Guest Post: Billy Heywood – 3D Printing for the sales force
September 17th, 2014Have you ever hit a brick wall with a prospective customer? Of course you have! Our customers are using our 3D Printing technology in their sales and marketing tactics.
At Staub Additive we have helped our customers reduce their sales cycle by 3D printing colored cut-away models of their product. In the past, sales people used 2 dimensional drawings in their company’s brochure to convey a message or an idea. Everyone knows there isn’t a WOW factor when a sales person uses a 2D picture in a brochure or a power point presentation. Of course a picture says a thousand words, but the actual part in your hand is worth a million.
Below is a picture of a 3D printed cut-away of a 1953 AMAL motorcycle carburetor. The customer can touch, feel, and manipulate this model, while you can explain key features and components that have been color-coded in it.
Using a 3D printed model for a sales presentation gives you the “sizzle” that separates your sales department from the competition. Here is a list of advantages:
- Your company is considered cutting edge because you are using 3D printing.
- Customers or prospects can better visualize or understand your product.
- It is 3D Printed in color so that you can separate or identify your company’s technology.
- When you were a young child and pressed a button or turned a knob in a science museum your attention was focused on the exhibit. We can 3D print interactive sales samples that have moving parts that will make your customers smile and say “That is cool”.
- It is manufactured from a light weight plastic. Some companies have manufactured metal cut-ways, but they are heavy, expensive and difficult to transport.
- People do not like to be sold to, but they LOVE to “buy”. 3D printing a sales sample creates a dialog between the sales person and their customer that does not exist with a 2D brochure. Using this technology will start or may even create a “buying” environment versus a typical sales presentation using a 2D brochure.
There are probably more advantages utilizing 3D printing technology that I have not listed. I would love to hear some of your ideas. Give me a call at 716-913-6396 or e-mail me at bheywood@staubinc.com.