Cover Story
My bet is yes. In the last 30 years I have
lived in different parts of greater Toronto,
Etobicoke, downtown Toronto, and
London, Ontario and I still go to the same
doctor, hair stylist and dentist. Why?
Because they know me and treat me
with kind respect – the human factor, to
which I have alluded. They have earned
my loyalty … and I freely give it ... in some
cases, despite the added inconvenience
or added travel for me.
In a previous article I wrote for Graphic
Arts Magazine, I pointed out that I drive
past many printing providers, both large
and small, to give my business to a print
shop that has also earned my loyalty.
They are not the cheapest, the largest
or the fastest. They don’t have all the
latest and greatest equipment. But they
do have something the others don’t – an
enjoyable, predictable, respectful,
human relationship, with me. They smile
when I walk in. They greet me with my
name: Hello, Mr. Shearstone! They ask
me about my life, family, my company. I
can’t emphasize enough, as a psycho-
therapist, I understand the importance
and power ‘relationship’ has and its
impac t on customer loyalt y and
increased sales. Studies have empirically
proven, the two sweetest words in any
language are your first and last name.
Remember the line from the sitcom
Cheers: “[…] it’s nice to go where every-
body knows your name”. My advice?
Learn your customers’ names and use
them. It makes them feel important and
valued. It’s FREE and, it drives the sales
that solve most problems!
There is another element to the quality
of your printer/customer tactile rela-
tionship – education and authority.
Appreciate that any customer that
walks through your door looks to you
for solutions to their needs. Seeing your-
self as just a printing/service provider is
to sell yourself short. You are an expert
in your field, and you should look for
opportunities to demonstrate that fact
for the benefit of your customers. One
thing you can do for them, something that
everybody wants – is to save them money.
How can you do that? By educating your
customers on the facts and ways to save.
@graphicarts
Looking at my own personal experience
in the mid 1990s when affordable plain
paper office printers were taking hold, I
would hear many customers say, “We
don’t need a bigger copier because we
are getting new printers… so our monthly
copier volume is going to go down.” Did
that ever happen? Nope! Why? Because
printers – at 7 cents per copy at the time
– only made more originals to be copied
at the copier at an average rate of an
additional 2.5 cents per copy.
But there was another factor upon which
you can capitalize, that went unnoticed
at the time and is still a factor in today’s
market. Average toner costs per copy
were based on a 9-percent total coverage.
To put that into perspective, the equiva-
lent of 4 x 4-line paragraphs done on an
IBM Selectric typewriter. That’s it! With
new computer software programmes
and before the introduction of colour,
new originals c/w thick banners, corporate
logos and pictures suddenly averaged
20, 30, or even 50% toner coverage,
which were then taken to the copier to
be reproduced en masse.
My point here is that for nearly two
decades, I rose to the top of my Fortune
500 company by sitting down and
educating my customers on the facts
and costs, about which they were
unaware. My competitors were not
doing that and to this day, little has
changed. Using this human tactile strategy,
I garnered the following:
• Better customer relations and loyalty
• More sales
• Larger and more profitable sales
By establishing myself as an industry
expert, by educating and recommending
better, more efficient and cost-saving
solutions, price was rarely an issue
because profit from each deal came
from savings – with savings to spare for
the customer. I’d be willing to bet that if
you surveyed your customers’ perception
of why they often don’t bring printing
projects to you is because they are
under the misunderstanding that they
can do it in-house more inexpensively.
I can bet that company owners in
particular, would be keenly interested
in knowing the average cost-per-copy
investment they are already paying
and the average yearly savings you
can provide if they bring/send the
work to you. I can guarantee it!
The Bottom Line:
The printing industry has gone through
many changes and will continue to
evolve in ways that experts still haven’t
imagined. While it’s no mystery that
sales solve most problems, you must
do everything it takes to get them!
Don’t try to be all things to all people.
Specialize in market segments that drive
more sales by showcasing you as
unique. Don’t talk about the service but
rather the benefits. Create strategic
incentive programmes designed to meet
the express needs of each customer.
Reintroduce the human tactility in every
interaction with current and potential
customers. Recognize the power you
possess as an industry expert and dem-
onstrate it in education, benefits and
savings for your customers. Never for-
get the business you already have is
yours to lose. Often, a simple smile,
kind word or recognition, is all it takes
to keep it… with new sales that solve
most problems.
Paul Shearstone MACP, NLP/CCP, is a
recognized expert in Sales and Persuasion.
He is an International Speaker, twice
Certified Life & Business Coaching Prac-
titioner, Psychotherapeutic Counsellor,
NLP Therapist and Author of several
books including, “Up Your Income! Solu-
tion Selling for Profitability” and Amazon
#1 Best Seller: “3X Sales Success! How
to move your sales team to the Top 1%”.
To comment on this article or book Paul
for your next successful event:
289-234-3544/
833-285-3544
www.success150.
com
paul@success150.
com
GRAPHIC ARTS MAGAZINE | May 2019 | 19