Committed business development leadership is hard to hide, and it’s also hard to fake. New reps receive too little real education and training. Current Reps receive even less, or none of an ongoing nature. And Buyers know it.

Critically, our vast industry’s Graphic Communications Business Development Programs should be updated and especially at our” academic institutions,” which tend to have “0” re. Business Development curriculum with the University of Houston Digital Media Program …representing a rare exception.

If our Production Schedule is full, do we know why? Is it seasonal and most likely temporary? Wouldn’t your major customers appreciate an offer to assist them with their Print & Promotion budgeting process for 2020? Wouldn’t you like to know your major customers budgets for Print and Promotion-related Services for 2020

Look at the great Teams, the great organizations, with profound, sustained, competitive reputations. Do they ever quit training, and posting results? What are you measuring, and improving, and reporting that makes you a better company….a company that employees and customers want to be associated with?

Employees and Customers are “peeling off” one at a time. How can this happen? What happened to “The Value” --- that was acquired……it was acquired….wasn’t it….? Did anyone recognize the value?

Too seldom are we asking, “Why are we here, where are we going and do our actions support our answers? Why aren’t we willing to “put on the table”…. what we are doing or neglecting that should not occur? The answer includes, “Then we’ll know more of the truth and we’ll have even bigger difficulty avoiding…… not acting… on what we know….….!”

An Inside Sales Rep, with immediate, day-to-day staff support --- working at desk, with a computer --- and phone --- just a short distance from her/his Sales Manager --- becomes profitable for the employer…….

Why take a long-term view a strategic view of everything you’re about based on “Value created for target customers”……”Value recognized by target customers”?

In other segments of our economy when an important product does not receive great, reliable performance and especially SERVICE, that product brand name becomes trash…a pariah. It’s true of autos, computers, food companies, appliances and it’s true for commercial print.

In today’s world of increasing technology, “Great Customer Service”…. is the ‘gold standard’… of modest organizations….for winning your war against large, publicly owned, technology-driven organizations… who prove by what they do….that they don’t really care about their customers.