Success Case Study 2 – Commodity or Revenue Generator?

[Kathi Simonsen]

The economic downturn and the dramatic growth in marketing venues available to advertisers have eroded our value differential in publishing.  Our products have often shifted from "unique and valued”   to commodity which has made it difficult to combat price pressures.  But now, the "fire storm" of the economic downturn has cleared away many of the "weaker trees” whose only claim was discounting.  The day is here to begin to rebuild our businesses by doing what we do best – acting as solution providers.

This month's success story is about a salesperson that has had to struggle against commoditization even more than we in publishing.  What product is more of a commodity than paper?  Price is the only differential. Or is it?  Here is a salesperson that provides much more than paper to his publishing clients.  He provides any solutions his clients (and anyone related to them) might need.   We can learn a lot from his approach.

I met Marcus Witte, of Graphic Communications, a national paper broker, in my role as a board member of the Western Publisher’s Association.  I quickly noticed that he was always willing to go out of his way to help the association.  But beyond that I was continuously impressed with the way Marcus kept in touch. I received e-mails from him with potential leads for my business. He pointed out conferences that he thought might be useful to me and information on what others in our industry were doing.  I don’t buy paper, but my customers do, and who do you think I’ll recommend?  I asked Marcus if he’d share a little bit about his selling philosophy. 

He said, “If a salesperson works diligently to bring value to publishers in that first conversation and helps them with real solutions, they will remember him or her.   It takes time to build relationships. Attempt to close a sale too quickly and the client will feel pushed and will back away.  But show them that you care about their business and you become their partner.  Things to Remember: 

1.  Bring value, grow relationships, help people
2.  Value the customer’s time, always bring something of value to the time you’ve earned
3.  Earn the right to be heard more than once
4.  You are a disposable resource if you ignore the things to remember...”

Marcus seeks out valuable information for his "partners" on the trends in their industries.  He sends a lot of this information snail mail because people are more likely to open it than e-mail.  He tries to get to one or two of his large clients' conferences or trade shows each year.  He also reads a lot about their businesses and offers to bring in experts from his company to teach the publisher in areas that can help.

He is always on the lookout for ways to help everyone related to his work.  He often brings his clients business through his connections. He also brings them new opportunities, new customer needs and new technology.  He is a great example of the illustration I often use in my training - the salesperson is a worker bee who carries pollen from one flower to another to help the whole garden. 

What is Marcus’ payoff for all this hard work and extra effort?  He is visible, well known and well respected in the publishing community in his territory.  When publishers on the West Coast think of paper, they think of Marcus.  Why?  Because he has “earned the right to be heard”.   He “gives his customer’s success and that success comes back to him”.   All of you, my most excellent clients, know these phrases well :-).   

Let’s keep thinking of innovative ways to apply them as we rebuild publishing’s success.   Let’s overcome the commodity trap and the price war by providing valuable customer solutions.