Elevate Client Relationships with Commitment Over Convenience

Credit: Bill Gillespie

"We don't do that kind of work. We only do this kind of work."

What portion of your client's problems do you solve? Are you there for them when they need the thing you do or do you figure out how to do the things they need that are difficult? Trust me, clients know the difference.

In 1975 I was a print buyer. I ran an in-house print shop and bought the things we couldn't print ourselves. If the piece included photography it was a buyout.

We were a publicly traded company so there was an annual report. Once each year the elite print reps in Atlanta would start calling. "Hey Bill Buddy, I've been thinking about you. How's my pal Bill?" Suddenly, timing prompted them to call me for that thing THEY WANTED TO DO for me.

But, every day I needed labels, instruction sheets, someone to fold something I had printed. Daily, I needed help with direct mail or index cards. My needs were continuous, not annual.

The guy that helped me, daily, was like family. I could count on him for anything. When his company added equipment and asked for our annual report, I looked for a way to give it to him. I did give it to him.

The question surfaced again when I was leading a large commercial printer. The company was stuck. Their volume had stalled but cost had not. Investments in new presses only complicated the math.

I went to the dry erase board. I asked reps and company leaders to rattle off what they suspected clients spent their time managing. The list was long and quite complicated.

Then I asked “what portion of this puzzle do we solve?” In other words, how many of the listed problems were we a solution for? The answer points to your value.

We decided that we were like many of the printers that called on me years earlier. We wanted giftwrapped work at our price. We expected a premium for service anyone could deliver. We had our heads in the sand.

I ask this in 2024 because I still see this mentality. "Call me when you need this, not when you need that." Do we really think this works? Clients want suppliers that are there for them when the request is hard, not when the request is easy. If you aren’t going to be special, you had better be cheap!

The commercial printer I was leading changed their approach and doubled their size. Prices became “this is how much what you outlined costs” conversations not bids. Every financial metric exploded in the best way.

Look in the mirror. What are you committed to doing for your clients? Be there for them and you won't be hungry for purchase orders.