Do you hate cold calling? How content marketing can get you sales more effectively
Call. Next call. Next call. We all know the life of many sales people. It’s one cold call after another. It’s a constant slog to get new prospects interested and then to keep in contact with them. But there is another way.
How three qualification questions can prevent wasted print sales time
Have you measured your company’s quote conversion rate recently? Recently I was talking to a consultant I know who works in MIS. He was telling me some of the latest quote conversion rates that he had seen. Many print companies are working at conversion rates of 10% or less. That means a lot of wasted time for print companies. It means a lot of resource that is tied up producing no profit. Having a low conversion rate is an expensive business. However, this expense often happens because a vital stage of the sales process is left out.
How any printer can get a 32% response rate for a client (case study)
Wouldn’t you love to produce a campaign for clients that produced a 32% response rate? That’s why I think you should look at this case study in detail. I am indebted to Paul Gardner for making me aware of this example. In the campaign, a Porsche was photographed in front of the homes of target prospects. The photos were then used to create individual mailers. People received a photo of a Porsche in front of their house. The response rate was excellent: according to the agency, nearly a third of recipients logged into a website from where they could book…
How to avoid selling print – nine sales strategies to help printers improve profit margins
One minute everything was normal. The next moment there was a charred and smoking building and bodies everywhere. Have you been following Homeland? My wife and I are addicted to it! There’s always a twist in the plot which I didn’t suspect. I certainly wasn’t expecting the bomb in series two. It was an apocalyptic scene.
Why selling print will be the death of printing companies
Do you remember vinyl? What about cassettes? I spent many happy days in my youth building up my record collection. And I enjoyed making compilation tapes too. All of this is now a distant memory. My vinyl was sold off long ago (although with many regrets). My cassettes are now more. DAT has been and gone. Even CDs are falling by the wayside in the era of the MP3. The music industry has evolved.
Why you need to think about Christmas cards in February
Santa Claus Rudolph and the sleigh The Christmas tree Carols Snowy scenes
20% of print companies will go bust in 2013 – why you need ICE to stay in business
I recently made a prediction to my newsletter list. I said that 20% of print companies would no longer exist by the end of 2013. I said that one in five print companies would go bust this year. This is a horrible prediction for me to make. I love the print industry. I hate seeing so many good companies go under. Nevertheless, I see 2013 as the final year for many traditional print companies.
The three-stage print factory tour: how printers can turn prospects into clients time after time
Do you like going to concerts? I love live music. But there is so much more to a good concert than the event itself. I love the build-up of anticipation in the days before I go to see a band. Then the big day arrives and I enjoy a great evening’s music. But it doesn’t end there. I enjoy thinking back about the event. And I’ll talk about the concert with friends as well.
What printers can learn from travel agents – how to improve print sales with three focus points
Imagine that you are going to a travel agent. You want to book the holiday of your dreams. You are all fired up about the beach or the hotel or the scenery or the food. Imagine if, instead of talking about the holiday, the travel agent started telling you about the plane. They told you about the fuel consumption. About how they were now able to heat meals three minutes quicker. And about the safety processes that the pilot went through before take-off. Would that want to make you use that travel agent? Most people would decide to choose someone…
How printing companies are killing customer relationships with Christmas cards
Chocolate cake and cheese? Lullabies played by hard rock bands? Wearing bathing costumes in snow? Some things are just wrong. And “This is wrong” kept going through my head last Christmas when I was receiving Christmas cards from print companies.
