Become a Business Growth Strategist!
By John Kaufman
Segment Marketing Manager
Ricoh Americas Corp.
Selling in today's market can be tough. You can't pick up the phone and ask if you can provide a quote on something. Those days are long gone. Selling in today's market is highly competitive. Customers have more choices when it comes to vendors. That's right, more choices. Even though commercial print space is shrinking, with more and more shops struggling to stay afloat, customers have more choices than ever before. The Internet has made our market a small and competitive world, and because of this you need to change your selling habits. And they are habits. It's time for you to break from your traditional ways of selling, and really get to know the business of your customer and your customer's customer. You need to engage in the solution selling process. This takes more strategy, research and knowledge about your market, as well as your customer's market. This is vital because you are really selling to the industries with which your customers are engaged.
Does this sound familiar?
Customer: I need 500 of these. (Hands over disk.)
Sales: What is on the disk?
Customer: I am not sure. I think it is a PDF file. I just need 500 of these brochures.
Sales: When do you need them by?
Customer: As soon as possible, or at least half by tomorrow morning.
Sales: Do you want us to ship them or are you going to pick them up?
Customer: I'll pick them up.
Sales: Okay, let me write you a quote.
Once you have the disk in your hand, you are already losing money. The file is in the wrong format 80 percent of the time, and the disk often doesn't include the original files and EPS images. You have no idea that you just agreed to print a 50-page catalog produced in Excel. How are you going to make money doing that? If you run into this type of situation, you need to understand that not everyone is your customer. These one-and-done jobs are never profit makers, but profit breakers. You need customers who will help you achieve and sustain profit and growth. You need devoted customers who understand the value you bring to the table.
Instead of wasting resources on these one-and-done jobs, you should concentrate on helping your customers develop a Web-templated storefront that adds value for you both. You will then own the file, and the system you built will create print-ready files that you can profitably produce. Also, it holds true that if you own the data you own the customer as well. Statistics show that 80 percent of the money you make on each job comes before you print it, so stop selling printing!
Are your salespeople doing this?
Customer: I need 50 jump drives and 50 course books for my seminar next month.
Sales: I can get you those at a discounted price of let's say, 20 percent off our catalog price for the jump drives, and 10 percent off the printed books if you use our house stock.
Customer: Okay, that sounds great. Can you ship them to the convention center?
Sales: Yes, we can. We can have them delivered to the room. Will you need a flip chart, markers, and note pads for your attendees?
Did you solve a problem? Did you add value?
How much more effective would it have been if the salesperson had responded: "I can help you sell even more jump drives and course books by driving more people to your seminars, and here is how I can help you do that…"
That is the customer's true problem. It's not the printing, distributing and designing. It is the need for more revenue, and that means filling the seats. Start seeing your customer's business as your own, and then you will become a business growth strategist.
SELLING VALUE VS. PRICE
Find the customer's true problem, help them solve it and you will earn that customer's respect and loyalty. The dilemma is how to find the customer's true problem. You need to ask the right questions, listen, and take copious notes. It's important to do your research before contacting the customer, so you know the questions to ask. Go to their website, Google them, read their press releases, call up your customer's customers and learn their pain points. All of this information will prepare you for a successful meeting and your customer will feel confident that you understand their business.
It boils down to the same thing in all industries: you need to help the other guy get what he wants (i.e. recognition, and more revenue), to get what you want. The next time you meet with your customer, ask the person across the desk, "What do you want? What results do you need to make a difference in your position at this company?" You may be surprised at the responses you get; but if you make them feel safe in this economy, strengthen or even save their job, and help them generate more revenue, you will have added value and you will have a loyal customer.
Become a business growth strategist!
John Kaufman
Segment Marketing Manager
Ricoh Americas Corp. An expert in production printing environments and solutions, John Kaufman is responsible for Graphic Arts Marketing for Ricoh Americas’ Production Printing Business Group. He brings 20 years of digital product solutions, application development and industry marketing experience to this assignment. John can be reached at john.kaufman@ricoh-usa.com or at 815-210-8815. |
