MFP Copier Blog

"Staying relevant is key. When you're telling your story, you better have a modern story to tell. If I was still saying the same story I was saying 10 years ago, it would not be that interesting."    

Marc Benioff

The sales world has changed. You can say, Father Google along with technology has been the catalyst. The shifts have been dynamic, widespread and it's impacting everyone from those in the C-suite to those within sales. The sales process and journey is so different today than it was even a decade ago. It’s almost a whole new ballgame. Why? Customers are in control more than ever before.

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

Have we entered into the world of reality and survival of the sales fittest? Sales professionals must learn to adapt. Technology and our society are evolving faster than many in sales can adapt to the changes, Darwin’s words have never resonated more clearly.

Chew on this...

Let's say there's 10 companies in your marketplace, all of them provide similar services, solutions and products to that of yours; what makes you different? What makes you standout? What makes you relevant?

I know what you're thinking... And quite frankly, no one cares how long you been in your industry, how long your company has been in business, the awards they've won nor how they provide the best customer service.

Mediocrity runs rampant inside the sales world. Average salespeople are a dime a dozen, but truly original, creative thinking sales professionals are harder to find. I guarantee your clients want to work with a professional who can generate ideas to set them apart from and ahead of their competition. 

When is the last time you asked your clients what they expect from YOU? Try it, you may learn something!

MANY IN SALES ARE CLUELESS

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

TIME TO GET REAL WITH YOURSELF

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

Are you truly an exceptional sales professional? If you answered yes, WHY do you think so?

What specific skill do you bring that allows you to stand out from the rest of the sales wolf pack?

I encourage you to look in the mirror and ask yourself...

• Am I reading to feed my brain?
• Am I making a difference?
• Am I going the extra distance for my clients?
• Am I serving others?
• Am I serving the cause?
• Am I developing a deep, genuine concern for my clients?

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

Are you traveling on the business road of relevancy?

RELEVANCY IS REAL

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

Each one of you are unique and different. Then my question to all those in sales... Why do you all walk, talk and act the same? Becoming relevant just might be the key to your sales success.

In this highly competitive digitally driven business environment, it is mission critical to stay relevant, competitive, marketable and yes, desirable. You MUST make sure that you’re continuously improving and evaluating yourself regularly.

"Truth is in the eye of the beholder"

Real, relatable and relevant... How well does this apply to you as you're building meaningful relationships with your clients?

Here's the deal... many of you in sales wrap yourself up with self-delusional thoughts regarding how much your clients love you. Walk in their shoes, think about the pressures they're under. Imagine what they’re feeling right now. Empathize with them. Help them! Now ask yourself... just how relevant am I right now to my clients?

BRING VISION AND VALUE

Start engaging in real human conversation with your client's by offering a compelling vision of the future from the point-of-view of their company and how they can prepare for the future. Bring them a vision cemented in a deep understanding of the trends shaping their market, their industry challenges, what their competitors may be doing and how this can help transform their company.

Rise up, accept that 'change' is necessary to succeed in your profession or fall into the sea of sameness.

Every last one of you in sales must become more sophisticated than ever before around what you're selling. Your clients expect it and demand it! Lead with intelligent insight and exciting ideas that teach them something surprising and new. Otherwise, you become endangered sales species.

I urge you to think about these two questions...

• How can I differentiate myself with insight?
• Where can I get insight?

Check out this episode of the Selling From The Heart Podcast, as we dive into differentiating with insight and understanding.

What makes you valuable as a sales professional?

DON'T BE AN EMPTY SUIT, BECOME RELEVANT

A true empty suit, imagine 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 you demonstrating competence? What are you bringing to your clients? An executive appearance, presence and attitude may open business doors of opportunity, however; without competence things can quickly dissipate.

An executive presence - competence = an empty suit

Please don't be this guy...

YOU must become hungry, a lifelong learner. You must become an educator. You can't become an educator without being a student first. You must gain a thirst for new knowledge. You need to stay up-to-date on new developments, always looking for trends and changes before they happen. Bring to your client's your knowledge and how you can help them do better business.

Remove your client's mask of uncertainty and bring to them insights. Show them your understanding of their business and how you can help them allocate their resources in a way that will help them achieve results faster now and into the future.

Relevancy is not an option

You owe it to yourself, your career, your company and most of all your family. Take off the mask.

I understand and I get it. I get where you all are coming from. Every day, I walk in your shoes. I'm fully committed to helping your sales team integrate social aspects through the eyes of a practitioner 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 and Kindle. You can click on the book image below and this will take you to Amazon.

I encourage you to find out more about 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 and on my podcast by clicking on Selling from the Heart.

Living and working in New Jersey is no easy task.  I've been doing that for the past 39 years in the same territory, some have said "who has it better than me?".  Well not me, even at the ripe old age of sixty-two I'm always looking for ways to increase my sales or knowledge of print.

What's really excited me the last couple of years is the huge opportunity that's out there for color label presses. 

At a recent food market, I noticed that every container of prepared food was accompanied by a color branded label for that food market. That food market has eight locations in the state and each location is using 25K of labels each month at each location.  I've seen the system they are using and could easily cost justify a change.  If you're tired of selling A4 & A3 devices with low margins I can only suggest that you spend a little time educating yourself on the market.

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? 

Gum  Reference to a broad class of synthetic and natural adhesive materials which exhibit good tack characteristics. See adhesive.
Hairline Register  Register within +/- 1/2 row of dots.
Halftone  The reproduction of continuous-tone subjects such as photographs through a contact halftone screen, which converts the image into dots with equal spacing and different sizes.
Halo  An undesirable, peripheral outline of a printed image. An undesirable, peripheral outline of adhesive around the edge of an applied pressure sensitive label (due to adhesive ooze or substrate shrinkage).
Hang Tag  A term used to describe fold-over labels generally used for product identification. These products usually 'hang' in the retail marketplace.
Hard Dot  A term that refers to a dot where the fringe or halo is so slight as to be barely noticeable and the dot is very sharp..
Haze  A degree of cloudiness in a plastic material.
Heat Resistance  The property of a material which inhibits the occurrence of physical or chemical changes caused by exposure to high temperatures.
Heat Seal  Labels Label paper that has a coating which melts under heat to form the bonding agent.

Heat Sealing
The process of bonding two surfaces together by healing the adherent surfaces so that the heat seal coating or film is
melted, thereby affecting an adhesion between the two surfaces. Pressure is often added along with heat.
Heat Sealing Adhesive An adhesive film applied to a substrate to be later reactivated by the application of heat.
Helium Neon Laser The type of laser most commonly used in bar code scanners.
Hickey  A piece of foreign matter in paper or similar defect. A burr or defect on the printing plate or engraving. Spots or imperfections in the printing due to dirt on the press, dried or lumpy ink, paper dust particles, etc.
High-Speed Unwind  A device used to accelerate the unwinding of a roll of labels on a high speed automatic label dispenser.
High Temperature Adhesive  An adhesive that will enable a pressure sensitive label to adhere or stick well when aplpied to a hot substrate. Its characteristic will be such as to have a high degree of resistance to aging or deterioration at the elevated temperatures.
Highlight  The lightest or whitest parts in a photograph represented in a halftone reproduction by the smallest dots or the absence of
all dots.
Holding Power  The ability to withstand stress, as in holding rigid label materials on small diameter cylindrical objects. Involves both
adhesive and cohesive strength and flexibility of the face material.

Hologram  The pattern on a photosensitive material or embossed into a polymeric film structure resulting from an interference pattern
created by a laser light striking an object, then merging with a reference beam of the same light.
Hot Melt Adhesives  Thermoplastic materials with 100% solids that liquefy when heated and resolidify on cooling to form a bond with the face sheet the adhesive was applied to and a pressure sensitive lamination which includes a release coated backing sheet.
Hot Stamping  An image producing method utilizing support film which carries a colored metallic substance which can be transferred using
heat and pressure. Most commonly used to create metallic effects.
Hue  In color, the main attribute of a color which distinguishes it from other colors. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue are color
hues.
Hydroscopic   The quality of some materials to absorb atmospheric moisture; exhibiting an affinity for water. ID Inside diameter.
Idler Rolls  Roller mechanisms on converting machines used to support, smooth or direct the web in its course of travel through a machine. Not driven.
IML  In-mold label.
Impregnate To saturate or permeate a material with a substance.
Impression The image transferred from the printing plate to the substrate or the adjustment required to affect the same. Impression Cylinder In printing, the cylinder on a printing press over which the material feeds to pick up the impression from the inked plate.
Impressions  Imprints generally caused by defect on core or bad splice, etc. Can show up for many feet on certain materials.
Imprinting  Technique in which changeable copy is added to blank or previously printed labels, tags, etc., with a secondary printing
device such as an imprinter, computer printer, typewriter, etc.
In-Line Press A press coupled to another operation such as sheeting, die-cutting, creasing, etc. A multi-color press in which the color stations are mounted horizontally in a line.
In-Mold Labels (IML) Special type of labels which are pre-applied to plastic bottles during the blow-molding operation.
Infeed Nip  A mechanism designed to control the forward travel of the web into the press.
Infrared  Type of heaters used for drying.
Infrared Light  Refers to infrared rays, the longer wave lengths below the red in the spectrum. Used as a source of heat.
Inhibitor  A compound (usually organic) that retards or stops a chemical reaction such as corrosion, oxidation or polymerization.
Initial Release A release test run immediately after coating and laminating.

-=Good Selling=-

DocuWare Releases Version 7.1

With Improved Invoice Processing and Expanded Workflow License Options for Cloud Users

New Windsor NY, May 21, 2019 – DocuWare, provider of cloud solutions for document management and workflow automation, releases DocuWare 7.1, the latest version of its flagship document management and workflow software. Highlights include improved workflow capabilities, a new Workflow User License, and automatic processing by line item on invoices..

Addressing the need for fast and secure workflows essential to every modern business, DocuWare version 7.1’s new features make its workflows faster, more convenient and more transparent. Now, several tasks can be processed at the same time, steps can be filtered for a better overview and notification emails sent to multiple recipients simultaneously.

Following DocuWare’s cloud-first strategy and focus on flexibility for customers, the new Workflow User License enables employees who require only read-only access to archived documents to complete their key tasks within a workflow, using a “lighter” version of the full license. These users can also fill out and save forms with this license. This new option allows teams to involve a greater number of relevant staffs in workflows in a much more cost-effective manner.

The new version also features automated invoice processing based on individual line items. With version 7.1, split posting – the assignment of these individual line items to different cost centers for multiple approvals, is effortless. Improved Intelligent Indexing recognizes individual entries and transfers them as metadata into a new field. The accuracy of these entries forms the basis for controlling the invoice workflow.

"The new features help companies of all sizes and industries to work more efficiently and save even more time," says Dr. Michael Berger, Co-president of DocuWare Group. Dr. Berger, who has led the company’s development team for more than 10 years, sees the new features as another step toward offering organizations of any scale more ways to adopt a cloud solution: "With DocuWare version 7.1, our customers have even more new ways to effortlessly handle tasks within complex processes - without the burden of investing and maintaining a complicated IT infrastructure.“

DocuWare Version 7.1 is available in cloud and on-premises versions, both set ups offer identical functionalities.

* * * * * * *

About DocuWare

DocuWare office automation solutions deliver smart digital workflow and document control that set a new pace for worker productivity and business performance. DocuWare’s zero-compromise cloud services are a recognized best-fit for digitizing, automating and transforming key processes. DocuWare operates in 90 countries with headquarters in Germany and the U.S.

I recently produced a video on this subject and wanted to elaborate more. So, I wrote this article.

We have all been in a situation where time is quickly eating up all our good intentions. Over the last few years I have spoken with thought leaders from different industries, have read many blogs, watched videos with messages completely outside my core industry, and most importantly I continue to look in new places where the rewards of learning the once unknown seem abundant. 

As we get consumed by the commonality around us, we must have escape routes. The demands on executives today can easily cripple the ability to discover the unknown. Many leaders are finding themselves stuck in commonality and end up on the path called complacency.

Complacency's path can fool one into believing they have all they need to improve. However, it's not improvement that's needed during innovative times, it's a re-invention and that will require learning what they still don't know. 

"During innovation those who take the time to look where others do not will discover what was ignored by those left behind."

It seems that the preconceived results get in the way of searching for new outcomes. Many can't look past what's in front of them or attempt to paint over what looks different with the paint of sameness. The reason for this is simple most executives see exploring the unknown as counterproductive to delivering the known, and when this happens competitors will seize the moment. 

Today's leaders must find the time to explore and must not limit this exploration time to leftover hours when the status quo has a small opening. Everyone has time to regurgitate what they already know and very few schedule time to discover what they don't know and end up missing what could have been. 

Outsiders are completely disrupting industries because the insiders keep their doors locked and continue doing what they always did. My friends in the Imaging Channel, Office Supply Resellers Channel, or Managed IT Services Channel - what are you doing to open up the locked doors of complacency? 

Some Questions to ask yourself

How are you as a leader and the organization you lead exploring the unknown? 

Are you engaging outsiders to learn, are you asking your customers questions about them in hopes of learning something different? Even if that knowledge threatens your business relationship? or are you limiting your questions in order to sell them more of what you currently sell? 

Do you ever communicate professionally with a competitor in search of synergies? 

When was the last time you scheduled a dedicated time to explore with no preconceived agenda? 

When was the last time you interviewed someone who was not in your industry, or their expertise was in another area than the one you were hiring for? 

When was the last time you meet with rank and file and let them control the meeting in search of something different?

Have you ever invited customers from different verticals to the same meeting to collaborate searching of the unknown?

So, now I ask this, what questions can you think of to help in your innovative journey? 

These innovating times will take innovative thinking to learn ways in which to navigate back from the future. Don't pigeonhole yourself to what you think you know. Instead take the time to evict from your mind what you know and use the vacancy to discover what those complacent competitors are missing. 

"Status quo is the killer of all that will be invented don't get stuck in status quo."

Thanks my friends, share if you agree debate me if you don't and I welcome you to connect.

Ray Stasieczko - CEO/TEASRA, The Innovation Channel

Just a short blog for all tonight.  It was a little over a week ago that I scheduled an appointment for a quarterly review with one of my clients.  The appointment was to review costs, volume of prints and what's changed with my client in the last 12 months.

I did my bit and then asked what's changed beside the recent move.  To my surprise the client was interesting in upgrading their existing wide format to one that could print and copy in color.

Thus, I led the client through the pro's and con's of the device I had in mind, along with answering many additional questions from the client. My meeting ended with creating an opportunity along with providing a quote as soon as possible.

Within a few days I had delivered the quote. Within another day or so I received an email with a few additional questions. One statement that worried me was "we're just not sure if the extra $75 per month was worth need for color". The client also explained that they would get back to me quickly with an decision. There was a little bit more to the email, however something I'm not going to post here. I did take the time to address their concerns with two additional emails.

It was another 72 hours and I received an email that they would like to move forward with the order. I developed the doc's, delivered them via email. The next day I had the signed documents return via email with a special PS at the end of of the email.

Here's what it read.

Ps - Before making the final decision, I was doing a little more homework online on ink jet vs toner plotters.  I came across a helpful article, only to notice after reading that you were the author!  Brandi and I got a kick out of that.  So basically you already answered some of my questions. 

I read this one, and also one on 10 FAQ’s about the Ricoh MP CW2201SP. 

https://www.jerseyplotters.com...s-oce-colorwave-500/

Over the last couple of years, we have seen many in the Image Channel forget that the decline in print is a result of customers reducing their need to print. The decline in print was not a result of printers or MFP’s needing more functionality, or more features. Customers are moving away from needing printed pages and manufacturers putting apps on copiers and adding unneeded features is unwarranted and will go unrewarded. 

Once a product’s end-user decides that the means to their desired outcome is less dependent or void its old product rarely do, they go back. Does anyone remember seeing a pay phone recently? Or, does anyone believe that if pay phones were equipped with LCD panels and apps people would still use them? Of course not. 

Industries, where their product’s users are decreasing their needs, must focus on the users, not their products. In other words. The users desired outcome must align with the products function. Even if this means that the most sacred components of the product’s deliverable, are eliminated or drastically changed. However, remembering that attempting to enhance a products functions to increase its use while the customers are looking for ways to use it less will indeed backfire. 

All the manufactures in the print industry still seem to be fighting for the customer with products and services the same way they fought when print was growing. Everyone is touting A3 like its 1990. Most of the manufacturers attempting to increase their distribution through the imaging Channel are trying it by boosting their A3. Forgetting or worse ignoring the fact that more than 80% of today’s market could easily use A4. This fact gives an extreme advantage to A4 focused manufactures. Here's the reality people will continue to print they will just print less and less. Those who can build strategies around the decline will win. That is the reason I have aligned TEASRA, the Innovation Channel and my vision of the A4 revolution with my friends at Lexmark. 

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

The innovation to the print equipment sales and its services will not be about apps or added features to A3 MFPs. The industry’s innovation will come as a result of improved processes delivering products which are closer to the market realities. In other words, those who focus on the customers, not the products. Will by default create products that customers need. 

All the manufactures will have pain in the dissembling of once sacred things, and those who make those sacrifices first will have an advantage. The customers of print equipment and their services don’t have any responsibility to help keep industry’s in the past. In reality most all customers of all industries wish to always remain relevant. It’s only in stubbornness that their relevance gets put on hold. 

“A company goes obsolete when they focus on delivering the past to the future instead of delivering the future to the present.” 

Ray Stasieczko

Thank goodness I've kept the old blog site alive.  In recent months there's been quite a bit of chatter about A4 MFP's  Most of those talk tracks center around A4's MFP's have less service calls than A3's MFP's, along with the lower cost of A4 MFP's vs A3 MFP's.  It's also true that probably 80-85% of all clients do not have the need to print, copy or scan 11x17. 

However what most don't chat about is the cost per page of A4 MFP's compared to A3 MFP's.  Typically an A4 MFP will have a higher per page cost than your same speed A3 MFP. Depending on how many pages are produced on the MFP, one can make an argument that A3 MFP's will cost less in the long for the total cost of operation. 

Thus a client that prints/copies 5,000  black pages per month and has a cost per page of .006 would have a monthly cost of $30.00 for the 5,000 pages and let's say $120 a month for the A3 MFP lease.  Thus a total of $150 per month.

Running the same volume on the A4 MFP has a cost of .018 per page (black).  The cost to print/copy those 5,000 pages would be $90. The monthly lease for the A4 MFP would be around $60 per month.  Total cost of $150 per month.

Based on the above scenario (just one I pulled out of my head) the cost is the same for both devices.  Depending on where your cost per page falls and where your monthly volume is would dictate which device saves money. 

The break point with the above scenario would be to lead with A4 under 5,000 pages per month and A3 for more than 5,000 per month. Again it's just one scenario with A4 vs A3.

Many years ago I stated that A4 could take over A3 placements if and only if the manufacturers wanted it to happen. I'm talking about all manufacturers of printers and copiers. The problem is that the manufacturers don't want it to happen right away.  The manufacturer who would win The War for A4 is the manufacturer that would develop an A4 MFP with the cost per page model of the A3 MFPs.

I'll admit that my world is pretty small here in the New Jersey market place. However, it is one of the most saturated markets in the US.  Mega dealers, regional dealers, dealers and every direct branch under the sun will surely test your worthiness.  But at least here in NJ I have yet to run across A4 MFP's coupled with the cost per page of A3 MFP's.

Right, back to the original plan. Below is a blog I posted on the old MFP Solutions Blog site in 2008!

"MFP Wars" Hi Speed A3 Devices vs A4 Devices (2008)

Back in the 80's when Minolta launched the 350Z, it was a unique system in that it could scan 11x17, but could only copy letter and legal. The selling advantage was that you could reduce your 11x17 documents down to a more manageable paper size. Why can't this be done today?

When are manufacturers going to step up to the plate and delivering real savings to customers. How about designing an A4 system that has a per page cost that is equivalent to A3 devices, and also giving customers that ability to scan 11x17 if needed.

It seems like Samsung and HP are driving A4 devices, while the likes of Xerox and Muratec are relabeling. Can or will Ricoh, Canon, Toshiba, KonicaMinolta or Kyocera design an A4 device for the ages that will copy, print, scan and fax with the traditional cost of A3 devices.

Love to hear from others on this.

This is from 2008!  It's eleven years later and for the most part the cost per page model for A4 devices has not changed.  Why is that? 

Maybe it's more what Ray Stasieczko spoke about at ITEX 2019. The manufacturers are thrilled with the levels of profit that they won't change for fear of losing profit and not paying dividends to their shareholders.  The more I think about the model and the number of manufacturers one can only think that maybe all of the manufacturers are colluding with each other to keep  the current A4 cost per page model higher than A3's. Naw, that would never happen right?

-=Good Selling=-