Sales Relationships : Don’t Cut Out Print Buyers

As the print pie shrinks and the economy fails to pave the way for sustainable revenue flows, graphic arts industry sales reps will continue to push the competition envelope and perhaps attempt a shortcut or two to land the account.

As many printers have morphed into marketing services providers (MSP) in light of the shrinking pie, some salespeople are bypassing the prospect’s print buyer in order to reach what is perceived as a more accepting and appreciative audience for the printer’s value-added products and services. The popular reasoning is that a traditional print buyer is too far downstream; the newly evolved MSP can offer far more than just printing, and some argue that in order to avail themselves of the printer’s agency-level marketing tool belt, the client’s “requisitioner” or other upper-level decision maker needs to be brought into the equation.