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MFP Copier Blog

The Power of Pull Marketing

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Note from Art: I'd like to introduce Nathan Dube to every one.  I contacted Nathan a few weeks ago and asked him if he could write a few blogs in reference to "pull marketing" and the power of adding video to your web site and You Tube.  Video is the go to choice for clients that are searching for a product or a service. It's even more popular than blogs. I sure Ray S can attest to that. Please feel free to leave a comment. In the near future I'll also be introducing video here and on You Tube.

2019-02-14_22-53-54

The Power of Pull Marketing

In 2019 I am more than a little surprised at how few professionals in the office equipment industry particularly VARs, have all but ignored the power of pull marketing. For those of you not familiar with the concept, I have posted the description below (from techtarget.com)

“Pull marketing is an approach designed to draw customers to a brand through search engine optimization (SEO) and other non-intrusive methods. The ultimate goal is to strengthen consumer awareness of a brand and products and foster demand. Examples of pull marketing include product placement, social media marketing, corporate sponsorship, content marketing and native advertising.” - Tech Target

While many companies focus on old school outbound marketing techniques such as cold calling, BNI groups, and etc., many remain blissfully ignorant of the power of pull marketing dynamics such as entertaining or educational digital video content.

An example of one such dealer who has taken the leap would be Expert Laser Services. With Funding from Hewlett-Packard, I produced several short films via my company “Nathan Dube’s Alchemy Studioz” in which the fictional “Expert Laser Man” is invoked through epic marvel studios style film trailers as seen below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUleCwrQ5X0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wG66pmfjh4

By invoking the egregore of the hero archetype or other dynamics of modern digital entertainment and cultural moirés, brands have the ability to tap into the emotional attachments formed by the rabid fandom of content usually reserved for blockbuster Hollywood productions, sitcoms, animation or other forms of entertainment.

By leveraging interest from clients you can also curate content created by your own customer base as is seen in the clip of the car jumping into the copier in the second video above. That particular part of the video was previously submitted content to the now infamous “Destroy Your Printer Contest” which brought international brand awareness and fame from periodicals such as the New York Times, The Recycler Magazine and Professor of Marketing at Rutgers University, Mark Schaefer.

At the end of the day, pull marketing is a risk worth taking if you have the creativity and drive to truly break out of the box and connect with your prospective clients in way that your competitors are not. And, if you do not have the marketing resources or personnel to produce such content, I would suggest using a content production resource such as “Nathan Dube’s Alchemy Studioz”

-=Good Selling=-

 
2 comments

Imaging Channel, DEX Imaging and Staples oh, Imagine the Probabilities

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Thanks for chatting with Staples. Yes, Sir, we can deliver the New A4 you bought online. How’s Tuesday? Can we bring it with your supply order? Yes, one more question can you pick up and dispose of my old copier? Yes, we can let's discuss that when we come out to perform your managed print assessment. Thanks again for choosing Staples. End of Chat For Now!! 

2019 is indeed starting with a bang. The Imaging Channel changed on Friday the 8th of February. Well, that’s what some will say. In reality, the Imaging Channel began changing the day its customers decided that printed pages were not nearly as relevant to them as those who sold them.

Many will say that DEX Imaging is foolish, they will say this will never work, we will hear the cries of shareholders over customers. All the things the old-way says to make them feel safe in their complacency.

Yes, I agree that DEX and Staples must execute, however, I also agree with the many, that DEX has the strategic abilities needed to perform. No one in the industry will question Doyle’s understanding of the industry.

Those who see this merger as a disaster more than likely are looking out the window of their dealership and trying to imagine how Staples would fit in their world. My friends, DEX Imaging like all diversification innovators has no intention of putting Staples in their world they intend to put the DEX deliverable in Staples world.

As you listen to the arguments of the legacy imaging channel, you will hear all the reason why Staples cannot be a copier dealer. This limited imagination is what holds back many in the industry. Too many are staying focused on trying to improve something instead of completely reinventing it. Too many are trying to deliver innovation through the rules and processes of the old way.  

Improvement nearly always is led from memories; reinvention leads from imaged vision. I am so, sick of hearing things like “let’s save the industry” or those distracting arguments of the paperless society. Yes, customers are printing less and less every day, and without a strategy, those whose sole deliverable is print equipment will find themselves struggling if they don’t modify their deliverable. However, people will continue to print for the foreseeable future, they just won’t print enough to maintain yesterday’s annuity model. Those who understand how to monetize and profit off the decline will win. 

Most reading this have more than likely watched my videos on the shift to A4, or, the videos on the reality that 85% of all A3 copiers could be so should be, replaced with A4 MFP’s. If not here’s a link to my YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channe...A?view_as=subscriber

The alignment of customer expectations with print equipment and those who sell and service it will determine the customer's engagement. This merger between Staples and DEX Imaging will afford DEX the ability to deliver low volume A4 equipment in a much more realistic way and at a much lower cost.

Many dealers still cannot accept the realities of end-users sediment towards print equipment. Many dealers believe the end-users are the same whether the customers run 100k a month or 1k a month. This thinking is holding back their ability to innovate the deliverable. If 85% of all A3 MFP’S are producing less than 5k a month, in actuality there are millions of devices generating less than 3k a month. This low volume creates excellent opportunities to deliver and service these customers with a much lower cost. DEX Imaging just merged with a mechanism to accomplish that. 

This new business model will allow DEX/Staples to capitalize on each of their core competencies and bring to the market the best of the Pull-Economy and the Push-Economy.

Customers are determining and evaluating customer experience in the intersection between the digital and physical world's. As I said in a previous article DEX put a toll both in the intersection, and I believe they will get a great a pay-out as customers travel through it.

DEX isn't done I envision they will add IT Services, coming from another acquisition, they will expand the office products deliverable by acquiring dealers in that space, and I would not rule out Staples buying another V.C. Backed Mega-dealer, especially if the Doyle’s executive team stays in place. Some of the large Mega-dealers have leaders who are more than ready to exit.

So, don’t expect DEX/Staples to compete with you, based on the old rules. Everyone should expect them to write the new rules of competition. Of, course everyone should also expect another disruptive force to invade the Imaging Channel. I don’t think Office Depot will be left out of the fun.

Any time a market shifts the pain to those who fight for yesterday becomes overwhelming. Over the next couple of years, we will see many changes if you’re not ready, you should be prepared to retire. 

In Closing

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

Congratulations to both Staples and DEX Imaging

Ray Stasieczko

CEO/Co-Founder TEASRA, The Innovation Channel https://www.teasra.com/

 
7 comments

Perfect Copier Quoting Tool Could Save Your Reps upto 100 hours a Year

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On the 19th, 29th and 21st of this month, there is a webinar about quoting tools for copier dealers.   It is interesting when you consider how long it takes for most of us to put together quotes.  It gets even more important when there are 5, 10, 20 or 50 reps selling for a company.  We were working out how expensive doing quotes can be.

1 rep doing 15 quotes per month
Each quote takes 30 minutes
7.5 Hours per month (basically 1 selling day per month) - We expect most reps will save this much time as well as delivering a quote that looks awesome with your company branding.  It even gives the client a way to customize the quote.
Average rep making approx $70,000 per year (varies based on market.)
$70,000/12/22 = $265 per day cost for a rep.   
This tool for most dealers will be under $50 per rep per month.  Plus, it helps the reps get more sales done, also makes it possible to add products on your website.  We see this as a way to add 5% more time to your sales reps day!  If you have 20 reps, it is like getting another rep without paying for another rep.  If this tool helps you close just 1 more lead per month, what is that worth to your dealership?
If you hate making quotes and think they take too long, you need to be at this webinar!    It should be about 30 minutes to save you over 100 hours in 2019!  
Sign Up Discounts will be available for P4P Members who attend the webinar.
-=Good Selling=-
 
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DocuWare

The 411 on DocuWare Kinetic Solutions: Sell Preconfigured AP and HR Office Solutions with Ease

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In June 2018, DocuWare launched its new cloud-based preconfigured workflow solutions called DocuWare Kinetic Solutions. I had the opportunity to chat with Jo Ann Kreidel, Solution Manager for DocuWare Kinetic Solutions at DocuWare to get a deeper understanding of what the solutions are, why they were developed, and how you can position yourself as AP and HR solution experts to sell these solutions to your current customer base.

Learn how to become an Authorized DocuWare Partner to generate new levels of revenue: click here or contact Mary Williams at mary.williams@docuware.com.

 

Art: What are DocuWare Kinetic Solutions? How did these specialized solutions come about; what prompted their development?

Jo Ann: The two solutions available are:

These are preconfigured, cloud-based solutions for two common business applications based on the best practices we learned over the past 30 years. Inefficient manual invoice processing costs time and money and securely processing and maintaining employee documents is critical to business. These key business processes can be solved with one of our solutions and can be up and running in a matter of days. By replicating common business problems, we’ve enabled companies to work with a pre-built solution versus pre-engagement consulting solution, which can take a long time and could put the solution out of reach on a cost level.

Art: Why did you choose the word “kinetic” for the name?

Jo Ann: Kinetic represents that active energetic state of how these solutions are quick to deploy and bring fast value to the customer.

Art: What are the benefits for a customer implementing one of these solutions?

Jo Ann: The first benefit they will realize is the rapid deployment; we’ve eliminated the long, resource-consuming process of recreating standard invoice processing and employee management workflows by presenting the customer with a packaged solution of best practices based on thousands of successful deployments. With a few minor adjustments to ensure a good fit, they’re up and running quickly. The second benefit is the affordability. Since these solutions are cloud-based, no IT infrastructure needs to be purchased, installed or maintained.

Art: What are the advantages for copier dealers selling these solutions? Does DocuWare provide marketing material to accelerate selling these solutions?

Jo Ann: Taking the fear out of content services conversations was paramount for us when we looked at what sales assets were needed. As these are very defined solutions, we came up with a prescriptive, step-by-step sales process with easy-to-use, relatable tools so that every dealer could be successful regardless of their sales staff’s experience level.

Each solution has three videos: the first is a 90-second teaser, the second is a 3-minute intro video and the third is a 12-minute demonstration video. We also have a comprehensive flyer, PowerPoint presentation, FAQ sheet, Statement of Work, and PO template. We have great success stories on how deals close using these materials; some on the videos alone!

Art: When speaking with the HR department prospect, what type of discovery questions should we be asking to well position DocuWare Kinetic Solution for Employee Management?

Jo Ann: Some of those questions could be:

  1. How do they handle the influx of resumes for open positions?
  2. How does the hiring manager and applicant communicate?
  3. How do they do onboard a new employee?
  4. How does paperwork get filled out?

This solution provides HR departments with a centralized, secure digital repository for all personnel documents. With digital forms and immediate, reliable workflows, the HR team reduces manual paperwork and produces a better employee hiring experience from resume submission to interviewing and onboarding. HR staff also has more time to connect with employees, building relationships and growing company culture.

 

Art: When speaking with the Finance department prospect, what type of discovery questions should we be asking to strategically position DocuWare Kinetic Solution for Invoice Processing?

Jo Ann: I would ask:

  1. Are you taking advantage of vendor early payment discounts?
  2. Are you paying late fees?
  3. How many hours are spent on data entry?
  4. Is the invoice process slowed by delays in the approval process, entering data, or manual entry errors?

This is where our solution can save a company money straight to the bottom line. They can quickly process invoices before they are due, catching that early payment discount and avoiding those late fees. Keeping vendor payments on time is necessary to maintain good vendor relationships. This enables a company to build a stronger negotiation position for better pricing or additional discounts to save even more money. Best of all it is a win-win; a company pays less and vendors get paid faster.

Art: Can we integrate DocuWare Kinetic Solutions with MFPs and networked scanners? If so, can you please tell me how?

Jo Ann: At its core, a DocuWare Kinetic Solution is still a DocuWare system. MFPs or network scanning devices will always be a fundamental source for DocuWare systems. This means they can absolutely be the on-ramp for paper invoices, HR forms, or any documentation into DocuWare. It is a fast and easy way to get documents into an electronic workflow so that automated processes will analyze the document with OCR, enter it into workflow logic, and safely store it into an archive so that it can easily be found later.

Art: Would that mean from the scanner you would open a DocuWare Kinetic Solution and then scan the images?

Jo Ann: There are several MFPs available that allow for calling up DocuWare directly from the front panel, however, you may not even need to do that. When DocuWare is running in the background, it is monitoring folders. Even the simplest desktop scanner can save a document into a monitored folder. Once there, DocuWare will identify it and process it based on a configuration for that specific document.

Art: Can we also use scanners that are connected locally?

Jo Ann: Yes, absolutely. A DocuWare application can process documents in a variety of ways. Certainly that includes whether the device is connected locally or networked.

Art: Do you have a sales success story to share?

Jo Ann: Definitely. A dealer recently demoed DocuWare Kinetic Solution for Invoice Processing to a global technology manufacturer and the overall reception was very positive. After the meeting, the prospect informed the sales rep that they had recently reviewed other vendors. They liked our solution best because they felt we have the best understanding of AP needs and our solution is configured in a way that helps them achieve their goals faster as opposed to the competition who are offering traditional, consultative content services solutions.

When we showed them how an invoice from an unknown vendor triggered an automated new vendor form and Form W-9 request, they were impressed with our understanding of exactly how their accounting processes needed to run. This was important to them as AP fraud is on the rise, and each time a new vendor invoice comes in, the process of onboarding that vendor is time-consuming.

This is a perfect example of how we can win new customers with our preconfigured, cloud-based solutions.

Art: This all sounds great. Thanks for sharing all this information and thanks so much for your time!

Jo Ann: Anytime; thank you, Art.

 

Learn how to become an Authorized DocuWare Partner to generate new levels of revenue and provide customers with top-notch office solutions: click here or contact Mary Williams at mary.williams@docuware.com.

 
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SalesSales Hacks

Why Copier Sales People Still Need to Demonstrate MFP's & Wide Format Devices

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This week, I was stationed in Atlantic City for an Association event spanning three days. While being away from home for such a duration isn't my preference, the Association event serves as a robust platform for gathering leads for potential new prospects.

From 7 AM to 7 PM on Thursday, with half-day commitments on Wednesday and Friday, the schedule can be quite taxing for anyone. Thankfully, I had backup representatives assisting me on Wednesday and Thursday.

Prior to the event, I ensured we had two Ricoh digital whiteboards and a Ricoh CXW 2201SP wide format printer/scanner/copier on hand. Last year, relying solely on the Ricoh whiteboards felt limiting as we missed out on opportunities due to the lack of a wide format presentation option. Hence, the decision to include a wide format device this time.

Last year's event was unique as we were the only technology company present. While the whiteboards garnered significant interest, unfortunately, we didn't secure any orders from those leads. This year, I aimed for a different outcome by still showcasing the whiteboards but adding the CW2201SP to our arsenal to highlight our wide format capabilities.

Our Ricoh CW2201 arrived just before the vendor set-up deadline. As it was being wheeled to my booth, I was surprised to see another wide format device arriving right behind it. Another wide format vendor? Quite unexpected!

After overcoming the initial shock of the competition, I focused on highlighting what makes our device unique compared to the Canon TX series, which turned out to be the competing product.

Features of the Canon TX series included:

  • Lower purchase price (Dealer & MSRP)
  • High-quality graphics production capability
  • Best image quality on inkjet paper
  • On-board Windows 10 controller
  • Copy/Scan/Print GUI via Software on Windows 10 controller
  • Optional additional paper roll (up to 600-foot rolls)
  • 5 ink colors
  • Color Scan
  • Scan & print from and to USB Drive
  • Pigment inks (resistant to running or smearing when wet)

In comparison, here's how the Ricoh CW 2201SP device stacked up:

  • Higher purchase price (Dealer & MSRP)
  • Inability to produce high-quality graphics
  • Gel ink Technology (resistant to running or smearing when wet)
  • Good imaging on bond paper
  • No Windows controller required
  • No need to access software for Copy/Scan/Print
  • Optional additional paper roll (up to 590-foot roll)
  • Scan & Print to and from USB & SD Card
  • Print from Hard Drive Library

Recognizing the strengths and weaknesses, I devised a plan to showcase the uniqueness of our product. I pre-printed about 16 color 24x36 plans and placed them strategically on the Ricoh, along with a small cup of water on the other side. This setup aimed to demonstrate the resilience of our prints to water damage.

Engaging attendees, I highlighted the water-resistant feature of our prints, emphasizing that our device is ideal for color CAD printing, offering cost-effective solutions with large paper rolls and lower ink costs. Demonstrating various functionalities such as printing from USB drives and ease of copying further reinforced our product's value proposition.

Despite facing some challenges with pricing and one potential lead ghosting, I'm content knowing that we delivered an exceptional demonstration, evident from the positive feedback received. Even though the competition boasted water-resistant prints, our focus on delivering a compelling demonstration ensured we stood out.

On the final day, a visit to the Canon booth reaffirmed the effectiveness of our approach. With no water demonstration or pre-printed drawings, and difficulties in showcasing interface functionalities, it became evident that our demonstration strategy had effectively communicated the superiority of our product.

-=Good Selling=-

 
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Sales Professionals Get To The Heart Of What Matters

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"You can't be striving to please; you must be striving to get to the heart of the matter"
Vanessa Redgrave

Heart is greatly misunderstood. Heart is relevant in sales, culture, and in leadership yet so many get it wrong.

Getting to the heart of the matter, if sales reps are unable to uncover a personal or emotional need for the prospect to make a change, then they might consider breaking off the meeting, thanking them for their time and move on to the next prospect.

Yes, I know it may be harsh BUT all too often many sales reps will continue down the journey without finding what motivates the prospect to buy, and then they wonder why they can't close the sale.

"It's not your motivation to sell, it's their motivation to buy"

TURN TO YOUR HEART

Turn to your heart. In sales, heart is ignored. “Heart-based” sounds "touchy-feely". How can heart matter when there's an overdose of sales metrics combined with a what have you done for me lately attitude existing inside many sales teams?

Heart-based sounds weak and not cool. How can heart matter when competitors are making each sale more challenging than the last one?

One's heart gets caged as unfortunately hard-core metrics still rule the sales roost.

A Selling From the Heart professional lives and leads with their heart. Heart is about place and comfort. They're in a place to make a difference. This shows and is exhibited in how they care for their clients. By living and leading with their heart, they create meaningful and unbreakable sales bonds that last a lifetime.

Heartfelt sales professionals are leaders: they build relationships, cast vision, and motivate people to take action.

"It's about having the heart to rise up"

STARTS WITH THE HEART

Real change in sales results starts with the heart. We need to peel away the layers of sales tactics to get to the root issues of the heart. This is where true motivation comes from. Tactics are OK, but to affect real change, we need to get to the heart of the matter.

Heart is the center our being. We all seek more meaning and purpose in our personal lives but few know how to connect this in our sales lives. Getting your heart right will ensure a long and fulfilling sales career.

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

A Selling From the Heart professional gets to root issues of the heart: authenticity, belief, and values.

AUTHENTICITY

Authenticity in a world full of sales fakes and being genuine with ones follow through is sorely lacking within the sales community.

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's about moving from being seen as untrustworthy to being seen as authentic and genuine. Yes, you must become a bit vulnerable with yourself as this is where it starts. In order to build relationships and change the way people think, you need to understand who you are and what goods you bring to the table. 

Authenticity requires self-knowledge and self-awareness. A Selling from the Heart professional accepts their strengths and weaknesses. They're accountable to themselves. They're connected to their values and desires. They act deliberately in ways consistent with those qualities.

Plain and simple, at the core of a Selling from the Heart professional lies one word... CARE!

BELIEF

“Your most important sale in life is to sell yourself to yourself.”
— Maxwell Maltz

A Selling From the Heart professional has sincere belief in themselves. They're comfortable in their own skin and don't pretend to be someone they're not. They understand who they are as they have an authentic sense of themselves.

  • They encourage themselves to be themselves
  • Believing in themselves sets them apart from all others in sales

In order to succeed in sales, we must understand that in just being ourselves we’re good enough to be great.

It's their belief in their ability to succeed in sales by being themselves. This automatically sets themselves apart from all of the other sales reps, who show up, throw up and fail to ask heartfelt questions.

Every day they ask themselves...

  • What do I believe in about myself?
  • What do I believe in about my abilities?
  • What do I believe my sales future will look like?

VALUES

"Know thy value, know thyself"

A true professional understands it is not about being different in your sales 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 professional dedicates themselves to the sales profession. They add value because they understand their value. It's about the value they bring to the business table. They know what makes them different than all the other sales reps in their marketplace.

They 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 do this because they care.

It's imperative that a sales professional 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.

Get Real, Get Results... In our Value Alignment workshop, it's all about gaining an understanding and clearly articulate value propositions that resonate with prospects and clients.

  • Understanding Your Value
  • How To Quickly Uncover What Your Prospects Value
  • Developing Your Personal Value Framework

HEART DOES MATTER

Heart is a place where one develops and gains strength. Sales reps that embrace their heart will grow in purpose, profit and impact. Sales reps that embrace heart will strengthen their client relationships with many stakeholders, producing long-lasting results.

Your clients and prospects crave a genuine, authentic, real-deal and Selling From the Heart professional. I urge all of you to lead a sales life full of authenticity and integrity rather than the pursuit of lining your sales wallet.

"Actions speak louder than words when serving with the heart"

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 is making a difference! I poured my heart into every page of this book and I think you're going to love it. You can find it on Amazon in paperback and Kindle. You can click on the book image below and this will take you to Amazon.

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

 

 
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Another Sales Tragedy Caused By Leaky Bucket Syndrome

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“I think a relationship is like a shark. It has to constantly move forward or it dies.” –
Woody Allen

What's your focus on keeping and growing your existing clients?

A smart sales team doesn't chase new clients at the expense of keeping and growing existing clients. 

  • 80% of future revenue will come from just 20% of your existing clients–Gartner Group
  • It’s 50% easier to sell to existing clients than to new clients–Marketing Metrics
  • Repeat clients spend 33% more compared to new clients–CMO.com
"When attempting to generate a sustained increase in sales, the first place to start is with existing customers. Your selling investment is lower, you have an existing relationship, and you can leverage your efforts from other services and products you already have in place with your customer. This all works to your advantage if you are delivering best-in-class support. If you are not at this level, take the steps necessary to close the gaps."
Rick Reynolds

What do you think is required to move your client relationships from good to great?

GOOD TO GREAT

In Jim Collins' book Good to Great, the principles can be applied to how salespeople build relationships.

Take for example, the “Hedgehog Concept” which means having a simple, extremely clear concept of what is best in your business.

Do you have a simple and extremely clear plan when it comes to client retention?

Is what you're doing right now with client retention something you can?

  • Generate incremental revenue and referrals from on an ongoing basis
  • Be passionate about
  • Be the best in the world at

The Hedgehog Concept is not about a goal to be the best, a strategy to be the best, an intention to be the best, nor a plan to be the best. It is a deep understanding of what you can be the best at. The distinction as it relates to client retention is absolutely crucial to catapult your success!

Let's closely examine the three circles within the Hedgehog Concept. Set aside some quiet time. Reflect upon each question focusing solely on what you can potentially do better than any other sales rep. This can become your path to greatness.

How did that feel? This is the beginning of you becoming the best sales professional possible as you develop powerful client relationships. The best area to focus in on is where the three overlap. This is where you will have the most success.

CLIENT TRAGEDIES, THIS ISN'T A GAME!

On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your client knowledge and their experience? At your next Monday morning sales team meeting... challenge your team to a game of “Client Trivia.” You might be surprised by how much you know; on the other hand, you could be surprised by how little you know. I have a feeling the latter unfortunately holds true.

“If you don't care for your clients and provide them an outstanding experience, I guarantee there's somebody waiting in the wings to enhance the experience.”

Recently, I had a heart-to-heart conversation with a V.P. of Sales, the question was simple... How many current clients did you lose last year? The answer... 30! Ok, what was the financial impact? The answer... well over a $75,000 loss. I suspect it's a lot more but we'll roll with the number. On the flip side, there was a net gain of 30 new clients. However, these were small wins that didn't compare to the bigger client losses.

The client experience... it's up to you to manage. You may roll your eyes back at me on this one but think about others within your company. If this trend continues, how many people may lose their job?

Folks, your clients are the lifeblood to your company. The time is now to stop the leaky client bucket.

BUILD REAL CLIENT RELATIONSHIPS

Your clients are much savvier then in years past. They expect you to pay attention to them. They also have instantaneous and much louder methods of voicing their displeasure as well as the support they're getting from you.

"Greatness as a sales rep is a conscious choice and a discipline"

The oldest, most effective strategy is as powerful today as it's ever been; real relationships. Relationships enhance revenue opportunities, relationships sell, relationships bring in connection and human acknowledgment.

Get Real, Get Results... in our Relational Selling workshop, it's all about building client trust.

  • The Power of Relational Selling
  • Discovering Your Authentic Self
  • Uncovering The Person Your Clients and Prospects Want to Know
  • Socially Surround Your Client Base
  • Building a Relationship Funnel

I urge everyone in sales to get engaged. Create marital bliss with your clients. Shift your mindset as engaged relationships translate into increased sales opportunities. Build true relationships, not just one-sided affairs and watch as your sales skyrocket.

3 PATCHES TO STOP LEAKY BUCKET SYNDROME

The investment you make isn't about money, it's in the relationships you build with your clients. These relationships become sales currency. I encourage you to invest in the relationship economy. You can take this one to the bank!

PATCH 1 - AUTHENTICITY

How many sales reps build a brand around a facade? Far too many! They feel like they have to act a certain way, appear a certain way and even communicate a certain way. 

Relationships are based on trust and trust is based upon authenticity. Your clients B.S. meters are extremely sensitive. They can spot insincerity a mile away. Unless you're authentic in your relationships, your clients aren't going to trust you. In fact, they'll actively avoid you as they spread the message to all their friends and colleagues.

Your authentic you must be a genuine reflection of who you are. You must believe it. You must own it. You must know what it stands for. You must know your strengths and your weaknesses. Proudly wear those emotions on your business sleeve. 

People connect with other people. It is all about the personal connection. If you are 'blowing smoke' up your clients backsides what's the likelihood they will trust you? 

"Authenticity is a Magnet"

PATCH 2 - STOP BEGGING

Developing new or expanding upon existing business relationships is not about selling – it’s about establishing trust, rapport, and creating value without selling. 

Engage with your clients, communicate with them, add value to their business, solve their problems, create opportunity for them, educate them and inform them, but don’t drop the sales hammer on them all the time!

Stale sales experiences and disciplines simply die a slow and very painful death.

What do a loaf of bread left out on the counter for days and the sales experience that most in sales provide have in common?
Left untouched they both become stale.

What's concerning me about sales reps today, whether you believe me or not, is the lack of truly building genuine relationships. In other words, just plain giving a rip! Stop begging and bugging your clients to buy from you when you've done very little to enhance the experience.

"If you want to increase sales revenue, increase profitability, increase client satisfaction, drive brand equity, stop selling so damn hard and start adding value"

PATCH 3 - PUT ON YOUR LISTENING EARS

Successful sales reps listen.

"There is so much you can learn when you just listen"

Listening is the key to becoming a powerful sales rep inside the relationship economy. Developing excellent listening skills separates the good from the great. When you listen to your clients and prospects you uncover their pain points, their business goals, their personal data; all this to do one thing - strengthen the relationship.

When you don't listen you miss all the critical material to build a meaningful relationship.

Sales reps must become proactive listeners. Only 13% of customers believe a sales person can understand their needs. If a sales rep doesn’t understand their prospect’s problems, issues or initiatives, how can they sell them a solution? How can they retain their clients?

Ask questions learn about their needs, challenges and their pain points. Ask open-ended questions to get information, peel it back even more and probe for clarification. Summarize and repeat back what they've said to show you were listening and that you've accurately understood their business problem.

IT IS NOT ABOUT YOU!

It’s not about you, your company, your products nor your services. It’s about meeting your client's needs while adding value. Start paying more attention to them by building real authentic relationships. Soon you'll find out you no longer have a leaky client bucket.

The single most important factor in creating additional sales experiences - become a relationship engineer. If you don’t engineer absolutely everything around your client, your client relationships will vanish right before your very eyes.

Don’t be just become another vendor, become a trusted advisor and advocate. You can do it!

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 is making a difference! I poured my heart into every page of this book and I think you're going to love it. You can find it on Amazon in paperback and Kindle. You can click on the book image below and this will take you to Amazon.

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

 
 
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This Week in the Copier Industry 5 Years Ago

This Week in the Copier/Office Equipment Industry 5 Years Ago (1st Week of February 2014)

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Were you in the industry five years ago?  If not some of these threads will shed some insight on what was the top threads 5 years ago this week. If you've been in this industry longer than five years, then many of these threads may bring back some memories.  In any case enjoy these threads from 5 years ago this week!

EFI Launches Fiery Digital Front Ends for New Konica Minolta Bizhub Presses

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EFI Launches Fiery Digital Front Ends for New Konica Minolta Bizhub Presses EFI, a world leader in customer-focused digital printing innovation, and Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A. Inc., announced the availability of two new digital front ends (DFEs) - the EFI Fiery IC-308 and IC-415 - designed to drive the Konica Minolta Bizhub Press C1060, C1070 and C1070P family of digital presses. Running on the latest, award-winning Fiery FS100 Pro platform, the EFI Fiery DFEs provide unparalleled
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EFI Launches High-Performance Fiery Digital Front Ends for New Konica Minolta bizhub Family of Presses

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FREMONT, Calif. -EFI™, a world leader in customer-focused digital printing innovation, and Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A. Inc., announced the availability of two new digital front ends (DFEs) - the EFI Fiery® IC-308 and IC-415 - designed to drive the Konica Minolta bizhub PRESS C1060, C1070 and C1070P family of digital presses. Running on the latest, award-winning Fiery FS100 Pro platform, the EFI Fiery DFEs provide unparalleled performance, color management and workflow automation
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Inkjet Summit 2014 Announces Canon, Ricoh and International Paper as Keynote Sponsors

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technology trends, software, consumables and finishing solutions will impact their businesses and help them shape their strategies for the future. Keynote sponsors include Canon Solutions America, International Paper and Ricoh Production Print Solutions. A listing of all supporting sponsors can be found at Inkjet Summit Sponsors . “Canon Solutions America is proud to serve as the Keynote sponsor at the 2014 Inkjet Summit,” commented Mal Baboyian, President, Canon Solutions America. “The Inkjet Summit
Blog Post

Top Three Value Points for Print Audits New FM V3

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service personnel to view all of the issues affecting their devices at once. I've also included the marketing release notes for FM V3 which are available at the following link; http://www.printaudit.com/alerting.asp Ask yourself are you going to be the dealer that's ahead of the curve with technology or the dealer that's always trying to play catch up. Me? I'm elated that the dealership that I work for is a Premier Print Audit dealer and they give me the tools to kick some butt!! -=Good Selling
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Canon Solutions America Announces User Group Steering Committee and Digital Print Advisory Council

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MELVILLE, N.Y., Feb. 4, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canon Solutions America, Inc., a subsidiary of Canon U.S.A., today announced it has established the first Canon Solutions America User Group Steering Committee and has launched a second advisory group -- the Digital Print Advisory Council (DPAC). Both initiatives are aimed at continuing its commitment to customers. Through knowledge sharing events and advisory programs, Canon Solutions America and its customers are helping to shape the future of
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Konica Minolta Launches bizhub PRESS C1070/C1070P/C1060 and bizhub PRO C1060L

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rendering platform, optimized for end-to-end PDF workflows. "Adobe welcomes the introduction of the new bizhub PRESS C1070 line of printers from Konica Minolta," says Raman Nagpal, Senior Direct of Print Business at Adobe Systems. "The option to drive the bizhub PRESS C1070 with the Adobe PDF Print Engine, along with powerful next-generation capabilities, will increase production efficiency in the reproduction of color-accurate images and graphics." Click here for more information on the bizhub
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Konica Minolta Launches Next-Generation A4 bizhub MFPs

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Kevin Kern, senior vice president, Marketing, Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. “Customers are demanding total document management solutions that integrate easily into existing infrastructure and boost productivity immediately for enhanced workflow performance.” The bizhub C3850/C3350 and bizhub 4750/4050 are also part of Konica Minolta’s EnvisionIT portfolio of solutions, offering Managed Print Services, Managed IT Services via All Covered, integrated solutions via the bEST program
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Kyocera Document Solutions America Launches Four New ECOSYS Color Printers

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Kyocera’s environmentally friendly ECOSYS line, they use long-life consumables and are Energy Star certified for power efficiency. All four printers deliver crisp color at impressive speed. The ECOSYS P7035cdn prints at 37 pages per minute (ppm), the ECOSYS P6030cdn at 32 ppm, the ECOSYS P6026cdn at 28 ppm, and the ECOSYS P6021cdn at 23 ppm. All printers feature standard duplex printing and accommodate multiple media options. “Kyocera’s ECOSYS desktop network printers bring efficiency to a new level
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Konica Minolta Adds Inofile ChartMD Document Scanning to Its EnvisionIT Healthcare Portfolio

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regulation compliance. Visit us at kmbs.konicaminolta.us/healthcare to see why Healthcare professionals can count on Konica Minolta. About Konica Minolta Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. is a leader in advanced document management technologies and IT Services. The company focuses on complete business solutions including production print systems, digital presses, multifunctional products (MFPs), managed print services, vertical application solutions and related services and supplies
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Watt Printers Upgrades to Kodak Digital Printing, Workflow Solutions

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ROCHESTER, NY—February 3, 2014—For more than 120 years, Watt Printers Mail Marketing in Cleveland, has been serving northeast Ohio with a full suite of printing and fulfillment services. Over the years, the company has grown to a 72,000-square-foot production facility, kept up with changing offset and digital technology, and continues to be on the leading edge of innovative services. With its latest upgrade from a Kodak NexPress 2500 Digital Production Color Press to the new Kodak NexPress SX
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Print Audit Revolutionizes Service and Supplies Alerting with Facilities Manager Version 3

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growing print management company in the world. By providing businesses with innovative and practical print tracking solutions, the company has helped customers recapture over $200 million in printing and photocopying expenses while saving an estimated 190,000 trees a year. Print Audit is the most comprehensive provider of managed print services (MPS) and print management solutions. The company enables organizations to monitor and control their printing costs via a broad range of capabilities that
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Ricoh to showcase document management and security solutions at 2014 AFCEA West Conference

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at the right time. Notable Solutions - an established leader in secure information collection, output management and mobile solutions. They will be demonstrating how document security, print and output management, and workflow automation support our DoD customers. Ricoh spokespersons available to speak with the media include: Bill Crow , USMC, Ret ; National Account Manager, Navy and Marine Corps Programs; RICOH USA - Federal Sales Division, DoD Team Ricoh will also provide information related
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Print Audit Facilities Manager Webinar

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Canon Solutions America Hosts 2014 Anniversary Event

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subsidiary of Canon U.S.A, Inc. Canon Solutions America is headquartered in Melville, NY and has nearly 7,000 employees in over 150 offices across the country. For more information on Canon Solutions America, please visit www.csa.canon.com . Canon is a registered trademark of Canon Inc. in the United States. All other referenced product names and marks are trademarks of their respective owners. (c) 2014 Canon Solutions America, Inc. All rights reserved. CONTACT: For sales info/customer support
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Canon U.S.A. Announces Mobile Scanning App for Home and Office Users

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MELVILLE, N.Y., Feb 06, 2014 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, today announced its Canon Mobile Scanning for Business App for iPhone® and iPad®, adding mobile scan workflow capability to Canon’s already extensive support for mobile office users and consumers. Canon Mobile Scanning for Business enables users in homes and offices to scan jobs from a supported imageCLASS multifunction printer (MFP) directly into their compatible iPhone or iPad device to
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Canon U.S.A. Demonstrates Advanced Workflow Solutions and New Worldox Integration for the Legal Industry at LegalTech 2014

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professionals have the ability to enhance their workflows by leveraging a number of Canon solutions that interact with cloud-based applications such as Google Drive. For firms looking for enhanced control over device usage and printed output, Canon offers its uniFLOW Output Manager solution. This solution is designed to save law firms time and money by providing effective controls over its entire printer and MFP fleet. For added tracking, Canon’s uniFLOW Mobile Printing solution integrates mobile
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Epson and PrintFleet Partner to Enable Manage Print Services (MPS) Solutions on Epson Business Printers

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LONG BEACH, Calif., Feb. 4, 2014 LONG BEACH, Calif. , Feb. 4, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --Epson America, a leading provider of exceptionally performing business solutions, has partnered with PrintFleet ® to optimize the data collection process for Epson business printers. PrintFleet software is now able to accurately and rapidly collect, analyze and deliver data from Epson's extensive line of business printing products to streamline Managed Print Services (MPS) deployments. The Epson and PrintFleet
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GlobalSoft Expands Capabilities with Canon imagePRESS Color Series

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press consists of six base models that offer print speeds of up to 70 or 60* letter-size pages-per-minute with up to 1200 x 1200 dpi image resolution. The models incorporate the company's proven PRISMA(R) sync controller that streamlines production, making printing workflows more intuitive and consistent. In addition to the PRISMAsync controller, the Canon imagePRESS Color Series models offer several external server options to help provide increased control over the printer, for a customizable
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Ricoh rounds out eDiscovery offering with Managed Review Services

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1000 companies. For more information on Ricoh's legal solutions, please visit www.ricoh-usa.com/legal . For details on Ricoh's full line of products, services and solutions, please visit www.ricoh-usa.com . About Ricoh Ricoh is a global technology company specializing in office imaging equipment, production print solutions, document management systems and IT services. Headquartered in Tokyo , Ricoh Group operates in about 200 countries and regions. In the financial year ending March 2013 , Ricoh Group had
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New Fiery for the Ricoh Pro 8100S/8100EX/8110S/8120S

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StoreFront® web-to-print and EFI Pace™ business management systems. Online Sales Tools Help you Sell Get all the marketing sales tools to help you sell the Fiery EB-32 at the EFI Partner Portal . EFI invents integrated digital technology for businesses and enterprises worldwide that helps them increase their profits, productivity, efficiency and customer satisfaction. Visit www.efi.com to learn more.
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Ricoh Forensics Expert to Give Legal Education Seminar at Harvard Law School

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://www.ricoh-usa.com . | About Ricoh | Ricoh is a global technology company specializing in office imaging equipment, production print solutions, document management systems and IT services. Headquartered in Tokyo, Ricoh Group operates in about 200 countries and regions. In the financial year ending March 2013, Ricoh Group had worldwide sales of 1,924 billion yen (approx. 20 billion USD). The majority of the company's revenue comes from products, solutions and services that improve the
Blog Post

Selling Office Technology & a "Head Full of Hope"

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a "head full of hope" for the Imaging Business. I believe that paper will never just go away, butI'm in agreement that prints from printers and copiers is in decline. There I finally said it! But, I've got a "head full of hope" that new technologies will keep us relative in the Office Technology business. Thus, in essence we are still prospecting for hardware, software and technology that will help our clients and prospects do more with less, save them time, increase effieciency and help to
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Ricoh MP W3601 pricing on the street.pdf

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2013 Sales PerformanceKey Trends.pdf

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Blog Post

6 Tips on How to Sell More Without Really Trying

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imaging order close for another appointment to introduce your other services. 5. Ask the DM if they are involved with an Association for their industry, if so ask for the contact name of that person. Call the Association and ask about sponsorship initiatives, speaking opportunities for educated the members, or showing your wares at one of their meetings. 6. Have a plan to sell the extras (pre printed flyers), there was once a time when our company offered a $50 bonus in the form of a Savings Bond for
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Canon U.S.A. Announces Senior Executive Appointments and Promotions for New Year

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is one of Fortune Magazine’s World’s Most Admired Companies in 2013. In 2013, Canon U.S.A. has received the PCMag.com Readers’ Choice Award for Service and Reliability in the digital camera and printer categories for the tenth consecutive year, and for camcorders for the past three years. Canon U.S.A. is committed to the highest level of customer satisfaction and loyalty, providing 100 percent U.S.-based consumer service and support for all of the products it distributes. Canon U.S.A. is
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Fenestrae and Ricoh show joint mobile working solution at CeBIT 2014

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Fenestrae and Ricoh show joint mobile working solution at CeBIT 2014 At this year’s CeBIT (10-14 March, Hannover) Fenestrae and Ricoh will show their joint mobile working solution with Office 365 and SharePoint at the booth of Microsoft (Hall 4, stand A26). ‘Scan.Share.Print’ is the main theme of the Scan to Office 365 solution of Fenestrae and Ricoh. It allows users to scan physical documents directly to the Office 365 mailbox and folders in SharePoint Online, no matter what device they are
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Kodak i3000 Series Scanners take low volume A3 production scanning to the next level

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are certified for Kofax VRS. For more information about the new i3000 Series Scanners, please see kodakalaris.com/go/i3000news [1] Geographical limitations apply - ENDS - About Kodak Alaris On September 3, 2013, the U.K. Kodak Pension Plan (KPP) completed its acquisition of the Kodak Document Imaging and Personalized Imaging businesses from Eastman Kodak Company and created a new company known as Kodak Alaris. The new company and its name preserve the heritage and legacy of the Kodak brand, while
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Samsung Announces U.S. Availability of BusinessCore Printing Solutions for SMBs

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security and are virtually queued before being printed, which can cut down needless print jobs that have been accidentally sent to print. SecuThru Lite 2 enables serverless pull printing among up to ten devices, and allows registration of up to 500 users to cater to a wide range of SMB sizes and needs. Usage Tracker monitors an individual’s usage across all networked MFPs including printing, photocopying, scanning and faxing on the printer’s operation panel. Usage reports can also be generated and
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31 Ways to Close More Copier Sales #26 of 31

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Only 5 weeks left on for "31 Ways to Close More Copier Sales". Once I've posted #31, I'll have all 31 available as a .pdf download on the site. Make sure you have a Premium Membership in place in order to access the document. Either Or Proposal Close: Just don’t give the customer one proposal, give them two or three on systems that may be right for the, this will help with the client that needs multiple proposals. Since they have multiple proposals from you, they may forgo other proposals and
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Ricoh CW2200SP pricing on the street.pdf

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Ricoh MP 2553SP Pricing on the Street.pdf

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Ricoh MP 301SPF Pricing on the Street.pdf

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7 Ways Sales ProfessionalsDrive Revenue.pdf

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ROBUST EDUCATIONAL SESSIONS PRESENTED BY DEALERS TO BE FEATURED AT THE 2014 ITEX NATIONAL CONFERENCE

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Managed Print .Kevin DeYoung of Qualpath will discuss t he elements of transitioning a team to one that sells MPS will be addressed, including current team assessment, recruiting, compensation, ramping models, sales cycle guidance, and the do's and don'ts with your current sales team. The Sales Structure, Processes Metrics for Selling Managed Services MPS in a Traditional Copier Company . Tom Callinan of Strategy Development and Trevor Akervik of Marco, Inc will define a clear go-to-market strategy
Member

Blog Post

MFP & Copier Stream of Payments Calculator

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times the remaining stream of payments, and then add the return fee. It was always a mess if I needed to recreate or review my notes. After years of making every mistake known to copier sales people. I moved to calculating the remaining payments in my pricing worksheet (which is a document that can be downloaded on the Print 4Pay Hotel forums). All was well and good, but I was still having issues with the start date, today's date, when we delivered new equipment. Plain and simple is was a
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Ricoh/Plockmatic Test material.wmv

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Use of Tablets for Salespeople

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Everyone, below is an email I received from a P4P Premium Member in South Africa. I have a few points to make but would like to hear from other in reference to Deans email: Please fee free to post your thoughts! Morning Art Hope you are well? I’m busy investigating the pros and cons of issuing my sales reps with tablets. I basically want to try and increase performance and productivity. How do I want to do it, this is mostly for when they are out in the field or my non office based sales reps
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Re: 6 Tips on How to Sell More Without Really Trying

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o nie drukowanie tej wiadomości, chyba że jest to absolutnie konieczne. To conserve recourses and reduce CO2 emissions, please do not print this e-mail unless absolutely necessary. Ricoh Polska Sp. z o.o. z siedzibą w Warszawie, 02-092 Warszawa, ul. Żwirki i Wigury 18A wpisana do Rejestru Przedsiębiorców prowadzonego przez Sąd Rejonowy dla m. st. Warszawy, XII Wydzial Gospodarczy Krajowego Rejestru Sądowego pod nr KRS:0000209402; NIP:521-012-55-78; REGON: 001052016; Kapitał zakładowy
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Re: MFP & Copier Stream of Payments Calculator

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I would love to check out the copier lease stream of payments calculator. Thanks, Walter Thomas Branch Sales Manager Sharp Business Systems - Southern California
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Re: MFP & Copier Stream of Payments Calculator

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Thanks Art. I'll give this a try. Sincerely, Walter Thomas Branch Sales Manager Sharp Business Systems San Diego Phone: 619/258-1400
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Re: GBC ProClick Pronto 3000

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So would the original sales dealer have sourced the punch unit that matches the StreamPunch III from Ricoh or seperately from another supplier?
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Re: New Ricoh MP C2003 & C2503

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Brochure attached.
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GBC ProClick Pronto 3000

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Does anyone have any experience with this automated binding product? http://articles.mybinding.com/...em-and-punch-review/ I need to quote a law firm that is currently using a Ricoh MP6001 with a GBC StreamPunch III and a seperate standalone spiral wire binding unit. I do not have access to similar product. The ProClick 3000 looks like a possible solution although it only punches 15 pages at one time. Like the binding unit it can combine documents up to 100 pages. Binding is a common daily task
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Prime Document Management Company Celebrates 15 Years in Business

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planning. Starting life as a financial document print and production service provider, Prime Document have gone on to develop their own electronic data interchange systems, enabling any client to send any data format, ready for automated creation and distribution. The management team have also chartered the business to expand into secure financial electronic document management, offering their clients a cost efficient mix of traditional postal methods and cutting edge electronic delivery with real
Blog Post Premium

31 Ways to Garner Net New Copier & Managed IT Business #6 of 31

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Socialize Yourself with Linkedin All of these points will establish yourself as a person who is knowledgeable with the industry that you work in. Thus over time you will be considered by your customers and prospects as the resident expert or guru, this then establishes trust with them that you have the knowledge and expertise to help them attain their business needs. 6. Onceyou have the sales basic plan you’ll need to go on linkedin daily and see who’s checking you out. If you do find someone
-=Good Selling=-
 
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Copier ProposalsSalesSales Hacks

Why We Decided to Make Our Own Copier Quoting Tool

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Why We Decided to Make Our Own Copier Quoting Tool

Getting clients good information is critical to a sales process and we have taken a lot of time and energy to create quotes that are easy for us to make, and give the client a good feeling about the options they are choosing.  I would not want to go to a car dealership and have them only want to show me one car, or to a realtor and only see one house.  We like to see options when we buy stuff, so I thought about how can it be easy for clients to also get options.
We had a new sales rep, let's call him Brett, because that was his name.  Anyway, Brett was driving me crazy because as a Millennial sales rep, he wanted to give every option on every quote so doing 1 quote became a process of doing 10 quotes.  Here were some of the items "Brett" wanted itemized.
  • The client wants to see 1,2,3,4 and 5 year rates, both FMV and $1 out.
  • The client wants to know how fax, staple, etc will affect the numbers, 1,2,3,4, and 5 years
  • The client changed their mind, they no longer need 11X17, now they just want Letter/Legal quotes.
  • The client changed their mind, they no longer think Letter/Legal works, they need 11 X 17
  • There is a lease buyout, how much do I need to add?
  • What do I add for install on this deal?
  • What specs does this copier have for paper handling?
  • etc...
For about a month or two, I tried to help him, then he quit and I had to hire another gal.  When that happened, I realized we are going through all the same issues, questions and numbers.  It seemed to be time to establish a goal.  Here is what I decided on: 
I want to be able to make a side by side quote in under 2 minutes that looks nice and that is easy to explain to a new rep or a new client.   
This is where my obsession with building a great system for our team was born.   When I am driving from client A to client B, can I create a quote on my cell phone that looks nice at a red light in Denver (as we do not suggest quoting copiers while you drive, though I cannot pass a lie detector that I have never done it...)
Anyway, that being said, it has made the number of mistakes reps have made way lower and the consistency much higher in terms of generating a quality looking quote.  Since we started, we have made dashboards and added some brands, and then making it so it can be used by any dealer in under a day where all their reps could make quotes in under 2 minutes as well.  It is constantly being improved, but I am proud of where we are and how flexible we have made the tool for our partners.  We would love to have a dealership or two in every city in the USA use this tool!  We hope you can attend a webinar, if not, we can call at a time that works for you.  We are here to help make the marketing of copiers super simple for your dealership!
-=Good Selling=-
 
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