Marketing 101

                                          By Larry McGinnis

Have you noticed that everyone looks much the same in our business these days?.  The equipment is similar looking and we are all shouting the same story.   What will you do in the coming years to set yourself apart from the crowd?   One way to stand out is to sell a program rather than a product.  Everyone is selling a service contract; you should be selling the Copy Assurance Program.   Everyone is selling printers; you should be selling a Total Document System.  Everyone is selling cost-per-copy contracts; you should be selling The Balanced Copy System.  These are a few of the program names that I have heard through the years.

Good marketing is just a way of making you stand out and stand above the run of the mill dealer.  Let’s examine how one would present The Balance Copy System, actually it can be anything that you want, but this is how I would sell it.

The Balanced Copy System:

A perfect balance between Machine, Supplies and Service.

Machine: We pre-selected the prefect machine for you based on your needs for print quality, speed and durability.  We have access to hundreds of machines in the class of machine that you are looking for.  We have selected the FFFF213 Copier.  It meets your needs perfectly.  Let’s face it some machines perform better then others.  We are in a position of knowing which machines are top performers and which ones are sub par.  Not only does the FFFF213 meet your needs perfectly, but it meets our high standards of performance as well.

Supplies:  Most people under estimate the importance of the supplies used in their copier.  While the manufacturers supply product is usually good at doing the job, they are not always the best.  We know what works best in your machine and we will furnish the best possible print supplies for your copier, once again, based on your needs.  Do you need optimum copy quality?  Is lower cost per copy your primary concern? We have the perfect fit. 

Service:  We combine over 80 years of service experience and it shows.  We were rated number one in our market by Market Research Corp. in customer satisfaction.  When you call us you get a human answering your call and you will have a good idea when we can be out to take care of your problem. When we get there, we will have the right part with us 87% of the time.  Our business was built on great service and we intend to keep it growing by continuing this proud tradition.  

Every part of this presentation points to a company that is different and proud to be different.   If presented with conviction and enthusiasm this presentation will gain sales for you and will increase your profits.

A word of caution, the above is only a guide.  Make sure that you are telling the truth and your claims can be substantiated.  The Balanced Copy Systems should be printed on the back of a full color flyer and is part of the selling presentation.  But don’t just leave it with the prospect, present it.  It is just good old fashioned selling and that never goes out of style. 

I have enclosed a sample of a flyer.  The flyer was designed on an excellent web site for full color printing www.vistaprint.com,  the prices are good and you can buy small quantities. u 

Larry McGinnis brings over 30 years of experience to the office machine business. His Company TEC-AID markets a service department management program called ServiceTrak and a sales aid program called SalesBuilder Plus. He can be reached by calling (866) 983-2243 or check out his web site at tec-aid.com.