Rapport Building  /  Clarifying Needs

There are two elements in gaining printing quote jobs.  These are:  Building customer trust and clarifying customer needs. 
They constitute 70% of the sales conversation.  If they are accomplished skillfully and professionally, the sale will come together smoothly. 

1. Look at your printing quote requests at least three time a day.

2. Building Rapport:  Call your prospective customer immediately and let them know that you are processing their enquiry and thank them for giving you the opportunity to prepare a quote price.  Focus your attention on the customer and his or her geniune needs and wants.  The customer needs to feel that you are there to help.

3. Clarifying Needs:  When you listen carefully the customer trusts you more and tells you more.  If you listen long enough and hard enough, the customer will eventually tell you everything that you need to know to either make the sale or to determine that this person is not a good prospect for what you are selling.

Printing News Contributor

Without regular review, however, a business plan in today’s ever-changing environment will quickly become obsolete and ineffective. Here are a few tips for freshening up your business plan—and making sure it stays current going forward.

Timing Is Everything

As a working document, a five-year business plan is unrealistic. The constantly changing needs of customers, employees, and owners combined with the volatility and opportunity of the industry, requires a plan that is more flexible, adaptable, and, yes, shorter.

There is also the fluff factor: Rather than establish far-reaching and nebulous initiatives to carry out over time, create a plan built on short-term goals.

A suitable business plan may focus on just one key initiative, such as adding or eliminating a single service. Depending on your goals and the scope and complexity of the steps required to reach them, a one- or two-year plan is probably most appropriate.

Study Hard

A key component of any business plan is the logic and analysis on which you base your initiatives. If you plan to enter a new market, for example, perform a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats). Identify your competition and assess them as honestly and thoroughly as possible.

This will require a good deal of homework on your part, and you may be in for a rude awakening if you find your assumptions are not grounded in reality. Set clear measurements for each goal, especially if you ratchet up the aggressiveness of your plan based on your analysis. These measurements give you the opportunity to change course—or jump ship—early enough to minimize damage.

Follow Up

To be a truly effective guide, your plan should be a living, breathing document. Keep it that way by gathering key business personnel on a regular basis to track progress. The inclusion of clear measurements will make it easy to identify what is working and what is not. The ultimate goal is to create your organization’s blueprint for success. ”

Source: http://www.printindustryinfo.com/publication/article.jsp?pubId=3&id=400

By Yumi Rosenbaum
Australia Online Printing

1.  Give as much contact information as possible.
It can be so frustrating for a printer to receive a request to quote a complex job, work on it for an hour and then the email bounces back because the customer made a typing mistake and the email address is not valid. 

If no phone number has been supplied - the printer has no further way of contacting you.  Don’t forget area codes - this will save the printer trying 02, 03 before finally getting through to 08! and a location will help on quoting delivery as well!

Rather state the final products and quantities you need, and let the printer work out how to do it. 

Also, if you don’t mind digital, offset or screen printing - always give the options to the printer as you may not have chosen the cheapest method for your specific job or timeframe.

This is not suitable for every job, but many times by discussing things on the phone one can work out a far better option that suits your needs more accurately and is more cost-effective.

If you have no idea whether you want to spend $1000 or $50000 on your project there is something wrong.  Obviously you can ask for several options, but do not give the printer 2 hours work to quote 1 job.

Choosing a Printing Company
Top 5 Things to Consider when Selecting an Australian Printing Company
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Number #5 - Printing Experience
It is always a good idea to check to see that prospective printing companies have experience in completing print jobs relevant to your printing needs.

Number #4 - Printing Resources
There are a number of printing methods out their and it’s best to check that a printing company can print using the latest in printing technologies which is appropriate for your print project.

Number #3 - Good Printing Work
A great printer should be able to show you samples of previous printing jobs. Make sure the Printing Company can offer you some samples to make sure you are happy with their printing quality.

Number #2 - Printing Portfolio
The printing portfolio section is usually a great place to see examples of previous clients and printing jobs completed. This will give you a better feel for their printing quailty and expertise for your print project.

Number #1 - Printing Budget
This is one of the most important points for any company. At the end of the day, the cost needs to be reasonable without compromising on printing quality.