Canvas Magazine | Anticipation | August 2017

IN THIS ISSUE EMPOWERING MARKETING SERVICE PROVIDERS

Reinventing the salesperson

Is it time to reorganize your sales department?

Six keys to taking smart professional risks

AUGUST 2017

AUGUST VOLUME 11 • ISSUE 4

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Inside this issue| Publisher’s Note

BOILERPLATE

26 20 32 36

ALSO INSIDE CREATIVE CORNER Drew Davies on why good design is good business

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Hard Decisions – Easy Life

REINVENTING THE SALESPERSON

Taking a different approach to drive success

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Six keys to shedding fear and taking smart professional risks

STAT PACK

06 CORNER OFFICE

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Understanding marketing dashboard basics

CANVAS AUGUST 2017

BEHIND THE CURTAIN

12

Industry news & awards

Makers’ Corner

14

Unify with Texture

HIT RESET

Is it time to reorganize your sales department?

CANVAS Buyer’s Guide

16 17 18

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Inside this issue| Publisher’s Note

BOILERPLATE

HARD DECISIONS – EASY LIFE At a recent camp for my son, I overheard one of the counselors talking to the kids. At first, I thought some of the stuff he was explaining was fairly trivial. He was explaining what great athletes embody and then he showed them some grainy videos of stellar plays.

It was all “blah, blah, blah, to be great do this and do that.” I thought, “I paid for this?” And then he said, “Listen boys. I’ll make it real simple. Hard decisions – easy life. Easy decisions – hard life.”

Boom! It blew my mind that he could summarize the world we are living in with those few words. So, unless I heard it completely wrong, he was saying that if you choose the easy path in each moment, you’ll agonize over time.

On the other hand, if you choose to invest, work hard and do the things that others are not, your life will be fulfilled.

Recently, there have been some very thoughtful people who have questioned our collective work ethic. They are concerned that our overall wealth as a country, and the dependency on automation, have created idle hands. When I look at my kids, I wonder if they’ve grown up in a world that was once consumed with work and is now consumed with, well, consumerism.

In fact, the hard decisions have become even more difficult because the pull of the easy decision has become even more attractive.

I was pretty taken with this speaker The hard decisions already, and then he came back with, “Pray like he is control. Play like you are in have become even control.” In other words, have an attitude more difficult because rooted in faith, but work as if you can only the pull of the easy rely on the sweat of your own brow.

And without injecting my own personal decision has become beliefs, the lesson can be interpreted to even more attractive. simply balance a great attitude with a commitment to hard work. Needless to say, my kids are already signed up for that camp next year.

Freedom from work is not our goal. Working for the weekend is a mindset that doesn’t jibe with the history of our country. No, work is part of our lives.

It defines America and there’s nothing better for the soul than knowing you invested in yourself and accomplished something through hard work. Hard decisions – easy life!

We are happy to have worked hard on this issue. Our cover article, “Anticipation,” looks at how you uncover problems before your client does. We uncover why asking quality questions to unearth your clients’ needs will help them get what they need before and after they need it.

In our second feature, “Reinventing the Salesperson,” we examine why a new process for sales is in demand.

It is a new day, and the people who make the hard decisions, commit to constant growth, and aspire to a better version of themselves each and every day will be rewarded with an easy life.

Warmest regards,

Mark Potter, Publisher @MarkRicePotter

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CONTRIBUTORS

Linda Bishop, President, Thought Transformation @Linda_Bishop Pete Wiltjer, Principal Pete Wiltjer Marketing Group of Design @pwiltjer Lei Wang Motivational speaker and author @JourneyWithLei Jamar Laster

CANVAS Contributor jamarlaster@gmail.com

GET IN TOUCH WITH US @THECANVASMAG

2180 Satellite Blvd., Suite 400 Duluth, GA 30097 WWW.THECANVASMAG.COM

THE CANVAS TEAM MANAGING EDITOR michael j. pallerino CREATIVE DIRECTOR brandon clark SALES/MARKETING mark potter

EDITORIAL BOARD lisa arsenault McArdle Solutions gina danner NextPage tom moe Daily Printing dean petrulakis Rider Dickerson david bennett Bennett Graphics

PUBLISHED BY CANVAS, Volume 11, Issue 4. copyright 2017 CANVAS, All rights reserved. CANVAS is published bi-monthly for $39.00 per year by Conduit, Inc., 2180 Satellite Blvd., Suite 400, Duluth, GA 30097 Periodicals postage pending at Duluth, GA and additional mailings offices. Periodical Publication 25493. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to CANVAS, 2180 Satellite Blvd., Suite 400, Duluth, GA 30097. Please note: The acceptance of advertising or products mentioned by contributing authors does not constitute endorsement by the publisher. Publisher cannot accept responsibility for the correctness of an opinion expressed by contributing authors.

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CATCH THEM WITH CONTENT channeling content & connections | conduit-inc.com

STAT PACK

TAKING THE LEAD 78% 38% 28% Improving quality of leads

Increasing quantity of leads

Automating marketing processes

25%

Acquiring new customers

35%

Measuring performance/ROI

52%

Converting website visitors to leads

23%

Converting website visitors to leads

Survey pinpoints what brands want from lead generation strategies Every company practices in the fine art of lead generation, but what kind of results are they getting? What strategies and tactics are significantly increasing lead generation effectiveness? According to “The State of Lead Generation – Benchmarks for the Complex Sale” by KoMarketing and Ascend2, 46 percent of marketers say their lead generation strategies are successful. The survey, which queried 600 business executives from across the country, defined some of the most important goals of today’s strategies:

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Insights

What’s in your marketing future?

Ask today’s marketers which areas they are focusing their efforts on, and many will say that enhancing the customer experience as a point of differentiation is a top priority. According to Econsultancy’s “Digital Trends Report,” there are myriad strategies that will help hit the mark.

The report, published in association with Adobe, is based on a global survey of more than 14,000 digital marketing and e-commerce professionals across the globe. Here’s a look at some of their key areas of concentration:

29% Content marketing 28% Social media engagement 25% Targeting and personalization 23% Brand building 21% Customer journey management/video content (tie) 17% Multichannel campaign management 15% SEO/Mobile optimization (tie)

WHERE ART THOU BLOG?

THE NUMBERS GAME

34%

The percent of B2B buyers who cite that content created by vendors is trustworthy, whereas 68 percent trust peer reviews and 87 percent trust influencer content. (DemandGen’s B2B Content Preferences)

42%

The percent of marketers who say that content is the most effective for growing email lists, while 45 percent say social media is the best. (Ascend2’s “Email List Growth Trends Survey Summary Report)

80%

The percent of brands that spend less than 30 percent of their time and budget on customer retention-focused messaging and content. In addition, 42 percent say their companies invest less than 10 percent of their marketing budgets on renewal messaging efforts. (“What’s in Your Customer Lifecycle Message” by Corporate Visions)

In the world of content marketing, the blog is helping create a new army of thought leaders across every business landscape. So, when is the best time to blog and where is the most comfortable place to write? According to Orbit Media Studios’ “3rd Annual Survey of 1000+ Bloggers” report, 79 percent say they blog from home and/or in the office, while 41 percent do it outside of the home or office. As for putting them together, 64 percent say they write during business hours, while 35 percent compose during the night or weekends. The report was based on data from a survey conducted of 1,055 bloggers from around the world who create content in a wide range of verticals.

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Perspective | Leadership | Insights

CORNER OFFICE

BY PETE WILTJER

Understanding marketing dashboard basics It’s remarkable how analytics have improved the way we can measure our marketing campaign efforts today, isn’t it? One of the wonderful things about analytics is that we can measure and compare the data in countless ways through marketing dashboards.

Whether your organization is new to using dashboards, or if you’re a longtime user, you may find some helpful tips here on using these indispensable tools.

Most important, your marketing dashboard should track, measure and visually present key data from your marketing efforts. Beyond examining overall website traffic numbers, find what you want to track in your marketing dashboard.

Of course, Google Analytics is the most widely used tool for tracking your website usage, but it won’t track all your marketing campaign data.

Common data that marketers regularly monitor include: • Traffic sources (online and offline) • Email performance (bounces, clicks, shares) • Page bounces • Paid search • Press releases and media coverage • KPIs for your campaigns • A/B test results • Conversion rates for website visits that turn into new contacts, that turn into active prospects, and that turn into customers A marketing dashboard should generate data on a 24/7 basis, in near-real time, and through myriad charts and graphs. My company used an Excelbased dashboard before moving to a web-based version connected to our marketing automation platform.

Many companies still rely on spreadsheets to track their marketing efforts, even though Excel has limitations in delivering current data (manual data input often required) and spreadsheets require extra programming steps before they can generate reports, charts and graphs.

We not only use our dashboard to track our campaign tactics, but also to connect our campaign strategies to the tactics. We allow for notes to be logged on our communications strategies, key messages, program objectives, campaign scope and deliverables, team contacts and even a calendar of planned events.

What if your latest direct mail cam-

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paign isn’t delivering the response rates you desired? Some dashboards send alerts based on campaign performance, so you can monitor results in real time and adjust on the fly.

Considering how valuable this data can be to decision-makers in your company, what good is this information if you keep it to yourself? Schedule reports from your dashboard so your team receives regular updates.

Some of our clients like to share marketing updates in Basecamp, a popular web-based dashboard platform that allows real-time collaboration among team members, even those based remotely.

Platform options aplenty

As an agency, we use many dashboards, including HubSpot (sometimes in conjunction with Basecamp) to monitor marketing efforts for clients. There are many solid options available, both free and paid, including Alooma, Cyfe, Megalytic, MOZ, Neatly, NinjaCat, PaveAI, Raven, ReDash, Supermetrics, Swydo or Tableau.

Each can integrate Google Analytics data, along with data from most social media platforms. If you’re paying a monthly subscription for a marketing dashboard, make sure you’re getting the ROI. And if you’re testing different platforms, make sure your team can use the dashboard on their preferred technology device. Some of your team may prefer to only use the dashboard on a tablet or phone, so get their feedback on its presentation.

Tracking methodology

Tracking and sharing your marketing tactics is only half the battle. Data analysis follows data collection, and like many marketing teams and agencies, we use the dashboard to help segment data into various levels, depending on the nature of the campaign.

For example, top of the funnel activities are designed to direct new prospects on a path toward conversion.

Top of the funnel marketing activities – designed to attract or raise awareness – include tactics like blogging, keyword programming, PR, referring links and social media.

The second phase of campaign metrics to analyze, which can be defined as the convert phase, includes tactics like targeted direct mail, web forms, calls to action and landing pages.

A third level of campaign metrics, which target active prospects or leads

with specific offers, includes data we will also track in our CRM, like direct email and phone conversations, as well as responses from email marketing efforts.

However you decide to track and monitor your data, seek opportunities to benchmark campaign data so that you can compare past and current marketing events.

However you decide to track and monitor your data, look for opportunities to benchmark campaign data so that you can compare past marketing events to your current ones.

For example, nearly 60 percent of all web searches come from mobile devices.

If you know a good percentage of your website traffic comes from mobile devices, then not only should your website be optimized for responsive browsing, but you’ll also want your dashboard set up to measure and compare mobile browsing traffic to desktop browsing traffic. This will help you set goals and improve those numbers.

Other data sources you can track include local ranking factors, such as business listings and online reviews.

Did you know that about 78 percent of local mobile searches result in offline purchases?

While it requires work to track everything, if you regularly use a marketing dashboard, it’ll make your life easier, and allow you to spend more time on the things you do best.

Pete Wiltjer is an inbound marketing and PR consultant, and the owner of PWMG Inc. in Aurora, Ill. For more information, visit pwmginc.com or contact him on Twitter @pwiltjer.

CORNER OFFICE

Perspective | Leadership | Insights

BY LEI WANG

Six keys to shedding fear and taking smart professional risks As a leader in today’s highly competitive and continually changing business landscape, you understand how the leadership game is played. Failure is something no one wants to discuss. But like all the knowledge and skills that you learn, fear of failure also is learned. And as your career pushes on, you gain more and more mental constraints – things that remove creativity and replace it with more fear.

Fear is perceived, learned risk. And it can be unlearned through practice. The ability to overcome and combat fear is like a muscle. It can be trained and increase strength through exercise. With deliberate practice, you can become courageous and harness your fear to take informed, intelligent and successful professional risks.

No. 1 – Harness Fear’s Positive Power

An extremely powerful emotion, fear can be an extremely powerful motivational tool. When facing fear, the normal response is fight or flight. Flight is to let the fear and the worry take control of your mind. Fight is turning fear into a positive risk management response, which forces you to focus and do your best to overcome the present situation. When facing new career challenges, instead of worrying “What if I fail?” imagine that you cannot back out. Instead of letting fear hold you back, turn it into a positive strength that compels you to focus and make your best effort.

No. 2 – Act Early, Act Decisively

Rather than waiting until your industry becomes dispensable, proactively manage your career growth. Learn new skills. Think ahead of the curve. Anticipate problems and dangers before they occur. Once danger does arrive, it often is too late to do much in response. Act early and act decisively. Practice facing fear by taking chances. Even if you fail the first time, try again. Start with a small task that you’ve never done. The more you try, the easier it’ll become to overcome fear.

No. 3 – Separate Probability from Consequences

Many leaders are afraid of taking risks because the probability of success appears low and the consequences of failure are frightening. When you think about the consequences of a failure, it’s important to recognize the difference between the immediate consequences and the ultimate consequences. If you’re afraid of failure and never risk anything, you’ll risk everything in the end.

Yes, for any new endeavor, there is a chance of failure. But that’s only temporary. Not taking the risk means the ultimate consequence is failure. A low probability of success should not be a reason to hold you back. Temporary consequences of failure are recoverable. Be more mindful of the ultimate consequence of not taking that chance.

No. 4 – Know Your Risk Management Capacity

When approaching a risky situation, some leaders go all-in and grab the opportunity fast by taking bigger risks. Others take time to build a more solid foundation through each step so they have more control of the risk – at the cost of slower progress. Which do you prefer? It depends on the situation, your skill and your risk management capacity. There is no right answer. Consider the cost and return of the risk. Think about your alternatives, and what the risk and return of those alternatives will be. Evaluate what losses you can afford, and consider what the temporary losses and permanent loss might mean. Think about how you would recover from these potential losses. Keep in mind how to prepare yourself for the best outcome. You must balance your skill level and risk management ability.

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No. 5 – Be a Smart Advice-Taker

It can be difficult to measure your own capability against the risk you’re considering, because it’s hard for people to see themselves completely objectively. But there are mirrors to help you see yourself better. Those mirrors are the feedback from people around you. Seeking advice is imperative before taking risks.

It’s important to discern the intention behind your perspective.

Everyone has a bias, so it’s important to recognize the value of different feedback. Don’t just listen to the feedback you want to hear. Don’t brush aside opposing opinions too easily. Learn to form your own judgment based on those who give you advice.

An extremely powerful emotion, fear can be an extremely powerful motivational tool.

No. 6 – Pushing Too Far versus Not Pushing Far Enough

The line between pushing too far and not pushing far enough is a fine one, especially when the stakes are high. In business, not pushing enough causes mediocrity. Pushing too far causes burnout and unsustainable growth. Managing this delicate balance is a skill that can be learned, like courage and other risk management skills. In order to avoid costly mistakes on either side of the line, learn how to heed the feedback you receive and improve your ability to make sound judgments. Through practice, you gradually can develop objective criteria before real danger arrives, and become better at calculating risks.

Fear of failure isn’t the reason to avoid taking risks. You must calculate and make the best decisions under the circumstances and constraints of your knowledge and vision. Even a calculated risk can prove wrong sometimes, but when you take a chance, you have the opportunity to learn and grow. If you’re afraid of failure and never risk anything, you will risk everything in the end.

Lei Wang is an internationally-recognized motivational speaker and author of “After the Summit: New Rules for Reaching Your Peak Potential in Your Career and Life.” The first Asian woman to complete Explorers Grand Slam (climb the highest peak on each continent and ski to both poles), Wang channels her experiences to convey a message of perseverance and steadfast determination that her audiences can use.

Perspective | Technology | Insights

Organizations must elevate employer branding to its rightful place among the other major pillars of corporate, product, and service brand management. At the same time, companies must create consistency among customer experiences with the product, the company, and its employees.”

– Michelle M. Smith, VP of marketing at O.C. Tanner, on the importance of creating a unified brand experience

ways to inspire your tribe You know the new law of the land – you don’t own your brand, your consumers do. That’s why marketing thought leaders like Marketo CMO Chandar Pattabhiram say you must inspire your brand’s tribal feeling into action and advocacy. Here’s how:

CORNER OFFICE

BEHAVIORS THAT SHOULD DRIVE YOUR CONTENT MARKETING MIND The approach to creating the most creative – and best – content marketing plan is really pretty simple. It all centers on making the process the point, not the end result. Jay Acunzo, the founder and award-winning host of the “Unthinkable” podcast, shares three key behaviors every good content marketer should have:

1

Make your work intrinsic, not “telic”

2

View the “quality or quantity” debate as a false, misleading choice

3

Here’s the science behind the philosophy – When you do something intrinsically, you do it for its own sake, regardless of the end result. When an action is telic, it’s done for the final results. Don’t go through the motions. The path toward doing more work at higher quality is the framework of how you do it. Create a plan.

To be good, you have to start in a much different place than asking, “quality or quantity?” Consumers crave things they love. And when they get them, they want more. The path toward doing more work at higher quality is the framework of how you do your work. You need a plan.

Be a voracious consumer of your own material

Be your biggest fan. The key is to constantly consume your own work. Don’t just edit or audit it, consume it. While you’re not the customer, per se, that shouldn’t stop you from viewing your content through their eyes.

1. Start with the mindset that you’re the steward of the brand, not the owner

The more inclusive your tribe, the stronger your brand. Your tribe is more than just buyers and users of your products or services. They are prospects, partners, employees, social media influencers, purchasing agents, former customers, public opinion shapers, etc.

2. Always appeal to a cause that’s higher than what you’re selling

You need to be altruistic to drive the tribal feeling. Have and express a higher calling, and own that calling as an integral part of your brand.

3. Let your tribe help shape your brand

Reinforce your tribe’s brand ownership through continuous and intelligent engagement. Engage with them in the right way at the right time at every step — when you’re rebranding, innovating around the brand, etc.

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BEHIND THE CURTAIN



Around the industry

Canon Solutions America Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Canon U.S.A. Inc., recently hosted an exclusive celebratory luncheon at its Burlington, N.J., facility to honor its Solutions Support Centers in Burlington and Itasca, Ill., that successfully passed a renewal audit for the prestigious HDI Support Center Certification.

HDI is a part of UBM PLC, and is the global professional association for technical service and support professionals and the premier certification body for the industry. This certification, valid for two years, was first achieved by the Solutions Support Centers in 2015.

To verify the Solutions Support Centers’ compliance with the HDI Support Center Certification Standard, Canon Solutions America successfully underwent a thorough on-site renewal audit.

Driven by a core belief in continuous improvement, every support agent, supervisor, and manager in the Solutions Support Centers strived to not only maintain the standards of the HDI Certification, but to exceed the results that merited the 2015 accreditation. Notably, the recent audit did in fact indicate significant improvement in the areas of Customer Satisfaction, Process and Procedures, and Performance – an impressive 12.8 percent overall score increase from the previous audit.

Mohawk has been named as strategic, stocking distributor for the PaperTyger product range in North America and the exclusive converter for PaperTyger branded envelopes. Mohawk began North American distribution, marketing and sales for these product lines in May. The PaperTyger product range is well-known for seamlessly blending the look and feel of paper with the unique properties of tear, water and grease resistance. The entire offering also performs on press like conventional papers and carries the additional benefit of being FSC certified.

Sun Chemical has entered a collaboration agreement with HP Indigo to develop cost-effective digital coatings that would enable the adoption of digital printing in the packaging industry.

Sun Chemical’s work with HP Indigo, an instrumental player in the digital transformation of package printing, will lead to the development of a comprehensive range of digital coatings to support brand owners, converters and printers alike, including overprint varnishes and adhesives tailored to complement digital solutions.

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Awards & Recognition GPA has been named a winner in the “2017 HP Inkspiration Awards for the Americas,” which recognizes the most innovative work produced with HP Indigo digital printing technology. GPA received a “Rod Key Excellence” award for its retail vertical marketing kit entered in the Labels and Packaging category. The award is presented to distinguished companies that exhibit the most creative marketing campaigns that promote their own businesses.

The winning entry, a pair of clothing tags for the Alex Joseph menswear brand, helped illustrate the powerful possibilities of combining GPA’s substrates with HP Indigo digital press technology. The winning submission is part of a comprehensive kit that includes a poster-size tailoring guide and wrap-around packaging for ties. Working together, these pieces reinforce the brand at the retail level: the tags enhance the elegance of the suit jackets they are attached to and the tailoring guide educates customers, while the tie wrap reinforces the brand identity.

Proforma has won three “2017 American Inhouse Design Awards” from Graphic Design USA for the design and concepts behind its marketing programs. The unique packaging for two of Proforma’s self-promotion direct mail pieces, along with a mini-promotional mailer, were recognized in the competition for outstanding layout and design.

The first campaign was recognized for its exceptional packaging, including the “Viewfinder,” a vintage-inspired marketing campaign that features a View-Master with customized reels, packaged in a full-color corrugated box. The second was a direct mail campaign strategically designed to have the packaging match the look and feel of the featured promotional product inside, utilizing sleek spot UV printing and a satin touch exterior. This packaging comes vacuum sealed to keep the box in mint condition through shipping.

Also recognized was a quarterly mini-promotional product mailer.

The piece, available digitally and in print, provides owners with a timely and relevant way to touch base with clients and prospects with seasonal promotion ideas.

Industry news & more

Personnel Moves Daily Printing’s R. Peter Jacobson retired as CEO in April. A 34year veteran of the printing industry, Jacobson started his career in sales at Daily in 1982. Tom Moe, Daily’s President, will lead the dayto-day operations. With more than 25 years in the industry, Moe has lead the strategic positioning of the printer, which was recently named a “Top 200 Direct Mail Company.”

G7 Master Printer Hudson Printing has named print industry veteran Greg Kempton its VP of Sales. Kempton will be responsible for delivering value to customers who can benefit from Hudson’s leading web offset and digital printing capabilities.

Idealliance, the association for the Visual Communications and Media Industry, has named 30-year industry veteran Julie Shaffer as its VP of Marketing and Events. For the past 17 years, she has been an association executive, building innovative business resources and educational programs that serve the graphic and visual communications industry.

Shaffer also is the author of several industry-focused books, including “The PDF Print Production Guide,” “Web-to-Print Primer” and “Social Media Field Guide: A Resource for Graphic Communicators.”

On the heels of veteran VP and Casting and Release Paper Managing Director Tom Collins’ retirement announcement, Sappi North America has announced the combination of two key business units – Packaging and Release – and three notable promotions. Collins will be replaced by newly appointed VP Deece Hannigan, who will handle the newly expanded Packaging and Specialties Business. Deece will maintain his leadership of the Packaging, Supply Chain and Inside Sales groups, while assuming accountability for the Specialties Business, including Release.

Rick Skoglund, formerly Director, Coated Sheet Grades, will join the Lead Team as VP, Coated Business. He will be responsible for the growth of the Coated Graphics Business. In addition, Beth Cormier, VP of Research, Development and Innovation, expands her responsibilities to include Coated Paper, Packaging and Specialties Paper. She will help capture efficiencies and more closely align research and development capabilities regionally and globally.

Dick Ryan, VP, Sales & Marketing for Publishers Press, has been elected Chairman of the Idealliance Board of Directors. Joining Ryan as officers are: Thomas Saggiomo, president & CEO, DG3 (Vice Chair for the new term); Wayne Marshall, President, Flatout Branding & Design (Treasurer) and Dino Pagliarello, VP, Product Management & Planning, Konica Minolta Business Solutions (Board Secretary). They are joined by new Past Chair Tim Johnson, CEO, Impact; and Idealliance President and CEO David Steinhardt (ex officio).

Newly elected directors include: • Tom Glassman, Director of Data Services & Postal Affairs, Wilen Direct • Edward Jansen, VP of Professional Services Production Printing Solutions, Canon Solutions America • Todd Maute, Partner, CBX • Catherine Monson, CFE, CEO and President, FASTSIGNS International • Brenda Pang, Executive Director, APTEC/Idealliance China • Anita Pursley, VP Postal Affairs, LSC Communications • Frank Tueckmantel, VP of Corporate Marketing, EFI

Mergers & Acquisitons Employee-owned Worth Higgins & Associates, Virginia’s largest sheet fed commercial printer, has acquired Stern’s Printing and Engraving Company. The acquisition, which was effective June 1, will add four employees to Worth Higgins & Associates. Stern’s will operate as a stand-alone division of Worth Higgins & Associates.

Electronics For Imaging (EFI) has acquired privately held CRC Information Systems (CRC), a Reynolds and Reynolds company, Dayton, Ohio. CRC, based in Scottsdale, Ariz., is a provider of business management information systems (MIS) for commercial printers and packaging label and forms printers throughout the United States and Canada.

The Standard Group, an enterprise print management and marketing logistics company with locations in central and eastern Pennsylvania, is further expanding into key markets through the acquisition of Phoenixville, Pa.-based Epic Litho, the Mid-Atlantic’s premier UV printer for luxury brands. Epic is known as one of the most experimental and creative printers in the Mid-Atlantic region.

With the acquisition, The Standard Group can increase its printing ability to support luxury brands, commercial real estate, higher education, art galleries and auction houses. Through Epic Litho, The Standard Group soon will house a recently purchased 8-color H-UV Komori perfecting offset printing press.

Leading marketing solutions provider Vision has acquired The Core Organization, a leading direct response agency based in metro Chicago. The acquisition brings new direct response services to Vision, while adding state-of-the-art production and technology capabilities to Core’s growing client demands. Core, which has become a thought leader within the insurance, financial services and specialty retail verticals, recently was named to INC’s prestigious list of “2016 Fastest Growing Private Companies” in the United States.

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Makers’ Corner

Unify with Texture Every project is about something. That something could be adventure travel, single origin chocolate or high-performance fabrics. And the paper you use should be chosen thoughtfully to support content through its look and feel.

There are many ways brands express themselves; through the design of their logo, the choice of a corporate color or the careful crafting of a company tag line. Think of the iconic two-tailed Starbucks mermaid, the emblematic shade of red used by Coca Cola or the oh-so-recognizable Nike tagline, “Just Do It,” and you understand the high-impact power of branding.

But when brands choose to print, how can they use ink on paper to support or even amplify their brand essence?

Printers have some very powerful tools at their disposal to help achieve this. From super sophisticated pre-press software, to high-fidelity printing presses and digitally-driven finishing equipment, the print shop production floor is wellequipped to translate brand messaging from pdf to print.

But what about the materials used to print? After all, if we reduce a print job to its elemental components, the final deliverable is a stack of paper with a thin film of ink (or toner). How does the choice of materials used to print affect the impact of the message being communicated?

Think about it this way: Before you read a word or peruse a printed image, touch communicates. It evokes emotions and can even challenge expectations.

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This well-documented effect is called embodied cognition and it’s something we all experience.

It’s simple – our brains translate the feeling of touch into distinct emotions and impressions.

To be specific, a heavyweight paper infers importance or stability, while a textured or slightly rough surface signals substance and authenticity. Simple and subconscious but infinitely impactful.

With this in mind, consider using paper texture as a way to help your next client distinguish their brand through print. By adding a tactile element to their printed materials, you can help them strengthen the brand experience. Think about suggesting a common texture across a range of printed elements to help introduce paper as a cohesive (and powerful) part of the brand experience.

Become the material expert. It might just be the lowest risk way to set yourself apart and prove the lasting impact of print.

Next up: Colored paper does the heavy lifting

By Chris Harrold VP, Business Development & Creative Director Mohawk Fine Papers

>> Visit Mohawk Connects.com

WHAT WILL YOU MAKE TODAY? Introducing A Maker’s Field Guide to Texture and Color, featuring easily applied strategies to elevate your work through the considered use of textured and colored paper. Get yours today at: Mohawkconnects.com/makersfieldguide

CANVAS BUYER’S GUIDE

VARIABLE DATA & DIGITAL IMAGING

Speed matters

Why the Océ ColorStream 3000Z Twin Series inkjet is the one for you

Productivity. Efficiency. Quality. When you combine all of these attributes, it’s a match made in inkjet heaven. The Océ ColorStream 3000Z Twin Series offers high speed, high quality full color inkjet printers with a speed of 157 or 417 feet per minute for 344 up to 1818 letter images per minute.

With speeds and quality like that, this production inkjet device simplifies and accelerates the transition from monochrome to full-color or even five or six colors. The DigiDot multilevel dot modulation produces crisp details and smooth halftones with a perceived quality of 1200 dpi.

Several smart features of the Océ ColorStream 3000Z Twin Series enable a fast switch between long monochrome runs and full-color prints.

The Océ ColorStream 3000Z inkjet press offers productivity and flexibility for high-speed color and monochrome production of transaction, TransPromo, direct mail, book and manual applications with the reliability, print quality and media range associated with the DigiDot technology.

The ColorStream 3000Z line provides a modular offering in various single and twin configurations. The flexible inkjet printing system allows you to adapt the printing mode to match your pace of the transition to color.

Here’s three reasons why you should add it to your mix:

No. 1 – Productivity and flexibility for high-speed color production The ColorStream 3000Z prints at 417 feet per minute with a print width of 21.25 inches. That translates to 909 letter images per minute for a single unit, or 1818 letter images per minute for a twin configuration with average volumes up to 12 million letter images per month on a single system, or up to 59 million letter images per month on a twin system. All have at 600 x 600 dpi resolution. With optional multilevel dot modulation, crisp details and smooth halftones can be produced at full rated speed.

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No. 2 – Smart innovations for smart communication in color Several smart features enable a fast switch between long monochrome runs and full-color prints. The twin concept allows an easy entry into the world of inkjet printing by starting with a simplex mono version. The datacentre-infrastructure fit regarding size, weight and power supply, as well as a seamless integration into existing environments with regards to workflow and finishing, makes it easy to replace older toner-based continuous feed printing systems with the new ColorStream 3000 Twin Series, thus accelerating the transition to color.

No. 3 – Low risk innovation The ColorStream 3000Z builds on the best of Océ’s continuous feed technologies, including the Océ DigiDot piezoelectric drop-on-demand technology, the industry’s fastest inkjet print heads to produce stunning color at top speeds, Océ SRA MP controller power and the flexibility of Océ VarioStream I, L and H-shape twin configurations. Together with the Océ service power and the investment protection and upgradability approach, this ensures you a low risk innovation.

For more information, visit: http://bit.ly/2uFeFIj >> More companies and products at your fingertips in the CANVAS Buyer’s Guide

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Seamless

Mohawk introduces new Strathmore Impress Pure Cotton Paper

Since its beginnings, the Strathmore name has been associated with innovative cotton fiber paper making. So, when you look to kick off 125 years of perfection, what better way to do it than to introduce a new fine paper line.

Mohawk’s Strathmore Impress, constructed with pure cotton fiber, simultaneously honors the heritage of Strathmore and the innovative spirit of Mohawk. The line is available in multiple shades, weights and sizes, and allows the seamless combination of digital printing with letterpress, engraving and foil stamping.

Strathmore Impress is available in two established shades of white: Ultimate White and Soft White, along with two new colors: Light Gray and Light Pink. Each has been carefully selected to meet the creative needs of letterpress printers, stationers, designers and commercial printers.

The line will be available in 18pt for digital presses, as well as 20pt and 40pt for traditional printing techniques in a range of sizes from 8 ½ x 11 to 26 x 40.

PAPER & SUBSTRATES

The Strathmore Impress line is available in multiple shades, weights and sizes, and allows the seamless combination of digital printing with letterpress, engraving and foil stamping.

For more information, visit mohawkconnects.com. >> More companies and products at your fingertips in the CANVAS Buyer’s Guide www.canvasbuyersguide.com

CANVAS P17

PAPER & SUBSTRATES

YOUR

CANVAS BUYER’S GUIDE

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One source, your source GPA adds Bantex® Banner Media to wide format offering

Your high-end banner solution has arrived. If you’re looking for a wide format offering that can make a lasting impact, GPA’s Bantex® Banner Media has what you need.

Bantex®’s reputation among banner professionals for delivering unmatched quality, reliability and consistency is well documented. And because GPA constantly seeks out innovative wide format media to create profitable new opportunities, you can look to it as a single substrate source that fits the unique needs of your pressroom.

With options for indoor and outdoor uses, and for graphics meant to be viewed up close or from 20 feet away, Bantex® makes it easy to create a variety of flawless banners that meet the precise requirements of each project.

GPA currently offers Bantex® Banner Media rolls in the following options: • 10-ounce One-Sided Printable Curl Free with Black Back • 10-ounce Two-Sided Printable Curl Free • 13-ounce Two-Sided Printable Curl Free • 18-ounce Two-Sided Printable Bantex® Banner Media is the premier digital print media for all solvent-based, UV curable, and latex digital inkjet printers, offering guaranteed ink compatibility and proven performance on these devices.

If you’re looking for a wide format offering that can make a lasting impact, GPA’s Bantex® Banner Media is here.

The Bantex® offering includes options for creating one- and two-sided banners, banner stands, retractable banners, freehanging banners, point-of-purchase banners, pole and street banners, and banners that require 100 percent opacity.

These products surpass competing materials with their superior ease of feeding, print quality, stiffness, strength and opacity. The list of benefits goes on with added safety and quality assurances: in addition to providing added peace of mind with flame resistance, Bantex® Banner Media is HP Latex certified to eliminate the need for in-house testing.

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For more information, contact GPA Customer Support at 800-395-9000. >> More companies and products at your fingertips in the CANVAS Buyer’s Guide www.canvasbuyersguide.com

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CREATIVE CORNER Photo credit: Brad Iwen

Creative designer

Drew Davies

on why good design is good business Ask Drew Davies what’s on his to-do list and the answers may vary. There are the standard responses: continuing to build his business, help his clients creatively tell their stories, add to the impressive list of awards he has amassed over the years. And there’s that Aquaman collection. The avid scuba diver currently is in the process of amassing the world’s largest collection of Aquaman memorabilia. It’s a hobby he takes quite seriously.

But for the most part, the founder and design director of Oxide Design Co., the Omaha, Neb.-based branding and design firm he started in 2001, works every day abiding by the premise that the power of design can create progressive change. In fact, more than 50 percent of Oxide’s work is donated – in whole or in part – to a wide range of non-profit and charitable organizations.

As the design director of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA), where he also is national president emeritus, Davies was on the core design and research team that developed the U.S. Election Assistance Commission’s national ballot design standards. He also designed the “Field Guides to Ensuring Voter Intent,” which was featured in a Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum exhibit in the fall of 2016.

His other clients range from one-person startups to Fortune 200 companies across myriad industries. We sat down with Davies to get his take on why good design is good business.

Give us a snapshot of today’s graphic design market?

Graphic design is benefitting from more recognition lately. Even the general public seems to be embracing the idea that design matters.

It gives me hope that this will lead to increased understanding that, when done right, multiple design disciplines can work together in concert beautifully. We can create incredible cultural experiences when architecture, interior design, branding and graphic design, wayfinding, information design, all combine to make something truly special.

Even from a nationwide standpoint, designers of all types could be finding more ways to work together to create those kinds of successes.

It happens sometimes now, but I’d love to see it happen more.

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Graphic design is benefitting from more recognition lately.

Even the general public seems to be embracing the idea that design matters.

What are your clients looking for today?

Our best clients know that good design is good business. Good design can literally increase the bottom line. It can get more people to hear an important message and take it to heart. It can drastically raise awareness. Visual aesthetics are just a small part of great design. Real successful branding and design involve huge amounts of thought about clarity, accurately conveying information, tactical considerations, messaging, and the like.

Creative corner

What are your three biggest best practices when it comes to working with a client?

No. 1 is to define the scope of the project. We have thorough conversations with potential clients before we’re even preparing a proposal. We want to be crystal clear about what they need and how we’re best suited to help them.

Not every client who needs design actually knows a lot about design, so it’s up to us to help them understand what it is we do. They might not actually need the services we offer. Our firm might skew even a little bit on the strict side of paperwork. We get everything down in black and white so that we’re absolutely on the same page, and simultaneously displaying the value, credibility and professionalism we have to offer.

No. 2 is to set client expectations. Outlining the path ahead for both us and our client is the next natural progression after being clear about the scope of work ahead of us. Most of our clients have not used a design firm before, or, if they have, they probably had a different experience. We try to let our clients know what to expect, how the process goes, how much time investment they will need to have in the process and at what stages. We use the same professional, yet friendly style of communication to make sure we’re all moving forward in step together.

And No. 3 is to conduct lizard-brain research. We’ve developed a process we call Oxide Slides. We have clients flip through about 200 conceptual slides – physical swatches of visually interesting images, textures, patterns – selecting 20 slides that speak to their corporate identity.

This highly visual process is incredibly valuable to us because – though none of the slide’s specific content will be incorporated into our finished design work – it helps Oxide and our clients collaborate in a visual way that might not have been articulated verbally alone. While this concept isn’t entirely novel (variations on the idea of a “mood board” have been around for ages), we find our solution to be particularly effective at getting us valuable information. In the end, we hope the slides help us all focus in the same basic direction and establish some common expectations.

What’s the best piece of advice you can offer today’s designers?

Always work to create design that’s appropriate to the client’s brand and goals, rather than following trends or establishing a set style.

Where is 2017 taking us creative wise?

Like I mentioned previously, I hope for more interesting combinations of design disciplines. There’s certainly been an increasing focus on user experience and user interface design recently. I think that simply broadens the opportunities for interdisciplinary design. It’ll become more and more important to build a consistent, quality experience across both a brand’s digital experiences and their tangible, physical elements.

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PERSPECTIVE

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Cover Story

By Michael J. Pallerino

"Wisdom consists of the anticipation of consequences.”

– Norman Cousins

In the early part of 2008, Anheuser-Busch announced the addition of a new beer – Bud Light Lime – into its brewing portfolio. The launch, backed by a $35 million ad campaign, was aimed at going after a new business sect, including consumers who attended occasions like backyard barbecues. The campaign came on the heels of a not so favorable response to Anheuser-Busch’s other recent rollout, Bud Select.

In studying what other brands were doing, Anheuser-Busch

“Every story has to have a protagonist and an antagonist, a hero and a villain, or that Gardenof-Eden-fall-from-graceand-redemption moment that shows clarity.”

– Eddie Yoon, Principal, The Cambridge Group

wanted to make sure it was giving its core consumer options.

And while Bud Light Lime remains one of its most successful innovations, its beginnings were a bit auspicious. Two years prior the launch, the boss of the head of innovation at Anheuser-Busch told him, “If you ever mention the words ‘Bud Light Lime’ again, I’ll fire you on the spot.” Some higher ups felt it was too risky to mess with the largest and most successful beer brand in the world. While research showed there was consumer demand, when the decision was presented, that old “cold feet” feeling came into play.

Was the risk worth the reward?

Eddie Yoon believes it was. In the end, Yoon says the Anheuser-Busch’s leadership team successfully reframed the scenarios away from an innovation launch to a broader strategic question.

They knew that spirits and wine were winning versus beer, and they needed to figure out how to compete. One option was a big, expensive and risky spirits acquisition.

“They reframed the choice into scenarios,” says Yoon, a principal with The Cambridge Group, a leading growth-strategy firm that is part of the Nielsen group. “Would they rather write a check for a big acquisition in spirits and a new business model that was untested, compete with spirits via innovation on their beer business model, or do nothing and continue to lose versus spirits?”

Scenario B looked very different in that light, and the rest, as Bud Light Lime fans know, is history.

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Anticipation

51

WAYS TO ANTICIPATE THINGS BEFORE YOUR CLIENT DOES

CAST A GREAT VISION

There’s nothing like an aspirational vision to see gaps to close

2 3 4 5

ILLUMINATE VIA ANALOGY

Sometimes lateral thinking is the best way to shed new light on a problem

PENETRATE VIA LOGIC

Incisive logic can break the problem down into much simpler issues to solve

PRECISE PRACTICALITY

If you work backwards, you realize there are only a few practical outcomes

SOLVE THE PERSON, NOT THE PROBLEM

Sometimes it’s more about emotions and incentives. Figure out what style your client gravitates toward and which you're particularly good at and make a match

“If this is the correct approach, I’d say one technique to use might be a negative reverse, says Warner, president of Praxis Growth Advisors | Sandler Training. “Tell them, ‘It looks like your production line is working at a high capacity. It probably doesn’t make sense to talk about how to drive a higher output with newer technology right?’

Then, let them justify to you why. ‘That’s interesting if I could show you…. Would that be worth a deeper conversation?’”

If the answer is yes, Warner says tell me why? “People don’t argue with their own data. It’s your job to help them do the math.”

Above all else, the key is to make your client feel comfortable when doing things that they wouldn’t expect a sales person to do. That means creating an environment of mutual agreement so you aren’t suggesting ideas without a return effort.

“Find an emotionally compelling reason to do something different (people buy emotionally and justify intellectually),” Warner says. “You have to carefully engage in an investment discussion, understand their decision process, fulfill their needs today and sell the rest down the road. Sometimes it takes blowing up the bombs that could blow up your deal before they do. Remember, you can’t lose anything you don’t have.”

If you can come up with three to five scenarios that help pinpoint the answer, it eliminates the pressure to be right.

Tell me a story...

Source: Eddie Yoon, Principal, The Cambridge Group

Different people use different approaches to the game of successful consulting. What works for one, doesn’t for others, and vice-versa. But one of the keys that Yoon says can work for

The art of anticipation can be a valuable tool in the world of brand building and marketing. Being able to uncover problems and see situations play out before they occur can be a critical asset in today’s ever-fluctuating business landscape.

“Across two decades of consulting and helping companies grow, I’ve learned that being able to diagnose a situation before you prescribe anything to your client is the single most important thing to get right,” Yoon says. “It’s the reason surgeons mark the part of the body they are operating on with a pen.”

Yoon says that clients come to him with general questions on why they can’t grow faster. The root cause can be either external, e.g., consumers, channels or competition, or internal, the product, business model or resource allocation. Or, it could be both.

“If the diagnosis is external, then no amount of resources can help you,” Yoon says. “If the diagnosis is internal, focusing on competition isn’t helpful. If it is both, then only addressing one side won’t help you much. At best, it is a waste of time and your reputa-

everybody is to tell your client a story, almost as if you’re writing a screenplay for a movie.

“Every story has to have a protagonist and an antagonist, a hero and a villain, or that Garden-of-Eden-fall-from-grace-and-redemption moment that shows clarity,” Yoon says. “The narrative structure is a great way to do this.”

If you can come up with three to five scenarios that help pinpoint the answer, it helps eliminate the pressure to be right.

Then, it doesn’t become about laying out a wide range of extreme outcomes.

“Create a scenario where the client doubles their business to a horrific scenario where the client’s business is cut in half,” Yoon says. “You may not share it with them, but sometimes I see my job as having the dream clients who won’t dare to dream and have the nightmares because they are too scared to imagine.”

Often, consultants ask the question, “What would make this project a home run?” While this an appropriate question, Warner

tion. At worst, you might be meaningfully harming the company.”

likes to take it a step further. “Let’s say they want to grow to a

The data don’t lie...

make it extreme.’ Then ask what’s needed to make this happen.

Here’s the thing that Eric Warner wants you to remember. When the question arises about being able to diagnose a situation before you prescribe anything to your client, Warner warns that the end result can end up on either side of the line.

The bottom line is that clients buy for their reasons, not yours. So, if you present a solution to an undefined problem, you might be committing sales malpractice. Ask your doctor how that works out for him.

P24 CANVAS AUGUST 2017

$100 million company. I say great, ‘Let’s add a zero to it to really It’s a very different question than what is true. So, what would need to be true? This allows people to suspend their disbelief and embrace the impossible.”

Yoon typically does this at the beginning of a project, and iterates it regularly every other week until the project is done. “It’s a great forcing mechanism and discipline to ensure you’re answering the right question.”

SALES

Selling inkjet in today’s ever-evolving print landscape is about putting every option in front of you clients.

P26 CANVAS AUGUST 2017

Feature Story

READY FOR LIFTOFF How to launch your inkjet sales

Several years ago, executives at SG360° examined the upsides of fostering a stronger relationship with the Postal Service. And why not? Build a better relationship, and you can help your customers find the best ways to get things through the mail and the best cost for making it all happen.

Editor’s Note: This is the second in a three-part series highlighting effective sales strategies and how you can implement them into your inkjet sales initiatives. The stories are another benefit of Canon’s “One Canon” approach to reaching your 2017 goals.

CANVAS P27

Ready for liftoff It is the kind of strategy that has helped SG360° continue its ascent as one of the industry leaders in direct marketing and direct mail strategies. For the past 60 years, SG360° has helped its customers deliver innovative direct marketing solutions across all channels. This past year, the Wheeling, Ill., company posted more than $300 million in sales, with some 50 salespeople working across myriad industries.

“If we’re doing our job right, we get in at the very beginning of the process and sell formats that our customers can put on our presses and have that special touch and feel when they come off,” says Robert Radzis, chief customer officer.

That includes its inline and digital operations, especially inkjet. When it comes to selling inkjet and direct mail services, SG360° follows a very strict code. Their sales team understands that direct mail activates certain strategic marketing use cases more effectively than alternatives. It is uniquely geared to support targeted customer acquisition at scale. It represents a prototype for Big Data marketing across many channels. It is a powerful way to capture consumer attention in support of various functional and vertical market applications and it presents a potential “bridge to omni-channel” that many marketers are seeking.

Selling inkjet in today’s ever-evolving print landscape is about putting every option in front of your clients. “Our salespeople do best when they plan for an area they are knowledgeable about,” Radzis says. “Inkjet has a lot of capabilities, so you have to know your opportunities. The pieces can be compliant, secure, testable, scalable, relevant, targetable and dependable. That means that you have to lay all of these out in front of a client.”

The key is to understand the market you’re approaching and what the objectives of your customers are. And, as with any technology, success in the inkjet market begins with understanding that it’s not the technology itself that makes the difference – it’s the solution you build around it.

Target markets like direct mail, book publishing, and transaction printing (TransPromo) are driving printers to jump headlong into the inkjet game. Of the Top 10 fastestgrowing printing applications forecasted by InfoTrends’ in its “U.S. Digital Production Printing Application Forecast,” the aforementioned markets offer much promise. Each area is projected to experience marked growth by 2019, including books (+37.6 billion pages), direct mail (+14.4 billion pages) and TransPromos (+13.4 billion pages), the study says.

“When finding where inkjet makes sense, start with the areas that make sense,” says Barb Pellow, group director at InfoTrends. “For example, inkjet is uniquely designed for those projects that have high volume, high speeds or ones that have tight print windows, fast turnaround times and setups, and demanding SLAs.” While SG360° has several pieces of equipment it uses in inkjet technology, Radzis says its Océ ColorStream inkjet press is 10 times faster and cost is 1/10 of consumables.

“These numbers have helped increase sales opportunities,” he says. “With inkjet, imagine how many more pieces you can put into the mail, especially if you’re using postal optimization. Because inkjet devices are so flexible, we’re able to fill in those gaps in longer run web versions. And we do a lot of big runs.”

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8

reasons & recommendations for getting into the inkjet game

1 2

Get workflow right Set customer expectations for price/speed/quality

3

Educate your customers on benefits of inkjet

4

Understand paper considerations (the 5th color)

5

Take team-selling approach dependent on the application mix

6 7 8

Go in with a strategy View your operation end to end Understand your target market

BEYOND POSSIBILITIES

NEW HORIZONS AWAIT THE VERSATILE OCÉ VARIOPRINT i-SERIES SHEET-FED INKJET PRESS REDEFINES SHORT-RUN PRINTING Discover the Océ VarioPrint® i-series, a family of groundbreaking high-speed inkjet color digital presses powered by innovative Océ iQuarius™ technologies — the perfect fit for heavy production environments looking for on-the-fly application versatility, maximum productivity, and the opportunity to customize jobs. The Océ VarioPrint i300 inkjet press and the new Océ VarioPrint i200 inkjet press allow you to move nimbly between short-run projects so you can deliver quick turn jobs, reliably handle varied media, and expand your personalized print options. And do it all on sheets.

APPLICATION VERSATILITY

PRODUCTION EFFICIENCY

BEST-IN-CLASS UPTIME

OCÉ VARIOPRINT i-SERIES INKJET PRESS

To learn more about Océ VarioPrint i-series inkjet press iQuarius technologies, view the demo: PPS.CSA.CANON.COM/REDEFINE

powered by Océ iQuarius technologies

877-623-4969 CSA.CANON.COM

Canon is a registered trademark of Canon Inc. in the United States and elsewhere. Océ and Océ VarioPrint are registered trademarks of Océ-Technologies B.V. in the United States and elsewhere. Océ iQuarius is a trademark of Océ-Technologies B.V. in the United States and elsewhere. All other referenced product names and marks are trademarks of their respective owners and are hereby acknowledged. © 2017 Canon Solutions America, Inc. All rights reserved.

Ready for liftoff

The TransPromo Effect

The printed page

TransPromo, as it is known, is the marriage of relevant mar- When it comes to book publishing, admittedly, the deketing messages produced on must-read transaction docu- mand is hard to forecast. Where publishers typically ments such as statements, invoices and bills, confirmations, focused on unit cost, a trend that favored offset printing, benefits explanations, and notifications. they now monitor cash outlay and inventory control, factors And that is a market that printers considering a transithat are prompting a migration to digital. tion into the inkjet world should pay close attention to.

Today, according to a Nielsen Bookscan study, printed According to InfoTrends’ “U.S. Digital Production Printing book sales are on the rise, logging a 3 percent annual Application Forecast,” the market is expected to increase growth rate from 2013-2015. So, the more it increases, the from 18.9 billion pages in 2014 to 32.3 billion pages in more opportunity for digital.

2019 – a 11.3 jump.

That’s been the case at Gasch Printing, a family owned Want more proof? According to InfoTrends’ “Customer and operated company that specializes in digital book Engagement Technologies State of the Market Study,” printing. The Odenton, Md.-based company continues to 74 percent of marketers plan to add targeted messaging invest in the newest and best technology to meet customto their transactional documents. The study shows that er expectations, including inkjet. customers are looking for several key things from their “Our transition to digital was completed eight years ago, marketing documents, including betterwhen we officially went all digital,” tailored offerings (39.4 percent), better says Jeremy Hess, director of sales and data-driven personalization (38.4 permarketing business development group cent) and expanded digital self-service for Gasch. “Our latest addition to its capabilities (36 percent). portfolio was an Océ branded inkjet “The industry and competition is press from Canon Solutions America.” already moving to color,” says Jake Hess says the company is finding sucBruhnding, director of business develcess in the sheet-fed market, which he opment at Impact Proven Solutions in says will continue to grow over the next Minneapolis. “There is a major emphatwo years. “It will be fun to see how this sis on strong data analytics, with output market disrupts what’s happening today.”

— Barb Pellow, devices needed as a complement.”

Printers looking to expand their Impact, which invested in inkjet Group Director at InfoTrends business opportunities with productechnology in 2013, views the technoltion inkjet should take a look at these ogy as a way to use its core skill set and bring color to its numbers from InfoTrends’ “Annual State of Transactional business. Today, it is targeting the utilities, financial, and Communications Market Survey.” When asked which areas healthcare markets. lead the way in open/read rates by type of mail, the survey “We’ve really seen some big opportunities in the area found that bills (95.8 percent), statements (92.1 percent) of white space management,” Bruhnding says. “We had and loyalty/rewards information (83.7 percent) topped the several discussions on how to add color into the mix, and list. In addition, physical mail was No. 1 when it came to we have been able to help our customers on the financial the most preferred way of getting mail. and healthcare sides, where they have lots of regulation “This is precisely what’s so exciting about inkjet techchanges. In some cases, they were throwing away hunnology,” Pellow says. “It opens up new opportunities for dreds of thousands of dollars in forms when there is an print service providers. The metrics around run rates and unexpected change.” cost per page are at a point where inkjet is built in a new Bruhnding says that the new opportunities and revenue dimension relative to offset. What you’re seeing in the margenerated by inkjet are giving it a much better story to ketplace is a much different business model than existed, tell prospects and customers. It’s also helping by reducing even 18 months ago.” touches, creating more opportunities for new applications, and generating more money and higher profits.

“When finding where inkjet makes sense, start with the areas that make sense.”

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SALES

P32 CANVAS AUGUST 2017

Feature Story

Reinventing THE

SALESPERSON

Taking a different approach to drive success

By Jamar Laster

As a kid, Shari Levitin loved playing games at the dinner table with her family. Risk.

Monopoly. It didn’t matter; the opportunity to beat everyone else was the real appeal.

“I’d come in the room with a game and my mother would ask

what the object of the game was, and I’d say, ‘The object is to win,’ she recalls. “My mom would look at me, and say, ‘I know, but what are the rules? What can we do and what can’t we do?’ I said, ‘No, the object is to win.’ That’s all I cared about.”

Levitin, author of “Heart and Sell: 10 Universal Truths Every Salesperson Needs to Know,” says too many salespeople and sales organizations today employ the same “focus-on-the-win” viewpoint. They prioritize “winning the account,” while ignoring developing a scalable sales process that can ensure long-term success when selling to customers who are more educated than ever before, in an environment that continues to evolve.

To identify strategies for successful selling in today’s markets and economy requires first identifying the trends and challenges that are changing the landscape. Sales and relationship-selling expert Stu Schlackman, author of “Don’t Just Stand There, Sell Something,” says selling has become more challenging than ever before because of the plethora of information available to customers.

Schlackman cites author Daniel Pink’s “To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others” when asserting that the internet and social media are contributing factors to the overflow of knowledge supply, compared to lagging demand.

“Customers are smarter than ever before because of the information they can access on the internet,” Schlackman says.

“Because of social media, we are seeing salespeople try to utilize LinkedIn to access prospects. This is very helpful but salespeople still need to pick up the phone and contact prospects.”

Levitin agrees that the abundance of information has led to knowledge being – in a very real sense – nearly ubiquitous.

Her grandmother walked the proverbial five miles to school everyday because that’s where the knowledge was.

“My father, in the ‘60s or ‘70s, spent $1,000 on [a volume of] Encyclopedia Brittanica because that’s where the knowledge was,” says Levitin, who also is founder and CEO of Shari Levitin Group, a global consulting firm whose mission is to “humanize” the sales process. “Where do we have to get our knowledge from today? Everywhere – it now comes to us, we don’t have to go to it. We don’t have to spend money for it.”

Given the challenge that a never-ending supply of information presents, it’s necessary that salespeople adjust not only their techniques, but also their perspectives and approaches to become more effective.

“What’s going to make the difference for this new breed of salespeople is that they’re going to have to give the customer what the internet, or automation, can’t.”

– Shari Levitin, Founder & CEO, Shari Levitin Group

CANVAS P33

Reinvinting the salesperson

Connecting with the customer It may seem obvious, but it’s a truth of which some salespeople may need reminding: People still buy from people they like and trust. This hardly groundbreaking reality makes the wellbeing of the salesperson-buyer relationship paramount, and Schlackman says

The Customer-Centered Approach

nurturing it requires a customer-first approach.

“Salespeople typically sell from their perspective or personality style,” he says. “It’s no longer a sales cycle, but a buyer’s cycle.

What is important is how the customer buys, not how you sell. You need to adjust your sales style to that of the buyer.”

Schlackman, again citing the author Pink, mentions three distinct personalities, each of which buys and communicates differently, has different values and is motivated to action differently. Extraverts, Pink asserts, sell slightly more than introverts, but the “ambivert,” the personality type that has the balance of the two, sells 40 percent more than both – likely because ambiverts can adjust their styles to the consumer.

“Sales is an art and a science, but art trumps process and science,” Schlackman says. “[Salespeople] need to connect with [their] customer emotionally. Emotional intelligence is critical to success.”

Levitin goes deeper and says success with customers today, especially Millennials, depends on how well salespeople develop “soft skills” like empathy, reliability and integrity, all of which constitute the foundation of trust. “If all we’re doing is showing our competency, but not our empathy and our reliability, it’s hard to

If you’re looking for a sure-fire way to reinvent your sales success, Stu Schlackman, author of “Don’t Just Stand There, Sell Something,” recommends you try this customer personality-focused approach:

Prepare the meeting or presentation

based on information gathered about the customer, including personality style

Present what’s important from the

customer’s perspective, including outcomes based on the solutions being sold

Connect based on how the customer prefers to communicate

Commit by closing the deal with their buy-in once the connection takes place

build the relationship you need to get a larger sale,” she says.

“What is important is how the customer buys, not how you sell. You need to adjust your sales style to that of the buyer.”

– Stu Schlackman, author of “Don’t Just Stand There, Sell Something” Willingness to change Schlackman says reinvention isn’t a difficult process, but its degree of success depends on the salesperson’s willingness to change. “As the world of technology changes, [salespeople] need to adjust accordingly and use the tools now available,” he says, citing SalesForce.com and Sales Navigator as examples of tools that aren’t embraced as widely as they should be.

And as we know, change can be difficult because success in sales requires emotional focus, which cuts to the essence of the salesperson. “We can’t have different versions of ourselves,” Levitin says. “I can’t be a really nice person to a customer, and [be] patient and listening, but yell at my kids.”

She says this is at the heart of the reason that many companies fall short when trying to emphasize correct selling techniques.

“For me to teach soft skills – listening skills, and skills in [using] tools and optimism – I’ve got to live that myself, and that’s harder,” she says. “Successful reinvention is about who you are.”

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As such, Levitin advocates hiring the correct salesperson in the first place by asking the correct questions during the interview process – ones that cut to the core of who they are – to assure they not only are qualified, but that they fit into the company’s culture.

“Let’s say having a growth mindset is a very important attribute [to your company],” she says. “You need to hire people that are constantly growing and learning. You’re not going to change people. You have to hire people according to that value. What questions are you asking? What profiling tools are you using to make sure they have that mindset?”

Tools, training and development Once the correct, qualified salesperson – one whose values align with your organization – is in place, Levitin says it’s important to have a system of long-term training and development. “There shouldn’t be just a focus on product knowledge, but on the soft skills they need as well.”

Mentorship is another crucial element in the process. This helps salespeople grow and carve out a career path for themselves.

Finally, this comprehensive type of humanized training shouldn’t only be reserved for salespeople. Everyone needs to join the fold, Levitin says. “Train your trainers and leaders so that they can continue to grow and scale your organization.”

Levitin cites a recent Harvard Business Review article that asserts 46 percent of all college graduates, regardless of field of study, will end up in sales. “What’s going to make the difference for this new breed of salespeople,” she says, “is that they’re going to have to give the customer what the internet, or automation, can’t.”

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Feature Story

Is it time to reorganize your sales department?

By Linda Bishop

tep back in time. It’s 1997 at BigPrint, and this company is rockin’. Sales and profits keep rising. The customer base is growing and many buyers have the title, “Print Production Manager.” Blackberry just became a public company, but there still are two years before it introduces a revolutionary product allowing salespeople to call people and see their emails on the device.

There are plenty of big jobs to bid on – catalogs, mailings, annual reports – most with decent margins.

Believing there’s plenty of new business to be had, the president of BigPrint, Bob Jones, believes the smart way to grow is by hiring more salespeople.

Most companies have a corporate brochure, but very little other marketing literature. Salespeople conduct most of their prospecting on the phone, and hunt and farm to build a book of business. The sales team finds leads, makes cold calls to get meetings, works to convert prospects, manages accounts once they’re sold and penetrates them.

Few salespeople sell solutions, but no one on the BigPrint management team worries about this because there’s plenty of available transactional business.

On average, it takes about 30 to 45 days to get a meeting, and about 60 days to convert a prospect. The sales compensation model is commission-based. Bob loves this model because he believes everyone in sales is money motivated.

Now, fast forward to BigPrint in 2017. Growth is stagnant and there is tremendous pressure on profitability. The title, “Print Production Manager,” has gone the way of the dinosaur. Everyone on the sales team uses a smartphone to call, text, email and access their social media.

Since 2007, BigPrint has experienced shrinking print budgets and a reduction in the dollar size of the average

print job. All around, there are fewer big jobs to bid on, and all margins are slimmer.

Bob has been trying for years to hire top producers away from his competitors, but no one is interested in making a move. The company’s primary piece of marketing material still is a corporate brochure. Monthly, in the sales meeting, Bob tells the sales team the company is depending on them to “do their job.”

In 1997, Bob expected his team to find leads, make cold calls to get meetings, convert prospects, manage accounts once they’re sold, and penetrate them. Today, he also expects them to send emails and maintain a presence on social media.

Bob acknowledges that in 2017, it is extremely challenging to get prospects to pick up their phone. He admits that sales cycles are significantly longer, and more touches are required to get the first meeting.

With a reduction in the average order size, he knows his salespeople must build and maintain a broader base of clients and process more transactions for the company to grow. His team admits that they spend very little time prospecting, but since they are 100 percent commission, Bob has had little success convincing them to change.

Bob recognizes the system he has in place to produce revenue growth doesn’t work as well as it once did.

To thrive, BigPrint needs to make changes.

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Hit reset

Gap analysis

Every company needs a repeatable process for revenue growth.

To build a process, take a look at the tasks commonly performed by salespeople. They include: • • • • •

Finding quality leads Getting initial meetings with prospects Converting prospects into customers Managing accounts Penetrating accounts

What should you fix?

Describe where you are now. Decide where you want to be. Identify the gaps. For example, let’s say your team is good at converting prospects when they get the first meeting, but they don’t get many first meetings. To grow, you need to close this gap.

First, identify the desired outcome. Is the sales team currently getting three meetings with customers per month, but you need them to get 10 a month to grow?

Different ways to close the gap include: • Follow the traditional strategy and hire more salespeople • Require everyone on the sales team to spend a set number hours actively working to get new meetings and manage the process to be sure this gets done • Hire an outside firm to get meetings for current salespeople • Hire a part-time or full-time person to get new meetings for current salespeople • Market to get meetings There always is more than one route to a successful outcome.

Come up with multiple solutions, and then evaluate the pros and cons of each one to determine the best fit for your company.

Don’t design a process that requires superstars

One of the most game-changing articles I’ve ever read on process development was published in the Harvard Business Review. “It’s Not Your Employees’ Fault,” written by Frances Frei and Anne Morriss, was about creating a strategy for delivering excellent customer service.

Most of the article also applies to sales including these insights: • Just because one person performs well in a system, it doesn’t mean that everyone else will be able to achieve the same level of success • The more complex a job is, the harder it is to do everything well • In an effective system, average employees with reasonable motivation can perform and succeed • If your system requires A-list salespeople, they will be extremely difficult to find, and you will have to pay for the privilege of hiring them • You have to decide what you want salespeople to do, train them to do it, and manage them so that critical tasks get done with enough focused effort to get results • If you want results in a reasonable timeframe, design tasks so they can be learned quickly and executed effectively by average performers P38 CANVAS AUGUST 2017

Getting a first meeting is a complex process and involves many distinct skills, including building rapport, overcoming objections and persuading people to agree to meet.

Hit reset

The ‘Specialist Approach’

Getting a first meeting is a complex process and involves many distinct skills, including building rapport, overcoming objections and persuading people to agree to meet.

Converting a prospect into a client also is complex. You must manage time to follow up and follow through, find opportunities and close the sale.

Penetrating a customer involves another set of challenges, where salespeople must excel at building relationships, servicing, identifying new opportunities, and finding new ways to bring value.

Companies that adopt a specialist approach can build a team where individual members stay focused on their purpose, whether it’s developing a base of leads, appointment setting, business development or account management.

I think it’s the right approach for the 21st Century. Why?

Converting a prospect into a client also is complex. You must manage time to follow up and follow through, find opportunities and close the sale.

Because there’s a lot that must be done to build a repeatable revenue process. Only an elite few will be good at everything, so narrowing the bandwidth of responsibilities increases the odds of getting them done.

Ben Franklin said, “When you’re finished changing, you’re finished.” Whether or not the Specialist Approach is right for you, it’s good to take the time to look.

Making your gap analysis The Thought Transformation chart lists common gaps often seen in each category:

task FINDING QUALITY LEADS

gap • Sales does not know what a quality lead “looks” like • Quality leads have been identified, but are not actively being worked by the sales team • There is no SEO or inbound marketing strategy in place so that leads who are looking for the services you offer will find you

GETTING INITIAL MEETINGS WITH PROSPECTS

• The company has not identified how many first meetings are required to reach a revenue goal • The company does not have a clear process to get the first meeting • There is not enough effort put into outbound selling to get meetings on a regular basis • There is no marketing support for business development

CONVERTING PROSPECTS INTO CUSTOMERS

• Most prospects don’t convert after one meeting, so salespeople need a follow-up strategy • Barriers arise, and salespeople need skills to overcome them.

For example, they need to be able to address pricing objections

MANAGING ACCOUNTS ACCOUNT PENETRATION

• Once an account is sold, there is often no clear line between the sales role and the customer service role • Salespeople have not identified opportunities for growth within current accounts • Lack of strategic planning to overcome barriers to growth • The desire to sell bigger solutions, but no real plan on how to make that happen

Linda Bishop, a longtime veteran of the commercial printing industry, is the founder of Thought Transformation Inc. (www.thoughttransformation.com), which trains and consults companies and sales professionals on how to sell more and reach their full potential. You can reach her at lindabishop@thoughttransformation.com.

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