This article was submitted by T.J. Tedesco, founder and president of Grow Sales, Inc., and keynote speaker at the 2014 Print Leadership Summit. In 2012, would you have predicted that a book manufacturer would increase its sales 50% in 2013? Or that a postpress equipment manufacturer would grow sales more than 15%?  “Whoa there, T.J.,” you might be thinking. “Are these significant companies?” Absolutely. Both have been around for decades, and both crossed into the eight-figured sales level last year. The book manufacturer client has reached heights that would’ve been unthinkable five years ago. The equipment manufacturer client may have been larger once, but that was nearly two decades ago. How did they achieve this growth? Better operations execution? Better marketing? Better selling? Together these activities might boost sales and profitability a smidge. But double-digit, sustainable growth? Keep dreaming. In this industry, better execution alone isn’t enough. Change the Game These companies grew because they moved their markets. They’ve both tapped into our industry’s growing on-demand segment. Not by simply subbing in digital for offset, but by completely re-orienting their approaches to their production workflows, their customers, and their businesses in general. It’s not enough to keep moving the chains. You have to change where the game’s being played. Leadership discussions at your business should begin with this question: Where should we play ball?  Stay Competitive Bill Gates had an awesome quote about twenty years ago: “We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next ten.”  All printing company leaders would do well to keep this thought in mind today. Let’s not panic and forget to block and tackle. Doing the fundamentals well will keep us competitive for the next two years. But if we don’t reimagine our companies, industry, and competitive landscape within the next ten years, we’ll likely be out of business. T.J. Tedesco will deliver a keynote presentation, Gloom or Bloom—Setting the Course For the Future, at the 2014 Print Leadership Summit, June 2–3 at the Fairmont Hotel in Dallas, TX. T.J. is founder and president of Grow Sales, Inc., an outsourced sales growth services company serving the graphic arts industries since 1996. Grow Sales, Inc. has helped many dozens of companies grow their top and bottom lines by carefully guiding their sales, marketing, public relations and graphic and web design efforts. T.J. is the author of eight books, three on marketing and sales. T.J. can be reached at (301)...

We extend a special thank-you to Leslie Groene, President, Groene Consulting, for contributing this information. Leslie is a keynote speaker at the 2014 Print Leadership Summit. “Treat others as you like to be treated.” This little piece of fundamental advice our mothers gave us can be a giant step to success, and it applies to the business world as well. Sales can pose a huge challenge to many printing and graphic arts companies whose best clients can easily take their business elsewhere. So what is a key way to make them stay? One answer is exceptional customer service. Offering engaging, customized service that focuses on the customer allows you to stand out from your competitors, gain your clients’ trust, and ultimately increase your sales.   Your sales team is one of the “necessary pillars” of the print business, as Leslie Groene explains in her keynote session, “Does Your Business Have the Right Pillars in Place?” at the first ever Print Leadership Summit, June 2–3, 2014. The job of your sales team is to prospect and develop and maintain profitable relationships with clients. Help them not only reach your top clients, but hold on to them with these 10 best practices: 1.     Do your daily and weekly homework and stay current on all aspects of your product or services. Stay one step (or more) ahead and anticipate your client’s needs. Read about their business, their industry, and their products and services. A great way to gain a client’s trust is to understand the challenges they face and the environment they live in. 2.    Go the extra mile in serving your client’s needs. To maintain or build stronger relationships with your clients, listen to their needs and follow through on all action items. Keep consistent communication and address any concerns the moment they arise. Best practices include sending handwritten thank-you notes and personally delivering proposals to your customers. 3.    Deal with the challenge of cold calling. First follow any regulations regarding who you may contact and when, but also keep looking for more opportunities to reach out to potential customers. Some great ways to accomplish this are: Send a company newsletter. Call clients who would benefit from the latest update or technology. Network within your industry and community. 4.    Determine who the real players are and find a way to get their attention. It may be easy to spot the movers and shakers in your industry, but how do you reach them? If you did your homework (see step 1), you can find the door to make a connection. What trade organizations are they involved in? Do they support any causes or groups? Find what interests them and place yourself in...

We extend a special thank-you to Leslie Groene, President, Groene Consulting, for contributing this information. Leslie is a keynote speaker at the 2014 Print Leadership Summit. “Treat others as you like to be treated.” This little piece of fundamental advice our mothers gave us can be a giant step to success, and it applies to the business world as well. Sales can pose a huge challenge to many printing and graphic arts companies whose best clients can easily take their business elsewhere. So what is a key way to make them stay? One answer is exceptional customer service. Offering engaging, customized service that focuses on the customer allows you to stand out from your competitors, gain your clients’ trust, and ultimately increase your sales.   Your sales team is one of the “necessary pillars” of the print business, as Leslie Groene explains in her keynote session, “Does Your Business Have the Right Pillars in Place?” at the first ever Print Leadership Summit, June 2–3, 2014. The job of your sales team is to prospect and develop and maintain profitable relationships with clients. Help them not only reach your top clients, but hold on to them with these 10 best practices: 1.     Do your daily and weekly homework and stay current on all aspects of your product or services. Stay one step (or more) ahead and anticipate your client’s needs. Read about their business, their industry, and their products and services. A great way to gain a client’s trust is to understand the challenges they face and the environment they live in. 2.    Go the extra mile in serving your client’s needs. To maintain or build stronger relationships with your clients, listen to their needs and follow through on all action items. Keep consistent communication and address any concerns the moment they arise. Best practices include sending handwritten thank-you notes and personally delivering proposals to your customers. 3.    Deal with the challenge of cold calling. First follow any regulations regarding who you may contact and when, but also keep looking for more opportunities to reach out to potential customers. Some great ways to accomplish this are: Send a company newsletter. Call clients who would benefit from the latest update or technology. Network within your industry and community. 4.    Determine who the real players are and find a way to get their attention. It may be easy to spot the movers and shakers in your industry, but how do you reach them? If you did your homework (see step 1), you can find the door to make a connection. What trade organizations are they involved in? Do they support any causes or groups? Find what interests them and place yourself in...

Look back at all of the great mentors who have influenced you—bosses, coaches, professors. Though sometimes challenging, they teach us to achieve higher, go further, and surpass our goals. True team leaders inspire us throughout our careers and throughout our lives. Anthony Griggs learned from some demanding coaches as an NFL professional. And it was these high standards that inspired him to become a leader as a Director of Player Development for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Now Griggs shares his most important lessons learned in leadership—foundations that apply everywhere from the playing field to the board room. Here he discusses some of his most inspiring mentors, the lessons he’s learned, and how business leaders can apply them. Inspiration: Coach Dick Vermeil, Philadelphia Eagles Lesson: Being a leader is about more than just working hard. When I was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles, all of the team members were gathered at training camp. As we were seated in a room, theatre style, Coach Dick Vermeil entered the room and began to speak to us. I certainly anticipated a motivational speech filled with Coach Vermeil’s high expectations.  Notepad in hand, I was ready to jot down the list of things that I needed to do to stay on the team.  But I was unaware that I was about to learn a skill I would draw upon through my entire career. Vermeil began his speech by recognizing all of the past players. He painted a picture of their characters—their devotion to the fans and dedication to hard work. He highlighted plays that team members made and what their efforts meant to the team as a whole.  I remember him speaking of Bill Bergey, the great Philadelphia Eagles linebacker and, as we learned, a great inspiration to the team as well. Bill had a knack for communicating with people, Vermeil described. He was able to say things to the players that resonated with them. He could make that personal connection that rallied their spirits and motivated them to succeed.  Coach Vermeil talked for over an hour about former Eagles. The other players and I listened intently to so many uplifting stories, so many glorious moments. Then it hit me. All I needed to write down on that pad of paper was this one phrase: “Be a Leader in Every Way.”  That was just as important as me working hard, learning plays, and performing well on the field.  How can you be a positive influence? Look at each of your team members as an individual with their own different motivations. Recognize individual employee contributions and how each has benefitted your company. Determine what drives a person and use that drive to help them reach their...

Look back at all of the great mentors who have influenced you—bosses, coaches, professors. Though sometimes challenging, they teach us to achieve higher, go further, and surpass our goals. True team leaders inspire us throughout our careers and throughout our lives. Anthony Griggs learned from some demanding coaches as an NFL professional. And it was these high standards that inspired him to become a leader as a Director of Player Development for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Now Griggs shares his most important lessons learned in leadership—foundations that apply everywhere from the playing field to the board room. Here he discusses some of his most inspiring mentors, the lessons he’s learned, and how business leaders can apply them. Inspiration: Coach Dick Vermeil, Philadelphia Eagles Lesson: Being a leader is about more than just working hard. When I was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles, all of the team members were gathered at training camp. As we were seated in a room, theatre style, Coach Dick Vermeil entered the room and began to speak to us. I certainly anticipated a motivational speech filled with Coach Vermeil’s high expectations.  Notepad in hand, I was ready to jot down the list of things that I needed to do to stay on the team.  But I was unaware that I was about to learn a skill I would draw upon through my entire career. Vermeil began his speech by recognizing all of the past players. He painted a picture of their characters—their devotion to the fans and dedication to hard work. He highlighted plays that team members made and what their efforts meant to the team as a whole.  I remember him speaking of Bill Bergey, the great Philadelphia Eagles linebacker and, as we learned, a great inspiration to the team as well. Bill had a knack for communicating with people, Vermeil described. He was able to say things to the players that resonated with them. He could make that personal connection that rallied their spirits and motivated them to succeed.  Coach Vermeil talked for over an hour about former Eagles. The other players and I listened intently to so many uplifting stories, so many glorious moments. Then it hit me. All I needed to write down on that pad of paper was this one phrase: “Be a Leader in Every Way.”  That was just as important as me working hard, learning plays, and performing well on the field.  How can you be a positive influence? Look at each of your team members as an individual with their own different motivations. Recognize individual employee contributions and how each has benefitted your company. Determine what drives a person and use that drive to help them reach their...

With rapid technological advances in recent years, we in the graphic arts industry are all trying to adapt to a changing market. Today it’s all about the customer experience. Clients demand accurate work and fast turnaround. Thanks to many new technologies, companies are able to differentiate themselves with the efficiency and high quality attainable only through automation solutions. “You can’t manage what you don’t measure.” This idea, in a nutshell, is what automated job management allows. You need to measure key metrics like throughput, inventory, expenses, and customer satisfaction to better manage and control your operations. Progressive companies, like our speakers from Classic in Charlotte, NC, and DME in Daytona Beach, Florida, have systems to track these metrics and quantify their impact on performance, production workflow changes, and the effectiveness of the messaging they are providing their customers. Automated systems provide the most reliable data. So how do you begin improving your process and embracing an automated system? Here are answers to some of the common questions about implementing new automated technology in the production workflow. My company wants to optimize our job workflow to cut costs and increase production and quality. How do we get started? To get the greatest ROI, first take the time to look at each individual step in your workflow, from how your company acquires customers to how products are delivered and invoiced, and assess how an automated system will fit in. Go for low-hanging fruit—those areas that cause the most issues or bottlenecks. Once we have studied our current workflow, what automated solutions are available to track jobs throughout our facility? Tracking and connectivity can include JDF and JMF messaging, shop floor data collection, or a direct machine interface. These selections may be fully integrated into an MIS or a standalone third-party system where you decide how integrated it is with your existing production workflow. How do we choose between a fully integrated MIS vs. a third-party automated solution? Each choice offers its own advantages and disadvantages, depending on the specific needs of your facility. The important factors you need to consider when choosing are 1) the workflow circumstances within your shop, 2) any existing automated workflow systems, and 3) the greatest waste origins like production facility bottlenecks. What benefits does an MIS offer? The benefits are limitless, but mainly it increases efficiency and profitability for your entire operation when well implemented. As the sophistication of the MIS increases, the ability to collect and track job data becomes more refined. What are some of the biggest advantages of embracing automation? There are multiple advantages of using automation, and some of them are summarized below: Tracking job performance metrics allows you to better manage...