MFP Copier Blog

It's been sometime since Ricoh introduced the MP 301 (A4 black MFP 30ppm). Five years is a long time to hang on to a model, especially when A4 devices are being introduced left & right.

There's a new kid on the block of A4 devices. Ricoh is now offering the IM 350f (37ppm), IM 430F (43 ppm), and the IM 430fb (45ppm).  All devices come standard with copy, print, fax and color scan.

Anyone can get the speeds and feeds on these devices, but I wanted to dig a little deeper and express what I like about these new Ricoh A4 MFP's.

1. Hard drive is now standard and packs a wallop with a 320GB HDD.

2. All three devices now ship with starter print cartridges. Nine thousand pages for the IM 350F, eleven thousand one hundred pages for the IM 430F and three thousand nine hundred pages for the IM 430Fb.

3. Google Cloud Print equals yippee, I now have another tool in the belt for cloud printing.

4. Ricoh Intelligent Support means that help for support is just a click away. Our support specialists can use remote access to fix issues. In addition we'll be able to operate the Smart Op Panel (GIU) to guide clients in real time for using the device.  How cool is this!

5. Auto firmware updates are awesome also, our new models can periodically check and download the latest updates.  This is big! No more waiting for a tech to arrive to perform updates.

6. Ricoh Smart Integration is another win, win for us. Clients can now get quick access to apps. No longer do we have to talk about speeds and feeds. New discovery questions will lead to increased client satisfaction.

7. I stated I wouldn't mention speeds and feeds, but I'm pretty stoked about the  convenience stapler.  We'll be able to corner staple and book staple.

8. Videos can now be accessed from the Smart Op Panel for how-to maintenance tasks.  Can't wait to demonstrate the video feature, I'm thinking it's going to add quite a bit of sizzle with a demo.

9. Installation Wizard makes it easy for the setup, and network installation. Dang, I could probable do this now.

10. Security equals DataOverwriteSecurity System (DOSS) and Ricoh-only OS helps to provide direction and cushion from OS specific threats. That's just the tip of the iceberg. Security is something we don't talk about enough.  Older devices in the field present a higher security risk to every company. 

Would you allow your iphone not to have the latest security patches? The same thinking should be applied to copiers. I use the security talk track with every client.

There's a ton of other speed and feed improvements for these devices. Maybe another blog in the near future about the speeds and feeds is in order.  Hat's off to Ricoh, we now have a very strong A4 presence with these additions.

If you get some time check out the P4P Hotel forums. I'll be writing some addition comments in the near future.

-=Good Selling=-

How could the Staples/DEX Acquisition effect a dealership in the Imaging Channel, or its VC group's Exit plans? Here's a thought to consider. The change in valuation will be the greatest threat to all dealers both independent, or those V.C Backed mega dealers who continue buying growth with redundant deliverables within a disrupted infrastructure.

Everyone in the industry should think about Taxi Medallions. These medallions value vanished as the infrastructure of the Taxi deliverable was disrupted by the Ride Share industry's innovative better experience. Happy 10th Birthday Uber

Here’s my explanation of how that compares to the Imaging Channel today. As the large dealers are acquired the acquirer will eventually have the required footprint enabling them to be disruptive on a massive scale. Once this footprint takes to hold the old-ways infrastructure becomes less valuable.

The only value to those left behind will be their customer base. When this is a reality, the new-way has the choice to buy or take your customers. One thing they won’t do is overpay for them. The new buyers won’t need your outdated infrastructure. In other words, the Imaging Channel’s Medallions will drastically reduce in value.

When Staples/DEX acquires a few more primary MEGA dealers, one who has a presence on the west coast, one or two who control the mid-section of the country, and one in the northeast. This combined entity will be a significant disruption to the current infrastructure of the Imaging Channel.

The other scenario is that Office Depot or another vertical disruptor, Best Buy as an example beats them to it. Either way, sooner or later the new infrastructure model is established. Hopefully, after the disruption February 8th, no one would bet against this probability.

There is much in store for the Imaging Channel, and I hope its actors fight against their stubbornness to maintain yesterday. Dealers must explore ways in which they can play in the new infrastructure. Dealers must go where the market is headed and stop pushing what they deem relevant based on their stubbornness to change. There are still too many actors in the Imaging Channel weighted heavily with product centric mindsets.

It’s time to re-evaluate how your sales teams go to market; it’s time to re-evaluate how you maintain and collect customer data, it’s time to re-evaluate the investments you are making in products on the fringes of the core deliverable. Dealers must be first in their markets to switch from the product-centric thinking of overselling A3's to a customer-centric A4 deliverable.

Dealers must understand e-commerce, and quickly disrupt themselves before the disruptor does it for them. Remember, everything changed on February 8th. The time to stop creating visions of the future from memories of the past is now. It’s time to use your imaginations and explore what could be possible, regardless of how painful to yesterday those possibilities are.

Those investing in the channel must start invest towards reinvention instead of continuing to buy yesterday. There will be more challengers coming, as they recognize the realities of print equipment and its services. Those without the baggage of how things used to be will focus on the customer realities and deliver with customer-centric approaches. Remember, as they gain momentum the medallions of the old-way diminish in value.

Join me at ITEX where we will discuss the impacts of this challenging yet equally opportunistic disruption.

‘Status Quo is the killer of all that will be invented, don’t get stuck in Status Quo.”

Ray Stasieczko

Well, it’s not just Office Supply and Print Service Resellers who are witnessing changes which pose both opportunities, and threats to their Status Quo. When Sycamore Partners the Private equity firm who owns Staples bought the office supply wholesaler Essendant - many office products re-sellers became gravely ill knowing that their product’s wholesaler was now owned by their competitor.

As the dust was settling on the Essendant deal. Staples buys DEX Imaging a mega copy/print dealer. It is safe to say in the last three months that Sycamore Partners with their holdings in Staples DEX Imaging and Essendant have changed the infrastructure of two channels. 

Now, let's talk about the Managed IT Services re-seller space. We recently heard ConnectWise is the latest addition to Thoma Bravo’s portfolio of 35 software/IT service companies. It seems they continue buying up the tools and services used by independent service providers who in turn use these products and services to deliver Managed IT Services to their end-user customers.

Here are three organizations owned by Thoma Bravo which should at the least bring up some questions to the MSP’s who are dependent on them.

1)   Continuum, The world’s largest Master Service Provider. I believe it safe to say that they serve over 5,000 MSP on their platform. The question is, Should Managed IT Service Providers considered bringing their helpdesk in-house and seek alternative backend support?

2)   ConnectWise, The world’s largest PSA/RMM/Tool in the Managed IT Services space. The question is, what will Thoma Bravo do with ConnectWise?

3)   SolarWinds/N-able, Maybe the second largest PSA/RMM tool in the Managed IT Services space. The question is, will SolarWinds/N-able be rolled into ConnectWise.

Thoma Bravo's could put together an un-disputed powerhouse of capabilities. So, another question is, who do they sell to? It must be evident to all logical thinking the return on investment would be a higher return if the same buyer bought both Continuum and ConnectWise. This buyer would then be in the position to deliver Managed IT Services to the SMB space globally. They would also be a position to filter out or expand the current partners on these platforms.

So, the thousands of MSP’s who outsource to these organizations may indeed find themselves outsourcing service to a competitive threat. Those that believe this un-probable should visit with the office supply resellers who are currently questioning their path after Sycamore Partners, Staples owners bought Essendant the wholesaler who sells them the products they sell to their end-users. 

Could Office Depot, or Staples be the infrastructure that could benefit from ConnectWise and Continuum? After all, if Amazon is the end game for both Sycamore partners and Thoma Bravo Staples would be an extremely diversified deliverable with Continuum, ConnectWise, and of course, I imagine very soon they will acquire a few more Mega Print Services dealers and likely will include IT service providers as well.

Amazon revenues in its B2B space are in excess of 10-Billion Dollars. Over half of that revenue was generated by third-party sellers who use Amazon Business to expand their customer reach. Amazon is also one of the largest cloud services providers in the world with over 33% of the market, and they are expected to have 71-Billion in revenue by 2020. When Amazon is ready to complete its deliverable with the addition of SMB service capabilities, they would be very interested in Staples/DEX, Continuum, and ConnectWise. Wouldn’t they? Will Amazon one day be the Master Service provider to the independent MSP?

So, 2019 is turning into the year for the history books. The year the channel re-sellers’ infrastructures were redefined. Soon there will be no borders between channels: office Products, Print Services, IT Services, and Telephony Services. Service providers will become conduits for massive enterprise delivery systems. Those organizations who have the processes to execute in the Pull-Economy will prevail as they gather the needed support from those who understand the processes of the Push-Economy.

All dealers and re-sellers must open their minds to what could be possible based on the realities of their deliverables along with the shifts in the market. There will be massive realignments in channel sales and what many re-sellers once thought impossible will indeed become probable. Over the next couple of years, the advances in cloud services, A.I. technologies, innovative solutions, and the shifts in business’s processes will affect thousands of channel resellers.

What are some options in the PSA/RMM space and the Master Service Provider space?

The opportunities for PSA/RMM providers especially as the channel re-sellers continue delivering alternative services. An excellent example of this is the number 3 PSA/RMM tool Tigerpaw; they are the only PSA tool designed for the Managed IT Services deliverable which includes an application for print service dealers. Tigerpaw’s PSA/RMM is a much more beneficial system over the print service industry’s legacy ERP.

Tigerpaw is providing dealers a much more accurate method for managing service labor cost against contract revenue, built in RMM tool, more efficient inventory controls, and even the ability to collect meters from nearly all print tracking software allowing dealers to manage meter activity. It will be interesting to see how Tigerpaw capitalizes on this and other opportunities as ConnectWise gets to know its siblings at Thoma Bravo.

Also, the Master Service Provider space will surely ramp up to differentiate themselves. I expect that many MSP’s will seriously consider bringing their Helpdesk in-house and look for alternative backend solutions. MSP's joining forces will allow for shared resources. So, over the next couple years we should expect MSP roll ups to gain in momentum.

2019 started only two months ago; there will be much more to come, and the one thing we should all agree on is this.

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

Ray Stasieczko

Hope to see you all at ITEX 

“The advance of technology is based on making it fit in so that you don't really even notice it, so it's part of everyday life.”

Bill Gates, Co-founder of Microsoft.

Technology and sales enablement tools are not only helping sales professional's gain momentum in their marketplace, they're also changing the way they sell their services.

Selling successfully in a digitally driven, highly networked and socially empowered business world takes a new mindset and skill set.

Inside many sales departments there's a tug-of-war happening, a generational change and shift in sales thinking. Tenured, well-seasoned sales reps are watching tech savvy young professionals gunning for them as they take their careers to the next level.

Regardless of how long you've been in sales or plan on being in sales, you must quickly assess the best ways to sell your services and market yourself in this technology-driven world. 

"How do you expect to get noticed in your marketplace when nobody knows you exist?"

DIGITAL FENCES

Digital technologies, social platforms, sales enablement tools and modern business practices have changed the sales profession. The days of wining and dining your clients, leaving them with fancy brochures, pens and logo-covered notepads is over. They expect so much more from you, as they should.

"What fences prevent you from providing more value to your clients?"

It shouldn't come as a surprise, today’s decision makers are younger and more technologically astute than their predecessors. What the younger generation may lack in operational experience, they make up for it with their understanding behind the power of technology and how this can be used to greatly assist how they do better business.

THE WAY WE DO BUSINESS HAS SHIFTED

A special thank you to Google as they've forever altered buying behaviors and how information is consumed. In the past, obtaining information about anything required an enormous amount of time, energy and resources. Speaking with sales reps was an essential component in learning about products, features, benefits, the market, and how all of this ties together.

No longer is this the case. Whether it be Google, Twitter, Instagram or LinkedIn, we have an unlimited access to just about any topic. Within seconds, we have access and answers to a vast majority of our questions.

The buyer is more informed than ever before and this is hitting the sales profession hard. It's like a dose of "Bohemian Rhapsody" - thunder bolts and lightening, very very frightening (I'm a huge Queen fan).

CSO Insights published an article in June of 2018... Are Salespeople Relevant to the Modern Buyer? "Buyers turn to the resources they consider to be more relevant and more valuable to them."

There is no better time than now for sales professionals to rebuild and reinvent themselves inside a digital business world.

3 KEYS TO HELP UNLOCK THE DIGITAL BUSINESS DOOR

"How you present yourself, is how people first view you. What are you showcasing?"

FIRST IMPRESSIONS HAVE GONE DIGITAL

First impressions are difficult to change. First impressions matter but substance has the final word. Why I preach, "No Empty Suits".

First impressions are twice as important online. It's much easier for a prospect to mouse click and surf online without hearing what you have to say, than it is to walk away from you. 

Credibility starts with the look but needs to be backed with your knowledge.

"I don’t care how good you look if you don’t know what you are talking about."

To achieve an even greater level of success, sales professionals MUST pay attention to their online presence. You MUST build upon your online reputation just as hard as you build your offline reputation.

Before you step one foot inside the business door, or even the digital business door, anyone can check your website (your LinkedIn profile) to find out what you do, why you do it and how you do it. Social platforms provide prospects and your clients an idea of what’s on your mind and how your network is responding. Believe it or not, these snapshot images are helping potential clients decide whether to contact you, take your call or run away from you.

Strategic use of the LinkedIn platform allows a sales professional to showcase their professional image, tell their story and generate awareness in a highly competitive sales environment.

ARTICULATE VALUE ONLINE

A true sales professional tells a phenomenal story. It all starts with being able to clearly articulate value. However, this is where the roadblock begins.

Unfortunately, many in sales struggle in being able to clearly articulate the value they bring to their clients and prospects. With digital first impressions becoming a big deal, how you positon yourself by clearly articulating the value you bring is mission critical to your success.

Being able to articulate your value proposition is the digital door opener. This is the pathway and chapter one in opening up your story in a digital business world.

Selling From the Heart and our Value Alignment workshop may be able to help you have the next chapter of your story read.

You must be able to convey a clear and compelling message online. In sales terms: what’s the most influential story you could tell to get your buyer to buy into YOU?

SOCIAL PROOF

Social proof is mission critical to your success. Why? Because your prospects and clients are more informed then ever before. With the power of Google at their fingertips, potential clients can gather an immense amount of information about you before ever speaking with you. 

"When you utilize social proof successfully, you convey to potential customers that buying your product or service is the safe thing to do. Doing this is central to the success of the sale because people are risk-averse." A quote from, How to Use Social Proof to Sell Better and Faster by David Hoffeld.

One way you can provide social proof is start leveraging the recommendation section of your LinkedIn profile as a walking, talking social billboard. Spend quality time face to face to with your clients, thanking them for their business. Seek their approval and have them share what it's like doing business with you and the value you bring to their business.

A recent study shows that “85% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations, up from 84% in 2016.” You may be thinking, "Yeah, this is the consumer world" but I will ask you to give serious thought to how this plays out in the business-to-business world.

Social proof starts with having your clients edify your work for your prospects to see. Think of TripAdvisor and how this sways your decisions, now think of how you can use social proof to open up sales conversations.

SALES PROFESSIONALS WILL SURVIVE

Self-proclaimed pundits have repeatedly declared millions of salespeople will soon be rendered obsolete by the emerging technologies of our day. In some instances and in some markets this may be true. However, sales professionals will survive.

In today's fast paced, highly networked digital business world; a sales professional guides their clients and prospects in their decision making and buying process. They educate, help negotiate, consult, seek solutions, provide outstanding post-sale experiences and manages the relationship in its entirety.

Agility, change, adapt, adjust and thrive - sales professionals will survive in a digitally driven business world.

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.

Avoid Insulting the Customer
Obvious, right? Well, people do it without even realizing by using comments like "did you understand that?" and "are you following what I'm saying?". This automatically shrinks the customers' intelligence and ability to catch on. It is down to your own ability to make the customer understand and therefore if you feel the customer is failing to do so, use comments such as "did I explain that clearly" and so on.

Enjoy these threads from 5 years ago this week!

Global Document Outsourcing Market 2014-2018 with Lexmark International Inc., Ricoh Co. Ltd., and Xerox Corp. Dominating

Rules of thumb...sell nothing but the need for an appointment on a phone call or initial call.

Also never "sell" during your fact-finding for several reasons:
1.) The fact-finding process gets interrupted or stopped.
2.) You come across like a dog salivating over fresh meat.
3.) You tip your hand and lose some of the thunder you will get from your proposal.
4.) You inspire additional questions and thought processes that the prospect will then discuss with competitors.  read the rest in the sales tip from Old Glory (it's 3/4 down on the page

Enjoy these threads from ten years ago this week!

Weekend Copier Notes from 03/01/09

Seems we're coming to the end of the first quarter already. After dumping everything into the end of 2018. I've had a rough go of it for the past 7 weeks. Last week proved to be better with two orders and one of them was $45K.

We're also going see have then end of the fiscal years for most if not all of the copier manufacturers.  This time of years scares me because nothing is safe, you need to ask the tough questions up front and try your best to wrap up business either the day you met with the client or a few days after. Keep in mind that you need to set the next meeting with your prospect or client at the end of the first meeting. This can or will stop the ghosting or playing phone tag.

Enjoy these awesome threads from 15 years ago this week!

Kyocera Delivers New Printer

We've all heard the expression, it's not what you know it's about who know. The larger your network, the more access you have to opportunities.

Almost twenty years ago I created the first and still the only web based forums for copier industry professionals (not a tech forum).   Over the years I've been able to lean on others in the industry to get information that I need to close orders through the Print4Pay Hotel forum members. Sometimes it's competitive info, pricing, what's good, what's bad, the point is that there are people just like you and me that are willing to share their knowledge of the industry.

My specialty is wide format, production and AEC (Architect, Engineers Construction). However when it comes to other verticals I may need some help. While I may not be an expert in the legal market I can go the forums and find and copier expert that can help me my questions.  Those answers can help me with opportunities that I can bring to a close.  Likewise I'm more than willing to help others with wide format & AEC info.  It's all about sharing our knowledge and helping each other so that we can close more orders and support our families.

1) Expand your network:  Whether you're a Dealer Principal, VP Sales, Sales Manager or an Account Rep (like me). You'll have access to the forums to search threads (more than 50K), read threads, ask questions, answer questions and maybe you might have a rant or two. You can even take some threads private. You have the opportunity to lean on others for product information or general sales help.

2) Blogs:  Each week we post 4-6 blogs about the industry.  Blogs that I write, blogs from Ray S and Larry Levine.  When you're a member you'll receive immediate notification when a new blog has been posted. In addition you'll have permissions to "like" it, reply with a comment or question.  Between Larry, Ray Stasieczko an myself we have more than 100 years of experience in the industry. Thus you'll get to read some pretty cool stuff and catch some video content.

3) Our sponsors: Sometimes you just need to click the banner to see what's out there. There are times when we go about our business with blinders on, and we're not looking around so see what's new and different.  There are times when what's new and different can make that extra sale. There are products and accessories for our industry that I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that you aren't aware of. What this means is that the reps or dealers that know about these products will eat your lunch.  Just today, I received a top secret accessory to do a test run from one of our sponsors.

4) Our Documents and Pics: Over the years I've developed many documents that can help those in our industry with cold calls, side by sides, discovery documents, ROI's for wide format, you name it and it's more than likely posted on the site. We've also develop quite the museum of pictures and brochures of copiers, fax and typewriters from the past. If you're curious about the past of the copier industry the "clips" section of our site is a great place to start.

5) Premium/VIP: The secret sauce as we like to call it.  Premium/VIP gives you access to all of our sales help documents, premium blogs (my secret stuff), surveys, leads that we've acquired and the Premium/VIP forum (your secret stuff). 

The five I listed are just a few of the awesome features of our site. We'd like to extend a personal invitation to you to join our 3,000 plus members. There is no cost for the basic membership.

However, for all new members we'll through in a 30 day comp of the Premium/VIP Membership. No credit card required. Use it abuse if you like you can email me for a renewal, if not Premium/VIP will cease after 30 days.

Here's the link to join and we're looking forward to seeing you on the forums and the site

-=Good Selling=-

It's a late night for me just like many other nights.  While I was walking our dog, a little light snow began to fall here in Highlands, NJ.  At this time of year, along with not much traffic I can hear the rumble of the waves that are peppering the beach.  Sometimes it's times it's nights like these that I get to remember about how good things are and how fortunate I've been through out the years.

A little more than ten years ago the copier company that I worked for was bought by Stratix Systems.  Coming from a small dealership and having access to the decision makers didn't make things easy in the beginning.  I was not used to having a sales manager, was not used to towing a straight line and had to get used to a new comp plan.

I didn't run like the three other sales people did when the Century was bought. I stayed because something told me that was the right thing to do. There were some difficult times, times when I wanted to leave, however I looked back at my-self and thought,  is that what I do when things are tough? I run? I also thought that maybe just maybe it was the curmudgeon in me that did not want to change.  I've always knew that change is good, but sometimes it is hard to break the old you.

Thus, I stayed and made changes that I'm really happy with. I thought I'd like to give the shout out to Stratix and let them and others know that change is good and you can change if you want to.

1)  I truly enjoy the people I work with, I know I can be a little tough at times but it's because I want us all to succeed. Some peeps I've worked with for twenty years and some only a few years.  I enjoy the relationships that we've built over the years and the new ones that will be forged.

2) I love the fact that we invest in a demo fleet. At any time I can have access to most of our copiers and can score placing a copier in a clients office for a demo. 

3) I believe I can still help Stratix company grow, even at my advanced age. I still have ideas, still passionate about the industry and still passionate for Stratix to grow and grow. Who knows maybe one day I'll be doing the training for all of the new reps. I know they'll be thinking look at that old fart, WTF does he know.  Yes, grasshopper you have much to learn in the "art" of sales.

4) Helping others. I enjoying sharing my knowledge of sales, the industry and the hardware. Thus, the reason for the Print4Pay Hotel (share our knowledge). What I enjoy the most is helping someone and then seeing them succeed with the information I provided the, I would not give this up for the world.

5) Believe it or not, I still have something to prove.  Probably not to others but to me. I can't stand being second best. Ricky stated "If you're not first you're last". Boy do I hate being last! I've got 39 years in and hoping for at least another for or 5 more to add.

6) I still enjoy selling, especially when it comes to copiers. Yes, it's not as easy as it used to be, but isn't that a good thing?  You become more creative, think out of the box and find new ways to present, demo and engage. Plus, I still get a charge when I receive an order.  All orders are awesome big or small because I know the support after the sale will enable lifetime client relationships.

7) Ah, number 7 the BIG ONE.  I've found this so easy to write tonight. I guess when you're passionate about someone, something or some company the words just seem to flow endlessly will the fingers move across the keyboard.

My VP of Sales is an incredible! I think he's been with us for six or seven years now. It was a little shaky at the start.  Which was probably most my fault, however he believed in me and gave me enough rope to do what I do best. So, believing in someone is good, it breeds that bond of trust in each other. Forming excellent relationships needs the foundation of trust.  If and when I retire I will miss the chats, the tips, the lunches, and the laughs. Tim, if you're reading this I'm not gone yet, and hoping for many more years of working with you.

There it is. Got it out there and hope that many others P4P'ers can be as happy as I am with where I work and the peeps I work with.

-=Good Selling=-

"To be successful, you have to have your heart in your business and your business in your heart"

Thomas Watson, Sr.

A custom fitted suit has a unique, empowering feel as it sits comfortably against your body. It's the statement you make about who you are and what you value regarding your appearance.

Anyone can stroll into their local department store and pull a suit off the rack, but to truly “pull off” the suited look, one visits a tailor. A custom tailor is able to enhance all of the best features through the fit of the suit.

Off-the-rack department store suits don't offer much in a variety of style, even the most formal stores will not have every suit style available on the rack. With a custom tailor, your suit can be made according to any style and with any fabric. There's no limit to what you can ask for; custom liners, pockets, lapels, buttons and monogramming; whatever you desire, a tailor can deliver the style and material you want.

EMPTY SUIT

Lack of sincerity, substance and sparkle are three clues one is an empty suit. In 3 Dead Giveaways That You Are An Empty Suit, I introduced you to a simple equation...

Lack of substance + low business acumen + poor business conversational skills = empty suit.

Unfortunately, in the sales world today, there are a tremendous number of empty sales suits. The sales profession can do better than they’re doing. The issue boils down to misalignment. Most in sales are misaligned with their inner self, which tends to lead to chaos. It’s hard to become the best version of yourself if you have no clue or can’t identify with who you are.

 Your prospects are smart. Your clients are even more intelligent. They can smell commission breath a mile away. 

An executive presence + competence fills out an empty suit

What key ingredients are needed to custom fit the empty sales suit? Hint... become your own tailor!

3 INGREDIENTS TO CUSTOM FIT THE EMPTY SALES SUIT

In a "Selling From the Heart" sales world, a heartfelt professional wears a custom fitted suit made with authenticity.

An authentic sales professional leads with the heart by becoming open and vulnerable. They absolutely understand their weaknesses and are extremely comfortable in their own skin. Sales professionals who lead from the heart have courage. The courage to be human in a sales world full of facades.

ENGAGE

In today's world, we have so many technology platforms to help salespeople do their job better and more efficiently that we've forgotten the heart is at the center of sales.

So few in sales are placing their heart at the forefront of what they do.

Technology is wonderful and technology runs rampant in the twenty-first century but we must not forget to humanize it. Many in sales are leveraging technology as they dehumanize sales. A heartfelt professional leverages technology to humanize their network and relationships.

A true sales professional smashes technology and digital all together to humanize what they're all about. Their network feels it, their clients feel it, their prospects feel it and most of all, they live it with them.

For salespeople to be successful in their relationships with their clients, they need to engage, have multiple touchpoints, communicate successfully and add value with their business acumen. 

There's incredible power of genuine, sincere ENGAGEMENT with other human beings to drive sales success.

EDUCATE

Nothing worse than an uneducated sales rep who recites information off the back of a brochure!

A sales professional stays one step ahead of their prospects, as this requires staying current on trends and keeping their skills sharp. This means those in sales need to take the time to stay educated and continually learn new skills.

With ongoing education, this helps prepare what's needed to be ready to embrace new ways of doing things, especially if the old ways no longer work as well.

Becoming a great sales professional is all about earning the trust and respect of the customer. The more you can demonstrate you understand their world and the challenges they face, the more you’ll earn their trust and respect.

Why educate? Today’s buyers expect salespeople to understand their business and guide them to solutions that target their specific challenges.

Your clients and prospects no longer need to wait to have sales meetings or presentations from traditional sales reps to get a better understanding of what solutions are out there. They are more prepared and come to the business table with specific expectations.

You must become a sales guide. You must facilitate and EDUCATE, instead of showing up and throwing up. 

EXCITE

There are way too many sales reps out there who believe they are ‘A’ players but they are nothing more then ‘C’ players hiding in an empty suit.  

How important do you think attitude is to your relationships? Are you fired up with enthusiasm and passion for what you do?

When you call on your clients and prospects with energy and enthusiasm, it means that you believe in you. Excitement is contagious. This isn't bravado; a sincere belief in yourself and what you do can't be faked.

A true sales professional is pro-active. When you look at them, you notice high energy. They have pro-active personalities, they make things happen instead of sitting back waiting for things to happen. They have a positive attitude. They're in control. They believe in themselves and their abilities.

They EXCITE their clients and prospects into wanting to know more. Being excited and having passion is not a sales act. It's a way of believing. It is woven into your personal DNA. It's having real passion for who you are, what you're selling, who you're becoming and furthermore, what you believe in. 

It's through excitement as you shout, “I am here for you, I am here to make a difference, and I will leave my mark in your business."

WHAT BUYERS CRAVE

What will it take to exceed your clients' expectations? Try engaging with them, educating them and get excited about helping them.

It also means adding these buttons to your custom fitted suit...

• Understand their business
• Understand what makes them tick
• Care about them
• Demonstrate excellent communication skills
• Provide them insights and a fresh perspective
• Enhance their experience

What's your plan? What do you need to do and when will you do it? It is totally up to you! Now go open the door to your authentic self! Watch what happens to your sales career!

Don't be this...

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.