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10 Years in the Cloud

February 2017

Many Reasons Why You Don't Buy A Copier from from the Web

With a recent appointment, my sales process took a few steps back when my prospect (net new client) challenged my pricing for a new A3 black Ricoh device.  They stated that the price of the same device on the web was $2,500 less than my price and wanted to know WHY we were so much more expensive.

Just as my prospect has the power of the web, so do I. After asking a few questions I was able to find the same web store and model that they were referencing.  After a few minutes I was able to produce many bullet points to the prospect as to WHY they do not want to take that RISK.

  • There was not stapler/finisher and cabinet with the device
  • The seller could not provide the manufacturers warranty.  Meaning, don't expect us to provide the 90 day warranty
  • Installation was not included. Client would have to pay for unboxing of system and install
  • Network installation for scan and print was not included
  • Delivery was lift-gate only. Which meant that the client would need to move the device on their own up two flights of stairs
  • No phone support from the web store/company that they would make the purchase from
  • Web store/company aka dealer was not an Authorized Ricoh provider
  • If you had to return the device, you would have to pay to have the system shipped back to California and probably fight to get your dough back

Thus, as I was writing these notes, I wanted to double check that I was correct with all of my bullet points.  When I returned to the site, I noticed in a smaller font that the device was "refurbished".  Which added many additional bullet points from those above.

  • The statement of "certified tech"  is pretty much BS.  How does a non authorized dealer provide a "certified tech"?
  • No service history for the device is available
  • No serial is provided
  • Device could be a lemon since it is listed as "refurbished" and it's a current model
  • Shipping a refurbished copier from California means you're pretty much asking for problems and issues once it arrives via common freight carrier


In the end, I was able to secure the order from the net new client. However there have been times when I haven't been able to convince the client that we are the "right" choice.  There are always going to be "x" amount of price buyers, and I'm hoping that this short blog can prove that there is enough RISK to make those think twice about that purchase. In addition, I hope these bullet points can help other copier sales reps to point out those potential pitfalls to their prospects and clients.



-=Good Selling=-

3 Ways Copier Sales Reps Take Their Customers For Granted

A massive challenge for copier sales reps is attracting and obtaining net new business while trying to retain current customers. Choosing where to spend your energy or how to divvy up your time can be challenging. I know how busy you all are running around doing "stuff"!

It costs your dealership significantly more to acquire new customers than it does to retain them, as most successful dealerships understand the importance of maintaining outstanding customer relationships.

Why have dealerships become lazy when it comes to maintaining their customer relationships?

WHAT DRIVES LAZINESS WITHIN COPIER DEALERSHIPS?

A picture speaks a thousand words...

Taking things for granted is an awful mistake we all make. A huge and unfortunate strategic error copier sales reps and their dealerships make is taking their customers for granted. When success sets in and everyone inside the dealership finds itself in a strong position the thought process seems to then revolve around your products and your services as being top-class, unique and something their customers can't live without.

Taking your customers for granted is equivalent to shutting down your dealership since it is your customers who call the shots now.

You as a copier sales rep and the offerings within your dealership are not indispensable given the fierce competition. Your customers have so many options that they do not need to stick with a company which takes them for granted. They would much rather jump ship and go to a company who respects them, understands their needs and treats them well.

Taking your customers for granted will permeate throughout your dealership. Remember your dealership exists because of your customers.

Customer retention, loyalty and the service experience you provide are the foundation to your survival

Attention to all copier sales reps and the dealerships you work for...

Don't take repeat business for granted or you will struggle to expand!

3 WAYS COPIER SALES REPS TAKE THEIR CUSTOMERS FOR GRANTED

How can you protect your customer base from erosion? This is quite simple -Stop taking your customers for granted. Your current customer base has never more vulnerable than it is now.

Flip this on its head, attack the competition and their complacent, taking for granted mindset to drive enormous net new business growth. In order to achieve success, let's remove the obstacles preventing you from achieving sales growth.

ASSUME YOUR CUSTOMERS KNOW THE VALUE YOU BRING

Chew on this for a moment...

How do you truly know you are delivering value to your clients?

Are you really giving them what they really value more effectively than your competitors?

Are you sure?

How do you know if your services or products are adding the right kind of value to your existing customers? You can't assume any longer. Just because they renew their leases with you doesn't mean anything any longer. All this means is they don't know any better than what they know.

When is the last time you went belly to belly, face to face with your customers and asked them, "What value do our services or products create for you?" I am waiting for your answer, still waiting, still waiting; this is what I thought - it has been awhile.

I encourage you all to think about this question "What does value add look like to your customers?" I bet all of your customers want to increase their sales and grow their customer base, correct?

Here is a personal exercise... Ask yourself these two questions and then write down your responses to:

How do I help my customer's gain a competitive advantage?

What is my customer's perception of value in working with me?

To understand the meaning of value, you must first put yourself in your customer's shoes and see the world through their eyes.

ASSUME YOUR CUSTOMERS REALLY KNOW WHO YOU ARE

Creating true, authentic and genuine relationships by spending informal time with your customers will help you to understand them and their businesses.

What’s important to them and their business; the return will far outweigh the investment. How well do you truly know your customers and how well do they know you? With all sincerity, when you get to know your customers inside and out, you can personalize the attention you give them.

In my last blog, 3 Ways A Servant Led Mindset Helps Sales Reps Crush Quota, true leadership as a sales rep is the ability to affect change and influence people inside your current accounts.

The more you can lead with a servant led mindset the better you will be in the long run. The aim is to be seen as a trusted adviser. When your input is greatly appreciated by your customers, it’s less likely they will engage with your competition. Stop taking your customers for granted.

THEY TREAT THEIR CUSTOMERS AS CUSTOMERS AND NOT CLIENTS

Throughout this entire blog I have referred to customers as customers. How many have caught onto this?

To all copier reps and management, do you view your customers as customers or do you view them as clients? How many view them as clients but treat them as customers?

How do you know when a customer becomes a client, or the other way around? When a client becomes a customer this becomes a problem.

A bit of advice to copier reps, it is no longer acceptable to manage your lease end portfolio and call yourself a strategic account manager or whatever fancy shmancy title you bestow upon yourself.

Roll it up, dig in and get to know your CLIENTS! See their business through their eyes not your 36 month lease end eyes.

Customers buy things and clients seek advice! You can't go to Walmart and have a Nordstrom's experience.

Are you building customers or are you building clients?

Think long and hard about this one... Are you viewed as sales rep of products and services to your customers or do you enlighten, add value, inform, advise, counsel, nurture and become an advocate on behalf of your clients?

Is your personal preference to be sold or served? When you’re in the marketplace as a consumer do you seek out professionals whom you can trust or sleaze-balls selling a product?

Because all of you have been trained real well by management (what does your 30 day look like) your goal should not be to find customers who need something you have right now; rather your intent should be to build sustainable relationships with your clients who value your professional advice based upon the strength of your brand and the need for your expertise.

Ponder this one for a moment the contrast between clients and customers - Ask yourself whether you desire to be paid for what you do for your clients or what you hand them, a copier!

In conclusion, ditch the customer centric mindset and adhere to a client centric mindset. You will attract and retain relationships, command premium prices, develop brand loyalty (YOU), create loyal client relationships thus generating more revenue over the life cycle of a relationship. 

I guarantee if you make the mental shift in thought and in action, from customer to client your sales will become healthier and you won't complain about getting beat up on price.

I understand where you all are coming from. I have walked a day in a life of your shoes.

I am fully committed to helping your sales team integrate social selling into your current sales process to grow net-new business. I want you to get results. This is why I am passionate about doing this the right way.

"Larry is clearly on the forefront of seeing the value of building "social" relationships. He has helped our team realize the importance and power of having a strong, professional "social" presence. His creative ideas and strategies have helped our team gain credibility and move social relationships to quality face to face meetings." Dean Swenson, The Swenson Group

In 2016, Larry was recognized by ENX Magazine, “The Difference Maker” as someone who is making a difference inside the copier channel. Larry is passionate about helping sales reps succeed in creating their online brand image

You can find more blog posts inside the Social Sales Academy website.

I appreciate getting the opportunity to share my LinkedIn stories. Integrating the use of LinkedIn was my “game-changer” in the highly competitive copier world. With great pride I transform, coach and inspire B2B Office Technology Sales Professionals to grow net new business by helping them tell their story and communicate on LinkedIn. My commitment is to help office technology dealers thrive in a changing marketplace. You can follow me on LinkedInTwitter, as well as at the Social Sales Academy

 

3 Ways A Servant Led Mindset Helps Sales Reps Crush Quota

"True leadership is servanthood. Put the interests of others at the center of your decisions."
Dave Ramsey

I would like for you to think about the people who have been leaders in your life. One of the fascinating aspects about the people who lead us, whether they are good, poor or indifferent is the fact we learn a thing or two from all of them.

Some teach us how to lead while others demonstrate how not to lead. What makes the difference in a strong leader versus a weak one? Is it their personality? Is it their skill set? It their life experience they possess? While all of these are indeed factors there is one metric which I believe sets apart strong leaders from weak ones...

The best leaders have developed a well-thought out approach for leading others. 

SALES REPS WHO LEAD

Let's examine this from a sales perspective for a moment. True leadership as a sales rep is the ability to affect change and influence people inside your current clients and prospective client's places of business. Therefore, you as the coach need a game plan just as a general needs a plan of attack or someone running for office needs a platform. As a sales rep, if you are truly going to lead others; your clients and prospects then I suggest you bring a proactive thought process to how you lead.

LEAD WITH THE HEART - SERVANT LEADERSHIP AS A SALES REP

There is a world of difference between being a vendor who takes orders (managing your lease end portfolio) and being viewed as a valued peer.

Do you view and treat your customers as customers or clients?

A vendor or customer mindset defaults to a defensive or reactive sales position, missing opportunities to help and to increase your value by being able to build a dependable, mutually profitable relationship.

Truly successful sales reps lead with the heart and seek to serve their clients and prospects. The most high-valued sales relationships will be peer-to-peer in nature. This is a huge mental and strategic shift most sales reps will find exhausting.

Adopting a servant leadership mindset takes a conscious effort by learning and committing to develop self effectiveness in areas such as:

  • Listening
  • Empathy
  • Healing
  • Persuasion
  • Foresight

I am forever grateful to Billy Burnett and Charles McPadden two of the most genuine guys I know from one of the finest organizations ever to exist Joni and Friends. Not only were these two gentlemen clients of mine but they became mentors and truly great friends. These two gentlemen played a huge role in why I feel so strongly about sales reps leading with the heart.

I encourage sales reps to think about stewardship with your current clients and prospects. Make the commitment to grow relationships not just for the sales sake but for truly, genuinely and with a burning desire wanting to build a great community of clients.

Servant sales leadership is a journey. It is conducive to sales reps with a grit and growth mindset.

3 WAYS A SERVANT LED MINDSET HELPS SALES REPS CRUSH QUOTA 

It's not what we say as sales reps but what we actually do, this is what matters.

SEEK TO ALWAYS PUT YOUR CLIENT FIRST

You need to put your clients and prospects perspectives and needs far ahead of your own to give you a fighting chance. Putting them first is really not complicated. It's about making each client and future client feel as important and valued as they are. If they need help, there should be absolutely no hesitation to offer the help. If there is a question, every effort should be made to answer it to their satisfaction. If there is a complaint about your product or your service, every effort should be made to rectify the problem immediately. Client satisfaction should be at the forefront in any reasonable situation.

Sales reps, instead of worrying about being interesting, we need to first be interested. Develop empathy for your clients and prospects. Start to gain an understanding of what motivates them and how this can align to what you can deliver. Always under-promise and over-deliver. This is the key!

SEEK TO UNDERSTAND FIRST THEN BE UNDERSTOOD

Listen closely to your clients and prospects. Professional sales reps seek to understand the needs, concerns, desires, issues, challenges and current situation within their perspective clients and prospects business. An amateur sales rep sells products, a professional sells a solution to the problem.

By seeking first to understand, you can turn a transactional opportunity (like turning your lease base) into a transformational opportunity. I encourage sales reps to get on the same side of the table looking at the problem instead of staying on opposite sides of the table staring at each other.

The litmus test - ask your clients this question...

What is the difference I have made to your business?

When we as sales reps sincerely and deeply understand our clients this will open the door to more creative solutions. This becomes huge stepping stones to a synergistic and profitable partnership.

SEEK TO OPEN UP CONVERSATIONS

If you truly want to get to know your clients and prospects then take the sales hat off, roll up your sleeves and engage in healthy conversation. Here lies the issue - How many sales reps have truly meaningful conversations with their clients outside of the selling process?

The best sales reps know how to bring conversation out in the open. It is about uncovering the conversation your client or prospect is having with themselves. In doing so this enables open and honest communication to what is really going on which provides the freedom to engage in win-win situation.

If your client's don't feel like they are being heard and understood, they may withhold critical information as to where they really are within their buying decision, which may diminish or eliminate your ability to impact the outcome.

Focus on developing conversations, not sales campaigns. It is not about your agenda, it is about opening up human to human conversation. It is not about you it is about helping your client. Develop a sincere desire and demonstrate you are interested in your client's world and what motivates them.

Seek to open up more conversations. Successful sales reps are far more effective with time, patience and their energy levels than the average sales rep is willing to invest. They recognize there's something more important when it comes to closing the deal - listening to what the buyer isn't telling them.

IN THE END - WIN THE WAR

If you want to crush it in sales, I encourage sales reps to develop a servant sales mindset. Sales reps who help out the most will win the most. 

In a world where sales reps are viewed upon with negativity, an authentic, real-deal approach is a breath of fresh air. It may result in losing a few sales battles here or there, but those sales reps who put their clients first no matter what are all but guaranteed to win the war.

I understand where you all are coming from. I have walked a day in a life of your shoes.

I am fully committed to helping your sales team integrate social selling into your current sales process to grow net-new business. I want you to get results. This is why I am passionate about doing this the right way.

"Larry Levine is one of a kind, and a master of his craft. I’d have to say he is truly ahead of our time with the knowledge he stores but generously enough, he shares his story and the vision in the manner that is mind blowing and motivating. With statistics from his personal endeavors as well as credible resources, not only is Larry Levine helping business’s stay connected with current customers through the content of his teachings with social media, he opens up your perspective to more opportunities and leads for businesses and their employees to strengthen their mission statement." Thomas Taylor, A&B Business Solutions

In 2016, Larry was recognized by ENX Magazine, “The Difference Maker” as someone who is making a difference inside the copier channel. Larry is passionate about helping sales reps succeed in creating their online brand image

You can find more blog posts inside the Social Sales Academy website.

I appreciate getting the opportunity to share my LinkedIn stories. Integrating the use of LinkedIn was my “game-changer” in the highly competitive copier world. With great pride I transform, coach and inspire B2B Office Technology Sales Professionals to grow net new business by helping them tell their story and communicate on LinkedIn. My commitment is to help office technology dealers thrive in a changing marketplace. You can follow me on LinkedInTwitter, as well as at the Social Sales Academy

 

MSP's "FREE ASSESSMENTS" are you Kidding?

Some Managed Service Providers believe that giving things away will lead to sales. Why do some Managed Service Providers give away technology assessments? Who was the consultant that charged these service providers a fee and then told them to give away their services? Or was this decision self-inflected? Are they convincing themselves a “free assessment” as an application process towards acquiring customers makes sense? Simple Answer It does not. It cost Cents and lots of them. Don't be the MSP who believes providing a client free services and doing a good job will get you their business. Their business is getting things for free; they gave you the business alright. People who demand things for free should never be considered a prospect for Managed IT Services. Doing work for free is a hobby, and no one wants their Managed IT Service provider to be hobbyists, do they?

“This first it's free approach when delivering Managed IT Services. Is a quest at outrunning cost instead of catching sales, and sooner or later the bus of debt will run over those being chased by their heavy cost of lack of confidence.”

So now you sold the assessment congratulations! But remember. Managed Services is about processes. When you get consumed by the excitement of the deal, you can get swallowed by the complexities in delivering IT if you go off course. Stick to your work scope and your defined processes. The assessment is the first deliverable of your Managed Services package. The assessment should not be a proposal. The job of the assessment is to clarify the current circumstances, potential problems, and threats. When the customer buys and assessment, they are paying for an education. The service provider should deliver an unbiased assessment not a litany of all the great, wonderful things their company would be more than happy to sell them. They paid for an assessment deliver them an assessment. Deliver that assessment with unmatched Remarkability.    

 In Managed IT Services everything must start with an Assessment, a Paid Assessment. So if your marketing slick has the words "Free Assessments" throw them in the trash before they cost you more money, than stop at Walmart on the way home pick up a black marker and cross those words off the service vehicle. Believe in your deliverable the serious prospects you are looking for are expecting to, and will pay for an assessment and when they do (Deliver an Assessment) not simply a printout of information gathered by an RMM Tool and remember don’t deliver a proposal. Deliver an Assessment. Your capabilities in the delivery of Assessments will be what defines your Managed IT Services deliverable; it will also establish your company’s reputation as a top rated Managed Services provider. It’s from the assessments value which will drive your prospect in allowing you to remedy and manage their technology platform. There is nothing free in Managed Services, what you charge for your services is directly correlated to how you and your prospects value what you do.

 “Giving things away is a crutch to hold up a weak deliverable.”

When Managed IT Service providers focus on paying customers, they will also be focusing on being more remarkable. It’s in the results of your remarkability that your prospect and your clients are more than happy to compensate for services rendered. The best marketing program is when your customers experience your remarkability.

“When you put being remarkable ahead of marketing customers will come to you, when you do it backward you will always chase customers.”  Ray Stasieczko   

Testing Positive for Better Service and Cash Flow

 

The Mercy Clinical Laboratory implemented DocuWare in order to better manage lab orders. The results are all positive. The Lab reduced the time-to-bill by one day increasing its billing capacity by $210,000 per day. These new efficiencies reduced the backlog of lab orders to bill by half and gave the staff the ability to answer questions about an order instantaneously. Digital information is now shared with other departments to improve patient care and the Lab’s bottom line.

Mercy Clinical Laboratory is part of Mercy Medical Center-Des Moines which was founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1893. Today Mercy has expanded to operate four nonprofit Catholic hospital campuses, with a total of 875 beds, along with more than 20 additional facilities that house more than 50 primary care, pediatric, internal medicine and specialty clinics. Mercy Medical Center – Des Moines is a member of Mercy Health Network and is a part of Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI), a national nonprofit health organization with headquarters in Englewood, Colo.  The faith-based system operates in 18 states and includes 103 hospitals and multiple other facilities and services.

Mercy Clinical Laboratory provides services for 17 hospitals, as well as more than 300 other facilities, and processes samples from about 1,800 patients a day. With most patients having 3-5 lab tests done at once, the Lab processes more than 5,000 samples a day. The volume of tests the laboratory performs brings in a large piece of the hospital’s revenue, close to $30 million annually. Naturally, optimizing the Lab’s business processes was a high priority.

Requirements

The Lab needed to speed up the processing time from when a specimen is received to the time it is billed.  During the period the Lab was looking for a new system, it had $7-8 million in lab work waiting to be billed. The goal: automate processes and reduce the time-to-bill, make information easy to find and simplify the way it is shared with the patient access team, the medical coding team and the billing team. Initially the staff would staple documents together, hand write the account number and manually alphabetize the lab reports for each day. Once all the documents were in order, the staples were removed so the documents could be scanned. However, the resulting file was unsearchable and required the staff to page through the entire day’s record, often more than 5,000 pages long, to find what they needed. The paper documents were then re-stapled and sent to the billing department for further processing and filing.

Solution

After evaluating several options, the Lab decided to implement DocuWare. Today, specimens and lab orders are scanned in real time using barcoded labels to index the documents by accession number, a number unique to testing performed that day per patient. The Lab utilizes third-party software Kofax to scan, index and run a Quality Assurance check on the documents, before moving them into DocuWare for access and storage. DocuWare is seamlessly integrated with Cerner, Mercy’s electronic medical record and lab software. When an employee opens a patient record in Cerner, they simply click the integrated DocuWare button and all the documents such as lab records and test results pertaining to that patient are displayed.

“Our colleagues’ love the way they can find the information they need with the touch of one button, versus paging through a 5,000 page file,” said Mona Dinnauer, Outreach Lab Manager for Mercy.

The system for managing lab orders worked so well that it was expanded to manage future or standing lab orders which are initially indexed by medical record number, a number unique for each patient and later tied to the accession number.

“Having easy access to the original order improves the quality of the lab tests and eliminates confusion. We can now instantly answer a nurse or doctor’s questions, improving patient care. This is one of the biggest benefits of our new system,” said Dinnauer.

Benefits

Mercy chose to implement DocuWare Cloud because of its high functionality, around the clock support and scalable setup. Implementing DocuWare Cloud also allowed the Lab to easily share information with offsite coding staff using an internet connection and login credentials to access and share information with the staff in Des Moines.

“DocuWare Cloud was easy to implement and a breeze to get up and running. Part of the reason we choose the cloud system was because updates are automatic and software support is readily available,” said Dinnauer.

To ease the transition, the Lab operated with both the digital and paper systems simultaneously for a few weeks. However, the staff embraced the new system after only a few hands-on training sessions. Eliminating paper-based clerical duties freed the staff to answer more phone calls and provide better customer service to the hospitals, clinics, and other clients they serve.

The business impact of the DocuWare implementation is readily apparent in the Lab’s improved cash flow, which is a result of increasing its billing capacity by $210,000 per day and reducing its time-to-bill by one day.  These new efficiencies have allowed the Lab to cut its $7-8 million backlog in billable testing in half and to continue to reduce the accumulation. Digitizing information and making it easily available from anywhere has improved patient care and customer service.   

Not only was the Lab able to improve its billing processes, it also gained a centralized document storage system and eliminated the manual handling of documents, which decreased errors and improved HIPAA compliance. Today, lab records can be shared with Mercy’s IT system and ensure they are part of a patient’s chart. Mercy’s Revenue-Cycle team can also access the information and work to improve collection of patient service revenue and actively manage the patient account from creation to payment.

Conclusion

Dinnauer summed it up by saying, “We have improved our time-to-bill rates, our cash flow and our customer service. Implementing electronic document management was definitely the right choice for Mercy Clinical Laboratory, a service of Mercy Medical Center-Des Moines.”

------------------------------------Bulleted Lists-----------------

The Tasks

·         Reduce the time-to-bill

·         Improve lab order accessibility and easily share information

·         Eliminate inefficient, labor-intensive paper processes

·         Advance patient care to a higher level

The Benefits

·         Reduced the time-to-bill by one day

·         Easily share information with offsite colleagues and other departments

  • Maintenance free solution was easy to implement and support
  • New efficiencies increased billing capacity by $210,000 a day and cut backlog of time-to-bill in half

Applied Modules

  • AutoIndex
  • Smart Connect


Mercy Medical Center-Des Moines Laboratory

Industry: Healthcare

Location: Des Moines, Iowa, USA

Application: Customer Service, Electronic Workflow, Order Processing, Patient Records

Document Types: lab orders, test results

Pull Quote

“DocuWare Cloud was easy to implement and a breeze to get up and running. Part of the reason we choose the cloud system was because updates are automatic and software support is readily available.”

 

Mona Dinnauer

Outreach Lab Manager

Mercy Medical Center Laboratory

 

Information for Digipub

ADP Number

 

Information for Website

Industry: Healthcare

Department: Medical Records

Application: Customer Service, Electronic Workflow, Order Processing, Patient Records

Add-on Module: AutoIndex, Smart Connect

This Week in the Copier Industry 10 Years Ago (Third Week of February 2007)

Fotor080920328Wow! One of my favorite peeps in the industry is celebrating his tenth anniversary with Print Audit.  I've had the opportunity to meet and chat with John Hewitt in many occasions. He is one of those "go to people" with a wealth of knowledge in the imaging industry.   Congrats John!  Hope to see you soon somewhere.

Rochester's Xerox, Kodak may be headed for turf war

nemesis in traditional film, to put high-quality Xerox printers into retailers' photo minilabs. The devices will let consumers create calendars, greeting cards and photo books at store kiosks rather than going online to Web sites like KodakGallery.com. The enhanced machines may also lure some retailers from using Kodak-made photo kiosks _ one of the company's most successful businesses. Xerox and Kodak are already competing to sell color digital presses to commercial printers, a market that Xerox
Topic

Xerox Adds Model 495 To High Volume

applications. • Offers an easy auto-loading and auto-registration/alignment system for quick or frequent stock changes for shorter run lengths. • Operates simply and efficiently with a built-in Xerox print controller and color touch-screen graphical user interface. Availability and Pricing The Xerox 495 Continuous Feed Duplex Printer is immediately available in North America, Europe and developing markets through Xerox sales representatives at a list price of U.S. $425,000.
Topic

IKON Adds 65-Page Per Minute Color System

launched IKON CPP® 650 in a line of 65-page per minute color systems developed with Konica Minolta. Big Capacity, Small Footprint The EFI Fiery®-driven system combines powerful printing and finishing capabilities within a cost-effective, space-saving footprint, making it an ideal solution for the office environment, and builds on the success of the IKON BusinessPro™ 500c, a 50-page per minute color system designed for the office environment. "The IKON BusinessPro 650 continues our commitment to
Topic

Sales Reps and Techs. needed in New Orleans

·
looking to grow our business back to pre-Katrina levels. Come down and help us rebuild. i am looking for an experienced Sales Rep and a tech. experienced with Ricoh equipment
Topic

Ricoh Corp Relocates New York City Technology Portal

showroom has been responsible for hosting more than 90 customer events per month. Ricoh has also opened Technology Portals in Chicago, San Francisco and Toronto, Canada as well as satellite locations in its direct sales facilities throughout the United States. Information about Ricoh's complete range of products and services can be accessed on the World Wide Web at www.ricoh-usa.com .
Reply

Re: sr4000 info

you should be able to get detailed info from the sales intro booklet that ricoh provides, I will see if I can upload for you when I get back in town!
Reply

Re: Video Demos

·
We are a Standard Business Machines dealer and I'm sure I have a demo on CD of their version of the Ricoh model equivalent though not recent one. Would this be helpful?
Reply

Re: Art Post...contributor to BERTL's ITChat

Hey Jim: Actually, I uploaded the IT Chat document in the BERTL forum this morning. Thank you for your kind words on the article, however I'll have to keep selling copiers to bring home the Bacon! No ITEX for me, I'm off to Myrtle Beach this weekend (my son's College Baseball team), was in Petersburg, Va a few days ago, and then I'm off to Fort Pierce, FL for ten days the first weeks of March (more college baseball). I'm going to try to make ITEX next year, hopefully MLB will draft my guy this
Topic

Fair Comission Plans

·
I would like to know what is a fair commission plan for someone who brings in $300K of GP from sales cost. Please give me salary, commish % and what you think the rep should make that year.
Topic

Print Audit Hires New Territory Manager and Channel Manager

Business Development for Omtool, Ltd. There he was responsible for managing partnerships with multiple business equipment manufacturers and facilities management companies throughout North America. For several years before that, John was a Director of Channel Sales with Equitrac Corporation. At Print Audit, Mr. Hewitt will be responsible for managing and developing strategic partnerships and new relationships with office equipment manufacturers on a global-level. "Print Audit's products and support

Copier Reps: 3 Alternatives To Avoid Getting Beat Up On Price

This product sucks! No one is buying now! Our competitor has a lock on the business! It is our service department's fault! Our pricing is way out of whack!

The more copier reps and their managers can be honest with themselves about what went wrong in a sales opportunity, the easier it will be to correct mistakes and limit the number of lost sales in the future.

A commodity mindset has developed with buyers inside the copier channel because copier reps, sales managers and dealer principals have done a great job of position themselves as what they are, a copier company.

The Copier Sales Rep Test...

If it looks like a copier sales rep, acts like a copier sales rep, and speaks like a copier sales rep, then it probably is a copier sales rep.  

Let's get this out on the business table, most prospects really don't care about your company or your product; but what they do care about is can you help solve their problems and bring measurable value to their business.

Unfortunately, too many copier reps start off conversations by talking about themselves – how great their dealership is, how long they have been in the industry, their product and their features. Haven't you figured out this isn't working and you are being tuned out?

Do you all know why you get beat up on price? Plain and simple... It is your fault!

Copier reps all across the world, I encourage you to start thinking about offering real value to customers by solving pressing business problems in every conversation.

WHY PRICE BECOMES THE FOCUS

Does price become the issue because there has been no validation by copier reps?

Price may become a focus as a result of...

  • Your clients and prospects aren't aware of the true cost and scope of the problems they're trying to solve.
  • Your clients and prospects have too much information and not enough time to understand it. You can thank Google searches and the internet!
  • Your clients and prospects focus on price as this is easier than examining cost structures which may distract them from their business.

Differentiating by price seems the easiest way for them to choose when their belief is all of the hardware you sell delivers the same outcome, a sheet of paper.

Here's the flipside. Even though many of the products you sell look alike, the outcomes your buyers can gain from them can be wholly different based on their unique circumstances, the expertise of your dealership but most importantly your level of expertise.

3 ALTERNATIVES TO AVOID GETTING BEAT UP ON PRICE

Adding value as a copier rep is an important tactic which MUST be integrated into your sales repertoire to acquire and retain your clients, increase your brand awareness and to differentiate yourself in the marketplace.

Watch this video by Peter Gabriel and think of not being hit by the price sledgehammer.

Here are three ways to create added value which can be easily implemented into your business plan.

ALWAYS CONSIDER YOUR CLIENTS AND PROSPECTS PERSPECTIVE

The art of creating added value starts with the ability to see your business through the eyes of your clients and prospects.

Consider what’s important to them and how your product or service will benefit them. What problem does it solve, how will it help them overcome obstacles and do their jobs better? Shift your focus to providing educational content, examples and stories of how you helped others. Start focusing on your customers’ needs and start helping!

This means conduct a thorough analysis of their buying behaviors which can lend insight into what is most important to them. This "ONE THING THAT MATTERS" may likely driven by your customers’ own customers. It is vital to keep those customers in mind when conducting your analysis.

Knowing your customers is better than knowing your product

ADOPT A CLIENT AND PROSPECT CENTRIC MINDSET

“Successful sales professionals not only understand their specific market sector and business critical issues but also help their clients visualize how they can solve their issues by using their products and services,” Harrington Starr, a London based company.

Think conversations. Think like them. Make the call (wholly **** I have to use the phone), speak to prospects and clients, arrange meetings over coffee to discuss their business challenges; key mission-critical needs or upcoming project objectives as this will pay dividends in developing meaningful client and prospect relations all leading to closing sales.

Hello copier reps - the art of the conversation is not dead!

Copier manufacturers and your dealership have been providing you as sales reps with printed media, all types of collateral and sales tools to the point of brain overload resulting in the loss of sales focus. There is more sales and marketing material available on sales portals, corporate web and intranet sites than you as sales reps can handle. This material is vital in your dealership branding, marketing and communications as you share the company story, however; do you really think your clients and prospects give a darn?

Think like them, act like them and converse with them!

BUILD NEW BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS INSIDE YOUR CLIENT BASE

The key sales growth for copier reps is to actively prospect for new business relationships rather than limiting efforts to a possibly dwindling client relationship base.

How well do you know your current clients? How often are you asking them for your help to grow your business?

Leveraging and strengthening relationships inside an existing customer base is important but it’s all too easy to become complacent and keep calling on the same people inside the account.

Sometimes the relationship may run its course. Hopefully it doesn't but in today’s ever-changing business climate, a salesperson’s "timing" might be off especially when it comes to the importance of building new relationships inside their current accounts.

A once-promising client may now be in dire straits, possibly due to an acquisition or downsizing. Successful copier reps are always looking to develop new business relationships, not waiting until their current well of relationships runs dry.

I find this crazy....

You bust your ass for your clients then why on earth would you not ask them to help you grow your business?  

Leverage current clients and ask for help! Wouldn't you agree a warm lead is better than cold lead? Referrals from happy clients are about as warm as it gets, correct? In fact, a Dale Carnegie study found that 91 percent of customers would be willing to give referrals if they were asked. Unfortunately, only 11 percent of sales reps actually do ask.

I guarantee you this a warm lead from someone who knows, likes and trusts you will lead to a more profitable, non-price driven business relationship.

REMOVE BEING BEAT UP BY PRICE

The point of this blog is to get your clients and prospects to focus on all the economic costs they're not seeing. This means you need to shine a strobe light on your expertise and the successes your clients have achieved.

I encourage copier reps get out in front of this issue with educational content as this helps your prospects understand the issues, side-effects, underlying costs and value of your expertise. I bet your sales cycles will shorten and you will have less obstacles to overcome.

When you become the first to help them simplify and understand the true issues they're dealing with, you then become the anchor, the subject matter expert, setting a really high bar your competitors must surpass.

Isn't this exactly what you want to be known for - being considered the ultimate measuring stick against which all others must measure up?

You can't expect a different outcome if you continue to use the same unsuccessful processes.

I understand where you all are coming from. I have walked a day in a life of your shoes.

I am fully committed to helping your sales team integrate social selling into your current sales process to grow net-new business. I want you to get results. This is why I am passionate about doing this the right way.

"Larry takes the time to get to know the individuals he's working with! He presents in a way that is unique, fun, interactive, and hits you square between the eyes. It's his simplified instructions that bring so much to the table for any sales team! His advice and guidance is something that would bring value to any sales person that wants to be a cut above their competition. I would highly recommend him for any training or social business planning!"

Lindsey Kamstra, A&B Business Solutions

In 2016, Larry was recognized by ENX Magazine, “The Difference Maker” as someone who is making a difference inside the copier channel. Larry is passionate about helping sales reps succeed in creating their online brand image

You can find more blog posts inside the Social Sales Academy website.

I appreciate getting the opportunity to share my LinkedIn stories. Integrating the use of LinkedIn was my “game-changer” in the highly competitive copier world. With great pride I transform, coach and inspire B2B Office Technology Sales Professionals to grow net new business by helping them tell their story and communicate on LinkedIn. My commitment is to help office technology dealers thrive in a changing marketplace. You can follow me on LinkedInTwitter, as well as at the Social Sales Academy

 

Four Common Mistakes Rookie Copier Sales Rep Make

2017-02-11_23-51-40Thirty seven years of copier sales has been a blessing.  In those years, I've seen it all, and just when I think I can't learn anything new about copiers or sales is when I'm proven wrong.  You can never stop increasing your knowledge of the industry nor your selling skills.

1) Resting on Your Laurels:  Fantastic, you've made your annual quota, you're also in route to your first Presidents Club Trip.  Golly, you did all of this in your first year!  You're thinking this is pretty easy right?  Now you're thinking that you can kick back a bit and you be more the like the veteran sales people in the office.

Just a minute their rookie.  I hate to tell you this but your first year may have been a fluke.  Seems you were fed many leads, had a low quota and you had the help from many of the veteran sales people in the office. 

Let me tell you, the time will come when the leads will dry up, your quota will increase and those veteran reps are busy closing their own book of business.  The thought of taking it easy for a few week or a month will be your downfall! 

It's my best guess that more than eighty percent of rookie reps will be out of the copier industry in less than two years.  I'm sure you want to be part of that twenty percent, right?

2) Listening:  After having some success many reps will figure they've mastered the art of selling.  Those reps will then make assumptions that they know what the client needs and will do most of the talking on appointments. 

I too, thought this way once. It was not until I started losing business that I realized something was wrong. I was telling clients how great I was, how great our company was and assuming my recommendation  of "xyz" copier was perfect for them.  Later, I come to find out that another rep received  their order because they uncovered a specific pain, or feature that the client needed.  Crazy, because in most instances, my copiers did the same thing as the competitor but I was too caught up in what I thought was best.

After losing many deals, I finally started asking clients why they did not buy from me.  I can remember hearing, "they other rep stated we could scan our documents back to word or excel files".  I then stated, well ours can do that also, and the client responded with, sorry we already ordered from the other rep.  My point, is that I was not asking questions, nor was I asking what the client needed. Thus, I was not letting the client speak, and how can you listen when you're doing all of the talking!

If the client wants a 35 page per minute A3 device, then help then with what they want and not what you think they need. If for some reason you believe that the 35 page per minute A3 device is not the right fit, then ask the client "why do they want that device?" 

Tip: When you get an order, ask the DM why they ordered from you.  This can help you understand what you are doing right.

3) Prospecting:  I can remember many times over the years that I fell into the trap where I made a boat load of cash and stopped prospecting for a few weeks.  That was the worst mistake I've ever made.  Once you stop, it can take weeks and months to get you back to where you were.  Yes, prospecting sucks, but having no cash sucks even worse. Never, ever stop prospecting!

4) Counting the Deal:  A deal is not done until the equipment is delivered and paid for!  If you're in sales you've got to have some superstitions.

Over the years, I counted many deals where I had a verbal, signed docs and delivered equipment.  Those verbal commitments never panned out, the signed docs became worthless when an order was cancelled and the equipment that was delivered did not work properly.

Heck, I can remember signing an order for a wide format on a Friday. It was a great order with an awesome margin.  It was money in the bank, right?  Monday I had to call the client to ask and an additional question for the order and I was told that the client had passed away over the weekend.

Don't count anything in the win column until it's been delivered and paid for!

I've made all of those mistakes at some time in my career. I still make mistakes, but that's the great thing about making mistakes is that you learn from them. 

If you have some other common mistakes that rookie copier sales people make, please post them in the reply section. I'm sure I've missed a few!

-=Good Selling=-

This Week in the Copier Industry 10 Years Ago (Second Week of February 2007)

0907161003Ten years ago this month marked the start of the Great Recession here in the USA.  Personally, most of my accounts were in the AEC market and if I had to guess at how many of my AEC accounts went belly up from the 2007-2011.  I would estimate at about 40%. It was a tuff four to five years!

Interesting Post from a Kyocera tech Message Board

Intially they were talking about Kyocera laying off corp tech reps and then I read this post: If they would just pull their heads out.... You know the rest. Sales wouldn't be down if product and pricing were competitive. While we have the crippled Falcon III's and the expensive Voyager's (with toner only yielding half of what it's rated) I'm coming up against 40/45 ppm Savin's that are selling for less than I can buy a 3232, with better quality and specs - not to mention lower operating cost
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Ricoh You're Gonna Love This BS!

.ricoh-usa.com/itchannel/ . And there it was again, a link for "where to buy" I clicked and it brought me to same info that I had saw before on the reseller’s page! Now to me, someone who supports Ricoh, eats sleeps and breathes their products and sells Ricoh printers I found this offensive to dealers and dealer salespeople alike! Our printer DSM comes in from time to time and gives the old yahoo to sell more printers, more Ricoh, they are the best and we will support you! Some F*&^*(*G support you
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NEW CANON imageCLASS MF4690 LASER MFP

NEW CANON imageCLASS MF4690 LASER MFP DELIVERS "BIG OFFICE" FEATURES TO SMALLER OFFICE USERS New imageCLASS MF4690 Offers Duplex Printing, Advanced Send Features,and Built-In Network Connectivity for Small Offices LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y., February 12, 2007 – Delivering enhanced "big office" features in its smallest digital laser MFP, Canon U.S.A., Inc., the nation's market share brand leader in black-and-white and color laser printer/copier solutionsi, has announced its new imageCLASS MF4690** MFP
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Ordered 13 eStudio 452 machine...so so experience

have to stay within the Toshiba family but IM looking to upgrade a few of the machines to larger units to resolve some of the issues. There is no monitoring client for me to look at all the copiers at once. I have to go to each copier one by one and enter the IP address in the browser to see if they are all ok. I wish we could have afforded Xerox!!! Recommended: No Purchase Price (if leased, monthly payment): 10000 Machine age (Months in use): 3 months
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Sales Engineers

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Are there any other sales engineers out there or do any of your respective company's employee someone of this nature, this person being a hybrid IT/Sales person. I would love to talk with anyone in this posistion to discuss compensation and other ideas.
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Savin 2525/3030 Process priority?

I am certain this is user error and have not seen it in person but we have a customer that swears if they receive a fax in the middle of a print job, the machine prints the fax right in the middle of the print job.I was just curious if this had come...
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Xerox CopyCentre™ C123 Black

Pros: Good quality, competitive price, easy to understand display panel Cons: Toner removal, beeping noises The Xerox Copy Centre 123 is a great machine for a small office. The new purchase price is comparable to what some similar machines go for used. When leased, this machine can easily be afforded at under $100 a month. This copy only machine can also be configured to add faxing capabilities. What I love: - inexpensive acquisition cost - paper capacity up to 3,100 sheets - automatic duplex
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Re: Interesting Post from a Kyocera tech Message Board

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As far as the toner yields is concerned we have no idea. When a customer wants color, most of us will lead with Ricoh only. We have become a little gun shy with the Kyocera color line. I have sold there color printers an there yields our OK.
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Océ North America Introduces the Total Workgroup Solution

. Copies, prints and faxes can be sent to different output bins for easy separation of jobs. A host of Security features to protect critical data include network authentication, secure print, copy protection, HDD data erase and IP Filtering. A wide variety of media sizes and weights including auto-duplexing of up to 140 lbs., index printing on banner paper up to 11" x 47" in size are supported. And the space saving optional inner finisher is modular and can be configured to provide two point
Member

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Re: Leasing Tips (Higher rates for fax & Laser Printers)

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they do not have all the "alternative forms of revenue") but I was able to illustrate a big enough potential cost savings that my company was willing to subsidize via a bonus for leases written thru Clune. I also got Clune to collect a Doc.Fee. on our deals (They don't normally charge a doc.fee) of $95 of which $75 goes 100% to the rep. A combination of these meant that I needed less G.P. to make the same income so I could offer a competitive payment to the customer and still make the same
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Re: Interesting Post from a Kyocera tech Message Board

this indicates we are all being seriously overcharged by Kyocera for this toner. Perhaps they should repackage it with two cartridges per box for the same price - that would at least be a little more fair. I have been afraid to look at color yields.
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Re: Leads in Colorado

requirements products and services to support clinical trials equipment and services for research and development activities equipment and services to support manufacturing operations The company will focus on the research and development of PDX. PARTNERS none stated PEOPLE Paul L. Berns President and Chief Executive Officer James V. Caruso Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer David A. DeLong Vice President, Marketing and Sales David C. Clark Principal Financial Officer Marc H
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Re: Leads in Illinois

RiverGlass Inc. http://www.riverglassinc.com WHAT IT DOES It provides real-time analytics and intelligent web information collection and analysis solutions. (number of employees: 35) EVENT 02-08-2007-$4 million in Series B funding OPPORTUNITIES company expects funds to be used for... operations research and development sales and marketing potential opportunity to provide... products and services to support increased sales activities products and services to support increased marketing
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Re: Leads in Ohio

. Chief Scientific, Medical Projects Doron Zilberman Vice President of Sales and Business Development - Europe 011-972-8-9211177 (x106) doron@simbionix.com Dror Paz Director of U.S. Sales 216-229-2040 (x105) dror@simbionix.com Pinchas (Pini) Berry Vice President of Operations Niv Fisher Vice President of Research and Development Inbal Mazor-Badichi Vice President of Marketing Patrick Bowen Regional Account Sales Executive - Mid-West Region 216-229-2040 (x182) pat@simbionix.com Frank Krupka
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Re: Leads in Virginia

positions PARTNERS http://www.skybitz.com/partners/index.html PEOPLE Rick Burtner Chief Executive Officer Bob Blair Chief Financial Officer Roni Taylor Executive Vice President of Marketing Abdul H. Rana, Ph.D. Chief Technical Officer Charles Mudd Vice President of National Account Sales John Tagawa Vice President of Operations Bruce Meighan Vice President of Sales Alain Simard Senior Director of Customer Service OFFICE(S) SkyBitz 22455 Davis Drive Suite 100 Sterling, VA 20164 Phone
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Re: Ricoh You're Gonna Love This BS!

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Wow, I'm sure they have some BS reason like that those ads were paid for by the VAR group or something, but that's pretty lame. I would never ask them to take VARs off their list, but as a Ricoh dealer I'd sure like to be on it!
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Re: Prospecting in Florida

MAKO Surgical Corp. http://www.makosurgical.com WHAT IT DOES It is developing advanced technologies and procedures for minimally invasive joint surgery. EVENT 02-07-2007-$30 million in a Series C round of financing led by Tudor Investment Corporation OPPORTUNITIES company expects funds to be used for... expanding the clinical presence of MAKOplasty(TM) bolstering development of next-generation technology and products potential opportunity to provide... products and services to support growth in
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Re: Leads in Georgia

increased sales activities services to support increased business development activities tools and services for product development activities The company is testing its technology with the U.S. Army, to improve recruiting efforts. It is also talking with big-box retailers. PARTNERS none stated PEOPLE Jeffrey A. Neppl President and Chief Executive Officer Christopher C. Demetree, Sr. Chief Operating Officer John May Founder and Chief Technology Officer Marc H. Wallenstein Vice President of Sales
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Re: Leads in Maryland

, research and advertising services. PARTNERS Autodesk AIA/AAF Cyco Software Archibus/FM idisis Hewlett Packard 3D Connexion PacificSoft macrovision PEOPLE Donald R. (Scotty) Walsh Chief Executive Officer W. Scott Harris President and Chief Operating Officer Lawrence Rychlak Chief Financial Officer Bruce White Vice President of Infrastructure Solutions Bill Zavadil Senior Vice President of Business Development Mark Haddad Vice President of Building Solutions Aaron Bukowitz Vice President of Facilities
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Re: Leads in Mass

Core Security Technologies http://www.coresecurity.com WHAT IT DOES It develops information security technology for enterprise, government agencies, and military organizations. EVENT 02-05-2007-Announced the appointment of a new Vice President of Sales and Services OPPORTUNITIES potential opportunity to provide... products and services to support a field sales force products and services to support growth in target markets, including marketing, research and advertising services. services to
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Re: Leads in New Jersey

products and services to support growth in target markets, including marketing, research and advertising services. services to support increased business development activities tools and services for product development activities PARTNERS none stated PEOPLE David Roth President and Chief Executive Officer Donn Rochette Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Al Liebl Vice President, Product Management Walter R. MacDonald Chief Financial Officer Randy Whitcroft Vice President, Sales - Canada and EMEA
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Re: Leads in Texas

DeepNines Inc. http://www.deepnines.com WHAT IT DOES It provides network security solutions that combine intrusion detection and prevention systems and firewall technologies into a single UTM appliance. (number of employees: 37) EVENT 02-06-2007-An undisclosed investment from Altitude Capital Partners LLC OPPORTUNITIES company expects funds to be used for... accelerating its sales, marketing and engineering efforts supporting its patent monetization program fueling acquisition growth potential
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Re: Prospecting in Utah

services. tools and services for software and application development products and services to support increased sales activities The funding closed in December 2006, but was announced February 7, 2007. PARTNERS none stated PEOPLE John Edwards President and Chief Executive Officer David Brueck Chief Architect Robert Bryson Senior Vice President of Sales and Business Development David Ericson Vice President of Operations James Ericson Vice President of Marketing OFFICE(S) Move Networks Inc
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Re: Prospecting in California

business-to-business and business-to-consumer online channels against fraud and identity theft. EVENT 02-05-2007-$15 million in a Series C round of funding led by RBC Technology Ventures OPPORTUNITIES company expects funds to be used for... advancing product development initiatives expanding global sales and marketing activities diversifying its customer service offering potential opportunity to provide... products and services to support increased sales activities products and services to support a
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Customer Administration Webinar - Meter Reads and Compensation

tammy.araujo@ricoh-usa.com prior to the session. If received by February 19th, your questions along with the answers will be incorporated into the Webinar (time permitting). Please pass this invitation on to those in your department that would benefit from this training session. Please see the attached invitation for further information. To join the meeting please click on the link below. https://e-meetings.mci.com/nc/...amp;p=1324733&t=c
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introduction of new print management software

Ricoh is pleased to announce the introduction of its new print management software, Print Director, which enables customers to analyze, understand and ultimately save on costs associated with printing and photocopying. This new solution can be implemented to silently monitor printing activity, limit the number of prints and copies a user can make, as well as enforce “rules-based” printing methodologies to reduce Total Cost of Ownership. Print Director is designed to help drive total document
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Valentines Day!

sales stats: Candy makers will produce about 8 billion conversation hearts for Valentine's Day this year. That's enough to stretch from Valentine, Arizona, to Rome, Italy, and back 20 times, according to the National Confectioners Association. Valentine's Day is the fourth-largest candy-purchasing holiday of the year, after Halloween, Easter and Christmas. Chocolate is the most popular gift, accounting for about 75% of all Valentine’s Day candy sales, with more than 36 million heart-shaped
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iR 2270 user review

got this from epinions.com Pros: Easy to change toner and clear paper jams. Cons: VERY undependable. Our business purchased this copier on a lease. We had been very happy with other Canon imageRUNNERS that we had used in the past. However this particular has not performed up to its expectations. It continually locks up the copier when receiving an incoming fax, and will not allow any other functions to be performed when it is locked up. There have been many nights and weekends that the
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Prospecting in Kansas

LaGarde Inc. http://www.storefront.net WHAT IT DOES It provides software products and services for developing and maintaining e-business sites. EVENT 02-06-2007-$6 million in a Series A investment from Shasta Ventures OPPORTUNITIES company expects funds to be used for... expanding sales and marketing operations and product development teams potential opportunity to provide... recruiting for sales professionals products and services to support increased marketing activities; services may include
-=Good Selling=-

Nine Butt Kicking Copier Proposals for January 2017

HP LaserJet Enterprise flow MFP M830zWe had some really generous Print4Pay Hotel members send us some awesome copier proposals/quotes for the month of January. 

My Fav has to be the one for the Xerox Nuvera.

At times I will send these off to my VP of Sales.  Since he's really not in the field on a day to day basis, I feel it's my duty to let him know what's going on out there.  He can then make strategic decision with our sales efforts.  Believe me, having the ability to see these quotes and to get a sense of where the market is invaluable data.

Canon imageRUNNER 6500

Ricoh MP-C4504SP Proposal

KM Bizhub C368 proposal

Ricoh_USA MP CW2200SP Proposal

Canon C6555I pricing_lease docs

Oce ColorWave 500 Proposal

Pricing_HP Pagewide Proposal

Ricoh MP C5503SP Commercial

At this time we have five LIFETIME Premium Memberships available for $99.  The regular price Lifetime cost is $299.  May want to act now before they are all gone.  If interested, please email me apost@p4photel.com

-=Good Selling=-

3 Things Copier Sales Reps Must Embrace To Thrive In A Relationship Economy

What is required to take your business relationships from good to great?

I believe the principles behind Jim Collins book Good to Great can be applied to how copier sales reps build relationships.

Let's take the “Hedgehog Concept” which means having a simple, extremely clear concept of what your business is. As copier sales reps, your business is something you can...

  • Make money at
  • Be passionate about
  • Be the best in the world at
"Greatness as a sales rep is a conscious choice and a discipline"

With the widespread use of the internet, instant communication and most dramatically, social media; as copier sales reps you have entered a business era defined by two-way relationships between you, your clients and your prospects. The deals you are involved in right now are being defined by emotions and relationships not just dollars and cents.

Your clients and prospects of today are much savvier then in years past. They expect you to pay attention to them.  They also have instantaneous and much louder methods for voicing their displeasure as well as the support they are getting.

BUILD REAL RELATIONSHIPS

The oldest, most effective strategy is as powerful and potent today as it ever was, real relationships. Relationships sell, relationships bring in connection and human acknowledgment.

Relationships are not a one-sided communication they create conversations. The countless automated Twitter and LinkedIn blasts repeating the same message over and over ad nauseum without any engagement takes the Social out of Social Media.

A small amount of automation can be highly effective, particularly if it makes your work more efficient, however; efficiency at the expense of building a real relationship is virtually always a losing proposition.

I urge all copier sales reps to get engaged. Create the marital bliss with your clients and prospects. Shift your mindset as engaged relationships translate into increased sales opportunities. Build true relationships, not just one-sided affairs and watch as your sales skyrocket.

3 THINGS COPIER SALES REPS MUST EMBRACE

Today's successful copier sales reps are building their businesses by building relationships with their clients and prospects. In the relationship economy, the investment you need to make isn't about money, it's in the relationships you have with your clients and potential clients. These relationships are the new currency and your future sales success.

SALES REPS MUST FOCUS ON AUTHENTICITY

How hard would it be to build a brand around a facade? Some do, as you would have to act a certain way, appear a certain way and even communicate a certain way. 

Relationships are based on trust and trust is based on authenticity. Your clients and prospects B.S. meter is extremely sensitive. They can spot insincerity a mile away. Unless you are authentic in your relationships, your clients and potential clients aren't going to trust you. In fact, they'll actively avoid you and tell all their friends and colleagues to do the same.

Your authentic you must be a reflection of who you are. You must believe it. You must own it. You must know what it stands for. You must know your strengths and your weaknesses. Wear those emotions on your business sleeve. 

People connect with other people. It is all about the personal connection. If you are "blowing smoke" at people what is the likelihood they will come to trust you? 

Authenticity is a Magnet

SALES REPS MUST STOP SELLING

Generating new or expanding business relationships is not about selling – it’s about establishing trust, rapport, and creating value without selling. 

Engage with me, communicate with me, add value to my business, solve my problems, create opportunity for me, educate me, inform me, but don’t try and sell me! 

Stale sales methodologies and disciplines simply die a slow and very painful death.

Do you know what a loaf of bread left out on the counter over time and the sales processes inside the copier channel have in common?
Left untouched they both become stale.

The problem with many copier dealerships is they still operate with the same principles and techniques they were using in the 80's and 90's. Technology supporting the sales process has clearly changed, however; traditional sales strategies run rampant inside copier dealerships everywhere.

Trust me when I tell you your existing and potential clients have heard all the sales rhetoric before. They can see all of your old school closes coming a mile away. They can sniff antiquated selling strategies, and will immediately tune out on presentations not deemed relevant. 

Whether you are using spin-selling, soft-selling or any number of outdated, one size fits all selling methodologies, your sales are suffering whether you believe it or not.

"If you want to increase your sales revenue, increase your client satisfaction, drive your brand equity, stop selling and start adding value"

SALES REPS MUST LISTEN TO THE VOICE OF THEIR CLIENTS

Successful copier sales reps listen.

"There is so much you can learn when you just listen"

Sales reps love to talk. Many times we listen with the intent to answer versus listening with the intent to understand. We tend to have the bad habit of listening to answer the question. While our prospect or client is speaking we are already formulating our response in our heads and not hearing their full message. Many times we then interrupt because we are so anxious to share our thoughts.

Listening is the key to becoming a powerful copier sales rep inside this relationship economy. Developing excellent listening skills separates the good from the great. When you listen to your clients and prospects you uncover their pain points, their business goals, their personal data; all this to do one thing - strengthen the relationship.

When you don't listen you miss all the critical material to build a meaningful relationship.

In a previous blog, 5 Proactive Paths Nex Gen Sales Reps Use To Grow Their Sales Revenue, I refer to nex gen sales reps developing a proactive sales strategy in order to gain net new business or cross sell solutions to existing clients. No proactive developmental sales strategy is a recipe for disaster.

The same can be said for listening. Nex gen copier sales reps must become proactive listeners. Only 13% of customers believe a sales person can understand their needs. If a copier sales rep doesn’t understand what their prospect’s problems are, how can they sell them a solution?

Ask questions and learn about their needs, challenges and their pain points. Ask open-ended questions to get information, peel it back even more and probe for clarification. Then go onto summarize what they said to show you were listening and you have accurately understood their business problem.

COPIER SALES REPS... IT IS NOT ABOUT YOU!

It’s not about you, your dealership, your products nor your services. It’s about meeting your clients and prospects needs and adding value. When you start paying more attention to them by building real authentic relationships, you’ll find you no longer have a sales revenue problem to complain about.

The single most important factor in creating additional sales - become a relationship engineer. If you don’t engineer absolutely everything around your client, your client relationships will vanish before your very eyes.

Don’t be just another vendor, become a trusted advisor and advocate. You can do it!

I understand where you all are coming from. I have walked a day in a life of your shoes.

I am fully committed to helping your sales team integrate social selling into your current sales process to grow net-new business. I want you to get results. This is why I am passionate about doing this the right way.

"Being a part of Larry's Social Sales Academy changed the way I view the power of social in today's sales environment. Larry does an incredible job of tying techniques, skills and the science behind social selling to real life success outcomes and industry specific examples. He's dynamic in his presentation and his content is relevant. I highly recommend any sales person or sales leader looking to increase their opportunities for success speak to Larry about what his training has to offer."

Mike Maccabe, Toshiba America Business Solutions

In 2016, Larry was recognized by ENX Magazine, “The Difference Maker” as someone who is making a difference inside the copier channel. Larry is passionate about helping sales reps succeed in creating their online brand image

You can find more blog posts inside the Social Sales Academy website.

I appreciate getting the opportunity to share my LinkedIn stories. Integrating the use of LinkedIn was my “game-changer” in the highly competitive copier world. With great pride I transform, coach and inspire B2B Office Technology Sales Professionals to grow net new business by helping them tell their story and communicate on LinkedIn. My commitment is to help office technology dealers thrive in a changing marketplace. You can follow me on LinkedInTwitter, as well as at the Social Sales Academy

This Week in the Copier Industry 10 Years Ago (First Week of February 2007)

Fotor080920328Just noticed on one of these threads that Ricoh Print Director has been around for ten years now!  For those that don't know, Print Director is OEM'd from our friends at Print Audit.  I highly recommend them.  Enjoy the threads from ten years ago this week!

RICOH SHOWCASES RIGHTS-MANAGED DOCUMENT

individuals and businesses use digital and paper-based information. DSS offers a complete package of products, services and support programs to our all our channels, comprising of direct and indirect operations under the Ricoh, Savin, Gestetner and Lanier brands. Ricoh Corporation, founded in 1962, is headquartered in West Caldwell, N.J., and is a subsidiary of Ricoh Company Ltd., the 70-year old leading supplier of office automation equipment. About Ricoh Corporation Ricoh Corporation
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Ricoh Corporation Introduces Print Director Software

to measurably improve document workflow efficiencies. DSS is committed to creating new "document-centric" customer value that will revolutionize how individuals and businesses use digital and paper-based information. DSS offers a complete package of products, services and support programs the Company's direct and indirect operations under the Ricoh, Savin, Gestetner and Lanier brands. Ricoh Corporation, founded in 1962, is headquartered in West Caldwell, N.J., and is a subsidiary of Ricoh
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CANON U.S.A., INC. AND COPITRAK TO LAUNCH NEW COST

CANON U.S.A., INC. AND COPITRAK TO LAUNCH NEW COST RECOVERY APPLICATION USING MEAP TECHNOLOGY FOR CANON imageRUNNER DEVICES Copitrak's eClipse Cost Recovery Application Incorporates Canon's Innovative MFP Technology To Provide Law Firms with a Robust Solution for Cost Capture and Analysis Lake Success, N.Y., January 29, 2007 – Canon U.S.A., Inc., and Copitrak today announced an agreement for Copitrak to integrate multifunction-specific cost recovery applications using Canon's innovative
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Kip3000 vs. Ricoh240

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Does anyone know how they match up technically and dollorwiseDavid147
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Need a Ricoh Family Group Dealer ....

Need a Ricoh Family Group Dealer that can support a few systems in Mequon, Wisconsin. Anyone out there?
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University of California signs contract with Xerox

- the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and the Los Alamos National Laboratory. It also operates five medical centers that make it one of the largest healthcare systems in California. These centers are located in Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco. The purchasing agreements extend to all of these operations. Under these agreements, each location can choose from a variety of Xerox CopyCentre(r) digital copiers, WorkCentre(r
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Re: Leads In Minnesota

Veritec Inc. http://www.veritecinc.com OTCBB:VRTC WHAT IT DOES It manufactures and sells software designed to use its own patented technology for portable data storage systems. EVENT 01-29-2007-Announced the appointment of a new Vice President of Public Relations, Marketing and Sales OPPORTUNITIES potential opportunity to provide... products and services to support increased sales activities products and services to support increased marketing activities; services may include PR activities
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Re: Leads in North Carolina

6th Sense Analytics Inc. http://www.6sa.com WHAT IT DOES It provides on-demand solutions for visibility across distributed software development projects. EVENT 01-31-2007-$5 million in a Series A round of funding led by Core Capital OPPORTUNITIES company expects funds to be used for... accelerating research and development expanding sales and marketing efforts potential opportunity to provide... products and services to support increased sales activities products and services to support
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Re: Leads in Virginia

headquarters are located at 7900 Westpark Drive, Suite A530 in McLean, VA. The facility houses the corporate headquarters, the U.S. sales team, product development, operations and support. PARTNERS CSG Systems BlackBerry InPhonic Microsoft Motorola Portal QualComm Sun Microsystems PEOPLE P. Venkatesh Founder and Chief Executive Officer Sathiya Krishnan Founder, Chief Technology Officer and Executive Vice President Doug Rice Vice President of Product Implementations Mike McCray Chief Operating Officer B.A
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Re: Leads in Washington

Farecast Inc. http://www.farecast.com WHAT IT DOES It operates a website that offers airfare predictions, the lowest fares from major airlines and other travel planning tools. EVENT 01-31-2007-$12.1 million in a Series C round of financing led by Sutter Hill Ventures OPPORTUNITIES company expects funds to be used for... hiring additional technology and product development resources developing additional product and services potential opportunity to provide... tools and services for product
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Re: Prospecting in British Columbia

LED Medical Diagnostics Inc. (dba LED Dental Inc.) http://www.velscope.com WHAT IT DOES It develops and markets medical screening devices that aid in the early detection of mucosal tissue abnormalities. EVENT 02-01-2007-$6 million in financing OPPORTUNITIES company expects funds to be used for... marketing and distributing its VELscope device in U.S. and Canadian dental markets potential opportunity to provide... products and services to support increased sales activities products and services
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Re: Prospecting in South Carolina

Signalife Inc. http://www.signalife.com WHAT IT DOES It develops signal processing technology for testing and monitoring patients in ambulatory settings. EVENT 01-29-2007-$10 million in a credit facility from SES Capital LLC OPPORTUNITIES company expects funds to be used for... bringing products to market ramping up sales efforts potential opportunity to provide... products and services to support increased sales activities products and services to support a field sales force marketing services
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Re: Gestetner DSm616/620 need

I'm betting that you have go deep into the parameter settings of the unit. What mode is this from Ricoh?
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Re: Ricoh Corporation Introduces Print Director Software

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What bothers me is the inadequate job Ricoh is doing with informing dealers about products that are being discontinued. When even my Ricoh Order Processor isn't sure whether or when a model has been discontinued, that is extremely poor communication all the way around.
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Re: Prospecting in California

Inc. http://www.hydropoint.com WHAT IT DOES It manufactures, licenses and sells weather-based irrigation management systems for residential and commercial landscapes. EVENT 02-01-2007-$19 million in a Series C round of financing led by RockPort Capital Partners OPPORTUNITIES company expects funds to be used for... expanding sales and marketing potential opportunity to provide... products and services to support increased sales activities products and services to support a field sales force
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Re: Leads in Connecticut

Drinks Americas Holdings Ltd. http://www.drinksamericas.com WHAT IT DOES It creates, markets and distributes alcoholic and non-alcoholic premium beverages. (number of employees: 8) EVENT 02-01-2007-$8 million in a private placement OPPORTUNITIES company expects funds to be used for... funding marketing, sales and promotional programs working capital potential opportunity to provide... products and services to support increased sales activities products and services to support a field sales
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Re: Prospecting in Florida

. equipment and systems for operational requirements services to support increased business development activities equipment and services to support manufacturing operations PARTNERS none stated PEOPLE Dennis J. Gormley Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Anthony M. Cialone Founder and Chief Operating Officer Donald L. Botka Vice President, Technology and Strategic Initiatives James B. Gray Vice President, Sales and Marketing Patrick R. George Chief Financial Officer OFFICE(S) Lehigh
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Re: Leads in Georgia

services. services to support increased business development activities tools and services for product development activities products and services to support a field sales force On January 18, 2007, the company announced it received an asset-based financing facility from CIT Commercial Services. The relationship with CIT strengthens the company's ability to expand retail channels and product lines in 2007. PARTNERS IDT Telecom SunRocket Internet Phone Service PEOPLE Bruce Hahn Chief Executive Officer
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Re: Leads in Mass

Olschwang President and Chief Executive Officer Adam Soroca Vice President and General Manager of Search Services Dennis Doughty Vice President of Engineering Eric McCabe Vice President of Marketing Yishay Waxman Global Sales Consultant Jorey Ramer Vice President of Corporate Management Mark Duffy Chief Financial Officer Menashe Rothschild Chief Technology Officer Mike Kent General Manager of EMEA Jonas Hellgren Vice President of Operations OFFICE(S) JumpTap Inc. 245 First Street Suite
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Gestetner DSm616/620 need

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Trying to change the length of a fax original to a length longer than 17". Document feeder "jams" after 17" at present. Car Dealer has Sales Agreements in excess of 22 inches and wishes to fax them to other fax units where they can be printed out on three or more pages. Any ideas, anyone, if this is possible?
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Technician Omaha Ne.

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Tech with digital b/w, color or connectivity wanted. Ricoh experiance prefered.reply to blamb@jqoffice.com
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Wide Format Mayhem Poll!

Please everyone who went to the wide format mayhem in New Jersey or you just downloaded the Wide Format Mayhem Document. Please let us know if it helped in selling more product! Every vote counts, if enough us us vote, we can keep on getting this type of material for us!
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New Firmware Cards

, copied, or deleted using Windows Explorer. There is no training course planned for the SD card itself. This new service tool will be introduced during the product-training course. Note: It is not necessary to use an SD card with new products and new SDG applications. You can eliminate the need for type A, B, or C cards by loading SDK applications through the MFP Web Image Monitor page. Java VM (SDK-J) Cards Once an SD (or IC) card service tool above has been used to update a machine with various

Did You See Your Shadow?

By Chris Polek

2017-02-02_21-58-24Groundhog Day is upon us! 

The Groundhog will officially tell us if Spring is coming early, or if we are looking at six weeks more of Winter. Where I live (New Jersey), it snowed yesterday. Winter isn’t leaving here just yet.

Regardless of the Groundhog’s forecast, Spring is coming. Whether you feel it in the climate, or it is the first day of Spring (March 20). 

What if the Groundhog were to come into our business, and give us a prediction where our business is so far in 2017? How would we react to that prediction? 

January is a weird month. Everyone is trying to get back in the groove after a lengthy holiday break. Some have even spent time setting lofty aspirations (perhaps too high) on what they plan to accomplish for 2017. We hit the ground running full of excitement. A week goes by and we’re still busy, productive, and it doesn’t quite seem like the first week. Next, activity starts to wane off and, we get discouraged because we don’t see immediate results. 

This would be the equivalent of the Groundhog seeing its shadow, and running back to the burrow (six more weeks of Winter). I would encourage you not to do that. I am not saying throw out your goals altogether, rather, start looking at some smaller accomplishments that will create a win for you. You will feel better about yourself as you accomplish things bit by bit. 

I am a big fan of baseball. I have attended well over a thousand games in my lifetime. I have seen countless times where the opposing team scores five or six runs in the first inning, and when the top of the first is over: it’s quiet, and you see depressed fans. My attitude is: what kind of fans are these? All we gotta do is get one run baby! We’ve got nine more innings to go! Score one run an inning, and we can catch up! I can also tell you that I have received many looks from fans that roll their eyes at that comment. I don’t let those non-believers bother me. They’re probably leaving in a couple of innings to avoid the traffic anyway. 

Maybe 2017 has started off like gangbusters for you! That’s great! The Groundhog hasn’t seen its shadow, and Spring is coming early! 

Your biggest challenge is remaining focused, and staying consistent; don’t rest on your laurels. There is still plenty of time left in this year. Just because you had a great month to begin 2017, doesn’t mean that you get to take the remaining 92% of the year off! 

Regardless of whether today in your business it looks as if Spring is coming early, or if there are six more weeks of Winter, take Dale Carnegie’s advice and live in day tight compartments. 

My philosophy is to work hard, give value, and be nice to people. Live it day by day. By the end of a year’s time it really adds up to something. Try it.

Chris Polek is the CEO of Polek & Polek.  Polek and Polek is a reseller of supplies for the copier industry.  I started doing business with Polek & Polek in 1986 and always found them to have quality products and excellent service.  Please click their link, check them out and maybe even give them a shot at earning your business!

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