January 2018

I just want legroom, I don’t want to be responsible for evacuating a plane. Do you ever wonder if the people in the exit row paid attention to the instructions; after all those doors don’t open themselves. Why is it that we trust those in charge? Is it a blind trust?

“Crisis Management has no patience for the unprepared or those with delusions regarding the tenure of their temporary comfort.”

Running a business and airline travel have a commonality. They both require someone to take charge and lead the exit when the alarm sounds. Unfortunately, both in the plane and in the business, people are occupying the emergency exit row seats who are not prepared. They never studied the manual, or they are in a dream zone thinking everything will be fine, and some will cower in the corner covering their eyes and ears afraid to even imagine an impending doom. So, I ask, in your business are you prepared? Who will open the emergency exit?

I believe all businesses should have an emergency exit row team. This team unlike those on the plane would be picked based on skill’s, and along with bravery, would have wisdom. This team would understand the importance and value of conflict in leadership, this team would challenge the relevancy of everything thought sacred, and without a doubt, this team could successfully guide the businesses exit off currently onto the temporary safety of what comes next.

Business leaders when was the last time you or your leadership team asked how your business could be defeated? Or when was the last time you discussed your strategy to exit currently? Too many leaders and their subordinates get bogged down in their current comfort of how great everything is. Of course, they seldom pay attention to the meaning of the word currently. They sit around the conference room and talk about how much better they are then their current competition.

Here’s the impending disaster when a business has an arrogance of greatness. Companies stubborn to their greatness don’t know who their competitor is because they refuse to imagine the emergent of the unknown disruptor. They assume their competitor is the same as yesterday, and they refused to challenge themselves or their deliverables current relevance. Unknown competitors come from unexplored places, and they win because the old way has a lack of imagination. So, stop wasting time congratulating yourself on winning against your current known competitor that’s your job. Today leaders must look for the unknown competitor. The competitor who changes the game bringing the new relevance.

“Without the ability to understand how we could be defeated we are at the mercy of those who plan and execute our defeat.”

On the plane, we hope for the best, in business, there is a much greater percentage of impending doom alarms sounding than those on a plane. So, be prepared and have a strategy to exit from irrelevancy to new temporary relevancy your growth will depend on it. In all reality, those who constantly search and understand how they can be defeated will always redefine their growth strategy. A company’s continuous growth is a product of their ability to continuously modify.

“The meetings to cheer our greatness must be balanced with meetings to fear and respond to our possible demise.”

In Closing: Next time you sit in the exit row don’t sit there just for the legroom be prepared to respond when the alarms sound.

R.J. Stasieczko

I was fortunate enough to spend some time recently getting to know Mike Hellebuyck, Senior Sales Director – West, at DocuWare and catch a glimpse of what life on the road is like for him.

As a sales director at DocuWare, he travels around the country, along with his team of Regional Sales Directors (RSDs), building successful business and personal relationships with Authorized DocuWare Partners and equipping them with the best tools and resources to sell DocuWare’s document management solutions.

Take a behind-the-scenes look at how he supports DocuWare Partners and why he loves making them thrive, with some fun stops along the way!

If any of this sounds like you want to be part of the action, learn how to join the global DocuWare community:  click here or contact Mary Williams at mary.williams@docuware.com.

Mike, thanks for the time today.  In sales, we are always reminded of  building relationships with our prospects.  Could you tell us more about yourself?

I was born and raised in Michigan, graduated in state, and have been in the ECM/document management space for roughly 16 years. I have 2 kids, Averie who is 6 and Hudson who is 3.  Outside of work, I enjoy vintage cars, fishing, hunting, and snowmobiling. I have always wanted to be in sales and knew it was my calling.  I started with DocuWare in 2012 handling MI, OH, IN and the Pittsburgh, PA area.  The territory was struggling to produce and I turned it into a top performing territory in just one year.

Pit Stop #tacobell What's the reason for the huge smile?

I got to the hotel late one night and I was hungry.  The Taco Bell was actually adjacent to the hotel, within walking distance.  I walked over and the doors were locked – the sign said “drive-thru only.”  So I walked through the drive-through and proceeded to jump up and down next to the order sign in hopes of triggering the tire sensor for vehicles.  Obviously I don’t weigh as much as a car, so I waited for the next vehicle to pull around to trigger the sensor.  When I heard “welcome to Taco Bell, please go ahead with your order”, I replied “I’m not in a car, I’m walking through and need a Burrito Supreme and a Mexican Pizza… lots of hot sauce.”  I was then told I would not be served unless I’m in a car, so I approached the vehicle behind me, had the gentleman roll down his window and engaged in a 1 minute sales pitch on why he should help me out… well, it worked!  I handed him my cash and walked around the corner to wait.  He pulled up and placed his order along with mine and met up with me around the corner to deliver my late night snack.  

How many partners do you work with? How is it working with them?

Supporting my team of RSDs, I work with about a dozen partners. Some we work with a lot, others not so much, but the door is always open to get them more engaged.  It’s always fun working with the partners as there are a lot of personality mixes.  Being good at sales means being able to adapt quickly to partner’s demands, while juggling communications between them, the customer, and of course, corporate.  Understanding and realizing very quickly how you need to work with a partner and how to help them become successful can be difficult but also very rewarding; especially if they have the same passion as me. 

The best thing I can do for a partner is to add value to their business.  If I’m just a channel manager, I’m no different than the competition and that’s why I strive to be a true partner that can add value by engaging directly in sales efforts to win business.  In many ways, as a sales manager, I’m the DocuWare cheerleader, relationship manager, solution presenter, and corporate controller for partners - the glue that ties a lot of things together.  I support corporate initiatives to partners, along with working side-by-side with sales representatives to help them through challenges; I’m their shoulder-to-lean-on and the motivator to get greatness out of them. 

The biggest joy for me is watching a partner grow from not producing much to reaching the top echelon of our partner rankings. The entire company gets on a roll and you see the momentum and teamwork.  Everyone gets excited and it makes my job very rewarding.    

How different is each week? Are some months busier than others?

Each week holds new journeys. Sometimes the events can be similar but the audience is always different so it stays exciting.

The busiest months include every month! And the last few days of each month are especially busy with all of us pushing hard to get deals done. If I had to choose just one, I’d have to say that September of 2017 was the busiest month in DocuWare history from a raw sales number; I’m not alone in saying it was also the busiest month for every RSD.

Almost looks like a scene from Wayne’s World and you guys were getting ready to blast out a rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody, right?  Just kidding, seems like you all were having a GREAT time. 

DocuWare RSD Mark Michonski, ComDoc, Inc. Document Management Specialist Ron Holtzer, and myself were on our way to a prospect appointment and game-planning how we were going to attack and close the deal.

What do you like best about your job? How are the relationships?

I would be lying if I didn’t say the opportunity to make as much money as I can, but that’s about me! Other than myself, I truly enjoy building relationships and watching the hard work pay off by a partner becoming successful and building a thriving DocuWare business.

I'm hoping that’s a sack of cash you’re toting around!  

I had landed in Pittsburgh, PA and was early.  My counterparts were in another meeting so I had a little time.  I decided to Uber to a casino in Downtown Pittsburgh and play a slot machine while waiting on my team to meet for lunch at the casino’s restaurant. No, I didn’t win, but was able to talk to the Accounting team at the casino about the benefits of DocuWare.  If you lose enough, you can talk to anyone!

How do you manage your work relationships vs time spent with your family?

These are my kids, Hudson and Averie.  My wife Amy is hiding from picture in back.  I was on my way out the door heading to the airport.  I wanted to get a goodbye shot and the kids wanted to be part of the fun, so they are waving hi and bye to all of you!

I miss my wife and kids while on the road but I know that I’m in a great industry and the opportunity is there to make a very good living as long as you work hard.  I know that if I can make my partners successful, it will make me successful. Having a roof over my head, food on the table, and a good education for my children is the most important thing for my family.  Fortunately, the good news is: I’m usually at home on the weekends! 

How do you help your partners succeed?

I help them succeed by getting their commitment to do things that I know have proven results. In my opinion, the secret sauce to being successful in this business is determination and patience. You also have to offer fair compensation plans; if you don’t, sales reps will simply not push the solution. I help my partners through these scenarios with proven solutions and open communication.

Hoping you're on your way home?

I was heading off to California for another week of travel.  I was lucky to see my flight wasn’t cancelled due to weather coming into town.  It’s always stressful with flights; you have to be very diligent about finding alternate options on the drop of a dime.  

What’s the best traveling story you have?

I was on a long road trip and it was late. After morning presentations in Buffalo, NY, I hit the road for my trip to Dayton, OH. At approximately 10:45 p.m., I received a text/call from a partner that had his demo system crash; he had a very big presentation the following morning and needed help.  I couldn’t do the meeting for him remotely based on my travels, so I pulled off the next exit and pointed my car in the other direction.  I made it to his house at 12:00 a.m. (midnight) and sat in his kitchen downloading my Virtual Machine shell to his laptop and configured a demo.  While I was working in his kitchen, he looked at me and said “I can’t believe you are here…. I just can’t believe you are here right now”!  At the end of the day or night, so to speak, he had his demo up and running for his morning meeting and was able to present and close the business a few weeks later.  I left his home at 1:00 a.m. and kept driving another 1.5 hours to my hotel.  

This looks like a great lunch spot to catch up!

TBS Ohio Solutions Architect Mark Parianos, DocuWare RSD Mark Michonski and myself were having lunch overlooking a river near Cleveland, OH.  It was a nice place to eat, strategize on upcoming sales calls and recap the previous days’ events.  It also provided a great opportunity to really connect with our partners to build relationships, which is very important. 

Why should dealers partner with DocuWare? What’s the best thing about working with the DocuWare team?

It’s simple. DocuWare provides companies the best opportunity to build a successful, sustainable document management business.  There are a lot of products out there, some very similar to DocuWare.  Your company can choose to represent any of them, but with DocuWare, you are investing in both a top product and a special kind of partner relationship. 

We are truly dedicated to your success and want to be directly involved in your company to build your DocuWare business.  Many times you are left on your own shortly after signing on with a product, and unfortunately many of these companies fail.  Sink or swim!  We do not play that way.  We have a well-balanced team of RSDs with an entrepreneurial spirit, dedicated to heavily engaging with partners to excel.

If I were a company looking at reviving or developing a new a document management business and had dedication and persistence, I would definitely consider DocuWare.  My team and I will get it done with you.

Please feel free to look me up on LinkedIn and connect - I’d love to get to know you and bounce ideas around!

I guess this could have been my first blog!  Back in 2002 I wrote a journal while on a Ricoh sponsored trip to Japan. I found it today buried in the forums when I did some searching on threads from 2003.  It does bring back awesome memories and I thought it might be a good read for all.  Please enjoy and feel free to comment at the end in the reply section

June 4, 2002

To Japan and Back: Tales of a “Sell the Solution” Winner

“Sell the Solution,” a successful nationwide sales contest organized by the Digital Duplicator Marketing group, wrapped up this spring with the naming of three finalists and the announcement of an international finals, pitting the top U.S. sales reps against several of their worldwide counterparts. A weeklong vacation in Japan followed the finals of the contest. Art Post, digital duplicator rep for Century Office Supply in Middlesex, New Jersey, took the time and effort write a journal of the trip. We pass it along to you with a nod of thanks to Art.


The Ten Yen Trip

Monday

It’s 2:30 a.m. Tokyo time. I have an aisle seat on a half-full Boeing 777 that will take the next 13 hours and 10 minutes to deliver myself and the other “Sell the Solution” finalists to our final contest presentations in Japan. After the contest finale we’ll be vacationing for several days in various destinations around the country. For the record, it costs ten dollars to make a phone call during the flight, no cell phones allowed. Movies and games are free. We’re on our way.

We’re currently over Canada, just north of Green Bay. Many Japanese parents on the flight  with little ones that are parading their kids up and down the aisles. I'm not sure who’s benefiting more, the parents or the kids.

Sirloin steak and rice for dinner on the flight. Later we have teriyaki chicken with soba noodles for a snack. We arrive at Tokyo at 1:40 p.m.

After an hour of processing at customs we take our bags and set out on what turns out to be a two-hour search for Kato, the digital duplicator product planning team manager, who’s scheduled to meet us.

When I finally meet Kato (see the “Ten Yen” incident,” below), he has four other RFG people with him: Enrique from LAD; Luis from Caracas, Venezuela; Kathy Zendal from Savin Chicago, and Russ Accocelli, a Savin DSM. Kato buys us tickets for the subway and for the bullet train trip we’ll take to Sendai.

It's 7:30 p.m. and dark; we’ll be arriving in Sendai soon. The trip north has taken us through a spectacular variety of scenic countryside: rice paddies, mountains and rolling hills that remind me of Gettysburg, Pa.

8 p.m. We arrive in Sendai. Mike Kaneko calls and we join him and Todd Takahashi for dinner at a small Japanese restaurant. We enjoy a few beers, along with beef gravy, tofu and teriyaki beef tongue. The soup – a concoction of hot water and green stuff floating in a bowl -- is actually very tasty. A few shots of sake, and it’s outside to meet Margaret Tam and Sam Brinkley, our two other finalists.

Tuesday

Up at a jet lag-induced 4:30 a.m. I shower and meet Sam for a walk at 5:45 a.m. We walk around the city looking for coffee, finding only cold cans of coffee in a vending machine. It takes me another day to learn that the vending machines also have the hot stuff. We wander into a market that sells every kind of produce you can imagine, and some you can’t. We see many signs for those giant Japanese corporations.

Breakfast back at the hotel. The food’s not bad, not that good either. On the menu were eggs, bacon, sausage, cereal, cauliflower(!) and coffee. We meet additional Ricoh people from the UK, China, Australia, and, of course, Japan. After a few hours we boarded our bus, and it’s off to the factory.

I'm thinking the trip was about forty minutes and begin a three-hour tour, taking a look at new 75 ppm and 60 ppm machines as well as the latest JP series digital duplicators. After we're done with the tour we then have some time to rehearse our presentations, scheduled for later in the day.

A few notes of interest: De-dusting is required procedure before we enter the factory; so is the wearing of slippers on the tour. We’re surprised to see that women assemble all of the copiers and digital duplicators. We see how the new 60’s & 75's are built and made ready for shipping, and we preview the new JP5500 digital duplicator, including a new paper-feed unit, available in European markets, for the JP series.

During the tour, a man from Totturi Ricoh explains that he’s set up a Digital Duplicator Club at home for all his customers. It’s a special area where customers can view sample prints, rent color drums and ask questions.

Lunch is an assortment of sandwiches (tomato, cucumber and egg salad), after which we begin our presentations. At the same time, we’re treated to a new technology that will be launched in Europe in the summer. It's called Seri-Print, and it operates with two UV lamps that cause a chemical reaction with the ink and allow printing on all types of media, even coated stock. It’s even compatible with the TC-II for making full-color prints with a dual-pass process. UL approval for the US market is pending, we’re told.

My presentation, right after lunch, goes well, I think. We wrap up our presentations and head for the awards ceremony at a local hotel conference center. There we enjoy beer and ****tails, along with some unfamiliar but very interesting food. I meet 20 or 30 executives from Ricoh marketing as well as the new president and chairman of the board.

Sam, digital duplicator rep from Systems + Solutions, Miramar, Florida, wins the award for the best presentation among the many given by reps from around the world. Congratulations, Sam.

At eight we’re treated to traditional Japanese drum playing. Drummers old and young dressed in ceremonial costumes bang on ancient drums of all different sizes. They’re incredible! We’re even allowed to bang the drums ourselves! I later learn from Mike Kaneko that they had volunteered to play, so that they could stay sharp for upcoming competitive tournaments.

Around 8:30 we head back to the Metropolitan Hotel in Sendai. I’m asleep in seconds.

Wednesday

Up at 4:30 again! I go for a short walk and buy a cool can of coffee. We leave on a bullet train for Tokyo, where we change to another bullet train headed for the historic city of Kyoto in the southern part of the country. We arrive in Kyoto at two in the afternoon.

The ancient city served as the capital of Japan until 1865, when it was moved to Tokyo. We’re staying at the New Mikayo, directly across the street from the train station.

Kyoto is rich in history and boasts many impressive temples and shrines. It has a population of nearly two million, and we’re told it gets a few inches of snow annually. We stow our baggage and head to Kyoto Tower. On the way, we see literally thousands of middle school students on class trips pouring out of the train station.

At a busy mall in the train station, we look for and find the Mikiuno Pearls for my wife Kathy. I also buy a T-shirt and kimono for Ryann, my three-year-old niece. That night, Hiro, our Japanese guide from Ricoh, buys dinner for us at a traditional Japanese restaurant. Sam and I chuckle at the small portions but continue to eat. We’ve been hungry every day. After dinner we walk around town looking for a bar or a club to hang out in.

Kyoto has no skyscrapers. Instead, we see many two- and three-story buildings among the thousands of apartments and homes. Once we’re off the main streets, we find all the roads surprisingly narrow. Lovely ornamental trees and azalea bushes adorn many of the homes. The nighttime temperatures are in the low 70s with no rain.

Thursday

Finally! A morning when I can sleep past 4:30. The whole crew meets for breakfast and we embark on our private sightseeing tour in a cool, comfortable bus.

Our guide, who speaks excellent English, seems to know everything there is to know about the area and gives us an informative and entertaining tour.

We visit several shrines and temples, as well as an authentic shogun castle, complete with moats, walls and squeaky floors. (The latter were designed to squeak as a way to warn the resident shogun of an intruder in the house.) Both moats are filled with colorful koi of all imaginable shapes and sizes. The garden, even with hundreds of schoolchildren roaming about, is lovely.

Many of the schoolchildren, it seems, are learning English, and their teachers have assigned them the task of approaching Westerners and reading questions for us to answer. The kids are adorable and thoroughly enjoy Sam and the rest of our group. We take pictures of each other and Sam regales the kids with a lesson on how to roar “Hellowwwwww!” It’s a big hit with the little ones.

We see a shrine that’s covered in 18k gold foil. Most of these temples and shrines have stands selling snacks and souvenirs. I try a strange-tasting green-tea gumdrop covered in curry spice, and survive. We visit another temple, this one built in the late 1800's, among some truly spectacular gardens.

We lunch at The Kyoto Handicraft Mall, where Luis drops 100,000 yen buying gifts for his employees.

Next were off on a strenuous hike to the Shrine on the Mountain, a collection of buildings, mostly made from cypress trees, constructed hundreds of years ago. Some of the main support beams appear to be at least five feet in diameter. The walk to the Shrine follows a narrow street lined with shops. Sam and I grab a beer to strengthen us for the steep climb.

It’s back to the hotel to get ready for the much-anticipated miako/geisha dinner. The restaurant and gardens are beautiful. We sit on the floor and are entertained by one miako, junior geisha, and one geisha. The meal, called Shabu Shabu, consists of boiled beef with vegetables in oil.


After breakfast, we board the 170-mile-per-hour Bullet Train Nozomi for the trip back to Tokyo. Beer drinking and smoking are allowed, and attendants roam the aisles selling refreshments. Fare for the train trip to Tokyo: about $100.00.

We arrive in Tokyo around 1 p.m. and promptly check in to the Meridian Pacific Hotel. A change of clothes and we’re off to a nearby Friday's for a traditional (?) Japanese meal of ribs, beer and nachos. Later Sam and I take a $40 cab ride to Electronic City to try and buy a cell phone. To our amazement, no one will sell us one. Sam buys a Sony Clie' PDA, and I pick up an MPG player for my son Nick

There’s no time for a cab, so we head through the pouring rain to take the subway back to the hotel. Inside the station is an overwhelming mass of humanity. Worse, we have no clue what tickets to buy. Red? Blue? Green? Combo? Who knows? I remember the electronics shop’s owner’s good English and walk back to ask for help. To our amazement and appreciation, he comes back with us and buys us the appropriate tickets. He even walks us to the right track.

So here we are, Sam and I, two large Americans carrying shopping bags and powder blue umbrellas, traveling among average Japanese on an obscure rail line that rarely carries tourists. Cool.

We arrive back in time for the farewell party on the top floor of the hotel. All the top marketing people for Tohoku Ricoh are there along with Kirk Yoshida's boss, Mr. Sugita.

Saturday

5:15 p.m., Tokyo time. An uneventful takeoff and we’re over the Pacific, enjoying drinks and peanuts. I have a military man seated next to me who promptly puts a blanket over his head and falls asleep. Hopefully, the movie will start soon.

6:15 p.m., Tokyo time. We eat pork, rice, salad and cake with chopsticks and enjoy another beer. We’re over the Pacific with the sun behind us, approaching the International Date Line at 32,000 feet at a speed of 593 mph. Time in Tokyo, 6:15 p.m. time at our present location, the Bay of Okhutek, 7:15 p.m. Time in New Jersey, 5:15 a.m.

3:13 a.m., Tokyo time. Over the Great Lakes, and the flight attendants are getting ready to serve the last meal. Newark, here we come.

Back home, what a great trip!

“The Ten Yen Incident Revisited”

Finally, after 14 hours of imprisonment in a flying aluminum tube I could start to enjoy my Japan trip. 

I emerged from customs and passport control with flying colors and proceeded to the terminal to be greeted by Kato (Ricoh Japan rep).

I arrived at the end of the terminal and looked for a Kato or a Ricoh sign. After many minutes of looking there was o sign, no Kato! No problem, I thought. Hiro Ricoh USA rep) from New Jersey had given me Kato’s cell phone number.

Well, it wasn’t as easy as I thought. I had 22 American dollars on me, so I headed for the currency exchange booth. Then it occurred to me that I had AMEX Traveler’s Checks. I gave one to the teller, who promptly refused it. Ok, back to plan A; I exchanged the $22 for about 2,400 yen and headed for the phone. 

A sign on the pay phone read, “10 – 100 yen.” Well, thinking positively (and cheaply). I deposited 10 yen and dialed the number, which began to ring. Kato promptly answered, and I replied. “Kato, this is Art from Ricoh. I’m at the …click. Disconnect tone. No problem, I thought, I must have caught a bad line. I deposited another 10 yen and redialed.

“Kato, it’s Art from Ricoh. Where are…” Again, the disconnect tone. Starting to get the idea, I tried again and blurted out as fast as I could, “Kato, I’m at terminal one. Where are you?” “I’m at…” Kato replied. Click, mfer I thought!

Enough of this! I went to the phone card machine and bought a thousand-yen card. Now I could talk to Kato as long as I liked.

I figured out the phone card and got through to Kato on the third try. “Wait outside the terminal,” he said, and I happily complied.

Another 15 minutes, no Kato. I went back inside and called again. “Stay where you are,” he said. “I’m between the terminals and on my way.” Eventually we decided to walk toward each other instead. I grabbed my things and headed for terminal two. 

A few more minutes of searching and there was Kato with the Ricoh sign. He advised me that there were others that he had met and that I was the last one in the group. He led me to the others, who were sitting down, all together by the escalator, behind the phone booths at terminal one, where I had been calling from the whole time.

-=Good Selling=-

“Always listen to your HEART. The wisdom of your heart is the connection to your authentic power - the true home of your spirit” 

Angie Karan

One of the fascinating aspects about the people who lead us, whether they are good, poor or indifferent, is the fact we can learn a thing or two from them.

Some teach us how to lead while others demonstrate how not to lead. What makes the difference in a strong leader versus a weak one? Is it their personality? Is it their skill set? Is it their life experience they possess?

While all of these are factors there is one thing I believe sets apart strong leaders from weak ones... THEIR HEART

"A leader with a noble heart can give us what we all search for—a sense of purpose, meaning, and nobility." As Lolly Daskal so eloquently says in her article, Make A Difference: Lead With A Noble Heart

SALES REPS WHO LEAD

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

One of the most influential people in the history of mankind, once said, “Whoever wants to be great among you must become a servant.” – Jesus of Nazareth

This perspective, however, smacks many in the face of how most people tend to live their lives. Most people don’t want to serve. They would much prefer to be served.

Is it possible these words can apply to those in sales? I wholeheartedly believe they can...

• Servants make themselves available to serve
• Servants pay attention to others needs
• Servants do every task with equal dedication
• Servants are faithful and they are trustworthy

If you want to be 'great', if you want to be 'successful', learn to become a servant. Stop selling…Start serving... Start being a leader of yourself.

LEAD WITH THE HEART - SERVANT LEADERSHIP

There is a world of difference between being a vendor who takes orders and being viewed as one who brings value.

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

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

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

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

• Listening
• Empathy
• Healing
• Persuasion
• Foresight

Think about stewardship with your clients and prospects. Make the commitment to grow relationships not for sales sake but to genuinely and with a sincere heart build a great community of clients.

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

A HEART THAT SERVES DRIVES SALES REVENUE

Actions speak louder than words when serving with the heart

Those who lead with the heart help buyers discover how to make decisions and manage possible change by using their own values. This can be done by:

• Helping to resolve their issues with familiar resources
• Getting all necessary buy-in from whomever is involved in the final decision
• Implement the new solution without facing major disruption

Sales rep who lead with the heart are avid listeners of the... Selling From The Heart Podcast

Those that lead with the heart seek out authentic and genuine ways to continually serve those that mean the most to them, their clients!

SEEK TO ALWAYS PUT YOUR CLIENT FIRST

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

Instead of worrying about being interesting, we need to first be interested. Develop empathy for your clients. Start to gain an understanding of what motivates them and how this can align to what you can deliver.

Your clients come first, no matter what, no ifs ands or buts! This is the only way of doing business and living the sales life. If you take care of your customers, they will take care of you.

SEEK TO UNDERSTAND FIRST THEN BE UNDERSTOOD

Listen closely to your clients and prospects. Seek to understand their needs, concerns, desires, issues, challenges and current initiatives within their business. An amateur sales rep sells products, a true professional sells a solution to the problem.

By seeking first to understand, you can turn a transactional opportunity into a transformational opportunity. Position yourself on the same side of the table looking at the problem instead of staying on opposite sides of the table staring at each other.

SEEK TO OPEN UP CONVERSATIONS

If you truly want to get to know your clients and prospects then take the sales hat off, roll up your sleeves and engage in healthy conversation.

Here lies a concern...

How many sales reps have meaningful conversations with their clients outside of the selling process?

The best of the best know how to bring conversation out in the open. It is about uncovering the conversation your client or prospect is having with themselves. This enables open and honest communication to what is really going on providing the freedom to engage in a mutually beneficial relationship.

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

Develop conversations, not sales campaigns. It is not about your agenda, it is about opening up a human to human conversation. It is not about you it is about helping them. Develop a sincere desire and demonstrate you are interested in their world and what motivates them. They can smell insincerity and commission breath a mile away!

IN THE END - WIN THE WAR AND THEIR HEARTS

In a business world where sales reps are viewed upon with negativity, an authentic, real-deal approach is a breath of fresh air. It may result in losing a few battles but those who put their hearts and clients first are guaranteed to win the war.

• A servant sales rep has an authentic desire to serve
• A servant sales rep is all in
• A servant sales rep is focused on serving the needs of the person sitting in front of them

Whoever wants to become a sales professional must become a SERVANT!

I understand, I get where you all are coming from. Every day, I walk in your shoes. I am fully committed to helping your sales team integrate social aspects and modern strategies 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!

In 2016, I was recognized by ENX Magazine as, “The Difference Maker,” as someone who is making a difference inside the B2B office technology sector. I am passionate about helping sales reps succeed in creating their online brand image.

You can find more advanced training material inside the Social Sales Academy website.

I appreciate getting the opportunity to share my stories. Integrating the use of social and sharing my story on LinkedIn was my “game-changer” in the highly competitive office technology world. With great pride I transform, challenge, coach and inspire sales teams to grow new business by helping them share their story and how they communicate it out by integrating the use of social inside the sales process. You can follow me on LinkedIn, Twitter, Social Sales Academy and on my podcast by clicking on Selling from the Heart.

Recently a Surveyor in Monmouth County selected a Pre-Owned Ricoh W3601 as their choice for a wide format MFP.  On occasions I will ask the client why did you select the Ricoh W3601 to move forward with?

The client responded with, “it wasn’t just the Ricoh MP 3601, it was more about what I could do with the Ricoh W3601.  You took the time to tell me how I could improve my process from cutting and pasting surveys to scanning and editing those surveys in a digital format”.  Other sales people were just focused on price and how to close the deal. You took your time and gave me a reason to buy from you”.  I was flattered, this is why I do what I do. read the rest here on jerseyplotters.com

If you need to know more about how I'm ranking at the top of google with my jerseyplotters give me or jesse a shout!

Should I lease or should I buy the Ricoh MP6700SP wide format? It’s a question that I’ll field at least a few times a month. MP6700SP In order to answer that question, I’ll need to give a little history about the Ricoh MP6700. The one great feature of the Ricoh MP6700SP, is that it’s a…

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Note from Art: Content is King, I've wrote about 17 blogs in the last year and it's paying off.  My goal is to attract those that are in the market to me. This is something I believe every dealership should be doing.  It's an investment, but isn't everything?

If you're interested in having me write the content and manage a site for you, then please send me an email apost@p4photel.com 

-=Good Selling=-

Recently while walking through downtown as I looked around at all the modification taking place, it validated my thinking of how nothing remains as it was once intended. The marvelous of technology consistently change our intentions and speed up the tenure of relevancy. Eventually, we need to bring in the wrecking ball and deconstruct the past to construct the future. Many will hope for more time, some will be victims of time, while a few others will continue being ahead in time.

Sears is a great example of holding on to the past betting time can save them. Sears is a victim of their obsolescence caused by their lack of imagination. They continue to hold on to yesterday as they watch all of their resources disappear. They’ve allowed their assets to fade away. Instead, when they were plentiful, they should have used them to de-construct their irrelevancy and construct their new relevance. Their stubbornness to modify is forcing them to liquidate assets to pay their bills; bills customers used to pay for them. Sears lost control of their de-construction, and along with that, they had no relevant architecture to construct something new.

Like the taxi industry, Sears did not listen to the marketplace they instead listened to their delusions of recreating yesterday’s glory. They can not see through their current stubbornness to what they could have been, and now their demise is probable. One would have to ask. If Richard Sears were alive today would Amazon be called Sears? Some will blame the retail apocalypse for destroying Sears. The truth is,  It’s a lack of imagination and their stubbornness in maintaining a yesterday’s marketplace as their customers shop in tomorrows.

Watching the reactions to market disruptions is interesting. Those who can disrupt themselves have more control they understand when to bring in the wrecking ball destruct their obsolescence and construct their new relevance. However too many industries experiencing disruptions are reacting like, Sears they hold on to the past watching their assets deplete. Then there are others who are obsessed with buying more market share of what the market already determined it doesn’t want or doesn't need as much as it used to.

"When a marketplace concludes where the line of growth ends. Nothing can raise that growth line whether based on good intentions, large investments or buying market share through acquisitions; nothing can move the line of growth above were the marketplace decided to draw it."  

All the growth in a declining market is only temporarily borrowed or obtained from those exiting. Only through innovative construction in a declining market is there a path to new revenues and profits. If the acquisitions bring diversification, the strategy makes sense. As an example, why did Sears buy Kmart instead of a software company or logistics company? Why are taxi companies buying other taxi companies? Should they instead be investing in driverless technology or something else their imagination could show them? Regardless of the industry buying more of the same makes sense in a growth market, and buying diversification makes sense when your core deliverable’s market is in decline. When more of your revenue growth is coming from acquisitions rather than customers, it’s time to change who you acquire. Buying customers is easy keeping customers takes relevance, and relevance is the ability to listen to and react to what the marketplace is telling you. The desperation to grow revenue can overtake the discipline to grow profit; especially in declining markets.

We have all heard the saying; “The worst time to go shopping is when you're hungry. You always buy too much, and most of it goes bad before you eat it.”  That is also good acquisition advice.

Amazon’s acquisition strategy will influence the future innovators and cause current leaders to re-think their philosophy of investing in more of the same. Jeff Bezos has taken diversification to a whole new level. Bezos does not invest in something because he’s comfortable with its deliverable, he invests in what the market wants and then gets comfortable delivering it. He listens to the market not the emotional baggage of comfortableness. As this new innovative world continues shorting the life of relevancy. Many leaders will face the decision to call in the wrecking ball to deconstruct their past and construct their future.

“Bussiness Complanacy is the enemy of what could be. It will embed itself in the insecure first as it attempts to confine status quo.”  

R.J. Stasieczko    

To win consistently sales reps must have a plan. It must be a solid strategy which gives them 'THE' edge, the 'IT' factor over their competition; continually driving sales opportunities through the pipeline all the way to the finish line.

Spending my career in an extremely laggard, slow in adapting to change and highly traditional sales channel, is challenging all by itself. I chose to be different. I thrived in it, I embraced it and personally challenged myself hence my article 3 Things I Learned As A Major Account Copier Rep On The Streets Of Los Angeles.

I’ve been part of countless conversations with sales leaders and managers over the years, trying to understand how to motivate sales reps to do more than the bare minimum they have grown accustomed to doing. This reminds of the 5 Things Top Sales Reps Do And Why Most Just Shoot Themselves With Complacency Bullets.

THE PROBLEM IS GETTING BIGGER BY THE MOMENT

Inside the vast majority of sales teams, sits so much opportunity. The opportunity to blow right past sales targets, crushing the competition while taking no prisoners. However; the opposite is wreaking havoc within sales teams. Sales leaders are becoming silently frustrated by the actions brewing and festering inside their sales teams. So much potential, so much opportunity – stalled and squandered. 

On the flipside, many of these frustrated leaders also fit the description of average and complacent as they mirror the behaviors bestowed upon them by their sales team. An entire different issue for another time and day.

Time to open Pandora's Box. You can no longer sweep these actions under the sales rug and pretend they don't exist. What may have seemed small or innocent throughout the years has now turned out to be detrimental to sales growth with far-reaching negative consequences within your sales department.

THE REAL STORY INSIDE MOST SALES TEAMS

Your sales reps didn't start off their career saying “I just want to be good enough.” Most worked their asses off as they progressed through their sales journey.

Sports athletes don’t come out of rookie training camp with the attitude of... I’m shooting for average – average skills, average income and average performance.

They also didn't start out with the goal of hanging on, doing enough just to 'get by', or 'figuring out' how to survive until they could inherit another sales reps accounts.

Well, at least not in the beginning, correct?

They learned that mindset. They learned that behavior. They learned to settle. Whose fault is that?

I am positive the mind can be convinced of almost anything especially if it is being told the same story over and over again.

So here lies the question...

Are you really happy with average results from your sales team or have you just convinced yourself that’s the case?

Spend any amount of time in sales and one feels the pressure. The pressure from within organizational structure, pressure from clients and pressure from competition. I am a firm believer pressure is self-induced and has been brewing for years within the sales world.

Most have succumbed to one simple word... COMPLACENCY

3 SIGNS OF COMPLACENCY IN YOUR SALES TEAMS

As Alfred A. Montapert said:

“Do not confuse motion and progress.

A rocking horse keeps moving but does not make any progress.”

If you aren't worried about the problems nor the signs … why should your sales team be worried?

A BELOW AVERAGE LINKEDIN PROFILE

I dare you... Look at each and every one of your sales reps LinkedIn profiles. Do any of them provide a clear path for visitors (your prospects or clients), sharing why they are the credible experts they so adamantly believe they are?

Your honest impression of what you just saw is the exact same thing your clients and future clients think... absolutely nothing! Zero, zip, zilch! Your thought process has been affected by spending 30 seconds spanning crappy LinkedIn profiles.

With the buying journey virtually starting out as an online search or visit to a website, my question to you is... How much business are your sales reps potentially missing out on because their LinkedIn profiles have a broken window?

Check out this article from Google  "89% of B2B transactions begin online", according to Google research.

Your sales reps come to work wearing business attire then why on earth do they look like this online?

Most have succumbed to one simple word... COMPLACENCY

Would you decide to do business with any one of your sales reps based solely upon viewing their LinkedIn profile? First impressions do matter, correct? I thought you would agree.

What are you doing to replace the complacent mindset?

BELOW AVERAGE NEW BUSINESS GROWTH

Has their complacency led to resting on the past fruits of their labor?

Sure, your sales reps must proactively manage their current account base. I do think it is fair to state that 100% of your client base isn't going to turn over in a given year. They must take into consideration deals getting pushed or even worse losing an account.

Take notice and think about this one...

If anyone of your sales reps lost one of their top 5 accounts, how would they get to their budget numbers? 

Sales reps always must be on the look-out for new opportunities. You never know what may happen. This means ALWAYS BE PROSPECTING!

Losing sucks and so does a complacent mindset towards business growth. A healthy relationship funnel combined with a healthy sales funnel sure takes the sting away.

Here’s the deal, nobody on your team got to where they're at by being average. So why now allow them to sit back, cruising through sales life each month? Where's the hustle? Where's drive? Remember back to the beginning of the journey, everybody worked their asses off.

What would you do in 2018 if your sales team had no current clients to sell to? How well would all of them succeed? Scary proposition, huh?

Building their credibility online, learning how to digitally prospect and leveraging their network are great places to start. 

BELOW AVERAGE RELATIONSHIPS WITHIN CURRENT ACCOUNTS

If I had a dollar for every time I heard sales reps utter these words, "I have great relationships inside my accounts. Don't worry about it I own this account they aren't going anywhere," I would be a freaking millionaire. Then KABOOM the account is pulled right out from underneath their complacent little noses.

How many people do your sales reps truly know inside every single one of their accounts? Of course, we want to stay close to key decision makers but what about the influencers, stakeholders, department heads, lower level management or even gatekeepers?

The more you know the more you grow. One never knows who knows somebody who knows somebody. Your network is your net worth! Failure to spend the time to truly build effective relationships is a long term recipe for disaster.

Quite often, relationships are too shallow and narrow. Contracts are signed, solutions are implemented, end users are trained but few relationships are developed outside of the day-to-day contacts. These are highly risky operations. What happens if the only contact leaves the company? You’re sales reps are left with no advocate and no additional relationships. Plain and simple: complacency is putting your organization at risk of losing their most precious asset, your clients.

THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR BUSTING ASS

Sales is a numbers game with any industry. If your sales team is not consistently hitting budget numbers, there's a clear reason as to why. Be extremely honest with yourself. Find the weaknesses and work like never before to improve them. Find the strengths and make them even stronger.

Unfortunately, there are way too many sales reps looking for opportunities, just to get money and not really commit to doing the work, or to make a difference, to add value to their employers and to those they serve. The just don’t want to work. The truth is, hard work is a prerequisite to a true success. Your commitment and hard work is what sets you apart.

Commitment is what will catapult ones career. Squash complacent behavior!

I understand, I get where you all are coming from. Every day, I walk in your shoes. I am fully committed to helping your sales team integrate social aspects and modern strategies 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!

In 2016, I was recognized by ENX Magazine as, “The Difference Maker,” as someone who is making a difference inside the B2B office technology sector. I am passionate about helping sales reps succeed in creating their online brand image.

You can find more advanced training material inside the Social Sales Academy website.

I appreciate getting the opportunity to share my stories. Integrating the use of social and sharing my story on LinkedIn was my “game-changer” in the highly competitive office technology world. With great pride I transform, challenge, coach and inspire sales teams to grow new business by helping them share their story and how they communicate it out by integrating the use of social inside the sales process. You can follow me on LinkedIn, Twitter, Social Sales Academy and on my podcast by clicking on Selling from the Heart.