July 2018 Office Technology

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CONTENTS Volume 25 • No. 1

FEATURE ARTICLES 10

Meet John Eckstrom BTA’s 2018-19 national president assumes office

DEALERSHIP SPOTLIGHT Barlop Celebrates 35 Years Family-run dealership has a long history of success

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by Elizabeth Marvel Office Technology Magazine

by Brent Hoskins Office Technology Magazine

After Saxon Business Products was bought out in the early 1980s, José López and his partner, Juan Barroso, who both served as national parts managers for Saxon, were looking for new opportunities.

On July 1, John Eckstrom, president and owner of Carolina Business Equipment Inc. (CBE), headquartered in Columbia, South Carolina, became the national president of the Business Technology Association.

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Gateway to Success BTA Mid-America hosts event in Fort Worth

by Brent Hoskins Office Technology Magazine

SERVICE CONNECTIONS Service & Support Canon hosts Engineering & Solutions Summits

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by Brent Hoskins Office Technology Magazine

BTA Mid-America hosted its annual Gateway to Success event June 14-15 at the Worthington Renaissance Hotel in Fort Worth, Texas. The event featured a keynote address, “Selling in the New Millennium,” led by Steve Nudelberg.

COURTS & CAPITOLS 20

The Industry That Gives Back Support the efforts of your fellow BTA members

In June, the Business Imaging Solutions Group of Canon U.S.A. Inc. hosted five two-day Engineering & Solutions Summits targeting Canon-authorized dealership service professionals.

SELLING SOLUTIONS Your Customer Relationships How to move your buyers to the third level

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by Robert C. Goldberg BTA General Counsel

by Troy Harrison Troy Harrison & Associates

Perhaps it is my current stage of life that causes me to reflect on the past more often, but what I have seen in the office technology industry is most rewarding. We are all fortunate to be part of a great industry.

AIMED VIEWPOINT 22

Transitioning From Your Roots Mailing provides revenue & margin opportunities

by Carl Amacker FP Mailing Solutions

As this industry continues to consolidate and the sales environment gets more competitive, one of the key questions I hear from the dealer channel is: “How do I differentiate from the competition so I do not have to sell everything only on price?”

I have said for many years that the true measure of a customer relationship is a company’s ability to make mistakes that inconvenience its customer, but the company is able to retain the customer’s business regardless.

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

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• BTA Education Calendar • BTA Highlights • BTA Member Benefits

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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

National Conference Set for New York City

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ach year, one of the Business Technology Association’s (BTA’s) five educational and networking events serves as the “BTA National Conference.” The national conference is an extended BTA event, spanning three days. This year’s national conference will be held Sept. 19-21 at the Stewart Hotel in New York City, New York.

The first day of the 2018 BTA National Conference will begin at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 19, with welcoming comments and a motivational keynote address, “Redefine Impossible,” presented by James Lawrence, the Iron Cowboy, who holds two world records for his participation in Ironman competitions. A break will follow the keynote. Breaks between sessions during all three days of the conference will allow attendees to network with peers and visit with exhibiting sponsors. After the break, dealers will participate in a very memorable team-building experience called “The Contagion.” A welcoming reception will follow from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

Day two of the conference will begin at 7 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 20, with breakfast, followed by opening comments and the first three educational sessions. “Panel Discussion: Access Japan 2018,” will be moderated

by Frank Cannata of The Cannata Report.

Panelists will include CJ Cannata and Scott Cullen of The Cannata Report. “From Technology Startup to the Path of Acquisition: Lessons Learned,” will be led by David Ramos of Visual Edge Technology. Next, “Be Afraid ... Be Very Afraid: Hot Topics Within Labor & Employment Law,” led by Tedd Kochman of Littler, will wrap up the morning sessions. Lunch will follow from noon to 1 p.m. After lunch, three more educational

sessions will be held: “Add Six to Seven Figures to Your Top Line,” led by Gil Cargill of Cargill Consulting Group; “Being a DataDriven Dealership: Data Marketing to Drive Strategic Revenue Growth,” led by Dominic Pontrelli of Pontrelli Marketing and Randy Dazo of Keypoint Intelligence-InfoTrends; and a vendor panel, “Production & Industrial Print: The Future of Imaging,” moderated

by Frank Cannata. The panelists will include Helen Blanchette of Xerox Corp., John Fulena of Ricoh USA Inc., Eric Hawkinson of Canon Solutions America, Frank Mallozzi of EFI and Dino Pagliarello of Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A. Inc. From 6:15 to 10 p.m., attendees will enjoy a dinner cruise around Manhattan in a glass-top boat, the Bateaux.

The final day of the 2018 BTA National Conference will begin at 7 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 21, with breakfast, followed by the final three educational sessions: “Operationalizing Benchmarking to Drive Profit Growth,” led by Steve Rolla and Jeff Kelly of Pros Elite Group; “The Growing Importance of Cybersecurity,” led by Daniel Bartus of Merrill Lynch; and “The New Tax Law & Practical Implications for You & Your Business,” led by John Sullivan of Sullivan & Associates. Closing comments and prize drawings will wrap up the conference from 11:45 a.m. until noon.

Two-for-one BTA member dealer registration is only $199. Members can also use their promo codes received with membership to get two-for-one registration for only $49. Non-member dealer registration is $249 per person.

If you have not yet been to a BTA event, our national conference would be a great introduction. The education and networking will be invaluable to all who attend. Learn more or register at www.bta.org/BTANewYork. 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 Carl Amacker, FP Mailing Solutions www.fp-usa.com Robert C. Goldberg, General Counsel Business Technology Association Troy Harrison, Troy Harrison & Associates www.troyharrison.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 Marketing Director valerie@bta.org Brian Smith Membership Sales Representative brian@bta.org Photo Credits: Bigstockphoto. Cover created by Bruce Quade, Brand X Studio. ©2018 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

Meet BTA’s 2018-19 Volunteer Leaders

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t is an honor for me to assume the presidency of the Business Technology Association (BTA). As BTA’s 84th national president, I look forward to helping guide our association during the 2018-19 fiscal year. Of course, I will not be alone in this endeavor. I would like to thank the following national and district volunteers who will also be helping to guide BTA in the year ahead: National President-Elect and Board Member Bob Evans, Function4, Sugar Land, Texas.

National Vice President and Board Member Tim Renegar, Kelly Office Solutions, Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

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

BTA East President Aaron Rubin, Docutrend Imaging Solutions, New York City, New York.

BTA East President-Elect Mike Ardry, Automated Business Solutions, Southington, Connecticut.

BTA East Vice President David Scibetta, Copier Fax Business Technologies, Buffalo, New York.

BTA East Board Member Ken Staubitz, Modern Office Methods, Cincinnati, Ohio.

BTA East Immediate Past President and National Board Member Don Risser, Advanced Laser Printer Service & Supplies Inc., Emigsville, Pennsylvania.

National Board Member, representing BTA East, Tim Seeley Jr., Seeley Office Systems Inc., Glens Falls, New York.

BTA Mid-America President Mike Nerland, Elite Business Systems, Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

BTA Mid-America President-Elect Matt Jackson, Copynet Digital Imaging Solutions, Plano, Texas.

BTA Mid-America Vice President Brantly Fowler, Zeno Office Solutions, Midland, Texas.

BTA Mid-America Board Member Mike Blake, Corporate Business Systems, Madison, Wisconsin.

BTA Mid-America Immediate Past President and National Board Member DJ Hastings, Hogland Office Equipment, Lubbock, Texas.

National Board Member, representing BTA Mid-America, Greg Quirk, JQ Office Equipment, Omaha, Nebraska.

BTA Southeast President and National Board Member Michael Hicks, Electronic Business Machines Inc., Lexington, Kentucky.

BTA Southeast President-Elect Adam Gregory, Advanced Business Solutions LLC, Jacksonville, Florida.

BTA Southeast Vice President Debra Dennis, CopyPro Inc., Greenville, North Carolina.

BTA Southeast Secretary/Treasurer Bill James, River Ridge, Louisiana.

BTA Southeast Immediate Past President and National Board Member David Polimeni, RITE Technology, Sarasota, Florida.

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

BTA West President-Elect Dan Bombard, Yuma Office Equipment, Yuma, Arizona.

BTA West Vice President Mike McGuirk, ProCopy Office Solutions Inc., Tempe, Arizona.

BTA West Board Member Michelle Welch, ABC Office Equipment Co., Spokane, Washington.

BTA West Immediate Past President and National Board Member Joe Escamilla, Document Systems, Oxnard, California.

National Board Member, representing BTA West, Mike Brandon, ABC Office Equipment Co., Spokane, Washington. n — John Eckstrom

2018-2019 Board of Directors President John Eckstrom Carolina Business Equipment Inc. Columbia, South Carolina johne@cbesc.com President-Elect Bob Evans Function4 Sugar Land, Texas bobevans@function-4.com Vice President Tim Renegar Kelly Office Solutions Winston-Salem, North Carolina trenegar@kellyofficesolutions.com BTA East Tim Seeley Jr. Seeley Office Systems Inc. Glens Falls, NY tseeleyjr@seeleyoffice.com Don Risser Advanced Laser Printer Service & Supplies Inc. Emigsville, PA drisser@alpslaser.com BTA Mid-America Greg Quirk JQ Office Equipment Omaha, Nebraska gquirk@jqoffice.com DJ Hastings Hogland Office Equipment Lubbock, TX dj@hoglandofficeworks.com BTA Southeast David Polimeni RITE Technology Sarasota, Florida dpolimeni@ritefl.com Michael Hicks Electronic Business Machines Inc. Lexington, KY mhicks@ebmky.com BTA West Mike Brandon ABC Office Equipment Co. Inc. Spokane, Washington mbrandon@abcoe.com Joe Escamilla Document Systems Oxnard, CA jescamilla@documentsystems.com Immediate Past President Dan Castaneda International Copy Machine Center El Paso, Texas dan@icmc-elp.com Ex-Officio/General Counsel Robert C. Goldberg Schoenberg Finkel Newman & Rosenberg LLC Chicago, Illinois robert.goldberg@sfnr.com

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Meet John Eckstrom BTA’s 2018-19 national president assumes office by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine

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n July 1, John Eckstrom, president and owner of Carolina Business Equipment Inc. (CBE), headquartered in Columbia, South Carolina, became the national president of the Business Technology Association (BTA). He serves as the association’s 84th president.

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

OT: How did you start in the office technology industry? What led to your ownership of CBE? Eckstrom: With a background in accounting, I came to the company as the CFO in 1994. However, not only did the company need a CFO, but it also needed somebody to manage the daily operations. Four months into my tenure, I became the general manager, while still holding the CFO position. That helped put me into the position to affect the needed change for the company and get it back on the right footing.

The two co-founders of the company had passed away; it was managed by a surviving widow for about four years and was heading in the wrong direction. However, from a balance-sheet perspective, I could see that the company had a little bit of breath still in it.

We made some drastic changes the first year. That led to an opportunity for me to acquire half the company. Next came five years of learning the industry, getting things on a secure footing and seeing the company advance. In 2000, I had the opportunity to acquire the other half of the company.

Early in my career, I never thought I would one day be in the office technology industry. As an accountant, I never saw myself with a big firm forever; the objective from the very beginning was to get into private industry. While I never

expected this industry, it has served me very well.

Realizing the opportunities that are in this industry led me to step out in faith. Looking back, I can see now that it has been nothing but a blessing to get into this industry because it has fulfilled my business objective.

OT: How has your dealership grown/advanced since you acquired it? What product lines do you carry? Where do you have locations and when were they opened?

Eckstrom: As noted, when I arrived, the company was on a four-year decline. Once we got the bleeding stopped, we started working on the growth.

We were a sub-$2 million dealership back then. This year we will finish right at $9 million.

When I came on board we were a single-line Sharp dealership. With some of the moves by our sole manufacturer, we decided to expand our product offering and, today, we carry not only Sharp, but Toshiba and Kyocera as well. We opened an office in Charleston, South Carolina, our second location, in 2004, our third location in Florence, South Carolina, in 2015, and our fourth location in Savannah, Georgia, in 2017.

We are looking to open a fifth location by the end of the year.

OT: Managed IT services is a key focus at CBE. What led to your decision to move forward in this area? What can you share about your advancements since then? What are your plans moving forward?

Eckstrom: The industry led me to it. The fact of the matter is, we went from a “copier company” to a “printer company” that was hanging copiers on the network. Everybody was saying “get away from those expensive, single-function printers” and “use this efficient MFP instead.” So, that’s what we did.

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while building is a more expensive way We found that as long as we were hanging “We ... found that to to go, we knew we could build this beast devices on the network, there was work the way we wanted it to be. So, we began on the network that could and should be truly offer managed IT, with building out our NOC; it was really done. We saw that when we were mainwe should closely a showcase when it was new. That was taining the network we had a little bit parallel what we about eight years ago. It worked very more control over what devices go onto it. are doing with our well for us for a long time.

When getting started in the IT arena, traditional maintenance It September of 2016, we completed most people do break/fix work. Howour new NOC. I thought, “This is great. It ever, it’s a very tough model for making contracts on copiers ... “ is going to last us for years to come.” Howmoney. We did the same, but ultimately ever, we were busting at the seams withgraduated from the break/fix world to the block-of-time world. That proved to be only marginally in 15 months. That led me to acquire the land next door. We better than break/fix. We later found that to truly offer man- are currently developing plans to construct a second building aged IT, we should closely parallel what we are doing with over there. That’s where our IT division will be housed.

Right now, managed IT services is a little more than 20 our traditional maintenance contracts on copiers, where we are actually doing the work ahead of time; in many cases percent of our revenue. When I was laying out a three-year taking care of problems before they became problems. So, plan a year-and-a-half ago, the three-year plan had mantoday, with 24/7 monitoring and remediation taking place aged IT at 35 percent of our total revenue. While I see that between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. — though sometimes outside of happening, I want to see that get to north of 50 percent within the next five years. that time frame — we now have a model that works well.

We have our own NOC [network operations center]. We elected to “build” because we could then dictate what the OT: What do you see as the primary challenge culture was going to be. We could have bought or part- that dealers face today? How can dealers best nered, but felt that when you are buying or partnering, address that challenge?

Eckstrom: The primary challenge that office technology there is a set culture that is very difficult to change. So,

BTA 2018-19 President-Elect Bob Evans

BTA’s 2018-19 president-elect, Bob Evans, is a partner at Function4, which has offices in Sugar Land, Beaumont and Paris, Texas. A provider of office technologies and services, including managed IT, document and print management, enterprise content management and cloud services, Function4 is an authorized Konica Minolta, Sharp, Kyocera, HP and M-Files dealership. The company’s territory covers 31 counties in Texas and five in Oklahoma, as well as seven parishes in Louisiana.

Evans began his office technology industry career in 1984 as a district manager at Lanier. Over the years, he has held multiple positions in the industry, including area manager at Danka Office Imaging. Evans moved to Function4 in 1998.

In 2014, he attended BTA’s Cruise to Success event, hosted by BTA Mid-America and held in Chicago, Illinois. Evans enjoyed the educational sessions and opportunities to network with other dealers so much that he decided to volunteer for BTA Mid-America.

Evans joined the national BTA Board of Directors in 2015 as the board’s BTA Mid-America representative and has moved up in the ranks since.

He credits his time on the board, as well as his BTA membership in general, for helping improve his business. “I have developed several new relationships through my time on the board that have impacted how we operate our business,” Evans says. “The legal

services and access to Bob Goldberg alone are worth the cost of membership. We have also benefited from what we learned in many of the educational sessions held during BTA events, and have used what we learned to implement several new processes in our company.”

Evans has one specific goal he would like to work toward in the coming year: growing BTA membership. “I would like to grow BTA membership by adding members from adjacent industries,” he says. “Industries like managed IT, telephony and security. BTA will have to transition from an association of hardware dealers to an association of service and solution providers to remain relevant.

I think we can do this over the next five years by expanding our new membership efforts to companies in other industries that are already selling these adjacent technologies.

“I think BTA’s biggest success in the last year was adding the Association of Independent Mailing Equipment Dealers [AIMED] as a peer group within BTA,” he continues. “We need to continue to focus on adding members by prospecting companies outside the traditional MFP industry, like AIMED dealers.”

What does Evans see in the future for the office technology industry? “I believe our industry will continue to consolidate,” he says. “Smaller dealers are not going to have the financial resources or the skill sets to transition into solutions providers.

Dealerships that are big enough will continue to move more into solution and services offerings to grow their businesses.”

— Elizabeth Marvel

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dealers face today is hyperchange. OddOT: What led you to join BTA? ly enough, there are still many dealers “Today, the expectation When did you first step forward who are not embracing the change that as a volunteer? is that it is the people is being forced on them. It’s kind of like Eckstrom: When I came to CBE, in the SMB space who the old proverbial ostrich with his head “CBE” stood for Columbia Business should come up with the stuck in the sand — “If I don’t see it, it Equipment. Five years later, I changed solutions. That’s us — isn’t happening.” That’s nonsense. It is the name to Carolina Business Equiphappening and it’s happening at breakBTA Channel dealers. We ment. That’s when I opened up down in neck speed.

Charleston. That led to my attendance at are in the SMB space.”

So, the challenge lies in what is coma BTA event in Waynesville, North Caroing down the pike for us as far as not lina, hosted by BTA Southeast. I thought, only equipment changes, but in the application changes as “Well, this will be fun. Let’s go see what it’s all about.” well. As the mouse gets smarter, you have to build a better There I met other dealers serving as BTA volunteers. mousetrap. Dealers should position themselves as the cata- It kind of struck me as odd that these individuals cared lysts for change, that is, as “solutions providers.” Today, solu- enough about what they were doing to volunteer their tions that weren’t even thought about yesterday are emerg- time for an industry-wide organization. The Waynesville ing as new opportunities. The solutions provider says, “Let event proved to be an enjoyable time, but for a relatively me take that problem and develop a solution.” In the past, young person in the industry, it was also a very beneficial back 25 years ago or so, only the big guys had the resources time. I had the privilege to learn from a lot of people who to take care of many workplace problems. Today, the expec- had experience that was far greater than mine; the cool tation is that it is the people in the SMB space who should thing about it was they really cared and wanted to help come up with the solutions. That’s us — BTA Channel deal- me. So, I thought, “If there are people like this out there ers. We are in the SMB space. We must be the people coming who are so interested in helping somebody else, that is up with the solutions to the problems in the workplace. By something I want to be part of because, one day, I’ll be doing so, we will stay ahead of hyperchange. smart enough to help somebody else.”

BTA 2018-19 Vice President Tim Renegar Tim Renegar, BTA’s 2018-19 vice president, is president and co-owner of Kelly Office Solutions, a Canon, Konica Minolta and Savin dealership located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The company, which has branches in Greensboro and Charlotte, North Carolina, has been a BTA member for more than 20 years.

Renegar has more than 35 years of management experience in the industry, including working at IKON, at Sharp Electronics, where he served as president of North Carolina, and in dealerships such as Charlotte Copy Data and Triad Business Systems, where Renegar served as executive vice president and co-owner. He has also served on various manufacturer and leasing company advisory councils.

Renegar chose to volunteer for the association after speaking with a friend and BTA board member. “BTA President John Eckstrom, who I have known for years, asked me to volunteer for BTA,” he says. “I have always respected what BTA does for the dealer community.

We were a small dealership in the Southeast district at the time, and once I realized the value of BTA, as well as the resources that were available to dealers, I wanted to play a larger part in the association.

I felt honored to be asked and was happy to join the board.”

He says his company’s BTA membership, as well as his service on the board, has benefited his business. “BTA has impacted our business in a big way,” he says. “Having the opportunity to network with other dealers [at BTA events and during board meetings] is

invaluable. As a dealer, you get to discuss what does or doesn’t work and have a truly open forum about issues that may arise, as well as how to find resolutions to those issues. Also, the education that BTA provides has allowed our business to grow in the right way.”

During his vice presidency, Renegar wants to focus on educating members on all that BTA offers. “One of the biggest initiatives for the coming year will be to get BTA’s message out,” he says. “Communicating what BTA offers its current members — and then making sure that non-members understand all BTA can do to support them as well — will have a great impact on the association going forward. It is important for members to be educated on what is available to them so they can take advantage of those resources in order to improve their businesses, as well as enable them to speak to other dealers about the value of BTA membership.”

How does he see the office technology industry changing in the coming years? “The current industry is largely hardware-centric, but it is changing and evolving into a services-led industry,” he says. “We have always been in the business of facilitating information within businesses and that is our job as dealers. Moving forward, how we do that may change as the industry changes, but there will always be a need for that. Our job is to stay ahead of those technologies and trends.”

There is one lesson from running his business Renegar thinks is most important to share with his fellow BTA dealers: “Come to BTA’s meetings and events and participate,” he says. “If you show up and participate, the knowledge you will receive is invaluable.”

— Elizabeth Marvel

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I ultimately became a BTA volunteer OT: What do you see as the key and, eventually, after serving on the “My message to value of BTA membership for ofdistrict board, was ready to assume the fice technology dealers? dealers who are presidency of BTA Southeast. However, Eckstrom: One of the most commonsitting on the fence because I was still learning the indusly cited answers to that question is BTA about whether or not try and I had already “bitten off” the General Counsel Bob Goldberg. It is easy to be part of this obligation to open up in Charleston, I to point to Bob and say, “Look, one call backed out of the leadership so I could organization is simple: to Bob will more than recoup your anfocus my time on our new startup. Later, nual dues.” That is a true statement and ‘Get off the fence.’” however, I learned how easy the lifting is is really easy for people to understand. because of the exceptional staff. Clearly, However, I think the value of BTA that BTA Southeast has a good working relationship with [BTA is sometimes overlooked is that, as a member, you form not Southeast Administrator] Linda Alwood, who is a true gem, only business alliances, but friendships. Dealers only need but then, at the national level, the staff always weighs in to to consider how many times they have back ordered somehelp where needed. When I did ultimately become the BTA thing or have a problem with something and think, “I wish Southeast president, it was absolutely easy lifting. there was somebody other than the manufacturer that I could go to for some resolution.” Well, as a BTA member, you OT: Looking at the year ahead, what will be your are going to not only have the increased alliances with folks primary areas of focus as BTA’s national president? like Bob or the many sponsors that make our events posEckstrom: I think it is incredibly important that we grow sible, but you will also develop friendships. Through these this organization. The industry is faced with some real chal- friendships, you are not only going to have opportunities to lenges; any analyst you talk to is going to tell you about the share best practices, but you are going to have opportunireduced units going out. While we are clearly seeing that ties to help one another with any potential issues within our change, when you consider that there were once forecasts industry. I think that is one of the coolest things, but, unforof a paperless office, it has proven to be less dramatic than tunately, one of the easiest things to overlook when people originally thought. are considering membership in an organization like BTA. What we are seeing, however, is that it is as important as My message to dealers who are sitting on the fence about ever for there to be an industry organization for the inde- whether or not to be part of this organization is simple: “Get pendent dealer. The goal is not to just have big membership off the fence.” rolls, but to have an organization with the sole objective of helping independent dealers. So, by reaching out and bring- OT: Are there any additional thoughts you ing additional dealers in as members, it’s not only going to would like to share as you assume the BTA nastrengthen and increase our ability to provide good servic- tional presidency? es, but it’s also going to give us new insight into the things Eckstrom: I absolutely welcome the opportunity to serve that will benefit BTA’s current dealer members. as BTA’s president. I really do. My message to other dealers The challenge we are seeing right now — the ever-shrink- who have an interest in becoming BTA volunteers: Don’t ing pool of potential members — is going to continue in the be scared of what you think could be an incredible amount coming years. That being said, it is the resolve of the current of work. You would think that in order to have the benefits BTA member dealer leadership team to keep BTA strong that come from volunteering, it’s not going to happen withand effective moving forward. Those two go hand in hand. out a whole lot of effort. However, the beautiful thing is, BTA If BTA is strong, it’s going to be effective. That is our job: To has an absolutely incredible staff, comprised of people who make sure it remains a relevant organization. truly care about the jobs that they do. They see what matRight now, BTA stands alone as the premier organization ters as it relates to the industry and it’s not just that they that truly caters to, supports and provides thought leader- are willing to do what they can to help the dealer channel, it ship to the office technology dealer channel. However, there almost looks like a hobby for them because are dealers in huge companies that say, “We don’t need an they have so much fun doing it. n organization like BTA.” That is very shortsighted. It is clear Brent Hoskins, executive director of the that BTA is an organization that offers an incredible bundle Business Technology Association, is editor of of resources that can be taken advantage of by any indeOffice Technology magazine. pendent dealership that chooses to be part of it, no matter He can be reached at brent@bta.org what its size. or (816) 303-4040.

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2018 ELITE DEALER AWARDS NOMINATION DEADLINE:

SEPTEMBER 14, 2018

Elite Dealer Nomination Form Available at www.enxmag.com www.offi cetechnol ogyma g. c om | J u l y 2018 | 17

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Gateway to Success BTA Mid-America hosts event in Fort Worth by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine

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TA Mid-America hosted its annual Gateway to Success event June 14-15 at the Worthington Renaissance Hotel in Fort Worth, Texas. The event featured a keynote address, “Selling in the New Millennium,” led by Steve Nudelberg; a featured educational session, “How Technology is Reshaping the World: Opportunities & Challenges,” led by Dr. Tassu Shervani of Southern Methodist University; and six additional educational sessions.

The six additional sessions: “Dealing With Industry Transformation & Massive Market Disruption,” led by Keith Kmetz and Robert Palmer, IDC; “Four Key Ways to Build Profit & Business Value,” led by Jim Kahrs, Prosperity Plus Management Consulting Inc.; “Incorporating Timeless Fundamentals With New Techniques for Sales Success,” led by Troy Harrison, Troy Harrison & Associates, and Jesyca Hope, Hope Communications Consulting; “How Overcapacity is Changing the Office Technology Industry,” led by Charles Brewer, Actionable Intelligence; “The Power of Google AdWords,” led by Roger Jung and Mariana Murphy, Evolved Office; and “MPS 2.0: The Who, What, When, Where, Why & How of Monthly Billing,” led by Mark Hart, ACDI. Networking opportunities included a welcoming reception and a Texas Rangers baseball game.

The exhibiting sponsors: ACDI, Actionable Intelligence, Agent Dealer, BEI Services, Brother, Carolina Wholesale, DCS, ECi Software Solutions, EDA, Epson, ESP AMETEK, Evolved Office, FP Mailing Solutions, GreatAmerica Financial Services, Gwentaa, Hytec, Impression Solutions, LD Products, LEAF, Lexmark, LMI Solutions, Marlin Office Technology Finance Group, Muratec, OKI, Panasonic Scanners, PCS VoIP, Polek & Polek, PRO Dealer Group, Static Control (keynote sponsor), Supplies Network, Supplies Wholesalers, TIAA Bank, Tigerpaw, TonerCycle/InkCycle, Unitone, Wells Fargo and Xerox (lunch sponsor).

See pages 2-3 or visit www.bta.org/BTANewYork to learn about BTA’s next event, the 2018 BTA National Conference. n Brent Hoskins, executive director of the Business Technology Association, is editor of Office Technology magazine.

He can be reached at (816) 303-4040 or brent@bta.org.

Above photos, clockwise from top: Gateway to Success featured a keynote address, a featured educational session and six additional educational sessions; Nudelberg presents his keynote address; attendees network with peers and sponsors during a break between sessions; and 2017-18 BTA Mid-America President DJ Hastings serves as emcee. Right photo: Shervani presents his featured educational session.

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The educational session presenters (clockwise from top left): Robert Palmer (left) and Keith Kmetz; Jim Kahrs; Jesyca Hope and Troy Harrison; Charles Brewer; Roger Jung; Mariana Murphy; and Mark Hart.

Clockwise from above left: Kate Lyon of GreatAmerica Financial Services visits with Derek Kirbo (center) and Harold Sharp (right) of Kirbo’s Office Systems LLC, San Angelo, Texas, during a break between sessions; Megan Sundmaker (seated) and Duncan Maclean ( far right) of TIAA Bank visit with John Shanklin (center left) and Scott Jensen (center right) of Copynet Digital Imaging Solutions, Plano, Texas, during a break; and 2017-18 BTA President Dan Castaneda (left) helps Hastings with the prize drawings at the end of the event .

ateway to Success attendees were provided with a formula for top-performing sales by educational session presenters Troy Harrison and Jesyca Hope. The pair presented “Incorporating Timeless Fundamentals with New Techniques for Sales Success.” They did so using the acronym HUSTLE. Hard Work: While sales reps will boast about how hard they work, they are often doing so only in terms of the time expended, Harrison said. Instead, he said, the focus should be on what work goes into those hours. “Hard work equals productive activity,” he said. “When you are talking to your salespeople and they are telling you what they are doing, here’s the question you should ask: ‘Is this time spent actually moving a sales process forward with your customer?’”

Understand Your Current Customers: When most reps go to sell a brand, they go out and ask all kinds of questions, getting to know the customer’s situation, staff, needs, etc., Harrison said. “Comprehensive questioning is great,” he said, noting, however, that once the rep knows “all about” the customer, he (or she) often stops asking questions. “Customers’ needs and situations are going to change over time. If we don’t keep asking those questions — refreshing our knowledge — what’s going to happen is we will be working with old information. Old information is the enemy of successful selling.”

Study Your Prospects: Beyond working capital, businesses also have social and human capital, Hope said, noting that a sales rep can learn more about prospects by understanding their interests and activities. “When you are looking at prospects, instead of looking just at where they spend their money, take a look at where they are investing their time and their energy,” she said, noting that Facebook and LinkedIn are good ways to find such information. “You can go beyond a website to do your prospecting, and you can find authentic ways to engage, or even just understand your prospects. Are you visiting their Instagram [accounts]? Are you seeing where they are volunteering?”

Tame the Trends: Most who are “selling you social media” are advising businesses to do everything, Hope said. “No, you do not have to jump on every bandwagon; not every social media stream has value for you,” she said, advising attendees that two basic strategies will often suffice. “You have to have a Facebook page and you’ve got to talk to someone about optimizing your website for search engines.”

Love What You Do: Most sales reps will say, “‘I love closing the sale and making all the money,’” Harrison said. “Guess what? You can get anybody to do anything for enough money for a while, but to build a long-term career, to build long-term success in selling, it requires people who love the activity — making the phone calls; having the meetings, even if they don’t go anywhere; putting out proposals, even if those proposals don’t close; and interacting with other people and with you.”

Evolve: “Unfortunately, there are a lot of companies and sales forces out there right now making themselves irrelevant because they haven’t adapted to the changes in their marketplaces,” Harrison said. “Successful companies evolve. Evolution does not mean revolution; we’re not telling you that you’ve got to turn everything you do upside down and sideways and redo everything.

What we’re saying is that, periodically, you need to look at all your processes and people, and ask: ‘Are they still supportive of the goals that we have?’” n — Brent Hoskins www.offi cetechnol ogyma g. c om | J u l y 2018 | 19

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COURTS & CAPITOLS

The Industry That Gives Back Support the efforts of your fellow BTA members by: Robert C. Goldberg, general counsel for the Business Technology Association

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erhaps it is my current stage of life that causes me to reflect on the past more often, but what I have seen in the office technology industry is most rewarding. This past Memorial Day, I traveled to Washington, D.C., for the second year to welcome the arrival of the Patriot Pack on its ride from Scottsdale, Arizona — a journey of more than 2,000 miles on motorcycles. The Pack’s members do not ride for themselves, but for those heroic soldiers lost and missing in war. They also ride for the Jillian Fund, which honors the tragic loss of Jillian Gorman, the daughter of George Gorman of Ricoh. They ride for Jillian to raise contributions for families that have children with critical illnesses. The Jillian Fund allows families to spend time with their children and not worry about finances.

The Jillian Fund (http://thejillianfund.org) is an industry endeavor. The Jillian Fund’s annual gala, which will take place on October 24 this year, will host more than 700 individuals. Bill McLaughlin of Atlantic Tomorrow’s Office leads the organization with excitement and dedication. Atlantic not only supports The Jillian Fund, but if you take a look at the company’s website under “Community and Philanthropy,” you can see several other ways the company gives back. The value of The Jillian Fund is equally embraced by the Patriot Pack. Mike Stramaglio of MWAi, David Clearman of Muratec, Andy Slawetsky of Industry Analysts, Simon Vermooten, John Brostrom, Gavin Williams and Kory Thompson, who lost a son defending our country, all rode for Jillian. Along the way, supporters Jim D’Emidio of Muratec, Barry Simon of Datamax, Sam Stone of Stone’s Office Equipment, Mike Marusic of Sharp and Larry Coco encouraged the Pack forward. Clover Technologies again donated a Harley-Davidson motorcycle for the Jillian Fund raffle. All of these industry participants stepped up to give back and help others. I have not mentioned all Pack participants, as there are so many, but if you did participate, you know in your heart why you rode or supported Jillian and that should be recognition enough.

For the past several years, I have been privileged to serve as master of ceremonies for The Cannata Report’s Annual Awards & Charities Dinner (www.thecannatareport.com). This year, the event will be held on November 8 in New Jersey. During

this event, Frank, Carol and CJ Cannata bring the industry together to recognize outstanding industry participants in several categories and, more importantly, to help a chosen charity. One-hundred percent of the funds raised go to the charity. The Cannatas have raised more than $2 million for various charities and those donations come from an industry that gives back. I encourage you to attend the Cannata dinner and experience the recognition and charitable giving.

Thousands of students have been awarded scholarships from the Business Technology Association (BTA) Scholarship Foundation (www.bta.org/Scholarships) over the years. Scholarships are available to qualifying children of full-time employees of dealerships that are current BTA Retail Dealer members. The greatest honor I ever received was the creation of the Bob Goldberg Scholarship, which is given to one worthy student each year. If you or your employees have not looked into BTA scholarship opportunities, you should. It is the association’s way of giving back to the entire industry.

Take a look at the websites of your fellow dealers as well.

CEI-The Digital Office helps raise funds for homeless pets. ProCopy Office Solutions, through its ProCopy Foundation, supports the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Child Crisis Center and many more. PERRY proTECH, an employee-owned company, proudly sets forth on its website: “We know that a community is only as strong as the people in it. We believe in giving back to the people, clients, corporations and charities that contribute so much to the local and regional communities of northwest central Ohio.” You can see on website after website that BTA dealer, vendor and consultant members give back to their communities.

We are all fortunate to be part of a great industry. In the 40 years I have been involved, the industry has benefited many.

More importantly, however, the industry has given back significantly. I could not be more proud to be associated with the office technology industry. Keep up the good work. Support these efforts or the efforts of those closest to you. n Robert C. Goldberg is general counsel for the Business Technology Association.

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

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AIMED VIEWPOINT

Transitioning From Your Roots Mailing provides revenue & margin opportunities by: Carl Amacker, FP Mailing Solutions

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o quote Brent Hoskins, BTA executive director and Office Technology editor, from the June issue of this magazine: “Our industry [office technology] has a rich history of significant transitions … the inherent nature of change is that new, lucrative opportunities abound.”

I could not agree with this sentiment more. Change means new opportunity, and in the office technology industry, new opportunities are on the horizon. As this industry continues to consolidate and the sales environment gets more competitive, one of the key questions I hear from the dealer channel is: “How do I differentiate from the competition so I do not have to sell everything only on price?”

In order to differentiate, you have to be open to new ideas and to potentially changing what you are used to doing. Expanding your thinking could lead to expanding your installed base into other markets in order to get ahead of the competition.

Did you know there are approximately 1 million meter customers in the United States? If you are a mailing dealer, you have been thinking about this number from the beginning. But if you are not, you are probably not aware that, in any given year, there are hundreds of thousands of meter customers in need of new equipment. This could be due to their current meter contracts expiring, poor service from providers, or failing and faulty equipment. It is open season for opportunity in the mailing industry.

Advantages of Introducing Mailing Mailing has been around for a long time in the copier/MFP and print world, but many dealerships have not spent the time or have not been educated on understanding the advantages of what mailing can do for their businesses. If you look at a copier/ MFP dealership’s installed base, I would venture that 90 percent of those customers have mailing equipment. This means that up to 20 percent of these customers are looking for new equipment each year and additional revenue opportunity is being missed. The same is probably true for your installed base.

Another missed opportunity is your competitor’s installed base. By not having mailing in your product catalog, you are less likely to get a foothold in your competitor’s base. Imagine offering mailing and going after your competition’s customers. How many meters could you place? Since your competitor is not currently offering mailing, your chance to win the meter sale is high. Now the relationship is in place to replace your competition’s copier/MFPs and printers with yours, adding a whole new level of revenue to your stream.

Manufacturers When looking to diversify into any new product lines, you need to consider your manufacturer very carefully. Some things to consider from a meter manufacturer are: market opportunity; product quality; service; support; pricing; compensation; market development funds; quotas; dealer structure; and potential channel conflict. As a dealer, you want to make sure that the manufacturer is well-equipped to support you. Do your research, get references, ask other dealers about their experiences and then make your decision. After going through this process, the answer should become fairly clear.

Outlook Mailing is still a very good industry that provides dealers with plenty of revenue and margin opportunity. However, to really grow, it will require some level of diversification of product offerings. If you are not in mailing today, you should take a look, as there is great opportunity to grow your installed base and grow revenues from your existing base. What is great about mailing is it is a complementary product line to copier/ MFPs and printers. It also provides great differentiation from your competition. It provides additional revenues — sales and recurring — from your own installed base. It also provides an avenue to grow your installed base of customers. It is a winning formula. n Carl Amacker is the CEO of FP Mailing Solutions. He can be reached at camacker@fp-usa.com.

Visit www.fp-usa.com.

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EDUCATION CALENDAR July 20

FIX: Cost Management for Service 2.0 Dayton, Ohio FIX, BTA’s popular service workshop, teaches attendees how to determine the actual cost of the service hour (burden rate) and improve overall service department profitability. Visit www.bta. org/FIX to register.

August

21-22 BTA Managed Services Workshop Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania In this workshop, Mitch Morgan and Chris Ryne of Growth Achievement Partners will share their experience to allow attendees to walk away with a time-tested process, tools and metrics for capitalizing on the managed services market opportunity. Visit www.bta.org/MS to register.

22-24 BTA Sales Management Workshop

Chicago, Illinois Taught by Kim Ward of Learning Outsource Group, the BTA Sales Management Workshop focuses entirely on the “how-to” skills that will help each attendee reach his (or her) full potential as a great sales leader and coach. Visit www.bta.org/SalesMgt to register.

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BTA Building My Business Webinar: “How to Ensure an 85-Percent Managed IT Services Close Ratio” During this webinar, led by Brian Suerth of Technology Assurance Group (TAG), you will learn proven techniques that you can immediately use to increase your managed IT services business and your recurring revenue. Visit www.bta.org/BMB to register.

September 10

BTA Strategic Sales Semester Determining which accounts and which opportunities require a transactional approach and which accounts require a strategic approach is a skill required to be successful today and into the future. The BTA Strategic Sales Semester consists of 13 45- to 60-minute online training sessions held every other week over six months. Visit www.bta.org/StrategicSales to register.

18-19 Select Dealer Group Meeting - www.bta.org/SDG

New York City, New York

19-21 2018 BTA National Conference - Hosted by BTA East New York City, New York The 2018 BTA National Conference will feature: a keynote address led by James Lawrence, the Iron Cowboy; a vendor panel on production and industrial print; a team-building experience; eight additional educational sessions led by industry leaders; time to network with peers and exhibiting sponsors; and a dinner cruise around Manhattan in a glass-top boat, the Bateaux. BTA member dealers receive 2-for-1 registration. Visit www.bta.org/BTANewYork to register.

For more information, visit www.bta.org/Education or call (800) 843-5059.

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

Dealer Members Advantage Imaging Supply, San Juan Capistrano, CA Budget Business Systems, Mineola, TX Copier Dynamics, Markham, IL CopyTech 360, Miami Lakes, FL CPC Technologies, Pensacola, FL Houston Copier Leasing, Austin, TX Kirbo’s Office Systems LLC, Brownwood, TX Vendor Members Hybrid Imaging Systems LLC, Salinas, CA Hyland Software, Westlake, OH TAG - Technology Assurance Group, San Diego, CA For full contact information of these new members, visit www.bta.org.

For the benefit of its dealer members, each month BTA features two of its vendor members in this space.

Founded in 1998, Technology Assurance Group (TAG) is an organization of leading managed technology services providers (MTSPs) in North America representing $350 million in products and services. TAG members integrate all technology solutions including IT, cloud-based technologies, cybersecurity, telecommunications, AV, video surveillance, access control and managed print. TAG’s mission is to increase its members’ profits and sales through education and to ease their introduction of new technology to the marketplace by leveraging their combined intellect and purchasing power. www.tagnational.com

BTA dealer members receive discount codes with their memberships that can be used toward BTA educational workshops, registration to BTA’s events, or the purchase of the association’s Business Equipment Quota Index (BEQI). Dealer members receive $400 in discount codes (one code valued at $150 and one valued at $250) with a one-year membership or $950 in discount codes (three codes valued at $150 and two valued at $250) with a two-year membership.

Visit www.bta.org/MemberBenefits for more information.

Demand creates new business opportunities for its clients utilizing superior talent, cutting-edge technologies and unique, proprietary processes that are revolutionary in the appointment-setting field. The company maximizes your ROI through securing face-toface meetings for you with qualified decision makers who need your products and services.

Demand specializes exclusively in business-tobusiness lead generation, appointment setting and demand generation, and it has developed a uniquely effective approach that has been proven to deliver superior results. Create demand for your business with Demand. http://create-demand.com

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

A full list of BTA vendor members can be found online at www.bta.org.

BTA Member Discount Codes

For more information, visit www.bta.org.

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MEMBER BENEFITS Included with $430 BTA dealer membership: Legal Services • Industry advice & guidance via the BTA Legal Hotline • Sample legal agreements & contracts customizable for your dealership • Contract reviews • Data security & patent troll guidance & brochures • National industry campaign against fraudulent telemarketing of copier/MFPs & computer supplies

Publications • Monthly Office Technology magazine • Weekly BTA Hotline e-newsletter

Channel Trends & Statistics

MEMBER BENEFITS

Business Support Services

• Ask the Analyst service • Monthly Building My Business webinars • Sample job descriptions • Sample compensation plans

Discount Promo Codes • $400 in discounts with a one-year membership or $950 in discounts with a two-year membership to apply toward education or BTA events

BTA Scholarships • The opportunity to apply for educational scholarships of $3,000, $1,500 & $1,000 awarded to children of BTA member dealers & the children of their full-time employees.

Applications due each year by May 1.

• Channel’s Choice Summary • BTA Compensation Report • BTA Finance Report • BTA Service Report

BTA Navigator Program

Available to members at reduced fees:

Business Support Services

Channel Trends & Statistics • 2016 Business Equipment Quota Index (BEQI) • Keypoint Intelligence-Buyers Lab bliQ — competitive intelligence & sales tools • Keypoint Intelligence-InfoTrends reports

BTA Events & Educational Offerings • Registration to BTA’s district-hosted events & annual national conference • Classroom training programs covering all aspects of your business, including training for sales reps, sales managers and service managers, as well as a financial benchmarking workshop to help grow your business • Online workshops, including an in-depth sales workshop consisting of 13 modules for your entire sales team, a new sales rep training workshop, and one-to-one telesales training & coaching • CompTIA exam voucher discounts • IT University online courses • Logical Operations’ User Productivity Courseware & Axzo Crisp Series

Available to members at competitive rates: Insurance Programs

• Business executive life • Business liability • Data compromise coverage • Disability, long- and short-term • Retirement programs

• OEM co-op reimbursement program for BTA dues & educational workshop tuition. Check with your supplier!

• Background checks • Business valuation services • Collection services • Credit card processing • Credit report & business information services • Employee assessment tools • On-hold messaging service • Recruitment services • Relationship management/CRM • Telemarketing/lead generation • VoIP communication solutions

Discounted Programs • BTA Marketplace discounts & value-added offerings • BTA member rewards program • Car rental discounts • Device monitoring & management • Gas & electricity volume purchasing agreements • Hard drive security solutions • Marketing solutions • Mobile discount programs • Product evaluations & side-by-side comparisons • Shipping & freight discounts

• Health discount card providing medical, dental, vision, hearing, lab & prescription discounts • Medical, life, health, dental & vision plans through an insurance brokerage service • Section 125 cafeteria plans • Term life • Workers’ compensation

For more information, visit www.bta.org/Benefits. www.offi cetechnol ogymag. c om | J u l y 2018 | 25

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DEALERSHIP SPOTLIGHT

Barlop Celebrates 35 Years Family-run dealership has a long history of success by: Elizabeth Marvel, Office Technology Magazine

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fter Saxon Business Products was bought out in the early 1980s, José López and his partner, Juan Barroso, who both served as national parts managers for Saxon, were looking for new opportunities. Ultimately, the pair decided to start their own company. In May 1983, they opened Barlop Business Systems, a company with a name that represented both of them — “Bar-” from “Barroso” and “-lop” from “López.” Since then, the company has grown from a small, 600-square-foot office to a 15,000-square-foot space in Miami, Florida, with 32 employees. The company services Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Broward counties, and carries Lanier, Samsung and HP products, as well as managed print and managed IT services.

Many BTA member dealerships are family-run, and Barlop is no exception. José’s (general manager) daughters, Mallory (controller), Michele (supplies and parts manager, and marketing manager) and Monica (vice president of business development), are all integral to the success of the company. While it may be challenging to work with family members, the López family wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I honestly have to say that working with family is the best,” Monica says. “I can’t even imagine not having my sisters and father with me all day.”

“I love working with my sisters too,” Mallory adds. “I think it’s amazing, because you have a confidence level when dealing with your family and you can talk much more freely and openly. Obviously, my father is my boss, but he’s always open to whatever we have to say because, at the end of the day, we’re his kids and he wants what’s best for us. If he says something that I don’t really agree with, I’ll tell him. We constantly challenge each other, but at the same time we’re all on the same team and we know we’re on the same team long-term.”

The López daughters all got into the business under similar circumstances. During their college years, they went to school in Miami and worked for their father out of convenience. “It was very flexible,” Mallory says. “Once we started working, we really went through every job task that there is in this office.

We’ve done everything from receptionist to service dispatcher to sales and admin. They put us in every department so we could learn a little bit of everything. We were all going to get other jobs when we graduated, but it just didn’t make sense to leave. I wanted to continue in this industry and continue helping grow our business.”

On May 16, Barlop celebrated 35 years in business with an event for its customers and prospects. “It was a great success,”

Top photo: Barlop hosted a reception for the company’s customers and prospects during its 35th anniversary event. Bottom left photo (clockwise from top left): Mallory López; José’s wife Madelyn López; José López; Monica López; Michele López; and Ana Estrada, human resources. Bottom right photo: The anniversary event featured nine technology stations.

José says. “We had about 200 people who showed up in support from 38 prospective and 56 current customer companies.”

The event featured technology stations that were set up inside the building. These stations featured aspects of the business customers would find useful, and highlighted offerings they may not have known about.

“We wanted to show people that we aren’t just a copier company,” Mallory says. “We offer a lot of benefits and a lot of solutions for our clients to make them more efficient and help them grow. We had a security station; a video conferencing station; a station allowing people to meet the faces behind our service department; and a managed services station. Panasonic had its own station so people could see the scanning capabilities we offer. We also had a managed print services station and an entire area dedicated to HP because this year we became an HP Premier Dealer, which is a pretty big thing.”

The company gave out cards that could be stamped at each

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station. The cards were collected at the end because you never know when you’re not of the event and drawn for raffle prizes. Afgoing to have them full. One of the things “When you’re dealing ter going through the stations, attendees my girls have told me is we need to look for with us, you’re always walked outside the building and into tents younger blood and train them to our needs, going to be a big fish where they enjoyed food, drinks, music and so that’s one of the things I’m trying. Being in our little pond. a photo booth. able to identify and pick the right people to We never treat our The López family is adamant about why become part of the Barlop team is definitetheir company has been so successful for 35 ly a challenge.” customers like they are years. The key is customer service. “When The team has implemented some meajust one of many ... “ you’re dealing with us, you’re always going sures to recruit new employees. “We have to be a big fish in our little pond,” Mallory incentivized our benefits package to try says. “We never treat our customers like they are just one of and get that new blood my dad was talking about,” Michele many, like when you deal with a direct branch or with one of says. “We’ve definitely made some changes to our benefits these bigger companies. package and we do create bonus structures for them.”

“We’re big enough that we can satisfy all of your needs and In the coming years, the company plans to expand its manmake you more efficient, but we’re small enough where you aged services offerings and continue to be a total solutions mean something to us and, no matter what, you’re our prior- provider for its customers. ity,” Mallory continues. “Our clients always come first. Cus“We are a service provider,” José says. “Copiers are just a tomer service is the most important aspect to our industry means of communication. It’s being able to put everything tobecause it is a service-based industry. Our customers are our gether — the mobile phones, the computers, the copiers, the number-one asset. Without them, we would be nothing, so we scanners — and making them all function simultaneously, emphasize our customer service as much as possible.” continuously and in the same way, all together.”

They also believe staying ahead of the curve has been im“We’re looking to be our customers’ total solutions providperative to their success. “We don’t stand still,” José says. “We’re er,” Monica adds. “We’re looking to be a technology company, always looking at new things to do, and always keeping up with not a copier company. We want to help our customers be effithe industry and knowing where it’s going and where we want to cient in every aspect of their businesses, whether it be phones, go. Education and knowledge of the industry is the bottom line.” IT services, copiers, document management, solutions — any“I think he’s really good at always staying ahead of the tech- thing that will make them more efficient, we want to be their nology and keeping us educated about what’s going on in the in- vendor for that and we want to be their partner.” dustry so we can better service our customers,” Michele says of The family says being a BTA member has had an impact on her father. “It all comes back to them [our customers] and what the business as well. we can do to make them more efficient, because as they grow, “I think it [being a BTA member] has been invaluable,” we get to grow as well. So, we’re always trying to stay ahead.”

Monica says. “I think one of our greatest experiences has been What initiatives has the company put into place to remain a our membership in BTA’s PRO Dealer Group. The amount of leader in the marketplace? “So the biggest thing that we’ve been education I have received through the BTA Channel and bedoing in the last three years is managed [IT] services,” José says. ing a part of that group has been immense. I have learned so “It’s really kicking up and is becoming a good part of our busi- much from being in a group of business owners who are going ness. Copiers are not going to be the main focus of our indus- through — or have already been through — the same difficultry in the future; they are going to be just a part of what we do. ties we are. They help us understand what the struggles are Copiers are just part of our communications. How we commu- and give us advice on what we should do or how things should nicate and manage communications for our customers is going be handled.” to make us a different company and a company of the future.”

José agrees. “I believe that we need to have groups like this But things are not perfect at Barlop — the company has its [BTA],” he says. “They’re very important. I’ve been a member of challenges as well. “I think our biggest challenge, at least for the association since it was the National Office Machine Dealme, is finding good salespeople,” Michele says. “But every time ers Association [NOMDA; now BTA]. It is what we meet with fellow dealers, we find they’re experiencing the made our dealer community great and BTA has same struggles we are. It’s hard to find good sales reps. We continued to do a great job in helping us know hired the help of some recruiting companies recently, so we’ll what’s out there.” n see what comes of that.”

Elizabeth Marvel is associate editor of Office “Recruiting is a 24/7 job,” José says. “You always have to be Technology magazine. She can be reached at recruiting and you cannot stop, even if your positions are full, elizabeth@bta.org or (816) 303-4060. www.offi cetechnol ogyma g. c om | J u l y 2018 | 27

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SERVICE CONNECTIONS

Service & Support Canon hosts Engineering & Solutions Summits by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine

I

n June, the Business Imaging Solutions Group (BISG) of Canon U.S.A. Inc. hosted five two-day Engineering & Solutions Summits targeting Canon-authorized dealership service professionals.

The summits, held in California, Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey and Texas, provided attendees the opportunity to learn more about Canon’s efforts to help dealerships optimize their service operations.

Leroy Farrell As the June 11-12 summit got underway in Irving, Texas, Leroy Farrell, vice president and general manager of BISG Engineering Services & Solutions, provided a look at Canon’s dealer hardware sales growth. “Over the last six years, year over year, the dealer channel has consistently grown for Canon,” he said. “If you take a look at it from 2016 to 2017, there was a 5-percent growth, and taking a look at it for this year, from January to April, already we are at 2-percent growth. This is fantastic. Thank you so very much from everyone here at Canon.”

In his presentation, Farrell highlighted several areas at Canon intended to help lower the cost of service, maximize service profitability and optimize operational efficiency. He began with the nature of Canon’s current products, noting that they have proven to be “outstanding” from a “performance and quality” standpoint. When comparing Canon’s current generation of products to the previous generation, “the overall cost of service has been lowered by more than 50 percent,” he said. “From the standpoint of our monthly print volume between calls — from the [imageRUNNER ADVANCE] 5200 to the 5500 — it has improved by 33 percent. Repair time has dropped by 21 percent. Our drum life, which is very critical, for black has doubled and for color has almost tripled.

This means the overall cost per copy from a labor and parts standpoint has been lowered by 58 percent.”

Farrell also touted Canon’s new Customer Solutions Center, launched at the beginning of 2018, and focused, in part, on enhancing solutions support for dealership service teams. “It’s not just about supporting the device or software anymore,” he said. “It’s about supporting the device, software, network, security and the customer’s workflow. At our Customer Solutions Center, located in Melville, New York, we have put together a truly collaborative environment, bringing together our technical support, engineers and developers.”

In addition, “we have more than 200 devices in our labs to be

able to reproduce the most complex customer issues out there to quickly and efficiently get those solutions to your teams,” Farrell said. “A key component of the Customer Solutions Center is our tech support operation. We are receiving an average of about 12,000 calls per month; we have a first-call fix rate of more than 94 percent. We are really proud of that capability.”

Pretending to ask Amazon’s Alexa what makes her work, Farrell received the reply that it is “voice recognition, AI, predictive learning algorithms and personalization by a data history.” That led to his comments on the Canon SMART Service System, which he said is changing how Canon and its dealers will provide service going forward.

“These are the key technologies that we are going to be leveraging with the new Canon SMART Service System,” Farrell said of Alexa’s response to his question. “Every day, we all hear about artificial intelligence, predictive logic, big data, the ‘internet of things’ — these are being incorporated into our Canon SMART Service System. How does this all work? It starts with systems of data. If you take a look at our industry, it comes from the technician’s history in the field, the customer environment and connected smart devices.”

Through the use of imageWARE Remote, which has more than 360,000 devices providing data, as well as from customer environments and the Customer Solutions Center, Canon is gathering information, Farrell said. “We take all this information and we ‘feed into the cloud,’” he said. “You then apply artificial intelligence and predictive logic to it and it gives you service intelligence; service intelligence then creates smartdriven systems or actionable systems to be able to enhance service operations for Canon solutions.”

Predictive logic provides for “what is called a predictive request,” Farrell said. “So, it’s monitoring the devices and when it senses that there could be a potential issue, it creates a request with the information and the required parts to be able to resolve it before the problem ever happens. This lowers your overall cost of service and increases your service profitability.”

Farrell emphasized that the feedback Canon has received from summit attendees in recent years has proven valuable.

That feedback, he said, has helped Canon to be able to “improve your service operation, profitability and customer satisfaction with Canon solutions.” n Brent Hoskins, executive director of the Business Technology Association, is editor of Office Technology magazine.

He can be reached at brent@bta.org or (816) 303-4040.

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SELLING SOLUTIONS

Your Customer Relationships How to move your buyers to the third level by: Troy Harrison, Troy Harrison & Associates

I

am watching an interesting phenomenon take place while waiting at the Kansas City International Airport (MCI) to fly to Atlanta, Georgia. As per usual, I am flying Southwest.

What is unusual is the entire airport is under a fog delay. It is legitimate and visible; it looks like pea soup outside, but the fog is in the process of burning off. My flight will only be delayed 20 minutes or so. But that is not the interesting part.

To get to my gate, I had to walk past gates for two other airlines. At both sets of gates, there was serious grumbling about delays, and at one airline’s gate, the passengers were near mutiny. Listening to the comments, airline incompetence was to blame. Yet, at the Southwest gates, nearly everyone (and there are far more Southwest passengers than there are for any other airline at MCI) has a stiff-upper-lip mentality.

“It’s not their fault; they’re doing the best that they can,” is the common refrain. It is true; it is quite obvious why the airport is shut down. So, why the difference? Does Southwest just have more cheery passengers than other airlines? I am guessing not.

What is happening is Southwest has earned the benefit of the doubt from its passengers. It has created relationships with them that allow them to cut the airline some slack during a problem. Other airlines have not created those relationships, so even when a problem is clearly not an airline’s fault, customers do not react in the same way Southwest customers do.

I have said for many years that the true measure of a customer relationship is a company’s ability to make mistakes that inconvenience its customer, but the company is able to retain the customer’s business regardless. Think about it. We all make mistakes (again, in this case, the airlines are not making mistakes — this is beyond their control — but their customers are definitely being inconvenienced).

I will get into the ways I think Southwest has done this in a few minutes, but first, let’s talk about the three levels of buyers.

The first level is the Occasional Buyer. This buyer treats every buying decision as a new buying decision, researches all potential providers, and selects the provider that gives the best value and circumstances for that specific transaction.

For instance, if every time you fly or stay at a hotel, you use an aggregating site like Kayak, Booking, Expedia, etc., and then select your travel options based on the best pricing or scheduling for that trip, you are an Occasional Buyer. If your customer needs a proposal on every purchase, takes time to evaluate it, and then gets back to you (and you do not win every time), he (or she) is an Occasional Buyer.

Occasional Buyers seldom forgive mistakes. A mistake with an Occasional Buyer can even cost you the opportunity to participate in his buying process for quite some time until the incident has been forgotten or sufficient amends have been made.

The next level is the Habitual Buyer. The Habitual Buyer typically buys from a single source, but does so out of habit, not any intellectual or emotional ties to the provider. “We buy from them because we buy from them,” sums up the Habitual Buyer. Habitual Buyers do, from time to time, reevaluate their purchasing habits. More often they change based on outside stimuli — in other words, when providers make mistakes. Like an Occasional Buyer, one mistake can cost you the Habitual Buyer. In this case, the consequences are even worse, because once the Habitual Buyer establishes a new source, he tends to not give you an opportunity to get back in until the new source makes a mistake.

Habitual Buyers are also dangerous because they masquerade as the third level of customer — the Loyal Customer. Loyal Customers are customers we all want. Not only do they buy exclusively from you, but they are aware of why they do it. They know your value so well that they can articulate it themselves (sometimes better than you can). They evangelize for you, they refer you to others and they tolerate mistakes because they know that your overall excellence outweighs any mistakes you may make.

The trouble is, too many salespeople mistake habit for loyalty. “Hey, this customer buys everything from me,” a salesperson says. “He is loyal and I have him locked and loaded.”

The salesperson will acknowledge that he never gets referrals or testimonials from the customer, but “that’s just not him.” www.offi cetechnol ogymag. c om | J u l y 2018 | 29

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(4) It resells its value. I fly frequently This salesperson seldom becomes aware of with Southwest. On a regular basis, I get his vulnerability (due to a mistake) until it When personnel at other free drink tickets mailed to me, mailers is far too late. airlines are nice, it is telling me (again) how good its services are Listening to those around me, Southwest the exception ... With and how low its fees are, and sometimes has created a lot of Loyal Customers. How Southwest, everyone just a letter thanking me. Southwest does did it do it? Well, here are my thoughts. deals with problems not rest on its laurels.

(1) It is good at what it does. Southwest Salespeople should be working to move has an amazing habit of getting me and my and they do so honestly Occasional Buyers to Habitual Buyers, bag where it says it will, when it says it will. and with smiles. and from Habitual Buyers to Loyal Buyers.

When there is a problem, it is usually someThere are, of course, many options for dothing out of the company’s control.

(2) Its personnel are nice. I have dealt with a number of other ing so, but you could do far worse than follow the Southwest airlines when things go wrong — when I have been delayed, formula. At least your customers would tolerate problems in when a bag has been misrouted, etc. When personnel at other good cheer, as we at the Southwest gates at MCI do. n Troy Harrison is the author of “Sell Like You Mean It!” airlines are nice, it is the exception. Perish the thought that I and “The Pocket Sales Manager,” and is a speaker, approach a person who is not exactly the appropriate person to consultant and sales navigator. deal with my issue. With Southwest, everyone deals with probHe helps companies build more profitable lems and they do so honestly and with smiles. and productive sales forces. To schedule a free (3) Southwest employees answer the phone. I have only 45-minute Sales Strategy Review, called Southwest a handful of times, but every time I have, a call (913) 645-3603 or email live, helpful person answers the phone. I never have to press a button for a menu and then listen to a recording telling me troy@troyharrison.com.

Visit www.troyharrison.com. how valuable my call is.

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17 • BTA Strategic Sales Semester

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Harrison July 18.indd 2

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MAY 2016

BUSINESS IN THE ‘AC

INTELLIGE

CELERATIO

TO FROM ECM

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MY’

INSIGHT:

OPTIMIZE

ALYTICS TO USING AN PROCESSES BUSINESS

The Imaging Channel

An integrated resource for the print and imaging industry that brings together the leading market information, business concepts, solutions, strategies and people in the industry. print | digital | website | e-bulletins

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02

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| Number

A publication, website and e-newsletter for the business process automation and content management industry.

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1 kf_cover.indd

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ProFinance - BPO ads July 18.indd 1

6/22/18 8:51 AM

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GreatAmerica ad July 18.indd 1

6/18/18 9:06 AM