Wow, what fun we had at the three 2022 APDSP Regional Workshops! The last one was in Boston last week, and that followed workshops in Chicago in April and Denver in March. Each event attracted 10-12 people. Conversations and networking among participants started at the kick-off dinner on the Thursday evening, and continued the next day. Dave Fellman's presentation on sales techniques and sales management took up about half of Friday's events, and the rest of the day was spent on two panel discussions/roundtables on sales and new markets.
Each workshop provided a lot of different take-aways, since the attendees were mostly different. Below are five take-aways from the Boston event. Click here to read the take-aways from Chicago and click here to read the take-aways from Denver.
Relationships make price less important
Frank Lipari from Plan & Print Systems in Syracuse told us about meeting clients at the tavern, the golf course, charity events and other social opportunities. The relationships he builds there not only lead to new business, but also diminish the price sensitivity of clients. When you're comfortable working with someone, you're less inclined to switch providers to save a couple of dollars.
Make a four-month sales plan
Dave Fellman offered tons of advice on sales, including the idea that some prospective clients -- especially those that may seem tough to break into -- may respond well to a scheduled set of touches. For example, in the first month send one email; in the second month send a letter or postcard; in the third month send a little gift or a high-quality print sample; in the fourth month pick up the phone and call. The point is that no one of those items by itself will be a magic bullet, but altogether they may get you the substantive conversation you need to start a relationship. If nothing else, the prospective client will be aware of your company in case they are ready to switch printers.
Track your customer's paper usage
If you sell paper, ink or toner, you probably know what type of printer each of your customers has. Track that information on a spreadsheet month to month. Occasionally review the spreadsheet to see if it reveals that a client probably is using an out-of-date printer and would be a good prospect to buy or lease a new one from you.
Make year-to-month calls
Around the first of each month, look back at your order history exactly one year before. If you notice orders for things that might need to be regularly replenished, call the client and ask if they're ready to re-order. You'll be surprised at how many say yes...but would not have if you hadn't reached out.
Make your compensation dollars speak
What does the money you pay your salespeople incent them to do? The structure of your compensation package affects what gets done. For example, if you pay commission on gross sales, you're saying that you want your salesperson to get as many orders as possible. If you pay on profit, you're saying you want your salesperson to get profitable orders. If you want to break into a new market, consider paying a bonus for each new prospect a salesperson finds in that market. If you want testimonials, pay a bonus to salespeople who collect testimonials from happy customers. The bottom line: Use your sales compensation to help you reach specific goals.