Sarah Scudder

“The tradition of adorning the neck with a knotted piece of fabric dates back to the 17th century. The Croatian soldiers of the Thirty Years War (1618-1648) were one of the first documented peoples to don a necktie, which they used to keep together the collars of their shirts. French soldiers brought the look back…

Buyers are busy people and are constantly bombarded with sales pitches. They know how to tune out salespeople and focus on their key objectives by leveraging their networks to get referrals for service providers. This is why follow-up is key. Here are my top five tips...

My company, in conjunction with three other service providers, recently hosted a marketing services procurement panel in Dallas. We wanted to get marketing decision makers together in one room to pick their brains. What are their successes? Their challenges? What do they believe are the best procurement services practices? We wanted to learn, from a marketing perspective, what they look for in a print supplier company...

On April 19, I scheduled an in-person meeting with a technology prospect in San Jose. The meeting was with procurement and the director of creative services. A week earlier, I had blocked out time in my schedule to prepare. I remember staring at my blank computer screen wishing I had a plan...

Last week, I, along with 290 other motivated supply-chain professionals, attended a procurement conference in Washington, D.C. It was a content-driven, thought leadership, focused event. Because I was attending this event as a supplier, my focus was to meet as many valuable contacts as possible and...

If you have been following my wonderfully witty and funny Mad Millennial column, you know about my Dec. 19, 2017 post: “How Flowers Can Help Close Deals.” In that particular post, I talked about how I send flower bouquets with personalized notes to my female prospects. But, what about male prospects?...

Last year, I was invited to attend a supply chain event in San Francisco. The event was on a Thursday from 5:30 p.m. – 8 p.m. The meeting format encouraged networking and had an education component. Also, there were awards given that celebrated the great work being done by Bay Area sourcing executives...

Lets face it, it’s hard to stand out. Buyers are bombarded with phone calls, emails and in-person approaches at conferences. Sellers are desperate to get time with decision-makers. I’ve been on both sides—a buyer and a seller. When I go to print industry conferences, I’m looking for new...

I’m a believer that personality plays an important role in selling. I’m a super Type A person, so I prefer to buy from people and companies that are organized, detailed and competent. But I also like people and companies that have a healthy sense of humor. Silvercar is a great example...

I’m holding my first Trends & Innovative In Print Procurement session with a marketing procurement team for a Fortune 100 company next week. The goal is to educate buyers about new and better ways to do their jobs, to increase efficiencies, to make things easier and to increase value. I also will talk about...

Jet lag, heavy suitcases, time spent away from family and friends, lousy food, insomnia, airports—none of these are any of my six reasons for skipping a conference, but all are true. There are additional warning signs to look for, starting with the attendee list...

Early in my career, I traveled to Dallas to meet with a client. Knowing my company was already paying for my flight and travel, I wanted to maximize my company’s investment in me by trying to meet with prospects and potential referral partners in town...

At age 34, I’m the chief growth officer for one of the 10 fastest-growing print management companies in the United States. I serve on major industry boards, host a radio show, write three monthly national columns and run my own supplement company. Through all my failures and successes, I’ve learned a lot about how to move ahead in my career...

The dog gets sick. The computer won’t boot. It starts pouring down rain during my run and my hair gets ruined. On to work. Angry phone calls. No positive responses to my email inquiries. My best client is selling her business. What do I do...

Am I making the best use of my time? I used to focus on how many hours I worked a week. Now, I focus on how I can get more done in the least amount of time. Am I focusing on the right stuff? I found that a lot of what I was doing was actually not needed...