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CONTENTS Volume 29 • No. 5

FEATURE ARTICLES 10

Embracing A4s Three dealers illuminate the opportunities

DEALERS HELPING DEALERS Managing Stale DCAs How do dealers keep their devices reporting?

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by Brent Hoskins Office Technology Magazine

Compiled by Brent Hoskins Office Technology Magazine

Are you embracing both A3 and A4 opportunities? Or are you focused on placing as many A3s as possible? What do your customers need? This article includes brief profiles of three BTA member dealerships focusing on their A4 successes.

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

This article includes a question 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 at www.bta.org/DealersHelpingDealers.

COURTS & CAPITOLS Employee Loyalty Protecting the investment in your team members

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by Elizabeth Marvel Office Technology Magazine

by Robert C. Goldberg BTA General Counsel

The 2022 Fall Colors Retreat was held Oct. 13-14 in Asheville, North Carolina. The event featured two keynote addresses, two additional educational sessions, exhibitor round-table discussions, networking time, a private tour of the Biltmore Estate and dinner at the Biltmore’s Lioncrest Veranda.

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This is Your Opportunity Capitalize on an exceptional customer experience

by Brian Suerth Technology Assurance Group (TAG)

How does a dealer protect the investment made in his employees? It remains advisable to address confidentiality, nonsolicitation and noncompetition in your employee manual. Noncompete agreements should be considered in jurisdictions where they have not been legislatively banned.

P R I N C I PA L I S S U E S Sharp’s Opportunity OEM hosts 2022 Dealer Roadshow Series

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by Brent Hoskins Office Technology Magazine

COVID-19 pandemic-driven challenges like inflation and labor shortages have resulted in poor customer experiences across the board. When you do have an outstanding experience today, it is more impactful and memorable than ever. It is time to seize this opportunity.

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Q&A: Tami Beach HP channel executive addresses dealer questions Compiled by Brent Hoskins Office Technology Magazine

On Oct. 20, Office Technology magazine interviewed Tami Beach, head of MPS channel sales for HP Inc. The questions she addressed were requested from and submitted by BTA member dealers selling HP products. Questions were edited for length, clarity, etc.

Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America will soon wrap up its October and November dealer meetings, with “Opportunity” as the theme, as part of its Sharp 2022 Dealer Roadshow Series. The attendees include dealership principals, sales personnel and service managers.

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

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• BTA Highlights

6

Executive Director’s Page

8

BTA President’s Message

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Advertiser Index

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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S PAGE

Our Thanks to BTA’s Key Pillars of Support

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ou will see that David Polimeni’s President’s Message in this issue of Office Technology recognizes the Business Technology Association’s (BTA’s) longest-term dealer members. Collectively, they are at the foundation of the association’s core member group. However, there are other members who are very important to BTA. Their memberships demonstrate a commitment to the association and, in turn, unparalleled support of the dealer channel.

Following David’s lead, I would like to take the opportunity to recognize many of the companies in the association’s other member groups — vendor members, consultant/trainer members and publishing associate members. Looking back to BTA’s recent district-hosted educational and networking events — the Sept. 14-15 Capture the Magic event in Las Vegas, Nevada, and the Oct. 13-14 Fall Colors Retreat in Asheville, North Carolina — I can assure you that many of these members helped make the two events possible. Our dealer members are the foundation of BTA. Our other members are the key pillars of support for the association. Following are the most long-term current members among the three non-dealer-member groups, listed by decades in the order they joined the association (oldest to newest).

1960s: Toshiba America Business Solutions Inc. 1970s: KYOCERA Document Solutions, Industry Analysts Inc. and Xerox Corp.

1980s: Keypoint Intelligence, U.S. Bank Office Equipment Finance Services and Nuworld Business Systems 1990s: Copier Careers and Cargill Consulting Group Inc.

2000s: GreatAmerica Financial Services Corp., in2communications, Lexmark International Inc., Midwest Copier Exchange LLC, Sharp Electronics Corp., DLL, DocuWare Corp., ENX Magazine, Polek & Polek Inc., ECI Software Solutions, Distribution Management, TonerCycle/InkCycle, Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A. Inc., Image Star, Miracle Service, Kingston Training Group Inc., EDA, Strategic Business Associates, NEXERA, a BEI Services Company, CEO Juice and Outlaw Group Inc. 2010s: NewWave Technologies Inc., Hytec Dealer Services Inc., SalesChain LLC, Mars International Inc., M-Files Inc., Katun Corp., NA Trading and Technology, BPO Media, White Cup Solutions, CIT Bank, SalesScoreKeeper, International Imaging Technology Council, Troy Harrison & Associates, Print4Pay, ConnectWise, TD SYNNEX Corp., CET USA, Wells Fargo Equipment Finance, ACDI, Ricoh Americas Corp., Epson America Inc., The Sailor Group Inc./AgentDealer, Brother International, Laserfiche, Tigerpaw Software, IBPI, Actionable Intelligence, RISO Inc., FP Mailing Solutions, Crexendo Inc., Technology Assurance Group, ITD Print Solutions, Datablaze, Ninestar Image Tech Ltd., In Time Tec, OPEX Corp., ecoprintQ, WatchGuard Technologies and Performance Now 2020s: Cranel Inc., ELATEC Inc., MPS Monitor srl, Chassi, Predictive InSight, Dealer Site Builder, Modern Sales Training, Sepialine Inc., Intermedia, PFU America Inc. (Fujitsu), Hyland, Kodak Alaris, XQ Innovation, Quench USA Inc., EveryonePrint A/S, PriApps LLC, iTS: Info Technology Supply Ltd., Equipment Brokers Unlimited, Info-Source, Stramaglio Consulting, DOQSOFT Inc., Amplified Solutions, MPS Cloudware, eGoldFax, Evo Security and Prism Software 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 Brian Suerth, Technology Assurance Group www.tagnational.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: (312) 648-2300 Valerie Briseno Marketing Director valerie@bta.org Brian Smith Membership Sales Representative brian@bta.org Photo Credits: Adobe Stock. Cover created by Bruce Quade, Brand X Studio. ©2022 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.

FLASHBACK

The association’s magazine cover 45 years ago this month — the NOMDA Spokesman, November 1977.

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BTA PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

I’d Like to Thank Our Long-Term Members

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hrough almost 100 years and major worldwide events — including the Great Depression, World War II, the Korean, Vietnam and Persian Gulf Wars, 9/11, the Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic — our association has endured. Even with today’s economic uncertainty and changes in the industry, Business Technology Association (BTA) members are growing, finding new revenue streams and succeeding.

Founded in 1926, BTA’s mission has been to help its member dealerships improve through the association’s various offerings.

I think our success is evident when you look at how long so many dealerships have been members of the association and continue to be active today. I would like to recognize and thank our longest-term current dealer members, listed by decades and in the order they joined the association (oldest to newest): 1930s: Anderson Business Technology, Pasadena, CA (joined in 1930); and Capital Business Machines, Little Rock, AR 1940s: Wagner Office Machines, Burr Ridge, IL; Howard D. Happy Co., Mayfield, KY; and Standley Systems, Chickasha, OK 1950s: Waltz Business Solutions, Crestview Hills, KY; Richardson Business Solutions, Grand Rapids, MI; ABM Automation, Edmond, OK; Bishop Business, Omaha, NE; Eakes Office Solutions, Grand Island, NE; Edwards Business Systems/Virginia Business Systems, Wyomissing, PA; SBM, Sterling, IL; Central Office Service & Supply Inc., Clay Center, KS; and Hagan Business Machines Inc., Erie, PA 1960s: Visual Edge IT, Grand Blanc, MI; MOEbiz, Monroe, LA; Southeastern Business Machines Co., Huntsville, AL; MMIT Business Solutions Group, Urbandale, IA;

Loy’s Office Supplies, LaGrange, GA; PLUS Inc., Greenville, SC; and Hoosier Business Machines, Jasper, IN 1970s: Dustin Office Machines, Gainesville, TX; WJS Enterprises Inc., New Orleans, LA; Buckmaster Office Solutions, Sacramento, CA; Forbes Office Solutions Inc., Newton, IA; Boring Business Systems, Lakeland, FL; EDC Business Solutions, Richmond Hill, NY; Adams Remco Inc., South Bend, IN; Advance Business Systems, Cockeysville, MD; CopyPro Inc., Greenville, NC; Duplicator Sales & Service, Louisville, KY; Allen Business Machines, Fort Wayne, IN; Fraser Advanced Information Systems, West Reading, PA; COECO Office Systems, Rocky Mount, NC; American Office Machines Inc., Metairie, LA; Memphis Communications Corp., Memphis, TN; Bay Copy, Rockland, MA; Gobin’s Inc., Pueblo, CO; Tri-State Business Systems Inc., Superior, WI; H.L. Dempsey Co. Inc., West Springfield, MA; SumnerOne, St. Louis, MO; SaraMana Business Products Inc., Sarasota, FL; Tri-City Business Machines, Kingsport, TN; Carolina Business Equipment Inc., Columbia, SC; Electronic Business Machines Inc., Lexington, KY; Miller Services, Charlotte, NC; California Business Machines, Fresno, CA; James Imaging Systems Inc., Brookfield, WI; Office Copying Equipment Ltd., Milwaukee, WI; Merrimack Valley Business Machines Inc., North Chelmsford, MA; Stone’s Office Equipment Co. Inc., Richmond, VA; Specialty Business Solutions Inc., New York, NY; King Office Service Inc., Mansfield, OH; Lockwood Moore Inc., Reno, NV; Commonwealth Digital Office Solutions, Sterling, VA; Koch Office Group, Des Moines, IA; Stratix Systems, Wyomissing, PA; EGP Document Solutions, Duluth, GA; Standard Office Systems of Atlanta Inc., Duluth, GA; New England Copy Specialists Inc., Woburn, MA; and Ohio Business Systems Inc., Worthington, OH n — David Polimeni

2022-2023 Board of Directors President David Polimeni RITE Technology Sarasota, Florida dpolimeni@ritefl.com President-Elect Don Risser DCS Technologies Corp.

Franklin, Ohio don.risser@dcs-tech.com Vice President Adam Gregory Advanced Business Solutions LLC St. Augustine, Florida adam@goabsinc.com Immediate Past President Tim Renegar Kelly Office Solutions Winston-Salem, North Carolina trenegar@kellyofficesolutions.com BTA East Mike Ardry Automated Business Solutions Warwick, Rhode Island mardry@absne.com Mike Boyle BASE Technologies Inc. Bethel, Connecticut mboyle@baseinc.com BTA Mid-America Brantly Fowler Zeno Office Solutions Inc. Midland, Texas bfowler@zenotx.com Greg Quirk JQ Office Equipment Omaha, Nebraska gquirk@jqoffice.com BTA Southeast Debra Dennis CopyPro Inc. Greenville, North Carolina ddennis@copypro.net Jim Buck Carolina Business Equipment Inc. Columbia, South Carolina jimb@cbesc.com BTA West Dan Bombard Yuma Office Equipment, a Fruth Group Company Yuma, Arizona daniel@yumaofficeequipment.com Mike McGuirk ProCopy Office Solutions Inc. Mesa, Arizona mmcguirk@procopyoffice.com Ex-Officio/General Counsel Robert C. Goldberg Schoenberg Finkel Beederman Bell & Glazer LLC Chicago, Illinois robert.goldberg@sfbbg.com

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Embracing A4s

Three dealers illuminate the opportunities by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine

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hink about your office technology dealership prior to the supply-chain crisis.

Think about your dealership following the crisis. Are you embracing both A3 and A4 opportunities? Or are you focused on placing as many A3s as possible? What do your customers need?

Following are brief profiles of three BTA member dealerships focusing on their A4 successes. Perhaps they will inspire you to take another look at the A4 opportunities in your market. Are you leaving money on the table?

Electronic Business Machines In the 1990s, Electronic Business Machines (EBM), based in Lexington, Kentucky, was known nationally as a source of board repair for printers, although it sold and serviced printers locally. Ultimately, the decision was made to seek a new opportunity to expand the dealership’s local offerings.

However, “a lot of the A3 lines were spoken for in our area already,” says Mike Hicks, president of EBM. “So, it was A4s that gave us that new opportunity, especially with Lexmark, since we are almost next door to them.”

A4 MFPs (and printers) were a game changer at EBM. “We wanted to differentiate ourselves from everybody else down the street; A4 allowed us to do that,” Hicks says. “We could offer a quality box for a third of the price. That really took off from 2007 to 2009 when people were being laid off and unemployment was high. People were looking to save money any way they could in their print environments.”

At its peak, around 70% of EBM’s unit placements were A4, Hicks says, noting, however, that today the percentage is around 60%, due, in part, to new successes with A3 MFP placements. EBM also sells Xerox and Epson products. He notes that around 65% of all A4 devices placed by EBM are monochrome.

Hicks says that A4 devices are the best fit for company locations producing no more than 6 million to 7 million pages annually. Even though the cost per copy (CPC) on A4 is “slightly higher,” for companies producing pages within that

6-to-7-million range, unless an A3 is needed, he says, going only with A4 devices “still wins most accounts over A3 because of the higher price for the A3.”

While the CPC is slightly higher for A4s as compared to A3s, “the delta between the two has narrowed over time,” Hicks says, noting that this is helped by the service burden rate of the A4 Lexmark models sold by EBM, which is lower than that of A3s. “In the old days, you might have been 1.2 cents for mono on an A4 and .08 cents for mono on A3. Today, I’m probably at .009 for A4 and .007 for A3; so, only two mils. And I’m talking OEM toner; compatible toner on the A4 makes that number even closer.”

Hicks says EBM finds success with A4 placements in a variety of verticals, primarily in companies with fewer than 200 employees. It began with the legal sector, which was “big for us” early on. “I don’t know if this is the case nationwide, but in Kentucky, attorneys had to scan all of their documents, convert them to PDFs and send them to the court system before appearing in court,” he says. He notes that while the lack of scans from revenues is a “topic for another day,” those A4 placements “helped us find traction in legal.”

In addition, due to the small footprint of A4s, they are particularly well received in the health-care and banking industries, Hicks says. “We have one regional bank here with 150 A4 machines in 32 locations,” he says. “They have two A3s; they really only need one.”

A4 devices, serviced by EBM, are especially welcome by IT personnel within the targeted verticals and otherwise, Hicks says. “Back about 15 years ago, purchasing departments bought A3s and the IT departments bought printers, which were kind of dumped on them,” he says. “The printers weren’t a capital expense because you could buy them for $800. However, today, with cybersecurity and all the other issues IT personnel have to deal with, they don’t want to handle printers. So, it’s easy for us to say, ‘Let us take this off your hands. We can save you money.’”

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ramping up their emphasis on A4 placements if they are not doing so already. “You don’t want to leave money on the table, and you don’t want to leave the door open for a competitor to ask the question that you may not be asking today,” he says.

“The profit could be there for you because, again, our number shows that the servicing cost of an A4 is less than that of an A3.”

crisis. “We did install Ricoh A3 products in the account — 120 of the 700 machines.

But a lot of Brother A4s were installed, as well as a few single-function printers. Previously, the account had a ton of A3s. We just changed the whole table and were able to get the deal.”

There will likely be a boost — Mike Hicks in the number of A4 placeElectronic Business Machines ments at Kelly in the months ahead, Renegar says. “Right now, there are situations where we’re selling A3, but an A4 Kelly Office Solutions would have made better sense,” he says, noting that the sixAt Kelly Office Solutions, based in Winston-Salem, North month delay in getting A4s led to the A3 placements. “CusCarolina, A4 is an important part of the dealership’s prod- tomers are going ahead and making the decision to accept uct focus, but it is not necessarily a primary focus in and A3s that are similar to what they had in place. Since their of itself. “We don’t encourage it, nor do we discourage it,” leases have ended, their existing models are getting older and says Tim Renegar, president and CEO. “If it’s a good fit for they’re ready to make a move. But as soon as the supply chain the customer, we sell them an A4.” starts to settle down and the larger manufacturers go back to Increasingly, it is a good fit. “I looked back over the last producing A4 products and getting them to us, A4 will be an six months; 26% of our unit placements were A4s,” Renegar even larger percentage of our placements.” says. “The majority of those were Brother models, which are As noted, Kelly’s focus is selling the right product to fit smaller-range MFPs.” The dealership also sells Ricoh, Koni- customer needs. “When we do an assessment at any busica Minolta and Epson products. ness we are looking at: ‘What’s your workload? What do you The 26% represents a growing percentage — part of the run? What do you need? Do you need ledger-size output?’” overall growth of the dealership, Renegar says. “When we Renegar explains. “We want to make sure that we have excompare our 2018 revenues to today’s numbers, we are now up plored all of the workflow so that we are placing the right about 15% over our pre-pandemic level,” he says, noting that he products to handle that workflow.” compares current numbers to fiscal year 2018-19, which ended Renegar acknowledges that while Kelly’s A3 versus A4 prodJune 30. “We’re very fortunate. Our A3 model placements are uct mix will continue to evolve over time, the goal will remain up and we’re still selling a lot of them, but our A4 placements the same. “Everybody’s talking about where A4 is headed and are clearly becoming a big percentage of our total sales.” that A3 is steadily drifting back a bit, but clicks will still be Many of those A4s have gone into net-new accounts and there,” he says. “That’s what we’re after. I don’t care whether “many others were part of our right-sizing of existing ac- it’s A3 or A4 — either way we’re going after those clicks.” counts,” Renegar says, adding that the majority of A4 placements by Kelly are color MFPs, with single-function printers PLUS Inc. comprising most of the monochrome A4 placements. “Not When you are the second generation in a 64-year-old ofeveryone needs 11-by-17, but they do need a small footprint fice technology dealership, you know plenty about the tranin a lot of cases. I don’t have a problem with selling A4. They sition from one technology to the next. “We migrated into have a little higher CPC, but the margins are still the same typewriters in the 1960s and 1970s, computers in the 1980s, and if they’re running volume, that’s really what we’re after and copiers in the late 1980s,” says David Carson, president as a dealership — those clicks.” of PLUS Inc., based in Greenville, South Carolina. Fast forRenegar shares a recent example of a deal that garnered a ward to today. “IT and A4 — both are goldmines. There is so significant number of A4 placements. “We had a 700-machine much opportunity out there, it’s ridiculous.” takedown that we would not have gotten if we didn’t offer While he says PLUS is “going heavy into IT” and “the recurBrother A4s,” he says, expressing gratitude for the availabil- ring revenue on IT is growing by leaps and bounds,” Carson is ity of Brother’s products, given that A4s have largely been un- equally bullish on A4. “Six or seven years ago at a BTA event, a available from other manufacturers during the supply-chain presenter said that 80% of all pages printed in the United States

“You don’t want to leave money on the table, and you don’t want to leave the door open for a competitor to ask the question that you may not be asking today. The profit could be there for you ... ”

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Carson also shares a near are done on printers and pro“Right now, there are A4-only example. “We have a duction print,” he says. “On medical firm customer with the printer side, that’s almost situations where we’re 20 doctors that has almost always going to be A4 devices. selling A3, but an A4 all A4s now,” he says. “They Those printers use a lot of supwould have made better don’t have a contract with plies and run a lot of paper. sense ... But as soon as the us, but they spend about Why would you walk away supply chain starts to settle $2,000 a month on supplies. from that? By the way, we sell down ... A4 will be an even They pay as they go for labor. a lot of production printers larger percentage of our placements.”

We charge $180 an hour, plus from Ricoh and Konica Mia $40 trip charge. They’re nolta, too.”

— Tim Renegar two miles down the street.

Emphasizing that “a lot Kelly Office Solutions It’s good money.” of people are scaling down No contract? That’s right. to smaller systems,” Carson cites two recent migrations to A4 printers and MFPs. Mi- Many of PLUS’s customers “don’t want to be on a click gration one: “We just had a bank that had 15 A3 devices. charge, they want to buy their toner and pay for their serThey built a brand-new headquarters and switched to six vice,” Carson says. “I was just looking at a report yesterday.

A3s; all of the others got downsized to A4s.” Migration two: We have one customer that bought about $1,500 worth of “We recently took over a manufacturer’s direct account — toner in one day for all of its small $200 printers; it probably an accounting firm. They had one printer and three big A3s. has 50 of them. They have 25 to 30 A3 devices. They don’t have any anything under contract. They pay us as they go for We replaced them with three A4s.”

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“ ... I can go into my warehouse and see about 75 to 100 brand-new A4s ready to go out the door, because we sell so many of them. Our reps are out beating the streets ...

We’ve been very blessed.“

— David Carson PLUS Inc. everything. We have a lot of those accounts now, especially on the A4 side.”

Noting that PLUS is “definitely selling more A4 every year,” Carson says the ratio of the dealership’s A4 MFP and singlefunction printer placements is about 50:50. What is the ratio of A4 versus A3 devices placed by PLUS? “I don’t have a ratio that I can share; it would just be a guess,” he says. “However, I can go into my warehouse and see about 75 to 100 brand-new A4s ready to go out the door, because we sell so many of them.

Our reps are out beating the streets. However, for the last 12 months, our problem has been more about managing growth than about looking for new orders. We’ve been very blessed.”

How can PLUS confidently know that the no-contract customer will buy supplies from the dealership? “We sell 99% of our A4 offerings through two vendors — Konica Minolta and Ricoh,” he says. “Very few people have good access to Konica Minolta and Ricoh products on the internet; these companies don’t really market that way — they do, but they don’t. Plus, you can’t just walk into a Staples and buy Konica Minolta or Ricoh toner, because they don’t have them on their shelves. Our customers almost always buy their supplies and service from us.”

Carson emphasizes the primary reason for PLUS’s heavy focus on A4. “You have got to go where the industry is headed,” he says. “A4 is where most prints are going to go as people print less and less.”

Many dealers “have a tendency to try and control where the market goes, but the world doesn’t work that way; instead, you should move to where the people are going,” Carson says. “Dealers who are only trying to hang on to clicks and the A3 business, in my opinion, are going be like the typewriter dealers. Eventually, they are going to go away.” 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. www.offi cetechnol ogymag.com | Nove mb e r 2022 | 15

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

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he 2022 Fall Colors Retreat, hosted by BTA Southeast, was held Oct. 13-14 at the Renaissance Asheville Downtown Hotel in Asheville, North Carolina.

The event featured two keynote addresses, two additional educational sessions, exhibitor round-table discussions, plenty of networking time, a private tour of the Biltmore Estate and dinner at the Biltmore’s Lioncrest Veranda.

The first keynote, “The Death of the People Business,” was presented by Derek Shebby of Modern Sales Training.

He spoke about the changes the COVID-19 pandemic has had on sales teams and explored how to reignite the sales processes that have been proven to work. Shebby also shared some more recent methods that can supercharge performance in the future.

The second keynote, “Personal Branding to Win,” was presented by Rick Lambert of selltowin and In2communications. He shared steps dealers can take to elevate their personal brands to create more awareness, boost consideration rates and generate more leads.

The additional educational sessions: “Current State of the Industry & Insight Into 2023,” by Mike Marusic of Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America; and “Eight Numbers to Help Deliver Managed IT Success for Dealers,” by Chris Ryne of Growth Achievement Partners.

The exhibiting sponsors were: ACDI, Brother (breakfast sponsor), Cranel, Crexendo, ECI, eGoldFax, FP, GreatAmerica, Hytec, IBPI, Intermedia (lunch sponsor), Kodak Alaris, Konica Minolta, Kyocera, LEAF, Macquarie, Midwest Copier Exchange, NA Trading and Technology, SalesChain, Sharp (keynote sponsor), Technology Assurance Group (breaks sponsor), TROY, WatchGuard, Wells Fargo, Xerox, Y Soft and Zultys.

BTA’s 2023 events are currently being scheduled. Visit www.bta.org/BTAEvents for more information on next year’s events as it becomes available. n Elizabeth Marvel is associate editor of Office Technology magazine. She can be reached at elizabeth@bta.org or (816) 303-4060.

Top: The Fall Colors Retreat featured two keynote addresses, two additional educational sessions, networking time, roundtable discussions with exhibitors, a private tour of the Biltmore Estate and dinner at the Biltmore’s Lioncrest Veranda.

Bottom photos, left to right: 2022-23 BTA Southeast President Jim Buck; 2022-23 BTA Southeast President-Elect Mike Hicks; and 2022-23 BTA Southeast Vice President Blake Renegar serve as the event’s emcees.

Above left: Shebby presents the first keynote, “The Death of the People Business.” Above right: Lambert presents the second keynote, “Personal Branding to Win.”

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BTA SE Nov 22.indd 1

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Managed IT Success C

Above, clockwise from top left: Marusic presents his educational session; Ryne presents his session; and attendees network with peers and exhibitors during a break.

Above, clockwise from top: (left to right) John Alexander and Pat Meija of DaVinci iSolutions, Kansas City, Missouri, visit with Mark Watthuber of ECI Software Solutions during a break; attendees tour the Biltmore Estate; dinner is held at the Biltmore’s Lioncrest Veranda; and Mark Grice of IBPI (left) visits with Anthony Lioce of The Lioce Group, Huntsville, Alabama, during the round-table discussions.

hris Ryne of Growth Achievement Partners presented “Eight Numbers to Help Deliver Managed IT Success for Dealers,” at the Fall Colors Retreat. During the session, he shared the following eight “non-financial” data points that will help dealers who are considering getting into, or are already in, managed IT services.

(1) 100% — The percentage of dealers who have told Ryne they wish they would have been more disciplined in adhering to their target markets/ideal client profiles (ICPs) and tech stacks from the start. “The sweet spot [for the target market] is generally 15 to 75 [employees], but it does not have to be exactly yours,” Ryne said, following up with a warning about straying too far from your ICP. “ ... It’s hard to serve multiple markets with different expectations as you’re getting started, so pick your target market ... stay disciplined to it.”

(2) 50+ — The head start in years that the copier/MFP service side has on the IT service side. “We’re ultimately going to get — if not as good, but better — in delivering IT services than copier services, just by the nature of the service,” Ryne said.

“And the office equipment reps need to have that same level of confidence and service delivery understanding as they do with the traditional business, so ensure they know just how well you are doing in delivering IT services too.”

(3) ½ = < ½ (or X = (X-Y)) — A managed IT resource that is shared with the copier business (Y) will always yield less (X) than expected on the managed services side. “I know this is not fiscally easy, but the message here is dedicate resources ahead of revenue or you may never get the revenue,” Ryne said. “ ... If you’re going to do this, you have to make an investment.“ (4) Greater than or equal to 1 — The number of dedicated vCIOs or SMEs you will need to get started. “This is the most important hire in the organization and it’s likely going to come from outside of the organization,” Ryne said.

(5) 70% and 3 — The percentage of initial contracts that will be sold to non-copier customers and the three reasons why: low copier rep confidence; wrong level of contact; and only 10% to 20% of current copier accounts will fit within your ICP. “You don’t need a huge portion of your current client base to become managed services clients to build a really, really nice business here,” Ryne said.

(6) 300 — The size for an appropriate list of ICP prospects that represents a “territory.” It should contain 20 to 40 prospects within at least one vertical market you focus on. “Find prospects that have outsourced IT relationships that are similar to what you sell and then nurture them,” Ryne advised.

(7) 16:2.4 — The ratio of initial monthly appointments with decision makers within target market prospects to new wins per month, over time. “Most [dealers] want to build their proforma on two to three deals a month, and most have the resources to be able to properly onboard two to three deals per month,” Ryne said.

“Get 16 [appointments] and they should yield 2.4 [wins] over time.”

(8) Greater than 12 and less than 60 — For managed services sales, your first contact with a prospect may have been more than 12 months ago, but when an event occurs or the contract nears its end, the active sales cycle is typically less than 60 days. “It’s comparable to the office equipment space,” Ryne said. “ ... Play the long game. Find the right accounts ... and nurture them ... That’s why I think nurturing is more important than sales at this point.” n — Elizabeth Marvel www.offi cetechnol ogymag.com | Nove mb e r 2022 | 17

BTA SE Nov 22.indd 2

10/31/22 9:29 AM

This is Your Opportunity Capitalize on an exceptional customer experience by: Brian Suerth, Technology Assurance Group (TAG)

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OVID-19 pandemic-driven challenges like inflation and labor shortages have resulted in poor customer experiences across the board. Everywhere you turn — restaurants, grocery stores, auto-body shops and even your vendors — the norm of quality service and experience is not what it used to be.

When you do have an outstanding experience today, it is more impactful and memorable than ever. It is time to seize this opportunity.

I am going to begin with a personal experience I had at a shoeshine stand in the Denver, Colorado, airport. As I approached the stand, I made eye contact with the woman working there. She lit up immediately. We started talking and she made me feel welcome; it felt like we were old college friends catching up. I habitually get a shoeshine when I travel, but unlike most shoeshiners who typically work in silence, Linda kept asking me questions about my business, where I lived and even my kids.

After rolling up my pant leg (which is the norm for a shoeshine), she tucked a little plastic sheet into the front and back of my shoe. I asked why she did it and she answered, “It protects your socks from being stained by the leather polish.” I nodded quietly and thought to myself, “Oh, that would explain all of those mysterious little black marks that keep showing up!”

Things got really interesting when she pulled out what looked to be a blowtorch. She ignited it and fired it off a couple of times. As my eyes bulged, she pointed it at my feet.

“Now I’ve got to know,” I said. “What is THAT thing for?!”

She promised she was not going to turn my oxfords into crème brûléee and explained how the heat would open up the leather so the polish could penetrate more deeply into my shoes. This would make her shoeshine last much longer than any other shoeshine I’d had before.

I thought back to the dozens of shoeshines I’d had, but all

I could think in that moment was, “Why haven’t any other shoeshiners used the blowtorch?! I want the blowtorch!”

When she finished up, I asked, “So, what do I owe you?”

“Pay whatever you feel this was worth to you,” she replied.

I was so delighted by the entire experience that I paid her three times more than I have paid anyone else.

As I boarded my flight, I opened my laptop to edit my presentation on what differentiates truly exceptional companies from mediocre ones and realized that Linda delivered a better customer experience process than 90% of the small to mid-sized businesses across this country. She stood out because she delivered a memorable experience.

Is a Shoeshiner’s Customer Experience Better Than Your Company’s?

As business owners, it is natural to assume that our customers love us — especially if we have managed to successfully keep our doors open for many years. And even though most business owners assume they deliver a superior customer

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Suerth Nov 22.indd 1

10/31/22 9:36 AM

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10/29/22 3:21 PM

experience, let’s check that against your might that “wow” change the trajectory own interactions. of their customer experience?

While we may ... be Out of the last five companies you have doing many things right purchased something from, how many Six Steps to Revitalizing Your Custo grow our businesses, delivered a truly exceptional customer tomer Experience & Dominating what separates the truly experience — one that you shared with Your Competitors exceptional companies others and made you want to go back?

Evaluating your existing customer Two of them? One of them? None? experience, understanding its impact on from the mediocre is the While we may, in fact, be doing many those you serve and making little tweaks experience they deliver. things right to grow our businesses, what will lead to enhanced loyalty, greater separates the truly exceptional compaopportunities to cross-sell/upsell, and nies from the mediocre is the experience they deliver. With place your company on a different pedestal than your comthe right customer experience, everything can change. petitors. Here is what I recommend to get started: What would happen if you could comfortably charge n Step 1 — Take your own customer journey. Pretend three times more than your current prices for all of your you are the customer and experience the touchpoints (calls, products/services and still have clients raving about their emails, quotes, website, interactions with your sales and experience with you? How might that alter the trajectory of technicians, etc.) that your new or existing customers reyour business? How might that affect your life? ceive. If you want to mix it up, ask a fellow business owner to According to PwC, 73% of customers agree that the cus- take your customer journey. There is a reason big companies tomer experience helps to drive their buying decisions and still use “secret shoppers.” They work.

86% of buyers are willing to pay more for a great customer n Step 2 — Ask your customers to describe their exexperience. This is huge, especially when poor experience is periences with you. When was the last time you asked your the post-pandemic norm. customers about their experiences with your business? Ask questions like, “What do you like about doing business with Your Company is Being Compared to the Big Guys, us? What don’t you like? How was your experience with [inNot Your Local Competitors sert name here] or [insert specific product they are using]?”

Amazon has taught customers that it is reasonable to No matter what they say, just listen. Do not defend yourself click a button and, within a few hours, have the exact prod- by interrupting. We want to excavate their perception, not ucts they ordered arrive at their doorsteps. Apple has taught reinforce ours. customers that it is normal to expect all of the world’s inn Step 3 — Define every point of contact with your formation to be instantly accessible in the palms of their customer and what you want the outcome to be. Gather hands. Costco has taught customers that literally every- insights from your team members to design a total customthing should be cheap if they are willing to buy it in bulk. er experience. Each point of contact should have a purpose If you want to make an impression that leads to brand or it should be eliminated. loyalty, word of mouth and free publicity that extends beBy the way, a point of contact can be a human or nonyond the normal response, you have to “wow” customers at human interaction. A small change could be having all of a level that goes beyond what your competitors are willing your employees thank your customers for their business. to do. Linda wowed me with her genuine interest in our con- Simply saying “thank you” shows respect for your customversation, protecting my clothes from polish and heating up ers’ money and their time. Is anyone in your company doing my shoes with a blowtorch. this consistently? Isn’t it a nice feeling when the owner of a It is easy to dismiss “wow” moments like these, but did restaurant calls you by your first name and thanks you for you know that you can utilize tools that analyze your pros- dining at his (or her) establishment? pects’ networks to already understand their vulnerabilin Step 4 — Get back to basics. Define how you want evties before you even meet with them? Imagine if you sat eryone to do the basics (answering the phone, responding down with a customer for the first time and started your to emails, etc.). Reinforce the brand you stand for. Reinforce conversation with, “By the way, yesterday afternoon as we the experience you want your people to deliver and reward were preparing for our meeting, we researched your net- them for doing it. Live up to your promises with SLAs and work and identified employee names, email addresses and be intentional with your brand image (on apparel, vehicles, passwords that have already been compromised by hack- etc.). Also, occasionally record and listen to calls by techs, ers. Would you like to know which employees have com- sales team members and accounting team members. promised company passwords they are still using?” How n Step 5 — Take your own customer journey (again).

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Suerth Nov 22.indd 2

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an opportunity you have in the most excitAfter you have made the necessary changing industry of all — office technology. n es to define your customer experience, Deliver consistent Brian Suerth is president of Technology take your own customer journey again. customer experiences.

Assurance Group (TAG), an organization n Step 6 — Deliver consistent cusHuman beings like of managed technology services providers tomer experiences. Human beings like consistency. We like (MTSPs). Collectively, TAG’s members do consistency. We like predictability. That predictability ... Doing $800 million per year in IT, cybersecurity, is why you go to your favorite restautelecommunications, video surveillance/ rant. Why do you think Starbucks is so the little things all of the access control, and copier/MFPs and successful? It is because you receive the time has a huge impact ... managed print. They are located in same experience whether you are in New 148 cities across the United States and York City or San Diego. Doing the little Canada, and are presently serving more than 780,000 SMBs. things all of the time has a huge impact — like fixing a probHe is responsible for directing TAG’s executive team lem in your customer’s network and updating him along the in its pursuit of ever-improving advice, support and way, rather than keeping him in the dark (which many IT counseling in the technology arena and companies do, by the way). the expansion of TAG’s membership and strategic partnerships. In addition, Suerth Nothing Changes Until It Is a Priority is a partner at TAG’s MTSP, i-NETT. There are countless ways to revitalize your customer exHe can be reached at perience. (Hint: Your employees and your customers already brian@tagnational.com. have plenty of ideas; just ask them.) Make it a priority and reap Visit ww.tagnational.com. the rewards. I hope this article has helped you see how ripe of

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Suerth Nov 22.indd 3

10/31/22 9:36 AM

Q&A: Tami Beach HP channel executive addresses dealer questions Compiled by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine

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n Oct. 20, Office Technology magazine interviewed Tami Beach, head of MPS channel sales for HP Inc. The questions she addressed were requested from and submitted by BTA member dealers selling HP products.

Beach is responsible for spearheading the development of HP’s Power Services Channel and delivering growth in HP’s office printing category. Previously, she served in several other roles at HP, including senior director of software solutions and strategic alliances; senior director of HP Personal Systems Lifecycle Services; and director of the print services category and office software solutions. She joined HP in 1997.

The following are some of the questions (edited for length, clarity, etc.) dealers submitted to Office Technology and Beach’s responses.

Dealer: What can you share about product availability for HP hardware, parts and supplies, given the supply-chain challenges? What can dealers expect in the months ahead?

Beach: Pandemic-driven macroeconomics created a variety of supply-chain challenges across the IT industry and many other industries. What we have learned about the supply chain from the pandemic can be used to reduce potential points of failure starting with designing for supply-chain initiatives across sourcing, manufacturing and logistics.

Electronic hardware companies like HP have taken actions such as: shifting from single-sourced components in our designs to multisourced where feasible; long-term agreements in all logistics modes to optimize the mix; and robust BCP planning to enable rapid response to disruptions.

Building the world’s most resilient supply chain is our top priority. Today, with a better view of our supply chain, HP is driving greater flexibility and resilience while making significant investments in this area, including new

operational capabilities for better E2E visibility. We have made a lot of progress in these areas and strive to do more, together with our partners.

Dealer: What steps is HP taking to make it easier for BTA Channel dealers to do business with the company?

Beach: We are always looking for ways to make it easier for our partners to do business with us. We are always listening and we are always working to make improvements. HP is a huge, global company.

We have a broad product portfolio, and we have a vast and diverse channel globally. Add to that multiple different business models between transactional and managed, and routes to market that we are trying to manage. So, with that comes complexity. And while some things make zero sense to some, they make all the sense in the world to others. So, we are trying to balance the needs of that very vast and diverse channel. The more business that we generate in this particular channel, the louder our voices become. We are getting there. We are making great progress and we have a seat at the table and the voices are being heard.

We are now two years into Amplify, and the objective going forward is to stabilize and refine. So, stabilize the program that we have put out there in the marketplace and try not to make a lot of changes to that. That should make things easier for partners. And refine what we are doing with some of the unique parts of the channel, and the pockets where we did not do so well because we tried to put out this mass platform — global consistency, channel consistency. Now is our opportunity to really look at independent parts of the channel and refine what we are doing with them to make working with us easier for that particular pocket of the channel. So, I think that we are through the bulk of the change and partners are starting to see the benefit of the new programs, and I think things are going to start to feel easier in general going forward.

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HP QA Nov 22.indd 1

10/31/22 9:49 AM

program of this type in this industry. So, of Dealer: What can you share Our success relies course, that is going to require time to unabout HP+, given that it appears to derstand; patience will be needed through be in competition with your dealer heavily on the strength the change management process. channel? (HP+ is a free upgrade of our channel ...

I would also add that the program is available with many HP printers.

We are highly interested completely optional, so partners are free It links an HP smart printer with in making sure that to participate or not, but those who do smart ink and a smart app in a this program works participate have access to an extraordisingle, cloud-connected system. It nary array of benefits.

These benefits inallows users to print from any defor all of our partners. clude things like exclusive access to our vice, anywhere, anytime.) managed hardware and supplies portBeach: Let me emphatically state folio, financial incentives in terms of best-in-class, upfront that HP+ is not in competition with our dealer channel.

This is an offer to our smallest of business and home-office pricing, back-end rebates and sales spiffs. We also have highcustomers. It encompasses a very small number of low-end touch sales coverage and technical support for our power serdevices that are typically acquired in retail or online, and vices partners and, of course, sales tools, collateral training the customers pay a slightly lower price for the hardware and market development funds that we provide to partners.

I also do not want to miss the fact that we have a war chest if they commit to using HP OEM [toner]. They can acquire of resources for adopting and building a sustainability plan. that OEM toner through an HP subscription or via their Through our own efforts in driving sustainability initiatives, we standard purchasing processes from partners. So, parthave found that a real, tangible effort and planning here drives ners absolutely can participate if some of these devices find real economic return for a company. So, while some partners their way into environments that partners are managing. may or may not want to use those resources, there is real ecoBut this program is not sold on a CPP or as a service. And nomic value in having a sustainability plan and HP brings to if it were, the pricing would not be anywhere near what our the table a lot of resources to help our partners do that. dealer channel could price out as a solution on a CPP basis.

In terms of the data and reporting requirements, I think it So, while these devices may make it into our partners’ cusis important to point out that the value of data and actionable tomers’ environments, there is no reason that our partners insights from that data is very clear. We have research that couldn’t add these devices to their blended rates, add them tells us that data-driven organizations are growing much to their contracts, and supply the toner and service to them. faster than non-data-driven organizations. I think the statisDealers: The HP Amplify Partner Program has tic was greater than 30% annual growth. But the majority of been challenging and concerning for many deal- businesses — I think the number is around 84% of businesses ers. What is the intended benefit for HP and your — do not have the data platform that they need to really hardealers? Do you see this program continuing ness the potential. So that is what we are trying to put in place into the future and, if so, do you have any plans for our partners. What we are doing is combining the partner for creating an automated system for the deal- data with third-party data in this platform to make it easier ers to grab the required data? In addition, what for partners to understand a number of different things.

We gather more than 14 billion data points weekly to give types of information will be sent back to dealers access to these insights in three very specific ways for our partto help them increase their revenues? How soon ners.

One of those ways is descriptive insights. This is data that will it be available? Dealers had understood that helps our partners understand their performance versus their was one of the selling features for requesting the peers across the industry, and see how they are stacking up in data from dealers. (Questions from several dealcertain verticals, customer segments and different product ers combined.) categories.

So that is what their sales growth looks like, what Beach: So, first, the answer is “yes,” this program will contheir product performance looks like, what their inventory tinue, and it will continue to evolve to best meet the needs of looks like.

That is all part of that body of descriptive insights. our channel. I should also add that HP is a channel-driven The second body of insights is the predictive insights. And company. Our success relies heavily on the strength of our this is for partners who want future-looking information channel. Over the past year, we have estimated that partners about their customers’ purchasing probabilities — where have helped drive more than $6 billion in revenue growth for they are in those purchasing cycles — helping them to unHP. So, it goes without saying that we are highly interested in cover opportunities for growth as they look to the future with making sure that this program works for all of our partners. their customers.

It is also important to point out that it is a first-of-its-kind www.offi cetechnol ogymag.com | Nove mb e r 2022 | 23

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We also offer prescriptive insights, is very, very different. We are just trying which is really taking the data and sayto protect the investments that our partWe are just trying ing, “Let’s provide recommendations for ners are making in service-oriented exto protect the specific sales and marketing actions for periences for our customers. investments that our an individual partner to initiate upgrade partners are making conversations and cross-sell conversaDealer: How is HP combatting in service-oriented tions.” I think we have estimated that compatible toners in the open the platform has identified opportunities market versus its OEM toner? experiences for for upgrades and renewals of more than Beach: We are investing a lot in techour customers.

30 million PCs and 100 million printers nology to make that experience better across almost 900,000 to a million cusfor customers. Compatible toners do tomer offices. So, it is pretty meaningful in terms of the real present an inherent security risk, because they do have reimpact that partners are getting from the data. programmable microcontroller chips on them. This would Where we have work to do is getting consistent, accurate, be like finding a USB drive on a busy street and plugging quality data from partners so we can turn it into these busi- it into your laptop to see what is on the drive. We have Bug ness insights, because “garbage in, garbage out.” So, if partners Bounty research that proves that a non-HP cartridge can be want to take advantage of those insights, we really do need reprogrammed with malware and introduced to the printer that consistent and quality reporting from them. We are show- and gain access and control of the data going to and from ing partners great value with the insights we are returning. the device. From a technology perspective and a quality perOne last thing regarding the automation of the data col- spective, we are making huge investments to make sure that lection: Yes, we are absolutely making investments to au- our system is the most secure, is the most reliable and is the tomate the data collection so that we have direct flows of best print in the market. Customers will ultimately make a information between partners and HP. That is rolling out at choice, but those are tangible reasons that they should not different times over the course of the year to different parts choose a compatible. of the channel, but it will reach our partners and I do believe that is going to make this a much easier process.

Dealer: Why did HP discontinue PageWide?

Beach: It was a business decision. Business decisions like Dealer: Why does HP require managed devices that are never easy. It was necessary to evaluate that busito be sold on a service contract? ness in context of our other businesses, both print and nonBeach: A lot of partners do not understand this, but we print, to ensure that we are prioritizing and putting our rehave created and invested in what we call our managed sources in the best places possible to drive the most return portfolio. That managed portfolio is both hardware and sup- for our customers, for our partners and for HP. So, again, plies; it is a system. It is meant and designed 100% for this PageWide did not make the cut in that type of process. The channel and for managed environments; everything from technology is still a very valuable part of our toolkit, but as a the cost of the system to actual features and functionality business, we had to discontinue that to make sure that our on the devices, the management capabilities, the security, resources were going to the right places. the serviceability — all of those things have been designed HP’s strategy is to invest in innovation that serves the to make our partners who are invested in a managed space evolving needs of the office print market, drive the hybrid more competitive and more successful. So, given that we are work environment of the future and lead the industry as making investments in that unique part of our portfolio, one of the world’s most sustainable companies. With this in and we know our partners are making investments in busi- mind, HP has made the decision to focus our attention and ness models that deliver a service experience to customers, future investments on our LaserJet portfolio of A4 and A3 we want to protect that. So, we make that portfolio available hardware and to discontinue sales of PageWide A3 and A4 exclusively to partners who are selling as a service. Again, it office print portfolio products. is designed to not only function in a managed environment, HP is making this decision based on advances in the overbut is priced in a way that makes it easier for a partner to all performance, improved quality and reduced total cost of get it to a cost per page that makes sense to a customer. If ownership in our HP LaserJet portfolio. HP’s LaserJet portfocustomers do not want a service contract or partners do not lio delivers world-class security, seamless productivity and want to sell on a service contract, they can most certainly manageability while maintaining our commitment to susbuy and sell within our transactional product line, but that tainability. The portfolio is designed to support organizais open to the masses, so the competition and environment tions with distributed workforces that are seeking services 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 2 2

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and solutions to securely manage their digital transformation needs. When HP introduced PageWide technology in 2012, it was to address a need for a lower-costper-page, sustainable printer for small office environments. However, over the course of the last decade, HP innovations have driven significant improvement in LaserJet technology from a price, quality, size, service and energy consumption standpoint.

But what we do now ... is we provide market development funds so they can drive local lead generation campaigns and we can support them with funding.

Dealer: How is HP providing authorized dealers inbound lead traffic?

Beach: Over the years, we have done multiple different things to try and drive the best, most valuable lead programs for our partners. There are [several] reasons why those have not been successful in the past, to have kind of a macro-level lead generation program. But what we do now with our qualified Amplify partners is we provide market development funds so they can drive local lead generation

campaigns and we can support them with funding.

Dealer: What programs does HP have available for the majority of its HP authorized dealers to help them optimize their levels of success selling HP imaging devices?

Beach: Amplify is our global partner program. There are different levels and tiers that partners can participate in depending on their size, their breadth of product, their breadth of product line and what they are selling; their volume of sales. So, we have a number of different opportunities for them within the Amplify structure to participate with us, regardless of the size of business that they are doing with us. That gives them access to a variety of different benefits. 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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DEALERS HELPING DEALERS

Managing Stale DCAs How do dealers keep their devices reporting?

Compiled by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine

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ollowing is a question 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/DealersHelpingDealers.

You will need your BTA username and password.

Over time, due to network-related issues, DCAs [data collection agents] go stale. We currently have a lot of technician labor analyzing and repairing DCAs. We also have some upset customers because they have not received toner since their devices dropped off DCAs. Do you have a best practice you can recommend to keep customer devices reporting so they receive auto-toner and their meter counts are collected automatically?

“We sell the DCA as a backup system to human inspection.

We do monthly estimates and then use MICAS [Sharp’s service application for device management] as a backup. We manage the accounts that fall off monthly.”

Tony Sanchez, managing partner C3 Tech, Santa Ana, California “We recently moved over to MPS Monitor and early signs are showing fewer DCA issues. We will be in a better position to fully judge in three months.”

Derek Johannson, executive chairman Carlyle Printers Service & Supplies Ltd. Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada “Kyocera Fleet Services (KFS) is a useful product for meter collection if you are a Kyocera dealer. If not, we use FMAudit as well. We also use KFS for auto-toner replenishment, but have had issues sending too much toner out.”

Colin Bailey, general manager D.L. Gallivan Office Solutions, Portage, Michigan “I am in the process of coming up with best practices for this. We are using @Remote for all Ricoh devices and looking at Printanista for the rest, with Printanista being FMAudit, Print Audit and PrintFleet all rolled into one product by ECI.

“I have been made aware of a company that makes small devices that attach to the back of equipment with the DCA installed (www. alwaysreportingdata.com). We will likely roll these out to customers who will allow us to place them on their networks. If they will not allow it, we are considering charging a fee for meter collection and using a combination of our delivery driver and technicians to collect meter readings manually.”

Michael J. Kenny, president & CEO U.S. Copy Inc., Kenner, Louisiana “We receive all the meter counts each month set up through our system, but they have to call in for toners still. There is no automatic renewal of toners.”

Van Seretis, managing partner Premium Digital Office Solutions, Parsippany, New Jersey “Inkjet flat rate is one idea. The other is to stop taking the client off the hook of responsibility and quoting MPS all the time. Just have them order [from you] online and still do some reporting for them.”

Tim Stanley, founder/owner TDSiT, Lowell, Arkansas “We’re working on utilizing tools built into most machines to accomplish this more efficiently without relying on third-party tools.”

Joshua Warren, remote services manager Appalachia Business Communications of Kingsport Johnson City, Tennessee “We use a vendor-supplied DCA and get a report when a machine goes offline.”

Todd Deluca, president Boston Business Technology, Plymouth, Massachusetts Do you have a question for your fellow dealers? If so, email it to brent@bta.org with the subject line: “Dealers Helping Dealers.”

BTA will then share your question with the full dealer membership with a request for guidance from your fellow dealers. 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.

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 2 2

DHD Nov 22.indd 1

10/31/22 3:09 PM

COURTS & CAPITOLS

Employee Loyalty Protecting the investment in your team members by: Robert C. Goldberg, BTA General Counsel

W

hen dealers are not checking their receiving docks for long-delayed shipments, attention often turns to their employees. Courts, legislatures and the COVID-19 pandemic have drastically altered the employment relationship. The great resignation, career polygamy (i.e., overemployment) and quiet quitting have all entered the discussion. Remote work has proven to be doable in many situations and workers enjoy staying at home. Requiring employees to return to the office is often met with resistance and resignation.

Employee manuals often contain confidentiality, nonsolicitation and noncompete provisions. Further enforcing these requirements are specific noncompete agreements. Historically, a noncompete was evaluated based on the scope of the restriction and the amount of time it was imposed. Typically, restricting former employees from competing in the employer’s geographic area for two years or less was upheld. BTA provides templates for confidentiality, nonsolicitation and noncompete agreements.

Regular calls to the BTA Legal Hotline inquire about the enforceability of noncompete agreements. Noncompetes for employees have been legislatively banned in California for years and this concept has expanded to other states and cities. Going to court to enforce a noncompete is costly and does not guarantee victory. Dealers have been encouraged to reach out to a new employer, advise of the noncompete and reach an understanding of permitted activities. This often results in the former employee agreeing not to call on any of his (or her) former customers.

Today’s question is: “How does a dealer protect the investment made in his employees?” It remains advisable to address confidentiality, nonsolicitation and noncompetition in your employee manual. Noncompete agreements should be considered in jurisdictions where they have not been legislatively banned.

There is an additional protection that has been available for years but is often overlooked: an employee education expense note. Training employees is a costly endeavor. Time devoted to training must be compensated, there is a corresponding loss of revenue, and travel, lodging and meals are often required.

Dealers investing in employee training expect to — and should — receive a return on that investment.

An employee education expense note is a valuable tool implemented prior to training an individual. Initially, an education expense note should be presented to the person prior to his engagement in a training course. The mere presentation of the note can reveal a great deal. An employee who is reluctant

or refuses to sign the note indicates a lack of devotion to the organization. Perhaps he is engaged in a quiet quit?

The employee education expense note is a legal agreement whereby the individual receiving the training is advised of the cost of the program for the business. Costs include compensation, lost revenue, travel, lodging and meals. The note provides that the employee will pay for the training — not in dollars, but in continued employment.

For example, if the total cost of training is $4,800, the note could be paid off in 12 months of employment, reducing the amount $400 each month. If the employee does not remain employed for 12 months, he would be monetarily obligated to pay the remaining balance. The balance should only be sought if the individual leaves voluntarily or is terminated for cause.

If there is a reduction in the workforce due to economic conditions, the balance should be forgiven.

While an employee education expense note will not prohibit competition, it does ensure that a dealer will receive the value of the education and training provided. An employee education expense note does not preclude the use of confidentiality, nonsolicitation and noncompete agreements and, as such, they should be considered as well.

Documents do not create a positive work environment. A strong culture, team cooperation and mentoring will. Concentrate on those and the documents become less important. n Robert C. Goldberg is general counsel for the Business Technology Association.

He can be reached at robert.goldberg@sfbbg.com. www.offi cetechnol ogymag.com | Nove mb e r 2022 | 27

Goldberg Nov 22.indd 1

10/31/22 2:10 PM

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

Dealer Member Major Business Machines, Greenville, SC

For full contact information of this new member, visit www.bta.org.

Talent Assessment Service Precision Hiring & Development is a talent assessment service for sales, service, management and administrative staff members to help office technology dealers take the guesswork, cost and pain out of employee selection and retention.

The key to successful talent acquisition and retention is discovering each individual’s unique combination of attitudes, values, behaviors and motivators, and using that information to help them achieve their goals.

Whether you are interviewing new applicants, coaching and counseling existing employees, or building successful teams, let Precision Hiring & Development help you with a complimentary Talent Insights Assessment. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

BTA members receive a 15% discount and a 100% money-back guarantee.

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

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.

White Cup’s industry experience empowers office technology dealers to gain easier access to intelligent information that helps drive growth, increase profitability, differentiate their businesses and engage their employees. The company’s CRM and business intelligence (BI) software make managing the quoting, ordering and sales process easier for office technology businesses. White Cup’s software captures data across critical business systems, reveals industry-specific analysis and provides the tools needed to take action for revenue improvement. https://whitecupsolutions.com Copier Careers is the office technology industry’s most experienced recruiting partner. Founded in 1985, it helps its clients grow and evolve their businesses through proactive, strategic recruiting. Copier Careers’ Adaptive Retainer Recruiting model allows the company to present its clients with qualified candidates on an ongoing basis, enabling them to make strategic and opportunistic hires that support their long-term business goals. Copier Careers currently works with more than 400 office technology employers and more than 60% of those businesses have been clients for more than 13 years. www.copiercareers.com A full list of BTA vendor members can be found online at www.bta.org.

For more information, visit www.bta.org.

28 | 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 2 2

Highlights Nov 22.indd 1

10/31/22 10:15 AM

PRINCIPAL ISSUES

Sharp’s Opportunity OEM hosts 2022 Dealer Roadshow Series by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine

S

harp Imaging and Information Company of America will soon wrap up its October and November dealer meetings, with “Opportunity” as the theme, as part of its Sharp 2022 Dealer Roadshow Series. The schedule includes meetings held in: Atlanta, Georgia; Chicago, Illinois; Houston, Texas; Anaheim, California; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The attendees include dealership principals, John Sheehan sales personnel and service managers.

The meetings’ agenda includes presentations by Sharp executives, dealer panels and presentations by Dynabook, a subsidiary of Sharp, and Sharp NEC Display Solutions, a Sharp and NEC joint venture. Through the two companies, Sharp makes laptops and displays available for resale through its dealers.

The agenda also includes several breakouts, such as “MFP Hands-On Training” Mike Marusic and “Service Roundtable Discussion.”

John Sheehan, Sharp’s senior vice president of channel sales, opened the Chicago meeting, attended by Office Technology magazine, by recalling the successes of 2019. “We finished our roadshows, we finished our dealer meeting, we had a nice dealer trip,” he said. “Then the pandemic hit and everything changed. But I have a good story to tell. We changed as a company.”

Once Sharp made sure its employees were doing well, “we went to our dealers,” Sheehan said. “We said, ‘If our dealers can’t move forward, if our dealers are going to struggle, can’t survive or can’t pay their people, how are we going to handle that?’ That really changed the culture of our company.”

Sharp “put every effort into making sure that you had everything you needed to get through the pandemic,” Sheehan told the dealer attendees. “You saw webinars, the Summer of Sharp, trainings, and [Sharp] paying people for taking trainings and for getting on the phone talking to us — talking about opportunities. So, it really changed Sharp as a company.

Hopefully, you saw the effort we made for the dealer community. Fast forward to now ... You’re going to see everything that has paid off over that time to where we are in a good position.”

In his presentation, Mike Marusic, Sharp’s president and CEO, quickly emphasized that Sharp is in a good position — not only with its dealers, but as a company. “We have had a great two or three years; Sharp has done well as a corporation,” he said. “Our document business has done great and I’ve also seen the interest in Sharp Corp. in the overall ‘business of the office.’”

Marusic provided an overview of Sharp’s strengths and successes, noting, in part, that the company “is already a diversified company.” That reality helped Sharp endure the challenges of the pandemic, he said. “We were so diversified that segments of our business that struggled a little bit — like the office [technology business] — were subsidized by groups that were doing really well. We had other groups that took off, like home appliances; a lot of consumer electronics did very well ... we actually maintained very good profit, [although] we did have a bottom-line profit dip at the end of fiscal year 2019.”

Marusic also explained to attendees how Sharp was able to assist dealers during the worst of the supply-chain crisis, pointing in particular to chip availability. In December 2020, “I told our direct branches that they were not allowed to sell any fax boards; they were not allowed to sign off on any quotes that had a fax board,” he said, noting that Sharp foresaw the looming chip shortage, including the chips used in the fax boards (instead, the boards were made available to dealers).

“I said, ‘We’ve got to redesign our boards.’ That took a couple of months. ‘If I don’t have my branches sell [the fax boards] for four or five months ... the dealers will never know.’ You never knew we didn’t have fax boards. We didn’t make fax boards for four months, but you never knew.”

In addition, Marusic took the opportunity to encourage attendees to take a closer look at selling Dynabook laptops and NEC displays. “As print buy-in slowly declines, you’re getting more and more revenue out of your customer with other technologies; that is really the opportunity I want you to walk away with,” he said, then referencing the two foam puzzle pieces each attendee received from Sharp at the meeting, with the word “Opportunity” printed on one and “Sharp” printed on the other. “You can’t finish a puzzle until you have all of the pieces ... the [MFP] hardware, laptops, printers and collaboration displays.” 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. www.offi cetechnol ogymag.com | Nove mb e r 2022 | 29

Sharp Roadshow Nov 22.indd 1

10/31/22 9:58 AM

ADVERTISER INDEX 31 • BPO Media

5 • Epson America Inc.

2 • Miracle Service

www.workflowotg.com / www.theimagingchannel.com

www.epson.com/businessinkjet

(866) 463-9368 / www.miracleservice.com

9 • DLL Financial Solutions

3 • Hytec

30 • Spring Break

(610) 386-5629 / www.dllgroup.com

www.hytecrepair.com

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

14 • DocuWare

19 • Intermedia

21 • TonerCycle/InkCycle

(845) 999-6743 / www.docuware.com/partner

(800) 300-1310 / www.intermedia.com/resellers

www.inkcycle.com

13 • ecoprintQ

25 • In Time Tec

7 • Toshiba

(800) 236-8499 / www.ecoprintQ.com

www.CartosMPS.com/bta

https://business.toshiba.com

31 • ENX Magazine

11 • Konica Minolta

32 • US Bank

(818) 505-0022 / www.enxmag.com

www.rethinkwork.com

www.usbank.com

30 | ­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 2 2

SE Spring 23 ad - Ad Index Nov 22.indd 1

10/31/22 9:59 AM

G

2022 I

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A eW e e k In I M

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www.enxmag.com

in the December issue of

ENX Magazine www.offi cetechnol ogymag.com | Nove mb e r 2022 | 31

BPO - ENX ads Nov 22.indd 1

10/10/22 10:57 AM

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US Bank ad Nov 22.indd 1

10/24/22 12:42 PM