The higher end the machine, the more specialized knowledge is required to sell it.
A production print specialist is a valuable asset that can make the difference between success and failure in that segment. Production printers aren’t commodities like MFPs and standalone printers, and the ability to identify the right customer and applications is especially critical. There’s far more at stake than selling and supporting traditional MFPs.
Not every MFP sales rep can successfully sell production print, and in fact, few do. That’s why dealers doing a booming production print business have specialists who are authorities on the equipment and software, as well as competitive products.
Beyond Production Print Speeds and Feeds
A production print specialist’s knowledge should go beyond speeds, feeds, and monthly volume levels to the type and quantity of documents a customer will produce. This often means full-color printing, finishing, and binding with capabilities at speeds well beyond those of the devices you usually sell.
The production print specialist could be an existing sales rep interested in the technology, a specialist with acute knowledge of the production print market and applications, or a contractor brought in to support specific projects. Such an outsider may be a retired industry analyst or vendor rep. While some dealers furloughed or laid off their production print specialists during the pandemic, others hired them and have seen this portion of their business grow.
“Some dealers’ sales teams are guys selling a commodity,” noted John Fulena, vice president of production and industrial printing, dealer division, Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A. “Others really try to solve a customer’s problem.” The latter may be candidates for being a production print specialist, a person who can define a customer’s options while providing dealers with a significant advantage in situations where a lot of money—and an entire relationship—can be at stake.
The demand for production printing is growing in certain markets with the right types of customers. Satisfying that demand can provide new revenue streams and differentiate your business from competitors. As A.J. Baggott, president of RJ Young, recently told The Cannata Report, “We have been selling a ton of 9200s, Ricoh’s highest-end (toner) offering.” When RJ Young salespeople find opportunities, “…they engage with our production print specialists,” explained Baggott.
Sure, RJ Young is a large dealer with the financial resources to employ specialists, yet that shouldn’t leave out medium-sized dealers who can have a production print specialist onboard or on-call to provide support as needed. Knowledge is what the production print specialist brings to the party.
Questionable Behavior
Selling production print is often a consultative sale, and what that requires to be successful is asking the right questions. “Find out what a customer needs and what has and hasn’t worked to determine what else may be needed,” emphasized Fulena.
German Sacristan, group director, digital printing production services at Keypoint Intelligence, added another element. “A specialist needs to understand the local market challenges and opportunities, as well as production print equipment and brands’ strengths and weaknesses.”
That may sound obvious, but that’s the kind of knowledge that sets a production print specialist apart from a traditional office technology sales rep. You probably know some of this as a dealer, but the production print specialist must understand customer requirements to determine the best solution.
For example, a commercial printer or an in-plant customer may be considering purchasing a new production print device because of a needed capability, such as printing fluorescent colors or embossing. Of course, there is more. “More often than not, it involves finishing,” said Fulena. “Experience is very important here because this involves more labor and knowledge.”
Two lanes of knowledge rise to the top. First is a crystal-clear understanding of a customer’s needs with respect to the types, quality, and quantities of materials produced. This includes how materials are bound (finished), be it corner-stapled, saddle-stitched, or perfect bound. Second is the workflow software needed, something the customer may not know at all. Workflow comes with the territory when selling production print equipment, and a production print specialist should have a strong understanding of typical workflows in a production print environment.
It’s easy to fall down a rabbit hole in the production print segment. Binding, for instance, is intrinsic to page layout and quickly becomes part of customer expectations which rise rapidly when it comes to finishing. While most production equipment, particularly light production machines, can be outfitted with finishing options, one may do a specific thing but not offer other capabilities. This could mean saddle-stitching won’t help a customer seeking perfect binding—the flat, square spine common on softcover books.
The software will dictate whether a press will automatically pull stock from a specific paper drawer and place the title of the document on the spine and make the appropriate folds. Or suppose the customer wants page 31 to fold out. Appropriately configured, some machines can do all this. A production print specialist will know what is required and explain what the device and its optional equipment can and cannot do, keeping customer expectations as under control as possible.
“Customers will expect a rep to hold their hand from the machine up, to matching color, to connecting into their ERP system,” noted Marco Boer, vice president at I.T. Strategies, a production print consultancy near Boston, Massachusetts. “It can be much more complex than for smaller devices.”
More Production Print Specialist Considerations
Production print often means a larger audience for the finished document. And more pages mean more clicks. This can also turn some customers into the “brand police,” seeking color accuracy, especially for logos. In such instances, the workflow process and production printer must be attuned to producing accurate colors when needed. Many production printers can do this, but attention must be given to the workflow and design software used. Such software usually includes color management tools, which, while easier to use, add to the learning curves for a production print specialist, tech support people, and customers.
Another shift to be aware of is inkjet. One-hundred-plus page-per-minute inkjet machines can be excellent choices in the production print space. These devices offer faster speeds, lower operating costs, and less complexity than toner-based systems. While the fastest machines run hundreds of pages per minute, there are smaller systems that fit into the light-production space. Inkjet can be a compelling option based on volume needs. Inkjet is where some aspects of commercial print production are going. The technology is already trickling down to light-production applications.
Sell More with a Production Print Specialist
Although the production print segment is not a suitable segment for every dealer, the smart ones—not just the big ones—are doing their homework and determining if there are opportunities in the markets they serve. Selling production print is not for the unprepared. In almost every successful dealership selling production print, you’ll find a production print specialist armed with a knowledge of the local market who can identify the best possible solution for the dealership’s customers. All of that leads to more sales of production print equipment and more satisfied customers.
Leverage Your Production Print OEM’s Expertise
If training, hiring, or contracting with a production print specialist doesn’t work for you, consider forging an arrangement with your OEM. This can remove your dealership from a complex sales and support process while placing an appropriate production system from a trusted vendor in the hands of a valued customer. Naturally, there’s a but coming. Smaller shops needing only occasional support may be able to get OEM help for one or two deals a year, suggested Konica Minolta’s Fulena. Also, beyond one or two machines, OEMs are likely to expect a dealer to handle service and support.
Service and support can be significantly more complex with production printers than for user-friendly office technology, yet service expectations are the same whether the device comes from a vendor or a dealer. “Vendors know service is what sells the next machine,” said I.T. Strategies’ Boer, “If they fall down on service, a competitor may be selling the next machine.”
Also, consider the sales cycle. The sales cycle for production printers can consume months, but the reward is six-figure price tags. Then there’s installation, which in some cases may require dedicated space, power, ventilation, and operator training. OEMs may be better equipped to handle these than your dealership.
