Sales Hacks

Copier Proposals Memoirs of a Copier Sales Person Sales…

Why I Spend Time on Linkedin Everyday

Art Post · 10/3/1811:06 PM

Just a short blog for everyone tonight. I'm doing updates to the site, listening to the Yankee game. Thought this would be a neat short story about Linkedin.

I've always stated that as long as you work hard you never know what tomorrow will bring you.

For years and years I've spent at least 30-45 minutes a day on Linkedin. Whether it's giving congrats for a new job/position, posting links to this site, posting interesting links to other sites, sharing threads, and making sure I send everyone a "happy birthday" note.

It's just something I do. Recently, I heard a statement that it takes 21-28 days of doing something to make it a habit. Guessing that's the same for athletes when they practice over and over to get that muscle memory. Linkedin has become a daily part of my selling day, whether it's for the copiers that I sell or promoting the Print4Pay Hotel. Yup, it's a habit now.

Today was kinda busy, I was on the phone (hands free) when I received a call from outside of my area code. I thought it was just another telemarketer (did I just write that!), I answered the call and was pleasantly surprised. It was one of my Linkedin contacts, and that person was in the market for a copier ASAP.

It was a few hours later when we did the call and defined their needs. The only covenant was that the copier was needed ASAP. Traditionally I don't send proposals, I will send the other docs because it can speed up the order process. Sending the order docs rather than a proposal allows the client to read the Ts & Cs and develop questions.

About thirty minutes later I had the signed order docs in my email. WooHoo!

It wasn't a large order and wasn't a small one either. But it was a net new account that directly came from Linkedin.

Just thought that was neat story that hard work does pay-off and as long as you work hard you never know what tomorrow will bring you.

-=Good Selling=-

Sales Sales Hacks

Change is Good, Especially When it Comes to Scanning Documents with Copiers

Art Post · 9/28/1810:17 PM

Change is good, right? I'm going to change is even better.

Being the same old you and doing the same old thing when presenting copiers can be prove to be a bad thing. Everything is changing at break neck speed in our industry.

Thus last week I thought I would change it up a bit. Instead of providing the same old boring talk track of speeds and feeds. I opted for making one short power point presentation (5 slides) that centered around scanning workflows. There were no pictures of copiers, no talk track about how fast the device printed or copied.

My first slide posed this question. "Is this the way you're currently scanning your documents?" I showed the picture below and asked about which one do they use and or do you use both? One client was using scan to email and the other client used both.

I then showed a slide that outlined the steps required after the document was received in the scan folder or thier email.

I went over each step and confirmed that for the most part all of these steps are required when scanning documents, right? Both clients were in full agreement.

My next slide showed my Ricoh Op panel and explained that we can set up a one touch workflow scan button for them. For the one client that was named "work permit" and two of the others were labeled as "A License" and "B License". I explained that the magic happens because we can pre-program the scan destinations (email, folder, fax) for each workflow.

In addition, the documents would be programmed to scan as searchable .pdf's, color, and blank page detection. At the copier we could also preview the scan and name the file. Thus all of the pre and post programming can be accomplished when the documents are scanned. This saves time and also prevents users from forgetting to post process the scanned file.

Before I forget. I'm still amazed at the amount of people that do not know what a "searchable pdf" is. With both clients I asked, "do you know what a searchable pdf is? Both clients did not know and I took the time to explain how a searchable pdf works and how that feature saves time when reviewing scanned documents.

My next slide centered on Cloud Scanning applications. In the Ricoh world we call this Ricoh ICE.

Thus, I'm listing all of the connector and asking if they use DropBox, Box, Google Drive, One Drive, MS 365, Evernote, NetDocuments, etc. If I get a yes to one of these, I then take the time to educate the clients on the amount of time they would save by scanning directly to these cloud applications. If I get a no for these, then I ask about the need to scan documents back to MS Word or MS Excel. This too provides a great education and talk track for the clients.

Why is the above slide important? Most business lines of software (that's the software that clients use to run thier business) has a scan feature. In most cases it allows for a TWAIN scan driver work with the copier. Users can then place documents on the copier, then open thier business line of software and then scan those documents directly into thier business line of software. This my friends, can also save an incredible amount of time.

Okay, you've seen all of the slides, and not once did I mention print speed, paper trays, fax (cause fax is dead), nor cost per page. It was refreshing for me and it was even more refreshing for the clients. Just the talk track of focusing on scanning applications led to additional questions for higher end content opportunities. I told them I'm not the expert for the higher end stuff, however I got peeps I can bring in to help after we've installed the new device

Change is good, I'm going to change.

-=Good Selling=-

Sales Sales Hacks

It's 5PM Do You Know Where Your Best Sales People Are?

Art Post · 6/18/188:23 PM

I'm with you, in recent years it's been tougher and tougher to get through to DM's (decision makers) to schedule that first appointment. In some cases it's taken me a hundred plus calls and many years of trying to get the DM on the phone. The good thing about the 100 plus calls is that by the time I do get the DM on the phone they definitely know what I'm calling about.

Gatekeepers are better than ever, and the thought of potential phone scams keep them vigilant in their quest to not let you through.

There's much talk in sales about building relationships and that's all well and good as long as you can make contact with the DM. You can't start or build that relationship until you've made first contact.

You can't sell everyone is something you always here in sales, and I believe it's the same for building relationships. Not everyone you meet or greet is going to want to build a business relationship. Thus it's the numbers game that can really increase your opportunities and your potential business relationships.

So where are your best sales people after 5PM?

1) They're still out in the field making cold calls! One thing that I've noticed is that many gatekeeper leave in between 4:30PM - 5PM. If you're in the field making calls after 5PM, it's a good shot the doors will still be open. Most likely you'll trip over the DM as you scout your way around the office to find someone.

Instead of starting your day at 8AM. Why not start your day at 9AM and work still 6PM, with the last two hours of the day dedicated to calling on those that you can't land the DM on the phone. It makes sense right?

2) Other sales peeps are attending and working at charity events. There's nothing better than meeting that influential person while they're volunteering their time for a great cause. Remember the six foot question? That's when you get within six feet of someone that you strike up a conversation and one of your questions is "where do work"? Of course then continue the conversation asking about what their roll is within that company.

3) Still at their desk or parked in a parking (by the beach) lot trying to squeeze in a couple of extra calls on their cell phones after 5PM. You just never know who will pick up the phone. Think, if this were your business, wouldn't you be working whenever and wherever you can?

4) Continuing their education with reading sales books and or learning more about their industry. The web is a great tool because it's open 24 hours a day. It's those rainy weekends that can give you a great kickstart to the week. Been there and done that.

5) Continuing education not for sales people but for Professionals such as attorneys, architects, engineers, surveyors. Each month these associations meet to deliver educational courses to their members so that they can stay up to date for state requirements. Most associations will accept speakers (as long as they pay for booze or dinner) allow you to speak for 15 minutes and maybe have a small table.

6) Some are even sending emails late into the night. Can't sleep, nothing will get a DM's attention more than an email sent at 2AM. That DM can only wish they had that sales person with their company.

It's more about doing the extra work than it is about having fancy lines, trinkets or lame cold call gimmicks. You need to be where the DM's (decision makers) are and interact with them. Not every stop in will generate a lead or build a relationship. But from years of experience I can tell you that being in front the DM's if much better than not.

-=Good Selling=-

Special thanks to our friends at Polek & Polek for sponsoring tonight's blog, please make sure you check out their site and their awesome products for copiers

57 Days of Selling Sales Sales Hacks…

The Quest for $200K "Still Time to Network"

Art Post · 12/6/1711:12 PM

In one of the previous Quest for $200K blogs I stated that my appointment for this AM had cancelled and was moved to Friday of this week. That was a good thing, because tomorrow morning (Thursday) I need to present our proposal to upgrade seven devices with another client.

I had no idea that it would take me hours to complete all of the data and the docs this morning. In fact I was not able to finish the order doc and the lease in time. Not a problem I thought, I can create those tonight from the home office.

After countless hours of updating this site tonight, I was able to create order doc and the lease for my client. That's when I realized I was out of paper! Argghh To boot there's not enough time to get paper in the AM.

My only is option is to load the files on my DropBox account and access them when I get to the clients office. I'll then print them off on one of the Ricoh devices with Ricoh Mobile Print. It'll be a little awkward, however I'm sure I'll manage.

Nothing really to speak about this AM. I did develop an opportunity for a 25ppm A3 black device (printing and scanning not needed). Not sure if I'll get that or not, the prospect is also looking at a re-furbished copier for $1,800. Which got me to thinking about the word"re-furbished" and how that word is thrown around.

For me, re-furbished means that you strip the copier down to the mainframe and then clean and rebuild with new and used parts. Stripping a copier down the frame can take hours and hours, then the cleaning, the replacement or worn and used parts. This is quite a task for any technician, my best estimation ( I used to be a tech ) is that it would take at least twenty hours from start to finish for smaller A3 copier. That's quite a bit if in house shop time right?

That sales person called that $1,800 copier "re-furbished". I doubt that very much and conveyed that to the client. Our prospect agreed that the system is could not be re-furbished, it's just a used copier with new PM parts (maybe). If it sounds to good to be true it usually is.

I have nothing I could offer the prospect for under $2,000 used. I told the prospect that maybe they are better off buying a Brother inkjet copier that can print/copy 11x17. You can buy then for about $300 bucks or so. Trying to dig a little deeper I asked if there as anything else that was required for the new system. That's when the prospect told me that they also needed zoom reduction and enlargement. I thought what? I haven't heard that need in years. Well, I was back in the game with my A3 black device. Just thought that was interesting today.

By 2PM I was off to my 3PM appointment with an existing account. That account was having a ribbon cutting ceremony at 4PM for their new location. I was invited to stay for food and beverages and to hob knob with the Mayor of one town, a County Superintendent, along with the Executive Director of the local Chamber of Commerce. Of course I brought business cards and made sure everyone got one, in addition I made mental notes of those I meet. I'll be reaching out to them tomorrow via LinkedIn.

I did have time to meet with the DM, things were hectic because of the 4PM start, but I as able to move this opportunity to a point where I maybe able to close this late next week.

Tomorrow's a big day. Luck is for rabbits and looking forward to making things happen.

-=Good Selling=-

Sales Hacks

Five Hacks That Will Help You Sell More Copiers (tre)

Art Post · 10/12/1711:36 PM

It's late, just about 11PM here on the East Coast and I'm watching/listening to the Nationals & Cubs do or die game. Let's Go Cubs! Not that I'm a Cub fan, but more of a hater for the Nationals. I guess that's what happens when you're a lowly NY Mets fan.

K, so I have no idea where I got this next hack from. I do know that it was not one of my ideas. Thinking that I may have read about doing this from some sales book that I read many moons ago.

Decision Makers

They come with many different titles. In most cases we are meeting with C-Level execs with titles of CFO. CEO, CIO and probably a few others. Most of us understand that in the first five minutes of any meeting, the Decision Maker is sizing us up. How we dress, what we wear, how we walk, how we talk, how we look, are all taken in to account in those first five minutes.

However, it can also be about what we read in our spare or business time.

You're probably thinking how can the Decision Maker know anything about what we read? True, the Decision Maker does not have a clue about what you read unless you perform a subtle hint.

K, that subtle hit would be to carry a copy of CFO Magazine in your bag. Years ago, I subscribed to CFO Magazine and to this day I still receive the magazine in the mail. Each month I'll replace the old rag with the new rag and take a quick read to see if there are any interesting articles that pique my interest. In most cases there may be one or two that I'll read.

Thus, when I'm off on a new appointment and I know I'm going to be meeting with a CFO. I'll make sure that I pull the CFO magazine out of my bag and lay it on the side of the table as I'm looking for my notepad or brochure. In some cases I may just leave that in my bag, making sure that the CFO header on the magazine is showing.

I can't tell if the magazine has ever helped me garner a sale, but I can assume that the Decision Maker did see the magazine and drew a conclusion from seeing it. In most cases I would assume that the Decision Maker would have thought, "interesting, this sales guy must really be in touch with what I do".

Over the years, there have been some articles that I've read from those CFO magazines that have increased my knowledge about the duties of a CFO. Thus, when you do have that C-Level discussion there will be times when you will understand their language and their duties.

My point is, if that's all you want to do is to carry around the magazine and use if for show and tell, it probably won't help that much. However, if you do read an article here and there and do the show and tell you'll have a much better conversation with that CFO.

You can also do this with CEO magazine, CIO magazine and any other C-Level magazines that you can find. Again, the key is too read the articles from time to time. You'll be amazed at how much this can help your career and those first five minutes.

-=Good Selling=-

Sales Sales Hacks

Five Hacks That Will Help You Sell More Copiers (Uno)

Art Post · 9/21/1710:44 PM

With many athletes practice makes perfect. It's that repetition of completing certain tasks over and over again the create muscle memory. That muscle memory then becomes an instinctive reaction when that athlete puts those skills in motion.

Since I'm pretty familiar with baseball, it's the day to day tasks of taking batting practice, long tossing and fielding that builds the muscle memory of the athlete.

Over the years, there are many tasks that I perform daily, weekly and monthly that have helped me to be successful in the copier industry. In many cases, I'm not thinking about the tasks that I perform. It's just that I've been doing them for so long that they become my muscle memory for my sales processes.

Thus, I'd like to share some of these tasks and I guess you can call them tips that can help you sell more copiers.

1) Many times, it's hard to connect with a net new prospect via phone, social media and or in person. Most of us understand that before we call that prospect that we should also pay a visit to their website. Visting their website enables us to get a better understand of what that company does and who some of the decision makers may be.

On many occasions, I will scout the "contact us" page to see if there is an email contact form. If there is I will send my intro email through their website. It's definitely going to get read and makes a cold call on the phone a bit easier when you can tell the receptionist that it's in reference to an email I sent through your website.

Now, there's another little trick that works from time to time when you're on that companies "contact us" page. While on that page you may be able to capture the email address that is being used for that contact form. In most cases that email address is usually used by a person that has some authority within the company.

You can capture that email address by "right clicking" on your mouse. You'll then see a pop-up appear on your screen. You want to find "view source", once you've found it you want to click view source. You will then the source code or the HTML that was used to create that page. Now, somewhere on that page, there may be that email address that we're looking for. The quickest and easiest way to find that address is to type the @ sign in the search field and then press enter. All of the @ signs on the page will then be highlighted. See the picture below for exact instructions.

I'll be posting the rest of these in the next couple of days, getting late now and I need to get ready for tomorrow. Only two days left in the selling month and quarter.

-=Good Selling=-

Sales Sales Hacks

A Short Sales Tip That Can Help You Close More Copier Business

Art Post · 8/29/1711:02 PM

You've demo'd that shiny new copier for your print shop Decision Maker, pricing is no longer the issue, maintenance pricing is fine, the copier operation was flawless, and you don't feel comfortable with using a drop close to secure the order. Yet, you can move the deal forward.

You have a suspicion that if you could just add a little more value to the deal, that you might be able to close the order now. Makes you think, what in the world can I add that would increase the value of my copier or services and it won't cost me anything?

With at least a half dozen print shop DM's, I was able to close the order with this value add.

I offered to cold call once a week for one month at no cost. I stated that the print shop would supply the their business cards, their flyers and or handouts. I had asked for about one hundred hand outs and then dedicated one day a week for the next four weeks to cold call on behalf of the print shop.

I asked the owner to print a few hundred statement size note pads with the name of his print shop, address, and the phone number. In addition, I asked that owner go out and buy a large bag of hard candies. The process was to put to two pads together with a 1/2 dozen candies and shrink wrap them together for the handout. This made one neat handout and I didn't have one cold call that refused the handouts.

At the end of the day, I reported back to the DM, made copies of the business cards and reported on any hot prospects that I found. I left the original business cards with the owner and kept the copies for my self. Can you guess what I di with those copies?

I can remember finding one prospect who needed 5,000 color prints/copies. The printer I was cold calling for was elated when he was able to secure the order and of course those 5,000 color pages were printed on one of my color devices.

What's the method to the madness here? Well, in addition to cold calling for the Print Shop, I was also scouting and prospecting for net new clients for copiers.

I didn't mind doing the cold calls because I knew one of my weaknesses was cold calling. I have no probably doing it, but it always seemed that I would put it off for another day. I was able to kill two birds with one stone.

Thus, there were no wasted selling days on my part, since I was working to jobs at the same time. BTW, this is something you could use for almost any type of account, probably not enterprise, however this will work with most SMB accounts.

-=Good Selling=-

I'll be posting up more of these in the upcoming weeks

Sales Sales Hacks

5 Reasons WHY You Will Fail Selling Copiers

Art Post · 10/26/1412:23 AM

Why is there so much turn over in our industry? Is it that we're not hiring the right people, maybe we don't have the right training programs in place. Are we putting them in the field too soon, if so that means most are doomed for failure.

I don't have the answers to the high rate of turnover, however, I can give you a few points of why you will fail selling copiers. It's up to you to understand these reasons and make sure you avoid them.

You work ethic stinks. I've stated this before, our job is not a 9-5 job, if you want a 9-5 job go work at bank. Examples: Dang, I just got a text, better read that now, or got a phone call from my buddy about our weekend event, or I need to check my facebook or social notes as soon as they come in.
You look for reasons of why you can't prospect. "Oh, I just don't feel like speaking to anyone today", "I had a tough weekend and can't get motivated", "Why should I make the calls, no one wants to speak to me anyway", "I'm not good on the phone, I'm better at going on the road and prospecting" (this last one, should set off an alarm that just maybe that sales person is working two jobs at the same time).
After 5PM, I'm off work. Thus, I don't have to put in any extra time to learn more about the products, create a couple of extra quotes, research some prospects on linkedin or send a few late night emails, so I can get a head start on the next day.
I'm not reading any of those sales self help books on my own time. My time is my time. Plus, I think that most of that stuff is so stupid.

So, there are just a few, if I had more time I could probably add another 5 or so.

It took me about two years in this industry before I finally figured out that in order to make the big bucks I needed to teach myself more about sales, and learn more about the products that I sell. I had to do this on my own time, because there was no one to mentor me when I first started. I survived the first two years because I had an excellent work ethic, and that was something that was drummed into me when I was a teenager. By the time I was in my early twenties, I knew how to "work", all I needed was the opportunity.

By, the time I was twenty eight I opened my own copier dealership and had that for 12 years before I sold it. Funny story about selling it, there were three partners, we all got married and thought it would be a great idea to let the wives work with us. BAD, BAD IDEA, and that was that!

Even now, there are days when I just don't feel like going through the grind. Matter of fact, I've had the ups and downs that many of us have faced through out the years.

It's all about what you want, are you willing to be undistinguished in your work, or do you want to excel and keep raising the bar?

-=Good Selling=-

Sales Sales Hacks

Is There Really a "Natural Born Salesperson"?

Art Post · 5/15/1411:24 PM

One of my first jobs was that of a paperboy when I was growing up in Iselin, New Jersey.

I started my first paper route at 12 and continued until I was 15. At a young age, I had to collect money, work for tips, and also face complaints.

Looking back, the best part of the job was being able to hop on my bike and pedal about 2 miles to my first customer. The job gave me freedom; I was on my own and I learned to interact with both good people and rude people at a young age.

Around the age of 17 (in the seventies), I took my first real sales job (kind of) selling Kirby vacuum cleaners. On my first day, I was trained on the features, advantages, and benefits. The manager demonstrated the Kirby as the state of the art in technology for vacuum cleaners, and I was impressed! At the end of the day, he told us that in order to have continued employment with Kirby, we had to take a demonstrator home and sell at least one Kirby to our family members at a price of over $300 each! Three hundred bucks in the seventies was a lot of money. I bought my first car for $150, so to say the least, the last thing I wanted to do was squeeze my parents for $300 bucks. I didn't take the demonstrator home and pretty much didn't go back. Sales was not for me.

I'm sure we've all had experiences in our sales careers like the ones I had. To tell you the truth, the last job I ever wanted was a sales position, and look how that panned out. At 23 years old, I stumbled into copier sales in the eighties. Prior to copier sales, I was trained for a good 12 weeks to be a copier technician. At the end of the 12 weeks, I got my first copier tech gig, and in three months, I was brought in for a review. The review went something like this,

"You've done a great job taking the copiers apart, but not so good at putting them back together, so we have to lay you off." I wasn't shocked since I knew it was the truth; I screwed up more copiers than I repaired.

Thus, in the same breath as I was being laid off, I was offered a job to sell copiers. It was either take the job at selling copiers or enlist in the Army. Since I was never a good rule follower, I chose to sell copiers. To this day, I remember one key question that the owner of the dealership asked me. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a "C" note ($100 bill), then asked me if I'd like to labor for two days to earn the "C" note or try to talk him out of it. Without hesitation, I stated, "I'll try to talk you out of the "C" note." With that, I was offered a job selling copiers!

Over the years, I've seen many salespeople come and go. Most don't make it in our industry because there's too much rejection, endless prospecting, poor work habits, and the same monthly grind over and over. But every now and then, I'll meet someone who has that "Natural Born Salesperson" in them. They possess unique skills, such as the ability to communicate with anyone, being cordial, pleasant, intelligent, and able to offer vision to others when they communicate. They are very skilled at projecting a vision of the future to the client as to how their product and their company are the right path to choose for many years to come.

So, how can the Natural Born Salesperson become the Super Salesperson?

The Super Salesperson continually hits quota or above, is always prospecting, and has the desire, determination, and dedication to themselves to succeed (win).

To me, it's all about your work ethic. If you don't have an awesome work ethic, you could be the Natural Born Salesperson, but you'll never conquer being the Super Salesperson. You may think you have a great work ethic because you're always on time and you work your 40 hours per week. But ask yourself, do you really work 40 hours? I mean, you're at work, but does that mean you are spending 40 hours a week prospecting, setting appointments, reading about your products, or are you taking personal calls, texting, emailing, taking long lunches, or visiting websites on your BYOD?

The average selling month is 22 days, or 176 hours per month. Every minute that you're not doing something productive in the office or in the field reduces your selling time. When I'm driving to appointments, I'm losing selling time. It's safe to say that I'm in the car at least 12 hours a week going to and from appointments. For the month, that equates to one week, thus my selling/prospecting days are reduced to 15 days. If I were to chat at the water cooler or the coffee maker, check my personal email, text, or check out my fantasy baseball league every day, I could stand to lose another hour a day or 22 hours for the month, which is almost another 3 days that you would lose.

Your time is your most valuable asset when it comes to selling.

In order to be the Super Salesperson, you need to have a great work ethic and understand that sales is not a 9-5 job. When was the last time you picked up a product brochure and read it from front to back? Maybe a sales book, and how about the product launch book from the manufacturer? Did you ever read it?

Take some pride and outwork others. So maybe you're not the best closer or the best salesperson at presentations, but you could be if you spend the time and make the effort. There are many reasons that I'm still in sales (I like the freedom that I have because I hit consistent numbers), and I believe that over time I've learned that if I'm not working hard, then someone else is going to outwork me and take a sale from me.

There are some quotes that I've remembered over the years, such as "the harder I work, the luckier I get", "prospect by day and quote by night", and "winners make things happen, and losers wait for things to happen".

As to the title of this blog, "Natural Born Salesperson," I don't consider myself to be a Natural Born Salesperson; I'm just an average salesperson with an above-average work ethic.

-=Good Selling=-

Sales Sales Hacks

Ask Art " How Can a Premium P4P Hotel Membership Help With My Sales"

Art Post · 4/15/148:53 PM

Hi Art,

I am already a year in in the copier industry. It's interesting to know that membership includes qualified leads.

I like the idea but not sure it would work for my role. I am an Account Exec in California. I have zip codes assignment but normally restricted to SMB space which can be challenging in terms of sales goals - you meet decision makers who pull out money from their own pockets and deals are typically one off, leaving me little to no room for expanded offering.

I also used to subscribe to ProvenProspects.com that gives you hint about business leases via UCC data -- but they are super outdated. So I stopped using them.

What's the price for Gold and how can it be effective for a low level sales professional like me?

Thanks for your time...

I see you're the bay area, we've had a few leads in your area. At this time. I don't have a Premium Member in your area, thus you would get those leads.

More importantly a Premium Member ship gets you access to the entire site.

You can see price quotes from various dealers & direct, thus you can see how others are presenting their products and services. This is such a valuable tool! Just from viewing these proposals you can find weakness and strength of that dealer or direct branch.
You get access to all of the RFP's & Bids in your area and in the Nation. Each week, I'll post up to 5-10 Copier RFP's
You'll have access to all of my Premium blogs that can help increase your knowledge of how to sell, prospect, and gain new accounts. To date, I've written more than 1,500 blogs related to the copier industry,
You have direct access to me and ask me questions about how I would handle a certain scenario to win the sale. Consider me your Virtual Sales Adviser.
The ability to post a question in our Premium Members Only forum. Only the true professional will invest in their future and reap the rewards of collaborating with other successful Imaging Professionals. To date we have more than 300 Premium Members.
The ability to download all of the support/sales documents that I've created over the years. Helpful sales excel spreadsheets, articles on selling, and hundreds of documents that pertain to our industry!

The cost? $117 for the year or you can get a lifetime membership for $399. Hope this helps and hope to read one of your threads on the forums.

BTW, I've been in down the street sales for copiers for 33 years, and I enjoy sharing my knowledge whenever I can

Art

Sales Sales Hacks

My Top Office Sales Traditions

Art Post · 6/16/137:35 PM

There was a recent Print Audit thread on Linkedin that asked "What are your Office Traditions"?

Sales Genie

I responded with one about our Sales Genie. I started the the Sales Genie thing when I came back from the Photizo Transform Conference in May of this year. Not a long tradition, but you've got to start somewhere.

While at the airport waiting on another delayed flight I visited one of the Southwest themed gift shops at Sky Harbor. I was able to pick up something for the wife and then I caught sight of a cool looking handcrafted Native Indian Hopi Doll.

I bought the doll and brought it back to the office. Now I'm not one to believe in superstitions but named it our Sales Genie. Sometimes it's good to have some luck, right? Thus if you're looking or need for a little bit of luck then you might pay the Sales Genie a visit and say a few kind words. Me, I'm a firm believer that luck is for rabbits!

We have it sitting on the front counter and for the last month or so we would give it a rub or two before we went on appointments.

When I get into the office on Monday I'm going to burn the son of bitch because sales have been horrible for the last 30 days since I got back from Phoenix.

The Rookie Cold Call

We have another tradition to break in the new reps. Mind you this one is pretty cool and I've been using for years.

We'll make up a legit lead sheet and give the phone number, address and contact info for the name of a local zoo. In this case we use the Turtle Back Zoo.

The contact person can be one of two people. " Call and speak to Mr. Gee Raft or Ms. Eli Fant.

I tell you, if you haven't done this you've got to do it.

We do it when we're all in the office, and it's a riot. On one occasion we had the rep ask for Mr. Gee Raft. I would then tell the rep to keep the person on speaker so we can coach you. Of course there was no coaching to be done, just us listening for when our rep asks for the contact.

"I'm sorry there is no Gee Raft that works here" our rep stated, "Well Mr. Gee Raft called our office and left a message that he was interested in a copier and to call", with that the secretary gets it and blurts out "very funny", our rep went with, "I'm not trying to be funny but just asking to speak to Mr. Gee Raft", the secretary then states to the rep, "do you realize who you're calling a zoo?" and "don't you get it"? W

With that the rep finally got it and hung up. We had a great laugh all afternoon that day! Who says you can't make work fun!

-=Good Selling=-

Newer Posts