Yes, I am a consultant. But I’m a sales guy by heart. Not one of those overbearing, sleazy types that give all salespeople a bad reputation. My modus operandi is to use ethics and strategy to cultivate business relationships over time. Adding significance in value and excellence matters to me. And it usually results in trust and valuable referrals.

So I empathize with older, established print sales professionals who suddenly find themselves out of work when the ownership of a printing business changes hands.

When a new leadership team looks for quick ways to cut overhead costs, they overlook efficiency-boosting tools such as sales-management software. Instead, they send the most experienced salespeople packing. The new managers justify the move because the older sales professionals make too much money. And, they may be slow to adopt automated marketing techniques or sell via LinkedIn or Zoom calls.

In their haste to get rid of high-paid salespeople, new managers often fail to realize an important fact: The relationships and business networks the print salesperson developed over the years matter.

Personally, I think it’s crazy to let the top relationship-builders and the face of the company go. The printer buyer will also question an owner’s decision to let a good salesperson go.

Regardless of whether non-compete agreements are still in effect, the brands and buyers the salesperson built relationships with may continue to consult with salespeople they like and trust.
If the fired salesperson has always come through for them when it mattered most, the brand may ask the salesperson to recommend their next moves. It doesn’t matter if the salesperson has found a new job or not.

So today, many laid-off print salespeople choose to work as independent contractors. Whether they describe themselves as “print brokers,” “distributors,” or “consultants,” their goal is the same: To help clients find reliable, cost-effective solutions to complex marketing challenges.

Here are the top five reasons we’ve discovered that sales pros find independent work attractive:

1. E-commerce has made it easier.

Several large, e-commerce-only printing businesses offer wholesale prices to print brokers. Through these sites, print brokers can place orders on behalf of their clients for hundreds of different types of products and take a mark-up on the products that are delivered in unbranded boxes. E-commerce printing companies that offer wholesale prices to print brokers include Vistaprint, Gotprint.com, and Uprinting.com.

2. Bad experiences with non-competes make it more attractive to go independent.

When a sales rep is laid off, they are quickly reminded that they had signed a non-compete agreement when they were hired. That non-compete agreement may prevent them from seeking employment with a local or regional competitor for years.

So the laid-off salesperson is understandably skittish about working for another company that might require them to sign a non-compete agreement.

Plus, they can continue to live in their chosen location, without worrying about uprooting their families to seek a permanent job in a different region of the U.S.

3. New sales organizations make it easier for value-added resellers to collaborate with each other instead of compete.

Independent sales organizations enable salespeople with expertise in different types of printing and marketing services to collaborate to help clients procure specific services for complex, integrated marketing projects. While a portion of each commission goes to the umbrella organization for overhead costs, two or more salespeople can earn commissions for helping source and deliver different pieces of a marketing-project puzzle to a single client.

In this type of scenario, the print-service providers must compete with one another to earn the trust of salespeople who are sourcing services for their clients.

4. Online communities make it easier to network with other independent distributors to source solutions for their clients.

The organization formerly known as the Print Services and Distribution Association have evolved into Brand Chain.The Brand Chain community of independent distributors was formed to help the biggest buyers of printing and miscellaneous marketing services solve whatever challenges might arise during the planning and execution of complicated, multi-channel marketing campaigns.

The solutions vary depending on the specific problems a brand is currently struggling with.
For example, a brand owner might need help in determining the right mix of digital and print media in a specific campaign. Or, they might need experts who can help them distill actionable insights from the mountains of data generated during an integrated marketing campaign.

The Brand Chain community provides supply-chain networking opportunities, education, resources, and tools to enable the long-term success of the individual distributors who join BrandChain.

5. Autonomy feels liberating.

Salespeople tend to be mavericks. They challenge authority and chafe at unrealistic quotas and deadlines. As independent contractors, salespeople can choose how, where, and when they want to work – without a sales manager breathing down their necks.

Of course, the sales rep must keep the brand client happy. But the best way to do this might not be pitching the services and products of a single company. Instead, they can offer valuable solutions by coordinating the work of additional companies they can trust to deliver the additional products or services the brand needs.

This new and exciting trend in the sales profession is attractive to big brands that don’t want to invest a lot of time and money to hire and train multiple people to source different types of printed products or digital marketing services. It relieves print companies of having to hire, train, and manage a sales team while still focusing on top-line revenue, growth, and EBITDA.

Whether you are a print salesperson or a private equity group considering buying and growing a printing business, call me at 561-543-2323. Let’s talk about how this new approach can help you reach your goals.

For additional insights on buying and growing a printing business, download our white paper “Acquisition Criteria for Printing Companies.”