Selling “Print” in the “Digital” Age

Tweet Bringing today’s technology to your clients can be rewarding and profitable. Selling technology can be daunting and difficult due to many hurdles that must be overcome. If printers are to survive and succeed we must tackle this challenge. With everything in our industry becoming commoditized it is very difficult to maintain profitability selling print alone on such thin margins. Don’t just sell print. Sell solutions. Technology is the key.

Print is the necessary evil all business people must buy to communicate. The first challenge is to get beyond what they think they need based on their understanding of print. You must also get beyond their perception of your role in their business as a printer. You must become a communication solutions provider.

The next step is to introduce and help them understand how technology can cut some of their internal expenses associated with buying print or gain better ROI in a marketing campaign. With that you can justify a higher margin because what you offer is an overall better solution that achieves the goal. The question shouldn’t be “what print items do you need?” It should be “what are you trying to accomplish?” What obstacles are you encountering along the way?” these are the types of questions that can get you an entire body of business rather than just an order for business cards, forms or envelopes.

Probing questions help you to understand the client and gain a larger perspective on what benefit you may be able to offer them. Through this you are better prepared to recommend solutions to minimize their pain and achieve their goals more quickly. It is no longer just selling ink on paper. You must sell yourself as a knowledgeable, trustworthy business partner in fulfilling their business communication needs and objectives. Do this well and you will also succeed in your objectives.

Now for more about the technology part. Maybe you don’t feel you know enough about how to use it to help your clients. PURLS, Storefronts, QR Codes, oh my. Perhaps you feel a bit overwhelmed yourself. What do you do? You must educate yourself about Industry trends and new technologies constantly as these things are changing daily.

Relax though and remember, it is more important that you learn the benefits of these technologies than the details of how it all works. There are many great resources available to assist you with the details so you can sell the benefit and the print. One great place to start is this blog and our website www.acculink.com.

Embrace technology as the powerful tool it is. Be creative or look to those that are and learn from them. Learn all you can. Demonstrate the benefits to your clients of working smarter and more efficiently. The value you bring and the savings you show your customer in these new solutions allow you to increase your margins justifiably. You will no longer be selling commodities. You will be selling solutions.