How to create a message that sells more print
98% of sales messages from printing companies sound pretty much the same
That’s what I discovered during my time as a buyer. During my buying career I had over 1,400 printing companies sell to me. But few had an effective sales message.
That’s why printing companies need a different way to sell.
So here’s the TPD Principle
In my last email I introduced you to the TPD Principle. It’s an effective way to sell because it focuses on the customer’s world rather than the sales person. It stands for target audience, pain and difference.
Interviewing your best customer is the route to increasing print sales
To construct a successful TPD message requires a company to change their way of thinking. This can be hard because we are used to the traditional ways of selling.
So here are three simple steps to start creating you own TPD sales message.
Choose your best customer
This is the first but most important step. Which of your customers would like to clone? Choose a customer who is a great fit for you. Make sure that there are other prospects out there that are similar to this customer. Now you have picked your target audience.
You cannot build a sales message that fits all customers. It just won’t be engaging enough. So you are going to build a sales message just for this customer. If it is built around them, you will attract other similar people and companies.
But for this strategy to work, it is vital to take the next step.
Talk to your customer
Ask them to sit down with you for just 20 minutes. You can do this face to face, over video or on the phone. Find out more about their business. Most importantly, find out about their challenges, both business and personal. How do you help them overcome these challenges?
Now you are beginning to find out more about their pain. Often they are working with you or using your products for reasons that have nothing to do with print. If you start selling around these issues you’ll start having a much more effective conversation. Often, it won’t even be about print!
If your customer is happy, record the conversation. This means you can focus on talking to your customer rather than writing notes. The recording will be a useful resource to go back and listen to. You will also be able to create your message in the customer’s language.
Now you have a reason for the customer to buy into more than just a commodity printing company. But they still need a reason to choose you. That’s where the third action point comes in.
Create a company difference
I have written much more about difference here. It is important that the customer understands what makes you a better option than another company. This isn’t down to service and quality. After all, that’s what all your competitors are saying!
A good difference typically centres around one of three things:
- An unusual product
- A market knowledge or specialisation
- Doing something differently
If you can articulate this then you sales message will be complete!
“98% of sales messages from printing companies sound pretty much the same” https://t.co/bfIzHcX2TD
— Matthew Parker (@PrintChampion) March 15, 2018
Isn’t a sales message like this too specific?
Some people worry that they won’t win enough new customers this way. The answer is simple: you can have more than one sales message. Just create a different message for each type of customer that you want to attract.
Remember the simple three-step process to creating a sales message that engages buyers
- Choose a current customer
- Talk to them to find their pains and how you solve them
- Create an effective customer difference
Make sure that you’re part of the 2%, not the 98%.
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