Why the first step is so important in print sales (and 3 useful first steps)
How do you overcome sales paralysis? I recently asked my newsletter community what topics they would like me to write about more this year. This was one of the topics that came up. It is an important topic. I see many people in the printing industry who are scared of how to approach sales. No-one has told them what to do. They are not sure where to start. The issue is that sales is made too complex for many people. It can make getting into the rhythm of the sales day difficult. It can make or break your sales day….
UKvUSA: Don’t Use These 10 Words in the Print Industry in 2025
In this episode of UKvUSA, Deborah Corn and Matthew Parker discuss overused, outdated, or misleading terms in the print industry that should be retired in 2025, why these terms no longer serve the print industry effectively. Listen to hear us discuss: 👉 Banning wide format 👉 Why digital is wrong 👉 And why companies should stop being sustainable What phrases would you ban in 2025? Matthew (Scroll down for all the show links and also a transcript) PS If you liked what I had to say, make sure you sign up below for regular updates from me Get your free copy of “10 Common…
UKvUSA: 5 Tips to Survive in Printing in 2025
It’s time to look forward to 2025. In this episode of #UKvUSA, Matthew and Deborah share some of the key trends that they believe will be important for succeeding in the coming year. Listen to hear us discuss: 👉 Staying relevant to younger generations (Yes! It can be done) 👉 Trust and authenticity – it is more important than ever 👉 Simple sales strategies that anyone can do 👉 Preparing for environmental challenges that will be ever higher on the priorities of your customers 👉 Navigating 2025 price increases effectively with customers and not just trying to swallow them through…
UKvUSA: How to assess your 2024 success
Here’s the latest episode of UKvUSA Deborah and I discuss ways to measure success in 2024. 👉 You may not have set yourself targets at the beginning of the year but you should still measure progress! 👉 Are you measuring everything on our list? 👉 How did you stack up? We’d love to hear how you got on in 2024. Matthew (Scroll down for all the show links and also a transcript) PS If you liked what I had to say, make sure you sign up below for regular updates from me Get your free copy of “10 Common Print…
Sales people are made not born
Traditional thinking has it the other way round Many people believe that you cannot make a sales person. That someone is either born with selling skills or not. I completely disagree. I have seen mild mannered customer service reps become sales people. I have seen press minders, news anchors and apprentices all become successful at selling. Equally, I have seen those who apparently have all the right skills struggle to sell successfully. So how do you make sales people It comes down to two factors. Firstly, they have to know that others have confidence and belief in them. This gives…
Your comfort zone is a bad place to be
Is your comfort zone preventing you from achieving results? A while ago, I was called in to coach a sales person. Their manager told me that they were under performing and that they wanted to sack them. The manager was dismissive of the idea of my coaching: they had to show that they had given the sales person an opportunity to improve. Then they could be sacked. As soon as I started working with the sales person, I saw the problem. They were too eager to help. They would visit a client to discuss the design of a low-cost business…
Never forget to make a sales call again
Sales people rarely contact me when they should When I was a buyer I was often contacted by sales people at the wrong time. I would often tell people that I was reviewing my supply base for what they were offering at a certain time of the year. I would tell them to contact me then. Guess how many people actually followed up when they should? It was less than 10%. I had given people a positive response to their approach and told them when to contact me. So why did they fail to follow up on a possible lead?…
Batch processing – essential for your working day
Do you flit from task to task? Here are some interesting statistics that show just how much time we can waste when we get distracted: According to a joint report by Qatalog and Cornell University’s Idea Lab, people take an average nine and a half minutes to get back into a productive workflow after switching between digital apps. Another report found that getting side-tracked by other tasks cost an average of 25 minutes before people returned to their original task, partly because they were distracted by other tasks before getting back to what they were doing. The same article shows that many people waste one…
UKvUSA: The Good, Bad and Ugly of Sales Approaches
Here’s the latest episode of UKvUSA Deborah and I share some valuable stories and lessons about the good and the bad of approaches we have had from printing companies over the years. What interesting sales stories do you have that you can share with us? Please comment. Matthew (Scroll down for all the show links and also a transcript) PS If you liked what I had to say, make sure you sign up below for regular updates from me Get your free copy of “10 Common Print Selling Errors And What To Do About Them’ (worth £19/$29) right now * indicates…
UKvUSA: Launching New Products with Customers and Prospects
This was a memorable episode 👉 Matthew Parker and Deborah Corn fight! A lot! 👉 I actually made Deborah speechless!!! Is this a first? 😂 👉 There are two completely different views here. Who is right? See sense and vote UK! (I actually think I may lose this one as many printing companies would prefer to go along with Deborah’s strategies…) Which set of strategies do you prefer? Please comment. Matthew (Scroll down for all the show links and also a transcript) PS If you liked what I had to say, make sure you sign up below for regular updates from…