Tagged With "Dealer Sales Reps Owners"
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Re: Possibly moving to Ricoh....
Unfortunately, I am already at a place that only sells "boxes". I don't know which companies in my area do those other services, or if the Ricoh dealership does so, but I know that I can't be too choosy, because some of the companies have no interest in hiring me. But according to the owner of the Ricoh dealership, they are doing very well. As far as the Ricoh itself, what I'm wondering is WHY it ranks at the top of the industry, WHY are people buying it? I can't find much in the way of...
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Re: Possibly moving to Ricoh....
I'm going to say something here from my experience of being a copier buyer BEFORE I started working in the copier industry. Yes, it's true, I was a client of the very dealership that I came to work for. You're not going to like what I have to say because you're sales reps and you trained to think a certain way. Please, for once, listen with an open mind to someone with experience being on the other side of the proposal. Ponder it, don't spin it. Most buyers don't care one bit what brand of...
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Re: Possibly moving to Ricoh....
Jack Daly said it best "People buy from people they like" I know a local RBS where the marketplace Manager let his #1 rep based on attitude Sure this rep sold but the Rep was not liked by his customers. Customers were purchasing from this RBS because they liked the Service Tech and Delivery guys. this showed me personally that its not just the sales guy who sales its everybody in the company.
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Re: Possibly moving to Ricoh....
A couple of thoughts based on my lengthy experience with both Sharp and Ricoh. Ricoh is far and away a better product. No doubt about it. As stated above buyers buy the dealership and the relationship with the sales rep in my experience not the brand name on the front of the box. Take it from someone who spent years explaining to customers who "Gestetner" was that had never heard of them........and now "Lanier". Finally, in this market I would urge extreme caution making any sort of...
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Re: Top 9 Blunders that B2B Sales Reps Make
Blunder #2: They ask obvious questions. What they do: They ask lots of questions that could have easily have been answered by searching the Internet. Why they do it: They figure they can wing it, usually because they’re over-confident in their ability to make the sale. What happens: They end up wasting valuable one-on-one time with a busy customer who has other things to do that provide a free education. Your Action Plan: To avoid this blunder, always research the customer thoroughly before...
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Re: Another Ricoh Direct Give Away
Hey, I'm a new RBS rep, I mean reallly green. Just started out in the business. FYI, I've been told to stay away from dealer accounts. I admit, it can get sticky when proposals are thrown around; but generally we have been instructed that its a "hands off" customer. There isn't some corporate push to squeeze dealers out is all i'm saying. Your point on margins is noted. I'm just confused that this is somehow something new. If Ford sold cars directly, I'd expect them to be a little cheaper...
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Re: Top 9 Blunders that B2B Sales Reps Make
Blunder #4: They don’t learn how the customer buys. What they do: They get deeply involved in a sales opportunity without finding out what’s unique about the customer’s buying process. Why they do it: Usually this happens when the reps is focused on the sales process. The reps keeps thinking about how to sell, rather than about how the customer is going to buy. What happens: Worst case, the rep loses the deal. Best case, the rep experiences inexplicable delays as the customer takes actions...
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Re: Top 9 Blunders that B2B Sales Reps Make
Blunder #6: They don’t know business basics. What they do: They reveal their ignorance of basic business and accounting principles. Why they do it: Unfortunately, it’s usually because they are, uhh… ignorant about basic business and accounting principles. What happens: The lack of such knowledge seriously limits the rep’s ability to add value to the discussion. The rep seems at a loss when the conversation moves to important issues like ROI and how the rep’s offerings will impact the...
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Re: Top 9 Blunders that B2B Sales Reps Make
Blunder #7: They avoid closing the deal. What they do: They spend so much effort into building the opportunity that they never quite get to the business of closing it. Why they do it: They’ve invested in the opportunity that they’re afraid that the answer will be “NO”, which will mean that all that effort was a waste of time and that the prospect doesn’t really “like” the sales rep. What happens: The opportunity dies on the vine or goes to the competition. Your Action Plan: To avoid this...
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Re: Top 9 Blunders that B2B Sales Reps Make
What they do: They give in to last minute demands from the prospect, usually for extra discounts, “or else the deal is off.” Why they do it: They’re deathly afraid of losing the deal at the end of the sale cycle, so they crumple when the prospect pushes. What happens: The customer rightfully concludes that 1) the rep didn’t offer the best deal from the start and 2) the rep lacks a backbone. The customer thus no longer trusts the rep and will constantly push for more and more and more and...
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Re: Top 9 Blunders that B2B Sales Reps Make
Blunder #9: They don’t follow through. What they do: After the deal has gone through, they don’t bother to make certain that the customer is delighted. Why they do it: They feel that they are “too busy” working on new accounts and developing new business. What happens: The reps find that the key to success in sales — repeat business — never really develops because the customers fell that the rep doesn’t really care. As a result, the rep is constantly forced to develop new contacts and new...
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Re: New Samsung 11 x 17" Colour MFPs due Oct 01 USA
Seems Ricoh, Canon and Xerox may be the last of the holdouts. When speaking with a rep at Ricoh they were concerned that A4 devices will lower profit (image that,they do make a profit on a box)expectations especially if A4 takes off. With the presence of Sharp, Samsung and KonicaMInolta they needed to make the move. Keep in mind though that neither KM, nor Sharp has come out with an robust A4 monochrome (don't know what they are waiting for here), remember I stated robust A4, something along...
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Re: New Samsung 11 x 17" Colour MFPs due Oct 01 USA
You should check out the Lexmark XS658dme/dfe. 55ppm, single-pass duplex color scanning, open architecture, scan-to/print-from USB. It can handle 20k/month easy.
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Re: How will the earth quake in Japan affect...
Most of the copiers we sell are assembled in Europe, but the parts come from China, Japan etc. So if the quake is going to have an impact on our sale then it probably won’t happen until (maybe) this summer... MP C toner is produced in Japan and bottled in US (according to the package) That could be an issue if the toner factories are affected
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Re: How will the earth quake in Japan affect...
I spoke to rep at Ricoh today and he tol me he had a dealer that called and wanted to purchase a 3 month supply of inventory ASAP!
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Re: Should you ever sell something for nothing?
I agree with you. Unfortunately many sales reps don't have the long term approach to realize that they are developing a territory almost like their own business. A sale is not just valued by the commission you make, it is also a seed you are planting. or as my first sales manager always told me, "copiers have babies"
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Re: Should you ever sell something for nothing?
I am just about....37 yrs young. Started with in 1993, SR year of high school part time servicing printers. After 2yrs of serving printers, married for 1 yr to my high school sweetheart I was envious of all the "copier reps" driving nice BMW's etc...I asked if I could start selling. When I first started selling in 1995 we carried Canon/Mita. I had an uncle who sold copiers and typewriters back in the early 70's and managed a large dealership in CA until his retirement in 1990. When I went to...
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Re: Sales Manager Advice
Take it from me. I've got a "selling manager" and he's a good sales person and a good manager, however I'm a firm beleiver that you can't do two things at once and excel with both of them. I'm the only tenured rep on my team. I still have many questions after being in the business for 31 years, such as policy, pricing, ordering, and many others and most of my needs and wants are more complex than the "newbies", thus I find myself taking a back seat waiting for information or direction longer...
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Re: Ask Art "Email from MFP Solutions Blog Reader"
I love it! Truth be told, if he makes his offices more efficient for everyone, he will attract more agents, buyers, and sellers and will pay for his copiers many times over and over.
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Re: PPDM from Ricoh, Questions
I don't know what Ricoh's opinion would be on this (don't really care) but we accumulate licenses and then distribute them strategically. I sold a single license last week for $350 and charged an additional $150 for client PC install and limited training. Since we have no cost, my company counts it all as GP. I quoted a C300 and said we would include a PPDM license for free if they bought two C300's. I am able to provide a value-add at no cost to me. C300 doesn't come with PPDM but it can if...
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Re: Ricoh Launches New Aficio MFPs With App2Me Solution
I have been playing with app2me recently and can see some advanatages like when a mobile worker goes office to office they won't have to install drivers to print. If they have app2me installed and we have app2me enabled they will be able to print easily. I'm interested to see if anyone has taken this to market and how it has been recieved. Also at this time we include initial connectivity with the sale of our MFP products. I could see customers also wanted app2me manager installed on all...
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Re: Ricoh Launches New Aficio MFPs With App2Me Solution
Without limits? If you sold a 171 and the customer had 50 workstations, you would install the print driver (and then the fax driver) on every one of them? My suggestion is to incorporate a reasonable limit to the installs. The customer needs to learn how to install the driver anyway since I doubt you would come back out in six months to install a driver on their new PC. Five workstations per device seems to work well. That's enough to make sure everything is working and train the customer...
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Re: Q. How does your company handle networking charges?
Dealer network install for scan, print, fax upto four workstations included in the sale, sales person is charged back in the deal for it. After the sale, customer can buy block time for network services or be charged $150 per hour. Pretty much is a user goes to win7 and needs new drivers it's 100% billable or they can buy block time.
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Re: canon dealership
Canon has a strong reputation for quality and great brand recognition with businesses of all sizes. I can't tell you how many times I've heard prospects say they'll never use anything but Canon equipment, especially for color, & we all know that's where the money lies. We're a sole-line Lanier dealer (w/ Lexmark on the side for desktops & A4 mono). From my position as a Major Account Rep, I would love to have Canon. That's always a tough call to make, though, for a dealer principal,...
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Re: Q. How does your company handle networking charges?
My rule is, if they need more training, or something wrong or inconvenient with the way I set up the print scan, I'll make it right, no charge. If they add a workstation and want it configured,if they changed their router/switch, decide (after 60 days or so) they need a different configuration, or some O/S related problem, that is chargeable. A case in point, a customer called me saying his can scan to folder icon has disappeared from his desktop. I suggested that the cleanup wizard has...
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Re: Top Color Production Systems?
Here's the "KM gal" :-) chiming in, but remember that I am not a sales rep. Current KM color production models: bizhub PRESS C8000 bizhub PRESS C6000, C7000 and C7000P bizhub PRESS C70hc bizhub PRO C6000L
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Re: Top Color Production Systems?
Shaja, are you still selling C65hc inventories or are you now selling the C70hc.
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Re: Kodak & Possible Buyers?
Legg Mason’s Bill Miller has been a long-time owner and defender of Eastman Kodak. Now, even he’s abandoning ship. As Deal Journal colleague Dana Mattioli is reporting, Legg Mason Capital Management sold all of its Kodak stock. She reports: “Legg Mason sold some 11 million shares in the Rochester, N.Y.-based imaging company in the third quarter and the remaining 7.9 million shares last month. Earlier this year, it owned 32 million shares.” As of the end of June, Mr. Miller’s Legg Mason...
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Re: Comments on the Canon 1730/1740/1750 Models
The Ricohs have been slow sellers is not because of end user needs or wants. Basically ours is a quota/revenue driven business from the top to the bottom. The preferred compensation model for commissions is that of a revenue based plan with commissions. Why have a GP driven comp plan for your sales people when your Dealership or Branch has a revenue based quota plan from the manufacturers? It just doesn't make sense. With that A4's from Canon, Sharp, Ricoh, and KonicaMinolta has presented...
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Re: Comments on the Canon 1730/1740/1750 Models
You all bring up some good points. Both the Ricoh MPC300/400 series and the Canon 1700 series are definitely are game chnagers. Being able to sell both helps. I thinkk Ricoh is really holding back on the SP5200 because of this Canon series. In a GP sales model a sales rep is in heaven selling these two untis. Don't get me wrong regarding revenue but GP based models is where it is at. I havent been impressed with some models from Canon lately, however, I think they have gotten it rigth with...
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Re: What's the best way to close on price increase?
The old act now or the price is going up close does have a way of backfiring. Mainly becuase the customer does not belive the sales rep. Only thing I can think of is showing them some sort of documentation. Do you have any documentation from Ricoh regarding the increase and is it something that could be shared with the customer?
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Re: Would You Loan this company Money?
Currency in Millions of U.S. Dollars As of: Mar 31 2008 USD Mar 31 2009 USD Mar 31 2010 USD Mar 31 2011 USD 4-Year Trend NET INCOME 16.0 1.9 -21.6 -32.6 Depreciation & Amortization 6.3 6.5 4.7 9.0 DEPRECIATION & AMORTIZATION, TOTAL 6.3 6.5 4.7 9.0 (Gain) Loss from Sale of Asset -0.1 0.2 0.1 4.9 (Gain) Loss on Sale of Investment 0.9 0.1 0.0 -- (Income) Loss on Equity Investments -0.3 -0.2 -0.3 -- Change in Accounts Receivable 12.0 5.6 8.7 -6.1 Change in Inventories 0.3 -16.3 25.8 -4.0...
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Re: It's Official, RICOH US launch of SP5200 Black A4
Rep in my office was up against Canon today and they were beating us up on a 33 per minute A3 so he tried to work it out by proposing the new model. Only one problem, Canon is in at $0.0083 per page on the service. We figure we can go no lower on a cpc on this product than $0.0149. So how's that going to work with mps when I'm seeing mps at below a penny a page?
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Re: Why is single clicking an 11×17 on a “copier” legal?
I have encountered accounts where the vendor set the machine to properly double click 11x17 however the sales rep go the deal with the print shop promising single click and changed the settings after the machine was delivered. Not a good deal for the vendor as it was a print ship with a knife to print two up and then cut the 11x17's to letter size.
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Re: Why is single clicking an 11×17 on a “copier” legal?
I've also heard of this, funny thing is dealer or direct branch that they bought the machine from never knew about it either, and yes they had the special clause "if we find you using more than your estimated coverage". After six years the system is still in the field w/single click 11x17, they are running 80% 11x17. They've never been told they were using too much toner. Art
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Re: New Ricoh 4410SPF "brainshark" review
What margin??? I think the spread between dealer cost and MSRP is about $400. For me to be comfortable giving the customer the level of support I give them on an MFP after the sale I would need to walk away with at least $350 in my commission check on the deal. That means I would need to charge at least $2,100 for the sale and installation of this product. That's why I don't pay much attention to small machines. Just can't make enough on them. I wind up giving more support after the sale on...
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Re: New Ricoh 4410SPF "brainshark" review
These require significantly less service/support than the Ricoh table-top machines. The opportunity to make money on these is by selling them to replace printers as part of an MPS engagement & making your money on the aftermarket. Also, if you're replacing an MP2000 machine, and the customer doesn't need 11 x 17, they would be thrilled with this machine, and you could make solid margin because of the price spread between the MP2000 and this unit. I'll be curious to see how the Ricoh...
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Re: Subject: Ricoh Introduction of the Ricoh Select Series
I think we all need to wait until we see the details. If this is a carryover from IKON (maybe an IKON rep can chime in) this is not anything like what we do when we "recondition" a machine for resale. These are actually reconditioned, repainted, etc. to the point that they qualify for a -0- meter again. Probably still too pricy for my company to ever buy one but I don't think we are talking about the same thing.
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Re: Proximity Card Reader
Good job! If they are using MIFARE cards you should be good to go. Just make sure you get a sample to test. Remember just because it reads the card does not mean it will track for bill back purposes. That is where a software solution comes in. I forgot to ask what Canon model are you considering? Make sure it is an advance series. Do you have access to Canon ISG Central? They is an entire presentation on AAProx that you should definitely know the in's and out's BEFORE you meet with the GM.
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Re: PaperCut
I just sold my first PaperCut installation. While I haven't been involved in a physical installation yet, I've seen PaperCut's WebEx presentation several times and I've yet to see any real differences in PaperCut vs. Print Audit (other than price). I'm not saying they don't exist, just saying I was fairly impressed with the features touted in the presentation (and obviously, so was the client that purchased the software). JasonR's comments regarding PaperCut's inability to track...
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Re: PaperCut
Old Glory, Not sure how long the MF version has been in play. I've only been back in the industry since January and my new dealership already had some PaperCut installations when I arrived. The software does have the behavior modification pop-ups you are referring to, and I'm told specialized scripts can be easily written to force almost any behavior. For instance, during a WebEx last week my PaperCut account rep told my client of a PaperCut installation in which the user set up a rule that...
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Re: PaperCut
You would be correct in the difference from the Papercut NG version vs. the MF version. We have sold about a dozen variations and it is a great product that makes a lot of sense. We have implemented it with MPS and MF solutions and it helps us keep the competition out. It's also great with swipe cards (HID/Kastle, etc...). Good luck.
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Re: OKI Data and Toshiba Tec Agree to Joint Development of Multifunction Printers
I cannot comment with authority but I suspect Toshiba has a larger global distribution and sales than Okidata. Toshiba has been looking for a way into the A4 market for years other than simply reselling HP and Lexmark product. Toshiba TEC just spent a $900M to buy IBM's Point of Sale division so another purchase is likely not in the works.
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Re: OKI Data and Toshiba Tec Agree to Joint Development of Multifunction Printers
Rumors have swirled for years on Toshiba's exit of the MFP industry. Inspite..... of their recent and aggressive dealer acquisitions. Neither entity is strong enough to stand on its on. Especially due to the consolidation the industry has already seen. Ricoh/Ikon, Canon/OCE, Konica/Minolta, etc. I agree that both have been low price leaders in the US market as well, and the marriage is a good one. This is the start of Toshiba's exit, and eventual sale to Oki Data. Oki Data just didnt have...
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Re: 0% Copier Financing
0% Interest financing is a popular financing tool across the board - you see it in the auto industry, furniture, IT (such as your apple example). It has never been a big seller in the Office Equipment industry business due to the business model that the dealers/manufacturers sell with. Many dealers are selling FMV leases (we like the upgrades)and not highlighting to the customer the actual cash purchase price of the equipment. 0% works best when a customer see's a purchase price (let's say...
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Re: Japan's Sharp Corp plans to sell its copiers and air conditioners businesses
Sharp sales reps are going to have to start "tap dancing" when trying to close copier deals because you know every competitive sales rep will have this one pre-printed and ready to hand out to Decision makers.
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Re: Japan's Sharp Corp plans to sell its copiers and air conditioners businesses
DAIWA HOUSE INDUSTRY CO., LTD. is a Japan-based construction company engaged in eight business segments. The Housing segment is involved in the contract work and sale of houses. The Leasing Housing segment develops, constructs and manages leasing houses, and provides agency services. The Condominium Building segment develops, sells and manages condominium buildings. The Housing Stock segment is engaged in the contract work of building reconstruction and the agency of real estate trading. The...
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Re: Japan's Sharp Corp plans to sell its copiers and air conditioners businesses
Somewhere near last.... However, I just picked up this press release from Rueters also: Sharp seeking over $1.2 bln for plant and other assets -Yomiuri * Sharp also in talks to sell some Tokyo offices -Yomiuri * Sharp will struggle to find buyer for solar business-source By Reiji Murai and Tim Kelly TOKYO, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Cash-strapped Sharp Corp is in talks to sell its key solar panel plant in Japan as part of an asset sale seeking more than $1.2 billion, local media said on Thursday,...
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Re: Japan's Sharp Corp plans to sell its copiers and air conditioners businesses
Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America Sharp Electronics Corporation One Sharp Plaza • Mahwah, New Jersey 07495-1163 • e-mail: SIICAmktg@sharpsec.com • www.sharp-pc.com EXECUTIVE BULLETIN August 16, 2012 Dear SIICA Dealers: As many of you have recently read, Sharp Corporation is in the process of revitalizing our operations in order to be more competitive. While this process takes time, we are moving aggressively to position ourselves for future growth. However, during this period,...
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Re: Japan's Sharp Corp plans to sell its copiers and air conditioners businesses
So, what can we take from this? 1. They are worried that current Sharp USA Dealers will jump ship and accelerate Sharp's demise home and abroad. 2. Sharp is not currently negotiating the sale of businesses, well usually when you hear of something this big you can bet your bottom dollar that indeed there is something going on. I'm sure Nikkei would not report or speculate and then state that "Sharp plans to sell......" For years on the forums, we've heard and found out that most of the...