Memoirs of a Copier Sales Person

COVID19 Remote Working Day One Hundred and Fifty-Nine of Selling Copiers

The weathers been pretty lousy the since Tuesday and it looks that it will stay that way into tomorrow.  No heat, no sun, just cloudy wet fifty degree weather.  That's what I woke up this morning and that's pretty much how I felt until the mid part of the day.

I did a bad thing this morning and read our Governors proclamation/law/rules about what's expecting of companies and their employees if they are going back to the office to work.  After I read that proclamation all I could think is who the heck in their right mind is going to adhere to all of these new rules and regulations. In addition our Governor now wants people to report other people or businesses that are not abiding by the new rules.  Maybe Joe is right is just maybe a dark winter for New Jersey businesses.

Anyway I was feeling down enough with the weather being so lousy even though I had so much to look forward to today.  I had a 1:30PM appointment scheduled with a net new for a Planet Press solution that could net $45K in new business.  At 4PM i had an appointment with a existing client that needs to upgrade and older color production device.   Alas all I could think about was how I felt this morning.  The start of the new month and the thought of how am I going to replicate what I did last month.

Thunderstruck

At 11:AM I decided it was time for some AC/DC and the song I picked was Thunderstruck. Here's the link if you've never heard it before

I was caught in the middle of a railroad track (Thunder)
I looked 'round, and I knew there was no turning back (Thunder)
My mind raced, and I thought "What could I do?" (Thunder)
And I knew there was no help, no help from you (Thunder)

Sometimes just taking a little time for yourself and grooving to tune if even to get the juices flowing again.

Dark Winter?

Earlier I made mention of the dark winter that may or may not lie ahead for us.  I'm a believer that you can make anything happen as long as you set your mind to it.  I mean why can't we turn something bad into something good?  One thing I've noticed when calling accounts is that everyone seems so more receptive to chatting when it comes to COVID19.  Questions like "how have the last eight months been for you" and "what changes or adjustments did you make" has led to much longer conversations even with some net new prospects.  

The other day I was on-site with an existing client. After we were done discussing the new MPF our conversation changed to COVID and I ask "what changes or adjustments did you make?". I was told they really didn't make any changes because their main accounts is providing service to supermarkets.  Of course people still need to eat and there's been no fall off in that business. I asked "what supermarket chain is that?".  After hearing who they were I knew that they are expanding big time in my area.  Yes, I asked for a referral to see if they could get me in the door.  At this time they did not know of the right person but asked me to call them back in a few days.  

Thus even though we're in a bad situation people still want to help me especially those that they trust and rely on.

Winter Wonderland

My point is that even if you don't want to make the calls, the prospects, suspects and client are expecting you to call them. They want to share their experience with someone and why can't that someone be you?   Thus we can either listen to those that predict a dark winter ahead or we can make our own slice of winter wonderland.  Which do you prefer?  Hey, I'm picking the winter wonderland for sure.

I did receive a small order today for $5K, still waiting on another small #A4 order for this week.  I did turn in an order on Monday for $10.5k.  Okay that's not a bad week for the first week of the month, right?  Next week could break the month wide open especially if the Planet Press gig goes down.  We just keep pushing, keep working, keep moving **** forward.

Tomorrow is a busy day with four appointments on the board with three being on-site.  One is with another net new and the other two are more of some hand holding that needs to be done with current clients.

A question for everyone.  If someone could coach or help you adjust to this new normal would that be worth $3.00 a day?  That three bucks a day works out to $100 bucks for the month.  I know last month I spent $233 last month on some items I thought would help me.

-=Good Selling=-

COVID19 Remote Working Day One Hundred and Fifty-Six of Selling Copiers

Monday sometimes the best and worst day of the week. I'm in the camp of "I Don't Like Mondays", because I truly love my weekends and anytime off is a good time.  However today was a Monday unlike many other Mondays and that's because I was sick as a dog last night.  Not the COVID but more or less a 24 hour bug that was horrid. It was about 3AM on Monday went I finally drifted off.

Yes, I woke up late and yes I had a surprise in my email.  At 12:26AM I had the order docs sent to me for the net new wide format opportunity. That was the opportunity that's drifted in and out of the weeds for the last six weeks.  I was elated that the opportunity finally came to fruition, and a little bummed because today was the first day of the new month for me.  Never the less a nice way to start the month and the day. Today it seems I'm liking Monday just a little bit better than some of the other Mondays.

Friday Last Week

Late Friday I had also received a verbal from an existing account for a small A4 MFP.  That client stated to send them on Monday which I just did about an hour ago.  Later in the day today another wide format MFP moved a little bit closer to becoming an order.  Not a lot of revenue but at this time of the year all revenue is good. My focus is to drive revenue and gather as many opportunities as possible with the next 43 selling days.

The Appointment

As I stated I liked this Monday just because it was busy from start to finish. I had a call from another net new prospect to review their needs for an addition MFP in their office.  Rather than quoting one I offered up two different MFP's that would meet their needs. It's not that I don't enjoy all of my appointments but the one from today was especially satisfying because the two of carried a fun and business conversation for at least an hour.  Ya I know these are the appointments that you feel great about and then nothing ever happens.  Not saying it won't but over the years those great conversations usually means nothing more that an appointment. In any event I logged at a net new opportunity for about $8K. Follow up is already scheduled for later this week.

It's All About Time Management

Otherwise with submitting the one order from last night, sending docs to my existing client for the A4 MFP and then getting the quote out for the net new prospect.  There wasn't much time left for prospecting or whittling down my to do list for today.   

I feel fortunate that our month closes on the 23rd because that means in the month of November will close the day before Thanksgiving. In addition the same hold true for December since we'll close the day before Christmas Eve.  Frak, never thought I'd be writing these blogs with the mention of Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Oh, BTW our Emergency Order was extended for another 30 days.  Not sure if I mentioned that in my last blog.

Selling Days

I write a lot about selling days because all of our months are not equal. Some are short and some are long and that all depends on where the Holidays fall.  November will equal 21 selling days.  With Thanksgiving and Black Friday falling in my fiscal December.  December is even less at 20 days.  You may ask what all of this means?  It means you have to keep your nose to the grindstone in order to make it happen.  Winner make things Happen, Losers are just losers. I hate being a loser.

Not a bad day for the first day of the month.  My funnel is kind of light for the next two months. But it's never stopped me from not working.  Every one get out and VOTE, there is no excuse.  If you want a good business economy you know who to VOTE for.

-=Good Selling=-

COVID19 Remote Working Day One Hundred and Fifty-Five of Selling Copiers

Yesterday marked my 154th day of working remote in NJ.  That 154th day means that it's be seven months since I was optioned to working remote. Of course today is 155 and I'm sure we'll make it to eight months.  Who would have ever thought that everything we do would chance in an instant back in March?

Today in New Jersey the State reported 1,139 cases just a mere three weeks ago we were average about 550 each day.  For the past ten days the average has been over 1,000 cases per day.  Some say it's due to more testing, some are claiming the second wave is upon us.

I say damn the torpedo's and full speed ahead to the end of the fiscal year.

There is still business out there (maybe not as much as there was) but it's out there to be had.  With one order from today and one that I expect to get over the weekend mentioning Section 179 helped with both of these.  One of my clients already had that in mind when he purchased a color wide format device.  It was nice to get that order just a few minutes ago.

I'm also excited about our sales team.  Today was the last day of the month for October.  We have until 8AM on Monday to turn in orders in there's a shot that we could write almost $1M for the month!  One of our managers just chimed in with "I can’t say enough about the dedication, effort and more importantly... the resolve of this team."  Yup I agree the fire burns strong in our team.

I believe I mentioned in Wednesday nights blog that I signed an order with an existing client for $12.4K.  I also had a verbal from a net new (Tuesday) where I thought I would have the signed documents that day.  This is the same net new that I thought would send the documents three weeks ago.  On the Wednesday phone call I thought we had it ironed out.  Wednesday and Thursday my two calls and two emails went unanswered along with a text message.  By this morning I wasn't sure what was going on.  If you don't get a response of course we always tend to think the worst. 

I had to do something. Waiting for things to happen is not for me. I make things happen.  Thus this at AM I sent the email below to the net new client.

"I apologize for not communicating correctly with you.  It was my understanding that we had an agreement in place for the lease of the Ricoh wide format and that you would sign the documents and email them back to me on Wednesday.  I now understand that I may have missed something when we spoke on Wednesday and I do sincerely apologize for that."

My thought process was to apologize for assuming the order was a done deal.  I thought maybe this will result in a return email with the order or when I call again I would get that person on the phone and work through the objection.

While on my way home from an wide format installation today I called the client.  I was expecting another to leave a message, however the client picked up and apologized to me.  My client had many other projects that he had to bring to fruition and told me that he is moving forward with the order and would have them to me on Monday or over the weekend.  I responded with "that would be great if you could get them to me over the weekend and it would mean a lot to me."  Thus I'm pretty sure that this will happen because I've had some weekend correspondence with him. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

So with today's small $5K order I'm somewhere north of $75K for the month. If I get this order over the weekend I can push to $85K.  At that point I'll have missed my forecast by only $7K. I'm okay with that because of the conditions.  For years and year I mention "conditions" and what it means for me is that sometimes no matter how hard you work you have no control on what goes on around you.  **** just happens.

On Monday I realize that I will only be as good as my last month.  The struggle is real and it continues for at lease another couple of months.

-=Good Selling=-

WooHoo!  One more day we'll be at the seven month mark for working remote or least I will be.

Am I happy?  Not really because going we're now into the last two months of the fiscal year.  In previous years you could do the research on your clients and pick those that you wanted to pay a visit to.  In most cases these were the clients that you have the best relationships with. With most businesses not being in the office or sparsely populated in New Jersey that may not work this year.

I guess the plan needs to change to from on-site to in-site visits.  Over the next week I've be picking ten to fifteen accounts that I will pitch them on and "End of Year Review" in a virtual setting.  Yes, more the like the quarterly but with a little more umph on ways to to reduce tax liability, curbing inflation (because we all now it's coming) by upgrading or re-configuring your fleet before the end of the year. Hey at least it's plan right?

Murphy Exits Stage Left

Today our Governor took himself "out of the field" because he was told by one of his staffers that he had come in contact with someone who tested positive for COVID19.  He is going to quarantine for two weeks in his awesome mansion in the Navesink section of Middletown.  It will be interesting what he'll be doing from home to say the lease.  Our emergency health order expires in the next couple of days. That order is in effect for 30 days at a clip.  I would expect the order to be renewed for another 30 days which means most offices will still be barren in New Jersey.

The Week so Far

My month end this Friday.  My goal is $102K which I lowered to $92K about three weeks ago. I just didn't see the numbers.  Right now I'm sitting somewhere around $74K.  Today I received a verbal for a $10K net new order, however this is the same client that gave me the verbal three weeks ago and never signed the docs.  After three weeks we finally connected again today.  We did some minor changes and the docs were sent back out around 3PM.  It's 5:32PM and I don't have them.  They could come tonight though.  I also told the client if you get me them today I'll send you a raffle ticket at no cost for a charity I work with.  Time will tell.

Yesterday I logged an order for an existing client for two A3 black MFPs (yup another client that needs 11x17), that order was about $12.7K.

Moving to the last couple of days for the month I have three opportunities that could happen.  The net new I just spoke about for $10K, another existing for $14K and one more existing for 8.5K. If they all go that adds another $32K.  These next two days should be interesting.

Ask & You Shall Receive

Moving to another topic, I had an inmail from another sales person via Linkedin maybe 30 minutes ago.  I do enjoy when I get these and I should post them more often for everyone.

Linkedin Inmail:

Over the past few months I've somewhat kept up with your blog posts as it's refreshing to know that we're not alone in these crazy times with what we do. I'm 24 and fairly green to the industry having worked for a couple smaller vendors who gave me a chance, to now working for one whos been established in the area for some time. I'd like to think I have most of the basics down, but as you know its a never-ending learning cycle. To someone who was probably in the same shoes as me at the same time, what would be your greatest advice and words of wisdom to a newbie who plans to be in the industry for years to come?

My Repsonse

Thanx for the inmail fellow copier salesperson

*Never stop educating yourself (products that you sell) read, read and read

* Out work the competition (hustle)

*Speak the clients language and act like they know nothing about our industry. Help educate them

*Make business acumen one of your core competencies

*Listen to your clients

*Never ever give up

*Be creative, think out of the box

*Offer multiple recommendations to your clients

*Never stop prospecting

I like these two quotes:

The harder you work the luckier you get

If you don't ask you don't get

Yes I was in his shoes so many years ago.  Much has changed with technology and the way you go about contacting prospects, suspect and clients.  Besides technology there hasn't been anything new in sales for many years.

For me it's about Desire, Dedication and Determination.  In most cases this can't be taught of coached.  You either have it or don't.  Yes you can turn that light bulb on, however you have to want it for yourself.

It's now about 5:35PM and some fog has settled in along the coast.  I've still got a couple of more hours of work this evening and you can bet your ass I'll be checking my email ever hour or so.

-=Good Selling=-

COVID19 Remote Working Day One Hundred and Fifty-Two of Selling Copiers

Just a few minutes ago I asked my VP of sales if he saw the video I posted with last nights blog.  He stated he had not which leads me to believe that the video did not post in the email alert he received about new content.  Since it's not a link those who just read the email on their smart phone would not get the full experience.  I also have this posted on my You Tube Channel and here's the link if your interested in seeing this fun video.

The title of the video is "I Will Survive" which was made famous and sung by Gloria Gaynor in 1978. Gloria went on to garner the Grammy Award for Song of the Year that year.   Gloria was also a native New Jerseyan and the song "I Will Survive" was the flip side of the 45pm (not intended to be the primary song).

Frak in 1978 I was 21 years and three years from starting my copier career.

"I Will Survive" is fitting for all of us in the copier industry (I refuse to call it the imaging industry) who are adapting and changing to our new normal.  We didn't ask for it, we didn't want it, and most of us would rather go back in time to February of 2020. 

After almost eight months of COVID there is no going back to the way it was.  These last eight months has changed us and our industry forever.  What we thought was many more sunny days turned in to weeks and months of cloudy and unpredictable times.  But we have survived!

Our copier industry is still here, dealers and sales people have made the adjustment to what was dealt to us.  Believe it or not we have changed and the changes that we've made will forever change the future for our copier channel.

Yes we might not book as many clicks like we did last year and yes hardware placements will be down, but we have changed as an industry to not be as reliant with just selling copiers. We are retooling, rebranding and reteaching ourselves for the new normal.  Over the past weeks weeks I've heard from any sales peeps that it's not back to where it was but they feel good about the changes that they've made or changes made by the dealership.

At first I was afraid, I was petrified
Kept thinking I could never live without that copier by my side
But then I spent so many nights thinking how COVID did me wrong
And I grew strong
And I learned how to get along
And so we're back

Thus the reason why the title struck a cord with me last night.  We Will Survive!

-=Good Selling=-

COVID19 Remote Working Day One Hundred and Fifty-One of Selling Copiers

I'm not going to write about my day.  Yes last week had it's ups and downs, with more downs than ups.  Today marks the last week of the month and there are four days left to finish the struggle.

Mind you I had no intention of posting anything today.  However I could not resist the temptation of creating this video.  The title is so apropos as to what we are all going through in this time of COVID19.

Some peeps from our sales team and yes it changed my spirit for the day and maybe for the week. I hope it does the same for everyone else!

I WILL SURVIVE

Special thanx to Vince for allowing me to re-post his last blog on his blog site, "the connected copier".  I've known Vince for quite a few years since reading his first blog. I'm thinking that was way back in 2008.

There's not that many of us that blog on a regular basis about our industry. In fact I know of four Greg Walters, Ray S , Vince McHugh and myself. Vince has also been a member of the Print4Pay for sometime and always made himself available to answer sales and technical questions for others on our forum. For that I am thankful. Thank you Vince!

Vince and I also had to chance to meet for dinner one night in Atlantic Highlands, NJ.  He was visiting NJ for a technical meeting and we both met at the Memphis Pig Out one night.  Of course us two old pro's had a great time chatting about the industry like two old wash women.  I could see that Vince was a Pro and I admired him for his expertise and his friendship. Over the years we've keep in touch from time to time and I'm sure that will be the case moving to the future.

COVID19 hit us all hard and even harder for Vince.  Vince I was you the best my friend and you know I'm always available.

Goodbye, Farewell and Amen

I started in this industry in 1978, with a walking territory in “The City” (that’s what New Yorkers call Manhattan). But I have come to a point in my life where I need to say goodbye to “The Copier Industry”. After nearly 30 years working for a Large Independent Dealer in New England (NECS) I will be leaving this industry that I have loved. Some people have said that I have toner in my blood, and maybe that is true. Time will tell.

I have had the privilege to be friends with some Giants of the Industry. Charlie Tiernan who started NECS out of the back of his station wagon, and grew it to a major regional player with 7 offices and 2 Warehouses. Charlie is a real dyed in the wool “Copier Guy”, and he has a big heart. It was a privilege to work for him for so many years.

Charles Kelly, who ran the CSlist.org (Mailing) list for years. I met Charles at a Canon Technet conference and we immediately hit it off. He invited me to join his mailing list for Canon Systems Engineers. We had SEs from all over the world posting non sanctioned Canon Networking solutions. I learned and posted many “solutions” back in the day. The Canon “Grid” ended the need for the CSlist and it has since been moth balled.

Art Post, The P4PHotel.com has been a great industry resource. Art has reposted some articles from this blog, and he always has great, relevant, Industry news. Talk about a “Copier Guy”, Art defines the term. I had the pleasure of having dinner with Art one night when I was in New Jersey for training. We have and do talk on the phone from time to time, and I consider him a friend.

Ned Bannan is one of the best industry Systems Engineer on the East Coast, But sadly Ned is no longer in the “Copier Industry”. He is working for a Security Software Company and they are lucky to have him. He is the best Mac guy I know, and has a good working knowledge of Linux. Ned has forgotten more about Macs than most people will ever know. He was also a Fiery Color Expert. Ned could hack a PPD with the best of them!

I have known Mike Betsco for a couple of decades now. Back in the day when he was one of the driving forces behind Canon’s Technet. Which was the best SE training, in the most compact time frame, at a great location (Disney World or Disney Land). Mike did a tour at Samsung when they made a run at the Copier Industry but is back at Canon heading up their Solutions offerings. Canon is lucky to have him. Mike invited me and other key solutions people in the Independent Channel to join the Canon S.E.A.L. Team (Solutions Advisory Board). We had some great discussions during those meetings and continued them over some great dinners.

What can I say about Joe Lucas? If you ever get stuck with a complex UniFLOW problem Joe is the go to guy! He has helped me with major accounts more times than I can count. James Seager also gets honorable mention for NTware support!

Donn Clarke was my boss when I worked at (RBS) Ricoh Business Systems. I worked there for two plus years and Donn was the best boss I have ever had. He is a good man. That is why I brought him over to NECS where he is currently the Director of Sales.

Lynda Maglio is currently a Solutions Analyst at Konica Minolta. But I have most of my fond memories of her when she worked at eCopy (then it became Nuance). She would bird dog a problem until she got it resolved. For that reason she was one of my favorite Vendors.

Then there are the great Hunters (Sales People) that I have worked with over the years, John “Sully” Sullivan, Doug Moore, and Cindy Albano just to name a few. I am not leaving the rest out to slight them but to name all of them would be impractical in a blog article.

These are just some of the people I have come to respect in this industry. Time would fail to talk of each of the men & women I have worked with over the past 34 years. But you know who you are.

I have good memories from my time in this industry. I raise a family on the salary I earned as a Technician, Troubleshooter, Field Service Manager, Solutions Team Managers, Color Sales Specialist, and a Vice President. I will no longer be posting to this blog, but I will leave it as an archive as there is indeed some useful info that hopefully some people will still stumble across.

My apologies to the long running show M.A.S.H. for stealing their title of their last episode. But it seemed appropriate to me. They say by the time M.A.S.H. ended they had more episodes than there were actual days in the Korean war. Sometimes I feel like I have more stories than actual days for my career in this industry. Please know that I love this industry. It is going through some tough times right now and maybe the “Big Crunch” will continue. But the strong will survive. They always do!

Please contact me via my email if there is anything I can do for you.

This is my last $0.02

Vince McHugh

vincemchugh2076@gmail.com

PS: I have never mixed my personal life with my professional life because it might alienate some of my Customers. But I feel like as I wrap this up I need to let those who have read this blog for so long know that I am a Christian. I have taught a Bible study for the past 40+ years. So if you have a question about the Bible or about life and want to talk, email me and I will be happy to talk to you about anything.

COVID19 Remote Working Day One Hundred and Forty-Eight of Selling Copiers

It never ceases to amaze me how one day can be so great and the next day can be so challenging. The challenging part was the essence of my day today.  I wasn't able to move any deals further along until the last 30 minutes of the day. My net new opportunity is having some issues with getting approved because they are "new" in business. I would have never guessed it the setup that they have and I missed the mark by not asking that crucial question.  Keeping my fingers crossed that I'll have some good news in the next two days.

It was a day of many emails, many issues and many un foreseen items that just magically appeared on my to do list.  In addition most of these items needed my attention ASAP.  Thus I got lost in the day and wasn't able to control my day.  I hate days like these but if you've been in the business long enough you know you'll have your fair share of these every now and then. 

If someone had asked my to give me the name of a song that reflected how your day went, then it would be Under Pressure by Queen and Freddy Mercury.  Guess that sums it up for the Boomer!

Tomorrow means two on-site appointments one with a net new prospect and the other with a current prospect where I only have one print device in place.  Both are sizeable accounts and in both cases I'm not sure if there is a need for anything but it's a chance to meet and greet and you just never know. The rest of my day will be filled with trying to move some of these opportunities forward.

At 4:30PM I was able inch another existing client forward with adjusting my original proposal. COVID19 clicks are down for this client and they've learned that they can survive with slower A3 devices and less clicks.  I had proposed a 55 ppm A3 MFP along with a 30 A3 MFP, today I changed it to two 35 A3 MFP's and it got a little bit of traction.  If you don't ask you don't get and ain't that the truth.

The struggle is real and each day presents additional obstacles that we need to navigate through.  Like the last blog I have no magic bullet, no holy grail to bestow on everyone. I guess the only saving grace is the work ethic I learned back when I was a teenager. In addition it's that never given up attitude, if you want it bad enough you can usually make that happen.  Yes COVID19 is making it a bit tougher but what would life be like if everything was easy.  It would be boring!

I caught a cool video from Chris Polek the other day and would like to share with everyone. Click the image and you'll be taken to Linkedin to view. It's short video on world records.

Thanx Chris@

-=Good Selling=-

COVID19 Remote Working Day One Hundred and Forty-Six of Selling Copiers

What a nasty day today in Jersey.  Torrents of rain along with a temperature that couldn't climb above 55 degrees.   Seems we'll have the same weather tomorrow also.

Back on September 25th our Governor signed another Health Emergency Order for another 30 days.  By late next week we'll know if the order is extended for yet another month.  Positive COVID19 tests have been on the rise for the last week and a half in New Jersey.  We were averaging 300-400 per day but the last week has seen those cases double.  Not sure what that means for future or additional shut downs.  With the weather getting colder it will be interesting to see what our Governor has in his plan.  In door dining is still a hot topic with restaurants limited to 25% of capacity.

I had a decent day on Friday. I received an order for 4 color A3 MFP's. I was hoping for 5 but that one may come later this week.  I ran into a snag with my net new verbal order that I received last Thursday.  Seems the company has not in business that long and additional information is needed.

Anyway I still think I'm on track for the $100K this month.  It's shame I had such a crappy month for September. This month is all about payback for September and try to stay even for October.  The last two months of the year will prove to be interesting to say the least. There is more than enough opportunities to hit my number, the question will be can we get the lease approvals.  I mention the approvals because credit seems to be tightening, however there are many leasing companies that also need to hit their numbers.  At this point I'm hoping one will wash the other one out for a push.

During the last week I haven't had the time to be that creative. I've not had the time to write additional blogs for Jersey Plotters nor get out my monthly email address to 900 net new accounts.  It will get done but it seems that I'll be burning some extra hours.

It's had to believe that we're now in the last two months of 2020.  Counting March as the first month and with October it's been eight solid months of grinding, eight months of not giving up, and eight months of throwing enough crap on the wall to see what sticks.

What's been sticking as of late?

Emails still seem to be the best way of contacting peeps, in addition Linkedin in mails at off hours work too.  Just today I picked up an appointment via a contact I made with a Linkedin inmail.  Linkedin is just so darn expensive!   

In addition I'm somewhat happen with the lead service I stated four months ago. Most are BS, but there are a few that have some value and I've been able to close two of them to date. 

What's also been better is picking up the phone, while I don't get the chance to make as many calls as I'd like to.  It does seem like those calls are getting better at obtaining a response.  One thing I always keep in mind is that our clients and prospects are stretched just as much as we are.  There's not need to worry if you don't get a call back or a return email right away.  We need to have some patient to let the ball travel for a few days at a time.

My goal for this week is to garner another $25K in orders and I won't get that without busting my butt.  I guess after 40 years of doing this I'm used the ups and the downs.

-=Good Selling=-

COVID19 Remote Working Day One Hundred and Forty-Four of Selling Copiers

Another interesting day to say the least.  My order for 4 A3 color MFPs is still out there and it may have a bonus MFP when I get it.  At least that's the way I read it when we were on the phone the other day.

All day I was trying to get something to happen.  I knew I only had that one 4 MFP order that was solid for this week.  Of course it's Thursday and with the order not in hand is always a little concerning.  I'm positive I'll get it but there is always the question of when will I have it.  In any case the thought of putting of a zero for the week was not where I wanted to be.

I had that one net new appointment yesterday for the two A3 color devices that went well.  The proposal went over last night, the follow up call in morning where I left a message and then I had a call back around 11AM.  We spoke about issuing a know out credit for the existing device, however I was firm that I needed some sort of documentation. 

It was about 4PM and I didn't have a call back. I knew the need was urgent to get the MPF's as soon as possible.  I thought, do I wait another day for the DM to call me back to review the pricing or do I take matters into my own hands make something happen.  I thought it was best to make something happen because I knew there was an urgency to get the MPF's.  In the back of my mind was also that fact that the longer I waited the longer I had a chance of losing. At 4:30 I negotiated a deal with my self and offered a special discount to the client if they ordered today or tomorrow.  Tell you the truth it was kind of fun putting that in an email format.  Instead of asking the closing question on the phone or in person it was via email.  If you don't ask you don't get.

I received the email that they are ready to order about 7:30PM tonight.  Just a few minutes ago I responded with a thank you along with the time-line for tomorrow to get and received the documents..  Hoping all goes well tomorrow means a net new client and revenue of about $14K.

Tomorrow morning means another early on-site appointment for wide format.  Hoping for a very busy day to end the week.

The harder you work the luckier you get.

BTW, A3 MFP's are not dead yet!

-=Good Selling=-

COVID19 Remote Working Day One Hundred and Forty of Selling Copiers

A very interesting day for me today.  Today marketed the first day in 142 days that I spent the entire day in the field!  In addition I stopped by the office for a few minutes to pick up a small A4 black MFP that I wanted to deliver to a net new account.

My first appointment was early in the day with a net new account.  I had to be there by 9AM, thus it was time to make sure I left my home office by 7AM.  In most cases with traffic that trip to the office can take an hour even though it's only 27 miles.  Today that trip took 32 minutes with zero traffic.  Once I was at the office I had to pick up the small A4 and then get to my 9AM appointment.

The drive from the office is on one of the busiest non toll roads in NJ (can you believe there is a non toll road in Jersey).  In most cases the first 7 miles of that stretch at 8AM in the morning is stop and go.  Today the ride was a breeze with no slow downs,  just another example of peeps not on the road due to COVID.

My first appointment went well, I did not secure the other on the spot because there needs to be an approval from another DM.  I did not leave docs on-site because there was some additional configuring I had to do to present the right price.  The client needs the two MFP devices asap thus there will be a decision made by tomorrow.  I was also told that I would get a call from the other DM to beat me up some.   I just sent this proposal out a few minutes ago and it's a little after 7PM.

As far as other orders, nothing yesterday and nothing today. I had another confirmation that the order for three color MFPs is still going to happen this week with the possibility of a fourth one.

Over the last two days I've had zero time to prospect and it's more like I'm trying to clean the plate of opportunities that are available now.  At the end of this week I'll still have 50% of the month left to keep the ball moving forward.

My second appointment was for the delivery of the A4 which went really well.  Boy do I miss doing the training on these MFPs and that's because you never know what may come out of that time spent in their office.  Nothing additional came about today but it's my belief that all reps should train their clients on how to use the MFP's.  More questions usually means there may be another opportunity down the road.

My last appointment was with a long time client that was toying around with adding a second wide format.  They were looking for something that was pre-owned and color and I had to tell them I have nothing.  I stated I could cut a great offer for new but we're really not seeing many color wide formats coming off lease. A decent appointment, and probably an order in the near future. I just need to be patient and see what develops over the next couple of weeks.

Tomorrow means prospecting, cleaning up my to do list and keeping myself available to process orders when they arrive.

The State of New Jersey is still in Emergency Order and I don't see that lifting before the election.  If the other guy gets in well he has vowed to shut things down.  In NYC today the Governor shut down many schools and ordered non-essential businesses to close for at least two weeks or longer.

After 7 months I'm now at pro at this and if that happens here in NJ it's called conditions and there's nothing you can do expect to keep moving forward.

-=Good Selling=-