Surfing With Purpose --DeWese
Everything I know that is really worth knowing, I learned from someone else.
That's it! I'm out. I'm outin' myself. You thought I was a great thinker and now you find out that I'm just a great listener. Oh, I suppose I had a few original thoughts in the old days—after a few fingers of Jack Daniels.
The really great thinking, however, always came from someone else. It coulda been from Peter Drucker on marketing or management. It mighta been from Socrates or Plato on human behavior. Sometimes it was the shoeshine guy at the airport on the subjects of politics or the economy.
Plentitimes my great sports thinking came from Casey or Yogi or the Ol' Diz.
Many times, if it had to do with selling, it was something I learned from one of my many customers. That's the advantage of having a lot of clients. You can learn a lot more from more people.
I have learned a lot about our industry—how it works and how it behaves—from people like Dr. Joe Webb and Dick Gorelick. Frank Romano and Andrew Paparozzi have taught me even more about how our markets work and how to assess the future. But then, my clients, their companies and their printing segments have taught me even more about this industry.
One of my early mentors, Ivan Smith, helped me when I was in my 30s. He made me understand that he or she who controls the information, controls. This principle, like so many others, is vital to the success of print salespeople. It has certainly been vital to my success and has made me a lot of money.
So I didn't flinch last week when I had the opportunity to be one of the charter subscribers to Dr. Joe Webb's new information service called www.PrintForecast.com. This is up-to-the-minute information and analysis from, arguably, our industry's best thinker. I have to say "arguably" so Dick Gorelick, Dick Vinocur, Ron Davis, Andy Paparozzi and Frank Romano don't get their noses bent out of shape and blackball me again when I reapply to the printing industry Mensa Club.
My point is this. If you want to control your sales territory or your printing company, you must control the information relevant to your markets (customers) and technology. You could spend 40 hours running the company or selling and another 40 gathering information. Or, you could work 60 hours each week selling or managing and four or five hours reading the analysis of Dr. Joe and these other geniuses.
People, make the investment! Invest the money! Invest the time! Go ahead. Right now. Click on it. www.PrintForecast.com.
While you're working on your ugly lame brain, take a few minutes and click on www.napl.org and see what that association is offering to help you sell more. They sell books and seminars where you might just learn a little something to make your miserable life a little better.
Try to Get Ahead
Now click on www.gain.net/ PIA_GATF to get the home page for the Printing Industries of America and the Graphic Arts Technical Foundation. While you're visiting these Websites, try to concentrate and actually buy something that can help you sell more and beat the pants off your competitors. Believe me, they are trying to improve. If you want to be around in 2010, you must improve.
Every time you fire up your PC or Mac, you need to visit www.piworld.com. Scroll down to the bottom of the home page and reread my column for the month. Probably wouldn't hurt to also go into the archives and reread some of my previous columns.
They archive several years worth of my sales columns, which probably didn't sink in the first time you read my great words of wisdom. www.piworld.com also houses all of the printing industry news, departments and feature content from previous issues, including the most recent Printing Impressions 400 rankings. It's a great place for learning or doing research. While you're there you can sign up for Printing Impressions' weekly e-mail newsletter, PI Weekly.
It's January now, and way too early to have screwed up the year. You have plenty of time to make a little plan, set a little goal, build a little self-esteem and get out there 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/GATF. 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. He 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.
