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Printing_News_September_2016

Case of Major Accounts You have to be specifi c about what you are selling; to whom you are selling it; and the steps you will take in the selling process. Many don’t “sell” because we don’t feel we have anything to sell beyond price and delivery, therefore it is hard getting excited about selling when we are not excited about our service/products. In short, we are no diff erent than the guy down the street, ergo, we have nothing to sell, so we don’t. Example: “I sell everything, do you want to buy some?” Th ere’s so much wrong with that statement that I don’t know where to begin. How in the world would one person have the expertise to help me buy anything that I could possibly buy? Besides, since you’d sell one thing every now and again, you certainly wouldn’t have a competitive price. And, who is your company again? I’ve never heard of them, so how can I trust them or you? Let’s get more specifi c then. “I sell printing and signs, do you want to buy some?” Doesn’t the same criticism apply? What is printing? What kind of signs? We have to be specifi c about what we are selling; to whom we are selling it; and the steps we will take in the selling process. Th at describes a selling plan, which we invented six years ago to help “selling owners who don’t want to be selling.” And, it’s even more potent when we start with a purpose. Major Account Program Over 20 years ago, we began helping owners establish major account programs. It’s somewhat of a loyalty program similar to airline miles and hotel points, but it’s not. Th at’s because buyers of things we sell usually work for someone else and they oft en see perks given to buyers as, well, bribes. Airline miles and hotel points oft en get a pass as the employer is asking the buyer to travel and that becomes a reward for them going above and beyond on the company’s behalf. But not the normal buying of printing and signs. Th at’s their job. So that’s why the major account program has to be intended for the company, not the buyer. What is it that we will do for the company because the company buys a signifi cant amount from us? Years ago, the famous marketing guru Al Ries said that every business should be the world’s largest. Once that’s defi ned, then marketing/ sales as well as operational issues (equipment, hours) becomes simple. Th at yielded some high-yielding businesses. Case Study: By Tom Crouser Senior Contributing Editor Tom Crouser is senior contributing editor, chairman of CPrint International, and principal of Crouser & Associates, Inc. You can reach him at 304/541-3714, connect on Facebook and LinkedIn and follow his business tweets on Twitter @tomcrouser. Find this article at PrintingNews.com/12224465 Continued on page 51 We have to be specifi c about what we are selling; to whom we are selling it; and the steps we will take in the selling process. PrintingNews®com September 2016 ® Printing News 49


Printing_News_September_2016
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