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This Week in the Copier/Office Equipment Industry 10 Years Ago Last Week of June 2005

Operation Red Wings, a counterterrorism mission in Kunar province, Afghanistan, involving four U.S. Navy SEAL members, took place. Three of the SEALs were killed during the operation, whilst a fourth was protected by local villagers and was rescued by the US military. In addition, an MH-47 Chinook helicopter carrying 8 Nightstalkers - members of the Army's elite 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR) - and 8 US Navy SEALs was shot down while attempting to come to their rescue to provide extraction in the mountains of the Kunar province, Afghanistan.  (courtesy of Wikipedia)

 

          6/22/05 6:41 PM
 
          Topic by Guest
          being among the best in this segment of the market after subjecting them to its exhaustive testing," said Hede Nonaka, vice president of marketing for Ricoh. The winners in Segment 2 are the Canon imageRUNNER 2270, Panasonic WORKiO DP-2330, Toshiba e-STUDIO
 
ubiquitous ubiquitous is offline. Click for Member Snapshot.
p4p newbie
 
          6/24/05 9:47 AM
 
          Topic by Guest
          1013F with 200K, needs drums, unit has run great since day one. May also need PM. $275 Plus Shipping1018 w/Fax and Cabinet with approx 180K, $675. Plus Shipping.These units are coming off a 36 month lease and I am trying not to return to the leasing...
 
          6/27/05 1:11 PM
 
          Topic by Deanw Deanw is offline. Click for Member Snapshot.
          NIC for sale - not in box - we installed for customer then they decided to connect parallel and share. Paid $275 for it, will sell for $200 including shipping.Product code 410778
 
          6/27/05 7:03 PM
 
          Topic by Guest
          ://developersupport.ricohcorp.com/index_USA.asp . Log onto the Web site with your Premier Plus user name and password, then follow the prompts to register for the Ricoh and Sun Java Solutions $100,000 Developer Challenge.  Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun
 
          6/27/05 8:20 PM
 
          Topic by Guest
          Are there any 1 year rentals available from Ricoh Corp?
 
          6/28/05 11:08 AM
 
          Topic by John John is offline. Click for Member Snapshot.
          https://www.citigroupgeo.com/pdf/SBD68319.pdf See info at this link on Xerox
 
          6/28/05 4:45 PM
 
          Topic by John John is offline. Click for Member Snapshot.
          If you have one of these new in box, please give me a call if you are willing to sell. I need a replacement unit for one which has failed.My mobile....
 
          6/28/05 11:02 PM
 
          Topic by Guest
          I have a customer who has a Canon CL5000 and a CLC300, (also a 2190 & 2090 ricoh), they are currently using Doc Builder from EFI for thier Canons. His question: Since he is alrady using Doc Builder on the Canons, can he also use this for our new color
 
          6/22/05 1:24 PM
 
          Reply by Guest
          Does this mean all of their emails would be encrypted? If so, how can anyone outside of thier company read the email if it is encrypted? Do they really need the emails to be encrypted? I believe Ricoh now has an agreement w/ecopy. Try to give your DSM a
 
          6/22/05 3:02 PM
 
          Reply by Old Glory Old Glory is offline. Click for Member Snapshot.
          I was at a Ricoh meeting recently where the subject of a potential eCopy relationship was brought up. The Ricoh Rep came back to the meeting later after checking with higher ups and reported that there was not nor was there about to be a relationship
 
          6/22/05 3:31 PM
 
          Reply by Guest
          If Ricoh and E-copy arnt in bed together, somebody should tell E-copy parnership alliance Further I read an interview with the founder and ceo of Ecopy in (I think)Recharger mag and he was bragging that Ricoh was among there new partners.
 
          6/22/05 5:37 PM
 
          Reply by v-tec v-tec is offline. Click for Member Snapshot.
          Encryption is available on the new 2051/2075 series, plus other security features. The encryption is 54 bit, and only while the documents are on the hard drive. Ricoh is leaning hard towards SECURITY.
 
-=Good Selling=-

Planning for the Future with DocuWare

Planning for the Future with DocuWare

 

Third-party retirement plan administrator, ADMIN Partners is using DocuWare to transform their business processes from paper-based to completely digital workflows, increasing efficiency and transparency while providing top notch customer service and improving document security. Securing their data electronically will allow the company to obtain an SSAE16 certification and better meet their existing clients’ security regulations, as well as open up new markets.

Initial Situation

ADMIN Partners LLC is an independent third party administrator, providing retirement plan administration and recordkeeping services to public education, local and state governments, non-profit as well as church and religious organizations. ADMIN Partners does not offer investment advice, they simply help their clients manage retirement accounts, facilitate needed documents, process contributions and comply with IRS rules and regulations.

 

The company was utilizing complex paper-based processes to route documents through their workflow.  The company’s Director of Client Services, Maria Speeney-Johnson, received hundreds of documents each day that she would need to manually log and physically deliver to her staff.   Just assigning the work could take most of a morning which slowed down the entire Client Services team.  Their workflow was further hampered by the need to keep the file room under lock and key to meet client security regulations.

 

Requirements

ADMIN Partners wanted to implement a solution that could manage all their document types including; faxes, mail, email and electronic data files. They needed a system that 1) was customizable to meet their business processes and document types, 2) could transform their paper-based process to a digital process with automated workflow functionality, and 3) had robust security features that would help them securely store and electronically route  information while tracking and limiting who had access to each type of document.

 

Solution

DocuWare was chosen because it totally fulfilled all of ADMIN Partner’s requirements, especially because it handles any type of document. They worked with their Authorized DocuWare Partner, Toshiba Business Solutions, to implement a DocuWare solution tailored specifically for ADMIN Partners unique processes. Each time a document is received, a coversheet or passport is created using an Excel template then saved to a “watched folder” along with the scanned document. The information on the passport is used to automatically index and route the document through an established workflow. The passport provides a place for notes and electronic stamps. It records a document’s “travel history” and becomes part of the audit trail.  After incoming documents are scanned and verified, they are shredded. With anywhere from 100 - 300 documents entering the system on a daily basis, DocuWare has really simplified their processes.

Benefits

ADMIN Partners’ goal was met:  they no longer have paper-based processes.  With received documents scanned into DocuWare, work can quickly be assigned, there is no longer a need to physically move paper around the office and constantly lock and unlock the file room. In fact, the company has completely eliminated their file room and donated approximately 14 large file cabinets to Habitat for Humanity. The company’s employees now have the tools they need to efficiently manage their own workflow and track procedures that are in process.

 

 “Our work processes have gained so much transparency with DocuWare.  It is miraculous how easy it is to see my staff’s workflow. At a glance, I can now know where documents are in the process. Whether a transaction has been Assigned, Pending, or Funded, this knowledge really helps us provide top-of-the-line customer service,” said Speeney-Johnson.

 

With DocuWare in place, ADMIN Partners is working toward obtaining an SSAE16 certification a regulation created by the Auditing Standards Board (ASB) of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) for defining and updating how service companies report on compliance controls and document security for sensitive financial information. Controls must be in use for 12 months before an organization can be audited and certified. This certification will give the company increased credibility and opens the door to serving larger clients.

Conclusion

“Document management is not just for accounting records. I am thrilled with the way we are using it for our business critical documents and how it has revolutionized our daily processes. The fact that it will help us achieve SSAE16 certification was our motivation to move this project forward. Our office is now virtually paperless and our documents very secure,” said Matt Spina, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.

 

 ---------------------------------------Bulleted Lists-----------------

Tasks

  • Transform all documents types into a digital format and eliminate paper
  • Streamline work assignments
  • Make document security easier to manage, track and be in compliance with

Benefits

  • Became a virtually paper-less office and enhanced efficiency
  • Created transparent processes and improved business critical workflows
  • Raised the quality of document security and allowed the company to work toward obtaining the security compliance controls defined in the SSAE16 certification

10 Ways to Close Net New Business #1 of #10

Everything that comes around goes around, and what is old becomes new. 

 

It's very rare that there is something new when it comes to selling. Sales is still about building rapport, relationship building, finding pain, prospecting and now creating enough content in your market place that the potential buyers will find your information valuable enough to contact you.

 

There is something missing from our business model from back in the eighties and early nineties.  Can you guess what that is? 

 

I know one Direct Manufacturer that still believes in the "Art of the Demo" and the "Trial to Close".  I'm a believer of those selling models also, in fact with every appointment I will try to close for that demonstration or that trial.  Too many dealerships and Direct Manufacturers have moved away from allowing demonstrations and trials.

 

It's All About the Demo

 

Why Are We Not Doing More Demonstrations at the Clients Office?

 

It's all about the cost of prepping the system, trucking the system and then having SE's on site to set up the system for scan, print & fax. In addition talented sales people that can demonstrate to close are few and far between.  It's a lost art of our business. Awe, don't fret, I've got some awesome content coming for you soon!

 

Why We Should be Placing More Demonstrations & Trials to Close

 

Winning the ability to place a demonstration is a huge advantage over your competitors and incumbents. In fact, the demonstration when executed correctly will win you net new business, knock out the incumbent and differentiate you and your company from the competitors. Most of your competitors DO NOT offer a demonstration on-site or Trial to Close. 

 

Key Points for Agreement Before You Offer the Demonstration

  • How long the demonstration will take (I've had too many people think that a demonstration is a trial)
  • Pre-commitment on purchase and or lease price
  • Pre-commitment from the DM that if they like the way x, y & z features work that they would move forward with the order
  • The DM will be present for the demonstration of the system
  • The Demonstration will take place in the clients office (this is key, too many times DM's will cancel to come to you, because they just can't get out of the office

Key Points for Agreement Before You Offer the Trial to Close

  • All of the above, plus these
  • How long the trial period will last
  • Signed lease, order form and maintenance agreement with a notation that they will move forward with the order at the end of the trial period
  • A verbal agreement that they will move forward with the order at the end of the trial period

Thus, with the trial to close, depending on the size of the potential order I have been known to "baby sit" the system.  Which means that I'm there every day for "x" amount of time to make sure the users are comfortable with the system, and glean additional information about their wants and needs.

 

Why Are We Not Scheduling More Demonstrations and Trial to Close

 

I believe that over the last 15 years, we've become too complacent with delivering a brochure, delivering content from the brochure, and giving presentations instead of demonstrations.  This type of selling has lengthened the sales cycle!  In addition, many of us will happily email a proposal or order documents when asked. 

 

I can remember in the eighties, that one of our rules in the sales pitt, was that we could not fax a proposal nor an order/lease document!  If the DM wanted the docs then we had to schedule an appointment to bring them on-site.  It was also frowned upon, if we left order docs at the customers office and had to wait for a signature.

 

In essence we've trained the buyer/dm that we are willing to adhere to their terms of ordering and most of us are not dictating what our terms are. 

 

More Demonstrations and Trials to Close

 

Will generate additional sales!  In all of my years in the business, I can count the demonstrations and trials that did not close on two hands.  Once you have the system in the customers office and you've enabled the pre-commitments that I outlined above, your chances of closing the order is much greater than selling from the brochure. 

 

ABC

 

Always Be Closing, whether it's for the next appointment, the demonstration, or the trial to close.

 

-=Good Selling=-

 

The Latest Health Care Breach Might Be the Worst

Health care data breaches have been growing in frequency and subsequent damages for years now, while the vast majority of the events actually take place on a smaller scale among community providers. However, in the past couple of months, this has not really been the case, with serious breaches that took place at some of the largest medical firms in the United States hitting the presses with troubling regularity.

Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of these news stories is that the same types of errors, oversights and issues continue to plague the health care sector, with clear indications that security might not be all that high of a priority shining through consistently. It would be one thing if new types of attacks were the causes of each event, as there is only so much a firm can do to protect itself against these, but this has simply not been the case, with poor data management and a lack of email security being common.

To ensure that healthcare providers protect themselves and the patient data they store, more work needs to be done, and many of the steps to improve security are relatively straightforward. Educating employees in the best practices of email security and general data management, deploying encryption solutions and leveraging reliable cloud computing services can all make a major difference when all is said and done.

Long-term attack
CSO Online recently reported that the CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield announcement regarding a breach that lingered for more than a year is clear evidence that a changing of the guard needs to take place among medical firms as soon as possible. As a note, this breach was first identified and disclosed in 2014, at which time the medical firm believed that the entirety of the event was behind it and the case closed.

However, the source explained that roughly 10 months after the last announcement, CareFirst is now affirming that there was a lingering problem that led to even more damage to the company and its patients. According to the news provider, the same types of issues were once again at the root of this problem, with phishing attacks through corporate email and typo squatting being the culprits.

While these conditions did indeed offer the threats an easy path toward sensitive information and systems, the insult added to injury was purely on the shoulders of the company's leaders. For example, CSO Online noted that once the attacks were identified, the firm had plenty of time to ensure that the causes were completely eradicated and corrected, but missed a few important points and allowed its vulnerability to go on for a longer period of time.

Finally, the source cited comments of security professionals who believe that all of these attacks should really be a substantive wakeup call to the healthcare sector at large.

The path forward
The most damaging data breaches tend to be the ones that take the longest amount of time to be detected and destroyed, as evidenced by most of the largest data breaches to have taken place in retail and health care in the past two years. Leaders must ensure that they are not only working to drive down the risk of a breach taking place, but also instituting contingency plans that immediately detect attacks as they occur.

With secure cloud solutions in place, monitoring, maintenance and protection can be a bit more seamless and effective, while email encryption and similar tools will help to reduce the threat of intrusions, fraud and threat on the front end of operations.

Print4Pay Hotel Enjoys a Day @ Ethos Technologies

It's not often that I have the chance to bring the Print4Pay Hotel on the road. My first road show stop of this year was with Ethos Technologies aka Blue Ridge Copiers in Salem, Virginia. 

 

Many years ago, I had traveled the length of I81 and the Blue Ridge Mountains in route to Memphis.  That drive along Route 81 is spectacular and I would encourage anyone to take that drive from Front Royal to Roanoke.

 

Back in January of 2015 Eddy Jones (Vice President of Marketing ISG Division) had contacted me and asked if I was willing to travel to Ethos Technologies to meet with their sales people to share my knowledge of 35 years in the copier industry.  After a few teleconferences I had mapped out a presentation that covered these talk tracks:

 

  • My background in the industry and how I got to where I am today
  • How A4 Devices will Affect Our Sales & Commissions
  • The Three D's of Selling
  • How to Add More Selling Days to your Year
  • 10 Tips to Keep Your Pipeline Full
  • Five Ways to Reach the Decision Maker
  • How I Prospect for Net New Business (with Google & Web Hacks)
  • My Box Approach for Prospecting
  • Simple Yet, Effective Telemarketing Scripts
  • What it Takes to be Ichiban
  • Thirty One Ways to Close More Sales

To say the least, we had a blast!  I enjoyed my time with the Ethos Sales Reps and found them to be engaging, polite (that's that Southern thing), and to be very knowledgeable with their products and skills.

 

In addition, I also had the chance to meet with Paul Story (Owner of Ethos Technologies).  I thought I had a few years in the industry at 35! Hah!  Mr. Story has got me by 15 years!!!  The night before my presentation, Eddy, Alan, Mr. Story and I had had the chance to swap copier stories at dinner.  I was fascinated with Mr. Story's pre Xeroxgraphy days, in fact I want to share of one those memories.

 

In the day before Xeroxgraphy, Mr. Story explained that he had sold the a machine named the "copy cat" (I hope I'm right with that), the system resold for $65 and produced one copy every ten minutes. Mr. Story stated that the machine took a picture of the original and then needed 10 minutes to develop the copy while the copy was attached to a something like a clothesline in a dark room.  In fact, he stated that many companies had 10 or more of these lined up in a row to produce ten copies per minute. WOW!, I had no idea!

 

I also noticed that Mr. Story takes an active role in giving their reps one of the best comp plans in the business.  The proof of that comp plan is with their tenured reps. 

 

When I first met with Eddy Jones and I heard him refer to Paul Story as Mr. Story, I asked, why do you refer to Paul as Mr. Story (me being a northerner dum dum), Eddy replied that it's out of respect.  After meeting Mr. Story, I agree, he's got my respect.  Congrats to the Ethos Sales team and to Ethos Management Team that made this happen.

 

-=Good Selling=- 

 

PS:  I'm available for road shows, if you're interested in and engaging presentation and some excellent content to help your sales team, then please send me an email.  arthurkpost@gmail.com

 

 

Does your LinkedIn story resonate with the modern buyer?

Over the past two weeks I had a chance to spend four days in London. Pub crawls, the London Underground, the British Museum, Buckingham Palace and my favorite watching the Chelsea Blues parade for winning the Premier League. In Cape Town, South Africa for out-of-this world wine tours, amazing people and diverse cultures. Culminating with a 7 day African Safari.


Besides the many amazing places I witnessed what stood out were the stories I encountered. By speaking with the local people I was fascinated how much I learned through their eyes and memories.


Yes, on holiday I had a work moment……. I was in one of the oldest wineries in Cape Town, South Africa which dated back to 1685. The wine sommelier shared the history of the winery, what wine is paired with which food but more importantly when drinking fine wine stories should be told. Aha…… my LinkedIn moment.


People love hearing stories as they can relate to and remember moments. Does your LinkedIn profile tell the story of what you do, why you do it and how you help solve business problems which resonates with your clients or prospects?


Stop for a moment and reflect on this picture from The Lion King. What stories do you remember?

 



My kids are now millennials but what they remember more than anything is the drive-in (I know dating myself) and watching The Lion King. Still to this day they share their stories when we get together.


It is amazing how we remember things through the stories we are told.

 

How are you capturing the attention of the modern buyer?

How are positioning yourself as a subject matter expert?
Are you promoting value, credibility and how you can eliminate risk?

 

Your story and the journey you take your followers on starts with your headline. Just like the opening of a well written novel, are you setting the stage with your value proposition?


Sticking with the novel theme….. You created your value proposition to draw in your followers to read more…… then they hit the summary section of your profile. What is being shared with them to want to know more? Are you being authentic and consistent with who you really are? Does it explain how you add value, telling the reader what happens when you do what you do? Did you get the reader to want to learn more or take any action?


Stories can be told through the recommendations of your clients. What better way to promote what you do than through the words of your clients.


As we all know, there are numerous chapters to a great novel. A well-positioned LinkedIn profile has numerous sections as well. How you create the sections is crucial to having your “LinkedIn Book” read from cover to cover.


I enjoy sharing my LinkedIn stories. LinkedIn was my “game-changer” in the highly competitive copier world. I transform and coach copier sales professionals to grow their net new business by helping them tell their story and communicate on LinkedIn. My commitment is to help independent office technology dealers thrive in a changing marketplace.You can follow me on LinkedIn, Twitter, www.dealermarketing.net/what-we-do/linkedin and www.dealermarketing.net

 

 

10 Ways to Close Net New Business

In the next three months, we'll be posting a series of blogs dedicated to garner closing net new business. 

 

Since, I'm not in the business of sharing all of my secrets for FREE, the series of 31 Ways to Close Net New Business will be marked as Premium blogs. 

 

My 35 years of experience has built a wealth of knowledge, in addition I've tried many practices that have failed and many that brought the bacon home.

 

The first Blog will be ready to go next week and we'll run these for the next ten weeks.  Those with Premium Memberships will have unlimited access and those that don't have Premium Memberships will have to lengthen those crocodile arms and reach into your wallet or purse to read some pretty awesome ways to close net new business.

 

-=Good Selling=-

 

Top Ten Copier & MFP Proposals for April 2015

You've heard me preach about proposals before. If you're new to the site, P4P'ers will share quotes and pricing for systems with other P4P'ers.  These quotes are accurate, real time and can tell you if someone is using padded lease rates, heavily discounting, holding margin on hardware and the latest maintenance and cost per page pricing.

 

For those of you that are Premium Members, thank you for your continued support and the time you've taken to send me those proposals.  To all P4P newbies, please consider a Premium Membership to view and print these quotes and to also have access to the entire Print4Pay Hotel site.

 

Enjoy!!

  1. Bid Tabulation for Xerox_Sharp_Samsung_Canon_Kyocera.pdf
  2. P4P Pricing on the street Xerox 5655PT.pdf
  3. P4P Pricing on the street XEROX WC5638 .pdf
  4. P4P Pricing on the street Xerox 5655PT (v2).pdf
  5. P4P Pricing on the street Xerox 4260XF .pdf
  6. Multiple Copier Pricing Spreadsheet
  7. P4P Pricing on the street XEROX W5638T .pdf
  8. Xerox Proposal
  9. Samsung SCX-8240 Multifunction.pdf
  10. Samsung CLX 8640 price quote.pdf

 

 

-=Good Selling=-

This Week in the Copier/Office Equipment Industry 10 Years Ago Second Week of June 2005

Ten years ago Ricoh released the IS760 & IS 760D scanners.  These scanners had a terrific speed, and they also had a platen glass.  Back then I thought that some manufacturer would release a high speed scan station with scan2email, scan2folder, scan2print and TWAIN driver.   

 

Ten years later and Ricoh is effectively out of the scanner business, and no manufacturer has yet to step forward with the scan station with the features I described in the previous paragraph.

 

 

          6/8/05 5:04 PM
 
          Topic by Guest
          Ltd., the 69-year-old leading supplier of office automation equipment and electronics, with fiscal year 2004 sales in excess of $17 billion, a 1.9 percent increase over the previous year. Ricoh Corporation is a leading provider of document solutions. Ricohs
 
          6/8/05 6:23 PM
 
          Topic by Guest
          I have a customer that has a 2035s/p it's about 10 months old. They don't have a service contract. The Hard Drive blew! Their IT guy said on the hard drive there was a website where he keyed in the serial number of the blown hard and the website said...
 
          6/8/05 8:44 PM
 
          Reply by Bill Knight Bill Knight is offline. Click for Member Snapshot.
          already maxed out from the "Auto Calibration". Could not increase the density from the IDmax to the Low range where I needed to make the adjustments. Example is the two could not be seen on the standard C4 color test chart. On the Minolta it can but the
 
          6/8/05 3:35 PM
 
          Reply by Guest
          I've been in copier biz since 1985 have seen LOTS of copiers come and go, some terrible (somebody mentioned the Ricoh 5560 the other day) some great (1022/1027,1015,2018,/551/700/1060/1075/2060/2075). ALL the new equipment is a billion times better than
 
          6/14/05 6:06 PM
 
          Reply by Flying_birdman Flying_birdman is offline. Click for Member Snapshot.
Canon IR C3220...just kidding.  I have found the 2238 series to be very good.  Even better copy quality from the glass than the Canon.
 
          6/8/05 6:22 AM
 
          Topic by Anders And Anders And is offline. Click for Member Snapshot.
          Is there anybody out there who can explain the the difference between: Average copy volume Max. copy volume Duty cycle for Ricoh products. Duty for 3228 is 200K/month. Unit lift is 3.000K Does that mean that you can run 200K pr. month for 15 month? I
 
          6/8/05 9:22 AM
 
          Topic by Ted Ted is offline. Click for Member Snapshot.
          full life,, develpoer not lasting anywhere close to full life, and the machines not going reliably from PM to PM.  An old service guy from Ricoh (who is no longer there) told us that these machines do have a problem.  But Ricoh's offical answer is there is
 
          6/9/05 9:12 AM
 
          Topic by John John is offline. Click for Member Snapshot.
          Any Canon folks out there? Is the IR6000 still a new product or is it discontinued? What about service and selling price for a school type account? Thanks for any help. John
 
          6/8/05 8:38 PM
 
          Reply by Darren .... Darren .... is offline. Click for Member Snapshot.
          I doubt it directly from Ricoh.  Most Hard Drive manufacturers cover the hard drive anywhere from 1 to 3 years.  You have to go directly to them for that.  I did years ago when a hard drive failed on an AF450.  It depends on the manufacture and if it was
 
          6/10/05 8:12 AM
 
          Reply by Jay Jay is offline. Click for Member Snapshot.
          The IS100, IS200, and IS300e can be connected to the any of the Ricoh printers. The 300e is the usual choice for the CL7XXX because it can do 11X17 but any of them will work.
 
          6/12/05 2:08 PM
 
          Reply by bandit41076 bandit41076 is offline. Click for Member Snapshot.
scan to file lights up - set for C://desktop/ABC then CLICK APPLY. Open a new set in scantool, and scan a 36 x 24 document. 1. Does it appear on your screen correctly? 2. Does the TIFF / PDF image appear back in the folder ABC on the desktop? IF YES, GREAT

Data Breach Threats Shift for Healthcare Firms

In the past five years or so, a wealth of research and analysis has been released regarding the most common causes of data breach, as well as the associated costs of experiencing one of these events and how many entities have been impacted. What has been among the more common themes throughout that time is the fact that breaches are almost always viewed as avoidable, with analysts suggesting that more common-sense controls would directly lead to fewer instances of information theft and subsequent fraud.


However, this does not mean that cybersecurity is an easy or straightforward matter for any company, nor that events can be completely avoided all the time. Rather, it has become clear that a more engaged and committed approach among leaders needs to be seen soon, and this is especially true for those sectors that are under the strictest regulatory compliance requirements and at the highest threat of experiencing a major attack, including health care.


In the past few years, hackers have increasingly targeted medical firms given how sensitive their data is, as well as how much can be earned on the black market from just a small bank of these files. At the same time, health care providers have appeared to struggle when trying to prevent all forms of breach and exposure, while the types of challenges and risks they face are only continuing to become more difficult to follow.


A new top threat

 

Dark Reading recently reported that the Ponemon Institute has released its latest study on health care data security and privacy, which revealed that the most common cause of breach in this industry is now hacker-based, rather than negligence. The source pointed out that this was the first time in the history of the report that errors made by workforce members were fewer and further between than hacking incidents, further proving that threats are evolving and more cybercriminals are looking to target these entities.
According to the news provider, the Fifth Annual Benchmark Study on Privacy and Security of Healthcare Data recorded a 125 percent rise in hacking-related data breaches among healthcare firms this year compared to last, while 90 percent of the firms experienced at least one event in the past 12 months.


"For the first time, criminal attacks constitute the number one root cause [of data breaches], versus user negligence/incompetence or system glitches," Ponemon Institute Chairman and Founder Larry Ponemon told the source. "Ninety-one percent had one or more breach in the last two years, and some of these are tiny, less than 100 records, but they are still not trivial."
As for the specific types of attacks taking place, Dark Reading pointed out that 96 percent of respondents felt as though the loss or theft of devices was the most pressing issue, while 88 percent affirmed spear phishing was rising in prominence.


More protection needed

The only piece of good news here is that health care firms do appear to be better prepared in terms of awareness and refinement to policies for cybersecurity threats that originate internally. However, more progressive and effective controls are needed to begin cutting back on the effectiveness of popular cybercriminal tactics, and this begins with seamless solutions such as email encryption, secure cloud services and similar investments.


Hackers will always look for the weakest link in any system and target it in an attack. Poor management of data storage environments and access to the information contained therein, as well as a lack of control over email security, can quickly lead to problems for medical firms. The time is now to deploy protective tools.

 

-=Good Selling=-

A Unique MFP Proposal with the Help of Ben Franklin & ESP/SurgeX

Some of us do ROI presentations and some of us don't. For those who don't you're missing opportunities! Do not leave any stone unturned when consulting on current costs for the total cost of operation.


Recently, I had the opportunity to quote for two MFP's in two workgroups. The first thing I noticed is that every desk had a laser printer on it. Below is a run down of the two work groups:


Workgroup #1 (6 people)

  • 6 laser printers
  • 1 fax
  • 1 large copier (MFP) however it was not connected

Workgroup #2 (8 people)

  • 8 laser printers
  • 2 fax (one for inbound and one for outbound)
  • 1 large copier (MFP) this also was not connected

I did my usual routine, gathered config sheets from every printer, got the meter reads from the copiers and printer along with the reports from the faxes for inbound an outbound pages. Once I gathered all of the information, I went back to office and looked up the cost per page for each device and put together a ROI spreadsheet for the customer.


As per usual, I indicated that the desktops printers and fax machines should be eliminated because of the higher cost per page when compared to a connected copier/MFP. Working late on the proposal I needed to save the customer some additional dollars, but where was it going to come from? I had already accounted for auto duplexing to save paper, fax4ward2email to save paper and consumables, put them on a cost per page plan, and even had 10 licenses of PPDM to help save paper.


Something finally clicked and I did a search on the Internet for "electricity cost for copiers" and I got what I was looking for at http://www.aps.com/ . They had a document that actually showed the average cost of running office equipment on an annual basis. With that I created a new line in the spreadsheet that focused on the electricity savings by removing 14 laser printer and 3 fax machines. Eliminating the fax machines would save $27.00 per fax per year (if left on 24 hours), and then the laser printers were $44.00 per year (if left on 24 hours).


The faxes total $81 annually and the laser printers came in at $616 annually. Total $697 per year. Break that down to a monthly cost and the savings would be around $58 per month. Over the term of 60 months, the total savings is $3,484.99.


Summary: I doubt that the laser printers were left on 24 hours a day (ya never know), however even if they were turned off at night, the end user still had a savings each and every month. Plus, if you're the person presenting the ROI proposal and you've taken the time to show this to the client, my guess is you'll get their business.

 

I've been the first one in the office in the AM, my office is a branch office with employees coming and going all day. Can't tell you how many times I've arrived and every electric device in the office is on!  That's a waste of energy, and decreased profit.  It may not be much for one office, but what if you had five, ten or 50 offices?  It's big bucks!!  Have you ever considered doing an energy audit or thought about offering a Managed Power Program?  If not, check out what my friends at ESP/SurgeX is doing to help dealers grow their business and create new revenue streams.  PS, watch the video!!  It's all about saving money.

 

-=Good Selling=-

 

 


-=Good Selling=-

7 Tips to Help Win Net New Competitive Copier & MPS Deals

"My pipeline is always 100,000k+ and I'm required to do 12-15 appointments per week.  I'm finding the opportunities, but not winning competitive deals. (I have a small base list of 10 accounts)."

 

Was one of the statements that was emailed to me by a Print4Pay Hotel member in Canada this week.  I thought this would make a good topic for this week to see if I can help.

 

Ok, I'm thinking if you only have a base of 10 accounts and you're not winning competitive deals that means all of your business is net new.  Here's a few things that I try and do with net new business.

 

1) Find out what brand of equipment they have now and who is servicing the product.

 

2) Once you've found out what brand they have, ask them what brand they had before their current brand along with who was servicing that equipment. If they had a different brand and servicing dealer this can tell you that they have no brand or service loyalty. If they have the same brand and the same servicing dealer or direct branch, then you've got a tough road to hoe since they have brand and service loyalty.

 

3) I will dig deep with the customer to see if there is some type of lockout feature or software that will position my company at the top of the pack. I've often found that many reps are lazy and won't take the time to explain many of the features, advantages and benefits of their systems.  Thus you may mention something as simple as embedded scanning to create searchable .pdf's and this could swing the decision in your favor.  Try not to leave any stones unturned when you are in a competitive situation. If you're selling MPS, make it more about the service, the reporting tools, and your fleet software advantages.

 

4) Make sure you meet with the DM, if not you need to put your best foot forward with the quality of your presentation and proposal.  Many times the DM may leave the decision making up to the person you met with, in this case the cheapest/lowest price may not be the right choice for the person you met with and most likely they will not select the highest price, nor the lowest price.

 

5) Ask "When will you be making a decision on acquiring the system and what is the process for choosing one vendor over another", make this one of your first few questions.

 

6) ABC, Always be closing, if a closing opportunity comes up, don't pass it buy. The worst that can happen is you'll get additional info on how the process will transpire.

 

7) I'm not sure of your market, however in large markets you've got to be prepared and I hate to say this, is to "offer your best deal" in order to get the business.  If you're in this for the long haul and your company services the product well, you'll be able to have an upgrade or additional units in the future that you'll be able to hold margin.

 

These are just a few items that came to mind.  What I can also tell you is that you need to remove yourself from competitive situations, you need to find the prospects who are NOT in the market. Basically this means that with your skill set you've been able to secure an appointment, assess their pain or challenges and offer a solution that will help them NOW.  Hard to do, but the opportunities are out there, all you need to do is find them.

 

-=Good Selling=-

This Week in the Copier/Office Equipment Industry 10 Years Ago Last Week of May 2005

Voyager 1, the most distant man-made object, has entered the heliosheath and is on the cusp of leaving the Solar System and entering the interstellar medium.

 

Look at some of the cost per pages that were quoted for color ten years ago! A high of nine cents per page and a low of .055 per page. 

 

          5/25/05 12:15 PM
 
          Topic by Guest
Konica Minolta C500 w.Fiery $28,700 .055 cpc
 
          5/31/05 10:22 PM
 
          Topic by pcb0960 pcb0960 is offline. Click for Member Snapshot.
          Hi guys, anyone aware of the toshiba 900? it is a ricoh 1105 there are very many similarities the only difference is the book same dc and test commands however having a problem with heavy card stock jamming in the duplex I believe that in face down
 
          5/25/05 10:49 AM
 
          Topic by glnsk8ter glnsk8ter is offline. Click for Member Snapshot.
          does anybody have experience using hp webjetadmin with Ricoh products, and if so what are pro's & cons? any special plugins required? performance issues? does it understand the Mib info? what is the maximum # of machines that can be monitored practically
 
          5/25/05 12:19 PM
 
          Topic by Guest
Xerox 2045 (refurb) $59,000 cpc .0915
 
          5/25/05 9:57 PM
 
          Topic by Guest
          Is this unit still be sold as new, or are they now refurb's. Any helpful hints on this unit would be appreicated. I have a customer considering our FW780 and the Xerox 3030. How can I beat this system down some? Art
 
          5/26/05 8:05 AM
 
          Topic by Guest
RICOH SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AWARD PRESENTED FOR THE FIRST TIME AT INTEL ISEF 2005 SPECIAL AWARDS CEREMONY PRESENTED BY RICOH -- Two High School Seniors from Utah Win The Ricoh Sustainable Development Award - $50,000 Scholarship and a Hosted Trip to The
 
          5/26/05 12:07 PM
 
          Reply by Guest
          Which model Konica-Minolta are you up against.  We have that product here and I can ask my network guys about this.
 
          6/1/05 8:54 AM
 
          Reply by pcb0960 pcb0960 is offline. Click for Member Snapshot.
          thank jomama(like that name)  I have just recently started with this company great company however strictly Toshiba when I saw this 900 I said hmmmmm looks like an 1105 even the service manual bears a strange resemblence to the ricoh manual with the
 
          5/25/05 12:18 PM
 
          Reply by Guest
Xerox Docucolor 3535 w/Fiery Rip $24,400 cpc $50 base and a cpc of .089
 
          5/31/05 1:41 PM
 
          Topic by Boston Mike Boston Mike is offline. Click for Member Snapshot.
See attached ppt file RFG is #1 in Business to Business RFG is #2 in B2B plus retail. Now go kick the crap out of Canon!! This document has been archived, if you would like to purchase please send me an email. art@p4photel.com 2004_Market_Share_Final.ppt
 
-=Good Selling=-

Letter to Mr. Jones about Sales Reps

Dear Mr. Jones:

 

I hope this letter finds you well.  I was doing some research on commercial real estate companies and I happened across your web site. I do business with two of the largest commercial real estate companies in Monmouth County.  Each of those companies have dozens of sales people that are engaged with finding new business, and supporting existing business. Thus, I'm sure your company operates in the same fashion.

 

Can you image what the world of business would be like for your sales people if they ran across these scenarios on every sales call?

 

  • "I'm sorry", stated the receptionist, "we don't accept telephone solicitors" and the receptionist then hangs up.
  • Your sales representatives emails are returned, because their email address is not approved with the prospects email system.
  • Your sales representatives emails are ignored by prospects.
  • Companies doors are locked, there is no bell and no one at the front desk.
  • Mail, when it is received is sorted and anything that resembles junk is thrown in the trash.

I understand that we're all busy, however, do you think your company would grow, do you think that your sales people could prosper, better yet, do you think you would still be in business a year from now?

 

I called your company today to see if I could meet with Mr. Smith in your IT department. The reason for my call is that we were able to help two of the largest commercial real estate companies in Monmouth County reduce their IT costs by an average of 35%.  I would bet dollars to doughnuts that you and or your Mr. Smith would be interested in meeting with us.

 

Instead, when I called to speak to Mr. Smith, this is what your receptionist stated, "I'm sorry", stated the receptionist, "we don't accept telephone solicitors" and she then hung up the phone.

 

I'm not mad, not angry, just disappointed that I was not able to connect with Mr. Smith.  I'm also a little curious if you condone that type of response to sales people when they call your office.  I hope not.

 

Either way, thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope that more companies don't act like yours when a sales call is placed. If that every becomes the norm, then we're all out of a job.

 

Regards,

 

Your IT sales person

 

Note from Art:  This actually happened to me the other day on a telephone sales call!  No, I did not send this letter, but after writing it down on the blog, I am going to send the letter to that company.  Not sure what will come of it, but if anything it will make me feel better.

 

Would like to hear from others

 

-=Good Selling=-

 

Time is Now To Focus on HIPAA Compliant Practices

The Health Information Portability and Accountability Act is almost 20 years old at this point, which might lead some to believe that the medical sector has a tight handle on the requirements therein. However, the statutes were never that simple, and the rapidly evolving face of health care - most notably with respect to the new technologies in use - has only worked to compound the challenges over the past decade or so.


At the same time, the rising prevalence of data breaches and privacy protection failures has led to public demand for more stringent and widespread enforcement of HIPAA laws - and for good reason, as so many individuals have been impacted by these events in a relatively short period of time. Subsequently, the various entities responsible for auditing firms' practices and enforcing the statutes that might apply are seemingly ready to answer this proverbial call to arms, and medical firms must be prepared.
HIPAA email requirements, as well as regulations under the act related to general storage, sharing and privacy of patient records, are written relatively clearly and the solutions needed to oblige the law are readily available. Leaders in the sector simply need to realize that they are responsible for taking the initiative and getting the relevant strategies into motion as soon as possible, or run the risk of experiencing disruptive fines, litigation proceedings and even data breaches when not in compliance with the law.


Audits are coming

Workforce.com recently reported that the Office for Civil Rights, a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is planning on increasing its rate and intensity of audits to ensure that all firms handling medical data are adhering to HIPAA. It is worth noting here that there have been plenty of times in the past few years during which the OCR has started to increase its activity in these regards, and chances are this will not be the last one.


According to the news provider, Gordon Rapkin of a New Jersey-based human resources document management firm stated that preparation is key, and understanding responsibilities across departments will be crucial in the coming months.


"Employers need to know that they are obligated to protect this information, they must show that they are capable of protecting this information and prove that their employees have been trained to do so," Rapkin told Workforce.com. "You must be able to prove all that in a very short window of time if you're unfortunate enough to be selected for an audit."  So, knowing that these audits are going to increase in frequency, it might help to understand where many firms get tripped up in compliance practices.


Common threats

 

Because of how popular phishing scams have become in health care - not to mention their consistent effectiveness in exposing sensitive patient information - firms will want to first focus on this matter. Health IT Security recently reported that administrative safeguards can be a start to strong, compliant defense against phishing and similar scams, but they are not the only matters that need to be enacted.


Rather, the source argued that training and awareness for all employees who handle patient information is one of the only ways to really reduce this particular threat, citing commentary directly from HHS. This tied back into the argument that people, process and technology must all be converged and managed properly for optimal defense against data breaches.


By training employees in best practices, aligning processes with compliance requirements and leveraging email encryption and other protective technologies, firms can better protect patient information and avoid the prospect of failing a HIPAA audit in the coming years.

 

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