Playground Rules Still Apply –Farquharson/Tedesco

Where do children first learn the world doesn't revolve around them? The school playground!

The biggest kid got the top of the jungle gym to himself. The fleet-of-foot arrived at the swings first. The rich kid with all the candy had all the friends. The rest of us stood sadly on the blacktop and learned to deal with disappointment. Or did we?

No. We learned how to compete. We used our brains, adapted and beat them at their own games.

Big Kid Loses His Spot

Twenty Years Ago: I'm bigger than everyone else. My size alone gets me everything I want. The top of the jungle gym is mine for the taking! Outta my way, shrimp!

I'm like a rock—big, dull, and inflexible. The clever kids may exploit my weaknesses and stake out a spot on the jungle gym anyway. Let 'em! I still rule the roost.

Today: Yeah baby. Today's my first day on the job at BK Printing. We've got the biggest and baddest presses. We don't need to listen to our customers or deliver value beyond what's on our production floor. We've got the biggest presses; what else could customers possibly want?

Six Months Later: BK Printing is in dire straits. Customers are dropping left-and-right. Prospects are falling off the radar. Our equipment list is just one factor clients consider when making a buying decision—and not among the most important. Who knew?

What could I have done differently? I could've honed in on what makes BK Printing different, other than our equipment list. I could've emphasized how my company provides convenience, safety and peace of mind—three priceless traits that trump any press.

The bottom line: Print buyers buy results and easy sourcing experiences, not hardware!

The Swingset Girl Falls

Twenty Years Ago: Nobody, and I mean nobody, makes it to the swings before me! After class, I fly across the blacktop like I have rocket shoes. A voice in my head says: "Breakneck speed often entails breakneck risk. One trip over a stray rock or stick is all it'll take to sideline you." I ignore that little wimpy voice.

Today: Whee! I just landed my dream job at SG Printing, a company that offers faster-than-sound turnarounds on proofs and most work. Sure, we're pulling out all the stops just to land the first jobs. We've already heard competitors mutter that our pace is "unsustainable and reckless." But we can keep it up!

Six Months Later: Clients are fleeing faster than a speeding bullet. My company has dropped more balls than a cross-eyed 
juggler. Our production floor is littered with blown deadlines, broken promises and fractured business relationships.

What was I thinking? Building strong ties with customers is about being reliable, not shaving a half-day and a half-dollar here and there. If SG Printing had only said what we did and did what we'd said, we might have a few more clients today.

Those who over-promise get burned. Those who under-deliver get immolated! The reliable choice gets the fat printing contracts and the superb long-term results.

Starting today, I'm turning over a new swing...er, leaf. I pledge to build trust with prospects and early-stage customers by following through on everything I say. I pledge to under-promise and over-deliver. I pledge to patiently rebuild my company's reputation into the "reliable choice." Then, objections that "you're not fast enough" will melt like ice cream on a hot day.

Yes, buyers can find faster-cheaper-better on a job here and there. But over the long run, they'll reward safe, honest and pleasant vendor relationships.

The other Speedy Gonzalezes can fall on their faces. Not me.

The Candy Kid 
Ends Up All Alone

Twenty Years Ago: Who wants candy? Everybody likes candy. Hey Jimmy, what are you doing after school? Busy, huh? What if I throw you a couple of Butterfingers? Ah, suddenly you're free.

Hey, I'm no dummy; I know that once the goodies stop flowing, my friends will vamoose back to their original buddies. Good thing that will never happen.

Today: Fantabulous! I have a new job at CK Printing. Our core strategy is to buy customer loyalty by coming in with a price lower than the score of a playground soccer game. I like their style.

Whaddya mean few printers can remain in business for long with bargain-basement pricing? What are ya talking about? Eventually prices go up. Who are you, Nostradamus, making a prediction like that? We'll see.

Six Months Later: You guessed it; we had to raise prices just to keep the lights on—and most of our customers jumped ship faster than a sugar-rush to the head. Now what? Big fat discounts are the only form of buyer persuasion I know. If I want to win back some clients, I might have to actually...learn to sell!

Where do I begin? How did the most popular, influential person in high school win favor with others? Ah, Tommy Abernathy. Was he the biggest, fastest or richest? Not that I remember. Tommy was just a normal kid with a blend of favorable traits—funny, empathetic, personable, etc.—that made him appealing to many.

Succeeding in the business world isn't so different. The firms with the biggest printing presses, fastest turnaround times and drop-your-drawers prices do not command the largest profit margins or strongest customer relationships.

The most successful printers share many characteristics with good ol' Tommy:

Good Listener: Tommy had brains and could orate like a Greek poet. He could talk about anything. Yet, he usually kept his mouth shut. This was key to his popularity.

You can't deny it. Most people like to talk, especially about themselves. Let 'em talk, listen to what they say and they'll tell you 90 percent of what you need to sell them. The best salespeople ask 20 times more questions than the average ones.

Life is simple. Buyers want to be heard. And you need to hear what they say. Maybe this listening thing has something to it…

Caring: You can't put your all into something unless you care about it. Ol' Tommy loved people—talking to them, learning about their lives, discovering what made them tick. He used to break his back to care for others. Tommy brought chicken noodle soup to Janey Jones when she was sick, and helped Charlie Fishman with his physics homework without asking for a dime. Those little caring gestures helped set him apart.

Good salespeople don't just care, they care about the right things: people. Their focus is not necessarily on the "close," but on giving the prospect or customer what they want. They care about making sure every client's needs are met. They care about making things right when they go wrong. And, they rake in the sales as a result.

Tommy has inspired me. It's time for me to stop buying my friends with lowball prices and to start acting like a real friend. PI

—Bill Farquharson, T.J. Tedesco

About the Authors
Bill Farquharson is the president of Aspire For (www.AspireFor.com). 
His Sales Challenge can help drive your sales momentum. Contact him at (781) 934-7036 or e-mail bill@aspirefor.com. 
T.J. Tedesco is team leader of Grow Sales, a 15-year-old marketing and PR 
services company. He is author of "Playbook for Selling Success in the Graphic Arts Industry" and five other books. Contact Tedesco at (301) 294-9900 or e-mail tj@growsales.com.