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YOU Are The Competitive Advantage!

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You have a competitive advantage. The question becomes...

Do you know what it is?

Allow this quote to percolate a bit by Michael Porter,

"Competitive strategy is about being different. It means deliberately choosing a different set of activities to deliver a unique mix of value."

Think about how you're carrying and positioning yourself in the marketplace, now answer the following questions...

  • What makes you different?
  • What inspirational and memorable experiences are you bringing?
  • What meaningful value are bringing?

So, do I have you thinking?

According to Wikipedia, competitive advantage is defined as,

"The attribute that allows an organization to outperform its competitors."

Let's take this a bit deeper...

What are the attributes that allow you to outperform your competition?

I believe, to find a long-lasting competitive advantage, you must look for something your competitors cannot easily replicate or imitate.

Again, I must ask...

What's your competitive advantage?

Let's face it, there will always be someone better than you. This applies to your personal and professional life.

There will always be someone who will outsell you.

There will always be someone who will be more successful than you.

There will always be someone with more skillset than you.

What are the attributes that allow you to outperform your competition?

You see, to find a lasting competitive advantage, look for something your competitors cannot easily replicate or imitate.

My friends you are not duplicatable. You are the competitive advantage.

Jack Welch said it best,

"If you don't have a competitive advantage you do not compete"

The clear, defining and undeniable competitive advantage is you. It's not your products, nor your company; it is all YOU.

  • What makes you tick?
  • What makes you come alive?
  • What is your clear distinction in the marketplace?

I believe it's the combination of mindset, heart set and knowledge set that will help you to create your competitive advantage.

Peter Drucker once said,

"Knowledge has to be improved, challenged, and increased constantly, or it vanishes."

Therefore, I believe knowledge is one huge competitive advantage for sales professionals.

Here lies the mirror moment question...

How many of you are consuming massive amounts of knowledge and then putting it to use, to create your distinct competitive advantage?

Here is one more for you to think about...

Who has more knowledge within your client base, you or your competition?

Are you all starting to smell what I'm cooking?

And if your sniffer needs a bit more help, allow me to sprinkle a bit more seasoning to help you...

  • Are you aware and do you have knowledge of what your clients really appreciate about what you do?
  • Are you aware and do you have knowledge around why your long-term clients are still with you?
  • Are you aware and do you have knowledge of what your clients have to say about you and their experiences with you?

IDEAS TO CREATE YOUR DIFFERENTIATION

The challenge for all of you in sales is to clearly identify what you do best in a way that is clearly visible, distinct and radically different from all of your competitors.

Today's sales professional must consume daily doses of knowledge, then put it into action.

Here are three ideas to help you turn knowledge into your competitive advantage.

BUSINESS KNOWLEDGE

Is there a gap between what you know and what you need to know within your client base?

  • What business knowledge have you gathered about your clients?
  • What does the next 6-12 months look like for your clients?
  • What are their goals, initiatives and current challenges?
"In today's commoditized business world, customers only care about one thing: value. To offer real value you must stop being a salesperson and become a businessperson who sells."
Marc Miller, A Seat at the Table.

When it comes to business knowledge, how much do you know about your clients' business?

  • Are you reading their company reports or articles about them?
  • Are you following their business market trends?
  • Are you allowing your clients to teach you, their business?
  • Are you gaining a solid understanding of their initiatives, goals, dreams and desires?
  • Are you learning the terminology they use within their business?

Sales professionals make a commitment to self-educate themselves about their client's business.

I believe salespeople can earn a PhD in business knowledge from their clients, if they are willing to ask, listen and take action.

We all know how competitive it is in today's marketplace, so here's what I would like all of you to think about right now...

How much institutional business knowledge do you have with your top 5 accounts?

I ask because I want all of you to think about something for a moment, think about all the other salespeople your clients are interacting with on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.

Think about your clients and what they are discussing with other salespeople.

Think about all these salespeople, and now ask yourself the question...

Do I have more institutional knowledge then all the other salespeople?

This my sales friends is one huge competitive advantage.

RELATIONSHIP KNOWLEDGE

Building meaningful relationships and connecting with your clients is mission critical to your sales success.

Can one's relational knowledge become a competitive advantage? I believe it can be.

Randeep Hooda reinforces this belief by saying,

"Knowledge is power. You can't begin a career, for that matter even a relationship, unless you know everything there is to know about it."

We as humans crave and value relationships. The same can be said for sales professionals. They crave and value their client relationships.

On a scale of 1-10

  • How well are you personally engaging with your clients?
  • Are you authentically investing in building meaningful relationships?
  • Are you doing what they believe is necessary? Would you even know?

Let's take this one step farther...

Outside of decision makers and influencers, how many people and or relationships have you developed inside your client base?

I am concerned with the relational gaps many have within their client base.

How many times have salespeople said this, "I own this account", "Hey boss, don't worry, my relationships are rock solid", then all of sudden the relational carpet gets pulled out from underneath them.

I encourage all of you to double-down on your relationship building.

The more people you know inside your client base, the more you will grow inside your client base.

Relational knowledge is one huge competitive advantage.

STORY KNOWLEDGE

If we all can agree stories sell then let's think what would happen if you collected, bottled up and repurposed your client stories?

Would you open up more genuine, real and authentic conversations?

I strongly believe sales professionals are relationship connectors. They connect to the hearts and minds of their clients through stories.

Storytellers are great story collectors.
  • How many of you can share your clients' stories?
  • How many of you know how you have helped your clients?

Are you sharing your stories within your client base or are your competitors sharing their stories? Would you even know? Would your clients even tell you?

“We are all storytellers. We all live in a network of stories. There isn’t a stronger connection between people than storytelling.”
Jimmy Neil Smith, Director of the International Storytelling Center

Story gathering, storytelling and story sharing is another huge competitive advantage.

KNOWLEDGE, THE GAME CHANGER IN CREATING YOUR ADVANTAGE

Successful sales professionals seek to be different, not just better. I believe being different makes them better in the long run.

Successful sales professionals clearly understand what makes them different from all others in sales and they can clearly articulate it.

Successful sales professionals turn knowledge into their competitive advantage.

Successful sales professionals know WHY they are the competitive advantage.

What makes you different from all the other empty suits running around in sales?

I will leave you all with something to think about.

What would you say when asked...

What makes you different, unique and distinct from all the other salespeople?

Joey Coleman helps companies keep their customers and employees. As an award-winning speaker, he works with organizations around the world ranging from small startups to major brands such as Volkswagen Australia, Zappos, and Whirlpool. His First 100 Days® methodology fuels the remarkable experiences his clients deliver and dramatically improve their profits.

His Wall Street Journal #2 best selling book, Never Lose a Customer Again, offers strategies and tactics for turning one-time purchasers into lifelong customers and his upcoming book, Never Lose an Employee Again, details a framework companies around the world can use to reduce turnover and increase employee engagement. When not speaking to audiences around the globe (he’s spoken on all seven continents), Joey enjoys playing board games, building LEGO sets, and reading bedtime stories with his amazing wife and two young sons.

SHOW SUMMARY

In this episode of Selling From the Heart , Joey Coleman discusses the importance of building strong relationships with both customers and employees. He emphasizes the need to move from transactional to transformational relationships and shares insights from his research on the first 100 days of a customer's experience. Joey also highlights the connection between employee experience and customer experience, and offers practical strategies for improving both.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Building personal and emotional connections with customers is essential for transforming transactional relationships into transformational ones.

The first 100 days of a customer's experience are crucial for establishing a strong foundation and reducing fear, doubt, and uncertainty.

Handoffs between salespeople and account managers can be improved by ensuring clear communication and maintaining emotional connection.

Employee experience is just as important as customer experience, and everyone in the organization plays a role in creating a positive work environment.

Salespeople have the opportunity to improve employee experience by elevating the status of their colleagues and recognizing their contributions.

QUOTES

"Selling from the heart is all about looking for the opportunities to not only identify, but develop and reinforce personal and emotional connection with the people we interact with." - Joey Coleman

"When a human makes a purchase, their brain floods with dopamine. But almost as quickly as that dopamine floods their brain, it starts to recede, replaced by feelings of fear and doubt and uncertainty." - Joey Coleman

"If the customer feels that the salesperson is still emotionally connected, is still involved, this can be something as simple as one of my favorite tools for handling this." - Joey Coleman

"Happier employees equals happier customers. If your customers hate interacting with you, chances are your employees are going to hate coming to work." - Joey Coleman

"We all play a role in employee experience. What's interesting is most of us have never thought about that." - Joey Coleman

Learn more about Joey Coleman: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joeycolem...

Learn more about Darrell and Larry: Darrell's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrellam... LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larrylevi... https://www.sellingfromtheheart.net/

Got a video about how you sell from the heart? Share it by texting VIDEO to 21000.

Please visit https://www.sellingfromtheheart.net/ book to pre order your copy of the rerelease of the Selling from the Heart book.

SUBSCRIBE to our YOUTUBE CHANNEL!

/ @uci6ocvgpgqjg8yxg0hst4na

Please visit WHY INSTITUTE:https://whyinstitute.com/

Please go to WORK BETTER NOW:https://www.workbetternow.com/

Click for your Daily Dose of Inspiration:https://www.sellingfromtheheart.net/d...

Check out the 2023 Authentic Selling Challenge:https://authenticsellingchallenge.com/

Get your Insiders Group FREE PASS here:https://www.sellingfromtheheart.net/f...

 
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This Week in the Copier Industry 5 Years Ago

This Week in the Copier Industry 5 Years Ago

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This Week in the Copier Industry 5 Years Ago

First Week of November 2018

Purple Modern Professional Web Designer LinkedIn Banner

Real Copier Sales

Recently, closed quite a few orders in the last couple of weeks.  Almost all of those opportunities had some stiff competition from other vendors.  Thus, I'd like to share some of my secrets that I've used to help win the deal...more here

View These Awesome Copier Threads Below



Konica Minolta Strengthens its Strategic Alliance Program with New Hire

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) with its expansive smart office product portfolio from IT Services ( All Covered ), ECM, Managed Print Services and industrial and commercial print solutions.Konica Minoltahas been recognized as the #1 Brand for Customer Loyalty in the MFP Office Copier Market by Brand Keys for 11 consecutive years, and is proud to be ranked on theForbes 2017 America's Best Employers list. The World Technology Awards recentlynamed the company a finalist in the IT Software category. KonicaMinolta, Inc. has been
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Konica Minolta Announces Nationwide Launch of IT-Service Demonstration Centres

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showing, not telling,” said Ted Garner, President, IT Weapons, IT Services division of Konica Minolta. “We want people to see exactly how our services can support their business goals, and the best way to do that is to actually see it happen through live demonstrations. Using Yeti Capital as a closed network environment, we’re able to simulate complex IT problems many businesses face, and then demonstrate how our services solve these.” Acquired in 2015 as IT Weapons , Konica Minolta’s IT Services
Blog Post Premium

Four Sales Tips to Help you Close More Copier Opportunities

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or what he's looking for. In some cases there are some copiers and wide formats that have some real value. Instead of me offering to take a worthlesscopier back, I'll tell the prospect that I know of a wholesaler that will pick up and give them cash for thier copier.In some cases it can be a thousand dollars or more, thus I didn't have to lower my price and the prospect feels that they are getting the best deal possible. Email me if you'd like to contact my guy. 3. Print Speed: I try to never
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BIP Printing Solutions Expands Print Capabilities With Canon Solutions America Inkjet Technology

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MELVILLE, N.Y. , Nov. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Canon Solutions America, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Canon U.S.A. , Inc., today announced that BIP Printing Solutions (BIP), specializing in digital printing and perfect binding solutions, has acquired an Océ ColorStream 3900 color inkjet digital press. The installation has helped the company improve its in-house print requirements, while also enabling the company to pursue additional business opportunities. Established in 2014, BIP
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Toshiba Introduces Powerful Desktop Multifunction Printer Trio

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. Toshiba’s desktop products combine the speed and performance – delivering up to 50 pages-per-minute – of larger multifunction printers within a compact, sturdy and durable design. Complementing virtually any office environment, Toshiba’s latest MFP trio feature a myriad of solutions to streamline important and common scanning, copying, printing and faxing tasks. A Google Drive ™ app enables busy users to scan and print documents from this popular cloud storage and file backup service directly
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Konica Minolta 6000 Parts availability?

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Are parts for the KM 6000 now hard to find? Is a 30 day back order on parts the normal? Art
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Two men admit to toner fraud that prosecutors claim cost Xerox $21 million

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Two men admit to toner fraud that prosecutors claim cost Xerox $21 million Gary Craig , Rochester Democrat and Chronicle Published 8:34 p.m. ET Nov. 2, 2018 | Updated 8:15 a.m. ET Nov. 3, 2018 Buy Photo Xerox plans to move out of downtown Rochester and relocate the to the Webster campus. (Photo: MAX SCHULTE/@maxrocphoto/staff photographer) Buy Photo CONNECT TWEET LINKEDIN COMMENT EMAIL MORE Two men admitted Friday to defrauding Xerox Corp. through a scheme that prosecutors allege cost the
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Catoosa County approves new copiers for two offices

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Facebook Twitter Email Print Save Catoosa County recently struck deals for new copier machines for two of its offices in need of upgrades. During the Board of Commissioner’s Oct. 16 meeting, commissioners approved two new lease agreements that allows for purchase of the machines once the leases are up. County Chief Financial Officer Carl Henson explained to the board that The Colonnade, as well as the Tax Commissioner’s Office, was in need of the new equipment. “We have agreements for two
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Ricoh stages second Interact Europe to discuss latest Ricoh workflow technologies

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Wednesday, 31 October, 2018 Ricoh Europe, London, 31 October 2018 – European Ricoh ProcessDirector (RPD) users are again being invited to participate in detailed and far-reaching discussions on the latest technology breakthroughs, best practices and trends during Ricoh’s second Interact Europe. The three day event at Ricoh’s European Customer Experience Centre (CEC) in Telford, England runs from November 27 to 29. Ricoh's European Customer Experience Centre in Telford, England will host the
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DOCUmation acquires competitor for Texas expansion

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documentWORKS and open offices in Houston and Austin. Preston Woolfolk and Hunter Woolfolk are co-presidents of DOCUmation in San Antonio. DOCUmation and its former affiliated companies in other Texas markets split in 2017 . DOCUmation was founded in the late 1980s and already covers West Texas, the Rio Grande Valley and San Antonio in addition to the Texas Hill Country. Both DOCUmation and documentWORKS are resellers of RIcoh, Konica Minolta, Kyocera, Lexmark, Canon HP and Dell products. In
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BTA’s Capture the Magic to Be Held

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, LEAF, LMI Solutions, Muratec, OKI, Panasonic, Print Management Partners, Sentry File, Static Control, Supplies Network, Supplies Wholesalers, Technology Assurance Group, TIAA Bank, Tigerpaw (lunch sponsor), TonerCycle/InkCycle, Toshiba, Unitone, Wells Fargo and Xerox (breakfast sponsor). BTA member dealers receive 2-for-1 registration to the Capture the Magic event. BTA member dealer registration is $199, which includes the Thursday and Friday educational sessions; Thursday welcoming reception
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Document Management Solutions and Software Company in Missouri Welcomes New Director of Sales

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Information Management Securities, LLC (IMS), a document management company based in Mexico, MO , has announced that they are continuing their growth with the addition of a Director of Sales to their team. IMS has hired Doug Comerio as their new Director of Sales. Comerio is responsible for developing, promoting, and executing the strategic plan to achieve sales targets to expand the IMS customer base. Comerio will also take on the responsibility to build a full IMS sales team. Vince Fuemmeler
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Voice-Activated Printing with Amazon Alexa Available on Epson Consumer Printers

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LONG BEACH, Calif., Nov. 1, 2018 LONG BEACH, Calif. , Nov. 1, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Epson America, Inc., a leading provider of printing solutions, today announced that Epson EcoTank ®, WorkForce ® and Expression ® printers* enabled with Epson Connect ™ are now compatible with Amazon Alexa for voice-activated printing. Built on its existing Epson Connect service, the Epson printer skill allows Amazon account holders to conveniently deliver voice commands, such as "Alexa, ask Epson printer to
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STRONG EXHIBITOR REGISTRATION FOR drupa 2020

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innovative power of print and the exciting potential of diverse print applications in a wide variety of industries and areas of life. This will include new technologies such as printed electronics and creative multichannel applications as well as the use of digital printing techniques in conventional sectors like packaging or in numerous vertical markets. At the same time, the drupa cube’s interdisciplinary approach will bridge the gap between creative agencies, marketers and brand owners across
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Canon Business Process Services On-Demand Webcast: Expanding Procurement's Influence and Value

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NEW YORK , Oct. 31, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Canon Business Process Services, Inc. (Canon), today announced the availability of an on-demand webcast that highlights key challenges and opportunities for today's procurement professionals. Does your organization have an agile procurement team that quickly responds to changing stakeholder demands? Canon's webcast provides practical information on how improving agility is pivotal in elevating procurement's role to a trusted advisor. The webcast, "Top
Comment

Re: Four Sales Tips to Help you Close More Copier Opportunities

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step lease with the first year of payments lower than than the remaining months. If it isn't a lease you can still trygoing 5 ppm slower on the print speed. The point is, just dropping your price should be a last resort
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Re: Four Sales Tips to Help you Close More Copier Opportunities

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month term), or a step lease with the first year of payments lower than than the remaining months. If it isn't a lease you can still trygoing 5 ppm slower on the print speed. The point is, just dropping your price should be a last resort All great points OldGlory, 90 day deferred is something I always forget about
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Attention Sales Leaders... These 3 Blind Spots Could Be Holding Back Your Sales Team!

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, uncovering sales opportunities or advancing a sale. Great conversations require skill in driving business conversation.Great business conversations start with high levels of business acumen. It’s no longer enough for your team to be experts in your company offering's to be successful salespeople. It's imperative they need to be an expert in your client’s business if they want to be valued. Business acumen is understanding the combination of the way that your client's business works along with the way
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Epson's president wins government medal for colour inkjet printers

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colour inkjet printers–products that I am proud to say contributed significantly to the spread and advancement of digital photo printing. The colour inkjet printers we developed provided photo-quality prints at a price that was affordable to ordinary consumers, and this created a culture in which we empowered anyone to easily and conveniently print photos at home. Along the way, I think we were able to contribute to the popularization and advancement of the digital photo printing culture, including
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Re: Toshiba Introduces Powerful Desktop Multifunction Printer Trio

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Anyone have info on these new models?
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St. Cloud-based Marco said Tuesday it has purchased Phillips Office Solutions

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services side of the business. Over the years, Marco has become an IT services company that also sells copiers and printers, while Phillips has traditionally focused on the office supplies and equipment business. IT services account for about 5 percent of the revenue at Phillips. "This is a mature industry and the growth potential is in the IT services," said Gau, who expects opportunities in Central Pennsylvania to cross-sell those services to office equipment and supply clients. Those
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Rumor has it that Ray Morgan has been SOLD

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Northern California is a company called Ray Morgan. They are a $50 million plus dealership that sells Canon, Samsung and Ricoh. On November 1 they were sold to https://www.sentinelpartners.c...ondary.asp?pageID=23
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IntelliChief ECM Presenting at the Annual Oracle User Group Gillette Stadium Meeting

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Tampa, FL, Nov. 05, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- IntelliChief, LLC, a provider of automated document management and workflow enterprise content management (ECM) solutions, announces IntelliChief ECM presenting at the Annual Oracle User Group Gillette Stadium Meeting , November 8, 2018 in Foxborough, MA. IntelliChief’s presentation, A Peer’s Perspective – Automating Sales Order Processing with Oracle , will encompass Emser Tile’s sales order processing automation journey, highlighting discoveries

Re: The Death of Global Imaging Systems?

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Copiersales posted: The Houston branch of GIS under the name Dahill was an HR nightmare for the 4 years I was there. The lack of oversight from Xerox after multiple lawsuits was stunning to say the least. that's crazy! no wonder, seems GISX is out of control. Heardfrom someonetoday that they let go the entire acquisition team a few months ago.
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Re: The Death of Global Imaging Systems?

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Last I heard Global Dealers despised financing thru Xerox Financial Services. All of Xerox Direct is financed thru XFS....if Xerox would now force Global to use XFS, this could make XFS a MAJOR leasing source....but rumor has it they're for sale too so who knows?
-=Good Selling=-
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Manage Widgets On Search Pages
 
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Contex

Contex to Host Popular Q&A Webinar on Large Format Scanning

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Chantilly, VA — Contex, the world leader in large format scanning, today announces the next date for its popular Q&A webinar about large format scanning. The webinar will be held on October 24, 2023, at 11 AM Eastern. Click here to register.

Below are just some of the questions that the Contex scanning experts will answer:

What are the real-world color capabilities of Contex scanners? What are the actual settings and steps to get accurate color scans from the HD Ultra X, IQ Quattro, IQ FLEX, and HD/Apeiron 42?

What settings will improve or tank color accuracy?

How do we calibrate and verify color accuracy?

The scanning community is invited to share questions in advance by sending email to contexamericas@globalscanning.com.  

An archive of Contex recent webinars are available at www.contex.com/new-watch-webinars.

 
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HackedToday's Hacked

Today's Hacked!

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Hacked!

Google links WinRAR exploitation to multiple state hacking groups ....Google says that several state-backed hacking groups have joined ongoing attacks exploiting a high-severity vulnerability in WinRAR, a compression ...

Why do apps keep getting hacked? ......Why do apps keep getting hacked? October 18, 2023; 2 minute read. As technology continues to evolve, speed becomes more important. As well as faster ...

D-Link Hacked: Hackers Steal Source Code and Customer Personal Information.....D-Link Corporation, a multinational company that provides innovative networking solutions for both consumer and business markets around the world, has been accused of suffering a data breach.

Trigona Ransomware Hacked by Ukrainian Cyber Alliance .....Trigona Ransomware group was hacked by UCA, a group of white hat hackers who dumped and wiped their network infrastructure.

Tens of Thousands of Cisco Devices Hacked via Zero-Day Vulnerability....Tens of thousands of Cisco devices have reportedly been hacked via the exploitation of the zero-day vulnerability CVE-2023-20198.

Phantom Hacker: What to know about a new scam that FBI officials are warning people about.....The scammer, according to FBI officials, will then ask the victim to open their financial accounts to determine whether there have been ...

Rapper Nelly's X Account Got Hacked, Used For Phishing Scam - ....American rapper Nelly's twitter account was compromised and the hackers altered profile to scam people with crypto phishing links.

Can nukes be hacked? - ......A spine-tingling glimpse into the world of nuclear weapon security showed the nuclear briefcases wielded by presidents of nuclear-armed nations. These briefcases, like Russia’s Cheget and the U.S.’s nuclear football, carry the power to order nuclear strikes, linking leaders directly to their military command. Recent footage....

-=Stay Safe=-

 
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This Week in the Copier Industry 5 Years Ago

This Week in the Copier Industry 5 Years Ago

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This Week in the Copier Industry 5 Years Ago

Last Week of October 2018

Purple Modern Professional Web Designer LinkedIn Banner

Real Copier Sales

"Distance Yourself from The Pack"

Whew! I must say that they last ten years selling for a Ricoh Dealership has been interesting. When I first started with my dealership back in 1998, Ricoh had just purchased Savin and.....more here

View These Awesome Copier Threads Below



Selling Copiers in the Seventies with Darrell Leven

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. If you worked for a dealer please tell us what brands you sold? Savin was the core product we sold in the 60’s and 70’s In the 80’s, switched to Ricoh, added Panasonic and Konica copiers. Also sold Exxon fax, Compucorp word processing and OKI white boards What was the percentage of copier sales people that made it past two years? 70% What did you like the most about your job in the seventies? It was a great time to be in the industry and Modern Business Systems was an outstanding company and
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Macquarie University chooses Y Soft and Konica Minolta to manage print services

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-printing, automated scan workflows, and copy and fax services. The easy-to-use online dashboard makes it simple for administrators to manage the print fleet and monitor printing activity. Customers can also export reporting data directly into business intelligence applications for further analysis using Y Soft-provided templates. Konica Minolta provides Macquarie University's 240 printers and multifunction devices with YSoft SafeQ as the print management and document management software. Adam
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Re: Selling Copiers in the Seventies with Darrell Leven

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Hi Art, Canon’s “NP” series stood for New Process. I started in the industry in 1985 when Canon released the NP50, NP60 NP80 liquid copiers. Fun times. Regards Peter Ryan Dealer Principal Mobile 0409 458 065 Email pryan@inlandtechnology.com.au Web inlandtechnology.com.au Tamworth 02 6755 6600 Longyard Homemakers, 383 Goonoo Goonoo Rd Tamworth NSW 2340 Disclaimer: The above information is provided “as is” without warranty of any kind. Inland Technology disclaims all warranties, either express
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Ricoh issues Q2 financial results

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million/€210.8 million), increasing 40.1 percent from the year before. Reflected on the results in this segment, Ricoh said: “Sales in the overseas market decreased mainly in hardware and related supplies due to refining of business meetings based on the profit-oriented marketing strategy in accordance with 19th Mid-Term Management Plan. Gross profit decreased accordingly. Selling, general and administrative expenses decreased significantly due to the effect of structural reforms.” https
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Xerox Reports Progress on Key Priorities to Drive Business Improvement; Delivers Strong Cash Flow and Operating Margin Expansion

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engine and focusing on cash flow to drive increasing shareholder returns,” said Xerox Vice Chairman and CEO John Visentin . “Work remains on the priority to drive revenue. Actions are underway to streamline the organizational structure, expand our channel presence, and further differentiate our products and services to provide greater value to customers.” Recent accomplishments that demonstrate Xerox’s continued market strength include: Named the first and only MPS vendor to receive security
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Ricoh to Acquire Japanese Industrial Printer Manufacturer

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, Ricoh has been developing inkjet technology, and today it is being used not just for printingin the office, but in commercial and industrial printing applications in a variety of different areasincluding lifestyle. Furthermore, it has been strengthening its “display printing” capabilities for paperand beyond paper, and “applied printing,” which combines processes and materials to create newcustomer value. The investment in LAC is part of Ricoh’s Growth Strategy Plan, and one of a series of
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DOCUmation acquires competitor for Texas expansion

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documentWORKS and open offices in Houston and Austin. Preston Woolfolk and Hunter Woolfolk are co-presidents of DOCUmation in San Antonio. DOCUmation and its former affiliated companies in other Texas markets split in 2017 . DOCUmation was founded in the late 1980s and already covers West Texas, the Rio Grande Valley and San Antonio in addition to the Texas Hill Country. Both DOCUmation and documentWORKS are resellers of RIcoh, Konica Minolta, Kyocera, Lexmark, Canon HP and Dell products. In
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North America Operations Third-Quarter Performance

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Iridesse white toner and extra-long sheet upgrade at PRINT 18. o Completed successful Production Blitz Day series with separate blitzes held for iGen, Iridesse, Versant and Production Inkjet. o Within the Xerox Digital Sales team, Enterprise installs pushed to 11 percent positioning for an even stronger fourth-quarter with continued development of sales capabilities and telesales as a service. The U.S. Delivery team continued aggressive cost management focus, resulting in 7.1 percent lower spend year
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Kyocera H1 Profit Rises; Sales Up 8.4% - Quick Facts

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Kyocera Corp. (KYO) reported that its first-half net income to shareholders increased 23.6% to 78.39 billion yen. Earnings per share was 216.04 yen compared to 172.47 yen. For the first-half, sales revenue improved 8.4% to 800.64 billion yen. The company noted that this is due to contributions from merger and acquisition activities conducted during fiscal 2018 and increases in sales in the Components Business and the Document Solutions Group. For the fiscal year ending March 31, 2019, basic
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New Xerox ConnectKey Printers Uplevel Productivity and Creativity in theWorkplace

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New Xerox ConnectKey Printers Uplevel Productivity and Creativity in the Workplace NORWALK, Conn.--( BUSINESS WIRE )--Workers can spend more time collaborating and creating colorful marketing materials with two new Xerox (NYSE:XRX) workplace assistant printers that personalize work experiences and support mobility with secure, wireless printing. Designed for medium and large workgroups, the customizable Xerox VersaLink ® C8000 and C9000 A3 Color Printers produce professional color quality
Blog Post

Five Reasons Why Copier Dealers Need to Implement Their Own Flat Rate Program

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On Saturday I received an email from a Print4Pay Hotel member stating that one of his largest accounts is under siege with Konica Minolta'snew unlimited click program. The KMunlimited clickprogram is hot with the KM sales team because it gives them a different talk track with the client. The KM reps will be pitching unlimited clicks, simplified billing, no overages. The competition will have their old out dated legacy cost per page program. Can you guess who will win the majority of the orders
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Kyocera Taps IBM Services for a Flexible, Cost Effective Cloud Environment

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leading provider of computer-connectable document imaging and document management systems, including network-ready digital MFPs/printers, laser printers, color MFPs/printers, digital laser facsimiles, and multifunctional and wide format imaging solutions. KYOCERA Document Solutions America is a group company of KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc., a core company of the KYOCERA Corporation, the world's leading developer and manufacturer of advanced ceramics and associated products, including
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Xerox cuts 900 jobs in Q3, tightens severance

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Xerox cut 900 people from its global workforce in the third quarter as part of an ongoing restructuring, while reporting it has reduced the severance it pays employees who are losing their jobs, particularly in the United States. In the first full quarter that new CEO John Visentin has led Xerox, after a proxy battle that shifted leadership of the company to activist investors Carl Icahn and Darwin Deason, the Norwalk-based printing equipment maker reported net income of $89 million in the
Blog Post

A Halloween Tale of an A3 Copier’s Death (Part Two)

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realize that A3’s would flee from hallways and could jump out windows. Here are some points in the Judges 90-page opinion. “The A3 manufacturer’s ignored customers desired outcomes; it wasn’t printing or coping on 11/17 size paper.” “The A3 manufacturer’s are too Product-Centric, and must become Customer-Centric.” “The A3 manufacturer's equipment takes three service calls to one on an A4 at like volumes.” We reached out to the A4 copier/printer accused of killing the A3, the A4’s legal team replied to
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Re: A Halloween Tale of an A3 Copier’s Death

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What is even more scary is how your commission cheques will fall in $ value if you only sell A4 copiers. The copier/printer market is not getting any larger and if a commission sales rep focuses on selling lower $ value A4 boxes, they are going to have to make a lot more sales calls and sell a lot more boxes to earn the same money.
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Lead for MFP's & Managed Print in North Carolina

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see attached file
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Sharp lifts annual profit outlook, to retire some preferred shares

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, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, in 2016. Foxconn's wide sales network has helped the company even as it struggles to compete with South Korean rivals in organic light-emitting diode (OLED) screen technology. Sharp said it plans to buy back 92,000 preferred shares from banks for 85 billion yen ($754 million) and to cancel them. Earlier this year, Sharp unveiled a plan to issue up to $2 billion in new shares to buy back preferred shares that it issued to banks in return for a
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Steve Lynn Returns to FUJIFILM to Lead Inkjet Sales Teams

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energized by the opportunity to lead a larger sales team, spanning several products and business segments. We have a solid foundation to build off of; I am looking forward to working closely with our current and prospective customers to build long-term relationships for current and future Fujifilm inkjet printing solutions.” To find out how Fujifilm Graphic Systems Division can help businesses meet future challenges, improve quality and reduce costs, please visit: www.FujifilmInkjet.com .
Blog Post

A Halloween Tale of an A3 Copier’s Death

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A Halloween Tale of an A3 Copier’s Death As the copier homicide unit arrived, the scene was familiar. The office hallway barely lit the trash can next to the copier was laying on its side, the window was broken from the inside and when looking out one can see an A3 Copier laying smashed on the sidewalk below. Recognizable by the owners manual still taped to the broken 11/17 paper drawer and the rainbow color on the sidewalk created by splattering CMYK toner. Yes, it appears there was another A3
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Canon Showcases Solutions to Help Enterprises Embrace Lean Document Management Processes at the 2018 Association for Manufacturing Excellence

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MELVILLE, N.Y. , Oct. 29, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --To demonstrate how its solutions can help automate lean processes from the factory floor to the front office, Canon U.S.A. , Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, exhibits at AME 2018 (Booth #112/114). Solutions at the show in San Diego from October 29 to November 1 include enterprise content management with the Therefore platform, output management with the uniFLOW platform, imageWARE Secure Audit Manager Express, accounts payable
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Re: Four Common Mistakes Rookie Copier Sales Rep Make

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What is the copier sales reps average monthlysalary
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Texas State has a printer problem

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students are enrolled full-time each academic year, Texas State receives $18,480,000 for classroom technology, academic computer labs and Wi-Fi. At the start of each semester, students have a $25 credit for printing that does not roll-over to the next semester. Despite the ability to print 2,500 pages per semester, students are unable to take advantage because of the lack of printing locations. If a building does have a SendNPrint location, chances are the printers are broken, jammed or the
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Canon and Box® Exhibit Solutions to Help Enhance Enterprise Cloud Content Management at EDUCAUSE 2018

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education IT and takes place at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver from October 30 to November 2 . "Today's campus IT departments face the growing challenge of embracing flexible learning environments in a way that will foster collaboration among students but still help protect sensitive data," says Shinichi Yoshida , executive vice president and general manager, Canon U.S.A. Inc. "Canon's relationship with Box and mxHero are strong indicators of the important role that cloud content
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Canon Financial Services Wins a BTA Channel Choice Award for Third-Party Leasing

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Canon Financial Services Wins a BTA Channel Choice Award for Third-Party Leasing MELVILLE, N.Y. , Oct. 29, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- In its commitment to supporting the dealer community, Canon Financial Services, a subsidiary of Canon U.S.A. , Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, wins a 2018 Channel Choice Award. Granted by Business Technology Association (BTA), the award recognizes Canon Financial Services for its third-party leasing. "We pride ourselves on our commitment to service with
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All in Print China 2018

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ALL IN PRINT CHINA 2018

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Re: Xerox cuts 900 jobs in Q3, tightens severance

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"Business equipment supplier Konica Minolta plans to lay off 219 workers in December as it moves closer to shuttering two facilities in Windsor. In a notice sent to the state Labor Department on Monday, the company said the layoffs would go into effect on Dec. 14 and provided a breakdown of the positions affected, including analysts, billing specialists, division directors, managers, sales administrators, technicians, and others. Konica Minolta announced plans to close its facilities at 500 Day
Blog Post

3 Core Attributes Of A Selling From The Heart Professional

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" Authenticity in a world full of sales fakes and being genuine with ones follow through is sorely lacking within the sales community. CORE ATTRIBUTES OF A SELLING FROM THE HEART PROFESSIONAL Emotional Intelligence parallels so well with Selling from the Heart professionals. "If you're your authentic self, you have no competition" AUTHENTICITY Authenticity is one of the biggest challenges for salespeople in a profession riddled with scrupulous, fake and disingenuous sales reps; that quite frankly
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80 Years Ago Today Xerography Was Invented

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Applications Early on, copy machines were primarily promoted as a workplace technology. In fact, Xerox, which produced the earliest copy machines, actively attempted to promote copy machines as a viable way to replace one’s secretary. After all, why hire a female typist when you could purchase a machine that promised to be both more accurate and reliable? To fully appreciate just how sexist Xerox’s earliest campaigns were, one need only view one of Xerox’s vintage advertisements. Although copy machines
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Toshiba Wins Triangle Business Journal 2018 Innovation in Business Award

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testament to the effort and dedication companies such as Toshiba put into innovation,” said Jason Christie, President and Publisher Triangle Business Journal. “In this fast-paced world, and in a sector that is seeing so much disruption like retail, platforms such as Self Checkout System 7 could become must-haves. Triangle Business Journal is proud to award Toshiba with this honor.” “Everyone involved in the design, manufacturing, sales and marketing of Toshiba’s System 7 is honored to receive Triangle
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1901 Group Achieves Managed Services Provider and Sales Partner Designations from ServiceNow

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templates to drive rapid change," said Brendan Walsh , SVP Partner Relations of 1901 Group. "The expansion of new or newer ServiceNow technologies such as their IT Operations Management, IT Business Management, Security Operations and HR offerings is exciting because it is a powerful platform for incremental, low risk change, which is highly desired by most enterprise IT organizations." The ServiceNow Sales Partner Program recognizes partners based on their demonstrated sales engagements
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Re: A Halloween Tale of an A3 Copier’s Death

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How true! And whats next? How long will it take before A4 will also be banned from the offices? My opinion; As soon as Generation Z enters the office-floors (A3 and A4) print will (sooner or later) ‘disappear’. Who's already preparing his business for this future?
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Re: A Halloween Tale of an A3 Copier’s Death

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All great comments, this the reason to change now if you still plan to be in this industry for another twenty years. I probably won’t be, but I still have a plan in place to make the shift to niche printing hardware devices. Still continuing to educate myself for the future
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Re: A Halloween Tale of an A3 Copier’s Death (Part Two)

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Thanks Art Sent from my iPhone On Oct 29, 2018, at 8:51 PM, Print4Pay Hotel alerts@hoop.la wrote:
 
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Memoirs of a Copier Sales PersonReal Copier SalesSales

What I Like About Discovery in the Sales Process

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Just an FYI, going through my worst drought in the last 13 months.  Nothing on the books, a crap load of opportunities and 3 days left in the month.  What does one do?  Go out and find more opportunities.  Fill the bucket t0 the brim and then some more.  Sooner or later the bucket will explode.

Tonight's blog is not about my crappy month, but about the steps that are required to get your self to final step of winning or losing.

Some Tough Years

In a two months I'll start my 43rd year of down the street sales with office equipment aka copiers.  The first couple years were tough and at times I thought I could relax when I thought there was nothing to do.  In our industry there is never nothing to do. When I've made all my calls, set the appointments for the week and prepared the quotes you may think what's next?

I made mention today to a friend in the industry that many reps do not read the brochures of the products that they sell. In fact I would bet dollars to doughnuts that 80% of the reps in the industry can't explain how the print process works with our laser print devices.  Is the print process something they need to know? Probably not, but most can't speak to the client about FAB (features, advantage and benefit) of the device they are selling. I'm sorry to say FAB is almost a lost art in our industry.

Discovery

Discovery is one of the keys that you need to prefect to win the order.  If you perform a great list of questions for the client, the answers and comments from the client will get you to the closing table.  Using discovery and getting to the closing table means you're a sales person whether you win or lose. If you're the type of sales person that has a poor discovery process or you assume the client needs the same type of device that they have, then you're nothing more than an order taker even if you get to the closing table.

Discovery is more about building your case to put your product in the best light for the client.  Of course discovery is all about asking the right questions.

Wide Format Discovery Questions

Since wide format is my forte I'll put some down some questions that I'll ask when I'm in for the appointment.

  • How long has you had your present device?
    • Do you own or lease your device?
    • If lease, how many months are left on your lease
      • Who is the leasing company
      • Can I see a copy of the lease
    • Do you pay insurance on your current lease
    • Is there anything you don't like or like about your current device
    • Prior to your current device that what was the device you had before this one
  • Do you have a maintenance/supply agreement in place?
    • What is the name if your vendor that provides support
      • Can I get a copy of your current maintenance agreement
    • Are you happy with their support/service
    • Is there anything you like or dislike with your current vendor
    • With your previous device, did you do business with the same support vendor
  • Are you the decision maker?
    • If not can you tell me how the process works for choosing the right vendor
    • When are you looking to make a decision
    • Where you looking to lease or buy
  • Besides paper is there anything else you have to purchase for your device?
    • Do you use any special media/substrates
    • Do you outsource any prints/drawings
      • if so, tell me more about what you outsource
    • If so, do you know what your average cost per month is
    • If so, do you know how many square feet is outsourced each month



Build a Strong Case

These are just a few of the questions I'll ask for wide format discovery and the most important in my book.  Once I have this information I can build a strong case for my devices and services.

There's another secret to my madness

You have to be the guru of your device!

You have to know what your device can and can't do.  If you don't know the closing table is not yours to go to.  In addition you'll also need to know as much about their current device like you do for yours.  In fact you'll also need to know your competitions devices as well.  Sales is not an easy job and sales is not 9AM-5PM.  For those that have the desire to learn and do the research are those that will also be at the closing table.

-=Good Selling=-

 
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MPSPower MPS

Cost Reduction to Amplify Profit Margins

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Boosting profits is an enduring pursuit of businesses worldwide, spanning industries from retail to tech. Yet, traditional approaches often overemphasize the role of revenue generation, leaving a crucial lever – cost reduction – under-explored and underutilized.

In the tech industry, this untapped cost containment potential is particularly profound. Rapid advancements within technology provide unique opportunities to streamline operations, eliminate waste, and enhance profits swiftly. This post unveils how tech corporations can effectively batten down costs, all while riding the tide of technological innovation, to drive a quick and substantial increase in their profits.

Understanding the Profit Equation

It’s conventional knowledge, as Investopedia explains, that profit equals revenue minus costs. This equation is critical to the anatomy of any business’s financial health.

Typically, profitability enhancement strategies focus on the revenue side – strategies that could range from marketing enhancements to product line expansions and scaling operations. These are certainly viable strategies, but they tend to overlook a more immediate avenue for profit augmentation – cost reduction.

More importantly, cost reduction holds a crucial place in the dynamic world of technology, where the pace of change sets up a unique set of opportunities. McKinsey states that technology companies can improve their EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) margin by 1 to 3% by acting on cost efficiencies. Therefore, tech businesses must pay equal attention to cost management for a steady and rapid increase in profit.

The Power of Technology in Cost Reduction

In its transformative capacity, technology is a potent cost-reduction agent. Accenture’s report reveals that a significant 63% of high-performance businesses stress technology investments to refine their cost structures. Given such emphasis, it is clear that technology harnesses a multitude of avenues to drive down costs.

One such avenue is through automation. By automating repetitive tasks, businesses can minimize workforce costs, expedite processes, and simultaneously enhance customer satisfaction. Increasing automation leads to a dual benefit of reducing expenditure and growing revenues. Furthermore, Gartner foretells that by 2025, robotic process automation (RPA) will have achieved near-universal adoption. This fast-gaining momentum indicates the cost savings potential inherent in automation.

The utilization of software and hardware can also be optimized for further cost-saving. An efficient system reduces downtime and prevents over-provisioning of resources; this balancing act cuts costs and heightens operational efficacy. By embracing technology, businesses can morph their cost structures into leaner, more efficient models.

Making the Move to Cloud

how cloud computing increases profit

Moving to cloud computing stands as a powerful tool for tech businesses in their pursuit of cost reduction. TechJury affirms this by noting, “Companies that adopt cloud computing reduce their IT expenditure by around 25%”. The reason for this is the unique advantages offered by the cloud model.

Cloud computing lets companies transition away from expensive on-premise hardware and software. This shift reduces investment, maintenance, and upgrade costs, significantly impacting the bottom line. The scalable nature of cloud computing also means businesses only pay for what they need and use, preventing resource wastage. Moreover, according to a report by LogicMonitor, 66% of IT professionals state that security is their primary concern when adopting an enterprise cloud computing strategy. It’s essential, therefore, that companies not only manage costs but also pay heed to secure their data while migrating to the cloud to ensure balanced and long-term success.

Navigating the Balance for Success

In wrapping up, the intricate balance between cost reduction and strategic investment emerges as a centerpiece for successful profit maximization, particularly within the tech sector. Trimming costs must not come at the sacrifice of quality and value delivered to customers. It’s, therefore, essential to conduct cost reduction initiatives strategically to avoid potential pitfalls.

The continuous march of technological progress is revolutionizing the discourse on cost management. A forward-looking approach embracing these advancements is vital for businesses aiming to amplify their profit margins swiftly. Farsighted investment in technologies now can unfurl significant cost reductions tomorrow, creating a more efficient, lean, and ultimately profitable enterprise.

The numbers, such as the impressive adoption rates of cloud computing and automation, underscore the impact of technology on cost reduction. Thus, keeping a pulse on emerging technologies, understanding their implications, and deploying them strategically is the fundamental equation for maximizing profitability in the tech industry. Harnessing technology’s cost-cutting power can pave the way for a more profitable tomorrow.

 
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Hacked

Today's Hacked!

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Hacked!

Exxon relied on hacked info in fight against climate probes — court docs -.....But Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in the memo that some hacked files that were stolen from ...

Who hacked our DNA — and why?.....It was fun while it lasted. It was also probably inevitable that someone would hack 23andMe and steal our most cherished data: our DNA.

Hacked Skype accounts are being used to spread malware ....Hacked Skype accounts are being used to spread malware ... Hackers are reportedly abusing compromised Skype accounts in an attempt to distribute the ...

Former Navy IT Manager Sentenced to over 5 Years in Prison for Hacking a Computer.....Former Navy IT Manager Marquis Hooper, 32, of Selma, California, was sentenced today to five years and five months in prison for hacking a ...

Over 10,000 Cisco devices hacked in IOS XE zero-day attacks -.....Attackers have exploited a recently disclosed critical zero-day bug to compromise and infect more than 10000 Cisco IOS XE devices with malicious ...

Fantom Foundation Wallets Hacked and Drained in Exploit -....Fantom blockchain has suffered a phishing attack that drained its cryptocurrency wallets of a bout $7 million.

Hacked Companies Owe SEC Faster, Fuller Disclosures Per New Rule.....Publicly traded companies are adjusting their cybersecurity posture in response to a financial sector regulatory update that casts general ...

Skype Accounts Being Hacked to Spread Malware, Teams Also Targeted.....Compromised Skype accounts are allegedly being hacked to spread the DarkGate malware, while Microsoft Teams has also been targeted. As reported by ...

-=Stay Safe=-

 
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