Saturday, March 22, 2008

Copier Sales People "How to Sell Wide Format"


The buzzword in the AEC industry is scanning and archiving. All digital wide format systems will scan in some way shape or form. If you work for a dealership or manufacturer that is selling wide format systems, you want to attack these types of clients.


· Construction Companies
· General Contractors
· Architects (Design & Build)
· Engineers
· Builders
· Print 4 Pay
· Telecommunications
· Utilities
· Manufacturing

Most of these clients will have an inket plotter, a Diazo Blueprint Machine, a wide format copier (digital or analog). Also, most of these clients are usually out sourcing additional copies, prints or scans to a P4P shop in their area.

Strategies:

Focus on helping the customer with an existing problem. Whether it is copies, prints, scans or the volume of paper that is handled on a day-to-day basis in their office. You must be able to “drill down” with the client and even interview some of the staff to find out where problem or pain is. Most will be happy to tell you as long as you ask the questions. You want to look for inefficient wok flows, time delays for getting the project completed on time. You should also be asking if they out source documents for printing, copying or scanning.


Finding Potential Clients:


Nothing beats old-fashioned cold calling. Yep, knocking on doors! At one time I would walk up to a closed door and then turn around because I was afraid of the rejection. I got over this pretty quickly. If you are concentrating in the SMB (small to mid size business) for architects, engineers, surveyors, and contractors, you have a great chance of meeting the owner or the decision maker when you walk in the office. Compared to making a telephone call and having to leave or message because they have already assumed that you are trying to sell something.


Securing the Appointment:


As long as you are prospecting on a daily basis the appointments will come. “Build it and they will come”. When talking to a prospective client you must ask for the appointment (somethings never change). Ask them for 15 minutes of their time, with this you can discuss what system may be right for them or if they need your system at all. Sometimes, telling them that they may not be right for your system will peak their interest.


These are just a few of the paragraphs that came from my book titled "How to Sell Wide Format". Which includes marketing, the appointment, ROI selling, glossary, selling tips and much more!


If you would like the full copy, please send me and email art@P4Photel.com. There is a cost of $19.95 for the booklet.

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