P4 Making the Grade P10 People to Watch P21 Product Spotlight DEVELOPING HIGH ACHIEVEMENT IN PRINT SALES
P30 Do Not Blink P36 Diamonds are a Rep’s Best Friend P40 Book Recommendation: The Alchemist
JUNE 2008
The
Graduates What printers have to do to find — and reel in — the next generation of workers.
JUNE 2008
P2
Publisher’s Thoughts You Can’t Fall Off the Floor
P4
Making the Grade Topgrading can help you hire better and increase profits. Here’s how to make the system work for you.
P10
People to Watch Print leaders share their insights into the industry and in what makes them tick.
P21
Product Spotlight Print in the Mix NewPage
P22
The Graduates What printers have to do to find – and reel in – the next generation of workers.
P30
Do Not Blink “Do Not Mail” legislation is sprouting up across the country. Here is how to keep your customers ahead of the game.
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Diamonds are a Rep’s Best Friend P40
“The Alchemist” An international bestseller
PUBLISHER
EDITORIAL BOARD
mark potter
lisa arsenault
aaron grohs
MANAGING EDITOR
McArdle Printing Co.
Consolidated Graphics, Inc.
ART DIRECTOR
gary cone
ron lanio
brent cashman
Litho Craft, Inc.
Geographics, Inc.
peter douglas
randy parkes
Lake County Press
Lithographix, Inc.
graham garrison
CONTRIBUTORS linda bishop, ryan mcnally, michael josefowicz
CANVAS magazine FOR MORE INFORMATION: 678.473.6131 6555 Sugarloaf Parkway Duluth, GA 30097
CANVAS, Volume 2, Issue 3. Published bi-monthly, copyright 2008 CANVAS, All rights reserved. Subscriptions: $29.00 per year for individuals; issues are sent free of charge to print representatives. If you would like to subscribe or notify us of address changes, please contact us at 6555 Sugarloaf Parkway, Suite 307, Duluth, Georgia 30097. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to CANVAS, 6555 Sugarloaf Parkway, Suite 307, Duluth, Georgia 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. CANVAS magazine is dedicated to environmentally and socially responsible operations. We are proud to print this magazine on Sappi Opus® Dull Cover 80lb/216gsm and Opus Dull Text 80lb/118gsm, an industry leading environmentally responsible paper. Opus contains 10% post consumer waste and FSC chain of custody certification.
CANVAS
P1
You Can’t Fall Off the Floor
M
Many industry leaders I’ve spoken with over the last few months about transformation have said that the best print reps will learn how to leverage the volume of print they sell into more opportunities. They told me that print service providers will actually transform themselves into marketing service providers. Wanting to go a bit deeper, I asked “why will they transform?” Their response? “Because they will need to in order to prosper.” Making your way by just selling ink
on paper will not sustain the best, they said. There is an opportunity to become great business people and partners with their customers.
PUBLISHER’S THOUGHTS
“Sounds great … so how do they do it?” I asked. Response: “Uh, yeah, that part we haven’t quite figured out yet. Maybe some training … but they definitely need to do it!”
The print salesperson provides a service that typically represents a significant investment. I agree with them that printers and print salespeople have a wonderful opportunity to sell more services. Why not go to a customer and say “hey, you’ve been spending a bunch of money on print, maybe you should talk about consolidating other services you outsource in order to gain efficiency.” Maybe the conversation could focus on why they are using print, rather than what they are printing. Once you figure that out, then your company can brainstorm how to aid in tracking results or even creating campaigns. I don’t have any textbook answers on “how” you make the transformation, but it probably starts with a deeper business discussion. Once you start having the conversation about what your customers are really trying to accomplish, you can then start to re-script your organization to fill those needs. Rather than invest in new software or new services and then try to sell it, maybe you should talk with your most trusted clients and determine what investments you should make. The print salesperson provides a service that typically represents a significant investment. If people trust you with producing their print and pay you well for that, why not trust you in helping them in other ways? Campaign management, tracking, fulfillment, forecasting, design and Web support are just a few of the appropriate topics. There is no magic formula for the “how.” It starts with what you all know how to do, and that is having deep meaningful “business” conversations. It certainly can’t hurt talking about things beyond print, because it’s business you don’t yet have. As a friend said to me, “you can’t fall off the floor.”
Mark Potter Publisher
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CANVAS JUNE 2008
Making Topgrading can help you hire better and increase
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CANVAS JUNE 2008
the
Grade f you’re like many print sales managers, recruiting top talent is a
I
major concern. Typical companies rate only one-fourth of their sales reps as high performers, so valuable time and money are wasted on managing underachievers, rehiring and retraining. But if you’re already overloaded with other work responsibilities, how
do you go about improving your hiring techniques? The answer is surprisingly simple, and it’s called Topgrading.
profits. Here’s how to make the system work for you. The Topgrading philosophy Topgrading is the brainchild of Brad Smart, an internationally renowned management psychologist and consultant who’s conducted more than 6,500 in-depth interviews of managers for premier companies in all industries. In short, Topgrading means filling every position in your organization with an “A” player, by targeting only the best people and following this practice in filling every position. Smart defines A players as “high performers” who represent the top 10 percent of the talent available at a given salary level.
By Ryan McNally
CANVAS
P5
Making the Grade
While all print managers may aspire to hire only
three low performers per every high performer at roughly $1.5 mil-
A players, studies show that most companies tal-
lion ($500,000 for a sales rep with a $100,000 base salary, times
ly only 25 percent high performers. “When I ask
three). When you factor in an average of 150 hours of additional
companies to list their most pressing challenges,
time dealing with damage caused by mis-hires, Topgrading be-
they always come up with talent,” says Smart.
comes a no-brainer.
“They mis-hire most of the time, and they’re working too many hours to cover for the deficien-
Developing a virtual bench
cies of people who frankly are not as good as
Before you actually need to hire a new employee, it’s a great idea
people outside the door who would come in at
to have a list of A players already on record to tap into – a “Virtual
exactly the same salary.” Based on case studies
Bench.” Smart recommends spending at least an hour a week culti-
and interviews, Smart pegs the cost of mis-hiring
vating this list, from making calls and sending e-mails to having lunch
According to Smart, the best question any interviewer can ask is, “What’s your best guess as to what your boss would tell me, in a personal reference arranged by you, were your strengths, your weaker points, and your overall performance on the job?” with A players you know. In fact, he says you should be networking all the time – talking with people at conferences, asking the A players on your team about A players they know, even scouting for talent at weddings and friends’ parties. “The world’s best sales rep recruitment method is the Virtual Bench,” says Smart. “Develop your Virtual Bench, and you can hire people already pre-screened, and it’s a lot cheaper and faster than using outside recruiters.”
The Topgrading interview According to Smart, the biggest mistake companies make when hiring is relying on 50-minute “round-robin” competency interviews in which the candidate can easily hype their positives and conceal the negatives. It’s OK to keep these round-robin interviews, but it’s crucial to add the Topgrading interview. You start with the Topgrading Career History form, which gives you key information that resumes and traditional application forms skip over, such as full compensation, the month as well as the year of employment, boss ratings, and motivation for leaving. “It helps you save 15 or 20 hours for every job that’s filled because you can zero in quickly on which people you want to talk with,” says Smart. When you’re ready to begin the interview process, you’ll dig deeper than traditional competency interview questions. Go through every full-time job, making sure to ask what the candidate’s major successes were and how the person achieved that success. Ask for significant failures and mistakes, and watch across a person’s career to see if they learned from these mistakes. Inquire about bosses, asking for their names, whether you can talk to that person (and if the interviewee would be willing to arrange the call), and how the candidate would describe that boss’ strengths and weaknesses from their point of view. “That is very important,” says
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CANVAS JUNE 2008
Making the Grade
Smart. “When you ask candidates which bosses were liked and disliked, you can just look in the mirror and say, ‘Do I fit the pattern of the sort of bosses an individual can work effectively with?’” According to Smart, the best question any interviewer can ask is, “What’s your best guess as to what your boss would tell me, in a personal reference arranged by you, were your strengths, your weaker points, and your overall performance on the job?” By putting those elements together – successes, failures, and the boss questions – you’ll be way ahead of the game, because people can’t
Topgrading the Print Industry For print company owners and managers looking to boost sales and double (or triple) their percentage of high performers – defined as those who best the industry average by 150 percent – the Topgrading techniques outlined in this article might be the solution they’ve been looking for. “To hire top sales reps, it’s essential to learn every quota and accountability, and every boss rating, for all sales jobs in the past decade,” says Smart. “Sales managers would be smart to hire reps who consistently achieve stretch goals, who blend nicely into different companies, who aren’t job hoppers, and who (in references they arrange) get rave reviews from previous bosses.” (Topgrading for Sales: World-Class Methods to Interview, Hire, and Coach Top Sales Representatives, a 120-page practical manual for hiring sales reps, is about to be released.) With the print industry transitioning from a traditional print-only business model to a communications provider and solutions expert, it’s the perfect time to Topgrade not only individual companies, but the print industry as a whole. “Companies that transform themselves successfully do it as A players,” says Smart. “At NAPL, I heard print managers saying, ‘We can’t just be running our old printing presses, people who are doing that are going out of business. We have to transform.’ Transforming requires sharp people. If you think of the industry as printing presses, who’s going to be attracted to that? But if it’s a high-tech company providing business solutions to Web site construction and all the needs related to communications, that’s the future. You’ve got to do it with high performers, not with just barely adequate performers.”
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CANVAS JUNE 2008
just put their best foot forward. And if you perform the interview with another sharp person – what Smart calls a “tandem” interview – you’ll further increase your odds of hiring A players, since you’ll be better able to probe for details, take notes and analyze body language. In this case, two heads are definitely better than one.
The power of reference checks Smart suggests letting potential candidates know in advance of their interview that they’ll have to arrange for reference calls from previous bosses. The reason? When candidates discover they’ll have to set up these reference calls to get a job, many C players will automatically stay away, knowing that they won’t be able to do it – or if they do, their boss will reveal they were a mediocre performer or were nudged out of their previous job. “The whole process really helps print managers because it elevates what the truth is about people,” says Smart. A players, on the other hand, are likely to be attracted when companies say reference checks are part of the process, as they’ll be eager to have their previous bosses singing their praises. Plus, this step will make sure all candidates are more truthful in the interviews. When people are talking about their strengths, accomplishments, failures and mistakes, they’re apt to be a lot more forthcoming knowing they’re going to have to arrange reference calls, and their interviewers are going to be able to check on what they just told them. Of course, it’s important that interviewers follow through and actually perform the reference checks to make sure what the candidate told them matches up with what their boss says.
Keeping A players Once you’ve begun filling out your team with A players, how do you make sure you retain them? According to Smart, many managers make the mistake of not paying enough attention to their sharpest people. Instead, they assume their high performers are going to work hard and do the job, and fail to give them more responsibilities, recognition, and coaching to help the As become A-pluses. Smart says, “Remind yourself every week not to neglect your sharpest people just because you think you have to spend the time compensating for the deficiencies of your weaker people.” Another key to retention is hiring the correct people to begin with. If you hire the right people – meaning you’ve paid attention to their strengths, shortcomings and needs – you can adjust your handling of them accordingly. Presenting A players with new challenges and opportunities is more important to keeping them than giving them more money. And that nurturing process starts from the moment your hire them. “Onboarding is easy when you use Topgrading methods to hire people because you know what people’s needs are,” says Smart. “You know what their abilities are and you know what their weaknesses are, so naturally you manage around those.”
Topgrading: The great competitive advantage For small- and mid-sized companies looking to grow, Topgrading is an excellent option. The basic methods are exactly the same regardless of company size, but applying them can be even more critical to small companies than large ones, since a few significant hiring mistakes could really cost a smaller company. And according to Smart, once you have the reputation of being a Topgrader, you become a draw for talent. “If companies have a reputation as Topgraders – so there’s a 90 percent chance if I join that company, than a year or two later I’m happy and considered a high performer – there’s a real magnet there,” says Smart. Regardless of the size of your print company, though, the power of Topgrading is that at its most basic level, it allows you to double and triple your company’s success rate for hiring high performers simply by asking the right questions during interviews and pairing up with another person to help you conduct the interviews. “A lot of things could affect business in 2008, but if you can hire significantly better, that’s something you can control that will make your business better,” says Smart. “And the good news is that everybody can do it.”
Brad Smart is the author of Topgrading: How Leading Companies Win by Hiring, Coaching, and Keeping the Best People and the co-author of Topgrading for Sales: World-Class Methods to Interview, Hire, and Coach Top Sales Representatives. For more information on Topgrading, readers can visit www.SmartTopgrading.com, where they can read articles, subscribe to Topgrading Tips, and download the free e-book Avoid Costly Mis-Hires (SmartTopgrading.com/ebook).
CANVAS
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People to
watch It starts with an idea. Thomas Edison and the light bulb. Johannes Gutenberg and the printing press. You get the idea. Big breakthroughs and ideas need big thinkers. The print industry is no different, and certainly has no shortage of thought leaders. The following pages are devoted to some of print’s thought leaders in arenas such as customer service, sales, marketing and environmental initiatives, who shared their insights into the industry and into what makes them tick.
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CANVAS JUNE 2008
Change Agent You could call Jim Mikol an advocate for print – just from three different perspectives. He seeks solutions for the client, vendor and agency. That’s because he’s had experience working for all three facets. Currently executive vice president, director of The Solutions Group for Leo Burnett, an advertising agency headquartered in Chicago, Mikol wants the print industry to use technology-based solutions and client-focused answers to production problems – linking client needs with production realities. It’s not so much taking sides as creating success for all parties involved. CANVAS: What kinds of initiatives get you excited?
Jim Mikol
Jim Mikol: I get excited by forward thinking, by courageous action and by
Executive Vice President,
intuitive strategy. “Give me the file” is no longer an acceptable answer in
Director
the print community. We as an industry have to look at where the future
The Solutions Group,
opportunities for print will be and aggressively pursue them. We need
for Leo Burnett
to think of how we will integrate print with other channels and create a compelling strategy for our clients.
BIO: Jim Mikol is very involved in creating efficient
CANVAS: What should the print industry be doing to market itself?
digital production processes
Mikol: We need to look at where the media-buying decisions are made,
and innovative solutions
why they are made, and how we can present a compelling argument for the
to client’s problems. He is
necessity for print to be in that mix. We need to stop talking to ourselves
a frequent speaker on the
in the print community and approach the clients, the media buyers and
digital process and print
decision makers of which channels to support. We need to integrate with
production to groups such as
other media for an overall communication strategy. We also need to por-
Primex, London’s PrintMedia
tray the tangible benefits of print, and not just look at raw numbers. What
conference, IPA, NAPL, PIA,
does print do well, perhaps better than other channels – it’s portability, it’s
the GATF, Idealliance, P3 and
lingering sensuality, a tactile feel, the ability to deliver scents, nuance, and
local ad and production clubs.
links to other media – and concentrate on that message.
In 2002, he was elected to Print Media’s Hall of Fame,
CANVAS: What trends do you see impacting print the most?
and in 2007 was elected to
Mikol: Obviously the trend to move away from traditional media, the issue
the Executive Committee
with proper reporting of circulation numbers, the postage rates rising, the
of The Print Council. He
movements pushing the “Do Not Mail” legislation, some of the aggres-
recently was elected to the
sive forestry initiative demonstrations and the jump toward interactive and
Idealliance Board of Directors
Web-based advertising and communication are a concern. By the same
and has also been a member
token, there are amazing developments in print technology making it more
of the 4A’s Print Management
effective and more responsive, the interactive connections with print en-
Committee for several years.
abling much greater market penetration and response rates, the globalization of production and delivery, and a greater realization of the need to deliver “touches” rather than just numbers is very encouraging. CANVAS: Today, what is on your mind? Mikol: Everyone has embraced a digital process of some sort or another. We all speak about new technologies and processes and innovative approaches. But we’re talking about tactics and not strategies. Until we fully integrate the client need, the creative ideation, the production reality and the channel efficiency, we will not be effective. The best way to do that keeps me up at night.
CANVAS
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People to Watch
Change Agent When NAPL President and CEO Joe Truncale speaks, people listen. Whether it’s as a speaker at industry programs and seminars, or as an adjunct faculty member at New York University’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies teaching courses in managerial psychology and executive leadership, Truncale is at the forefront of what drives the industry and business in general. Joe Truncale
CANVAS: What kinds of industry initiatives get you excited?
President
Joe Truncale: What gets me excited is when salespeople decide to listen
NAPL
to their customers so they can understand just what it is they are trying to accomplish. That, and companies where the CEO understands that he is in
BIO: Joe Truncale is President
the customer development and retention business.
and CEO of the National Association for Printing Leadership. He is a member
CANVAS: In your opinion, what should the print industry be doing to market itself?
of the American Society of
Truncale: Well, The Print Council is taking a pretty serious run at this in
Association Executives and
terms of getting the attention of media specifiers. And the Graphic Arts
earned the CAE (Certificate
Education & Research Foundation (GAERF) has a similar aim in attempting
Association Executive)
to get the attention of young people, their educators, guidance counselors
designation. He is a faculty
and parents about careers in the industry. I think the larger opportunity
member of the CAE study
though lies in getting individual industry firms to promote what it is they
group. Truncale established
do. Their full range of capabilities should be the foundation of their own
and is a faculty member
prospecting and promotion program.
for NAPL’s Leadership & Organizational Development
CANVAS: What trends do you see impacting our industry the most?
course at Northwestern
Truncale: There are many macro trends facing the industry. Some of these
University. He is a Ph.D.
affect many industries, some are specific to ours. For example, keep a
candidate at New York
sharp eye on the way in which the next generation communicates. They’ll
University, earned his
be our employees and our customers before we know it. The other trend I
master’s degree in
see that concerns me within our industry is our tendency to watch and then
training and organizational
mirror what the other guy is doing. Original thinking, trying something new
development from Rutgers
and different and careful evaluation of our own unique strengths and capa-
University and graduated
bilities are sometimes overlooked in favor of the more comfortable notion
from Monmouth College.
of peer acceptance. CANVAS: How would you define your secret to success? Truncale: I like the advice legendary Coach John Wooden gave to Ben Howland when he took over the basketball program at UCLA. “Get good players.” We are blessed with our share. They are rare and when you find one, bring him or her on board. Then build them into a team and let the fun begin. Once you have that, the leader’s job is to simply facilitate (and stay out of the way). The other “secret” is to listen more and talk less. That’s a tough one, though. CANVAS: Today, what is on your mind? Truncale: Same thing as most days. How are we doing at creating value for our stakeholders?
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Customer Service Krystal Cipriani doesn’t go with the flow. She improves it. As a digital prepress technician at PrintingForLess.com, she helped develop a new technical service rep position and team process. As a bindery production manager, she was awarded the 2007 Bindery, Finishing & Distribution Operations Manager of the Year by the Research & Engineering Council of NAPL. She’s constantly looking for ways to “improve the process, efficiencies and ergonomics,” she says, by implementing new technologies into the manufacturing workflow and figuring out how to utilize team systems to benefit the customer and employees. What that translates into is a much smoother
Krystal Cipriani
process for the customer; and happy customers mean more business.
Production Manager PrintingForLess.com
CANVAS: How would you define your secret to success? Krystal Cipriani: I have challenged my employees to learn many new things and take on new duties to increase their skill levels as well as their engagement in the company and with our customers. We have designed a team system in our technical service department that allows a customer to call in and have it feel like they are riding along the process one on one with their appointed team. Our teams have full autonomy to make all decisions needed to get a customer’s order through the shop without any escalating or permission needed. Our customers really love this system, especially if they have purchased any printing elsewhere. Traditionally, the customer would talk to a sales rep, the sales rep would send info to the financing group to get a quote, the quote would come back to the sales rep, and then their files would come in and get sent to a whole different department to be worked on. From then on, the customer deals with a customer service rep that has been out of the loop up to that point. Based on the success of this, we designed a team system in our manufacturing area to eliminate handoffs and keep the customer’s order in as few hands as possible. Team members are cross-trained on all equipment to help get a job through production efficiently. (Another feat not
Today, and almost always, I am thinking about growing true leadership here at PFL. It is on top of mind for all of the senior management and middle management teams.
experienced in most traditional print shops) This has improved employee morale, reduced injuries, and broadened skill sets. Our people now truly take ownership. We have appointed ourselves as customer advocates in manufacturing and have all the empowerment needed to decide that we don’t think the job is good enough to send to a customer and make the call to print it over again. CANVAS: Today, what is on your mind? Cipriani: Today, and almost always, I am thinking about growing true leadership here at PFL. It is on top of mind for all of the senior management and middle management teams. We strive for making our company truly one in a million and great leadership is how we are going to get there. We have grown plenty of champions here to help make our vision come to fruition but, there is always room for more. Leadership is highly sought after and is one of our main hiring criteria.
CANVAS
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People to Watch
Environment Alonzo Printing and its President, Jim Duffy, have a vision for 2008 – a neutral to negative carbon footprint. Based off of earlier environmental successes, you shouldn’t bet against them. Alonzo Printing maintains inventories of 100-percent recycled papers for all printing processes, uses soy and vegetable based inks, and just last year replaced some cleaners and fountain solutions with low VOC substitutes. The environmental awards started coming in 1994 and haven’t stopped, including recognition from the CaliJim Duffy
fornia Water Environment Association and the city of Hayward, Calif.
President
Alonzo Printing and Duffy aren’t content with having green practices
Alonzo Printing
in house, however. Duffy has made presentations on “Green Print & Sustainability” over the past three months to printers, vendors, customers and
BIO: Jim Duffy co-founded
the green community: a panel discussion at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo; a
Alonzo Printing in 1976 and
presentation and panel discussion at PIAG in Atlanta; and a panel discus-
has been president since
sion/presentation at NEHS conference in Indianapolis.
1988. He has sat on the
“It feels good to know that I have been able to share the many green
boards of the Printing Indus-
practices Alonzo Printing has initiated and implemented with other printers
tries of Northern California
and people who care about print and sustainability,” Duffy says. He shared
(past director), East Bay Club
some more with CANVAS.
of Printing House Craftsmen (past president), Web Press Association (past board mem-
CANVAS: What trends do you see impacting our industry? Jim Duffy: There are three trends that need to be addressed.
ber) and currently is on the
1. The belief that print is no longer necessary. Remove print and you erase
steering committees of The
the capability to relax in a chair, or any place for that matter, with a book,
Alameda County Green Busi-
magazine or catalog that requires “0 energy” on the reader’s part to
ness Program and PIA/GATF’s
pick up at leisure and enjoy.
SGP (Sustainable Green
2. The fact that printing results in the needless cutting of trees. With the
Printer) Partnership.
exception of paper tree farms, harvested like crops, trees are not cut down for paper. First and foremost, trees are cut down for the value of its wood, the 2x4’s, most of which are used in construction. It is the waste from those trees, the unused fragments, that are converted to pulp for paper. This is one of the reasons for the current increase in paper, the lack of wood fiber due to the downturn in the housing market. 3. The idea that it is cheaper to print books, pamphlets, brochures and manuals on your desktop printer. After you take into account the cost of paper, ink cartridges and time to print e-mails, catalogs, manuals and anything else you may want to read or refer to at a later time, just do the math. Big business has everyone convinced that they do not need print. OK, try to live without print and at the same time imagine how much HP, Epson and the other manufacturers of desk top printers are making on ink. They won’t tell you, but it is astronomical! CANVAS: How would you define your secret to success? Duffy: I don’t think there is a secret. I think it is a lot of hard work, belief in your fellow man and a huge commitment to the environment. CANVAS: Today what is on your mind? Duffy: There is so much going on with green today – CO2’s, VOC’s, recycling, sustainability, carbon footprint – the list is never-ending. “More green” is everywhere! What part of “more green” is real? I ask myself, how and what should I communicate to the market? How can I share my enthusiasm and what little knowledge I have about our environment? And finally, what can I do to make a difference?
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HR Tom Carroll thinks big. As the Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resource Officer for RR Donnelley, an $11 billion international Fortune 300 Company with more than 65,000 employees worldwide, he has to. Carroll has responsibilities for all aspects of human resources for domestic and global operations in the Asia Pacific, Mexico, South America, Canada, Europe and the United States. He balances the need for more high-tech automation in HR processes with the needs of the hourly employees. CANVAS: What kinds of initiatives get you excited?
Tom Carroll
Tom Carroll: Leadership development is something that I’m very passion-
Executive Vice President and
ate about, because coaching people to think differently and see the world
Chief Human Resource Officer
differently without sending them to Harvard, for half a million dollars, is
RR Donnelley
really important. I have a huge passion for our hourly employees, training, fair treatment and work/life balance are all critical. CANVAS: What should the industry be doing to market itself? Carroll: The first thing is the realization that we think we’re the ugly stepdaughter at the ball, when actually we are a whole lot better than that. When you think about media in general, people immediately jump to the Internet and TV. Print has got to wake up and realize that there is tremendous power in it, there’s a ton of passion around it, and that permits opportunities that are not found in a lot of the other mediums. The ability to change lives using print absolutely is untapped as a vision for this industry. CANVAS: What trends do you see affecting the industry the most? Carroll: We have an aging workforce. What are we doing in planning for succession or transmission of the skills of our craft-level people? We’re go-
Mentors, both good and bad. I’ve had really great people I’ve worked for, and really bad people I’ve worked for, and learned from both.
ing to continue to see a tighter financial climate. One of the things we’re seeing is unions trying to sell employees on job security. Technology and mechanical innovation will advance, and the skills around technology will require different skill sets. The world is more green, and this will continue to matter, and that’s going to be a selling proposition as a part of what you offer as a printer. CANVAS: What is your secret to success? Carroll: Mentors, both good and bad. I’ve had really great people I’ve worked for, and really bad people I’ve worked for, and learned from both. I’m honest and very direct. CANVAS: What’s top of mind for you? Carroll: I’ve been in my position less than six months, I’m learning. I spend a lot of time trying to focus on what it means to lead human resources for a large global company, and how I can best serve not only the people of my organization, but the success of my company. The other thing is medical benefits. I’m really working hard on that, because I think the costs of our medical plans in the United States are not only killing our employees, but they’re killing our companies, I think something fundamentally has got to change around that. Every single day I think about that because of how much of an impact it has on our company and our employees.
CANVAS
P15
People to Watch
Marketing Picture a circle. It’s the best visual when describing EPI Companies’ mission with its customers, and it’s a symbol for what the print industry might want to prepare itself for in the future when dealing with potential customers. EPI handles everything from simple print runs to large marketing campaigns. “You have to really work at marketing at two completely different levels in our industry because we have such a diversification of clientele,” says Cindy Woods
Cindy Woods, EPI’s senior VP and CMO. “There is a broad marketing ap-
VP of Marketing
proach and specific marketing approach. Unlike a manufacturer of medi-
EPI Companies
cal products who markets solely in the healthcare industry, or the maker of carpeting who can focus on home building and home improvement or
BIO: Cindy Woods began her
hospitality, we have to focus our broad picture on 14 different market seg-
career in print at a medium
ments, while simultaneously concentrating our narrow strategic marketing
sized commercial print shop
on specific industry segments that are experiencing growth, retention, and
in upstate New York. She
good margins. The latter of these tends to change about every 18 to 24
moved to Georgia to escape
months, therefore giving you fresh markets to learn about quickly and de-
the snow in 1991, and landed
termine what value your company and your offerings can bring to them at
at EPI (formerly known as
a profitable margin to you.”
Executive Printing Inc.) in a sales role. Over the years she
CANVAS: What kinds of marketing initiatives excite you the most?
managed to commandeer the
Cindy Woods: Probably the smaller more strategic projects that present our
company’s marketing efforts,
company in a favorable light to a specific market segment. The broad mar-
managed the sales depart-
keting projects are definitely fun since they are built for a more “general”
ment for a short period of
audience and are considered to be part of the daily maintenance of our
time and played an instru-
continued brand awareness. The real challenge lies in determining how our
mental role in the strategic
company can specifically help customers thrive in their respective industry
development of Creative,
and convince them that what we offer directly supports and enhances their
Promotional Products and
corporate growth initiatives and strategic plan.
Online Dashboard Services divisions of the organization.
CANVAS: In your opinion, what should the print industry be doing to market itself? Woods: Individually, printers should act like the professional businesses that they are and follow the lead of their customers. Our industry produces millions of pieces of marketing materials daily for thousands of companies, and printers should do the same for themselves. The traditional mindset of a manufacturer is that you have equipment and people and you make something, but they forget that they too have an image to present and a message to deliver. Make your company one of your biggest customers! Printers have an entire playground of equipment at their disposal and they should market their abilities in the brightest possible light. The old adage about the cobbler who had no shoes has a very important lesson in it – give your company a new pair of shoes! As an industry, we should take note of the economic downturn and make it a positive for ourselves. Now more than ever we should be launching campaigns to remind people and businesses that they didn’t grow by not marketing, so in difficult times, you should go after an even bigger market share. It’s one word and it is so powerful – PRINT! It is tangible, it is memorable, and it is here today and tomorrow! It would be great to see a global campaign where printers join together and deliver that very powerful message. Could you only imagine, in an industry the size of ours, the impact we could have if we were one voice, one message, at one moment in time? We should talk more about this!
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CANVAS JUNE 2008
Marketing Warren Werbitt’s marketing ideas aren’t hard to find. Just type in the words “Printing’s Alive,” on YouTube, and a three-and-a-half minute video written and filmed at Pazazz, Werbitt’s Montreal-based printing company, pops up. It’s just one of the many ways Werbitt and Pazazz are trying to bring print into a new age by making the presentation fun and creative. “We wanted to make people laugh,” says Werbitt, Founder and CEO of Pazazz. “We’re passionate about printing and we wanted everyone to know.” Werbitt founded Pazazz, a full-service independent printing company based in Montreal with offices in New York and Shanghai, at the age of 25.
Warren Werbitt
Pazazz has experienced tremendous growth in the last five years. Since
Founder and CEO
1992, Werbitt has overseen several strategic acquisitions, including Tren-
Pazazz
more Printing in 2000, Phase 2 Labels in 2006 and the acquisition of Laminatek, a large format digital printing company in 2007. Today, Pazazz specializes in litho printing, label (flexo and digital) and large format. Pazazz plays a vital role in conserving the environment and strongly supports the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), in addition to promoting eco-friendly inks and recycled paper. Pazazz is a member of the National Association for Printing Leadership (NAPL) and Independent Printers Worldwide (IPW) consisting of over 150 independent printers with an excess of $2.2 billion of print revenue.
We need to market ourselves in new ways with new attitude. It takes a combination of marketing strategies
CANVAS: What kinds of initiatives get you excited? Warren Werbitt: At Pazazz, we think fast and thrive on creative strategies and being proactive actions. Our sales and marketing teams work together
to attract customers and prospects.
so we can effectively reach out to our clients and prospects. There’s no question that networking is critical in any sales initiative. But what really excites me is picking up the phone and making the call. CANVAS: In your opinion, what should the print industry be doing to market itself? Werbitt: First, people in printing should take pride in their industry. Print companies invest in equipment and should get the ROI they deserve. We need to change people’s impressions that printing is a commodity – it’s not, it’s a service. We need to market ourselves in new ways with new attitude. It takes a combination of marketing strategies to attract customers and prospects. We are constantly putting Pazazz “out there” in new and creative ways. Pazazz is committed to its marketing and is probably one of the few print companies with a full time marketing director. CANVAS: What trends do you see impacting our industry the most? Werbitt: Bottom line – the environment, technology and people’s attitudes about “printing” are critical trends that affect the printing industry. CANVAS: How would you define your secret to success? Werbitt: Success is a moving target. I am constantly moving forward and setting new goals. I always look to the future and never get caught up with the “day-to-day” activities. As the head of the company, I can’t be great at everything. I make a conscious effort to surround myself with people who are experts in their fields and I allow people to make their own decisions. I own the company, but I don’t own the people, and I never take anyone for granted.
CANVAS
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People to Watch
Sales Jim Adams believes in evolution. At least for printing. As president of Westlawn Graphic, he has taken the firm from a standard printer and evolved it into a full-service marketing communications provider. Sales are up too – from $200,000 to over $6 million in annual revenue. So is exposure from the local community. In 1999, Westlawn Graphic won the coveted “Small Business of the Year Award” from the Berks County Chamber of Commerce. In 2000, Westlawn won the “Business of the Year Award” from the Berks Jim Adams
Home Builders Association. Adams has a philosophy he dubs “Total Quality
President
Management,” which emphasizes continuous process improvement. He
Westlawn Graphic
believes so strongly in this philosophy that he frequently conducts lectures on the topic, teaching it to fellow corporate executives. He has a few things
With the industry
to say about the industry at large as well.
as large as ours, I
CANVAS: What kinds of sales initiatives get you excited?
am not sure there is an ad budget large enough anywhere that can influence print users!
Jim Adams: Those challenges where we can provide a genuine solution to a significant business problem on the client side. Those which call upon our grasp of that business challenge, and use our core competences and creativity to provide a genuine business solution. The convergence of technologies and the arrival of “next generation” software applications that provide “real world” business solutions. CANVAS: In your opinion, what should the print industry be doing to market itself? Adams: With the industry as large as ours, I am not sure there is an ad budget large enough anywhere that can influence print users! Each time a person picks up a printed page, they consciously or sub-consciously ask themselves; is this the best way to communicate, keep myself informed or inform others, etc. Electronic media in all its forms can usually satisfy these same needs. CANVAS: What trends do you see impacting our industry the most? Adams: The obvious challenger is electronic media in all of its forms. CANVAS: How would you define your secret to success? Adams: I feel that the secret to success is that there is no secret. I personally believe that showing up for work every day and maintaining one’s integrity puts us ahead of 90 percent of our competition, and it sure doesn’t hurt to study a little bit every night to “sharpen the saw,” per Stephen Covey’s “7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” CANVAS: Today, what is on your mind? Adams: How to increase sales in a soft or contracting product line and market. By diversification? Or more aggressive sales strategies?
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An industry-specific publication developing high achievement in print sales. An exciting new foray into the realities of today’s printing industry, CANVAS is the first publication that focuses on what is truly relevant to the world of the graphic arts sales professional. It investigates the challenges of an industry that is decidedly global, while at the same time, intimate and local. This new, sophisticated endeavor explores intelligent sales techniques, marketing models and best practices. By delivering the insights of industry leaders and innovators, CANVAS supports the printing and graphic arts industry and the sales professional’s role within it.
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!NALYSIS OF CURRENT SITUATION
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¾¾ Product Spotlight Print in the Mix Print in the Mix, A Clearinghouse of Research on Print Media Effectiveness, collects and summarizes reliable research on the effectiveness of print in its numerous forms. It is published and housed at Rochester Institute of Technology’s Printing Industry Center, and is supported by faculty and staff from universities coast-to-coast who study printing industry trends. The research on all types of print (e.g., direct mail, inserts, magazines, custom publications, newspapers, etc) is presented in two different ways: 1. Fast Facts—Concise, bite-size nuggets of research. For example, UÊÊ ÀiÊÌ > ÊnäÊ«iÀVi ÌÊ vÊ ÕÃi `ÃÊi Ì iÀÊÀi>`Ê ÀÊÃV> Ê>`ÛiÀÌ Ã }Ê > ÊÃi ÌÊÌ Ê their household. Nearly seven out of 10 respondents like getting mail about new products from companies they do business with. (USPS Household Diary Study) 2. Research Summaries—Top-line synopses that condense the most important points of each study. Each summary includes the type of print media tested, research population, the results and outcome of the research, specific analysis or “takeaway,” and finally, the direct link to the original document for further research. Wherever possible, Print in the Mix provides direct links to the research documents summarized or, in the instance of a fee-based industry report, the contact information to order reports and papers is provided. Print in the Mix is a searchable electronic database that is updated on a continuous basis and features RSS feeds to provide notification of the addition of new content. The Web site is freely accessible for viewing the fast facts entries, additional resources and searching of current content. A free registration grants users access to the full content of summaries, the ability to rate and comment on content, alerts to new information, and the option to receive the monthly electronic and/or printed newsletter highlighting the most recent and relevant data. Print in the Mix is funded by The Print Council member companies whose mission is to promote, develop, and advance the market for print media through awareness, advocacy, and research. To visit Print in the Mix, go to www.printinthemix.rit.edu
NewPage You may not yet recognize the name, but NewPage, with the recent purchase of Stora Enso North America, is now the largest manufacturer of coated paper in North America. Since the close of the sale in late December, NewPage has been working diligently to integrate the two companies and streamline the product offerings. NewPage has made a variety of product integration announcements across a highly respected portfolio that includes coated freesheet, coated groundwood, supercalendered and specialty products, all manufactured in North America. The new sheet-fed line-up features the following: Centura®, the embodiment of sustainable luxury, is a premium product with triple chain-of-custody certification (FSC, SFI, PEFC), 10 percent post consumer recycled fiber and four finishes. Sterling® Ultra and Productolith®, long-standing benchmarks for #2 coated products, are trusted by printers and specifiers alike. Both carry chain-of-custody certification and 10 percent PCW content. The #3 sheets include Anthem®, a fully mill-supported and broadly stocked economy offering, now with a new brightness and cleaner blue white styling and Gusto®, the import fighting economy sheet-fed product. NewPage is proud of their success with digital products across a 3 tier approach: Futura Laser®, Sterling Ultra Digital™, and Blazer Digital® provide a host of options for variable and short-run or small format offset equipment. Dave Deger, VP of Marketing at NewPage states, “This latest announcement is further evidence of our commitment to customers to quickly integrate NewPage and Stora Enso North America. We feel the result is a solid, simplified, and sustainable product offering across a range of product categories. This includes a selection of environmentally friendly products made by a reputable producer, particularly critical in today’s era of heightened environmental sensitivity. NewPage provides a clear and reliable answer for customers seeking peace of mind and verifiable solutions.” Please call (800) 638-3313 for a full line of products or visit the website at www.newpagecorp.com
CANVAS
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CANVAS JUNE 2008
The
What printers have to do to find – and reel in – the next generation of workers.
Graduates By Graham Garrison
R
Randy Dorman found his newest employee through tourism. Dorman, owner of Baltimore Color Plate, conducts frequent plant tours for local community colleges and vocational schools. On one particular tour for a technical school in Pennsylvania, a graphic design student impressed Dorman enough that when a sales position opened up, he called him in for an interview. “We always keep our eyes open and remembered this young man,” says Dorman.
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The Graduates
Looking for new talent makes good business sense. For Baltimore Color Plate, it’s also becoming a necessity. The printer’s average employee age is 40 years old, so hiring new blood is essential. With the baby boomer generation retiring in droves, America is expected to face a shortage of workers. However, not all businesses are catching on to this trend. According to a 2007 study by the Boston College Center on Aging and Work, about a third of 578 organizations polled haven’t even considered the age demographics and retirement rates of their workers. That means a good chunk of companies are going to be scrambling to replace spots in their workforce in upcoming years. Which means the pickings may be slim. It’s more important than ever for print companies to identify, target and ultimately recruit the next generation of sales reps, and workforce in general.
DNA of a new sales rep Printers are finding that the candidates and skill sets of today are a far cry from what was required yesteryear, says, Thomas Carroll, executive vice president and chief human resource officer for RR Donnelley. “If you were easy to get along with, looked good in a suit and could explain printing well, the actual process of printing, then that was good,” he says. Carroll says the focus is now on other variables, including consultative services, meaning the print sales rep is more engaged with the customer’s line of thinking. “There are many other variables to be taken into consideration, from the idea of selling consultative services to deep understanding of what’s going on with the customer’s customer,” he says. “What is going on in their market that’s
“A good candidate is one who knows the new way to sell the value of both themselves and their company. He or she must be able to completely understand the customer’s business.”
— Tom Bastian, Bastian & Associates
causing your customer to make changes to what they’re doing, and what can you as the printer do to help enable that. Whether it’s through digital technology, CTP (computer to print), closed loop color, an Internet presence, a distribution scheme that might look different – or maybe printing in a different way.” David Bennett, president of Bennett Graphics, says today’s candidates need to be forward thinkers. “[They have to be] hungry, outgoing, have great relational skills, a strong desire to learn and the ability to see the big picture and not just the next job,” he says. Industry veteran Tom Bastian is in the business of finding the right people to hire for print companies. Bastian, the former president of The Graphics Group and current owner of Bastian & Associates, specializes in executive recruiting in sales and
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management positions. He says printers should be looking for good “Sales DNA,” a candidate who has a natural ability to sell rather than a firm knowledge of the printing industry. “A good candidate is one who knows the new way to sell the value of both themselves and their company,” he says. “He or she must be able to completely understand the customer’s business. Once they do that, they find solutions to their customer’s problems. A good candidate also must be capable of keeping a good balance of taking care of the customer’s needs and looking out for the well-being of their employer.” Rick Topper, VP Sales and Marketing, Colorado Printing Co., says that in the new marketplace, math skills and technical savvy are important in helping design a product that best matches a printing company’s capabilities. While printers used to hire order takers, they’re now looking for order makers. “These days, clients are looking for solutions more than ink on paper,” he says. The skill set, then, doesn’t emphasis a specific degree. It’s almost geared more toward intangibles. So printers don’t have to necessarily pigeonhole resumes, like accountants or graphic designers (although the graphic arts majors certainly have a leg up on industry knowledge). Printers may find that they can choose from a wider sample. Identifying intangibles, however, is only heightened during the handful of interviews. So how do you narrow the list? According to Carroll, old standbys such as GPA’s may be overrated. “With a college graduate, you’re going to be searching for potential, based on behaviors of the past,” he says. “What kinds of leadership roles have they taken in the environment they’ve been in? What
“With a college graduate, you’re going to be searching for potential, based on behaviors of the past.” — Thomas Carroll, RR Donnelley
The Graduates
sort of presence do they show, not only in the actual interaction with you, but by the other things they’ve been involved with.”
Competing with other businesses Identifying the best candidates and reeling them into the print industry are two separate issues. Many of the experts stated that print is all too aware that competitors such as the Internet are “sexier” to college graduates. Couple that with a tougher economy, and printers have their work cut out for them. “I think the labor pool is going to continue to get tighter and tighter,” says Dorman. “I don’t think our business is anywhere near as glamorous as maybe it used to be. I don’t know if it was ever really ‘glamorous,’ but there are other businesses that are more attractive than ours. People still think of us as ‘ink on our thumbnails’ vs. the computers and Internet.” To counter that, Bastian recommends printers identify themselves as “either communications or marketing companies to college graduates,” he says. “In general, new graduates are not very interested in the printing process … many of them have no idea of how it works until they tour a plant. However, they are interested in the technology
“Printers must convince grads that they will be consultants, not just printing salespeople.”
— Tom Bastian
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Narrowing the Field David Sapp is good at evaluating sales and executive talent. He has to be. As a senior partner at Korn/Ferry International, an executive search firm with outsourced recruiting and leadership development solutions in more than 80 offices in 40 countries, Sapp helps build executive teams in industrial, manufacturing and distribution environments and plays a very active role in recruiting top talent for Private Equity firms and their portfolio companies. Part of his approach to finding the right companies and positions for candidates is helping them realize what it is they want out of their next job. He interviews around the following three components:
1. Cultural alignment “What environment does a candidate think he or she best thrives in?” Sapp says. “Is it an aggressive, growth-oriented culture? Is it an operations-driven business? Is it technology? Do you like an aggressive, direct CEO, or do you like someone who would be more politically astute and savvy?”
2. People alignment “What types of colleagues motivate someone to get up an extra hour early and leave an extra hour late? What are the types of people you like to work around? “What types of people do you learn the most from, most effectively relate to and are motivated by.”
3. Career aspiration “Career aspiration is walking and talking through with a candidate what they feel they’re most passionate about. What they feel from a functional perspective they’re best at. So you can design in what works and what you love while you carve out what you don’t like, and what you’re not good at. The tough part is getting candidates to think through and be honest with themselves.” Sapp also evaluates talent through an art and science approach. Establishing the ideal candidate characteristics with a client is essential. Korn/Ferry works directly with clients to walk them through a “leadership card sorting process” designed to identify the top characteristics required for key talent success in a specific role. Korn/Ferry and Sapp then work with clients to design interview questions that focus the interview dialogue in the designated competency area. Sapp also requires his most serious candidates to take an “online assessment” designed to compare them to the top 20 percent best in class. The “online assessment” focuses on four critical areas: (1) leadership style (2) thinking style (3) emotional competency and (4) career motivators. These steps, combined with the face-to-face interview are effective in aligning the candidate’s fit with the client’s profile. The end result is a more successful, higher impact employee with a higher probability of retention and career progression.
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The Graduates
Topper says incentives like “generous reimbursement, tools such as laptops and BlackBerrys, top level CSRs to help with workflow, increased production capacity or new capabilities to sell and a company culture that values sales” are important. and how they can be an integral part of the customers’ marketing strategy … be it a 1-to-1 marketing campaign, a cross-media solution or a storefront solution. “Printers must convince grads that they will be consultants, not just printing salespeople.” Dorman says incentives are a good start. He’s offered his sales staff different ways of making money, and heard of printers who offer incentives to their CSRs. Carroll says that new employees coming out will probably have “five to seven different careers in their lifespan.” Expecting a new hire in the accounting department to stay there for 40 years is next to impossible. Offering them the ability to move within the company, from department to department, may be an attractive recruiting tool. “Basically, you could offer this person the opportunity to start in accounting, but three years from now, you’re going to want them to move into this opportunity, and that opportunity, over the course of their lifetime and career,” Carroll says. “What you’re offering is that kind of career-spanning opportunity.” Bennett says visualizing a career-path for recruits may bring more into the industry. “Show them a formalized training path to their desired position in the industry,” he says. Topper says incentives like “generous reimbursement, tools such as laptops and BlackBerrys, top level CSRs to help with workflow, increased production capacity or new capabilities to sell and a company culture that values sales” are important. He says that appealing to entreprenurial types is vital for print. Ultimately, though, the broad concept of bringing in new talent comes down to the individuals themselves and the initiative they put forth. To Bastian, it comes down to allowing the recruits to visualize their success in print. And what industry does a better job of visuals than print? “Recruits need to see a ladder they can climb,” he says. “Compensation will always be important, but today’s recruits need to feel satisfaction along with their accomplishment.”
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What a Recruit Wants Sales positions offer something few other jobs do, especially for college graduates – independence, says Terry Loe, Ph.D., Director, Center for Professional Selling National Collegiate Sales Competition at Kennesaw State (Kennesaw, Ga.). “Many are drawn to sales for the financial opportunity, but probably the greatest appeal is the independence afforded to many sales people in their day-to-day routine,” he says. “This independence also translates into the ability to have some control of their ‘destiny’ or future.” The National Collegiate Sales Competition is a two-day event where the nation’s top sales students compete in a series of simulated sales situations. Corporate sponsors are given a chance to review and rate performances. It’s one of the most structured and effective ways of evaluating sales skills of current college students, and also a way for students to scout their first sales job out of college. Loe says that college graduates are looking for innovative businesses as opposed to ones that are ‘stilted.’ “These industries are on their way out if they do not adapt to the new learning environment that is evident in growth industries,” he says. He says an attractive company is one that has attributes beyond just profitability. “Beyond being profitable, successful companies create an environment or culture that promotes initiative, empowerment and the opportunity for self-fulfillment,” he says. “This culture allows for and promotes the opportunity to be a useful member of the community – the opportunity to make a difference.
¾¾ Check out the CPS Web site at www.coles.kennesaw.edu/Selling
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T O
N K O N
D LI B
“Do Not Mail” legislation is sprouting up across the country. Here is how to keep your customers ahead of the game.
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I
By Mi ch ae lJ os efo wi cz
f the printing you sell is destined for the United States Postal Service, you need to know about “Do Not Mail” legislation. While the first piece of legislation has been defeated in New Hampshire, there are still 15 other states to worry about with legislation pieces of their own, and at the very least it still signals the beginning of a major rethinking of direct mail. Our industry has been through this before. When designers started asking for recycled paper, it was seen as a niche market. Today, most corporate officers are requiring maximum recycled content for annual reports. It did not matter that paper companies farm trees in general, or that much of recycled paper was started as preconsumer waste, or that the real issue is the amount of paper filling the landfills. Once an issue gets an environmental spin, business logic often takes a backseat. For the “Do Not Mail”
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Do Not Blink
movement, the real business reasons – higher
Once perceived irresponsible environmental practice is seen
postage, less need for print for sales prospect-
as a risk to brand, there is a new opportunity for consultative
ing, the secular demand for doing more for less –
sales that help your customer solve a real problem. They need a
will only add to the push to redefine direct mail.
solution provider. Consider what might be the reaction to an e-mail sent from your
Staying ahead
printing company with “How to respond to Do Not Mail legisla-
The good news is that technology is now in place
tion” in the subject line. In the body of the e-mail, you might ask for
to get in front of this wave, instead of having it
a convenient time to grab a cup of coffee and share some thoughts
crash around you. The most obvious solution to
about how your printing company has a number of possible solu-
“junk mail” is “opt in” mail. “Junk mail” can magi-
tions that might work for your customer.
cally turn into useful information if the recipient
Depending on whether you are a hunter, farmer or newbie in the
is looking forward to receiving it. The usual rules
printing business, there are different solutions that can be explored.
apply – the right information in the right form to
The hunter needs to find the new business. The farmer has to pro-
the right person at the right time is welcomed.
tect the book of business. The newbie has to explore until there is a
“Do Not Mail” actually threatens your customers even more than it does you. It’s a clear
book of business to protect. Here are some things you might think about as you prepare for your “Do Not Mail” discussions.
obstacle to the way they do business. While the conventional wisdom is that business decisions
Customer loyalty programs
are made on the basis of greed and fear, the real
The days of mass prospecting direct mails are numbered, but the
drivers of most spending decisions are based on
era of customer loyalty programs has just begun. Customer loyalty
the fear of unmanageable risks.
programs need print. A sales postcard from a store that a customer
The real challenge is to change the culture of doing everything “in house.” Find a designer – or better yet – a design firm that you can make a network partner as well as a customer. already frequents is not spam. A catalog from the same company is usually welcome. Appropriate signage in the retail space itself can be the most effective advertising.
Transpromo Handled correctly, transpromo (transaction documents that can incorporate a company promotion or sales pitch) should be as effective as Google ad words. Statements and invoices have to be on paper. While some leading edge Generation Googlers might trust the Web to store their financial information, most people still want a piece of paper to keep track and find the errors.
Small business These are overcommitted business people who don’t have the skill or time to do a marketing program. In the last few years, almost every retail store has a credit card list of their customers. With the proper analysis it should be relatively easy to help them find their most frequent customers. Once frequent customers are identified,
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Do Not Blink
When the communication job is to reach everyone, not just the most valuable customers, print becomes a “must-have,” and the Web becomes the “nice-to-have.” special offers, frequent shopper points, a regular newsletter and many other programs are naturals. But this could be the hard part. Most printers do not have a dedicated design staff to conceive and execute a program. Asking a busy small business to find a designer, mine the data, and fine-tune the message is usually a non-starter. But an overall program, from soup to nuts at an affordable price, is something else. The real challenge is to change the culture of doing everything “in house.” Find a designer – or better yet – a design firm that you can make a network partner as well as a customer. Many design firms might be willing to exchange some of their work for free printing of their promotions. Lose the mindset of “owning” the customer. In any case, it’s an illusion. A typical solution for small businesses might start with a tiny piece that sits on the counter. It could be tied into a pointof-purchase interaction. If you can help small businesses install customer affiliation card programs and the total all-in-cost of the program, it’s pretty likely you’ll get a “thank- you,” instead of “I don’t have time to talk to you, now. Call me in two weeks.” If you focus on small chains that have three or four locations, you might be surprised at the value you will create and therefore the prices you can charge.
Education as a market Real growth markets for print are in education, not advertising. Print related advertising had a great ride since the turn of the 20th
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century. But in the 21st, it’s new rules. When even broadcast TV is under attack and the music industry is being redefined, it might be time to take what you can get, and move on to greener pastures. When the communication job is to reach everyone, not just the most valuable customers, print becomes a “must-have,” and the Web becomes the “nice-to-have.” Consider the textbook publishers, workbook publishers and test printers. They have grown in protected markets with very expensive sales cycles. And consider that expensive textbooks can be out of date before they are delivered, therefore needing frequent updates. Then consider cash-strapped school districts and high real estate taxes. Put that together with the fact that close to 50 percent of urban high school students don’t graduate. Add to that the growth of charter schools, home schooling, the launch of an MIT Web site that offers K-12 curriculum for free to teachers and students and the growing open source curriculum movement. Some kind of paradigm shift is happening. Paradigm shifts mean new opportunities and rapidly growing markets. After 30 years in his own print brokerage, six years at Parsons School of Design, two years working at a bottom of the pyramid high school in New York City and one internet startup, Michael Josefowicz is presently the managing partner of Josefowicz Associates, LLC. The focus of this consulting group is Project Based Team Building, with a focus on print as a game changer for public education. As the senior print advisor to the CEO of The Grow Network – a start up that is now a division of McGraw Hill – he has seen the power of personalized print, when it is in the hands of a world class team. As the founder of the Communications Design Publishing Center at Parsons, he has seen the power of teams and POD publishing in the hands of world class student creatives to improve teaching and learning.
Dia P36
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monds Rep’s are a
Best Friend By Brian Sullivan
A
s a salesperson, you spend hours prospecting, cold calling and doing everything possible to get in front of potential clients to deliver your message. When you finally get that appointment, there’s a feeling of elation that you have
accomplished something … and you have. I don’t mean to knock new account prospecting, but I do mean to point you in a better direction. When given the choice between prospecting in existing accounts vs. cold calling, which would you prefer? While PRECISE Selling is saying less while saying more, it is also taking the path of least resistance on the way to more sales. So if your objective this year is to increase your sales by 20 percent, explore for diamonds within your existing account base first, and then turn to new account prospecting. Dr. Russell Conwell, founder of Temple University, used this story in the mid-1800s to raise millions of dollars to help fund the formation of the school. “We need not waste our lives looking elsewhere for better opportunities,” Conwell told his audiences. This story reminds us, as salespeople, to keep our eyes and ears peeled for opportunities that exist right in front of us. There may be diamonds within our existing accounts and that before we go exploring elsewhere, we must explore every inch of our own farms.
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Diamonds are a Rep’s Best Friend
What instruments do you need to explore? You don’t need a compass and a telescope, but you do need the essentials.
Explorer’s attitude This is your most important instrument. Your explorer’s attitude should be “Christopher Columbus-like,” and your purpose should be to seek out as much business as you can possibly find in any existing account. Even when others are telling you “The account is flat, Christopher. It’s too dangerous to explore,” don’t believe them. Imagine where this thinking would have gotten Christopher … and many of us for that matter!
Risk-taker’s attitude Wayne Gretzky, perhaps the best hockey player ever to wear skates, reported the comment of an early coach who was frustrated with his lack of scoring in an important game. The coach made his point when he said, “You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take.” So go ahead and ask for more business as often as you can. (I have faith in your ability to know when to back off.)
Acre of Diamonds There once was an African farmer who had heard tales of others making millions by discovering diamond mines. He became so excited at the thought of getting rich that he sold his farm and used the money to explore the African continent in search of the valuable gems. Unfortunately for him, he never found any diamonds and he died a despondent and dejected man. Meanwhile, the man who had purchased the farm discovered a beautiful rock while crossing one of the streams on his newly acquired property. The rock was so beautiful that he placed it on his fireplace mantel so that he could admire it. Several weeks later a visitor noticed the rock and nearly fainted from what he saw. The rock turned out to be one of the largest diamonds ever discovered. And it came from a small stream filled with many more large and precious stones. The man’s small farm became one of the most productive diamond mines in all of Africa and he became a very rich man.
Specific objective If you are a print sales rep, your diamonds are your clients and the projects they come to you with. And if you want to be your company’s top explorer (and top rep), you need to focus on just one or two of those big clients to see what other services you can offer them. Focus solely on those two. If somebody asks you, “How many new jobs do you want to sell this month?” your answer should not be, “Oh, one or two would be nice.” It should be, “I want to create five leads with my current customers and believe it is realistic to close three of those.” Now that’s an explorer with vision! Earlier we discussed the importance of setting an objective for your sales call. That objective is often focused on only one product or service. While having one objective is essential, having two objectives is exceptional. Objective number two should be to explore for added business beyond objective number one.
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Come prepared with extra selling materials like literature and brochures.
If somebody asks you, “How many new jobs do you want to sell this month?” your answer should not be, “Oh, one or two would be nice.” It should be, “I want to create five leads with my current customers and believe it is realistic to close three of those.” Now that’s an explorer with vision! Exploration literature Come prepared with extra selling materials like literature and brochures. Make them easy to get to when it is exploration time. Keep them in the same location in your briefcase or presentation binder so you don’t find yourself clumsily fumbling for them. So it’s time to set sail, my friend … and don’t delay. Because if there really are diamonds on your own farm, I promise you they will not go unnoticed for long. The question is, will it be you or your competition that finds them first?
Excerpts taken from Brian Sullivan’s book, 20 Days to the Top- How the PRECISE Selling Formula Will Make You Your Company’s Top Sales Performer in 20 Days or Less. To order your copy, go to www.preciseselling.com.
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Book Recommendation
“The Alchemist” An international bestseller By Paul Coelho
W
hat is your personal legend? This is the central question posed in Paul Coelho’s “The Alchemist.” It is a fabulous novel about
one man’s journey in search of treasure. And while Santiago’s path is filled with
trials and tribulations, you can’t help but see the parallels to your own life.
Coelho reminds you that the secret to success is actually the journey itself. Pushing yourself through difficult times and embracing the lessons, or as he calls them “omens,” you are
However, pursuing your dreams is a much better option than the long dull pain that comes from burying your dreams deep within your soul. given along the way. By following your dreams and cherishing the people you meet, you become fulfilled. Coelho adds that by following your “personal legend” you must withstand certain short-term pains. However, pursuing your dreams is a much better option than the long dull pain that comes from burying your dreams deep within your soul. “The Alchemist” has had tremendous fanfare and has probably been read by many of the CANVAS community. Our recommendation, however, is that the book deserves multiple reads in order to keep the lessons top of mind.
You can find “The Alchemist” in your favorite bookstore.
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