Click here to download the catalog as a PDF file. To view this site you need Adobe Flash Player and your browser must allow javaScripts. Go here to get the latest Flash Player. The Money Train Price Factors Need some wiggle room in the bottom line? The following are cost cutters you can offer your budget-minded customers. Scheduling There are many ways to tweak scheduling to cut costs. Some printers have weekround production hours. Others can move up production time, for a fee of course. “Someone who needs their job turned in 24 hours, a big job, should pay more than someone who is willing to wait a week for it,” says Gary Cone, VP of Litho Craft. Amy Labowitch, VP of marketing for Dome Printing, says a mutual agreement to fast-tracking the production cycle – meaning less time for tweaks or revisions – works too. “If I have to streamline processes, then [the customer] has to streamline processes too.” Ineffective deal negotiation. “All these limitations leave salespeople negotiating in the dark. Without clear visibility into customer segments and policies, it’s impossible to negotiate with a customer in a way that best serves the bottom line. The result is lost profits and dissatisfied customers.” Paper Are your customers well-versed in paper quality? Are there products that run more efficiently than the paper specified on the job? What customers expect For all the merits of a structured system, the experts suggest that pricing isn’t always the deal maker or breaker for clients, especially for repeat business. “I would say until you have established a solid reputation and relationship with your client, pricing will be a large factor,” says LaClair. “Once you have proven yourself as a viable partner, the impact and value of quality, service, and reliability take over.” Cone says a print sales rep’s perception is different than a client’s when it comes to price. The most important time to sell is before the price is quoted. The client is more in-tune with the finished product and expectations. Therefore, a seasoned print sales rep can “sell that trust and security and not have to sell on a low-price basis.” “If you respond to a customer’s request for a price by just giving them a price, then you the salesperson are creating a price sensitive commodity, giving the customer no other basis on which to judge you on other than the price that you are just spewing out,” Cone says. “Sell the customer before you quote the price, not after.” DeMambro says that customers aren’t looking at their print projects as simple ink on paper, but solutions to their problems. “Customers are looking for a competitive price but it needs to be coupled with the printer’s ability to do proper planning, knowledge of the project and a promise to perform,” he says. “Then making good on the promises. Customers are savvy buyers, they want results and a fair price, printers are savvy businessmen, they want a fair price and a loyal customer.” Major says that in the end, all of Dome Printing’s pricing disciplines are ultimately used to make a project work for a customer. They usually work off a customer’s budget up front to determine what services to employ. Having flexibility may land a few more projects, and keep the clients and their varying wants and needs happy. “When it’s a tight job and pricing is important, or we’re real close, we will work with the customer, and do what we need to do,” he says. Matchprints Printed matchprints shipped to the customer can add up quick. “You could spend $1,500 on proofs alone, if that’s what they want,” says Jeff Major, an account executive at Dome Printing. A compromise may be producing a matchprint sample, that is, a color matchprint of the cover and some pages, but not the entire project, to cut costs. Customers may opt for online pdfs too. Shipping Sometimes selling a print job can be as easy as highlighting the shipping advantages. With courier rates rising due to fuel costs, regional or local shipping may be what new clients are looking for. Or, if you can cover the shipping inhouse, that’s a selling point as well. P26 CANVAS AUGUST 2008