SampleSmart: A Roundtable with the 3D Color Sales Sample Team

Anyone who’s been around the block in CPG knows all too well the challenges of managing sales samples. At 3D Color, we’re excited to be part of the solution with a dedicated team of the industry’s most experienced sales sample professionals, all laser-focused on improving a process that’s been too messy for far too long.

With decades of combined experience in every facet of packaging design management, prepress and print production, our SampleSmart team is reinventing the way sales teams acquire the samples they need to close deals and drive business results.

This month, we sat down with Senior Project Manager Amanda Billiter, Director of Graphic Development Shane Schwalbach and VP of Business Development Chris Schwalbach to discuss what makes the new program a game-changer.

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3D Color: What are the biggest industry pain points you’re seeking to solve with the SampleSmart program?

Shane Schwalbach: Timing has to be the biggest one, and of course we know that tough deadlines aren’t going away. But with better relationships and processes in place upstream in the design process, we can help clients be in a much better position to handle those emergencies when they happen.

Chris Schwalbach: That’s right. Typically getting samples involves lots of different vendors and resources, and that all takes time and coordination. But our approach can be much more end-to-end from prototype to samples, and that can literally make a difference of weeks or even months in a timeline.

Amanda Billiter: I’d say team continuity is another common pain point. It’s natural for clients to experience turnover at headquarters and in sales and marketing teams, but as a result, it seems often when I start a project, I’m working with an entirely new team and there’s a lot of education required. Our approach will solve a lot of that by guiding clients through a standardized, centralized process that anyone can pick up and run with fairly easily.

3D Color: If you could pass one gem of sales sample wisdom along to every client, what would it be?

Chris Schwalbach: Ask what’s possible! I’ve found it’s really common for clients to not even know their vendors’ full capabilities. As a result, clients end up making their lives more complicated by working with multiple vendors for different needs, when an easier, end-to-end solution might have been available.

Shane Schwalbach: I would definitely agree. New technologies and materials roll out every single year, and it would be impossible for a client to be aware of all the capabilities that exist with a given vendor. With our base of experience and available tools we can pull off some pretty elaborate comps in less time than you might expect — not that we want to encourage last-minute projects [laughs]! But we always want our clients to push us for ideal solutions, not just default to how it’s usually been done.

3D Color: Lots of companies are in the sample business. What do you think distinguishes the great ones?

Amanda Billiter: Trust. Of course we can talk about capabilities and speed, etc., but ultimately it really does come down to faith in the relationship. There’s a lot riding on sales samples, and a customer needs to feel absolutely certain they’re going to get what they need, at great quality, on time and at a fair price.

3D Color: What do you think it takes to build that trust?

Amanda Billiter: It starts with taking the time and effort to really understand the need. That way we can make sure we don’t overdeliver beyond what’s useful and run up excess cost, and we never underdeliver on expectations. Sometimes we actually understand what our clients need even better than they do themselves! But it requires a lot of trust for that kind of dynamic to work.

It’s also so important to always offer solutions. Issues are going to happen — that’s the nature of the business — but being transparent and presenting multiple options to keep a project on track goes a long way.

3D Color: Speaking of troubleshooting and problem-solving, what are some best practices you rely on?

Chris Schwalbach: I think the benefit this team brings is that all of us came up in the earlier days of printing and color separations, so we have a whole way of thinking that just isn’t there for people who’ve only ever known the digital processes. The ability to think about a problem from multiple angles really helps us push the innovation.

Shane Schwalbach: That’s true. A lot of comp-making is about reverse engineering, and if you only know one or two ways of making something, your options are limited. But our team has a huge toolkit of methods and materials and experiences to draw on, so we can usually figure it out.

Amanda Billiter: Yes! Depth of experience really makes a difference. I always say that just because I can do my taxes with TurboTax, that doesn’t make me an accountant – and if something goes wrong, I’m sunk. It’s the same with making comps. It may seem “easy” to turn out standard, routine samples — but the truth is sales samples are almost never standard or routine. It takes a lot of knowledge and understanding behind the scenes to make it all run smoothly and achieve great results.

3D Color: What excites you most about becoming part of the 3D Color SampleSmart team?

Shane Schwalbach: That’s easy. This company is 100% committed to solving this problem for the industry, and that means our team is going to get the support and resources it takes to do it right.

Chris Schwalbach: Agreed. We can talk about all the amazing equipment and technology that exists to transform the sales sample process, but it’s another thing to work for a company that is actually investing in it and shares the same goals.

Amanda Billiter: The fact is, there isn’t another company that’s wholly focused on solving this problem. For most operations, samples are a sideline or an afterthought, and that’s why it’s generally kind of a mess. It’s really exciting to be part of an organization that has made this their top priority. That’s what it takes to really make change.

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