8.2013 The Magazine 10 So much has been written about the state of the printing industry and what our future could look like. As a result of significant declines in print volume, thousands of companies have shut their doors or merged with others and countless jobs have been lost. In many instances jobs have been eliminated and added due to technological advances that have significantly improved productivity and/or added new innovative products or services. And while print continues to be one viable media choice for many, it has clearly become commoditized, resulting in a decline in attractive margins. As companies continue to struggle with designing and building profitable, sustainable businesses, the role of the sales professional—those responsible for generating new revenue streams—has aggressively come under review. Why Is a Change Required? As many other industries experience a similar fate, a great deal of research is being conducted to better understand how B2B and B2C buying and selling is evolving. As a result of the proliferation of valuable information made available through multiple channels, consumers and professional buyers have access to most of the information they require to make sound buying decisions without actually engaging a sales- person; and in many cases they actually make their purchases online. This extraordinary change in how we learn about products, services, and solutions has clearly altered the role of the sales professional. In years past salespeople actually provided us with most of the information necessary to make good choices, which is not the case anymore. And as communication is enhanced through social media, personalized direct mail, mobile engagement, and other hybrid forms we have not experienced yet, the role of the sales professional must continue to evolve. As our industry moves toward cross-media solutions, the day of the product-focused, transactional relationship seller will be gone. Selling and buying will continue to be more com- plex, and sales professionals must become truly consultative. Challenging the status quo, bringing creative solutions to the “C” Suite, and making strong financial justifications will be the order of the day. As in the past, sales professionals must possess a high degree of technical expertise. However, in this environment their knowledge must go way beyond technical print knowledge. If they are to provide assistance in creating multimedia marketing campaigns, then they should be well-versed in marketing. They should have a high degree of expertise in areas including data analytics, online and offline communication strategies, digital and offset printing technologies, wide-format inkjet sign production, and even the fast-growing utilization of video production and content creation. Of course, if they are to engage in discussions regarding cross-media campaigns, then they should have expertise in assessing the financial challenges facing their clients. The marketers within organizations are faced with significant challenges brought on by these technology advancements, and knowledgeable and talented business developers can and should become valued resources to them. What Do They Look Like? The next generation sales professional must be laser focused on their clients’ businesses. They must have the knowledge and understanding of the financial challenges their clients face—they should be able to read and understand a balance sheet. Knowledge and experience within the vertical markets they serve is essential, and they should preferably have marketing experience. Competence and expertise in all of the media modalities is critical. The desire and willingness to continue learning and the eagerness to take personal responsibility for their learning are a must. The ability to engage others in dialogue by asking thoughtful ques- tions, listening actively to responses, and further clarifying through follow-up questions is essential. Diagnosing complex challenges and aligning sensible solutions with these challenges are critical. Creative approaches to solving problems will be required, and one’s ability to influence a client’s thinking while negotiating the most favorable terms is a set of competencies that will result in a great deal of success. How Do We Find These Folks? Attracting, recruiting, and hiring the next-generation sales professionals will be a great challenge. Too frequently we look for employees when we have a job to fill. Quite often this results in settling because we have to fill a position. Attracting and recruiting talented business developers is a SOLUTIONS Jerry Scher, Principal, Peak Focus
Transcript
8.2013
The Magazine
10
So much has been written about the state of the printing industry and what our future could look like. As a result of significant declines in print volume, thousands of companies have shut their doors or merged with others and countless jobs have been lost. In many instances jobs have been eliminated and added due to technological advances that have significantly improved productivity and/or added new innovative products or services. And while print continues to be one viable media choice for many, it has clearly become commoditized, resulting in a decline in attractive margins. As companies continue to struggle with designing and building profitable, sustainable businesses, the role of the sales professional—those responsible for generating new revenue streams—has aggressively come under review.
Why Is a Change Required?As many other industries experience a similar fate, a great deal of research is being conducted to better understand how B2B and B2C buying and selling is evolving. As a result of the proliferation of valuable information made available through multiple channels, consumers and professional buyers have access to most of the information they require to make sound buying decisions without actually engaging a sales- person; and in many cases they actually make their purchases online. This extraordinary change in how we learn about products, services, and solutions has clearly altered the role of the sales professional.
In years past salespeople actually provided us with most of the information necessary to make good choices, which is not the case anymore. And as communication is enhanced through social media, personalized direct mail, mobile engagement, and other hybrid forms we have not experienced yet, the role of the sales professional must continue to evolve. As our industry moves toward cross-media solutions, the day of the product-focused, transactional relationship seller will be gone. Selling and buying will continue to be more com-plex, and sales professionals must become truly consultative. Challenging the status quo, bringing creative solutions to the “C” Suite, and making strong financial justifications will be the order of the day.
As in the past, sales professionals must possess a high degree of technical expertise. However, in this environment their knowledge
must go way beyond technical print knowledge. If they are to provide assistance in creating multimedia marketing campaigns, then they should be well-versed in marketing. They should have a high degree of expertise in areas including data analytics, online and offline communication strategies, digital and offset printing technologies, wide-format inkjet sign production, and even the fast-growing utilization of video production and content creation. Of course, if they are to engage in discussions regarding cross-media campaigns, then they should have expertise in assessing the financial challenges facing their clients. The marketers within organizations are faced with significant challenges brought on by these technology advancements, and knowledgeable and talented business developers can and should become valued resources to them.
What Do They Look Like?The next generation sales professional must be laser focused on their clients’ businesses. They must have the knowledge and understanding of the financial challenges their clients face—they should be able to read and understand a balance sheet. Knowledge and experience within the vertical markets they serve is essential, and they should preferably have marketing experience. Competence and expertise in all of the media modalities is critical. The desire and willingness to continue learning and the eagerness to take personal responsibility for their learning are a must.
The ability to engage others in dialogue by asking thoughtful ques-tions, listening actively to responses, and further clarifying through follow-up questions is essential. Diagnosing complex challenges and aligning sensible solutions with these challenges are critical. Creative approaches to solving problems will be required, and one’s ability to influence a client’s thinking while negotiating the most favorable terms is a set of competencies that will result in a great deal of success.
How Do We Find These Folks?Attracting, recruiting, and hiring the next-generation sales professionals will be a great challenge. Too frequently we look for employees when we have a job to fill. Quite often this results in settling because we have to fill a position. Attracting and recruiting talented business developers is a
SOLUTIONS
Jerry Scher, Principal, Peak Focus
THE NEXT-GENERATION SALES PROFESSIONAL
8.2013
The Magazine
11
24/7 process, not an event. You must look outside our industry. Most often the best candidates will not bring a “book of business.” Consider the vertical markets you serve and search for folks who have the marketing and consultative skills that are required. You’ll have to provide technical train-ing in the print area, but, quite frankly, that’s easier to teach and support than the consultative selling skills that are needed.
The processes necessary to build that great team will require you to invest the time to carefully define the job of the next-generation sales professional. Seriously consider the past experience, education, tech-nical expertise, and any other criteria you deem necessary. Determine what soft skills will be required, including their interpersonal skills, diagnostic and problem-solving capabilities, influence and assertive-ness, organizational competence, desire to negotiate, collaborative and team work preferences, and any other behavioral competencies that will come into play.
And once you have defined what/who you are looking for, absolutely install the process to objectively select the right candidates.
Incorporate a validated assess-ment tool that will compare each candidate against the behavioral competencies that you have defined for each specific job. Make sure you can assess their work preferences so you can predict an appropriate fit for your company’s culture. And without a doubt ensure that everyone engaged in the interview process has been well trained to conduct the all-important interview.
Throughout this article I have been challenging you to take attract-ing, recruiting, and hiring sales professionals to a higher level. Don’t rebuild, rebrand, retool, or invest heavily in new technologies without dramatically changing the way in which your company sells. And the way to do that is to staff your sales organization with the next- generation sales professional.
Peak Focus, specializing in the graphic communications industry, assists in identifying and assessing talent, developing people and strengthening management teams. Engaged in the communication industry for over thirty-five years, Jerry’s primary goal is to make those around him more successful. Visit www.peakfocuscoach.com for more information.
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About Printing Industries of America
Together, Printing Industries of America and its local affiliates offer members the products and services that enhance their growth, efficiency, and profitability. We are the largest graphic arts trade association, representing an industry with approximately one million employees and serving the interests of thousands of member companies through advocacy, education, research, technical information, and cost-saving resources.
