Printers who let their hostility get the best of them are fools,

because printers who are likely to survive this recession and move successfully forward must find ways to reinvent their relationships with Print Brokers. Brokers hold the key to doubling or tripling your business without creating additional expense. The problem is that most printers don’t know what to do with print brokers. They aren’t part of the sales team and they aren’t customers either. What are they? Any attempt to pigeon hole them into either role will end in failure and frustration.

The first thing to do is embrace brokers and stop kicking them in the teeth.  I know this may not make sense to you. Some of you are going to accuse me of overreacting, after all your company doesn’t mistreat brokers — right? Some will say I’m whining, and some won’t consider the issue of print brokers at all. There are a lot of misguided printers who staunchly refuse to work with brokers. That might have been okay in the past, but it won’t serve you well in the future. You can’t afford to turn your back on sources of instant new business.

Haven’t you noticed how tough times are? Printing, particularly offset printing, has been besieged on all sides. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you how the pigheaded, self-serving banking industry has hurt all of us. Have you tried to get a loan lately? Nor do I have to explain about the impact of digital printing, foreign competition, and the Internet. You already know about these things. You are experiencing unprecedented cash flow problems and shrinking markets. Even your best customers have cut back with no real promise that they will ever be at former levels again.

I hear moaning from the Industry that good sales representatives are hard to find and that your sales people keep pressing for ever lower prices to make them competitive. You get upset and believe that they aren’t really trying. A really good sales rep can sell even under the most adverse circumstances — right? If you truly believe that why don’t you put on your salesman’s hat and find out for yourself? Maybe you did. Maybe you took a day, or a week, and went into the field. Maybe you proved to yourself that it isn’t so bad, but let me tell you, selling in this economy is like fighting an uphill battle day-after-day-after-day. It can wear down even the heartiest rep. Your sales team, is running on fumes, and another sales meeting, another motivational talk, and another seminar isn’t going to dramatically change anything.

What can you do? I would like you to take a moment, if you will, and consider re-vitalizing your sales efforts with the help of Print Brokers. Why Print Brokers, because they are FREE! Printers don’t have to house them, pay salaries, benefits, or reimbursements. That should be incentive enough. FREE, FREE, FREE — what’s better than that?

The problem is that most printers I’ve talked to either barely tolerate brokers, or despise them. Why? I think there are five main reasons for this:

1. Print Brokers own their own customer list. The printer doesn’t. Suppose a house sales rep brings in an account, since they were working on the company dime the customer technically belongs to the company. This isn’t true with brokers. In fact if you go after the broker’s customer it can lead to a nasty fight.
2. Print Brokers are legally a middle man. Printers fume if the broker can’t pay them because the customer didn’t pay the bill. On the other hand, how can you hold the broker responsible when they don’t receive the product? You don’t punish your in-house sales team like this. You must find a compromise. How difficult can it be to secure your interests in transactions without leaning on the party who is least likely to have the means to pay you? Think about it.
3. Print Brokers can take the print jobs to someone else if they want. Usually they move things around to save money, time, or be more convenient, but they don’t even have to have a reason, they can just do it.
4. Print Brokers are employed by their customers — not the printer. In the event of a disagreement the printer has little leverage over the broker. The broker knows which side his bread is buttered on  and is most likely to defend the customer’s point of view over the printer’s.
5. Print Brokers are not constrained by territories. Printers often feel threatened by brokers because they see their own customers as potentially vulnerable to the broker. Sales reps especially are very protective and guard, as they should, from any possible threat.

In my next post I will give printers some ideas that will allow them to work around the conflicts and make better broker relationships which will benefit both printer and print broker.

Yesterday’s blog Keep Those Cards and Letters Coming spawned a response from Mel Edwards http://www.votrevray.com. She observed that, “You make the same point several times, but with no solution. What should a buyer be asking or looking for instead of the big three that all printers claim to have?” Mel is right. I was making an assumption that the answer to the question would be obvious to the readers. Dumb assumption. Honestly I do know better and will strive to propose solutions whenever I pose problems.

To answer Mel’s question, I didn’t mean to imply that quality, price, and service were not the bedrocks of all printing.  The old printing adage is quality, price, and service, pick two. But, as a buyer of printing you should strive to get all three. The point I was trying to make was that all printers will claim to provide all three, but where does that leave you? It’s like insurance companies. They all say they are the best at one thing or another, and they back it up with volumes of statistics. If you get mired in the statistics you will never be able to choose one company over another. So, if you can’t rely on their advertisements or what their sales reps say, what can you do?

1. Ask to see samples of work they’ve printed that is similar to your job. Keep in mind that you will only see samples of their very best. As it should be. I mean, who but a total idiot would give you a sample of a job that bombed? Look carefully at those samples to determine if there are flaws that were acceptable to the printer, but wouldn’t be acceptable to you.
2. Ask other businesses who have used the services of that printer. If you ask, many printers are proud to give you some of their best customers to contact. They are often very excited about their customer list and want you to speak with their happiest customers. If they won’t tell you who to call, consider it a red flag.  Remember–your job will be to read between the lines. Since you’ll only be given the contacts that have an excellent relationship with the printer, it is imperative to listen to what they don’t say, more than what they do.
3. Check with organizations like Better Business Bureau, or  Dunn and Bradstreet. This is just normal due diligence, but is it overkill? I don’t think so. Once you choose a printer you could be forming a relationship that could continue for years. How much do you think you could be spending with that printer, thousands, tens-of-thousands, hundreds-of-thousands or more?
4. Continue shopping around or make sure your broker is getting multiple bids. Things change. Just because a printer has served you well in the past it doesn’t mean that they will always be the best choice. I like to tell a story about a local clothing chain that invited me in to work with them. The printer they had been using was a well-known, quality conscious firm, with a sterling reputation. The problem wasn’t with the printer it was with their equipment. Their presses were small and fit the needs of the clothing company when their customer base was smaller. Over twenty years the clothing company had grown, and grown. Print runs were now much larger. By switching them to a different printer, with larger presses, I was able to cut their printing expense by thousands on one job!
5. Visit the printer’s plant. Take the time to go there and have them show you around and introduce you to people who will be involved in your work. A face they recognize is likely to get better service than someone unknown to them.
6. Use your gut. What do your instincts tell you? If it doesn’t feel right, don’t do it.
7. Consider employing a print broker. Brokers are not directly connected to any printer and often work with many. A good broker knows the printers and who would be the best fit for you.

Please understand that the printing business is very competitive, and operates on pitifully small margins. I once heard that nationally, the average printer earns 6% to 9% profit. That’s not much. Of course they are eager to secure your business. They have to keep those presses running. An idle press is a huge money drain. Currently in this unfavorable economic climate, printers are hurting. It’s been reported that in the US, the printing industry is down by 40%. What all of this means is that you will probably be contacted by more printers and more often than you have in the past. Each one of them will be saying they have the best quality, the lowest prices, and the finest service–I guarantee it. Don’t make rash decisions. If your printer or broker has served you well in the past be sure to give them extra points for service. Loyalty pays off. Just make sure your loyalty isn’t misplaced.