Jan 6, 2009

As an outside sales rep, I am constantly on the look-out for new customers. Every new customer has the potential to be that "big job" well all love to get. Well recently, I made an appointment to meet with the general manager from Michigan Freeze Pack, who is an acquaintance of mine, to discuss all of our capabilities and see in what ways we might be able to service his company.

To my delight, Michigan Freeze Pack was changing their logo, which meant new signage, office supplies and apparel. Unfortunately, they had already contracted another company to do the sign, so we lost out there.

But here's where the power of "One Stop Shopping" comes into play. Since we are a full service printing company, every couple of weeks, I would send him emails checking in to see how things were going, and to inform him of any specials we were running at the time. Not much later, the GM called and said they were thinking of ordering some apparel for their company, and would I send him our catalog.

A week or so after that, he sent a list of items and quantities, he wanted quoted. To my amazement, there were over 500 pieces of apparel in various colors and styles listed. I quoted the apparel and sent the estimate that day.

The next morning I received a signed approval to proceed with the order. The total of the order was $8655.00.

So while I was disappointed we lost out on the sign, because of our capabilities, we were able to land a much larger contract.

The lesson here is pretty clear. Don't give up. You never know what opportunities might present themselves. Had I just quit after finding out about the sign, we never would have secured the apparel contract. But by developing a relationship, we ended up with a bigger job than just the sign. Creating a relationship with people is the key to building a life customer. As is remembering that we are only as good as the service we provide.

I'd also like to add, Graphics House is a "solution-based" company. In this instance our solution for Michigan Freeze pack was not the sign, but apparel. And it was a solution that worked best for all.