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This Week in Copiers Fifteen Years Ago

First Week of October 2008

Real Copier Sales

I just think of Print Management (or Managed Print Services) as the extension of copier programs into the print environment...all service and supplies for a set cost per copy (or in this case print). Sometimes it includes hardware, sometimes not. The other aspect we bring to the table is the establishment of...... more here

Enjoy These awesome copiers threads from 15 Years Ago

"Approaching people looking for something in return isn't a relationship, it's a transaction.

Mark Manson

Being in sales is an extremely challenging, fun, exhausting, mundane, a grind, and a highly competitive game. It’s exciting to finally get that “sale”, that pumps you up even more for the next one.

Let's drop some honesty here.... How may in sales are on a quest to get to the sale as fast as possible?

Allow me to expand on this one...

How soon can I convert the first handshake (virtual or face-to-face) to shipping an order to them?

How fast can I get through all the details of a meeting to the pitch?

How fast can I get from point A to C while bypassing B?

How fast can I close the deal with someone who has an extremely tight schedule, and this is my first face-to-face with them?

Collectively as salespeople, it is your job to sell. However, the consummate professional understands their client and their frustrations, aspirations, company dynamics, activities they're into, passions they want to pursue, and their dreams.

With transactional conversations, you're simply skimming the surface. You aren’t fully engaging with who you're speaking with. You're speaking to them with the simple goal of... How fast can I get this order to hit my monthly, quarterly or annual budget.

Transactional speak squashes relational growth.

Do I have you thinking a bit about your conversations?

Just a bit curious, when you speak with your clients or for that matter, your future clients, are you solely focused on the transaction or the interaction?

In your conversations, are you clear about the purpose? Are your thoughts, words, and actions aligned with the purpose and the outcomes you would like to achieve?

Are your conversations coming from a place of caring and wanting to be of service or making a difference?

A heartfelt professional leaves the other person feeling glad they had the interaction with them.

Are your conversations heartfelt?

Are your conversations sincere?

Are your conversations intentional?

Conversations are one of the strongest tools you have to effectively build meaningful relationships.

The way you open a conversation directly impacts what happens next. It's the direction you take these conversations along with the strategy behind all of it, which determines this... a customer transaction or a client relationship.

Are you building customers or building clients?

You never know when one conversation will lead to exponential revenue growth.

Conversations build relationships, and relationships build businesses.

Now, answer me this...

Are you creating transactional customers or transformational clients?

Allow me to throw a stake in the ground on this one... transactional salespeople are killing the sales profession.

Yes, you heard me correctly... They are killing the profession and who is to blame for that?

If you're running around trying to find a "sales deal" for the here and now, I am going to ask you to stop and think about the longevity this has and the mental anguish you're putting yourself through.

Transactional mindsets are only focused on the sale.

This transactional mindset based on pitch and pounce has tarnished the profession.

The race to the bottom is occurring at rapid rates within many sales channels. Undercutting and monumental discounts is not a long-term business strategy.

This approach is not only unsustainable but puts your relationships at risk.

Point blank... You cannot build a trusted relationship with transactional speak.

These transactional conversations may lead to short-term growth but long-term failures... All at the expense of your customers.

TRANSACTIONAL MINDSETS

Transactional interactions and the associated behaviors are felt by those that are involved in them.

I guarantee that at some point in time these conversations will be replaced by a better transactional conversation.

How likely will your clients come back for more if you continually deliver a transactional type of experience?

Some of you might be saying, "developing my client relationships is tough" and you might be right, however; the transactional conversations you're having with your clients will consume you.

Transactional mindsets alienate, transformational conversations build client communities.

You have a transactional mindset if...

1. You value the transaction over the relationship.
2. You prioritize your own needs over those of others.

The main problem with transactional mentality is that many salespeople view the relationship as nothing more than what can be obtained.

Transactional approaches do not lead to transformational results.

TRANSFORMATIONAL CONVERSATIONS BUILD CONNECTION

I believe we do need some transactional type conversations in our daily sales lives, however; there are plenty of opportunities to move those conversations to transformational.

Quality over quantity!

I believe deep and meaningful transformational conversations are more powerful and effective than transactional ones.

Transformational conversations require you to be open in engaging with another individual without knowing where the conversation will go. There's no hidden agenda or deception.

Transformational conversations explore:

• Dreams
• Fears
• Doubts
• Possibilities
• Aspirations

"I think for any relationship to be successful, there needs to be loving communication, appreciation, and understanding."

Miranda Kerr

Think about the above quote... How can you develop loving communication, appreciation and understanding with a transactional mindset?

Sales professionals with a transformational mindset:

• Do not seek out predetermined outcomes
• They ask powerful questions
• They listen deeply
• They acknowledge and are supportive

TRANSFORMATIONAL CONVERSATIONS BUILD TRUST

The quality of your conversations will determine the quality of your sales life.

To quote, Judith E. Glaser, Founder of The CreatingWE Institute,

"Once it is understood how to have productive, quality conversations, individuals and teams can take control of their destiny."

Trust is one key ingredient to creating transformational conversations which lead to meaningful relationships. Trust is powerful. It promotes loyalty, increases credibility and defines how you and your clients interact with each other.

With transformational conversation you proactively work to paint a picture of mutual success.

Transformational conversations require conversational competence. This requires practice. By becoming conversationally competent you open the space for healthy and assertive conversations to emerge.

Healthy, trust-based conversations can be challenging but are necessary for long-term relational sustainability.

Sales professionals build and promote trust in their conversations by:

1. Placing trust at the center of all their relationships.
2. Becoming a connected listener.
3. Becoming present in the moment and engaged in all conversations.

Transformational conversations characterized by openness, active listening, empathy, shared goals, and assertiveness, become a powerful driver for building trust.

Trust is the fundamental component of healthy and productive relationships, and transformational conversations provide a platform for nurturing and strengthening that trust.

IT'S YOUR DECISION

We all have choices in our lives.

A transactional mindset along with the associated conversations may work and provide you with a sense of sales fulfillment but I promise you that a transformational mindset and conversations will change the trajectory of your sales results.

Bryant McGill and his quote brings this all home,

"Real transformation requires real honesty. If you want to move forward - get real with yourself."

Transactional conversations squash relational growth while transformational conversations build relational strength.

In this episode of Selling From the Heart , we are joined by Radhika Shukla , a senior sales leader with extensive experience in the industry. Radhika shares her insights on selling from the heart and the importance of servant leadership. She emphasizes the three pillars of successful sales: serving passionately, connecting authentically, and thriving collectively.

Radhika also discusses the power of networking and building meaningful relationships in sales.

ABOUT THE GUEST

Radhika Shukla, an accomplished Sr. Sales Leader and holder of a Michigan-Ross MBA, brings forth over 21 years of invaluable experience in strategic sales leadership and business management. Her career has been defined by a strong emphasis on mentoring and leading high-performing teams across North America and Asia, with a focus on crafting cost-effective solutions that address critical business needs and drive digital transformations for customers.

In her most recent role, Radhika successfully helmed a $250M+ P&L business in the US Enterprise Commercial East Region. Her leadership ethos can be succinctly summarized as "Inspire, Empower, Appreciate," reflecting her commitment to leading with empathy and care.

Remarkably, she holds 15 Cloud and Industry tech certifications, including Microsoft Cloud and Industry 4.0, and is recognized as a Google Cloud Digital Leader, further underscoring her dedication to staying at the forefront of industry advancements.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Serving passionately means understanding the customer's needs and tailoring solutions to meet those needs. Authenticity is crucial in building trust with customers.

Being transparent and open, even in difficult conversations, builds credibility. Thriving collectively involves cross-functional collaboration and presenting a united front to customers. It is important to remove barriers and support team members' success.

Networking is a powerful tool in sales. Setting clear objectives, choosing targeted events, and being genuine and authentic can lead to valuable connections. Building an influential inner circle through networking can accelerate success in sales.

HIGHLIGHT QUOTES

"Passionate service starts with truly understanding what the customer needs, not with what we have to sell to meet our quotas." - Radhika Shukla

"Authentic connections are built on trust, transparency, and genuine relationships." - Radhika Shukla

"Your network is your true net worth." - Radhika Shukla

"Quality is more important than quantity when it comes to networking." - Radhika Shukla

"Relationships have to be maintained. You have to nurture them." - Radhika Shukla

Learn more about Radhika:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/radhikash...

Learn more about Darrell and Larry:

Darrell's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrellamy/

Larry's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larrylevi...

Website: https://www.sellingfromtheheart.net/

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

Please visit BarnesandNobles.com to order your copy of the rerelease of the Selling from the Heart book. https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sell...

SUBSCRIBE to our YOUTUBE CHANNEL! @SellingFromtheHeart

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...

This Week in Copiers Ten Years Ago

First Week of October 2013

Real Copier Sales

Most will say, argghh, it's way to complicated and I don't have the time for that. All I want to do is sell and make money or I'm sure the commission report is correct and there's no need to double check it. How about this one that was once stated to me many years ago, "we don't make mistakes with commission reports".  WHAT!!

read the rest here

Check These Great Copier Threads from Ten Years Ago This Week

Real Copier Sales

With version 7.9, DocuWare enables optimal purchase-to-pay process

~ From purchase order to payment - businesses experience increased efficiency and ROI~

Beacon NY, September 28, 2023 – DocuWare, a leading provider of document management and workflow automation solutions, provides optimized mapping of the procurement process with the release of its latest software version 7.9.

Purchase-to-Pay is a complex business process within a company, where multiple steps take place across multiple departments. It plays a central role in procurement and cost management. DocuWare helps companies make the Purchase-to-Pay process efficient and transparent, reducing errors and costs through standardized procedures and automation.

"With version 7.9, even companies with a smaller volume of documents are able to benefit from an automated Purchase-to-Pay process. Thanks to simple configuration and new predefined functions, both the effort and the costs are significantly lower than before, which means that the investment will pay for itself within just a few months," said DocuWare President Max Ertl,  responsible for Marketing and Sales.

With version 7.9, tables can be inserted into DocuWare Web forms. This simplifies structured data entry and lays the foundation for automated processing while allowing employees to create detailed purchase requisitions.

The tables in DocuWare continue to play an important role even after the order is placed and the invoice arrives, as they facilitate the transfer of individual invoice items into DocuWare. With XML invoices, this is now done automatically, making them immediately ready for approval workflows.

Once all documents are made available to the responsible department, the next step is to match data between invoices and documents such as delivery bills, purchase orders, or order confirmations. If items from several purchase orders are combined in one invoice, version 7.9 retrieves the data from all relevant purchase orders to perform a two- or three-way invoice match. It is now possible to retrieve and match up to 20 different documents.

Thanks to fuzzy matching, if "M5" and "MS" are part of an item number on a purchase order and invoice, they would be considered a match.

DocuWare continues to adhere to the highest security standards and has undergone two audits by independent organizations. DocuWare’s ISO/IEC 27001 and SOC 2, Type 2 certifications (the latter was obtained again) ensure that both the company and its software solution meet national and international industry standards. "The trust of our customers and the security of their data is our top priority. These independent certifications prove that our business processes continue to meet the highest security standards, " said DocuWare President Dr. Michael Berger, who is responsible for Product, Services and Finance.

ISO/IEC 27001 Certification is the international standard for information security. SOC2, Type 2 Certification is the Service Organization Control (SOC) standard that governs reporting of internal control parameters, including security and availability. It follows the AICPA Trust Services Principles and Criteria.

* * * *

About DocuWare

DocuWare is a leading provider of document management and workflow automation solutions. Together with its 800+ strong partner network, DocuWare has helped approximately 17,000 customers across 100+ countries simplify their work through digitizing, automating and transforming key processes. DocuWare’s corporate headquarters are located in Germany. The US office is based in New York. The company maintains office locations in Paris, France; Barcelona, Spain; Sofia, Bulgaria; Reading, UK and Brisbane, Australia.

Hacked!

Sony investigates cyberattack as hackers fight over who's responsible ....Sony investigating as 3.14 GB of data leaked. This week, a threat actor by the name of RansomedVC claimed it had hacked SONY.com and put its "data and ..

NYC's Baccarat hotel where $18k suites come with a courtesy Mercedes and their priciest .....New York City's opulent Baccarat attack has denied it is facing a cyber attack which impacted its crystalwear sister brand.  Revealed Tuesday in an email from the CEO, the hack is currently affecting the venerable French crystal company of the same name.

French cybercriminal pleads guilty to fraud and aggravated identity theft for hacking private ....According to the plea agreement, Raoult and his co-conspirators hacked into protected computers of corporate entities for the theft of confidential ...

Coinbase Hit With Lawsuit Over Hacked Cryptocurrency Account -.....Coinbase Inc. allegedly exposed the personal information and login credentials of a longtime digital-assets account holder and failed to prevent ...

Cyberattacks hit military, Parliament websites as India-based group targets Canada .....Indian hacking group claims responsibility. A hacking group called Indian Cyber Force has claimed responsibility for the incident involving the ...

Chinese Hackers Stole 60000 State Dept. Emails in Breach Reported in July....Chinese hackers who gained access to the email accounts of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and other government officials this year stole 60,000 emails from the State Department alone, according to two people familiar with a....

-=Stay Safe=-

Online Document Storage is a Big Seller for Scanning Services Provider

Chantilly, VA – Contex, the world leader in large format scanning, today announces that Image One has boosted scanning productivity by 300% with the 42-inch Contex HD Ultra X large-format scanner. The Florida-based document management services provider upgraded to the HD Ultra X for faster order processing while lowering customer costs and boosting margins. Image One combines the scanning services with its popular online document storage solution, PaperVision®.com from Digitech Systems. “Being able to marry those two on the back end has been huge for us,” says Kevin Corley, Executive Director of Technology Services for Image One.

Founded in 1994, Image One provides expert document scanning services, business process automation, and enterprise content management (ECM) solutions for a variety of industries including education, energy, medical, state, county, and city government, finance, and hospitality, among others. The company helps to improve business operations through the implementation of image capture and storage solutions, workflows, content management, forms processing, and email archiving.

Image One has recognized an increase in demand for the cloud archiving solution after the COVID-related shutdowns changed people’s requirements around accessibility of hard copy documents. With PaperVision.com, Image One offers its customers secure storage and 24/7 access to their large-format digital documents. “More and more are wanting to get everything scanned and online,” says Corley. “PaperVision.com enables them to have secure access to their documents from anywhere, using virtually any device.”

Image One’s goal is to offer customers the highest-quality technologies at the most cost-effective prices with Contex and PaperVision products playing a key role. “They keep running and we’ve never had anything but good luck with them,” Corley says.

For the scanning solution, Image One uses the Contex HD Ultra X 4250 large-format scanner with Nextimage scanning software to produce precise scanning results at unprecedented speeds. With the significant increase in processing speed over its previous system, Image One can now process thousands of documents a week.

Nextimage’s image preview has also contributed to increased throughput and improved profitability by eliminating the need for costly re-scanning. Previously, Image One had to rescan large format images about 60% of the time to achieve the desired quality and correct defects in the original. “Being able to adjust the image on the screen, get the quality that we want, get the corners to lighten up, get the middle to darken up and save that without having to re-scan has greatly improved our throughput,” Corley says. “On profitability and margins, it has helped because it reduces the scan time that is budgeted for each job.”

View the case study here

While it's on my mind, because in a few days I forget how I was able to add some in-site with a rep today.

We met (virtual appointment) with an existing account.  I was called in since I'm the resident guru of wide format.  The client was looking to replace a very old HP plotter because they see the writing on the wall. In addition,  days with out a plotter will put the entire company at a standstill.  Yes, prints still that important in their workflow.

Can you image having 20 year old print technology?  I'm not going to write about the model that we offered nor the workflow that we recommended.

What I do want to share is the listening between the lines.  The art of being a great listener can help all of us in the sale process.

Points that we uncovered

1. Fan of purchasing rather than leasing

Between the Lines

• This usually means the company carries a great margin on their books
• They may take advantage of cash discount

2. It's been a good year from them in 2023

Between the Lines

• Which means the tax man will come to tax their profits in 2024
• They may entertain a large purchase or finance lease before the end of the year (Section 179)

3.  They focus on their core delivery and look to others to help them managed technology

Between the Lines

• For them time is money
• Showing them how your product or service saves them time can win the day

Conclusion

In our sales life we were also told to listen to the client. However it's kinda of hard to listen when you're not asking the right questions.  Ask your clients business questions that start with who, when, how, where and what.

Understanding the "between the lines" with their answers will allow you to build or craft a proposal where they will see the value.

-=Good Selling=-