June 2018 Office Technology

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CONTENTS Volume 24 • No. 12

FEATURE ARTICLES 10

MFP Allies Embracing the synergy of A3 & A4

DEALERSHIP SPOTLIGHT Digital Print Solutions Ohio dealership focused heavily on production print

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by Brent Hoskins Office Technology Magazine

by Brent Hoskins Office Technology Magazine

After a few years of working at a Canon dealership, Adam Silk established his first company selling Savin imaging equipment.

However, it was only after he sold his company that the ultimate destiny of his career became apparent.

Remember when managed print services (MPS) and, later, 3D printing, were all the rage in the office technology industry? There was a point in time when A4 MFPs were receiving similar attention.

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Successful Entrepreneurs A look at the key characteristics observed

by Jim Kahrs Prosperity Plus Management Consulting

P R I N C I PA L I S S U E S DocuWorld 2018 Encouraging dealers to set the new pace for business

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by Elizabeth Marvel Office Technology Magazine

What makes a successful entrepreneur? This can be an elusive question.

When you look around, you see business owners with all different levels of success. I have come across a handful of characteristics that I believe provide some insight.

COURTS & CAPITOLS 20

Off-Hours Communication New York City proposal may bring penalties

Announcing significant growth for the company in 2017, as well as a new set of preconfigured solutions, DocuWare hosted its DocuWorld 2018 conference May 7-10 in Orlando, Florida.

SELLING SOLUTIONS The Most Crucial Information You must know how your customers prefer to buy

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by Robert C. Goldberg BTA General Counsel

by Troy Harrison Troy Harrison & Associates

Mobile technology has only served to extend working hours and make people feel like they need to be in constant communication. In the employment area, 24-hour communication and response obligations may be coming to an end.

AIMED VIEWPOINT 22

AIMED Survey: Part Three Final responses from the newest BTA peer group

by Brent Hoskins Office Technology Magazine

What have you found to be the best strategies for recruiting and retaining good, effective employees? Office Technology magazine surveyed the members of the AIMED peer group about their businesses, asking this and other questions.

More than two decades ago, I learned a lesson that stuck with me. It is about the most crucial, valuable information you can possess — information about your customers. Some pieces of information are more valuable than others.

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

Are You Diversifying Your Product Lineup?

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arlier this year, I heard from Andrew Jones of Muratec America Inc. He had participated in a BTA Vendor Relations Committee call a few weeks before, along with representatives from four other vendors. Andrew was thinking about a discussion during the call focused on the recommendation that BTA proactively expand its reach beyond traditional office technology dealers, with an eye on recruiting additional members from adjacent industries. In light of the discussion, he asked if I would like to attend INFOFLEX 2018, hosted by the Flexographic Technical Association, May 7-8 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

With that in mind, allow me to switch gears a bit. No one would dispute that ours is an industry in transition. The core reason is simple. While there are still huge volumes of documents being printed, the numbers are not what they were in the past. Keith Kmetz, program vice president of imaging, printing and document solutions for IDC, the market research firm, shared some telling numbers with me for the cover story in this issue. The numbers reveal a forecasted compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of -.7 percent for U.S. unit placements of both monochrome and color MFPs during the forecast period of 2017 to 2022. That is both A3 (with a CAGR of -4.9 percent) and A4 (with a CAGR of .7 percent) MFPs. Overall, U.S. placements are forecasted to decline from 2,862,609 (A3: 794,144) units in 2017 to 2,758,260 (A3: 618,623) units in 2022.

While these are still some big numbers, it is a downward trend.

I attend most of the MFP manufacturer dealer meetings in the United States.

There was a day when these were just fax,

printer and copier events. In recent years, I have seen things like digital signage, 3D printers, security equipment, interactive whiteboards, meeting collaboration devices and even robots. In addition to that, the list of software-based solutions being showcased at these meetings is seemingly endless. Clearly, everyone has an eye on product diversification.

Back to Muratec. Can anyone think of a vendor whose “primary product offering identity” has changed as much as Muratec’s in recent years? Today, the company’s primary focus is on its digital label presses.

Remember when Muratec was primarily known as a provider of fax machines? Hats off to Muratec — now owned by Konica Minolta — for leveraging its good name as it diversifies its product offerings in order to help its dealer customers diversify their product offerings as well.

How about your dealership? Are you still focused almost exclusively on traditional imaging devices? Or are you leveraging your good name as you diversify your product and services offerings? As you consider your responses, remember that the good news is twofold: (1) We are all in this together; and (2) The inherent nature of change is that new, lucrative opportunities abound.

By the way, I did attend INFOFLEX 2018.

While I knew next to nothing about flexographic printing beforehand, I now know more. Might BTA one day have players in the flexography industry among its members? At this point, I don’t know. But I do know this: We must all expand our horizons, so to speak, as the office technology industry continues to transition. In 1926, when BTA was founded, “technology” was the typewriter. Think about that for a minute. Our industry has a rich history of significant transitions. 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 Robert C. Goldberg, General Counsel Business Technology Association Troy Harrison, Troy Harrison & Associates www.troyharrison.com Jim Kahrs, Prosperity Plus Management Consulting Inc. www.prosperityplus.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

It Has Been My Honor to Serve as President

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n June 30, my year as president of the Business Technology Association (BTA) will come to a close. It has been my honor to lead the office technology industry’s premier dealer organization. I am humbled by the privilege of helping to continue BTA’s decades-long commitment to providing valuable information, support and guidance to the dealer channel. I will leave the presidency with great memories that I will always cherish.

I had no idea what the future held when I first learned about BTA from Don Thomas, then of Color Imaging. He encouraged me to join. When I became general manager of International Copy Machine Center in El Paso, Texas, I only had service management experience. Don said BTA would open up a world of opportunities to meet and interact with other dealers who could provide me the insight and guidance I was seeking.

My introduction to BTA came with my attendance at a BTA East-hosted event in White Plains, New York. I was greeted with warmth and respect, and everyone I met was more than willing to engage in dialog about our industry and answer my questions. That’s when I decided to join BTA. I will always look at that decision as one of the best choices of my career. At this point, it is difficult to imagine not being a member of this amazing association.

Not long after joining BTA, I learned there was a shortage of volunteers in the BTA Mid-America district. I was asked if I would be interested in helping to lead the district and was soon elected as the district’s 2012-13 vice president. That led to service on the national BTA Board of Directors and, ultimately, to my presidency.

Looking back at the year, I am proud of what we have accomplished. This includes the establishment of a new Vendor Relations Committee, allowing us to regularly interact with vendors about our district-hosted events and the association’s membership growth efforts. I am also particularly pleased with our interaction this year with the Brazilian Technology Association, which included providing counsel as it seeks membership growth as well. In October of last year, BTA President-Elect John Eckstrom and I presented at one of its events, held in São Paulo, Brazil.

My fellow board members are salt-ofthe-earth individuals. They truly have the BTA dealer member’s best interest at heart.

It has been a privilege to serve not only with John, but also with the other BTA board members — Bob Evans, Rob Richardson, Jim Donnellon, Tim Seeley Jr., Erik Crane, Greg Quirk, Tim Renegar, David Polimeni, John Hines and Mike Brandon. Thank you, gentlemen, for your friendship and the support you have shown me.

Thank you, too, Bob Goldberg, for your support and guidance during this past year. And, of course, thank you Brent Hoskins, Valerie Briseno, Brian Smith and Elizabeth Marvel for all that you do at BTA’s headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri. The four of you have been a pleasure to work with during my presidency and otherwise. I can assure all BTA members that the association is in good hands in terms of the staff. Collectively, they have served BTA for 64 years. How many can say that of four employees?

Finally, I’d like to extend my best wishes to my successor. John has a passion for our association and its ongoing growth and success that will certainly bring great things during his year as BTA president. n — Dan Castaneda

2017-2018 Board of Directors President Dan Castaneda International Copy Machine Center El Paso, Texas dan@icmc-elp.com President-Elect John Eckstrom Carolina Business Equipment Inc. Columbia, South Carolina johne@cbesc.com Vice President Bob Evans Function4 Sugar Land, Texas bobevans@function-4.com BTA East Jim Donnellon Donnellon McCarthy Enterprises Cincinnati, Ohio j.donnellon@dme.us.com Tim Seeley Jr. Seeley Office Systems Inc. Glens Falls, NY tseeleyjr@seeleyoffice.com BTA Mid-America Erik Crane Copy Products Inc. Springfield, Missouri ecrane@copyproductsinc.net Greg Quirk JQ Office Equipment of Omaha Inc. Omaha, Nebraska gquirk@jqoffice.com BTA Southeast Tim Renegar Kelly Office Solutions Winston-Salem, North Carolina trenegar@kellyofficesolutions.com David Polimeni RITE Technology Sarasota, Florida dpolimeni@ritefl.com BTA West John Hines Copiers Northwest Inc. Seattle, Washington jhines@copiersnw.com Mike Brandon ABC Office Equipment Co. Inc. Spokane, Washington mbrandon@abcoe.com Immediate Past President Rob Richardson Allied Document Solutions & Services Inc. Swedesboro, New Jersey robr@ads-s.com Ex-Officio/General Counsel Robert C. Goldberg Schoenberg Finkel Newman & Rosenberg LLC Chicago, Illinois robert.goldberg@sfnr.com

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MFP Allies Embracing the synergy of A3 & A4 by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine

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emember when managed print services (MPS) and, later, 3D printing, were all the rage in the office technology industry? Wherever you turned, someone was talking about how these opportunities were going to change our world. As it turns out, MPS remains the strategy of many, but the ballyhoo ended long ago. Meanwhile, few, if any, would say that the promise of 3D printing for the BTA Channel lived up to the hype.

There was a point in time when A4 MFPs were receiving similar attention. “This was a very hot topic,” says Mike Hunter, director of product marketing at Ricoh USA Inc. “I can remember five to seven years ago when the thinking was that A4 was going to push A3 off a cliff. Everyone was saying, ‘Well, in a year or two, there will be no more A3 devices; it’s going to be A4.’ Obviously, that didn’t happen. It’s good to revisit this to see what happened, the reason behind it and where we are going in the future. Things definitely did change from where they were a few years ago.”

What Happened Initially, there was pushback from dealers who lamented the lower revenue and margins inherent to A4 MFPs. However, the pushback ultimately faded. “We’re not hearing that concern anymore,” Hunter says. “Years ago, it was a huge concern. Everyone was saying, ‘This is going to shift very, very quickly. How are we going to make up for the loss of revenue and profit?’”

Many dealers quickly recognized the importance of offering A4 MFPs, but also quickly found there was no mass exodus from A3 MFPs; instead, there was demand for both A4 and A3.

“They realized the necessity of having a full portfolio of products to be able to meet the needs of customers,” Hunter says.

“Today, the dealership will go in and right-size a customer’s environment where, for example, if the enterprise customer had 100 A3 MFPs, now it may be 70 A3 MFPs with some A4s sprinkled in, because the customer doesn’t need the extra finishing capabilities, wider scanning and things to that effect.”

Keith Kmetz, program vice president of imaging, printing

and document solutions for IDC, the market research firm, notes that offering A4 MFPs has proven to be a matter of practicality for dealers. “The dealer has to have A4 in his (or her) portfolio in competitive situations,” he says, expressing an example of the type of customer feedback that could occur. “‘Not only am I considering A4, but I’m considering going to another supplier that has this available if you don’t.’ So, A4 MFPs have become a necessity for the dealer.”

The competitive threat is commonly cited. “If the customer is asking for A4 and the dealer continues to push A3, somebody else is probably knocking on the customer’s door who can supply A4,” says Mike Garofola, national sales manager for OKI Data Americas Inc. “As competitive as it is out there, dealers want to protect their bases. If customers are asking about A4, dealers who don’t have an A4 offering are going to find it difficult to keep those customers.”

At KYOCERA Document Solutions America Inc., the viewpoint is simply one of synergy between A3 and A4 MFPs. “We are taking a holistic approach in terms of how we can complement the A3s with the A4s,” says Chuck Clarke, A4 product marketing manager at Kyocera. “We are finding that offering an A3 and then complementing it with several A4s provides reps greater sales in the long run. Instead of having maybe two A3s, they have one A3 and five A4s spread out over the customer’s business. With this holistic approach, one will pull in the other. In fact, an A4 may pull in a few A3s. So, that’s how we are approaching it.”

What else has happened since the early days of the A4 MFP? As it turns out, even with the inherent lack of 11-by17-inch printing, the A4 is now more like the A3. “When we started with our A4, we had offline stapling or other things that weren’t in the actual product,” Garofola says. “However, we realized that if you don’t want to alter customers’ environments and make them change the way they do things, you need to incorporate A3 functionality into the A4 product, and that’s what we’ve done. Today, on both our color and mono A4

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products, we have certain configalso be more cost effecurations that have inline stapling tive for the customer “If they are openly and and collating functionality. So, to print higher-volume honestly engaged with their we are at the point now that with jobs on an A3 product.” customers ... and making a lot of our devices we can meet Hunter similarly emrecommendations based the functionality of the A3 MFP.” phasizes today’s focus on on what their customers are Hunter reports similar adaddressing customer retelling them, they are going vancements. “If you look back quirements rather than to provide the right products, in history, the A4 devices were pushing one product over typically smaller, desktop modanother. “The best stratwhether they are A3s or A4s.” els with limited functionality,” egy is to first understand

— Mike Garofola he says. “Now what you are seewhat the customer needs OKI Data Americas Inc. ing within our A4 devices is the and then outfit that cussame type of capabilities, ustomer with the right ability and functionality as an A3 device. For example, if you equipment, software and capabilities,” he says. “If you are look at our Smart Operation Panels, a lot of our A4 devices not meeting the customer’s needs and you are trying to force used to come with four-line displays; you really couldn’t do something into that customer location, there is a lot of compevery much with them. They were not software capable. To- tition out there that is able to focus on your customer’s needs.” day, the A4 devices we sell through the dealer channel have Customers are not only guiding the market for A3 and A4, the same 10-inch Smart Operation Panels you see on our A3 but they are also driving the range of A4 capabilities when devices. The key thing behind this is that the architecture it comes to vertical applications. Hunter cites the example on these A4 devices is the same architecture that is support- of the health-care vertical. “We added a card scanner to one ed on our A3 devices.” of our new A4 entries,” he says. “So, for medical cards or for insurance cards, the product has a scan section where you The Reason Behind It actually slide the card in, scan both sides and the card then As noted, the reason that the rise of A4 has not pushed A3 exits the other end. The user is able to do that in one shot.” off that cliff is that the market is being driven by customer needs. With end users now able to readily research products Where We Are Going and functionality online, they are as savvy as ever when it Even though there is continued demand for both A3 and comes to selecting products and knowing their capabilities. A4 MFPs — with the industry focused on addressing the Consequently, dealers and manufacturers today are focused needs of customers — the reality is that A4 is faring better much less on pushing product (e.g., A3 over A4) and more on in terms of U.S. unit placements. “If I am talking color, A3 simply addressing customer needs. has been growing in recent history; it’s small single digit,” Clarke cites the Total Document Solutions approach that is Kmetz says. “The projection, though, is that we’ll start to a mainstay at Kyocera. “We look at the workflow of the custom- see a decline. In A4 color, it’s been more like double-digit er, its needs, its pain points; we are not just going in to sell an growth in recent times, and that’s going to mature a little A4 or an A3,” he says. “We are looking to identify the best MFPs bit, too. So, when you look at the final compound annual for that particular company. That may also include some of our growth rates [CAGRs], color A3 will see a small decline [a own HyPAS applications for specific workflow solutions.”

CAGR of -2.7 percent between 2017 and 2022 in the U.S. marDealers and manufacturers “don’t learn anything in a ket] and for color A4, it’s small growth [a CAGR of 5.5 pervacuum,” Garofola says. “Where do they learn what require- cent between 2017 and 2022].” ments are out there? By listening to the customer. If they are On the monochrome side, for both the A3 and A4 MFP, it openly and honestly engaged with their customers, listen- is a declining market. “It’s just a matter of the magnitude,” ing to their feedback and making recommendations based Kmetz says. “A3 is declining faster than A4 [the projected on what their customers are telling them, they are going to CAGR for monochrome A3 is -8 percent between 2017 and provide the right products, whether they are A3s or A4s.”

2022 in the U.S. market; for monochrome A4 it is -3.2 perIn fact, even though the MFPs currently offered by OKI cent]. The market is still largely monochrome; it’s probably are all A4, Garofola concedes that A3 is sometimes the best like a 55/45 split, but within the forecast period we do see solution for the customer. “We acknowledge there is a place that color is going to exceed monochrome.” for A3 in the market,” he says. “Obviously, if the paper size IDC forecasts that A3 MFP U.S. placements (color and mondictates it, then the customer is going to need A3. It may ochrome) will decline from 794,144 units in 2017 to 618,623 12 | ­w w w. o f f ic et ec hno lo g y m a g.c om | June 2 0 1 8

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that the growth trend for A4 units in 2022, while A4 MFP “Dealers need to make sure MFPs is on the color side.

U.S. placements will increase “So, in order to remain relfrom 2,068,465 units in 2017 they have the right set of evant on the hardware side to 2,139,637 units in 2022. technologies to cater to the of things, dealers have to The numbers reveal that the trends in the marketplace move where the ‘hockey market is “overwhelmingly and where customers want puck’ is going,” he says.

A4 overall,” Kmetz says. to go ... you have to have “That ‘hockey puck’ is going “This is the result of A4 MFPs a portfolio that spans the more to color A4s. Dealers being sold in a lot of different range of customer demands.” need to make sure they have channels, not just the dealer the right set of technologies channel, but in retail and so

— Keith Kmetz to cater to the trends in the forth. A3 is primarily a chanIDC marketplace and where cusnel and direct product.” tomers want to go. It doesn’t Today and into the future, “it’s not that A4 is displacing A3, but there is a coexistence,” mean that you get rid of legacy technologies, Kmetz says. “However, I think dealers have to acknowledge a but it means you have to have a portfolio that road map in which they will not be placing as many A3s as in spans the range of customer demands.” n Brent Hoskins, executive director of the the past, since we are seeing fewer A3s out in the marketplace Business Technology Association, is editor and more A4s. So, in order to capture the greatest hardware of Office Technology magazine. He can be ROI, dealers really need to have A4 as part of their portfolios.” reached at brent@bta.org or (816) 303-4040.

Kmetz also emphasizes that dealers should keep in mind

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Successful Entrepreneurs A look at the key characteristics observed by: Jim Kahrs, Prosperity Plus Management Consulting Inc.

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hat makes a successful entrepreneur? This can be an elusive question. When you look around, you see business owners with all different levels of success. Some have booming businesses while others seem to be just plodding along. What sets the most successful apart from the others? Do overachievers share any characteristics that can be duplicated by others? In my travels and studies, I have come across a handful of characteristics that I believe provide some insight.

It often starts with a willingness to take risks, as well as a comfort level with risk taking. Many successful entrepreneurs actually thrive on taking risks. It gets their blood pumping and adds a level of excitement to life. While some folks would cringe at the thought of taking out a million-dollar loan to start or expand a business, these folks welcome the challenge. I have seen this in action in many areas. Examples include the business owner who takes a loan against his (or her) house to buy another dealership, or the principal who buys a couple hundred thousand dollars of product from his vendor to secure the best possible price. I have also seen that the willingness to take risks is something that can develop over time.

One can start with smaller risks, like hiring an additional sales rep when cash flow is tight. Success then brings about more confidence and the willingness to take bigger risks.

The next characteristic I have seen is the strong need to achieve goals. Interestingly enough, this need to achieve goals is not only found in the business world. Strong entrepreneurs tend to focus on goal achievement in all areas of their lives. In my opinion, this has an underlying corollary, which is goal setting. It would seem obvious that one has to set goals in order to achieve them. However, I can tell you from 30 years of experience in the office technology industry that too many dealership owners do not set specific goals. They often have loose goals like “grow the business,” “be profitable,” etc. The problem with ambiguous goals is that it is difficult to know when you have achieved them. The most successful entrepreneurs set specific goals and tirelessly drive toward them. They are often quite upset when they fall short.

While setting goals is very important, successful entrepreneurs take it a step further. They focus on execution and driving plans forward. There is rarely a shortage of good ideas for growing or improving a business. Spend a few minutes at the bar during any trade show and you will hear plenty of grand ideas. However, if you were to check in with many of these bigidea dreamers, you will find that they went back home and did nothing to execute their plans or ideas. Strong entrepreneurs get back and hit the ground running. They will have a meeting on Monday morning to outline what will be done and will relentlessly drive the execution throughout the company.

As stated above, successful entrepreneurs start with setting goals and follow this up with a drive to execute the goals. But there is a third step to this series of characteristics: They always measure the results in all areas of the business and manage the business based on these measurable results. While spending time with very successful businesspeople, I have noticed that they always have a series of key statistics they are tracking and working toward. They can tell you the numbers off the tops of their heads. They know what activities lead to measurable results and what activities are merely busy work. They instill this resultsoriented culture throughout their businesses and base employee and management rewards on results.

The next characteristic I have seen is a hard-wired need

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of being ambiguous or open to more than for control. Strong entrepreneurs are one interpretation.” There are always mulnot content playing a passive role and Strong entrepreneurs very tiple directions one can go when managrarely do well taking orders from othoften need and want full ing a company. Strong entrepreneurs ers. This reminds me of one business control, but are able to thrive on this ambiguity. They evaluate owner who brought me in to help him delegate well. They situations quickly and come to workable sell his business. He recognized this in exercise their control conclusions. They are usually excellent himself to the point where he joked with problem solvers. Where others can be the president of the acquiring company, in their follow-up and paralyzed by indecision, they can step in asking if he understood that he, the enmanagement of others... and make quick, emphatic decisions. trepreneur, was unemployable. It is imThough there are likely many more, portant to understand that the need for control should not be confused with the need to personally the final characteristic I will cover is a high level of indo everything. These are two different things. Strong entre- novativeness. Strong entrepreneurs have a way of compreneurs very often need and want full control, but are able ing up with innovative solutions to problems where others to delegate well. They exercise their control in their follow- struggle. It could be a solution for customer issues, a sales up and management of others to achieve their desired goals. approach no one else has thought of or a plan for recruitAnother interesting characteristic I have observed is the ing top-notch employees. I recall one client that was strugability to tolerate a lot of ambiguity. As the saying goes, it gling to take business away from a major competitor. The can be lonely at the top. As the leader of a company, you do not owner decided to start a new program focused on response have the luxury of sitting back and waiting for someone to tell time. His dealership guaranteed a four-hour response time, you what to do. By definition, “ambiguity” means “the quality as many do, but he added an innovative component. If the dealership’s service technician did not make it in four hours, the customer would get a refund for one month of its service contract. This innovative twist became the focal point of the company’s service offering and brought in a lot of business.

You may be reading this and thinking that you have some of these characteristics, but not all of them. If so, you are not alone. There are different degrees of each of these traits in every business owner. It is important to understand that not all business owners are the same.

I was at a conference recently where a speaker talked about three different types of entrepreneurs — “mountain climbers,” “freedom fighters” and “craftspeople.” The difference between them is their basic goal. When asked what they are looking to achieve, mountain climbers often answer “top-line sales growth.” Freedom fighters usually answer “bottom-line profit.” Craftspeople want to be known as being the “best in the field.” I see all three types in the office technology industry. There is no right or wrong model or goal to follow. The key is to understand yourself enough to know what you want and what you can do to achieve it. Hopefully you have gotten some ideas here that can help direct your actions toward the goals you most want to achieve. n Jim Kahrs is the founder and president of Prosperity Plus Management Consulting Inc. (PPMC). PPMC works with companies in the office technology industry to build revenue and profitability, and plan successful exit strategies.

Kahrs can be reached at (631) 382-7762 or jkahrs@prosperityplus.com.

Visit www.prosperityplus.com.

18 | ­w w w. o f f ic et ec hno lo g y m a g.c om | June 2 0 1 8

Kahrs Jun 18.indd 2

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www.offi cetechnol ogymag. c om | J u n e 2018 | 19

Smart Power - BPO ads Jun 18.indd 1

5/29/18 9:37 AM

COURTS & CAPITOLS

Off-Hours Communication New York City proposal may bring penalties by: Robert C. Goldberg, general counsel for the Business Technology Association

H

ave you recently looked at people in restaurants, airports, on airplanes or in movie theaters? They almost all have one thing in common — they are staring at the screens on their mobile devices. Americans have become addicted to mobile technology. Once presented as freedom from an office, mobile technology has only served to extend working hours, disrupt vacations and make people feel like they need to be in constant communication.

In general, mobile technology has been a tremendous asset to the office technology industry. Dealers are able to instantly communicate with employees. Salespeople can reach out to customers. Technicians can seek help and guidance while working on equipment. Reminders can be sent to employees regarding duties for the next day. Technicians can be dispatched without conversations. On and on it goes, demonstrating that we have become tethered to our mobile devices.

In the employment area, 24-hour communication and response obligations may be coming to an end. In what appears to be the beginning of a trend, a New York City councilman has introduced a bill that would prohibit employers from requiring employees to check and respond to work-related electronic communications outside of normal work hours. The bill would apply to private employers in New York City with 10 or more employees. Although the proposal is limited to New York City, it certainly will be considered throughout the United States.

France was the first country to allow employees to ignore offhours emails or messages.

The bill exempts emails and texts in the event of an emergency situation. An “emergency” is broadly defined to include a “sudden or serious event, or an unforeseen change in circumstances, that calls for immediate action to avert, control or remedy harm.” Clearly a down copier/MFP or printer would not qualify, although a network might. If an individual’s job description requires him (or her) to be on call, or if he is an independent contractor, the limitations on contact would not apply.

The proposal requires a written policy that establishes an employee’s usual work hours and non-work hours. Employers would be required to provide each employee with a notice of his right to disconnect from non-work-hours communication.

Failure to provide notice could result in a $50 civil penalty for each employee to whom notice was not provided. For every instance an employee is required to access work-related electronic communications outside of work hours, there would

be a $250 penalty. In the event an employee was terminated for refusing to respond to electronic communications, there would be a penalty of $2,500.

The world has become a 24/7 place with technology that never allows you to get away from your business. As employees complain about constant communication, legislators are listening. Work has spilled into personal lives and there should be division. It is important to be able to draw a clear line between work and free time. Most employers do not abuse communication, but there are always those that do, which results in legislation. BTA will continue to monitor this issue and keep members advised as to any provisions enacted. BTA will also develop suggestions that will ease any impact on the office technology industry. n Robert C. Goldberg is general counsel for the Business Technology Association.

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

20 | ­w w w. o f f ic et ec hno lo g y m a g.c om | June 2 0 1 8

Goldberg Jun 18.indd 1

6/4/18 3:09 PM

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www.offi cetechnol ogymag. c om | J u n e 2018 | 21

RISO - Express Sales ads Jun 18.indd 1

5/17/18 1:29 PM

AIMED VIEWPOINT

AIMED Survey: Part Three Final responses from the newest BTA peer group by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine

W

hat have you found to be the best strategies for recruiting and retaining good, effective employees? Recently, Office Technology magazine surveyed the members of the AIMED peer group about their businesses, asking this and other questions; 26 dealerships responded. Parts one and two of the survey results appeared in the April and May issues. Part three, appearing here, completes the survey questions.

“We use search firms.

They are expensive, but they take away a lot of the work.

Then, always be sure to talk to other employees.”

What have you found to be the best strategies for recruiting effective employees? (n=14, though some dealers gave similar responses)

n “We take a multifaceted approach: internal referrals, ZipRecruiter, tech training centers and temporary-to-permanent agencies.” n “Work history, evaluating skill sets and really checking their references.” n “I recruit sales off of work ethic, not sales experience.

This is not applicable for service, as we have no turnover.” n “Moving target! We use Indeed now.” n “Go after competitors’ past employees who have waited out their non-competes.” n “Word of mouth.” n “Staffing services and word of mouth.” n “Internally from current employees, paying a finder’s fee.” n “We use search firms. They are expensive, but they take away a lot of the work. Then, always be sure to talk to other employees.” n “Referrals.”

What have you found to be the best strategies for retaining good employees? (n=16) n “Treat them with respect, be honest and have fun together.” n “Flexibility and buy-in to our culture.” n “Involvement and environment.” n “Respect. Leadership by example.” n “Good working environment and benefit package. Employee engagement.” n “Constant positive communication. Keep them engaged in growth plans and partner meetings.” n “Treat them with respect.”

n “Salary.” n “Being fair.” n “Pay well and have fun. Find loyal people. It takes time.” n “Flexibility.” n “Listening.” n “Pay them well.” n “Treat them like family.” n “Pay, profit share and proper treatment.” n “Salary and health benefits.”

Beyond the manufacturers’ programs, what are your sources of employee training for each of the following employee categories?

Sales (n=14, though some dealers gave similar responses) n “Hands-on training.” n “In-house training.” n “On-the-job training.” n “Hands-on training, and Pitney Bowes-sponsored sales classes and online courses.” n “In-house and field training.” n “Ride-alongs.” n “Seminars from associations.” n “Books and college courses.” n “Sandler Sales.”

Service (n=9, though some dealers gave similar responses) n “Hands-on training.” n “Working closely with the supervisor. Each supervisor has three to four techs working as a team.” n “On-the-job training.” n “Pitney Bowes-sponsored school.” n “In-house and field training.” n “Pulling used machines and rebuilding.” n “Local junior college classes on general IT issues.”

Administration (n=7, though some dealers gave similar responses) n “Hands-on training.” n “On-the-job training.” n “None.” n “Not too many, but maybe some webinars.” n “College courses.” 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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AIMED Jun 18.indd 1

6/4/18 9:21 AM

EDUCATION CALENDAR July 10

BTA Building My Business Webinar: “Securing Your Future Through Production Print” This webinar, led by Greg Buschman of Strategic Account Marketing, will discuss why and how to make production print and associated services an integral part of your current and future growth plans. Visit www.bta.org/BMB to register.

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.

23

BTA Building My Business Webinar: “How to Ensure an 85-Percent Managed IT Services Close Ratio” This webinar, led by Brian Suerth of Technology Assurance Group, will discuss why and how to make production print and associated services an integral part of your current and future growth plans. Visit www.bta.org/BMB to register.

September 10

BTA Strategic Sales Semester The industry is shifting from transactional to strategic sales, and sales reps need new skills for this transition. 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.

19-21 2018 BTA National Conference - Hosted by BTA East New York City, New York The 2018 BTA National Conference, hosted by BTA East, is open to office technology dealers from across the country. The event 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.

www.offi cetechnol ogymag. c om | J u n e 2018 | 23

Calendar Jun 18.indd 1

6/4/18 9:22 AM

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

Dealer Members Complete Business Systems, Longview, TX Complete Mailing Partners, Grapevine, TX Xcel Office Solutions Inc., Oklahoma City, OK For full contact information of these new members, visit www.bta.org.

Legal Services & Documents

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

TonerCycle/ InkCycle is an industry leader in toner and inkjet print cartridge technology. Since the company’s creation, quality has been, and continues to be, the focus of every activity. TonerCycle/InkCycle believes that consumers want two things from their aftermarket purchases: true cost savings and cartridges that print great the first time, every time. With these beliefs, TonerCycle/ InkCycle continues to be a partner of choice for companies capable of reselling aftermarket cartridges. TonerCycle/InkCycle produces and distributes its line of aftermarket toner and inkjet cartridges throughout North America. www.inkcycle.com

BTA’s General Counsel, Robert Goldberg, has 41 years of industry experience. He provides members with no-fee advice and guidance on a diverse range of topics. In BTA’s continuing effort to provide additional value to BTA members, Goldberg and the association have developed a library of sample contracts, agreements, forms and proposals for members to use purely for consideration as guidelines for developing their own business and legal documents. BTA’s legal documents encompass several categories: COBRA; employee/ employment forms and documents; equipment leasing; hardware and software agreements; maintenance agreements; managed print services; network management; non-compete, non-disclosure and non-solicitation agreements; partnering agreements; sales order forms and agreements; scope of work; and source code escrow.

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

For 30 years, DocuWare has helped thousands of organizations transform paper and manual processes into digital, automated workflows. DocuWare strives to empower knowledge workers to refocus on projects that drive innovation, growth and profitability.

DocuWare is recognized by Gartner, Nucleus and other leading analyst firms as a best-fit document management and workflow automation solution for teams and organizations of any size. Available as both an on-premise and cloud solution, DocuWare not only flexes to fit your unique business processes, but also the demands of your IT strategy. www.docuware.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.

24 | w­ w w. o f f ic et ec hno lo g ym a g.c om | June 2 0 1 8

Highlights Jun 18.indd 1

6/4/18 9:23 AM

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

www.offi cetechnol ogymag. c om | J u n e 2018 | 25

Benefits Jun 18.indd 1

5/24/18 9:51 AM

DEALERSHIP SPOTLIGHT

Digital Print Solutions Ohio dealership focused heavily on production print by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine

A

fter a few years working at a Canon dealership, Adam Silk established his first company selling Savin imaging equipment in 1988. However, it was only after he sold his company five years later to a large dealership in Ohio — where he then worked for 15 years — that the ultimate destiny of his career became apparent. He became part of the team at the dealership in a new operation created to remanufacture Xerox DocuTechs. In the first year, 20 of the products were placed in the Cleveland, Ohio, market. Production print has been his passion ever since.

Fast forward to 2010 when Silk — who left the large dealership a few years after its production print remanufacturing operation was sold — founded Digital Print Solutions (DPS), co-owned by Brandon Skinner and based in Richfield, Ohio.

By the end of 2011, DPS had grown to a $2-million dealership.

DPS will finish 2018, Silk reports, at more than $21 million. It will do so through its headquarters in Richfield and its three branches — in Columbus and West Chester (suburban Cincinnati), Ohio, and Nashville, Tennessee.

Today, 85 percent of DPS revenues come from the placement and service of Canon production print equipment, most all of it color devices. “The vast majority of what we have is in commercial print; we don’t do that much in-plant business,” Silk says. “Another difference with our company is that well over 50 percent of our business is still net new. Traditionally, about 85 percent of a company’s business is from current customers.”

There are additional characteristics of DPS that many will find surprising. “We only have eight salespeople, but we are always the top production print dealership for Canon,” Silk says, noting that the dealership has about 60 employees total, including about 33 service technicians. “If you take the $21 million and divide by 60, people are not going to believe this number. A lot of it is because of production print, but we target $350,000 revenue per person and we’ll be pretty close to that this year.”

It should be noted that DPS has only one dedicated production print sales rep, with the dealership’s management “very engaged” in production print, Silk says. “I still handle some accounts, my partner handles some accounts and Steven Poland, who is responsible for our Columbus and Cincinnati locations, has a few accounts,” he says. “The sales force drives 20 to 25 percent of the production print and the management team about 75 percent.”

Acknowledging the ongoing involvement of the management

Above: Adam Silk ( fourth from left) poses with some of his employees in the showroom at Digital Print Solutions (DPS) headquarters in Richfield, Ohio. Right: Silk, who serves as president and CEO, founded the dealership in 2010 with business partner Brandon Skinner. team as a primary reason for the dealership’s success in production print, Silk provides additional insight into the key strategies at DPS. “We also look at the service opportunity over the hardware opportunity,” he says. “So, placing the equipment becomes secondary to making sure that we never put a product in that we are not absolutely sure is going to do what it is intended to do, so we don’t try to stretch the limits. In addition, our sales force does not necessarily get comped on big hardware as much as on the service opportunity over time.”

Another key strategy at DPS, Silk says, is good parts management. Rather than ordering one part at a time in an attempt to repair a machine, the dealership keeps parts readily available. “We don’t order them, because we want a live machine,” he says, noting that the dealership’s help desk determines from the tech in the field the first, second, third and fourth possible parts replacements that may be necessary. “We then shuttle all those parts to the site. So, we can take one of those potentially worst-case disasters — a machine down for two to three days, which rarely happens, but everyone remembers — and by shuttling multiple parts, it gets done.”

For the dealership only now pursuing production print or seeking to improve its level of success, Silk shares advice based on

26 | ­w w w. o f f ic et ec hno lo g ym a g.c om | June 2 0 1 8

Dealership Spotlight Jun 18.indd 1

6/4/18 3:09 PM

Silk also emphasizes that success in his years of experience. “You don’t want to production print always starts with an overcommit to the customer, but you also “You don’t want to important realization.

“The president of don’t want to be afraid to take risks in reovercommit to the the company must acknowledge that he gard to contracts — and don’t be afraid of customer, but you also or she will have to run production print breaking out of the structure that you have don’t want to be afraid differently than the office side of the dealfor your other products,” he says. “A dealerto take risks in regard ership,” he says. “And that understanding ship’s service manager is usually the perneeds to be shared throughout the dealerson who says, ‘We can’t do this; this doesn’t to contracts ... don’t be ship, from the service manager to the adfit in with what our manufacturer told us afraid of breaking out ... “ ministrative people.” to do.’”

His final piece of advice: “From a comWhile he says he does not want to discredit the manufacturers’ production print leaders in terms pensation standpoint, the president needs to make the deterof the daily routine of placing the equipment, “it’s just not the mination, ‘Do I temporarily overcompensate? If somebody role they have ever had,” Silk says, explaining that it is the deal- has had the account for eight years and has every front-office ership’s personnel who possess the sales acumen and in-the- machine in it, but doesn’t have the in-plant, do I just take that field experience with the equipment. “So, customize every sin- account away?’” Silk says. “You need to make these types of gle opportunity that you have; the equipment is large enough decisions. Don’t be held hostage by your sales reps holding on to do it. Analyze each situation individually and think, ‘How to accounts they have proven they cannot penetrate.” n Brent Hoskins, executive director of the Business Technology can I win this and how can I get this accomplished?’ If you are Association, is editor of Office Technology magazine. stuck in the same structure of ‘these are the rules that we have He can be reached at brent@bta.org or (816) 303-4040. to play by,’ then it is never going to happen.”

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www.offi cetechnol ogymag. c om | J u n e 2018 | 27

Dealership Spotlight Jun 18.indd 2

6/4/18 9:25 AM

PRINCIPAL ISSUES

DocuWorld 2018 Encouraging dealers to set the new pace for business by: Elizabeth Marvel, Office Technology Magazine

A

nnouncing significant growth for the company in 2017, as well as a new set of preconfigured solutions that will help dealers speed up the sales process, DocuWare hosted its DocuWorld 2018 conference for 296 attendees from May 7-10 at the Omni Orlando Resort at Championsgate in Orlando, Florida.

“As you have probably seen, we had a fantastic year,” said DocuWare President Thomas Schneck during his main session presentation. “We had a year-over-year growth of 20 percent ... Also, what was great to see was that, in 2017, we set a new record when it comes to new installations. We had 1,783 new customers come aboard ... And how did the growth come together? We saw that on-premise growth continued with 17 percent, but the big, big growth driver last year was cloud sales, which grew about 140 percent, year over year.”

The company conducted live polling of its dealer partners during Schneck’s presentation, asking several questions pertaining to their businesses and allowing them to respond via the event app. The answer to the first question, “Why did you do so well in 2017?,” could be found in cloud sales.

“You think that the DocuWare Cloud product offering was the number-one driver for your success last year,” said DocuWare Chief Revenue Officer Max Ertl, who co-presented with Schneck.

Ertl took charge of the live polling, announcing the results as they came in. “But you also see that there is already some pull from the market, the higher channel awareness for document management, and for the general product’s strengths.”

During his keynote presentation, DocuWare President Jürgen Biffar also spoke about the importance of DocuWare Cloud, noting that with the advent of digital transformation, there is a huge demand for IT specialists. “Digital transformation is not only about business processes in the administrative department — it transforms the entire customer organization,” Biffar said. “Whole industries transform into new digital business models. And this transformation requires huge cohorts of IT specialists — so many and so fast that the labor market cannot supply the demand for these IT specialists ... Now, how do we solve this dilemma?

“One way, of course, is the cloud,” Biffar continued. “DocuWare Cloud eliminates the effort of server installation in the beginning, and it eliminates the effort for maintaining the back-end systems ... However, we still need to reduce the configuration effort drastically. And this is why we’re introducing DocuWare Kinetic Solutions in your market. In a nutshell, our

Left to right: Thomas Schneck, Max Ertl & Jürgen Biffar. kinetic solutions are document solutions preconfigured for specific business use cases. We are starting with invoice processing and personnel file management, but many more will follow.”

The release of DocuWare Kinetic Solutions marks the advent of a new prescriptive sales approach for DocuWare partners. DocuWare Kinetic Solutions eliminate the full discovery and analysis aspect of a sale, speeding up the process. The customer gets a standard solution based on best practices, which reduces professional service and maintenance time. However, it should be noted that DocuWare Kinetic Solutions can still be adapted for customer needs. “Unlike other software, DocuWare Kinetic Solutions can still be modified. They remain normal DocuWare solutions, with all their flexibility,” Biffar said.

“Service and maintenance on this is reduced by 10 percent compared to regular on-premise ECM software.”

So why would customers prefer to use DocuWare Kinetic Solutions? “Many companies are tired of these tedious discovery and analysis processes,” Biffar said. “They are tired of projects that end in a solution tailored to their needs today, but which change a few months later ... They want something based on best practices. And they not only want it, they need it. They need it because they cannot get the IT specialists anymore for initially and continuously adapting personal wishes and preferences.

“Such a prescriptive sales approach based on our Kinetic Solutions ... is exactly what modern companies want and need,” Biffar continued. “And for you, as our partners, it’s a great opportunity to make more revenue and grow your businesses without the need of adding more and more IT specialists — IT specialists who are not available in the labor market.” n Elizabeth Marvel is associate editor of Office Technology magazine. She can be reached at elizabeth@bta.org or (816) 303-4060.

28 | ­w w w. o f f i c e t e c h n o l o g y m a g . c o m | J u n e 2 0 18

DocuWare Jun 18.indd 1

6/4/18 9:30 AM

SELLING SOLUTIONS

The Most Crucial Information You must know how your customers prefer to buy by: Troy Harrison, Troy Harrison & Associates

M

ore than two decades ago, I learned a lesson that has stuck with me since. It is a lesson I have taught countless salespeople — all of whom have used it to good effect. It is about the most crucial, valuable information you can possess. Of course, I tell everyone that the most valuable information is information about their customers, but some pieces of information are more valuable than others.

In the situation I am recalling, I was dealing with a repeat customer on a fairly large purchase of electric motors. This customer and I had done business a few times before. I knew that any time he was spending more than about $5,000, he liked to let it percolate for a couple of days and then he would buy. The problem was that my sales manager was trying to cram numbers to finish the month and if I let the customer wait, the month would end.

“Don’t you want to finish strong?,” my sales manager asked.

“Just apply a little salesmanship to this guy.”

“Look, I know him,” I replied. “He’s going to buy, but if we try to pressure him, it will irritate him. I would rather not upset a good customer.”

My sales manager snorted in disgust and then, unbeknownst to me, called my customer and offered him a “buy now” discount. My customer called me and wanted to know who the “jerk” was who was pressuring him. I was caught unaware and, to make a long story short, my customer ended up buying from my competitor and it took me a few months to get back into his good graces. When I did, he bought the same exact way he had before.

I learned two things from that incident: (1) The most important thing you can know about a customer is how that customer prefers to buy.

(2) Once you know that, the most important thing you can do is to respect how that customer prefers to buy.

This goes against all the old tropes of selling — “persistence pays off,” “closed mouths do not get fed,” etc. But there is a reason those are old tropes. Respecting your customer and how he (or she) wants to do things is key to an arrangement.

“But Troy, buyers are liars,” the old-time salesperson says.

“What if a customer is just stalling to get a better deal from your competitor?”

My up-to-date response is this: “Ultimately, the buyer buys from who he wants to. If he is just stalling me to get a better deal elsewhere, then I have not sold my value well enough.”

Let’s look at the most basic buying process, which starts with motivation. This is the step in which someone recognizes a need that could be filled by making a purchase. He could be motivated by something happening under his control (an internal motivator), such as a machine breaking, or he could be motivated externally, perhaps through an advertising message or a cold call. At that moment, he becomes a potential buyer.

The next step is investigation. This is where the buyer’s needs and wants are defined, and the goods and/or services are measured against his needs. At this point, we arrive at a final solution or a slate of solutions. This is where getting into a hurry can really hurt you as a salesperson. If you fail to correctly define the customer’s needs — or worse, not match your solution to these needs — you get eliminated. This is also the step that salespeople are most likely to shortcut as they look for a quick path to a sale. Hint: If you do not qualify on this step, the next one will not matter.

This is because the next step is evaluation — price and www.offi cetechnol ogymag. c om | J u n e 2018 | 29

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is a lot more difficult (for the salesperson) terms. The thing to remember is that price to sit and wait than it is to push, push, only matters if your solution is the correct The selling process push. I am not an overly patient person, one. Too many salespeople think they can should mirror the buying but it is a lot more difficult to lose a poprice themselves into a sale that their soluprocess, in steps and tentially good deal because you pushed a tion did not get them into. This is incorrect. speed. Ideally, we want customer away.

The final step is the decision. The custo be moving through So, my advice to you with every customer either buys or does not buy. Here tomer is this: Find out how your customer is the important part: The selling process the process at the same wants to buy and then align your sales proshould mirror the buying process, in steps pace as the buyer. cess to it. Your customers will thank you and speed. Ideally, we want to be moving — and, sooner or later, your sales manager through the process at the same pace as the buyer. When we get ahead of the buyer, we are considered will too — when you show him the numbers. n Troy Harrison is the author of “Sell Like You Mean It!” and pushy and we make the buyer uncomfortable. Comfortable “The Pocket Sales Manager,” and is a speaker, customers buy. Uncomfortable ones do not — or they do so reconsultant and sales navigator. luctantly and are not anxious to repeat the process with that He helps companies build more salesperson. For most of us, repeat sales and relationships are profitable and productive sales forces. our lifeblood.

To schedule a free 45-minute Sales Strategy “So, you are telling me that when a customer tells you to Review, call (913) 645-3603 or email wait that you wait?” My response is: Yes, normally I do. Over troy@troyharrison.com. the years, I have won far more deals than I have lost by reVisit www.troyharrison.com. specting the customer’s buying process. The truth is that it

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