October 2019
Enabling Innovation is both Old and New
I'd like to introduce Mitch Filby as our guest blogger. I had the chance to catch up with Mitch at Itex 2019 in Las Vegas earlier this year. Mitch and I connected many years ago through this site and I've been asking if he would write a blog for us. Mitch is from Australia and is Managing Director of First Rock Consulting.
Enabling Innovation is both Old and New
Will divestment, organisational and structural splits, re-investment and a greater focus on core business help to save the office printing & document imaging industry?
Well let’s hope so.
However, this without a clear strategy and an effective execution will mean nothing.
As I say,” if nothing changes, nothing changes”.
The real key to success will not be simply a repacking of the old ways or a new sales and marketing message saying the world has changed and we are now different.
Unfortunately talk is cheap and in relation to the office printing industry it’s been getting cheaper by the decade and some would argue it’s happening yearly (oh what - did I hear some say weekly, daily? Lol!! – let’s just say it’s not tracking in the direction we want).
Nevertheless, many industry providers have adapted either through their own accord or have been forced to either through the need to support the manufacturers best interest or the realisation that their clients are not wetted to them like they used to be.
Fortunately, since around mid to late 2005-2009 the emergence of a new and more customer aligned approach has allowed agile and switched-on providers to develop a services model that supported a changing IT and business model and business engagement.
Today a Managed Print Services engagement addresses how services are bought, delivered and maintained across a customer’s environment. However, this services model is quickly advancing and the industry as-a-whole is hopefully adapting to the next wave of change that extends outside just the physical print aspects of managed print services.
The change of uncertainly requires innovation:
The world has certainly changed economically, technologically and politically over the last decade. The structural change economically and the acceleration and acceptance of a digital economy has changed the dynamics for both businesses and consumers around the world.
Due to the rapid change and increasing uncertainty, an ever-growing political shift has occurred. This ongoing undercurrent will continue to impact the office printing and document imaging industry if it does not embrace the opportunity to change and innovate.
So where does this innovation process start?
Well the answer is quite simple but disappointing at the same time.
Unfortunately, we have forgotten that one of our biggest assets has been the most under-utilised or written down in terms of how a business should and needs to engage. As an industry, we have moved away from or devalued the one source that allowed the industry to be so, so effective in the late 80’s and 90’s. We have in fact commoditised our approach and engagement. We have thrown out the baby with the bath water.
We stopped, numbed and blunted our most trained professionals to simply follow the process of device (box) acquisition. The focus became too volume orientated, where it was far too simpler for leadership and management teams to purely account for numbers. This was the metric that drove business decisions.
This might be one lever of business, but you must drive business using a set of different (or coordinated multi-levers) to be ultimately successful and sadly this did not occur as effectively as it should have.
Overtime the industry lost its customer intimacy. One of the greatest strengths of the industry over the last three (3) odd decades was the sales engagement and our people we called “salespeople”. To other industries a sales role was a job. To our industry, it was a profession, a career, you were a business person. We were schooled in understanding the challenges of running a business.
In fact, this industry was one of the most highly trained and experienced to understand the needs but more importantly the business problems our clients were having. We as an industry were the most tentative to the customer needs and requirements.
Constantly, customers were always intrigued with our professionalism around how we gained such an insight around our client’s business. Many clients in the late 80’s and 90’s wanted many of the providers and experts of the day to extend themselves outside print even then. We were the trusted advisors of yester-year.
Building Innovation Capability: The first step
One way to start or enable innovation in your business or the industry as-a-whole is to go back to basics and talk and engage with the client and it’s not about “what keeps you up late at night” type of question.
Also, it’s critical not to try to find a solution to the clients perceived problems. This may sound strange and opposite to what many have been trained to do. However, there is a reason for my comments.
Over the last ten years I have been actively engaging and working with over five (500) hundred CXO’s across many different industries such a financial services, insurance, retail, manufacturing, health, media, telecoms – you name it, I’ve done it and this extends into government and non-for-profit as well.
The one key learning or insight that has been garnished from all these engagements is that most businesses fail around innovation or solution development because many of their ideas or problems that they think they have are still assumption.
Now this is not to say that they don’t understand the pain or opportunity they have in front of them. However, their problem or solution is 99.99% based on assumptions. Their problem is usually symptomatic of a larger problem that they have not had the clarity or a process to identify more clearly.
Everyone has been taught in the modern era – “if you have a problem, you should find a solution”. This has forced our thinking very quickly on the solution rather than testing the problem or the assumptions behind the problem.
I could go into more detail as I have developed a very sound and repeatable methodology to help end clients become more innovation.
But as always, the intent of these articles is not about self-promotion, but more about how this industry can transition. What could I do to support a wonderful industry that has the capability to evolve.
On that note – what I’d like for all to consider is how can your talent and your most valuable resource and asset help your business re-engage with your end clients around testing their assumptions on the client business problems.
Help them not to find solutions too quickly. Easier said than done – I know.
Customers can see it and smell it faster than you realise.
The key is to have a conversation and engage and work with the client to identify the symptomatic problem that over-hangs the real source of the customer problem.
Sure, this may take you away from the box sale – however as a business you must start to align yourself with your customer’s real problems. As I have learned “don’t define your business by the products or services you sell, but more the contribution and value you provide to your customer.
The key to any successful business has always been and always will be about how can you help and add value to your customers business. The innovation transition for our industry starts with the following strategy or at least one plank of your overall strategy – align your business to your customers business – in doing so, your value will expand your own business. They will provide you direction on how your business can be shaped.
The next challenge will be about how best to adapt your business at scale. However, if your customers are asking you to do this, then that’s a much safer, less risker process then going out there trying to build new services and products that client may not want.
The speed of change is happening at an accelerated rate; however, we still have to have a balanced view of how we manage both the old and the new. What hasn’t changed is that the most successful businesses have been built on a simple formula of have having the right talent, the right technologies that allow the right talent to do a great job and a great understanding of their customers business and the challenges and problems they are trying to solve or the problem that they don’t know they have.
Special thanx to Mitch for this. Here's a link to check out Mitch Filby on Linkedin
MSP & MSSP Industry Notes for October 27th, 2019
October 28th 2019
MSP & MSSP Industry Notes
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Office1 Partners with Chaparral Business Machines, Inc to Expand Territory in California
- Office 1 based out of Las Vegas and is privately-owned provides IT services, copiers, printer, document imaging, cloud security and managed IT in Nevada and California
- Chaparral Business Machines located in Paso Robles, California area for 35 years. Offers Ricoh, Samsung MFPs, shredders and wide format plotters
IntraLAN business growth sees five new team additions
- InteraLAN business located in the United Kingdom for 25 years and provides IT services to UK clients
- Steven Smith Account Manager, previously worked at Vodafone
- Andrew Blanchard, previously Business Development Manager at AVI-SPL
- Martin Roskelly, previously from Novartis
- Mark Hurst with 23 years senior telecoms experience
- Andy Horn, CEO joined InterLAN earlier this year
AWS Managed Services Provider Logicata Offers Free AWS Migration
- Logicata based in London, England is and AWS managed service provider
- Offering free AWS cloud migration services for businesses
- Logicata offers full suite of AWS Managed services which include monitoring of AWS environments, cost optimization, patch management, incident management change management and continuous improvement
- Axcient located in Denver, Colorado and offers cloud migration solutions for Managed Service Providers (MSPs)
- Key Benefits of AutoVerify include the following
- Offers MSPs confidence in the integrity and recoverability of their backup system
- Reduces the time spent manually fixing issues that might occur during a recovery fail over
- Lowers the total cost of ownership (TCO) by automatically detecting, alerting, and fixing backup consistency issues
- Allows for faster identification if there are any potential backup issues
- Alerts from AutoVerify can sync directly with PSA and RMM technology tools, such as ConnectWise
- AutoVerfiy introduced in beat in August 2019
Client ransomware attacks up 37% in third quarter
- Beazley PLC (Beasley Breach Insights Report) reported a 37% increase in ransomware attacks against their clients over last year
- 24% were confirmed to be caused by a vendor managed service provider
- Chubb Ltd. Reported that ransomware attacks in the first half of this year exceeded total that was reported in 2018
Butcher Named CFO of Alaska Communications
- Alaska Communications provider for advanced broadband and managed IT services for client in Alaska
- Alaska Communications also operates statewide data network and undersea fiver optic system connecting Alaska with contiguous United States
- Names Laurie Butcher as CFO. Joined Alaska Communications in 1997 and previously served as Senior Vice President of Finance since October 2019
Blackpoint Cyber Announces its MSP Protect Program with Special Pricing for Managed Service ...
- Blackpoint Cyber headquartered in Elliot City Maryland
- Blackpoint Cyber established by US Department of Defense and Intelligence cyber security technology experts
- Launches MSP Protection program for MSPs
- In August of 2019 a ransomware attack hot 22 Texas local governments. City of Keene Mayor Gary Heinrich told NPR, "They got into our software provider, the guys who run our IT systems." The MSP of the affected governments later revealed that the hackers used its RMM to carry out the attack.
Konica Minolta hints at Aussie MSP acquisition
- KonicaMinolta has hinted it’s looking to acquire and Australian MSP as reported by ARN
- KonicaMinolta also has alliances with Sophos, Fortinet, Microsoft and HP
Edge Technology Group Announces Multi-Cloud Platform Designed Exclusively For Alternative ...
- Edge Technology located in Greenwich, Conn., offers fully-managed IT services, cloud solutions for financial firms worldwide
- “CloudSuite is an agile and holistic platform that brings together the best components of the Private and Public Cloud. Having the ability to offer both Private and Public Cloud solutions, enables us to offer a combination of both in a Hybrid Cloud, supporting industry trends and data
- that a Multi Cloud approach is becoming widely adopted as the new industry standard,” stated Tom Woollard, Managing Director, Head of Europe, at Edge Technology Group
- Edge has 8 locations across Asia Pacific, Europe and the US, including Singapore, Hong Kong, Sydney, London, New York, San Francisco, Austin and Greenwich, CT.
LucidLink Launches Global Managed Service Provider Program
- LucidLink located in San Francisco, California offers cloud-native file service, which was designed specifically for extensive data access over distance and to provide the performance needed to run file-based workloads on object storage for maximum efficiency and productivity. LucidLink Filespaces™ is compatible with any AWS S3 compatible storage provider that utilizes the cloud, on-prem, or hybrid storage
- Launches Global Managed Services Provider program
- Benefits to MSPs using Filespaces
- Remove friction from sales by simplifying infrastructure requirements.
- Reduce operational expenses through remote SaaS deployment.
- Benefit from consumption-based recurring revenue.
Datto Hosts Its Largest European Conference to Date for Managed Service Providers
- Named DattoCon took placed in Paris, France on October 22, 2019
- Datto is a global provider of IT solutions delivered through MSPs
- DattoCon attracted more thant 850 MSP’s from 26 countries making this the largest DattoCon event in Europs
- According Canalys, there has been a 25% increase each year in SMB spend on managed services from IT providers between 2016-2018
- DattoCon announcements
- Cloud Continuity for PCs, now available in Europe and Canada, is an image-based, all-in-one business continuity solution for PCs that utilizes Datto’s new patent-pending technology. It takes continuous backups and protects critical PC data from ransomware attacks, lost or stolen devices, or accidental deletion. MSPs can now recover an entire PC image or individual files without the need for a local appliance, access reliable backups of PC data, and virtualize backup images in the Datto Cloud
- Updates to Datto Networking include an all-new native integration with Datto RMM that dramatically streamlines end-user support by reducing movement between management portals. Partners can now easily assess performance capacity, identify related devices, and remotely control ports from the newly designed RMM interface, all at no additional charge
- Move to single sign-on (SSO) with Datto RMM brings a single, consistent location for MSPs to manage RMM user access. With a single credential, MSPs will now reduce the number of login prompts encountered when moving between Datto solutions. Also, as part of Datto’s commitment to helping MSPs secure clients’ IT environments, two-factor authentication (2FA) will be mandated for all RMM users to protect accounts from unauthorised access. In addition, a new library of scripting components launches with updates monthly, all available at no additional charge to Datto RMM user
- The SIRIS 4 line of Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BCDR) devices is now complete with the launch of the SIRIS 4 Business offering featuring new Intel Skylake CPUs for more power and error-correcting memory for more reliable backups. Other Continuity updates include Recovery Launchpad, an all-new cloud recovery tool that features a network configuration interface that allows MSPs to get clients up and running faster during a disaster. Also new is a Universal Backup support for any system running on VMware such as VoIP and security systems, extending the ability for MSPs to protect their clients’ critical data systems as well as any system the business relies on to operate.
- The latest release of Autotask PSA includes a new integration with Microsoft Active Directory, which automatically updates the contact list in Autotask PSA to ensure more accurate billing statements as well as enhanced security. The release also includes an overhaul of the Configuration Item user interface that will increase efficiency when managing many different types of devices and assets that are discovered by an MSP’s RMM tool.
- SaaS Protection offers a new, streamlined client onboarding process to make it easier for MSPs to add new clients. Also announced is expanded support for Microsoft Teams backup including Files, Conversations, and Calendar meetings.
New MFX Card Reader from Y Soft – Now with Plug and Play Ease
- T Soft founded in 2000, operates in 17 countries, has more than 20,000 clients in 120 countries and boasts 98% customer partner satisfaction rate
- Announces new YSoft USB Card Reader 3 MFX
- The MFX card reader simultaneously reads RFID cards that are both high and low frequency and uses HID technology commonly used in the U.S. and Mifare technology common in Europe and supports advanced security requirements.
- Founded in 2000, the company is headquartered in Brno, Czech Republic, with offices in North and Latin America, Europe and Middle East/Africa (EMEA) and the Asia Pacific region (APAC).
Crate.io Launches CrateDB Cloud on Azure
- Headquarter in San Francisco, California and io develops data management solutions that help companies put IoT and machine data to work.
- Launches CrateDB Cloud on Azure
- What it is
- CrateDB is an open source distributed database offering the scalability and performance of NoSQL with the power and ease of standard SQL. The Crate.DB Cloud for Azure IoT is a turnkey data layer, offered as a hosted cloud service on Azure, enabling faster development of IoT platforms and data-driven smart factories
- The CrateDB Cloud on Azure is ANSI SQL-compatible, making it easy to use and integrate with custom applications. Dynamic schemas and the sophisticated JSON handling (JavaScript Object Notation) make the database ideal for use even with especially heavy IIoT time-series data workloads
Sales Professionals Are Invested, Are You?
"The key to making money is to stay invested."
Suze Orman
Sales is hard. It’s certainly not for the weak at heart. It requires the right mindset to really become successful.
One massively overlooked factor to becoming a great sales professional is the belief and confidence you have in yourself.
Where you stand now, months from now and into your sales future will largely depend on what you do to improve yourself today.
Without working on and improving YOU every day, would it be realistic for YOU to expect a much different future from the one YOU have at this very moment? Do you think your sales performance would become better in the future? I seriously doubt it because YOU will be no different tomorrow from who YOU are today.
Successful sales professionals have the confidence to take risks that unsuccessful sales reps try to avoid.
The worst thing you can do that will absolutely sabotage your future sales success is continuing to do the same thing and assuming that you'll automatically improve. Come on sales peeps if you're struggling or stuck in a rut then get a grip and start working on yourself.
Nothing happens until you make it happen.
There's no instant improvement to your sales career that happens automatically without YOU working on YOU. If we want to get better then YOU have to work on it.
If YOU want to get better then YOU have to work on it! No freaking exceptions whatsoever!
CONFIDENCE IS CRITICAL, SO INVEST!
Did you know that only 31% of salespeople effectively drive conversations with senior executives?
I'm shocked and extremely concerned. A vast majority of those in sales just simply lack the confidence to sell at a higher level. As your business acumen grows so does your confidence level. Soon, you’ll be viewed as a sales professional who offers real value.
How can your clients or prospects trust you if you don’t communicate like an expert?
Invest in yourself and your confidence will soar!
- Value yourself
- Find your passion
- Change your mindset
- Build genuine and authentic relationships
Curious, does your inner voice think of your career as a living, breathing thing? I encourage you that in order to keep it alive, you must continually nourish it so it can grow and flourish.
INVEST IN YOURSELF
A true sales professional takes responsibility to develop their gifts and talents, in order to best serve their clients. You must love yourself before you can expect your clients to love you.
Look in the mirror and repeat after me...
- I'm worth it
- I'm of value
- I will create the best version of me
Investing in yourself, sends a powerful message not only to you but to the business community. When you’re willing to say 'YES' to invest in yourself, your clients and prospects will provide you with amazing rewards.
Here's a question for all of you...
Do you value yourself?
I bet most of you shouted. "Hell yeah, I value myself!"
Well... then here's my next question...
How many hours this past week did you put into growing your sales career?
I'm concerned that many of us fail to put in the time and effort necessary to grow beyond our current abilities.
How many hours have you invested in YOU this week? Is it safe to say, "Not enough?"
SALES PROFESSIONALS INVEST
Highly successful professionals, the best of the sales best, spend hours every week investing in themselves. They're committed to learning, growing, and expanding upon their current skill sets and knowledge.
There's no better investment you can make than in yourself.
Sales professionals recognize they are their most valuable asset. They understand every investment they make in themselves pays dividends now, next month and into the future.
I get it and all those sales professionals get it! Sales is grueling. Sales is mentally challenging. You might even be burned out, exhausted or drained.
Please realize that you're not alone. This is a part of sales and this will never change. But realize something: You have control of what happens and you have choices.
Stop waiting for the next great sales lead or whatever magical mysterious event you think will occur, such as the "sales easy switch". Start right now and invest in making yourself better.
INVEST IN BECOMING THE REAL YOU
Become the real you. You need to get real, raw and extremely honest with who you really are. Rip off the mask you're wearing. You can't wear the mask forever as this gets old and will eventually destroy your authentic self. Be the real you, not an imposter.
Invest in consistently nurturing your mindset, you'll build up a tolerance against negative thoughts, procrastination, self-doubt and insecurities.
I encourage you to invest in your abilities. I challenge you both personally and professionally around these areas:
- Seek to become an expert in your field of work
- Constantly crave feedback on YOU
- Become extremely honest with yourself
- Never ever stop learning
Sales professionals take massive action
If you aren't satisfied with your sales career, take massive action to improve it. Listen to your inner voice. Start investing in yourself now.
"If you’re not invested you can't collect"
Leonard Tose
I will leave you to think about the following:
- Who's helping you to define your sales goals?
- Who's helping you to build an action plan?
- Who's giving you direct advice to help you get to the next level?
- Who's challenging and encouraging you to take ownership of your own success?
If you're serious about getting better, a coach should be in your future. There's no shame in asking for help. You never know what a fresh pair of eyes can see for your sales career, so why not seize the opportunity to be held accountable and become better?
The investment you make in yourself could pay huge dividends. Growing sales is hard. It takes new ideas and fresh energy. I'd like to be your coach! Let's open and honestly talk about your career.
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! It's about understanding value before visibility.
Selling From the Heart is making a difference! I poured my heart into every page of this book and I think you're going to love it. You can find it on Amazon in paperback and Kindle. You can click on the book image below and this will take you to Amazon.
You can find more material inside Selling From The Heart.
In a world full of empty suits, I'm passionate about helping sales reps succeed by getting valuable before they get visible. I help sales teams understand the true value they bring to the market.
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 and on my podcast by clicking on Selling from the Heart.
This Week in the Copier Industry 15 Years Ago (Last Week of October 2004)
@Old Glory Posted this 15 years ago.
Brian Tracy says in The Effective Manager, that "change is accelerating." I believe that, do you? What does that mean to you? You know the old saying, "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always have what you always had." I don't think that is true anymore. If you always do what you've always done, you will continually have less and less. If we are not consciously getting better, we are unconsciously getting worse. In our business, if you are not growing, you are being passed by more competent and better educated competition.
Konica Minolta Launches the bizhub PRO 1050
Canon unveils $30 mln campaign Ad 4 copiers
Competitive Info Toshiba 3511
Canon posts record Q3 profit
Ricoh Adds "Embedded Software Architecture"
New Color-Enabled imageRUNNER C5800
Re: Competitive Info Toshiba 3511
Print4Pay Adds Two New Vendors
sales talk
Ricoh & USPS PRESS RELEASE
240W Printing Issues
instructions and part number for updated 240 software
HP IJ 1700
Rioch launches GBC in AUS 4 1060/1075
Re: Leads in California
240W questions
AMEX sells leasing division 2 Keycorp
Re: Competitive Info Toshiba 3511
Change is accelerating!!!
User Code Management
When we catch Osama...........
PDF files and plotbase
Re: Ricoh Product Managers
Re: Ricoh Product Managers
Re: Ricoh 551 Scanner
Re: 240W Cutting Off PDF Print
Re: BIZHUB 350
Re: HP IJ 1700
Re: User Code Management
This Week in the Copier Industry 10 Years Ago (Last Week of October 2009)
There's a really awesome topic from ten years ago titled "Is selling at cost the future for print hardware?". I went back and read it several times, and realized that 2009 was the start of the great recession. Somehow we survived, but recently I've heard some grumblings in the AEC industry and they are not good
Enjoy these awesome threads from ten years ago this week!
Weekend Industry Notes from 10/25/09
Konica Minolta cuts 2009/10 outlook on slow demand
Color Multifunctional Printers and Monochrome Digital Presses Recognized for Outstand
Kodak Tumbles "Big Time"
RICOH Pro C900 Receives BERTL's Prestigious Five Star Exceptional Rating
OKI unveils three new mono printers for small workgroups
CANON U.S.A. DEMONSTRATES ITS IMAGE CAPTURE TECHNOLOGIES AT ARMA ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Connect With Print Audit On The Web In Three New Ways
Kodak Demonstrates Digital Records Management at ARMA 2009 with Solutions that Captur
Ricoh Announces Common Access Card Authentication Solution Version 2.0
IKON Renews Comprehensive Document Management Solution Agreement
Siberian company building up cooperation with Japan in nanotechnologies.
Re: Kodak Tumbles "Big Time"
Canon U.S.A., Canon Virginia and Christopher Newport
Océ Arizona 350 XT and Océ Arizona 350 GT printers win
Steven Stegman Joins MWA Intelligence, Inc.
Need some help ---Scan Router for Vista 64 Bit
Register TODAY for Mutoh’s “Hands-On” School of Wrap Dec 1st-3rd 2009, in Lexington,
Re: Competing against the Xerox 4127 b/w production print system?
Re: Is selling at cost the future for print hardware?
Re: Need Help for Print Solution!
Re: Need some help ---Scan Router for Vista 64 Bit
Re: Is selling at cost the future for print hardware?
Re: NEED HELP QUICK --- SINKING SHIP
Re: NEED HELP QUICK --- SINKING SHIP
Re: NEED HELP QUICK --- SINKING SHIP
HOW TO BEHAVE AND WHY
Kemmerer City Council meets
TSG Solutions Unveils a revolutionary NEW business application
MWA Intelligence, Inc. and Image Star Launch Industry First nMPS Supply Chain
MWA Intelligence, Inc. and Image Star Launch Industry First nMPS Supply Chain
NUWC awards 5 year office equipment supplies contract
Océ CS665 Pro Color System Helps Fry Communications Grow Their Color Personalization
Paradigm Imaging Group receives BERTL® Four-And-A-Half Star Rating on New EIS Supra!
Firehawk
Jdeets
luckyemily
Re: Competing against the Xerox 4127 b/w production print system?
Re: PowerSelling by Steven Power
Re: Competing against the Xerox 4127 b/w production print system?
Re: Competing against the Xerox 4127 b/w production print system?
Re: Competing against the Xerox 4127 b/w production print system?
Re: Competing against the Xerox 4127 b/w production print system?
Re: Competing against the Xerox 4127 b/w production print system?
Re: Need Help for Print Solution!
Re: Is selling at cost the future for print hardware?
This Week in the Copier Industry 5 Years Ago (Last Week of October 2014)
I had to go back and do some editing one of the blogs I wrote 5 years ago. Seems my fat fingers and my racing mind leads me to many typo's and grammar errors. I do not profess to be a writer, but just a copier sales person that likes to write stories with an occasional opinion or two. Here's the blog I touched up
5 Reasons WHY You Will Fail Selling Copiers
Enjoy these awesome threads from 5 years ago this week!
Procurement Goes Digital at Konica Minolta Business Solutions
Konica Minolta Announces Availability of Precision Discovery Solutions
Ricoh to offer customers a broader range of Fujitsu technologies as part of expanded IT Services menu
Sometimes, you may need to pull out the Toshiba card
Print Audit® Releases Information Collection Engine (ICE) Version 1.17
Should Ricoh Offer a Rebate When Dealers Buy the New Smart Op Panel?
New Colortrac SG Series scanners
Canon Business Process Services Addresses Key Records Management Topics at the ARMA International Conference
East Penn delays copy contract following objection
Kyocera Launches "Google Connect" App
Salesforce Users, Win $500 for Amazon
Xerox Updates Market-Leading Ebola-Tracking Software for Instant, Secure Cloud Access
5 Reasons WHY You Will Fail Selling Copiers
mindSHIFT Technologies ranked among Top 100 Cloud Services Providers
croy.printman
My Top 5 Secrets About Using Linkedin for Prospecting
Salesforce Now Integrated into eFileCabinet’s Document Management System
MakerBot and Sanrio Collaborate to Bring Hello Kitty Into the 3D Printing World Through the MakerBot Digital Store and the MakerBot PrintShop App
Okidata MPS 711c Color LAser Printer wrinkling envelopes - fuser rollers too tight
Print Audit® Partners with PrintToPeer to Bring Remote 3D Print Management to Premier Members
Re: My Top 5 Secrets About Using Linkedin for Prospecting
ICE
Somerset Independent School District (ISD) Goes Paperless
Welcome our new Moderators!
Mutoh America, Inc. Wins Product of the Year Award at 2013 SGIA Expo
Paragon Software Outperforms Leading Backup and Disaster Recovery Solutions in openBench Labs Benchmark Analysis
marcelo
dougNCG
Re: Okidata MPS 711c Color LAser Printer wrinkling envelopes - fuser rollers too tight
Re: Okidata MPS 711c Color LAser Printer wrinkling envelopes - fuser rollers too tight
Re: Okidata MPS 711c Color LAser Printer wrinkling envelopes - fuser rollers too tight
Re: Google Cloud Print
Re: Should Ricoh Offer a Rebate When Dealers Buy the New Smart Op Panel?
Re: Kyocera Launches "Google Connect" App
EFI Acquires Polymeric Imaging’s Thermoforming Ink Technology
Kofax Mobile Capture Platform Wins Document Manager Magazine’s 2014 Software of the Year Award
Kofax Mobile Capture Platform Wins Document Manager Magazine’s 2014 Software of the Year Award
Square 9 Wins Software & IT Category at ICIC and FORTUNE’s Inner City 100
Memjet's Partners to Exhibit Labeling, Trans-Promotional, and Wide Format Packaging Applications at PACK EXPO International
Plug and Play with TWAIN
Suzanne
Michael Nelson
Gary
Email is alive, well and evolving
Re: scan and AutoCAD webinar
Selling Copiers in the Seventies with Ed Mclaughlin
If you're reading this blog series for the first time you'll notice one of these icons .
Clicking that icon will take you the collection of blogs that we've posted with our amazing industry veterans who were selling copiers in the seventies. I believe its important that we not only post these blogs but to also have them archived for our industry.
Selling Copiers in the Seventies with Ed Mclaughlin
Ed Mclaughlin is Executive Advisor with NEXERA, A BEI Services Company. In addition Ed was also President of Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America. Please visit his profile on LinkedIn
How did you find your way into the copier industry?
My path was an odd one for sure. After discharged from the Air Force in 1969, I became an accountant for Sperry Rand, UNIVAC international Division. I was also attending the evening Division of LaSalle University, working on a Degree in Business Administration. I did well at Sperry, but I was very interested in the diversity of the sales process. As opportunities came about, I was always passed over. Later I was told I was too valuable in my present position, and I thought well, it’s not what I want to do, so I started looking around.
What company or manufacturer did you start with, what was your title and what year did you start?
I didn’t want to work for just anyone and didn’t think about the copier industry. Still, I was attracted to the 3M Company. An opportunity developed, and I grab it. I had more than a few friends tell me I was crazy accepting the copier job. I wanted to be in sales, and I was miserable being pigeon-holed by my present employer, so off I went.
If you worked for a dealer please tell us what brands you sold and what was your favorite model top sell and why that was your favorite.
That was in November of 1971. 3M was a great company, very diversified, and I saw it as a tremendous opportunity to learn about many aspects of the business. The training they put into us was fantastic. Throughout my time there, I attended numerous training programs. We were exposed to an abundance of efficient business processes and the necessary skills that were a benefit not just in selling, but in business in general.
What was the percentage of copier sales people that made it past two years and what made them last or not last so long?
I was hired with four other people at the time. Within six months, there were two of us still in the sales force. The truth is that the quick turnover scared me a bit. I was a young husband and father, and the thought of being out of work was, well, horrifying. It was also quite motivating, and I took the responsibility seriously. I decided I was never going to have a bad month. The work was hard, really, and a lot more physical than I had thought. We took our copier wherever we went, and they were heavy to move around. The ”209” copier was about 250 lbs. I had a city territory when I first started, and that meant steps getting in and out of buildings and not many elevators.
What did you like the most about your job in the eighties?
When I later got a more suburban area, I thought I died and went to heaven. I often thought about the rapid turnover and wondered why it was so extreme. I think there was a disillusionment to the whole idea of sales. Sure, you could make good money, but it was a lot more involved than you may be prepared to experience. Once I got promoted to account sales, the physical part got a lot easier.
What was the compensation plan like, was there a salary, what is just commissions or was there a mix of salary and commissions?
Compensation was a mix of a small base salary and commission. We also received a quarterly bonus based on our hardware number. There were two levels the first level was you received 1.5% of your supply sales in your territory. If you achieved the 2nd level, you received 3%. The payout could be excellent. Once promoted out of territory sales, it became more salary and bonus. We were responsible for growing the account and received quota and bonuses accordingly.
How did you go about finding new business, and what was your favorite of those methods and why?
The way we went about cold calling, freely walking around buildings, and just calling on people would get you arrested today. What does carry over, though, is the need to understand where we are in the business process. The principle of “think on your feet” and “shut up and listen.” The concept of seeing things through the eyes of the customer has stayed with me throughout my whole life. I not only have learned to apply it to business but life and family.
What was the first sales book that you read that and what did you take away from it?
As I came along in this business, I didn’t read “sales” books I read “business” books.
What type of car did you use for your demonstrations and how many demonstrations would you perform in a week demonstration?
3M provided us with a station wagon; mine was a 1969 Nash Rambler station wagon with a broken rear door.
If you pulled out too fast, the force of the copier in the back on the rolling cart would push the door open. We were provided a harness to secure the beast in the back. I put a strap under the bumper. This way if the copier did push the door open the harness and the strap would keep it from completing the fall to the ground.
What is the biggest problem you seeing facing the industry today?
I look back on the early days with a mix of fondness and a little bit of “what the hell was I thinking.” I can honestly say I learned a great deal not just about selling but about business processes and, most of all, about people. It was an education if you wanted it to be.
The way we went about cold calling, freely walking around buildings, and just calling on people would get you arrested today. What does carry over, though, is the need to understand where we are in the business process. The principle of “think on your feet” and “shut up and listen.” The concept of seeing things through the eyes of the customer has stayed with me throughout my whole life. I not only have learned to apply it to business but life and family.
Can you tell us a couple of funny story about selling copiers in the seventies?
I remember one day when a particularly aggressive guy tailgating me over the Benjamin Franklin Bridge pulled up behind me at the toll gate within inches of my rear bumper became startled when as I pulled away from the toll booth, he right behind me, the door suddenly flipped open. The 250 LBS 3M “209” monster came screaming out of the back. It had an automatic document feed on it, and it hung just inched from the windshield of his beautiful new MGB sports car. I knew what the look of fear was that day. I jumped out, pushed the copier back in the car, jumped back in, and took off. The MGB took a few seconds to compose himself, and I noticed a safe distance between him and me as I traveled down the highway.
What’s the one piece of knowledge that you’d like to share with new reps entering our industry today?
What would I say to those getting into the business today? Learn your trade, not just your technology but the technologies that impact your products. More importantly, learn what these things mean to your customers and how they affect their performance. And above all, understand business in general. You will always communicate more effectively if you have a similar vernacular and common ground. A good rule whatever you do. Finally, be curious, I started my business career in 1969 I’m still learning today.
-=Good Selling=-
Note from Art: Ed never knew you were in the service. Thanks so much for your service in such a troubled time.
Major Update to Print4Pay Hotel Web Site
In the next 4-6 weeks we'll be rolling out our new style and a new user interface that's called Card Model.
The changes will impact most lists and landing page on the platform- including the "home" page and each content module's start page- and will make it much easier to browse and consume content overall.
In this mode, content lists are displayed as cards on a grid, filling the entire width of the content pane, like so:
Each content type (forum topics, blog posts, clips, surveys, etc.) will have their own dedicated color, which is used to differentiate content by type when viewing lists like this.
Blog Collections and Clips Sets are also being refreshed with this update, making those pages much more user friendly:
And of course, there will be new theme elements that allow you to easily customize the look and feel to match your own brand guidelines.
If the new design is not for you, don't worry though... existing sites will not be forced to use Card Mode (and can toggle it on or off).
We will provide more details once it is available.
-=Good Selling=-
IT’S ONLY A SMALL PIECE OF DOCUMENT HANDLING OR IS IT?
Fifty Billion!
(No, not dollars in another government research project on some frog croaking program that we don’t know what is accomplished). As noted in a number of recent research studies and articles, this is the estimated number of pages sent last year via fax, and a very significant portion is accomplished using older, less secure fax devices, fax boards in copier/printer devices or fax servers over costly analog phone lines.
Growing Shift
There has been a growing shift over the past few years to cloud, on-line fax service to meet the standards for secure and regulatory compliant document transfer but the world, in many vertical markets, just seems to want to stick to their old tried and true methods. So, many times in discussions regarding the continued use of fax, users think they could just use email to transfer documents and not have any fax service at all, but continued focus on security, audit trails, verification on delivery, etc., don’t meet industry requirements and restrictions: HIPAA, PCI, Sarbanes-Oxley, GDPR, etc. Industry studies in the past year indicate that as much as 89% of all businesses continue to use fax for some of their document handling and certainly within Healthcare, Financial Services, Insurance and other industries, fax is a necessity. As well with the latest and best online, cloud based fax, user convenience is as good or better than email or any other transfer methods.
Conversations
In recent conversations with business equipment companies and dealers, while the inclusion of fax boards in multi-functional devices was almost a standard option five or more years ago, general input is that 60% or more of MFP placements still include a fax board and analog phone service. Another recently published statistic related to this usage is that there are still an estimated 17 Million on premise fax devices still in use in the U.S. alone!
One managed services company that handles government and healthcare businesses with networking, cloud software and telecom solutions discovered that an “Oh By The Way” incident, where the prospect was looking at a range of solutions and vendor choices for networking, cloud and telecom upgrades, this MSP gained a big boost by just an off the cuff follow-up question on whether this small side issue was significant and should be included in the project. The response was that in the overall scope of a technology upgrade, the fax issue was a small piece BUT there were constant issues with contention for a limited number of phone lines handling a combination of incoming and outgoing traffic, recurring issues with service on the fax devices, and the very irritating cost of analog phone lines at a total of somewhere around $100 a month each; just simply a time consuming nuisance and constant pain point.
After winning the overall deal and receiving a follow-up from the customer on the overall success, the new customer mentioned that they really appreciated the vendor taking care of this one small piece by introducing cloud based fax service, in this instance with Upland InterFAX, a well-known and proven vendor based on reliability and exemplary support record: no phone lines or on premise equipment, especially facilitating multiple user concurrent access to outgoing fax and no more customer complaints on busy signals when trying to send a fax.
This MSP then implanted a new process for introductory sales opportunities and assessments. One of the first things they looked for and asked about, just again as Oh By the Way, was whether the prospect used fax and might want to consider that part of the deal. A 30 second conversation intended to be dealt with much later in the sales process but one that could be used as a differentiator and to relieve a lingering pain point.
How hard is it train reps to ask a question in every technology engagement and quickly move on to the bigger picture, but noting whether this is a topic for later discussion?
50 Billion Pages a year!
For a company like Upland InterFAX with a world-wide presence through end users, resellers and many API partners, a conservative growth plan targeting only 10% market share at 10 cents per page, then this is $500 Million a year … AND according to multiple industry research companies, expected to grow by at least 11% each year for the next five years.
Just a little back ground on this blog. John Hewitt and I both collaborated on producing this blog. John's a great guy and yes John does work for Upland. As our industry continues to evolve I feel as it's my job to let our members know about all of the opportunities available to them. If you'd like to reach out to John or connect with him please visit his Linkedin profile.
-=Good Selling=-
A Selling From The Heart Professional Redefines The Client Experience... Are You?
"Empathy is about standing in someone else's shoes, feeling with his or her heart, seeing with his or her eyes. Not only is empathy hard to outsource and automate, but it makes the world a better place."
Daniel H. Pink
Unfortunately, one huge and costly mistake many in sales make with their customers is breaking promises.
You're probably breaking promises to your customers far more often than you think. What experience is this creating? How are you making them feel? Without their willingness to tell you every single time you break a promise, how do you know?
Continue to break promises, even the small ones, and watch what happens to customer loyalty
Way too many in sales treat their customers like widgets on an assembly line. What's worse is management and ownership have fostered the environment.
What concerns me is how many move their customers along, take their hard earned business dollars and then move onto the next conquest. They reel them in with flashy sales crapola and tons of hype and then leave them less than satisfied with their overall experience.
Lead with your heart and not your wallet
I ask you to think about the following questions...
- What promises are you making to your customers?
- What promises do your customers truly value?
IT'S ALL ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE
According to a recent in-depth Frost & Sullivan survey, 80% of customers base their choice of provider on Customer Experience. It has become the single-most important differentiator in making or breaking a brand.
"The need for personalized, relevant experiences are not only raising customer expectations, but making them more difficult to please."
You may or may not agree with me and it's quite alright... I believe all those in sales are in the memory and experience business.
The question I have for you is...
What kind of memories and experiences are you creating for your customers?
Within the sea of sameness and mediocrity that exists inside the sales world, the customer experience does matter. Get it right and watch what happens to trust, loyalty and consistent repeat business.
What truly makes for a good experience? Is it speed, convenience, consistency and friendliness? I believe that a great customer experience leaves people feeling heard and appreciated. It's bringing the human heartfelt emotions to your customers.
How many of you are tugging on the heartstrings of your customers?
THE HEART MATTERS
A selling from the heart sales professional realizes a heartfelt connection leads to a heartfelt conversation which leads to a heartfelt relationship that in turn, creates memories and experiences.
Redefine the customer experience by getting to their heart. I get it, we live and operate in a fast-paced business world. The onslaught of technology has provided salespeople with new ways of communicating with their customers, however; it places a damper on the personal interaction and one's natural ability to interact and listen with their hearts.
“We hear through our ears, but we listen through our minds.”
Listening with your heart means giving your full attention to your customers. Allow them to express their feelings, their concerns and their issues in a way that is heard and understood.
I urge you to create those listening experiences.
A SERVANT MINDSET REDEFINES THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
Honoring your heart is not a sign of weakness. True power resides with listening to your 'gut' and finding it within your heart by making a commitment to clear all that stands in the way of a heartfelt connection and experience.
Sharing your knowledge redefines the experience and is not a sign of weakness. Focus in on how you can help your customers. Sharing your insights and what you can do for others rather than for yourself, redefines the customer experience. I guarantee no one likes a know-it all, self-centered and stereo-typical sales rep... This does not build followership nor create positive experiences or memories.
A heartfelt sales professional brings a servant mindset to their customers.
- They make themselves available to serve
- They pay close attention to their customers
- They have compassion for their customers
- They truly care about their customers
- They know what it means to be faithful and trustworthy
Adopting a servant leadership mindset takes a conscious effort by learning and committing to develop self-effectiveness. Get to the heart of what matters! Experiences do matter.
- I want to please YOU
- I want to make YOU feel special
- Making YOU happy is not my job, it is my purpose!
YOU ARE THE EXPERIENCE
It doesn't take a lot for you to go the extra mile. You just have to show you care! This is the core foundation of what it means to sell from the heart. It's about bringing the human approach to your customers. It's what’s important to them!
I promise you this... Your customers are willing to pay for the experience. Go no further than Starbucks! What's the difference between a cup of coffee from Starbucks and that of a competitor? Simple, the experience.
What are you bringing to the business table to differentiate you from the competition?
Attention to all those in sales... You are the experience!
I know all of you want to maximize profit and increase your sales business. However, how do you do this when most of you walk, talk and act the same?
You must be prepared to provide the white glove, heartfelt and servant experience.
I will leave you with this...
Are you creating the Disneyland experience?
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! It's about understanding value before visibility.
Selling From the Heart is making a difference! I poured my heart into every page of this book and I think you're going to love it. You can find it on Amazon in paperback and Kindle. You can click on the book image below and this will take you to Amazon.
You can find more material inside Selling From The Heart.
In a world full of empty suits, I'm passionate about helping sales reps succeed by getting valuable before they get visible. I help sales teams understand the true value they bring to the market.
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 and on my podcast by clicking on Selling from the Heart.
This Week in the Copier Industry 10 Years Ago (Third Week of September 2009)
If you have some extra time make sure you check out Brian's post from ten years ago. It was pretty awesome.
Print4Pay Hotel Member "Biggest Deal of My Life!"
Enjoy these awesome threads from 10 years ago this week!