Solving Problems is Key to Selling Print

Credit: Bill Gillespie

Years ago I did business with an Atlanta soft drink giant. That is to say I printed for them. I spent hours, daily, on their campus. I never left their offices without new work to do.

One day I attempted to share an innovation I was proud of. My contact listened for a few minutes, stopped me and said, “I've already seen that.” I was stumped. I sat silent not sure what to say next.

He took pity on me. He retrieved a folder from his desk and explained, “this is my idea file. It’s full of stuff people send me from all over the world.” He showed me exotic substrates, POP binding hardware, special ink examples, adhesives, scented varnishes and outrageous diecuts. Nothing I had to share could compete with what he was already holding.

He explained, “Bill, these guys know what they do and they want me to know. They’ve spent no time figuring out what we do or what matters to us. They send me ideas looking for a problem to solve. You make my problems go away and that’s why you’re here in that chair. It’s a chair each of them would like to sit in.”

I felt better, collected my day’s stack of purchase orders and headed back to the plant. I never quit sharing what I thought might be new but I never took my eye off of the ball either. I was in the promise keeping business first and foremost.

Fast Forward: Just a few years ago I found myself in Las Vegas. I was pitching an International Entertainment Brand. One of their locations was a client and had made this meeting possible.

One of my reps, myself and at least a dozen category managers sat at a conference room table. We had a printed power point presentation, a few samples and advance examples of new technology one of our equipment partners (HP) was releasing. We were going to overwhelm them with invisible ink, glow in the dark stuff, metallics, print over foils and really cool substrates.

I plowed forward. Forty plus years of sales experience hit the table all at once. The client dude in charge stopped me and said, “I’ve already seen that.” He went on to explain that HP had been out to see them. Their business development guy had already shared what I was confident would be new. Not only that, brand X in California had been in and showed them the same stuff.

For me it was 1985 all over again. I paused, reflected and said, “let me show you how one customer used it.” I showed a really cool example. I talked about it from the client objective viewpoint. I shared the process, what we tried, what we learned and how we arrived at the final solution.

They enjoyed the conversation. One example turned into two. Two turned into four and then six. Before I knew it a lady asked to be excused. She wanted to grab something off of her desk that had her stuck. She returned shared objectives and asked for ideas.

Before we knew it, the table was covered with “impossible projects.” We discussed options on a path forward for each one. The room was full of brainstorming. There were no specifications. There were only ideas. The meeting that started as a flop turned into a raging success.

It’s a worn out sales phrase. “The guy that buys a drill doesn’t want a drill. He wants holes.”

That is 100% true for print too. Customers don’t need print. They need a problem solved and print is the tool.

Knowing this should change our selling. I preach it in each of my workshops. Why matters more than what. Get your head wrapped around your customer’s why and the what will become easy.

What you do is special. The problem you solve for customers is your story. The specs don’t matter. The price doesn’t matter. Your press doesn’t matter. The outcome you helped a customer deliver is why you get hired.

Trust me, once you get beyond tiny clients/businesses customers have already seen it. The mega brands are solicited 24/7 by the best in the business. What you can do matters more to you than it does them.

What matters is how you make it solve their problems. Your use of any tool or technology is more important than the technology itself. You matter more than the gadget.

Do this. Take a few minutes. Walk the floor of your plant. Pick up samples. Ask yourself, “what makes this piece cool?” That answer is your talk track!