You offer print and print-related services. Your prospects use print and print-related services. If you can connect the dots between your capabilities and their needs, you can close a sale—or, even better, begin a long-term relationship.

You know your services. What you need to know is how your clients and prospects do—or could—use these services to drive their business. When you understand what they are trying to accomplish, you can use that knowledge to package your print and non-print services to help them reach their goals. The dot-connecting comes when you can show them how your services will help drive their success. Start with these basic steps:

Some firms have someone on staff who is the “big-picture” thinker, the person who can ask the right questions and drill down into the real client issues. It may be a company executive who can meet with the prospect’s owner or other executive on an equal footing, looking not at specific jobs or products, but overall financial needs or ROI requirements; or a technical go-to person to help the sales rep present and answer client questions. We’re also now seeing some sales reps actually take on the challenge of learning how to present and integrate these services on their own.