Microcosm of Change ­—Michelson

SOMETIMES, seemingly unrelated elements combine as brush strokes to paint a bigger picture. That certainly seemed the case as we finalized this issue before going to press. Although filled with a range of diverse articles and columns, together they serve as a microcosm of current industry realities and trends.

For example, take this month’s cover story profile of Bindery 1, a flourishing trade bindery based in Des Moines, IA, which celebrated its 30th anniversary last year. Founded by Polish immigrants, the company reins have been passed to the second generation—led by daughters Gigi and Renatta and their spouses. A true family affair, Gigi came on board full-time in 1988 and now serves as president of the combined trade binding, finishing and mailing operation. Learning both the technical nuances of the finishing process and how to manage a thriving business, she exemplifies the necessity for our industry to attract more women and minorities to its ranks.

With a shrinking pool of skilled workers and up-and-coming managers, we must be portrayed to those entering the work force as ‘equal opportunity’ employers. Despite all of the current industry consolidation resulting in plant closures and layoffs among existing workers, there still is a dire shortage of young people being drawn to careers in printing and its allied industries. We can’t rely on good people to fall into our industry by fate or happenstance, as so often seems to be the case. As such, it’s critical to dispel any myths about the graphic arts being a grungy, physical labor-intensive profession. Increasingly, printers require computer-literate production staff, database experts, programmers, Web designers, and professional managers and marketers to lead the cross-media charge. We need to put as much thought and emphasis into developing our human resources as we do in making capital expenditure decisions. In reality, the cost of making wrong personnel or equipment decisions can have the same negative impact on the bottom line.

One way to counter outdated perceptions of “printing” may be for graphic arts establishments to no longer even use that word as part of their company names. Check out “Do Monikers Really Matter?” on page 42 to read how several firms have rebranded their names to better reflect their transitions into non-print offerings such as database and asset management, mailing, fulfillment and marketing support services that incorporate sophisticated electronic messaging. As consultant Steven Schnoll points out, rebranding your company helps to overcome the perception of it being an ‘old media’ technology provider to one that provides ‘new age’ information services.

Venturing into new, value-added services also requires a shift in mindset from a transactional (price-driven) sales approach to one that relies on solution selling. This entails targeting vertical markets where you have expertise, truly understanding customers’ strategic visions, and then delivering demonstrable, tangible solutions to help them increase their sales or reduce their costs. As former print shop owner Mike Kind points out in “Secrets to Solution Selling” on page 49, solution salespeople are hard to find and it often makes sense to look outside of the industry to find them. Poll your best customers and prospects for recommendations, he advises, and consider hiring and then grooming people with marketing and communications experience within the demand side of the niche that you’re attempting to penetrate.

Unfortunately, as sales guru Harris DeWese notes in his column on page 68 in this issue, many salespeople working at printing companies today suffer from call reluctance and are also closing challenged. They fear buyer rejection, lack the proper skills needed to prospect for new business, and require training in various ways to close the sale and ask for the order. One common denominator, he surmises, is that they are also almost always unhappy individuals. “A happy sales force is a productive sales team growing the company with profitable sales,” writes DeWese. “A growing, profitable company makes for a happy company, and buyers love to buy where they can find a little happiness.”

Some simple, common-sense logic from the old Mañana Man for an increasingly complex industry. In many ways, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Mark T. Michelson