet).
In 2013, it took an average of eight call attempts to reach a prospect (source: Ovation Sales Group).
Today, it’s getting even harder.  So that’s why I was shocked to learn that the average salesperson only makes two attempts to reach a prospect (source: Sirius Decisions).

We Have to Work Hard to Get A Hold of Prospects
It’s OK to be persistent. It’s important to keep trying to get hold of prospects.
But it’s not OK to just keep using the phone and email. Prospects are used to these methods: they don’t get results.

We Need to Be Creative in the Way We Communicate
It’s time to start using new ways of getting a hold of people.
What are you going to do differently this year?

P.S. Find out more ideas on how to increase sales with today’s buyers: download my free e-book “Ten Common Print Selling Errors and What To Do About Them.” You’ll also receive my regular “Views from the print buyer” bulletin, full of ideas on how to sell print effectively.
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Matthew points out in this post that repeated attempts for contact are necessary and suggests trying new ways to reach out to customers. What other means are available? 

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and in person visits are all additional tools in your sales person tool box. 

One big key? Don't give up, don't stop, keep on reaching out until you make contact and are able to present your product.  If you don't believe in your product and its positive impact on the customer, then you should find another job.  You aren't helping yourself or the company you work for.

So, attempt to contact, wait a short period of time, and repeat, repeat, repeat as many times as necessary to help your customer realize the awesome benefit of the product you are sharing.

More info on Matthew Parker:
Matthew Parker Author's page Many printing companies are frustrated how hard it is to engage buyers in today’s world. That’s where Matthew Parker can help. He is a gamekeeper turned poacher. Parker has bought print for more than 20 years and received over 1,400 print sales pitches. He now uses his buyer’s point of view to give practical advice to printers. He helps them engage with prospects and customers to create profitable relationships.

Download his free e-book, “Ten Common Print Selling Errors And What To Do About Them”

Bright red instead of orange and blue instead of purple

Color reproduction in print is very challenging.  The paper you print on makes a huge difference in how color is perceived.

The first thing to keep in mind is that not everyone sees color in the same way.  Yes, our bodies and minds react in similar fashion, but what is dark green to me may be more of a brownish green to you.

The printing industry has tried to take the personal interpretation out of color by using mechanical devices to read color bars on the printed product and in newspapers, a grey bar functions as a uniform standard to set ink levels.  The grey bar pictured below (at the bottom of a newspaper page) allows the press operators to see that the three color inks they use, Cyan, Magenta and Yellow are balanced correctly. 

If you have ever mixed paint you probably know that if you mix yellow and blue paint you get green - it is a similar process for a grey bar.  There is a certain percentage for each of these colors, that when they are mixed together they make grey.  If the grey bar looks red, pink, blue, or yellow they know they need to adjust their ink levels.  The entire page uses the same exact ink source, so if you control your grey bar you control your color.

The first step to make your colors accurate is to make sure the ink is put on the paper correctly.

Next, you can examine how the color was "made" in prepress - or on the computer now days.

I mentioned earlier that if you want to make green, you use yellow and blue.  There is no way to make a brown color only using yellow and blue, so if the green looks dark, "muddy" or brown, there is another ink in that mix.

Red and a blue are difficult colors to reproduce using four color process. 

The three colors Cyan, Magenta and Yellow are combined with black in four color process to create full color photos and artwork.  If the color mix of the red includes cyan or black, it won't be a bright red.  If the yellow is more than 85% strength, the red will look orange unless the press operator turns up the magenta more than he should, or the yellow down more than he should.  The mix on bright red is critical for a good color reproduction. 

A vibrant blue is similar, you need a mix of cyan and magenta, however if the magenta is more than 30-35% the blue will begin to turn purple.  If black is added the blue turns dull and dark.

You should always keep in mind that staring at the same color for very long actually stresses the muscles and sensors in your eyes and color shifts can happen.  It does not really happen on the paper, but in our perception of color.

The examples below illustrate the physical impact of continuing to look at the same colors/images.

In the first image you see a black and white version of a mug shot.  If you stare at the mug shot without looking away for 15-30 seconds and then close your eyes.  (It may help to cover your eyes with your hands in a bright environment)  You will "magically" see the reverse image on your eyelids.  These are your color receptors being tired and creating the reverse image as a result.  You can make the effect more pronounced by staring longer than 30 seconds.

You may want to click on the photo and enlarge it to help the process.

Color impacts our eyes in the same way.  Here are two negative color images for you to experiment with.  Stare at the dot/dots on their nose without looking around for 15-30 seconds and then close your eyes.  You should see the natural color image after a few seconds on your eyelids.  You can stare longer to increase the reaction. 

Color is truly subjective and can be impacted by many factors including ink levels, ink mixes and light.

Light has different variations of color.  You don't notice tremendously, but sunlight is bright white, fluorescent bulbs produce a greenish light while some light bulbs create a yellow hue. 

You should try looking at a printed page in these different types of light and see the color variation.  The ink doesn't change, the ink mix doesn't change, just the color of the light.

We see because light bounces off the paper and reflects back into our eyes, so the color of light has an impact on what colors we see.

I typically cringe when my wife asks me if something is very dark blue or if it is black because I know when she goes outside in the bright sunlight I am typically wrong!  So beware about being adamant about what color something is, it might not be that color to everyone.

You can't trust the ruler...

I'm not talking about a politician..."you can't trust the ruler" is a comment a customer made to me when she looked at the front page of her newsletter.

I explained that we were very careful to be sure that the top of the page was 8.5 inches wide and the bottom of the page was 8.5 inches wide also.  I showed her with the ruler that it was exactly the same at the top and bottom.  The page was cut square - but because the photo on the front of the page was at an angle, she was convinced we trimmed the newsletter at an angle as well.  That's when she told me "you can't trust the ruler"!

It seemed like an eternity passed while I tried to figure out how to respond.  I finally pointed out that our cutter could only cut a straight line and I couldn't curve the cut to match the photo.  She said she understood and was satisfied.

So how do you win an argument with a customer who says you are wrong but you can prove you are right?  You don't! 

I think there are a couple things to take away from this experience.

You may have heard the phrase the "customer is always right".  If you want someone to remain your customer, winning an argument can't be a priority.  Winning the customer should be the goal.  That's number one.  Be sure the customer understands you want them to be satisfied and you'll do whatever it takes to meet their request.  The customer needs to trust you, so make trust number one.

Number two is similar to "beauty is in the eye of the beholder".  We can't be so focused on doing our part right, that we sacrifice the entire project or product from the customers perspective.  It would have been helpful to discuss the angled photo before we printed the newsletter, or when we trimmed the first copy and saw that it looked strange. 

Our focus instead was to cut it exactly square so we could prove we did the job right.  There are times when doing it right shouldn't be the goal, but instead doing what the customer will like and need should be the focus. 

So which would have made this newsletter "excellent", cutting it exactly right, or working with the customer early on to reposition the photo? 

If growing our business is a priority, then winning the customer should be as well.  Interact often, point out pitfalls, discuss differences of opinion and develop the trust that comes with watching out for the customers best interest.

Finishing well is important!

Many people focus on getting off to a good start - making a good first impression is a great example. 

Athletes want to get the season started right, but that doesn't always happen.  The 2015 Kansas City Chiefs are an example of a team that got off to a bad start, their record was 1-5 after 6 games.  Something happened though and they began a 10 game winning streak and finished well.

The Denver Broncos had a good 2015 season, and struggled a few games but what fans of football will remember is that they finished well - playing in the Superbowl!  There is already talk about Peyton Manning finishing his career with a Superbowl win - that would be a perfect example of finishing well.

Printing also requires finishing well.  I have seen vibrantly colored business cards that were cut crooked - it spoils the look when they aren't cut correctly.

It would be a shame to spend hours on your design and prepress, extra effort on the press and then when the booklet comes out of the bindery equipment it is cut in a wedge shape!  Finishing well is extremely important when it comes to a print product.

I've included some video of a booklet maker running - it isn't easy to get the books cut correctly, but with experienced operators it can be done.



Many times the folks who finish a print job also face the toughest deadlines.  Regardless of how much time is lost in prepress or the press area, the bindery and finishing folks are always expected to still meet the deadline for completion.  These folks perform under time pressure, quality pressure and don't get a lot of recognition for what they accomplish.  It takes a special team to work under this pressure and still do a great job. 

Great teams get lots of notice in sports - the Superbowl team will probably get an invite to the White House - but the team that gets our papers, booklets and other products out the door on time work in the shadows without much recognition.

Thank you to those who work in our bindery and make the end product look so good!

Relationships: Are you a good friend?

Today I'm breaking away from posts about printing to dive in to another topic that has far reaching implications for our success.  Our family, our employment and even our sales efforts are all impacted by our relationships with other people.


I think everyone would agree that having a good relationship in your family is crucial to long term happiness and success at home.  Why is that?  We realize I think that those who see us the most and know us the best have our best interests in mind...at least at first.  If we don't return the focus on our families best interests, a downward spiral begins.

Almost every person who seeks a life partner wants someone who will be honest, even if what they say hurts our feelings, because we want them to guide us to be better.  Children can help us understand this principle even more.

Me and my daughters

When your child is about to get hurt by their actions, whether jumping on the bed where they may fall off, or by making a bad choice that will lead them down a wrong path, we want to help them and encourage them to make the right choice, or stop the actions that will get them hurt.  We have their best interests in mind, even though the child may not realize it.

Work relationships can be improved by applying this same idea to our interaction with our coworkers.  Instead of routinely showing up for work and "putting in our time", developing good relationships with our coworkers can greatly impact our happiness and success in our career.

When coworkers realize we aren't out to take their job, or to beat them to a promotion, but instead we want to help them succeed, the atmosphere and culture of our work place changes.  Stress will be reduced and our work day enjoyed.

Sales people are also a great example of success through good relationships.  If you sell your product and then abandon your customer, your long term success will be limited.  I don't think a good salesperson is someone who can sell ice to an eskimo.  If the customer doesn't really need what you are selling the first time they make a purchase, you can bet they won't buy what you want to sell the next time you visit. 

A really great salesperson is someone who develops a trusting relationship with a customer and the customer knows the salesperson has their best interests in mind.  These are the relationships that last - even if you change companies, your customer will follow you and buy from the new company you represent because they trust and believe in you.  They believe if you made the choice to change companies, then you, as the expert, know what is best for them as well.

Here is a personal example: I once was working to secure some printing from a potential customer.  I had submitted aggressive pricing several times over 6 months and the customer even acknowledged my pricing was better, our quality was great but he just couldn't move his printing with us. 

Up to this point we had traded emails and a couple of phone calls, but I had never met him in person because he was about 2 hours away.  I decided it was time to get to know him better, so I invited him to lunch.  I drove the 2 hours each way and bought his lunch.  We talked about business and then talked about our families and careers.  When lunch was over I didn't ask for his business, I simply said thank you for having lunch.  The next week he called me to place his first order.  The relationship grew quickly to a $10,000 a month partnership - all from a $40 lunch visit.

So, do you care?  Do others see you looking out for their best interests? 

Relationships matter, at home, at work and in sales.  Be a better friend and I'll bet you'll have better friends as well as success and happiness!

Newspaper Inserting video

Have you ever opened the newspaper and ended up with flyers and things fall out of it on to the floor?  (Made you look, didn't they)

Advertising by putting inserts into a newspaper has been a very popular method of advertising for many years.  In fact, at

 one time while folks were pulling back on actual ads in the newspaper, insert advertising was growing by leaps and bounds. 

Advantages to this type of advertising are numerous.  The subscriber gets a stand alone piece they can hang on to and refer back to - especially if you are promoting multiple items on sale.  The insert automatically makes people see it, simply because they need to keep them from falling out.  The message is all yours - you don't have limited space to communicate, you can make the insert as many pages as you choose.  You can be creative with size, color and attention grabbing graphics.


Disadvantages can be it is much more work for you as an advertiser.  You typically need to find someone to create this insert - most are not built by the newspaper although they could be.  It can take a very long time to create the artwork and copy, send to a printer, then have the printer ship the inserts to the newspapers you want it inserted in to.  You may need to plan your sale more than a month in advance and can't change any price points up to 3 weeks before the promotion starts.  It is expensive.  You pay for design, printing, shipping and inserting.  It is typically much cheaper to buy a full page ad in the newspaper than it is to print enough copies to insert into that same paper.  You also normally get a discount for placing the same ad multiple times - an insert is not that way.

Because it is such a popular and productive way to advertise, newspapers have machines to make the process of putting inserts in a publication much quicker and easier.  If you have 10 inserts and 1,000 copies of your paper in circulation, that is 10,000 pieces to put together! 

The Pueblo Chieftain has 2 high speed inserting machines that are computerized to keep track of the inserts being put in.  Occasionally an insert doesn't feed correctly - the computer senses a missed insertion and since the machines are round like a carousel, that particular newspaper isn't dropped into the stream of finished papers.  it rides around the machine up to 4 times trying to get the correct insert in.  If it fails a 5th time the machine stops and lets the operator fix it manually. 



The 2 round inserters can put 12 inserts into a paper at one pass.  We use both machines to get the Pueblo Chieftain out on the street quicker than we could with only one. 

The inserting machines feed papers on to a conveyor that take the newspapers to a stacking machine.  The stacker produces bundles of newspapers that are then straightened up by people and stacked on a skid, or sent out the door to be delivered.

If you operate a newspaper you should consider offering inserts - it can add to those difficult to find advertising dollars.

Video: The press in action

The web offset press (rotary press) was invented by William Bullock in 1863.  Back then, it was driven by a large belt that turned the press units and paper rolls.  The invention transformed the speed with which printing could be done.  Newspapers in particular benefited from this great boost in speed.  The news could be more timely and more copies could be distributed.

Mr. Bullock unfortunately was killed in 1867 by his own invention.  While trying to kick the drive belt on to the pulley, his leg was caught and crushed.  He developed gangrene and died during an operation to amputate his leg.

Many improvements both in safety and print speeds have been made over the years.  Presses today can print at very fast speeds, some printing newspapers at the rate of 60,000 or more copies per hour.

You may not know, but groups come through the newspaper office frequently for tours.  Boy Scouts even have a requirement to tour a newspaper as a step toward a badge.  It is interesting to see how the excitements builds as the group moves through the office areas and makes their way to the press room.

There is something about a printing press - the aroma of the ink, the noise of the gears and rollers I suppose - that demands the group's attention. 

The production of a newspaper, starting with the stories, headlines, ads and photos is a magical process. The last few steps in the process are amazing.  The ends of the press have large rolls of paper turning, the middle of the press has a stream of completed papers coming out - and in between is where the production magic happens.

The video shows the press in action, and you can get a sense of what it is like to be in the room as the papers come out, but really, you need to see it in person to get the true impact.  (We stay a safe distance away while it is running)

We'd love to give you a tour, so feel free to contact us today to schedule your chance to see it up close and personal.