This column first appeared in Printing Impressions September 2019 © Bill Farquharson He is Norm. Norm is a competitor of yours. As you size up the landscape of other printers in the area, he is just average. He is normal. He is Norm. As you work to increase your sales business, understand this: Norm is […]

This column first appeared in Printing Impressions August 2019 © Bill Farquharson While it is valuable for a salesperson to ask questions — of him/herself, to and about customers, etc.— there are good questions and bad questions. Good questions are the ones that improve sales productivity, help understand what is being done well, and make […]

This column first appeared in Printing Impressions July 2019 © Bill Farquharson Google the phrase, “Would you rather” and you will find a bevy of difficult questions posing two options and asking you to pick one. They are not easy for both have consequences. There are many different versions of this exercise, one for kids, […]

This column first appeared in Printing Impressions June 2019 © Bill Farquharson Months of calling and convincing and cajoling and—if we’re being honest here—pleading has paid off and you are finally given the opportunity to make a sales presentation to that big fish account you have been coveting ever since you started in sales. This […]

This column first appeared in Printing Impressions March 2019 © Bill Farquharson In his 2014 Academy Awards acceptance speech for Best Actor, Matthew McConaughey famously stated that his hero was a future version of himself. His exact words were, “Me in 10 years. That’s who I chase.” Think about the sales person you were 10 […]

This column first appeared in Printing Impressions January 2019 © Bill Farquharson “Sales meeting.” No two words in the English language cause a reps’ eyes to roll more than these. They will feign sickness or claim an emergency client meeting in order to avoid what they are sure will be a horrible experience. Then, when […]

This column first appeared in Printing Impressions November 2018 © Bill Farquharson And just like that, 2018 was over and we look ahead to 2019. This is the time of year for thanks and gifts and visits and joy and, of course, top 10 lists. Salespeople? Here’s yours. It’s a bucket list for success. Do […]

This column first appeared in Printing Impressions October 2018 © Bill Farquharson Prospecting is a must. It’s a have-to. It’s as important as exercise, brushing your teeth, eating, stretching, and anything else that needs to be done on a daily basis. For as sure as the Patriots winning the AFC East for the 150th consecutive […]

Vacation (va-ca-shun). Noun. To not work for a while. To shut down and reintroduce yourself to family members known as “children” in places like DisneyWorld (see also “Moneysuck”). 20 years ago, if you had told me I’d be doing a sales tip called, “How to go on vacation” I’d laugh in your face. But sooner or […]

This column first appeared in Printing Impressions July 2018 © Bill Farquharson Before you go any further into this column, grab a pen and pad of paper and answer this question: Why aren’t you selling more? Make a full list of as many things as you can. When you’re done, proceed… Sales people who answer […]

This column first appeared in Printing Impressions June 2018 © Bill Farquharson If you ask someone what comes to mind when they think of a salesperson, you are likely to hear adjectives like, “pushy” and “arrogant” and “obnoxious.” Hollywood certainly has done little to portray the career choice as anything but negative. From Herb Tarlek […]

This column first appeared in Printing Impressions May 2018 © Bill Farquharson It started out like any other sales meeting. Numbers flashed on the screen and you are in danger of falling victim to Death by PowerPoint as Management drones on and on with the speech you’ve heard countless times before and could probably take […]

This column first appeared in Printing Impressions May 2018 © Bill Farquharson For the fifth consecutive time, you lose a bid. Same customer. Same result. “I’ll keep trying,” you tell the client over the phone as she delivers the bad news. “I appreciate the chance to provide pricing. Please let me know if there’s anything […]

This column first appeared in Printing Impressions April 2018 © Bill Farquharson There are many things the boss likes about being, well, The Boss, and he is reminded of one of them every morning as he pulls his cart perfectly between the white lines and directly in front of the sign with his name on […]

This column first appeared in Printing Impressions April 2018 © Bill Farquharson It’s dinner time and you are famished. You weren’t hungry for Chinese food until someone said the trigger words, “Chinese food” and now you can’t get it out of your mind. So, with an intense craving that you didn’t have 10 seconds ago, […]

This column first appeared in Printing Impressions January 2018 © Bill Farquharson When you first start out in sales or as a selling owner, anyone with a pulse is your customer. Reaching across the desk, you apply to fingers to the wrist and if you feel a lub-dub, lub-dub, they are a prospect. Because you’re […]

This column first appeared in Printing Impressions December 2017 © Bill Farquharson Years ago, Joe Davis, the CEO of Consolidated Graphics pulled me aside to discuss a problem: “50% of my sales team does not respond to any form of outside stimuli. I cannot get them off of the dime. That is, I cannot figure […]

This column first appeared in Printing Impressions December 2017 © Bill Farquharson Welcome to CSI Print Sales. We’re a small micro-unit of the big city crime-solvers who investigate wrongs and make them right. Today, we will do a forensic study on a sales subject that frequently causes the death of an order: “Your price is […]

This column first appeared in Printing Impressions October 2017 © Bill Farquharson Imagine holding on to a customer for 30 years. That amount of time could span an entire sales career. Back in the day, young salespeople just starting out were in awe of the veteran reps who had built a book of business made […]

This column first appeared in Printing Impressions September 2017 © Bill Farquharson Sales were slow. Very slow. The salesman sat at his desk and festered. He was frustrated by his lack of results and wondered what he was doing wrong. “Well,” he thought to himself, “there’s only one thing I can do: I’m going fishing!” […]

This column first appeared in Printing Impressions August 2017 © Bill Farquharson What do you give the print sales rep who has everything: Frustration because all phone calls find voice mail, anxiety because he needs to make his numbers every month or else, anger as messages are rarely returned, disbelief when their own customer service […]

This column first appeared in Printing Impressions July 2017 © Bill Farquharson Hi, Al. It’s me. How are you? Hey, I’ve got a problem rep and I’m thinking about letting her go. Since you were my sales manager and mentor all those years ago, I thought you might be able to provide some clarity. Do […]

This column first appeared in Printing Impressions June 2017 © Bill Farquharson A better title for this column might be, “Top Ten (I Didn’t Know That Was a Mistake) Mistakes (That Were 100% Preventable, You Know) Make with (Future Ex) Customers” but the editors felt the font would be too small to be readable, so… […]

This column first appeared in Printing Impressions May 2017 © Bill Farquharson No one ever tells you the truth about high school and the fact that there is no Permanent Record that follows you. No one told you that the Apple stock your grandparents bought you would grow 5000% in 15 years. While it’s too […]