Sell More Printing: From AI Doubts to Results

Dave Hultin / September 3rd, 2024

Welcome back to another edition of Sell More Printing, where we explore real-world sales and marketing strategies that you, as a printer, can adapt to boost your business. This month, we’re going deep into the world of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to consider how it can do real work that’s better, faster, and less expensive. 

The AI Journey: From Doubter to Believer 

My exploration into AI began with a sense of curiosity and a touch of skepticism. As someone who has always been interested in innovative solutions to enhance our marketing services at Marketing Ideas For Printers, I couldn’t ignore the growing buzz around AI. Initially, I focused on understanding how AI could help improve our marketing strategies, but what I discovered was far more profound. 

The challenge that set me on this path was to create an AI tool capable of delivering improvements in the order of 1,000 times better when measuring the time and money required to complete an existing task or process. The goal seemed ambitious, if not impossible. However, I embraced it because achieving a 1000x improvement would allow me to share this knowledge with you, helping you discover your 1000x improvements. 

The 1000x AI-powered Budgeted Hourly Rate Team 

The task I assigned to myself: create a custom AI tool acting as a team designed to produce a Budgeted Hourly Rate (BHR) study. This tool aimed to ensure accurate budgeted hourly rates for printing equipment, helping you maintain profitability. To achieve this, I developed a virtual AI team with four specific roles: 

• Account Manager 
• Operations Analyst 
• Equipment Analyst 
• Finance Specialist 

Each role was programmed to handle different aspects of the BHR study, working together to provide comprehensive and accurate results. 

Even AI Can Get a Case of the Fridays 

Without proper training, though, your AI results may not be what you hope for. Here’s one light-hearted example I experienced when creating the AI team responsible for assisting with the BHR study. While still in the troubleshooting phase, one Friday afternoon, I reached a point when I was ready to test the AI team’s performance. The AI is blazingly fast but not instant. I was used to the usual turnaround time for each AI team member’s task—usually finding enough time to stretch or refill my water. However, during this particular test, the AI team completed their tasks much faster than usual. Suspicious, I summoned the AI Account Manager. 

“Account Manager, help! I don’t think the work was done,” I said to my AI friend. 

The Account Manager, always ready to respond, dutifully checked the tasks. It turned out the team had taken a figurative early start to the weekend—a virtual case of the Fridays. The Account Manager rallied the other members, urging them to complete their tasks properly. It was amusing and a bit unnerving to see the AI team ‘sheepishly’ complete their work as if they had been caught slacking off. Thankfully, a minor update to the instructions for the AI team has them ready to work on demand, even on Friday afternoons! 

How This Helps You Sell More Printing 

Remember how I started my AI exploration: I began by exploring how Artificial Intelligence can improve the marketing services we provide, but I quickly learned that AI can make all aspects of your business better. Regardless of what you’re thinking about AI right now, I can assure you that you’re not thinking big enough. With a little focused training, you will learn that AI can do more than you ever dreamed possible! AI tools will continue to get more powerful and will have the ability to take on more work, and it will get easier and easier to build tools yourself rather than relying on software developers. 

Using AI to assist in calculating accurate budgeted hourly rates is only one example. The path to leveraging AI to help you across all aspects of your business is endless. Here are three more examples from the extensive list of how embracing AI can help you sell more printing: 

1. Enhanced Customer Service: AI-powered chatbots can handle routine customer inquiries about order status, pricing, and services, freeing your staff to focus on more complex customer needs. Imagine a customer visiting your website at midnight to inquire about a specific print job. An AI chatbot could provide immediate answers, ensuring you never miss a sales opportunity. 
2. Data-Driven Decisions: AI can analyze sales data to identify trends and forecast demand, helping you adjust your marketing strategies accordingly. For instance, if AI detects a seasonal spike in demand for brochures, you can proactively launch targeted marketing campaigns to capitalize on this trend. 
3. Future-Proofing Your Business: By training your team in AI technologies, you position your business to stay ahead of competitors. AI training can include learning how to use AI-driven design tools to automate repetitive tasks, allowing your staff to focus on higher-value activities. As AI continues to evolve, having a team that’s proficient in using these tools will give you a competitive edge. 

AI4Printers.com 

To help you get started with AI, we’re excited to introduce AI4Printers.com, a platform dedicated to providing AI training and resources tailored for printers. At AI4Printers.com, you will be able to: 

1. Sign Up for the Next AI for Printers NanoSummit: Join us to learn more about leveraging AI in your business. 
2. Replay the Latest AI for Printers NanoSummit: After you sign up for the AI for Printers NanoSummit, you’ll be able to watch the replay so you can lock in your new-found AI knowledge. 
3. Explore AI for Printers Academy: Sign up for the Academy to access a wealth of AI resources, including book summaries, AI prompts, microcourses, nanocourses, and AI-powered tools. The 1000x BHR tool lives in this Academy, where you can access it for free! 

Are you ready to embrace AI in your printing business? Head over to AI4Printers.com to start your AI journey. 

Thank you for joining us on this journey into the world of AI. Until next time, keep innovating and selling more printing! 

 

This article originally appeared in the August 2024 issue of NPSOA magazine. For more information on how you can become an NPSOA member and enjoy the many benefits offered there, contact Member Services at membership@npsoa.org or head to their website at NPSOA.org.