Printing is Dead, says the Deadhead!

By Debbie Nicholson, Think-to-INK!
https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbie-nicholson-24a53627/

noun Definition:  deadhead…a dull, unenterprising person

Who are these people?  What do deadheads gain by raising false flags and attacking PSPs allegiance to essential businesses in America and beyond?

These deadhead figures of the night haven’t heard that ‘printing’ is not just on paper!  They don’t scare me.

While mechanization has elevated our printing processes in many ways, it’s allowed us the opportunity to offer a working hybrid model of analog and digital documents.  So, there’s that!

BTW:  A customer called this week shouting that their September revenue surpassed any single month of their 20-year history.  WHAT?  Wow, I suppose they didn’t hear printing is dead.

Note:  His sales were based on the following:  Offset Printing, Small Format Digital, Wide-Format Printing, Outdoor Signage (lit and non-lit), and Promotional Products!

Correct me if I’m wrong…all the above processes required INK!  hmm

Here are a few reasons why Sales Reps might perform as if ‘print is dead’ (in no specific order)

• Estimates are not competitive

Solution:  Ensure your estimating system is up-to-date with COGS and expenses

• The market is overcrowded

Solution:  Truly know your market by understanding their needs, challenges, and goals

• Product offerings are not unique

Solution:  Research and Develop new products for your portfolio offerings

• Sales staff are not well trained

Solution:  Contract sales trainers for continual learning (CL)

• Deliverable timelines are not consistently met

Solution:  Determine the administrative or production bottleneck(s) and FIX it

• Lack of Customer Service with Care

Solution:  Contract customer service trainers for continual learning (CL)

• Printing samples are never available for sales appointments

Solution:  Implement a directive for a percentage of overs to be housed as samples

• Minimal to zero social media presence

Solution:  Contract an individual or media firm to engineer a strategy for marketing

• Lead generation has not been implemented

Solution:  Hire an inside sales member for lead generation or contract with an industry expert

In closing:  The above solutions might seem expensive and an over-reach to maintain or gain ground in the printing industry – but doing nothing will cost you more!   I can’t recall a printing company closing its doors because of outstanding sales.

It truly does cost money to make money  And; in our industry, those words should never be considered just a cliché