Print Sales Call
This blog covers all aspects of selling your company's package-printing products and services and how to better manage those sales.
Day 46 of 91 selling days:* Relationship Building 2.0
I was talking with my Dad yesterday over lunch. Both of those events are rarities, so I tried to cherish the moment. We got talking about business and specifically how things have changed since his day (he’s 85). The conversation turned to the subject of relationship building. See, my older brother Andy was invited to the wedding of a client of his. In fact, we were having lunch at the rest ...... Read More
Comments (1)Day 44 of 91 selling days: I need a favor
I just got back from dropping the girls off at school. Prior to that, I swung by the post office and grabbed my mail. Got a check from GAM (thanks so much. Now I can have that operation…or a sandwich…but not both) as well as a postcard from Pier 1 Imports. I’m not sure if Pier 1 is a local or national firm or don’t care enough to look it up for the sake of this blog. It ...... Read More
Comments (0)Day 39 of 91 selling days: Who are you...really?
I’m in conversation with a client yesterday. He’s the son of the owner and no spring chicken himself. His old man is, well, an old man and harbors old-man thinking when it comes to the industry and, more specifically, his own shop. The son was talking with me about digital printing and VDP, saying that they are afraid of it (as well they should be!) and not willing to try to offer it ...... Read More
Comments (0)Day 23: How are things?
Day 23 of 91 selling days…* I absolutely LOVE being in business for myself. This is my 24th year as a sole proprietor. Each morning I rise and watch business schlep into Boston, sitting on my front porch with my coffee and holier-than-thou smirk. I report to no one and make my own hours (though I can confidently say that I work harder than any of my peers). Yup, life is good… … ...... Read More
Comments (0)Day 22 of 91 selling days
Day 22 of 91 selling days…* Have you ever met someone and gotten an instant, “I like this guy!” reaction? What about the opposite situation: Have you ever had a feeling that something isn’t quite right when you look at it? Author Malcolm Gladwell would call these “Blink” moments. Experience sales people would call them “gut feels.” When ident ...... Read More
Comments (0)Day 21: Autumnal Equinox
Day 21 of 91 selling days…* The best class I took in the Needham (MA) school system was Earth Science. It was an 8th-grade class and was taught by a long-forgotten teacher whose passion for the subject made it fun to learn…a rarity for this ADHD-suffering teen. Among the things we learned was the Autumnal Equinox. That is the day when the sun crosses the celestial equator and heads t ...... Read More
Comments (0)Day 19: My best Blog entry so far
I had my coffee and two kittens scurrying about. The morning was beautiful, and I slept soundly. So, prior to my Pilates class this morning I whipped out my laptop and began to Blog. It was the best entry I have put up to date. It rocked. There would have been awards for journalism excellence had the friggin’ computer not suddenly shut down and eaten it. ARRRGGGHHH!!!! The day has now start ...... Read More
Comments (1)Day 18: A lonely day at Heidelberg
Day 18 of 91 selling days….* On a conference call yesterday, a customer offered up this observation: “I was at PRINT 09, and when I walked by the Heidelberg booth, something struck me as odd: Not one customer there was under the age of 50. There were lots of sales people and executives milling around, but the clientele definitely had some years behind them.”The comment stayed ...... Read More
Comments (0)Day 17: The Cliff Clavin of Printing
Day 17 of 91 selling days…. My favorite television series of all time was “Cheers.” There simply is no second place. I recently bought Season Eight and am making my way through episode after episode, reliving the rare combination of excellent writing, acting, directing and chemistry.One of the noteworthy characters on the show was Cliff Clavin. Cliff was the postman “kn ...... Read More
Comments (1)Day 16: The Mulligan
Day 16 of 91 selling days: I am on a plane bound for Boston having spent a little over a day at PRINT 09 in Chicago. It was a lot of fun, and the usual exhaustion is beginning to set in. I figure it’s a lot easier for me to write a night when at least a few brain cells are still awake than to write in the morning when they’ll either be dead or sleeping. There’s an old adage in ...... Read More
Comments (0)Day 15: Dear Bill...
Day 15 of 91 selling days… I arrive in Chicago and step into my hotel. The computer (drained from plane usage) gets plugged in and the Internet connection is established. A rush of emails come in (I’m being pounded by some idiot in China who wants to design my website). In the mix is this one (not making this up. I cut and pasted): Dear Bill, For over forty years CCG Marketing Soluti ...... Read More
Comments (0)Day 14: Road Trip!
Day 14 of 91 selling days…. I’m up early this morning, barely ahead of my 19-year-old daughter who begins a new job at Apple Computer. She’s a bathroom hog and you’d be well advised not to get in her way. So, I sit with my coffee and prepare my day, starting with a Blog entry. At 10:10 am, I will board a plane for Chicago and that yearly pilgrimage to PRINT 09 (or Graph ...... Read More
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