MFP Copier Blog

COVID19 Remote Working Day Two Hundred and Nine of Selling Copiers

In 40 some odd business days it will be one year since I was optioned to working remotely here in New Jersey.  Two days after returning from our Presidents Club Trip to Aruba everything went to crap.  Just hard to believe it's going to be a full year.  Also hard to believe that I've been writing this blog series for almost one year.  Maybe it's time to write that book?

Today's positive cases for COVID19 reached an all time high at almost 7,000.  Many are calling for additional lockdowns while almost as many are calling for the lockdowns to end.  In addition it's an election year from our Governor.  I expect conditions not to change in New Jersey until June of this year.  I can only hope that it will happen sooner than later.

Today

As much as I tried to get ahead of the prospecting curve I was pushed back with either an important email or a call.  Those calls and follow ups need to be finished but it just wasn't in the cards today.  I was able to muddle through my important list of things to do but making the 25 plus calls or emails didn't happen.

I was able to process the one order I received late last week (was waiting for credit approval) today for about $64K.  In addition I was able to garner a $30K opportunity with a net new account.  I think this opportunity has legs for this week however I'm not counting my chickens just yet.   

One of my other opportunities for a color production device also committed to an appointment late this Friday.  I'm hoping this will be the appointment that locks down the order an we can move forward.  This opportunity is worth $35K.

Thus there's an outside shot that I might be able to run the month somewhere around $130K.  That would be nice and an awesome way to start the first quarter, however I know that anything can happen at anytime.  Thus the reason to continue prospecting and keep moving opportunities into the funnel.

Like I stated on the last blog about being ahead of quota is nice however if you slack off you'll be right back to where you started.  Just maybe this could be the year that I hit my revenue numbers early and not having opportunities go down to the wire.

Virtual Demos

Within a week or so one of my clients will be seeing a virtual demo for a color production device.  Since this is new to me and new to the client I was curious if anyone has any tips to share.  At this point I'm thinking virtual demos could happen more often because the client does not have to leave the office.  Would that be a fair statement?  I can remember many demo's in our office that didn't come to fruition because the client wasn't able to leave, got hung up on a project or just didn't have the time for the travel back and forth.  If you have any tips please leave them in the reply for this blog and they will be appreciated.

Conversations That Make You Think

I had three phones calls with one of my opportunities today.  She is very "red" and was peppering me with questions about features, pricing, and others that I just can't remember right now.  I've realized that I was not in control of the conversation and what happens when you're not in control is that you can make a mistake.  Those mistakes can be for pricing or features and once the mistake is made with a "red" person in most cases you can't take it back.

I had to find a way to grab control of the conversation and slow things down.  I was able to do that by giving the client an "atta girl".  I waited for the moment and then told her I was impressed with her knowledge and the need to get only the facts. There was a moment in silence and I then stated that we have many different features, price points and the best option is for me to get her a document that shows here everything she needs to know in a simple format.  It worked and now I have the time to research, do the pricing and make sure all is correct instead sparing with questions and answers.

-=Good Selling=-

The Week in Copiers Five Years Ago

Second Week of January 2016

I read a thread today that Canon will re-organize as of April 1, 2021.  From what I read they will re-organize into four groups.

• monitoring cameras
• medical equipment
• machines to manufacture organic electroluminescent panels
• commercial and industrial printing

Enjoy these awesome copier threads from five years ago this week!

It was about two weeks prior to Christmas that I visited Peddler's Village in Lahaska, PA.  Peddler's Village offers many shops in colonial style buildings along with dining and lodging.  Our mission was to shop for some Christmas gifts and we planned for a day of cold rain and raw conditions.

As I was forced to go in out of almost every shop on the campus I noticed that almost all of the shops had custom color branding labels for most of their food products.  Below is a picture I took from the jerky shop.

Each package has a custom color label.  Thus I did some investigative work to see if this shop produces the labels.  I found some partially opened boxes of the the jerky and determined that these labels were produced at the time of packaging. In addition the company that supplied the jerky is located in PA.

I knew then that this company could be a great suspect for a color label press.  With the recent demise of clicks the addition of adding color label presses can make a difference to a dealers bottom line. It can also offer up additional opportunities for a great consumable revenue stream.

Label Press University

At the top of each blog you'll see .  Clicking that link which is at the top of each blog will then bring you the collection of blogs for Color Label Press University.  It's pretty neat, you'll see all of the blogs that we've posted for an easier read and simple way to toggle from blog to blog.

Color Label Presses can be used as seeding devices in larger Print4Pay opportunities, or help that dealer or rep get a conversation going with an account where they have never had any traction with MFP's or IT services.  In addition, the competition is ripe for takeover.   Let us not forget about the GP!

The market for full color digital labels in huge and the potential to make some serious commissions is enormous.  BTW, isn't that why we're in this crazy business?

Register   The corresponding placement of one color to the next, etc., as well as the printing placement as it relates to die-cutting, scoring, perfing, etc.
Register Marks  Symbols attached to original copy prior to photography, used for positioning films in register, or registering two or more colors when printing.
Relative Humidity   The amount of water vapor present in the atmosphere, expressed as a percent of maximum that could be present at the same room temperature.
Release   The force required to free or separate a pressure sensitive label from its release liner, using a specific measuring device.
Release Agent   Materials used to facilitate the removal of molded items from their molds. These agents can cause serious problems in adhesion when applying labels to the molded products.
Release Coat   The release liner treatment material that allows pressure sensitive labels to release from the release liner. Usually made
from silicone.
Release Coat Transfer   The transfer of release coat from the release liner to the pressure sensitive adhesive during release.
Release Liner   The component of th epressure sensitive label stock which functions as a carrier for the pressure sensitive label. Prior to application, it protects the adhesive, and readily separates from the label immediately before the label is applied to product.
Relief Angle   The angle of the raised portion of a printing plate.
Removability   A relative term applied to pressure sensitive labels to describe the force or condition under which they can be removed from
a substrate. A removable label would be one in which no damage or staining occurs to the substrate or the face material on removal.
Removable Adhesive   A pressure sensitive adhesive characterized by low ultimate adhesion and clean removability from a wide variety of surfaces.
Rendering   The finished production of a design, drawing, painting, etc. by hand using any of various artist tools, I.e. pencils, pens, knives, brushes, air brushes.
Repeat   The printing length of a plate cylinder, determined by one revolution of the place cylinder gear.
Repositionable   The ability of a pressure sensitive label to be bonded to a surface, removed and repositioned. This can only be done for a
limited period of time (20 minutes). Beyond that time, the bond may begin to become permanent, except in cases where a removable adhesive is used.
Repositionable Adhesive   A permanent adhesive that can be removed and re positioned for a short, finite time after application.
Repositioning   The re-lamination of labels to a different location on the backing sheet following die-cutting.
Residue   Something that remains after a part is removed, such as removing a label and leaving adhesive on the surface.
Restivity   The ability of a material to resist passage of electrical current either through its bulk or on a surface. The resistivity unit of volume is the ohm-cm.
Retarders   Combinations of liquids, solvents and extenders that are added to an adhesive, coating or ink to slow down the drying rate of
the material.
Reverse Printing   Printing on the underside of a transparent film. Also, a design in which the copy is 'dropped-out' and the background is
printed making the copy appear in the color of the background.
Reverse Roller Coating   The coating is pre-metered between two rolls, then wiped off onto the web, which is driven by a third backup roll. The
amount of coating is controlled by the gap between the metering and applicator rolls and also by relative speed or rotation between the same two rolls.

Rewind   The take-up spindle or mandrel on a press. Also, the act of winding a roll of material through a machine to effect the opposite unwind.
Rewinding & Inspection   The operation of winding the material from the press roll onto a core (or coreless) to produce rolls of the desired width,
diameter and tension. Out-of-spec labels can be removed during this operation.
Right Reading   An image whose parts are spatially oriented to each other as they are on the original or as they are to be printed, in contrast
to the way they would appear reflected in a mirror.
Rockwell Hardness   A method of determining the surface hardness of a substance. Degree of hardness.
Roll Coater   A machine utilizing rolls to mechanically apply an adhesive or coating to flexible substrates.
Roll Label   Pressure sensitive labels that are produced in a continuous roll form.
Roll-To-Roll  A method of running materials through a printing machine. A roll of material is fed into a printing unit, is printed, then is rewound into a roll as it exits the machine.
Roll-To-Sheet   A method of running material through a printing machine. A roll of material is fed into a printing unit, is printed, then is sheeted as it exits the printing machine.
Rotary Press   A press that in normal use featutrees a roll-to-roll operation.
Rotary Printing   Accomplished by means of a cylindrical impression cylinder and a cylindrical printing plate.
Rotogravure Printing   Printing process that utilizes cylinders that have the design etched into the metal surface. The material to be printed comes in contact with the etched cylinder (which is carrying the ink) and the ink is transferred. A rubber pressure roll facilitates this transfer. Also known as gravure printing.
Rough Sketch  An impromptu drawing of a picture or design, often in color. Often developed into comprehensive artwork.
Rub Test   Test performed to determine the durability and abrasion resistance of the printed surface of a label

COVID19 Remote Working Day Two Hundred and Seven of Selling Copiers

Apologies for only posting one blog last week however I've been dealing with sinus issues for the past few days.  It was somewhat better over the weekend however it's back and I'm playing catch up with many items.  I hope to have our weekly email address out this week but it's already 9:30PM.

Spy Chips

Spy chips have you heard of them?  Do you know what they are?  Seems I do because I follow press releases related to IT, IT services, MSP and MSSP.  Each week I publish an easy to read up dates of IT related articles and press releases that come across in my google alerts.  Last week I read that Toshiba in partnership with a Japanese University has developed a tool to sniff out those spy chips in electronic hardware.  The cost is about $15K per device but what's the cost of losing your proprietary or trade secrets?  The more I thought about this the more I thought this would be a great tool for dealers to offer to their high end clients. We all know how many of those Chinese made devices are in those accounts.  It makes a lot of sense to me, you can read the thread on that here.

My Day

Today was still filled with playing catch up with some accounts and prospecting.  I didn't fare to well with the prospecting but I was able to cross everything and everybody I wanted to contact on my to do list.  That was my goal for the day. No matter what I had to get those tasks completed so I could move forward.  Tomorrow means another list of things to do.  I think the end result was maybe 15 calls and and 20 emails for the day.  I was also able to schedule two appointments which was not good but it was better than the alternative of not setting any appointments.

Late Friday I emailed pricing over for that net new account that is no longer net new due a timing factor.  That account expired as net new on the last week of December.  Since I emailed the pricing late Friday, okay I'm going to stop right here for a moment.  In most cases when I think an order might be close,  in addition to sending the pricing proposal I'll also send the order docs.  For me it shows my intent to to move forward and gives the client everything they need in writing along with the proposal.  Since those docs were sent late Friday today was the day I would let the ball travel and follow up tomorrow.  At 4:45PM I received the signed order docs.  Yes, I was surprised and yes the order was a nice one coming in around $60K.  Yay! for once I'm ahead of the game, I've still got two weeks left in the month and there's another $40K out there for the month.

My next two weeks will be spent rebuilding the funnel because many have fallen off, many have delayed their decisions and many are still fighting COVID.

Tomorrow

I've got another full day tomorrow with a long list a new to do's and an on-site appointment to help an existing client. I'm hoping my time at this client can move the ball forward with a content opportunity that has been in the weeds for two years.  Plus I need to process that order and get back on the stick for email and calls.

More to come tomorrow!

-=Good Selling-=

^{January 11th, 2021}

MSP, MSSP and IT Industry Notes

Sponsored by

Arcoa Group

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 will see better results.

Advanced Cybersecurity Solutions are Needed as Workforce Dynamics Change

• A recent Skybox survey of almost 70 organizations revealed that more than a third of the combined workforce is expected to remain remote for at least another 18 months
• Furthering the need for technologies for cloud services and digital collaborative tools such as Slack, Zoom and Skype
• Personal devices, home routers, and transfer if sensitive information over unsanctioned and unsecured channels like IM, apps, personal email addresses and cloud-based document processors are all expected to play a key role in future data breaches and hacks

Navisite to acquire cloud provider Velocity

• Reported on Capacity
• Navisite acquired Velocity Technology Solutions
• Velocity Technology provide cloud managed services
• Velocity founded in 2003, headquarters in Charlotte, NC
• "We look forward to what we can accomplish together with Navisite," said Steve Kloeblen, CEO of Velocity Technology Solutions.

ICS Announces Acquisition Of AKUITY Technologies

• ICS, a portfolio company of ClearLight Partners and a provider of Information Technology (IT) Managed Services in the Northeast, announced it has acquired AKUITY Technologies
• AKUITY provides IT Managed Services in New England
• AKUITY founded in 1988, headquarters in Auburn, MA
• ICS was founded in 1986

Milestone Technologies Acquires Covestic, LLC. a ServiceNow Elite Partner and IT Managed ...

• Milestone Technologies, a Silicon Valley based global IT managed services firm, announced the acquisition of Covestic, LLC
• Covestic offers Manager IT services along with being a ServiceNow Elite Partner
• ServiceNow offers modern digital workflows
• “We are excited to be joining the Milestone family and I am looking forward to working with our new colleagues to continue to deliver world-class services and solutions to our clients,” said John Schaffer, President and CEO of Covestic

WatServ Provides Innovative, Multi-Cloud Solutions with Alert Logic's Managed Detection and ...

• WatServ partnering with Alert Logic
• WatServ to provide multi-cloud solutions for Alert Logics MDR
• WatServ clients to have access to Alert Logics MDR platform
• "WatServ currently manages several of our customers' cloud environments using Alert Logic MDR," said Kazim Somji, Chief Technology Officer at WatServ
• "Digital transformation is a top priority for most organizations operating in today's highly competitive market," said Dan Webb, Vice President of Partner Sales & Alliances at Alert Logic

Indellient Launches Managed IT Solutions Team and Application Upgrades to Optimize the AWS ...

• Indellient, announces formation of their Managed IT Solutions team
• Provide organizations the ongoing support they need to get the most out of their AWS solutions
• "Indellient has been providing ongoing support on an as-needed for increasingly sophisticated cloud and hybrid-cloud applications for several years for our clients," said VP of Data Services and Operations Chris Venantius

Excalibur Data Systems Announces A New Managed Services Offering

• Excalibur Data Systems, today announced their Cherwell Software managed services offering
• Designed to address day-to-day administrative activities with your Cherwell CSM and CAM Platforms
• Ideal for any organization looking for a cost-effective way to manage their Cherwell Service Management Platform

ISG Technology Ramps Up Mid-Market Managed Service Offering With Two IT Veterans

• ISG announces addition of two industry veterans to staff
• Brian McCollum for Director of Managed Services and Jeffrey Meyers as Support Center Manager
• Part of ISG Technology's plan to better serve mid-market companies that view IT as a strategic differentiator for their business

ePlus Acquires Systems Management Planning For Strong AI, Collaboration Expansion

• Reported on CRN
• ePlus on Monday said it acquired competitor and fellow solution provider Systems Management & Planning for an undisclosed sum'
• Eplus garners presence in upstate NY and northeaster US

Toshiba's detector sniffs out spy chips lurking in hardware

• Reported on NIKKEI Asia
• Toshiba and Waseda University develops system to detect spy chips
• Spy chips are tiny intruders that are barley visible to the naked eye or are incorporated om circuity
• Spy chips made headlines about two years ago when China allegedly planted the devices into servers, which reportedly reach 30 American companies
• HTfinder can provide results in 2 weeks
• Fees are expected to hover around 2 million yen ($19,444) per product analyzed, though rates will differ depending on the type of hardware
• Spy chips can be hidden in semiconductors and circuit boards by resembling part of the circuit

Keyavi Data™ Cybersecurity Experts Issue Top 2021 Predictions

• The network perimeter is now anywhere and everywhere data flows. As many organizations extend remote work for their employees while COVID-19 lingers, securing email gateways, web gateways and endpoints – and the endless river of data flowing through those channels – will be a major business priority and challenge to protect
• Nation-state threat actors in China, Russia, North Korea and Iran are getting bolder and using more destructive attacks aimed at targets with the highest payoff potential or the most geopolitical gain. Data, the lifeblood of every organization, has become the high-value target of choice for these criminals
• Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are becoming the weapons of choice among cybercriminals for scamming, planting malware and committing fraud using deepfakes
• Data epidemiology – a new arrow in the hack-detection quiver – is bridging gaps in an organization’s understanding of its attack surface with tools that automatically collect and analyze large amounts of threat data and prioritize incident responses based on perceived threat levels
• “Strong security always comes back to defense-in-depth – a multilayered approach to protecting data,” said Celine Gravelines, Keyavi’s director of professional services and cybersecurity analyst

WestFax Selects NewWave Technologies as an Authorized Distributor of Its HIPAA Compliant Fax ...

• WestFax, a HIPAA Compliant Fax company, announced today its distributor partnership with NewWave Technologies, Inc
• partnership expands the WestFax cloud-based fax solutions offering to NewWave’s existing channel of over 1500 copier, MFP, and document scanner dealers to provide a fully integrated document workflow solution
• new partnership will allow NewWave dealers to sell the WestFax solution through their channel effective January 1, 2021

Feds say don’t use Chinese hardware

• The US Department of Homeland Security published a “business advisory” warning US customers against using hardware created or linked to Chinese companies
• FBI is investigating more than 1,000 cases of data theft by Chinese government
• Claims that Chinese designed products could contain backdoors or hidden data collection mechanisms accessible by Chinese hackers
• “Any person or entity that chooses to procure data services and equipment from PRC-linked firms, or store data on software or equipment developed by such firms, should be aware of the economic, reputational, and, in certain instances, legal, risks associated with doing business with these firms.”

Canon sued by employees over breach

• Class action lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
• Plaintiffs includes current or former employees who now live in Ohio, New York, Florida and Illinois
• Claims that Canon violated several state trade practices by failing to guard against hackers who targeted Canon with ransomware attack that supposedly exposed 10 terabytes of confidential information

Epson Announces New Desktop Document Scanners Designed for Maximum Productivity and ...

• Epson announced three new document scanning solutions – the WorkForce ES-580W, ES-500W II and ES-400 II duplex desktop document scanners
• allow users to easily scan to a smartphone, tablet or cloud storage accounts,² including Dropbox^®, Evernote^®, Google Drive™ and OneDrive, from a desktop or mobile device using the Epson Smart Panel app.³ With the WorkForce ES-580W, users can scan directly to a USB memory drive without using a computer
• 4.3" touchscreen
• 100-sheet auto document feeder
• scan speeds of up to 35 ppm/70 ipm

Cybersecurity Updates

• The FBI is reporting that pranksters are hacking into smart devices in the home, accessing the audio and video feeds from the devise (i.e. Alexa, smart TVs, etc.) and then contacting local law enforcement to report a fake crime
• • Hacker than watches the live footage of police response
  • This is called “swatting”
• Ticketmaster Corp. of New York agreed to pay $10 million to resolve charges stemming from insider-caused breach.
• • Former employee Zeehsan Zaidi pled guilty to the incident
• T-Mobile Corp., headquartered in Bellevue, WA, notified an unknown number of customers that their info may have been exposed after a cybersecurity incident.
• Mednax, headquartered in Sunrise, Florida, notified over 1.2 million patients that their PHI was exposed after email phishing attack.
• Microsoft Corp., headquartered in Redmond, WA, notified an unknown number of customers that Russian government hackers gained access to potentially valuable source code.
• Mattapan Community Health Center of Massachusetts notified an unknown number of patients that their PHI was exposed after email phishing attack.
• Control Security is reporting that more than 100,000 Zyxel firewalls, VPN gateways and access point controllers contain a backdoor that can be accessed by hackers.
• Prestera Center for Mental Health Services of West Virginia notified an unknown number of patients that their PHI was exposed after email phishing attack.
• Five Points Eye Care of Athens, Georgia notified an unknown number of patients that their PHI was exposed after email phishing attack.
• Apex Laboratory, headquartered in Farmingdale, NY, notified over 10,000 patients that their PHI was exposed after ransomware attack.
• South Country Health Alliance of Owatonna, Minnesota notified an unknown number of patients that their PHI was exposed after a email phishing attack.
• Walmart Corp. is being sued for allegedly suffering a data breach, which supposedly resulted in customer info being posted on the Dark Web.
• • Walmart denies that it suffered a breach.
• Wyndham Capital Mortgage, headquartered in Charlotte, NC, is being sued by customers as a result of a data breach.
• • Allegedly an employee illegally emailed customer information to an unauthorized account
• Five Points Eye Care of Athens, Georgia notified an unknown number of patients that their PHI was exposed after email phishing attack
• GetSchooled, a charity headquartered in New York City, NY, and founded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation of Seattle, WA, notified families of 900,000 children who info may have been exposed after data breach.
• The City of Cornelia in Georgia is notified an unknown number of citizens that their info may have been exposed after ransomware attack.
• Treasure Valley Community College of Ontario, Oregon notified an unknown number of students that their info may have been exposed after email phishing attack.
• Roanoke College of Salem, Virginia notified an unknown number of students that their info may have been exposed after ransomware attack.
• Sabre Hospitality Solutions, headquartered in Southlake, TX, agreed to pay $2.4 million to settle charges resulting from data breach that exposed info on 1.3 million customers.
• Leon Medical Centers of Florida notified an unknown number of patients that their PHI may have been exposed after a ransomware attack.
• Agency for Community Treatment Services of Tampa, Florida notified an unknown number of patients that their PHI may have been exposed after a ransomware attack.
• 5th Avenue Theater Inc. of Seattle, WA notified an unknown number of customers that their info may have been exposed after office was broken into and computers and backup tapes were stolen.

What are the 535, 2020 M&A's in the IT services sector telling the Print Services Sector?

The list of M&A activity and Private Equity investments within the IT Services Sector from January 2020 through December 2020 was unprecedented. Here's the list compiled by Channele2e

https://www.channele2e.com/acquisitions/

The questions all my friends in the Document Imaging Channel must ask are tough.

Has Private Equity given up on the Document Imaging Channel?

Has the thinking that the document channel's large customer bases would provide great opportunities for diversified equipment and services finally been proven as fantasy?

Will investors believe that the IT Services Sector will capitalize on prints decline by delivering print equipment and its services closer to market realities then the document imaging channel.

Over the last year, the document imaging channel found itself for the first time in its history, seriously questioning the value of its core deliverable of print. That questioning was also apparent in private equity. However, more importantly, the industry's end-users are also questioning their future investments in print equipment.

2021 has started with even more M&A activity in the IT sector. So, far in just the first 10 days, there have been over 20. So, With all this M&A activity outside the document imaging channel. Why are the channel's actors not doing more to speed up their diversification into IT services? Or, why are those who have IT services still struggling with actually delivering these services in order to increase revenues and profits?

It seems as the dealers and the manufactures with direct operations are still print-focused and did not really use the last year to broaden their mindset to appreciate the realities of IT services enough to cause them the boldness in leadership needed to transition.

We still witness the industry not challenging itself outside print. Instead, the challenges of print have consumed the industry to double down on saving or advancing outdated strategies.

We are still witnessing the obsession to continue in outdated leasing and overselling A3 strategies. Still, we hear the insanity of home print management. Too many of the industry's advisors seem to be stuck in 2000 trying to prolong a print-focused outcome over a true broader technology services outcome for the end-users they serve.

Are the investors finally realizing that the IT services community is a better investment? Do the investors realize as print needs continue to decline, so will the value of the imaging channel's sales and service infrastructure.

We have all heard the saying as more and more try to exit, the lower the price paid. On the other hand, when the buyers are lining up to buy, the price goes up. What 2020 and now 2021 are screaming. Is the once perception of great diversification opportunities in print dealers' massive customer bases has proven to be not a reality?

Investors are flocking to those organizations at the heart of the customer's digitization, and those industries and organizations outside that digitization are not the best investment. Unfortunately, The investors have awakened to the reality that great relationships do not equate to an ability to transition.   

The channel has proven that building diversification business models to match the business models of overselling A3. Models based on the over selling of products instead of capturing services have not worked and never will.

The document imaging channel is not going to diversify just because of a relationship. Those organizations outside the core deliverable of print attempting to deliver through the channel. Must not allow their great intentions of helping the channel diversify to be hijacked by those from within the channel attempting to help the outsiders who believe relationships will guarantee their transition. This strategy has failed miserably over the last decade.

Dealers must listen to those who successfully delivered the diversification. Instead of those attempting to fit the diversified deliverable into the print services deliverable model, they must deliver the diversification as intended and stop trying to circumvent what others do successfully because it's more comfortable to remain fooled by those too afraid to challenge this insanity. 

My friends' your transition to IT services is not a suggestion from your customer base, your investors, and your balance sheet it's a demand. Those who continue ignoring all the indications of the rapid decline in the value of a print equipment and its services infrastructure will soon realize the value of what they spent their lives building is nowhere near as valuable as they perceived.

The document imaging channel can transition; it simply takes boldness and the ability to lead based on reality.

Transition is not automatic, it takes a deliberate process, and without discipline, in that process, it will not come. 

Those wishing to help the document imaging channel transition. Must stop allowing the channel's actors or print-focused consultants. To hijack your good intentions by substituting the harshness of the needed coaching with an appeasing approach unmeasured caused by the misunderstanding or an incompetence of the transition's realties.

Over the last decade, transition attempts hijacked by appeasers were somewhat hidden as print's core deliverable was still sufficient in concealing mismanagement. Obviously, with the recognition of prints decline, there's no more room to manage or receive consultation-based on appeasement.

In Closing: When investors believe what they hoped for is not a reality, they cash out. The print equipment and services industry has to diversify and quick.

"Status Quo is the killer of all that will be invented."

If not already Let's connect here on Linkedin

Ray Stasieczko

CEO/Founder TEASRA,The Innovation Channel and Host of The End of The Day With Ray! https://www.endofthedaywithray.com/

"The odds of hitting your target go up dramatically when you aim at it"

Mal Pancoast

In today's environment, sales team are being faced with monumental and daunting challenges.

They’re wrestling with major changes in their markets brought on by information-empowered buyers, digitization within the sales channel, and adapting to selling in a virtualized world.

Competition is everywhere, from well-established companies to tech savvy start-ups, coupling this with uncontrollable events; and this has placed added pressure on sales margins.

• How effective has your team been in maintaining their clients?
• How effective have they been in driving profitable new business growth?
• What is your plan for client retention?

How open minded are you to change?

In order to grow, you must retool parts of the sales process around a different model, one which calls for new approaches, new positioning within the marketplace, new client experiences, and new business growth; all centered on a well-organized plan.

In 2021, your team must be equipped to adapt to the rapidly changing market conditions, digital business models and disruptive competitors. More importantly, your team must be laser focused on bringing fresh ideas and new insights in a hyper-personalized and client centric manner.

What distinguishes your team from all the others in your marketplace?

IT STARTS WITH INFORMATION

Your team has unparalleled amounts of information available to them, to the point where information in itself is no longer a competitive advantage. The competitive advantage is in plain sight and it's each individual on your team.

What gives your team a competitive edge? It's the insight into how to use all of this information to help solve business problems and challenges for your clients.

Are your salespeople making your clients smarter or are your clients making themselves smarter?

Trust, value and relationships... it is how your team sells it and how they offer it that will set them apart.

What's your sales growth game plan?

The head coach of any professional sports team has a game plan. What's yours? Will you rise to the challenge, dig in and do the work?

5 DARTS TO SALES GROWTH

"It is impossible to progress without change, and those who do not change their minds cannot change anything."

George Bernard Shaw

What is your appetite to fuel sales growth?

NEW BUSINESS

Your team can actually increase sales by focusing less on acquiring new clients and more on their current clients? Call me crazy but this actually works.

A vast majority of salespeople fail to capitalize on what sits close to home and who lies within the networks of people they already do business with.

To increase new business, your team must concern themselves with reducing client attrition by providing to them an outstanding experience.

In doing so, and with mutual agreement, they get their clients to edify their work by introducing them into their networks. This opens up new relationships, new conversations and new sales opportunities.

New business growth fuels company profits!

CREATE BONDS WITHIN CURRENT ACCOUNTS

One of the best sources for sales growth - retaining and growing your client base. It’s less expensive to retain and grow with your clients than it is to acquire new ones.

It is absolutely imperative that your salespeople build multiple relationships with more than just key decision maker's. Think influencers, end users, key department managers; cross pollinating relationships is mission critical.

Your people must build genuine, authentic relationships with numerous individuals within their client base, as the opportunity for loyalty increases. One way to guarantee loyal clients is to create unbreakable heartfelt bonds.

Here are a few ideas:

• Set specific client expectations
• Become their expert and continue to bring insight
• Nurture the relationships online as well
• Listen - go above and beyond, don't break a promise

PROTECT YOUR ASSETS, YOUR CLIENTS

Protect, this means your team must strengthening their personal relationships and social relationships. Gone are the days of a single decision maker. They must interface with multiple buyers, influencers and end users. One never knows who is feeding influence to the decision maker.

Those who fail to build strong ties may see important deals collapse. Conversely, when they socially surround multiple people in each and every account, they create a network of hundreds of potential referral sources.

Sales leaders must make client obsession part of the team culture.

It is about building rock-solid relationships. Always look for potential blind spots within your client base.

TARGET THE HIGHEST VALUE ACCOUNTS TO MAXIMIZE PROFIT

High-value prospects offer the potential to generate growing and consistent revenue.

I know you want to grow sales revenues and maximize your profits, then you must take the time to plan, update and retool your teams' sales tactics. Work strategically to implement a well targeted, buyer-centric account growth plan.

Your team must become precision-like in proactively developing credible relationships with these high-valued opportunities. Not only are these 'big fish' they're attainable 'big fish'. With this in mind start reeling them in with a strategically designed prospecting and development plan.

"Superstars are relentless, unstoppable prospectors. They are obsessive about keeping their pipeline full of qualified prospects. They prospect anywhere and anytime—constantly turning over rocks looking for their next opportunity."

Jeb Blount

LEVERAGE SOCIAL TOOLS

Fuel new business growth by integrating social into the sales process. Your clients use social, your competitors use social, quite frankly; social has become deeply woven into our everyday way of life.

The core elements of integrating social into the sales process can be accomplished by:

• Building a value framework - establish credibility and help create visibility within the marketplace
• Listen and learn - understand what your clients and prospects are talking about... What's important? What's top of mind?
• Engage in conversations - join and start conversations moving them from online to offline

Listening is the new prospecting. Are your salespeople intentionally listening to the cues?

Overachieving new business targets means integrating social tools into prospecting while strengthening relationships to enhance the client experience.

BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER

In the book, To Sell is Human by Daniel Pink, he writes about how we’ve gone from a "buyer beware" culture to a "seller beware" culture.

There’s so much information available today via the internet that your clients have become versed in their options and interests before someone on your team may even enter the scene.

It's incumbent upon you and it is now mission critical that your salespeople must understand your client's world. They must add value, not to just show up, throw up and educate them on a product or solution.

Salespeople must intimately know their clients, or I promise someone else will.

Business growth is critical to your sales health.

Do you have the will-do and the can-do? Being open-minded to growth enables your team to innovate, leading the way to new opportunities within your marketplace.

Team innovation is critical to fend off competitors and to stay attuned to the ever-changing needs of your clients.

"Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning."

Benjamin Franklin

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 heartfelt 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, kindle and in audio. You can click on the book image below and this will take you to Amazon.

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, Facebook and on my podcast by clicking on Selling from the Heart.

The Week in Copiers Ten Years Ago

First Week of January 2006

The end of my first week of the new year.  It took me most of the week to ramp it up and there's some great opportunities on the horizon.  If you don't ask you don't get and the harder you work the luckier you get.  Let the good times roll!

Enjoy these great copier and fax threads from ten years ago this week

The Week in Copiers Five Years Ago

First Week of January 2016

Incredible in two years I'll be able to pull twenty years of copier notes, threads, pricing, press releases and quotes.  To start of the year I thought I would lead off with some old photo's of fax machines.  The eighties and the nineties was the golden age for placing fax machines!  Please let me know if you have any fax brochures you could scan and send to me for our archives.

Enjoy these awesome copier threads from 5 years ago