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MFP Copier Blog
Better Call Art "Power MPS & Why E-commerce"
Better Call Art "Sales Chain & The Glue That Holds it All Together"
FYI, I need to get me one of Mikes Mic. The sound is awesome
[Free Virtual Session] Work Smarter, Breathe Easier with Your New 24/7 Digital Employee: DocuWare Cloud
[Free Virtual Session] Work Smarter, Breathe Easier with Your New 24/7 Digital Employee: DocuWare Cloud
On Thursday, April 21 from 2:00-2:45 p.m. EDT, DocuWare is hosting a free session titled “DocuWare Cloud turns 10! See why 6,000+ customers use this cloud document management solution every day.”
This month marks the 10-year anniversary of DocuWare Cloud; invite your prospects to join the celebration! During this special webinar, they’ll see DocuWare Cloud in action and experience why 6,000+ customers choose it to power their businesses daily. DocuWare Cloud is user-friendly and secure…it’s their new 24/7 digital employee, always working for them.
If you would like to attend, click here and register.
To invite your prospects, send them to this link to register (Important: Be sure to have them insert your company name in the field: Name of Authorized DocuWare Partner, so that we can send the lead back to you!).
Network Printers Can Be Secured Even In A Hybrid Workspace
Network Printers Can Be Secured Even In A Hybrid Workspace
The slow move to remote work before 2020 was primarily due to concerns about security. Companies understood that securing virtual workspaces required additional investments in hardware and technology beyond the usual firewalls and processes they could implement directly on their internal servers. And at the time, there was no justification for investing the money in creating the infrastructure to facilitate remote work beyond the occasional salesperson’s laptop.
When the pandemic response of early 2020 took full effect, businesses scrambled to figure out ways to continue operating outside the main office. In many cases, thoughts of security were secondary to ensuring employees could continue working. Once the dust settled, IT began implementing the firewalls and secure point-to-point connections required to regain the standard protections for company information. But, as we continue the slow march out of pandemic response, one major business component is still seen as a security risk – printing.
The Problem With Home Printers
Most businesses (90%) don’t know how many printers they have in their central offices. But the real issue isn’t what machines are sitting at headquarters; the growing problem is the number of home printers used for company printing. When these printers are connected to company computers either directly into a USB or through the same wi-fi network, they pose a potential point of attack to the company’s virtual network.
The first and largest vulnerability is having an unsecured, internet-enabled machine connected to a company computer. Bad actors could hack into the local wi-fi and, using the shared connection, gain access to the printer. The link between the printer and the company computer provides a pathway to bypass any VPN or security. And, once in the employee’s computer, hackers can easily view emails, browse computer files, and even gain access to the business’s primary network.
The second vulnerability is the information stored on the hard drive of even the most inexpensive consumer printer. These hard drives store the images of queued documents for a varying degree of time. As a result, hackers who gain access to an employee’s wi-fi can potentially access any company information included on print jobs sent to that consumer-grade machine.
Why Banning Home Printers Doesn’t Work
The simplest solution to eliminating the risk of company information on personal printers is to lock down what equipment can be linked to the company computer. If the employee can’t directly or remotely connect their home printer, the business network is safe, and company information cannot be transmitted to the printer’s hard drive.
But employees need to be able to print. During the 2020 shutdown, over half of workers (59%) continued to print and copy the same amount or more while working from home. The drive to print certain documents can push employees to find workarounds even when locked out of using the home printer. One method is to send work documents to private email or cloud accounts. Those documents are then accessed from less secure personal computers and sent to consumer-grade printers.
Employees who work a portion of their time in the main office may have a better option, such as printing remotely to the printers at headquarters. However, if the main printer(s) immediately print everything in their queue, there is the risk of documents being picked up by the wrong employees. In addition, there is the risk of office visitors or other departments accidentally viewing information that does not apply to them or should not have been viewed.
Networked Printers Are A Good Compromise
So, remote and hybrid employees need to print. Companies need to maintain security. Unfortunately, the two requirements seem to be at complete odds. The risks consumer printers pose as an entry point for bad actors is dangerous enough. The possibility of criminals using a back door to view sensitive company information or, worse, gaining access to the company’s internal systems is undoubtedly a daunting prospect. But taking the capacity for safe printing away from employees can affect job performance or lead to other potentially risky behaviors.
The best solution is to select an appropriate compromise in networked printers. Small format office-grade printers such as A3 and A4 models can provide fast and efficient printing for the remote workforce. But, unlike consumer printers, they have additional security functionality which allows for document encryption, port security, and remote monitoring.
Cloud Applications And VPN
In addition to hardware-level measures, these small-footprint networkable machines can use cloud applications or VPN – the same as or similar to what is used to lock down other company hardware. Both options continue the point-to-point protection required to make remote printing a safe option for at-home and hybrid workers. And, just like the business’s laptop and desktop computers, fully supported office-grade networked printers have regular security software updates to counteract new digital attack strategies and detected vulnerabilities.
Employees continue to value printing as an essential aspect of their everyday tasks. Innovative businesses will find ways to facilitate the needs of their people. Small format, office-grade, networked printers can be a viable solution for the discerning company as the configuration and idea of the “traditional” office continues to reshape for the post-COVID future.
I'm Finding the Opportunities, but not Winning Competitive Deals
The question below was emailed to me back in 2003 and I thought this would be a good review.
"My pipeline is always 100,000k+ and I'm required to do 12-15 appointments per week. I'm finding the opportunities, but not winning competitive deals. (I have a small base list of 10 accounts)."
Above was a statement that was emailed to me by a Print4Pay Hotel member in Canada this week. I thought this would make a good topic for this week to see if I can help.
Okay, I'm thinking if you only have a base of 10 accounts and you're not winning competitive deals that means all of your business is net new. Here's a few things that I try to do with net new business.
1) Find out what brand of equipment they have now and who is servicing the product with those opportunities.
2) Once you've found out what brand they have, ask them what brand they had before their current brand along with who was servicing the equipment. If they had a different brand and servicing dealer this can tell you that they have no brand or service loyalty. If they have the same brand and the same servicing dealer or direct branch, then you've got a tough road to hoe since they have brand and service loyalty.
3) I would dig deep with the customer to see if there is some type of lockout feature or software that will position my company at the top of the pack. I've often found that many reps are lazy and won't take the time to explain many of the features, advantages and benefits of their systems. Thus you may mention something browse to folder for scanning. Try not to leave any stones un-turned, when you are in a competitive situation. If you're selling MPS, make it more about the service, the reporting tools, and your fleet software advantages.
4) Make sure you meet with the DM, if not you need to put your best foot forward with the quality of your presentation and proposal. Many times the DM may leave the decision making up to the person you met with, in this case the cheapest/lowest price may not be the right choice for the person you met with. Most likely they will not select the highest price, nor the lowest price. Thus, go with your gut and the middle of road for pricing.
5) Ask "When will you be making a decision on acquiring the system and what is the process for choosing one vendor over another", make this one of your last questions.
6) ABC, Always be closing, if a closing opportunity comes up and stares you smack in the kisser, then close.
7) I'm not sure of your market, however in large markets you've got to be prepared and I hate to say this, is to "offer your best deal" in order to get the business. If you're in this for the long haul and your company services the product well, you'll be able to have an upgrade or additional units in the future that you'll be able to hold margin.
These are just a few items that came to mind. What I can also tell you is that you need to remove yourself from competitive situations, you need to find the prospects who are NOT in the market.
Basically this means that with your skill set you've been able to secure an appointment, assess their pain or challenges and offer a solution that will help them NOW. Hard to do, but the opportunities are out there, all you need to do is find them.
-=Good Selling=-
IT, MSP & MSSP Industry Notes for April 17th 2022
Sponsored by
Why partnering with ARCOA makes sense
Electronics Recycling is an important and profitable part of the IT asset lifecycle, but it can be overwhelming with all you already do, varying state regulations, and the limited resources at hand. That’s where ARCOA comes in. When you partner with ARCOA, you get all the benefits of a big company without any of the capital investment. We’ve been doing this since 1989 and have the expertise, certifications, and nationwide resources to get the most for all your clients’ retired IT assets. Plus, positioning your clients as environmental stewards not only elevates their appeal to consumers, it meets government requirements and avoids fines.
What partnering with ARCOA looks like
Our role is to make it easy for you to bring more value to your clients. We work with you to help stretch your clients’ IT budget by reducing the total cost of ownership of their electronics. We’re experts at identifying and implementing the solutions your clients need for the end-of-use remarketing, recovery, and recycling of their technology assets. The sooner you involve ARCOA, the sooner you and your clients.
Canon Publishes Guide to Help Customers Protect Environment Against Cybersecurity Threats
- announced that Canon has published a white paper that covers cybersecurity guidelines for organizations and their systems that manage important information
- white paper, created by Canon Inc. and verified by Trellix (former McAfee Enterprise)
- relate device functions and settings to specific cybersecurity controls are also part of the white paper
Canon warns of possible security issue
- Potential security vulnerability in the RSA key generating process in the cryptographic library used by many Canon imageRUNNER ADVANCE MFPs
- Hackers could use to possibly decipher captured communications
- Firmware updates to resolve problem now available
AireSpring Adds Fortinet FortiPortal to Its Managed SD-WAN Solutions Portfolio
- announce that it has added Fortinet's FortiPortal to its managed SD-WAN and Security product offering
- AireSpring provides access to hundreds of carriers and cable companies in the US and around the Globe
Quadient Continues Footprint Expansion in Document Automation Cloud Solutions with ...
- announced launch of Impress Distribute in Germany, expanding to another European market the capabilities of Quadient® Impress
- cloud-based document automation for small and medium businesses (SMBs)
- SPS is an outsourcing provider for business processes solutions and innovative services in document management
Imprivata Acquires SecureLink to Deliver a Single-Vendor Platform to Manage and Secure ...
- announced it has closed its acquisition of SecureLink
- acquisition addresses the rapidly growing need for a single source to enable and protect all digital identities
- Imprivata is the digital identity company
Y Soft offers new RFID badge reader
Now offering the MFX Ultimate Reader, billed as the “most universal” reader in the market
- Combines mobile, HID and Legic in one device
- Free product lifetime warranty
- Can be used with MFPs and printers using Y Soft’s secure print release solution
Kaseya to acquire Datto in US$6.2 billion transaction
- Re3ported on ChannelLife
- will offer Datto’s shareholders US$35.50 per share all cash
- all-cash transaction will be funded by an equity consortium led by Insight Partners, with significant investments from TPG and Temasek and participation from investors including Sixth Street
- Kaseya is a unified IT management and security software provider for managed service providers (MSPs) and small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs)
- 3% or organizations surveyed have experienced a cyber attack
- 7% hit by 6 or more attacks
- 71% hit by ransomware
- 9% pay the ransom
- Shortfall of skilled IT security personnel is top factor that inhibits adequate defense
- Also low security awareness among employees
- 7% of IT budget on average spent on security
- 2% are increasing the spend
- 9% of healthcare IT budget is spent on security
- Will increase budget by 3.6%
- 76% of healthcare organizations predict increased attacks
- 6% claim to have endpoint detection security solution in place
- Endpoints include copiers, fax machines, scanners and printers
- 8% plan on buying in 2022
- 3% claim to have endpoint hard drive encryption
- 2% plan to get in 2022
- 1% outsource cybersecurity detection and response
- 3% outsource vulnerability scans
Nevada IT Solutions: Managed IT Services & Security Wins 2022 NCET Tech Awards
- named winner of the Northern Nevada’s Technological Community at NCET Tech Awards
- NCET presented the award to Nevada IT Solutions Reno-Sparks Convention Center
- more about Nevada IT Solutions and the award can visit the website at https://www.ncet.org/ncet-tech-awards
- announced Japan's first successful field trials of a self-sovereign identity(1) technology
- new technology facilitates the distribution of digitally managed information attributable to individuals (digital identity) between different organizations and services
JFS Partners Announces the Acquisition of Transcendent by Airiam
- Specialized M&A Advisory and Consulting firm facilitating transactions in the MSP, cloud, colocation and communications industries
- Announces acquisition of Transcendent, a leading IT consulting and managed service provider based in Hartland, Wisconsin, by Airiam
- Airiam, a managed services provider headquartered in Miami Beach, Florida
Lock in on Cyber Security with ARCOA
- customer has a staggered refresh cycle, the value of the equipment can be issued in the form of a credit growing over time
- identifying assets that are usually passed over and often have significant value
- Will generate Environmental Impact Reports at no charge
Cybersecurity Notes
- Viasat Corp. notified tens of thousands of customers of its consumer broadband modems that devices may have been compromised by recent Russain AcidRain malware attack.
- Bradley International Airport of Connecticut notified an unknown number of customers that their info may have been exposed after cyber attack.
- Smartmatic Inc., one of the providers of voting machines in the U.S., admitted that it suffered a data leak, and terminated an employee involved.
- German police claim they have shut down Hydra, which operates a marketplace for stolen info on the Dark Web.
- Texas Department of Insurance notified 1.8 million patients that their PHI may have been exposed after “data security” event
- Parker Hannifin Corp., headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, notified an unknown number of employees and customers that a ransomware group has apparently stolen “several gigabytes” of files.
- Bloomberg News published results of survey:
- 80% expect to increase or maintain technology spending in the next 12 months
- 72% said they will likely increase their budgets by 9 percent or more this year.
- 87% say cybersecurity is more important
- North Carolina A&T University notified an unknown number of students that their info was exposed after ransomware attack.
- The FBI published another warning of increased ransomware attacks aimed at healthcare vertical and local government agencies.
- Englewood Health of New Jersey notified 4,000 patients that their PHI was exposed after cyber incident.
- Aberdeen Research published report on endpoint security (endpoints include MFPs, printers, fax, etc.)
- From 5% to 80% of endpoint devices on networks are NOT visible to IT and security staff
- Between 4.7% to 8.5% of these devices are already infected with malware
This Week in the Copier Industry Five Years Ago
This Week in the Copier Industry Five Years Ago
Third Week of April 2017
Greg and I had a chat late on Good Friday. We spoke about how the industry has changed, the amount of good people (including sales reps) that we've lost in the last two plus years. It was agreed that our future is not about copier and print devices but more about how we can learn more about our clients and ask business questions that will allow us to understand what's good and bad about their business. More often than not understanding the client on a business level will enable us to provide options to their business and allow us to be a valued partner.
Enjoy These Great Copier Threads from 5 years Ago This Week
ITEX 2017 Muratec America Leads the Way with Color Label Presses
New EFI Fiery for Xerox Versant Presses Showcases Quality and Productivity
Toshiba Earns Largest Share in Chinese A3 MFP Market for 17th Consecutive Year
Ricoh Ireland donates €175k worth of equipment to Temple Street Children's Hospital
How Social Turns Sales Reps Downtime Into Prospecting Time
Canon Business Process Services Receives Honors in Four Distinguished Judging Categories in the 2017 IAOP Global Outsourcing 100
It's Time To Start Dialing The Social Phone
Toshiba plans spin-offs to speed reconstruction process
BTA Mid-America to Host Gateway to Success
Toshiba Loses Access to Unit's Cash After Hedge Fund Sues
3 Sales Email Templates to Use When Prospects Aren’t Ready to Buy
Toshiba Machine Splits from Parent Company
Re: How Social Turns Sales Reps Downtime Into Prospecting Time
Re: How Social Turns Sales Reps Downtime Into Prospecting Time
Conrad Charlton
ITEX 2017 "Day One"
Lead for Wide Format Printer/Cutter in Massachusetts
Re: Toshiba Machine Splits from Parent Company
Re: How Social Turns Sales Reps Downtime Into Prospecting Time
Re: Muratec Label Press
Meet the New Teacher's Pet: Lexmark Testing Assistant Makes the Grade in the Classroom
Want Your LinkedIn Profile to Stand Out in 2017? Don't Include These 10 Overused Words
Re: Faxing multiple jobs at once
Re: ITEX 2017 Muratec America Leads the Way with Color Label Presses
Re: Standard Network Presrcibe Print System
Attention Sales World... Does The Talk Match The Walk?
"Most people will talk the talk, few will walk the walk; be amongst the few"
Dr. Steve Maraboli
In a sales world where trust and credibility are at anemically low levels, are you leading your sales life with congruency?
Does the walk match the talk?
Does the way you carry yourself online match the way you carry yourself offline?
Does the way you carry yourself out in the community match the way you carry yourself with your clients?
Some of you may be wondering congruency, what does this have to do with sales?
Well, when thinking of congruency, let's look no further than to Carl Rogers to help bring this into a sales context. Carl was an American psychologist and among the founders of the humanistic approach (and client-centered approach) in psychology. He was widely considered to be one of the founding fathers of psychotherapy research.
In psychology terms, Rogers went on to say, "a therapist should be in a congruent state to best serve their client within the confines of that therapist-client relationship."
Are you carrying yourself in a congruent state in order to best serve your clients?
Carl Rogers went onto say,
“It means avoiding the temptation to present a facade or hide behind a false mask of professionalism or an attitude of superiority. It’s certainly not simple to achieve such a reality. Being genuine involves the often challenging task of becoming fully acquainted with the flow of experiencing that’s going on within oneself”.
Now, let's loop this back into trusting relationships within sales.
Trust can be earned through your actions. How many of your clients are watching your actions or for that matter your in-actions?
Please key in on this...
If your actions are not congruent with what you say you then how legitimate are you through the lens of your clients' eyes?
If you say that your clients are important and you value building meaningful client relationships, then you must spend quality time with your clients cementing those relationships.
Congruency isn’t about big actions. It's about the little things.
Congruency leads to connection, deep conversation and attraction. I ask you to think about how salespeople are perceived, now think about what it means to be congruent.
The more you know about yourself the more you grow, plain and simple, yet so difficult.
What makes you tick? What makes you come alive? What do you really know about yourself?
CONGRUENCY MATTERS
Let's peel back congruency even more.
Derived from the Latin word “congruere”, which means ‘to meet’ or ‘to agree’, congruence is the point at which your principles and beliefs align with your thoughts and actions.
Congruency will keep you at the top, especially in a world full of empty suits.
This will require you to personally reflect upon yourself, your actions, your thoughts and how you carry yourself. This will require you to become hyper-vigilant and observant.
Allow this quote from Nathaniel Branden to sink in,
"Integrity is congruence between what you know, what you profess, and what you do."
At times, congruency will be tested within the confines of your work environment. Think about all the incongruent, mismatched and misaligned moments that happen in any given day, week or month within your working environment.
Often, we do what we are told, and we continue these patterns over and repeatedly without giving it much thought. Sounds like sales autopilot to me.
Sales is an emotional rollercoaster. It tugs on our heart and wears on our minds. However, to be truly fulfilled in sales, we must act from a place of congruency.
To be congruent, who you are, what you say, and what you do must be aligned.
Please key in with what I'm about ready to share... Spend any amount of time in sales and you will have been faced with "what is right versus what is wrong" actions and behaviors.
When you find your heart and mind being pulled in opposite directions, or when your deeds collide with your thoughts; your body senses it and you start to experience the effects of incongruence.
Stress, inner conflict and disease thrive when congruence is threatened. I know you all get what I am cooking because we all have experienced it.
E.E. Cummings wrote,
"To be nobody-but-yourself — in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else — means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting."
With trust and credibility constantly being challenged, practice congruency and lead your sales life in an authentic manner.
HOW WILL YOU CARRY YOURSELF?
Someone who lives with congruency carries themselves in direct accordance with their vision, dreams, values, mission, beliefs and goals.
Will you carve out your own unique path paved by a deep understanding of you?
The road to self-discovery will unlock a treasure trove of opportunities. This could be one of the single hardest things you do.
Reflect for a moment...
- What inspires you?
- What are your strengths?
- What is your personal mission statement?
- What are your core set of values?
Leading with congruency... Amazing things start to happen and you notice:
- Your confidence soars.
- Your desire to make a difference becomes apparent.
- You start to feel a sense of calmness.
- Things start to fall into place with your sales career
- Your client's start to notice.
I will ask you again... Does your walk match your talk?
When your actions match your values, it gives your clients and future clients the confidence that you lead authentically and act with integrity. And isn't this what you want?
Would you like to increase your sales success and fulfillment?
This was my goal when recording all-new materials for the new Selling from the Heart Masterclass, to increasing your sales success and fulfillment in your business.
If you enjoyed the Selling from the Heart book, you’re going to love this masterclass! It takes the tools given to the next level.
Have yet to read Selling from the Heart? No worries, you will receive an audio version as a part of the Masterclass. As an option you can get a free signed copy of Selling from the Heart (just pay for shipping and handling).
You can get your copy here - https://www.sellingfromtheheart.net/book
Together, we will go on a journey where we’ll dive into how to apply the ideas in the book to help you achieve even greater sales success.
With each of the 10 sessions, you’ll receive questions that will help you increase your sales in a way that also makes selling more enjoyable and fulfilling.
This masterclass is configured with you in mind where you can complete the course in chunks from any mobile device, iPad or computer, based on your availability.
You’ll also discover fun bonus materials throughout the course.
This Week in the Copier Industry 15 Years Ago
This Week in the Copier Industry 15 Years Ago
Third Week of April 2007
For years I thought working Good Friday was a waste of my time. In fact I can't remember the last Good Friday that I worked because I always took the day as my vacation day. This year I changed it up because I needed to change things up since I was in a hole from last month.......(read the blog tomorrow for the rest of the story)