Margie Dana

Our inaugural BPB Conference was quite a success, based on feedback from both attendees and exhibitors. So many people need to be thanked. If you go to our home page at www.bostonprintbuyers.com, you'll see what I mean. What struck me most about that great day? The Enthusiasm. It felt good to be part of this industry - never a bad thing.

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Resume for a Rep

People send me lots of resumes. Typically, they're from folks looking for a print buying or print selling position. I also get resumes from print executives who are ready to make a move.

Out of the blue, it hit me: what if a printing sales rep had to show prospects a resume? Would it showcase the skill sets and experience that matters most to your prospects, as opposed to your employer? Would it get you the job (customer) you really want?

Keep your shirts on: I'm not suggesting that reps give prospects their resume, or that customers should start asking for them (then again, if you have nothing to hide and everything to brag about, why not?).

What interests me is helping reps think about what might differentiate them from the competition, and finding ways to articulate this.

Think about the typical sections on a resume. Let’s give them a twist.

• Philosophy

  Where do you stand on providing service/guidance to your customers? How do you provide it, exactly?

• Experience

  How deep is your industry experience? If you have a ton of it, this hypothetical resume would elaborate. Twenty years working in offset? Five years immersed in new digital technology? Is printing in your blood (i.e., are your parents/grandparents printers?)? Have you run presses before?

• Accomplishments

  What current or previous customers benefited from your problem-solving skills? Can you cite examples? How about critical and complex projects you managed for a customer – what can you share about them in ways that let prospects know you will bring value to them? Have you introduced print production efficiencies to customers? How?

• Technical Skills

  Are you a Mac wizard? Adept at InDesign or Quark or both? How about preparing print-ready PDFs? Do you consider yourself a prepress expert? How’s your color management savvy? See where I’m headed with this?

• Additional Strengths

  Print buyers do not live by print (buying) alone. Here’s the place on that imaginary resume where you’d highlight your out-of-the-box assets. Are you a VDP specialist? Work magic with mailings? Passionate about paper? Do you fancy fulfillment? Wild about web-to-print (and have the record to prove it)? This section is where you pull away from the pack. Go for it.

• Education

  Did you earn a degree in printing? Graphic design? Are you currently studying for an MBA (graduate degree in business)? How about new media or direct marketing – can you relate to these? Have you completed professional development programs that point to your commitment to furthering your knowledge in the industry? (By the way, save your sales clinic experience for employers. Prospects don’t care.)

• References

  What customers will rave about what it’s like to work with you? Get permission to share their names and phone numbers. It would really help if you could match industries – giving prospects in one field references in the same field.

These are just a few suggestions about the information that would impress prospective print customers before they “hire” a new sales rep. Such a resume wouldn't be like any other. It wouldn't read like the typical sales letter, either. It wouldn’t sell the printing company – not the equipment, not the price, not the products and services. It would put a focus on the rep, who is the main point of contact in most printer/buyer relationships.

So, if you had to send a resume to a prospective print buyer, what would yours say? Would it land you the job - or land on the bottom of the resume pile, never to be read again?

BPB Sponsor Directory

Take a look! The BPB Directory offers firms a unique online presence for their prospective customers. Interested? Visit our sponsor information page for details.