Screen Printing - December 2019/January 2020 - 13

going on in their business. They make decisions on what they
think they know, but in reality, they're just guessing, simply
because of a lack of sound data. Does this describe you?
Building and tracking Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
is a standard business practice for any industry. If you don't
know your numbers, you don't know what's going on in your
business. This is the starting place for improvement. While
there are literally dozens of things you could track, here are
the ones that might make the most sense initially:
* The total number of leads or quotes in the pipeline. Total
cash amount, too.
* Average order. Dollar amount per sale. Quantity. The
number of colors. The number of decoration locations.
* Sales per week, month, quarter - compare those to
established goals.
* The total number of screens imaged per day. Bonus if
you are segregating by mesh count.
* Average setup time per screen, in minutes.
* Average speed for each press, calculated by impressions
per hour. (Final shirts printed, not what the press gauge
reads.) What's on the table is the only thing that counts.
* Error rate percent per press.
* Downtime percent per press.

trying to pull off? How can you help? Next, you should go to
at least one tradeshow and one brain-stimulating event a year.
You need to network and understand what's going on in your
industry. Pick up a new skill or idea.
Goal: Plan to get out of your office at least once a month
for the entire day. This time will be spent visiting customers,
suppliers, tradeshows, or educational events.

SET SALES GOALS

Goal: Decide what metrics matter to your shop. Build a
platform to track them and a process to gather the data.
Obtain the numbers consistently to make better decisions.

Lots of shops set sales goals. I'm sure you do. But are they
based on what type of ideas or efforts you're going to put
forth in the coming months? Simply pulling a number out of
thin air and "hoping" you can hit it usually won't work.
Instead, using some metrics and your identified best
customers, create a plan that's based on your shop increasing
the growth with planned activity. Be aggressive but realistic.
Set a goal, work backward, and break it down into total sales
needed by month, week, and even day.
For example, if you added another $500 per day to your
shop sales, that would equal roughly $120,000 per year in sales
growth. What would it take to do that? Is that one order of
$500 or getting other orders to increase in size by that much?
This is the discussion and thinking process you should have
so you can determine what you need to do with your marketing.
Goal: Set an average sales goal per year, month, week,
and day. Build a plan to achieve the goal, and consistently
monitor and tweak the plan so it works.

IMPROVE YOUR BENCH STRENGTH

CONDUCT A BRAND AUDIT

In sports, when one player needs a rest or gets hurt, having a
skilled backup who is ready to be used can be the difference
in a win or a loss for the team. The quality of that reservoir is
called the team's "bench strength."
A common problem in this industry is the frantic phone call
from a shop owner looking for a replacement press operator,
embroidery machine operator, artist, or someone else with a
key skill. Where do you find these people?
Their replacements are already working for you. All you
need to do is get them trained before there is a problem.
Remember, try to have at least three people trained for every
core task in your shop. I call that the "Rule of 3." This is an onpurpose, planned training activity that is continually worked on.
Goal: Implement the "Rule of 3" and have all of your core
tasks covered with trained employees.

What is your brand? It's more than your logo. It's everything
that encompasses your business.
These days, it's important to remember your brand isn't
what you say it is - it's what your customers say it is. So that
begs the question, "What are they saying?" Or, even thinking?
You need to hear why your customers spend money with you.
What do they cherish? Better, what do they dislike?
There are plenty of ways this can happen. The best is a
one-on-one conversation. If you have discovered the top 20
percent of your customers, go see each of them. Be open to
things that might be hard to hear. This is valuable stuff. Use
this information to change your company for the better.
Goal: Conduct a brand audit once per year. Talk to your top
customers and get their feedback. Use the info to strengthen
your business and be in alignment with their expectations.

GET OUT OF YOUR OFFICE

CREATE A MARKETING PLAN

Have you heard the phrase, "you should be working on your
business and not in your business?" When you're buried in the
day-to-day operations, it's difficult to get clarity and observation
from another point of view. To really understand the macro view
of things, it's crucial you go on some fact-finding missions.
For starters, go see your customers. Don't talk about
your business; instead, ask about their's. What problems or
challenges are they facing? Is there something huge they're

For many shops, marketing is a last-minute, thrown-together
affair. And looks aren't deceiving. What is the purpose of it
anyway? Think of sales as existing in a cycle made up of four
concepts. Know, Like, Trust, and Buy.
Know: Potential customers at a basic level have to know
who you are. Call that step one.
Like: This means they grasp what you are about and
generally have a good opinion of your business.
DECEMBER 2019 / JANUARY 2020

Screen Printing - December 2019/January 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Screen Printing - December 2019/January 2020