10 Ways to Get More Attention –Dana

One of the most common questions I get from printing industry salespeople is simply this: “Margie, can you tell me how to get buyers’ attention?” Usually, I hear this from newer print sales reps. I think they expect me to have a silver bullet for solving the problem.

If only it were that easy.

It is the burning issue for reps everywhere—and who can blame them? Times are tough for printers. It’s hard to get through on a cold call. Print buyers aren’t easy to find in Internet searches. Why? Because titles for those responsible for sourcing print are all over the place. You can’t really find them listed on most corporate Websites. There is LinkedIn, of course, though printers have to pull way back on their “sales” tendencies when engaging with buyers there.

Let me be clear: when I say “print buyer,” I mean a professional who’s in some way responsible for getting things printed for his or her employer. This two-word phrase is a descriptive one. More and more print buyers have found themselves in expanded roles, dealing with anything from purchasing widgets, as well as printing, to publishing content across many media channels. (Sidebar: these are the lucky ones. Others have been “retired” by their companies as print was upstaged by newer, digital media channels.)

Let’s face it, print sales reps today need a brand new bag of tricks and tips to get noticed by prospects. While I don’t have a simple solution, I want to share some tactics or sales “behaviors” that would definitely help printers stand apart. Here’s my list of 10 smart ways to get buyers’ attention, in no particular order.

1) Send something interesting in the mail. As is the case for probably everyone, my daily mail consists mostly of junk and bills. How depressing. Make my day by sending me something I have to open, something with such an unusual shape or heft that I can’t ignore it. Maybe it’s produced on a special substrate. Maybe the copy on the outer piece is so intriguing that I rip open the package.

2) While we’re talking mail, make it personal. You’ve got the tools to personalize direct mail. Make sure the concept is clever, not hackneyed, and that the creative is exquisite. If you can’t do a VDP campaign that’s original, send something that’s addressed by hand. When I get a letter or a package that’s hand addressed, it’s the very first thing I open. It could be a card, a letter, a book wrapped in brown paper or just an oversized envelope. No matter; it gets my undivided attention.

3) Send samples that relate to prospects’ businesses. Better to send no samples than ones that are totally irrelevant to a prospect. If you’ve done business with another firm in the prospect’s industry, send those samples—and include a note or letter describing the project and how you helped that client reach a goal.

4) Ask your best customers for short testimonials you can use. If you’ve been a print provider of choice for certain customers for a while, ask them why they prefer to work with you—just a sentence will do—and use these as headlines in letters to prospects in similar industries. Another idea for these great testimonials: feature them in a postcard campaign. When I worked for a mutual fund company in Boston, all I had to hear was something like “We did this job for Fidelity” to get my attention. Believe me, I gave that printer a second look.

5) Have a Website like no other printer. To me (and I visit and critique printers’ Websites all the time), this means your site has personality. Its look is contemporary. There are sharing “chiclets” on every page (you know, those little icons for sites including Facebook, Twitter and Linked-
In). You have a blog. Staff bios are interesting. You don’t feature photos of building facades or presses.

6) Make customer education a priority. It’s so incredibly easy to do; I never understand why more printers don’t do it. Your sales and service reps talk to and interact with clients all the time, right? This means they have a very good sense of what topics would be popular with prospects.

Here’s one idea. Create a short list of common problems or misconceptions many customers share. Use this list to jumpstart your educational efforts. Turn the topics into any or all of the following: blog posts, newsletter articles, e-mail blast topics, seminar sessions, mini videos and presentation ideas. Please make sure your site has a ton of educational content.

7) Be visible online. The biggest mistake that printers make today is ignoring their online presence. The old ways of attracting customers don’t work anymore (or haven’t you noticed?). Tired, old Websites, boilerplate sales letters, sales-centric cold calls and fear-of-change attitudes are holding printers down, and not doing the industry’s public image any good.

Thanks to new media, printers have multiple ways to engage customers and influence prospects. And, most of these are easy and cheap. Yes, I’m talking about being visible in social media. You need to have an active online presence so that the market knows your name and can appreciate all that you offer.

8) Be active in professional organizations. Find out if there’s an organization or association for print buyers or print production professionals in your region. If so, can you join it, sponsor it and/or speak at a future event? BTW, the first thing you should do is join such an organization, get to know the people who are active in it and attend a few events. Once you’re familiar with the group, you’ll have a better sense of how to maximize your participation.

9) Focus on the value you bring, not the products you sell. Figure out what problems and challenges your key prospects are facing, then determine how working with you addresses these issues. Can you articulate your value in plain English? Can you visualize yourself as a consultant rather than as a manufacturer? Act the part!

10) Make sure all of your sales reps are on the same page with the previous nine points. I’ve never sold printing, so maybe this suggestion is totally off-the-wall, but here goes…Although sales reps have their own accounts and selling styles, I suggest that the sales manager make sure all of his or her reps are acting “as one” when selling their firms’ services.

They should all be up to speed on products and services offered—and capable of articulating why their firm is innovative. They should all have Twitter accounts and strong LinkedIn profiles. They should be encouraged to blog for the company and given the tools to do so. Maybe they can each have their own mini-video on the company Website, where they introduce themselves (just a minute
or two should do the trick).

In the end, it’s not just one or two of these tactics that will get buyers’ attention; rather, I suggest that printers incorporate all of these suggestions to have the best chance of standing out from your competition. PI

About the Author
Margie Dana is the founder of Print Buyers International (www.printbuyersinternational.com), which offers educational and networking opportunities to those who work with the printing industry. She produces an annual print buyers conference (www.printbuyersconference.com) and has written her popular e-column, “Margie’s Print Tips,” since 1999. Dana speaks regularly at trade events and offers consulting services as a print buyer specialist. She can be reached at mdana@printbuyersinternational.com.