“I Didn’t Believe It When David Said It Cost Less To Use A Print Broker Then Buying Printing Myself... Until I Tried It And Saved $1,000 In My First Month!” Secrets From An Industry Insider Here’s a special interview that will give you some great information and ideas for the next time one of your clients has a need for printing services.  In this interview with a gentleman named David, I found that it’s actually less expensive and much easier to hire a good printing broker or printing distributor to handle your clients’ needs than trying to source the printing yourself.  Plus, using a printing broker prevents possible problems with mailing pieces. David is the owner of a printing broker company named One Source Graphics.  He has over 27 years of experience in the field of printing.  You’ll hear David’s history in printing, which started when he was only 19 years old. In looking for a cost effective means and quality printing, using a printing broker may be the way to go.  The reason is simple: Not every printing shop has every piece of machinery or specialty to do everything it takes to get a job done.  David points out that because of the strategic business alliances that printing brokers have with specialty printing companies, it will not cost you more working with a printing broker than if you sourced the printing yourself.  Additionally, since printing brokers handle all facets of printing, they have the knowledge necessary to get the job done right the first time. When asked about what is important to the marketplace in terms of printing, David states that price is not as important a consideration as trust.  Businesses will gladly pay more if they know that their jobs will be done correctly and on time.  As such, David’s company does not portray itself as the cheapest place in town. When choosing a printer, businesses (and HMA Consultants) much match their needs to the printer’s capabilities.  This is why it is best to find a printing broker that has a great deal of knowledge in the industry to get the job done right. David and I discuss the trend of printing going to a digital process.  David believes that the industry is still at the beginning of this trend but is quickly progressing more in the digital direction.  Short runs fit the digital market very well.  However, digital presses cannot be as competitive as machinery when doing large runs because of press speeds.  Currently, the big advantage that digital presses over machinery is having the ability to print variable data on a piece, such as the customer’s name. David’s organization sees a lot of direct mail jobs and handles complete fulfillment.  Listen as we get into the intricate details of the tools made available by David’s company and the US Post Office that ensure that the customer knows that he is getting what he paid for.  Although the printing and fulfillment is handled by businesses who are strategic alliances, the actual printer broker will study the piece up front to ensure that it will print correctly. Printing costs depend on things like colors and quantity.  One fact that you should be aware of is that a customer always must pay a set amount up front regardless of the quantity desired.  As such, the customer should look ahead to see if he will need that same piece printed again in the near future and if so, order the additional quantity for the future printing.  This way, the customer will save money on the up front project cost. Another important thing to consider is printing turnaround time.  David says that the average turnaround time on a project is from 7 to 10 working days.  Businesses that consistently mail dated pieces for an event run the risk of sending the pieces for the event too late.  David recommends getting dated pieces out at least two weeks before the event. As we discuss direct mail, David says that he sees more bulk mail.  His experience with the success of his clients is mostly dependent on the client doing adequate testing of the mailing.  Clients must do the proper research so that they don’t throw a lot of money away. David and I discuss: If booklets are an effective way to market.  We also get into the different methods used to bind booklets. Good sources for printing small (60-80 page, black & white) trade paperbacks. Finding the right fit for the printing of color post cards. How digital file set ups are becoming more and more predominant and some very, very important issues if your digital set up is in the format of a PDF file. How David’s organization specializes in graphic design services.  All the customer needs to do is send them the copy! How David’s organization is great for clients who are starting to collect names and email addresses to create a database.  David’s organization is expert at setting up good contact management systems. How “Send-Out Cards” have become such a fantastic sales tool.  Again, David’s organization will ensure that send-out cards go out to clients like clockwork and that contact management needs are fulfilled. If you would like to contact David about his organization or his services, you can reach him by calling (888) 446-1139. PDF transcripts download mp3 file

Michael: What would be the difference, just a ballpark, in costs for my printing dealing with a broker like yourself compared to going direct to the specialty shop?

David: There should not be any difference because you have resources and you have strategic alignments with specific printers that you know you’re going to get a rate because you’ve done your homework, because you know what you’re doing in the industry and you do your homework as far as finding the correct resource for all of the needs that your clients may have.

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Michael: Hi, this Michael Senoff with Michael Senoff’s www.hardtofindseminars.com  and an exclusive recording for my HMA marketing consultants. As your working with clients, you’re going to come upon clients who have needs for printing services. Now, I know you may not a printing expert, but in this 50-minute interview, I’ve interviewed an expert who’s been in the printing trade for 27 years. David started in the printing business straight out of high school at 19 and has learned an immense amount of information on printing and how you can service your clients printing needs by using his specialized broker service. The one thing I learned interviewing David is that it’s cheaper to use an expert broker than it is to try and source the printing yourself. In this 50-minute recording you’re going to learn all his secrets and some important key things to keep in mind when sourcing printing for your existing clients. I’m sure you’ll find this extremely beneficial and if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call.

But I want to give my HMA consultants and other visitors to the site who are in business who are spending money on printing who are overpaying for printing who are getting poor printing quality and don’t realize the affect on their business and I just want to take some of your 27 years of experience and impart that onto my site visitors and my HMA consultants and hopefully we can clear up some misconceptions and avoid some common mistakes and just give them some good insight.

David: I would be happy to.

Michael: Was your dad in the printing business?

David: No, actually I went into printing right out of high school.

Michael: Really?

David: Yes. I got my degree at night. I worked my way up through a local printing company.

Michael: Was it one of those chains…like you see PIP Printing or one of the franchises?

David: No, it’s a very large scale and that’s basically how I was able to cut my teeth in a way that provided me with some really, really good knowledge.

Michael: So, you were still in your teens when you got into it?

David: 19. I started more or less in the bindery area. We manufactured labels, the labels that you see on cans, jars of jelly, and that type of thing. And I actually got a promotion and moved into the pre-press area where we separated film…at that time it was film.

Michael: PMTs.

David: Right into four color and prepared them to make printing plates. And then from there I moved into management. With that being said, moved my way up the company and after 18 years with that company, moved to another where I actually sold commercial printing.

Michael: Outside sales?

David: Yes. Actually I was their sales manager; managed, I think three states for them. And then I started One Source Graphics. Basically, we’re a distributor or a broker; you can call it what you will, but that’s what we do. We basically take the knowledge that we have and because printing is still a niche business, I mean if someone tells you that it is not, they really need to get some more knowledge there because printing is still a niche business. Not every printer can have every piece of equipment. So, what we do is we shop the job and try to find the best possible fit for each printing job.

Michael: So, when you say they are a niche business, what you mean is they’re expert printer who specialize in business cards, in forms, in labels, in all the different areas that a company may need printing, is that correct.

David: Yes. But along those same lines, to take it a little bit further, there are short-runs where you may need 500 postcards. You would run that on a digital press in today’s market. Not to say that you couldn’t run that job on a 26-inch press, you can, but it’s not as cost effective that way. Of course, if you have someone that needs 50,000 magazines…16-page magazine…then that fits more with a web press where it goes out of the sheet-fed realm into a roll press. So, that’s the difference there.

Michael: What did you find as being a salesman and a sales manager and training your sales reps, what did you find the marketplace is shopping on? Are they concerned with quality or are they more concerned with price? What’s important to the marketplace when it comes to printing, whether right or wrong?

David: There are those out there who shop for price and I think you’re always going to have that, but by and large, the clients that we run into and that we deal with on a consistent basis, they look for someone who’s going to do what they say they’re going to do, do it correctly, and do it on time. That’s most important. Price is a consideration. Obviously they’re going to know if you’re gouging them, but it’s not near as big of a consideration as knowing that they can trust you.

Michael: So, you’re unique selling proposition or when you told your sales reps to go out there, they had to sell a client and they sold them on timeliness and quality and at a reasonable price; all three together.

David: That’s right and I constantly have sales reps come to me and say, oh we got beat on price. And I said, look, we’re not the cheapest game in town. Don’t portray yourself as that because that’s not who you are. You’re competitive and your consistently competitive, but you have so much more to offer. That was tough for a salesperson out there trying to penetrate into a market. And, of course, you have considerations like that when you’re pricing a job for a new rep, but by and large the industry does not shop price, in my opinion.

Michael: Can we talk about some fatal mistakes that people make when choosing a printer; common mistakes you’ve seen over the years that business owners or managers who make when deciding on choosing a printer?

David: Basically a business owner needs to carefully consider the products that they need. Early into this conversation, you mentioned the chains, the PIP Printing, those folks. You would be surprised that the clients that go to sort of Speedy and ask them to print 3,000 or 4,000 color brochures. That’s not who they are. They are a copy shop. When choosing a printer, it’s extremely important to match your needs to their capabilities.

Michael: So, how does the public generally choose a printer? Do they generally go to the Yellow Pages? I mean that’s the first thing I would think or do a search on Google. I don’t know what I’m looking for.

David: Let me clarify that. There’s two types of print buyers. There’s the print buyer that for a larger organization and that’s what that person does for a living. So, therefore, they’ve got a little bit more knowledge than someone like yourself that you just gave the sample for. You just need 500 or 1,000 postcards and you just start doing a search on Google.

Michael: Right, and I’m kind of thinking for my consultants. They’re not printers. They’re not the buyers of printing, but they may have a client who needs printing done and they want to offer that as part of their consulting service. So, that’s why I’m saying if they don’t know much about the industry, what would you recommend a consultant to source printing for their client.

David: I highly recommend that they go to a distributor; I really, really do because it allows them to…more or less they probably don’t have an accurate design of the piece that they want to do and if so, is it setup using the correct application, or you find someone who has a lot of knowledge in the industry that you can trust and know that they’re going to find the best place for that particular print job.

Michael: Sounds like to me it would probably be counterproductive and foolish to try and become an expert in the printing industry. If I’m a consultant, I want to find someone maybe like yourself who has the 27 years of experience and knows all the ins and outs of all types of printing and just deal through a broker like you.

David: Yes.

Michael: Obviously, you’ve got to make something on it, but maybe it’ll make my life easier and just pass on the extra cost to my client. What would be the difference, just a ballpark, in costs for my printing dealing with a broker like yourself compared to going direct to the specialty shop?

David: There should not be any difference.

Michael: Really?

David: No, because you have resources and you have strategic alignments with specific printers that you know you’re going to get a rate because you’ve done your homework, because you know what you’re doing in the industry and you do your homework as far as finding the correct resource for all of the needs that your clients may have.

Michael: So, if I’m looking for labels for a client and I’m searching around for companies that do it, they’re going to know that I’m inexperienced and that price they give me is going to reflect on that.

David: Absolutely.

Michael: Where compared to going with a distributor, like yourself, you already have relationships. They know they can’t overcharge you on labels.

David: Right. I’m not discouraging the online resources out there. It’s hard for me to say anything bad about that because for the most part, they do a very good job. But where they fail and where they have problems is if a particular print job goes out beyond the normal postcards, the normal business cards, the normal 8-1/2 x 11 letter-fold brochure, then they have problems. Then the client has to go and they have to read all of the requirements, all of the specification, just how to setup a file. And if you setup a file in Microsoft Publisher, for example, sure you can probably handle that…a printer can probably handle that, but it’s not the optimum way to work through a printing workflow. You’ve got to ask yourself are your images at the proper resolution, are your files all included…all of those things. If you’re dealing with an online resource, you don’t get that one-on-one.

Michael: Let’s talk about the online resources and printing now going digital. Are we in the digital revolution for the printing industry? What trends have you seen in the last five years, where are we headed with consumers purchasing printing related to the Internet and digital?

David: I’d say we’re at the beginning. Not where we were certainly two or three years ago, but we’re progressing more towards the middle of the digital market. Right now if you have a small quantities and when I say small quantity I’m saying 1 to 500 or 1 to 750 or 1,000, that’s still considered a short-run that would fit a digital environment. The rub against the digital press has always been speed, therefore, if you have 30,000 pieces or 20,000 pieces, the digital press cannot be as competitive. That’s changing. Not to say that’s the case. It’s changing.

Michael: Why is it even now that the digital press is not competitive with the machinery?

David: Well, if you go to a regular analog printing press that can run 13,000 to 18,000 sheets an hour, whereas a digital press cannot match those press speeds, obviously the digital press is going to be higher.

Michael: So, it all comes to speed.

David: Yes. The digital press does a wonderful job. I can’t say anything about that. However, where the digital press really, really has a huge advantage, and this is where it’s going to really shine as time goes on, especially in regards to the direct mail efforts, to marketing efforts is being able to print variable data on a piece as it’s being printed.

Michael: So, you’re saying…let’s say you’re doing a mailing on a brochure. It could customize that brochure with a customer’s name and things like that.

David: Absolutely. And that’s taking place right now for shorter-run work very effectively and does a nice job. That’s where the biggest changes are going to take place.

Michael: I’m at your site here and I’m just looking at some of the products that you offer. Let’s talk a little bit about each one of these type products and how a business may use these are what’s important about the printing of these. Are you doing a lot of brochures for companies?

David: Brochures are not nearly as widespread now as mailers and postcards.

Michael: Do you see brochures as an effective way to market a business?

David: Yes, I do, but I see a pocket folder with more modular type pieces in there, inside the pocket folder.

Michael: An 8-12 by 11 folder that opens up with two pockets, one on each side?

David: Yes.

Michael: Okay.

David: It’s 9 by 12 so you can fit an 8-1/2 by 11 down inside of it. And the reason I say it’s modular is because as you’re always adding products or changing your services or what have you, it’s more cost effective to be able to just print one sheet of something rather than all of the pocket folders. Of course, direct mail is still very alive and well.

Michael: Are you doing a lot of direct mail currently?

David: A lot of direct mail.

Michael: Are you doing complete fulfillment?

David: Yes.

Michael: Everything from integrating the database to printing the pieces, stuffing the envelopes, postage, and everything.

David: Right. Typically you’d give me a data file and an art file and, of course, we ask for postage before the job is dropped in the mail, but that’s all you need to do.

Michael: You farm all that out?

David: That’s correct.

Michael: This is, obviously, a concern. How does a customer know and what kind of safeguards and regulations are there…let’s say if I hire you to drop 10,000 pieces of direct mail for me and I’m paying you all the postage ahead of time, how do I know that I’m getting what I paid for? How do I know that the letters are delivered, that all my postage is used, etc.? Are there any safeguards that protect consumers?

David: Absolutely. Number one, first and foremost, if you write a postage check to your mail house or your printer…who ever is handling it…that check should be written to Post Master -- number one because the postage is not something that a printer or a mail shop should run through their books.

Number two is that you request a 3602 form. A 3602 form is a form from the post office that more or less proves that your piece went in the mail.

Michael: They give you a weight?

David: Yes and a count.

Michael: And a count.

David: Yes.

Michael: So, they should physically count the pieces?

David: They’ll count it based upon weight.

Michael: Okay, got it.

David: Yes. They don’t physically count them, but yes and it shows that the mail went through compliance, through the _____ system at the post office, and that it’s gone out the door. Now, say you send me a list for 10,000 names. I sorted through the list, I de-duped it, I pulled out the bad addresses, and your list was 9,800. I’d send you a postage amount and a count…9,800 pieces…this is your postage amount. When you get your 3602, you match that count up to the count that your printer or mail shop provided. So, that is your safeguard.

Michael: Let’s say I’m going to drop 10,000 pieces of mail. Let’s say it’s a #10 envelope and a one-page letter. You don’t have to give me the exact, but I’m just trying to get an idea…it really sounds attractive to me to just call you, send you the data, send you the artwork of the one-page letter, tell you I want in a #10 envelope and have you take care of everything because direct mail is a real pain in the ass if you’re doing it yourself.

David: It really is. You should have the artwork looked at by someone in the direct mail…whoever’s handling your mail.

Michael: So, when send you my art you’re going to review it.

David: Yes, absolutely.

Michael: You have staff that does proofreading and really looks out for the…

David: No, we don’t proofread.

Michael: But you’ll review it and make sure it’s going to print properly?

David: Right and not only print properly, but look at it for how is it going to travel through the post office because if you don’t have clearance for the post office’s barcode and what have you, then it’s not able to go at an automated rate, therefore, your postage goes up.

Michael: Give me an idea. What’s it going to cost me to have fulfillment on something like that; a simple #10, one-page black and white, 10,000 pieces and send you that data? Can I expect to pay 10-cents a unit plus postage?

David: Plus postage that’s hard to say.

Michael: That’s hard to say, okay.

David: It’s extremely hard to say because of the variables that are in place. Number one, how many colors is your letter going to be? How many colors are your envelopes going to be, what kind of paper? The quantity drives the price a tremendous amount and that’s one thing I would like to mention, especially for the listeners and yourself. As far as saving money in the printing industry, quantity is key because you’re going to pay a set amount on a particular project whether you’re doing one piece or 100,000 pieces. That fixed cost is going to be there. I always have clients that ask me what are the quantity breaks on this and I always answer that by saying look ahead, look at your usage, please look at your usage because it is much more cost effective if you’re going to run 10,000 pieces today, if you know in three months time you’re going to need 10,000 more, it’s going to be cheaper for you to purchase 20,000 now rather than come back and buy 10,000 three months from now.

Michael: And you guys will just inventory it.

David: Sure, if we need to, yes. Absolutely. Or we ship the whole product to you or what have you. That’s just good business.

Michael: What kind of speed and turnaround? I want to mail out 10,000, email you everything today, what kind of turnaround could I expect before that drops in the mail?

David: For 10,000 pieces, I’d like to have seven to ten working days. That’s another question I get a lot of, what is your normal turn. Well, in today’s world, there is no such a thing as normal turn. It’s anywhere from two to four or fives days on projects.

Michael: But coming from your experience as a broker in the industry, what would you my consultants…how much time should we give you before you can complete a job without too much stress and what can we expect realistically for turnaround for getting printing done for my consulting clients?

David: From the date the printer receives artwork to the date that it goes out the door, seven to ten working days.

Michael: That’s not bad. When you’re doing direct mail, are you doing a lot of bulk mail or do you do a lot of direct mail with first class postage?

David: I’d say that’s probably more towards the bulk mail side.

Michael: Are you privy on the results of direct mail pieces and promotions? I mean, you’re mailing them, but do you know the results of any of these mailings? Have you learned a lot over the years?

David: Clients share that with me just in conversations because they’re getting their lists, they’re hoping for big results from their lists and then if they don’t get big results, then that hurts them. They don’t like to talk about it too much.

Michael: But you know if a client comes back and keeps mailing and mailing or if they have a winning promotion or whatever and you know they’re doing a ton of mailing, you’ve got a pretty good suspicion that they’ve got a good piece working.

David: Absolutely. But the key to it all, from what I’ve learned in that regard, is testing that list.

Michael: Testing the list.

David: No question. If you were to buy a list…you buy a list for a small geographic location, you test it because the biggest cost was to pay for it was not the printing.

Michael: It’s the postage.

David: It’s the postage.

Michael: Do you have good relationships with list brokers?

David: I’ve got a couple. I’m not called upon that often.

Michael: You’re more with the printing.

David: Yes. I’m just not called on that often to buy lists.

Michael: There are expert list brokers. So, come to you, do your research before we provide you the list.

David: Yes because you could ultimately throw away a lot of money.

Michael: Can you tell me a story of a client that you’ve seen and you knew was going to bomb in a promotion and just threw away a lot of money and we can glean a lesson from it?

David: I’ll tell you one that’s consistent and this is not a specific instance, but it did happen to me very recently.

Michael: Consistently did good or bombed?

David: It bombed because it didn’t hit the mail stream fast enough; inconsistently mailing dated pieces for an event. And the postal service will tell you that mail will hit the mail stream in a certain time. If you pay first class postage, you’re assuming that first class is going to hit the mail stream faster and to the post office’s credit, it does. But if you’re mailing something for an event that’s next Thursday and today’s Wednesday, you’re running a huge risk of not getting any attendance for an event like that.

Michael: Because the mail will never show up.

David: It’ll either never show up or it’ll get there the day before.

Michael: So, do you tell your clients you’re dreaming?

David: Not in so many words.

Michael: But they want to save on postage. They don’t believe it.

David: Right.

Michael: So, they have faith that third class is going to make it there like first class and it just doesn’t happen. What have you seen are the differences in the way the post office treats bulk mail or third class mail compared to first class?

David: I don’t notice the difference. When the mail is taken to be dropped off, I don’t notice that they process it any differently. And I’m a fan of the postal service to tell you the truth. I think they do a good job.

Michael: How much time would you tell a client to give if you’re doing an event mailing for getting a piece to their prospects?

David: Well, just out of consideration to the event and to the person that you’re trying to get to the event, you’ve got to know that they’re busy because people schedule their time out days and weeks ahead. I would highly recommend getting the piece in the mail at least two weeks before an event.

Michael: Do you have the capacity to do large mailing with first class postage directly stuck on the envelope like a real stamp, not one of the fake bulk mail stamps?

David: Yes, you certainly can do live stamps.

Michael: In doing that with you, do we have to pay the postage directly to you for you to buy the stamps on rolls to put them on your machines?

David: Well, they would go, again, to the post master, but it’s a receipt showing that we did purchase them.

Michael: Let’s talk about booklet. What is a booklet? Have you found these to be an effective way to market is a booklet, something that fits in a #10 envelope?

David: A booklet would not fit very well into a #10. When you say booklet, you traditionally think of 8-1/2 by 11.

Michael: Is it bound or stapled?

David: Stitched.

Michael: It’s stitched.

David: Yes.

Michael: Are there special machines and special printers who handle just booklets?

David: That is a niche in the industry. That niche is narrowing. Most commercial shops, most of the medium size shops even, have the capability to saddle stitch.

Michael: Tell me what the saddle stitching is.

David: Basically the job is printed in signatures. Signatures…page count divisible by 8 preferably and you basically fold those signatures up, you run them through a piece of equipment that staples on the spine of the booklet, trims off the edges, and basically you have a finished product.

Michael: I’ve got a lot of people who are interested in creating information products and I think it’s a trade paperback, which is an 8-1/2 by 11 paperback book, could be 60-70-80 pages. Do you have some good sources for trade paperback printing?

David: What quantity would you be talking about?

Michael: They’re probably smaller quantities. I don’t know, maybe 100 to 200 to 500 to 1,000.

David: And would they be color?

Michael: They would not be color. They would be mostly black and white.

David: The 100 to 200, even 500, that’s where the sort of Speedy and the PIP Printing…

Michael: They can handle paperbacks like that?

David: Yes, most of them can.

Michael: What kind of spines are one those on a trade paperback?

David: They can coil bind them, they can staple them, they’d probably tape bind them, which is a form of the perfect binding.

Michael: Those sources…Speedy and these franchises that you see out there are a good place for that.

David: Oh sure, yes.

Michael: Tell me about postcards. Have you had a lot of experience mailing postcards?

David: Do a lot of postcards.

Michael: Color or black and white or both.

David: Color.

Michael: Color.

David: Yes.

Michael: So, you’re printing them on digital presses?

David: Depending upon the quantity. Gosh I’ve done up to a million postcards at once.

Michael: And you handle all the mailing and everything?

David: Yes. Everything in this industry is centered around that quantity. It’s a very important aspect as far as shopping, finding the right fit for the job.

Michael: There’s something that’s important to talk about and that is digital files and getting files to you via email or uploading. Let’s talk about the importance of preparing files for you before the printing is done.

David: There’s a saying, garbage in, garbage out. That may sound harsh, but that’s just the way it is. If you want a promotional piece done for yourself and it’s got your photo on it, let’s say, and we get that photo on the file and it’s dropped in there at 64 dpi, the quality of that image is going to be horrible.

Michael: So, what dpi resolution do I need for photos for all my pieces?

David: At least 300 dpi.

Michael: If I provided you in a higher quality dpi…600…it makes the file larger, but is there going to be a noticeable difference in the outcome of the printing.

David: Not really, no. Not unless it’s a real, real large piece like a poster. The fonts are another issue. In today’s world, you’ll get a lot of graphics folks who are turning print ready PDFs. Well, with those PDFs, if the fonts are not embedded within that PDF and the images are not high enough resolution, then when the job is prepared to go to plate before it’s printed or you get a proof from your printer and those fonts are not there, it’s going to be evident on your proof and certainly on the printed piece. Fonts are another huge issue.

Michael: So, you’re saying the fonts won’t be there at all or they’ll be broken up?

David: It will automatically substitute to something else.

Michael: Oh I see, so what’s happening is a lot of people have programs that they can design their fonts and use a choice from thousands of them, but the printing outcome doesn’t have that same font and it’ll substitute it.

David: That’s right.

Michael: So, just because I send you a PDF with a special looking font, it doesn’t mean that you’re going to be able to print it.

David: Not unless you include that font within that PDF.

Michael: If I send you a PDF, I open up the PDF and I have that font on the PDF, isn’t that what I’m going to see in the printing outcome?

David: Not necessarily because you can save something to a PDF, but unless you distill it…that’s the terminology within the application…then those fonts are not going to be embedded within that PDF.

Michael: If I send you the PDF, can you identify whether those fonts are going to print out or do I need to distill it on the original program before I convert it to PDF?

David: Ideally you’d include the fonts before you convert it. All that does is slow down the process and costs time. But yes, to answer your question, every job is pre-flighted once it arrives.

Michael: Is PDF the standard file that printers are using?

David: It’s becoming that and basically PDF can cover up a multitude of problems. If I had the preference as to whether I would get a PDF file or a native file…if the native file is done in a graphics application like InDesign or Quark or PhotoShop or PageMaker or Illustrator or something like that, I would take the native file because it allows for less opportunity in the prepress area. It’s easier for someone to look at something on a screen and say that it looks good, but there’s a huge difference between what looks good on a screen and what looks good on a printed piece.

Michael: Well, I noticed after talking to you for a while, you’ve got tons of experience in the printing industry, but you’re not just staying within the printing industry and you’ve created other services that are fitting within our time and business, which a lot of printers don’t have. You’re doing and offering graphic design services, email marketing, custom cards and promotional products. Let’s talk about some of your other services and how my consultants can benefit and we can start with your graphic design services.

David: We have three or four very, very competent designers.

Michael: All in-house or out?

David: They’re freelancers. They’ve been qualified and time tested and true.

Michael: So, my consultants don’t need to be graphic designers to help a client?

David: No. One thing we do not do and I can provide the service if I need to…it’s just not something that I recommend…we don’t copywrite. We don’t provide copywriting services because you know the message you want to portray. So, what I like to receive from someone is the copy that they want on the piece. If they’ve got specific photos, that’s fine, but if they have the copy, we can take care of the rest. And you would be put directly in touch with your designer.

Michael: Could I have my client be directly in touch with the designer?

David: Yes, absolutely.

Michael: Not a problem?

David: Not a problem.

Michael: And then I’m charged per hour or per project or it depends?

David: It’s per project.

Michael: Per project.

David: Yes.

Michael: I’ll talk with the designer and let them know what the project is and they can get back with me with a quote on what it’s going to cost.

David: Basically in the beginning phases, you just contact me with what you want. I provide you with the price. Once it becomes a live project, I put you directly in contact with the designer.

Michael: How do I handle payment? Do I have to pay 50% upfront or am I billed or invoiced? How do you usually do that?

David: Typically with a first time client, I ask for payment upfront and then once we establish a history, then we can set up terms.

Michael: Tell me about your email marketing? Have you seen a successful way to communicate with customers or do you have a lot of clients using email marketing services?

David: Not a huge amount. Listening to your seminars is definitely a way to stay in touch with clients in a very affordable way. Whatever type of piece that you want, whether it’s a direct mail piece or an email piece, building that list is key.

Michael: So, what’s the service you provide for email?

David: Basically what I do is a set up an autoresponder service based upon your market. If indeed you want me to write the copy for you, I will in that regard.

Michael: So, for instance, my HMA consultants…step 2 that my consultants do for clients is they integrate USP into existing marketing and they also start on the database. So, many of their clients will be say retailers who have never kept a database or never asked for email addresses. And many of my consultants want to know what’s the best program to use to compile a database. So, you’re saying you’re offering a service…if my consultants contacted you and they had a client who has now started to collect email addresses or data information, you could help them compile and organize and continually send out emails to those customers.

David: Absolutely. And what I’m finding, Michael, is so often folks even on the lowest of levels don’t have an internal database. Are you finding that, as well? There’s no contact management at all.

Michael: Yes, that’s correct.

David: I typically start there and help them manage that and then we transfer that information over to their autoresponder.

Michael: Do you have people on staff who enter the data?

David: Yes. Typically if it’s a lot of data, yes we can do that. Of course if it’s existing data, then we can obviously import it.

Michael: What are these custom cards?

David: Basically its own autoresponder per se, but you have to do it yourself obviously. You set up campaigns. There’s 3,000 cards to choose from.

Michael: These are colored postcards?

David: Yes.

Michael: Are they overpriced because…

David: No, it’s right at $1.00 plus postage per card.

Michael: One dollar plus postage.

David: Right. Now, this is a targeted marketing piece. In other words, if I contact you, I have a meeting with you and we have an opportunity to do business with one another and I want to stay in touch with you, I set up a campaign either monthly or bi-monthly or every six months or whatever, a card automatically goes out to you that I’ve already set, I’ve already put the message in there using my handwriting font if I choose. Excellent, excellent sales tool.

Michael: The postcard and the production, you knowing what the cost is and if you went to an outside source, it’s not overpriced.

David: Right.

Michael: These aren’t postcards. These are cards like a wedding invitation.

David: They do both greeting cards and postcards.

Michael: Oh, they do postcards, as well.

David: Yes.

Michael: Is the greeting card a dollar plus postage?

David: Yes.

Michael: And the postcards are a little less?

David: A little bit less, yes.

Michael: They don’t do any #10 envelopes?

David: No, they do not.

Michael: I’ve been using the U.S. Post Office online mailing site.

David: The two are very similar. I’ll tell you it does as good a job, as well, but there’s a contact management capability. I don’t believe the post office has that.

Michael: All right, David, I really appreciate you taking the time to explain some of the ins and outs in the commercial printing industry and it sounds like you’ve got the contacts after 27 years within the industry. You definitely enlightened me to know that going through you, like a broker, compared to going direct, I’m going to get better service, better quality. I’m going to have an advocate on my side. I’m going to have an expert who can identify problem files and prevent possible problems in my printing jobs for my clients, so it would only make sense for me to call you. If someone wanted to contact you or for a specific quote, what would be the best phone number for them to contact you?

David: Thank you, Michael. It’s (888) 446-1139.

Michael: (888) 446-1139. So, if they called you, what could they expect from you when they call. Generally when someone calls you about something, what happens?

David: We take care of everything. It allows them to turn their job, their project over to someone else and not worry about it. We take care of the entire project.

Michael: Very good. I really appreciate it.

David: Thank you.

[END]


Michael: I hope you find this interview extremely helpful and if you need any information, you can contact David direct at (888) 446-1139. That phone number again is (888) 446-1139.

Here’s another bonus tip from Michael Senoff, www.hardtofindseminars.com , and it’s a collection of recordings on marketing consulting. I have met a gentleman named Richard, who is one of the world’s best marketing consultant and I have 12-hours of audio interviews all on the subject of marketing consulting. We also have downloads to over 23 reports on the subject of marketing. In the section of recordings, you will find a multitude of ideas that will give you very valuable ideas on how to build and grow your business and also how to teach others how to grow their business with simple, no cost, low cost techniques. If you go back to www.hardtofindseminars.com , to the main page, you’ll see across the top in white Consulting Services. If you click on that page, there’s a form that will take you into a private, secret section of my site I’ve set up just for you with all these recordings. All you have to do is fill out your name and your information and you’ll be whisked away to Consulting Secrets where we have thousands of dollars worth of free downloadable audio recordings in MP3, in Flash. Also, the written printed transcripts in PDF that you can start learning from starting today. This information is hot, so get on over to www.hardtofindseminars.com . Check out Consulting Secrets.

It’s Michael Senoff with Michael Senoff’s www.hardtofindseminars.com  and another bonus tip. How would you like to turn your $28 book or e-book or even a concept in your head into a $3,900 information product? I’ll provide you the secrets on how to do this. If you’d like a completely free, 30-day trial of my system for turning your simple book or even just a concept in your mind into an information product that you can sell for $97, $197, or even as much as $3,900 or more, this system includes a whole range of tricks and tips to help you pack your audio program full of great stories that take control of your listener’s brains. My information product creation system comes with my personal guarantee that you’ll create an information product worth from $97 to $497 that’s designed to sell like hotcakes. This is a 30-day free trial. If you’d like information on this, please email me at Contact by Email . In the subject line write in all caps, $28 BOOK and I’ll email you information on how to turn your $28 book or even a concept in your mind into a $3,900 information product.

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Hi, it’s Michael Senoff here with another bonus tip from Michael Senoff’s www.hardtofindseminars.com  and it’s called an audio infomercial. You’re audio infomercial, which I create for you, will sell more products of yours faster, easier, and for less cost than any conventional advertising method and I guarantee it 100%. Imagine catching yourself at concert pitch talking about what makes your business or your product/service unique. What makes it special? Imagine taking a professional recording of that perfect sales presentation that I create for you and giving it to your prospect as an audio CD or an Internet download from your website? I can do this for you faster than you ever thought possible with my personalized audio informational recording service. If you’re interested in this unique service, please contact me at Contact by Email . In the subject line of your email, in all capitals, write AUDIO INFOMERCIAL and I will get back with you with more information.

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There’s an interview in the section of the audio recordings at www.hardtofindseminars.com . It’s with a business buying expert. His name is Art Hamel. If you go back to my site, www.hardtofindseminars.com  and go to the Products Section, along the left side in light blue you will see a list of topics. Look for the one that says Business Buying. Click on that link and you’ll be taken to about seven hours of exclusive interviews with Arthur Hamel. Arthur Hamel has purchased multi-million dollar businesses, over 200 of them, in his lifetime and he will tell you how to do the same thing. It’s some fascinating content and I wanted you to know about it.

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Here is another bonus resource for you and it’s about a section on my site that has about 15 hours of audio interviews with copywriting experts include Brian Keith Voiles, include Carl Gallette, include Eugene Shorts. You will not find this content anywhere. It’ll take you to an entire collection of audio recordings, MP3 downloads, and transcripts of some of my best interviews on the subject of copywriting. You’ll be able to play them, download them, print the transcripts. It’s a collection that you will not find anywhere else. If you want to education on copywriting, you will not find anything better than this.

You know, if you’re looking for a product that you can really hustle, something that you’re learning from all the techniques, you may want to check another website I have. It’s called www.idpen.com . That’s www.idpen.com . And what you’re going to find out at www.idpen.com  is one of my very first businesses. It’s a business I started in my one-bedroom apartment when I had absolutely no money and I needed a product to sell. It’s a pen that I manufacture right out of my house. I’ve been doing this for ten years without any machinery or any equipment. I have a pen that I can manufacture for 17-cents and resell by the hundreds, wholesale, for $1.50 each. It’s a product that has kept food on my table and kept the bills paid for ten years. It’s an exciting opportunity that if you’re looking for something to hustle, to use your copywriting skills or direct mail education, it maybe something you want to go check out, so head on over to www.idpen.com . There on the front page you’ll hear me do telemarketing. You can hear me get sales right on the front page. It’s fascinating stuff and I urge you if you’re looking for something to hustle, go check it out.

If you go back to my site and on the Products page along the light blue section, down on the left, you’re going to see another link that has a lot of value. It all has to do with joint ventures. Go to that page and you’re going to hear about an offer on a joint venture system like no other. If you read the letter there, it will describe all the benefits and the offer is virtually risk free; meaning you can order my joint venture system, have it sent to you without paying a dime, have 30-days to review it, to digest all the information, and only if you’re happy with it after 30-days do you pay. It’s an offer you can’t lose on and if you’re enjoying this content, you’re really going to love what I have waiting for you on the Joint Venture link at the Products page at www.hardtofindseminars.com   Go check it out. I think you’ll really enjoy it.

This is Michael Senoff with www.HardtoFindSeminars.com  Shoo, that was a lot of questions, and we uncovered a lot information in this recording with Doug. Richard’s proven system of uncovering hidden marketing assets in a business is based on his 15 years of marketing consulting, and it works. Whether you’re a new business looking for a way to systematize your marketing, or if you want to be a marketing consultant helping small to medium sized businesses while making a very comfortable income working part-time from home, Richard’s system can shortcut the learning process for you. For more information on Richard’s marketing system call 858-274-7851 or email Contact by Email  Please continue on to some of the other recordings with Richard on Marketing Consulting at http://www.hardtofindseminars.com/HowToConsulting.htm