Every operation has them. Those difficult clients with messy jobs, bad files and unrealistic expectations. The customers that your team tries to avoid. Their jobs result in chaos. And the refrain is: “Why can’t they be like department X (insert name of your best customer)?”

Do all your customers know everything your operation can do? I rarely get a ‘Yes’ when I ask this question. In-plant operations typically serve many customers and internal departments producing a wide range of products and services. Yet many of those same customers may have little comprehension of the full breath of services your operation can produce.

The holiday season is upon us and 2024 is in sight. A new year, time for new thinking and new approaches. Do you have a defined plan to achieve specific goals in 2024? If your organization does not have a formal process for annual strategic planning, consider a conducting a strategic assessment for your print mail operation.

As a consultant I am often engaged when decision makers want to improve their sales results. I regularly hear “we want the sales team to be more effective,” and “we want them to sell more.” These appear to be universal goals in the print and mailing industry.

Sales effectiveness is the combined result of four disciplines: sales leadership, sales methodology, sales execution, and sales culture.

Let’s focus first on sales leadership. Great sales leaders see their role in helping their team to achieve desired results.

Does everyone on your team know all the plays? It’s Fall. It’s football season. It’s fourth quarter. And for many companies it is the time for budgeting and strategic planning. Companies have both formal or informal processes for strategic planning and budget planning. Yet, few people get excited about the time spent in the planning process.