MFP Copier Blog
This Week in the Copier Industry 10 Years Ago (Last Week of July 2009)
Usually I'll give a small snippet of how my sales day went in this blog series. However, I'm writing this a day early since I have a corp meeting in PA tomorrow.
Enjoy these threads from ten years ago this week!
Another Ricoh Dealer Takes on Konica Minolta
Canon and Konica-Minolta actions
Konica Minolta and Equitrac Deliver World Class Print and Cost Management Solutions t
Konica Minolta Receives Multiple 2009 BERTL's Best Awards
Konica Minolta Color MFPs Receive Gold Medal
Kyocera monochrome printer range recognised in industry-leading 2009 awards
Print Audit Adds Machines In Field Report To Facilities Manager
Idaho company cries foul over copier contract
Ricoh Printer Competetive Matrix
Printer Competetive Matrix (Ricoh)
InfoPrint Solutions Company Establishes Leadership in Digital Color Production Printi
KODAK Capture Pro Software, v 2.0 Delivers Enhanced Productivity, Focusing on Improve
Kyocera Mita America Launches High Speed TASKalfa 750c Color Multifunctional Product
RICOH SELECTS SAVVIS TO UPGRADE DOCUMENTMALL DATA CENTER
Xerox loses tax dispute with state
Parallel Print
Re: Around the World with Ricoh III
EFI Announces Partnership with Masterpiece Graphix (MGX) to Supply Coated Substrates
Paradigm Imaging Releases Enhanced Flex System!
Re: The Cleansing
Lexmark builds on unique RFID solution with award-winning monochrome lasers
RISO, INC. ANNOUNCES OPENING OF BOSTON BRANCH
Steve Haun
Re: The Cleansing
Re: The Cleansing
Re: Canon and Konica-Minolta actions
This Week in the Copier Industry 5 Years Ago (Last Week of July 2014)
Yesterday marked the end of the month for me. Thus we have seven months in the books and so far 2019 has been awesome. August brings us those "dog days" of summer and many objections due to vacations, not enough time, get back to me after Labor Day or you can't get anyone to respond. I get it, and I've adjusted my habits over the years. August needs to be one of the biggest prospecting months in the year. The time you spend prospecting in August will pay HUGE dividends moving into the last quarter. Yes, we are measured by our month to month sales, but we're also measured on our quarters and year end. Ours is not a thoroughbred horse race each month. It's not about who gets there the fasted. It's more about the strategic month, the strategic quarter and the ability have a plan in place to get you where you want to be.
Enjoy these threads from 5 years ago this week!
Loffler Companies Introduces New Konica Minolta bizhub PRESS C1085/C1100 and Canon imagePRESS C800/C700 Devices
This Week in the Copier/Office Equipment Industry 10 Years Ago Third Week of July 2004
Konica Minolta Receives 6 Buyers Lab 2014 Summer Picks
RICOH BRINGS ‘CLOUD PRINT’ TO BUSINESS-CLASS MFPS
5 Reasons Why I Like Print Audit Best Over PaperCut
Canon U.S.A. Expands imagePROGRAF Lineup with Six New Models Featuring Faster Print Speeds and More Intuitive Software Options Than Predecessor Models
TerraSky Inc. Forms a Relationship with Canon Information and Imaging Solutions, Inc., to Expand the Portfolio of Cloud-Based Offerings with Canon’s Forms and Print Services
Seminole Office Solutions becomes Ricoh Certified Services Provider through CHAMPS program
Welcome Back!
Grohe Improves How Work Gets Done; Cuts Costs with Xerox Managed Print Services
Konica Minolta Releases Automated Workflow Solution for Financial Documents
Its Time For A Print Audit
New SmarTech Report Projects that 3D Printing to Generate $1.4 billion in Plastics Sales in 2019
Epson Enhances Managed Print Service Offerings through Validated Device Support Status with ECi FMAudit(R) Software
WOODHULL BECOMES RICOH CERTIFIED SERVICES PROVIDER THROUGH CHAMPS PROGRAM
RICOH AMERICAS CORPORATION RECEIVES EMC GLOBAL INNOVATION AWARD FOR GOVERNMENT WORKFLOW SOLUTION
Nikec Solutions upgrades its file sharing software to heighten document security and control
Ryan Atlanta, GA
Toshiba e-STUDIO306LP/RD30 Reduces Paper Consumption in Governmental Office
Tinkerine and PrinterWorks Partner to Launch Nationwide Managed 3D Print Services
Bend Mapping Scanning Sales Grow by 50% with Contex HD iFLEX Scanner
Global Engineering Firm Invests More Than $700,000 In A Kofax Accounts Payable Automation Solution
Middlebury saved $2,500 by joining cooperative to buy map copier
Alisah
ONE Awesome Way to Seperate Yourself From Other Copier Reps!
Stratasys Objet30 OrthoDesk 3D Printer Selected by IDT Magazine as a Top-10 Technology Product for 2014
New Middletown schools copiers contract means big savings for district
New Ricoh/Xante Envelope Press
Re: 5 Reasons Why I Like Print Audit Best Over PaperCut
BTA Southeast & IBPI Partner to Host Consecutive Events
DocuWare and Objectif Lune Announce Connector
InnoMark Communications Targeting Efficiency in Comprehensive Production with EFI Radius Software
Portable High-Volume Production Scanners Make It Easy For Document Management Service Bureaus To Bring On-Site Scanning To Clients
Copier Reps Can Pay it Forward Also
5 Reasons Why Cold Calling is NOT Dead
Meet the Constitution legal brochure.docx
Re: RICOH BRINGS ‘CLOUD PRINT’ TO BUSINESS-CLASS MFPS
Re: The Death of the 48, 60 and 66 Month Lease
Re: The Death of the 48, 60 and 66 Month Lease
The Death of the 48, 60 and 66 Month Lease
The Labeltape Group Installs Epson SurePress to Deliver Short-Run Solution with High Color Quality to Broad Range of Customers
Masergy Featured in CRN's Annual Network Connectivity Services Partner Program Guide
Newest-version EFI Fiery proServer Creates a 7X Speed Improvement in Inkjet Graphics File Processing
Micheley
GE
Re: ONE Awesome Way to Seperate Yourself From Other Copier Reps!
Re: New Products
Re: Scan to Hosted Exchange
College Park Aviation Museum Preserves History with a Contex IQ FLEX Flatbed Scanner
History Captured in High-Res Makes for Eye-Catching Displays
Chantilly, VA — July 23, 2019 — Contex, the world leader in large format scanning, today announces that the College Park Aviation Museum recently installed a Contex IQ FLEX flatbed scanner. The College Park Aviation Museum, a Smithsonian affiliate, is a top aviation destination in the Washington, DC area. Located at the College Park Airport, the world’s oldest continually operating airport, the museum boasts a vast collection of local aviation history dating back to 1909, including over 10,000 documents, photographs, and other historical materials.
The museum staff acquired a Contex large format flatbed scanner to preserve that history and make its collection — especially fragile materials — easily available to visitors, researchers, and other interested parties. The assets are also used for museum displays and marketing materials.
“Our museum collection has a large number of photographs, maps, handbooks, and newspapers, among other items, some of which are not on display because they are too delicate. With the Contex scanner, we can digitally preserve these valuable pieces and make them available online for interested parties,” comments Laura Baker, Curator of Collections, College Park Aviation Museum.
“Many museums choose Contex scanners for the important function of preserving history,” comments Steve Blanken, General Manager, Contex Americas. “In addition to producing museum-grade images for preservation, the scanner is also one of the most efficient, even with the most delicate material.”
The Contex IQ FLEX is ideal for digitizing oversized and fragile originals, as well as scanning books, textiles, and artwork. The IQ FLEX also simplifies book scanning with the use of a wizard helper. Users can scan material up to double the size of the A2/C-size glass plate, including A1/D-size originals. With an optical resolution up to 1200 dpi, the flatbed scanner produces sharp images even at large sizes.
For more information, visit a www.contex.com or send email to salesamericas@contex.com.
About Contex
As the world’s leading developer and producer of large format imaging solutions, Contex leads the market with innovative technology and advanced scan and copy software applications. Sold worldwide in more than 90 countries, Contex solutions are recognized in a wide range of industries for reliability, value, high performance, and superb image quality. For more information, please visit www.contex.com.
OMG, it's a Brother "Part 4"
It's been about three months since my trip to Itex 2019 where I had the chance to meet Peter (birth full brother) for the first time. Yup, there's been a lot to digest since Ancestry gave me that DNA hit for a full brother.
Just a few days ago I have the chance to meet Pete's daughter (my niece), she flew out to NJ with her Aunt. Such a smart girl for 11 eleven years old. We had the chance to go out to dinner and after dinner I took them over to Sandy Hook so they could have some fun with the Atlantic Ocean. Later that evening I brought them to my shop where she helped herself to some of the shell jewelry that I make. A great time for someone who was small on family.
DNA Connections
Speaking of small on family my Ancestry DNA connections to date stands at 10,100! WFT, I went from 3 to more than 10K after taking the test.
During the last three months I've always dome my fair share or digging in Ancestry. Not sure if you remember from the first blog I wrote, but I made mention that I had received a non redacted copy of my birth certificate a few years ago. Two years of search birth, death, marriage and baptism records turned up ZERO. These two people did not exist or maybe they were part of a coverup, better yet may they were sequestered away and given new identities from the Government? The thought even crossed my mind since I was born in NJ and am of Italian heritage that maybe there was some type of mob thing going on? Those crazy thoughts can go through your head when you're left with dead ends.
Thanks to Ancestry they will list DNA matches for "close family" members which could be an Aunt or an Uncle. Moving down the list are peeps listed as "first cousins", then "second cousins" they'll even list all the way to eighth cousins.
Ancestry also gives you the ability to PM those peeps and then it's up to that person if they'd like to respond.
Private Eye
Here's what I found after playing private eye and fitting the pieces of the puzzle together for who were my birth parents. When you get to a certain age you'd like to know because of medical reasons. The only thing I had to go on was the medical history of my twin. He passed almost twenty years ago.
The key person in all of this was my 92 year old aunt (my birth mothers sister) that is still living in Florida. I was not able to speak with her since she is not in the best of health. But through Ancestry I was able to connect with one of her granddaughters who did some digging for me. She also gave me my aunt's maiden name. This was huge!
With Ancestry all you need is a few names, a few places, and a few chats and the jumble of people pieces can start to come together.
Ready? So my birth parents fibbed about their last names (not their first names), can you imagine that? Lying to someone in the hospital about your names, guessing there was no medical coverage at the time and no one was asking for ID's? Thus the reason that these two people did not exist on google or anywhere else.
Birth Mother
Birth mothers last name was Casazza and not Gall as the birth certificate stated. She did not fib about her first name which is Dorothy. That real last name was a huge help because I was then able to see birth, death, census and marriage records of other peeps in the family. In a month or I so I was able to find out that my birth mother had three additional sisters. In addition I was able to find my birth grandparents (long deceased). Thus I kept PM'ing other cousins and found out more about my birth mother. She was married in the late 30's and her husband went off for WW2. They had three children (these would be my half siblings) two boys and one girl. At time my half sister is deceased and maybe another brother (can't clarify). There is one half brother alive and living in Florida. Keep in mind that these siblings were born in the forties. Thus my birth mothers husband survives WW2 comes home and leaves his wife for another woman. First STUNNER! My birth mother then gives two of the siblings (brother and sister) up to an orphanage and the other brother goes to one of her sisters. This is all happening in NJ.
It's now the 50's and my birth mother is still in New Jersey. Through others I heard she had a wicked sense of humor and was very creative. My birth mother passed about 25 years ago in NJ. The cool thing is that I do have a picture of her (at least I think i do).
Birth Father
Construction in New Jersey, born in Nebraska, first name is Nicholas, all of that is true. The fib was the last name again. Last name on my birth certificate was Conti.
I forgot to state this earlier my 92 year old aunt had her DNA on Ancestry. Now I find that amazing because you just don't see that many profiles of elderly people on Ancestry. I'm thinking that maybe she wanted to be found because she knew her sister gave up three additional children for adoption in the 50s. Me, my twin brother (Tony) and Pete. Frak, it's the only thing that seemed logical to me.
Right, back the DNA stuff. For months I was at a stale mate with my birth fathers side of the family. I had some hints, some ideas but nothing rock sold with a DNA hit. The construction worker, came from Nebraska and the first name Nicholas. Wait for it.........my sons first name is Nicholas! I tell ya it gets crazy.
K, so I have a couple of leads and those leads are pointing me to this one family in Bergen County, NJ. But with no DNA hit and the some of the last names not matching exactly it was a crap shoot. I did have some help with a third cousin who had a huge family tree and that's where I got many of my leads for possible family members. I'm thinking it was about six weeks ago and a new close DNA match of a first cousin came up on Ancestry. Sure enough that DNA match pulled together the rest of the family puzzle. My birth fathers last name was Biancullo. So, there you have it both last names of both birth parents.
Husband & Wife?
Now it gets creepy. That would be a no. Seems like my birth father had an extended affair with my birth mother in the middle 50's. Could have went on longer but getting info out of my birth fathers side of the family difficult to say the least. My birth father passed about 15 year ago in NJ. Turns out he had eight children with his wife (that's eight more half brothers and sisters), and with some digging on ancestry I believe his father had 12 brothers and sisters (not exactly sure). Thus 8 half brothers and sisters on the fathers side, 3 more on the mothers side along with Pete, Tony and me. WTF!
One other note my birth father was 47 years old and my birth mother was 35 years old when I was born. Just thought I'd through that in because.....
DNA does not lie. Ain't that the truth.
I think it was about four weeks ago when I had a message from someone on facebook. It was a reply to the picture that I posted on facebook of Peter and I in Vegas at Itex2019. The message was "I guess this makes me your cousin". Well that was enough for me to respond and indeed this person was my cousin. One of the peeps that I had connected with on Ancestry did some research also and pointed him to me with my contact information. Guess he did some searching like I did on Facebook. Facebook is also an incredible resource that helped me.
We messaged a few times through Facebook, and he offered to chat on the phone and gave me his cell. I called and we spoke for at least an hour if not longer. He is the son of one my birth fathers daughters, however he also got adopted out in the mid sixties. He wasn't able to find out his family until he got his non redacted birth certificate from the State of New Jersey also. His however did have the correct last name of his birth mother. Thus here's a guy who had done all of the research on my birth fathers side of the family.
One of the talk tracks that I remember is that Bergen County, NJ at one time was kinda know as the Adoption Train in NJ. Since that area was populated with many Italians, abortion for pregnancies was not an option. Thus most children were adopted out at birth or right after. Praise the lord for no abortions!
Another statement that was made is that we (Pete, Toy, me and him) were the lucky ones. Why you might ask? Well seems like the birth fathers side of the family had some issues and I'll leave it at that.
This is where I was floored.....he told me that he wasn't sure that my father was a "made man" but was a "connected guy". Remember when I started this blog and I made mention of my initial thoughts why I couldn't find them?
I can only think that I may have more half brothers and sisters out there because some of the peeps that I connected with on Ancestry have no recollection of the family names I mentioned.\
I'd also like to say that I've connected with a few cousins and many nieces and nephews and all of them have been awesome in helping me in my journey. Finally it puts the rest the mystery that I was carrying for 59 years. I can still remember me and Tony in the back seat of a car rolling down the New Jersey Turnpike. We asked where are we going (we had just left our foster home, which we thought was our real home), we were told we were on our way to meet our new parents. Looking back that was one of the best moments in my life, me and my bro going to a loving couple that would nurture and raise us to become what we are today.
-=Good Selling=-
Special Report from Ray! (Video)
Geesh, do I write the forward before or after the video?
Will, The Imaging Channel's Private Equity run out of toner and stop printing money?
With the lack of dialogue in the Imaging Channel regarding the situation, Clover finds itself. I wanted to share more thoughts and concerns for the Imaging Channel. I also believe the Imaging Channel is not alone, and other technology reseller verticals will face challenges of their own as Private Equity reexamines what they thought they knew.
Private Equity will begin auditing market realities amid Clover (4L Holdings) apparent troubles. The Investments in the declining industry of print equipment and service resellers without diversification has always puzzled me. Private Equity continues making short term bets that another P/E group will bail them out at a higher price than the one they bailed out. The time is fast approaching where the buyers will securitize the realities of the market, and investors will stop making those bets.
My friends, when a billion-dollar organization fails to get funding the examinations on those remaining in its industry will be forensic. Investors do indeed chase and gamble for high returns. However, once there is a significant failure, they will pick up their chips and go to another table. So, Caution! To those with too many chips on the table, or those who have high credit lines with banks.
Everything is excellent when investments align with markets, but when the market gets out of alignment, the investors go to another market.
The industry is heading in the direction which should scare all logical people into focusing on market realities and then change the game being played. Dealers have to develop strategies which allow them to capitalize and profit off the decline in print, and they must diversify.
The industry's obsession to continue overselling A3, to ignore competitive threats, and operate on outdated processes will expedite the ending of their relevance. The Imaging Channel must stop chasing revenue at all cost, or that too will cost them their future.
"A company becomes obsolete when they focus on delivering the past to the future instead of delivering the future to the present."
So, as your status quo, competition continues chasing revenue with no regards to profit or keeps buying each other with no diversification strategy. Be different and sell based on market realities. Become a customer-centric organization and change the game. Look for partners who have imagination and won't hold you to programs built from memories. Join new peer groups in adjacent industries and stop doing the same things you were doing in 2000. Remember, my friends; the future is easier to navigate for those who have been there in their mind first.
"Disruptions are a result of tired industries who feel more comfortable being complacent that challenging themselves to create the new relevance."
"Status quo is the killer of all that will be invented"
Send me a Linkedin invite if you wish to connect. Also, I invite all to subscribe to my YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channe...A?view_as=subscriber
Ray Stasieczko
MSP Industry Notes for July 21, 2019
Each week we'll be giving you a round up of MSP activity. This is my first attempt and this and as time marches forward we'll expand and get better. Thus for the next month the content will be open for all to view, read and comment. PDF is available for Premium Members
MSP Industry Notes
July 15th, 2019
CGI is awarded major managed and IT contract for Public Transportation Administration in Stockholm.
- The value of the contract is about 900 million Swedish Krona ($900 million US Dollars)
- Includes IT management, proactive end-point management, consultancy services, end-user and cyber security services
lot Managed Services Market will grow at a CARG of 20.% in terms of revenue for 2018-2026 according to Persistance Market research
Microsoft has selected Aryaka as one its first partner for managed services provider program. https://www.fiercetelecom.com/...ice-provider-program
Vion a cloud service provider launches Vion Cloud Enterprise
- Better able to provide clients with the public cloud experience they want behind their firewall
- Allows clients to manage multi-cloud environments from a single cloud platform
- Simplifies the entire multi-cloud management experience
Logically Strengthens Senior Management Team
- Names Karl Noone as Chief Financial Officer
- Noone responsible for finance operations, accounting, financial planning and recruiting
- Previously served as SVO & Corporate Controller for Global Capacity
- Logically is Managed IT Service Provider (MSP) for small & midsize organizations
ThinPrint Launches Cloud Partner Program for Micrsoft CSPs
- New partner model is designed for cloud service providers to integrate ThinPrint’s ezeep for Windows Desktop into their services portfolio
- ThinPrint is being presented at Micro Inspire 2019 in Las Vegas
- Goal is to enable Mircosoft Cloud service providers to easily add professional printing support to their services
Great America Launches Enhanced Private-Label Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP) Solution Collabrance MSSP Offering help IT Solution Providers
- Collabrance Master MSSP to provide end-user clients with different cyber security components the seek
- Help progressive IT providers differentiate in the IT channel
- Portfolio includes several components designed to help IT providers offer subscriber clients cyber security
Fujitsu and GE Research Join LF Edge as Premier Members to Propel Open Source Innovation
- Launched in January 2019, LF Edge is comprised of five projects
- Akraino Edge Stack
- EdgeX Foundry
- Home Edge
- Open Glossary of Edge Computing
- Project EVE
Support emerging edge applications across areas as non-traditional vide and connected things that require lower latency, faster processing and mobility
Joins a growing roster of 70 plus current members
TPx Receives 2019 Unified Communication Product of the Year Award
- Award honors most innovative communication products and solutions
- Integrates several functions and third-party applications into a single function app
- UCx desktop and mobile apps, users are able to call, chat, video conference, start interactive meeting from anywhere
DataBank Deploys Expansion if its Pittsburgh Data Center
- 1500kW of 2N critical UPS IT capacity
- Supplements 400kW of N+1 IT load capacity on first floor N+1, including upgraded rooftop heat rejection equipment
- New 1500kW of IT load supported by two new 2500kW generators with 2N redundancy
- Utility power delivered through new 2N transformers served by DQL 23kVA primary utility service
- 250 Tons of N+1 cooling
- Customer space including office, conference and break rooms
Square Clover Launches Desktop Defenders, Endpoint Detection & Response for SMBs
- MNS offering. Desktop Defenders features advanced endpoint detection and response (EDR) for SMBs
- EDR software provides immediate resolution to ransomware attacks, can restore a PC in minutes
Apiphani Selected as Enterprise Cloud Partner
- Selected by Dallas-Based Hunt Consolidation to host and manage their SAP Business Warehouse and Business Process & Consolidation
- 3 year contract
- Migration with included an inflight upgrade of the underlying HANA database and managed services
Align Ranked in World’s Most Elite 501 MSP Providers
- Winners are most elite, innovative and strategic IT service providers on the planet
- Align is a global provider of technology infrastructure solutions
- 32 years offering IT services
- Headquarters in NYC and office in London, Chicago, San Francisco, Arizona, New Jersey Texas and Virginia
One Neck Ranked in World’s Most Elite 501 MSP Providers
- Winners are most elite, innovative and strategic IT service providers on the planet
- One Neck placed in the top 20
- Offers full suite of hybrid IT solutions including cloud and hosting solutions, managed services, enterprise application management, advanced IT services and hardware
- 12 years offering services
Cloud Carib Ranked in World’s Most Elite 501 MSP Providers
- Winners are most elite, innovative and strategic IT service providers on the planet
- Ranked 150 out of 501
- Highest rated in both the Caribbean & Latin America
- Solutions range from complex bespoke dedicated cloud offerings to hybrid cloud services
Navisite and Alert Logic Provide New Managed Threat Detection
- Fully integrated portfolio of Managed Threat Detection and Remediation services for enterprise cloud clients
- Solution designed with a focus on intelligent threat detection
- Cyberattacks are more frequent
- Clients in need of help in mitigating risk if breach
Alaska Communications Awarded Multi-Million Dollard Contract
- Build high-capacity network in Alaska also to provide network services to major international telecommunications and its client
- 10 year contract and opportunity to extend for another ten years
- Alaska Communications is the leading provider of advanced broadband and managed IT services in Alaska
Acquisitions
- CompassMSP (Jacksonville) acquires GreenPoint (New Jersey)
- Techaisle survey found that 35% of MSP’s sees mergers or acquisitions in the next three years
-=Good Selling=-
Practice! Who Needs To Practice... Salespeople Need To Practice
"I know I'm supposed to be there, I know I'm supposed to lead by example. I know that. And I'm not shoving it aside like it don't mean anything. I know it's important. I do. I honestly do. But we're talking about practice, man. What are we talking about? Practice? We're talking about practice, man!"
Allen Iverson
What a fantastic quote which reminds me of a past blog... Can You Imagine A Professional Athlete Operating With A Sales Reps Mindset?
The roadmap to success for elite athletes is based upon hard work, dedication, personal ownership and how it's all applied. Athletes understand they must commit themselves to all facets of training. They take extreme ownership, holding themselves accountable to the process.
A growth mindset is such a critical component to the success of an elite athlete and a sales professional.
What separates an average athlete from an average sales rep? Millions of dollars and their mindset.
PRACTICE... the separation point between elite athletes and average sales reps.
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit."
Will Durant
Think about what it takes to move from being ordinary to extraordinary. Think about what it takes to move from being a sales rep to becoming a sales professional. It starts with transformation, accepting you can do better and developing the mindset to do better.
Transform your thinking from sales rep to sales professional. I encourage you to think of the sales profession as a work of art and handle it with care.
Immerse yourself in your work, become fully engaged. Transform your mind to one of growth. As this happens, you improve your ability to grow. As you grow yourself you grow your career. The opposite is to disconnect, settling for complacency.
PRACTICE IS THE DIFFERENTIATOR
Sales professionals practice, sales reps find excuses
A basketball game isn’t won on the court. The game is won in the days, weeks, months and off-season work leading up to the 48 minutes of actual playing time.
Elite athletes win with preparation. They watch film, memorize plays, hit the gym and eat properly.
This all leads me to asking all of you...
- How well are you preparing?
- How well are you practicing?
- How well are you planning?
The lie you tell yourself, "But, I practice on the job."
Kobe Bryant saw Los Angeles at 4:00 A.M. Michael Jordan was the first person on the court and the last one off. Magic Johnson was the true definition of a work horse. It was his work ethic, growth mindset and his commitment to practice that made him one of the best basketball players of all time.
I'm concerned with how many in sales struggle so much with practice. I'm concerned how many sales managers fail miserably at holding their team accountable to practice.
Why has PRACTICE become a nasty eight letter word?
What are you doing to become the best you can be? In sales, you don't have the luxury of an off-season to condition your mind or body. You don't have 3 months off to prepare for the season long grind.
CONSISTENT PRACTICE
Consistency, this separates elite athletes from good athletes. The ability to go out there, day in and day out, week in and week out, month in and month out for years is simply incredible.
The same can be said for top sales professionals versus average sales reps.
- Consistent practice
- Consistent planning
- Consistent prospecting
What makes elite athletes and top sales professionals so consistent?
It's methodical preparation in every aspect of what they do including physical conditioning, practice, technique, tactics, mental aspects, nutrition, sleep, and on-going learning.
Consistently great performances comes from consistency in practice.
Unfortunately, I see a disconnect between elite athletes and those in sales. Elite athletes have great coaches. Can the same be said for sales people?
How many sales can honestly say their managers make great coaches?
PRACTICE HAVING A GROWTH MINDSET
If you aren't willing to help yourself and practice then how can you help your clients do better business?
LEAVE YOUR EGO AT THE DOOR
Many of you are portrayed as egomaniacs with a “do whatever it takes to close the deal” mentality and "I'm above this thing called practice." There's always some truth to stereotypes.
Ego can also hinder one from sales growth.
In today’s highly connected, digitally driven and socially empowered business world; highly assertive, a know-it-all mentality combined with super-charged egos will be the kiss of sales death.
“A huge ego is a sales growth buzz-kill”
Top performing sales professionals, the true superstars – sell from the heart, are the open-minded, curious, collaborative, vulnerable, open to learning and practice. These sales professionals have humility and operate without any deception whatsoever. This is a direct conflict to the behavior of ego-driven salespeople.
PRACTICE BECOMING BETTER LISTENERS
Seeking to understand goes a long way. Too many of you listen just long enough to spew out crapola. Listen with intent to understand and learn. Practice at genuinely being interested in helping your clients for their reasons not yours.
- Listen for clues and look out for problems affecting their business
- How could you fix these problems?
- What potential implications could this have to them?
PRACTICE BECOMING BETTER AT PROSPECTING
Point blank... how can you call yourself a sales professional when many of you simply believe prospecting is beneath you? This blows my freaking mind.
I get it. Prospecting is a challenge. Many of you aren’t very good at it. Why? Because you haven’t cultivated the right habits and you've failed to practice.
"Sales reps have hypnotized themselves into believing what they aren't doing doesn't work"
It deeply saddens me that most sales reps lack the fundamental skills necessary around practice and prospecting.
Ask a sales rep the hardest part of their job and if they're honest they'll will utter the word, PROSPECTING.
If one fails to practice at the single most important aspect of their job then how can one achieve a consistent level of success?
A true professional continually practices the art of prospecting as they keep their sales and relationship funnel full of opportunities. They divide their time between selling, prospecting and taking care of their clients. Those professionals who crush their quotas are fully dedicated to prospecting. The primary differentiator of today’s successful sales reps is their ability to prospect.
PRACTICE, THE BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS
Elite athletes and sales professionals who achieve extraordinary results put in more hours of practice than the average. While their performances, outcomes and what they do are remarkable, there's no mystery how this was developed. They practiced beyond the average ordinary individual.
If you want to reach the next level in your sales career, it’s imperative you spend more time preparing and more time practicing. It’s foolish to say it is all about working smarter, not harder. If you really want to win in sales, you have to work harder and smarter.
Don't be an Allen Iverson!
I understand and I get it. I get where you all are coming from. Every day, I walk in your shoes. I'm fully committed to helping your sales team integrate social aspects through the eyes of a practitioner into your current sales process to grow new business. I want you to get results. This is why I am passionate about doing this the right way, the genuine way, the authentic way! It's about understanding value before visibility.
Selling From the Heart is making a difference! I poured my heart into every page of this book and I think you're going to love it. You can find it on Amazon in paperback and Kindle. You can click on the book image below and this will take you to Amazon.
I encourage you to find out more about Selling From The Heart.
In a world full of empty suits, I'm passionate about helping sales reps succeed by getting valuable before they get visible. I help sales teams understand the true value they bring to the market.
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This Week in the Copier Industry 15 Years Ago (Third Week of July 2004)
Thursday had me in the field with 2 appointments and ten or so planned stop ins and cold calls. I also mentioned that I would be on the lookout for other opportunities for prospects. Many times reps will ask, "where are the prospects?". Ah, grasshopper the prospects are all around you. All you have to do is use your eyes. Many of you know that I sell my fair share of wide format, and with wide format prospecting all you have to do is use your eyes for prospects. When you're out driving, sitting at a traffic light, or maybe in a hitting the head there are prospect (potential client) galore! All commercial trucks need to be lettered with the company name. Over the years Ive written down those names and or taken pictures of the truck. Once I'm back in the office I make the call, some work out some don't. However it's a great way to get a conversation going when you mention you saw one of their trucks. Try it, because you never know what tomorrow will bring!
Enjoy these awesome threads from Fifteen Years Ago This Week!
Ricoh Wide Format Marketing
Ricoh & 240W Wide Format Marketing
Boost Digital Color Printing
Xerox M20i
Kyocera Launches KM-1815
Need help with Xerox 8830
Here we go again...
New imageRUNNER 1630/1670F
Aficio cl1000n
successor for the Canon ir1600 series?
Unix Printing / Macros
new Ricoh Alliance Partner, Syratec
Digital copiers are the gateway for a company to manage paper
V5R1 and a V5R2 AS/400
Re: Ricoh & 240W Wide Format Marketing
Re: CDIA Training and Certification
Re: Scan to Email
Re: Here we go again...
Re: Here we go again...
Re: Here we go again...
Re: Here we go again...
Re: Ricoh Wide Format Marketing
Re: Jam Frequency
Intel Warning: Larger Tech Decline
I know President Reagan didnt say it.
How to Cost justify the Aficio 240W
Jam Frequency
Pagecheck pro
Panasonic’s Latest Remote
Re: ICM SIMULATION
Re: ICM SIMULATION
Re: CDIA Training and Certification
Re: CDIA Training and Certification
-=Good Selling=-
This Week in the Copier Industry 10 Years Ago (Third Week of July 2009)
In yesterdays post This Week in the Copier Industry 5 years Ago I wrote about the end of the month for me along with still have 25% of the month left. Well, tonight there's still 20% of the month left. I had two appointments, both where buying decisions will be made for August. Thus they count as two added opportunities. The rest of the day was spend with pre-planned stop ins, along with anything else that looked interesting. I had ten on the list, made all then and added two accounts that looked like they could have potential.
I'm amazed that reps are still cold calling willy-nilly. There needs to be a plan and that plan should focus on prospects that could provide decent revenue. Why even bother knocking on a door where there are 5 cars in the parking lot (unless it's an Architect, Engineer or Construction = wide format). Doesn't make much sense, scout the parking lots that are jammed because there's something going on there!
Enjoy these threads from Ten Years ago this week!
Sharp Validates Print Audit 6 Embedded Sharp OSA® Integration Module
Konica Minolta’s magicolor 7450 II grafx Receives Two 2009 BERTL’S Best Awards
EFI and Xerox Bring Affordable Color to the Office
Another Xerox Researcher Joins the Ranks with 100th Patent
CANON U.S.A. ANNOUNCES NEW AFFORDABLE PIXMA AND SELPHY PRINTERS FOR A WIDE RANGE OF U
Canon U.S.A. Introduces Two New Affordable and Powerful
Kyocera Mita America Adds Two New Cost-Efficient and High Performing TASKalfa Black &
RICOH HELPS CREATE POSITIVE ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE WITH MANAGED DOCUMENT SERVICES PROG
Attorney's and Large Format Printing
Canon USA Introduces imageRUNNER ADVANCE C9075 PRO and C9065 PRO ...
Equitrac Enhances Usability and Technology Support in Print Management & Cost Recover
Roy Harding Named Regional COO for Xerox
Xerox Color Qube Samples!
Paradigm Imaging Group’s Award Winning Supra Gets Better!
Re: Attorney's and Large Format Printing
Re: The Cleansing
Re: Whole Lotta Shakin Goin On
CANON TO LAUNCH NEW COPIER BRAND FOR 1ST TIME IN 9 YEARS
Xerox names CFO as vice chairman
The Cleansing
Wasatch SoftRIP a Perfect Match for Photo ColorGraphix
Mutoh America Inc. Proudly Announces Randy Rickert as NEW VP/GM
Océ Repro Desk Studio released
Re: Attorney's and Large Format Printing
Re: Ricoh TV Commericals Warning!! (Video)
Re: Whole Lotta Shakin Goin On
Cold Calling, What is the best....
Legal Service Bureau
Lasermax Roll Systems announces strategic partnership with BÖWE BELL + HOWELL for Pri
Trenton, MO School Board
Nuance PDF Converter Professional 6 Delivers Superior Productivity and Value, Replaci
Océ expands office color portfolio
Re: Dell 3130N "Discussion"
Re: Whole Lotta Shakin Goin On
Re: Dell 3130N "Discussion"
Re: Daily Sales Philosophy
This Week in the Copier Industry 5 Years Ago (Third Week of July 2014)
Just a thought for everyone today. Today marks the last week of the month. I'm had sitting on some 25 plus opportunities and for many reasons (not losing) most have moved to August and September. I'm still short to get to my quota, but I look at this like this. I still have 25% of the month left, and when I don't see the movement then it's time to do some additional prospecting. Thus an old dog like me will be knocking on doors in between two appointments tomorrow. BTW, it's suppose to be HOT & HUMID, might need to put an extra shirt in the car. When the going gets tough the tough get going!
Enjoy these threads from 5 years ago this week!
BLI Awards Canon, Konica Minolta and Ricoh with Picks in the A3 Monochrome Category
This Week in the Copier/Office Equipment Industry 10 Years Ago Second Week of July 2004
Digital Dog Direct Adds Konica Minolta C1100 Color Digital Press to their Advanced Production Equipment Suite
Konica Minolta Deploys Kinaxis RapidResponse for Global Demand and Supply Balancing
Ricoh's Inaugural Interact Community Events Bring Print Professionals Together to Discuss New Ways to Make Information Work in Production Environments
CCP Solutions Receives 2014 Kyocera Elite Dealer Award as Outstanding Document Solutions Supplier
Toshiba Wins Buyers Laboratory’s Summer 2014 Outstanding Achievement Award for Energy Efficiency
Kambujiyeh
Re: Nuance purchases NSi
Print Audit® Releases Facilities Manager 3.1.0R
Canon U.S.A. Introduces imageFORMULA DR-C225 Office Document Scanner, Offering Compact Design and Ease-of-Use
Canon U.S.A. Receives Multiple Summer Pick Awards from Buyers Laboratory LLC
Commonwealth Legal is now a Division of Ricoh Canada Inc.
DOCUSYSTEMS, INC. BECOMES RICOH CERTIFIED SERVICES PROVIDER THROUGH CHAMPS PROGRAM
Samsung Printers Receive Seven Awards for Outstanding Achievement from Buyers Laboratory
Toshiba’s Latest e-STUDIO Line Blends Performance with Sleek Design
Xerox Names John Kennedy Chief Marketing Officer
MPSA Welcomes Muratec as New Corporate Member
Ricoh Americas to present at ADHI's 36th Annual Healthcare Documentation Integrity Conference
ERP Expert, Rick Backus, Partners with MWA Intelligence, Inc.
People Buy From People
Re: Nuance purchases NSi
Re: Nuance purchases NSi
Re: Nuance purchases NSi
Sepialine Announces Printerpoint, a Cloud-based Device Management and MPS Solution for the Wide Format Printing Market
Sepialine Announces Printerpoint, a Cloud-based Device Management and MPS Solution for the Wide Format Printing Market
Sharp Earns Three Top Awards From Buyers Laboratory
Samsung Mobile Announces U.S. Availability of Level - Premium Mobile Audio Portfolio
Jeremy Anderson
Evron Graphics Expands Its Capabilities as One of the First Users of EFI’s New Entry-level Production LED Wide-format Printer
First Full Color Consumer Level Stereolithography & FDM 3D Printers Coming Soon From OVE
MakerBot and Florida Polytechnic University Partner to Bring MakerBot 3D Printing to the Florida Poly RAD Makerspace
NinjaFlex 3D Printer Filament Makes Waves
Intelisys Brings Channel Partners Enterprise Grade Security with Phoenix Managed Networks
RTI Digital signs new Memjet deal with Adkote
Samsung’s Award-Winning 105” Curved UHD TV Now Available for Pre-Order
Visioneer Celebrates 20 Years in Scanner Business
The Future of Scanning for MFP's aka Copiers is in the Cloud
Data and Email Encryption get left behind
Where Big Data and Health Care Security Meet
Re: Nuance purchases NSi
Re: This Week in the Copier/Office Equipment Industry 10 Years Ago Second Week of July 2004
Re: Nuance purchases NSi
Re: Plotbase and Bluebeam PDF plotting issues
Color Label Press University "Glossary of Terms" Part Twelve, Course One
At my age sometimes it gets interesting to remember where you went on the weekends. What I do remember is that I accompanied my wife to one of our local food stores. I'm thinking it was a Wegmans, could have been something else, but it was one of the higher end food stores. I was not impressed with was the prices! Frak, let me stick to making money so the wife can spend it. Please don't tell me how much that steak cost.
If you're a professional in the imaging channel then you're always looking for opportunities. I'm a huge fan of print and find it fascinating how print is used with branding of products, especially food products. Every prepared package of fruit, nuts, salads all had a full color branding label. The icing on the cake for me was the brown paper bags, yup they also had a full color branding label on bag.
Print is not dying, print is bigger that ever, problem is that print is migrating and most office equipment dealers are not migrating with it. #followprintmigration
If your dealership is selling Production Print systems then it's a simple jump to offer color label presses or color wide format. A couple of years ago I attending a seminar that was hosted by Frank Cannatta. Frank spoke about the opportunities for industrial print, wide format print and the endless revenue for inks.
Label Press University
At the top of each blog you'll see . Clicking that link which is at the top of each blog will then bring you the collection of blogs for Color Label Press University. It's pretty neat, you'll see all of the blogs that we've posted for an easier read and simple way to toggle from blog to blog.
Color Label Presses can be used as seeding devices in larger Print4Pay opportunities, or help that dealer or rep get a conversation going with an account where they have never had any traction with MFP's or IT services. In addition, the competition is ripe for takeover. Let us not forget about the GP!
The market for full color digital labels in huge and the potential to make some serious commissions is enormous. BTW, isn't that why we're in this crazy business?
Color Label Press University "Glossary for Pressure Sensitive Labels" Course One (Sponsored by Muratec a Konica Minolta Company)
Initial Tack Degree of stickiness when a pressure sensitve label is first applied to a product.
Ink Bleed Penetration of one color of ink into the facestock in such a manner as to cause one color to run into and discolor either the background color of the facestock, or another color of ink that is laid down adjacent to the color that is bleeding.
Ink Fountain Device which stores and supplies ink to the inking rollers on a printing press.
Ink Holdout Describes the degree to which pigment and binder stay on the surface of a material; a function of the ink, material and solvent (or chemical) interactions.
Ink Pump Electric or air driven mechanical pump that circulates an ink or coating from a holding tank to the ink fountain.
Internal Stress Stress created within the adhesive layer by the movement of the adherends at differential rates or by contraction or
expansion of the adhesive layer.
Ion Deposition A method of printing using a non-impact electonic image process.
Ir-Scannable Capable of being read by an infrared scanner.
Irradiation Treated with ultra-violet light or another high energy ray.
Jig Device used to assist the correct placement of a semi-automatically applied pressure sensitive label. Usually it is made to fit the shape of the product being labeled.
Jog To intermittently operate a press for very short increments of web travel. Inching.
Journals The end shafts on which a roll rotates, usually within the needle bearing or bushing of a die block.
Jumbo Roll A full width roll of converted material where the outside diameter is larger than standard.
Key-Line In artwork, an outline drawing of finished art for labels to indicate the exact shape, position, and size for such elements as halftones, line sketches, text, etc.
Key Mark or Triger A code bit(s) that provides the scanner with the instruction that the code is in a position to be read. Used in some fixed
beam readers.
Kickout The precipitation of the solid part of an ink or coating.
Kiss Cut A die-cutting operation which cuts through the face sheet to a liner but not through the liner.
Kiss Impression The lilghtest possible impression which will transfer the film of ink from the transfer roll to the plate and from the plate to the
material being printed.
Knock-Out In color printing, the process of dropping an image out of the color such as dropping white type out of a color background. Often called reverse printing.
Kromekote A trademark of a clay coated paper with a highly polished, mirror-like finish; high gloss.
Label The functional portion of a pressure sensitive construction comprising the face material and adhesive, die cut into various shapes.
Label Panel Main panel of a container.
Label Stock Pressure sensitive laminate from which labels are produced, usually refers to roll stock.
Labeling Machine Dispensing apparatus that, by means of driving or pulling the backing, delivers a pressure sensitive label and applies it to a
product.
Lacquer A clear protective coating, usually glossy, applied to a printed web in-line on a label press just prior to die-cutting.
Laminant An adhesive for combining and bonding a combination of films, foils, plastics, papers or other materials. Pressure sensitive
constructions are often call laminants.
Laminate A web material formed by bonding two or more materials together as in a pressure sensitive construction. To apply one layer of material over another.
Lamination A plastic film bonded by heat, adhesive, and/or pressure to a printed web for protection or appearance. Two or more materials bonded together functioning as one.
Laser Paper Paper suitable to accept laser printing.
Laser Printing A method of printing which utilizes a laser beam to put images onto a substrate. Usually the surface of the substrate must have specific characteristics to accept laser printing.
Laser Scanner An optical reading device using a low energy laser light beam as its source of illumination.
Latex An emulsion of rubber or resin particles dispersed in an aqueous medium. A natural or synthetic elastomeric dispersion in
an aqueous system.
Latex Paper Paper manufactured by two major processes; one of which is where latex is incorporated with the fibers in the beater prior to
formation of the sheet, and the second of which is whrte a preformed web of absorbent fiber is saturated with properly compounded latex. The paeprs are characterized by strength, folding endurance, resistance to penetration by water, flexibility, durability and resistance to abrasion.
LATMA Label and Tag Manufacturers of Australia, an Australian organization similar to TLMI.
Lay Flat A label material with good non-curling characteristics making it suitable for automatic overwrapping, insertion or any other
form of further processing
To learn more about Label Presses pay Muratec a visit here
-=Good Selling=-