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Attendees were interested in all things digital
Industry members’ growing interest in digital printing was reflected in the number of crowded education sessions that centered on the topic. Craig Faubel, principal of Carrollton, Texas-based Dantotsu Peformance, led a session on developing strategic alliances to grow digital print sales. Faubel spoke about the importance of creating a ‘company within a company’ to help sell digital printing. He also talked about the need to partner with manufacturers that specialize in digital print applications. “A lot of distributors feel very insecure about taking a manufacturer with them to a client, but guess what? It’s a value-added benefit,” he said.
Other presenters focused on positioning companies to sell digital printing, reaching C-level executives and measuring ROI for digital print sales. Steve Schnoll, managing director of Schnoll Media Consulting, New Providence, N.J., summed up the importance of digital printing by telling attendees, “The printers that make money today are in 1-to-1 marketing, through digital printing. But they’re not making money on the ‘clicks.’ It’s coming from other services.” Attendees learned how to add value to their offerings through database management, design and creative services, and fulfillment.
Rules of Engagement at the C-Level
1. Industry knowledge provides access
2. Effective execution ensures you stay at the C-Level
3. Delivery of value: past, present, future
4. Rapport is not a relationship
5. Business impact transcends personal relationships
Source: Joseph E. Manos, executive vice president, MindFire Inc.
Printers and distributors are used to differentiating themselves on price, service and quality, Schnoll said. “The slogan is that ‘you can’t have all three,’” he said, “But probably all of you are giving all three every day.” As a result, successful companies must adopt a new paradigm focused on branding and value. “If people don’t know you exist, how will you get business? Each of you has to take the time to brand yourself,” Schnoll said. “The features and benefits you offer have to make it easier for customers to do business with you.” Using pURLs as an example, Schnoll pointed out that distributors who sell solutions use digital printing as a tool to generate ROI for their customers, not as a product in and of itself.
Joseph E. Manos, executive vice president of MindFire Inc., Irvine, Calif., led a session on selling to the right C-Level customer. Although his tactics could be used by any distributor, he spoke specifically about how digital printing and consultative selling go hand in hand. He first advised distributors to stop thinking of themselves as print providers: “Forty-eight percent of our customer base described themselves as marketing communications providers,” he said. Executive decision makers seek partners with ideas, not products. “To go upstream in an organization, you want to be viewed by executives as an important resource and business consultant who is focused on meeting key business objectives which lead to their success,” Manos said.
In a typical C-Level account strategy, there’s only one decision maker. It’s important to identify that person early on. “The person who gives you an order for some marketing collateral is not the person who is going to give you an order for a $100,000 marketing campaign,” Manos said. He suggested asking up front who the decision maker is with questions such as, “At the end of our business development cycle, will you be the person who authorizes our agreement?” or “What is the decision making process and criteria?”
Marketing Your Digital Business
If you’ve struggled to market your digital print capabilities in the past year, you’re not alone. The market is growing at 35 percent annually, according to a Xerox study, which means many traditional print companies are leaping into a completely new type of sale. The equipment manufacturer offers tools to aid that transition.
More than a few business owners walking the show floor admitted that they don’t do enough to market their press capabilities. While exhibiting the DocuColor 260 in the Technology Showcase, Xerox distributed samples from the ProfitAccelerator program, a series of business tools generally reserved for Xerox customers. The tools include financial modeling software, application source files and images, vertical market samples and education kits.
Xerox’s most popular kit is the Open House and PR planning module, which includes a schedule, a checklist and a suggested budget. It also has sections on public relations and how to write and distribute a press release. Publicity builds credibility within a market, the handbook asserts. It details the steps to generate media buzz about your company. One of the most common questions printers have is what warrants media coverage. Xerox provides a list:
• New product/service
• Improvements or expansion of products/services
• Noteworthy new accounts
• Organization/staff changes
• Quarterly earnings
• Achievements by company or
personnel
• Information resources
• Response to a controversy or crisis
• Special events
• Charitable donations
• Awards won/given
• Giveaways or promotions
• Research findings
• Human-interest stories
“Not every personalization program is going to work. If you think just putting a name and address on a brochure is going to work, forget about it. There is no ROI on variable data printing unless you have a relevant message.”
Steve Schnoll, Managing Director
Schnoll Media Consulting, New Providence, N.J.
NUMBERS NEVER LIE
Attendees learned to use financial barometers as early-warning signals
The spreadsheet profitability method:
1. Draw four or five columns on a spreadsheet.
2. List profit and loss items down the left side.
3. In the far-right column, list “proven best” numbers—the times when the profits were highest or the expenses lowest.
4. In the center three columns, list dollars (and percentages) for the past three years.
5. Apply “proven best” percentages for last year’s sales to determine your “business potential.”
At first, the process will take an hour or an hour and a half to set up, Weil says, but once you’ve calculated the baseline numbers, updating the sheet will be simple. Then, circle no more than four problem items and delegate responsibility for fixing them.
“Remember, these are your numbers, not someone else’s goals for your organization,” Weil says. “It won’t work all the time, but every month you will be pulling yourself back towards your proven best and will become more profitable.”
A long time ago, Mike Magill, executive VP and treasurer of Ennis Inc., noticed an interesting fact about many distributors he worked with. “A lot of distributors go from $500,000 to $5 million real fast while still making the same amount of money,” he said in the Young Presidents’ Forum at the Print Solutions Conference & Expo. During the owners’ track series of education sessions offered at the conference, several speakers offered tips and worksheets to increase profitability.
Fred Weil, CEO of consultancy Image Group of Georgia, asked owners to refocus their management efforts on increasing profit, not just sales. Citing statistics from the Small Business Administration, he said, 30 percent of small companies are underperforming to their potential, and the lion’s share of failed small businesses (57 percent of those companies) falter because of underperformance. Many executives mistakenly focus on what they do best (selling) instead of spending time working on management and leadership tasks. “Selling more is not the answer to everything!” he admonished. “The definition of your job, as an owner, is ‘problem solver.’”
Using only monthly profit-and-loss statements, Weil said, executives can set up a table to track current performance against previous heights. The statement can reflect personalized dimensions, including habitual high and low periods.
GREEN PRINTING—HYPE OR HOPE?
How do you know green printing isn’t just a fad?
The Green Pavilion, a special section on the expo floor that featured environmentally friendly products and services, made its debut in Las Vegas. Print Solutions magazine gathered attendees’ reaction to the growing interest in green printing.
“As the green movement in business grows, printing has been put on the stage as an industry that has not been green in the past. Sure, it might be a trendy thing to be FSC-certified. But I think the awareness of environmental issues in general is here to stay.”
Keith Kohler, Co-Owner
Kohler Print Group, St. Louis
“If people can save money, it ain’t a fad!”
Fred Weil, CEO
Image Group of Georgia, Dahlonega, Ga.
“We have seen a lot of ‘green’ lately. We used to see recycled paper products or orders ever year around Earth day. Now, it’s almost every week. Whether it will remain like that, I’m not sure, but it’s certainly more than ever before.”
Paul Hickey, CFC, Account Manager
Enterprise Group, a div. of Domtar Paper, Ft. Mill, S.C.