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As appearing in The Seybold Report - May 30, 2006

Article prepared by C. Clint Bolte, C. Clint Bolte & Associates, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. For additional information please call 717-263-5768, fax 717-263-8945, or e-mail to clint@clintbolte.com.

Breaking the Glass Ceiling for Increased Print Sales

In the recent few years I have been asked to reflect upon strategic trends that if heeded might better position printers for improved long term viability. I've written extensively down through the decades of leading edge technologies, benchmark manufacturing practices and some of the most innovative product development initiatives and case studies. There is a vital trend that is becoming increasingly clear that could truly spell the difference between mediocrity and corporate stardom. And the cost is not a financial commitment. As a matter of fact the investment is nominal. But it requires a concerted philosophical shift in management organizational mindset.

A month ago I was invited to participate in the Sunbelt Graphics seminars. Since it had been a few years since I was last in Atlanta, I decided to fly in a few hours early and visit my alma mater, colloquially referred to as the North Avenue Trade School. During my college career in the 1960's I was active in the Georgia Tech Student Government. I went by the current SGA office and was fortunate to find the administrative secretary there who had been in that position for the past 17 years. During her time there she recalled that nearly half of the student body presidents had been women. Officers in virtually all of the more popular extracurricular clubs and organizations were a disproportionately high number of females as well.

I already knew that females had grown to 38% of the student body in this school that only offered technical degrees in science and engineering. But I found it interesting that young women were assuming the elected leadership roles in a higher proportion than their population. As proud as I am to be a Ramblin' Reck, I really don't see this demographic shift as being unique to this former male-dominated institution.

In the new millennium I have attended two annual Print Oasis Conferences. This is the world's only dedicated conclave for print buyers. I spoke to Suzanne Morgan, President of Print Buyers Online (printbuyersonline.com) and organizer of this conference, about the gender statistics of this vital professional niche. She remarked, "Female print buyers are now 70-75% of the total. A decade ago it was just the reverse!"

Lets look briefly at broader statistics. The National Foundation of Women Business Owners reports that women-owned firms, about 9.1 million companies, represent 38% of all firms in the United States and generate $3.6 trillion in annual sales. This has more than doubled in the past 12 years according to aphradmedia.com. Internationally, women-owned companies are between 25-33% of the total business population. At the conventional 2%, which is the print proportion of total corporate revenues, these new generation female entrepreneurs buy over $700 million of printing each year.

A couple other studies are worth considering. Since 1985, women have comprised over 40% of all law students. However, in 2001 their enrollment proportion surpassed men. In a 1998 study by Women Entrepreneurs, 51% of women said a desire for flexibility was the top reason they left their previous employer. In the same year Two Careers, One Marriage conducted another study indicating that 49% of women and 23% of men took advantage of formal flex work arrangements offered by employees.

Lets return to the structure of the printing and graphic arts industries. While actual statistics are difficult to come by, in my experience women are increasingly assuming a higher proportion of electronic prepress jobs, particularly in the smaller commercial printers and in-plant printers. This is because a higher proportion of them have commercial art design degrees and were the quickest studies for this emerging technologies. Larger printers meanwhile may have their electronic prepress departments dominated by former Scitex operators, who were all male. Another source of technical skill growth, again for the small to medium sized commercial printers and in house prepress operations, has been the cadre of freelance designers. Virtually all are female and have worked at home to be able to be near their infant children or have more flexible work hours around other family priorities.

This computer savvy group has been strongly considered as natural employee candidates when these smaller firms have expanded into digital printing and wide format digital printing. Substrates and stock variations are easier to teach to electronic designers than computer networking and operating servers to lithographic pressmen.

This career progression is easy to follow and predict. PC-based database management software and expertise seems to be easier to learn by many of these former commercial design artists as the printers diversify into Internet-to-print applications. Who then is the most logical candidate to sell the variable data printing and multi-media programs? Is it easier to teach the lithographic print salesman d-base file delimiters or the female computer operator who has a pleasant and helpful personality but has never sold before. That transition is not a huge stretch either as most of these female computer and software experts has worked very effectively in customer service driven by that product development initiative.

Female leadership is finally being acknowledged in the printing industry. Printing Impressions has highlighted the highest ranking female corporate officers at printing firms in annual feature articles for a number of years. The magazine's listing of the largest printers in North America will show one or two female CEOs out of the top 100 firms. The National Association for Printing Leadership inducted their first female Chairperson of the Board this year in Joan Davidson, CEO of The Sheridan Press. The recently elected Chairperson for the National Government Publishing Association (an organization of State Printers) is Deborah Messina of Delaware. However, the fact still remains that the good 'ole boy network reigns supreme in Ben Franklin's industry, which could pose a dilemma for a number of unenlightened firms.

This is not to suggest that this army of female print buyers mentioned earlier would discriminate against all of these print sales guys. After all, the results of their purchasing alliances must show good value, consistent quality and ever quick turn around times.

On the other hand if they went on a sight visit to qualify a new prospective printer and met the top three officers, at least one of which was female, female department heads in customer service, prepress, mailing and fulfillment, do you think they would categorize this printer as a good ole boy throwback or a potentially new millennium graphic solutions vendor? They might just give them the chance to bid on and produce a challenging project to test out their communications skills.

As my clients and publishers know, I don't write many sales articles. I leave that to the Master, the Manna Man. On the other hand considering that he has three daughters, each of who is quite sharp, I am surprised that Harris DeWese has not written one of his popular monthly epistles on the print sales force of the future. One that is not only empathetic and sensitive but has more than a single storefront female among its group.

It was suggested earlier that this organizational human resource dynamic was really one requiring a philosophical mindset shift. With colleges and commercial design schools graduating more females than males and females showing increasing professional ambition, it might be as simple as top management being open and receptive to the best candidates interviewing for the job. On the other hand if your corporate policies are not sensitive to the personnel flexibility policies expressed in the earlier surveys, you might best wait until one of these female entrepreneurs offers to buy your company and get it turned around.

Article prepared by C. Clint Bolte, C. Clint Bolte & Associates, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. For additional information please call 717-263-5768, fax 717-263-8945, or e-mail to clint@clintbolte.com.