MFP Copier Blog

This Week in Copiers Twenty Years Ago

Second Week of February 2003

With all of the recent news about China with the recent the recent shooting of the SPY balloon and the downing of three "UFOs" (suspected from China), will this alert MFP buyers to ask "where are your MFPs manufactured"?

I remember in the eighties when many buyers wanted no part of copiers that were manufactured in Japan. Of course that all ended when Xerox partnered with Fuji and all copiers where manufactured in Japan.  Leads you to ask "where was your copier manufactured?"

Enjoy these awesome copier threads from 20 years ago

see attached file

This Week in Copiers Fifteen Years Ago

Second Week of February 2008

With all of the recent news about China with the recent the recent shooting of the SPY balloon and the downing of two "UFOs" (suspected from China), will this alert MFP buyers to ask "where are your MFPs manufactured"?

I remember in the eighties when many buyers wanted no part of copiers that were manufactured in Japan. Of course that all ended when Xerox partnered with Fuji and all copiers where manufactured in Japan.  However the manufacturing Japan ended as well with most of the MPFs now being produced in Japan,

Enjoy these awesome copier threads from 15 years ago

This Week in Copiers Ten Years Ago

Second Week of February 2013

I caught this in the threads from from 10 years.  Amazing how dumb some crooks can be...

Suspect leaves photo copier clue at crime scene

Enjoy these awesome copier threads from 10 years ago

"Be not afraid of discomfort. If you can't put yourself in a situation where you are uncomfortable, then you will never grow. You will never change. You'll never learn."

Jason Reynolds

Why are so many afraid of discomfort?

Think back to your childhood, you embraced learning, you embraced change as this all was a part of growing up.

Why do so many adults find it so difficult to embrace change?

Why do so many in sales take the road most traveled?

Why do so many in sales seek the "sales success magic pill", instead of just doing the work?

We do know this... Transitions are unavoidable, as no one person can stay the same forever. In pursuit of personal and professional growth, you'll have to embrace change at some point.

You can either be comfortable and stagnate or stretch yourself to become uncomfortable and grow.

Discomfort is a stimulant for growth. It forces you to change, stretch, and adapt.

Embrace discomfort. Become purposeful about doing things that push you outside of your limits. Difficulty helps you to grow, and this is what sales professionals do better than sales reps.

If you desire long-term success, you must stop avoiding what’s hard.

To become more means creating new perspectives, acquiring new skills and pushing the boundaries.

Learning to be comfortable with discomfort is one of the most important skills you can ever have to live a truly fulfilling personal and professional life.

Repetition expands your comfort boundaries, and this fuels growth.

Think back to the start of your sales career and reflect upon this question... How many things were once uncomfortable for you which you now accept without difficulty?

It concerns me how many salespeople and for that matter sales managers avoid discomfort.

You all do everything you can to avoid it.

Have you become too comfortable to be pushed or you just can't be bothered to make a change to improve your lives?

I love this quote courtesy of Pastor Craig Groeschel,

"If you change your behavior but do not change your heart, the behavior will come back."

What is in your heart when it comes to change?

HAS COMFORT BECOME A SALES CRISIS?

"If you're never able to tolerate a little bit of pain and discomfort, you'll never get better."

Angela Duckworth

What are you willing to do to become a better sales professional?

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Michael Easter's book, "The Comfort Crisis, Embrace Discomfort To Reclaim Your Wild, Happy, Healthy Self"

Early in the book, Michael says,

"Most people today rarely step outside their comfort zones. We are living progressively sheltered, sterile, temperature-controlled, overfed, under-challenged, safety-netted lives."

With my warped sense of humor, let's unpack this quote tying it back to sales...

How many salespeople are living progressively sheltered lives as they are being overfed lead after lead, being under-challenged and coddled by their managers inside their safety-netted environments?

Continuing "The Comfort Crisis" journey,

"Comforts and conveniences are great. But they haven't always moved the ball downfield in our most important metric - happy, healthful years. Perhaps existing only in our increasingly overly comfortable, overbuilt environment and always obeying our comfort drives has unlimited consequences and caused us to miss profound human experiences."

Whether you are a sales leader or a salesperson... Has becoming comfortable being comfortable caused a sales crisis? I will leave that answer to you.

One last reference to "The Comfort Crisis", Michael Easter refers to the Japanese term, Misogi.

The word Misogi translates to "water cleansing" and is generally done by standing under an icy waterfall while winter pours over the body.

He references in the book where he sitesMisogi "as not being about physical accomplishment but what are you mentally and spiritually willing to put yourself through to be a better human."

So, this got me thinking... What is your Misogi in sales?

What are you willing to put yourself through to become a better salesperson?

Are you willing to break out of your comfort zone in a world that is rapidly changing day by day by day?

THERE'S COMFORT IN HONESTY

Honesty is a huge part of embracing change. Become radically honest with yourself and ditch the delusional thinking. In chapter 2 of Selling from the Heart, I write about sales chaos.

Has turmoil set in within your sales career? Has pure chaos kept you from seeking the truth?

If you're not honest with yourself then how can you expect to learn and grow?

When you're dishonest with yourself, you choose to see what you want to see and you brush off, ignoring what you don’t want to see. This may provide you short-term happiness but, in the end, it’s unhealthy, destructive, and screws with your mind.

Sales professionals are honest with themselves. They know this is hard work and can sometimes be painful, but it’s a necessary component to long-term happiness and success.

Are you ready to embrace radical discomfort?

Becoming comfortable with being uncomfortable is what radical self-honesty is built upon.

I encourage you to think about this one...

How can you become radically self-honest if you struggle to deal with any discomfort in your sales life? You can’t and you're only fooling yourself.

In this hyper-competitive world of sales, those who are willing to take risks, step out of their comfort zone and create some discomfort for themselves will be those who will reap the biggest rewards.

All of this leads to this...

If YOU, can't challenge yourself to improve then how can you challenge your clients to improve?

GROWTH STARTS BY GETTING REAL WITH YOURSELF

"Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow.

Anthony J. D'Angelo

At this very moment, what specific skill do you bring to the marketplace that allows you to stand out from the other salespeople?

I encourage you to look in the mirror and ask yourself...

• Am I reading to feed my brain?
• Am I making a difference?
• Am I going the extra mile for my clients?
• Am I serving others?
• Am I serving the cause?
• Am I developing a deep, genuine concern for my clients?

Gut check moment, isn't it?

Unfortunately, way too many of you in sales are stuck looking into the rearview mirror waiting, wondering, and wallering around, as you continue to operate in a state of comfort.

What got you to where you're at in sales today will not keep you there moving into the future.

Stop the excuses as they only act as a deterrent.

Examine what's inside your own heart and look within to improve yourself.

WHAT CAN YOU BE DOING TO BECOME BETTER?

As we get bit by the "success bug" in sales we also get bitten by the "comfort bug".

Success can become blinding, as success breeds comfort and complacency.

Take off the dark sunglasses and uncover ways you could change to become even better at what you do.

Think of the 1% rule. What would happen if on a daily basis you made a 1% improvement to your personal and professional life?

If you make a 1% improvement every day, it would be an increase of 3778% over a year, meaning you would be 38 times better off compared to when you started. Isn't this worth the investment in challenging yourself every day?

HONESTY REQUIRES PRACTICE

Becoming radically honest with yourself requires you to become vulnerable. Are you willing to become vulnerable and accountable to yourself? This alone presents you with several learning opportunities. If you’re consistently nurturing your mindset, you will build up a tolerance against negative thoughts, procrastination, self-doubt, and insecurities.

This helps you to break the stranglehold of comfort.

Becoming radically honest with yourself can be painful but massively rewarding. When honesty collides with your willingness to change, there's no stopping your growth.

"You have to believe in yourself, challenge yourself, and push yourself until the very end; that's the only way you'll succeed."

G-Dragon

I encourage you to build confidence in your abilities. I challenge you to get radically honest and hold yourself accountable.

1. Seek to become an expert in your field of work
2. Constantly crave feedback on YOU
3. Set goals and create a business plan
4. Never ever stop learning

SALES PROFESSIONALS ARE NEVER COMFORTABLE

Sales professionals are sales hungry. They are lifelong learners.

Sales professionals are educators. You can't become an educator without being a student first.

You must gain a thirst for new knowledge. You must stay up to date on new developments, always looking for trends and changes before they happen.

Getting uncomfortable, it's okay. Show up every day and be present. Sit with the discomfort.

"You can make excuses or you can make progress but you can't make both"

Craig Groeschel

Acknowledge discomfort. Shake hands with it, get used to it, and welcome it on the journey to better yourself.

How can many of you in sales grow if you're constantly carrying your own dead sales weight of the past?

Way too many of you are living in yesteryear. You will consistently struggle with the mentality of "that's the way I've done it."

I ask you to think about the following questions...

• Am I reaching my sales potential?
• How do I rise up and rise to the top in sales?

In today's sales world, comfort will stunt your sales growth.

Would you like to increase your sales success and fulfillment?

This was my goal when recording all-new materials for the new Selling from the Heart Masterclass, to increasing your sales success and fulfillment in your business.

If you enjoyed the Selling from the Heart book, you’re going to love this masterclass! It takes the tools given to the next level.

Have yet to read Selling from the Heart? No worries, you will receive an audio version as a part of the Masterclass. As an option you can get a free signed copy of Selling from the Heart (just pay for shipping and handling).

You can get your copy here - https://www.sellingfromtheheart.net/book

Together, we will go on a journey where we’ll dive into how to apply the ideas in the book to help you achieve even greater sales success.

With each of the 10 sessions, you’ll receive questions that will help you increase your sales in a way that also makes selling more enjoyable and fulfilling.

This masterclass is configured with you in mind where you can complete the course in chunks from any mobile device, iPad or computer, based on your availability.

You’ll also discover fun bonus materials throughout the course.

ACCESS THE MASTERCLASS HERE.

This Week in Copiers Five Years Ago

Second Week of February 2018

Real Copier Sales Mistakes

Enjoy these awesome copier threads from 5 years ago

Just having some fun with creating song lyrics for copiers, how everyone enjoys!

Copier Sales Oh What A Deal

In the office, on the floor,

There's a machine that we all adore

It's the copier, shiny and bright

Making our workdays, oh so light

Copier sales, oh what a deal

Making work easier, our hearts they heal

With every copy, it shines so bright

Bringing us joy,all through the night

From black and white to color bright

It's the perfect tool, for every sight

Scanning and printing, it's all in one

Making our work, second to none

Copier sales, oh what a deal

Making work easier, our hearts they heal

With every copy, it shines so bright

Bringing us joy, all through the night

With speeds so fast, and paper so neat

We can handle any task, in just one beat

It's the best investment, our company's made

With copier sales, we'll never fade

So here's to the copier, our shining star Making work days, not so far From boring and dull, to bright and bold With copier sales, we'll never grow old.

Special thanx to the help of ChatGBT

AJ Helps Me Win an Order Today

It's late and I'm going to forgo posting the press releases for tonight, thinking I may wake up early and play catch up with posting those press threads.

The Catch Up

I've been able to catch up on my daily job and had four on-site appointments today. All of the appointments were with existing accounts.  One appointment stands out among the rest and that was with an existing account that has two leases from us. One of those leases expired months ago and other lease expires soon.

I met with the principal about the first device months ago and I was not able to secure the upgrade.  The client opted to go the route of letting the lease go into renewal.  I was not going to press the issue since there was another lease coming due.  Thus I opted to let the ball travel which seemed the right thing to do.

Today's Appointment

The appointment today was to make the principal aware that the second lease is expired. I set the appointment with the expectation to the client that I had a creative idea to save them money.  With a looming recession, almost every client is interested in reducing costs while retaining the value of support and service.

Issues Going In

The account has been a good account for me because they fit my model for companies that I want in my portfolio.  At times and probably most times our principal can get off track with distractions and be in a bad mood more times than not.

Thus my first objective was to set the appointment late in the day when the hectic day to day distractions were passed.  Today's appointment was for 4PM, thus I was hoping to have a leg up on getting the principals full attention.

Waiting

I found my self waiting in his office alone for fifteen minutes or so, during the time I was able to view the pictures an photos on his wall.  There were three awesome pictures of the principal with his three grand children and family members.  Since I'm a grandfather as well, I could relate to the pleasure that my grandchildren (both daughters bring to me).  Remembering that our principal can be ornery at times I had a plan to get us both in the right frame of mind.

Meeting

After the hey you doing's, I took the lead with asking about the names and ages of his grandchildren. One was 11, he other was 7 and a new baby of seven months and then our principal told me a cute story about a call from the 11 year old.  As grandparent we do enjoy talking about them and the joy that they bring to us.

Now it was my turn, I stated that yesterday was my birthday and AJ (my also 2 year old and her mother send me a birthday video). I took out my phone and we both enjoyed  watching AJ wishing Pop a Happy Birthday!

The law of commonality was in full swing and the two of us had cleared our minds of the past happenings of the day. Yes, we were both in a good mood.

After 20 or so minutes we both agreed on a plan to move forward with the upgrade and as I left we shook hands an the principal then placed his other arm on my forearm.  The additional hand to the forearm is a gesture of additional thanks.

The Video (click the image for the video)

-=Good Selling=-

Office Printing Remains Strong in 2023

Hacked

America's top cyber diplomat says his Twitter account was hacked | CNN Politics.....America's top cybersecurity diplomat Nate Fick said his personal Twitter account was hacked, calling it part of the "perils of the job."

Ransomware hacking campaign targets Europe and North America, Italy warns -.....Italy's National Cybersecurity Agency (ACN) warned on Sunday of a large-scale campaign to spread ransomware on thousands of computer servers ...

Diligent Corp. sends more notifications after discovering hacked data on the internet.....Diligent Corp is a software as a service company, headquartered in New York. In June, 2022, they disclosed an incident that occurred in May.

Hacking Robots: The 5 Threats You Need to Know About.....Hackers want to cause disruption and bring down automated systems to make money. There is a range of ways they can exploit insufficient authentication ...

Online criminals eye off ChatGPT as handy hacking tool | CW - Canberra Weekly.....Australia could soon face a crippling cyber attack aided by a popular chatbot, ChatGPT, according to research released by BlackBerry.