See Part 1 By Terry Nagi September 2, 2005 -- Knowing your customer is always a key aspect of sales. Yesterday we looked at how you can gain some of that knowledge by applying asking and listening skills when prospecting for new sales. Today we begin applying the newfound knowledge by understanding the print buyer. Print buyers on average hear from 2 to 5 new print sales persons per week. This amounts to an average of 150 new print sales representatives contacting the buyer per year. No wonder they have voicemail and gatekeepers! Understanding the Print Buyer Profile Most buyers of print today are very busy people. The downsizing of America means most buyers have too many responsibilities and have precious little time for seeing new sales representatives of any type. This is a definite advantage for great sales people, for once they obtain the buyer's confidence, they are most likely going to maintain the relationship. At the same time, there are more print sales representatives on the street, attempting to contact these buyers. Print buyers on average hear from 2 to 5 new print sales persons per week. This amounts to an average of 150 new print sales representatives contacting the buyer per year. No wonder they have voicemail and gatekeepers! Selling to WHOM then translates into selling WHAT and selling HOW, which will be examined in future articles. In order to refine the sales approach for selling digital print, it is important for the sales representative to have a good grasp on what s/he is selling and to whom s/he is selling. An understanding of the components of the sale equation will lead to better prospecting profiles. And prospecting with the added knowledge of the characteristics of the typical digital print client helps to polish selling approaches that convert leads into sales using the suggested prospecting process. The Sales Equation Sales have three parts to the equation: Sales Rep + Customer + Company Providing the Product/Service = Sale. All three components are essential for a successful business transaction. The Sales Representative determines the customer's needs; without the Customer there would be no sale; and without the Company Providing the Product/Service, there would be no need for the transaction in the first place. Although this equation seems pretty fundamental, taking a closer look at the Customer component is essential to understanding the nature of the Print Buyer. Spending significant time in preparation for prospecting the best digital prospects is far superior to chasing after less desirable buyers Before the Customer enters into the sale negotiation, s/he is first considered a Prospect. To successfully sell digital print, the first step for the sales representative is to determine WHO the best prospects are for the digital printing capabilities of the company. Selling to WHOM then translates into selling WHAT and selling HOW, which will be examined in future articles. Prospect Profiles For the most part, the ideal digital print customer fits one of two profiles: those who use what have proven to be the best personalization products those who are from industries that have already successfully made use of short-run and variable printing The first profile may require a different selling approach from the second profile. Examples of the most popular personalization products include: Insurance Handbooks Fashion Brochures Software Manuals Software Documentation Insurance Policies Financial Statements Financial Reports Direct Mail for Consumer Product The successful digital sales rep may also consider pursuing prospects that fit the other profile – clients in industries that have already successfully made use of short-run and variable printing. These include: Insurance Banks Mutual Funds Pharmaceuticals Retail Products Wholesalers Distributors Manufacturers Publishers Government Auctions Non-profit Organizations Health and Medical (including Hospitals) Education (including Colleges and Universities) Retail High-Tech Companies Software Developers Major Advertisers Advertising Agencies Creatives and Designer Spending significant time in preparation for prospecting the best digital prospects is far superior to chasing after less desirable buyers, a majority of which will seldom buy any significant amounts of digital output/printing. Selected the best vertical industries that are already proven to be users of short run and personalized printing, and then the best products to pursue, finding the best possible buyer (the person with the "pain") and then following a precise interview and Solutions Selling process, will obtain success faster that traditional new prospect pursuit. Please offer your feedback to Terry. He can be reached at: [email protected] See More Exclusive Articles