Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/370309
26 • September 2014 • S I G N & D I G I T A L G R A P H I C S water (as in 10 different customer leads) with "quick concepts," hoping that one of them will provide a sale. Let's assume that the average sales person's closing ratio is at 50%. Is that really a result of their closing ability or a result of designs that are shotgunned through the system just to get them in the customer's hands? It's all about numbers, right? The more designs you throw out there, the more chances you have of landing a sale, right? How's that working for your designer? Are they enjoying the stack of design requests that keep them swamped all day long? Sales people are instructed to "fill the pipeline" so that designers can stay busy pushing out volumes of paper. For the most part this method provides a large expense for the company by add- ing lots of unnecessary busy work that only creates stress for your designer and results in a lowered closing ratio for your salesperson. I am convinced that taking the time to select the clients that you do designs for, based on the probability of getting the sale, is a much better expenditure of company resources. It provides your designer the opportunity to produce a better looking design that addresses the customer's real needs. When designers create 100 design concepts, but only 50% of them become sales, there is a psycho- logical message that is being sent to the designer that they are hitting the mark only half of the time. How depressing. Fewer Designs = Better Results Let's assume that 100 designs cre- ated by the designer will equal 50 sales at a 50% closing ratio. And… 50 designs created by the designer who has time to design a real solution to the customer's needs will naturally provide a higher closing ratio for the salesperson. The rea- son for this is that sales people typically close those accounts that they have the time to aggressively go after. Spreading their efforts out over 100 possible sales opportunities dilutes everyone's efforts and can give the impression that the sales person is out of touch with what the customer really needs. By targeting design solutions to fewer, high-quality customers, and aggressively going after those accounts, sales reps will by default increase their closing ratio and provide a higher dollar-value per sale ratio. For your designer, this process of carefully choosing your leads, so that fewer designs are required, results in a higher percentage of designs that actu- ally become jobs, therefore providing a higher level of job satisfaction. In closing, designers are all unique and each approaches design differently. Learning what makes your designer happy will create a happier individual with a stronger creative side, more drive and a better attitude. Success breeds suc- cess and nothing motivates a designer like knowing that 80 or 90 percent of what they do becomes a job. Add in a com- fortable environment, and a flexible work schedule and you'll soon be realizing higher profits on fewer sales. SDG GET MORE. Out of your digital printing inks. Marabu's superior quality MaraJet solvent-based inkjet inks offer outstanding performance, value and durability. MaraJet Solvent-Based Inkjet Inks • Accurate Color Reproduction • Plug & Print • Problem Free Printing Get more. Get Marabu. contact-mna@marabu.com 888.253.2778 marabu-northamerica.com @MarabuNorthAmer Visit us at Booth 220! PHILADELPHIA • SEPTEMBER 4-6