MFP Copier Blog

This Blog is the top blog on the old site has more than 15,000 page views!!  ENJOY!!

Demo, what the heck is that?  In other posts I've mentioned that demo's were the way we used to sell copy machines many years ago. 

So, the first one everyone knows, hey we're already in the office servicing the account for copiers.  Our service and support is excellent and we are a valued service provider.

The second reason is also a no brainer for most companies. One stop shopping for your IT needs and Imaging needs, and one POC (Point of Contact), larger mid-size companies are all over this concept. They all need to do more with less and some don't even have the time to look at consolidating their vendor list.  You my friend would be doing them a great favor by scheduling an appointment to tell them about added value your dealership has to offer.

My third reason is knowledge, or let's say it's the knowledge that is needed to sell Managed IT, and Backup Disaster & Recovery. Everyone could use it, most may want it, but more importantly you only need to learn what Managed IT encompasses and a how you BDR programs work. You can create a short FAB list for each one and you're off and running to close some deals.

The 4th reason, is that this is something we need to sell to existing accounts first!  Forget about the 65 cold calls trying to pitch Managed IT to new prospects. The gold mine is in your database.  Some may ask where?  For me it's those annoying network sheets that I have to fill out for every MFP sale. There's a box that states IT on-site, IT off-site and for me I know when there is no IT. Throw out the IT on-sites, hold off on the IT off-site (you'll call them later) and focus on the no IT.  Those are the customers that probably have the most issues and are paying time and materials for every issue. It should be as easy as buying a loaf of bread to find some pain.

But here's the real reason and the final for why Managed IT makes the most sense. IT'S ABOUT THE CASH!!! Let's say you're a 20 something, new to the business, you're not married, and the pay you're getting as a salary is decent.  Since the average Managed IT (going on some of my quotes and deals) is in the $700 a month range, there are some comp plans that will pay you a 10% residual every month (not all, some). Crunching the numbers let say you get one stinking order a month, that's $70 bucks for the first month, $140 for the 2nd, $210 for the third, $280 for the fourth, well we can see where I'm going with this. By the end of the first year you'll be getting a residual commission of $840 per month with only writing ONE order a month. Why not hang around for year two, and the end of year two you'll be cranking $1,680 per month, year four $3,340 and in year 8 you'll have $6,720 in commissions every month. FOR ONLY one stinking deal a month.

I wish I was twenty something again, selling two a month would be INSANE money after 8 years.

Of the course the trick is to hold onto every account, but as time passes you'll get better at what you do and selling more than one of month is not out of the question.

We all can't sell production print systems to pay the bills, right!!!!

So remember to go out and sell something or as I ask the younger reps in the office, "What kind of day is it today?", most  will say it's nice...., NO IT"S A GOOD DAY TO SELL SOMETHING!!!

-=Good Selling=-

I always to try to add some type of value for one of these threads that I post for "31 Ways to Close More Sales".

A few months ago I had to purchase a new cell phone, the blackberry was crapping out and so were my eyes from staring at that small screen.

I elected to go with the Samsung Galaxy 3 and wouldn't you know it that the next week or two they released the 4.  More importantly I purchased what Verizon calls the "jet pack" which will give me internet access anywhere, yes the cost was $24 dollars more per month and for the first three months I hardly used it. However the last day of the quarter was yesterday for me and I found my self having to write deals and email them from a parking lot. If I did not have the jetpack it would have taken me an hour to get back to the office and not enough time to get these orders booked. Thus, what I figured was right, it's only going to be that one time when I need the jetpack that made a huge difference since I was able to hit my quarter number and get the big bonus money. 

You can also use this when selling an option on a system, thus the scenario would go like this.  "Mr. Customer the booklet maker option will only cost you $30 more per month", the customer states "naw for $30 bucks a month I don't use it that often",  "understood, but what's that worth to you when you do need the booklet maker option, what will it cost you to outsource the job, pick it up, along with that one special time and we all have them is when you say, dang it I wish I would have bought that booklet maker, because when you get to that point, the cost of $30 more a month was well worth the investment".

Sometimes you gotta spend it to make it! 

On with the #7 close

7.      Offer to prepay lease payments to Close:  Need to close the deal and the customer won’t budge?  Call em back and don’t drop your price, but off them a deal they can’t refuse like paying the first six payments on the lease.  Also make sure you tell em it’s not deferred payments but their lease will have a shorter term.  If you pay the first 6 payments on a 60 month lease the customer only has to make 54 payments.  Again, make sure you have enough money in the deal for this.

-=Good Selling=-

Last day of the quarter and the month for me is around the corner.  Basically I've got 8 hours to hit a number for the month and quarter and it's within site.

It's a dog gone shame because I actually have my numbers for the quarter except that one customer put off delivery until the 15th of October.

Thus this order moved this to October, which means it's Time to make it happen!

6.      Offer Cash Back Bonus for Leasing to Close: 

This can be easily accomplished by adding money to the initial lease cost and then rebating the cash back to the customer when the lease transaction is completed.  Make sure you stay within lease guidelines for funding.

Tip:  With most of these cash back or pre payments on the lease you want to make sure you are at or around MSRP.  No one gets anything for free, however it’s all in how you package the deal.

-=Good Selling=-

This was a thread that was posted today on the Photizo Group web site.

By: Jennifer Sekelsky September 20th, 2013

Major MPS Provider Reports 12 Million Stolen Pages!

Call da Cops!!! "Major MPS Provider Reports 12 Million Stolen Pages"!

Hm-mmm, so I suggested to Pep that we take a ride out to Acme Supply Company to investigate.

Later that day, we took the squad car over to 54th Street and Lexington in the Big Apple.

I believe I wrote this about four years ago and at that time I never used a real CRM system. Believe me, I fought it tooth and nail, four years later, I can't operate without it.  If I had once wish for a CRM program it would be that I could have it display a large warning message when it was accessed by management.

How long have you been in the business, five years, ten, fifteen, 20 or more years?

The cliches never stop do they, one that comes too mind is "what comes around goes around", "the harder you work the luckier you get". or those of us who have been in the business a long time, well we've seen it all, new tactics get old and old tactics get new again.

Since the Giants are getting hammered by the Bronco's, and the fact that they will now be 0-2 leaves with some additional Sunday night time! Thus, I thought I'd bring back this blog from 2010.  Enjoy!

How many calls will it take to get an appointment?

It's a question I'm often asked by the newbie’s in the office. My answer is, it's a lot, I don't have any breakdowns for numbers nor do I bother to keep track of that stuff. I just go about my business making calls and lots of them.

It's very rare to get an appointment on the first call, unless you found the right person at the right time, it does happen from time to time. If I had to guess, I would tend to think it's about 10 times of reaching out to that person would be the average for me.

Over the years I found that you need to be cool, confident, precise and deliver your benefit statement quickly to the right person.

First rule is to make sure who the "right" person is, meaning if you're selling copiers there's a chance that the CEO, CFO may not be involved in the preliminary discussions. The key for me is to ask the person who picks up the phone that is in charge of purchasing or evaluating this product or hardware at your company. More than half of the time they'll tell you who that person is, and then getting a hold of that person could be a horse of a different color.

What happens when the "gate keeper" won't give you the name of the "right" person? Well, for starters you could move on to the next call, and then schedule a follow up call in another week or so, and move the timing of the call to the early morning or late afternoon, you may get someone else that will give you the name of the "right" person. If that doesn't work, you can always look them up on the internet and see who's who in the company (try contacting someone else and ask for help). When that doesn't work take a trip over to LinkedIn and see if any of the key people are listed over there. Above all, the best answer I can give anyone is to not give up, sooner or later you'll get the "right" person.

Once you have the right person, you can do a "box" approach, such as leave them a voice mail, follow up a week later with a letter, and then either do a "drop off" or an email. Doing this will increase your chances the next time you call; the "right" person will at least speak to you. Of course then it's up to you to give a clean, clear and crisp pitch with an open ended question to gain the appointment.

I'm just as happy with getting to speak to the "right" person and them telling me that they don't have a need for my services now. Once I hear that I can then ask, "what would be the best time to contact you in the future" (I then get to move the call out "x" amount of months and concentrate on those other calls), and or "what would be the best way for us to become and valued vendor"? Either you'll get, call us in "x" amount of months, or the "right" person will ask you when you are available for an appointment (this has happened and happens more than you think).

Calling for appointments is part of your job, you do whether you like it or not. Have fun with it; see it as a challenge rather than a problem. Give yourself congrats when you get an appointment, and while you're at it make another appointment, they seem to come in bunches.

In closing, about two years ago, I cold called a company, and as luck would have it (the harder you work, the luckier you get), I met the right person. I was at the right place at the right time, we scheduled an appointment and I sold him a new copier, we'll the next day he called and cancelled and stated he just wasn't ready yet to commit to a long term lease. Well, yesterday he signed another order and did not cancel so after an additional geesh 100 phone calls and maybe another 100 emails I got the order back. It took two years, and you know what he told me, he told me that he would have not bought a new copier from anyone else but me, because of my work ethic and knowledge. Hope this helps!!

-=Good Selling=-