You're More Important Than Your Equipment

Credit: Warner Hull

I’m lucky enough to have pals that enjoy introducing me to new things. They’re outdoorsmen and feel that I should be too. They have introduced me to fly fishing, river fishing, offshore fishing, quail hunting, turkey hunting and golf. Each of these new ventures has been fun and quite expensive.

When I tried dove hunting, I learned I needed camouflage clothes and would have to hide behind a bale of hay to trick the birds. My quail hunting stuff wouldn’t work. Well, a guy sitting in the bed of his pickup truck wearing shorts and an Auburn jersey hit more birds than I did while sipping beer.

Another time a pal convinced me I needed special waders to catch trout. My surf casting gear wouldn’t work. $1500 later our guide caught more than we did wearing equipment identical to what I left at home. My investment only benefited the equipment store. I have an identical story about golf.

Let’s switch it to the printing business. Do you think customers care what kind of equipment you have? Do you think they know how many colors your presses are? Sheet size? Speed?

A while back I was helping a client develop messaging around a new press. He was the first guy in the USA to install two of a specific machine. I don’t have permission to share his name, so I’ll simply say it’s a big printer in Salt Lake City. Got it figured out?

I decided to talk with four creative guys about the new investment. I shared the technology, how color was reconciled, sheet size and the number of pages it could print per hour. I was confident they would be stoked. I expected to walk away with great talking points.

Their questions? Is that fast? How fast are other presses? How do the other companies manage color? Is that size larger than the other guys? Does it make my work cost more? Do I care about this?

They went on to tell me they didn’t have trouble getting the color, size or deliveries they needed. They wanted to be excited about the investment but based on what I was sharing, they couldn’t see it as anything different. These are high profile guys involved in more printing than most printers produce.

I walked away frustrated but recalled a similar experience from the 80’s. I managed eight color work for a key client on four color presses. I never talked about my equipment. I talked about the work.

I managed these pieces for years. I never claimed to have an eight-color press. I offered an eight-color solution. My client cared about the work not the machine.

Equipment isn’t what makes things happen. I got out fished and out shot by guys with very little invested in tools. They just knew how to do it. They invested their energy in know how instead of need this.

That happens in our business every day. We tell ourselves we need the latest and greatest software or equipment if we’re going to succeed selling. Then we’re astonished when some smaller, less sophisticated company wins the account we are chasing. We chalk it up to price or some unethical business behavior. The truth is that these things are rarely the problem.

The most important piece of equipment we possess is between our ears. Our imagination and intellect are more likely to win us business than a lower price or new machine. Our ability to engage the client and discern what they need is our most powerful asset. This is how we can create a competitive advantage and put distance between ourselves and our competitors.

Now I’m not suggesting you can compete without basic tools. I also don’t mean to imply that your price doesn’t have to make sense. You have to be competitive, and you must have equipment that can do the work. You can’t hit a dove by throwing a rock.

What I am saying is that we make too much of these things. Hesitating to make a sales call or go for the kill due to a perceived equipment disadvantage is a mistake. It is a symptom of sales fear. It indicates that you really don’t understand what makes the customer buy.

You are the master of your success. Your company isn’t. Your hard work, talent and resourcefulness are what make the difference. You are the CEO of your account relationships. Your success is 100% up to you.

Ask your client what they are trying to accomplish, not what they are trying to buy. Listen for their answer. Then solve the problem before someone else does.