MFP Copier Blog

The Week in Copiers Five Years Ago

Third Week of December 2015

For most us this is the last hurrah of 2020. I would tend to think that most of us can't wait for 2021 to get here. I'm still chasing a number and am thankful that there are still three selling days left me.  I've got a plan, I have the work ethic to make this happen one more time!

Enjoy these awesome copier threads from 5 years ago this week!

COVID19 Remote Working Day One Hundred and Ninety-Two of Selling Copiers

Last night one hell of a night. I could barely sleep with the sheets of ice that were bouncing off our slider window in the bedroom last night.  What was suppose to be a snow event was more of an ice event with wind gusts hitting 55 miles per hour.  We didn't lose power thus a traditional work snow day was just another work day because of our remote technology.

I'm also grateful that I'm able to write this blog tonight.  After two and half hours of breaking and shoveling ice I was able to clear our driveway and sidewalk.  My fingers are somewhat tight but there was no heart attack from moving all that ice.  it was more about slow and steady to get the job done.

Slow and steady is what the last few days have been like. I was able to book an existing client for an order just short of $10K today (docs in hand), and there are commitments from two other clients for additional orders that will total $21K . In addition the net new opportunity that was on the far rail the other night is also going to give me an answer tomorrow.  That net new is worth $9K.

By tomorrow I should be somewhere around $54K in revenue. I need to be at $74K for the month to make my yearly quota.  I still have another $110K on the fence with 3 accounts and one is the net new content/hardware for $54K.  I already know that opportunity is going right to the wire.  If all goes well the docs will come to me on the 23rd (last day of the year). The other two opps are 50/50 at best.

I've been here before and it's nothing new from working behind.  Guess it's similar to a hitter who is always working behind in the count.  Odds are you will not get the hit that you need to win the game.

I want to hit my quota this year probably more than any other year that I've been doing this. Right now it's more about I can do this, I want to do this and I can make this happen even with a pandemic. Would be a nice feather in my hat as I get ready for the final years of my career.

If I don't make it, I'm okay with that also and that's because I believe my performance in April, May and June helped our team believe that's it's possible to rack up great numbers even with a pandemic.  It's more like wtf if that old guy can do it then why can't I? 

When we came back from Presidents Club in Aruba the first week of March the NYC area pretty much shut down two days later.  My March sales were in the ****ter and I took the attitude that if anyone needs to lead it should be me. I never told anyone that and that's kinda brass balls on my part.  But that was my driving force.  I did this one other time in my career when another dealership I worked for was in dire straits.

I wanted to do this and it was a challenge.  If I don't get this content/hardware order and fail on the other two I will miss by number by about $20k.  I've realize that may happen and don't want it too happen, however I can take comfort that our sales team had a great year especially when all was stacked against us.

-=Good Selling=-

It's just a little after 5PM and the snow is coming down pretty good now.  At the coast we're expected to receive 6-10 inches but being so close to the ocean there is always the chance for freezing rain or sleet to knock the totals down.  Our roads are passable and just wet from all of the salt and brine that's been laid down in the last 24 hours.

Guess I'll find out in the AM if I have a snow day, wait a minute since I'm now working remote are there still snow days?  Egads those snow days from school were just magical and unexpected day off, time to gather your friends for whatever outdoor activity you wanted.  So do I still get a snow day if I'm work remotely now?  Sorry to day but the answer is NO, unless you don't have an internet connection. Oh please it's the end of the year please don't let the power fail!

Appointment

I had that one appointment today at 9:30AM with an existing account to upgrade two of their current A3 Ricoh MFP's.  The trip from my house takes just about an hour and I was relieved that I made the appointment on time.

Last night I spent the time developing the two sets of documents because of the two different locations that are involved for this appointment.   I wanted to make sure all was ready for my DM to sign.  I was able to print one page to my printer and was then notified with an audible alarm from my printer.  When I checked the printer I was told that the printer was out of toner! WTF!

Yup I had ignored the previous warnings that the toner was low, however I really didn't print that many pages since the notification appeared. I pulled the cartridge out, shook it up and put it back in, and received the same message. Frak because it was too late to go out and get one because why would I have an extra cartridge in my house? Thus I moved those files to a USB Drive and figured when I get to my appointment I would ask to use the Ricoh copier and print them out.

There I am at the front door in the cold and the door is locked. It's 9:30AM why would the door be locked? I peered in the window to see that none of the lights were on and the office was empty.  I then made my way to the one of the other doors to give it a go, on the way I called the DM and the first thing I hear was "are you at the office Art?" I stated "yes I am". In the next 5 minutes my DM apologized for forgetting about the meeting, I then asked "let me email the order docs and just sign them and email them back to me today, will that work?".  Our DM agreed and that was that.

It was another hour ride back to the office, once at the office I had to set up the e-signature for the documents and off they went.  I had the docs with signatures back by 2PM today. Another one down and hoping many more to go.

The rest of my day was spent with a few emails, a 90 minute wide format meeting with a net new client and the rest of the day was dedicated to that net new content deal I'm trying to knock down.

With 5 days left in the year it's more about how can I get some of these opps to the order process. What else can I do to make things happen?  Six out of the ten opps sees me in a waiting mode, three out of those six gave me a date when I should expect to have the documents. The other 3 are still on the edge if I will be the one that wins their business.  The other four need some addition work.

I've never shied away from work and I guess the only thing I know is to keep moving things forward.  There is always a way to get it done, we just need to figure it out.  That's what the last 5 days of the year will be about.  Figuring it out.

-=Good Selling=-

As of right now I have five selling days left in the month, quarter and year.  Over the last three days I've been able to acquire zero orders.  Yes it's been somewhat disappointing however I still have one week or 25% of the month left to work some magic.

For a quick update,  my content deal for $53K is still there and still has a decent shot of closing for the month.  I have to re-do the proposal one more time and put it into an easier format.  In addition the client asked me to list the pros and cons for each of the four offerings.  At this time I'm thinking this will take the better part of tomorrow to review, re-format and change.

I received two emails today that I should have docs for two other opportunities by the end of this week.  One is for $8K and the other is for $16K. I have any appointment tomorrow morning at 9:30AM on-site that should result in documents for $15K. On the far rail is a net new  client that will give me a go or no for wide format color by Friday. This opportunity may post for $9K

My demo from last week was okay at best. I'll be the first to admit that you can be a little rusty after 9 months of not doing one demonstration.  However being rusty with the presentation was not the issue.  The issue is that a competitors device could a couple things that my device could not.  However at the end I was able to point out the pro's of my device and made the argument that our device will save countless hours when printing and scanning.  Not going to get in the weeds on this one because it's a working opportunity right now.  I did speak to the client today and we have a call scheduled for Monday.  This opportunity is $21K.

I had another client today that told me my price was too high!  Stated I was 25% higher than what he could find on the internet.  When I asked compared to what he wouldn't answer. I also asked to let me see the quotes so I can make sure we're apples to apples.  He wouldn't do that either.  I then asked about scheduling a call and he stated "send me your final price".  Yes I was kinda ticked because I put a lot of time into this but what do you expect from a pig but a grunt.

I wanted to write about videos in the last blog however my my fingers got tired of trying to keep up with my brain.  Since emailing and virtual presentations of proposals are more of the new normal why not try incorporating a couple of videos or video links for your clients.  Of course YouTube is the place to go and if you can't find a video that you're looking for then make your own.  I've done it several times for clients in the last few months and I believe it can give you an edge with the competition.  Think about the video thing for a moment, when you're in need of information and rep takes the time to send or make you a video who will you gravitate towards?

Big day tomorrow, I need to get one of these six opportunities under my belt and at least move two more towards a possible close by the end of the weeks.  The next few days will tell the take for the end of the year.

-=Good Selling=-

Every year the industry has its dealer recognitions, and it's an excellent time for the channel's actors to check out what their peers are doing, how they are improving, and what new exciting things they are up to. This year I was looking forward to the ENX publication which profiles many of the channel's dealers. I was very interested in what the dealer community would share about the worst year in the industry's history.

Wow, what a surprise when the magazine hit the streets. (I will discuss how all the industry's magazines' lack digital capabilities in another article.)

If I had not actually been handed the magazine by the mailman last week. I would have thought I was reading last year's issue. Other than the occasional pictures of people wearing a mask and the mentioning of PPE. There seems to be a trend in ignoring some critical realities of a quickly changing marketplace.

I was expecting to read how dealers are innovating their customer interactions to include e-commerce. A reality still not discussed.

One would have thought we would hear how dealers began to pivot in order to address customers' realities in wanting to buy through digital landscape.

Obviously, I am not suggesting that dealers compete with Amazon. I continue to suggest that dealers have platforms in place, allowing their customers to engage in commerce without the intervention of human annoyance. Sometimes and sometimes is growing fast, customers prefer it that way.

As I read about the dealers who loaded up on PPE, I thought it would have been so awesome if their customers knew where they could go and select PPE from a trusted source and click buy now. Dealers selling PPE with push economy processess seems so dysfunctional. Customers don't need demos and in person meetings to buy mask, hand sanitizer, and yes even the printer and its supplies for their house.

The dealers must get past their enormous egos, believing that without holding their customers' hands their customers are doomed.

The capabilities of e-commerce are much more than what the naysayers continue chatting or the ridiculous stories some recite about how a customer bought a printer online and now has to pay a dollar a page or some other insane description of a one-off.

My friends' one-offs don't drive an industry's success or its failures. One-offs are the distractions which those fighting change always seek to reinforce their procrastination in moving towards progress. 

The document imaging channel is going through the most significant challenge to its pre covid existence, a challenge that will cause massive consolidation and unprecedented changes to all aspects of the industry's core deliverable print.

Yet, according to nearly every dealer profiled, things are just great MPS, and production print has a great future. Do the industry's actors really believe MPS, production print, and overselling A3 delivered as it was in 1990 will maintain them in the comforts of that 1990 business model? I sure as hell hope not! 

I have become accustomed to the ignoring of realties from many in the industry. However, when the car runs off the road because the driver ignored the warning signs to prevent the crash. I would say, "They got what they saw coming because they ignored what they saw."

Over the last ten months, the digital world consumed what was left of the analog world. The tremendous growth of innovative companies is unprecedented. Organizations such as Zoom, DocuSign, Shopify, Microsoft 365, all other cloud platforms, and yes, even our friends at Amazon blew away all expectations. In contrast, the print sector has found itself needing to continue lowering the expectations of its stakeholders.

Over the last year, there have been over 500 acquisitions in the IT space. The document imaging channel has had basically zero acquisition activity. Keeping in mind asset sales are not an indication of investment excitement.

Now we see private equity both building on and exiting the investment in the IT sector, taking their assets public, or selling them off to an end game. The document imaging channel must prepare for some of the possible acquisitions as private equity folks like Thoma Bravo seek to exit some of the many investments they have made. Also, keep in mind the acquisition activity of behemoths like Salesforce and Google.

In a recent The End Of The Day With Ray! episode I discuss Google acquisition of Actifio and the SalesForce recent acquisitions. Here's the link.

Within Thoma Bravo's portfolio are organizations that could impact the aspirations of many dealers. Especially those who continue NOT taking MIT (Managed IT Services) seriously or are mismanaging their MIT service deliverables.

It was refreshing to hear that many dealers have grown in MIT. However, percentage growths can be deceiving; after all, in many cases, the dealer had nearly any MIT activity in past years.

I would suggest that dealers focus on the percentage of both revenue and operating profit your MIT services contributes to the organization's whole. It can be distracting listening to some of the grand declarations of MIT's success without reality applied.

My friends, the industry is going to consolidate, the OEMs are going to realign their distribution. Unfortunately, this realignment will not fair well for smaller dealers and those dealers who cause a competitive threat to the realigned OEM or the OEMs' new distribution partner.

It's time for dealers to stop investing in the business model of overselling A3, chasing the insanity of production print, prematurely upgrading leases, and fighting the realities of office print declines.

Dealers must look around, and without prejudice, to what, they find sacred and adjust to the truths they see.

"When an industry seeks its own comfort over that of those they serve, they will succumb to obsolescence."

The opportunities dealers had as little as five years ago have already changed. Dealers must stop procrastinating, the broadening of their deliverable, and manage those diversifications as if their survival depends on it - because it does. 

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

If not already Let's connect here on Linkedin

Ray Stasieczko

December 13th, 2020

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.

TPx Combines Fortinet's Industry-Leading SD-WAN and Security in a Powerful Single Offering

• TPx, announced today that it now offers MSx Managed Firewall service with Fortinet's integrated SD-WAN
• Secure SD-WAN enables organizations to leverage multiple transport services – including broadband internet, 5G and others – to connect users securely and economically to applications and devices
• Founded in 1998, TPx provides access, communications, collaboration and managed service offerings such as firewalls, Microsoft 365, SD-WAN and endpoint security

Ripcord Acquires Engine ML, Transforms Access to Intelligence in Exiled Data

• Ripcord,today announced the acquisition of deep learning company Engine ML
• Backed by Kleiner Perkins and Catapult, Engine ML builds distributed deep-learning infrastructure designed to scale
• Steve Wozniak commented: “The best acquisitions are the ones that capture your imagination. This acquisition strengthens Ripcord’s ML and AI technology, allowing us to deliver more value for our customers. Our technology is always learning and improving to make better decisions – and with this acquisition, it’s now deep learning on an entirely different level.”
• Revenues for Ripcord up 200% YOY
• In September, Ripcord announced an innovative joint venture with Fuji Xerox, to help organizations in Japan and APAC find the meaningful business insights in all of their data no matter where – or in what form – it resides
• To date, Ripcord has raised $147M in added growth funding led by CDK Global (Nasdaq: CDK) with participation from existing investors Kleiner Perkins, GV, Steve Wozniak, Silicon Valley Bank, Lux Capital, Tyche Partners, Icon Ventures, FujiFilm, Kitty Hawk and Baidu.

'Fax Express' Has Leaked the Credentials of Half a Million of Its Customers

• Reported on Technadu.com. A fax machine vendor from the US was included in last month’s humongous Cit0day leak
• There are 560,000 records in the database containing email addresses and passwords in plain-text form
• The company has not responded to the notifications and has failed to inform its customers of the compromise
• he New Jersey-based fax machine reseller ‘Fax Express’ has leaked the email addresses and passwords of about 560,000 of its customers

Sharp Introduces Sleek, Affordable Large-Format Ultra-HD Collaboration Display

• Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America (SIICA), a division of Sharp Electronics Corporation (SEC), introduced the new Sharp 4T-B70CT1U AQUOS BOARD^® interactive display
• TAA compliant 70" Class (69.5" diagonal) Sharp 4T-B70CT1U AQUOS BOARD interactive display is manufactured in Mexico
• Plug and play feature provides quick integration with various cloud-based connectivity options, such as a Chromebook to present Google Classroom on a large-scale format inside the classroom
• The Sharp 4T-B70CT1U is available for order immediately and is expected to ship in January 2021

Digitech Systems Recognized as Top Content Services Platform

• Digitech Systems announces that they have been selected by Insights Success as one of the Most Promising Content Services Platform Providers for 2020
• Insights Success is a magazine for entrepreneurs and C-level executives
• The magazine reviewed dozens of content services providers and selected those they felt best helped companies to tackle their information challenges with effective and collaborative solutions
• Digitech Systems, LLC enables businesses tomore effectively and securely manage, retrieve and store corporate information of any kind using either PaperVision Enterprise content management (ECM) software or the world's most trusted cloud-based ECM service, ImageSilo

Supply Chain Sector Recognizes Toshiba's Sustainability Excellence

• Supply & Demand Chain Executive celebrates Toshiba America Business Solutions' firm and continual commitment to a more sustainable planet by presenting the manufacturer its 2020 Green Supply Chain Award
• Green Supply Chain Award recognizes companies that emphasize sustainability as a core element of their supply chain strategy while working to achieve measurable sustainability goals internally and within their customers’ operations and supply chains

Boston Managed IT Outsourcing Cloud And VoIP Security Solutions Updated

• Newly updated IT outsourcing and managed IT services have been launched by the team at IT Management Solutions.
• Work with clients from Boston, New England

Swiss Enterprises Look to Service Providers to Manage Complex Cloud Installations

·         Enterprises in Switzerland are looking for cloud service providers to help them manage their growing use of hybrid and multi-cloud environments, according to a new report published today by Information Services Group (ISG)

• 2020 ISG Provider Lens™ Public Cloud – Solutions and Services Report for Switzerland finds Swiss companies often using multiple public cloud providers
• Current average at 1.5 public cloud providers per enterprise
• Many mid-sized companies see these services as critical to the success of their digital transformations

Syntax Earns Amazon Web Services Managed Service Provider (MSP) Designation Through ...

• Syntax, a provider of cloud-managed ERP services, announced its acceptance into the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Managed Service Provider (MSP) Program
• Designates it as an AWS Advanced Consulting Partner that helps customers solve complex business
• “With our extensive ERP on AWS managed services experience, and our unique, serverless platform built on top of AWS, our customers can feel confident that their ERP cloud migrations are in experienced, knowledgeable hands. Being accepted into the AWS MSP Program confirms and solidifies our standing as a dependable, technical and functional services provider that can support customers through their entire digital transformation.”

Modern Managed IT Closes $1000000 in Venture Funding as It Adds 100th Customer

• Modern Managed IT today announced that it closed a one million dollar investment round led by Geekdom Fund with participation from 186k Ventures
• Will allow the team to scale hiring and expand marketing efforts for small business managed IT services
• Modern Managed IT recently added their 100th customer while operating quietly with pre-seed funding from Porthcawl Holdings

FireEye, a Top Cybersecurity Firm, Says It Was Hacked by a Nation-State

• Reported on NY Times
• The Silicon Valley company said hackers — almost certainly Russian — made off with tools that could be used to mount new attacks around the world
• Hack was conducted "by a nation with top-tier offensive capabilities," FireEye CEO Kevin Mandia said Tuesday in a blog post
• Milpitas, California-based FireEye, which is publicly traded, has more than 9,600 customers globally including more than 1,000 government and law enforcement agencies

ezeep Introduces Mobile Print to Bring Cloud-Based Managed Printing to iPhones and Android ...

• ThinPrint, headquartered in Germany, with office in Colorado, now offering “ezeep”
• Advertised as the industry’s only 100% cloud print solution
• Claims is superior to Microsoft’s Universal Print solution
• “enabling any device to print to any printer – whether with the ezeep printer driver from PC or Mac, via app for smartphones and tablets or even by web-based drag and drop for the occasional user”
• Offers the ezeep Hub, a compact appliance-like solution that combines a Raspberry PC with ezeep Connector software
• Cost is $8.99 per month, plus per user fees which start at $1.00/month

Ricoh reports on future plans

• Ricoh, headquartered Tokyo, Japan, published its Ricoh Group Integrated Report 2020
• President and CEO Jake Yama****a stated: “Slowdowns in office print volumes and falling print volumes are hitting Ricoh hard.”
• “We understand we will not go back, but instead be prepared for a ‘new normal.’”
• “In predicting changes, we started restructuring our business in various ways”
• “Will continue to grow out of being an office equipment manufacturer and transform to a digital services company.”
• Claims to have existing global printer/copier customer base of 1.4 million customers
• “Eliminated most of the balance sheet structure and financial stability issues that beset us in the past few years.”
• “We seek to become a digital services company. This approach will enable us to survive and prosper well into the future by growing out of being an office equipment manufacturer and transforming into an entity that collaborates with customers to create new value and deliver new services”

Lead for IT Services in New Jersey

• https://www.p4photel.com/topic...ices-in-new-jersey-3

Cybersecurity Updates

• The PHI (protected health information) of more than 16 million Brazilian COVID-19 patients was exposed a hospital employee uploaded a spreadsheet on GitHub
• Spamhaus Security reported that more than fifty networks in the North American region suddenly burst to life after being dormant for a long period of time o organization is focused on tracking spam, phishing, malware, and botnets
  • noticed last week that 52 dormant networks in the ARIN (North-America) area were resurrected concurrently
  • each of them has been announced by a different autonomous system number (ASN), also inactive for a significant period of time
  • chances are almost zero for 52 organizations to suddenly come back online, all at once, although (a rare occurrence as well) some organizations might resurface after taking their network offline for a while.
• The New York City Bar Association and the Chicago Bar Association have both reported data breaches this year, according to reports filed with the Maryland attorney general’s office.
• Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft Law Firm reported a data breach incident to Massachusetts state officials.
• Timothy Dalton Vaughn, 22, whose online aliases included “WantedbyFeds” and “Hacker_R_US,” of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, was sentenced by United States District Judge Otis D. Wright II to 95 months in federal prison
  • The well-known hacker pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to convey threats to injure, convey false information concerning use of explosive device, and intentionally damage a computer; one count of computer hacking; and one count of possession of child pornography.
• HP Inc. released its 2021 predictions on security threats:
  • human-operated ransomware, thread hijacking, unintentional insider threats, business email compromise, and whaling attacks – are set to increase in the next 12 months.
  • “We can expect to see hackers identifying and taking advantage of any holes in processes that were created, and still exist, after everyone left the office.”
  • “if attackers are successful with destructive attacks on home devices, remote workers won’t get the luxury of having someone from IT turning up at their door to help remediate the problem.”
  • “innocent actions – such as reading personal email on a company machine – can have serious consequences.”
  • “What we’ll see is a rise in ransomware-as-service attacks where the threat is no longer the ‘kidnapping’ of data – it’s the public release of the data.”

• “The rise of ‘double extortion’ ransomware, where victim data is exfiltrated before being encrypted, will particularly hurt public sector organizations, who process all manner of personally identifiable information.”
• “Even if a ransom is paid, there is no guarantee that a threat actor won’t later monetize the stolen data.”
• One of the most at-risk verticals in 2021 will be healthcare. “Healthcare has been a perfect target – society depends on it and these organizations are typically under-resourced, change-averse and slow to innovate”
• Ardit Ferizi, a computer hacker serving 20 years for giving ISIS personal data of more than 1,300 U.S. government and military personnel, has been granted compassionate release because of the coronavirus pandemic o will be placed in ICE custody for prompt deportation to Kosovo
• Ryan S. Hernandez, a computer hacker from Palmdale, CA, had pleaded guilty to stealing confidential Nintendo files o stole confidential information about popular video games, gaming consoles and developer tools
• IBM is reporting that unknown hackers are launching malware attacks on the “cold chain” of refrigerated vaccine distribution o urging those who are involved in shipping, storing, refrigerating, and delivering COVID-19 vaccines to beef up their security
  • Many of the attempts involve emails impersonating an executive of a China-based biomedical firm whose contract attachment steals user credentials.
• The Wall Street Journal is warning drugmakers in the U.S., that they are being targeted by North Korean hackers o Hackers are looking to steal info on COVID-19 vaccines, treatments
• Liv-On Family Care Center of St. Paul, Minnesota reported that it was the victim of a robbery that may have exposed the protected health information of 1,580 people.
• Methodist Hospital of Southern California (MHSC) notified patients of a data breach involving third-party technology vendor Blackbaud.
• Chesapeake Regional Healthcare of Virginia notified 23,000 patients that their PHI was exposed after data breach against its fundraising and data hosting vendor, Blackbaud.
• Advantech of Irvine, CA reported that its confidential company info was posted to the Dark Web after a ransomware attack.
• Gardiner Public Schools of Montana notified an unknown number of students that their info was exposed after ransomware attack.
• Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital of Massachusetts reported that Zaosong Zheng, 30, was detained at Boston Logan Airport after CBP agents discovered 21 vials of cancer cells in his suitcase apparently stolen from hospital
• Huntington City School District of Alabama notified an unknown number of students that their info was exposed after a ransomware attack.
• Stuller Jewelers, headquartered in Lafayette, LA, notified an unknown number of customers that it was hit by a cyberattack.
• NTreatment, headquartered in San Francisco, CA, which manages PHI for doctors and psychiatrists, left 109,000 records exposed to the internet because one of its cloud servers wasn’t protected with a password.
• ZDNet magazine is reporting that a hacker is selling access to the email accounts of hundreds of C-level executives o Access is sold for $100 to $1500 per account, depending on the company size and exec role.
• McLeod Health of South Carolina is notifying an unknown number of patients that their PHI was exposed after email phishing attack
• AspenPointe, a Colorado mental health services provider, notified an unknown number of patients that their PHI was exposed after ransomware attack.
• Fairchild Medical Center of Yreka, CA notified an unknown number of patients that their PHI was exposed after ransomware attack.

"To acquire knowledge, one must study; but to acquire wisdom, one must observe."

Marilyn vos Savant

In my last article, you were asked the question, What are the attributes that allow you to outperform your competition?

To find your lasting competitive advantage, you must look for something your competitors cannot easily replicate or imitate.

What is your competitive advantage?

We're going to take this one step farther...

According to Tettra,

"Institutional knowledge is the combination of experiences, processes, data, expertise, values, and information possessed by company employees. It can span decades and comprise crucial trends, projects, perspectives and that define a company’s history."

Here is the sales spin...

With institutional client knowledge at their fingertips, sales professionals can better understand their client's operations and help them to make more informed decisions when it matters most.

Deep institutional client knowledge is a game changer.

We all have the ability to increase our knowledge, however; it is about how we apply the knowledge in order to help us grow.

I believe it is our ability, aspiration and aptitude to acquire the knowledge.

Institutional client knowledge is an asset, the dividends are what you do with it.

A sales professional understands that deep institutional client knowledge creates opportunities.

Professional's create opportunities for success—for themselves, their company and for their clients.

Business author Roger Von Oech said, “Things are changing quickly. What worked last week may not be the best way to solve today’s problems or the best way to take advantage of next week’s opportunities. The more we know, the more opportunities we can create."

The more you know about your clients, the more you grow with your clients.

TO KNOW IS TO GROW

Helping your clients grow is mission critical to building long-term, mutually beneficial relationships.

When your clients trust that they can rely on you for business growth strategies, they are more likely to invest more with you, give you a larger piece of their business and refer other organizations to you.

Building your client’s business leads to building your business.

Sales professionals intimately know their clients' business. They understand the competitive environment they operate within. They develop powerful strategies along with solutions to help them look forward so they can anticipate and prepare for new business challenges and opportunities.

They are relationship connectors. They go the extra mile by making connections for their client's with other individuals or groups within their network that could be helpful to them.

They do all this because they care.

GAIN INSTITUTIONAL KNOWLEDGE

If you want to sustain long term mutually beneficial partnerships with your clients, then learn how to become irreplaceable.

This Coco Chanel quote is spot on,

"In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different."

To become irreplaceable, you must understand how your clients' business makes money, and then figure out how you can connect the dots and deliver them results.

OPEN UP THE BUSINESS HOOD

Start to become well informed. Gain a deep understanding of what your clients are talking about when they share their perspectives.

Then start asking them thought provoking questions that encourages them to give you a glimpse into the good, the bad and the ugly within their company.

• What is their unique corporate sales proposition?
• What kinds of headaches are their competitors dishing out?
• What are their client's coming to them to answer?
• What do you see as potential roadblocks to your growth over the next 6 months?

Sales professionals listen, learn and ask deep questions to obtain institutional client knowledge.

Become a learn-it-all within your client's business and bring that knowledge back to them.

BE ON THE LOOKOUT

Start bringing new elements to your client’s business. Become objective and forward thinking. Help them see new paths or roadblocks that they might otherwise miss because they’re so entrenched in their business weeds.

Sales professionals keep themselves informed about what’s happening within their client's industry and build monumental amounts of knowledge, way beyond their client's expectations.

They do this to be able to identify areas of opportunity that they may have overlooked or to help them avoid pitfalls simply by staying a step ahead.

Are you a proactive sales professional or a reactive sales rep?

Aristotle famously wrote,

"The more you know, the more you realize you don't know."

Now, think about this statement for a moment...

Who is gathering more internal information about your clients, you or one of your competitors? Would you even know? And worse, would someone even tell you?

INSTITUTIONAL KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

How can you apply institutional knowledge to build, grow and enhance your client relationships?

How can you become an integral part of your client's business?

How can you become irreplaceable?

As you look into your sales future, what can you do and what will you do to future proof your sales career?

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