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InnovoltSelling in the Seventies

Selling Copiers in the Seventies with Steve Mcbride

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About a month ago I had the opportunity to attend the BTA National event in New York City.  While at the event I ran into Steve Mcbride, Steve is currently VP of Sales with Innovolt.  We had an interesting discussions about the cool Bluetooth technology with the Innovolt Smart Protectors (you can get these from Polek & Polek) and how techs can identify the voltage in the MFP through a smart phone.  I also found out that Steve had started selling copiers in the late seventies. 

Thus, I asked if he would like to be a part of our Selling in the Seventies Series. Steve's was happy to oblige and his comments are below.

Selling Copiers in the Seventies

  1. What year did you start in the industry and what was your first position? I started in the industry in 1978 right out of college as a basic sales rep with no accounts and no defined territory. One of the owners gave me a price book of the copiers my company sold and business cards and told to go see if I could sell anything.
  2. What company aka manufacturer or dealer did you work for during the seventies? Worked for A&S Copier and Computers
  3. If you worked for a dealer please tell us what brands you sold?  We sold Dennison and Minolta copiers.
  4. What was the percentage of copier sales people that made it past two years? We had about 5 reps that started at about the time I did, and I was the only one in the industry less than 2 years later.
  5.  What did you like the most about your job in the seventies? If you got out and worked hard you could make a lot of money for a 23-year-old sales rep.
  6. What did you dislike the most about your job in the seventies?  No real training being unsure what I really needed to do to be successful.
  7. What was the compensation plan like, was there a salary, what is just commissions or was there a mix of salary and commissions?   $500 a month draw against commissions. With commissions being 40% of GP.
  8. How did you go about finding new business, and what was your favorite of those methods and why? Cold calling was my main way to prospect because I didn’t know any better. Not unusual to make 4o+ calls a day. I used cold calling as a teaching tool, every account I called on I would ask to see their copier due to being new in the business, so it was my way of learning my competition and getting into the building to see what they were copying in their business. 
  9. What was your favorite brand and model to sell and why?  In the 70’s my favorite machine was the Minolta EP310. At $3995 you could sell them a bunch of them at full retail. It was also a DRY toner copier that enabled you to compete against Xerox a little easier.
  10. What type of car did you use for your demonstrations and how many demonstrations would you perform in a week demonstration. I used a pickup truck and all our technicians had station wagons. We didn’t haul a machine around all the time, but I would still do 3 to 5 demos a week but closing rate per demo was high.
  11. Can you tell us a couple of funny stories about selling copiers in the seventies?   1.  One of our sales reps (not me) had a copier in their pickup truck and went through a car wash at a paper mill with the copier in the back. 2.   One time I was moving a Minolta 101 and apparently didn’t drain the tank all the way and my new white shirt had some nice toner stains all over the front of the shirt.
  12. What is the biggest problem you seeing facing the industry today? With clicks declining in many areas I believe our industry will be moving to more of a services industry and many dealers are not positioned to make that move, nor have the desire to move into other service offerings.
  13. What was your quota back in the seventies, was it revenue, GP, units? $25K a month in revenue was the quota but I was paid on GP
  14. Back in the seventies Minolta copier models started with EP and Canon with NP. Do you know what those stood for? Electrostatic process and New Process

Steve thanks so much for this.  Many of us including myself had no clue as to what it was like in the seventies.  Also seems like you were great at doing demonstrations.  Copier demonstrations is practically a lost art in our industry now.

If you'd like to connect with Steve, his Linkedin profile is below. 

 
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The 3 P's A Sales Professional Takes To Heart To Help Them Crush Sales!

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"If you believe in yourself and have dedication and pride - and never quit, you'll be a winner. The price of victory is high but so are the rewards."
Paul Bryant

As humans we're wired to seek out meaning and purpose in our lives. Nowhere is this ever so important than in sales, as this is where we spend much of our waking hours.

I'm a firm believer that having a purpose matters more now than ever before. A sales professional thrives on being a part of a purpose. They live for becoming part of something that really matters, something that really makes a difference to the lives of their clients and prospects.

In chapter 6 of my new book, Selling from the Heart, I speak to Servant Led Sales Leadership. In a business world where sales reps are viewed with negativity, an authentic, real-deal approach is a breath of fresh air.

  • A servant sales rep has an authentic desire to serve
  • A servant sales rep is all in
  • A servant sales rep is focused on serving the needs of the person sitting in front of them

A servant led sales professional leads with a noble purpose. In Lisa Earle McLeod’s book, Selling with Noble Purpose: How to Drive Revenue and Do Work That Makes You Proud, she states; “Selling with noble purpose, turns out to be not only more successful. It’s hugely more profitable. It creates deep job satisfaction. And it adds value to the lives of customers."

YOUR CLIENTS ARE PEOPLE

The sales world is changing. Sales professionals who focus on adding value to their clients tend to make more money and do more for their clients than sales reps who aim to make money.

When sales reps see their sole purpose as making a profit, they tend to view their customers as objects. They look at them as dollar signs, reeking of commission breath.

"Lead with your and not your wallet"

The complete opposite exists with a purpose-driven sales professional. They understand their client's environments and goals on a greater level than that of quota-driven sales reps. They lead with their heart and not their wallet as they have their client's best interests at heart.

"Creating value not only transforms sales effectiveness, it provides insulation from the price hammer."

3 P's A SALES PROFESSIONAL TAKES TO HEART TO HELP THEM CRUSH SALES

Sales professionals who lead with their heart and not just their wallet are able to connect with the emotional needs of their clients and prospects. They understand people have the need to be valued, respected, heard and acknowledged. By acknowledging and not forgetting the human element, sales professionals maintain the wisdom to positively transform their clients business by helping them to do better business, a profitable one.

THEY HAVE A PURPOSE

Having a sense of purpose in your life is essential to your well-being. It's equally important to have a sense of purpose in your sales career. A sales professional continually searches and finds their sense of purpose as circumstances change. 

Those with a sense of purpose in sales are passionate, they create change and they're committed. They're completely focused on serving their clients.

They ask themselves purposeful questions such as:

  • What problems do my clients encounter? How can I help them solve them?
  • How can I become more effective to better help my clients to succeed?

A sales professional takes massive action on themselves!

THEY HAVE PRIDE

Sales professionals take pride in their work and it's extremely important to them. You can say it just comes naturally.

"If your eyes do not light up when you talk about what you do then think about finding something else to do!"

If you don’t love what you do where you spend 8 hours per day and 5 days per week, then your long-term sales success is in danger. It all boils down to pride. This is what separates a sales rep from a sales professional. They invest in themselves and ensure this is visibly demonstrated.

A professional starts making small changes to their work habits, changes that build up to make a huge difference over time.

They are personally accountable and take responsibility for their actions. They don't point fingers unless it's right back at them.

THEY HAVE A PROACTIVE PLAN

  • This plan helps them to overachieve.
  • This plan increases the awareness within their marketplace of their company's products, services and solutions.
  • This plan has them involved and participating in community events.
  • This plan has them obtaining referrals from current clients.
  • This plan has them continually learning about their clients business.

This proactive plan includes prospecting, profiling targeted accounts, executing account strategies and obtaining feedback to continuously improve their performance. The ultimate goal, drive additional sales revenue.

Creating a business plan and setting goals facilitates this potential into achievable numeric objectives, i.e. sales revenue and margin growth. 

"Accountability is the glue that ties commitment to results"

PURPOSE, PRIDE AND PLAN

Life is too short. You deserve a career where you have a sense of purpose, pride and a plan. Sales professionals don't leave it up to their company or their management team. It is up to you to define what you do with your sales career.

  • Know what motivates you
  • Find a mentor or a business coach
  • Self-reflect and crave self-improvement

The best is yet to come!

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 modern 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 has launched! 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.

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, Social Sales Academy and on my podcast by clicking on Selling from the Heart.

 
 
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DocuWare

Putting a Strategic Vision into Action with Hoshin Kanri

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8:30 a.m. in Germany is 2:30 a.m. in my native east coast U.S. time zone. I was jet lagged from the previous day’s flight. It was already hot, and there was no air conditioning in the conference room of the hotel in Bad Wörishofen. Coffee. Europe has the best coffee.

My discomfort alleviated, I still did not expect that this day in July of 2016 would have such a profound impact on DocuWare and the way we operate. This was the first day of a workshop that introduced our senior management team to a new strategic planning and implementation process called Hoshin Kanri.

“Strategic planning,” “implementation process,” “Hoshin Kanri” – we’re getting into dangerous waters. This business jargon tends to cause eyes to roll … but stick with me because what I am talking about is how we were able to better organize our energy and effort to achieve significant business results. In short, how we’re able to put a strategic vision into action.

Hoshin Kanri, also known as policy deployment, is a methodology that enabled us to achieve breakthrough goals by ensuring a laser focus and precise alignment throughout the organization. I would like to take you through the Hoshin Kanri methodology, and along the way, I’m happy to share a story or two about my experiences.

The Hoshin Kanri 7-step Process

  1. Establish Vision vs. Current State

    In this phase an organization determines their true goals. What is it they want to achieve at the most distilled level?  This critical step sets the direction of the compass needle and determines where you want to travel. In this phase a company may do things like review its mission statement, its processes, and its current key performance indicators (KPIs). The organization openly discusses what they are doing to move in the right direction and what is not working.

    This is difficult. If you have ever sat on a committee that is responsible for writing or rewriting a company’s mission statement you might already have experienced the challenge that comes with defining company direction: its main goals, values and vision.

  2. Develop Breakthrough Objectives 

    Breakthrough objectives aren’t like other goals your organization has probably set in the past. They are “breakthrough” in the sense that they are goals that might seem impossible to achieve at first glance.

    These types of goals force your organization to do new things such as introducing new products, entering new markets or transforming your service delivery model. These are the goals that are going to force change within your organization, and that won’t happen overnight. These goals have a three- to five-year time horizon.

    I won’t share DocuWare’s breakthrough goals as they are proprietary to our business, but I can share the categories they address. We have three targets:

    1. Sales excellence
    2. Excitement working with our solutions
    3. Excitement interacting with our company

    It was at this phase of the planning that the management team started to feel aligned – our departments all had a direct role to play in reaching one or more of these goals.

  3. Develop Annual Objectives

    Breakthrough objectives are huge and meeting them doesn’t happen all at once. In this phase you develop one-year goals that will get you moving towards your breakthrough objective, “This is what needs to happen next year for us to reach that goal in five years.” 

    This was an exciting step for us. We started thinking about what we really needed to do in the next year. Under each of our three targets we developed one or two initiatives, all of which were focused on revamping our processes.

    Throughout the organization, we found that if we only optimized processes we had in place, we could only achieve incremental change (maybe a 5-10% improvement by changing a small thing here or there). We couldn’t keep doing things the same way and expect a significantly different result.

    We ended up identifying five major processes within DocuWare that we wanted to transform and called it “xxxx process Version 2.0.” We developed a vision of what these processes would achieve and gained a shared understanding of what our expected result would be. This was our first year’s annual objective

  4. Deploy Annual Objectives

    If you’re noticing a trend where each previous step starts to cascade down to the next for a more specific refinement, then you start to see how the Hoshin Kanri methodology works. It takes a big vision and breaks it down into actionable steps.

    In this phase, you establish concrete steps for what your organization will really start to do. Here you plan specific, measurable goals that are assigned to initiative owners and supporters within the leadership group of your organization.

    Under the umbrella of “Excitement working with our solutions” DocuWare determined that there were two driving variables that went into “Exciting Work” equation – 1) things that our users found exciting and delightful, and 2) things that detracted from that excitement.

    We started to think in different terms. We already had excellent metrics around bug numbers, support case volume, and satisfaction with our help desk … but what if we started thinking about the fact that every time a user interacts with an expert from our company that we aren’t living up to our mission, and that it could be taking away from their overall excitement of our solutions? Of course, we want to continue to be there to delight our customers with excellent service when they need it, but we also really needed to focus on empowering our users to manage their digital transformation without an expert. From this we decided the number of support cases each customer opened with DocuWare through their life cycle was a powerful metric to monitor. I asked my teams to find specific trends that pointed to where we could proactively empower customers before they had a need to contact us. This work became the basis for my team’s first year annual objectives.

  5. Execute Annual Objectives (aka Just Do It!)

    Through steps 1-4, an organization aligns strategic vision with a clear roadmap to achieve that vision.

    In Step 5 you simply do it. I say “simply” but obviously doing the work is a big challenge, and no one approach is the “right” way for every organization. Many organizations implement well-known approaches like Six Sigma DMAIC, Kaizen Events, Plan-Do-Study-Adjust cycles, or A3s.

    A mentor of mine once said “the product of strategic planning is the planner, not the plan.” I think there is a lot of truth in that statement, but I also think he never went through a Hoshin Kanri planning. We had planners AND a plan.

    To implement our plans, we used an A3/PDCA approach. DocuWare’s leadership team created action plans and milestones. We created a lot of new processes to ensure collaborative and transparent teams across divisions. Throughout the first year with a little trial and error, we found our way quickly.

    High visibility KPIs are a key part of our Hoshin Kanri initiative. The methodology provides many tools which make closely tracking KPIs possible. They’ve got great names, like the “Bowler” (it looks like a score card you keep at the bowling alley) and the “X-Matrix” (which is not another awesome movie with Keanu Reeves). We ended up having a lot of action plans going on at DocuWare. The great thing was that even though we all are working on different plans, they all are synchronized, pointing each department in the same direction.

  6. Monthly Review

    One of the pitfalls organizations face when creating a yearly plan is that it sounds great at the beginning of the year but as the daily work never seems to end, the plan gets delayed, stalled, or even forgotten. To bring about a great change requires a lot of dedication, and most importantly a lot of effort. In fact, most advice on Hoshin Kanri will tell you that a minimum of 60% of a leader’s time should be focused on achieving an annual goal.

    The only way to ensure that is to review the progress often, and while action teams should meet at a minimum every week, the leadership round must meet at least once a month to review the status of all Hoshin Kanri projects.

    Hoshin Kanri truly transformed DocuWare’s senior leadership monthly meeting. Every initiative owner is responsible for giving a status update on his/her project and a discussion about the KPIs happens as an entire management team, not limited to subgroups or divisions. The phrase “red is the new green” became a motto, because unachieved KPIs (marked in red by our tools) are not look at as failures or non-achievements but simply as an opportunity to further push us to change more in our organization, to break even further from our status quo and find new and innovative ways to bring change. Fast change.

  7. Annual Review

    Hoshin Kanri is a cycle of work that brings an organization toward an extremely ambitious goal.

    Of course, along the way adjustments will need to be made, minor course corrections here and there. An annual review is an extremely important step. It’s an opportunity to look at what happened over the last 12 months and figure out what needs to be done in the next 12. Next year’s goals and action plans need to be set.

    DocuWare’s first annual review was held just two weeks shy of one year after our kickoff of Hoshin Kanri. I was frazzled because I arrived a day later than expected (Pro Tip: if you forget your passport, there is absolutely no way they are letting you on a plane headed out of New York). Coffee. Great European coffee. Cures all ailments.

    Each of our initiative owners prepared a presentation to review the past year’s achievements and shortcomings. I reviewed the several enhancements in our product, changes in our processes, and in our adaptations of our communication strategy with the management team. These better enable our users to meet one of the goals in DocuWare’s mission statement which is to “manage the digital transformation of their business processes and their dynamic adaptations without the need of experts.” We talked about what could be done better. I had noticed one of my major KPIs wasn’t really telling the whole story and we worked as a team to figure out what the best metric would be. And then we circled back to step 3, a little wiser than the year before.

    Looking for other ways to boost productivity in your organization? View our webinar "Boost Productivity by Connecting Data Across all Enterprise Applications."



    About the author:  Jon-Langdon

     Jon Langdon is the Vice President of Client Services & Quality Worldwide. He oversees the operation of DocuWare’s Support, Professional Services, and Quality Assurance Teams in Germany, United States, and Bulgaria. He holds an Executive Master of Business Administration from the University of New Haven. He is currently spending his spare time learning the craft of woodworking.

 
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SalesSales HacksYouTube Print4Pay Hotel

Three Copier Sales People Walk into a.........

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Three sales people garner an appointment with the same client.  One of the sales people is with the incumbent dealer of the account.  The other two are on the outside looking in to gain net new business.

The client is at the end of a five year lease for a color A3 MFP (30 ppm).  Other than the copier cabinet there are no additional accessories on the existing A3 color MFP.

All three sales people had the same opportunity with the client. All three sales people paid a visit to the clients office to beat their chest as to why they are the best.  Seems that only one salesperson listened to the client and did a little extra digging. That client wanted to reduce their costs due to a change in their business model.

The incumbent sales person offered up a new A3 30ppm color MFP for a couple of dollars less than what the client is paying on the current lease.

The second sales person offered up a new A3 30ppm color MFP as well, but also offered up a price for a slower A3 color MFP.

The third sales person took a different approach.  That sales person went to existing device and inspected all of the paper trays.  Only two of the paper trays had paper in them and both were filled with letter size paper.

The fact that only two trays were being used and only letter size paper was in the trays sparked the next action.  That sales person then accessed the meter counter in MPF, but it wasn't the total counter he was after.  With a couple of extra button selections the sale person accessed the true meter for the MFP.

The true meter goes into depth about how many pages are printed for each paper size.  Can you guess how many 11x17 pages were printed in five years?

Who guessed zero?

If you did, you win.  Our sales person also calculated the average volume and it fell right into the perfect volume for an A4 color device.

Our sales person asked for a little bit of time to work up a price for the client.  While working up the price, he noticed another glimmer of hope on the meter print out sheet.  The color volume averaged 100 pages a year.  This smarter than the average bear sales person then developed a second price for the client.  That second price was for a black A4 50 ppm MFP.

Presenting the numbers to the DM for the A4 color device was not working. The client needed a lower price.  Rather than backing down the price of the A4 color MFP, our sales person presented the A4 black MFP with the print speed of 50 ppm.

During the presentation of the price the sales person made reference that they were only printing 100 color pages a year or eight pages a month.  He stated if you really need to print only eight color pages a month, then just add a small inkjet color printer for a couple of hundred dollars.

In the end the client agreed that they did not need color, did not need 11x17 and wanted the low cost option of the black A4 MFP.  Documents were signed that day on the first appointment.  Done deal and great GP.

Afterwards our sales person asked for copies of the quotes that were presented.  Believe it or not both quotes were emailed to the client and not hand delivered!

Both did not offer the cost savings that the client wanted.  Seems like both salespeople did not dig and do their homework.  In the end that's why the other two lost the sale.  

Can you guess who was smarter than the average bear?

-=Good Selling=-

PS "If you're not promoting A4, you're going to get your butt kicked"

Please check out my YouTube Channel and please subscribe.  I'll be releasing new video shorts in the next week.  Print4Pay You Tube Channel

 
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SalesSales Hacks

New to Copier Sales or Just Sales? Follow My Top 5 Linkedin Peeps!

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While driving to an account today, I couldn't help but thinking about a new rep that just started with us.  Our business is nothing like it was almost forty years ago.

My job was to pick up the phone and or cold call for scheduling demonstrations of copiers.  We had maybe four different models of copiers and the only accessories that were available was additional paper trays. Back then you could focus and get results.

Today is much different and I don't have to tell everyone how convoluted our industry is.  Being a successful office technology rep is quite the task and I tip my hat to those who've made it past the first two years.

I thought it would be a great idea to share those on Linkedin that I follow and admire for their content and their activity.  Activity is BIG, why follow someone if they are not active.  Thus, there's no special order below, it's my short list of peeps to follow on LInkedin that can help your sales career.

Larry Levine: Larry started in the copier industry in 1988.  Which is something I found out when I picked up his new book "Selling from the Heart".  Larry is an active blogger on this site, and covers social media everyday.  He's got a great story for developing a genuine approach for sales. Larry is not only great at what he does, but finds time to give back to his community on a regular basis.  

Mike Stramaglio: Mike's been in the office technology business a tad longer than me.  Even though I don't get to speak to Mike that often, we do get to chat a few times a year at industry events.  Mike is extremely active on social media and also gives time back to charitable causes.  For me, Mike is my silent mentor on Linkedin.

West McDonald: West the wolverine, West the Sultan of MPS (Managed Print Service) and West the great communicator.  His passion is to help his partners improve thier business as change accelerates the imaging industry.  West has many blogs posted on Linkedin an is active with sharing threads from others. If you're looking for someone to emulate on Linkedin West would be my choice.

Dayna Karron: Dayna and I have never meet, although we've exchanged emails from time to time.  I tried to track her down at last year's Jillian's Fund Event, however she wasn't in the same spot for more than a few minutes.  Dayna is a prolific poster on Linkedin and I can understand why she's great at what she does.  Dayna knows that hard work does pay off.  Dayna is another great sales guru to follow.

Dale Dupree: (The Copier Warrior) What can I say, someone that is after my own heart when it comes to being creative!  I'd like to think I was just as creative as Dale back in my hey day, but that was many years ago.  Many of Dale's threads on Linkedin take us on many cold calls where Dale uses his creative genius to brand himself with new prospects.  Following Dale will inspire you to get creative and think outside the box.

Looking for additional inspiration?  Follow all five of these peeps. I'm grateful that I connected with all of the above. Yes, there are days when I can find it hard to get going. All it takes is a short trip to Linkedin and one of these great peeps will have something that reminds me of "the harder I work, the luckier I get).

Hey, you can also follow me But, all of my stuff gets posted here first and then to Linkedin.

-=Good Selling=-

 
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How Authenticity Can Maximize Your Prospecting Results

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“Authenticity is a collection of choices that we have to make every day. It’s about the choice to show up and be real. The choice to be honest. The choice to let out true selves be seen.”
Brene Brown

Authenticity is one of the biggest challenges for salespeople in a profession riddled with scrupulous, fake and disingenuous sales reps; that quite frankly many buyers despise them. However, authenticity separates sales reps from sales professionals and this is what buyers want!

It may sound a bit touchy-feely but set aside some alone time, take a look inside yourself as sales is all about building credible, genuine and real relationships. In order to build relationships and change the way people think while prospecting, you need to understand who you are and what goods you bring to the table. Here lies the issue for many sales reps, they don’t understand the value they bring to the marketplace because they haven’t spent the time investing in themselves.

"If you're your authentic self, you have no competition"

BE WILLING TO BE AUTHENTIC

Authenticity, it's making the conscious choice based on accurate self-knowledge. This means stepping outside the shallow world in which many in sales live. Prospecting is not an easy thing to do as we have so many things that distract the mind.

"Sales reps have hypnotized themselves into believing what they aren't doing doesn't work"

Authenticity is a choice. It's not easy, but for sales professionals this is the difference between just getting by and making it happen. Self-reflect for a moment, asking yourself what does it means to lead an authentic prospecting lifestyle? It's hard work. It's looking right into the mirror, asking tough questions and answering them. You're in charge of your own sales career.

THE BRUTAL FACT

The lack of trust with sales people has become an epidemic. According to a survey from HubSpot Research, only a mere 3% of people consider salespeople to be trustworthy.

How many of the prospects you work with are skeptical and have low levels of trust? Skepticism is peaked out at max levels and most are scraping the bottom with low levels of trust.

No one wants to slow down and realize there's some work to be done when it comes to prospecting. It starts with leadership as prospecting has hit the mass critical stage within many sales teams.

How many is sales constantly hear the saying, "Sales is a numbers game", "It's a numbers game, go out there and prospect some more!" I want to puke when I hear this!

Quantity is important when it comes to prospecting but so is quality and efficiency. Quality comes from the behind the scenes work to be able to deliver quantity.

"Sales leaders are readers as they invest in themselves"

They do the hard work to make sure that when they get in front of a prospect they have an opportunity to truly bring the goods.

They understand their heart is behind the hard work.

AUTHENTIC PROSPECTING

The heart behind prospecting is the quality. A sales professional places their heart at the forefront as they truly want to make a difference in the lives of their clients and prospects.

It's the fundamental reality of all those in sales that every sales professional needs to prospect. Prospecting for new business... we talk about it and measure quantity but how many truly monitor quality?

How many bring to the forefront the quality in making sure when they write the email, pick up the phone, walk in the front door or make the social connection that what they deliver matters and can bring value?

"Those who care the most when it comes to prospecting will consistently have food on the business table."

VALUE BEFORE VISIBILITY

A sales professional waves the flag of value before visibility. They weave value into their communication.

How many understand how to truly weave value into an effective business conversation?

To authentically prospect means to truly understand your values, what your prospect values and incorporate this into an effective business conversation.

Unfortunately prospecting has become a negotiable item?

LONG TERM VIVISION

We all want short term results when it comes to prospecting. Many in sales get whacked over the head for 30 day and quarterly results but how many add in a long term perspective when it comes to prospecting?

"Sales reps are consistently inconsistent when it comes to prospecting"

Sure, you'll find an opportunity when the ball rests on the one yard line or when the opportunity sits inside the red zone but let's not discount the long term vision. A vast majority of conversations when prospecting will not fit into a short term window but will be there someday.

To authentically prospect means to balance a short term sales funnel with a longer term relationship funnel. Not every opportunity will fit into the 30 day or quarterly window. Let's not ignore them but nurture them.

A sales professional knows what it means to balance their relationship funnel alongside their sales funnel. With authenticity and a blend of caring they nurture their relationship funnel with education and insight.

BE AUTHENTIC AND MEAN IT

Authenticity starts when you set the intention and muster up self-fortitude to be genuine. You must become keenly aware of what this looks and feels like, along with the willingness to act in accordance with your genuine nature.

In a world full of self-interested salespeople who look at prospects as dollar signs, an authentic sales professional stands out like a shining star.

An authentic sales professional prospects with the mindset of a sales servant. They've developed a how can I help mindset. They have a true burning and genuine desire to help.

Being the real you is scary while prospecting. We need to get real and get honest with ourselves. Take off the 'bravado mask' that hinders you from prospecting. The barrier it's creating will not last forever. Be the real you, not a prospecting imposter.

If you would like to know more about Authentic Prospecting, please tune into the latest episode of the Selling from the Heart podcast (click on image below)

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 modern 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 has launched! 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.

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, Social Sales Academy and on my podcast by clicking on Selling from the Heart.

 
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This Week in the Copier Industry 10 Years Ago

This Week in the Copier Industry 10 Years Ago, The First Week in October 2003

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In the office on Friday we had a chat about the manufacturers in the industry.  My thoughts centered around KonicaMinolta and the great job they're doing with diversifying.  Ricoh was at the bottom of the list. 

Enjoy the threads from ten years ago this week:

Ricoh Offers Managed Print Services to Reduce Printing Complexity

. In the past, printing was simple as everyone either shared one device or had a personal printer. Now the printing landscape is more complex with multiple printers, multifunction products (MFPs), servers and drivers comprising the output environment picture. In addition, users are continuously increasing their standards in regard to results, security, sustainability and cost. To address these demands, Ricoh created the MPS offering. This flexible program makes it easy to outsource all or part
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Copier leases spark Town Board cost-savings clash

annual $1,404 is saved only in instances where Smithtown replaces an Icon model printer with a new Toshiba model. In those departments where a Xerox copier is being replaced, the savings only amounts to $14 a month; moreover, in the case of the engineering department, the new printer lease will cost the town an additional $29 per month. Smithtown will also be taking on an additional expense by renting a copier to replace one it already owns, she added. The confusion in facts over cost savings
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Toshiba Releases New Line of MFP’s

copying jobs. The entire line supports print resolutions of 1,200 x 1,200 dots-per-inch (dpi) and 10-bit scanning resolutions of 600 x 600 dpi, allowing the e-STUDIO5520c/6520c/6530c series to provide razor sharp text and superior graphic detail in all printed documents. Unique Toner and Developer Delivery System Unlike traditional color MFPs on the market, the Toshiba e-STUDIO5520c/6520c/6530c line does not require regularly scheduled changing or refilling of developer. Thanks to Toshiba’s unique
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Oce posts Q3 operating loss as slowdown

quarter net profit of 1.7 million euros. Oce, which competes against Canon, Ricoh and Xerox, refrained from giving an outlook for the full year because of the current economic turmoil, but said it expected a positive fee cash flow. Its shares have lost 60 percent so far this year. (Reporting by Harro ten Wolde; editing by Jon Loades-Carter)
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Xerox Borrows 300 Million from Xerox Canada!

to obtain the necessary level of financing to maintain government operations and may be forced to turn to the federal treasury for short-term financing," the Governor wrote to Mr. Paulson. "California is so large that our short cash-flow needs exceed the entire budget of some states." California is big, but it isn't alone. U.S. states are required by law to balance their budgets every year. So they typically borrow cash at the start of the year, paying off those loans when sales and property tax
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Ricoh Fires Ann Moser

Ricoh fired its Senior Vice President of printing solutions, Ann Moser. She joined the company in 2001, and implemented a managed services program, as well as launched several new desktop models. Under her tenure, she increased the amount of dealers carrying Ricoh printers by 30%, and increased Ricoh’s market share. Ms. Moser also won numerous awards, such as: Everything Channel’s Chief Everything Channel Most Powerful Woman of the Channel Did anyone else know about this??? Figure she'll now go
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Photocopy King Pushes Paperless Office

pitch revolves around very basic ideas. It wants customers to move from single-function products such as printers and faxes to now-affordable multi-function systems. In addition, the company stresses that injecting a bit of color into a presentation can illuminate important ideas and save time. (And wouldn’t you know it, Xerox executives highlight their names in indigo on their business cards.) Xerox offers programmable software interface for its multi-function products that allows organizations to
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Re: Ricoh Fires Ann Moser

Here's one that I found: Ricoh Channel Chief Out By Caitlin Moriarity, ChannelWeb 4:26 PM EDT Mon. Sep. 22, 2008 Ricoh Americas has consolidated its printers divisions into one unit, eliminating the position of channel chief Ann Moser, senior vice president of the former printing solutions division. The new head of the consolidated Office Printer Business Group is vice president Matt Sakauchi, formerly the director of printer marketing for Ricoh. Sakauchi will be handling, "all channel
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Re: Ricoh Fires Ann Moser

ago, IBM's top channel chief opted to take an earlier than expected retirement, forcing Richard Hume to jump in sooner than planned. In July, Microsoft split the role of U.S. channel chief Robert Deshaies in half, leaving him with sales and giving another executive marketing responsibilities. While some folks were packing up, others were assuming new roles, such as Ted Bereswill, who takes over as Oracle's top channel chief, or Rob McKernan, U.S. channel chief of APC, who got the keys to the
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Bowing to Xerox a bad move

Bowing to Xerox a bad move Letters to the Editor Posted 2 days ago Editor's Note:This letter is addressed to Chatham- Kent council. With so many people struggling emotionally, physically and financially due to job losses in Chatham- Kent, you have the audacity to award a contract to Xerox, a Torontobased company. What a warm fuzzy feeling to know you were threatened by Xerox's "deal with us or we'll sue." Where is your support for our local businesses? Will Xerox support our community in the
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Ricoh Presents Presentation Builder Tool is now live at

We're excited to announce the release of Ricoh’s Presentation Builder Tool now available at www.RicohPresents.com! Use your ICM Value Proposition Web Tools (RicohConnects, RicohSaves) username and password provided below to access this powerful Presentation Builder tool now and other ICM Value Proposition Web Tools coming soon. What is RicohPresents.com? It's a powerful online tool that helps you create professional PowerPoint presentations for your customers and prospects. Your presentations
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Xerox Canada to lend parent up to $300-million

Breaking News Xerox Canada to lend parent up to $300-million The Canadian Press Friday, October 03, 2008 TORONTO — — Xerox Canada Ltd. says it intends to lend its parent, Xerox Corp., to $300-million, with excess cash that's available to the Toronto-based subsidiary. The loan, to mature on or before Dec. 15, 2009, would be on "commercially reasonable" terms even though it's a related-party transaction. The actual amount of the loan would be reduced by an amount equal to whatever has already
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imageRUNNER C1022 unveiled

Wow, and finally an A3 (no 11x17) from Canon!! Price is competetive for the speed range, the inside seems like they took an existing color laser printer engine and married a scanner to the top. So, not a new engine, but a really cool scanner attachment on top. It looks sweet and will probably sell very well. imageRUNNER C1022 unveiled Canon Unveils the Color imageRUNNER C1022 Series. Canon unveils the new sleek, compact, easy to use and feature-rich Color imageRUNNER C1022 Series. The new
Member

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Age Matters When It Comes to Small Business Owners' Attitudes Toward Office Technolog

fixed computers and printer/copiers increases according to the age of the respondent, while the importance of laptops and handheld devices decreases with that age. Baby Boomers and Veterans are more likely to insist that it is a priority to spend their technology budget on desktops or PCs and printers or copiers, rather than wireless technology. According to the survey, Boomers prefer traditional devices such as fixed computers as opposed to laptop computers. Boomers (84 per cent) say that fixed
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DLL to raise rates

see manufacturers leasing the equipment at Zero percent in order to keep the factories producing? Or would the factories subsidize and entice the leasing companies to extend credit in order to keep sales going? Alot of questions that may or may not be answered. At some point in time the madness needs to stop!
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Re: Around The World with Ricoh

: "Central England is a rugby heartland and the Ricoh Arena a wonderful modern stadium which gets you close to all the action. We're really excited about the prospect of bringing the EDF Energy Cup to a new stadium, one that offers a fantastic setting for back-to-back semi-finals." Tickets will be on sale from October 30 from Ticketmaster www.ticketmaster.co.uk, the Ricoh Arena www.ricoharena.com and the subsequent semi-finalists, priced £35, £28, £20 and £10 for Under-15s. The final of the EDF Energy
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Re: Ricoh Offers Managed Print Services to Reduce Printing Complexity

all of the same printers? If you are taking service on different manufactuers you will need service manuals, parts manuals, some type of training and some3 inventory on critical parts, right???? I for one believe that managed print services is the removal of all printers and the re-assement of volumes, needs, costs and workflow! Otherwise, I don't see how you can service the account like you could with all of your own products. A statement like this "Best of all, users only pay for actual output
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Re: imageRUNNER C1022 unveiled

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The picture on the blog looks like a normal Canon. I'm guessing the picture displayed here is the correct one?
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Re: Ricoh Offers Managed Print Services to Reduce Printing Complexity

Jason: Thats what I thought "not to service 30 different models from 8 manufacturers". Seems to me that the new Ricoh brochure and press release and others in the industry seem to be misleading. Art
-=Good Selling=-
 
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This Week in the Copier Industry 15 Years Ago

This Week in the Copier Industry 15 Years Ago, The First Week in October 2003

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Not a lot here this week, but some interesting items that included Canon Business Solutions and a duplicator that was introduced with a paper tray.  Oh yes, and the question of the week was who was going buy Imagistics. Can anyone answer that?

Enjoy the threads from 15 years ago this week:

Off & Running!

Solutions U.S.A., Inc. As one company, Konica Minolta Business Solutions has: · · A projected revenue of over $1.5 billion · · Over 6,000 employees supporting more than 700 wholesale dealers and more than 90 direct/retail branches · · A 1,200+-member field support organization · · A number 2 ranking behind Canon in Segments 2 and 4 for B&W printers/copiers · · A number 3 ranking behind Canon and Xerox for color multifunctional products (MFPs) “Konica Minolta Business Solutions has set its sights on
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Canon Sales Organizations Merge

Canon Sales Organizations Merge Canon Business Solutions-Southeast, Inc. and Canon Business Solutions-Northeast, Inc. Merge. The name of the merged company is Canon Business Solutions-East, Inc. BURLINGTON, NJ, Oct. 1, 2003 -- Canon Business Solutions-Southeast, Inc., and Canon Business Solutions-Northeast, Inc., regional leaders in document imaging systems, today announced that their two corporations have merged. The name of the merged company is Canon Business Solutions-East, Inc. Canon U.S.A
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New Color MFP from Xerox!!!!!

features that allow for productive operation include one-touch faxing with phone and Internet capability, and scan to e-mail or network. Using patented Emulsion Aggregation (EA) toner, a Xerox technology that standardizes the size and shape of toner particles, the WorkCentre M24 is capable of uniform printing. With sharp image quality and fine line text that people expect from a high-end color printer, and resolution up to 1200 x 1200 dpi, office workers are able to produce the right prints time
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Who's Gonna Take Over Imagistics??

), Sharp, and Toshiba, which supply Imagistics with customized imaging products, are known to be impressed with the company's direct-sales marketing prowess, notes Cross. Her 12-month price target is 35, "but obviously a buyer will have to pay a premium in a buyout," she says. Cross recently raised her 2003 earnings estimate from $1.11 to $1.15 a share on sales of $620 million, and her 2004 forecast from $1.37 to $1.41 on $626.4 million. Herbert Hardt of investment firm Monness, Crespi, Hardt
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Help w/ Printing from MACROS

Has anyone had this occur? client switches from HP to RICOH MFP, and uses MACROS in word, more specifically word 98. The Macro with the HP would automatically go to the correct paper drawer containg letterhead, and the RICOH will not. All though this is a very small gripe, it is something that is out there. People like to take the work out of things and look to our technology to do that; Wouldn't you agree. I guess my questions is does anyone know if upgrading from a 270 to a 2035sp might help
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Ricoh launches

Pickersgill, Ricoh National Sales Manager, Photographics believes that the fourth generation improvements are bound to enthuse both the experienced and first time digital photographer. Pickersgill comments, “The feedback from consumers has been that they love the versatility of digital photography but they still have a few bugbears. These include, restricted views, slow shutter response times and unoriginal designs. Ricoh has addressed these issues and the Caplio G4 wide offers a wide angled lens
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Adobe and Xerox

Normalizer solutions for reliable, consistent print output, native PDF consumption and the highest quality PPML support. -- The Xerox VIPP Thin Printer for high-volume production, tagging and delivery of optimized Adobe PDFs from the same print data streams used for production printing, using Adobe Acrobat, Distiller(R) Server and PDF Libraries. These PDF files can be used for single or multi-set proofs, archiving, electronic distribution, and Web presentment of variable data documents produced
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Re: NEW Duplicator with Paper Cassette

Ricoh's Priport™JP5800 digital duplicator delivers a higher level of quality and performance in a user-friendly design. With a printing speed of up to 120 sheets/min. and an extensive paper capacity of 2500 sheets, the largest duplicating jobs can be handled swiftly and without interruption. In addition to this, you can load two types of paper at once. As an added advantage, the Priport™JP5800 can be placed in commercial offices for copying purposes. It can also be supplied with the 40-bin J
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NEW Duplicator with Paper Cassette

Priport™JP5800 Ricoh Europe Web Site Ricoh´s newest Priport™JP5800 digital duplicator delivers a higher level of quality and performance in a user-friendly design. With a printing speed of up to 120 sheets/min. and an extensive paper capacity of 2500 sheets, the largest duplicating jobs can be handled swiftly and without interruption. In addition to this, you can load two types of paper at once. As an added advantage, the new Priport™model can be placed in commercial offices for copying
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Re: Around The World with Ricoh

¡¦s direction in forging a single brand for their sales and services with strong local presence. It only signifies Ricoh¡¦s further commitment in the territory. The consolidation reinforces Ricoh as the leading provider of innovative document solutions in Hong Kong. Celebrating RHK 40th anniversary this year, the company pledges to set a new milestone to be the Winner in the 21st century and a leader in document solutions by:- Launching a new contact centre to bring forward the ¡§Customer for
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Re: Looks like we're giving HP a run for thier money

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By the way - did you see news about HP going into a relationship with Konica/Minolta to sell HP versions of their 50+ multifunction machines with their own print controllers? IT people will love that!
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Print 4 Pay Case Study

Download attached pdf [This message was edited by Docusultant on Thu October 02 2003 at 06:10 PM.]
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Introduces Ra2k

Integration is an internal software solution that resides on the hard drive of Ricoh print devices and allows users of IBM's zSeries (S390) and iSeries (AS/400) to send print jobs from AFP/IPDS Software to Ricoh devices for immediate output. The software helps users manage all printing requirements, whether the print environment is centralized or distributed, while maintaining consistent high-quality document output. Additionally, users of the software can access all of the technologically advanced
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Looks like we're giving HP a run for thier money

full speed makes the Aficio™AP600N the ideal system for businesses needing to produce high quality results quickly. With a first print speed of 6.5 seconds and continuous speeds of 32 A4 and 18 A3 prints per minute, the Aficio™AP600N delivers rapid results. A warm-up time of only 19 seconds adds to the printer's deployment. Additionally, double-sided printing at the maximum resolution of 1,200 dpi does not impede speed levels, ensuring delivery of high performance at all times. A variety of paper
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T/R Systems Announces

T/R Systems Announces MicroPress X Series Connectivity to Canon CLC 1180/1140/1110; Solution Provides Variety of Options for Mid-Volume Segment of Print-on-Demand Market September 29, 2003 6:27:00 PM ET ATLANTA & LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 29, 2003--T/R SYSTEMS, INC. TRSI, a leader in developing innovative solutions for the management and production of digital documents, and Canon U.S.A., a subsidiary of Canon Inc. CAJ, a leader in networked imaging systems, announced today the
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Two New imageRUNNER

user authentication (both Simple Device Login and Single Sign On) and a host of productivity-enhancing copy features, such as Scan-Once-Print-Many, Copy Reservation, Automatic Trayless Duplexing, Cascade/Remote Copy, Page Numbering, and Forms Composition. The imageRUNNER 2220/3220 Series will be available in October 2003 through authorized Canon U.S.A. dealers and Canon Business Solutions locations at the suggested retail prices below: »» imageRUNNER 2220N, $8,910 »» imageRUNNER 2220i
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Bristol Meyers Squibb

tracking; meter collection and validation for invoicing; account specific reporting mechanism DeskTop Binder, which combines documents in various formats to be treated as a single file and print stream Global Scan, which enables an MFP device to scan to e-mail along with various other formats In addition to providing Bristol-Myers Squibb with a full line of digital printers and multi-functional products, Lanier will also provide integrated faxing systems and color printers. “This new agreement with
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Re: iR3200 user report

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Since we are a Canon Dealer also, I checked with our DSM for Canon and no they are not being discontinued. There are over 60,000 on backorder, and they are producing them as fast as they can. What we are being told is that it may take 30-60 days to get one. That is probably where the rumor started. Also, I checked with our tech that just returned from 3200 school two weeks ago, and nothing was mentioned in school from a tech standpoint about the color registration not being great, or the
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Re: Tip from Ted

Ted - so do most of the Konica's 45ppm+. Thanks for the info!
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Re: Quark & 3800CMF Problems

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Within Quark was the proper PPD downloaded? If so make sure that the originator was using the correct color profile. It doesn't make sense that the 206 would do a better job. Was the 206 even true p/s or was it Ricoh Script?
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Re: NEW Duplicator with Paper Cassette

I heard the JP 4500 is to be released within the nest week along with the new Seri Printer. I am not sure about this system, it just might be a system for the European Market.
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Re: NEW Duplicator with Paper Cassette

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I saw this system demo'd @ Ricoh several years ago. Its development name is Ruby. As you can see from the picture, it is the same design style as the JP5000/5450, thus an older unit, not new. It also only supports UC6 and CPIF26, because it does not have the updated main board to support the Type 80. The product was deemed not suitable for the US market due to the fact that is doesn't have a large capacity exit tray to match the LCT, and the sorter limits you to run lengths of 40 per original
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JP 4500 Duplicator coming soon

Ricoh will be releasing a another duplicator based on the JP 3000 engine. The model number will be the JP4500. Higher dpi and a new revolutionary master material will increase ink yeild and quality. There may e a few more goodies on this box, I hope its the large capacity cassette, then all we'll need is a large capacity exit tray!!
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Tip from Ted

Did y'all know that the imagerunners can scan as a default even if the customer doesn't order the print option? They come with a NIC standard and can "push" scan from a standalone machine. Ted
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This question has been unanswered for weeks

This question has been unanswered for weeks on the Aficio League. Hi. Are there any new promotions or contests going on through Aficio League because there are things on there that ended July 31 and August 31st. Also, are there going to be new contests starting for e-lead? Those contests ended on Sept. 1st as well. Finally, did the SALES LEADS totally stop? I haven't seen anything posted since March.
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Sucess Stories

in the country. The question of local service and local support seems to have little impact on the buyers decesion making process. More and more potential clients want to know if the solution was successful in their industry or with another company of there size. Since we (salespeople) are territory based, we can only draw references or Sucess Stories from our territory another reps territory. A few weeks ago I posted a great sucess story named "Killer Success Story". Wouldn't you know I did the
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When you pass a military base

5015.2 standard) outlines the security and functionality specifications for records management applications, but it doesn't specifically address storage hardware. However, Enterprise Storage Group predicts that eventually DoD will require certification of mass storage products. So does EMC, apparently, which has voluntarily obtained certification for Centera, a content addressed storage device. While mass storage sales aren't a core component of Computer & Hi-Tech Management's (Virginia Beach
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Quark & 3800CMF Problems

production program geared towards an 8 bit print engine. There is a good possibility that the 3800 just can't generate the colors from what Quark is sending it. Since it is a 2 bit engine, it really is not a good printer to have in an application that uses Quark. If you do print to PDF first then print as a post script file that may help. Another thing. Is this a question of Quark on a Mac or PC? If you are using a PC, use PS printing rather than PCL or RPCS. If it is a MAC then that question is
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Re: New Products...

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The Aficio 1113 appears to be the Aficio 1015 without the ability to add fax or print - at least that is what I get from the info put out when it was released in the Euoropean market in May of this year. http://www.ricoh-europe.com/press/content/143.htm
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Re: Looks like we're giving HP a run for thier money

Yeah I did, it should be interesting how this is all going to shake out. Hope HP can continue to market the "Monica" product the same way they are marketing their printers, if they do we should be in for an easy ride.
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A servicer of real estate

imaging solution. After introductory meetings and demonstrations of iManage's solution, a pilot was installed. By March 2003, the company selected iManage because of its open Java architecture, low cost of ownership, and positive customer references. With the loan company's legacy system, documents such as mortgage loans, commercial property loans, and legal documents were imaged and filed away. "If a document needed to be approved or reviewed for documentation it had to be printed out again
-=Good Selling=-
 
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Copier ProposalsMemoirs of a Copier Sales PersonSales…

Why I Spend Time on Linkedin Everyday

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Just a short blog for everyone tonight. I'm doing updates to the site, listening to the Yankee game.  Thought this would be a neat short story about Linkedin.

I've always stated that as long as you work hard you never know what tomorrow will bring you.

For years and years I've spent at least 30-45 minutes a day on Linkedin. Whether it's giving congrats for a new job/position, posting links to this site, posting interesting links to other sites, sharing threads, and making sure I send everyone a "happy birthday" note.

It's just something I do. Recently, I heard a statement that it takes 21-28 days of doing something to make it a habit.  Guessing that's the same for athletes when they practice over and over to get that muscle memory.  Linkedin has become a daily part of my selling day, whether it's for the copiers that I sell or promoting the Print4Pay Hotel.  Yup, it's a habit now.

Today was kinda busy, I was on the phone (hands free) when I received a call from outside of my area code. I thought it was just another telemarketer (did I just write that!), I answered the call and was pleasantly surprised.  It was one of my Linkedin contacts, and that person was in the market for a copier ASAP.

It was a few hours later when we did the call and defined their needs. The only covenant was that the copier was needed ASAP. Traditionally I don't send proposals, I will send the other docs because it can speed up the order process. Sending the order docs rather than a proposal allows the client to read the Ts & Cs and develop questions.

About thirty minutes later I had the signed order docs in my email. WooHoo!

It wasn't a large order and wasn't a small one either.  But it was a net new account that directly came from Linkedin.

Just thought that was neat story that hard work does pay-off and as long as you work hard you never know what tomorrow will bring you.

-=Good Selling=-

 
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This Week in the Copier Industry 10 Years Ago

This Week in the Copier Industry 10 Years Ago, The Last Week in September 2003

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There's a cool blog below from Bill Siderys titled MFP & Copier Pay Plan Changes for the Future. If you get the chance check it our.  Bill is still a member of the Print4Pay Hotel, and I'd like to thank him for his valued long time membership.

Check out the threads from ten years ago this week!

Weekend Copier Notes from 09/28/08

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, selling out to Ricoh. Details on NewCal: o Founded by former Kodak copier technicians, Steve Tarpley & Ken Wilkens in 1991 o Won award from Canon for service excellence in western region o Also sold and serviced computer networks o Had FM division o According to one industry author, Canon may consider buying Oce’ to make up for the impending loss of IKON - Media Sciences Inc.(maker of generic color wax and toner that works in Xerox printers and MFPs) admitted in its recent financial statement
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Kyocera Mita America's President and CEO Michael Pietrunti Named

, provides consultative services to manufacturers and is also the publisher of such notable office equipment publications The Cannata Report, Copier Marketing Newsletter and LIVE WIRE. ABOUT KYOCERA MITA AMERICA Kyocera Mita America, Inc. ( http://www.kyoceramita.com/us), headquartered in Fairfield, N.J., is a leading provider of computer-connectable document imaging and document management systems, including network-ready digital MFPs/printers, laser printers, color MFPs/printers, digital
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Michigan Printer Builds New Business With Nexpress

Michigan Printer Creates Solutions Business Centered around KODAK NEXPRESS Digital Production Color Press. KODAK MARKETMOVER Business Development Services help customers provide targeted marketing campaigns. ROCHESTER, NY, September 29, 2008 -- Evolving from solely a print service provider to a print and marketing service provider, Wolverine Printing created Wolverine Business Solutions in November 2007, a marketing company with the KODAK NEXPRESS 2100 Plus Digital Production Color Press and
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Ricoh Introduces Wide Format Color Scanner for Rapid and Accurate Scanning

operability making it possible to scan documents directly to network storage. When paired with the Ricoh Wide Format Printer and imaging software, the Ricoh Wide Format Color Scanner provides users with high-speed monochrome and full color scanning and printing for an array of original documents ranging from architectural drawings to oversized posters. "The Ricoh Wide Format Color Scanner is a welcomed addition to our growing line of wide format devices that help businesses do their jobs more
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Get to know clients and keep them

postage meters -- he was selling photocopiers. His territory included major clients such as Honeywell Bull, the University of Toronto and the Toronto Board of Education -- organizations where no one ever got fired for buying from industry leaders like Xerox or Canon. "It helped me learn the ropes," Somani says. As the underdog, he learned to compensate by offering more personal and dedicated service. Where his competitors called on prospects only when a new bid process was about to begin, Somani
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Re: Envelope Printing

quote: Originally posted by JasonR: quote: Originally posted by John: We are competing in a CPA firm and the incumbent is Konica/Minolta and their 550/650 unit will do envelopes or so they say. Anyone know more about this? I also have a customer who is hitting me with this. I have a solution for them as mentioned above, but it seems to put me at a disadvantage with the customer (two network drops, two power outlets, 2 machines to learn, etc., etc.). Will the KM machines really run envelopes
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Xerox brought in the lowest RFP -- request for proposal

Maple City Office Equipment sales manager Jeff Dam recently, said municipal council had a "heart," referring to council's late-August decision to award a contract to Maple City over Xerox Global Services. Xerox brought in the lowest RFP -- request for proposal -- but Maple City, which had the contract, was only a handful of percentage points off Xerox's numbers, and was a local company. Administration followed RFP protocol and recommended Xerox, while council, in a 10-7 decision, opted instead
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$10M Detroit copier contract probed

it legitimately. City audits of the six-year copier contract, the most recent of which is dated Sept. 17, show most of the work is performed not by Daniels' Olive Delivery, but by Leader Business Systems Inc. of Oak Park in Oakland County and the city's own information technology department. "Olive Delivery receives the equipment orders from the city departments and gives them to Leader Business," Auditor General Loren Monroe said in a Jan. 8 report. "Leader Business, who is the authorized dealer
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Duplexing Duplicators, Rise of the “Green” RICOH DX 4640PD Duplicator.

Duplexing Duplicators, Rise of the “Green” RICOH DX 4640PD Duplicator. Death of Duplicators was an article I read many years ago. I too thought the technology was dead. However, it seems “Green” Duplicators are now the “in thing” . You may ask how the heck can a duplicator be Green? Well, they can and I’ve outlined one particular system in this blog. Others may ask what is a digital duplicator? If, so you can go here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_duplicator . go here for rest of blog
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Ricoh's SmartAccounting Software

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Is there anyone out there who has succesfully installed SmartAccounting? We have tried twice and can't get it to work.
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scan to SMB to Windows 2003 server with Ricoh MP2000Le

Hi, I’m trying to scan from MP2000Le into Windows 2003 Server but fails. The documents arrived at the server folder but with 0KB. Subsequently failure to open the file with sharing violation message appears. Initially the scan works in Windows...
Member

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Re: Envelope Printing

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quote: Originally posted by John: We are competing in a CPA firm and the incumbent is Konica/Minolta and their 550/650 unit will do envelopes or so they say. Anyone know more about this? I also have a customer who is hitting me with this. I have a solution for them as mentioned above, but it seems to put me at a disadvantage with the customer (two network drops, two power outlets, 2 machines to learn, etc., etc.). Will the KM machines really run envelopes hassle-free? I have another vendor with
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Re: Latest Rumor on the Street!

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If I did my euro to yen to US dollar conversion correctly, it seems that Oce is about twice the size of Konica-Minolta. Maybe K-M is buying a piece?
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County makes photocopying deal to save more than $1k per month

19 copiers in the courthouse and other county properties. The county had agreements for copiers spread among several suppliers, and some deals had expired. Weikert said bringing 19 copiers under a contract with one supplier will save the county more than $1,000 a month. The agreement provides county offices with new copiers, some of which also can scan and print and therefore will allow the county to do away with desktop scanners and fax machines, Weikert said. The county considered cutting back on
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Latest Rumor on the Street!

KonicaMinolta to Acquire OCE, unreal!
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MFP & Copier Pay Plan Changes for the Future

MFP & Copier Pay Plan Changes for the Future I like to introduce Bill Siderys as one of our new "Guest Bloggers" . I have known Bill for years and recommend him to anyone who is looking to venture into the Managed Print Services side of the business. Here's what Bill contributed for you, also please pay a visit to his site. MFP & Copier Pay Plan Changes for the Future: MFP & Copier Pay Plan Changes for the Future:
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Océ launches affordable high resolution wide format color scanner

ISO 14001 environmental management standard. About Océ Océ is one of the world's leading providers of document management and printing for professionals. The broad Océ offering includes office printing and copying systems, high speed digital production printers and wide format printing systems for both technical documentation and color display graphics. Océ is also a foremost supplier of document management outsourcing. Many of the world’s Fortune 500 companies and leading commercial printers are
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Oki 3641

We also sell the OKi 3641 and I know some of the P4P members are also resellers for oki. We have the new 3641 and have a print quality issue. Whne printing a large solid area, the color fades in and out and is not consistant. We have done all of the fiery calibrations, has anyone else seen this issue? Art
Member

Member

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Re: Ricoh Introduces Wide Format Color Scanner for Rapid and Accurate Scanning

$6,500 list..... $5,600 LDP, once you put a MU on it, your sales cost is higher than the MSRP, what the %$#& are they thinking. Realistically, they messed up so bad by not having a color scan option with the new 2400 and 3600 (and nothing forseeable for the next 16 months), that they had to resort to this scanner from Contex. Plus the fact you need a dedicated PC, Touch Screen and the system needs to have a W2400, 2470, W3600 or 480 on the network in order to make this work.
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2470 & the competition

I'd like to open a dicussion in reference to the competetive boxes against the Ricoh 2470. Are their any?????
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Re: scan to SMB to Windows 2003 server with Ricoh MP2000Le

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Recently Ricoh has greatly enhanced the scanning features. You can now set security rights for files. Such as Protection setting as "Read Only". I am not for sure that this "IS" the problem your experiencing but, this surely will help find this answer. Read the attached PDF. This was just release from Ricoh March 08. I hope this helps. Slim463
-=Good Selling=-
 
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This Week in the Copier Industry 15 Years Ago

This Week in the Copier Industry 15 Years Ago, The Last Week in September 2003

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Last week was a killer!  Not that I sold anything, but I had a golf outing on Monday (did secure a meeting out of that), two full days of training in PA on Wednesday and Thursday.  Friday AM I left for the Jersey office and what should have been about 2.5 hours turned into almost 5 hours because one of the major highways was closed in both directions.  I had to bird dog my way home on the back roads of eastern PA.

Enjoy these threads from 15 years ago this week!

New Ricoh Type-H Staple

guarantee that our customers have experienced with our staple models previously introduced”, adds Rob. A complete Staple cartridges guide can be found at www.polek.com . The models offered are for use in various copier and sorter applications of the following popular brands: Canon, Konica, Minolta, Kyocera-Mita, Panasonic, Ricoh, Sharp, Toshiba, etc. For more information on this products line and pricing please call toll free 1.800.526.1360 or email sales@polek.com. Polek & Polek is a growing
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RA2K Software for Ricoh MFP Printing

Ladies & Gentleman, Does anyone have a copy of the product Info. guide for this new software offering from Ricoh Corp.? This is software that resides on the hard drive of the MFP to facilitate IPDS printing. It sounds cool, but until I see more about about it, it doesn't appear to be something that most up-and-down the street reps would encounter
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Canon Introduces Superior Speed

Canon Introduces Superior Speed with New CLC 5100 and CLC 4000 Printing Systems Monday September 29, 6:49 pm ET Increased Speed, Media Weight Options and Output Controls Offer Compelling Advances for Entry-to High-Volume Production Market CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 29, 2003-- Canon U.S.A., Inc., a subsidiary of Canon Inc. (NYSE:CAJ - News), unveiled today its latest color imaging systems, the new CLC 5100 - a high-volume, full-color digital printing solution engineered to meet
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Canon U.S.A. and Liquent Announce High-Volume

Canon U.S.A. and Liquent Announce High-Volume Printing Solutions for the Pharmaceutical Industry Monday September 22, 11:44 am ET LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y. & FORT WASHINGTON, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 22, 2003-- Liquent CoreDossier Now Supports Canon's Market Share Leading imageRUNNER Devices In responding to the needs of pharmaceutical companies to affordably assemble and print complex regulatory, and mission critical documents, Canon U.S.A., Inc., an industry leader in networked imaging solutions
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New Leadership Team

was vice president and general manager of the Xerox Office Color Business Unit. In his new role, he will be responsible for all Xerox office products including Phaser printers, CopyCentre digital copiers, WorkCentre basic multifunction systems and WorkCentre Pro advanced multifunction systems. Williams joined Xerox in 2000 with the acquisition of the Tektronix Color Printing and Imaging Division. Prior to joining Tektronix in 1996, Williams held a variety of management and engineering positions at
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Minolta CF 3102 user findings

We received our system in April. Our average monthly volume is 4,000 pages. The quality is good for the type of color jobs we reproduce. However, it may ot be acceptable for the more demanding customer"
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Re: RA2K Software for Ricoh MFP Printing

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We just received a Savin New Solutions lauch package and it includes a brochure and sales/marketing manual on RA2K. I am just reviewing it and it seems to be a very intresting software solution. How can I help? Scott
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Re: RA2K Software for Ricoh MFP Printing

I'm not sure i know enough about it to ask. Some of the things I was curious about though are: of course the cost, does it take the place of an IPDS print server attached to the Ricoh, do you have to download graphics/fonts to our machine. What would be nice is if that info. could be seen in the library here. Or if you have the items in PDF format it would be great if you could e-mail the brochure and the SIG to my attention. My e-mail address is: njohnson@avonlake.mtbustech.com. And no I
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Re: Canon Introduces Superior Speed

I wish Ricoh would get it! It just makes me sick when I see Canon moving forward and Ricoh standing still. I hope they are keeping some top secret project hush-hush and we get a surprise soon.
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Buyers Lab "Best Copiers for 2003"

Ricoh Aficio 1060 60 ppm speed class Minolta Di650 65 ppm speed class Ricoh Aficio 1075 75 ppm speed class Minolta Di850 85 ppm speed class
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Samsung Offering New Laser MFP

purchasing and managing multiple machines," said Jonathan Fischer, national sales manager, BTA Group. "We are excited to add this versatile product to our current lineup that increases efficiency, saves valuable time and allows users to focus on their business, not the equipment." The SCX-5315F is easy to use either as a walk-up fax and copy device or from the desktop as a printer and scanner. In addition to featuring a 30-sheet automatic document feeder, it offers a platen design that allows
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Re: 2090 PDF Printing

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The problem we encountered was printing "Scanned" PDF images. We encountered this problem on a 2090 with the print/scan board with postscript. Ricoh tested some sample files we sent them and they encountered the same issues. I feel like the new external fiery will solve the problem (Micropress as well).
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Re: 2090 PDF Printing

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We had a major problem with the 2090 and PostScript. We had one with the SR90 Booklet finisher that wouldn't work. The machine and booklet maker worked fine with the PCL and RPCS drivers, but when they used the postscript drivers with the normal finisher attached it worked fine. When they connected the SR90, the postscript drivers left the machine, and the machine registered as if the postscript was not on the Print Controller. It took about 10 calls, just as many e-mails, and a Big-Wig
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Re: IKON's $2,500 Trade-up Bonus that we don't get

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It's over 3MB, but I'll e-mail it to you. Or any Ricoh Dealer that needs it and can accept a file over 3MB.
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Re: IKON's $2,500 Trade-up Bonus that we don't get

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The trade-up bonus that Ricoh gives us on the 1055 & 1060 is $600 for stand alone and $900 for connected if you are replacing competitive machines. The 1075 is $1,000 and $1,500 respectively for competative machines. You get a $1,200 trade-up for the 1075 only against Ricoh Base machines whether it's connectd or not. You're right, it doesn't sound fair. Who should we contact? Lori Grissom?
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Re: DocuColor 3535

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I have a P4P account that had his 3535 removed...Xerox was gracious enough to bring in a "new" DocuColor 12. The account was so glad to be rid of the 3535 that they willingly accepted the swap.
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Re: Mailbox Unit on 1075

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I have one mailbox in the field and there hasn't been a single call. I'm curious who your competition is. If the prospect wants mailboxes, who besides Ricoh has them?
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Re: I need a leasing company for a new customer

Mike, The Regional Sales Manager for Amex in your area is Ed O'Toole. He is traveling today but can be reached on his cell phone at (774) 232-0844. Amex can review applications on new business as Jim described.
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Re: RA2K Software for Ricoh MFP Printing

NateJ That feature is handled by Mike DeBenedetto @ Ricoh Corp. I'll forward your request to him. Thanks,
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Re: SR860 Issue

No problems yet, because I avoid it. I like using it, but very inconsistent output. Doesn't jam on us, but the booklets are irregular. LOVE the SR90 booklet maker, however! Can anyone confirm that it is manufactured by Canon? I heard this...
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Re: SR860 Issue

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SR 90 is made by Plockmatic. The SR 860 is not a Canon Product. Darren can you help me getting into ilinc? Art
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Re: iR3200 user report

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I heard that the IR3200 are being discontinued in 30-60 days. I was competing with the Canon and they dropped the price drastically to get rid of it. I also heard that the color registration is not that great and they have a tendency to dump the magenta toner.
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Heidelberg Expands

September 24, 2003 - Heidelberg Expands Digital Roadshow Schedule Success of Events Demonstrate Steady Increase of Interest in Digital Printing KENNESAW, Ga., September 24, 2003 – Heidelberg has announced the remaining schedule to its 2003 Digital Roadshow series. Held in conjunction with NexPress 2100 customers, the Roadshows provide a venue for printers, print buyers, graphic artists and other print media professionals to exchange ideas with peers on the digital printing industry. Audiences
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SR860 Issue

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month, and the machine just doesn't hack it. (From Savin iLINC).
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Re: 2090 PDF Printing

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I will be installing 2 90's with a Micropress MX in the print shop of the local school system and am concerned about you experience with pdf printing. Does anyone have any experience with MicroPress connected to the 2090 and pdf printing? Thanks.
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Re: 2090 PDF Printing

Scott: I believe the message refers documents that were scanned into a pdf format from the 2090. They were then printed. I will try a test on one of my units in the field in the next few days.
Reply

Re: 2090 PDF Printing

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Thanks for the responses. I have talked to a person in our company who is an absolute expert on PDF and he has indicated the problem printing pdf can be related to how the pdf was created. Your description on this problem seems to suggest there is truth to that.
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A Deal Killer!?

in the country. The question of local service and local support seems to have little impact on the buyers decesion making process. More and more potential clients want to know if the solution was successful in their industry or with another company of there size. Since we (salespeople) are territory based, we can only draw references or Sucess Stories from our territory another reps territory. A few weeks ago I posted a great sucess story named "Killer Success Story" . Wouldn't you know I did
-=Good Selling=-
 
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A True Sales Professional Knows Their Value And How To Use It

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"Price is what you pay. Value is what you get."
Warren Buffett

One of the most drastic changes in selling over the past decade has been the rapid evolution in customers’ overall sophistication and knowledge (courtesy of Father Google). 

Many of the issues salespeople encounter comes from their short-term, transaction-oriented sales mentality. This transactional approach means they go from deal to deal and from order to order. Customers made to feel like a means to an end.

"A transactional opening leads to a transactional relationship"

A TRANSACTIONAL MINDSET

A transactional sales mindset runs rampant in today's sales world. A transactional mindset is an old, outdated and misaligned sales philosophy. It has 3 main tenants:

  • Valuing the transaction over relationship (faking the relationship)
  • Meeting only their minimum expectations or whatever the customer will let you get away with
  • Using sleazy sales tactics as a sales tool to get people to buy

Each of these points are deadly to a sales rep, but the real danger to a sales rep is when they are combined. The reason so many in sales and their managers are failing is directly related to this transactional, non-human mentality. Prospects and your customers pick up on the mindset, they smell the odor and avoid doing business with you.

"Lead with your heart and not the wallet"

How do you know if you're a transactional sales rep? One, you're not happy with your sales results. Two, while you may be hitting your sales targets, your margins are lower. Three, you feel you get less respect from both the customer and your sales manager.

What may be causing this?

  • You place price up on a pedestal first in your meetings
  • You avoid difficult topics or conversations
  • You display poor selling skills because you talk more than you listen
  • You have no clue as to what is business acumen

MOST 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

TRUE SALES PROFESSIONALS ADD VALUE

Let's all face it, very few like salespeople. Heck, even all those in sales reading this hate salespeople.

A true sales professional knows they have something that is truly going to make a difference. They bring the best version of themselves to the business table 100% of the time.

If what they have isn't the best fit they won't cram it down their prospects throat just to make a sale.

"Weak sales funnels make sales reps do things they normally wouldn't do if their sales funnels were full"

A true sales professional understands it is not about being different in your business life as in your personal life. It's about congruency. It's about the alignment of you. The genuine, authentic and real deal version of you.

A true sales professional has dedicated themselves to the sales profession. They add value because they understand their value. They are not product pushers nor are they customer babysitters.

VALUE BEFORE VISIBILITY

True sales professionals know the value they bring to the business table. They know what makes them different than all the other sales people in their marketplace.

Sales pros understand the alignment of values. They understand and do the right things for the right reasons. They take the time to really understand their clients, their goals and their initiatives.

They spend the time to learn about their clients and their business. They do this because they care.

It's imperative that sales professionals marry their value, their client's value and their company's value in complete harmony; one that is uniquely suited to promote growth and better business.

OVERCOME THE TRANSACTION MINDSET

"Know thy value, know thyself"

If you don't know your value and how to communicate it then you'll get whacked with the price hammer.

Ditch the transaction mindset as your customers deserve better. They crave...

  • A valuable relationship cultivated over time
  • A sales professional that will exceed their expectations and surprise them
  • A sales professional who will understand and connect with them
"Know it, grow it and show it; your value"

Allow me to leave you all with this...

If you don't know the value you bring to your current clients then how can you engage in a meaningful value based conversation with a prospective buyer?

If you would like to know more about becoming a true sales professional that adds value, please tune into the latest episode of the Selling from the Heart podcast (click on the image below)

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 modern 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 has launched! 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.

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, Social Sales Academy and on my podcast by clicking on Selling from the Heart.

 
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SalesSales Hacks

Change is Good, Especially When it Comes to Scanning Documents with Copiers

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Change is good, right?  I'm going to change is even better.

Being the same old you and doing the same old thing when presenting copiers can be prove to be a bad thing. Everything is changing at break neck speed in our industry. 

Thus last week I thought I would change it up a bit.  Instead of providing the same old boring talk track of speeds and feeds. I opted for making one short power point presentation (5 slides) that centered around scanning workflows. There were no pictures of copiers, no talk track about how fast the device printed or copied. 

My first slide posed this question.  "Is this the way you're currently scanning your documents?" I showed the picture below and asked about which one do they use and or do you use both? One client was using scan to email and the other client used both.

2018-09-28_21-14-20

I then showed a slide that outlined the steps required after the document was received in the scan folder or thier email. 

2018-09-28_21-27-32

I went over each step and confirmed that for the most part all of these steps are required when scanning documents, right?  Both clients were in full agreement.

My next slide showed my Ricoh Op panel and explained that we can set up a one touch workflow scan button for them. For the one client that was named "work permit" and two of the others were labeled as "A License" and "B License".  I explained that the magic happens because we can pre-program the 2018-09-28_21-34-45scan destinations (email, folder, fax) for each workflow. 

In addition, the documents would be programmed to scan as searchable .pdf's, color, and blank page detection. At the copier we could also preview the scan and name the file. Thus all of the pre and post programming can be accomplished when the documents are scanned. This saves time and also prevents users from forgetting to post process the scanned file.

Before I forget.  I'm still amazed at the amount of people that do not know what a "searchable pdf" is.  With both clients I asked, "do you know what a searchable pdf is? Both clients did not know and I took the time to explain how a searchable pdf works and how that feature saves time when reviewing scanned documents.

My next slide centered on Cloud Scanning applications. In the Ricoh world we call this Ricoh ICE.

2018-09-28_21-52-52

Thus, I'm listing all of the connector and asking if they use DropBox, Box, Google Drive, One Drive, MS 365, Evernote, NetDocuments, etc. If I get a yes to one of these, I then take the time to educate the clients on the amount of time they would save by scanning directly to these cloud applications. If I get a no for these,  then I ask about the need to scan documents back to MS Word or MS Excel. This too provides a great education and talk track for the clients.2018-09-28_21-59-37

Why is the above slide important?  Most business lines of software (that's the software that clients use to run thier business) has a scan feature. In most cases it allows for a TWAIN scan driver work with the copier.  Users can then place documents on the copier, then open thier business line of software and then scan those documents directly into thier business line of software.  This my friends,  can also save an incredible amount of time.

Okay, you've seen all of the slides, and not once did I mention print speed, paper trays, fax (cause fax is dead), nor cost per page. It was refreshing for me and it was even more refreshing for the clients.  Just the talk track of focusing on scanning applications led to additional questions for higher end content opportunities. I told them I'm not the expert for the higher end stuff, however I got peeps I can bring in to help after we've installed the new device

Change is good, I'm going to change.

-=Good Selling=-

 
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