Why do print brokers exist? Why do printers allow print brokers to exist? This is a question I always ask when I'm speaking on "solution selling."
Before my broker pals strip a gear, please know that I get it. I know why brokers exist. Brokers exist because a printer somewhere hasn't asked the right questions. The end user has heard something from a broker that they didn't hear from a company with a plant full of machines.
Whether you sell to brokers or elect to go around them is entirely up to you. I plan to share my choice but you have to make your own. There is a living to be earned regardless.
I decided against it. I wrote some business for resellers, but it was always contentious. I'll share some examples.
Broker #1: He wanted to do business with me because of equipment and expertise. He needed access to tools my employer had invested in.
He insisted that I be low bid. He expected loyalty but it was totally one sided. I had to avoid his client, but he could buy from anyone he wanted. It was kinda like being married to an unfaithful
spouse.
I worked with him until I filled my plant with more profitable work from other sources.
Credit: Jason Gillespie
Broker #2: This was a big reseller. One of their clients was a C-Store chain. Each month they sent a spreadsheet bid request to several printers.
Now, I happened to know more about POP than the buyer. She would call me asking for new ideas. Their client expected more than bids. They were looking for innovation.
For a while I cooperated. I would share what I was seeing in the marketplace. I provided structural design ideas and new substrates. I helped her employer do better with the client.
The next month I would see my idea on the spreadsheet. I was being invited to bid my own idea ... an idea I wasn't paid for providing. I dumped her too. I found more profitable business. My estimating team loved me for dumping the spreadsheet bid too.
Broker #3: This was actually an advertising agency. I took ideas to them for one of their largest clients. The agency reminded me that I was just a printer. They were the idea folks. I needed to stick to my lane.
I fumed over it and took a chance. I pitched my idea to the end user. They liked it and bought it from me directly.
The agency was furious and started to move their print to a new source. The end user decided to take the agency out of their print buying and came directly to me.
My sales grew. The agency came back too with their heart in hand. They listened better going forward.
So, why do brokers exist? What are the questions they ask that you don't? What problems have they elected to solve that you haven't?
Brokers serve a purpose. They offer value that end users aren't hearing about from their printers. The brokers are selling solutions rather than bids.
I liked my margins better when I did my own selling. I never liked depending on someone else to sell my work for me. I didn't want to be vulnerable to their fumbles, etc.
Why Do Print Brokers Exist?
Why do print brokers exist? Why do printers allow print brokers to exist? This is a question I always ask when I'm speaking on "solution selling."
Before my broker pals strip a gear, please know that I get it. I know why brokers exist. Brokers exist because a printer somewhere hasn't asked the right questions. The end user has heard something from a broker that they didn't hear from a company with a plant full of machines.
Whether you sell to brokers or elect to go around them is entirely up to you. I plan to share my choice but you have to make your own. There is a living to be earned regardless.
I decided against it. I wrote some business for resellers, but it was always contentious. I'll share some examples.
Broker #1: He wanted to do business with me because of equipment and expertise. He needed access to tools my employer had invested in.
He insisted that I be low bid. He expected loyalty but it was totally one sided. I had to avoid his client, but he could buy from anyone he wanted. It was kinda like being married to an unfaithful
spouse.
I worked with him until I filled my plant with more profitable work from other sources.
Credit: Jason Gillespie
Broker #2: This was a big reseller. One of their clients was a C-Store chain. Each month they sent a spreadsheet bid request to several printers.
Now, I happened to know more about POP than the buyer. She would call me asking for new ideas. Their client expected more than bids. They were looking for innovation.
For a while I cooperated. I would share what I was seeing in the marketplace. I provided structural design ideas and new substrates. I helped her employer do better with the client.
The next month I would see my idea on the spreadsheet. I was being invited to bid my own idea ... an idea I wasn't paid for providing. I dumped her too. I found more profitable business. My estimating team loved me for dumping the spreadsheet bid too.
Broker #3: This was actually an advertising agency. I took ideas to them for one of their largest clients. The agency reminded me that I was just a printer. They were the idea folks. I needed to stick to my lane.
I fumed over it and took a chance. I pitched my idea to the end user. They liked it and bought it from me directly.
The agency was furious and started to move their print to a new source. The end user decided to take the agency out of their print buying and came directly to me.
My sales grew. The agency came back too with their heart in hand. They listened better going forward.
So, why do brokers exist? What are the questions they ask that you don't? What problems have they elected to solve that you haven't?
Brokers serve a purpose. They offer value that end users aren't hearing about from their printers. The brokers are selling solutions rather than bids.
I liked my margins better when I did my own selling. I never liked depending on someone else to sell my work for me. I didn't want to be vulnerable to their fumbles, etc.
Bill Gillespie has been in the printing business for 49 years and has been in sales and marketing since 1978. He was formerly the COO of National Color Graphics, an internationally recognized commercial printer and EVP of Brown Industries, an international POP company. Bill has enjoyed business relationships with flagship brands including, but not limited to, Apple, Microsoft, Coca Cola, American Express, Nike, MGM, Home Depot, and Berkshire Hathaway. He is an expert in printing sales, having written more than $100,000,000 in personal business during his career. Currently, Bill consults with printing companies, equipment manufacturers, and software firms. He can be reached by email (bill@bill-gillespie.com) or by phone (770-757-5464).