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Paper is not Dead: Long Live Paper

Paper is not Dead: Long Live Paper

Futuristic science-fiction films and series primarily differ in politics, outlook, and technology. But they almost all have one thing in common, paper is practically non-existent. Rather than paper currency, the residents of the future use cards, chips, or codes to access digital funds.

Even the offices and workspaces are highly digitized, with records, agreements, and communications all held in computers. Access to this information is through fancy-looking tablets or floating holograms.

While all of this looks amazing, it is hardly practical. Yet, despite these visions of a paper-free world, there are many reasons physical documentation is here to stay.

The Security Issues with Going Paperless

Paper filing systems are large, cumbersome, and take up too much space. But, in today’s technological world, they are also broadly safer than digital filing systems. Today criminals have developed a wide range of tactics to gain access to anything stored on company servers, including pretending to be someone within the company or a person of importance to trick loyal employees. The same level of access is much harder to gain in person. So, while carrying company files on a tablet may seem convenient, are the risks worth it?

Admittedly, security for digital files has come a long way in the past decade. But hackers are constantly coming up with new and creative ways to access those documents. Unfortunately, their innovations regularly test the most vulnerable points in any company and often find the weaknesses they require. And too often, data breaches aren’t detected until it’s too late.

On the other hand, paper files are much harder to access and far more likely to be noticed should they go missing. This is why so many businesses still rely heavily on paper documentation for personal notes, contracts, and legal and financial documents. While having digital versions scanned and stored is a good idea for easy shareability with clients, paper documentation is a vital backup to keep hackers from holding information hostage.

Lack of Access/ Loss of Information

When filed correctly, paper documentation provides reliable accessibility. Simply enter the file room or open the appropriate drawer to view the file needed. Digital files, on the other hand, require internet and server-specific access. So, should the internet go down, the electricity goes out, or a server crash occurs, access to any electronic files can be temporarily halted.

Some of these emergencies can do far more than block access; electrical outages or surges can cause issues with sensitive computer and server equipment, leading to data losses. Other increasingly common problems such as malware, hacking, computer viruses, and general user error can all result in files being corrupted or deleted from the system.

Paper files, if only as a backup system, are a reliable alternative to keep business information safe and accessible in times of crisis. In particular, legal, finance, and medical facilities should maintain a hard copy database to avoid losing important data and hiccups when serving customers.

Paper Remains Part of Business Workflows

According to Wakefield research and Infotrends, 73% of businesses with less than 500 employees print at least four times daily. But the trend is not limited to smaller companies. Even medium and large businesses depend on paper for a variety of uses, including:

  • Personal notes
  • Copies of necessary documentation such as resumes and recommendation letters
  • Work calendars
  • Documentation for team-building trips and brainstorming sessions
  • Notes during hiring interviews or in case of complaints to human resources

Larger businesses especially enjoy using paper for items that are unlikely to be kept long-term. Things like notes, documentation that is likely to become redundant, document mark-ups, vendor or client presentations, and other short-term items are usually printed or written down with no intent to place them in long-term storage. Scanning these items into a digital format would waste time and server space.

So, while science fiction envisions a paperless future for all of human society, even the most prominent businesses have trouble eliminating paper from their processes. Paper as it was once known, used, and loved may well be over. But the need for its existence and use to keep businesses running smoothly is unlikely to disappear anytime soon.

Cloud Printing & The Opportunities are Endless

My third opportunity in the last 45 days or so is turning be very intriguing, especially when peeps like me are looking for other opportunities rather than copiers.

I'm one of the more fortunate sales people in my industry since I get paid a few weeks after I send in the signed paper work/documents.  From a recent poll on P4PHotel (here), more than 91.2%  only get paid when hardware is delivered and the deal is funded.

I also understand that COVID has sped changed our upgrade process for ever, there are no more guarantees that our accounts will blindly upgrade their copiers at the end of every lease cycle.  Thus the time to change and look for other avenues of PROFIT and REVENUE is NOW.

Cloud Print

My recent demo which turned into a solid opportunity went something like this when my solutions guy and I were trying to figure out pricing for the client.  I've heard and haven't received any push back from IT Directors that the conservative cost to maintain a print server is about $2,500 per year, per server. I heard there was an article or writing from Gartner putting that cost about $4K per year.  Since I'm such a rookie at this I'm trusting what I've learned and at this time I've heard nothing that would tell me the $2,500 is not a good number.

Servers

There were three servers that would be eliminated with our Cloud Print offering.  That means our client is spending about $7,500 per year for those three servers, over four years that number becomes $30,000. In addition I've heard that there is much pain with IT Directors with print drivers.  In most cases it can be the sheer volume of different print drivers.  What I'm seeing is annual spend, and even larger spend over time especially four and five years and then the pain of managing the drivers, then driver issues.

My cost is for the 4 year service is lets say not even the first year of client spending for the server maintenance.  The math dictates that the GP is awesome and coming in way more than $20,000!  This is what I'm talking about!

The Plan

My plan is to offer leasing for the services to run the term with an existing copier lease I have.  I then though about maybe there should be no option to buy and no option to go month to month.  Maybe treat this more like a subscription and the commitment is 36, 48, or 60 with an auto renewal?  I think the opportunities are endless!

There's no waiting for hardware, no supply chain issues, no support since the Cloud Print takes on that responsibility.

In addition I'm a firm believe that selling a service like this will plant the seed for future content/cloud opportunities!

I'll admit, I'm still a rookie, I do have a lot to learn but I'm stoked and ready for another round of change.  If interested I started a thread on our forums so we can discuss pricing, issues, ideas, providers. Let's stat sharing so we can all take advantage of CLOUD PRINT.

-=Good Selling=-

Are Your First Impressions Leading To Cohesive Connection Or Incoherent Disengagement?

“Never lose the first impression which has moved you.”
Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot

Are your first impressions and encounters causing people to lean into your conversations or lean back?

We’ve all heard the importance of first impressions, but do you know just how important they are when it comes to the initial encounter with a future new client?

First impressions become a filter many use for all future interactions with someone. In some instances it becomes difficult to change someone’s first impression of us.

Whether they are accurate or not, it normally takes a long time and concerted effort to change a first impression.

Recent research by SuperOffice, around positive first impressions, shows that "72% of people are likely to spread the word to six or more people."

In a business world where we are digitally empowered and hyper-connected, think about the role first impressions play in the "what happens next" conversations.

A first impression can be formed as a result of a conversation, however; it may also be created by someone catching a glimpse of you, from a distance. Now, think about your voice mails, emails and social interactions.

Are you getting the picture?

In our social media crazed world, first impressions are no longer face to face. How you carry yourself online, and on any social platform, will play a significant role in perception and first impressions.

This begs the question...

Are your first impressions leading to cohesive connection or incoherent disengagement?

I'm a firm believer in the "What is old is forever new."

When it comes to the importance of first impressions, let's look no further than to Dale Carnegie, as he was the legendary people-skills leader and the author of the internationally acclaimed book, How To Win Friends And Influence People.

The importance of first impressions was crystal clear to Carnegie. He dedicated the time and experimented with the best ways to reliably make a good impression.

Carnegie held these six rules above all others...

  • Become genuinely interested in other people
  • Smile
  • Remember that a person’s name is to them the sweetest and most important sound in any language
  • Be a good listener and encourage other people to talk about themselves
  • Talk in terms of the other person’s interests
  • Make the other person feel important, and do it sincerely

With trust and credibility being anemically low within the sales world, let's pause for a moment and ask yourself, "Am I applying the six rules by Dale Carnegie to my initial encounters with new sales opportunities?"

Imagine people using these words in describing their first meeting or interaction with you... confident, engaged, genuine, honest, humble, trusting, joyful and calming.

The more comfortable you make someone feel in that first interaction, the more comfortable they will become in sharing things about themselves and their business.

TRUST AND FIRST IMPRESSIONS

First impressions, are they helping or hindering you in your ability to build trust?

When meeting someone for the first time, we are met with so many possibilities; do we judge based on their appearance? By their handshake? By their looks, voice or how they carry themselves?

This plays out in our personal lives and the same applies to our professional lives.

Amy Cuddy, a psychologist at the Harvard Business School, found that our first impressions of others provide the answers to two main questions:

  • Can I trust this person?
  • Can I respect this person’s capabilities?

She went on to say, two people who meet are questioning, “Can I trust that this person has good intentions toward me?” and “Is this person capable?”

These are the main questions we are asking ourselves when looking at developing trust and maintaining it.

Now, think about how this plays out with your first-in meetings, your first interactions, and how you carry yourself.

To further reinforce the point, allow this quote courtesy of Amy Cuddy sink in,

"If someone you're trying to influence doesn't trust you, you're not going to get very far; in fact, you might even elicit suspicion because you come across as manipulative. A warm, trustworthy person who is also strong elicits admiration, but only after you've established trust does your strength become a gift rather than a threat."

What gift are you leaving in your first encounters? Is it the gift of coherent connection or incoherent disengagement?

I must ask... Are you fully engaged, intentionally listening and bringing your authentic self to your initial conversations and encounters?

FIRST IMPRESSIONS START WITH CONNECTION

I would like for you to put yourself in the shoes of the other person you are meeting for the first time, do you wonder if this runs through their mind?

"Stop trying to impress me. I can make up my own mind about whether I like you; trust you; or even believe you. You don’t have to make up my mind for me."

Human connection must be placed front and center as the facilitator to a positive first impression. We're all wired to connect. It is part of the prescription for health and happiness.

It's how we influence and lead.

Are you allowing people to see the real you?

To further expand upon the importance of first impressions and connection, allow me to introduce you to Erving Goffman. He was a Canadian sociologist who developed the concept of Dramaturgy.

It’s based upon the idea that our lives are on constant display as if we’re actors.

He believed when we are born into the world, we are being placed on a stage. And this stage is called everyday life.

He believed all our interactions consist of adjusting to other people and our roles in their lives. We enact these roles in the company of others, who are in turn enacting their roles in interaction with us.

He believed that whatever we do, we are playing out some role on the stage of life.

In his work, he noted there is a front stage and a backstage. As we go on with our lives, we are mostly on the front stage. This applies to how we are at work, at the grocery store, or when meeting someone new. And the backstage is where we become our true selves. It’s our private place.

Only our closest friends see us when we’re backstage. But since many fake their personality with everyone, all they see is the front stage.

Imagine for a moment, if first impressions matter, then are people seeing your backstage or front stage life?

A positive first impression leads to cohesion.

If first impressions matter, then what are you doing about it?

LEAVE LASTING IMPRESSIONS

If what others think of you (think initial meeting) matter, then I ask you to pay attention to how others see you the first time you meet.

I would ask you to remember the person you're in front of, as they may be saying to themselves:

  • Do you see me?
  • Do you hear me?
  • Do you get me?
  • Does what I say matter to you?

J.K. Rowling went on to say,

"A good first impression can work wonders."

Think about this and your first interactions.

What is going through their head?

No alt text provided for this image

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.

Xerox CEO John Visentin dies at 59

Printer maker Xerox Holdings Corp said on Wednesday Chief Executive Officer John Visentin, 59, has died due to complications from an ongoing illness.

Xerox (XRX) called Visentin’s death unexpected and said it has named Steve Bandrowczak, president and chief operations officer, as interim CEO.

Visentin, who was also the vice chairman, joined Xerox as its CEO in May 2018 after he was nominated by Carl Icahn. The activist investor’s firm is the biggest shareholder of the company, according to Refinitiv data.

Prior to that, Visentin had been hired as a consultant by Icahn to assist in his campaign against Xerox, when he pushed the company to explore strategic alternatives.

Visentin was also at the helm of the company when it failed at its $35 billion hostile takeover attempt of HP Inc, a merger which Icahn had pushed for in 2020.

In the same year, Xerox, which has been facing a slowdown in demand as businesses cut down on printing their paperwork, laid out a three-year cost-cutting plan under Visentin.

Copied from https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/29...-visentin/index.html

Managed Print Services Reduces Costs & Problems for Remote Offices

Remote transition from office to home (or remote office) has evolved rapidly over the last year. According to Buffer research, almost 98% of people surveyed shared that they would prefer to work remotely, at least part of the time, over the remainder of their career. And if employers are going to keep employees, they will need to focus on fitting a new demand to prevent losing those they do manage to entice into the fold.

Managed print services are a go-to way of ensuring workers are comfortable working away from the office while companies continue to run as usual with no imminent challenges. They provide efficiency, and productivity, and are able to provide information security while managing the organization’s printing needs.

Print Services Can Consolidate Costs and Improve Security.

how to secure remote printers

Regular consumer printers can expose businesses to the potential risks of cybercrime. Unsecured ports and consumer wi-fi connections can offer criminals tempting backroads into a company’s servers. Even less nefarious hackers can pull potentially sensitive data from the average printer’s hard drive. Managed print services providers have the expertise and technology to identify the printer security threats a company faces – and implement measures to mitigate those risks efficiently and effectively.

Some of the options print service providers recommend include printer password logins or scheduled hard drive wiping. But the best option is to ensure each remote workspace is using a networked printer for all of their business-related printing needs. When properly monitored and serviced, these networked machines will provide a wealth of additional security to prevent threats

But it’s not only security that benefits from partnering with a managed print services provider. Most of these expert office printer businesses can help consolidate the expenses of hardware and maintenance, as well. By bundling the entirety of printing services into a single monthly payment, the worry of upfront capital expenditures is eliminated. And, rather than being concerned about ongoing service and maintenance fees, many of these printing partners include typical maintenance and parts in their monthly plans. The result is an easy-to-predict monthly cost.

Managed Print Services Can Help With Employee Retention

According to research by Marketplace,org organizations are facing difficulties hiring (and keeping) workers. Many workers quit their jobs because of low pay. And it is hard to replace them. Employers can help address this problem by giving workers quality standard working environments and other possible benefits that would streamline work communications.

Multi-functional managed print services are part of providing employee comfort by providing fast, efficient, modern equipment for printing, scanning, and other selected printer functions. But it goes beyond what the hardware itself can provide. Managed print services partners also offer easy-to-access customer service, troubleshooting, and service to remote workers – without the need to wait on or trouble their companies already busy IT department.

Managed Print Services Know how to Handle More Locations

Many business offices would rely on the IT department to manage on-site printers for the company. Allowing staff to address minor fixes and updates could, in some instances, save time and money. The same is not true in the new remote work environment.

Managed print services have experience and expertise in providing service to multiple offices within a specific area. And, in addition to their capabilities of maintenance to more than one location, many of these businesses load specialized performance monitoring software configurations onto each of the machines for which they are responsible. This software provides insights into individual machine usage and errors that allow the print service provider to keep printers running better through increased response times and faster analysis when things go wrong.

Businesses who work with an expert printer services business can save on time and money while reducing employee frustrations (both in-house and remote). The result is an increase in the business productivity without the need for accountants or anyone else to gain experience in IT and troubleshooting. And, with built-in security measures, partnering businesses can relieve the stress of many printer-related threats. For business working to fit the needs of employees in this rapidly changing office environment, managed print services are a fast and effective way to tackle business needs.

On Vacation For Quite a Few Days

Taking some time off, I need to recharge and get my head straight for the final six months of 2022.  I find that the first week of the first quarter is best.  Imagine that, every year this coincides with the 4th of July!

-=Good Selling=-

The Last Day and the First Day of My..........Quarter

Pretty cool date today.  The last day before vacation, the first day of the new quarter and my first order for new quarter would be a great start the last day of vacation and the first day of the quarter, right?

My first appointment I thought would be  wishy washy as best with an existing account.  Seems there was an new Chief IT director with my account. I had the ominous email a week to ten days ago asking for all sorts of info on their copiers. When I get that type of email it's usually not one of those great appointment.

Rather than conducting the meeting first and then organizing the date for the client.  I opted to organize all of the data points that they required in a spreadsheet aka dashboard and then scheduled the virtual meeting. I wanted to be ready because many of these appointments can blow up and I wanted to get this done quickly since I had things to fry before my vacation.  Thirty minutes before the start of the virtual meeting I emailed the spreadsheet aka dashboard of the 12 devices with our fleet.

The Meeting

I wasn't ready for the immediate response when the client thanked me for the following.

  • Answering his email to schedule a review of their devices
  • Scheduling a meeting to review the fleet of devices within a week
  • Emailing the dashboard of device with lease start, lease end, monthly payment, device #ID, model number term of lease, lease term date, cost per page for black and color, along with last billing for cycle with pricing

My client explained that this he was rather new with the company and there are two fleets from different vendors (one of them me) and he needed to get a handle on all of the devices as soon as possible to he could get his plan in place.

My client then told me that the other vendor is for a Canon fleet and he's still waiting for someone to call or email him back after two weeks. I could tell he was impressed with the response and the how detailed the information was.

I'll take a trip back to the ominous email because in most cases I've been on the end that is told that changes are being made.  That was my gut, however I did the work because that's my job.  We need to do the work from start to finish even if the outcome is not what we wanted.

After the review, my client picked out one of the locations that had two devices and a pretty hefty volume with both leases terming in the next 3-10 months.  It went something like this, "he's what I want, I want redundancy at all of my locations  so let's start with this one. Where I have the one 60 ppm color, give me two 50ppm color MFPs and while we're at it also replaced the 30 ppm color as well."

Well, that was stunning, and also a nice bonus to happen the first day of the new quarter and the last day before my vacation. It's a verbal and I know that verbals are not set in stone, but I got him all the docs that he needs in order to move forward when he hits the office in the AM tomorrow.

-=Good Selling=-

Sales Professionals Make Self-Reflection A Habit, Not Deflection… What About You?

Self-reflection entails asking yourself questions about your values, assessing your strengths and failures, thinking about your perceptions and interactions with others, and imagining where you want to take your life in the future.”
Robert L. Rosen

What are your values?

What are your strengths?

How do you want to be perceived?

The nature of sales often creates mental turmoil (self-induced at times), craziness and chaos; creating a way to level-set and refocus on what’s important is valuable.

Being able to set aside alone time regularly through self-reflection becomes a powerful technique to help you be more successful.

Let me ask you a question, how far and how much have you grown in your sales life?

Now think about this quote by Michel de Montaigne

"If I speak of myself in different ways, that is because I look at myself in different ways."

Please take a moment, grab a cup of coffee, sit down, and reflect... go back 5 years ago and then push yourself to the present...

  • Are you reaching greater heights in your sales life, now?
  • Have you achieved most of your sales goals, now?
  • Do you feel extremely fulfilled with your sales life, now?
If you want to live a better sales life, you must learn to grow.

Success in sales does not come overnight. It is achieved through daily improvement in small consistent increments over time.

In Selling from the Heart, I write about the many differences between sales professionals and sales reps. You see, sales professionals do the work that many sales reps find excuses not to do.

A true sales professional doesn't sleepwalk through the day nor their career. They work harder on themselves than any sales manager ever will.

Sales professionals actively think about the things they do. They objectively evaluate themselves on a regular basis. They look at things through an unbiased and clear set of lenses.

Elite sales professionals do more self-reflection as opposed to deflection.

Self-reflection, some of you may be thinking... Serious, come on.

Simply look at self-reflection as a mindfulness technique. This is where you place yourself in a quiet place and state of mind to recall events or experiences from the past, observe your current state, and then envision the future you want to create.

What concerns me is how many, especially in sales, do not allow themselves to pause and reflect on where they are and where they want to be.

And in doing so, this eventually leads to:

  • Failing to look for opportunities to improve
  • Lackluster feelings and burning out
  • High levels of stress and emotional gymnastics
  • Lower levels of excitement for a better future

How can you perform at high levels month in and month out or year over year, if you struggle to become your best self?

SELF-REFLECTION... IT STARTS WITH LOOKING INWARD

Socrates famously said,

“The unexamined life is not worth living.”

Self-reflection and looking inward is not an easy thing to practice. All of us live in a fast-paced, hyper-connected world.

Our mobile phones are constantly buzzing, social media is constantly vying for our attention, and Netflix always has something new to binge on.

Taking the time for reflection and inward thinking is tough. Most of us, unfortunately, are living unexamined lives.

The self-reflection journey to sales betterment starts with understanding who you are at your core. It is becoming more in tune with your deeper self. It is the ability to recognize what fires you up, what makes you happy or sad.

As a sales society, we’re largely fixated on the outer work. We focus on the stack rankings, where we are at quarter or year to date, key performance indicators, and number of new clients... starting to the get the picture?

Take a step back and realize that these are merely outer symbols. This does not reflect your inner world.

The key to sales happiness lies in transforming yourself and your career through the inner work.

When you truly understand who you are, you can make the conscious effort to improve yourself and how you communicate better with others.

  • How do you deal with your emotions?
  • How do you react when your sales life goes astray?
  • What areas do you need to work on in your personal growth and development?
Do you have the courage to dig in and ask yourself deep questions?

SELF-REFLECTION... HELPS IN DEFINING YOU

Self-reflection and the quietening of your mind allows you to look inward, helping to rediscover and redefine you.

At this very moment...

  • What makes your heart sing?
  • How would you define yourself?

I encourage you to become your own Sherlock Holmes. Become interested in what grabs your attention and tugs on your heartstrings.

Stop looking in the dictionary for words that define you.

Getting to know yourself allows you to tap into the road of happiness as this is critical to your success as a sales professional. Your beliefs, your attitude and your daily routines are mission critical.

Understanding yourself can mean recognizing your shortcomings. It's about putting them on display for others to judge.

Yes, this means getting extremely vulnerable. This starts with looking in the mirror and saying to yourself, "This is me. This is the real me. This is who I am."

If you struggle to ask yourself deep questions, then you will struggle to ask your clients deep questions?

Again, elite sales professionals do more self-reflection as opposed to deflection.

STOP DEFLECTING YOUR WAY TO SALES SUCCESS

I encourage you to start becoming comfortable with self-reflection.

This will require ferocious self-honesty, self-discipline and massive action.

I encourage you to think about this one...

How can you become ferociously self-honest if you struggle to deal with any discomfort in your sales life?

Those of you who are willing to take risks, step out of your comfort zone and create some discomfort, will reap the biggest rewards.

What questions will you ask yourself daily?

The questions you ask yourself affect the sales life you lead. The questions you ask yourself will determine what your mind focuses on, which triggers certain thoughts, actions, and inactions, ultimately affecting your sales results.

Here are a few questions to help you on your self-reflection journey:

  • What is currently working well for me? What can I appreciate and be grateful for?
  • What have I recently learned that I can apply into my life and my sales life?
  • What is the most important thing for me to focus on right now? Why is it important?

Imagine what could happen when you ask yourself empowering, deeply reflective questions?

This all starts to shift your mind to a whole new level and sets into motion the thinking and actions to jumpstart your sales life.

When we fail to reflect, we lose perspective, get caught up in things that don’t matter, and often lose sight of the things that are most important.

Do not live an unexamined life. Practice self-reflection.

When you deflect and not reflect, you lose out the rewards that soon follows.
No alt text provided for this image

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.

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