April 2009 Office Technology

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CONTENTS Volume 15 No. 10 G

FEATURE ARTICLES 10

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The Ideal Sales Team Equipping your dealership for ‘major league’ results

SELLING SOLUTIONS 2009 Solution Selling Reach out with a message of business partnership

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by Brent Hoskins Office Technology Magazine

by Teresa Hiatt Ricoh Americas Corp.

The industry is composed of thousands of sales reps who are achieving success in various degrees. Are you equipping your sales team members for optimum success? Are you on the path to building an ideal “major league” sales team?

Solution selling, value-based selling, consultative selling, power selling — these are all terms that have been used in our industry to illustrate that the role of a sales professional in the technology arena is changing. What do these terms mean?

Service Management A new frontier in the office technology industry

Getting in the Door Three questions to ask before prospecting

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by Mike Adams A-Tech Direct

by Chip Miceli Des Plaines Office Equipment

The most common challenge for most dealers is how to get in the door with the right prospect.

This can be addressed by answering three questions: Who should we call on? What offer should we use to entice them? How should we contact them?

Currently facing the toughest fiscal times in years, business owners can no longer conduct “business as usual” and are looking for ways to save on their bottom lines, without compromising on value and service.

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Metrics for Success Focus on sales representative productivity, turnover

SERVICE CONNECTIONS Service Technicians How many can you afford?

How many do you need?

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by Tom Callinan Strategy Development

by Jack Duncan Jack Duncan Consulting

There are two metrics that will help office technology dealerships achieve long-term success, yet they are measured by few companies: sales rep productivity and sales rep turnover. Attention to both will make yours a more successful company.

COURTS & CAPITOLS 26

Cutting Costs Perhaps reducing labor expenses is the right choice

by Robert C. Goldberg BTA General Counsel

Recent Courts & Capitols columns regarding the recession and responding to it have generated numerous e-mails and calls to the BTA Legal Hotline. One message is clear — dealers are seeking to reduce their costs.

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In today’s business climate of declining sales, businesses must rely on aftermarket profits — service and supplies — to survive. One of the key components in running a profitable service department is labor expense.

DEPARTMENTS Business Technology Association

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Education Calendar BTA Highlights

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Executive Director’s Page

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BTA President’s Message

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Advertiser Index

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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S PAGE

BTA Can Help Defray Education Expenses

Executive Director/BTA Editor/Office Technology Brent Hoskins brent@bta.org (816) 303-4040 Associate Editor Elizabeth Marvel elizabeth@bta.org (816) 303-4060 Contributing Writers

ince the 1984-85 scho ol year, th e Business Technology Association (BTA) has presented a total of $1,311,500 in scholarships to the sons and daughters of the fulltime employees of member dealerships. Are you aware of this member benefit? Are any of your children or employees’ children among the students who received $1,000 or $1,500 scholarships from BTA in the past 25 school years? Did you know that the deadline for BTA scholarship applications for the 2009-10 school year is coming up on May 1?

Actually, the BTA Scholarship Foundation began presenting scholarships long before 1984-85. This member benefit got its start on Feb. 23, 1968, at the retirement dinner of Dorothy R. Ames when the BTA East District (then EROMDA) announced the creation of the Dorothy R. Ames Scholarship Foundation. In 1971, that foundation transitioned into what is today the BTA Scholarship Foundation. So, for 41 years, BTA has been helping students defray the cost of higher education.

For the current 2008-09 school year, BTA awarded students 13 scholarships to use at colleges or accredited vocational trade schools for tuition, books, school supplies or lab fees. Each recipient was selected by an independent evaluator — on staff at a Kansas City, Mo., university — based on a thorough review of completed applications and essays submitted to BTA. The application asks students to provide information on school activities, leadership positions, work experience, recognition and awards, and community involvement. Each

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applicant is also asked to submit his or her current transcript to BTA. Applicants must also submit an essay with the application.

For the upcoming 2009-10 school year, applicants are being asked to submit an essay on the topic of the “greening” of America.

Certainly, students are always pleased and excited to receive a BTA scholarship.

Here’s a sampling of some of the recent thank-you notes we have received: I “The $1,000 scholarship you awarded me this semester has lifted a tremendous weight of financial worry off my shoulders. I was prepared to pay all of my school-associated costs out of pocket this semester, but with your scholarship I will be able to save some money to use for my move to Columbia College Chicago next fall. Your scholarship is truly appreciated and I will continue my scholastic endeavors with devotion and a newfound confidence due to your financial support.” — Ian G. I “I would like to thank you very much for awarding me the BTA scholarship for this next school year. I received the award today.

This scholarship helps me attend Baylor debt-free, and I am very thankful for your current and past support. I am also grateful for this association making scholarships available to students across the country. For me it represents over three weeks of fulltime work!”—Kayla B. As a BTA member dealer, if you or your employees have college-aged children, I encourage you to contact the association for a scholarship application. Again, the deadline for submission of completed applications for the 2009-10 school year is May 1. To receive an application, contact BTA’s Mary Hopkins at mary@bta.org or (816) 303-4031. I — Brent Hoskins

Mike Adams, A-Tech Direct www.a-techdirect.com Tom Callinan, Strategy Development www.strategydevelopment.org Jack Duncan, Jack Duncan Consulting www.jackduncanconsulting.com Robert C. Goldberg, General Counsel Business Technology Association Teresa Hiatt, Ricoh Americas Corp. www.ricoh-usa.com Chip Miceli, Des Plaines Office Equipment www.dpoe.com

®

Business Technology Association 12411 Wornall Road Kansas City, MO 64145 (816) 941-3100 www.bta.org Member Services: (800) 505-2821 BTA Legal Hotline: (800) 869-6688 Valerie Briseno Membership & Marketing Manager valerie@bta.org Mary Hopkins Database Administrator mary@bta.org Teresa Leerar Bookkeeper teresa@bta.org Brian Smith Membership Sales Representative brian@bta.org ©2009 by the Business Technology Association. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced by any means without the written permission of the publisher. Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of published material.

However, the publisher assumes no liability for errors in articles nor are opinions expressed necessarily those of the publisher.

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BTA PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE ®

Manage Your Parts & Supply Inventory conomic times are tough. Service departments can help the overall cash flow of a company by focusing on reducing the need to order excessive parts and supplies. Effectively managing your parts and supply inventory can make the profitability of your company.

Here are three easy ways to improve inventory control: review and reduce automatic ordering and shipping; reduce car stock and warehouse inventory; and check other technicians’ car stock inventory before placing an overnight parts order.

Having an automatic reorder triggered at specific low- and high-item inventor y counts makes sense during normal economic times, but your company may have reduced your technical staff. You probably have lost some customers. Many current customers may have reduced their own usage. And you probably are using fewer parts and supplies than at this time last year. Manufacturers have high inventory levels, resulting in fewer backorders.

A current major account may be coming to the end of a multi-year contract. You should reduce your purchasing of needed parts and supplies six to 12 months before the termination of the agreement. Make sure someone who understands the big picture is systematically reviewing and updating your automatic purchasing levels.

Review automatic and requested shipments to your clients that are on CPCs or other prepaid supply programs. Review the periodic meter counts. Do not automatically ship multiple containers of supplies that may last several months. Always require a

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monthly/quarterly minimum charge on CPC agreements. Without a minimum charge, you could be receiving a few dollars a month in revenue while sending hundreds of dollars of requested supplies.

Now is the perfect time to reduce the amount of car stock being carried by your field technicians. Many of these items can be returned to your general inventory, which will eliminate the need to reorder these items.

The reduced weight in your technicians’ vehicles will increase gas mileage. Technicians will be able to more easily locate the needed parts and supplies in their vehicles. Breakage and missing parts will be reduced.

Before placing an overnight air order for a needed part, check the car stock inventories of all your technicians. Whenever logical, use parts you already have.

Take a second look at your machine “graveyard.” If it is not organized, you might as well throw the machines away. They are wasting valuable square footage in your building.

Parts machines are valuable only when they are used properly. If it takes a technician two hours to recover a $2 part, your dealership just wasted $150 of labor to acquire the part.

Many dealers salvage high cost (PC boards, laser units, entire assemblies) or frequently used items. These can be given separate part numbers. We add “R” for repaired or “U” for used at the end of the standard OEM number. The wholesale cost of the board repair is listed as the item’s cost. Used parts carry a .01 cost. When needed, the parts are easily accessible in their listed location.

Following a few simple guidelines for ordering and shipping inventory can improve service productivity, reduce waste, lower inventory levels and increase cash flow. I — Ronelle Ingram

2008-2009 Board of Directors President Ronelle Ingram Steven Enterprises Inc. 17952 Sky Park Circle Ste. E Irvine, CA 92614 ronellei@msn.com President-Elect Bill James WJS Enterprises Inc. 3315 Ridgelake Drive Metairie, LA 70002 bjames@wjsenterprises.com Vice President Rock Janecek Burtronics Business Systems Inc. 216 S. Arrowhead Ave. P.O. Box 1170 San Bernardino, CA 92408 rjanecek@burtronics.com BTA East Tom Ouellette Budget Document Technology 251 Goddard Road P.O. Box 2322 Lewiston, ME 04240 touellette@bdtme.com BTA Mid-America Mike Blake Corporate Business Systems LLC 6300 Monona Drive Madison, WI 53716 mblake@corpbussystems.com BTA Southeast Bob Smith Copiers Plus Inc. 408 Chicago Drive Fayetteville, NC 28306 bobsmith@copiers-plus.com BTA West Greg Valen Hawaii Business Equipment Inc. Toshiba Business Solutions - Hawaii 590-A Paiea St. Honolulu, HI 96819 gregory.valen@tabs.toshiba.com Ex-Officio/General Counsel Robert C. Goldberg Schoenberg Finkel Newman & Rosenberg LLC 222 S. Riverside Plaza Ste. 2100 Chicago, IL 60606 robert.goldberg@sfnr.com

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The Ideal Sales Team Equipping your dealership for ‘major league’ results by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine

irst and foremost, the office technology dealership is a sales company. It has goods and services to sell. So, it seeks out other businesses that are interested in buying those goods and services. That is the past, present and future of any dealership. Of course, as simple as it sounds, explaining the dealership’s core task is not really that simple — at least not anymore.

In the past, it was a matter of selling stand-alone copiers and the servicing of those copiers. Today, it has become more complicated.

There is the plethora of software-based solutions for today’s MFP (no longer just the copier) and the challenges and opportunities inherent to connecting the MFP to a network.

There are also the new business strategies to consider, such as professional services or managed print services. And, certainly, there is the reality that hardware has essentially achieved parity.

What about the future? That depends on the present.

More specifically, the dealerships that are best positioned for future success are those that are doing the best job in performing that core office technology dealership task — selling. They are pursuing business strategies and sales practices that build relationships and win customers long term.

They employ well-managed, impassioned sales professionals who think strategically, understand the power of a team dynamic and are particularly adept in the art of selling.

They are not just pushing boxes and focused on beating the competitor’s price.

The industry is composed of thousands of sales reps, from the trainee to the veteran, who are achieving success in varying degrees. It is also composed of a number of undermanaged, ill-prepared reps whose days in the industry may be numbered. Which do you employ? Are you equipping

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your sales team members — your reps and sales manager — for optimum success? Are you on the path to building an ideal “major league” sales team?

To answer these questions, you may first want to consider whether some common weaknesses exist within your sales team. For example, are all of your reps focused solely on the hardware sale? “That has been the nature of our industry for years and, of course, it is the result of the influence of the manufacturers,” says Ed Carroll, a principal with Strategy Development (www.strategydevelopment.org), a consulting firm that created and leads the BTA Sales Management Workshop. “However, with today’s well-engineered, cost-effective, reliable hardware, the differentiation between product lines is not what it was 10 to 15 years ago. Yet, many reps in the industry are stuck on what they are most comfortable with — selling boxes.”

Similarly, Teresa Hiatt, director of sales education at Ricoh Americas Corp., explains that in many dealerships there is a lack of training of the tenured, box-selling sales rep. “I can tell you in a heartbeat that anytime you start talking about sales training, everyone automatically assumes you are talking about new hires,” she says. “But while tenured salespeople have a wealth of business information, contacts and relationships, they are not penetrating customers wider and deeper through today’s solution selling avenues because they haven’t been afforded the right training. Instead, they are just surviving and meeting their goals in order to maintain a certain standard of living. Unfortunately, that does not allow your dealership to grow in new areas and to uncover new revenue streams that are necessary for it to survive.”

Other notable weaknesses are commonplace. Among them, says Tom Callinan, founding principal of Strategy

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Development: the lack of the last year. So, 12 people on “Too many dealers both an effort to develop a base of eight results in 150 out there ... say, ‘I need sales employees and a focus percent turnover.” somebody who can close on their productivity; comIf you see any of these pensation plans that do not weakn e sse s w ithin y our deals.’ That’s not the sales facilitate team selling; and sales operation, perhaps it is manager’s job ... The the incorrect notion that all time to take some decisive manager may need to top sales reps make good action . Th e f irst area of help close sales ... but his sales managers. There is fo cus li kely w i l l b e y our number one job is to develop people.” also the issue of excessive sales manager. After all, a — Tom Callinan turnover. “ We frequently team flounders without an Strategy Development find dealerships with more effective coach. “We believe than 100 percent annual the sales manager’s number turnover,” he says. “And, in many cases, the principal one job is to develop his people,” says Callinan. “Too many doesn’t measure it or doesn’t know how to measure it. For dealers out there, when looking for a manager, say, ‘I need example, a dealer may say he (or she) has eight employees, somebody who can close deals.’ That’s not the sales four of them with the company for 10 years and the other four manager’s job. Short-term, the manager may need to help for six months. So, he will say, ‘We have 50 percent turnover.’ close sales as he develops his people, but his number one job But, as it turns out, those four reps turned over three times in is to develop people.”

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to communicate with everyThis is accomplished, in “Unfortunately, what you one his expectations, the part, through an individual see in a lot of dealerships sales team’s successes and development plan for each is someone who uncovers changes in the marketplace.” sales rep, where the rep and In today’s market, it is also sales manager work togeththe opportunity for the important for the manager to er to develop a plan of acspecialist, and the specialist facilitate team selling, given tion and ongoing developsays, ‘Thanks for finding the rise of specialists in dealment that is unique to that this opportunity for me. erships, such as solution sperep’s opportunities and area Now I’m going to take over the account ... ” cialists or managed print of responsibility, says Call— Teresa Hiatt services specialists. “Generinan. “The manager should Ricoh Americas Corp. ally, the veteran sales rep is also be doing account planused to working as the Lone ning sessions, spending an hour each week with each rep,” he says. “In those sessions, Ranger and doing things his own way,” says Kramer. “Today, he they should be discussing strategy on how to get wider and has to bring other people in the organization into the selling process, whether it is technology, servicing, administrative or higher in opportunities that are six to 10 months out.”

The sales manager must regularly confirm that each sales workflow solutions people. These people need to be informed rep has a full “pipeline” of future sales opportunities, explains of what role they are going to play in the development of the Callinan. “If you start to measure ‘pipeline’ then you are able account and in meeting the customer’s objectives.”

Of course, a key hurdle for many dealerships working to get some visibility into future periods, and whether the rep is going to achieve quota,” he says. “First, we recommend that toward a team selling environment is the development of you measure the pipeline 30 days out. That doesn’t just mean appropriate compensation plans. “The number one deal these prospects are going to buy from you; it means they are breaker is compensation,” says Callinan. “If the general line going to buy in the next 30 days. The other two ‘buckets’ are rep feels like more of the compensation dollars are going to 31 to 90 days out and four to 18 months out. It is critical that go to a specialist, he is not going to involve the specialist.”

Hiatt agrees. “Unfortunately, what you see in a lot of dealthe sales rep increases that overall pipeline every month.”

Meanwhile, says Carroll, the effective sales manager takes erships is someone who uncovers the opportunity for the nothing for granted. “Unfortunately, in some cases, the sales specialist, and the specialist essentially says, ‘Thanks for manager just sits back and says of a rep, ‘Well, he knows finding this opportunity for me. Now I’m going to take over how to sell,’ and doesn’t follow up on the sales rep’s efforts,” the account and do what I have to do to get my particular he says. “ There needs to be active participation. For area of expertise sold to the customer,’” she says. “After one or example, the manager needs to go out in the field with his two times, the sales rep is going to say, ‘Wait a minute, every sales reps to see how they are doing and to measure their time I call on someone else’s resources, the deal gets taken away from me.’ So, they learn pretty quickly not to do that.” ability to deliver results.”

What’s the answer? “There has to be some type of split of Tom Kramer, an affiliate partner with Catalyst Performance Learning (www.catalyst2performance.com), a sales the commission on the sale that comes from the team sale,” training consulting firm, concurs, emphasizing that the says Jim Kahrs, president of Prosperity Plus Management sales manager needs to be engaged daily with sales reps. Consulting Inc. (www.prosperityplus.com), a consulting firm “The manager needs to make sure he is accessible to reps, dedicated to helping dealers with sales and profitability. “So, not just looking at the numbers, but looking at the process,” if the general line rep has done his job and makes the introhe says. “He needs to be a coach. Instead of being in a posi- duction and brings a specialist into the account who turns it tion of judgment, he needs to be saying things like, ‘Here’s a into a sale, then the general line rep needs to get some comsuggestion on another way to handle this or that situation.’” mission on the sale rewarding him for his activity.”

While dealership sales managers and principals grapple Actually, says Kramer, the sales manager should maintain open communication with all of the dealership’s employees. with establishing the best compensation plans — (Says “It is incumbent upon the sales manager to communicate Hiatt: “Nobody in this industry has solutions compensaeffectively throughout the organization,” he says. “He needs tion down pat.”) — another task of particular importance 14 | w w w . o f f i c e t e c h n o l o g y m a g . c o m | A p r i l 2 0 0 9

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in the account,” adds Kramis ensuring that sales team “Value buyers are those er. “It might be the chief members are calling on the IT people or upper information officer or the right people within the cusmanagers who have a director of IT. These people tomer location. Today, the will talk value with you . traditional buyer and decibroader perspective. They Value buyers are those IT sion maker of the past is no are looking for solutions people or upper managers longer the right person, in that will make their people who have a broader perspecmany cases. This is espemore productive, increase tive. They are looking for cially true in any sale intheir sales and reduce their costs.” solutions that will make volving a software applica— Tom Kramer their people more production that is tied to a netCatalyst Performance Learning tive, increase their sales and work-connected MFP. reduce their costs.’”

“The biggest mistake that Even when calling on the right contact, in today’s economy I see with sales reps is they try to find the right person to meet with before they understand anything about the busi- it is especially imperative that the sales rep demonstrate a ness,” says Hiatt, referring primarily to reps involved in hard- commitment to serving the customer long term. “You have to ware/software-based solution sales. “They have to do their be sure you are aligned with the customer’s business objecresearch and understand how the customer makes money. tives,” says Hiatt. “Despite any changes that may be coming Once they do that, it points them to the right person — for the customer, you should give them a compelling reason someone related to the function of making money, where to buy from you, demonstrating that you will be a long-term partner and not just interested in a quick deal.” the dealership’s products and services can help.”

Likewise, Kahrs suggests that sales reps be forthright in Similarly, adds Hiatt, the sales rep should also strive to involve the person who stands to personally benefit from acknowledging current economic difficulties, but focus on the transaction. “When it comes time for end-of-year per- how it is particularly important for the customer to consider formance reviews, who in the [customer] company will how office technology can ease the pain. He suggests a present your project [the efficiencies and savings realized message for the rep to share: “‘These are obviously difficult from the new hardware and software] as one of their accom- economic times. Companies cannot afford to be wasting any plishments for the year?” she explains. “That’s the person to of their resources. We have been able to help our customers realize significant savings. I would like to take 20 minutes of talk to; that’s the person who will drive your business.”

The person Hiatt describes won’t be the office manager. your time to come in and see if there is anything you could “What does the office manager get rated on?” she explains. be doing more efficiently and more economically. If, at the “It is, ‘Did you save the company money? Did you cut costs?’ end of the 20-minute appointment, it turns out that you are This person doesn’t get rated on strategic projects and how doing everything you can, then it at least validates your she changed the business. Instead, it might be a process processes and you don’t have to wonder about it. However, improvement officer, a business process excellence person there’s a good chance we can help you save some money by or some other bizarre title. But, this is the person who, at helping you do things more efficiently and economically.’”

Beyond having the necessary skills to sell in a weak review time, will put this project in front of the boss and say, economy, etc., Carroll shares one final characteristic of the ‘Look what I did this year.’”

Kramer offers some additional advice on finding the right ideal sales team. “It needs to be composed of reps who are person in the customer location: Involve people who are better business people than in the past,” he says. “They have more interested in value than price. “If you are always to have a broader focus, a broader understanding and they talking to the procurement people, they are going to lead have to be better problem solvers.”

Brent Hoskins, executive director the conversation to price,” he says. “They are going to distill of the Business Technology Association, everything down to a commodity and value won’t enter into is editor of Office Technology the conversation. In fact, they are not terribly interested in magazine. He can be reached value. Value, to the procurement guy, means ‘low price.’ at brent@bta.org.

“In contrast, the value buyer usually exists at a higher level 16 | w w w . o f f i c e t e c h n o l o g y m a g . c o m | A p r i l 2 0 0 9

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Miceli Apr 09:Miceli Mar 09

3/26/09

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Service Management A new frontier in the office technology industry by: Chip Miceli, Des Plaines Office Equipment

urrently facing the toughest fiscal times in years, business owners can no longer conduct “ business as usual” and are looking for ways to save on their bottom lines, without compromising on value and service.

The silver lining to difficult times is the creation of new opportunities — fresh operational prospects that if implemented well and executed by people with the right skill set or proper training, can generate forward-moving changes in key industries.

Service management is one emerging trend in the office technology industry that could translate into cost-saving benefits for business owners and provide employment for a significant number of information technology (IT) professionals negatively impacted by the current economic downslide.

Essentially, service management translates into adding IT to the list of services offered by an office technology dealership. Increasingly, companies that provide office equipment and technology have become a source for IT solutions. That trend has evolved in recent years to keep up with connectivity technology now utilized by virtually every type of business.

It would be a challenge today to locate a business in this country that does not have networking capabilities. With the use of those resources inevitably comes the need for maintenance and troubleshooting.

Take into consideration that these uneasy financial times have forced many businesses to downsize their IT and inhouse network people and there you have it — an out-ofnecessity marriage that can benefit both office technology dealerships and IT workers.

IT is among the hardest hit occupations in recent times.

While some of these roughly $80,000 annual salary jobs have been lost to attrition owing to across-the-board staff reductions and the resulting diminished need for a multi-person IT department, other companies are simply finding it more

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affordable to outsource these functions.

The end result is an increased available labor pool of IT professionals, many of whom are finding it necessary to not only modify their skill sets but also alter income expectations to align themselves with today’s rocky economic landscape.

Office technology dealerships provide an outsourcing option for those businesses that still require regular IT and network service, but no longer have the resources to maintain an onsite staff devoted to this purpose. As companies continue to downsize, many will look to hire independently, creating an opportunity for those dealerships that offer IT assistance as part of their service programs.

The use of a dealership service department to provide IT maintenance comes at considerable cost savings, both in salary and benefit considerations. An hourly as-needed rate can be negotiated when outsourcing the service and benefits do not have to be paid out.

As the trend continues to emerge, savvy dealerships will invest in IT training for their service technicians to meet this significant market shift. Increasingly, companies that sell and service business copiers, facsimiles and MFPs will handle a broader scope of connectivity issues, including IT. That progression is already evident considering the growing number of dealerships that have added system engineers — educated in software development, network design and experienced in troubleshooting and installation — to their staff rosters.

This development makes perfect sense inasmuch as the days of “just selling copiers” are no longer. As with many other businesses, recent fiscal and business dynamics have created a need for the office technology industry to reinvent itself.

The era of printers, copiers, facsimile machines, scanners and other stand-alone hardware equipment is certainly not completely bygone; however, with the steady shift to

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Miceli Apr 09:Miceli Mar 09

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network-capable MFPs and other IT tinue to emerge within the office techsolutions with integrated services also nology industry.

The addition of IT comes the need for a shift in personnel.

The addition of IT specialists to the specialists to the staff has Technology is making this transition staff has helped many of us keep up with helped many of us keep in personnel a requirement. Without ever-changing technology while proup with ever-changing proper servicing, those “value-added” viding customers with top-rate technical technology while MFPs can become a burden to clients service. But resting on one’s laurels is not providing customers with and garner vendors the type of reputaan option. In order to grow with the top-rate technical service. tion they would rather be without. In times, office technology dealerships addition to IT personnel, other techmust invest in advanced training. nology professionals, such as application The constantly evolving office techspecialists, are becoming vital to vendors. Considered a sales nology industry has created the need for employees whose support position, the application specialist is the Jack of all skills are more technical than manual. And while the availdigital trades and must have a strong working knowledge of ability of IT professionals has allowed this need to be met with operating systems, experience in network topology and soft- greater ease, it is also wise to heighten the technology skills of ware, strong technical knowledge across the board and expe- in-house service technicians. In fact, relatively new certificarience with on-site customer relations. tions address technical skills related to printers, scanners, facProfessional services may be the single-most significant simile machines, copiers, networking, connectivity and color revenue prospect for dealers and vendors today and into the theory and establish a standard method of measuring technical future as customization and programming technology con- competencies. Increasingly, entry- to mid-level technicians with some experience with installation, connectivity, repair and support skills are signing up for certification programs as the ever-evolving office technology industry continues to demand professionals whose skill sets have broad boundaries.

Network support team credentials at many dealerships include: project management certifications, MCSE certifications, database certifications, software development, CDIA certifications and computer science degrees. This wide variety of credentials illustrates the increasingly wider range of products — a shift toward technology that, in turn, requires a wider range of service expertise and dependability.

By offering the expertise of newly credentialed technicians and IT professionals experienced in the corporate realm, dealerships will see their value-added service quotients rise significantly.

Times may be tough, but this emerging trend in the office technology industry may bode well for those in the business, for those who use the products and services, for displaced IT specialists whose expertise is waiting to be utilized and for a new generation of service technicians whose proficiencies will grow and develop to meet the changing demands of technology-dependent commerce.

Chip Miceli is president of Des Plaines Office Equipment with locations in Chicago, Elk Grove Village and Rockford, Ill. He can be reached at chip@dpoe.com.

Visit www.dpoe.com.

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Metrics for Success Focus on sales representative productivity, turnover by: Tom Callinan, Strategy Development

here are two metrics that I believe will help office technology dealerships achieve long-term success, yet they are measured by very few companies: sales rep productivity and sales rep turnover.

Sales rep productivity is simply your annual equipment revenue divided by the average quantity of sales reps you had for the year. The average is calculated by summing the quantity of reps you had each month of the year — including fractional reps who did not work the entire month — and dividing that sum by 12. Measure it on a rolling 12 months.

Sales rep turnover is a little trickier, but it does use starting headcount, additions and ending headcount. So, if you started Jan. 1 with eight salespeople, hired 12 during the year and ended with eight, your turnover is 150 percent (12 ÷ 8). It is irrelevant that four of the eight reps from Jan. 1 are still with the company. You still hired 12 reps on a base of eight reps and ended the year with the same quantity of sales reps.

A slightly trickier calculation is starting with eight, adding 12 and ending with 10. So, you have 8 + 12 – 10, or 10 turns on a base of eight reps, or 125 percent. This is not 100 percent accurate, as you can calculate out average reps per month rather than using a static denominator. Your HR professional can help you there, but it is very close to accurate.

Turnover is one of the primary enemies of success. It is very difficult to be successful if you have high turnover. I define high turnover as anything greater than 40 percent.

Optimally, you want to have turnover of less than 30 percent.

As a consulting firm, we see many companies with sales turnover greater than 100 percent. These are not bad companies, but when we ask the dealership principals their turnover ratios before we calculate them, they rarely state a

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figure even close to 100 percent. They simply do not track turnover and hiring new sales reps becomes the norm. These principals are more focused on being fully staffed than they are on the success of their sales forces.

What drives high turnover? Many surveys clearly show that a salesperson’s number one determinant of success is a good sales manager. But the sales manager is not the only variable in a high turnover company.

We find a multitude of causes, including poor hiring practices, poor on-boarding and training, lack of clear expectations, a compensation plan that does not reward the proper behavior, poor territory design and a lack of a repeatable management process.

Turnover costs a fortune. I know anybody who took the time to read this article has heard it a million times. Yet again, many of our clients did not measure the cost of turnover. I can do the calculation for you but use this simple cut. Let us say the “average turnover” occurs somewhere between the sixth and ninth month of employment.

Using a “normal” ramp — without a sound territory approach — and normal performance during that period, it is probably fair to state the rep will sell about $51,000 in the nine-month period, producing just over $15,000 in gross profit (GP). Over this same period, you paid the person $35,000 in salary or draw (which becomes salary if not covered), expenses, plus commissions and bonuses. You are $20,000 upside down at this point without the cost of any support.

Assuming an average unit selling price of $5,000 and average new clicks of 5,880 per unit at $0.012 per click (generous) at a 45 percent GP, to account for new competitive placements, you should get a return on your investment — excluding the cost of money — in about 30 years. This approach is clearly a recipe for disaster, yet a recipe that many

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dealers prepare month after month. a lack of planning. They add sales reps For one, the more your Focus on what is driving your turnover while they are experiencing low producand fix it as soon as you can. tivity and end up increasing turnover sales team earns — Sales productivity drives earnings at and costs with no additions to market through increased sales, the rep level and profit for the company. share, producing low profit. Focus on not through a flawed There are a lot of benefits of those two turnover and productivity as part of sales compensation plan outcomes. For one, the more your sales your growth plan.

— the better retention team earns — through increased sales, Make certain you have your focus on you will have. not through a flawed sales compensaareas that drive market-share gains and tion plan — the better retention you profitability. Sales rep retention, comwill have. Retention is the opposite of turnover and it is a bined with increases in sales productivity, will make yours a good thing. High productivity also results in greater return more successful company. to the dealership. With productivity of $350,000 per year, a Tom Callinan is the founding principal of Strategy fairly common figure in the channel, a $30,000 base salary Development, a management consulting and advanced sales represents just under 9 percent of revenue. At $500,000 in training firm. From 1998 to 2005, he was an executive with productivity, that same salary represents 6 percent of IKON Office Solutions. Prior to IKON, he was the founder and CEO of Copifax Inc. revenue. That equates to 33 percent lower fixed costs as a He can be reached at ratio of revenue. callinan@strategydevelopment.org You want to grow your market share, revenues and or (610) 527-3317. profits; I understand and support those goals. It is just that Visit www.strategydevelopment.org. many companies go about achieving these sound goals with

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COURTS & CAPITOLS

Cutting Costs Perhaps reducing labor expenses is the right choice by: Robert C. Goldberg, General Counsel for the Business Technology Association

ecent Courts & Capitols columns regardin g th e re cession and responding to it have generated numerous e-mails and calls to the BTA Legal Hotline. One message is clear — dealers are seeking to reduce their costs.

An easy way to do so is to reduce your number of employees. Is this the wisest thing to do? What is the best way to cut your labor costs?

There are several ways to reduce your labor costs: Eliminate temporary or part-time positions Transfer individuals in slow-moving areas to sales Reduce the number of days in a work week Freeze salaries Reduce the company contribution to retirement plans Implement temporary lay-offs Eliminating temporary or part-time positions may not be as cost effective as it appears. Most temporary and part-time positions do not include benefits. Thus, if you find yourself understaffed, it may be necessary to add one full-time employee for several part-time positions eliminated. The cost of the additional employee with benefits may be more. It has also been shown that part-time employees work harder on a proportionate basis than full-time employees.

Transferring employees from slow-moving areas to sales is a solution to consider. If your administrative staff has less to do, the free time can be spent telemarketing. There are several online telemarketing education programs that can quickly provide the necessary skills. Add an appropriate incentive plan and employees will view this as an opportunity to earn additional compensation rather than additional burdens.

Reducing the number of days in the work week affects everyone and eliminates the necessity of terminating anyone.

This is often interpreted as fair and compassionate. Reducing the work week keeps your team in place and allows for a return to a normal work week when conditions improve. Make it clear this is a temporary solution with the full intention to return to a

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40-hour week when the economy picks up.

Freezing salaries is never positive.

Before considering this move, make certain that all variable costs and unnecessary expenses have been eliminated. A salary freeze cannot be viewed as placing the burden on employees while other “sacred cows” remain in place. Do not freeze salaries and leave on a family vacation for Spring Break two weeks later. Do not freeze salaries and leave for a Las Vegas trade show. No matter how much business is conducted in Las Vegas, your employees will view it as a vacation. The cost-reduction message must be clear and applied throughout the organization. The same rule applies to eliminating company contributions to retirement plans.

As shared in last month’s column, temporary layoffs must be fully explained and equitably implemented, with the basis clearly explained. Once you lay off an employee, it is entirely possible that the individual will find a new position and not be available when business improves.

Many of these short-term fixes may not prove wise in the long run. Dealers have found that adjusting their compensation plans to motivate increased sales allows them to keep employees and create incentives to sell. Lowering the basic salary levels while setting goals that result in bonuses and/or increased commissions can motivate salespeople in the direction you desire. Success is determined by the employee’s efforts. This approach can be positive and avoids the negative effects of layoffs or dismissals. In addition, when business picks up, the necessary staff will be in place to meet the demand.

One must be careful in cost reduction so that essential staff does not leave, motivation continues and growth is possible.

Variable and performance-based compensation plans can help you in these difficult times. You needed these employees in the past and hopefully will again soon.

Robert C. Goldberg is general counsel for the Business Technology Association.

He can be reached at robert.goldberg@sfnr.com.

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HIatt Apr 09:Hiatt Apr 09

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SELLING SOLUTIONS

2009 Solution Selling Reach out with a message of business partnership by: Teresa Hiatt, Ricoh Americas Corp.

olution selling, value-based selling, consultative selling, power selling — these are all terms that have been used in our industry to illustrate that the role of a sales professional in the technology arena is changing. What do all of these terms mean to sales professionals and to customers?

Historically, in the technology industry, the model for salespeople has been to gain expert knowledge of the products their company sold and then knock on doors until they found customers that could use those products in their businesses. Using the example of wireless networking devices, a salesperson of the past might work at memorizing a list of specs and features of the newest device and then visit customers with a message of how they can now expand their communications abilities.

S

The New Sales Model That model has changed for successful companies and salespeople. Today, the technology industry is ripe for consultants who have expertise in the customer’s business success and have access to a full range of products, software and services that help businesses meet their objectives. Salespeople must now focus on understanding a customer’s goals and then align the products with those goals. For instance, a customer’s goal of “growing business by 15 percent this year” aligns with the ability of a faster wireless device to improve communication, which would help grow business.

The Value Proposition What salespeople need to offer customers today relates to helping lower expenses and increase the efficiency and productivity of people and business processes.

These concerns and business goals are the realm of business owners, C-level executives and strategic members of the management teams that run businesses. They are typically of little interest to purchasing specialists or facilities managers, who in the past have been the target contacts for technology vendors. The old purchasing departments are only focused on gaining the lowest possible price for commodity products used 28 | w w w . o f f i c e t e c h n o l o g y m a g . c o m | A p r i l 2 0 0 9

by the business. If a salesperson continues to try to appeal to this buyer, he is doomed to ever-shrinking profits.

Relationship Building Solution selling, value-based selling or any other term we use to describe the new customer relationship means that sales professionals interact with different people in the companies they serve, with a different message and utilizing different skill sets.

The days of using “trick” closings are over. First of all, the customers know the close tricks better than the salespeople and may resent them. And, more importantly, they have no place in building a long-term business partnership based on mutual value and respect. If a sales professional brings a customer a proposal based on truly understanding the customer’s business goals and accurately assessing the current environment, closing the deal simply becomes the next natural step of the business improvement process.

Gaining New Skills With uncertain economic conditions facing many businesses today, it is an opportune time for the technology sales force to reach out to the customer base with a message of business partnership and solutions expertise. A true business education is required, with the ability to read income statements, annual reports and understand how customers make their money. Technology sales organizations that expand their sales education programs to include financial acumen and business process improvement will see a sales force better able to bring the right message to the right person in an organization.

Teresa Hiatt is director of sales education at Ricoh Americas Corp.

In her eight years at Ricoh, she has worked with Ricoh teams for the purposes of conducting research into sales training, setting global sales strategies and delivering sales training programs. She is also a member of the board of directors for the Professional Society of Sales and Marketing Training. She can be reached at teresa.hiatt@ricoh-usa.com.

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Adams Apr 09:Adams Apr 09

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SELLING SOLUTIONS

Getting in the Door Three questions to ask before prospecting by: Mike Adams, A-Tech Direct

oday’s economy makes it more critical than ever for dealers to minimize operating costs, generate increased lead volume at the lowest possible cost and maximize sales results. The most common challenge for most dealers is how to get in the door with the right prospect. This can be addressed by answering three questions: Who should we call on? What offer should we use to entice them to meet with us? How should we contact them to schedule a face-to-face meeting?

T

Who Should We Call?

The “shotgun” approach — in which companies canvas large numbers of prospects in hopes of catching a few great leads — is outdated, not to mention time-consuming, costly and detrimental to the morale of the sales force.

A targeted approach is needed in order to identify qualified companies and reach the key decision-makers. For most dealers, the greatest potential lies with CFOs, CIOs and highlevel administrators at mid-major (15-250 employees) and corporate-production print (250 employees or more) account markets, where sales typically exceed the average across all BTA Channel segments by approximately $42,000 and $92,000, respectively.

To target the most likely prospects in these segments, it is important to acquire or have access to a comprehensive and up-to-date database. The database can be leveraged to prioritize prospects based on the following criteria: type of business, annual revenue, total number of employees and more. Other valuable sources of data are the prospect’s Web site and their advertising. Once prospects are identified, they can be distributed to the sales team in the form of a list for telemarketing.

What Offer Should We Use? The classic offer of replacing current equipment with new machines is no longer effective. In today’s economy, businesses are less inclined to acquire new capital equipment, so new approaches are necessary. Since most prospects are interested in new ways to lower their operating expenses, a unique approach is to propose that the client outsource management 30 | w w w . o f f i c e t e c h n o l o g y m a g . c o m | A p r i l 2 0 0 9

of their printer fleet to your dealership. Dealers who have had success with this strategy do not replace any equipment initially, but are able to reduce the company’s operating costs by 10 to 30 percent by offering a lower per page rate for printing. Once they have developed the client relationship, sales, service and supply opportunities gradually evolve. This approach positions the dealer in a more consultative role, which can be more profitable while maintaining a consistent revenue stream.

How Should We Contact Them?

Some dealers still do “Blitz Days” where the whole sales team makes personal calls on companies in one geographic area. This is a personal approach, but is costly and does not use sales representatives’ time wisely.

A more effective method for lead generation in these markets is phone prospecting to a targeted list of ideal prospects, combined with canvassing local businesses in the vicinity of prospects where personal appointments have been set via telemarketing.

The actual work of generating these leads can be very challenging. A number of dealers have set up their own internal telemarketing teams to generate these appointments in order to maximize the face time salespeople have with potential clients.

Other dealers have chosen to outsource the telemarketing in order to reduce costs such as payroll, database fees and the headaches associated with managing employees.

When targeted correctly through effective telemarketing, mid-major and corporate accounts are easier to sell at a reasonable profit and due to their volume, may also present opportunities for future sales. The best approach, via either telemarketing or outsourcing, is the one that provides your dealership with the highest yield of qualified leads at the lowest total cost per lead.

Mike Adams is CEO of A-Tech Direct. He spent 20 years running a BTA member dealership in Southern California where he was an equity partner and served as vice president of sales and marketing.

He can be reached at (949) 292-1339 or madams@a-techdirect.com.

Visit www.a-techdirect.com.

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EDUCATION CALENDAR May 7

“Service Incentive Pay Plans — What Works and Why” Does your incentive plan accomplish what you want it to do? Many incentive plans, though well-intentioned, can actually damage the organization. A well-designed incentive pay plan can help pull people together, point them in the direction you want them to go and deliver the bottom-line results you need. In this webinar, Mike Woodard of Strategy Development will provide the guidance you need to make sure your incentive plan is the right one.

14-15 BTA Print Management Workshop

Chicago, IL Taught by Tom Callinan and Ed Carroll of Strategy Development, this two-day educational workshop is designed to provide dealerships with the tools they need to establish a print management strategy that will allow them to significantly increase the quantity of captured prints, lock in customers, distinguish themselves from competitors and, ultimately, sell more hardware.

June 11-12 BTA Sales Management Workshop

New Orleans, LA Taught by Ed Carroll and David Ramos of Strategy Development, this two-day workshop will provide dealership principals and sales managers at all levels a framework and tools so they can develop their sales employees and drive new business and more share of wallet in current accounts. This interactive workshop will help attendees form a business plan that they can implement upon returning to their dealerships.

11-12 BTA ProFinance

New Orleans, LA ProFinance instructors John Hanson and John Hey of Strategic Business Associates will teach you the financial model that helped them make the decisions that grew DC Hey from a $5 million to a $150 million IKON-acquired enterprise. In addition to helping you implement the model in your company, they will help you understand the strategies required to become more client and employee focused.

11-13 “Jazz it Up in New Orleans!”

New Orleans, LA In order to help dealers better position their companies for success in today’s volatile economy, the Southeast and Mid-America districts of the Business Technology Association are joining forces to host what is certain to be one of the industry’s premier educational and networking events of 2009. This conference provides a broad range of two-day education opportunities, plus an outstanding General Registration education session line-up and networking events.

For additional information or to register for courses or events, visit www.bta.org or call (800) 843-5059.

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BTA HIGHLIGHTS The following new members joined BTA during the month of February:

Dealer Members Ashley’s Office World, Tifton, GA Copiers Plus, Egg Harbor Township, NJ DL Gallivan Office Solutions LLC, Portage, MI Data Comm Inc., Jefferson City, MO Digital Office Systems, McAllen, TX Precision Duplicating Solutions, London, KY Vendor Associate Members Clover Holdings Inc., Ottawa, IL Service Associate Members Equipment Data Associates, Charlotte, NC Strategic Business Associates, Minneapolis, MN For full contact information of these new members, visit www.bta.org.

For the benefit of its dealer members, each month, BTA profiles two of its Vendor or Service Associate members in this space.

BTA Vendor Associate member American PrintWare Inc. offers a broad range of software products and custom-engineered solutions for the office technology industry, including software that is used to transform, manage and distribute documents. Not only does the company offer a wide variety of software, but it also has the ability to support the reseller in the pre- and post-sale environment. Founded in 1994, American PrintWare Inc. is headquartered in Orange County, Calif., with resellers in Australia, Argentina, Venezuela, Brazil, Mexico, France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom. www.apwi.com

BTA Shipping Program As a BTA member, you are eligible to receive exclusive discounts and preferred pricing with the leading transportation providers in the industry. BTA has partnered with FedEx (save up to 29%), YRC (formerly Yellow Transportation & Roadway Express – save up to 52%) and UPS Supply Chain Solutions (save up to 45%). Freight discounts through USF Companies and New Penn (save up to 52% with both) are also offered.

Whether you ship envelopes, packages, crates or pallets, these carriers can provide a solution. For more details, visit the BTA Web site and click on “Member Benefits” in the left menu and then select “Shipping & Freight Discounts.”

BTA Service Associate member CopierCompass is a group of nationwide staffing experts for the copier/MFP industry. The 13-year-old company focuses on hiring and certification for sales representatives and copier/MFP technicians. CopierCompass’ team of full-time professional recruiters have the industry experience and human resource education/experience to help meet your staffing requirements. The team’s career experience includes sales representatives, sales managers, technicians and office managers.

For more information on BTA member benefits, visit www.bta.org.

A full list of BTA Vendor and Service Associate members can be found online at www.bta.org.

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www.copiercompass.com

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Upcoming Education Workshops

Do you crunch the numbers,

or do the numbers crunch you?

T

he BTA ProFinance course will teach you how to set the strategy, track critical performance measures and manage your assets according to a proven business model designed to improve the profitability of your company.

Instructors John Hanson and John Hey of Strategic Business Associates take a holistic approach to the redirection of your business — from sales rep compensation and projecting service revenues to inventory management and an action plan for implementation — with the short-term goal of achieving a minimum of 14% operating income. You can achieve these results by monitoring 24 key benchmarks and making strategic shifts as discussed in the program.

Start planning for improved profitability today! Send all of your strategic decision makers to ProFinance — it’s an investment in your company that will help you relieve the end-of-the-month crunch.

To register for ProFinance or get more information on pricing and quantity discounts, visit www.bta.org or call BTA at (800) 843-5059.

BTA members may apply their $250 coupon received with their membership toward this class. Redeem your coupon upon registration.

Upcoming ProFinance courses: June 11-12, 2009

New Orleans, La.

ProFinance is designed for owners and executive-level staff who make the critical business decisions that impact your company’s success. Some OEMs reimburse for ProFinance tuition through advertising co-op or professional development funds. Check with your OEM.

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SERVICE CONNECTIONS

Service Technicians How many can you afford? How many do you need? by: Jack Duncan, Jack Duncan Consulting

n today’s business climate of declining sales, businesses must rely on aftermarket profits — ser vice and supplies — to sur v ive. O n e of th e ke y c omp on ents in running a profitable service department is labor expense. This means having the correct number of technicians on staff. Too many and profits suffer, too few and customer satisfaction suffers.

The two main questions are: How many can you have and not let profits suffer? How many do you need to address the workload?

Let us address the financial side first, as it is the easiest to address. The most common business models in use today stated a few years ago that we needed $144,000 in annual service revenue per service technician. That number has since climbed to increase profit percentages. Simply stated, all you need to do is to divide your annual service revenue by 144,000 and that will give you the number of technicians you can afford to make minimum profit thresholds. If your annual service revenue is $1,152,000, you can have eight service technicians. But remember that the $144,000 amount has increased in almost all business models.

This simple formula does not, however, consider all of the variables in most service departments today. We must also consider the current level of productivity of our service technicians, average service call duration, recall rate and incomplete call percentage.

First, let us talk about average daily productive hours. Our service technicians should average seven and a half productive hours on a normal day barring anomalies such as training, service meetings, etc. This means that they have a total of seven and a half hours of combined travel and screwdriver time.

Taking these times and the average month with 20 working days, they should average about 140 productive hours per month. You could also start with 2,080 hours in a year and work backward, subtracting hours for vacation, sick time, training and meetings, etc., and then divide that by 52 weeks in a year.

The net effect should still be 140 hours of productive time per month. As we drop below this level of productivity, we now need more technicians to cover our deficiency in productivity.

I

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The next thing that we must consider is our average recall percentage and our incomplete call percentage. This would equate to our efficiency or first-call effectiveness. What percentage of times that we visit a machine can we resolve the issue on the first call without having to return for a recall to install parts we did not have on the first call, requiring additional time or technical assistance? If our goal is to have 10 percent or fewer recalls and 10 percent or fewer incomplete calls, then our efficiency goal is now 80 percent. Eight times out of 10, we are able to resolve the call on the first visit. Allowing either or both of these percentages to go over 10 percent (20 percent total) means that we are now required to have more technicians than we should to be profitable because our first-call effectiveness exceeds our goals. In the case of a high recall percentage, we may need additional technical training, etc. If it is a high incomplete call percentage, we are probably throwing labor at a parts problem. We must have the right parts in the right place at the right time.

If we move on now to the actual information and formulas, we need to calculate the number of technicians we need to address our workload. To do this, we will need to know: Active population by model Average days between all service calls Average service call duration — travel and customer time combined Let us begin by establishing the average call frequency for each model.

All we need to do is divide 30 days in the average month by the average number of days between service calls, or mean time between visits: 30 ÷ 60 days MTBV = .5 service calls per month for model ABC. Multiply that by the active population for that model: .5 calls per month x 100 active machines = 50 projected calls per month for model ABC. Multiply the number of projected calls by the average call duration: 50 projected service calls x 1.5 hours duration = 75 machine service hours required for model ABC. Follow the same formulas for each model serviced and total

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th e numb er of machin e ser v ice hours Remember that any (MSH) and divide that improvements in total by 140 hours of first-call effectiveness productive time per will increase the service technician and time between you now know how service calls and many technicians you decrease workload ... need to address your service workload.

Remember that any improvements in first-call effectiveness will increase the time between service calls and decrease workload, or give you the ability to service more machines without additional technicians.

Jack Duncan has held positions from service technician to service manager to vice president of service in dealerships ranging from start-up to one of the largest in the industry.

His expertise includes service management, inventory control and purchasing. In 2004 he founded Jack Duncan Consulting and now works with dealerships across the country, specializing in increasing profitability through increased productivity and proficiency as well as teaching Service Managers University classes. He can be reached at jack@jackduncanconsulting.com.

Visit www.jackduncanconsulting.com.

ADVERTISER INDEX 20 • BEI Services

2-3 • Digital Gateway

15 • Kyocera Mita America Inc.

(307) 587-8446 / www.beiservices.com

(866) 342-8392 / www.digitalgateway.com/mps

www.kyoceramita.com

38 • BTA Navigators

5 • DocuWare

9 • MSE

(800) 843-5059 / www.bta.org

(888) 565-5907 / www.docuware.com

(800) 673-4968 / www.mse.com

37 • BTA Professional Services Workshop

21, 23 • ECi

13 • Muratec America Inc.

(800) 843-5059 / www.bta.org

(866) 374-3221 / www.eci2.com/onesolution

(469) 429-3481 / www.muratec.com

35 • BTA ProFinance

11 • Sharp Imaging and Information

(800) 843-5059 / www.bta.org

31 • Equipment Data Associates (800) 288-8262 / www.edadata.com/bta

35 • BTA Sales Management Workshop

7 • GE Capital Solutions

(800) 843-5059 / www.bta.org

http://ge.leasingsource.com/CPC

www.sharpusa.com/frontier 27 • Strategy Development

24 • BTA Scholarships (816) 303-4031 / www.bta.org

40 • GreatAmerica Leasing Corp.

(800) 234-8787 / www.greatamerica.com

33 • BTA Southeast/BTA Mid-America

29 • Image Star

(800) 234-8996 / www.btasoutheast.org

(888) 632-5515 / www.imagestar.com

12, 39 • BulletHire

17 • InkCycle

(925) 460-9233 / www.bullethire.com

(800) 736-8877 / www.inkcycle.com

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Company of America

(610) 527-3317 / www.strategydevelopment.org 25 • Supplies Network (800) 729-9300 / www.suppliesnetwork.com/welcome 19 • West Point Products (800) 624-6991 / www.westpointproducts.com

BulletHire ad Apr 09:Layout 1

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Great America ad Apr 09:32OT0408

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