MFP Copier Blog

Did you know that if you where to fill your car gas tank with inkjet ink that it would cost $150,000!

What do you think is the average number of pages printed by the average employee each year?   Yup, 10,000 pages.

One of the items I'm going to get better at this year is to ask net new accounts if they are being burdened with overage charges.  If so, then I'm going to move right to my Who, Where, What, When, Why & How of Print to alleviate overage charges on my competitions equipment!  That's fricking awesome!!

The Who of Print: 

• Who printed that document?  
• That document is confidential and the document was left out on the copier.
• How did our competition beat us to market with our new product?

Knowing "Who" printed that document can give you an document trail to that person.  It's not uncommon that companies can get fined for leaving confidential documents out in the open.  It's also fact that trade, products secrets can printed and stolen.  Fines can be eliminated and thieves can be prosecuted.

The Where of Print: 

• Where was that document printed?
• What printer was used?
• What port & IP address?

Knowing what imaging devices documents are printed to can lead to a better understanding of the costs that are involved for each imaging device.

The What of Print:

• Document Names that were printed, were those documents confidential?

The When of Print:

• Date and Time stamp that the document was printed

The How of Print:

• Name of application that the document was printed from

Thus the Who, Where, What, When & How of Print Analysis is available to the CIO at any time.

But, the analysis is just the tip of the iceberg!  Diving deeper, we need to ask "Why" they print the documents like they do.  Such as:

• Why do you print internet pages in color?
• Why do you print Document A single sided?
• Why do you not have a time and date stamp on each document printed?
• Why do you not have the document name on a printed document?
• Why do you not have the name of the user on the document that was printed?
• Why do you not have those documents protected from printing by an unauthorized user?

Print Rules software  can change your customers print habits, reduce paper costs, reduce and or eliminate overage costs on copiers.  Dang, we would be hero's right! 

Maybe we're not asking the right question when we are surveying our potential net new customers.  I would tend to think that most end users do have overage charges on most devices. 

We hear from our customers that nothing is more frustrating than to get a bill at the end of the year for overages!  Maybe we need to be proactive and give our customers a way to control printing.

It's no secret that I'm a fan of Print Audit, and it's no secret that they are a Premium Sponsor of the Print4Pay Hotel. What is a secret, is that I was a fan of Print Audit before they were a sponsor.

My goal for 2015 is to open the talk track of overages and the Who, What, Where, When, Why & How of Print.

-=Good Selling=-

Empowering Dealers: ITEX Expo 2015

By Sand Sinclair, Conference Director/Editor

The annual ITEX Expo & Conference is one of the most focused and credible venues to deliver the latest tools, strategies, education and industry information to those in the office, imaging, and IT channels.  Each year ITEX spotlights a power house exhibit floor, power hour education tracks, and powerful workshops to yes, empower attendees.  Sharing a spectrum of information on new and evolving product technology, advances in integrated workflow and document management solutions, managed print services, cloud, IT and managed services, along with new strategies for sales, supplies, business model planning and more, ITEX and noteworthy experts arm industry professionals with “implementable how to” methods to achieve greater profits and success.

Today’s business owners, C-level executives, company management and dedicated staffs can look to ITEX 2015 to “Power Up!” their company profits.

Held in sunny South Florida, a sought out destination in early March, ITEX rocks the Broward County Convention Center in downtown Ft. Lauderdale from March 10 to 12. The convenient location is located near the ocean, airport, hotels, restaurants, sightseeing and recreation.

If you’re wondering “What now?” when it comes to advancing your business, dealers and professionals will find the best answers and strategies in dozens of Power Hour sessions to help them stay ahead of the encroaching competition.  An array of leading presenters will help to empower dealers with an actionable game plan for 2015 and beyond.  ITEX offers dedicated tracks to specifically teach you how to leverage a myriad of business solutions. From navigating the complex sale to developing new partnerships, to reinventing a better business model to adopting a new product platform, you will be empowered with the latest knowledge needed to advance.

If you’re looking to deep dive for real immersion on diversification and / or IT business planning, consider one of two half-day “forerunner” Executive Workshops which are available on March 10. These will help those providers who are choosing a path to diversify by either having a stronger “Focus” on new areas of print, or choosing to “Pivot” into new and diverse areas outside of the print industry (with some doing a combination of both).  Going down these paths can be initially challenging as there are a myriad of questions, including those on costs, investments, risks, staffing, outsourcing, partnering, products and new services to consider, while the opportunities to add big value, growth and revenue from adopting these solutions can be immense, if done correctly. The Executive Workshops include:  “Mapping the Next Business Model: Channel Diversification “ - presented by leading analysts from InfoTrends  along with a selected dealer panel that includes Gordon Flesch Company and CBI, among others; and a CompTIA-led  workshop: “Gaining Business Agility to Adapt, Strengthen, Transform “(your business) with a focus on operational efficiency, financial planning, a “solutions playbook.”  Presenters will help you gain a better understanding of IT market dynamics, and how to evaluate market developments and how they affect your business strategy.

In addition, a half-day Strategic Sales Workshop sponsored by ITEX and GreatAmerica Financial Services, led by veteran Paul Dippell, CEO, Service Leadership will be held on March 12, entitled “Light a Fire under Your Managed IT Sales” at the 2015 event.

“The value that Paul demonstrates to his audience is immense,” commented Josie Heskje, Manager, GreatAmerica Financial Services. “We’ve worked with him for years to provide education to his dealers and we’re happy to partner with ITEX to bring his thought leadership to the dealers in attendance who are heading down the Managed IT Services path.”

Leading OEMs featured in the exhibit hall at ITEX include Epson America, Inc., Fujitsu Computer Products of America, Inc., Hewlett-Packard Company, Inc., Lexmark, Sindoh, and OKI Data Americas, which join the impressive ranks of over a hundred best-in-class distributors, vendors, and technology providers such as AppRiver, Papercut Software International, Newfield IT, LogicNow, Ingram Micro, Laserfiche, Continuum, among many others. The event is also supported by Platinum Sponsors Digitek Computer Products, DocuWare Corporation, ECi Software Solutions, MSE – Micro Solutions Enterprises, and OKI Data Americas, as well as Gold Sponsors General Plastic Industrial Co., GreatAmerica Financial Services, Image Star, PHSI Pure Water Technology, Square 9 Softworks, and Supplies Network.

This year, ITEX will deliver a Keynote Address through Lawrence M. Walsh, CEO & Chief Analyst of The 2112 Group, entitled “Building Better Businesses in a Dynamic Channel.”  Says Walsh, “Dealers, resellers, service providers that invest not just in technology but more and more so in business value and performance, will be well-positioned for the future.”

We all know that the office channel is being challenged through emerging technologies and advancing competition, and a change in how clients conduct their business today.  ITEX wants you to have the necessary tools to carry out your business mission – that of capitalizing on what the multi-billion dollar office industry has to offer.  Join us at the channel’s premier event for the intersection of cutting-edge technologies, education and networking opportunities where ITEX attendees will learn how to leverage, manage and build business solutions.  The industry’s annual homecoming – ITEX Expo – continues to bring together dealers, resellers, distributors, VARs, MSPs, vendors, OEMs and associations to network, learn, partner, and power up for success.  Naturally, we hope to see you at the show in March!

Sand Sinclair is ITEX Conference Director and Editor-in-Chief of imageSource Magazine, produced and managed by Questex Media Group LLC, a global, diversified business-to-business integrated media and information provider, headquartered in Newton, MA.  Visit www.itexshow.com and www.imagesourcemag.com for detailed information.

I always enjoy speaking with Chris Polek (CEO of Polek & Polek)!  In an interview we did awhile back, I had asked him what was one of his best memories from the copier business!  Geesh, he went all the way back to before I was in the industry.  It may be short but it's great read about a company that goes above and beyond with customer service.

Me: Over your career in supply sales I’m sure you may have a funny or humorous story, can you tell us one?

Chris:  I think about back to our early days of being in business when we still operated out of my father’s house.  There was a long, steep driveway to get to the house.  When heavy snowstorms were forecast, it was impossible to get a car up and down the driveway.  We were a very small company then, and did not qualify to have packages picked up from UPS. 

We had to bring our own packages to the UPS hub in Newark, New Jersey.  We had this really bad blizzard in the winter of 1977.  Mark Ruggieri, who still works with us today, was in high school and packed orders in the afternoon and got them delivered to UPS.  Mark is one of our most dedicated employees, and he showed it early on that day.  With nearly a foot of snow already on the ground, Mark went and got my brother’s sled out of the garage, and got all the boxes on the sled.  He got the packages all the way down the hill, loaded into the car, and got them off to UPS, so they would be delivered to our customers on time!

Polek & Polek give them a shot!!

-=Good Selling=-

Nothing is for FREE, we've heard this over and over through out our sales careers right? 

We share information, we are the relentless, we drive the sales, we seek new customers, we (Print4Pay Hotel) members are the top sellers in the industry.  Our need for knowledge translates to increased sales, generates additional GP and above all helps us provide for our families. Without a doubt, the Premium Members of the Print4Pay Hotel are the best of the best.

However, we all didn't start out that way, the key for most members is that they are relentless in their search for knowledge, the Print4Pay Hotel provides us with the opportunity to share, inspire, collaborate and exchange our ideas so we can move forward.

Premium Membership will get you access to:

• Premium Forum:  Reserved for Premium Members threads only, located here.
• Access to Current RFP's:  Each week we post RFP's that we've found and you may have not had the time to find.  You can check out the RFP forum here.
• Access to Industry Proposals/Document Library:  We keep some of the proposals in the Document Library and we also post them in clips section titled "Pricing on the Street" & Competitive Proposals
• Access to Download Premium Sales Documents:  Go here and check out the documents that we have in our library and we're always adding to them.
• Ability to Download Premium Documents:  There's a treasure trove of documents through out the site that other members have uploaded, you'll be able to download those documents!
• Access to Premium Blogs:  Right now I'm in the middle of posting "31 Ways to Close More Sales" which runs once a week. Starting in December I'll start running "31 Ways to Garner Net New Business". There are additional Premium Blogs that are posted on the site now and has we move forward more and more the of the Blogs that were "FREE" will become "Premium".
• Contact Me: If you've got a Premium Membership feel free to reach out to me for sales help, product knowledge, how would I do this, and special pricing knowledge.

In fact just tonight I was asked to comment on a new sales cheat sheet that was sent to me, in fact I liked it so much that I comp'd that member a Premium Membership. The file that was created is a fantastic reminder for all of us in sales of what we should ask and do on every call. I believe this is invaluable for new reps!

An Annual membership is $117, a Lifetime Premium Membership is only $499 and you can also get Team Premium Memberships for $2,500 (annual).

-=Good Selling=-

Even though we ask, "are you entertaining any additional proposals", there are times when "buyers are liars". 

Over the years,  I would say ninety percent of those that have told me, no we're not entertaining any additional pricing, were true to their word. 

Recently, I had visited an existing account that has their copier for about 7 years.  We went through the features, the pain points, and developed two proposals. One for the almost the same specifications and another for a somewhat smaller system. With both proposals I outlined the costs for the new maintenance and supplies. 

After not being able to close the order at the end of the year, I received an email from the customer asking me, "what is the monthly volume of their present device".  Which alerted me right away that A) I supplied them with the quarterly and yearly volume and B) some other sales person asked them what their monthly volume was. 

I emailed my customer what the monthly volume was but also included a line that stated, "usually when someone is asking me for the monthly volume after I've presented the quarterly and yearly volumes,  that you are entertaining other proposals, is that the case"?  Indeed, I received a return email that they were getting additional proposals.

Here's a few additional Tip Offs that I've noticed over the years:

• You receive a call or email asking you to quote a different lease term, other than what you quoted
• You asked when the decision will be made, and the date for the decision comes and goes with no action
• You are asked about "xyz" feature that was not discussed in your meeting for discovery of the customers needs
• You quoted FMV lease option and the customer then asks for the cost for a $1.00 purchase option or visa versa.
• Can you guarantee us four hour turn around time for service. It's the guarantee word here that tips me off.

Even after 34 years in the business, I do forget to ask what their decision making and buying process is.  However, incidents like the one I outlined above gives me a reminder to make sure I'm as thorough as possible with every appointment!

-=Good Selling=-

Cybersecurity has been in the news quite a lot over the past year given the breaches sustained by Sony Pictures and retail stores like Target and Home Depot. What kind of changes in cybersecurity are happening, and what can customers expect in 2015?

Passwords are no longer safe

It is a known fact that hackers' breaching techniques have been evolving quite rapidly. CBS News reported that it's basically inevitable for a business to get hacked given how much these nefarious activities have advanced.

"The days when we have our username and password, which is our son or daughter's name or our cat or our dog is not enough security for, you know, for today's attackers. Breaches are inevitable. It's happening. It's just life that we live in today," Dave DeWalt, CEO of cybersecurity company FireEye, told CBS News. As the media outlet explained, FireEye gets hired to keep hackers from getting into a company's network and getting them out after there's been a breach.

Basic cybersecurity such as passwords are not enough for a business to protect against a breach. Network World mentioned how companies and mobile device manufacturers will be exploring new ways to access devices and programs, such as smartphone-based authentication and biometrics.

Predictions in cybersecurity for 2015

Since cybersecurity has been a huge topic in 2014, what can people expect in the news in 2015? According to Network World, a variety of factors will make a hot topic. The source predicted that attacks will spread to cloud applications, mobile devices, Macs and Linux systems. This means that cybersecurity needs to become tougher and find news ways to protect consumers and businesses.

Healthcare will be at risk in 2015, according to the source, as the industry will be a huge target for cybercriminals. Major hospital groups and healthcare insurance providers are expected to be attacked in 2015, which means they need to be careful in protecting themselves with extra layers of cybersecurity.

On top of that, payment systems are predicted to be popular in the next year - but that means they will also be vulnerable. The source highlighted that payment applications, which have already been up-and-coming this past year, will be another huge target for hackers since they are just beginning to become common. The world of cybersecurity is changing, and companies need to take this seriously. Basic encryption is now necessary for a business, and looking into secure email providers can help a business stay secure.

David Bailey is Senior Vice President at Protected Trust. 

Protected Trust is a sponsor of the Print4Pay Hotel. I urge members and readers to visit their site to see their full line of products and services.  More and more we need to provide well rounded strategic solutions for our customers. Protected Trust offers some unique solutions that can help us in our day to day efforts. Check them out here.

Many people every year enable some New Years resolutions that might include exercising more, eating healthier, quitting smoking, and saving more money.  My friend to the left doesn't have that many options.

But, how many of us really make the time to set some New Years Work Resolutions? 

The Resolutions that you set today can lead you to your goals of 2015.  If you're in sales and you don't have any goals for 2015, I suggest you leave sales ASAP and get a 9-5 job.

I have two goals for 2015.  The first is to make more money than last year!   That's it, pretty simple right?  The second is to beat my 2014 revenue in sales.  Ask yourself, what are your selling goals for 2015? 

Thus I'm going to put some resolutions down on paper (remember paper, we like paper). 

Resolution #1:  Increase prospecting for Production gear

Resolution #2:  Stop with the one off equipment (copier) sales to net new accounts, focus more on net new with 3 systems plus with Segment 3 or higher

Resolution #3:  Schedule more appointments with existing accounts to learn more about their business processes and initiatives for 2015 and beyond

Resolution #4: Clean up my CRM, out with the crap and in with the new

I could probably set a few more, but I read that 62% of people will not succeed with their New Years resolutions.  They way I look at it is, that one in every three people did succeed and I plan on being the one of three.  Oh yes, and that's a .333 batting average which in baseball is good enough to get you in the Hall of Fame!

In order to remember these resolutions (keep in mind that I'm a little older than the average bear), I'm going to print these four resolutions on 11x17 paper (we like paper right) and hang them in my space for a pleasant daily reminder.

Have a great year of selling and please post any comments!!!

-=Good Selling=-

It was an awesome time to relax a little. No phone calls, no emails, no updates, no shaving, no going to the cleaners, no following up and best of all afternoon naps!!

I really needed to take some time off to get a chance to recharge. This week I'll be posting new blogs:

The Who, When, Where, Why and How of Print

5 Reasons Why DocuWare Can Kick Start Your Professional Services

My Work New Years Work Resolutions for 2015

My Top Ten Predictions for Our Industry for 2015 (which is one of my favorites!)

I was updating a few press releases here and there, however there were not that many to be posted, seems most of the world also took a breather.

Please if you have a question, need an awesome or just to need to BS about the industry, please post them in the Print4Pay Hotel forums!!!

-=Good Selling=-