Featured Topic - Tips For High Margin Paper Sales

August 2006 - No doubt the fastest moving paper item you sell is everyday copy paper. But are your premium, value-add, high margin paper sales fast enough for you? Perhaps not. Here is a list of tips and techniques you may want to try. They should help you accelerate your premium paper sales (not to mention your bottom line).

Provide Ample Samples
One of the quickest ways to get your customers interested in premium papers is by sampling. You’ll really have their attention when they see the difference between ordinary copy paper and “the good stuff.” But don’t just drop off a sample pack; take a little time to make a more dramatic impact.

Most customers only use value-add papers for projects like proposals, presentations, financial reports, etc. So take a few minutes to mock-up a sample presentation and then print it out on both regular copy paper and high-end paper like color copy, laser or premium inkjet.

Then show the printed samples to your customers. Let them thumb through your mocked-up presentation versions. Then ask them some questions like:

  • Which presentation made a better impression? Why?

  • Which presentation seemed more credible?

  • If these presentations were printed by different companies both trying to do business with you, which company would you be more likely to pick based on the quality of their presentation?
You’ll have your customer’s attention. Walk them through the Laser, Color Copy and Ink Jet pages in your United Stationers general line catalog and ask for an order.

Note: United Stationers offers independent dealers a wide selection of free samples right on PaperRap.com. You’ll need a password to process the order, so if you don’t have one simply contact our Paper Specialists toll free at (888)PAPER60 or email PaperRap@ussco.com.

Share Some Numbers
If your customer studies the numbers, then share some facts & figures likely to get their attention. Here are some numbers from International Paper you can use:
  • 88% - that’s how much better ideas sell when presented in color versus black & white

  • 80% - recognition increases up to this much using color

  • 30% - that’s how much faster invoices are paid when they include color

  • 2% - the portion for paper when you consider the costs of the equipment, toner and labor to print in color
Clearly printing in color has benefits. Colors really “pop” on high-bright, high-white premium papers. Show your customer what you have to offer and ask for the order.

1¢ is another great number to share. It is the additional cost of using premium paper versus copy paper for their important documents. No really. There’s nothing scary in telling your customers it only costs one penny more to print on high-end paper. Here’s how the math works:

Let's say your everyday non-promotional price for a ream of 92 bright copy paper is $3.00. That means the per sheet price is only $0.006, not even a penny per sheet (a penny would be $0.01).

Let's also say that your price for a ream of premium color copy paper is $8.00. That’s only $0.016 per sheet… exactly one penny more than the plain old copy paper.

So if they agree that it is worth an extra penny to make a big impression with their important documents, show them some papers that fit the cost profile above and ask for the order.

Solve Their Problems
Your customer may be experiencing some easily fixed problems that you can solve for them… and by doing so pick up some high margin paper sales.

Common Problem #1 – The Dreaded Curl
Often important presentations have pages with a lot of print on them, usually due to an image, graphic or use of a background. When that much toner or ink is applied to regular 20 lb. copy paper it can cause the paper to be wavy or curl after it dries.

The Solution
Use paper designed for this type of presentation and the equipment it is printed on. Use Laser or Color Copy paper in laser printers and color copiers. Use Ink Jet paper in ink jet printers. Also use a heavier basis weight paper, try a paper in the 24-32 lb. range.

Common Problem #2 – Fearing Smearing
Your customer may experience smearing on their ink jet printers. A typical problem is that the customer is using plain copy paper, which may be absorbing the ink instead of allowing the ink to set-up on the surface. It sounds backwards, but when too much ink is absorbed it actually prevents proper drying and that is what causes the smearing.

The Solution
Use paper designed for ink jet printers. These papers have special surface coatings engineered to work with wet ink. They allow the ink to dry fast, preventing the likelihood of smearing, and produce sharper images.

Common Problem #3 – The Blues
Your customer is blue, from dissatisfaction with the way their important documents look, not from a failed attempt to use color as described above. Their presentations and proposals look ordinary. Images aren’t sharp enough. Graphics lack detail.

The Solution
Ordinary paper will make the presentations look and feel ordinary, so use premium papers for better results. High-end laser/ color copy papers bond with toner better because of their super smooth surface finish, and that makes images explode into full detail. High-bright and high-white premium ink jet papers intensify color and contrast. Heavier basis weights give presentations a more impressive feel.

If your customers are experiencing any (or all?) of these problems then be their problem-solver and show them how premium papers can be the fix. Show them your large assortment of premium papers and ask for an order.

Source: www.paperrap.com