Every year, I like to put some interesting tidbit about Christmas from other Countries around the world.

Austria Christmas

Austria shares many Christmas traditions with its neighbor Germany, but also has many special Christmas customs of its own.

During Advent, many families will have an Advent Wreath made from evergreen twigs and decorated with ribbons and four candles. On each of the four Sundays in Advent, a candle is lit and a carol or two might be sung!

Most towns will have a 'Christkindlmarkt' (Christmas market) from late November or early December, selling Christmas decorations, food (like gingerbread) and Glühwein (sweet, warm mulled wine). Cities like Vienna, Innsbruck and Salzburg have huge markets and people from all over the world visit them. You can read the entire "Christmas in Austria" here.

This blog will mark the tenth blog that I've posted over the years for "What I Want for Christmas" from Ricoh.  Over the years I've asked Ricoh to supply me with new products, and services that could help me sell more Ricoh stuff! That's all I want is some cool new stuff for Christmas.

My Ricoh Christmas Wish That Came True Last Year

Last year I posted the below thread, low and behold Ricoh came through with my gift request with the recent distribution of Ricoh Direct SMB accounts to dealers. Only problem was, I didn't get squat in NJ! Oh well, at least Ricoh came through with one of my Christmas wishes .

Thread from last year: "Xerox recently announced that they were going to migrate many existing Xerox Direct accounts their dealers. I think this would be an awesome gesture if Ricoh could do the same with their Direct accounts.  Can you make this happen?"

Some of my requests will be dups from last year because I really, really need them for fear of not having them.

What I Want From Ricoh for Christmas

• I want a 36 inch color wide format MFP that uses color toner, and none of the wishy washy clogging gel ink technology. More and more clients are asking for color for the AEC market.
• I want an automatic document feeder for all of our AEC wide format MFP's.  The thought of scanning one document at a time is archaic and we could bust the market wide open.  Heck if it can be done with a fax machine it can be done with wide format. Can I get it, can I?
• I double-DOG-dare ya to deliver us a digital color label press (ink or toner based).  Only 3% of the marketing is digitalized.
•  I want an official  Ricoh Color A4 MFP, with stapler, folder and five paper trays.
• Dadgummit!, Last year you didn't come through with my Christmas wish for creative scanning apps for our MFP's.  Fuhgeddaboud the copying apps,  no one uses them!
• Over the years I got to be quite a connoisseur of copiers. Can you please bring me a scanning app that will allow me to browse to any folder on the network from copier user interface.  Please!
• Ohhhh fuuudge! How about a bringing me a 24 inch wide format MFP?  You're offering a 24 inch version the of the MP CW2201 in Japan, why not bring it too me in the US?
• I want a simple exit tray with a jogger for all of our Production Print devices.  Many of my clients don't need a stapler since the binding work is done off-line.
• I want the Ricoh MP C5200S as a print device only.  No one copies anymore!

I'd like to take the time to thank all of our readers for the comments, the likes and the replies that have been posted in previous years. In addition, I'd like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Holiday and have a tremendous healthy and Happy New Year!

PS, if you can think of anything else please post it in the reply section!

What I Want for Christmas from Ricoh 2016

What I Want for Christmas from Ricoh 2015

What I Want for Christmas from Ricoh 2014

What I Want for Christmas from Ricoh 2013

What I Want for Christmas from Ricoh 2012

What I Want for Christmas from Ricoh 2011

What I Want for Christmas from Ricoh 2008

What I Want for Christmas from Ricoh 2006

-=Good Selling=-

A great quote from the great orator and statesmen Ben Franklin.  As I stated in yesterdays blog, today was all about prepping for four appointments tomorrow.  

Back in the eighties,  copier sales people relied on their knowledge, demo skills and leading the client to the path of making a decision for buying or leasing that copy machine.  But, before the demonstration, we outlined what the clients needs were for each device.  For example the client required these features:

• stapling
• the ability to zoom reduction or enlargement to one tenth of one percent
• Excellent quality for pictures and knock outs
• Easy access for clearing mis-feeds

We then re-clarified these features with a question similar to this.  Mr. or Mrs. Demo, just to make sure I've got it correct your needs for a new copier are stapling, reduction & enlargement to one tenth of one percent, excellent quality and easy access to clear mis-feeds, is that correct?   Mr. or Mrs. Demo would answer that's right.

We would then offer up something like this, "If our copier meets all of our needs during the demo will it be possible to place your order with the completion of the demonstration?'  In most cases this will bring out an objection with that objection being price, because we have not discussed the pricing of the system yet.  The discussion would continue and sooner later pricing would be agreed by both parties.

It was then the time for the demonstration.  We never ever demonstrated every feature, we honed in on what the clients needs were and demonstrated that the copier would perform all of the actions.  Every time we showed a feature, we would then ask for a "yes" or agreement that the feature was acceptable.  One of the lines I remembered is to show the DM the copy and then to tell the DM to look at the a's, the e's and the o's.  Can you see how the small spaces are not filled in, isn't that excellent copy quality? You see what I'm getting at right?

It was more or less leading them down a path of saying "yes we need that or like that"  for every feature in order to get the final yes for the order.  Very rarely would you get a series of yes's and then get an objection or a no at the end. It was crucial to identify the clients needs, wants and pricing.

The reason for writing all of this is because most of use don't do or can't do demonstrations anymore.  Today, we need to lead the prospects down a verbal & visual path of what the copier can do for them.  Most clients today, want to reduce their costs, a few here and there may need to stop outsourcing wide format printing or scanning, others may have an old device on it's last legs.  It's our job to educate them on how our equipment can reduce there costs or improve productivity. 

Thus, my day was spent reviewing each of my clients needs. Most want to reduce costs. I then develop a series of spreadsheets or ppt's that will lead the client to a series of yes's.  Sales people today need to be able to paint a picture of the future and what happens when their product or service is in their office.

One of my other clients has a desperate need for capturing meter reads for each department and then automating the billing portion.  Much time was spent here creating those visuals which could paint the picture of the future once they were using the software

Prepping for those four accounts took almost the entire day. I also sent emails, received emails, did a few follow ups, and scheduled an appointment for Friday.

As to my possible production deal from yesterday, that was were I needed some concessions.  Well, let me not say anything at all at this point in time.

-=Good Selling=-

“In a business creation or it’s reinvention, It’s the Why the customer buys it that starts the business plan.”

Why should any company or industry reinvent themselves? A critical question for all businesses. Some will ask themselves this question long before others and create the answer for those competitors who waited. Too many waste time in the complacency of now, this complacency always demands justification on How something could be done different or modified and ignores the Why something needs to be different. These arguments of (how) take precedent over discoveries of why every time. Complacency will always put a shadow on why something different is needed. Reinventors or innovators look outside for answers to the why something needs modification they define through collaboration and imagination. Innovators or reinventors understand the importance of why what’s the reason for something new or something to be modified the answer will define the how.

I was standing out in front of my residence waiting on Alice the UBER driver to take me to the airport. As I stood there thinking how much I like UBER, I decided to change the conversation in my mind and think about why I didn’t like cabs anymore. It boils down to the experience. From the beginning of the engagement till the end I was informed and felt in control. The digital customer experience of UBER just kills the outdated multifaceted analog experience of the cab company. It’s the APP; it’s about getting the desired outcome with a simplicity which then becomes the better experience.  

 “You can be the vendor with the greatest relationships and lose to the new unknown competitor who delivers a better experience.”

I began to think does this quote apply to a service based business where the client and the vendor have a contracted relationship, or does it apply more towards the client-vendor relationship based on a call and pay as you go service relationship, like the Taxi industry?  I would guess that very few people had relationships with cab drivers, and quite frankly very few passengers have relationships with UBER or LYFT drivers. Is it this non-relationship between end-user and vendor which allowed the share ride model to expand beyond belief and challenge the Taxi, hospitality, technology, Retail, most all industries?

My answer is relationships in business will always be circumvented by a better experience regardless of the industry and regardless of the deliverable. Those who believe that their great relationship will persevere an obsolete experience or customer engagement are delusional. So, let’s determine the definition of an obsolete experience. First, don’t confuse bad customer service with a bad user experience. You can deliver a great customer experience and still deliver bad service as you can have the greatest customer service and deliver a terrible or completely outdated experience. Bad service will correct itself with discipline. However, a bad customer experience will only correct itself with a new business plan. Today customers what an experience in the means phase of achieving the outcomes they desire, customers what to acquire your products, or receive your services which aligns with their digital life.

 “Customer experience is determined at the intersection of the digital and physical worlds.”  

The Share Economy gave birth to many new organizations and gave opportunities for many legacy organizations to modify, to reinvent themselves. Ironically many saw the threat and wished it away, they complained about in courts, they stayed on the track to becoming obsolete and soon will realize they have arrived.

Whether the Innovator is building something new or the reinventor, who modifies to offer their current customer what the innovator created. The pioneers of the technology which built the sharing economy understood the power of the mobile hand-held device. These pioneers knew that the digital world was quickly merging with the physical world. The why for the innovators was simple. The customer has a device which could search, call, map, and execute payment for services. Building a platform allowing total control from the start to the end of the engagement would deliver the customer experience to the intersection where the digital and physical worlds meet.

The Taxi customer always had the device; the Taxi industry never asked why they should modify. The customer they picked up called them, waited blindly for the driver, the customer went to google maps to educate themselves on the distance of the ride, and the customer paid with a credit card when the ride was over in many cases the driver used a cell phone to complete the transaction (Square). If the Taxi Industry just ask why they should modify paid attention to the puzzle of their deliverable and then began collaborating with technology companies they would have discovered the how.  

So, all industries and all companies for that matter must ask themselves, why what they sell or how they service should modify to deliver a better customer experience. Why should the way your customers purchase and receive your products modify, or why should your service structure modify when you answer the why the how will begin to emerge. The caution is, the why is about what customers desire not what you desire.

In Closing;

“In the distance between the business plan and the business failure is where you find Stubbornness to Modify.”

R.J. Stasieczko       

Go ahead, ask me what I did on Friday of last week. For the life of me, I can't remember. I know that I worked,  just can't pin point what I did. 

Wait, wait, it's coming to me.  One of my to do items was the appointment I had in Shrewsbury for the two production systems.  This was the same client that I had scheduled earlier in the week but had to reschedule.  After a few back and forth texts with the client, we finally touched base about 4PM. My client expressed that he was on it way home and needed to get ready for the impeding snow storm. Yup, calling for 4-8 inches in New Jersey.  We both agreed that we would reschedule for Monday since we both had work to do at home to be ready for the snow.

The great snow storm was a fizzle, lucky if we got two inches from snow that fell for almost twelve hours.  Saturday, snow storm, I thought wow that can be a great day to do some research with my CRM.  Putting in a few hours of research and emails can get me a head start for next week.  Alas, my plan of digging into the CRM was dashed when I received a letter from the State of New Jersey (Department of Health). 

The letter had data I had been waiting for sixty years.  There it was, hanging out in the mail box just waiting to be opened.  There was a chance that the information I was in search of could be redacted.  Frak, I need to need to open that letter and at least I can get that information that my twin brother wanted for many years. 

That letter contained my unofficial birth certificate with the names of our birth parents. My name was listed as "A", I thought what the frak is "A", it then dawned on me that I was baby "A" and my twin brother was baby "B".  Anyway, after receiving that letter I spent most of the day searching on the internet for clues to learn more about my birth parents.

Wow, kinda glad, I got that out there.  I know we want to know about copiers, right?

Today, I only had one scheduled appointment and that was for the two production units.  I was in touch with the client via text about 8AM and we scheduled to meet about 3PM today.

The earlier part of my day was spent contacting most of my open opportunities and scheduling closing appointments and visits. I was able set four appointments for Wednesday, all of them closing appointments.  In addition I created a closing visit for another opportunity that I had visited on Friday.

It's now coming to me as to what I did on Friday! 

On Friday I had schedule five stops in, but before I went to them I stopped at a local bakery and bought 5 trays of cookies. Everyone loves cookies, right! Call or stop for a reason was the name of the game.  My reason for stopping in was just to deliver cookies and nothing else.  Turns out I was able to get a few minutes with two the decision makers.  I found that I lost a deal and not to the competition, the time was just not right for the client. Another client was on the edge and that's the one client that I scheduled another stop in for Wednesday of this week.

I thought, what can I offer that to the client that would help this client order on Wednesday?  What's going to give the client the best bang for the buck?  I decided that it was going to be the "no interest lease to own", coupled with a one year maintenance agreement and the opportunity to use Section 179 before the end of the year.  After about 30 minutes I developed the program flyer with all of the value points. It's a stretch, but I need to make things happen.

Ah, the last appointment of the day. I'd love to get into the details, however I know that I have competitors that read this blog. Let's put it this way, I can write the order this month if I can get two concessions from management.  I think there's a good chance to get these, but I want to get the approval on my side first for this $45k deal.

BTW, while I was leaving the office today, one of my peeps stated "Good Luck", I replied with "Luck is for Rabbits".

Tomorrow?  Just another phone day and prepping for Wednesday's appointments.

-=Good Selling=-

Just a few items that may be of interest.  In January we'll start publishing "This Week in the Copier Industry 15 Years Ago".  Yup we've got data going back 15 years now.  Should be interesting to look back on the last 15 years.

Enjoy these threads from ten years ago this week!

Weekend Copier Notes from 12/9/07

Having a 10AM appointment allowed me to work from this morning.  Typical home work day includes coffee and a trip upstairs to the office.  First things first is to check out any overnight threads on the Print4Pay Hotel forums.  My next move is to check on my gmail for google alerts that I've set and then my work email.  Once all of that is completed, I'll go to Linkedin and view my wall for threads, always on the lookout to strike up a conversation, like a thread, comment, share or post a thread of my own.

I had one last document that I needed to create before I was off for my 10AM appointment with the seven MFP placements.  Our meeting went almost two hours, we nailed down the specifics and logistics of the order.  Doc's were left for signatures and I'm hoping to have them in a few days.  That really takes some of the pressure off, well somewhat because no deal is done unless you have the signed docs and the equipment is delivered. I learned a long time ago and got very embarrassed in front of other sales people when you count your chickens before they are hatched.  This order is close, it's not done and I'm not jinxing my self by counting it.  

Years ago on a mid-summer Friday I had booked an appointment with one of my existing accounts. The existing wide format device was at the end of the lease, we went over the specs and my client placed an order.  It's Friday, I had all of the signed docs and that was the end of the day for me.  On Monday I had a call from my lease administrator that the leasing company wanted some additional information from the DM.  I called my DM and the receptionist told me that our DM had died over the weekend!  I was like, WHAT?  I felt so bad for his family since he was in his late forties.  It was horrible. 

Nothing counts until the device is delivered, paid for or the delivery and acceptance is complete! 

My next item of business was to get back to my office so I could plan tomorrow and make additional calls.  I also needed to follow up with the client I was at yesterday,  in all of the confusion with the grand opening I did not schedule a follow up appointment. I needed to get that done asap before Holiday mode sets in. I was able to schedule that appointment for next week.

Tomorrow (30 minutes from now), is scheduled for 2 appointments and 3 stop ins. My appointment late in the day is for a $41K opportunity.  I'm hoping to drive a few smaller MFP's tomorrow with the stop in's and hungry to get to my last appointment of the day.

Right now, I pulling up a little short with the opportunities. Two of them are going to roll to January and I'm thinking a few others might go that way also.

So, when the going gets tough, the tough get going right?  I've still got more than 50% of the month left, but every day close to Christmas means those opportunities shrink. 

For next week I've got some appointments set, however on the drive home I was thinking maybe it's time to drive some cold calls.  Twenty to twenty-five ,at be the order of the day. Not sure how these old legs will hold up, but you have to try and can't give you.  You never give up!

-=Good Selling=-

In one of the previous Quest for $200K blogs I stated that my appointment for this AM had cancelled and was moved to Friday of this week.  That was a good thing, because tomorrow morning (Thursday) I need to present our proposal to upgrade seven devices with another client.  

I had no idea that it would take me hours to complete all of the data and the docs this morning.  In fact I was not able to finish the order doc and the lease in time. Not a problem I thought, I can create those tonight from the home office. 

After countless hours of updating this site tonight, I was able to create order doc and the lease for my client.  That's when I realized I was out of paper!  Argghh To boot there's not enough time to get paper in the AM.

My only is option is to load the files on my DropBox account and access them when I get to the clients office.  I'll then print them off on one of the Ricoh devices with Ricoh Mobile Print.  It'll be a little awkward, however I'm sure I'll manage.

Nothing really to speak about this AM. I did develop an opportunity for a 25ppm A3 black device (printing and scanning not needed). Not sure if I'll get that or not, the prospect is also looking at a re-furbished copier for $1,800.  Which got me to thinking about the word"re-furbished"  and how that word is thrown around.  

For me, re-furbished means that you strip the copier down to the mainframe and then clean and rebuild with new and used parts.  Stripping a copier down the frame can take hours and hours, then the cleaning, the replacement or worn and used parts.  This is quite a task for any technician, my best estimation ( I used to be a tech ) is that it would take at least twenty hours from start to finish for smaller A3 copier.   That's quite a bit if in house shop time right?

That sales person called that $1,800 copier "re-furbished".  I doubt that very much and conveyed that to the client.  Our prospect agreed that the system is could not be re-furbished, it's just a used copier with new PM parts (maybe).  If it sounds to good to be true it usually is.

I have nothing I could offer the prospect for under $2,000 used.  I told the prospect that maybe they are better off buying a Brother inkjet copier that can print/copy 11x17.  You can buy then for about $300 bucks or so.  Trying to dig a little deeper I asked if there as anything else that was required for the new system.   That's when the prospect told me that they also needed zoom reduction and enlargement.  I thought what?  I haven't heard that need in years. Well, I was back in the game with my A3 black device.  Just thought that was interesting today.

By 2PM I was off to my 3PM appointment with an existing account. That account was having a ribbon cutting ceremony at 4PM for their new location.  I was invited to stay for food and beverages and to hob knob with the Mayor of one town, a County Superintendent, along with the Executive Director of the local Chamber of Commerce.  Of course I brought business cards and made sure everyone got one, in addition I made mental notes of those I meet.  I'll be reaching out to them tomorrow via LinkedIn.

I did have time to meet with the DM, things were hectic because of the 4PM start, but I as able to move this opportunity to a point where I maybe able to close this late next week.

Tomorrow's a big day.  Luck is for rabbits and looking forward to making things happen.

-=Good Selling=-

Fast and On Time Delivery: Document Control Software Streamlines Submission and Storage of Transportation Documentation

Regional shipping company, GSC Logistics, implemented DocuWare so they could meet California Highway Patrol documentation requirements, reduce their liability, simplify document submittal and automate their document indexing and storage.

GSC Logistics is the largest trucking company at the Port of Oakland, providing drayage (the transportation of goods a short distance such as from a ship to a warehouse,) cross-docking (unloading goods from one truck and reloading them into another truck for distribution with little or no storage,) and transloading (the process of transferring a shipment from one mode of transportation to another) services to importers and exporters throughout northern California and its Central Valley, as well as the ports of Seattle, Tacoma and Portland. Established in 1988, the company boasts 70 employees and 200 subcontractors or owner operated trucks.

Requirements

The trucking and shipping industry is highly regulated, requiring companies to store and manage a mountain of paperwork. For each of the over 200 drivers and trucks, GSC must store each driver’s daily manifest or driving log, hours of service documentation, and daily vehicle maintenance record. In addition, the company is also required to store quarterly truck inspections and registration documents, as well as each driver’s DMV records, license, application, proof of medical insurance, vehicle insurance, to name a few.

“We have very little face time with our owner-operators, so we needed to make submitting documentation as easy and painless as possible so that our records would be complete,” said Justin Taylor, Compliance Manager for GSC.

GSC needed a system that would allow them to see at a glance what records were on file and which were missing to be sure they were keeping up with their FMCSA (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration) documentation requirements. The solution also needed to help them pass their BIT program audit (Basic Inspection of Terminal) by the California Highway Patrol, which is nowhere near as basic as the name suggests, as failure to pass comes with high penalties such as large fines, or being shut down.

Solution

GSC implement DocuWare in its transportation and compliance departments and established an easy way for drivers/owners to submit required documentation.

DocuWare was linked to GSC’s roster management software, OmniView, to automate index terms, share information electronically, and keep both databases in sync, as well as facilitating the alert system to notify drivers when registration and other documents need to be submitted.

DocuWare “talks” to OmniView and determines if a driver/owner is still active. If the driver is active, DocuWare’s Workflow Manager is used to send text and email alerts to drivers/owners based on the expiration date of each document in the system. The intensity of the notifications and number of people copied on the notification is elevated with each subsequent reminder. Reminders go out at 20, 14, 7, 2, and 1 day before a document submission deadline. Ultimately, the VP of Operations is copied on the “shut-down day” notification.

For the driver/owner, submitting documentation is easy - all they need to do is take a photo of the document and text or email it to the office, where it is automatically imported into DocuWare. A customized indexing dropdown list was set up for each document type and indexing is minimal. Of the 20 different document types, a quarter of them were completely automated.

Benefits

The number one reason that GSC implemented DocuWare was to increase their compliance with federal transportation documentation requirements and reduce their liability.

“When we invested in DocuWare, we were for the first time able to keep up and be in complete compliance with FMCSA documentation requirements. DocuWare is helping us circumvent a huge liability. If we don’t pass a CHP audit, it is possible we can be shut down until all documentation is in order. Additionally, having an up-to-date copy of our drivers’ insurance helps us further mitigate liability. Without each driver having legitimate insurance, we could be on the hook for millions if there were an accident,” stated Taylor.

Taylor continued, “The transparency of GSC’s DocuWare solution is another one of its best features. Now we know at a glance which documents we have and which ones we don’t. And all of these documents are instantly accessible whenever we need them. The compliance staff is happy that the document submission follow up with drivers is done automatically.”

“One of the biggest benefits of our solution is that it allows us to file a surmounting amount of paperwork, yet everything is still quickly accessible. When we were using paper, a filing mistake stayed a mistake forever, but DocuWare eliminated this problem,” said Taylor.

Conclusion

GSC’s DocuWare system is expanding. Today, drivers place a barcode sticker on the top of their daily manifest. The barcode contains the driver ID and document type and automates indexing. In the future, this workflow will be expanded to calculate hours worked and push that data to another process.

“Now that DocuWare is in place and our workflows are running, I can’t imagine managing our business without this solution,” said Taylor.

DocuWare Corporation | 4 Crotty Lane, Suite 200 | New Windsor, NY 12553          (888) 565-5907 | www.docuware.com

Let me tell you, the highs, the lows, the ups and the downs can downright kill you in this business. 

Today was a planned day for the office to prospect and move stuff forward.  Today, was also the day that I was to get my old twenty pound notebook replaced with one of those lightweight varieties.  Needless to say I was looking forward to getting to office.  

On the way to the office I made three stops at net new businesses that were on the way.  All three stops did not have any thing to offer for immediate relief of my revenue quote for the month.  Two may be 2018 prospects and the third company was so rude that they can keep on doing business with whatever vendor.  Would never want them as a client.

Eventually,  I made it to the office, but sue to technical difficulties I was not able to access my twenty pounder notebook nor the new notebook.  I was presented with my new notebook just around lunch time. I immediately got to work to make sure I had access to DropBox, loaded up my Snag-It software and I was ready to roll.

I managed about 15 calls, 7 emails, 2 in-mails and probably answered another 15 incoming emails. Not a productive day.

My goal of seven appointments for the day didn't pan out. All I was able to get was ONE. Arrggh, but I also had to prep for my 10AM appointment tomorrow that has a revenue gauge of about $44k.  Prepping means that I not only go with all of the data that I need, but I've also prepared the closing docs.  One set of docs already filled out with highlighted areas for signatures and one blank set of documents in case there's a change.  I'm going in assuming the order and will keep moving forward unless the client stops me.

While driving home, I received a call from my 10AM, he can' meet tomorrow, but can meet on Friday AM.  Which is fine by me since Friday was kinda open anyway. In addition, I have a $48K revenue opp on Thursday AM of this week.  The extra time in the AM will get me to prep for Thursday AM.

Funny, sometimes you can just tell how things are going to go, it's that sales intuition that you acquire after many years of doing this.  Never would I have guessed that I would be doing these to appointments on back to back days.

-=Good Selling=-

As of right now I don't have a title for this blog, at least not yet. I didn't post a blog for Friday night of last week because I needed the time to wind down when I arrived home.   Friday night was spent uploading and redacting a crap load of copier proposals that were sent to me over the last few days.  Thanks to everyone that sent those in!

It seems that each week gives me an opportunity to work from home one day.  Friday was one of those days. My time Friday was spent prepping for Monday and placing a few calls, emails and inmails (linked).  Friday was my day to "let the ball come to me".  Another phase is to "let the ball travel", each one of these are baseball terms.  What each ones means is for the batter to be patient and wait that extra second. I use "let ball travel", when I need to back off a bit from the constant follow up calls.  Thus, here and there I'll take a day and see what comes to me.

My goal for Monday (with two appointments) was to schedule a minimum of 5 appointments.  With most of them being closing appointments. 

At 4PM, I had acquired six appointments and three of those were closing appointments.  I took a line from Hacksaw Ridge movie and thought, let me get one more.  That's it, just one more appointment. Within a few dials I had my seventh appointment scheduled and now had four closing appointments in the book. Those four appointments clock in with $100K revenue.  I'm guessing by the end of the week, I'll have a good idea if I'll be able to make the $200K.  It's still a long shot, but good things come to those that work hard, or the harder you work the luckier you get.

Tomorrow?  No appointments scheduled, another day of making calls, and scouting the CRM for creating additional opportunities. My goal is to schedule seven appointments for tomorrow.

One of my scheduling practices is to use Monday, Tuesday and the half of the day on Wednesday to prospect and schedule appointments for Thursday and Friday only.  I use Wednesday afternoon for those can't see me on Thursday or Friday.  It's worked well over the years.  In general clients seem less stressed during the last part of the week and more inclined to make a decision.  There's no science here, just an observation over all these years of selling.

For me, tomorrow and Wednesday are critical days to book additional appointments for this week and schedule for next Thursday and Friday. By the time the 18th rolls around, all I want to be working on is closing up any outstanding opportunities.

There it is, I just inserted the title, "let the ball travel". 

Section 179, I mentioned it at least three times today in phone calls. Section 179 is real, no business wants to pay more taxes than they have too. If you're not bringing it up, then you're competition is.  Upward and onward to Tuesday!

-=Good Selling=-

This product sucks! No one is buying now! Our competitor has a lock on all the business! Our pricing is way out of whack!

Stop the excuses now! Nobody wants to hear them.

The more you and your sales team can be honest about what went wrong in a sales process, the easier it will be to correct mistakes and limit the number of lost sales in the future.

A scarcity mindset might be settling in within your sales team as they go deeper into the sea of sameness and become more like the average sales rep.

The Sales Rep Test...

If it looks like a sales rep, acts like a sales rep, and speaks like a sales rep, then it probably is a sales rep.  

Question for all sales leaders... Do you have sales reps or sales professionals on your team?

Let's get real here. Most prospects don't care about your company or your product; but what they do care about is how can the members of your sales team help solve their problems and bring measurable value to their business.

Unfortunately, too many of your sales reps start off conversations by talking about themselves – how great their company is, how long they have been in the industry, their product and their features. Haven't you figured out this isn't working and that they are being tuned out?

Do you know why your sales reps get beat up on price? Plain and simple... It is your fault!

Sales leaders all across the world, I encourage you to start thinking about having your sales reps offer real value to your customers and prospects by having them solve pressing business problems in every conversation. Help them, coach them, practice with them and most importantly give a rip!

WHY PRICE BECOMES THE FOCUS

Because the sales reps haven't given them a reason to focus on anything else.

Price becomes a focus when...

• Your clients and prospects aren't aware of the true cost and scope of the problems they're trying to solve.
• Your clients and prospects have too much information and not enough time to understand it. You can thank Google searches and the internet for that!
• Your clients and prospects focus on price as this is easier than examining cost structures which may distract them from their business.

Professionals sell value, amateurs sell price.

3 ALTERNATIVES YOUR SALES REPS CAN USE TO AVOID GETTING BEAT UP ON PRICE

Adding value is an important tactic which MUST be integrated into your sales rep's repertoire to acquire and retain your clients, increase their brand awareness and to differentiate themselves in the marketplace.

Prevent this from happening to your sales reps...

Here are three ways to help your sales reps create added value which can be easily implemented into their business plan.

ALWAYS CONSIDER YOUR CLIENTS AND PROSPECTS PERSPECTIVE

The art of creating added value starts with the ability to see business through the eyes of your clients and prospects.

Have your sales reps consider what’s important to them and how your product or service will benefit them. What problem does it solve, how will it help them overcome obstacles and do their jobs better? Shift focus to providing educational content, examples and stories of how your sales reps have helped others. Start focusing on your customers’ needs and start helping!

Encourage your sales reps to conduct a thorough analysis of their buying behaviors which can lend insight into what is most important to them. Have them find the "ONE THING THAT MATTERS" as this may likely be driven by your customers’ own customers. It is vital to keep those customers in mind when conducting your analysis.

Knowing your customers is better than knowing your product

ADOPT A CLIENT AND PROSPECT CENTRIC MINDSET

“Successful sales professionals not only understand their specific market sector and business critical issues but also help their clients visualize how they can solve their issues by using their products and services,” Harrington Starr, a London based company.

Have your sales reps think through conversations. Think like them. Make the call (yes they have to use the phone), speak to prospects and clients, arrange meetings over coffee to discuss their business challenges; talk about key mission-critical needs or upcoming project objectives as this will pay dividends in developing meaningful client and prospect relations all leading to closing sales.

The art of the conversation is not dead!

Do you provide your sales reps with printed media, all types of collateral and sales tools to the point of brain overload resulting in the loss of sales focus? There is more sales and marketing material available on sales portals, corporate web and intranet sites than your sales reps can handle. This material is vital in the branding of your company, marketing and communications as you share the company story, however; do you really think your clients and prospects give a darn?

Think like them, act like them and converse with them!

BUILD NEW BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS INSIDE YOUR CLIENT BASE

The key sales growth for your sales reps is to actively prospect for new business relationships rather than limiting efforts to a possibly dwindling client relationship base.

How well do you know your current clients? How often are you asking them for your help to grow your business?

Leveraging and strengthening relationships inside the existing customer base is important but it’s all too easy to become complacent as most of your sales reps keep calling on the same people inside the account.

Sometimes a relationship may run its course. Hopefully it doesn't but in today’s ever-changing business climate, a salesperson’s 'timing' might be off especially when it comes to the importance of building new relationships inside their current accounts.

A once-promising client may now be in dire straits, possibly due to an acquisition or downsizing. Successful sales reps are always looking to develop new business relationships, not waiting until their current well of relationships runs dry.

Think about this one...

Your sales reps bust their ass for their clients then why on earth would they not ask them to help them grow their business?  

I encourage you to have your sales reps leverage current clients and learn to ask for help! Wouldn't you agree a warm lead is better than cold lead? Referrals from happy clients are about as warm as it gets, right? In fact, a Dale Carnegie study found that 91 percent of customers would be willing to give referrals if they were asked. Unfortunately, only 11 percent of sales reps actually do ask.

I guarantee you this a warm lead from someone who knows, likes and trusts one of your sales reps will lead to a more profitable, non-price driven business relationship.

REMOVE BEING BEAT UP BY PRICE

The point with all of this is to get your clients and prospects to focus on all the economic costs they're not seeing. This means your sales reps need to shine a strobe light on their expertise and the successes their clients have achieved.

Encourage your sales reps to get out in front of this issue with educational content as this helps their prospects understand the issues, side-effects, underlying costs and value of their expertise. I bet sales cycles will shorten and they will have less obstacles to overcome.

When your sales reps become the first to help simplify and understand the true issues they're dealing with, they then become the anchor, the subject matter expert, setting a really high bar their competitors must surpass.

Isn't this exactly what you want your sales team to be known for - being considered the ultimate measuring stick against which all others must measure up?

You can't expect a different outcome if you continue to use the same unsuccessful processes.

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!

In 2016, I was recognized by ENX Magazine as, “The Difference Maker,” as someone who is making a difference inside the B2B office technology sector. I am passionate about helping sales reps succeed in creating their online brand image

You can find more advanced training material inside the Social Sales Academy website.

I appreciate getting the opportunity to share my LinkedIn stories. Integrating the use of 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 tell their story and communicate it out by integrating the use of social media. You can follow me on LinkedIn, Twitter, Social Sales Academy and on my podcast by clicking on Selling from the Heart.