Do you believe in the tooth fairy? My daughter recently lost her first tooth. She carefully wrapped it up and placed it beneath her pillow. It was great to see her excitement the following morning as she unwrapped the paper and found a shiny coin. I love being able to give please her through the story of the tooth fairy.

But the time will come when she no longer believes in tooth fairy. You and I know that the tooth fairy is no more than a myth. But in the print industry, there are plenty of myths that are still believed.

Many of these myths revolve around sales. These myths are bad for our industry. They lead to people and companies doing things that ultimately reduce their profit margins. In some cases they are even putting print companies out of business.

Printers who ignore these myths will create better relationships with their -customers. They will stay in control of the sales process and pipeline. They will achieve the results that their company needs. This is because they are taking a realistic view of the market. They know how things really are.

But print companies that continue to believe in the myths of print selling will find themselves in a different place. Customers won’t treat them as partners. They will treat them as commodity suppliers. So it will be hard for these print companies to stay in control of their sales pipeline. They will find it a hard struggle to achieve the results that they need.

So what are the seven myths of print sales? See box below.

Real-world proof

Surely I am just being controversial for the sake of it? Actually, no. Many of these statements have been disproved by recent research. I know that others are wrong because of direct observation during my time as a print buyer in the UK. During that time, I received more than 1,400 sales pitches from printers. So I have plenty of case studies to review.

For instance, take point three, and apply it to a business card. The person who wants to print a business card does not want ink on paper. They want communication. They want people to remember their name, contact details and company. They want potential clients to put them in their contact lists.

The business card is not a piece of print. It’s a way of creating contact with potential customers. And that’s the same for nearly all print that is bought. It is bought for a reason – and that reason is not the quality of the finish or the specs of your press. It is down to the print salesperson to understand the reason behind the need for print. Then they can create a more compelling sales message. And they can create the best solution for the customer’s needs. As an action point, ask your prospects and customers what they want to achieve from the print they are ordering.

Making it about price

How about point four – the idea that buyers make it about price. Well, let me tell you a story about price. At one print company I worked with, the commercial director carried out an interesting experiment. The sales team were all allowed to negotiate to a certain level of price. Every time, they negotiated to the lowest price they were allowed to. They claimed this was the only way they could win the job. A week later, the commercial director put the minimum price up by 5%. And the print company won almost exactly the same amount of work. Sometimes the print industry is guilty of making it all about price when it’s not. As a takeaway, review your current approach with prospects and ask yourself if it is price-led.

What I am frequently told by traditional-thinking print salespeople simply isn’t true. In fact, I suspect that some salespeople hide behind these myths. They use them to try and hide the fact that they are not very effective at their jobs.

You can find plenty more examples and advice about this on my website – profitableprintrelationships.com – where you can also sign up to my newsletter and download a free copy of Ten Common Print Selling Errors and What To Do About Them.

Some people have believed in outdated ideas and practices for too long. The way to get over some of the problems facing our industry is to challenge accepted thinking. Last year, I presented at the Fuji Xerox Innovate conference in Sydney. I met forward-thinking Australian print companies who are challenging these myths. As a result, they are creating successful print businesses.

I’ll be really sad when my daughter stops believing in the tooth fairy. But I’ll be delighted when print sales people stop believing in these print sales myths.

Matthew Parker has been a print buyer for over 20 years. He now helps printers engage with buyers more profitably.

The seven myths of print sales

1. The more sales activity, the better your profits

2. Relationships grow sales

3. Features and benefits are a great way to sell print

4. Buyers make the sales conversation all about price

5. All buyers choose on price and nothing else

6.  Selling service and quality is a great way to get new customers

7. Social media is bad news for print

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