Tagged With "Old School Prospecting"
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Re: COVID19 "Remote Working" Day Twenty-One of Sales
An excellent webinar on how to virtually prospect. https://vimeo.com/407322860/7ef91c5b72 What to say, what to do from America's #1 Sales Outsourcing Provider of the Year. https://www.koppconsultingusa.com/
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Re: Copier Scams Part Deux "Dude Where's my Copier"?
Sorry Grant but I have to call you out.It is a big mistake for salespeople to assume that what is true in their case, is true across the board. It causes the salesrep to make mistakes in judgement and may cause them to unintentionally misinform their prospect. Anything that isn't required by law is negotiable and therefore will vary from lease company to lease company and dealer to dealer. So two dealers using the same lease company may have negotiated different terms.
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Re: My Top 5 Secrets About Using Linkedin for Prospecting
Agreed! It's not about what you know, it's about who you know! Believe it or not your are connected to the people you are trying to connect with, you just don't know it. This is so true. Art, we should chat. I hit quota last month getting a lead off Facebook. Very cool potential to prospect on Facebook without getting people's "business guard" up.
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Re: Lease Maestro Checks into Print4Pay Hotel
What are the best options to getting around an "evergreen" clause in a prospects lease contract? Specifically, if the clause renews the contract for 1 full year & they missed the timeframe to provide written notice to cancel? Is the prospect obligated to make every payment? Is there a way for me to win the business without having to refinance that full year of "evergreen" payments into the new lease? Your input would be appreciated. --Garrett
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Re: The Quest for $200K "Still Time to Network"
I call used machines "Off Lease" and tell the prospect to think of them as a program car, still very good but someone else took the retail hit. I say if a used machine needs to be re furbished I don't buy them. I don't sell used machines with high meters with the exception of Ricoh's "Greenline", we don't know the meters on those and I'm not impressed with those, lots of quality issues.
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Re: Tell em Columbo Sent You!
Art, I would not ask that question. They may not be in the deal and you do not need another competitor. I might ask however how important relationships are. That will tell you a lot about him. I also try to see who they do business with to try and connect with someone who I know that might know a c-level person inside your prospect. Just thoughts. Carl Sent from my iPad > On Feb 17, 2015, at 10:33 PM, Print4Pay Hotel < alerts@hoop.la > wrote: >
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Re: Canon Business Systems Pulling a Ricoh
I am dealing with this right now, my DBM is looking into it but I'm skeptical having lost two previous accounts to Ricoh Direct. One was a school district we had seven mfp's in Ricoh had one billable obsolete AF 650 so "technically" we weren't the incumbent. Ricoh has a lot of ways to get around their rules. Ricoh "says" the dealer cost is the same as direct but we see them sell at our cost all the time. Originally Posted by txeagle24: We've had issues with Ricoh finding (or try really hard...
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Re: Canon Business Systems Pulling a Ricoh
Price , as an objection has always been challenging. I use to spread difference over 5 yrs then load up on advantages which I could offer. Sometimes it worked sometimes it didn't. You seem to be seasoned at this. If significant enough I brought DSM from Mfgr. That helped me get customers attn.. Usually mentioned to prospect longevity of rep from dealer vs. transition of direct contact if that helps. Let me know how you make out.. Again best wishes. What state are you in?
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Re: Canon Business Systems Pulling a Ricoh
We're in Illinois. I have brought in my DSM/DBM and a Ricoh Solutions specialist when necessary didn't help in the last instance. When we see Xerox selling off the state contract they usually sell at below our US Communities cost. This is a broke ass state and price is often the only "value" they care about.Originally Posted by Larry Kirsch: Price , as an objection has always been challenging. I use to spread difference over 5 yrs then load up on advantages which I could offer. Sometimes it...
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Re: Canon Business Systems Pulling a Ricoh
All sounds good. Bumped into Keith Allison last week. Is he in your area?? Anyhow sounds like you guys are well diversified . Re the tough prospect !! Perhaps an offer of a back up used copier could counter Ricoh 30% lower cost ? Try almost anything to get prospect on your side. Then next year inc price?? Maybe?? Lol
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Re: 10 Ways to Close Net New Business
I am looking forward to it too. Interested in the strategy of getting to the point where the prospect is ready to decide outside of their current vendor.
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Re: State of the "Art" Sales Technology
Hey Jeff, Art's Box Approach (I believe) is using 4 different methods of communication: Phone Call LinkedIn Email In-Person Cold Call You "box" the prospect in until they finally give you the time of day. Using all 4 methods of communication ensures that you are optimizing your ability to reach the DM via his preferred method.
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Re: Ten plus Tips for Cold Calling in the Field
I also meant to add that as a newbie its important to know as many people as possible. I have reps who know many different people all the way down to the security guards at big facilities. I, like Art, probably don't prospect enough. I'm lucky to get 25 calls a week compared to my reps who probably do 30-40 a day, but still have about a 600,000 book of revenues each year. Even in a management role I can't get it out of my system to go out and sell. It's taken me close to 10 years but now I...
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Re: Ten plus Tips for Cold Calling in the Field
My thoughts, some of which repeat what others have said, maybe in a different way: I cold call for information, phone call for appointments to a large degree. What I would add to Czech's 4 point list is to ask who they call for maintenance. That usually tells you, not only the company, but the brand, and if the receptionist doesn't know, then they likely don't have many problems. I almost always separate fact find from presentation. Too many reps "get an answer" then "do some selling", "get...
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Re: Ditching the Polo Shirt Can Increase Your Sales
Buttoned down shirt with a tie or jacket says "professional," "consultant," A polo shirt says "peddler" I don't care where you are or what the prospect says. A "peddler" in a suit WILL make people uncomfortable. A professional consultant in a polo shirt will most likely be seen as a peddler. I know I just skewered a lot of sacred cows but I caution you to not discount what I am saying just because you don't like dressing up. Some of the people reading this are better off in a polo shirt...
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Re: How to Add More Selling Days Without Really Trying
Art right on dude! Time management is our best asset and killer at the same time. To be successful in sales is not 8:00 to 5:00! Before 8:00 after 5:00 PM even a late night, Saturday or Sunday. Take at least the 1 hour most reps can truly not account for (if being honest) and reinvest back into being productive. Right here is 5 hours per week. Sunday is a great time in the morning to prospect and send emails to executives. This does work.
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Re: A Funny Thing Happened while Phone Cold Calling Today
If I could make sixty calls in one day I would feel like Superman. What's your secret? My current process is: a) Research the prospect and company b) Write out a potential value proposition c) Contact the customer to schedule an appointment d) Depending on the outcome, follow up with an email or LinkedIn message 4 calls per hour * 6 hours = ~ 24 calls / day
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Re: Are Your Salespeople Good Losers? Ask Cam Newton...
just 30 minutes ago I lost a deal. I was happy, because the decision was made in a timely manner and the client notified me, thus I did not have to play phone tag for two months. I did ask why I lost and I lost to the incumbent, prices were equal ( had $3K GP in the deal ) and they were receiving good support and service, thus they stayed with the incumbent. Thus, what did I learn? The next time I go up against that competitor, I know I can add GP, and also need to dig deeper with why our...
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Re: Are Your Salespeople Good Losers? Ask Cam Newton...
A good book on this subject is: From a Good Sales Call to a Great Sales Call ...Close more by doing what you do best... by Richard Schroder. It's about how companies should conduct post sale interviews on all deals to determine why you won or lost. They quite effectively illustrate the value of this process and why someone other than the salesrep should conduct the interview. It pretty much proves that a very high percentage of the time, the salesrep really has no clue why they lost or won...
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Re: Are Your Salespeople Good Losers? Ask Cam Newton...
Old glory, That's a fantastic idea. I had never thought about having someone do an "exit interview" from a prospect after losing a deal or winning a deal. I would bet most sales people don't even know why they won a deal, let alone lose one. I can say that even after many years of selling I still forget at times to ask the client why they chose me. Other times they come out and say it but I bet at least 50% of the time I forget to ask. I am more inclined it seems to ask why I lost rather...
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Re: Are Your Salespeople Good Losers? Ask Cam Newton...
That's what this book is all about. Think of all the things that may influence a sale that the prospect will never say to your face. Are they going to tell you that they didn't believe what you said? Are they going to tell you that they just didn't like you as a person? Are they going to tell you that you were too pushy? No...they are going to say that you were more expensive whether it was true or not. The job of a sales person is the strategic management of perception. How can I possibly...
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Selling Copiers "The Rep that BS's the Prospect"
I apologize for not being able to write as much as I usually do. December was a rather busy month, in fact the busiest December in years. Cheers to that! It all started a few weeks ago when received a lead (yippee) that was labeled "looking to lease a printer" . I wasn't excited about the word "printer". However, a lead is a lead and follow up has to be immediate when you get a new lead. The Call I was able to connect with the prospect that day on the phone. I was asked if I sold Canon, I...
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3 Things Sales Reps Need to Do To Help Smash Their Sales In 2019
To everyone in sales, you can perform much better and become more successful, if you just learn to master with consistency the basics. Vince Lombardi , the great Green Bay Packers coach, once said that football comes down to only two things: Blocking on offense and tackling on defense, and those are the basics his teams spent 80% of their time on in practice. Many analogies have been made between sales and sports. It’s often been said the one key fundamental principle in sports is to focus...
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This Week in the Copier Industry 5 Years Ago, The Third Week in January 2014
Enjoy the threads from 5 years a go this week! Topic Five Vendors Earn Winter 2014 BLI “Picks” in the A3 Color Category Art Post · 1/23/145:35 PM buyers. Konica Minolta Business Solutions, U .S.A., Inc. Konica Minolta bizhub C 364e Outstanding 31- to 40-ppm A3 Color MFP Konica Minolta bizhub C 454e Outstanding 41- to 50-ppm A3 Color MFP KYOCERA Document Solutions America, Inc. KYOCERA TASKalfa 5551ci (Also sold under the Copystar brand) Outstanding 51- to 60-ppm A3 Color MFP Ricoh Americas...
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How Well Are You Creating Visibility? My Journey To Outbound 2019!
Those close to me, who know the real me, know I have no problem asking for help. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness. It's an opportunity to expand your horizons. I'm simply amazed by the amount of people who simply fail to ask for help. I've made it my mission to educate, engage and excite all those inside the sales world. Sales leaders and their sales teams must stand up, unite and transform how they go to market in a world full of sales mediocrity (I'm being nice). I believe every...
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This Week in the Copier Industry 15 Years Ago, The Last Week in January 2004
In the next day or so I'll be blogging about the new Ricoh IMC MFP series. There's a lot of new stuff and I'm chomping at the bit to get my hands on one. Enjoy these threads from 15 years ago this week! Peerless Systems Announces Everest Family of MFP Controllers; New Controllers Based on Sierra Techno Boston Mike · 1/28/046:58 AM document products rely on a core set of imaging software and supporting electronics, collectively known as an imaging controller. Peerless' broad line of scalable...
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This Week in the Copier/Office Equipment Industry 5 Years Ago (1st Week of February 2014)
Were you in the industry five years ago? If not some of these threads will shed some insight on what was the top threads 5 years ago this week. If you've been in this industry longer than five years, then many of these threads may bring back some memories. In any case enjoy these threads from 5 years ago this week! EFI Launches Fiery Digital Front Ends for New Konica Minolta Bizhub Presses Art Post · 2/6/149:20 PM EFI Launches Fiery Digital Front Ends for New Konica Minolta Bizhub Presses...
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Sales Professionals Get To The Heart Of What Matters
Heart is greatly misunderstood. Heart is relevant in sales, culture, and in leadership yet so many get it wrong. Getting to the heart of the matter, if sales reps are unable to uncover a personal or emotional need for the prospect to make a change, then they might consider breaking off the meeting, thanking them for their time and move on to the next prospect. Yes, I know it may be harsh BUT all too often many sales reps will continue down the journey without finding what motivates the...
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This Week in the Copier Industry 5 Years Ago, The First Week in December 2013
Okay, we're back to doing three of these a wee. Where we look back on the threads from, 5, 10 & 15 years ago Enjoy these threads from 5 years ago this week! Canon U.S.A. Unveils Océ VarioPrint 6000+ Series of High-Speed, High-Volume Digital Production Printers Art Post · 12/5/139:45 PM deliver critical savings to print providers. This black-and-white printer is ideal for burgeoning industries -- such as on-demand, digital book printing -- due to its registration accuracy, outstanding...
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What Does It Mean To Sell From The Heart?
Selling From the Heart goes against everything that standard sales training teaches you. The world has changed and yet, how we sell seems to be stuck in past decades. No longer are the old-school or hard-nosed tactics working, it’s time for a change. So how do you sell in this current environment? From the heart!!! You put the needs of your clients first. You place them up on a silver business platter. You intently listen to their every word, what they need and how you can best fill it. You...
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The 411 on DocuWare Kinetic Solutions: Sell Preconfigured AP and HR Office Solutions with Ease
In June 2018, DocuWare launched its new cloud-based preconfigured workflow solutions called DocuWare Kinetic Solutions. I had the opportunity to chat with Jo Ann Kreidel, Solution Manager for DocuWare Kinetic Solutions at DocuWare to get a deeper understanding of what the solutions are, why they were developed, and how you can position yourself as AP and HR solution experts to sell these solutions to your current customer base. Learn how to become an Authorized DocuWare Partner to generate...
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This Week in the Copier Industry 15 Years Ago, The Last Week in September 2003
Last week was a killer! Not that I sold anything, but I had a golf outing on Monday (did secure a meeting out of that), two full days of training in PA on Wednesday and Thursday. Friday AM I left for the Jersey office and what should have been about 2.5 hours turned into almost 5 hours because one of the major highways was closed in both directions. I had to bird dog my way home on the back roads of eastern PA. Enjoy these threads from 15 years ago this week! New Ricoh Type-H Staple...
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This Week in the Copier Industry 5 Years Ago, The First Week in September 2013
Konica Minolta and Komori Debut World's First 23"x29" Digital Inkjet Press at PRINT 13 Art Post · 9/5/137:08 AM today's highly competitive printing marketplace. Delivering a high level in print quality coupled with impressively fast make-ready and open systems architecture, Komori presses help printers achieve the higher productivity and efficiency levels essential for increased margins and business growth. Komori America Corporation headquarters are in Rolling Meadows, IL with sales and...
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This Week in the Copier Industry 15 Years Ago, The Third Week in September 2003
BTA National Event was last week in NYC @ the Stewart Hotel. With members and vendors I heard there were 345 attendees. That's a great showing! What was the most popular talked about theme behind the scenes? Yup, it was the One Rate or Flat Rate. More to come on this during the week. Enjoy the threads from 15 years ago this week! Fuji-Xerox merges 9/17/038:48 PM Fuji- Xerox merges internally Byron Connolly, CRN Wednesday, 02 April 2003 Fuji- Xerox will audit its printer -distribution channel...
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This Week in the Copier Industry 15 Years Ago, The First Week in October 2003
Not a lot here this week, but some interesting items that included Canon Business Solutions and a duplicator that was introduced with a paper tray. Oh yes, and the question of the week was who was going buy Imagistics. Can anyone answer that? Enjoy the threads from 15 years ago this week: Off & Running! 10/1/034:02 PM Solutions U .S.A., Inc. As one company, Konica Minolta Business Solutions has: · · A projected revenue of over $1.5 billion · · Over 6,000 employees supporting more than...
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This Week in the Copier Industry 10 Years Ago, The First Week in October 2003
In the office on Friday we had a chat about the manufacturers in the industry. My thoughts centered around KonicaMinolta and the great job they're doing with diversifying. Ricoh was at the bottom of the list. Enjoy the threads from ten years ago this week: Ricoh Offers Managed Print Services to Reduce Printing Complexity 10/2/0811:10 PM . In the past, printing was simple as everyone either shared one device or had a personal printer . Now the printing landscape is more complex with multiple...
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How Authenticity Can Maximize Your Prospecting Results
Authenticity is one of the biggest challenges for salespeople in a profession riddled with scrupulous, fake and disingenuous sales reps; that quite frankly many buyers despise them. However, authenticity separates sales reps from sales professionals and this is what buyers want! It may sound a bit touchy-feely but set aside some alone time, take a look inside yourself as sales is all about building credible, genuine and real relationships. In order to build relationships and change the way...
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Selling Copiers in the Seventies with Steve Mcbride
About a month ago I had the opportunity to attend the BTA National event in New York City. While at the event I ran into Steve Mcbride, Steve is currently VP of Sales with Innovolt. We had an interesting discussions about the cool Bluetooth technology with the Innovolt Smart Protectors (you can get these from Polek & Polek ) and how techs can identify the voltage in the MFP through a smart phone. I also found out that Steve had started selling copiers in the late seventies. Thus, I asked...
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3 Core Attributes Of A Selling From The Heart Professional
Getting to the heart of the matter, if sales people are unable to uncover a personal or emotional need for the prospect to make a change, then they might consider breaking off the meeting, thanking them for their time and move on to the next prospect. Yes, I know it may be harsh BUT all too often many sales people will continue down the journey without finding what motivates the prospect to buy, and then they wonder why they can't close the sale. No question about it, emotions play a part in...
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This Week in the Copier Industry 10 Years Ago, The 1st Week in November 2008
If last week was an indication of how sales will be for the end of the ear, then it's going to be a end of the year. But, resting on your laurels or pipeline is not a good idea, deals can drop off for a number of reasons. Before you know it, you have no pipeline for the end of the year Always keep prospecting! #alwaysbeprospecting Enjoy the threads from ten years ago this week! Weekend Copier Notes from 11/02/08 Neal · 11/4/086:52 AM 4260, running at 55ppm, but is A4. Canon announced it will...
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This Week in the Copier Industry 15 Years Ago, The Last Week in October 2003
Wile reading through the threads I re-read a post that I wrote about my brother fifteen years ago. It was this week fifteen years ago that he passed away. Even though we had our differences he is missed. Enjoy the threads from 15 years ago this week! Scan & Capture From the Copier 10/28/036:57 PM alike. When scans replace printouts and copies, it often translates into lower lease charges for dealers and diminished (high-margin) consumables revenue. In addition, selling and integrating...
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Attention Sales Leaders... These 3 Blind Spots Could Be Holding Back Your Sales Team!
Blind spots, we all have them and they have the potential to be damaging. Unfortunately, everyone but ourselves can see these as clear as day. For sales leaders, these blind spots create unwelcome consequences. They interfere with decision-making, reduce our scope of awareness, and sabotage sales results. A blind spot could be an unrecognized weakness. Within this context, it has the potential to undermine sales growth. The most dangerous blind spots affect those sales leaders who are...
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This Week in the Copier Industry 15 Years Ago, The Fourth Week in June 2003
Fifteen years ago, hard to believe that many of us have seen so much come and go during those years. The Ricoh Aficio 1224 was an A3 color device that printed 12 pages per minute in color and 24 pages per minute in black. We had some horrific problems with speed when the Ricoh 1224 would go into an auto calibration during a print or copy run. It would take up to 5 minutes to calibrate and then restart the print job, and yes we had many frustrated users because we weren't aware of how the...
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This Week in the Copier Industry 15 Years Ago, The Second Week in July 2003
It's Sunday night, I start vaca on Wednsday of this week. Not a lot of stuff from last week, except for the additional tariffs that will go into effect the first week of August. We're not sure if copiers are included this go around. Enjoy the threads from 156 years ago this week! Sales Training Help 7/15/034:56 PM December 31, 2011 - Sales Training Help - Click Here Industry Analysts, Inc. has been developing customized industry training programs and materials for over 30 years. Major...
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3 Ways Sales Professionals Nail New Sales Opportunities Using LinkedIn
Inside Hubspot's State of Inbound 201 8, Salespeople cite prospecting as their #1 challenge when ranking the most difficult parts of the sales process. Sales people, it's no secret, you must make prospecting for NET NEW business a priority. This is the fuel that keeps your funnel consistently full of opportunities. Think about this quote for a moment and let it sink in... A consistent, systematic approach around prospecting for new business is a priority in order to maintain a healthy sales...
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Attention Sales Leaders... How Well Are Your Sales Reps Opening Up New Conversations?
Conversations are the strongest sales tool that sales reps have in order to effectively build credible relationships between their clients, their brand and their company. Unfortunately, many in sales believe their customers enjoy working with them because they have the best products and best customer service. You kidding me! The way sales reps open up new conversations has a direct bearing on the close. They way sales reps open up conversations, the direction they take those conversations...
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Canon C356iF-C256iF II Spec Check Review
It's not often that I'm intrigued by a competitors color MFP. It was two or three weeks ago when a prospect asked, "what do you know about the Canon C356iF?". Well, I was kind of embarrassed because I knew nothing about that Canon device. The only thing I could mutter out was that I would have to do some research and get back to them (not good). It's not like me to not know about my competitors devices, thus I started my quest to know as much as I can about the Canon C356iF. I'm not going to...
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This Week in the Copier Industry 10 Years Ago, The Fourth Week in July 2008
Last week seemed to be pretty interesting. I've been working on an order for about six months and was told the paperwork was ready to pick up tomorrow. As soon as I have the docs in hand I'll be writing about this, till then mums is the word. Weekend Copier Notes from 07/27/08 Neal · 7/28/0810:46 AM Russian investors are considering acquiring the company. - Kodak announced it has sold a NexPress 2500 production color system to Mailings Unlimited, a print and mailing house in Portland, Maine.