Xerox partner consultants provide structured sales process for Damgaard-Jensen, improving success rates and overall professionalism

Succeeding in today’s rapidly changing print market and soft economy increasingly requires print providers to develop best-in-class business practices. So when Damgaard-Jensen A/S, a full-service print provider with headquarters in Århus, Denmark, recognized it had room for improvement in its sales processes, they turned to the Xerox Business Development Program for help.

Damgaard-Jensen is a large, family-owned business established in 1917 and employing more than 100 people in Århus and a second location in Copenhagen. About 45 percent of its business is in-store and point-of-sale displays. Other key applications include outdoor advertising, exhibition signage, construction plans and signage, fabric banners and marketing collateral. Their mix of digital and offset printing equipment includes eight Xerox printing devices.

The Damgaard-Jensen sales team consists of 10 external sales representatives and 15 internal customer service representatives who have traditionally operated independently of each other. “One of our biggest challenges was the unstructured sales process and communication between our internal and external sales consultants,” said Nikolaj Nielsen, Damgaard-Jensen’s director of Sales and Marketing.

Nielsen recognized the need for a consistent process and a stronger, unified message for the entire sales team. Nielsen also wanted to establish a more aggressive approach to selling. And when the firm purchased a Xerox iGen3 Digital Production Press in 2008 to expand its short-run, quick-turnaround production and direct mail businesses, he recognized a need for sales training to grow print volume for the new press.

Business Development Help from Xerox

Nielsen turned to the Xerox Business Development Program for help. “Based on my past experience with Xerox, I was confident that it had the best resources for restructuring our professional sales process,” he said. Damgaard-Jensen worked with Xerox to establish sales training objectives around the company’s business goals, including:

• Establishing a corporate standard for sales presentation and processes
• Best practices for sales meeting preparation
• Techniques for developing a customer needs analysis
• Understanding economic reasoning and pricing psychology
• Training in argumentation, overcoming customer objections, recognizing buying signals and closing strategies

Henrik Carentius of Sales2Go, a member of the Xerox Business Development Consultant Network, worked with Damgaard-Jensen internal and external sales representatives for two to three months. For the external team, Xerox/Sales Partners helped establish a standard sales process and create a new sales presentation. Nielsen states, “I’m crazy about the presentation. Our external sales representatives use it every day, and this results in better quality meetings.”

Sales2Go also listened in on customer interactions with each internal sales representative and provided recommendations on how to better handle incoming sales inquiries, make effective cold calls, and improve coordination with the external sales team. According to one internal sales representative, “This new approach makes it very hard for prospects to say, ‘no’ when we offer to provide more information or schedule a follow-up meeting.”

As with any organizational change, Damgaard-Jensen faced resistance from a few employees. Nielsen mediated this challenge by carefully explaining the importance of adopting the new sales process. He introduced the goals of the Xerox training engagement to the sales team and encouraged them to try the new procedures. After seeing the results, the entire sales team agreed that the training was incredibly beneficial.

Boosting Sales and Print Volume

In a period of six months, Damgaard-Jensen increased the number of sales meetings by 150 percent and improved its deal-closing rate. “We used to make a sale from approximately five to seven out of every ten meetings,” Nielsen stated. “Because of this training, our sales team now closes eight to nine deals for every ten meetings with prospective customers.”

This new sales process ultimately resulted in a significant growth in digital printing volumes. The amount of print produced on the Xerox iGen3 press grew by 45 percent during those six months.

Using the new professionally structured sales process, Damgaard-Jensen is now equipped to recognize and meet the needs of new customers while also creating deeper relationships with existing customers. Damgaard-Jensen’s sales team is now practicing a value-based sales process with a focus on value creation and profitability. The communications between internal and external staff members also has improved, resulting in better customer service.

Nielsen emphasized the success of the business development program by noting, “I would recommend the program to any company that is struggling with marketing and sales. Xerox helped us create a more professional sales department and generate new sales activities that will be critical to our future growth. We have already registered for more of these Xerox services in the coming months.”