Some Sweet Revelations -- DeWese

Valentine's Day just passed. I'm a hopeless romantic and I went a little nuts with gifts for all the women in my life; one wife, three daughters and four granddaughters.

Some people have said that I'm a "man's man." But, I'm confessin' that as I grow older, I'm getting more and more in touch with what some experts refer to as my "feminine side." It's got something to do with men's testosterone leaking out or evaporating or something.

Whew! I'm glad to get that little tidbit off my chest. I have to be careful with the rest of this so as not to be "politically incorrect."

I'll explain.

I'm a great cook—terrific at grocery shopping, too. My wife of 41 years, Attila the Nun, can't cook a lick. She hates grocery shopping. She controls our outgo and demands that I handle the income.

She'll kill me for this, but she's almost 60. She looks like she's in her 30s, and I can almost hear the whispers when we're in public, "Look at the old coot with the young blonde." Over the years, I've bedecked her with some great jewelry (trying vainly to extract myself from various affronts). So, I act like she is my "trophy wife." Now when we're out, I just go with it, strut a little and let 'em wonder. See, I've already risked the outrage of all the old coots and the feminists.

I'm into gardening—perennial gardening, water gardening and vegetable gardening. Dragon Lady will look at my gardens, but she worries about bugs, snakes, ticks and prickly weeds. I actually cut flowers and bring them in. I'm not sure, but I think there is still a lot of sentiment, at least on the Home and Garden Channel and in all the gardening magazines, that says flower cutting and arranging is predominately a feminine activity. Now I've got the gardeners mad and the feminists are ripping this magazine to shreds.

I'm into cooking and gardening. Recently, I also redecorated my home office. Damn thing could be featured in House Beautiful. You readers know that I don't golf, or go to NASCAR events, cockfights or wrestling matches. See what I mean about my feminine side?

Cupid Leaves His Mark

Next confession. I've got a crush on a man or two. I even sent one a Valentine gift. I think he was the actual founder of Valentine's Day. If I'm not mistaken, he's actually the real Saint Valentine. He's Bob Valentine and he's a printer in Seattle where he is an owner of Valco Graphics. Get it? Valentine owns Valco Graphics.

Oh, my crushes also include Mark, Dave, Ronnie, Jeff and Roy, but I've already written about them.

I sent Bob the very thing he doesn't need. It's the book titled, Choosing Civility—The 25 Rules of Considerate Conduct. A book, I might add, that all of you were supposed to have purchased and read by now. Remember? I wrote about it last month.

I don't want to beat this Valentine thing to death, but Bob is one of the most selfless, self-effacing and outwardly focused humans I have ever known. He is the master of thinking of others and finding ways to recognize them with creative, thoughtful gestures. Bob has perfected the art of gentle persuasion.

No damn wonder Bob Valentine is such a great print salesman. My Valentine, this column is for you.

See how I selfishly and deviously used a friend to segue into this column. God, will I ever grow up?

The author of Choosing Civility, P.M. Forni, is the co-founder of the Johns Hopkins University Civility Project. This project, based in Baltimore barely 40 miles from Washington, DC, is something that all politicians should embrace. Politicians and TV commentators are horrible behavioral examples to Americans. They violate Forni's rules 24 hours a day as they talk over each other, spin one-liners that insult our intelligence and demonize one another. You can never sell printing if you behave like politicians or cable news commentators.

The whole message of Forni's book is to focus on others, not yourself, and you will prosper psychologically as a human being. My assertion is that you must focus on others, namely your customers, and not yourself, and you will prosper, psychologically and financially, as a print salesperson.

Just listen to the titles of the 25 rule chapters in the book. "Pay attention. Acknowledge others. Think the best. Listen. Be inclusive. Speak kindly. Don't speak ill. Accept and give praise. Respect even a subtle "no." Respect others' opinions. Mind your body. Be agreeable. Keep it down and rediscover silence. Respect other people's time. Respect other people's space. Apologize earnestly. Assert yourself. Avoid personal questions. Care for your guests. Be a considerate guest. Think twice before asking for favors. Refrain from idle complaints. Accept and give constructive criticism. Respect the environment and be gentle to animals. Don't shift responsibility and blame."

Just thinking about those chapter titles will make you a better print salesperson. And reading the chapters will make you a super print salesperson. Kinda like Bob Valentine.

Profits are Misunderstood

Now here's another subject thanks to my local chapter of PIA, the Graphic Arts Association in Philadelphia. Print Buyers Think Printers are VERY Profitable! Print Buyers Online.com, a free online membership organization with 5,500 members who buy printing, recently asked: "How much net profit do you believe the average printing company makes?" Here are the eye-opening results:

* 7 percent said "over 60 percent." (What a joke. Only the Mob, Enron executives and a couple of bookies in South Philly make more than 60 percent net profit.)

* 22 percent said "about 25 percent." (Only a teensy handful of corporations make this kind of after-tax profit. Certainly no printing companies.)

* 48 percent said "7-12 percent." (A few specialty printers make this kind of money in the best of times.)

* 23 percent said "1-3 percent." (These print buyers are right. Most printers make this kind of after-tax profit in good times.)

More than three-fourths figured printers made at least 7 percent profit after taxes! How could this be? How could print buyers have such misguided perceptions.

Consider the following reasons from their survey results:

1) When told their bid is "high," printers often lower prices.

2) When a customer seeks a credit because of some perceived difficulty or defect, printers often provide a hefty discount amount.

3) When jobs are bid to a number of printers, prices submitted often vary widely. This leads buyers to believe there must be a lot of play in the price.

The report went on to say, "Right or wrong, these are their perceptions. The bright side is that this presents your sales force with a real opportunity to sit down and talk about why the price is what it is, other options, etc."

Well, there's some eye-opening stuff in the report. We have mis-educated our clients.

Your opportunity is to re-educate your customers and the only way to do that is to get out there, act civilly, have a conversation and sell something!

—Harris DeWese

About the Author

Harris DeWese is the author of Now Get Out There and Sell Something, available through NAPL or PIA. He is chairman and CEO at Compass Capital Partners and is an author of the annual "Compass Report," the definitive source of information regarding printing industry M&A activity. DeWese has completed more than 100 printing company transactions and is viewed as the preeminent deal maker in the printing industry and specializes in investment banking, mergers and acquisitions, sales, marketing, planning and management services to printing companies. He can be reached via e-mail at DeWeseH@ComCapLtd.com.