Ingenuity plus attention to detail helps distributors land lucrative accounts.
When it comes to selling catalogs, brochures and booklets, the question isn't who buys them, the question is who doesn't buy them. Serving as vehicles that market and promote business and list or display information that is pertinent to a company's sales, these items are basic necessities among end-users in any market. As such, distributors can expect them to be fairly easy to sell. The difficulty, however, lies in the way distributors present solutions to end-users that require these products.
"Distributors are well suited to go after business in this arena," said Mike Gordon, president of Commercial Business Forms, Cedar Knolls, N.J. "They can begin their sales pitch with a clean, fresh slate and then tailor the product to their clients' needs, but they need to be creative about it."
For instance, noted Gordon, Commercial Business Forms distributes catalogs to an auto parts importer, which sells its parts to auto body shops. In order to do so effectively, efficiently and successfully, the importer needs to present its auto parts and costs in a clear, easy-to-reference catalog.
"We were able to achieve this objective," said Gordon, "by understanding the different scenarios the auto body shop's employees experience on a daily basis." As a result, Gordon said his client was able to maintain good business.
The catalog's exterior design is as important as its interior content. According to Gordon, knowing how the catalog will be handled, who uses it and where it will be used are critical factors that effect the design process.
"By obtaining this information, a distributor can solicit accounts that once relied on high-speed copy centers, such as Kinkos, to get the job done," said Gordon.
In fact, Commercial Business Forms sells booklets to a company employing service technicians that were experiencing various gliches with books, which were being printed at Kinkos. Gordon explained that the main problem was that the books would not stay open since they were stapled. "Using those books caused the technicians to become frustrated, so we recommended a wire-o book, which stays flat so technicians can easily record information ," he said.
The brainstorm did not end there, however. Gordon said he went a step further after discovering that the company wanted to prevent technicians from ripping pages out of the book. By offering numbered pages, Commercial Business Forms exceeded Kinkos' services, which do not offer page numbering. Gordon was able to solve an additional problem by offering yet another service the copy store could not—90 lb. indexes. Since the booklets receive high usage, the client needed pages that would not wear and tear too easily. "We were able to solve many issues by offering changes to the print process for a basic booklet," said Gordon. "It is a matter of sitting down with customers and outlining their needs and wants."
Richard Ghelerter, president and owner of Jacksonville, Florida-based Apex Color, concurred. Distributing mostly to real estate companies and clients requiring sport and show programs, Ghelerter said the sales process for catalogs, brochures and booklets involves creative thinking, which is generally different from selling basic forms.
"Distributors work with the marketing department instead of Purchasing for these orders because there are many more elements to consider, including ads, text and page numbers," he said. With so many factors to be wary of, Ghelerter noted that a manufacturer's biggest concern is whether or not distributors are paying enough attention to detail and submitting corrected proofs.
"Some distributors are notorious for not looking at proofs," said Ghelerter. "But when it comes to booklets and catalogs, someone has to approve a draft of exactly how the product should fold and stitch in order to guarantee that the pages, ads and text are in line."
Unfortunately, files are sent that have not been proofed and corrected. For instance, noted Ghelerter, an ad may be missing that is not detected until after thousands of copies of the catalog, booklet or brochure have been printed. As a result, the job has to be re-run, a costly process the distributor usually has to pay for.
"Distributors can save a lot of time, money and frustration by planning ahead," advised Ghelerter. "Knowing that we turn jobs around in five to 10 working days, it's best if they can complete the design process and proof a final draft about a month before the customer expects the piece to be distributed." This way, he added, if an error occurs, there is still ample time to correct and re-run the job.
Additional issues that distributors should take note of are whether or not files are saved as CMYK rather than RGB, checking for missing fonts and logos and preparing files to the manufacturer's specifications.
Whether or not a client prefers perfect bound, perfect case bound, saddle stitch or spiral binding is also important when beginning the design process.
Said Ghelerter, "Smaller booklets or calendar-type pieces can easily be saddle-stitched while keeping their integrity intact. Larger booklets that may include forms or applications to be completed should be spiral bound for easy handling."
Keeping a job doesn't only depend on how thoroughly a distributor executes it, it can also depend on how accommodating he or she is.
According to Gordon, "Distributors who want to make money selling these products will have to drop some of their notions of loyalty vs. disloyalty."
If a client needs an order of booklets in a short period of time, the distributor may have to call on an alternative vendor who can get the job done quickly, he added.
"It's not a matter of disloyalty by using multiple manufacturers, it's a matter of being able to get the job done," said Gordon. "Maintaining strong relationships with several manufacturers and calling on each of them for various jobs is being loyal."
Retaining business also means ascertaining the difference between a client's needs and wants.
By Sharon R. Cole
- Companies:
- Apex Color
- Commercial Business Forms
- People:
- Mike Gordon
- Richard Ghelerter
- Places:
- Cedar Knolls