In this Ask Evan episode, host Evan Carmichael answers a question from Clementina, a marketing manager at a printing company, about why prospects request quotes but rarely convert. Evan advises a shift from price‑driven, commodity selling to a relationship‑focused, value‑based approach. He outlines a step‑by‑step framework: (1) craft a clear Unique Value Proposition (UVP) that differentiates the business by service, niche market, or special features; (2) target ideal clients who value that UVP and avoid low‑price shoppers; (3) replace instant quoting with a discovery call or meeting to understand client goals and build trust; (4) develop a customized sales package that includes tailored samples, ROI case studies, testimonials, and a strategic plan for the prospect’s industry; (5) implement a disciplined follow‑up system—initial check‑ins every few weeks and quarterly touch‑points—to stay top‑of‑mind and position the printer as a strategic partner rather than a commodity supplier. Throughout, Evan emphasizes premium pricing justified by expertise and the importance of nurturing long‑term relationships over one‑off transactions.
Chapters
Hi, I'm Evan Carmichael. Welcome to another edition of Ask Evan. In today's episode, I'm going to answer a question from one of my newsletter readers, Clementina. She's the marketing manager at a printing company, and she's pretty new in her job, and she's finding that people are coming in asking for quotes for her services, but they aren't following through and becoming customers. So she's wondering what my advice would be on how she can market the business more effectively. Clementina, the printing business is cutthroat. It's almost a race to the bottom where people are discounting their prices just to get the business. And like any entrepreneur, you don't want to compete on price. It's one of the hardest things to maintain as a competitive advantage. You want to try to find something else that can differentiate yourself. So the first thing I would do for you if I was in your business is I'd come up with my unique value proposition. So basically what this will answer is what makes you different from all the other printing companies. And it could be your service, it It could be you're targeting a specific type of customer, so manufacturing or lawyers or whatever it is. It could be special features that you add to your printing service that other people don't add. But you basically need to find some way to stand out that's different from all the other printing companies. And when you introduce yourself, you put that as part of your statement. So instead of writing an email saying, you know, we're part of a printing company, you say, I'm the printing company that does XYZ for these types of clients. So you wanna make sure that you can identify your target customer and you've done a good job identifying why you're different than everybody else. So quick example for me, I do a lot of work with brands who are trying to target entrepreneurs, and everybody on my website is an entrepreneur. And I get approached all the time from different companies who want to promote their products or services, and if it's not related to entrepreneurship, I can't really help. And I tell them that, and there's, you know, huge markets open for me potentially to promote other things and talk about other things, but I really care about entrepreneurs, and that's what I really love doing, and that's what my website, my business, is geared towards. So I turn away business that might be lucrative because it's not really my target market. But then when somebody is interested in selling to entrepreneurs or working with entrepreneurs, I'm able to help them, and I'm able to charge a premium, not just a regular price, but a premium, because that's what I focus on, that's what I'm really good at. So same thing for your business. What are you really good at? Who can you really help? And how can you stand out from everybody else and go after specific clients who can really value those services? So not everybody in the business who wants printing is gonna want service. A lot of people are just looking for the lowest price, and you don't want those customers. You want to identify the guys who value service and who really value the expertise that you bring to the table. And I'm assuming that you have some special expertise and you are focused on service. So you want to really define that. So figure that out with your unique value proposition, and then only go after the clients and customers who fit the mold of the ideal client that you're trying to chase. Okay, you mentioned that a lot of people were then asking for quotes and weren't following through. So the next thing I would do, and this would be me if it was my business, and I do this in my own business, I don't just quote people. So if somebody asks for a quote, I don't just give them a quote on the phone or by email. It's important for me that I understand the needs of my clients and that I'm working with them. So I'll always at least have a phone call if they're not based here in Toronto where I'm from, but I'll usually try to set up a meeting. And at the point of that meeting is to to understand why they're interested in working with me, what their goals are, what they want to achieve by working with me, and it builds a relationship with them. And you want to do the same thing. So I would approach my clients, people who are interested in potentially using my printing services, and instead of just offering a quote, I try to set up a meeting to talk to them about what their challenges are, why they're trying to hire us, and how we might be able to help them. And I get an understanding of if I can help them and how I can help them. And it builds that trust and it's more likely that they're gonna wanna work with me if they find that I'm professional, I care about their needs, I'm responsive, and I took the time to meet with them. Now most people you're not gonna be able to meet with and a lot of people won't wanna meet with you. And probably those are the clients who you don't wanna have as clients. If somebody's just shopping around trying to find the lowest price and, you know, you offer to meet with them and they don't wanna meet with you, then I wouldn't want that person as my client anyway. So you're weeding out some of the people who are just kind of bottom feeders looking for the lowest price available. Again, you wanna Focus on that unique value proposition, see why you're different, and the people will appreciate that when you end up meeting with them for coffee or over the phone. The next thing I would do is come up with a package. And what a lot of printing companies do that I've seen is you send out samples. So somebody might say, "Send me some samples of what you've done before." And what I would do instead of just sending out samples, I'd try to send out a package that is tailored to my customer. So if, for example, your unique value proposition states that you're really focused on working with manufacturers, And you're really good at working with manufacturers, you understand their needs, you understand their printing needs, you understand their goals, what they need to get done. And what I would do with my package here is not just include samples of work that we've done for previous manufacturing companies, which is important, but I'd also outline an entire marketing strategy for what we've done in the past. So show the ROI that other manufacturing companies you've worked with have seen from working with your services. Include testimonials and pictures and quotes from people who you've worked with who are in a similar business, like manufacturing again, whatever industry it is, but make sure it's targeted to that client. And so when your client is looking at your offering versus everybody else, first you took the time to meet with them, second you gave them a professional package that is catered to their needs and shows that you really understand what their goals are, and even though you're charging a higher price a lot of people will think, "Well, this is worth it because these guys really get what I'm doing." So I would try to get that ingrained as part of your process. You're always doing this as part of your sales process instead of just sending out samples and quoting people by email. The last thing I would do is follow up. So a lot of sales calls and a lot of sales process dies because the company doesn't follow up. And it could be because either they found another supplier, or, you know, the budget disappeared for what they wanted to do, or they're not interested in doing it anymore. But I would try to follow up, at least at the beginning, every couple weeks, just to figure out, you know, if you landed the deal or not, if there's any other questions you can ask or not. And then on an ongoing basis, I keep people on my database and quarterly just touch base with them. Try to follow up, give them some new ideas on how they might be able to market their business, or new printing services that you're offering. Just to maintain that relationship. And what you wanna do, especially for business clients, if you're selling business to business, you wanna be seen as an important part of somebody's business and not just a supplier. And so when I meet with my clients, as an example, I don't just bill them and I don't talk to them anymore, especially if the client is over as well. I'll follow up every quarter with, with all my clients and try to give them information and data that could help them make important business decisions. And hopefully, like puts me in a position of being really important to their business and not just a commodity supplier where they could drop me and go to somebody else really quickly. So especially with you where you're selling a printing service that might be seen as a commodity type of product that somebody could buy, you wanna find ways to establish that relationship and give them information on a regular basis that can help them achieve their business objectives and grow their companies. So, you know, what do you send them? It all still comes back to Instead of having that quote, we've had that meeting and we understand what they're looking for and we try to help them grow their business. Now not everybody you meet is gonna be able to sign up with you, maybe not in the immediate future as well, maybe a longer-term process, but that's where the follow-up comes in and touching base with everybody at least once a quarter to see, you know, again, if you might be able to help them with their services and grow their business. So I hope that helps. It might be a little bit of a different model than what you're used to. But it's moving you from being a commodity printing company, and this is for any entrepreneur, moving from a commodity service, being seen as somebody that they can just drop quickly and competing only on price, to being a valuable part of your customer's business by understanding what they're really looking for, targeting your market really well and not just taking on anybody, not just quoting people, going and meeting with them, and follow-up, making sure you touch base with them on a regular basis. To show how much you care about their company. So I hope that helps. If you like the video, I'd love to hear what you guys have to think below. If you wanna leave a comment, and I always appreciate it when you leave a thumbs up below. So thank you for watching and stay tuned for the next episode.
