More often than not, successful businesses reach their goals through the consistent application of proven selling concepts. That's especially true in the advertising layout and design business industry where careless mistakes can translate into losses in market share.

Role of Owners & Managers

Owners and managers play an active role in selling to advertising design and printing businesses. Front line visibility is essential for large accounts, but your sales team can benefit from on-the-job partnerships with the owner or sales manager.

By periodically accompanying your reps in the field, you can build relationships with the people you count on to close sales.

Benefits of Networking

Networking broadens your prospect pool. In addition to raising your company's profile, it increases the amount of influence you have with advertising design and printing businesses.

But more importantly, a strategy that emphasizes networking can be a lead generation machine. Sometimes the leads you generate through skillful networking will be leads that you had never considered before.

Reaching Prospective Customers

Prospecting transforms contacts into qualified leads.

Networking can fine tunes prospecting performance and conversion ratios. However, it's important to make sure your sales force isn't so focused on adding names to their contact list that they miss the point of prospecting, i.e. the identification of likely buyers, key decision makers and high value industry contacts. In other words, the type of people you meet is just as important as the number of people you meet when prospecting for advertising design and printing businesses.

Lead lists are useful because they narrow the field for your team. Third-party lists from reputable vendors (e.g. Experian Business Services) arm your sales force with good leads, making it easier for your company to balance the quantity and quality demands that are prerequisites for effective prospecting.