As the pilot picked his way between airplane-eating thunderheads that towered above 40,000 feet, I started to question the wisdom of boarding the flight from Rochester to Cincinnati. The weather forecast had been dicey at best, but I wanted to get home after almost two weeks on the road. My most recent stop had been to keynote the Xerox Thought Leadership Workshop for quick and small commercial printers. The event had been very informative, but I was surprised how little the attendees knew about the sales and marketing tools Xerox could provide.

As I thought about it later, I probably shouldn’t have been that surprised. Far too many printers I have run into are either not aware of or not inclined to take advantage of such useful tools that can help them build their sales and profitability.

Many years ago, vendors sold boxes. When that approach petered out, they sold “solutions,” which were usually boxes linked together. Finally, however, they realized that in order to maintain their customer base, they had a vested interest in keeping their customers in business. Thus began the effort to provide business, sales, and marketing resources for their customers. Sure, each vendor reserves their particular tool kit for users of their equipment or software, but that’s as it should be. My question is, if one does own equipment or software from a particular vendor, why don’t they take advantage of those resources? I guess it’s probably for the same reasons that franchisees don’t take advantage of available franchise resources or association members don’t take advantage of association resources. Maybe excuses would be a better term than reasons.

Anyway, we were the last aircraft to land and offload before the airport was shut down. I checked the weather on my computer and made a decision to take advantage of the resources available to me by having the agent at the Delta Crown Room book me a hotel and reschedule me for a next-day flight. By the time the rest of the traveling public realized that the quarter-sized hail pelting the airport meant cancelled flights, I was comfortably resting in my room getting ready to fight another day. After all, if you have resources, why not use them?

I just got back from a week on the road at the Media Days event for Print ‘09 in Chicago and the ICED annual conference in Houston. I’m home long enough to do laundry and then out again to do a keynote at a Xerox Thought Leadership Workshop in Rochester, NY. A couple of random thoughts as I wait for my dress shirts to dry.

I completely understand the rationale behind Media Days. Gather together as much of the worldwide trade press as possible so that Print ‘09 vendors can make their show pitches just once to the gathered media multitudes. (Actually, there were only 50 editors there.) Eight presentations a day for two days might sound like death by PowerPoint, but there was actually some interesting stuff. While a lot of the vendors played it a little close to the vest—waiting for the big reveal at the show—others made their big show play at the media event. Most notably, RISO announced the worldwide debut of its new line of affordable inkjet color printers that run between 90 and 150 ppm. It’s not high-end color, but will give printers the option of selling full-color on a lot of formerly spot color jobs.

I finally got smart and shipped all the press kits to myself so I wouldn’t have to lug them down to Texas. The package hasn’t shown up yet, so you’ll have to wait a while for more details.

After sitting on the runway in Chicago for two hours waiting out a line of thunder and lightening storms, I finally got down to Houston and the 97˚, 100% humidity weather. Had a nice time with the ICED folks, who told me their trade show had 80 exhibitors. After presenting the Quick Printing Magazine Business Excellence Award to Mike and Kathy Maguire, owners of a Kwik Kopy Business Center in Lakeville, MN, I grabbed a few ZZZs before winging my way home last night.

The dryer buzzer informs me that my shirts are dry so that’s it for now. I won’t be out as long this week and will let you know how the Xerox workshop turned out.

In tough economic times such as these, everyone is looking for an edge. Printers are lucky because they have so many tools and resources that are readily available. The problem is many printers seem to be more interested in griping about their problems than in actually using the very tools that could help them solve those problems.

The majority of printing companies are using some type of estimating software package, but very few of them are using all of the business tools that those programs offer. The pricing function is still primary, but today’s versions have morphed into full fledged MIS systems that can track workflow, equipment depreciation, and inventory, keep you in touch with your customers, and handle all manner of accounting activities. This is an opportunity to increase sales and improve your bottom line that requires no further monetary investment—just a little of your time.

Then there are the industry specific studies that are available. NAQP publishes the Operating Ratio Study, Printing Industry Pricing Study, Bindery & Finishing Study, and the Wage & Salary Study. John Stewart’s Q.P. Consulting just published the 2009-2010 Mailing Services Pricing Study, which was co-sponsored by Quick Printing and Mailing Systems Technology. Printers who buy these studies and actually implement what they learn from them consistently report that the studies more than pay for themselves many times over. But so many business owners balk at spending a couple hundred dollars on a study. Even fewer will actually make the changes recommended. Why?

Every week, we post information on www.quickprinting.com about various webinars, seminars, and training opportunities. There are trade shows and conferences that offer up all manner of learning options. And, of course, there’s Quick Printing itself. Advice from knowledgeable industry experts arrives in your mailbox every month for free. Lots of folks may read our articles, attend a webinar, or travel to a trade show, but when they get back to the shop it’s business as usual. Why?

If you’re looking for the tools that can help your business stay alive and even grow during these turbulent times, turn over a few of the rocks in your own backyard. You might be surprised by the treasures you will find. What you do with them is up to you.

During a group conversation today, an optimistic salesperson said, “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I feel like things are starting to turn around.”

Another party said she didn’t really get that feeling, but was glad that someone could say they did. Still another member of the group offered that he’d heard a couple of printers saying that they felt like the economy was starting to show signs of recovery.

Last week, NAPL sent out a press release titled “Despite Signs of Recession Bottoming Out, Industry Sales Continue to Nosedive.” It delivered the glum news of the first quarter had shown the worst quarterly sales declines since the association began tracking these figures more than 20 years ago. On the other hand, it went on to report that about one fifth of the companies surveyed were reporting fairly significant increases in April’s sales over March. “More than twice as many NAPL Printing Business Panel members reported seeing some encouraging signs—no matter how minor—now than they did in March and reports of such positive signs have increased significantly in every geographic region,” the report states.

Considering that NAPL’s study group consists primarily of large commercial printers, that news translates particularly well for QP’s readers. Being smaller and lighter on their feet than the big guys, quick and small commercial printers are generally able to adjust to changes and recover more easily from these downturns. Of course, there are always mitigating circumstances for individual companies, but looking at the industry as a whole, this first robin of spring is a welcome sight.

Maybe that salesperson was onto something. Let’s hope she’s right!

It seems like everyone has an iPhone or a Blackberry. We IM, and Tweet, and stay in touch 24/7. We seem to be doing a whole lot more work than we ever did before, but I’m not at all sure what we think we’re accomplishing. I find myself wondering how much of that constant communication is useful and how much is just background noise.

Have you ever paused to think whether your life is better now than it was before you were “connected” every minute of the day? Are you happier or more content? Do Tweets really enrich your relationships? Has this constant activity made the world a better place?

Or are you too tired to even think about the answers to these questions? I seem to hear that complaint from a lot of people lately—printers, vendors, friends, family. We’re exhausted. We feel frazzled and put upon. Many people participate in these activities not because they want to, but because they feel pressured to do so. And too many of us allow that pressure to build to the point of obsession, which is where the whole 24/7 nightmare begins.

Maybe it’s time to take a step back and evaluate this part of your life, just like you step back to evaluate the condition of your business. (You are doing that, right?)

Summer is finally here; the time of year when most folks take a little time off and have a vacation. So, how about doing yourself a favor this year? When you take your vacation, whatever form it may take, use it as an opportunity to unplug the electronic umbilical cords. Tell your Internet followers when you’ll be back and then sign off (or turn it over to an employee while you’re gone). Power down the computer. Put the iPhone in a drawer. And give yourself some honest down time in order to recharge your own batteries. You may be surprised by just how good that can feel. Who knows? You might be inspired to go “unplugged” for a little while every day. And that just might make your world a better place all year ‘round.