Reorders Aren’t Sales—They’re Admin. Why Your Shop Needs an Outbound Sales Machine

If your team spends all day managing current customers, you’re not selling—you’re surviving. Here’s how to fix that.

Most print shops think they’re “doing sales” because orders are coming in. But let’s be real: inbound activity isn’t sales—it’s logistics.

You’ve already won those customers. Managing their reorders, sending proofs, and tracking down approvals is important, but it’s not building your business.

If you want to grow, you need outbound.

Outbound Sales: The Growth Engine Most Shops Ignore

Outbound is the part of your business that creates new customers. It’s not reactive—it’s intentional. It’s the difference between waiting for your phone to ring and dialing it yourself.

A healthy outbound strategy includes:

• Identifying target customers by vertical or geography
  

• Cold outreach—calls, emails, drop-offs, DMs
  

• Fast quoting and clear follow-ups
  

• Pitching bigger opportunities (kits, bundles, multi-location deals)
  

• Building a pipeline, not waiting on luck
  

Inbound Orders: Important, But Not Scalable

Handling current customers matters. But that’s retention—not acquisition. It’s what you do after the sale, not how you generate new ones.

Signs you’re stuck in inbound mode:

• Most of your day is spent answering emails from existing clients
  

• New business only comes from referrals or repeat buyers
  

• You can’t predict where your next 10 orders will come from
  

• Your revenue is flat despite high customer satisfaction

Where Most Shops Get It Wrong

They mistake activity for growth.

If your inbox is full, your press is running, and your crew is busy, it feels like sales are strong. But if all that volume is from the same 30 accounts, you’re one competitor or budget cut away from a big problem.

Here’s the trap:

• Inbound-only shops stay busy but hit ceilings.
  

• Outbound-focused shops create real growth—and control it.

How to Shift Toward Outbound

• Dial in who is doing the outbound work

  1. News flash - if it’s you as the owner that is going to do the outbound, it’s not going to work. I’ve seen this fail over and over. Shop owners get pulled in so many different directions. Unless you can commit to 80+% of your time, hire someone to do this work.  

  2. Create dedicated outbound efforts

  3. Track the work you’re doing - dial in what’s working and what isn’t
     

• Block time for prospecting

  1. Having a dialed focus on outbound is key. The calendar should be full with blocks to allow you to focus on calls, email campaigns, in-person drop off’s etc. 

  2. If your “salesperson” is focused on both outbound and inbound, they will always migrate over to the easy inbound work.
     

• Use a CRM to separate new vs. existing

  1. Your pipeline should clearly show who’s a new prospect vs. a current client reorder

  2. The outbound seller can then focus solely on net new outbound opportunities
     

• Make outbound part of your culture

  1. Talk about new wins in team meetings. Share what worked. Celebrate the hustle.
     

Final Word: You Don’t Scale on Reorders

Inbound orders keep you busy.
Outbound deals move you forward.
You need both—but only one puts you in control of your growth.