Canvas Magazine | The Next Big Thing

P8 Fresh Tactics

CANVAS

®

supporting the print sales & Marketing professional

P24 Expertise Pays P30 Not so ancillary any more

October 2009

The Next

Big Thing Want to pull in more customers and keep the ones you’ve got?

Make sure you’re on top of the hottest trends in the industry.

P36 PRECISE Leadership

October 2009

P2

Publisher’s Thoughts What was the question?

P4

The New Vista of Print Sales P5

The NAPL’s Mike Philie answers your print sales questions P6

People News Digital Printers Alliance to launch AmazingMail appoints COO/CFO Robert Blackman as CEO to succeed Chris Lynde

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Fresh Tactics How to make tactical, practical, in the changing marketplace

P14

The Next Big Thing Want to pull in more customers and keep the ones you’ve got? Make sure you’re on top of the hottest trends in the industry.

P23

Product Spotlight Wausau Paper Growll.com

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Expertise Pays Publisher

Editorial board

mark potter

lisa arsenault McArdle Printing Co.

MANAGING EDITOR

gary cone Litho Craft, Inc.

graham garrison

peter douglas Lake County Press

ART DIRECTOR brent cashman

aaron grohs Consolidated Graphics, Inc.

CONTRIBUTORS

ron lanio Geographics, Inc.

Keith Bax, Linda Bishop, Colleen Oakley and Brian Sullivan

randy parkes Lithographix, Inc.

What buyers expect you to know

P30

Not so ancillary any more Ancillary products come to the forefront for print service providers

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PRECISE Leadership Moving your team with purpose

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“Hero’s Tribute”

CANVAS magazine for more information: 678.473.6131, 2180 Satellite Blvd., Suite 400, Duluth, Georgia 30097 CANVAS, Volume 3, Issue 5. Published bi-monthly, copyright 2009 CANVAS, All rights reserved. Subscriptions: $39.00 per year for individuals.

If you would like to subscribe or notify us of address changes, please contact us at 2180 Satellite Blvd., Suite 400, Duluth, Georgia 30097.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to CANVAS, 2180 Satellite Blvd., Suite 400, 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. Periodicals Postage Paid at Duluth, GA and at additional mailing offices. Pending periodical #32.

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CANVAS

P1

What was the question?

H

How do you stick out? How do you stick up for yourself? How do get noticed? How do you impact a client’s business? Why do people buy from you? Why don’t people call you back? Do people care

CANVAS

about each other? Do you put it on the line? Do you dare? Is Print dead? Will you ever get a hole in one? Are you good dad? Will you make a difference? Can anybody hear you? Will we change?

Will we help each other? Will you have the budget? If you did would you like my solution? What is important to you? Are people really that busy? Do you like your boss? Do you like your job? Am I bothering you? Do you read magazines? What do you read? Do you have a Kindle? Do you Twitter?

Publisher’s thoughts

Is Print dead? How much time do you spend on social networks? Do you think companies do an ROI on social networks? Can you sell? Do you care about your customers? Do you believe in your company?

Do you believe in yourself? Do you think paper makes a difference? Do you spec paper? Have you ever fired anyone? Did you feel bad? Are you happy with your team? Do you practice what you do?

Do you blame the economy? Do you blame everyone but yourself when things go wrong?

Do you like to take credit?

How much do you really know about your customers? Do you think sales comes before marketing or marketing before sales? How do you define marketing? Are people rude? Are people good? How come nobody calls you back? Do you like Print? Do you sell anything other than print? Why are you reading this? When will you retire? Do you regret anything? Do you wish you were a doctor? How about a lawyer? Do your feet hurt? Is Print alive? Will digital messaging replace Print? Do you ever make a mistake? Do you ever say you are sorry? Do you wish the guy next to you would stop reading over your shoulder? How much money do you make? Did you make less this year than last year? Do you blame the economy? Do you blame everyone but yourself when things go wrong? Do you like to take credit?

Are you a superstar? Do you think Obama is doing a good job? Should we be promoting Print as the best communication device? Do your suppliers offer value? Which suppliers are the best? What suppliers would you like to see more of? Do you like me? Do you like you? Will you continue to get better?

Will you take the next step? Are you strong? Can you hang in there? Will you work hard? Will you work smart? Have you done your best? Where will you turn for help? Is sales dead? Are salespeople a cut above the rest? Are you going to get better? Do you define yourself by your customers rather than by product? How do you stick out?

All the best,

Mark Potter Publisher

P2

CANVAS october 2009

X-Ray Vision

The New Vista of Print Sales

by Cyndie Shaffstall

A

A quick Google search results more than 1 million matches for desktop publishing templates. For those selling print, the most recognizable are likely Vistaprint ® and Stock-

Layouts®. At Print ’09, Quark® previewed Quark® Promote™ to add to the mix.

These are three unique approaches to the template business. However, are templates and buying print online really the future? If so, where does that leave you?

The competitors

Vistaprint was founded in 1995. The company owns a printing plant in North America

Cyndie Shaffstall has worked in the marketing and publishing

and Europe. In 2009, its revenue grew to $515.8 million – a 29 percent increase over fiscal year 2008.

industries for more than three

StockLayouts, LLC, was founded in 2001. Using its Web site, the customer selects a

decades. She is director of

design template, purchases and downloads it, then customizes the layout to create a

QuarkAlliance at Quark, Inc.,

print-ready design. StockLayouts does not sell print, nor is it aligned with a printer. In

and in her spare time she

fact, many printers use these templates in place of an in-house designer.

is editor and publisher of

Quark was founded in 1981, and renowned for QuarkXPress, its flagship, desktop-

X-Ray Magazine, managing

publishing product. In September, Quark revealed a beta release of Quark Promote,

member and inventor at

which is positioned firmly in between the approach of Vistaprint and StockLayouts:

StrappyArt, LLC, SEO/SMO

to provide customers with templates for common marketing material, enable them to

advisor at Spider Trainers,

personalize the template. But rather than their own printing plants, Quark created a

LLC, and the founder of

network of print providers. In essence, Quark is acting as the print broker and buying

ThePowerXChange, LLC.

from local print shops to resell to the end user.

Customer base From where I stand, a small business looking for a template-based solution is not your ideal customer. They are likely buying nothing more than a few hundred business cards and a flier or postcard to match. At the point where the customer needs an eight-page brochure, they are back in your camp. If they are in search of a template so they can create their own work instead of a designer, then they are back in the camp of StockLayouts as well.

Is there room for you with the Vistaprint and Quark Promote customer? Probably not with Vistaprint (unless you are a salesperson employed by Vistaprint), but Quark Promote will offer you some interesting opportunities, especially if your shop is light on the design services. Quark Promote also offers a private-label version, and using this you could have a kiosk or dedicated Web site enabling customers to create their own marketing piece, and when completed, the finished PDF would be sent to you rather than shopped to the print provider network.

Quark Promote, like StockLayouts, provides high-quality, professional designs that are created by designers. This attention to detail ensures that the design community is engaged at the same level as the printer and provides the customer with a polished look that they are not likely to achieve on their own.

Templates are available. They are very likely here to stay. To stay in print sales, you will have to either work around them or work with them – or both..

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CANVAS october 2009

NAPL The NAPL’s Mike Philie answers your print sales questions Getting face time Dear Mike, I’ve been selling print for 18 years and have done pretty well. My dilemma lately is getting access to clients and prospects. My current clients and I have a great relationship and get along well, but they never have time to see me. Everything seems to be e-mail and voice mail and not enough face time – which had always been a strength of mine. It’s even harder with prospects. Any ideas?

Regards, Tom

Mike Philie

Mike: Dear Tom, Many of us have used the strength of our personality to build long-lasting relationships. Transactions are far more automated using e-mail and voice mail to facilitate the activities. One of the questions reps have a difficult time answering is “why should the buyer see you?” Other than to chat about current events and family, what are you seriously bringing to the table? Staff and hours have been cut and these folks are extremely busy. They may still like you, but they have less time for idle chatter. Now, if you have a great idea that they can apply to their business and can show the benefits of using you and your firm to apply it, many would find the time

Have a Question?

Send it to DearMike@napl.org

to actually meet with you. Before you try to set up a meeting with someone, determine what’s in it for them and why they should meet with you. The better prepared you are the better your chances of getting face time. Good luck!

About the Author

Seeking improvement

Mike Philie is a vice

Dear Mike,

president and consultant

Out of the five sales reps in our company, I’m the top rep. I’ve only been selling for six years,

with NAPL (www.napl.org).

but I really enjoy it and hit it off with my clients. I’m still not satisfied with my performance

With 28 years of sales,

though and am looking for ways to get even better. What are some of the traits of the top reps

management and

that you’ve seen out there?

executive leadership in the printing industry,

Cordially,

he helps companies

Mary

optimize their business and increase shareholder

Mike: Dear Mary,

value. He advises clients

I like to hear from those who are always trying to improve their success and take nothing for

on market and business

granted. To start, if you’ve only been selling for six years, you are probably already doing a lot

strategy, sales and

of the things that top reps do. Many sales reps look for silver bullets to solve problems or to get

business development,

better. I’m not convinced that the top reps have any secrets. They will be the first to share with

sales and executive

you exactly what they do to achieve their success. They are confident but not too cocky. They

coaching, leading

work efficiently and differentiate between things that they should be doing and things that

organizational change,

they should delegate. They are extremely knowledgeable about both their business and their

business turnarounds, and

client’s business. Many of them show a keen sense of creative problem solving and have the

providing interim C-level

ability to present their solutions to a client (or internally) in such a way that is non-threatening

management services.

and collaborative. They are also the ones who will do the little things that most reps either

He can be reached at

forget about or don’t feel like doing. No secrets here Mary, just a lot of little things that are

mphilie@napl.org or at

executed with passion, on purpose and with the desire to help others.

(410) 489-7188.

CANVAS

P5

People News Digital Printers Alliance to launch

The Digital Printers Alliance (DPA, LLC) is scheduled to launch November 22, the alliance announced. According to the DPA, it will be the first independent printer enterprise focused on providing on-demand, variable data, static print, small and large order fulfillment at a freight and quality advantage over any national print company or print management firm in the United States and Canadian markets. “We have half of the alliance created and just 10 spots to fill,” said DPA President Tim Rodman. “Our alliance members are thrilled to focus on the demand side of their business rather than the singular focus on cost that our economy has forced.” With

“ Our alliance members are thrilled to focus on the demand side of their business rather than the singular focus on cost that our economy has forced.”

– DPA President Tim Rodman

the launch scheduled for November 22, the DPA will unveil Webto-print software that will give local printers who join the alliance the ability to market to local customers and national/international companies. The Digital Printer Alliance (DPA) said it is positioned to provide a more efficient print model to end users, emphasizing efficiency of order process, printing process control and freight reduction. The goal of DPA is to be the first organization of its

kind that satisfies the entirety of the end user and printer demand in this segment. To learn how you may qualify to become a member of the DPA, visit www.digitalprintersalliance.com, or call (303) 332-6517.

AmazingMail appoints COO/ CFO Robert Blackman as CEO to succeed Chris Lynde

The Board of Directors of AmazingMail.com Inc. has appointed Robert Blackman as the company’s CEO to succeed Chris Lynde. Born in Melbourne, Australia, Blackman has held leadership roles in every major area of the company since he co-founded AmazingMail in 1999, serving first as Director of Administration. In 2003, he became VP of operations and administration in charge of the company’s printing, finishing and mail facilities. He also established the company’s

direct

sales

de-

partment. Graduating with an honors degree in Economics and Commerce, Blackman first worked in the mining industry for BHP Proprietary Ltd. in Australia, then moved to the world of international trade when he joined Gollin Trading based in Sydney. With that company, he transferred from Australia to Robert Blackman

New York. He continued his work in the United States by joining

the LeeMar Steel Company, where he became a partner and worked for almost 20 years as the VP of operations and administration.

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CANVAS october 2009

C.E.O a n v a s

d u c a t i o n

n l i n e

Delivering the tactical competitive advantage you need

Fresh

Tactics

P8

CANVAS october 2009

How to make tactical, practical, in the changing marketplace

By Keith Bax

“ Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory.

Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.”

– Sun Tzu, The Art of War

I

frequently get involved in discussions about strategy vs. tactics. Sometimes I find myself trying to explain the difference between these two concepts to my 10-year old son while watching a soccer

match on TV, or I might get sucked into refereeing a similar argument between two of my coworkers. Inevitably, I drag out some tired simile about tactics being akin to fighting a fire, while strategy is more like fire prevention.

What I have come to realize is that these con-

versations are essentially meaningless, like trying to decide whether Dick Sargent or Dick York was the better “Darren” on “Bewitched”. Clearly Sun Tzu got it right. Much like the concepts of yin and yang, tactics and strategy are tightly bound together, and one tends to lose meaning without the other.

CANVAS

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Fresh Tactics

Finding the best course of action The economic downturn of the past two years has caused unprecedented turmoil in the printing industry. There has been much written lately about tactics and strategy in relationship to squaring business direction against a rapidly changing economic landscape that will never be the same. Hundreds of printing businesses, if not thousands, that failed to change their thinking and methods have shut their doors. Technology and other market pressures have forced substantial reductions in demand for print, and prices and profits have been brutally beaten down.

So what can our embattled industry do? Increasingly, I hear owners and decision-makers espouse one of two seemingly divergent tactics. The first tactic is to move the business up-market, and become a marketing services provider. This approach makes a lot of sense, given that businesses that need marketing typically have few reservations about outsourcing some portions of their marketing functions. Printing has long been the cornerstone of any marketing communications endeavor, and printing companies should be theoretically well-positioned to take advantage of the opportunity.

The other tactic gaining momentum is to accept the notion that printing is a pure commodity, and to compete on the basis of price and ease of the buying experience. By leveraging technology,

Because every business is unique, it is impossible to take a “one size fits all� approach to the issue. However, there are many common elements to consider when implementing either tactic. automation, and streamlined business processes, printing companies can drive the costs of manufacturing and sales way down, and compete on a national level by virtue of being a low-cost producer of commodity printed products. This tactic would seemingly be a hand-in-glove fit with the current economic climate, as businesses have been following the lead of consumers who are doggedly searching for a bargain at every turn.

Of course, these tactics are of limited benefit unless tempered with a healthy dose of strategic thinking. Those of us who think that the printing industry is rapidly declining, and the demand for print will continue to plummet, will tend to gravitate toward becoming marketing services providers, and on that basis, will have chosen an appropriate route. Those who believe that printing is not going away will tend to gravitate toward the low-cost model. Either of these directions is as good as the other, assuming sound planning and execution.

P10 CANVAS october 2009

Fresh Tactics

So which tactic is the best tactic? I would argue that the most progressive printing companies should hedge their bets on which direction to take by employing both tactics simultaneously. Although this may seem counterintuitive, the investments and business model changes required to execute either tactic have many strategic similarities. Both tactics require significant re-alignment of the roles and responsibilities of people, as well as embracing technology at a level that most printing companies have never done before. It means that printing companies must now look at the Internet as their chief conduit of business opportunity rather than the cause of so many of their problems.

Implementing tactics Because every business is unique, it is impossible to take a “one size fits all” approach to the issue. However, there are many common elements to consider when implementing either tactic: Investments in technology Transitioning from a manufacturer to a marketing services provider means that a typical printing company will need to invest in IT infrastructure like servers and software, as well as investing in people

For a marketing solutions business, many companies discover that when they cease representing themselves as a printing company, doors begin to open at the higher corporate levels of their customers and prospects. with high-level IT skills like database development and Web programming. These same investments are also required in order to successfully compete in the low-cost provider market space, as companies begin to leverage technology to streamline and automate sales, manufacturing, and administrative processes. Companies will also need to be able to use the Internet as their primary sales and marketing channel in order to drive their costs down even further. Either tactical direction will necessitate a significant technology spend.

Investments in people In addition to needing people with high-level IT skills, companies will need to re-think the roles and responsibilities of people throughout their organization. Print salespeople will no longer be acting as “order takers.” Instead, they will have to become accomplished marketers and consultants in the new marketing services paradigm. In the case of the low-cost model, people who used to

P12 CANVAS october 2009

sell print face-to-face will now need to sell online, over the phone,

may seem risky in the short-term, but a well-ex-

and through e-mail. Manufacturing personnel in either business

ecuted plan will likely pay big dividends in the

model will have to be re-educated to allow them to successfully

long-term. The degree of change and the magni-

function in an increasingly technology-centric environment.

tude of investment required are not insignificant; however, there is often greater risk in doing noth-

Other investments

ing, than there is in proactively changing with the

Companies will also need to consider new approaches to their le-

times. As Sun Tzu once said, “The only possibility

gal structure, as well as their branding. Some level of segmenta-

of victory lies in the attack�.

tion of the businesses is generally desirable. For a marketing solutions business, many companies discover that when they cease representing themselves as a printing company, doors begin to open at the higher corporate levels of their customers and prospects. For the low-cost market, companies find that separating themselves from their traditional full-service printing lines of business will help alleviate both internal and external confusion around pricing levels and product offerings.

Printing companies considering such tactical changes will be best served by taking a holistic approach to their business and markets. Taking steps to move upmarket and down-market simultaneously

Keith Bax is Vice President of Marketing for Conquest Graphics in Richmond, Va. He can be contacted at Keith.Bax@ConquestGraphics.com.

CANVAS P13

The

Next Want to pull in more customers and keep the ones you’ve got? Make sure you’re on top of the hottest trends in the industry.

Thing

Colleen Oakley

This article is sponsored by

P14 CANVAS october 2009

We invite you to visit the HP Digital Printing Resource Center to download white papers, view on-demand press demos, webinars and more.

Visit www.thecanvasmag.com and click on HP’s banner to take advantage today!

Despite what your kids tell you, you consider yourself pretty hip. OK, so maybe you still have a pair of Converse that date back to 1988, but you don’t wear them in public. You know who’s leading the pack this season in college football, you can rattle off at least five artists currently on satellite radio, and you finally upgraded to hi-def television. But what about work? If you’re still using the same offset printing press that you were in 1988 – and have nothing else to offer your clients – you might not be as hip as you thought. And that could lead to (besides a serious subtraction of cool points) a serious loss in customers.

CANVAS P15

The Next Big Thing

“There will always be a need for offset print-

Postal Regulations

ing,” says Dan Steinborn, president and CEO

What’s Hot: Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMB)

of PrintGlobe. “Offset presses will continue

Imagine being able to tell customers exactly when a marketing

to evolve, but it’s going to be harder and

piece hits their audience’s mailbox. IMB, the latest technical de-

harder for the printers of tomorrow to just rely

velopment from the United States Postal Service, allows you to

on their offset presses for profitability. If you

track mail from the moment it enters their system until the day

want to be a player in your market, you need

it hits the intended destination. “In the last three years, postal

to take a hard look at reinventing yourself. You

knowledge and application of it has gone from not being a factor,

need to give customers a reason to work with

to being a huge factor in the marketplace,” says David Henkel,

your company.”

president of Johnson & Quin. “The USPS has set up a system that

And that reason could be as simple as, “Hey,

effectively encourages greater use of automation, giving more

we’re ahead of the curve with the latest technol-

discounts to providers who utilize the new technology.” Not only

ogy and marketing techniques that the industry

are you offering your clients a better service with IMB, the dis-

has to offer.” Here’s your cheat sheet on what’s

counts can help you save money in the long run – a savings you

hot now.

can pass on to your customers.

“Some of our clients like to stamp on their products ‘produced with wind energy.’ It’s a small thing, but important to people on a socially-conscious level and it’s a great marketing opportunity.”

– Dan Steinborn, president and CEO of PrintGlobe

Eco-friendly printing What’s Hot: Looking at your entire carbon footprint “I recently had a client who was looking for a specific brand of 100-percent recycled paper, that I knew came from Europe,” says Tanner Bennett, sales representative for D&K Printing. “I had to ask, ‘What’s more important – being green or looking that way?’”

If being green is the goal, then you have to look at the total carbon footprint of production. In this instance, it was more eco-friendly to go with 30 percent recycled paper from a local mill, shipped to the printer by train. “Some of our clients feel it’s really important to focus on reducing their carbon footprint and take the time to add a paragraph on their product that explains why they chose say, 30-percent recycled over 100-percent paper,” Bennett says.

Another big trend in the industry is using renewable energy.

“Some of our clients like to stamp on their products ‘produced with wind energy,’” says Steinborn. “It’s a small thing, but important to people on a socially-conscious level and it’s a great marketing opportunity.”

Finally, look into the types of inks you’re offering clients. Soy is a big buzz word in ink – it’s all natural, which makes you think it’s eco-friendly. Not necessarily, says Bennett. “Forests are

P16 CANVAS october 2009

The Next Big Thing

sometimes cleared for the production of soy, so the demand for it in inks can have a negative impact on the environment,” he says. “Look for bio-based inks that are a mix of veggie and soy, to reduce your footprint.”

Also, new more environmentally friendly inks have less than 1 percent VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds, or gases emitted from certain solids or liquids. These compounds can react photo-chemically in the atmosphere to form ozone, a contributor to ground level air pollution). This is compared to more than 20 percent in regular ink. “The environmental impact of inks has really improved,” says Steinborn. “There were a lot of reasons, environmentally speaking, not to feel comfortable using print 20 years ago, but now people can feel much less guilty.”

Digital printing What’s Hot: New technologies for marketing “Twenty years ago there was virtually no digital printing,” says Steinborn. “Now it’s quickly becoming the standard. It’s more

Adoption of new technologies in the printing industry is notoriously slow, creating a magnificent opportunity to become a market leader. responsive to the modern business environment, allowing for shorter runs, quick set-up, more efficiency and customer satisfaction. And while the cost of digital has come down, the technology, quality, and creative flexibility has greatly improved.”

The biggest trend in digital printing right now is its ability to personalize for marketers. “Every single piece can be unique to the person it’s going to,” says Steinborn. “In this recession, quality customers are scarcer and more discerning, which is why conversion rates are more important than ever. And you’ll get the greatest conversion rate with personalization. Not only is it a slick way to market, it’s becoming a necessity.”

A new digital printing trend that can create sales for companies is Transpromo printing (combining a transactional piece like an invoice with a proactive marketing message). “Take a company that

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The Next Big Thing

Project POTICO

Saving the rainforests one piece of paper at a time The 90 million acres of the Indonesian rain forest constitute about 10 percent of the world’s total rainforest, but because they’re being cleared at such a rapid rate, they are emitting about one-third of the world’s greenhouse gases. To curb illegal logging and help prevent excessive clearing of the forests, the World Resources Institute and New Page Corporation teamed up and created Project POTICO (Palm Oil, Timber, Carbon Offsets).

“Deforestation is having a significant impact on people, biodiversity and the climate,” says Jonathan Lash, president of WRI. “Project POTICO will relieve pressure on Indonesia’s virgin tropical rainforests, reduce greenhouse gas emissions from forest clearing, and prevent the loss of biodiversity in forests slated for conversion to oil palm plantations. Well-designed oil palm plantations in degraded areas would create local jobs and protect traditional livelihoods of forest-dependent people.”

How can you help? Offer your clients products from New Page, where a portion of the proceeds from the paper sale will be contributed to POTICO. Customers can also use the Project POTICO logo on their printed communications which symbolizes their contribution. For more information, go to www.wri.org.

“The cost for customer acquisition is so high for online marketing that direct mail and print media are becoming viable again.”

– Dan Steinborn, president and CEO of PrintGlobe

sends out 1,000 statements a month,” says Steinborn. “Transpromo can put an ad on each statement that’s slightly tailored to each customer’s demographic or purchase history. Sophisticated organizations are employing this new marketing technique successfully and the cost of the statements can generate much more ROI compared to just sending out the bills.”

All this comes at a time when online marketing is seeing a downturn. “The average cost of pay-per-click advertising is now more than $2 a click across all industries,” says Steinborn. “The cost for customer acquisition is so high for online marketing that direct mail and print media are becoming viable again. If you mail a greatlooking brochure to a consumer – say with a graphic with his or her name shaved into the back of someone’s head, they’ll think that’s pretty cool and probably show it to all their co-workers. Now that’s viral marketing.”

Digital printing can give you the edge that your company needs.

“Customers are more demanding than ever,” says Steinborn. “Print entrepreneurs need to become more sophisticated, perhaps by adding staff that have a new skill set in accordance with the new technologies. Adoption of new technologies in the printing industry is notoriously slow, creating a magnificent opportunity to become a market leader. Digital printing gives an entrée to new and existing customers, as well as the ability for printers to increase their profits and competitiveness for the future.”

P20 CANVAS october 2009

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CANVAS P23

Expe Pays What buyers expect you to know

By Linda Bishop

P24 CANVAS october 2009

rtise Fred Majors stood beside Julie Nicholson.

Together they watched sheet after perfect sheet fly off the brand-new manroland press.

Before he retired eight years earlier, Fred had been the top salesperson at Precision Color Offset, and Julie’s mentor. They had remained close and that’s why she invited him back to tour the plant and see the new press today.

“That’s a heckuva piece of machinery,” Fred said, admiration clear in his voice. “The run speed is phenomenal.”

“It is a great press,” Julie said. “Now all we have to do is get out there and find enough work to fill it up.”

“You shouldn’t have any problems,” Fred said. “The color looks fantastic and the registration is perfect.”

“I agree we produce a great product, but our competitors do too. That’s one reason why selling is tougher than it used to be.”

CANVAS P25

Expertise Pays

Fred turned to look at his former protégé. “Sell-

Need to know

ing hasn’t changed all that much since I started.

If you’re facing the same situation as Julie, you have clients in a

It’s still about relationships and helping people

variety of roles with a variety of demands. The majority do expect

solve problems.”

you to be knowledgeable on environmental sustainability issues. If

“True, but today’s customers are concerned

they’re printing regularly, they have heard about FSC and SFI and

with problems that go way beyond print quality,”

VOCs, and are looking for you to bring them something new to

Julie said. “They’re worried about environmental

expand their knowledge about green printing.

issues, cross media marketing and rising postage

Marketers are happy when you speak intelligently about data.

costs. That’s what I’m talking about when I make

They are thrilled when you can suggest a way to gather more quali-

sales calls, not ink-on-paper issues.”

fied leads with a PURL campaign. They love you when you can pro-

“If you don’t have to worry about quality, why is selling harder?”

“When you sold, most of your clients had the title, ‘print buyer’ printed on their business

vide spreadsheets for the CFO demonstrating positive ROI on the latest variable data project. They want all of this in addition to print because they’re pressed for time and looking for partners who help in multiple ways.

card, right?”

“Sure,” Fred acknowledged. “That’s what my customers did. They bought printing because it was an important job.”

“Today, none of my clients have that title. I have customers in marketing, and one who heads corporate communications. There are several in purchasing departments. All of them see printing from a different angle, and all of them have different standards for sales expertise.” Julie sighed.

“What each of them needs changes quickly, and sometimes it’s tough to keep up.”

P26 CANVAS october 2009

Marketing’s job is to grow sales. That means retaining current customers while finding new ones. It involves looking for new ways to cross-sell, up-sell and increase order frequency.

VPs of Purchasing expect you to chat about hard costs and soft costs. They want to know how you can improve supply chain efficiencies with your fulfillment solution. They want to hear about how your storefront drives out costs and increases productivity.

There is lots to know and not much time to learn. To make it easier, look at your knowledge base in four broad areas: green issues, marketing’s current problems, sourcing concerns and the products you sell. In each area, you should possess enough general knowledge to participate intelligently in a conversation with a customer.

Green issues I still meet printers who expect this issue to fade away with time. If you’re one of them, I respectfully disagree. A buyer who is 64 years old and planning for retirement may not care about FSC, SFI and PEFC certifications. Most 32-year-old buyers with young children do care.

Unisource, Sappi, Wausau and Finch all have excellent resources to help print salespeople interested in green issues. The easiest way to get educated is to give your local representative at one of these companies a call and ask them to stop by. Spend an hour allowing them to educate you. Or better yet, see if they’ll host a lunch and learn to educate your entire sales team.

Meeting with your paper rep is a quick and easy way to keep current. Once you’re armed with new nuggets of information to sprinkle into sales calls, make appointments to talk to customers and find out where they stand on green today.

• Does the buyer’s organization have a sustainability officer?

• Do they have a written environmental policy?

CANVAS P27

Expertise Pays

• Do they take their suppliers’ environmental stance into account when making purchasing decisions?

Right now, clients aren’t firing printers because they aren’t “green” enough, but I predict the day will come when that happens.

Marketing’s current problems Marketing’s job is to grow sales. That means retaining current customers while finding new ones. It involves looking for new ways to cross-sell, up-sell and increase order frequency. Marketing had a challenging job before the downturn, but once the economy dipped it got a whole lot tougher due to budget cuts and pressure to prove every dollar spent effectively increased sales.

This new headache — proving marketing ROI — is tough to demonstrate because many marketing tactics produce intermediate outcomes that are not directly linked to new sales. For example, PURL campaigns allow marketers to gather information and gauge purchase intent, but responses don’t always correlate with a sale.

Plan a call. Ask these questions and find out what you need to know to help marketing customers look good to their bosses.

• What discussion is taking place within the client’s organization about marketing ROI? • What goals are set?

• Is the marketing department on track to achieve them?

• What tactics have worked well for marketing in the past?

• Are they still working?

• Can they be measured?

In today’s market, you must call on purchasing because ignoring them won’t make them disappear.

Be prepared to discuss hard costs and soft costs.

Take notes. Pay attention to key words and phrases like leads nurturing, drip marketing, lift and positioning. Ask plenty of questions. After the call, think about what was discussed. If necessary, do research to learn more about unfamiliar concepts.

Look for new pain points because they point to new opportunities where you can demonstrate you’re a competent resource.

Sourcing issues Consider this scenario. You get a call from Sharon, the VP of Marketing at your largest account, Mega-Spenders. Because Sharon likes you and values your partnership, she wanted to tell you personally about the changes her company is making relating to print buying.

Mega-Spenders just signed a five-year contract with a sourcing company who will be responsible for bidding and purchasing all printing. “Of course, you’ll have to fill out a new RFP,” Sharon says breezily. “Don’t be concerned. I told the sourcing company we loved you. It’s a formality, so they can set you up as a preferred partner in our new system.”

Should you be concerned? Of course!

Will things change? Yes. Will you better off or worse off? Who knows.

Could you have prevented this? That’s hard to say, but if the news took you by surprise, shame on you! Your past performance hadn’t earned you a seat at the table when the matter was being discussed.

P28 CANVAS october 2009

Of course it could have been worse. Sharon could have called to

you sell, you must explain the benefits to the cus-

tell you that Mega-Spenders had decided to run reverse auctions

tomer and present a compelling case as to why

open to every printer in the universe — another strategy on the

you’re different and better than the competition.

part of purchasing to drive down costs.

Whatever you sell, customers depend on your expertise to stop them from making mistakes

Too many print reps have no relationship with the purchasing de-

and looking bad to their boss. Sales experts

partment at their best customers. That’s dangerous because:

must know enough about the services offered to

• Purchasing doesn’t know anything about you so they aren’t

anticipate pitfalls and prevent problems.

aware of your value.

• You’re vulnerable when competitors position their companies as supply chain experts who can take over all print buying.

• You won’t be invited to participate in critical conversations

Here’s a simple strategy to identify areas where your skills need upgrading.

Step 1: List all the services you sell.

pertaining to the future of business at a key account.

Step 2: List all common customer questions.

In today’s market, you must call on purchasing because ignoring

Step 3: Be sure you can answer questions with

them won’t make them disappear. Be prepared to discuss hard costs

confidence and authority.

and soft costs. Know how to make suggestions to improve processes and enhance productivity. Show you’re an important link who should be included in discussions relating to the supply chain.

Manage your talent, increase your value The master of sales, Zig Ziglar said, “You can

Know your business

have everything in life you want, if you will just

Once upon a time, printers sold printing. Now they sell a host of other

help other people get what they want.” Be the

services including mailing, warehousing, Web-enabled storefronts,

expert customers depend on. Help them achieve

data management and cross-media marketing solutions. Whatever

their goals and they’ll help you achieve yours.

Linda Bishop has spent over 20 years in sales and marketing. She was previously vice president of marketing for IPD printing, presently owned by RR Donnelly. In 2005, she started Thought Transformation, a national firm dedicated to helping clients add sales dollars by developing an educated and professional sales force.

CANVAS P29

P30 CANVAS october 2009

Not so ancillary any more Ancillary products come to the forefront for print service providers

W

hen customers walk in to Camden, Maine-based Elm Street Printing and Graphics Inc., they will see the usual assortment of product offerings – letterheads and business materials, brochures, newsletters and finishing products such as binding and

scoring. But they’ll probably be surprised to see a bit more – namely the marketing and advertising expertise that the printer can provide.

“It is a key differentiator for our business,” says Peter Palermo, general manager, Elm Street Printing and Graphics.

Indeed, what used to be considered ancillary or value-add services are now what print service providers need to maintain an edge in the marketplace. Customers are looking to streamline production, and with print products, one vendor who can do all of the necessary work. What used to take three or four companies is now expected out of one – and the more you can offer your customer base, the more potential revenue you can generate.

In speaking with print providers and industry experts on the topic, CANVAS received two general rules of thumb: If you don’t have these ancillary services, invest in technology that allows you to offer more.

And if you can’t invest in certain aspects – create business partnerships with companies or join trade associations that have the expertise you want to offer your customers on top of your traditional projects. The following are ancillary product segments and how they can be used to generate more business.

CANVAS P31

Not so ancillary any more

Creative concept development and graphic design What used to be outsourced to design companies is now becoming more in-house opportunities for print providers. Especially on the local level, where customers may not want to invest a large sum of money in the design aspects of a marketing or mail campaign.

For Elm Street Printing, having creative concept development and graphic design capabilities has led to new revenue streams.

Palermo says that graphic design has grown to almost 20 percent of Elm Street’s business.

“It is an extremely important part of our business,” he says. “We probably wouldn’t do as much printing and brokered services if we didn’t have graphic design capabilities. Our design capability allows us to get involved in projects like trade show display design.

We can work with the client to design a booth and then have one of

Marketing campaigns come with more than just a brochure.

Often a customer needs help with the little things, that is materials such as pens, T-shirts, coffee mugs and other products that help promote a brand or product. our partners produce it. Having advertising and marketing experience helps us to be able to do ad agency design in a print shop – something that is unusual in shops our size (five people).”

Jared Smith, president of Tempe, Ariz.-based bluemedia, says that about 80 percent of his company’s business includes materials designed in-house. As such, the large format print provider has an army of design professionals – including a brand director, art director, production director and designer. It’s a competitive edge that few in bluemedia’s market can match.

“In our local market, it’s the No. 1 thing that separates us from everybody else,” Smith says. “It’s our No. 1 differentiator. You wouldn’t find a full blown design studio with a creative director and brand directors, senior designers, junior designers and interns. We have a full studio here. We’re competing against local franchises or mom and pop sign shops that can’t compete in that arena with the level of study of the art of design and effective communication that we can do here. So in the local market, where the client is going to need help in that area, that is huge for us.”

P32 CANVAS october 2009

Direct marketing and mailing services Study after study shows not only the staying power, but overall strength of direct marketing campaigns as marketing vehicles. Palermo says that direct marketing is changing rapidly as technology changes. “Variable data printing and personalization are keys to helping companies increase the response rates of their programs while helping them to develop a rapport with their customers and prospects,” he says. “Our membership in CPrint ® International helps us keep up with technology trends so that we can stay ahead of the curve.”

Elm Street Printing doesn’t have room in its shop for the equipment needed to offer mailing services, but Palermo says they recognize the importance of it. “These services are moving away from being ancillary services, to services that one must offer to be competitive or to provide one-stop shopping for the customer,” he says. “We outsource mailing services for two reasons: We don’t have the room in our shop for the equipment but we recognize that we need to provide a full solution for clients that mail.”

Promotional products and packaging Marketing campaigns come with more than just a brochure. Often a customer needs help with the little things, that is materials such as pens, T-shirts, coffee mugs and other products that help promote a brand or product.

Sometimes getting business means taking on the role of coordinator for a customer. bluemedia will sometimes get requests from customers that include more than its package of services. When the large format print provider created signage and promotional

CANVAS P33

Not so ancillary any more

materials for EA Sports’ Madden 2010 release party, the customer also requested smaller items be included in the mix, such as player towels and water bottles.

“If it’s a big-enough project for us and the customer requests a piece of the puzzle be included on the invoice that we don’t do, that’d be an area where we outsource also,” says Smith.

Palermo says that Elm Street Printing recognized the value in adding promotional products to its list of services and became an

If your company hasn’t invested in technology and software for Web campaigns, then a good first step is getting your proofs online.

Web-based is cheaper, faster and more convenient for the customers.

Advertising Specialties Institute (ASI) distributor about a year ago.

He says the move has created a new stream of customers.

“We had been selling some ad specialties and promotional items, but weren’t as competitive as we are with ASI,” Palermo says. “While it took longer than I expected to create awareness that we are carrying these products, I believe that this was a smart decision for us. It provides us with add-on sales to current customers and these are sales that we wouldn’t have gotten a couple of years ago.”

Let them know you have it Your customers won’t know you have ancillary products unless you tell them. Here are some ways.

Customer testimonials What better way to demonstrate your value with ancillary products than using customer success stories as testimonials? Include a handful on your company’s Web site, in a video and as part of or in addition to your promotional materials.

Web site Not just on your company’s main site. If you have advance notice, set up a PURL site for your customer, and during the sales pitch you have it ready-made to pull up when talking about marketing campaigns.

Written on the wall Turn your company’s facility into a home-field advantage. Create banners or signs displaying your product offerings and services. Fill the conference room with examples such as graphics designed in-house or promotional products that the customer can see and touch. Consider your facility’s walls one big open advertising possibility.

P34 CANVAS october 2009

The delivery and presentation of a product has become a valuable part of marketing. This is good news for print providers, as technology advancements in UV flatbed printers make packaging a viable option for practically any-size shop. Companies often launch a new brand with new logos on packaging, or redesign the packaging of an older product to give it an extra boost on the market.

Web-based offerings They don’t call it the World Wide Web for nothing. The Internet offers unlimited possibilities for print service providers willing to incorporate more of their services into Web-based offerings. From personalized URL (PURLs) campaigns tied into direct marketing to the expediency of the proofing process, the Web can be a valuable resource. (See “Diving for Purls” in the May online issue of CANVAS magazine, and “Full Service” in the June printed issue for more on this).

If your company hasn’t invested in technology and software for Web campaigns, then a good first step is getting your proofs online. While there will always be a segment of your customer base that will want color proofs delivered, Web-based is cheaper, faster and more convenient for the customers. Palermo considers Elm Street Printing’s Web-to-print tools a value added service.

Elm Street Printing provides corporate customers with personalized Gateways that include Document Libraries for easy reordering and Web-to-Print Document Templates that make setup and proofing of business cards and other materials easy. “We recognize that our clients have many more responsibilities than just dealing with their printer.

We provide these to make it easier for our customers to do business with us,” says Palermo.

CANVAS P35

PRECISE Moving your team with purpose

By Brian Sullivan

P36 CANVAS october 2009

Leadership

I

f you find yourself in a management role within your company, you no doubt had a positive attitude, aptitude for the job and the performance to back it up. You worked purposely, managed your time and tasks well and showed the passion of an effective leader. As a result, you were pegged to move up the chain of command. Chances are, you remember that day

vividly when your VP, manager or supervisor sat you down for a cup of coffee and broke the good news to you. YES! You were ready for the big time. From there, you were given orders, told what needed to get done and sent on your way.

CANVAS P37

PRECISE Leadership

But if you are like many who are thrown into a

The cold hard truth

leadership role, you had little or no formal man-

Too many new managers are never trained how to lead others.

agement or coaching training, so were forced to

Their employers mistakenly believe the skills that make somebody

figure it out on your own. In the process, there

a good tactical performer in one job can be easily transferred to

were times you found yourself frustrated that your

the role of coaching that role. Not true. This is not to say the best

new team of direct reports didn’t do the job the

sales performers or operational managers can’t be great leaders

same way you did. How could that be? Well THAT

… they can. But just as there needs to be a repeatable process to

had to get fixed. To do so, you put your “personal

consistently perform in those roles, there also needs to be a spe-

signature” on your new role, and that took some

cific process to leading and coaching.

occasional tough love. But for some reason, the

The following is called the PRECISE Leadership Formula, and it

more you dished out the demands of the job and

can be used by any new manager or seasoned leader to influence

your expectations, the more your team pushed

a team or individual in a purposeful way. Before your next coaching

back and sometimes even pulled away. “How

session, review these steps and plan out the expected flow of the

could this be so difficult?” you asked.

conversation. Will it go exactly as planned? Probably not. But by thinking through the session in advance and by making notes prior to your “sit down,” you will carry out your objective more quickly and easily.

Prepare • State the objective of the meeting.

• Identify the importance of the situation (on team, associate, organization).

• What will you say to establish the objective and importance of the discussion?

• What details about the situation will you look for from your associate(s)?

• What might they ask for? What can you give?

What will you ask for in return?

Respect and trust • Set a positive tone for the discussion.

• What will you say or do to “bring the walls” down?

Engage with questions • Seek information.

• Identify and uncover issues and concerns • What questions will you ask to get the associate to open up, to sell themselves, to prepare them to sell others, to get little yeses?

Convey solution • Seek and discuss ideas.

• E xplore needed resources/support.

• What ideas do you have to help this person/team be successful? What will you say to begin exploring ideas?

How will you help the person/team explore needed resources?

What support can you provide?

Indecision • Question to isolate concerns.

• Confirm the concern has been addressed.

• What might the person/team be concerned about?

What will you say to uncover those concerns?

What questions might you ask to “peel back the onion”?

P38 CANVAS october 2009

By being more PRECISE before, during and after each session, you will find it easier to lead your team toward your vision, mission and objectives.

Secure agreement • Agree on a plan for meeting objectives and tracking progress.

• Specify actions to take, including contingency plans if necessary.

• Confirm needed resources and support, including your own.

• Confirm how and when to track progress.

• What might you say to guide the person/team toward deciding on actions? What could you say to spark contingency thinking?

What might you say to help the person develop appropriate tracking methods?

Explore for other coaching opportunities • Find additional opportunities to coach.

• Start the process up again.

• In what other areas can you be of assistance to your associate?

What additional coaching objectives might you have?

By being more PRECISE before, during and after each session, you will find it easier to lead your team toward your vision, mission and objectives. In addition, you will find your team more excited to follow your lead. Make these steps a habit, and you will find yourself surrounded by a team that looks to you as their leader … a leader who leads on purpose, with purpose.

To download a FREE copy of the PRECISE Leadership Coaching Sheet as you see above, go to www.preciseselling.com/ preciseleadership.htm.

Brian Sullivan is President of PRECISE Selling, a sales and leadership training company. He is currently writing the book “PRECISE Leadership, the Strategic and Tactical Field Manual for the New Leader”, co-authored by the War Planner of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Col. Kevin Benson. To learn how to turn your leaders in Precision-Guided leadership weapons, go to www. preciseleadership.com or e-mail Brian at bsullivan@preciseselling.com.

CANVAS P39

Book Recommendation

“Hero’s Tribute”

By Graham Garrison

W

hat would your life look like to a complete stranger? That’s the question Michael Gavin – war hero, football legend and community leader – wants the town of Talking Creek to discover in the new release “Hero’s Tribute”.

Gavin passes away after battling cancer, but not before making one request – that a man he has never met, Wes Watkins, a local newspaper reporter, give his eulogy. Wes has six days to dig into Michael’s life.

Grace too doesn’t come in trophies or medals, but rather in relationships.

This work of fiction combines two topics woven into the fabric of America – heroes and grace. The sacrifices of both military personnel and their families are seldom reflected upon and rarely understood. It’s not the opportunity for glory or war that bonds together the men and women of our Armed Forces, it’s often the relationships they form. Grace too doesn’t come in trophies or medals, but rather in relationships. This is a story of a man who understood this, and hoped in his last act that a town that praised him would recognize the forces that shaped his life. It also reveals the types of moments that often have the most impact – a reminder that any success comes with a little help.

“Hero’s Tribute” was written by CANVAS Managing Editor Graham Garrison

P40 CANVAS october 2009

2180 Satellite Blvd., SUITE 400 DULUTH, GEORGIA 30097 THECANVASMAG.COM