This column is a true story. This true story is one of guts, innovation, hard work and, hopefully, success.
Not my guts. Not my innovation. I will be talking about Bud’s success.
The owner of a $3.0 million printing company down south sent me a long email. I’ll skip the part where he tells me I’m the greatest living columnwriter and that I deserve the Pulitzer Prize. Here is what he told me.
“I have read your article in Printing Impressions November 2008. The comment of "times of trouble are times of opportunity" usually holds true in my mind. Also in conjunction to this phrase for every problem there is a solution. After reading your article and About the Author it didn't take long to realize this man is probably smarter than most Harvard graduates.” (My dear departed Mama used to say stuff like that.)
“Anyhow”, Bud writes, “finding our company in an increasingly uncomfortable market, economy, situation or whatever you can call it, brings up why I am contacting you. After staying on the cutting edge of technology with prepress to digital output, green technology, having conventional offset, more than qualified and experienced people, a new strategic and methodic salesperson, I still find ourselves barely getting enough work to scrape by.” (Actually, Bud used a down home term that some readers might find sexist or politically incorrect. It has to with being the runt of the litter and finding a good position at feeding time.)
He continues, “In the last year I cannot think of one job that was kicked back due to customer satisfaction. My Golden Rule is ‘Don’t sell anything you wouldn’t buy yourself.’ I think we have all the pieces to the puzzle right here and seem to be in place but it is still not making a pretty picture. So, if you could spare the time to chat with me I am asking for advice from someone I absolutely don’t know but who obviously has seen a lot and has more than book smarts under their hat.
Of course I could “spare the time.” I can always spare the time for Bud’s kind of candor. I called him thinking, “I’m gonna lay some of my Maňana Man genius on him. Then he will be all well. It was the same kind of misguided thinking for my healing powers when I would kiss one of my kid’s scrapes and bumps.”
I called Bud and he was an easy conversation. He was open, candid and sincerely grateful for my call. We got acquainted and I began to ask questions.
I asked if he had developed a customer/prospect/suspect data base of buyers who buy the kind of print communications that he produces.
He said, “Yes”. He told me that the data base presently numbers 530 buyers and includes companies ranging from local car dealers to a handful of gargantuan Fortune 500 companies headquartered nearby. And, he added that he prints for most of these big companies. Those companies are one of his problems because their big print volumes have been cut severely due to this disastrous economy.
Bud’s one salesman works the data base daily with phone calls, personal visits and mailings. It’s his job to keep the list current with good addresses, buyer names and phone numbers. He works the list in conjunction with various promotions.
One such promotion resulted from a proprietary presentation folder created by Bud. Bud send me a large envelope full of his samples and the presentation folder is truly unique. The other samples, by the way, could have come from a $50.0 million company.
So far, Bud has an up-to-date data base, a hardworking salesperson and a proprietary product the salesman can talk about.
I suggested that he use a pricing promotion to “open the door” in these tough times. Something clever to capitalize on all the “bail out” publicity. I told him that a first job with a new account is the best way to build a relationship since it affords many opportunities to visit and call on the new account. Those opportunities should lead to much greater knowledge about the customer, the customer company and future needs.
Bud thanked me for this idea but told me gently they had already done it and it was working well. He included a sample of his recession special “first job” coupon. It is a great design, cleverly executed and part of mailing phone follow-up program being executed by the salesperson.
Now, I’m getting frustrated.
This guy is already doing more marketing than printing companies ten times his size.
Here’s one that will blow him away. I told him to try customer seminars in the plant. Give them a little technical know-how for an hour and then serve some refreshments for a good time to get acquainted. It’s a good chance also for print buyers to network.
Bud responded by thanking me and agreeing that my seminar idea was good because they started them last year and so far have conducted six gatherings that have generated seven new accounts and several other potential new accounts. Bud, his salesperson and the plant manager conduct the seminars and they have been a big hit generating 12 to 20 registrants for each date.
By now, I have drug out the fact that Bud’s company revenues are only up four percent this year despite the loss of all the big company work. He told me that his 2008 profits are about the same as 2007 despite the new account discount program.
Now, I have been completely one-upped. He has already implemented successfully every idea I was trying to give him. I’ll try one more.
I told him that CEOs accompanying salespeople on team calls have proven to be very successful. It can very effective on larger and more promising target prospects. The CEOs personal interest sends a big message to buyer.
I think I detected a little chuckle on Bud’s end. He thanked me profusely for nearly an hour on the phone and then apologized because he had to leave so he could accompany his salesperson on a customer visit.
I wish I could identify this owner and his company but then you would be calling him and he wouldn’t have time to have his great ideas. Implementing his ideas is actually equally important than having the idea. I’ve always believed tis better to implement extremely well a mediocre idea than to leave an extremely good idea go dormant and grow mold.
Well, I told Bud, “Yeah. That’s right! You better get out there and sell something!”
And, you readers, let’s put this mess behind us and work to create some good news in 2009.
