October 2019 Office Technology by Business Technology Association

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CONTENTS Volume 26 • No. 5

FEATURE ARTICLES 10

Production Print Color, transitions to in-house & growing MIFs

COURTS & CAPITOLS Harassment by a Customer Steps you can take to prevent & address it

by Brent Hoskins Office Technology Magazine

Some dealers may be avoiding the production print space out of concern that big-ticket hardware could lead to big-time losses. The concern may not necessarily be warranted.

Fall Colors Retreat BTA Southeast hosts event in Asheville, N.C.

by Robert C. Goldberg BTA General Counsel

Dealers are trying to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. Make certain #MeToo will not become you, too.

P R I N C I PA L I S S U E S Navigate 2019 Continuum hosts the first of two October conferences

by Elizabeth Marvel Office Technology Magazine

BTA Southeast hosted its annual Fall Colors Retreat Oct. 17-18 at the Omni Grove Park Inn in Asheville, North Carolina. The event featured a keynote address led by Meridith Elliott Powell of MotionFirst Inc.

In Pursuit of the C-Level How to speed up sales prospecting results

by Elizabeth Marvel Office Technology Magazine

On Oct. 1-2 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Continuum hosted the first of its two Navigate 2019 conferences.

Own It 2019 Sharp launches Synappx at national dealer meeting

by Brent Hoskins Office Technology Magazine

by Kate Kingston Kingston Training Group

Sales managers are tasked with getting more results out of their sales team members each week, but there is a limit to how many hours sales reps can and will work. Fine-tuning prospecting will help sales reps accomplish more.

With its primary focus on its “Own It” theme, Sharp hosted its national dealer meeting Oct. 1-4 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Just Imagine How DEX & Staples could challenge the channel

by Ray Stasieczko TEASRA, The Innovation Channel LLC

DEALERS HELPING DEALERS 22

Early this year, some in the industry applauded the sale of DEX Imaging to Staples. Others saw no threats to the status quo.

Document Management How dealers are facing barriers to implementation Compiled by Brent Hoskins Office Technology Magazine

This month’s Dealers Helping Dealers feature asked members about document management: “What were some of the main barriers you faced while implementing a document management solution? How did you get past them?” On the cover: Gregg Petrie (left), president of Copiers Northwest, based in Seattle, Washington, and Judd Meyers, a color specialist at the dealership, review the output of a color print from a Canon production print product in Copiers Northwest’s Print Center.

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

• BTA Highlights

Executive Director’s Page

BTA President’s Message

Advertiser Index

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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S PAGE

Answers to Document Management Inquiry

n this month’s Dealers Helping Dealers feature, found on pages 22 and 24, BTA asked dealers: “What were some of the main barriers you faced while implementing a document management solution? How did you get past them?” There were so many great responses to this inquiry that I decided to share several of them here as well. Perhaps insight from your fellow dealers will help you more easily implement a document management solution for your customers. n “In terms of document management, I suppose the biggest hurdle was helping customers decide if they wanted to digitize documents moving forward, or if they wanted to scan in archived documents and all that was involved in that. Additionally, a hurdle was finding a software program that met a wide range of needs. We needed something that was robust enough for more intensive situations, but also scalable for smaller needs. We originally sold Sentry File for this reason.” — Edward Jones, CEO & owner, Advanced Business Systems Inc., Watertown, New York n “Understanding the product and what it really did was the first hurdle. Then the second hurdle was conveying that understanding to the sales team members so they could effectively sell it. Understanding the product (what it does and how to sell it) was much more elusive to us than we anticipated.” — Robert Moore, president, Lockwood Moore Inc., Reno, Nevada n “The main barrier for us while implementing a document management solution is making sure the client has allocated the proper time and personnel to complete the project. Some of the other challenges we’ve faced are ensuring the client understands

the scope of the project up front and having them include all the proper information and data needed to implement the solution from start to finish. In many cases, we start a project and have a scope of work (SOW) in place, but information or requirements change along the way once it gets down to the user level. The document management sales process is long and tedious, so it is imperative the sales rep provides as much information as possible up front and gathers the proper data in order to streamline the installation process. Having a clearly stated SOW completed and signed off on by the customer prior to the install date is critical.” — Venetta Diesel-Varney, vice president of sales and marketing, Millennium Business Systems, Cincinnati, Ohio n “Cost and price. We could not sell the first few platforms we carried. Then we found Scanshare and its price point put us in the ballpark.” — Daniel Bombard, CEO/ CIO, Yuma Office Equipment, Yuma, Arizona n “We have had Laserfiche for many years and we implement new processes and workflows all the time. The main difficulty is change. We stress the benefits of the process to the team to improve efficiency.” — Susan Pangborn, director of administration, Automated Business Solutions, Warwick, Rhode Island n “Fear from the reps. The selling process takes too long and the training would fall back on them. We partnered with Square 9 to start and they provided all the training. We then began to learn the products better and trained our own in-house staff.” — Sam Stone, president, Stone’s Office Equipment Co. Inc., Richmond, Virginia More responses to this question can be found on the BTA website at www.bta.org/ DealersHelpingDealers. 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 Bob Goldberg, General Counsel Business Technology Association Kate Kingston, Kingston Training Group www.kingstontraining.com Ray Stasieczko, TEASRA, The Innovation Channel LLC https://teasra.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. ©2019 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

Mark Your Calendar for ‘Spring Break’

he Business Technology Association’s (BTA’s) series of 2020 educational and networking events will kick off March 1314, 2020, with the Spring Break event, hosted by BTA Southeast. This year’s Spring Break will be held at Disney’s Yacht & Beach Club Resort in Orlando, Florida. If you’ve never been to Spring Break, I encourage you to attend. It’s a great opportunity to spend some time away from the cold weather and bask in the warmth of the Florida sun, all while receiving some valuable educational and networking opportunities. The event will feature a keynote address, six additional educational sessions, time to network with peers and exhibiting sponsors during a welcoming reception and breaks, and an afternoon/evening at the Disney theme park of your choice: Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios or Animal Kingdom. The event will begin at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, March 13, with opening comments and the first educational session, “Selling From the Heart,” with Larry Levine of the Social Sales Academy. A break, giving attendees time to visit with their peers and exhibiting sponsors, will follow. Breaks like these will take place throughout the event. Following the break, Judson Laipply, a motivational speaker and dancer who created the “Evolution of Dance” viral video, will present the keynote address, “Lead Your Evolution.” Laipply’s video, which shows dance moves from the 1950s through the 2000s, is one of the all-time most-watched videos on YouTube, with more than 306 million views. After the keynote, lunch will be held from noon until 1:30 p.m., followed by three educational sessions: “Business Social Media in

2020: What’s Changing How You Can Use It to Grow Your Dealership,” with Darrell Amy of Convergo; “How to Sell More,” with Dale Dupree, the Copier Warrior; and “Preparing for the Future,” with Ken Edmonds, service management coach. Following Edmonds’ session, a cocktail reception will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. The second day of Spring Break will begin with breakfast from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 14, followed by the final educational sessions: “Things to Consider When Creating a Flat-Rate Billing Program,” with Kim Louden of GreatAmerica Financial Services Corp.; and “Recruitment & Selection,” with Larry Coco of Coco Training & Coaching LLC. Closing comments and prize drawings will be held from 11 to 11:30 a.m. Following the educational portion of the event, attendees can choose to visit the Disney theme park of their choice, where they will spend the afternoon and evening. Two-for-one BTA member dealer registration is only $199, and if you use your $150 educational discount received with membership, you can get two-for-one registration for only $49. An additional attendee from the same member dealership is $99. Non-member registration is $249, and each additional non-member attendee is $209. A spouse or guest is $79 per person and any child under 12 is $50. Registration includes the Friday and Saturday educational sessions; Friday lunch and welcoming reception; Saturday breakfast; and a Disney theme park ticket. For more information about Spring Break, see the ad on page two or visit www.bta.org/ BTAOrlando, where more details will be available soon. Also, keep an eye out for the full 2020 BTA events schedule when it becomes available at www.bta.org/BTAEvents. I look forward to seeing you in Orlando. n — Bob Evans

2019-2020 Board of Directors President Bob Evans Function4 Sugar Land, Texas bobevans@function-4.com President-Elect Tim Renegar Kelly Office Solutions Winston-Salem, North Carolina trenegar@kellyofficesolutions.com Vice President David Polimeni RITE Technology Sarasota, Florida dpolimeni@ritefl.com Immediate Past President John Eckstrom Carolina Business Equipment Inc. Columbia, South Carolina johne@cbesc.com BTA East Don Risser DCS Technologies Corp. Franklin, Ohio don.risser@dcs-tech.com Aaron Rubin Docutrend Imaging Solutions New York City, New York arubin@docutrend.com BTA Mid-America DJ Hastings Hogland Office Equipment Lubbock, Texas dj@hoglandofficeworks.com Mike Nerland Elite Business Systems Sioux Falls, South Dakota miken@elitebusinesssystems.com BTA Southeast Michael Hicks Electronic Business Machines Inc. Lexington, Kentucky mhicks@ebmky.com Adam Gregory Advanced Business Solutions LLC St. Augustine, Florida adam@goabsinc.com BTA West Dan Bombard Yuma Office Equipment Yuma, Arizona daniel@yumaofficeequipment.com Mike McCurdy Integrated Technologies Inc. Twin Falls, Idaho mikem@itechinc.com Ex-Officio/General Counsel Robert C. Goldberg Schoenberg Finkel Newman & Rosenberg LLC Chicago, Illinois robert.goldberg@sfnr.com

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Production Print Color, transitions to in-house & growing MIFs by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine

ome dealers may be avoiding the production print space out of concern that big-ticket hardware could lead to big-time losses. The concern may not necessarily be warranted. It is easy to find dealers who are enthusiastic about the market segment. They share stories of significant revenues and welcomed pull-through sales of other imaging devices. Today, the production print market is largely a color market. “Monochrome has declined dramatically, but the color production market is still a growth market,” says Richard Van Dyke, president of Advanced Office, based in Irvine, California, which offers Ricoh production print products. “Monochrome is less than 10% of our production sales today, where it used to be 90%. In the last 10 to 12 years, it has flipped from being 90/10 to 10/90 monochrome/color.” Gregg Petrie, president of Copiers Northwest Inc., based in Seattle, Washington, is likewise bullish about color. “We believe that color production print still has a lot of growth left,” he says, noting that his dealership sells Canon, Konica Minolta and Sharp production print products. “Monochrome production print is definitely decreasing. But, with color, you can do so much in terms of amazing in-house brochures — producing your own brochures at a fraction of the cost of outsourcing. So, we still see rather good growth ahead for production color.” Petrie’s comments point to what may be the greatest opportunity — transitions to in-house production print. “For customers that print on-demand in-house for marketing materials, that makes a lot more sense than outsourcing huge quantities,” he says. “Instead, you just print a couple of months at a time. As literature and marketing materials change, you’re not throwing away thousands of pieces.” Ten to 15 years ago, Copiers Northwest did not “go out

of its way to try and talk someone into changing their business model from outsourcing to in-house,” Petrie says. “But today, I think one of the reasons why we’re growing so much in production color is that we’re successfully having those conversations and changing that business model.” At Advanced Office, sales reps not only determine whether prospective customers have production print, “but they are trained to ask the right questions to ensure that if there is an opportunity to transition some pages from an offset press or some other source, the prospect is identified as an opportunity to move those prints in-house,” Van Dyke says. “Those accounts are the best accounts because when you convince them to bring it in-house, you are ‘first to the gate’ and price becomes a little less of an issue because the prospect is comparing the price to what they are currently paying.” Who are the best targets for a transition to in-house production print? It appears that marketing personnel and graphic designers are among the key influencers. “Normally, employees in the marketing department are doing a lot of the design work; they are managing the printing,” Petrie says. “If they’ve got those kinds of employees on board, it’s a no-brainer to bring it in-house.” In the breakout session, “The Secrets to Beating the Competition with Sharp Production,” presented during “Own It 2019,” the Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America national dealer meeting held Oct. 1-4 in Las Vegas, Nevada, there was a similar emphasis on the pursuit of marketing personnel. Among the presenters was Bev McCarthy, a production color specialist with Centric Business Systems, based in Owings Mills, Maryland. “We’re the support team that helps them [sales reps],” she said. “As soon as they find an opportunity, they bring us in and then we do everything

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for them; we do the selling, office copiers. So, if you can “More high-level people the sourcing, all the proof satisfy the pickiest people, of application — everything then the other equipment are involved in getting we need to do ... I’m targetand services usually flow the right [production print] ing the marketing departwith it. That’s another reason equipment, as opposed to ment. I want to meet with to get into production print.” office copiers. So, if you the creative team and unVan Dyke cites the same can satisfy the pickiest derstand what their vision result at Advanced Office. “If people, then the other is, so that I can make that you know what you’re doing, equipment and services usually flow with it.” come to life.” you’ve got good support and McCarthy says such opporyou’ve got good training, the — Mark Petrie tunities are found through door opens to take over their Copiers Northwest Inc. the legwork of the sales reps. whole MIF,” he says, regard“I tell them: ‘When you walk ing production print custominto an office, just get me samples — whatever you’re seeing ers. “So, you get to upgrade, in many cases, the walk-up copiaround the office,” she said. “Pick them up and bring them ers, because you have proven yourself in production print.” back to me so I can see what they’re doing. That’s our startProving oneself in production print will come much more ing point.” easily for dealers when targeting the right kinds of environIn her comments, McCarthy cited the example of one ments and verticals. “In the dealer world, we need to stay recent sale to a construction company that had been out- away from commercial printers and print-for-pays, and only sourcing the printing of numerous brochures. “They didn’t focus on in-plants and CRDs,” Van Dyke says. “You could know the difference in the cost,” she explained. “I was able target industries like insurance or health care. They print a to take one of their brochures that they were outsourcing lot of 8½-by-11-inch pages, and they make booklets, which and print it, saying: ‘This is 30 cents, versus more than $2 are perfect because they have a good combination of text for each piece.’ That’s easy to justify ... As soon as we started and graphics. It’s not heavy, heavy graphics.” figuring out the numbers, it was a slam dunk.’” The trouble with commercial printers and print-forManny Martinez, director of production print and wide pays, Van Dyke says, lies in several areas: they often print format at CBE Office Solutions, based in Irvine, California, on large-sized, cut-sheet paper (up to 13-by-19 inches), also spoke during the Sharp breakout session. He likewise still counted as a single click; they print on a wider variety emphasized targeting the marketing department. “The of media; and they are more focused on price, making it sweet spot for the 7090 [Sharp MX-7090 light production “very tough to compete financially against the directs.” In model] is either internal marketing or graphic designers; contrast, in-plants and corporate environment verticals — go after either one,” he said. “If they [the prospect] has a such as insurance and health care, as cited, as well as finangraphic designer on staff, that’s an $80,000 headcount. That cial, as another example — are more ideal for dealers, where person is doing something for that company. You need to go they can “really shine” with their “extraordinary response find that person. They might not be the decision maker, but times” and ability to treat such customers “like they want they’ll definitely have influence and they’ll be able to tell you to be treated.” The bottom line: “If we focus on certain vertiwhat they’re doing, the pieces that they’re designing.” cals, we’ll do better.” Martinez also cited a common and lucrative side benefit Mark Petrie likewise advises dealers to be wary of print of placing production print products. “I’ll give an example of for pay. “You’ve got to be a little cautious on print for pay,” one deal we did in 2018; we led with production,” he said. “We he says. “They’re easy for the reps to go talk to, because their sold a huge production deal and it literally drug 150 MFPs loyalty is pretty much ‘who’s got the cheapest click rate, the along with the deal ... A lot of times the influence that comes cheapest product.’ But that can get you into trouble.” Howfrom the production shop manager is going to drive other ever, he acknowledges that some sales reps may find thembusiness. It’s a good opportunity to build your business.” selves drawn to print-for-pays, on occasion. “It’s difficult to Gregg’s brother, Mark Petrie, CEO at Copiers Northwest, avoid them because they do so much volume; they are hard says production print “absolutely” helps to place other im- on the production print devices and replace them,” he says. aging devices. “It’s a ‘higher consequence’ when someone “They’re a good source to help a rep make quota.” is producing all their marketing that has their image on Is your dealership large enough to take on production it,” he says. “More high-level people are involved in get- print? It may be too difficult for a dealership that is smaller ting the right [production print] equipment, as opposed to than $5 million in sales, Mark Petrie says. In contrast, he says, 12 | w w w. o f f ic et ec hno lo g y m a g.c om | Nov e m b e r 2 0 1 9

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well; in this fiscal year, start“if your dealership is $10 “You sell it as: ‘I have all the ing April 1, they’ve really million-plus, you are likely thrown a lot of resources to already doing this, should do support of the manufacturer, the dealer community.” it or want to do it.” and you’ve got the best When the vendor and the Gregg Petrie adds: “If you of our dealership — our dealer are working together, can’t realistically place 10 responsiveness, tie to the the end user gets the best of units in the first 18 months, community and ability to both worlds, Van Dyke adds, I don’t know why you would jump quickly. You know all providing the message to be pick it up. You can’t make of our names. We care about you.’” conveyed to the customer: money off of two, three, four “You sell it as: ‘I have all the or five placements. You can’t — Richard Van Dyke support of the manufactureven break even.” Advanced Office er, and you’ve got the best Van Dyke suggests that of our dealership — our rethe size of the dealership may not necessarily be an issue, at least for Ricoh-autho- sponsiveness, tie to the community and abilrized dealerships. “You could be a small dealer and lean ity to jump quickly. You know all of our names. on Ricoh, because it has a team nationwide — a very deep We care about you.’” n Brent Hoskins, executive director of the bench of both hardware and integrative software solution Business Technology Association, is editor specialists,” he says. “If you have 10 to 20 employees and your of Office Technology magazine. He can be vendor will provide you the additional backup support, you reached at brent@bta.org or (816) 303-4040. don’t have to hire as many people. Ricoh has done this very

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Parts Order Hotline: 562.977.4949 All prices, rebates, and availability are subject to change without notice. Please call us to confirm. Nuworld is not responsible for typographical errors or inaccurate specifications. Registered trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

NuWorld ad Nov 19.indd 2

NBS / BTA | November 2019

10/22/19 5:00 PM

Fall Colors Retreat BTA Southeast hosts event in Asheville, N.C. by: Elizabeth Marvel, Office Technology Magazine

TA Southeast hosted its annual Fall Colors Retreat Oct. 17-18 at the Omni Grove Park Inn in Asheville, North Carolina. The event featured a keynote address, “Thriving in Uncertainty,” led by Meridith Elliott Powell, president and CEO of MotionFirst Inc. The schedule also included two additional educational sessions, round-table discussions with exhibitors, and cocktails and dinner at the Grove Park Inn’s Seely Pavilion, which offered panoramic views of the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains. The additional educational sessions were: “What Laws Will I Violate This Year?” led by Bob Goldberg, BTA general counsel; and “Digital Transformation: Adding Document Workflow Services to Your MPDS Practice,” led by Robert Palmer, research director of imaging, printing and document solutions at IDC. In addition to the educational sessions, the round-table discussions with exhibitors gave attendees time to hear more about the exhibitors’ products and services in small groups. The exhibiting sponsors: AIMED, ARLINGTON, Balboa Capital, Clover Imaging Group, DCS, FORZA, FP Mailing Solutions, Green Project, Imaging Solutions Direct, Keypoint Intelligence, Kyocera Document Solutions America (lunch sponsor), Laserfiche, Muratec, NA Trading and Technology, OKI Data Americas, Panasonic Scanners, RingByName, Static Control, SYNNEX Corp., Technology Assurance Group (breaks sponsor), TIAA Bank, WatchGuard and Zultys. The next BTA event, Spring Break, will be held March 13-14, 2020, in Orlando, Florida. The event will feature a keynote address, six additional educational sessions, plenty of networking time, including during a welcoming reception and breaks, and an afternoon/ evening at the Disney theme park of your choice. To learn more, see the ad on page two or visit www.bta.org/BTAOrlando. n Elizabeth Marvel is associate editor of Office Technology magazine. She can be reached at (816) 303-4060 or elizabeth@bta.org.

Clockwise from top left: 2019-20 BTA Southeast President Adam Gregory serves as the event’s emcee; Powell presents her keynote address; attendees participate in a group activity during the keynote; attendees enjoy cocktails and dinner at the Grove Park Inn’s Seely Pavilion; the Pavilion offered scenic views of the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains.

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Digital Transformation G

Attendees spend time working with one another in small groups during Powell’s keynote address.

The additional educational session presenters were ( from left) Goldberg and Palmer.

Above: Jann Michishima and Christian Hughes of Laserfiche visit with dealers during the round-table discussions at the Fall Colors Retreat. The round tables gave attendees dedicated one-on-one time with the exhibiting sponsors, allowing them to learn more about their companies’ products and services. Left: Dealers visit with exhibitors during breaks between sessions.

iven the changing nature of the industry, end users and the workplace, dealers must embrace new strategies to ensure future success. This was the primary message from Bob Palmer, research director of imaging, printing and document solutions at IDC, in his presentation: “Digital Transformation: Adding Document Workflow Services to Your MPDS Practice.” “The point of my session today is to talk about where we are in the industry right now and where we can go to look for opportunities for growth,” Palmer said. “One of those opportunities is around digital transformation and, specifically, looking toward workflow solutions to help drive incremental revenue.” Today, there is a key trend that dealers should be noticing and embracing, Palmer said. “We see vendors spending a lot of time talking about transformation,” he said. “In fact, all of the vendors today are talking about transformation.” Palmer advised dealers to follow the lead of the manufacturers. “You need to transform your businesses, too,” he said. “They [manufacturers] are moving on. You need to come along with them. That’s really important.” Working with their manufacturers, dealers are seeing the emergence of new revenue opportunities within the SMB market, which remains a “growth engine” for the channel, Palmer said. “All of the manufacturers are working to enable their devices to bring software and solutions to the market around documents and content,” he said. “That’s an opportunity for you.” Today, end users are starting to look at “software and service” around hardware in terms of what the devices are now capable of doing “to help them solve business problems,” Palmer said. Meanwhile, there is also a rise in the investment in MFP-enabled collaboration solutions. “That sort of validates the notion that the smart MFP could eventually become a business processing hub.” Such strides are driving digital transformation of documents and information into applications, leading businesses to now see that “there is this central device [the MFP] that sits within their document workflow that can be leveraged to digitize content,” helping to facilitate information management, Palmer said. “What’s so important about information management?” he asked. “Well, our research shows that information management is one of the top IT concerns among businesses today.” In the last 10 years or so, there has been a lot of talk about solutions and solutions enablement for hardware. “We really didn’t see the kind of traction we thought we would see, but we’re starting to see it now,” Palmer said. “Organizations are starting to figure out, ‘We do need to have some way to get into that first point of contact around hard-copy content and digital content’ and the MFP is really a logical choice.” Palmer recommended several strategies for dealers to pursue, benefiting from the transformation taking place: perform workflow assessments; utilize process mapping software; and locate process bottlenecks. Unfortunately, he said, research shows that end users infrequently think of office technology dealers as the source of automation and optimization of business processes. “This is a tough thing to overcome,” he said. “You have to gain credibility in the market and prove that you are a resource that should be leveraged to deliver these kinds of capabilities.” n — Brent Hoskins www.offi cetechnol ogymag.com | Nove mb e r 2019 | 19

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In Pursuit of the C-Level How to speed up sales prospecting results by: Kate Kingston, Kingston Training Group

ales managers are tasked with getting more results out of their sales team members each week, but there is a limit to how many hours sales reps can and will work. At Kingston Training Group (KTG), we believe the dealership’s job is to guarantee customers the ability to accomplish more work in the same day with the same employee count through the utilization of technology. Dealerships work to implement business technology process changes and digital transformation to accomplish that for customers. In essence, dealerships speed up workflows to get more done while addressing their customers’ security, compliance and efficiency goals, which leads to more profitability. This philosophy must also ring true inside the dealership. Fine-tuning prospecting, and speeding up prospecting workflows and results, will help sales reps accomplish more. It is all in preparation. Cold calling on foot as the only prospecting effort is a slow process with diminishing results, as sales reps are spending most of their time speaking to receptionists. As a sales rep, you can actually speed up your prospecting results by prepping your foot calling the week before and walking in “hot.” Following are three ways you can speed up your prospecting results. (1) On Fridays, identify the times you want to foot canvass for the following week and write those times in your calendar. (2) Identify prospects that fit into the geographical area for your prospecting and have those companies researched and ready to go. Researching includes knowing: n What industry the company works in (e.g., law firm, logistics company, medical practice, etc.) and name of the possible buying committee (e.g., IT, finance, operations, ownership, etc.). n Something proprietary about that company. This can be accomplished by quickly printing out a few pages of the company’s website to bring with you. (3) Schedule “follow-up foot-canvassing prospecting time” into your calendar no more than 12 hours from the time you would have walked in on the prospect. n This will create the space for you to quickly reach back

out to the prospect with a sense of urgency and interest. n For example, if I am foot canvassing in the morning on a Tuesday, then I would schedule 4 to 5 p.m. on Tuesday as “followup phone-call time” from my foot canvassing efforts. If I were foot canvassing in the afternoon, I would schedule “follow-up phone-call time” first thing Wednesday morning. Before you walk in the door, review your research so you can add it to your talk track. You should know (because you researched the company), that you need to speak with John Bellows (your C-level point person or decision maker). Let’s pretend that John works at Ace Architecture and, from the research you uncovered, you know the company specializes in historic renovations, finished a project in 2018 restoring the public library in its town and has been in business since 1972. You can walk in, approach the receptionist and say, “Hi, it’s (your name) for John Bellows.” By being so casual, the receptionist may think you know John and will call him. If John comes out, pitch him: “John, hi. My name is (your name); I was in the building (or down the street) and wanted to stop by personally to see if we might coordinate some time to sit down with each other. My firm works with many architectural firms like (insert other company names here). I know they differ from you, as I know Ace specializes in historical renovations like your downtown library project in 2018. We (insert the same talk track you would on the phone).” Spending time walking in your territory without a plan and advanced research in place can slow you down, as it can be very time consuming. Prepping foot canvassing around meetings already scheduled, knowing what the company does beforehand, how your dealership can help it do more, and the name of the decision maker you want to meet with prior to walking in cold, will speed up your ability to connect with the right person and deliver a value proposition as to why the prospect should stop his (or her) business day to meet with you — can and will create net-new qualified meetings right on the spot.

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10/25/19 3:22 PM

Another opportunity to speed up your name) is at the forefront of these innovaresults involves emailing prospects. If tions. I am your resource and that is why You can email a you are slow to implement emailing into I want to schedule a meeting with you. prospect on the your prospecting time, you need to speed Please let me know if you will be available weekend and ask up, because getting a real C-level decision on (insert date and time).” for a meeting; this maker to speak to you on a truly cold foot(3) Put a task into your CRM to call will showcase that canvassing call is rare at best. And, if you him two days later and a task to send a just call a prospect as your only prospectsecond email five to six days later. you work just like the ing effort, most people have their calls go (4) When I call the prospect for the C-level prospect does. to voicemail if they do not know the caller second time, if he picks up, I pitch him and he has only introduced himself to the with the same talk track that I left on his receptionist. The ROI on emailing is stronger. voicemail. If I get his voicemail, I just hang up. As voicemails become more prevalent and return calls (5) When the calendar task comes up to send the second less likely, attaching an email to the first voicemail you leave email, I forward the same email back to the prospect so he a prospect will dramatically increase results in terms of has a second chance to see it. I change the subject line to reconnecting with and getting a response from your prospect, flect that I am sending the email for a second time by adding which, in turn, speeds up the chance of setting a meeting the phrase “additional item”: “Hi John — Possibly meeting and possible sales. At KTG, we call sending an email imme- on Tuesday the 15th at 9:45 a.m. with Kate Kingston — addiately after leaving a voicemail “power packing.” ditional item.” Here is an example using a law firm: C-level decision makers respond to second emails be(1) Call the business manager and if you get his voicemail, cause they think they may have missed something. That leave this message: “I am calling to schedule a meeting with second email will dramatically increase the chance of a reyou. I represent other prestigious law firms here in (insert lo- sponse and setting a new meeting. cation) including (insert two to three client references), just Another easy way for you to speed up your prospecting to name a few, in their pursuit of enhancing billable hours results is to identify one hour on the weekend to work. They when filing with courts and faster interrogatory answers say “a day in the country is like a week in the city” and the by implementing technology innovation, allowing billback same rings true in sales; an hour of concentrated work on with every touch point of a legal document — including the weekend is worth three-plus hours during the workBates stamping, scanning, and complaint case archival and week. You can email a prospect on the weekend and ask for retrieval — while integrating with all legal software. a meeting; this will showcase that you work just like the C“This is why I wanted to meet, as I was sure your firm would level prospect does. Start a weekend email like this: “John, I want to know what other law firms are utilizing to accomplish was working on a project for a client of mine this weekend compliance, profitability and a competitive edge. I am that and thought I would take a minute to email you.” Then inresource; that is what we do here at (insert your dealership clude your email track. name). Would (insert date and time) work in your calendar?” This will showcase a commitment to your work and how (2) Immediately send an email to him: “I am writing to valuable you would be as his technology partner. Also, do schedule a meeting with you. I represent other prestigious law not forget that by using the delayed send option in your firms here in (insert location) including (insert two to three cli- email, you can prospect whenever you need to, even after ent references), just to name a few, in their pursuit of enhanc- business hours, to get those touches in. ing billable hours when filing with courts, faster redaction inSpeeding up your prospecting will help you keep up with terrogatories and technology innovation, including additional C-level decision-maker prospects and continue to make billback with every touch point of a legal document — includ- more qualified net-new meetings, creating more selling oping Bates stamping, scanning, and complaint case archival portunities so you can make more money. n and retrieval — while integrating with all legal software. Kate Kingston is founder and president of the Kingston “I know your attorneys must be knowledgeable of all Training Group (KTG). With more than 17 changes in the law in all (insert number of practice areas in years of success in making appointments with the prospect’s firm) practices at (insert name of the firm). I decision makers, she is a recognized authority also know that the (insert their executive title; e.g., legal CFO) on lead generation, cold calling and new wants to understand what changes are happening with techbusiness development. Kingston can be nology that service the security, compliance and profitability reached at kkingston@kingstontraining.com. for the business side of the firm and (insert your dealership Visit www.kingstontraining.com. www.offi cetechnol ogymag.com | Nove mb e r 2019 | 21

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DEALERS HELPING DEALERS

Document Management How dealers are facing barriers to implementation Compiled by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine

ollowing is another of the questions submitted by a dealer member as part of BTA’s Dealers Helping Dealers resource, and several of the answers received. These answers and many others can be found in the members-only section of the BTA website. Visit www.bta.org/Dealers HelpingDealers. You will need your username and password to access this member resource. What were some of the main barriers you faced while implementing a document management solution? How did you get past them? “The main barriers are the time, the scheduling and the money it takes to get the people who implement the solution trained. In most cases, you can have the vendor do installations, but doing it in-house seems to be much better and, in the long run, it is far more cost effective, especially in competitive situations. We had to add an additional staff member, and once they were up to speed/mostly trained, we sent the people we wanted to train to the respective schools one at a time as schedules permitted.” Tom White, president & general manager Blue Ridge Copier/Ethos Technologies, Salem, Virginia “The main barrier is communication. With document management as it pertains to workflow, it is important to have collaboration from everyone who will be handling documents within the workflow. For example, if I am alerted of a new document in the workflow, how quickly do I need to review and modify it? Afterward, do I move the document to another queue or alert a group? Document management for archival and retrieval barriers can be file type, size, OCR method and anything else that may affect how the document will be retrieved and/or how it will be used.” George Rosa, director of service North American Office Solutions, Orlando, Florida “Presales support, such as the need for a subject-matter expert (SME), was, and continues to be, the main barrier. Without a specialist, our sales force really doesn’t understand how to present and close document management (DM) sales opportunities. The problem with having an SME dedicated to

DM is economic — they are expensive, not commission-based and want salaries. Our experience has been a negative ROI.” Joe Reeves, president Smile Business Products Inc. Sacramento, California “One challenge we have faced when implementing a document management solution is understanding the needs of the customer and how to incorporate its goals into a customized solution. Another challenge is helping the customer understand how to utilize the workflow once the solution is configured. In order to overcome these challenges, Centric has employed a team of solutions specialists who are experts on the subject matter. These folks are responsible for supporting the presale process, as well as training and development for the customer after the sale.” Adrienne Bastinelli, marketing manager Centric Business Systems Inc., Owings Mills, Maryland “The first issue is deciding which solution you will offer. In our case, we have two based on customer requirements and size. Training is the single biggest obstacle once you have decided — both general rep training, as well as specialist training, and then support training so you can continue to get the recurring revenue. We used webinars to train the reps and had the specialist, as well as a technician, trained by the software people. The specialist continues to work with the reps to maintain their level of knowledge.” Tim Renegar, president Kelly Office Solutions, Winston-Salem, North Carolina “There are two barriers that seem fairly constant when implementing document management and they are tied together. The first is change. For many people, ‘change’ is a dirty word and causes lots of stress and struggle. When a company chooses to move to document management, it involves a change in how people do their work and this change can be problematic. The second barrier I call ‘trying-to-put-a-square-peg-into-a-round-hole’ syndrome. Because document management creates a change in workflow, some users will push back with comments like, ‘That’s not how we used to do it’ or, simply, ‘This doesn’t work’ or ‘This doesn’t make sense.’ They spend lots of time trying to make their new system just like the old,

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inefficient one, trying to fit a square peg situations where they cannot identify key into a round hole. elements that are required for successful One key to making it To get around both is not easy. For most implementation. Getting past this means work is to have buy-in people, change is difficult. One key to makrequiring all sales reps who are engaged in from the top ... When ing it work is to have buy-in from the top selling solutions to be well versed in basic management is on of the company. When management is on business processes. It should be mandated board ... it is much board and understands what is happenas part of a rep development program. ing, it is much easier to make the change As an organization, training is paraeasier to make the happen. There will be pushback, but when mount to success, and with competing change happen. management embraces the change, the rest priorities for many who depend on the core of the organization will typically follow. business of box dropping, it is difficult to When it comes to trying to put a square peg into a round justify the expense of additional training for solutions. One hole, what has worked starts with the first demo. We have to key is a solid rep-development program based around busifind out where the pain points are so that we can continually ness-process certifications that reps must pass before they address them throughout the process. By reminding the client can sell solutions on their own. In most cases, solution sales that their new process is not the old process, they will eventu- are handed off to dedicated solutions engineers if the dealer ally come around. Some processes that utilize pen and paper can afford to invest in them. might not be as easy with electronic document management, As an individual, you cannot wait for the company to make or it might not be possible to do it the way they are used to. the investment. If you truly want to embrace the advantages of Getting clients to think outside the box and see new, more ef- solution-based sales, invest in your own education to expand ficient ways to do things is key.” your knowledge, increase your value to customers and the orMarc Civittolo, business development manager ganization and, ultimately, increase your earning potential. Budget Document Technology, Lewiston, Maine Russell Kromminga, director of business development Century Business Technologies, Topeka, Kansas “Here is a brief list of the barriers faced when implementing a document management solution: “We’ve had very few implementation issues with document (1) A lack of proper scoping and clarification of the problem management projects. Most problems are eliminated before or issue to be solved. Often, less experienced reps with little they happen by under promising and over delivering. If you set training approach clients with a larger-than-life list of attri- expectations at the sales stage, you can avoid major problems butes for the systems they invest in when, in reality, they sell at the implementation stage. Be specific in your scope of work the options and meet the financial need and are often short of and list the responsibilities of all parties.” the goal, or there are misconceptions of what was sold versus Gabe Rood, CDIA+ project manager, IT services what was promised. A clearly identified scope, expectations Modern Office Methods Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio and documentation are required to be certain you don’t lead clients down a path they will regret. Getting past this requires “We find the main barrier is getting customers to underdocumented and strictly adhered-to policies and procedures stand its complexity. They ask for digitizing, so we show them to be certain the client gets what they believe they are paying scanning and then ask: ‘Where does it go? What do you want for, and it meets the needs that were discovered. to do with it? File it, archive it, etc.?’ Some think that, by just (2) Buy-in from key decision makers. In any implemen- scanning a document, they have solved their digitizing probtation, you must have a driving force for change within the lem. We find the best way is to make a presentation and get organization. All too often, decisions are made and imple- them thinking about the purpose they need it for.” mentation begins with no buy-in and little support from staff Peggy Leppert, general manager members who must be the leaders of the changes to be made. Leppert Business Systems Inc., Burlington, Ontario, Canada Getting past this means clearly identifying the stakeholders at multiple levels and ensuring they are left feeling they are part Do you have a question for your fellow dealers? If so, email it of the solution. to brent@bta.org with the subject line: “Dealers Helping Dealers.” (3) Lack of understanding and discovery of the issue to be BTA will then share your question with the full dealer memberaddressed. As new reps and those with little life experience ship with a request for guidance from your fellow dealers. n in any business environment take the field, the lack of generBrent Hoskins, executive director of the Business Technology al business knowledge regarding standard business practices Association, is editor of Office Technology magazine. in AP, AR, HR, logistics, manufacturing, etc., leads them into He can be reached at brent@bta.org or (816) 303-4040. 24 | w w w. o f f ic et ec hno lo g y m a g.c om | Nov e m b e r 2 0 1 9

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COURTS & CAPITOLS

Harassment by a Customer Steps you can take to prevent & address it by: Robert C. Goldberg, general counsel for the Business Technology Association

ealers are trying their hardest to prevent sexual (and other unlawful) harassment in the workplace. Training supervisors, employees and, in many states, even independent contractors, is essential for a harassment-free environment. Company policies, procedures, and clear reporting and investigation protocols should be implemented. Make certain #MeToo will not become you, too. With excellent policies and procedures in place, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is not going to come knocking on your front door with a charge of discrimination for sexual harassment. However, dealers must remember that, as service providers who send employees into customer locations, they may have the conduct of third parties to contend with. The EEOC recently filed a lawsuit against a casino for sexual harassment and retaliation. The complaint alleges the casino cultivated an environment where its customers engaged in unlawful harassment of its employees, including sexual advances, demands for sexual favors, sexual comments and sexual physical touching. What is more, the EEOC alleged that the casino ignored multiple complaints of sexual harassment and then retaliated against female employees for complaining. These employees were either fired or their workplace conditions were made so awful that they had no choice but to quit. It is no excuse that the harassment was done by a customer and not another employee. The law prohibits sexual harassment by customers, clients and any third parties. While your policies may not apply to third parties and it is not possible to train a third party, you can create an organizational culture or climate that does not tolerate harassment. Training employees on how to react to and address thirdparty harassment will help mediate the situation. While a dealer may be responsible for a third-party’s actions, if he (or she) takes immediate action to try to correct the problem, the EEOC is far more likely to consider the extent of the employer’s control over a third party and the extent to which an employer went to stop any additional sexual comments or touching. Some additional steps for dealers to take include: n In a timely manner, investigate any allegations of sexual harassment by a customer’s employee. Do not put it off. Interview your employee, supervisors and any witnesses. n Take your employee’s complaint seriously and do not ignore it. n If you think third-party harassment may have occurred

once you conclude your investigation, take prompt remedial action. Fire the customer. The profits gained from that customer are not worth the resulting EEOC complaint if you ignore the problem. n Do not retaliate or take an adverse action against your employee that would negatively affect that employee or dissuade other employees from reporting harassment. n Add response and procedure information to your harassment training. What actions should a dealer take with the customer’s employee? During the investigation, it is not recommended that you contact the customer’s employee and bring him into the process. At the conclusion of the investigation, it may be appropriate to discuss the results with an executive at the customer company. If you do not fire the customer, it may be possible to assign another salesperson or technician to the site. Dealers must be careful not to slander or defame the individual accused of the harassment. Remember, “truth” is an absolute defense to any claim for slander or defamation, making the timeliness and thoroughness of the investigation all the more important. Of course, BTA members can call the BTA Legal Hotline with any questions or for guidance. n Robert C. Goldberg is general counsel for the Business Technology Association. He can be reached at robert.goldberg@sfnr.com. www.offi cetechnol ogymag.com | Nove mb e r 2019 | 25

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

Dealer Members Copier Specialists, Irvine, CA DCS Technologies Corp., Franklin, OH Docugraphics LLC, Charleston, SC EFEX, North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Vendor Members Crexendo Inc., Tempe, AZ

For full contact information of these new members, visit www.bta.org.

BTA’s Ask the Analyst Seeking information and insight regarding office technology industry trends and developments? Through an alliance with Keypoint Intelligence, BTA members can submit their questions for a Keypoint Intelligence analyst to address. Visit www.bta.org/AsktheAnalyst, click on the question submission link, fill out a short form and a Keypoint Intelligence analyst will respond to you directly via email. Your question and the response you receive will also be archived on the BTA website as a resource for other dealer members. BTA’s Ask the Analyst feature is FREE to the association’s dealer members, and past questions and responses can also be found at www.bta.org/AsktheAnalyst. For more information, visit www.bta.org/AsktheAnalyst. For information on BTA member benefits, visit www.bta.org/MemberBenefits.

For the benefit of its dealer members, each month BTA features two of its vendor members in this space. Crexendo Inc. is a full-service cloud communications provider that delivers voice and data communication services to small and medium-sized businesses. The company is comprised of engineering, sales, marketing and support professionals who design, sell, service and support its patented technology that enhances business productivity and efficiency at reduced costs. Crexendo is fully committed to the reliability and security of its cloud systems, starting with data centers that feature multiple levels of redundancy and the highest level of security defense. Every facet of development is benchmarked against maximum security and reliability standards. www.crexendo.com

Miramar Copies Inc./ Digital ES buys used office copier/MFPs, wide-format machines, plotters and copier/ MFP supplies from companies in the United States and exports them to other countries in the world. It aims to create a winwin situation for both U.S. and international companies that buy used office equipment. The company is made of multiple regional teams. In the United States, Miramar Copies has a professional purchasing team that is responsible for contacting U.S. suppliers, providing buyers offers and helping U.S. suppliers find buyers for their machines. http://miramarcopier.com A full list of BTA vendor members can be found online at www.bta.org.

For more information, visit www.bta.org. 26 | w w w. o f f ic et ec hno lo g y m a g.c om | Nov e m b e r 2 0 1 9

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PRINCIPAL ISSUES

Navigate 2019 Continuum hosts the first of two October conferences by: Elizabeth Marvel, Office Technology Magazine

n Oct. 1-2 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, IT and security company Continuum hosted approximately 500 attendees at the first of its two Navigate 2019 conferences. The second conference was held Oct. 15-16 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Opening the Pittsburgh event on Oct. 1, Continuum CEO Michael George gave his keynote, “Transformational Cybersecurity Dynamics and the Disruption Michael George of Managed Services.” In his presentation, George encouraged dealers to embrace what he called a “crisis,” as well as disruption within the industry, and told attendees to prepare for the unexpected. “Cybersecurity is a pandemic crisis,” George said. “Now, people don’t like to use the word ‘crisis’ because they’re concerned people might just begin to panic. But I want you to understand the crisis John Schweizer that we’re in, because we want you to embrace it. Because crises are places where there is a slope of separation between people who figure out how to make them opportunities — and they do — and, for those who ignore them or don’t understand them, they fail or they lose. “In the great words of Stanford economist Paul Romer, ‘A crisis is a terrible thing to waste,’” George continued. “Let’s take advantage of it.” He also spoke of disruption in the industry, persuading dealers to become “disrupters.” “Disruption is in the headlines of every technology company,” George said. “There are two things that come from disruption: disruptors — and it is our vision to make you the disruptors in this market and the market opportunity — and there are the disrupted — those companies that don’t pay attention and end up getting displaced along the way.” During the event, Office Technology had the opportunity to speak with John Schweizer, vice president of office technology at Continuum, whose long history in the BTA Channel gives him a unique view of the managed IT and cybersecurity opportunity for dealers. Schweizer, hired by Continuum in March, has held senior leadership roles at Global Imaging — a division of Xerox — and Ricoh. The company currently has about 150 office technology dealer partners; 26 of them attended this year’s Navigate conferences.

Continuum offers its dealer partners a help desk; network operations center (NOC); business continuity and disaster recovery; and security. But the company “sparkles,” Schweizer explained, because it “takes all of that great technology and marries it with the hardest thing to get, which is the smart hands and feet that have to do the work,” he said. “That’s where we make it easy, because you don’t have to have a $100,000-a-year employee.” The company has targeted the BTA Channel by creating an office technology team, knowing that dealerships are well suited for the opportunity. “The office technology channel is positioned pretty well to be a leader in the [managed IT and security] category,” Schweizer said. “They [dealers] have big customer bases, they have great sales DNA and the people who sponsor it — if it is sponsored from the top down — are in a great position to create another great recurring revenue model inside their businesses, tighten up their customers and lower their churn. “I have so much faith in the office equipment channel,” he continued. “They have this built-in, aggressive sales engine, so if they master the craft a little bit in the managed services world, they can go out and dominate like they do in everything else.” Schweizer had suggestions for dealers looking to get into managed IT. “Once they [dealers] are committed to get in, they need to decide: ‘Am I going to build it, am I going to use a partner like Continuum that does most of the heavy lifting, or am I going to buy it?’” Schweizer said. “There are opportunities in all of these options, but if you look at most of our very successful partners, they’ve all done some sort of hybrid. So, it really comes down to: How big is your dealership? What is your strategy? The getting-in point is really: ‘I’m committed to get in and I understand why it’s good for my business.’ Then you just need to decide how.” Schweizer explained that, for office technology dealers, the purpose of Navigate was to educate them and help them develop their go-to-market and enablement strategies for managed IT and security, as well as encourage them to protect their own businesses. He noted that in just the last month, he had heard of three office technology dealerships that had their security compromised to the point that their businesses were temporarily shut down. “If they [dealers] don’t get anything else from this event, I want them to take away one thing: they need to protect their own houses,” Schweizer said. n Elizabeth Marvel is associate editor of Office Technology magazine. She can be reached at elizabeth@bta.org or (816) 303-4060. 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 | N o v e m b e r 2 0 19 | 27

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PRINCIPAL ISSUES

Own It 2019 Sharp launches Synappx at national dealer meeting by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine

ith its primary focus on its “Own It” theme, coupled with the launch of solutions for the smart office, Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America (SIICA) hosted its national dealer meeting Oct. 1-4 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The meeting — with two general sessions, 15 breakout sessions and the latest products and services from Sharp and 47 other partnering Mike Marusic companies — drew approximately 950 attendees, including 545 representatives of 160 Sharp-authorized dealerships. In his opening comments in the first general session, John Sheehan, senior vice president of B2B Channel Sales at SIICA, explained the message of the meeting’s theme. Sharp sees three “basic ‘own its’” that can drive a dealer’s business, he said. “The first one — the most John Sheehan important one — is to own technology transformation,” he said. “The second one: Own the growth that will come from that technology. Finally, the third one: Own the customer relationship, a vital part of this.” In terms of owning technology, Sheehan referenced the opportunities resulting from what would be the primary announcement at the meeting: “This week we’re ready to outline our strategy around the jump into the smart office.” The second “own it” — owning one’s growth — reflects how Sharp’s new smart office solutions will result in “tremendous growth outside of the MFP business,” he said, telling dealers they will be able to “expand deeper into your customers and sell more products.” Regarding owning the customer relationship, Sheehan said the new smart office solutions will allow dealers to bring their customers to a new level. “This is the next step — bringing them into the future, bringing them into the technology that’s going to change their businesses and change the way they share information,” he said. “At the end of the day, we will all make more money and sell more.” Sheehan said he could sum up the three ‘own its’ in one sentence: “We want to own that entire customer experience.” He added: “That’s what we want to show you today and that is obviously what we are most excited about.”

Sharp’s “jump into the smart office” was revealed with the launch of Synappx, a platform aimed, as a company press release states, “to address the workforce’s increased expectation of secure accessibility, ease of use and mobility — enhancing the ability of workers to connect to office technology and collaborative systems.” Specifically, Sharp announced three smart office solutions: n Synappx Meeting is designed to help ensure that meetings become productive more quickly (as opposed to an average of 12 minutes from a meeting’s start, as research shows, due to time lost to such activities as connecting to a large display, starting a conferencing system or finding the right content). The release notes: “Synappx Meeting solves these challenges, putting your focus back on collaboration and sharing ideas.” n Synappx Go allows individuals to scale content to a large display, or scan documents and release print jobs from a multifunction printer — when and where needed — from a mobile device. n Synappx WorkSpaces Analytic Service allows, as the release states, “for tracking of workspace utilization and environmental factors (such as room temperature and air quality) to help create a smarter, more comfortable workplace. By combining sensor data from the Windows collaboration display from Sharp with Microsoft Office 365 data, this turnkey cloud solution provides actionable analytics for the modern workplace.” In the opening general session, prior to the announcement of the launch of Synappx, Mike Marusic, president and CEO of SIICA, also emphasized the appeal of the new smart office solutions. “Imagine if we could help people move around the office or the city and have their information move with them,” he said. “Imagine walking into a meeting space and having it work seamlessly; no more fumbling with wires. Imagine being able to connect and collaborate across all the different hardware and software platforms. Wouldn’t it be a great sales proposition for our dealers to help an IT manager augment and enhance the platform infrastructure they have already invested in, rather than telling them they have to change their infrastructure with more hardware to get to the next level? Instead, you’re adding value to what they have by making end users more productive.” 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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PRINCIPAL ISSUES

Just Imagine How DEX & Staples could challenge the channel by: Ray Stasieczko, TEASRA, The Innovation Channel LLC

arly this year, some in the industry applauded the sale of DEX Imaging to Staples. Others just thought it was another day and saw no threats to the status quo. It seems we still hear many talking about how this merger is no big deal and will affect nothing. When I hear that, I say: “Wow!” Back in 2017 when I predicted this type of acquisition, I based those thoughts on the realities of the industry’s end users, along with the momentum of the pull economy. The energy of the pull economy is a result of buyers becoming increasingly comfortable in a commodity world. Today, the imaging channel is still ignoring its greatest threat — a threat that is based on a massive disruption that will not affect all the channels’ end users. However, it will affect 80% or more of them. It is time the channel looks at the print equipment and services deliverable through different lenses and realizes that not all customers value their deliverables the same, and more and more are commodity-minded. Dealers have to learn how to sell and profit off commodity buyers, and stop believing they can change every buyer’s mindset to pay more based on a perceived value that is long outdated. First let’s look at DEX and Staples and what their combined capabilities have the potential to create. This sale was strategic; a first in the channel’s history. It has brought together the fast-growing pull-economy processes of Staples with the imaging channel’s push-economy processes through DEX. This acquisition was an infrastructure change. DEX and Staples have fractured the comfort of the imaging channel’s decades-old deliverable and its outdated infrastructure. Soon, many things will have to be addressed, as the DEX/ Staples company will surely challenge the status quo of an outdated business model and the channel will have to tackle these impending changes. I am hopeful that as imaging channel leaders explore what will disrupt them, they will challenge all that is holding them back from reinventing the industry. Here are some possible changes based on what I can imagine: (1) Distribution territories will have to become borderless. DEX and Staples will one day control more than $1 billion in print equipment distribution. This distribution will more

than likely include products from all manufacturers. It is not logical to believe any manufacturer will deny distribution to the world’s largest dealership, DEX Imaging. (2) The Staples retail space and number of locations allow DEX and Staples to have a massive distribution network. This distribution network will have the ability to create once unimagined new opportunities for yesterday’s office technology equipment buyer. As an example, I am sure we can imagine how today’s growing number of remote workers could benefit significantly from the DEX/Staples infrastructure. (3) The realities of customers’ print volumes will open up a massive opportunity to correct the imaging channel’s overselling of A3. DEX and Staples have the ability and footprints to implement a nationwide A4 business model, completely disrupting a significant percentage of its competitors’ A3 business. (4) An equipment-as-a-service rental model could become a whole new revenue source. With the retail footprint, could the SMB customer find value in quickly obtaining technology equipment for temporary needs? As an example, could our friends at Ricoh see value in aligning with DEX and Staples to supply the DEX/Staples retail locations with Ricoh’s new e-commerce lockers? Or, could an unknown product manufacturer contract with DEX/Staples to provide service for a national placement? Could the DEX/Staples relationship challenge third-party service providers? One last thing to imagine is the Amazon contingent. A month or so ago, I did a video on why Amazon would be excited to be the buyer of the Sycamore Partners trio of Staples, DEX and Essendant. To my friends in the imaging channel: Stop discussing all the reasons why this merger will not work, and consider and imagine how it will work. It will be those discussions that will help reinvent and recreate the imaging channel’s relevance. The greatest threat to the channel’s current circumstances is caused by its obsession in overselling A3 as the channel’s end users are presented better solutions — solutions based on the market realities offered by customer-centric distribution models. Outdated strategies will quickly become customer pain points. DEX and Staples are more than likely positioning themselves to capitalize on the complacency of an industry. I look forward to speaking at BTA’s Capture the Magic event, www.offi cetechnol ogymag.com | Nove mb e r 2019 | 29

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tighten their relationship. This tightening to be held Nov. 4-5 in Coronado, California. I relationship is also causing troubles for the am excited to share why the A4 revolution is Innovative opportunities remanufactured and new-build industries. the greatest threat to the status quo and the only exist if we are In 2017, Stasieczko also suggested to the most significant opportunity for those eawilling to explore for RT Media audience that instead of the ger to replace a product-centric deliverable them. Today, what new-build and reman industries fighting with a better customer-centric experience. was once thought to each other, they should pay attention to the Only DEX and Staples know what they OEMs that would ramp up aggression to win will do with their new partnership; that be impossible is now back their business — something HP is now is one thing everyone reading this underquite probable. accomplishing quite respectably. Recently at stands — at least I hope. Innovative opporITEX, Stasieczko shared his thoughts on the tunities only exist if we are willing to exStaples/DEX acquisition, which he predicted a plore for them. Today, what was once thought to be impossible year earlier. Stasieczko continues to challenge the is now quite probable. See you in Coronado. n status quo and is a voice for A4. He started what he has Ray Stasieczko has called the imaging channel home for nearly dubbed “The A4 Revolution,” based on the realities that 30 years. In that time, he has owned and operated dealerships, more than 80% of all A3 MFPs are oversold and served in senior leadership roles and offered consulting should be A4 MFPs. Tune in to Stasieczko’s services. Stasieczko is well known in the industry and has “End of the Day with Ray” video series on contributed nearly 100 articles to the industry’s publications. He YouTube and LinkedIn, where he has has also spoken at the 2017 RT Media Summits in Cairo, Egypt, more than 18,000 followers. South America and China. During his time in China, Stasieczko Stasieczko can be reached at discussed his thoughts on HP buying Xerox. Many in attendance could not comprehend that message. Today, however, it appears raystasieczko@gmail.com. Visit https://teasra.com. he was on to something as we have watched HP and Xerox

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