Stop trying to sell, and start trying to educate.
That’s the message Colin McDermott, The Online Print Coach, will bring to Edge Long Beach this May as a speaker in the SELL track. He believes print companies need to shift from a traditional sales mindset to an educational approach — guiding clients, building trust and using content marketing to generate long-term business.
In this episode of the "Unvarnished" video interview series, Colin shares his journey in the print industry, from working in estimating and production to launching and running his own businesses. He has faced firsthand the challenges of losing major clients overnight, navigating economic downturns and rebuilding from scratch. Those experiences have shaped his approach to helping companies grow and become more resilient.
Now a certified corporate coach and founder of The Online Print Coach, Colin works with clients to help them fine-tune their sales processes and build stronger client relationships. At Edge Long Beach, he’ll share tangible strategies to help printers stand out, generate leads and keep customers coming back.
“People don’t want to be sold to — they want solutions to their problems. If you can teach them something valuable, they’ll trust you and eventually buy from you,” Colin says.
Colin is also hosting an exclusive pre-event webinar for Edge Long Beach attendees, "The Top 10 Mistakes Print Companies Make," which will cover key business pitfalls and how to fix them. One of those mistakes, he shares in this interview, is not creating a strong feedback loops with customers. He has seen print companies unknowingly leave millions of dollars on the table simply because they never asked their clients the right questions.
