HI everyone!
If there's anyone actually out there! A few weeks ago I began blogging for Printing Impressions magazine on-line. So rather than try to keep up with both, I am no longer going to post here, and I will be posting weekly over there
www.piworld.com...
Come on over! it's all new content, and we'll even be offering some awesome webinars starting next month
You can email me at kelly@successinprint.net
and see my VERY basic website at
www.successinprint.net
Thanks for reading - Please KEEP reading over at PI!
CIAO!
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
The truth Shall Set you Free!
There are a lot of ways that we can deceive ourselves. Every time I eat chocolate I tell myself that it is NOT going to make me gain weight, and yet guess what happens? The same can be true in our business relationships. In my long history of selling printing, there were many examples of prospects I was pursuing that never had ANY intentions of EVER buying from me. Why did I call on them? Because I refused or was unable to see the truth. I was so blinded by the possible prestige of doing business with a marqee customer that I ignored the signs. What are the signs, you ask? I'll tell you a few.
1. You quote a lot but NEVER get the work. What is happening here? You are likely being used as a tool to drive down the price of your competitor, or the prospect simply ALWAYS has to get several bids. How to combat this? Try saying this to the prospect, "I seem to be doing a lot of bidding but never get work from you - Can we talk about what the possible disconnect might be?" This should tell him in so many words that you are through being his chump.
2. The prospect keeps telling you to call back in 3 months. What's the deal? He may legitimately not have any work right now, but the more likely truth is that for whatever reason, he does not want to cut you loose completely, but has no intention of ever using you. What to do? Try, "I am happy to keep up with calling you, but can you tell me what will be different in the three months that will make it more likely that we can do business together? again - you are calling him out, and letting him know that your time is valuable, too.
3. You are told to contact purchasing. This is the kiss of death and you do NOT want to go there. If I were you, I would head further up the food chain to the kind of person that wants to hear your ideas - like a Marketing Officer or CEO. These are the kinds of people who do not buy print, but look for ways to be more successful. If you can help them solve a problem, you will be golden in their eyes.
So there you have it - Look at your prospects with a fresh honest eye, and you might just free yourself up to spend more time with people who want to do business with you!
1. You quote a lot but NEVER get the work. What is happening here? You are likely being used as a tool to drive down the price of your competitor, or the prospect simply ALWAYS has to get several bids. How to combat this? Try saying this to the prospect, "I seem to be doing a lot of bidding but never get work from you - Can we talk about what the possible disconnect might be?" This should tell him in so many words that you are through being his chump.
2. The prospect keeps telling you to call back in 3 months. What's the deal? He may legitimately not have any work right now, but the more likely truth is that for whatever reason, he does not want to cut you loose completely, but has no intention of ever using you. What to do? Try, "I am happy to keep up with calling you, but can you tell me what will be different in the three months that will make it more likely that we can do business together? again - you are calling him out, and letting him know that your time is valuable, too.
3. You are told to contact purchasing. This is the kiss of death and you do NOT want to go there. If I were you, I would head further up the food chain to the kind of person that wants to hear your ideas - like a Marketing Officer or CEO. These are the kinds of people who do not buy print, but look for ways to be more successful. If you can help them solve a problem, you will be golden in their eyes.
So there you have it - Look at your prospects with a fresh honest eye, and you might just free yourself up to spend more time with people who want to do business with you!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Brief Update
Hello all, and long time no blog!
My girls were born on February 9th, 2010 at 8:03 and 8:04 AM. Graziella Violet Mallozzi was 7lbs 3 oz, and Giuliana Nicolina Mallozzi was 6lbs 3 oz. We just hit six weeks, and we are all doing really well. In fact, I got 7 hours of non consecutive sleep last night, which is an all time high, and I am very grateful to my daughters for that.
On to the news. I am no longer with Canon Business Solutions, and have decided to launch my own consulting company. Named after this blog, SuccessInPrint will help printing companies grow sales and improve communication with their clients and prospects. I will be launching SuccessInPrint in May and will be taking on a small number of clients for engagements like client recovery, retention and acqusition, and marketing communications projects such as helping you with newsletters and blogs of your own. You can reach me after may 1st at 773.680.5134 and we can discuss your specific needs and build a proposal and plan that will work for you.
In the meantime, take care and Happy SPRING!
My girls were born on February 9th, 2010 at 8:03 and 8:04 AM. Graziella Violet Mallozzi was 7lbs 3 oz, and Giuliana Nicolina Mallozzi was 6lbs 3 oz. We just hit six weeks, and we are all doing really well. In fact, I got 7 hours of non consecutive sleep last night, which is an all time high, and I am very grateful to my daughters for that.
On to the news. I am no longer with Canon Business Solutions, and have decided to launch my own consulting company. Named after this blog, SuccessInPrint will help printing companies grow sales and improve communication with their clients and prospects. I will be launching SuccessInPrint in May and will be taking on a small number of clients for engagements like client recovery, retention and acqusition, and marketing communications projects such as helping you with newsletters and blogs of your own. You can reach me after may 1st at 773.680.5134 and we can discuss your specific needs and build a proposal and plan that will work for you.
In the meantime, take care and Happy SPRING!
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