Have you been in a print software demo where they show a feature and it really hits you that if your business could take advantage of that feature it would be a game changer? It happens all the time. It used to happen on trade show floors; now it's happening over video. The entire goal of a print software sales pitch is to get you (the buyer) to this “state of awareness or belief” that this software purchase can/will change your business.

As usual, I have an alternative view on “this feature will save my business” state of affairs. It is true that there are software features that have the potential to change your business. Salespeople are paid commissions for closing deals, so they don’t talk about “potential”—they ALWAYS assume best case scenario. So when you are seeing a demonstration of a feature, there is an implicit assumption that the prerequisites for this feature to actually work in your business are there. Do you see where I’m going with this? You are “sold” on a feature that has potential. The issue is that you don’t find out what it would take you in time and costs to attain the prerequisites required to truly take advantage of this feature. 

Let’s use the example of optimized scheduling. Every printer knows there is room for improvement in how they manage what goes on press, and in what order, so as to reduce costs and waste and improve turn times. A software demonstration of optimized scheduling can be mindblowing. You, as a print business owner, are well aware of the manual scheduling you’re doing today, typically limited to the brain power of a single individual whose presence on a day-to-day basis is essentially required for things to keep moving. You see the risk and the limitations in this approach, especially as you scale your operations. So you’re watching this “optimized scheduling” demonstration and it feels like nothing short of magic.