I have a few observations for print company owners and sales reps, and I hope they help you reach and impress your customers more effectively.

1. From the instant you meet a prospective client, you must spell out what differentiates your company from all the others. Don’t say price or service or quality. Be very specific and creative in how you articulate this. It’s as important as anything else you have to tell them.
2. Don’t prospect to print buyers only. Include marketers. I wouldn’t have said this 10 years ago, but today, everything’s different. You have to impress the marketers and in many cases, employees in other departments who have a hand in print campaigns.
3. Sophisticated print buying professionals know equipment. Experienced customers are interested in new printing equipment, especially digital presses. They have an idea of what they’re looking for before they ever meet you.
4. More corporate print buyers work in Marketing or Purchasing departments within their organizations than anywhere else. So reach out to multiple departments within organizations.
5. Print customers are still extremely interested in personalization. What opportunities exist today? How can they take advantage of this technology? Can they push it to the extreme? If you’re a printer who excels at personalization and multichannel campaigns, feature these capabilities in every way you can.
6. Print customers love meeting peers. If you can swing it, host breakfast meetings or lunch events for customers. Make education a focal point, and go easy on the “selling” during these events.
7. Printers who find ways to help their customers work leaner and be more efficient will gain loyalty. Always keep in mind the pressure that customers are under to be efficient in their marketing campaigns. How can you help them? Don’t sell print; provide answers to their problems.
8. Finally, try and bring a freshness to the business of selling print. The industry has changed dramatically – keeping in step with business needs and media channels. An awareness of these changes in tastes and technologies is mandatory. Always be thinking: how can print elevate a prospect’s or a customer’s campaign?