How print companies force buyers to choose on price (and three ways to improve your sales message)
I’m tired of hearing the same old message from so many people in the print industry. I’m tired of hearing that buyers are driving down prices.
Some of you may think that I’ve lost the plot here. After all, print prices are steadily declining. Isn’t that down to the actions of buyers?
Often it’s the fault of print companies that prices are being slashed
Printers encourage buying on price by asking for quotes too early. Here are some alternative ideas
I’ve had a lot of sales pitches from printers over the years. I estimate that well over 1,400 printers have approached me. Most of them have encouraged me to buy on price.
Print companies that avoid selling on price will create better client partnerships. These printers will be in control of their sales targets. They’ll achieve what they need to achieve.
Printers that rely on traditional sales messaging won’t achieve the same profit margins. They’ll be stuck selling commodity print. They’ll still be selling on price. So they won’t have control of their sales targets. And they will find it far more difficult to create good client partnerships.
These printers are ignoring three elements that will move buyers away from choosing on price. So what are these three elements?
Make me ask for print quotes
If you ask me for quotes you are immediately making the conversation all about price. And I’m assuming that you want to wow me with your low, low pricing. So, if you pass my other tests, I’ll give you a job to quote on. And I’ll judge you by the price.
Naturally, at some point you are going to want a job to quote on. But let me ask you if you’ll quote. Let me want a price from you because you’ve convinced me you’re a great supplier to work with.
And that means you’re going to have to prove a few other things first.
Make me understand why I need the services of your company
Selling print with good quality and good service is no longer enough to engage the buyer. You need to show a buyer what else you can offer. Many buyers these days are looking for solutions to their challenges rather than ink on paper.
To engage with buyers you need to understand their markets. You need to understand the problems that they face. As well as what you can do to help them.
Selling in this way is becoming more common in the print industry. So you need to make me understand why your solution stands out. You need to make me understand why I should choose you.
Make me understand why you are different
You can do a great job of selling a solution. But that doesn’t mean that I should choose your company to provide that solution. If I am to choose your company, then I need to understand why I should do so. I need to understand why your company will do a better job than your competitors.
Claiming that you offer great service and quality is not enough. Most buyers take these as a given. You need to be able to explain that you can do things differently from other companies. And why that is better.
But for some print sales people this is not enough.
“Often it’s the fault of print companies that prices are being slashed” https://t.co/FJhA9tAhQf
— Matthew Parker (@PrintChampion) November 6, 2018
Won’t buyers choose on price whatever I do?
Let’s be clear: price will always be an important part of the conversation for a buyer. But buyers do choose higher prices. I’ve done it myself many times. But not if a printer is selling to me on price.
So don’t ask me for a quote opportunity as soon as you speak to me. Instead, offer me a solution that is valuable to my business. And make sure you can tell me why I should choose you and not the competition.
And there’s one more thing you should do
If you want more strategies on how to get higher prices from print buyers you should buy my new book. “How To Stop Print Buyers Choosing On Price”. This pdf book will cover everything that I have written about here in great detail. You’ll also learn
- Three ways to get great engagement from your prospects
- Why focussing on fewer prospects gets you more customers
- Why the right solutions make your customers buy print – right now
Find out more and purchase your copy here.
If more print companies sold according these strategies in this book there might be rather less talk about buyers driving down price.
============================================================
P.S. You should also subscribe to the Profitable Print Relationships “View from The Buyer” newsletter, full of useful resources about selling print. You’ll also receive our free e-book “Ten Common Print Selling Errors and What To Do About Them”. Sign up straight away.
