Nary a nickel!
Wait there’s some confusion about the name of our industry. Lots of folks no longer want to call it the “printing industry”. Maybe the White House and Congress didn’t know what to call us? I’ll look under “printing industry” in the stimulus package.
Nope. No money there for our industry of about 30,000 firms and 1.0 million employees.
Still others call us the “print communications industry”. I’ll check again. Nope. Nada. Nothing here. Can’t find any money for “print communications” companies.
I guess Congress was confused about what to call us so they just left us out of the big Stimulus Package. I think we should remember this when they start calling us to print
Meanwhile, I am getting phone calls from companies who say they are closing their doors, or declaring bankruptcy, or who want to merge with somebody, anybody who’s got some money. Still others are calling to say, “we had a terrible fourth quarter and so far 2009 is even worse”.
All of this got me to thinking.
I thought, “Congress gave us no stimulus package.”
“The automakers got a lot of help. The bankers received even more money. Can you imagine the size of those Electronic Funds Transfers? Now the government either owns big share and/or is owed billions by General Motors, AIG and the big banks”.
My wife, Attila the Nun, just walked by and remarked that I look like I’m thinking and she warned me of the dangers that can occur when I think.
Well, dammit, our plants are closing!
Paper isn’t being delivered!
Good people are being laid off!
Offshore buyers don’t want our used equipment!
I’ve got to do something about this. You will continue to slide downhill unless you change your way of living.
So, I’m gonna do something drastic.
I’m going to create a Stimulus Package.
I’m introducing the Maňana Man Economic Stimulus Plan for Printing Companies. The acronym is easily pronounced MMESPPC.
The Plan is based on the premise that unless you do something different to compete in this bad economy, your share will continue to erode. “Something different” ultimately distills to more AND better sales calls on qualified buyers. You have to compete smarter and more for the print sales that are available.
For example, I met recently with an owner of a $16.0 million printing company who had driven three and one half hours to meet with me for one hour. He had gotten up around 5:00 AM. He is the CEO and the only salesman. As he was leaving, he told me that he was going to make two sales calls in Philadelphia and three in another city on his way home. That’s five sales calls and about eight hours of driving.
During our meeting, this CEO/Salesman told me that April was a record month for his company in sales and profits. He went on to tell me that the first quarter was record breaking and that last year was better by far than 2007!
This is what I mean by the value of doing something different in tough times. Sure, there are fewer print jobs available but you can succeed like my buddy, the CEO/Salesman, if you are willing to outhustle your competitors, many of whom have fallen into a fetal position. That’s called “hunkering down” instead of “hustling up”.
Here are the requirements to get my Stimulus Package.
In 100 words or less, tell me why you and/or your printing company need stimulation. Tell me how many salespeople you have. All your responses will be held in strictest confidence. You can email me or write me and you will be eligible.
I will send my two new books, “The Adventures of the Maňana Man – Parts I and II” for each of your salespeople. These books are a $24.95 each and I plan to give away 1,000 copies, so hurry. These books are guaranteed to stimulate sales even if you just put them under your pillow.
I will also provide you and your team with a one hour WebEx Internet brainstorming podcast with your choice of several leading sales and marketing consultants to our industry. The purpose of these conferences is to brainstorm stimulus ideas to kick start sales at your company. These are great minds to help you think of programs to implement, but remember, you have do what you commit to do!
Finally, each company will receive doughnuts and coffee or tea or both for refreshments during your WebEx conference. All of this is complements of the Maňana Man. The coffee and doughnuts should at least stimulate your team for a couple of hours.
No heavy red tape. You don’t have to come to Washington for a Congressional hearing. You just email the Maňana Man, read the books, participate in the Internet conference, eat the doughnuts and drink the coffee. That’s how we do things in our industry and then,
We get out there and sell something!
