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about labels.
7 Tips for Selling Labels
- Study labels in action. "It's amazing what
you learn if you ask for and get the opportunity to
watch a label move through an organization," says John
Sanders, president of St. Louis distributorship SWM
Inc. He and other distributors say most prospects grant
access to vendors who ask to see how products are used.
Here are questions Sanders considers: Who's using the
label? What's the label's purpose? What's the surface?
What environmental factors exist (temperature, sunlight,
human intervention, etc.)?
- Keep an eye on new technologies. "The capabilities
of quality label manufacturers are increasing rapidly,"
says Pat Merrell, sales representative at Newport Printing
Systems, a distributorship in Newport Beach, Calif.
One interesting, seldom-used technology is smart labels,
which rely on radio frequency identification (RFID)
for automatic data capture. Smart labels include RFID
transponder inlays that users can read without line
of sight and in any orientation (unlike bar codes).
Companies with deep pockets often use smart labels for
parcel tracking and product authentication.
- Avoid complacency. "Companies that add value
have a lot to offer in the label market," Sanders says.
"It's much easier to get three prices, go with the best
one and make a nice order. But companies that make an
investment and look for ways to improve face stocks,
adhesives and constructions succeed in the long term."
- Invite manufacturers on joint sales calls.
Rely on the expertise of your label vendors for insight
into face stocks, adhesives, liners, printing equipment,
usage environments and more. Let them partner with you
to offer creative suggestions to end users.
- Provide custom label kits. Picture a stepladder
covered with 10 warning labels. Chances are, the 10
labels come from 10 different rolls. People assembling
the ladder would have to pick one label off each roll
and apply them separately. Instead, distributors could
provide a label kit-a sheet that included all 10 labels.
Quality control would improve, and the client would
save money (after paying a tooling expense) because
the labels would be produced in one run. And the client
would be far more likely to reorder from you because
of the custom solution.
- Test your labels. Surfaces are highly unpredictable.
Manufacturers know what label stocks and adhesives should
do, but testing always is recommended.
- Prepare to cost-justify suggestions. A chemical
company was using an expensive polyester label produced
on 8 1/2 x 11-inch sheets. The firm wanted better toner
adhesion and the ability to print one label at a time.
Instead of printing a sheet of labels, peeling off one
and throwing the rest away, rolls of thermal transfer
printable polyester provided a better solution. A thermal
transfer resin ribbon provided better toner adhesion
and durability and was better suited for printing labels
as needed. The solution required an equipment change
that involved an upfront expense but was more economical
in the long run. Moving end users away from commodity
products often necessitates cost justification.
Additional Resources
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