The Week in Copiers Five Years Ago The Last Week October 2015

Way back when in 1986 I went into business for myself at the ripe age of 29.  I had been selling copiers for a Minolta dealer in central New Jersey since 1981. The reason for starting my own dealership was simple. The dealer I worked for was about to go belly up.  Probably the best thing I ever did.  You can read that blog here

Enjoy these cool threads from 5 years ago this week!

"There comes a time in your life where you're called to not only reinvent yourself but to rebuild your spirit. It's so relevant today."

Wilmer Valderrama

The sales world has changed. There have been rapid changes with technology during these troublesome and turbulent times.

The seismic shifts have been dynamic, widespread and the impact has been immense.

"Technology may be able to replace routine tasks, but I promise your clients still want to do business with a real live human being."

For all the sales leaders out there... the time is now to get real with yourselves and your team. You must guide your team to adapt, adopt and adjust to the circumstances of today.

You might be saying, "Yeah, yeah.... I know" so, I would encourage you to let these quotes from Charles Darwin sink in for a moment...

“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”

“The law of evolution is that the strongest survives! Yes, and the strongest, in the existence of any social species, are those who are most social."

Carefully think about this...

Let's say there are 10 companies in your marketplace, all of them provide similar services, solutions and products to that of your company...

• What makes your salespeople different?
• What makes your salespeople standout?
• What makes your salespeople relevant?

Relevance. Everybody wants to be and remain relevant.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines “relevant” as: having direct bearing on the matter at hand; pertinent. Conversely, “irrelevant” means: not relating or pertinent to the matter at hand; not important.

"If your customer base is aging with you, then eventually you are going to become obsolete or irrelevant. You need to be constantly figuring out who are your new customers and what are you doing to stay forever young."

Jeff Bezos

I am concerned that mediocrity within the sales world is at an all-time high. Average salespeople are a dime a dozen. Conversely, original, creative thinking sales professionals are harder to find.

Sales leaders, I guarantee your clients want to work with a professional who can generate ideas, bring insight and educate them to business betterment.

I am a bit curious...

When was the last time someone on your team ask one of their clients what they expect from THEM?

NO TIME FOR BEING CLUELESS

The time is now for all those in sales leadership to rise-up, take action and take control.

Three-quarters of people who work in sales simply cannot execute, according to Kurlan & Associates.

“For lack of a better word, they suck,” says Dennis Connelly, vice president of business development at Kurlan & Associates.

6% of salespeople are “elites” who are great at selling. Another 20% are doing well but could do better. Then there are 74% who are failing. Most of the people in the 74% bracket can improve if they get training. But the bottom 25% are hopeless, because in addition to being ineffective, they aren’t trainable. Those people “should be doing something else.”- Kurlan & Associates

SALES LEADERS MUST GET REAL WITH THEMSELVES

What sets your team apart? Why should people choose your team? Or learn from them? Or listen to them? Or do business with them? Or even have a conversation with them?

Are your salespeople truly exceptional? If you answered yes, WHY do you think so?

What do they specifically bring to the business table that makes them stand out from the rest of the sales wolf pack?

I encourage you to look in the mirror, think about your team and then ask yourself...

• Is my team making a difference?
• Is my team going the extra mile for our clients?
• Is my team serving others?
• Is my team developing a deep, genuine concern for our clients?

Tough questions, aren't they? Which ones do you feel your team could improve upon?

Are your salespeople traveling on the highway of relevancy?

RELEVANCY IS REAL

What are you and your salespeople doing to become RELEVANT? Now think about this through your client's eyes. This may hurt if you're honest with yourself.

Each individual on your team is unique and different.

My question you...

Why do many on your team walk, talk and act the same? Becoming relevant just might be the key to sales success.

In this highly competitive digitally driven business environment, it is mission critical to stay relevant, competitive, marketable and yes, desirable.

"Truth is in the eye of the beholder"

Relatable and relevant... How well do you think this applies to your team as they are building meaningful relationships with their clients?

Here's the stone-cold truth... many in sales wrap themselves up with self-delusional thoughts regarding how much their clients love them.

I would ask them to walk in their shoes and think about the pressures they're under. Imagine what they’re feeling. Empathize with them and help!

Now ask yourself... just how relevant are the members of my team?

RELATABILITY IS REAL

We as human beings want to be heard, we want to know that we matter, and we just want to be loved (or even just liked). When we feel accepted, we perform better, we become a bit more relaxed and we don't come across as being insecure.

I believe being relatable will allow your salespeople to stand out from the competition. I believe your clients are waiting for your salespeople to show them who they really are and to share their story.

When you’re relatable, it’s easy to spark a conversation.

Your team must be present in their client relationships. They must make their clients feel like they're the only thing that matters. They must speak from their heart.

Unfortunately, many of your clients smell insincerity the minute your salespeople open their mouth. The odors of commission breath are written all over their conversations.

Have your salespeople open up and share the human side and their story. Watch how fast they start to connect.

NO EMPTY SUITS, BECOME RELEVANT

What makes your salespeople relevant and relatable?

I would encourage your team to start having business conversations with your client's by offering a compelling vision of the future and how they can prepare for them for it.

I would encourage your team to bring a vision cemented in a deep understanding of the trends shaping the market, industry challenges and how this help transform their company.

In today's business climate, there is no room for empty suits. A true empty suit is a business suit of clothing without a person in it who really doesn’t know what they bring to the marketplace or their clients.

How well are salespeople demonstrating competence?

An executive appearance, presence and attitude may open business doors of opportunity, however; without competence and substance things can quickly dissipate.

As the leader of your sales team, I strongly encourage you to have your salespeople remove their client's mask of uncertainty. Show them a complete understanding of their business and how they can help them allocate their resources in a way that will help them achieve results faster now and into the future.

Connecting and relating keep your salespeople cruising in the fast lane of relevancy.

Relevancy is not an option

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.

You can find more material inside Selling From The Heart.

In a world full of empty suits, I'm passionate about helping sales reps succeed by getting valuable before they get visible. I help sales teams understand the true value they bring to the market.

I appreciate getting the opportunity to share my stories. Integrating the use of social and sharing my story on LinkedIn was my “game-changer” in the highly competitive office technology world. With great pride I transform, challenge, coach and inspire sales teams to grow new business by helping them share their story and how they communicate it out by integrating the use of social inside the sales process. You can follow me on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and on my podcast by clicking on Selling from the Heart.

COVID19 Remote Working Day One Hundred and Fifty-Five of Selling Copiers

Yesterday marked my 154th day of working remote in NJ.  That 154th day means that it's be seven months since I was optioned to working remote. Of course today is 155 and I'm sure we'll make it to eight months.  Who would have ever thought that everything we do would chance in an instant back in March?

Today in New Jersey the State reported 1,139 cases just a mere three weeks ago we were average about 550 each day.  For the past ten days the average has been over 1,000 cases per day.  Some say it's due to more testing, some are claiming the second wave is upon us.

I say damn the torpedo's and full speed ahead to the end of the fiscal year.

There is still business out there (maybe not as much as there was) but it's out there to be had.  With one order from today and one that I expect to get over the weekend mentioning Section 179 helped with both of these.  One of my clients already had that in mind when he purchased a color wide format device.  It was nice to get that order just a few minutes ago.

I'm also excited about our sales team.  Today was the last day of the month for October.  We have until 8AM on Monday to turn in orders in there's a shot that we could write almost $1M for the month!  One of our managers just chimed in with "I can’t say enough about the dedication, effort and more importantly... the resolve of this team."  Yup I agree the fire burns strong in our team.

I believe I mentioned in Wednesday nights blog that I signed an order with an existing client for $12.4K.  I also had a verbal from a net new (Tuesday) where I thought I would have the signed documents that day.  This is the same net new that I thought would send the documents three weeks ago.  On the Wednesday phone call I thought we had it ironed out.  Wednesday and Thursday my two calls and two emails went unanswered along with a text message.  By this morning I wasn't sure what was going on.  If you don't get a response of course we always tend to think the worst. 

I had to do something. Waiting for things to happen is not for me. I make things happen.  Thus this at AM I sent the email below to the net new client.

"I apologize for not communicating correctly with you.  It was my understanding that we had an agreement in place for the lease of the Ricoh wide format and that you would sign the documents and email them back to me on Wednesday.  I now understand that I may have missed something when we spoke on Wednesday and I do sincerely apologize for that."

My thought process was to apologize for assuming the order was a done deal.  I thought maybe this will result in a return email with the order or when I call again I would get that person on the phone and work through the objection.

While on my way home from an wide format installation today I called the client.  I was expecting another to leave a message, however the client picked up and apologized to me.  My client had many other projects that he had to bring to fruition and told me that he is moving forward with the order and would have them to me on Monday or over the weekend.  I responded with "that would be great if you could get them to me over the weekend and it would mean a lot to me."  Thus I'm pretty sure that this will happen because I've had some weekend correspondence with him. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

So with today's small $5K order I'm somewhere north of $75K for the month. If I get this order over the weekend I can push to $85K.  At that point I'll have missed my forecast by only $7K. I'm okay with that because of the conditions.  For years and year I mention "conditions" and what it means for me is that sometimes no matter how hard you work you have no control on what goes on around you.  **** just happens.

On Monday I realize that I will only be as good as my last month.  The struggle is real and it continues for at lease another couple of months.

-=Good Selling=-

ALLEROED, DENMARK (PRWEB) OCTOBER 21, 2020

Contex, the world leader in large format scanning, today introduces the IQ Quattro X, the 5th-generation Contex CIS scanner series. The IQ Quattro X is an essential scanner for reprographic shops, the AEC community, and businesses that require scanning accuracy with technical drawings and other large format documents, especially at high volume. The Energy Star®–compliant IQ Quattro X series comes in 36- and 44-inch widths, and is immediately available from resellers worldwide.

The IQ Quattro X is designed with innovative technologies, scanning 40% faster and transferring data at three times the speed of its predecessor. The scanner is also equipped with Contex Live Alignment, a new technology that ensures sharp image alignment even at high scanning speeds. Loaded with exclusive features, the IQ Quattro X series is also Nextimage Remote–enabled. This feature brings all main functions for basic scanning and copying directly in front of the operator via a tablet — saving valuable time.

“Contex is always innovating and we are excited to launch the world’s fastest CIS scanner, the IQ Quattro X series. Our advanced technologies are based on customer feedback, and the results exceed customers’ requirements for quality, speed and ease of use,” comments Jacob Bendix, CCO & VP Global Sales & Marketing, Contex A/S. “The IQ Quattro X is a must-have for businesses that want to expedite scanning projects with exceptional results.”

Smart, productive scanning

Faster in color than any other large format CIS scanner in the market, the IQ Quattro X scans up to 17.8 inches per second. The IQ Quattro X also boasts a 1GB extreme buffer, which eliminates waiting between scans. Further boosting productivity, the Nextimage Remote scanning app can vastly reduce the number of times the operator needs to move between the scanner and the workstation. It also gives users the freedom to move away from the scanner for maximum convenience and comfort.

Advanced image quality

The IQ Quattro X captures every detail from technical drawings with 48-bit CIS technology and 1200 dpi optical resolution. The scanner series is equipped with Contex CleanScan CIS modules, which maximize optical image quality with dual-sided LED lighting. Unique to Contex scanners, these modules eliminate creases and folds in originals, which are typically a challenge for CIS scanners.

The IQ Quattro X also includes Color Fringe Removal (CFR), an advanced Contex-patented filtering technology designed to remove the fringes inherent in CIS strobing scanning devices.

Configurations

The IQ Quattro X is available in multiple configurations, including a standalone scanner with the Nextimage scanning software and Nextimage Remote app. The IQ Quattro X can also be configured as a ScanStation Pro or as an all-in-one multifunction printer (MFP) solution by connecting a large-format printer.

Contex solutions are compatible with all leading large format printers. The full list of compatible printers is available at contex.com/nextimage-supported-printers.

For more information visit http://www.contex.com or contact info@contex.com.

About Contex

As the world's leading developer and producer of large format imaging solutions, Contex drives the market with innovative technology and advanced scan and copy software applications. Sold worldwide in more than 100 countries, Contex solutions are recognized in a wide range of industries for reliability, value, high performance, and superb image quality. For more information, please visit http://www.contex.com.

WooHoo!  One more day we'll be at the seven month mark for working remote or least I will be.

Am I happy?  Not really because going we're now into the last two months of the fiscal year.  In previous years you could do the research on your clients and pick those that you wanted to pay a visit to.  In most cases these were the clients that you have the best relationships with. With most businesses not being in the office or sparsely populated in New Jersey that may not work this year.

I guess the plan needs to change to from on-site to in-site visits.  Over the next week I've be picking ten to fifteen accounts that I will pitch them on and "End of Year Review" in a virtual setting.  Yes, more the like the quarterly but with a little more umph on ways to to reduce tax liability, curbing inflation (because we all now it's coming) by upgrading or re-configuring your fleet before the end of the year. Hey at least it's plan right?

Murphy Exits Stage Left

Today our Governor took himself "out of the field" because he was told by one of his staffers that he had come in contact with someone who tested positive for COVID19.  He is going to quarantine for two weeks in his awesome mansion in the Navesink section of Middletown.  It will be interesting what he'll be doing from home to say the lease.  Our emergency health order expires in the next couple of days. That order is in effect for 30 days at a clip.  I would expect the order to be renewed for another 30 days which means most offices will still be barren in New Jersey.

The Week so Far

My month end this Friday.  My goal is $102K which I lowered to $92K about three weeks ago. I just didn't see the numbers.  Right now I'm sitting somewhere around $74K.  Today I received a verbal for a $10K net new order, however this is the same client that gave me the verbal three weeks ago and never signed the docs.  After three weeks we finally connected again today.  We did some minor changes and the docs were sent back out around 3PM.  It's 5:32PM and I don't have them.  They could come tonight though.  I also told the client if you get me them today I'll send you a raffle ticket at no cost for a charity I work with.  Time will tell.

Yesterday I logged an order for an existing client for two A3 black MFPs (yup another client that needs 11x17), that order was about $12.7K.

Moving to the last couple of days for the month I have three opportunities that could happen.  The net new I just spoke about for $10K, another existing for $14K and one more existing for 8.5K. If they all go that adds another $32K.  These next two days should be interesting.

Ask & You Shall Receive

Moving to another topic, I had an inmail from another sales person via Linkedin maybe 30 minutes ago.  I do enjoy when I get these and I should post them more often for everyone.

Linkedin Inmail:

Over the past few months I've somewhat kept up with your blog posts as it's refreshing to know that we're not alone in these crazy times with what we do. I'm 24 and fairly green to the industry having worked for a couple smaller vendors who gave me a chance, to now working for one whos been established in the area for some time. I'd like to think I have most of the basics down, but as you know its a never-ending learning cycle. To someone who was probably in the same shoes as me at the same time, what would be your greatest advice and words of wisdom to a newbie who plans to be in the industry for years to come?

My Repsonse

Thanx for the inmail fellow copier salesperson

*Never stop educating yourself (products that you sell) read, read and read

* Out work the competition (hustle)

*Speak the clients language and act like they know nothing about our industry. Help educate them

*Make business acumen one of your core competencies

*Listen to your clients

*Never ever give up

*Be creative, think out of the box

*Offer multiple recommendations to your clients

*Never stop prospecting

I like these two quotes:

The harder you work the luckier you get

If you don't ask you don't get

Yes I was in his shoes so many years ago.  Much has changed with technology and the way you go about contacting prospects, suspect and clients.  Besides technology there hasn't been anything new in sales for many years.

For me it's about Desire, Dedication and Determination.  In most cases this can't be taught of coached.  You either have it or don't.  Yes you can turn that light bulb on, however you have to want it for yourself.

It's now about 5:35PM and some fog has settled in along the coast.  I've still got a couple of more hours of work this evening and you can bet your ass I'll be checking my email ever hour or so.

-=Good Selling=-

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

Just a few minutes ago I asked my VP of sales if he saw the video I posted with last nights blog.  He stated he had not which leads me to believe that the video did not post in the email alert he received about new content.  Since it's not a link those who just read the email on their smart phone would not get the full experience.  I also have this posted on my You Tube Channel and here's the link if your interested in seeing this fun video.

The title of the video is "I Will Survive" which was made famous and sung by Gloria Gaynor in 1978. Gloria went on to garner the Grammy Award for Song of the Year that year.   Gloria was also a native New Jerseyan and the song "I Will Survive" was the flip side of the 45pm (not intended to be the primary song).

Frak in 1978 I was 21 years and three years from starting my copier career.

"I Will Survive" is fitting for all of us in the copier industry (I refuse to call it the imaging industry) who are adapting and changing to our new normal.  We didn't ask for it, we didn't want it, and most of us would rather go back in time to February of 2020. 

After almost eight months of COVID there is no going back to the way it was.  These last eight months has changed us and our industry forever.  What we thought was many more sunny days turned in to weeks and months of cloudy and unpredictable times.  But we have survived!

Our copier industry is still here, dealers and sales people have made the adjustment to what was dealt to us.  Believe it or not we have changed and the changes that we've made will forever change the future for our copier channel.

Yes we might not book as many clicks like we did last year and yes hardware placements will be down, but we have changed as an industry to not be as reliant with just selling copiers. We are retooling, rebranding and reteaching ourselves for the new normal.  Over the past weeks weeks I've heard from any sales peeps that it's not back to where it was but they feel good about the changes that they've made or changes made by the dealership.

At first I was afraid, I was petrified
Kept thinking I could never live without that copier by my side
But then I spent so many nights thinking how COVID did me wrong
And I grew strong
And I learned how to get along
And so we're back

Thus the reason why the title struck a cord with me last night.  We Will Survive!

-=Good Selling=-

The Week in Copiers Fifteen Years Ago for The Third Week in October 2005

Fifteen years ago the Print4Hotel was just turning 4 years old.  What started as an MSN Community with a handful of members finally made the jump to a full web community in 2003.  As I look back I'm proud of what we've accomplished to give the people in our industry the chance to communicate and share ideas with a global venue.

Enjoy these cool copier threads from 15 years ago this week!

Member

Troy

COVID19 Remote Working Day One Hundred and Fifty-One of Selling Copiers

I'm not going to write about my day.  Yes last week had it's ups and downs, with more downs than ups.  Today marks the last week of the month and there are four days left to finish the struggle.

Mind you I had no intention of posting anything today.  However I could not resist the temptation of creating this video.  The title is so apropos as to what we are all going through in this time of COVID19.

Some peeps from our sales team and yes it changed my spirit for the day and maybe for the week. I hope it does the same for everyone else!

I WILL SURVIVE

Special thanx to Vince for allowing me to re-post his last blog on his blog site, "the connected copier".  I've known Vince for quite a few years since reading his first blog. I'm thinking that was way back in 2008.

There's not that many of us that blog on a regular basis about our industry. In fact I know of four Greg Walters, Ray S , Vince McHugh and myself. Vince has also been a member of the Print4Pay for sometime and always made himself available to answer sales and technical questions for others on our forum. For that I am thankful. Thank you Vince!

Vince and I also had to chance to meet for dinner one night in Atlantic Highlands, NJ.  He was visiting NJ for a technical meeting and we both met at the Memphis Pig Out one night.  Of course us two old pro's had a great time chatting about the industry like two old wash women.  I could see that Vince was a Pro and I admired him for his expertise and his friendship. Over the years we've keep in touch from time to time and I'm sure that will be the case moving to the future.

COVID19 hit us all hard and even harder for Vince.  Vince I was you the best my friend and you know I'm always available.

Goodbye, Farewell and Amen

I started in this industry in 1978, with a walking territory in “The City” (that’s what New Yorkers call Manhattan). But I have come to a point in my life where I need to say goodbye to “The Copier Industry”. After nearly 30 years working for a Large Independent Dealer in New England (NECS) I will be leaving this industry that I have loved. Some people have said that I have toner in my blood, and maybe that is true. Time will tell.

I have had the privilege to be friends with some Giants of the Industry. Charlie Tiernan who started NECS out of the back of his station wagon, and grew it to a major regional player with 7 offices and 2 Warehouses. Charlie is a real dyed in the wool “Copier Guy”, and he has a big heart. It was a privilege to work for him for so many years.

Charles Kelly, who ran the CSlist.org (Mailing) list for years. I met Charles at a Canon Technet conference and we immediately hit it off. He invited me to join his mailing list for Canon Systems Engineers. We had SEs from all over the world posting non sanctioned Canon Networking solutions. I learned and posted many “solutions” back in the day. The Canon “Grid” ended the need for the CSlist and it has since been moth balled.

Art Post, The P4PHotel.com has been a great industry resource. Art has reposted some articles from this blog, and he always has great, relevant, Industry news. Talk about a “Copier Guy”, Art defines the term. I had the pleasure of having dinner with Art one night when I was in New Jersey for training. We have and do talk on the phone from time to time, and I consider him a friend.

Ned Bannan is one of the best industry Systems Engineer on the East Coast, But sadly Ned is no longer in the “Copier Industry”. He is working for a Security Software Company and they are lucky to have him. He is the best Mac guy I know, and has a good working knowledge of Linux. Ned has forgotten more about Macs than most people will ever know. He was also a Fiery Color Expert. Ned could hack a PPD with the best of them!

I have known Mike Betsco for a couple of decades now. Back in the day when he was one of the driving forces behind Canon’s Technet. Which was the best SE training, in the most compact time frame, at a great location (Disney World or Disney Land). Mike did a tour at Samsung when they made a run at the Copier Industry but is back at Canon heading up their Solutions offerings. Canon is lucky to have him. Mike invited me and other key solutions people in the Independent Channel to join the Canon S.E.A.L. Team (Solutions Advisory Board). We had some great discussions during those meetings and continued them over some great dinners.

What can I say about Joe Lucas? If you ever get stuck with a complex UniFLOW problem Joe is the go to guy! He has helped me with major accounts more times than I can count. James Seager also gets honorable mention for NTware support!

Donn Clarke was my boss when I worked at (RBS) Ricoh Business Systems. I worked there for two plus years and Donn was the best boss I have ever had. He is a good man. That is why I brought him over to NECS where he is currently the Director of Sales.

Lynda Maglio is currently a Solutions Analyst at Konica Minolta. But I have most of my fond memories of her when she worked at eCopy (then it became Nuance). She would bird dog a problem until she got it resolved. For that reason she was one of my favorite Vendors.

Then there are the great Hunters (Sales People) that I have worked with over the years, John “Sully” Sullivan, Doug Moore, and Cindy Albano just to name a few. I am not leaving the rest out to slight them but to name all of them would be impractical in a blog article.

These are just some of the people I have come to respect in this industry. Time would fail to talk of each of the men & women I have worked with over the past 34 years. But you know who you are.

I have good memories from my time in this industry. I raise a family on the salary I earned as a Technician, Troubleshooter, Field Service Manager, Solutions Team Managers, Color Sales Specialist, and a Vice President. I will no longer be posting to this blog, but I will leave it as an archive as there is indeed some useful info that hopefully some people will still stumble across.

My apologies to the long running show M.A.S.H. for stealing their title of their last episode. But it seemed appropriate to me. They say by the time M.A.S.H. ended they had more episodes than there were actual days in the Korean war. Sometimes I feel like I have more stories than actual days for my career in this industry. Please know that I love this industry. It is going through some tough times right now and maybe the “Big Crunch” will continue. But the strong will survive. They always do!

Please contact me via my email if there is anything I can do for you.

This is my last $0.02

Vince McHugh

vincemchugh2076@gmail.com

PS: I have never mixed my personal life with my professional life because it might alienate some of my Customers. But I feel like as I wrap this up I need to let those who have read this blog for so long know that I am a Christian. I have taught a Bible study for the past 40+ years. So if you have a question about the Bible or about life and want to talk, email me and I will be happy to talk to you about anything.