July 2014 Office Technology

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CONTENTS Volume 21 • No. 1

FEATURE ARTICLES 10

A Balanced Approach Settling in with the right mix of A3 & A4

COURTS & CAPITOLS EEOC Complaints Contact the BTA Legal Hotline prior to investigation

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by Robert C. Goldberg BTA General Counsel

by Brent Hoskins Office Technology Magazine

Like with anything else, the evolution of the A4 MFP has occurred in stages. As the A4 MFP finally began to reach its stride, it was, at first, largely seen by dealers as a path to decreased revenues. What is the current stage of the A4 MFP’s evolution? You might say it is now “settling in” as an important component of the office technology industry’s product portfolio. Increasingly, the A4 MFP is finding a happy home in the workplace, including in such leading verticals as health care, legal and real estate.

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I recently received an emergency dealer call. An employee had been terminated and filed a complaint with the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). If you find yourself subject to an investigation by the EEOC, contact the BTA Legal Hotline.

P R I N C I PA L I S S U E S Hiring Mistakes Do not ‘cut any slack’ in the interviewing process

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Meet Ron Hulett BTA’s new president assumes office on July 1

by Troy Harrison SalesForce Solutions

Let’s take a look at sales hiring and point out some things you will see during the hiring process — and then talk about why these things should have been knock-out blows to any candidate’s hopes. So why do they get hired? It is simple — emotional involvement by hiring managers.

by Brent Hoskins Office Technology Magazine

On July 1, Ron Hulett, president and CEO of U.S. Business Systems Inc. in Elkhart, Ind., became the national president of the Business Technology Association (BTA). He is BTA’s 80th president. His $4 million-plus dealership services northern Indiana and southern Michigan. It represents Kyocera and Sharp, and sells and supports many different office technology products and software. Recently, Office Technology magazine had the opportunity to visit with Hulett, asking about his role as a BTA volunteer and the association.

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Your Retirement Plan Common errors employers often make

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by Todd D. Thompson Sentry Insurance

In 2012, the Department of Labor enacted ERISA regulations surrounding fee disclosure in 401(k) and profit sharing retirement plans. This article provides a review of the main highlights employers generally do not do, or do not understand, that may be putting them at significant risk.

Great Online Reviews They are important to your dealership

by Darrell Amy, Dealer Marketing, and Gary Lavin, CEO Juice

You have built your dealership on a solid reputation for outstanding service. References are golden when it comes to growing your business.

These days you need more than a good printed reference letter. You need to have great reviews on sites like Google, Facebook and Yelp. Does your dealership have negative reviews online? Negative reviews hanging out on the Internet could be sabotaging your business, costing you tens of thousands of dollars in lost sales.

D E PA R T M E N T S Business Technology Association

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• 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 Names 2014-15 Scholarship Winners

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very year, the Business Technology Association (BTA) awards $1,000 and $1,500 scholarships to qualifying children of full-time employees of BTA member dealerships. Since the 1984-85 school year, BTA has awarded $1,520,000 in scholarships to more than 1,300 students.

An independent, impartial evaluator reviews the submitted applications and selects the winners. Each applicant must submit a transcript, essay and information in four areas: school activities; leadership positions; work experience, recognition and awards; and community involvement. For the 2014-15 school year, BTA awarded a total of $24,500 in scholarships to 22 students.

This year’s scholarship recipients and sponsoring BTA member dealerships are: Erin Bardonner, Hadley Office Products, Wausau, Wis.; Philip Coelho, DOCUmation Inc., San Antonio, Texas; Benjamin Eastin, RJ Young Co., Nashville, Tenn.; Kemais Ehlers, Yost Business Systems, Idaho Falls, Idaho; Emily Ellenbecker, EO Johnson Business Technologies, Wausau, Wis.; Tara Forsythe, WJS Enterprises, Jefferson, La.; Cassia Gravesande, LDI Color ToolBox, Jericho, N.Y.; Charles Henderson, Anderson Business Technology, Pasadena, Calif.; Jeffrey Henize, Waltz Business Solutions, Crestview Hills, Ky.; Starla Hicks, Howard D. Happy Co., Mayfield, Ky.; Amanda Hovind, Advanced Systems Inc., Waterloo, Iowa; Julia Katz, EO Johnson Business Technologies, Wausau, Wis.; Adam Kauth, Century Business Technologies, Topeka, Kan.; Kelsie Key, RJ Young Co., Nashville, Tenn.; Jessica Keys, Fireside Office Solutions, Bismarck, N.D.; Grace Newsom, Pacific Office

Automation, Beaverton, Ore.; Chelsey Niemeyer, Fireside Office Solutions, Bismarck, N.D.; Morgan Prokupek, Eakes Office Plus, Grand Island, Neb.; Christian Segers, Quality Graphics Equipment Service Inc., High Point, N.C.; Samantha Sutter, PERRY proTECH, Lima, Ohio; Cody Timmermann, Business World Inc., Little Rock, Ark.; and Kimberly Turner, JD Young Co., Tulsa, Okla.

The BTA Scholarship Foundation is supported by dealers, vendors and service providers. BTA appreciates the contributions made during the 2013-14 year by the following member companies: ABM Automation, Oklahoma City, Okla.; ABS Business Products Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio; Advanced Business Systems, Watertown, N.Y.; American Office Machines Inc., Metairie, La.; Atlantic Tomorrow’s Office, New York, N.Y.; Automated Office Systems, Fresno, Calif.; Budget Document Technology, Lewiston, Maine; CA Reding Co. Inc., Fresno, Calif.; Cobb Technologies, Richmond, Va.; Coordinated Business Systems, Burnsville, Minn.; Copy Link Inc., Chula Vista, Calif.; Digital Copy Systems LLC, Peoria, Ill.; Enoch Office Equipment, Timonium, Md.; EO Johnson Business Technologies, Wausau, Wis.; Kelly Office Solutions, Winston-Salem, N.C.; Mars International Inc., Clifton, N.J.; New England Copy Specialists Inc., Woburn, Mass.; NorthShore Business Technology, Kenosha, Wis.; Office Enterprises Inc., Weston, Wis.; Printers & Stationers Inc., Florence, Ala.; Prior & Nami Business Systems, Hamilton, N.J.; Purvis Business Machines Inc., Meridian, Miss.; Supplies Wholesalers, Reno, Nev.; Think Smart SA de CV, Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico; Toshiba America Business Solutions Inc., Irvine, Calif.; and Wagner Office Machines, Chicago, Ill. n — Brent Hoskins

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 Darrell Amy, Dealer Marketing www.dealermarketing.net Robert C. Goldberg, General Counsel Business Technology Association Troy Harrison, SalesForce Solutions www.salesforcesolutions.net Gary Lavin, CEO Juice www.ceojuice.com Todd D. Thompson, Sentry Life Insurance www.sentry.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 Photo Credits: Anatoliy Babiy, doockie, filmfoto, Kittisak_Taramas, Wavebreakmedia Ltd. Cover created by Bruce Quade, Brand X Studio. ©2014 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 2014-2015 Board of Directors

Meet BTA’s 2014-15 Volunteer Leaders

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t is an honor for me to assume the national presidency of the Business Technology Association (BTA).

I am looking forward to helping guide our association in the coming year. However, I am not alone as a BTA volunteer. I am pleased to introduce the elected dealer members who have stepped forward to give back to their association. They are: National President-Elect and Board Member Dave Quint, Advanced Systems Inc., Waterloo, Iowa.

National Vice President and Board Member Rob Richardson, Allied Document Solutions & Services Inc., Swedesboro, N.J. National Immediate Past President and National Board Member Todd J. Fitzsimons, Automated Business Solutions DBA Network Imaging, Southington, Conn.

BTA East President Greg Gondek, ACT Group, Cromwell, Conn.

BTA East President-Elect Jim Donnellon, ABS Business Products Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio.

BTA East Vice President Tim Seeley Jr., Seeley Office Systems Inc., Glens Falls, N.Y. BTA East Secretary/Treasurer Don Risser, Advanced Laser Printer Service & Supplies Inc., Emigsville, Pa. BTA East Board Member Mike Ardry, Office Equipment Center LLC, Plantsville, Conn.

BTA East Board Member Jerry Allen, Metro Business Systems LLC, Forestville, Md. BTA East Board Member Aaron Rubin, Docutrend Imaging Solutions, New York, N.Y. BTA East Immediate Past President and National Board Member Mike Boyle, BASE Technologies Inc., Bethel, Conn.

BTA Mid-America President Bob Evans, DigiTec Office Solutions Inc., Sugar Land, Texas.

BTA Mid-America President-Elect Erik Crane, Copy Products Inc., Springfield, Mo. BTA Mid-America Vice President Greg Quirk, JQ Office Equipment of Omaha Inc., Omaha, Neb. BTA Mid-America Secretary/Treasurer DJ Hastings, Hogland Office Equipment, Lubbock, Texas.

BTA Mid-America Immediate Past President and National Board Member Dan Castaneda, International Copy Machine Center, El Paso, Texas.

BTA Southeast President John Eckstrom, Carolina Business Equipment Inc. (CBE), Columbia, S.C. BTA Southeast President-Elect Brian Snow, Advanced Business Systems, Tallahassee, Fla. BTA Southeast Vice President Tim Renegar, Kelly Office Solutions, Winston-Salem, N.C. BTA Southeast Secretary/Treasurer Bill James, River Ridge, La. BTA Southeast Immediate Past President and National Board Member Gerry Purvis, Purvis Business Machines Inc., Meridian, Miss.

BTA West President Cathy Dimon, Northern Business Systems, Fairbanks, Alaska.

BTA West President-Elect John Hines, Copiers Northwest Inc., Seattle, Wash.

BTA West Vice President Mike Brandon, ABC Office Equipment Co., Spokane, Wash.

BTA West Secretary/Treasurer Joe Escamilla, Document Systems, Oxnard, Calif.

BTA West Board Member Dan Bombard, Yuma Office Equipment, Yuma, Ariz.

BTA West Board Member Mike McCurdy, Integrated Technologies Inc., Twin Falls, Idaho.

BTA West Immediate Past President and National Board Member Mike Ehlers, Yost Business Systems, Idaho Falls, Idaho. n — Ron Hulett

President Ron Hulett U.S. Business Systems Inc. 3221 Southview Drive Elkhart, IN 46514 ron.hulett@usbus.com President-Elect Dave Quint Advanced Systems Inc. 2945 Airport Blvd.

P.O. Box 57 Waterloo, IA 50704 dquint@asiowa.com Vice President Rob Richardson Allied Document Solutions & Services Inc. 200 Church St. Swedesboro, NJ 08085 robr@ads-s.com BTA East Mike Boyle BASE Technologies Inc. 23 Francis Clarke Circle, Ste. 1B Bethel, CT 06801 mboyle@baseinc.com BTA Mid-America Dan Castaneda International Copy Machine Center 1515 Lee Trevino, Ste. EE El Paso, TX 79936 dan@icmc-elp.com BTA Southeast Gerry Purvis Purvis Business Machines Inc. 4505 Highway 39 N. Meridian, MS 39301 gerry.purvis@gopurvis.com BTA West Mike Ehlers Yost Business Systems 685 E. Anderson Idaho Falls, ID 83401 mike@yostonline.com Immediate Past President Todd J. Fitzsimons Automated Business Solutions DBA Network Imaging 122 Spring St., Ste. B3 Southington, CT 06489 tjfitzsimons@ni-ct.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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A Balanced Approach Settling in with the right mix of A3 & A4 by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine

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ike with anything else, the evolution of the A4 MFP has occurred in stages. Among the early models were scanners essentially mounted on top of printers. Later came four-function models, now seen with hindsight as less than ideal, given their inability to perform more than one function at a time. Then, as the A4 MFP finally began to reach its stride, it was, at first, largely seen by dealers as a path to decreased revenues.

What is the current stage of the A4 MFP’s evolution? You might say it is now “settling in” as an important component of the office technology industry’s product portfolio. Increasingly, the A4 MFP is finding a happy home in the workplace, including in such leading verticals as health care, legal and real estate.

The A4 MFP is addressing customer needs, rightsizing fleets and, as it turns out, perhaps of particular interest, displacing single-function printers. In addition, while it is not, understandably, providing the same level of revenue as its A3 cousin, it is helping dealers to win new customers and keep the old. “The A4 MFP is a bit of a revenue hit for our [dealer] partners,” says Bill Armstrong, director of sales operations for United States Solutions Providers (USSP) at Xerox Corp.

“But, at the end of day, they are winning over customers.”

Increasingly, MFP manufacturers are expanding their A4 MFP offerings and encouraging dealers to do the same.

The key message is that dealers should have a balanced approach in the placement of both A3 and A4 MFPs, not pushing one or the other, but determining what is best for the customer, says Danielle Wolowitz, senior director of product planning and marketing at KYOCERA Document Solutions America Inc. “The hardware is almost a secondary conversation,” she says. “Instead, we are talking more about the needs of the organization.”

Wolowitz encourages dealers, focused on a total document solutions approach, to view and position the A4 MFP as

a convenient solutions hub. “It is now to the point where we don’t even talk about the standard four functions,” she says.

“It is more about the business processes customers can engage in with the device, and how they can simplify workflow, streamline what they do on a daily basis and enhance productivity in the office.”

Of course, says Wolowitz, the placement of an A4 MFP often comes down to the practicality of the device’s smaller size versus the need for more advanced capabilities. In some situations, she says, the A4 MFP is best: “A4 MFPs are becoming more and more prevalent where space constraints are an issue and, so, a small footprint is preferred.” In other situations, she says, an A3 MFP is best: “There is still a need for the A3 product and larger format [11-by-17-inch] printing, but more than that, there is just the speed and robustness of the A3.”

For many, however, despite the inherent benefits and practicality of the A4 MFP, loyalty to the A3 runs deep. In a single-unit transaction, says Todd Smith, manager of the A4 worldwide marketing team at Xerox, the “fear of losing” the A3 MFP, given its speed, advanced finishing and larger format printing capabilities, is a primary reason why some customers will simply opt to replace an A3 with another A3.

“However,” he says, “in an office that is big enough to have two MFPs, where they would have traditionally placed two A3 devices, we are starting to see a lot more people placing an A3 and an A4.”

Armstrong calls it the “good, better, best” approach. “The ‘good’ approach is to swap out an A3 for another A3; quote the price and get it out the door,” he says. “The ‘better’ or ‘best’ approach would be to provide a mix. The dealer would help the customer understand the cost difference in placing, perhaps, two A4 devices and only one A3, bringing more convenience back to the work environment.”

Bringing “convenience back to the work environment”

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points to a trend cited earlier — all of its products have the reality that A4 MFPs have a common print driv“A4 is getting some been replacing single-function er. He also specifically traction, but it is not printers. “We have seen some cites the example of the taking over the market. success in the channel with recompany’s ColorQube The $1,000-plus laser MFP placing single-function print8700 and 8900 A4 MFPs, market is still dominated ers with A4 devices,” Wolowitz which have the same by the A3 configuration. says. “These include desktop A4 controller, ConnectKey, devices being placed in larger also used by the majorA4 penetration has hovered organizations where they want ity of Xerox’s A3 MFPs. around 30 percent of unit shipments ... ” to bring scanning, for example, “So, we are trying to pro— Keith Kmetz closer to the end user.” vide a common feature IDC Mike Hunter, a director of set wherever we can technology marketing at Ricoh with the products we ofAmericas Corp., responsible for the marketing of copier- fer,” he says. “This has been a ‘critical linkage’ for us in sales based A3 and A4 MFPs, says the growing trend should have through our dealers, who recognize the end-user experience the attention of dealers. “What we are seeing is a lot of op- is going to be identical between A3 and A4 models.” portunities out there to go after low-hanging fruit — those Integration is also the route being taken at Ricoh. “Our single-function printers,” he says. “Our message to dealers A3 engine architecture is now being used in our A4 prodis: ‘There are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of those ucts, so we are sharing similar solutions, software and user single-function printers that you can target, providing the interfaces,” Hunter says. “So, in the enterprise-type of accustomer with the extra value of a multifunctional device.’” count with multiple devices, we are offering the same look There was a day, of course, when many felt the primary and feel, providing the same opportunities to have a compacasualty of the A4 MFP’s rise would be the A3 MFP. “Overall, ny-wide solution that will not only be on the A3s, but on the A3 is declining a little bit, but we are not seeing the canni- A4s as well. That is really just due to our customers asking balism that everyone feared,” Hunter says. “The A4 is not the for this availability on these devices.” ‘big monster’ that everyone thought it was going to be. There With customers embracing a mix of A3 and A4 MFPs, the is still a big and unique distinction between A3 and A4, and displacement of single-function printers by A4 MFPs, and a need for a mix of the MFPs within customer locations.” the increasing integration of functionality across A3 and Beyond the A3’s ability to handle 11-by-17-inch paper, much A4 MFPs, how fast is the shift to A4 occurring? “Industry of the “big and unique distinction” between A3 and A4 has to analysts are reporting that the shift from A3 to A4 is a slowdo with finishing capabilities. As Armstrong states: “That re- moving one,” Wolowitz says. “Development of both A3 and ally is the separator.” That is not to say that all A4s lack fin- A4 is continuing.” ishing. Smith notes, for example, that Xerox offers some inKeith Kmetz, program vice president of Imaging, Printing line finishing on its color A4 MFPs — automatic sorting and and Document Solutions Research at market research firm stapling. “I am not sure that any A4 products on the market IDC, is one of those analysts. “A4 is getting some traction, but provide any advanced finishing, like folding or three-hole it is not taking over the market,” he says, focusing in particular punch,” he says. “However, multi-position stapling and sort- on the price segment of product sold by dealers. “The $1,000ing are starting to become prevalent within the A4 space.” plus laser MFP market is still dominated by the A3 configuAlso becoming prevalent is the integration of some of ration. A4 penetration has hovered around 30 percent of unit the A3 MFP’s features and functionality into A4 MFPs. “The shipments in this price segment over the last several years.” trend now with our products — and pretty much across Looking forward, Kmetz says the growth of the A4’s market the industry — is the integration of solutions and applica- share will remain slow. “We anticipate that A4 will continue tions into all devices,” Wolowitz says. “For example, the new to nudge into the A3 segment and gain some share, but it’s a monochrome A4 MFPs we launched in April feature a 7-inch relatively small gain,” he says. “2018 unit penetration for A4 in touch screen to run all of our business applications. Plus, this price band segment, for example, is projected at about 32 the new color MFPs we previewed for release later this year percent. So, for the foreseeable future, A3 and A4 will coexist.” will have the same 7-inch touch-screen interface for our With any lingering concerns about the demise of the business applications, just like our A3 models. So, we are higher-margin A3 MFP virtually eliminated for the foreadding to the A4’s ease of use.” seeable future, perhaps more dealers should boost their Similarly, as Armstrong explains, Xerox has ensured that efforts on the A4 side, with an eye on better addressing 12 | ­w w w. o f f ic et ec hno log y m a g.c om | July 2 0 1 4

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function installed base of customer needs. Some have existing customers,” he says. already done so, others “We have some dealers “And I would say that if dealhave not. “We have some who are extremely ers are not embracing A4 dealers who are extremely progressive with A4 MFPs, they are at risk of losprogressive with A4 and and lead with it. ing customers to somebody lead with it,” Wolowitz says, We also have dealers who is. If the dealer is only noting that other dealers who still lead with A3 quoting A3 products and have “seen the value to go and only sell A4 when only looking at the copier to market with that balside of the business, someanced deployment” of both they need to.” body else may go in there A3 and A4. “We also have

— Danielle Wolowitz and start replacing singledealers who still lead with KYOCERA Document Solutions America Inc. function printers with A4 A3 and only sell A4 when MFPs. Eventually, that comthey need to.”

Charlie Vidal, a director of technology marketing at petitor may start taking page volume, along Ricoh, responsible for the marketing of printer-based MFPs with the annuity stream, from the incumbent as well as single-function printers, notes that A4 MFPs dealer’s A3 MFPs.” n Brent Hoskins, executive director of the not only can provide dealers a new source of revenue, but Business Technology Association, is editor they can also help to thwart competitors. “There is a lot of Office Technology magazine. He can be of service annuity available on A4s, especially when you reached at brent@bta.org or (816) 303-4040. target the single-function printer market and the singleCONNECT TO A SMARTER FUTURE l 2014

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Meet Ron Hulett BTA’s new president assumes office on July 1 by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine

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n July 1, Ron Hulett, president and CEO of U.S. Business Systems Inc. in Elkhart, Ind., became the national president of the Business Technology Association (BTA). He is BTA’s 80th president.

Hulett formed his dealership in 1992 with three business partners after he worked for a short time at another independent dealership. His dealership has since grown into a two-location business with 30 employees. The $4 million-plus dealership serves northern Indiana and southern Michigan. It represents Kyocera and Sharp, and sells and supports many different office technology products as well as workflow and document management software. Hulett was named BTA’s Volunteer of the Year in 2012.

Recently, Office Technology magazine had the opportunity to visit with Hulett, asking about his role as a BTA volunteer and the association. Following are his responses.

OT: What led you to first join BTA? When did you first step forward as a volunteer?

Hulett: I honestly cannot remember the reason that we joined BTA, because it has been so many years ago. In all likelihood, I was probably trying to find some information to help me in my dealership, was directed to BTA and quickly saw the value in joining the association.

Eventually, having used the many benefits that BTA offers for many years, I felt compelled to give back to the association and stepped forward in 2009 to volunteer in the BTA Mid-America district. BTA Executive Director Brent Hoskins had approached me a few years previously. He asked me to submit a couple of articles on trends in the industry at the time, based on responses from a survey I had completed. Through my interaction with him, I learned quickly that he was working very hard to build the association. He was working to keep abreast of the vast changes that were coming to the industry as traditional analog copiers were transitioning to network devices. I have always been excited

about change and the opportunity it brings, so it helped shape my view of BTA as a key resource for independent dealers to learn and capitalize on the changes. I have a calling to help people if I can, so this seemed like a good way to help.

OT: How has serving as a BTA volunteer benefited you?

Hulett: Part of the criteria of being a volunteer in BTA is to sign a pledge to serve the association without seeking to gain benefits for yourself or your business, so I have always kept the two separated, at all costs. That being said, the relationships I have formed with other dealers through my service as a volunteer have been fantastic. I have made lifelong friendships with people I never would have met otherwise — other volunteers and past presidents, all of the staff at BTA, Bob Goldberg, other dealer members and vendor partners. The list of people I have met through my volunteer roles — people I can now call “friends” — is enormous.

OT: Looking to the year ahead, what are some areas you believe will be your primary areas of focus as BTA president?

Hulett: I believe the primary focus of the president should be to ensure the relevance and sustainability of the association. As such, that will be my focus — to make certain BTA is not only sustaining and adding to the vast array of member benefits and relationships, but to also make certain the association remains at the forefront of what is happening in the marketplace. With the convergence of our traditional business in the document space and the services business in technology transformation, BTA must be the go-to resource for dealers who want to gain the understanding, education and tools they need to deliver on and profit from this convergence.

OT: Why do you believe BTA is important to office technology dealers and the industry as a whole?

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AVG ad July 14.indd 1

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everyone, since our markets are all difHulett: BTA has always been the best “My belief has been, ferent in their own ways; this is someadvocate for the dealer channel, providthing that seems to escape a lot of the ing the education, the supply chain conand continues to be, manufacturers. My belief has been, and nections and the vision from within the that the greatest continues to be, that the greatest chaldealer community rolled out to the benechallenge is to continue lenge is to continue to be relevant to our fit of all our members. I can’t think of any to be relevant to our customers and our employees. I am in a place for a dealer to turn to for this kind customers and our very small market and, yet, the converof insight other than their peers and ingence is taking place at lightning speed. dustry professionals. Of course, there are employees.”

Simply being capable of connecting outalso the numerous other member benput devices to scan and manage variefits — the BTA Legal Hotline, Ask the Analyst, the BTA Marketplace, our educational programs, ous print devices is simply not enough. As dealers, we are in etc. The list of benefits just continues to grow with so many danger of being put in a box — the “printer guy” box. How things that can help dealers in different areas. Those dealers many of our reps have walked into a customer’s or prospect’s who have not looked at the list of BTA benefits lately should office only to be announced as: “The printer guy is here,” or visit our website and review the list (www.bta.org/Member “Oh, you’re the printer guy?” It has happened to me and is Benefits). In fact, I am certain that any current member deal- pretty deflating. I don’t want to be a “printer guy,” I want to er who takes a look at the list will find benefits that he or she be a “technology partner.” We have to claw our way out of that box and change our client’s perception of what we are is not currently taking advantage of as a member. and what we do. It is also important to display this capabilOT: What do you believe are the greatest chal- ity to our employees and potential candidates for hire. We lenges dealers face in today’s market? How can must look, act, sound and feel like we are in the technology BTA help its dealer members effectively address business if we hope to recruit capable people to market and support the future products and services of the business. these challenges?

I believe that BTA’s leadership has recognized this and Hulett: Of course, what I believe may not be relevant for

BTA 2014-15 President-Elect Dave Quint

BTA’s 2014-15 president-elect, Dave Quint, is president and CEO of Advanced Systems Inc., a 57-year-old corporation based in Waterloo, Iowa. Quint started his career with Advanced Systems Inc. in 1989 as a territory sales associate. After 10 years, he was promoted to digital product supervisor and major account sales. Quint served in various management roles throughout the company starting in 2002, including team sales manager, branch manager, document management manager and, eventually, vice president and general sales manager in 2009. In January 2012, he was named president. Quint served as BTA national vice president and immediate past president of BTA Mid-America during the 2013-14 fiscal year.

Over the past 15 years, Advanced Systems Inc. has grown from three locations to eight, and its territory covers a large part of northern and eastern Iowa, overlapping into Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota and South Dakota. The dealership’s primary manufacturers are Canon, OKI and Lexmark, and the company also offers document management solutions from Laserfiche, as well as managed print solutions.

Quint brings significant experience to his role as president-elect.

After 25 years in the industry, he has been involved at almost every level in an independent dealership. “I am familiar with the various challenges we encounter, know what we need to help us

be more successful and realize the impact that evolving technologies have had on our business,” Quint says.

He anticipates significant changes for independent dealers in the coming years, including dealing with the effects of the X and Y generations, mobile technologies and the mobile workforce, changes in products and services dealers offer (3D printers, MPS, MNS, etc.) and the impact of social media on dealerships. “These are just some of the changes that will be affecting dealers over the next five years and beyond,” Quint says. “BTA must be proactive and modify its benefits and educational offerings to fit future needs and/or create new ones. We just need to continue to look to the future, and be ready to modify and adjust to meet dealers’ ever-changing needs.”

In his role as president-elect, Quint hopes to increase the success of BTA’s district events, especially after helping plan this year’s BTA Mid-America-hosted event, Cruise to Success. “I am especially pleased with the results of the BTA Mid-America district event,” Quint says. “We enjoyed a significant increase in attendance, and received very positive feedback from exhibitors and attendees.

“These events provide our dealer members access to tremendous educational sessions and networking opportunities at a very low cost,” he continues. “We have made some great strides over the past couple of years and I believe if we continue to adjust our content to match the needs and answer the industry questions of our dealers, we will see even larger attendance at these events.”

— Elizabeth Marvel

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the office technology dealership has has not only made the connections with changed along with it. BTA has been vendor partners to give dealers the tools “The world has alongside dealers every step of the way they need to deliver a solution to the clicompletely changed ... and I believe it will continue to be there ent, but also the training to understand BTA has been as the technologies we utilize and the the dynamics of the market. We have bealongside dealers market continue to morph. gun to change the shape of our district every step of the way There was a time when no one had events to introduce more and more of even envisioned a computer. Here we these types of educational sessions and and I believe it will are today with mobile phones that have solutions. I believe that will continue as continue to be there ... “ 10 times the computing power of servmore relationships are formed with orers only a few short years ago. This next ganizations in that space. I strongly encourage dealers to attend the association’s district events. phase of moving to the cloud and providing everything unYou cannot go down the path on your own and you don’t der a managed agreement is, again, a quantum leap in how we do business and is really impressive to see. have to; BTA is here to help you.

I believe in 10 years, both BTA and the dealer channel will look very different than they do now. Of course, similarities OT: What is your vision for BTA as you look to will exist as the association will forever be the best advothe years ahead? Ten years from now, how do cate for the channel and provide numerous benefits; BTA you think dealers will describe BTA? Hulett: With such strong leadership by people like Brent will always be described in that manner. The ethos of the asHoskins and the numerous volunteers who continue to step sociation will remain as it is today: “Dealers Helping Dealforward to serve, the vision for BTA is one of excitement for ers Make Profitable Connections.” n Brent Hoskins, executive director of the me. If you think of where the industry started and travel the Business Technology Association, is editor of relatively short distance to where we are today, who could Office Technology magazine. have imagined that we would be where we are? The world He can be reached at brent@bta.org. has completely changed in that time period and the face of

BTA 2014-15 Vice President Rob Richardson BTA’s 2014-15 vice president, Rob Richardson, is president, owner and founder of Allied Document Solutions & Services Inc. This year marks his 20th year leading the company, which is located in Swedesboro, N.J. A laser printer-centric organization, Richardson’s dealership leads with HewlettPackard (HP) products and it has attained the elite status of Managed Print Advanced Specialist with HP. He also sits on the HP Partner Advisory Council.

In addition, Allied Document Solutions & Services Inc. is authorized to sell and service Toshiba-branded copier/MFPs in its region. Over the last five years, Richardson has complemented the company’s current product offerings of printer services and supplies with a managed print services solution. Richardson served as BTA East district director on the national board and as BTA East immediate past president during the 2013-14 fiscal year.

As a printer-centric business owner, Richardson wanted to learn more about the copier/MFP business and was drawn to becoming a BTA volunteer. “Initially I volunteered for BTA to gain a better perspective of the copier world,” he says. “I have continued to volunteer because of the people and relationships that have come along the way. I also think I am able to continue to provide insight as a result of my dealership’s roots not being in copiers; I am able to bring perspective from a printer-centric view. From that comes exposure to potential new dealer and vendor relationships that I have from the printer side.”

Richardson says his participation in BTA has led to definite benefits for himself and his dealership.

“I constantly get value out of my participation and membership in BTA,” he says. “The district events always provide value from educational and vendor perspectives. As a dealership, this year we have set up relationships with two new vendors as a result [of attending BTA district events]. But I think the greatest value of BTA district events is the ability to network with peers and establish long-term relationships as a result.”

Richardson thinks BTA best serves its members through evolving education, as well as a focus on dealer needs. “The members are best served by BTA’s continued efforts to look at education and training,” Richardson says. “I cannot tell you how many BTA meetings I have sat in on where these questions would come up: ‘Will this benefit our members? How will it benefit them?’ That is the driving force behind BTA’s leadership and volunteers, and I do not think it is stated enough how every discussion revolves around those questions. The members benefit as a result.”

Looking to the future, Richardson thinks BTA will stay up-todate on industry changes. “The BTA headquarters staff does an excellent job of keeping its finger on the pulse of our industry,” he says. “I think that it is my job to share what I see from a dealer perspective and provide that input to others on the board. I think that the leadership of BTA is well equipped to manage changes as they come. You can be sure that BTA will continue to be on top of education and training for its membership as that happens.”

— Elizabeth Marvel

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Great Online Reviews They are important to your dealership by: Darrell Amy, Dealer Marketing, and Gary Lavin, CEO Juice

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ou have built your dealership on a solid reputation for outstanding service. References are golden when it comes to growing your business. These days you need more than a good printed reference letter. You need to have great reviews on sites like Google, Facebook and Yelp.

Today it is common to find that a dealership only has a few online reviews. Unfortunately, a portion of these reviews were likely posted by a handful of unhappy clients who were looking for a place to air their grievances.

Does your dealership have negative reviews online? You would never frame a complaint letter and hang it on the wall of your demo room. However, negative reviews hanging out on the Internet could be sabotaging your business, costing you tens of thousands of dollars in lost sales. The damage goes even further — negative reviews on Google may hurt your search engine placement. This could lead to even more lost leads.

The first thing you need to do is find out if your dealership has any negative reviews. The way to do this is by searching for your dealership on Google. Simply go to Google and type in the name of your dealership. You should see a box to the right of the results with a map and some basic information about your business. (If you do not see this, you need to set up a Google+ page for your business. To do this, visit http:// www.google.com/+/business.) If you have a Google+ page set up, you will notice that there is a link for “Reviews.” Click this and you will be able to see your company’s reviews.

While you are on your Google+ page, you will also notice that you can customize your page with information about your company. You can add graphics to brand the page. You can also include links to your website along with photos and videos.

To modify your Google+ page, you need to confirm that you are the owner of the company. You can do this by clicking on the “Manage This Page” link. This will walk you through the process of claiming your place on Google. You should go through this process for each of your geographic locations.

Next, go to your company Facebook page and look for the “Reviews” tab. Clicking on that will take you to your reviews page that includes a “Write a Review” button.

Finally, go to Yelp.com. This is a site where people review local businesses. Yelp started as a restaurant review site, but has now expanded to virtually all types of businesses. If your business is not listed on Yelp, take a minute to register it.

If you have a bad review, there is not a whole lot you can do about it. This is the online world we live in. The best thing you can do is get “good” reviews to offset the bad review.

You should have at least 10 good reviews to offset one bad review. A smart dealership will be proactive and ask happy clients to give them reviews. That way, if someone puts in a bad review, it is just one among many positive reviews.

The best way to get good reviews is to ask your most satisfied clients to review you. One very popular system for tracking how happy your customers are is the Net Promoter Score (NPS) by Satmetrix. Just Google any major corporation’s name followed by “Net Promoter” and you will see that most major corporations are using this system. You may also want to Google your main competitor’s name and see if it is using Satmetrix. This system gives you a single number you can easily track. (More information can be found at https://support.ceojuice.com/forums/20230391.)

If you are tracking your NPS, one of the best ways to get great reviews is to ask clients who have previously given you a high NPS rating on a survey. To do this, make it simple www.offi cetechnol ogym a g. c om | J u l y 2014 | 23

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for them. Send out an email with a brief have a LinkedIn page that includes regSetting up a Yelp profile introduction and a link to a page where ular updates. Unfortunately, LinkedIn they can review you. You might say someupdated its company pages on April 14, ... takes just a few thing like this: 2014, and discontinued the references minutes. This investment “Thank you so much for giving us a feature. Hopefully LinkedIn will reinof time will provide good review on our client satisfaction state this feature, but as of now, only inanother way for people survey. We really appreciate your feeddividuals can get references on LinkedIn. to find your company back. Our business has been built on referrals. Would you be kind enough to On Your Website in search engines. take a moment to share some of your Another way to make it easy for clithoughts on one of our social media pagents to give you Google reviews is to es? It would really mean a lot to us. link to your review pages from your website. You might add To give us a referral, simply click on one of the links below: a section that says “Give Us a Review” and put links to your n Google link Google+, Facebook and Yelp pages. Some sites also provide a n Facebook link form where clients can give you a review on your site. Hown Yelp link ever, these days you are almost better off being reviewed on Thanks again — we really appreciate it!” these external sites.

There are many places people can give reviews online.

The most common ones are on search and social websites Why Invest in Getting Reviews? like Google, Facebook, Yelp and LinkedIn. Here are instrucWhen you accumulate good reviews, it helps you present tions for each of the platforms: a positive impression online. Google is very guarded about what criteria it uses for search engine rankings, however, Google many search experts believe that good reviews will help To make it easy, send clients the link to your Google+ boost your placement in the search engine. page. They can then click on the “Write a Review” link. To Getting reviews just takes a little effort. At your next do this, they will need to log in with their Gmail account or sales meeting, show your sales team members your Google+ create a free Google account. Then they will see a pop-up page. Give them the link and have each of them ask five of window asking them to write a review. their best clients to give references. Offer your reps, for example, a Starbucks gift card for each review they get posted.

Facebook This will pay big dividends for your dealership and offset the Whether you have decided to manage it or not, every potential damage of a negative review. n company has a Facebook page. This is a great place to share Darrell Amy (left photo) is the chief innovation officer of updates about your company to build the personal brand of Dealer Marketing, a managed marketing services firm your business. In the tabs at the top of your business page, providing website design, blogging, social media you will notice a “Reviews” tab where people can give you a management, search engine optimization and lead review. Anyone with a Facebook account can give you a regeneration services to office technology dealers across view. If one of your clients makes a comment on one of your North America and Australia. Amy can be reached at Facebook posts, you might send him (or her) a message and damy@dealermarketing.net. Visit www.dealermarketing.net. ask him to review your company.

Gary Lavin is a partner at CEO Juice, which automates processes for more than 200 of the largest copier dealerships Yelp running e-automate in North America. He started his copier As noted, Yelp built its reputation providing restaurant career in sales, joining Xerox in Europe 30 years ago, reviews, but has expanded to review all kinds of serviceand has founded and sold two copier dealerships in the based businesses. Setting up a Yelp profile for your business United States. CEO Juice’s services include surveying takes just a few minutes. This investment of time will procustomers and evaluating vide another way for people to find your company in search customer satisfaction engines. It also provides another place where people can levels using the Satmetrix Net give you reviews.

Promoter Score. He can be reached at (858) 776-2646 or LinkedIn gary@ceojuice.com.

LinkedIn connects businesspeople. Your company should Visit www.ceojuice.com.

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COURTS & CAPITOLS

EEOC Complaints Contact the BTA Legal Hotline prior to investigation by: Robert C. Goldberg, General Counsel for the Business Technology Association

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recently received a dealer call that was presented as an emergency. An employee had been terminated and filed a complaint with the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The EEOC investigates complaints regarding discrimination due to age, disability, equal pay/compensation, genetic information, harassment, national origin, pregnancy, race/color, religion, retaliation, gender and sexual harassment. None of these factors represent valid occupational qualifications or are permitted in the workplace.

It is not uncommon for a terminated employee to believe that his (or her) termination is related to a factor other than his performance. In this instance, the individual was gay and felt that his sexual orientation was the basis for his dismissal.

The EEOC sent the dealer notice of the charge and requested an opportunity to interview the individuals involved. The interviews would be conducted at the retail location. The dealer, believing he could handle the interviews based on the facts, quickly agreed to them. The EEOC arrived as scheduled and the first thing the investigators requested was to see where the posters for the federal and state labor laws were placed. Unfortunately, the dealer did not have the required posters. The second request was for a copy of the dealer’s harassment policy.

Again, the dealer did not have one. The third request was for the terminated individual’s employment file; it was provided.

The terminated employee stated in his EEOC complaint that on three occasions he had complained about “gay slurs” that had been made. The investigators noted that there were no records of these complaints in the individual’s file and inquired about the procedure the company followed when harassment claims were made.

The dealer had no set policy, but explained what had been done in each instance. The first time, the owner responded that the individual making the comment did not mean it and it should be ignored. Nothing was said to the individual who made the comment. The second instance was an anti-gay joke and, again, the owner dismissed the complaint as humor that was not to be taken seriously. The final event involved Halloween and what the employee should wear as a costume.

Again, no action was taken, there was no record kept and

there was no warning or discipline for the employee who made the comment.

The EEOC investigators told the dealer that it appeared the terminated employee was subject to a hostile work environment and suggested the dealer settle the matter with the terminated employee in the amount of $20,000.

That suggestion resulted in the emergency call to the BTA Legal Hotline.

The dealer made several mistakes that placed his company in this position. Failure to have the proper posters is a technical violation that is easily corrected. However, not having them put the dealer on the defensive and started the investigation off poorly. Not having a written harassment policy was also a failing. Even without an employee handbook/manual, every company should have a written harassment policy that establishes the procedures to follow if an employee thinks harassment has taken place.

Likewise, if a written policy had been in place, the dealer would have followed it and handled the complaints in the correct manner. A sample harassment policy can be found on the BTA website.

Finally, the dealer met with the EEOC investigators without professional guidance. They are well trained on how to maximize their investigations and the dealer’s good-guy approach was insufficient. He could have been given guidance as to the best means to present the facts as they existed. Posters and policies could have been put in place, showing that professional guidance was sought and corrective measures taken.

This approach would help demonstrate the intentions of the employer and the desire to comply with legal requirements. At this point, it was probably the best course to negotiate a reasonable settlement. A finding of harassment by the EEOC, or contesting the complaint through an administrative proceeding or the courts, would be far more expensive in both time and money.

If you find yourself subject to an EEOC investigation, contact the BTA Legal Hotline to set yourself on the correct course. n Robert C. Goldberg is general counsel for the Business Technology Association.

He can be reached at robert.goldberg@sfnr.com. www.offi cetechnol ogymag. c om | J u l y 2014 | 25

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BTA HIGHLIGHTS BTA would like to welcome the following new members to the association:

Dealer Members Digitex Canada, Red Deer, Alberta, Canada Printer Source, Jackson, MI Vendor Associate Members Scan-Optics, Manchester, CT For full contact information of these new members, visit www.bta.org.

BizSupplies provides BTA member dealerships with the tools and resources to offer more than 40,000 office products, toner, paper, janitorial supplies, break-room supplies, furniture and teaching supplies to their customers, at prices equal to or better than the online superstores. BizSupplies operates as the complete “back office” for dealerships, providing the order platform, marketing, customer service, inventory, pricing models, order fulfillment, delivery, returns, billing and collection. A dealership simply provides its custom website to customers and prospects, and gets paid when purchases are made. By paying on a percentage of net margin rather than a percentage of product price, dealerships can earn a higher commission.

For more information, visit www.bta.org/BizSupplies.

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

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

BTA Vendor Associate Member Pure Health Solutions Inc. (PHSI) is a manufacturer and supplier of water coolers and beverage products for businesses around the world. Since 1996, PHSI has led the B2B beverage evolution — developing state-of-the-art bottle-free water coolers, a national network for equipment service and a breakthrough online store for rapid beverage supplies replenishment. PHSI’s multi-stage water filtration system represents a bottleless water cooler alternative: superb drinking water, an improved sustainability program and immediate cost savings for most commercial applications. www.purewatertech.com

BTA Service Associate Member AllTech Recruiting and Staffing is focused on providing individuals the opportunity to excel and grow in a market with never-ending demand. All-Tech’s employees have prior job experience with Xerox and Konica Minolta, and have selling experience with managed IT, managed print services, and narrow and digital presses. All-Tech takes the responsibility of finding the right person for you and your company. All-Tech does not just post jobs — it fills them. There are low fees, a 60-day employment guarantee and no upfront costs. www.alltechagency.com A full list of BTA Vendor and Service Associate members can be found online at www.bta.org.

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PRINCIPAL ISSUES

Hiring Mistakes Do not ‘cut any slack’ in the interviewing process by: Troy Harrison, SalesForce Solutions

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et’s take a look at sales hiring and point out some things that you will see during the hiring process — and then talk about why these things should have been knock-out blows to any candidate’s hopes.

One quick note: As you are reading these, you will see mistakes and say, “Of course you shouldn’t hire this person! Would anyone?”

Rest assured that I personally know of more than one person who was hired after making these mistakes.

So why do they get hired? It is simple — emotional involvement by hiring managers.

Some hiring managers are bad at keeping their distance from candidates. According to the Society for Human Resources Management, 63 percent of all hiring decisions today are actually made in the first five minutes of meeting a candidate. That decision can be summed up as: “I like this person.” When you make the decision based on simply liking someone, you will overlook the mistakes below.

Mistake One: The Bad Résumé You will receive résumés with misspellings, grammatical errors and other detail mistakes that indicate a lack of attention to detail on the candidate’s part. If you see these, do not make the hire; in fact, do not even interview the candidate.

For a sales candidate, the most important sale he (or she) will ever make is the sale that comes with a hiring offer; if the candidate cannot be detail-oriented here, why would he be when dealing with your customers?

Why is this ignored? Because most managers do a résumé scan (about 15 seconds) to determine suitability for an interview. That is fine, but after you scan for “interviewable” candidates, you should then go back and read their résumés in order to look for problems and design interview questions. Managers who do not will have this one slip by.

Mistake Two: Lateness “Sorry I’m late. Traffic was tough.” How many times have you heard that one? Guess what? Traffic will be tough getting to your customers, too. The candidate who cannot show respect for your time is the candidate who will not respect your customers’ time.

My philosophy is that the interview begins at the appointed

time, whether the candidate is there or not — and an interview with only the interviewer present is not much of an interview.

Why is this ignored? Out of basic human kindness. We have been late to meetings before, so we are inclined to cut some slack. Do not. Remember, this is his most important sales call; if he cannot get this one right, he will not get sales calls right for you either.

Mistake Three: No Mental Presence I received a phone call a few days ago from a candidate who was responding to an ad I had placed as part of my recruiting practice. He opened by saying, “Hello, this is Mr. Smith. I responded to a blind ad for a sales position and you were the contact.”

But there was a problem: I do not run blind ads. My ads say what the company is, what the job is and what it pays. I explained this to the candidate and he stammered that he would have to find the ad to be sure he was calling for the right job. I told him not to worry about it, got him to repeat his name (so I would know which candidate to avoid) and told him I would give his résumé appropriate consideration, which I did. If a candidate cannot get his act any more together than this, he is not a candidate for one of my clients.

Why is this ignored? I think there is an overall declining standard for job seekers and, unfortunately, some hiring managers have bought into the idea that you cannot expect the same preparation and presence of mind as in years past. Bull.

There are quality people out there at every level of the market and managers should not let themselves settle for candidates like the one above.

Mistake Four: Lack of Preparation When a sales candidate comes in to interview, he should be prepared with a copy of his résumé and should have done some rudimentary research on your company. Showing up empty-handed and empty-headed should be a quick ticket to a 10-minute interview. Do not fall for the “too-busy-to-prepare” excuse. Remember, he is there to sell you — the same as you are to sell him.

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is easy to find yourself drawn off-topic into conversations that have little to do with their skills and abilities. In doing so, you forget the fundamentals of hiring.

if the person offends merely by being in the office, he will not make much headway with customers either.

Too often, managers “like” a person and think, “Well, I will cut him some slack.”

Do not cut any slack. Overall, good interviewing involves being detail-oriented and reminding yourself of the traits necessary to succeed in your own sales environment.

Stay focused, kick out the bad candidates, and you will find the one you need. n Troy Harrison is the author of “Sell Like You Mean It!” and a speaker, consultant and sales navigator. He helps companies build more profitable and productive sales forces with his cutting-edge sales training and methodologies. For information on booking speaking/training engagements, consulting or to sign up for his weekly e-zine, call (913) 645-3603, or email troy@troyharrison.com.

Visit www.troyharrison.com.

When you greet your candidate, you should be evaluating your impression of him in light of your customers’ potential impressions.

Does he look the part?

Mistake Five: Bad Presentation When you greet your candidate, you should be evaluating your impression of him in light of your customers’ potential impressions. Does he look the part (i.e., neatly and professionally dressed)? Does he have good hygiene and body language? And — I write this directly after one such interview — does he put off any offensive smells? Laugh if you like, but when you interview someone who either smells like smoke, liquor or has marinated in his choice of cologne, remember that your customers will make their own judgments — and they will not be so kind.

Why is this ignored? Interviewers tend to put their own first impressions aside, forgetting that their customers will make similar judgments. Put yourself in the place of your customer;

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PRINCIPAL ISSUES

Your Retirement Plan Common errors employers often make by: Todd D. Thompson, Sentry Insurance

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n 2012, the Department of Labor enacted ERISA regulations surrounding fee disclosure in 401(k) and profit sharing retirement plans. What was not provided was a clear and concise set of instructions that spelled out what an employer was supposed to do and when it was supposed to do it.

This article provides a review of the main highlights employers generally do not do, or do not understand, that may be putting them at significant risk.

Do you know it is your job to gather the appropriate fee disclosures from all of your service providers? Though your third-party administrator (TPA), your financial advisor and your product vendor are required to disclose the related plan fees to you, it is your job as the plan sponsor to ensure the collection of this information and analyze the costs associated with your plan and the values derived to make sure they are fair and reasonable.

Failure to get these disclosures from your current vendors make any plan paid expenses prohibited transactions.

Did you know you are required to keep a file demonstrating you have reviewed your disclosures and distributed participant disclosures? Make sure you have a file containing both types of disclosure: a plan sponsor fee disclosure (otherwise known as 408(b)(2) disclosure) from your service providers and participant-level fee disclosure (otherwise known as 404(a)(5) disclosure), which most reputable providers will provide for you and your participants. The service providers you need to contact include the financial advisor who services the plan, the TPA who provides compliance and testing services to your plan, and the product vendor or anyone who custodians plan assets. Sometimes, one company may provide multiple functions. If you are not sure, ask one of these function providers if they are providing all three services or just one piece of the puzzle.

Once you have this information, you need to review it to make sure it provides clear and concise information. If it does not, and they are unwilling to furnish a disclosure that is easy to understand and interpret, it is your job to report the party to the Department of Labor. Otherwise, you can become a “party in crime.”

Did you know you need to understand whether any of your service providers are serving in a fiduciary capacity? You need to determine whether your service providers, including your financial advisor, are or are not serving in a fiduciary capacity to the plan and, if so, in what capacity. This is critical in assessing the value being derived from the plan versus the costs

associated with the plan.

Did you know you need to review your plans’ costs versus the value received each year? To create a clear determination of whether your fees and the values derived from those fees are fair and reasonable, you need to either use a benchmarking service to compare services and fees, or search out competitive quotes from other providers. Benchmarking services usually provide a much better comparison, as they have access to thousands of retirement plans that are similar in size and services to yours. Some providers, like Sentry, are very happy to provide access to benchmarking services for your plan as part of their value propositions.

Understanding your responsibility to provide fee disclosure to all employees eligible to participate in the plan, the next step in fulfilling your role as a plan fiduciary is to make sure you understand Participant Fee Disclosure. This step cannot be properly executed without first completing a Plan Sponsor Level Benchmark. There are a couple of key mistakes employers make that I want to draw your attention to: n Same Envelope Rule — This stipulates that, as a plan sponsor, you must gather all of the participant fee disclosures, including those from the retirement plan product vendor(s), the TPAs and the financial advisors who charge fees or receive revenue from the plan’s assets. You then must distribute these disclosures to all eligible plan participants within the same envelope and include a summary page totaling the fees and expenses from all providers in layman’s terms. If you www.offi cetechnol ogyma g. c om | J u l y 2014 | 29

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Todd D. Thompson is director of retirement use a separate TPA, a separate financial plan sales at Sentry Insurance. advisor and a separate product vendor, It is important to With 23 years of service in the retirement you could have four pages or more in each make sure the summary plan industry, he holds the Accredited envelope for your employees to review. It page is easy for an Investment Fiduciary Analyst (AIFA), the is important to make sure the summary average participant Chartered Retirement Plans Specialist page is easy for an average participant to to understand and is (CRPS) and the Accredited Retirement Plan understand and is accurate in its reflection Consultant (ARPC) designations. For more of total costs. accurate in its reflection information on how benchmarking your n Distribution Frequency — The parof total costs. current employer-sponsored retirement plan ticipant fee disclosure needs to be providcan help you or to answer any questions, ed to all eligible participants at least annucontact Sentry Insurance at (888) 847-2338, option 4. ally, or more often if there is any change to the fees charged Sentry Insurance provides a full line of business against plan assets. Again, the product vendor may provide insurance to BTA members. Sentry can help you create flexible, something to assist in its piece of the fees, but you need to discustom-made risk management solutions, and close all fees charged against plan assets and follow the “same provide property and casualty insurance, envelope” rule. workers’ compensation, retirement plans, These are just some of the common errors employers may employee group benefits and business life make with respect to fee disclosure. Of course, there is more to planning. For more information, the process than what can be included in a short article. Hopefulcontact Jacklyn Johnson at (715) 346-7096 . ly, these tips help you better understand part of your obligation Visit www.sentry.com. as the sponsor of a retirement plan. n

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