How to Make a Sale: A Print Buyer Weighs In

When We Meet:

• Examine your samples first! Make sure they are in perfect condition, flawlessly printed, fairly recent and showcase the best of your company's abilities. If you have to make an excuse for a sample, or even one small part of one, don't bring it. (If your company doesn't have enough high-quality samples to impress a new customer, update your resumé, because they're not going to be around much longer.) Be prepared to leave a few samples behind for my reference.
• You are, in a way, on a job interview. Present yourself accordingly. You are my first impression of what the people at your company are like, and how much your boss cares about that fact.
• Lunch really isn't appropriate for a first-time meeting. (Think about it: Do you really want to be making your pitch while being continually interrupted by wait staff, with crying babies a few feet away, or with food in your mouth?) Meet me in my office in the morning. You want to see me after I've had my coffee, not after I've eaten or when I have less time for the day's deadlines and unexpected issues.
• Arrive no sooner than 10 minutes before the planned time and no more than five minutes after. Call if you're going to be delayed, and go for a walk or get some coffee if you're early.
• Tailor your presentation (including samples) based on what you learned from your research and during our preliminary discussions.
• Other than success stories, nothing should be said about other customers. Under no circumstances should you bad-mouth a customer, former or current plant employee, or, for that matter, former employer.
• Keep it to 20 minutes. If you can't fit everything in that time, you're doing it wrong.
• No gifts—unless it's something like a notepad, calendar or pen with your company logo.
• Some generic small talk right at the beginning or end of the meeting is fine, but no personal questions! This is not the time to ask me what I did on the weekend, where I live, how I met my wife, what sports my kids play, or when I'm going on vacation, nor is it the time to tell me those things about yourself.

If all goes well, I'll want to go on a plant tour.