Make the Grade with Education Sales
Printed products bring profitable returns for distributors in the education market.
Whether it is forms, commercial printing or promotional products, the education market offers distributors a variety of avenues that will ensure outstanding profits.
"On the university level, I have sold everything from cut-sheets and application forms to en-velopes and letterhead," said Greg Linhardt, senior account representative at Best Business Systems (BBS), Bowling Green, Ky.
When it comes to this market, however, BBS—part of the International Business Solutions Alliance (IBSA) network of distributors headquartered in Bowling Green and headed by President Paul Keith—has found its niche in commercial printing. The company provides catalog, invitation and brochure printing for several departments at Western Kentucky University (WKU) in Bowling Green. Said Linhardt, "We do brochures for the university's intramural sports department. They send these brochures to students to try to generate interest in the program."
The company is fairly new to the commercial printing arena, only supplying WKU with commercial printing since 2002. "We were somewhat behind the times," said Linhardt. "Our branching into commercial printing is a direct result of one of my customers encouraging me to learn the process because the industry was moving in that direction."
Indeed, technology is the wave of the future. Linhardt said that he has received a fair amount of business as a result of leads from the Internet. "Online activity has had a positive effect on our business," he said. "In our experience, whenever a company e-mails a promotional special for a product to the departments that we service at the university, because of our relationship with them, the department then places an order with us."
Linhardt said that BBS has been treading new waters with its current assignment to provide WKU with tickets for an upcoming on-campus event with comedian Dave Chappelle. The university enrollment averages 18,000 students per semester. "Selling tickets to the university for the show is probably the most unique thing that we have done," he said. "They asked us to supply them with the tickets for the event, and we have been successfully able to do so." He added, "This is the first time that we are venturing into this type of arena, and we are very excited about it."
In regard to promotional items, Linhardt said that BBS prides itself on providing ad specialty items to its clients, in conjunction with printed products. "The best thing about our company is that we offer printed products and ad specialty items," he said. "If the university contracts with us to provide invitations for an event, we also try to tie in an ad specialty item that will go well with the printed piece."
For instance, Linhardt described the time when BBS provided the invitations for a wiffleball tournament held by the university's intramural sports department. "Along with the invitations, we also sold the department the shirts for the tournament, towels, stress balls and other promotional items," he said.
Linhardt said that educational institutions can also find many creative applications in using the school's mascot as a promotional piece. "I approached the university with the idea of making a custom-shaped cache of its mascot, Big Red," he said. "They liked the idea so much that they ordered 1,000 pieces." (A cache is a trinket-like box that can be used to store small office items, such as paperclips.)
Like many service-oriented organizations, universities and schools are generally strapped for funds. "Manufacturers should be aware that because of budgeting issues, the education market is very price-competitive," Linhardt said. "It would be helpful if they assisted us with getting the best prices for our customers." Linhardt also said that because of BBS' affiliation with IBSA, the company has experienced greater selling power.
Working closely alongside BBS is Bruce Tanner, president of First Class Printing, a manufacturer and printer located in Fayetteville, Tenn.
Tanner, whose company prints everything from report cards for primary levels to marketing items for university recruitment, agrees with Linhardt. "The challenge for us on the manufacturing end is to deal with budget cuts," he said. "This causes us to have shorter press runs and faster turnaround times."
Linhardt admitted that it is slightly more difficult to sell to educational institutions because of budgeting concerns. However, he said that having a creative approach to selling will help distributors. "Educational institutions tend to want a lot for the least amount of money possible," explained Linhardt. "It is always helpful for distributors to provide creative ways for clients in this market to meet their needs," he said.
Linhardt advised distributors to bring ideas to the table and help customers with design elements. "I did a thank-you card/invitation for WKU that featured a collage of black-and-white photos, with a one-color image of the school's mascot in the middle," he explained. "I brought them a full-color idea, but we made it black-and-white—saving them a substantial amount of money."
Linhardt said that he sees a continuing trend towards commercial printing in the education market. "I think that's where we are headed as a company," he said. "People are interested in seeing color and attractive print."
To ensure the best service, Tanner advised distributors to place orders early. "Distributors should be aware of opening dates for schools and universities," he said. "This way, they can place orders well in advance to avoid the rush at the beginning of the school year."
By Cynthia T. Graham