October 2017 Office Technology

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CONTENTS Volume 24 • No. 4

FEATURE ARTICLES 10

Workflow Solutions Are you leveraging the MFP’s full potential?

P R I N C I PA L I S S U E S Recruit & Repeat Finding qualified candidates always on the to-do list

25

by Paul Schwartz & Jessica Crowley Copier Careers

by Brent Hoskins Office Technology Magazine

As recruiters, we often hear what might seem to be an easy question: “How quickly can you find someone to fill this position?” Unfortunately, it does not have an easy answer.

We can put together a list of qualified candidates in five minutes, but that is when the real work begins.

Workflow. The word has been a part of the office technology industry’s vernacular for a number of years. Are your reps focused on the business processes of their customers’ operations or simply on placing imaging devices and chasing lease expirations?

16

Grand Slam BTA East hosts event in Philadelphia

by Brent Hoskins Office Technology Magazine

SELLING SOLUTIONS Consultative Selling Learn how to avoid ‘feature preaching’

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BTA East hosted its annual Grand Slam event Sept. 13-14 at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The event featured a keynote address presented

by Navy SEAL combat veteran and motivational leadership speaker Brent Gleeson.

18

Marketing Dissemination You should not expect results with minimal effort

by Tim Votapka PPMC Inc.

by Gil Cargill Cargill Consulting Group

Hundreds of organizations in our industry brag about their consultative approaches to selling. But once you get past that facade of a label, you recognize that there is very little consulting going on. The vast majority of sales calls display non-consultative stimulus response selling.

Is Live Networking Dying?

Do not rely solely on online connections

29

Marketing is a process that requires sustainability. One does not succeed in building brand equity, mind share and market share by tossing one piece of promotion or one advertisement “into the water” and somehow hauling in an abundance of leads and orders.

by Troy Harrison Troy Harrison & Associates

A quality network that is built on face-to-face encounters can be monetized much more easily than an online network. Emphasize live networking and use online social media as an adjunct and a tool for achieving your goals, not as an end in and of itself.

COURTS & CAPITOLS 22

Proper Background Checks Ensure your dealership’s compliance with the FCRA

by Robert C. Goldberg BTA General Counsel

A recent flood of litigation indicates that employers are not well-educated about their obligations under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). This law requires employers to follow specific notice and disclosure procedures when obtaining and using consumer reports.

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

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• BTA Education Calendar • 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

Are You Embracing Workflow Solutions?

A

s I was writing the cover story for this issue, I found myself wondering: What percentage of BTA Channel dealers are, in fact, embracing workflow solutions? Whatever the percentage, it seems to me that any dealer looking to increase customer retention should take a closer look at these opportunities. After all, simply chasing leases is a quick path to price selling, which invariably comes at the expense of someone other than the customer.

Then there are the trends related to documents in the workplace. You know the story. Due to changing business dynamics, the rise of mobility and, to some extent, the arrival of millennials into corporate America, more documents are spending their lives in digital form. In certain environments in our digital world, the print and scan functionality of the MFP essentially saved the “office copier.”

MFP manufacturers are well aware of the implications of this latest stage in the evolution of the office technology industry and have reacted accordingly. They are still in the MFP business, but now spend a great deal of time marketing apps, touting new platforms and building relationships with other vendors (or acquiring them), all with an eye on the diversification of products and services, as well as leveraging the MFP’s full potential.

What are the characteristics of the dealership that is best suited to achieve an optimal level of success with workflow solutions? I asked this question of the individuals interviewed for the cover story, but space did not allow me to include their responses. So, I am sharing in this space a telling excerpt of the response I received

from Eric Richardson, senior director of client and business solution consultants at KYOCERA Document Solutions America.

“The dealership that is successful with workflow solutions definitely has a forward-thinking sales staff with reps not just looking at a 30-day sales cycle,” Eric says.

“They are looking for quality versus quantity, and they have some sort of presales support staff.”

Eric says the successful dealership has an individual or team fully capable of closing the workflow solutions sale. “I’ve been included in sales calls more often than not when the sales rep says something like, ‘Hey Joe, you’re about six months away from the end of your lease; I wanted to find out how everything is going,’” he explains. “You can see Joe squirm in his chair and say something like, ‘Oh, everything is fine.’”

That’s when Eric says he chimes into the conversation. “I’ll ask Joe, ‘What is your role and responsibility in the company? Do you have anything right now that is taking too much of your time away from your core goal or business that is putting stress on you?’” he says. “Soon, Joe is talking about things like cloud integration or cloud conversion.

He is talking about subjects the sales rep would not breach. So, I think the dealership moving into this space has to have that expertise — a subject-matter expert (SME) or just someone who really understands how to uncover pain within a business process.”

That’s pretty straightforward. Finding success with workflow solutions begins with having someone on staff who can address business processes, rather than relying on sales reps who may not have that expertise. I encourage you to read the cover story, which begins on page 10. Then ask yourself: “Is it time for me to take a closer look at workflow solutions?” 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 Gil Cargill, Cargill Consulting Group www.gilcargill.com Jessica Crowley, Copier Careers www.copiercareers.com Robert C. Goldberg, General Counsel Business Technology Association Troy Harrison, Troy Harrison & Associates www.troyharrison.com Paul Schwartz, Copier Careers www.copiercareers.com Tim Votapka, Prosperity Plus Management Consulting Inc. www.prosperityplus.com

Business Technology Association 12411 Wornall Road Kansas City, MO 64145 (816) 941-3100 www.bta.org Member Services: (800) 505-2821 BTA Legal Hotline: (800) 869-6688 Valerie Briseno Marketing Director valerie@bta.org Teresa Leerar Bookkeeper teresa@bta.org Brian Smith Membership Sales Representative brian@bta.org Photo Credits: Bigstockphoto. Cover created by Bruce Quade, Brand X Studio. ©2017 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

Building My Business Webinars Scheduled

S

ince 2008, the Business Technology Association (BTA) has offered free monthly webinars for its members through the Building My Business webinar series.

These webinars are designed to help dealers improve the management of their companies, take full advantage of market opportunities and, ultimately, improve their bottom lines. Several upcoming webinars have been posted to the BTA website recently, so I encourage you to take a look at the topics and register for any that may be of interest to you and your dealership. I can guarantee you will log off with new ideas and strategies that can help your business.

At 4 p.m. Eastern on Thursday, Nov. 16, Sally Brause of GreatAmerica Financial Services Corp. and BTA General Counsel Bob Goldberg will present “‘My Friend’ Has This HR/Employment Issue ... ” Prior to this webinar, you will have the opportunity to submit your HR and employment questions for Sally and Bob to answer. Whether your questions are related to hiring, interviewing, compensation matters, non-competes, reference checks or disciplinary measures, Sally and Bob will share best practices to guide you in the right direction.

The December webinar, “Service Profitability: Where Does it Begin?,” will be held at 4 p.m. Eastern on Thursday, Dec. 14. While marketplace pressure may have an effect on service pricing, the service department must be heavily engaged in cost containment to ensure profitability. In actuality and aside from the revenue aspect, profits begin at the machine level and are ultimately controlled by the technician’s ability to properly diagnose issues and resolve them on the first service call, while also performing any

necessary maintenance at the time. In this webinar, Jack Duncan of Jack Duncan Consulting will share his insight and advice with dealers seeking to increase their service profitability.

At 4 p.m. Eastern on Thursday, Jan. 25, Randy Dazo of Keypoint Intelligence-InfoTrends will present “The Great Industry Reboot.” Over the last few years, we have seen almost every manufacturer in our industry go through some significant shifts and transformations. Keypoint Intelligence has embarked on a study that will look at each manufacturer’s new strategies and will be talking to senior management in these organizations to understand how their new strategies will impact the market. Additionally, Keypoint Intelligence will be conducting a survey to see how and if these new strategies will impact channel businesses or their decisions to partner or part with suppliers in the future. This webinar will review the results from this research, which will be released in the study later this year.

BTA’s February Building My Business webinar will be presented at 4 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday, Feb. 7. “The Five Keys to a Sales Force Turnaround,” will be led by Troy Harrison of Troy Harrison & Associates. In this webinar, Troy will draw on his 25-plus years of success in executing sales turnarounds to distill what could be a complicated process down to a simple, five-step program. Topics covered will include: assessing your current sales team; finding the customers to build your business around; finding the right salespeople; what you need to know to train your salespeople; and the right leadership you need for success.

Visit www.bta.org/BMB to learn more and register for these webinars. Again, I guarantee you will come away with plenty of ideas and strategies to improve your business. n — Dan Castaneda

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

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Workflow Solutions Are you leveraging the MFP’s full potential? by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine

W

orkflow. The word has been a part of the office technology industry’s vernacular for a number of years. It is a common topic of dialog among MFP manufacturers and many dealers. How about for your sales reps? Is it a word they use in the field regularly, occasionally or, perhaps, never? That is, are your reps focused on the business processes of their customers’ operations or simply on placing imaging devices and chasing lease expirations?

Manufacturers contend that embracing opportunities that relate to implementing document workflow solutions is a key strategy in fully leveraging the MFP’s potential.

For dealers, it appears the strategy leads to trusted advisor status, keeping competitors at bay and handily securing more customers from one lease to the next. Again, is this the strategy that is being pursued by your sales reps on a regular basis?

The scope of what falls within the category of workflow solutions is somewhat broad. That is, many manufacturers’ offerings are promoted as being workflow solutions. Yet, other offerings with essentially the same or similar capabilities are not necessarily specifically labeled in this way. Perhaps a definition of “workflow” and a look at a few workflow solutions is in order.

“Workflow is really a company’s business processes; it’s how they get from point A to point B,” says Eric Richardson, senior director of client and business solution consultants at KYOCERA Document Solutions America. “Where do we come in? Our hardware is the on-ramp or the capture device that is set up in these workflows. However, more importantly, we offer software that deals with ways to help streamline customers’ workflows — their business processes.”

With Kyocera workflow solutions in hand, a dealership can assess customers’ business workflows with a focus on eliminating redundancies and laborious processes “to see how the dealership can automate those processes and

use our technology to better serve them,” Richardson says. “The dealership can look at a particular customer’s business processes, whether for a department, division or the entire company. Ultimately, the dealership can move the customer over to our software to help automate their processes.”

Focusing on the capabilities of its products and workflow solutions, Mike Betsko, director of solutions sales and marketing at Canon U.S.A. Inc., offers a similar perspective. “Our products and workflow solutions help secure and automate how organizations capture, transmit, receive, maintain, collaborate and analyze business-critical information,” he says. “That’s the starting point. From there, you can hone in on specific customer requirements to provide cost savings, improve productivity and so forth.”

Betsko cites Canon’s uniFLOW platform, a scanning, capture and print management solution, as an example of one of the company’s offerings that is meeting those specific customer requirements. He notes that with many other workflow solution offerings, the dealer has to essentially “bolt” multiple products together from different manufacturers to complete an entire business process. “We take a different approach,” he says. “We focus on building strong, strategic partnerships and combine those efforts with the benefits that our own comprehensive solutions, like the uniFLOW platform, can offer to bring the best mix of solutions to our dealer network.”

In terms of Kyocera’s workflow solutions, Richardson points to the company’s homegrown scanning, capture and distribution solutions — PinPoint Scan and DMConnect Pro. “We also have different cloud connectors that integrate with either backend ECMs or cloud-based electronic document management systems,” he says. “For example, we offer connectors to Hyland Software’s portfolio, from its cloud-based subscription document application, AirBase, all the way up to its full-blown enterprise information platform, OnBase.”

Kyocera “wants to give our dealer community and our

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clients the ability to grow with ConnectKey platform their existing investments in has already been in“The dealers who intend our capture solutions,” Richardtegrated with leading to be long-term industry son says. “We also want to start workflow automation players are taking some talking to big corporations on tools and solutions, such meaningful steps toward how they can move into the disas direct connectors diversifying their offerings tributed capture environment, into Epic/OnBase for the with adding layered where, if they already have our health-care vertical.”

MFPs — or even if they have Given such initiasolutions or professional another OEM’s MFPs — we can tives from Canon, Kyocservices into their portfolios.” talk to them about the capabiliera and Xerox — and, of

— Mike Betsko ties of what these machines can course, other MFP manCanon U.S.A. Inc. do, and how to leverage those ufacturers — to what deinvestments to capture data, gree are dealers embractransmit data and get it to where it needs it to be, retrieving ing workflow solutions and the opportunities they provide? it when it’s required.”

“It’s always been a challenge,” Richardson says. “I think if you At Xerox Corp., the workflow message is focused, in part, talk to any of our competitors, they would say that the dealer on the bridge from managed print services (MPS) to managed community is having varying degrees of success. The dealcontent services (MCS). “Xerox has an MPS approach that is ers who are positioning themselves well are buying into this modeled to teach, support and enable our partners to drive a but, more importantly, they are making the investment into robust MPS program — one clearly designed to optimize the a workflow specialist, a solutions specialist or somebody they management of documents,” says Jim Joyce, vice president can rely upon.” of MPS in the U.S. Channels Unit at Xerox. “Yet, it is built to Betsko offers a similar perspective, likewise praising embrace the document-to-digital transformation. Our MPS dealers who are embracing workflow solutions opportunistrategy bridges to MCS or workflow automation. We do this ties. “While some have been more successful than others, I using custom-designed user, document and process analyt- think that our channel, overall, has been extremely successics tools that identify document-based processes that are ful helping customers using workflow solutions,” he says. cumbersome, costly and not as secure as they should or can “It’s been exciting, watching some of these dealers start be — processes that can be digitized for improvement.” small in this business with, perhaps, a service technician in Using the analytics tools, “we can actually watch and see a hybrid role in the beginning. Then, fast-forward to today where documents are flowing and how they are being used,” and they have their own pretty large infrastructures of sales Joyce says. “As an example, we can see: how many documents consultants and implementation engineers. There is a fair are created just for storage purposes; how many documents amount of those. I won’t say a large amount of those, but, in are created for signature purposes; and how many documents general, I think our channel does very well.” are created for a certain purpose, such as patient discharge.

If your dealership is among those that have not yet emWhen you can apply that analytic, it allows you to consult fur- braced — or fully embraced — your manufacturer’s workther with that client. ‘As your MPS provider, we are proud that flow solutions offerings, you may want to take a second look. the project is delivering the value — cost savings, an improved Manufacturers agree that it is imperative for a dealership to operating environment, increased security, etc. Now let’s lever- do so. “The dealers who intend to be long-term industry playage analytics and the platform to automate several of the more ers are taking some meaningful steps toward diversifying manual and document-centric processes for greater value.” their offerings with adding layered solutions or professional In addition, Joyce says, the Xerox workflow message in- services into their portfolios,” Betsko says. “The workflow volves the company’s ConnectKey platform. “Our new prod- solutions, added to hardware, clearly help separate these ucts — all built on the ConnectKey platform — are built spe- dealers from their competition and secure their places as cifically to work in a workflow/MCS environment,” he says. trusted advisors with their customers. Without solutions to “The interfaces are the same, the platforms are the same; so, support the hardware, we really feel that dealers are putting users and developers have a common platform to manage themselves and their customers at a true disadvantage.” both documents and digital interface options. In addition, Noting that workflow solutions are a part of the total they integrate with any mobile device, therefore extending document solutions approach that was adopted by Kyocera the digital workflow procedures beyond the device in order to approximately five years ago, Richardson says some dealers enable the virtual or mobile worker. In certain verticals, the remain comfortable with the status quo. “They have a decent 12 | ­w w w. o f f ic et ec hno lo g y m a g.c om | Oc t ob e r 2 0 1 7

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the end of their contracts,” base, they are getting good he says. “This is counterrevenue and their margins “The use of analytics, intuitive to us, as we have are OK on the service side, leading to managed generally experienced MPS so they don’t really want to content and workflow client retention rates in the rock the boat,” he says. “Unsolutions, equals positive 90-percent-plus range over fortunately, what we end up outcomes for the client, more the past 18 years. We believe talking to them about is how strategic relevance and value this is indicative of many many accounts they have from the partner, greater MPS offers in the dealer lost when an MFP comes up channel being simply coston lease. ‘You just assumed retention and less competitive pressure.“ per-copy models. The use of you were the incumbent. You

— Jim Joyce analytics, leading to manjust assumed you’re going Xerox Corp. aged content and workflow to get the replacements but, solutions, equals positive yet, a competitor has come in there and started offering this total document solution ap- outcomes for the client, more strategic relevance and value from the partner, greater proach. All of a sudden, you now look like a one-trick pony.’”

By providing workflow solutions, the dealership is en- retention and less competitive pressure.” n Brent Hoskins, executive director of the suring strategic relevance to its customers, resulting in inBusiness Technology Association, is editor creased retention, Joyce says. “As an example, some industry of Office Technology magazine. He can be data today shows that more than 75 percent of the existing reached at brent@bta.org or (816) 303-4040.

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Grand Slam BTA East hosts event in Philadelphia by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine

B

TA East hosted its annual Grand Slam event Sept.

13-14 at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The event featured a keynote address, “Taking Point: Principles for Building a High-Performance Culture,” presented by Navy SEAL combat veteran and motivational leadership speaker Brent Gleeson.

The event also included six educational sessions presented by industry leaders: “Seat-Based Billing vs. DeviceBased Billing,” West McDonald, Print Audit; “Sales Management: Leadership & Skills Necessary for Maximum Impact,” Kim Ward, Learning Outsource Group; “Cybersecurity — Protecting Yourself & Your Business,” Sejal Lakhani, TechWerxe; “Going After the Big Fish,” Kate Kingston, Kingston Training Group; “Is Your Marketing Program Taking You to the Danger Zone?,” Aaron Dyck and Matthew McGuire, Clover Imaging Group; and “Industry Update,” Bob Goldberg, BTA. Networking opportunities included a welcoming reception and a Miami Marlins versus Philadelphia Phillies baseball game at Citizens Bank Park.

The exhibiting sponsors: ACDI, BEI Services, Brother, Carolina Wholesale, Clover Imaging Group, Continuum, DCS, ECi Software Solutions, eesyQ, Epson, ESP AMETEK, EverBank, GreatAmerica, Gwentaa (breaks sponsor), HP (keynote sponsor), Image Star, Imaging Solutions Direct, ITC Supplies, Katun, Keypoint Intelligence, Lexmark, LMI, Marlin, Mars International, Midwest Copier Exchange, Muratec, NA Trading and Technology, OKI, Panasonic Scanners, PHSI, Polek & Polek (baseball game sponsor), Prism Software, ProcureIT, Static Control (lunch sponsor), Supplies Network (reception sponsor), SYNNEX, Tigerpaw, TonerCycle/InkCycle, Toshiba, Wells Fargo, Wellsys and Xerox (breakfast sponsor).

For more information on BTA events, visit www.bta. org/BTAEvents. n Brent Hoskins, executive director of the Business Technology Association, is editor of Office Technology magazine.

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

Top photos, left to right: Gleeson presents the keynote address; 2017-18 BTA East President Don Risser of Advanced Laser Printer Service & Supplies Inc., Emigsville, Pennsylvania, served as the event’s emcee. Middle photo: The Grand Slam event featured a keynote address, six educational sessions and a Miami Marlins versus Philadelphia Phillies baseball game. Bottom photo (left to right): Jason Blohm of Tigerpaw visits with Michael C. Sullivan and Michael Sullivan Jr. of Standard Office Systems, West Collingswood, New Jersey, and Doug Jones of Docutrend Imaging Solutions, Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, during a break between sessions.

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Being Cyber Aware E

The Grand Slam event included six educational sessions led by seven industry experts: (clockwise from top left) McDonald; Ward; Kingston; McGuire; Goldberg; Dyck; and Lakhani.

Above: Kirby George (left) and John McCoubrie (center) of HP visit with John Kerling of United Business Systems, Buffalo, New York, during a break. Right: Attendees take advantage of a break between educational sessions to network and learn more about the exhibiting sponsors’ offerings.

mphasizing that the issue is in the news every day (citing such victims as Equifax and Target), in her educational session, “Cybersecurity — Protecting Yourself & Your Business,” Sejal Lakhani addressed the scope of the growing threat, while also recommending steps that Grand Slam attendees should take to minimize the risk of being cyberattack victims. Lakhani is CEO of TechWerxe, a Livingston, New Jersey-based IT management and support company.

Each year, Lakhani said, there are approximately 556 million reports of cyberattacks globally. “That’s reported attacks,” she said. “A lot of companies don’t report attacks because of reputational harm. About $103 billion is stolen.”

Attackers can strike from anywhere in the world, Lakhani said, noting that just like software-as-a-service, there is now cybercrime-as-a-service. “This is a job; they make a lot of money,” she said. “It is easier to be a cyberhacker than selling drugs; they can do it from their own apartments or homes.”

Today’s “crime ecosystem” allows hackers to not just focus on large targets, but smaller targets as well, so “they can go after hundreds of thousands of people, as opposed to one,” Lakhani said. “It’s easier to go after the smaller target. Smaller companies don’t have backup and disaster recovery plans, they don’t have security in place and they don’t think it’s going to happen to them.”

One in five businesses are going to be breached; 81 percent of them small businesses, Lakhani said. “Ninety-seven percent of the breaches could have been prevented,” she said, noting that 60 percent of SMBs fail within six months of being hacked. “The cost of an average attack [on SMBs] has gone up between 2013 [$8,699] and 2016 [$36,000].”

Thirty-three percent of SMBs need three-plus days to recover from an attack, Lakhani continued. “So, we’re not just talking about the money lost in the ransom and whatnot. We’re talking about your business being down,” she said. “What is the cost of that? You don’t stop paying salary, you don’t stop paying rent, your clients really don’t care. They need you to get them what they need you to get them, and then there’s reputational honor.”

Lakhani says many may ask: “So, why won’t the government protect me?” It’s similar to leaving a car unlocked with the keys in the ignition, she said. “If someone steals your car, it’s kind of your fault,” she said. “The government says the same thing. ‘Put locks on your doors. Put these processes in place that allow your business and your data to be secure.’”

What should a small business do if it is hacked? “If something happens, disconnect your workstation,” Lakhani said. “Seek professional help from an IT company. Contact the police; report it. Contact your insurance company. You should all have cyber insurance, so that you are covered and your clients are covered.

Don’t Google the fix. It’s not ‘Googleable.’ You need somebody who knows how to actually do this.”

Lakhani offered several tips to attendees to help them minimize the risk of a cyberattack, including: back up all critical data daily; do not share passwords (even with IT personnel; type it in yourself); change passwords every 60 days; use common-sense security, such as not using public wireless hot spots; make sure all laptops and mobile phones have the ability to be wiped and disabled in case they are lost; do not use the “Home” version of Microsoft Windows on company workstations; encrypt hard drives; and establish company-wide data policies. n — Brent Hoskins www.offi cetechnol ogymag.com | Oc tob e r 2017 | 17

BTA East Oct 17.indd 2

9/29/17 3:13 PM

Marketing Dissemination You should not expect results with minimal effort by: Tim Votapka, Prosperity Plus Management Consulting Inc.

M

y son has a knack for pulling things in without exerting a great deal of effort. For example, during a little summer R&R visit to our lakefront cottage, he decided to “go fishing.” Now, in this scenario there were no lure boxes, nets or worms. There was no intention of venturing out by boat toward deeper waters where schools of fish have been known to lurk. No, in this instance, we were breaking protocol entirely and looking to land a trophy with nothing more than a dead minnow on a hook and bobber at the end of our dock in just two feet of water.

He did not even hang around and tease the line to make the bait more appealing. Dinner was about to be served on the porch and it was pasta night. Sure enough, just 15 minutes into our meal, the boy looked out the window and saw the red and white bobber heading full speed away from the end of our dock. We dropped our forks and scampered down to the end of the dock where he grabbed his pole and began to reel away.

I headed into the water with net in hand, ready to snare whatever little thing he managed to hook. After a minute of struggle and swirl, his prize emerged — a nice smallmouth bass, roughly 10 inches long and perhaps 2.5 pounds. In our haste, we neglected to bring any cameras with us, but the image and testimony are true. He had done what no one else in our family had ever accomplished — and it was all over before our dinner had gotten cold.

I share this story because it exemplifies a mindset I have often encountered among businesspeople when they look at marketing and promotion — and it is not a logical, workable viewpoint. Marketing (and its components, such as branding, positioning, promotion, advertising and publicity) is a process that requires sustainability. One does not succeed in building brand equity, mind share and market share by simply tossing one piece of promotion or one advertisement “into the water” and somehow hauling in an abundance of leads and orders. Similarly, one cannot bungle up the definition of marketing with direct selling, which is another reason businesses fail to hit their targets.

“What are you doing to market your business?”

“Oh, we have our guys out there selling and we have good word of mouth.”

Dialogue like this is a great indication that marketing is not being applied and it is probably one of the main reasons why a business is not expanding. Perhaps the key term here should be “dissemination” — a word you do not often hear among advertising agencies, marketing services boutiques and the like. By definition, dissemination has to do with making something broadly known through things like promotional materials, letters, film or other media or activities, including word of mouth. So, when you look at successful companies that you compete against, buy from or merely admire, do you seriously think they have risen to their ranks by keeping their dissemination to a minimum? Heck no.

They have taken the time to work out promotions that will attract, generate interest and then establish a message, and they will execute this with regularity along the communication lines that make the most sense. Of course, they budget, plan and evaluate. No one I know has a bottomless reserve account. So, dissemination must be done with some fiduciary responsibility; no doubt, no argument.

The key is to do what you know you can afford to do over

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Votapka Oct 17.indd 1

9/28/17 9:21 AM

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gaining any new market share in your time. Be prepared for a bit of a runway Be prepared for a area or you are facing a tougher competion ROI because good, effective markettive game, consider this an opportunity ing is all about communication and bit of a runway on to rethink your dissemination practices. viewpoints. Unless you have acquired ROI because How many casts have you made from the every competitor in your area, or you good, effective boat or the beach before getting a strike? are the only one in southern Arizona marketing is all Have you even been dropping baited line with a bottled spring water franchise, about communication in the water? If you have the kind of luck customers have alternatives with which my son does, then you are doing well. they may be very comfortable and have and viewpoints.

Let me point out that my son caught no compelling reason to make a change. just one fish on this occasion. With all This is what promotion and dissemination address. The creative is embedded and it only works the effort you put into your business, do you want just one if you have the resources to assume the point of view of your lead or one customer? Probably not. So, get the lines out prospects at the drop of a hat, and conceive promotions that there. If you are not sure what to use or where to fish, get a attract, generate interest and get the message across. It goes good guide. He is worth every penny. n Tim Votapka is vice president and director in that order, but the vast majority of businesses try to run of marketing services for Prosperity Plus it in the opposite sequence and flounder. Ever hear a sales Management Consulting Inc. rep open his (or her) call with a pitch about what he is sellHe can be reached at (631) 382-7762 ing before asking a single question about the business he is or tvotapka@prosperityplus.com. calling on? That is a good example.

Visit www.prosperityplus.com.

So, if you have been wondering why you have not been

20 | ­w w w. o f f ic et ec hno lo g y m a g.c om | Oc t ob e r 2 0 1 7

Votapka Oct 17.indd 2

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Business Solutions Dealer

5/22/17 8:55 AM

COURTS & CAPITOLS

Proper Background Checks Ensure your dealership’s compliance with the FCRA by: Robert C. Goldberg, general counsel for the Business Technology Association

T

he web has placed an incredible amount of information at the fingertips of everyone with a computer or smart device. This information is often used to learn about potential employees. In my opinion, it is always best to use a third party to investigate any potential employee, as these agencies are typically familiar with the strict legal requirements. A recent flood of litigation indicates that employers are not well-educated about their obligations under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

This law requires employers to follow specific notice and disclosure procedures when obtaining and using consumer reports (such as background checks) from third-party consumer reporting agencies.

The FCRA reaches well beyond mere credit reports from credit reporting agencies, as most might initially understand the statute’s terms. Instead, a consumer report may include information related to an employee’s or applicant’s criminal background checks, drug tests, driving records, employment history, credit checks, educational history, and general reputation or character.

Although an employer’s obligations under the FCRA are only triggered when it requests such a report from a “consumer reporting agency,” that term is broader than one might think.

Under the FCRA, not only are the traditional credit score companies included, but also any person or company that regularly engages in the practice of assembling or evaluating consumer information — including information about employees or applicants — for the purpose of furnishing consumer reports to third parties, including employers. Because of these broad definitions, the FCRA covers many of the reports employers routinely rely on to make employment decisions. When utilizing a third party, a dealer should include in the engagement agreement that the agency shall be responsible for all legal requirements in obtaining the information sought.

To avoid costly litigation and damages that can range from $100 to $1,000 per violation, a dealer should keep three things in mind when using these reports. The FCRA requires employers who use covered reports to give applicants and employees

specific disclosures and notices before, during and after requesting or using a covered report. Before requesting a consumer report, you must give the applicant or employee a clear and conspicuous notice of your intent to do so. Crucially, the notice must be a standalone document without any other notices or unrelated information.

The applicant or employee should acknowledge receiving this initial notice by signing and returning the original standalone document.

Next, if you plan to take adverse action based on the information in a consumer report — like turning down an applicant or terminating an employee — you will need to provide a notice to the individual before finalizing your decision. The notice must be in writing, and it must include a copy of the consumer report and a description of the individual’s rights under the FCRA. This requirement is meant to give individuals a reasonable period (generally at least five business days) to contest the accuracy or legitimacy of the report’s contents.

Assuming you decide to go ahead with your decision, you will need to provide the applicant or employee a final notice of the adverse action. This notice should advise the individual of the intended action, provide the name, address and phone number of the reporting agency, and inform the individual that he (or she) is entitled to obtain a free copy of the report from the consumer reporting agency within 60 days, and may dispute the accuracy and completeness of the information contained therein with the agency.

Finally, compliance with the FCRA alone may not be sufficient. A dealer may also be subject to certain state and local laws relating to employers’ use of consumer reports. Many states have passed laws that strengthen the FCRA’s requirements, so you may have additional obligations depending on where your dealership operates. Because the FCRA provides successful attorneys with fees and costs, it is important you take proper steps to ensure your dealership’s compliance. n Robert C. Goldberg is general counsel for the Business Technology Association.

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

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Goldberg Oct 17.indd 1

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EDUCATION CALENDAR October

19-20 Fall Colors Retreat - Hosted by BTA Southeast Asheville, North Carolina The 2017 Fall Colors Retreat, open to dealers from across the country, will feature: a dealer panel on breaking through revenue growth barriers; two educational sessions presented by industry leaders; round-table discussions with exhibitors; time to network with peers and exhibiting sponsors; and a cocktail reception and dinner at the historic Biltmore Estate’s Antler Hill Barn.

Visit www.bta.org/BTAAsheville to register.

23

FIX: Cost Management for Service 2.0 Chandler, Arizona (suburban Phoenix) Successful BTA dealers use their service departments to maintain profit margins as new equipment sales margins decline. FIX, BTA’s popular service workshop, teaches attendees how to compute the cost of the service labor hour (service burden rate) and improve their overall service department profitability. Visit www.bta.org/FIX to register.

November 13

BTA Strategic Sales Semester The industry is shifting from transactional to strategic sales, and sales reps need new skills for this transition. The BTA Strategic Sales Semester, taught by Mitch Morgan and Chris Ryne of Growth Achievement Partners, consists of 13 45- to 60-minute online training sessions held every other week over six months. Each module includes skill-building exercises and field-based activities reps will be asked to complete. Visit www.bta.org/StrategicSales to register.

16

Building My Business Webinar: “‘My Friend’ Has This HR/Employment Issue ... ” Prior to this webinar, you will have the opportunity to submit HR/employment questions to Sally Brause of GreatAmerica Financial Services and BTA General Counsel Bob Goldberg. Whether your questions are related to hiring, interviewing, compensation matters, non-competes, etc., the knowledge shared will guide you in the right direction. Visit www.bta.org/BMB to register.

December 6-7

BTA Managed Services Workshop Phoenix, Arizona The BTA Managed Services Workshop has been expanded to include the data and critical success factors within the Managed Services Business Model 2.0, developed by workshop instructors Mitch Morgan and Chris Ryne of Growth Achievement Partners, Zygoquest Group and Continuum. The companies’ combined knowledge in the MSP space will allow attendees to walk away with a time-tested business model and key metrics to guide success and ensure profitability. Visit www.bta.org/MS to register.

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

www.offi cetechnol ogymag.com | Oc tob e r 2017 | 23

Calendar Oct 17.indd 1

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

Dealer Members Copycare Document Solutions, Escondido, CA Davis Business Machines, Allentown, PA EDC Business Solutions, Richmond Hill, NY Firmin’s Office City, Texarkana, TX Total Office Products & Services, Burnsville, MN University Office Technologies, Ann Arbor, MI Vendor Associate Members Nuance Document Imaging, Burlington, MA For full contact information of these new members, visit www.bta.org.

Building My Business Webinar Series

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

BTA Vendor Associate Member Taylor Business Group (TBG) is an IT-solutionprovider-centric consulting firm. Founded in 2001, TBG has brought efficiencies and higher profits to IT solution providers (ITSPs) through a focused effort in delivering best practices to ITSPs’ service, sales and administrative functions via management consulting; financial and accounting consulting; management and sales workshops; business improvement groups (owner and service-manager based peer groups); and its Roadmap to Profitability Financial Dashboard. https://taylorbusinessgroup.com

Free to BTA members, BTA’s monthly Building My Business webinars, presented by industry experts, are designed to help dealers improve the management of their companies, take full advantage of market opportunities and, ultimately, improve their bottom lines. BTA currently has webinars scheduled through February 2018 with topics ranging from HR and employment issues to service profitability and sales force performance. Past webinars, including PDFs of PowerPoint slides and videos, are also available to members in the Building My Business archives.

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

BTA Service Associate member GSG Financial specializes in equipment leasing and financing solutions, offering a full line of financing options for equipment and software with personalized service, competitive rates and flexible terms. GSG values the importance of relationships and uses its financial expertise to partner with its clients to develop customized solutions. For more than 10 years, GSG has worked intimately with organizations to tailor financing solutions — from creating complex vendor programs to helping corporations sell more equipment to the development of master lease lines with universities. www.gsgfinancial.com

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

A full list of BTA Vendor and Service Associate members can be found online at www.bta.org.

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Highlights Oct 17.indd 1

9/28/17 11:51 AM

PRINCIPAL ISSUES

Recruit & Repeat Finding qualified candidates always on the to-do list by: Paul Schwartz & Jessica Crowley, Copier Careers

A

s recruiters, we often hear what might seem to be an easy question: “How quickly can you find someone to fill this position?” Unfortunately, that question does not have an easy answer. We can put together a list of qualified candidates in five minutes and five clicks, but that is when the real work begins.

With nearly 100,000 profiles in our database, we can quickly review profiles to find candidates qualified by experience and training, but this is where reality slaps expediency in the face. In the office technology industry, there is a shortage of qualified candidates across the board — tech, back office, sales and leadership. This is largely because the industry has morphed into a sophisticated business-solutions channel in the last decade.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in computer and information technology occupations will grow an above-average 12 percent between 2014 and 2024. So, while we can find the right person for the job in our database, there are many factors we cannot control: n The perfect hire might be happy and well-compensated where he (or she) is now. n Great candidates might have built territories and created revenue streams they do not want to give up. n They may have other contractual obligations or noncompete contracts. n They may have children in school or family obligations that do not align with changing jobs right now.

Finding the right person for a position often does not happen when there is an immediate need. That is the pinch point in our industry, where there is a shortage of qualified workers.

We often have more job orders than we have immediate candidates. The key is to respond proactively to changing times.

By closely watching industry trends — and their own dealerships’ growth — dealers are better able to see a hiring need developing. Our experience has taught us that understanding industry metrics is key to anticipating hiring needs.

We have found that the different stages of an office technology dealership’s growth can result in specific hiring needs.

With rapid growth, dealers often need to add a director of operations or other key leadership positions. Without up-to-date industry knowledge and a strategic plan for your dealership, you may not anticipate the need to make these important strategic staffing moves.

We believe it is important for dealers to always be recruiting. It will make you more nimble and prepared when the need to hire arises. Staying in touch with prospective hires can make the hiring process go more smoothly, because you have already started a conversation. The truth is that starting from scratch is never expedient.

Given the nature of our industry today — with mergers, acquisitions, leadership changes and other variables — a definite “no” can quickly turn into “I’m ready to move on.” Experience has shown us that in a week, a month or a couple of years, a lot can change with job candidates.

How can you quickly find someone for a job opening in your dealership? There is not a single or simple answer, but there are proven strategies that can help your dealership connect with great workers more quickly and retain your current employees. n Hire proactively. It is critical to recruit and hire proactively. If the right candidate comes along before you have 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 | O c t o b e r 2 0 17 | 25

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The best practices to meet the demand for an opening, the best decision might be to trained office technology industry profeshire now.

Build bench strength. sionals are to be proactive, thoughtful and n Build bench strength. Offer opporOffer opportunities for entrepreneurial to attract, train and retain tunities for your team to learn new things your team to learn new staff. The effort you make now to add skilled and advance. It will enhance job satisfacthings and advance. professionals to your team will reap rewards tion and could reduce turnover.

It will enhance job when time is of the essence. n n Always talk to potential candiPaul Schwartz is president of Copier Careers, dates. With more open jobs than job satisfaction and a recruiting firm dedicated exclusively seekers, never turn down a chance to talk could reduce turnover. to helping office technology channel with a potential job candidate. Be willemployers find experienced service techs, ing to invest in a candidate with skills copier sales reps, sales managers, service and learned on other software or hardware — or one who needs operations managers, controllers, back-office only a few hours of training to become the perfect hire. Be staff and MPS/MNS experts. He can be reached at willing to adapt. paul@copiercareers.com. n Be a great employer. Do you offer the benefits, work enJessica Crowley is business vironment and opportunity for advancement that makes your development manager and a business a place people want to work? Be sure you offer comsenior recruiter at the firm. petitive salaries and benefits.

She can be reached at n Be willing to wait for the right candidate. Sometimes, jessica@copiercareers.com. the perfect candidate is not ready to change jobs, but the wait Visit www.copiercareers.com. might be worth it.

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Schwartz Crowley Oct 17.indd 2

9/28/17 11:53 AM

SELLING SOLUTIONS

Consultative Selling Learn how to avoid ‘feature preaching’ by: Gil Cargill, Cargill Consulting Group

H

undreds of organizations in our industry brag about their consultative approaches to selling. But once you get past that facade of a label, you recognize that there is very little (if any) consulting going on. The vast majority of the sales calls that I have been on recently — even with some of the “better” sales representatives within my clients’ organizations — display non-consultative stimulus response selling.

Stimulus response selling is pejoratively labeled “feature preaching.” This type of selling is done by salespeople who lead with the features and capabilities of their products, but rarely (if ever) talk about the impact that an implementation of their products (even the new, most powerful digital products) will produce for their prospects’ companies.

An amazing amount of energy has been expended within our industry to try and teach salespeople how to sell the results that an implementation of our technology (especially document management technology) produces for a client company. The following is a checklist you should use to determine whether or not your team is selling consultatively. n Operating condition impact — First and foremost, a consultative salesperson understands the impact that his (or her) solution will provide to a client’s company. If your proposals do not discuss the beneficial and permanent impact your solutions will have on one or more of your prospect’s business operating conditions, then you are not selling consultatively.

You are, indeed, a feature preacher. n Preproposal evaluation — A hallmark of consultative selling is the preproposal evaluation. This evaluation or assessment must be done to quantify the potential impact on your prospect’s business operating conditions. If you do not do an assessment, you are once again engaged in feature preaching and/or stimulus response selling. Please note: In today’s world, many of your prospects have probably done some sort of assessment prior to inquiring about your solution.

Regardless, we must express the operating condition impact of our solution in terms of time saved, reduction in operational errors (and their attendant time loss), as well as reduction in customer and employee attrition due to frustration and/or mistakes. If your prospect has done an assessment of equipment but has not done an assessment of the impact that equipment

and technology will have on his business, then you should do it for him. n Benchmarks — In order to help your prospect evaluate your solution, your proposal must incorporate some benchmarks. It must illustrate, in writing, the before-and-after circumstances as they pertain to the prospect’s operating conditions. Feature preachers omit this step entirely. Without benchmarking the prospect’s current situation and presenting projections, you cannot cost-justify your solution. n Cost-justification/financial selling — If your proposals do not include an estimated return on investment, a breakeven projection and/or long-term financial impacts, then you are not selling consultatively. n Solution definition — If you will recall your high school chemistry class, a solution is a solid dissolved in a liquid. That classic definition has evolved into virtually anything that is sold by our industry. The mere fact that you claim you have a solution does not mean — from your customer’s point of view — that you have a solution.

If you are claiming to have a solution, you should be prepared to prove what problems you solve. You see, another definition of a solution is that you are solving a problem. If your proposals do not declare that you are solving a defined problem, quantified and amplified by the aforementioned preproposal assessment, then you really do not have a solution. n Buyer alignment — A consultative salesperson understands that there are four types of buyers involved in most significant purchasing decisions. There is the user buyer, who cares about the ease of use of a particular product, service and/ or solution. Then, there is the economic buyer. Obviously, this is the person who will review the P&L impact or, better stated, the potential P&L impact of your solution on the company.

The buyer who is most frequently consulted with in today’s high-tech sales arena is the technical buyer. This is the buyer who has a set of technological likes and/or dislikes and will screen/select a solution based on the solution’s alignment with his buying criteria.

The last (and most often overlooked) buyer is the strategic buyer. It is a tragedy that this is the buyer who is overlooked, because he is the one who will most readily resonate with a www.offi cetechnol ogymag.com | Oc tob e r 2017 | 27

Cargill Oct 17.indd 1

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proposal that is based on consultative selling principles. Make sure that your proposals and presentations acknowledge the role this person plays in contributing to a “go” or “no-go” decision regarding your proposal.

In summary, please grab your current proposals and take a look at them. Are they quotes masquerading as proposals? Do they have customized information that is exclusive and explicit to your prospects? Do the proposals have before-and-after quantified presentations of business operating conditions?

Make sure you do a little bit of sales practice with your team.

During your next sales meeting, ask your salespeople what results an implementation of your products and services will deliver to their prospects. Follow that question up with a request for them to tell you what it costs a customer to say “no” to their offers. You see, if your salespeople cannot quantify the cost to their prospects of saying “no,” then more often than not they cannot quantify the impact of a relationship with your company to their prospects.

Examine all of these items and determine whether you are selling consultatively. A consultative sales organization generates bigger profits perpetually. A consultative sales organization produces higher levels of revenue and profit because it is truly solving problems for its customers. A stimulus response sales organization (i.e., feature preaching) is more often than not put off by price objections and/or forced into uncomfortable levels of discounting.

In reality, the feature preacher just goes through the motions, gives a demonstration, writes a quote (not a proposal) and prays that the customer will buy from him. If you want to grow your business and truly become part of the digital solution community, you must embrace consultative selling. n After concluding a sales and management career at IBM, in which Gil Cargill led his sales team from a dead-last rating among 220 branch offices to first place in less than a year, he launched his own consulting practice in 1978.

Cargill has spent the past 39 years as a consultant, speaker and trainer, helping thousands of businesses achieve dramatic and permanent improvements in sales productivity. He has taught salespeople across diverse industries the importance of developing sales processes, the advantages of implementing new technology and the benefits of tracking sales performance.

Cargill can be reached at (310) 305-7198, ext. 111, or gil@gilcargill.com.

Visit www.gilcargill.com.

... If your salespeople cannot quantify the cost to their prospects of saying “no,” then ... they cannot quantify the impact of a relationship with your company ...

8:07 AM

1

Workflow:

A publication, website and e-newsletter for the business process automation and content management industry. Workflow delivers leading-edge information to the principal CIOs, IT directors, security experts, IT VARs, office equipment dealers, OEMs, vendors and distributors.

The Imaging Channel:

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SELLING SOLUTIONS

Is Live Networking Dying?

Do not rely solely on online connections by: Troy Harrison, Troy Harrison & Associates

I

recently conducted a workshop at a trade show on the East Coast that typically gets rave reviews. It was about networking — the process of meeting people, forming relationships and converting those relationships into referrals and sales. It is a great program and a useful one. I have constantly updated it; I now include about 10 minutes on incorporating online social networking into a networking program.

When I got my audience feedback following the most recent workshop, I was surprised. The program did not get the reviews it normally does and more than 50 percent of the comments were some variation of: “I was expecting this to be about social media networking.” That makes me wonder if the emphasis on social media is starting to squeeze out the skill of live networking. My opinion is this: Whether it is or not, it should not.

There is a huge qualitative difference between a network that looks big online versus a network that can be monetized.

Think of the “Facebook hero” who has 1,547 “friends” and who has actually met about 10 of them in real life. Most of those contacts are, at best, arm’s-length “acquaintances” and are not necessarily good contacts who can generate results.

When I asked for a definition of a good networker, one person used the word “connector.” I think that works pretty well.

Good networkers are able to “connect” people with others they can benefit from knowing; not-so-good networkers can name-drop with the best of them, but cannot actually arrange or get a meeting with many of the names they drop.

This, too, is a difference between online “relationships” and real networking contacts. If you have had the experience of asking someone for an introduction to an online contact of theirs and not gotten it, you have probably encountered the difference. The truth is that, much of the time, the person does not introduce you because he (or she) really cannot — he does not actually know the person he is being asked to introduce.

Taking it one step further, I think that good networkers are “hubs of value.” In other words, they are capable of getting value from the relationships they have with others (i.e., referrals, business, favors, etc.) and are able to give referrals to others they

know (similar to the above). Here are some other measuring sticks to determine whether or not you are a good networker: n Good networkers are successful. First and foremost, good networkers are able to produce success for themselves on their own. They are producers. I have never met someone who was incapable of producing success on their own terms for themselves, but was able to produce it for others.

I should point out here that “success” has its own definitions and those definitions are not necessarily financial. For instance, the high school football coach who is capable of generating a winning team and who is able to help his kids get scholarships might not necessarily be wealthy in financial terms, but has certainly achieved success in his own measurement. n Good networkers have stability. Here we are, back to that “job stability” thing again. The truth is that those who are constantly expending their own energies finding new jobs for themselves have precious little left to help others; and, of course, they also have issues with generating the needed respect from others. n Good networkers are selective. It is impossible to generate value from or for everyone you meet, particularly if you are an active networker and are constantly meeting new people. Hence, good networkers are selective with the relationships they want to pursue and, once they select someone, they work very hard to generate value for him. n Good networkers are willing to be the first givers. There is an old law that I believe is still on the books in Kansas that says: “When two cars meet at an intersection, neither shall move until the other has passed.” Think about that brilliance of lawmaking for a second; somewhere at a seldom-used intersection in western Kansas, the skeletons of two old farmers sit in their Model Ts, still exhorting the other to move first. That is a good analogy for how many potentially good networking relationships die. If you are always waiting for the other to give first, you run into the danger of never getting any value. Along these lines, good networkers seek out mutual relationships and not just coattails. n Good networkers never stop. I have encountered a www.offi cetechnol ogymag.com | Oc tob e r 2017 | 29

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up-to-date, as opposed to the somewhat number of people in my travels who came “old-school” method of live networking. to me with the reputation of being “great Emphasize live Here is the rub. A quality network that networkers” or even “networking gurus.” I networking and use is built on face-to-face encounters can be have always been amazed at how many of online social media monetized much more easily than an onthese people seem to have retired or withas an adjunct and line network. My advice to those who are drawn from networking efforts. They are a tool for achieving looking to build a quality network is this: not encouraging new contacts or new relaEmphasize live networking and use online tionships, and seem content to rest on their your goals, not as an social media as an adjunct and a tool for laurels. The problem with this is both simple end in and of itself. achieving your goals, not as an end in and and obvious — people retire, change jobs of itself. n or move. The network that you have today Troy Harrison is the author of “Sell Like You Mean It!” might not be the network you have tomorrow. For that reason, a and“The Pocket Sales Manager,” and is a speaker, good networker always remains open to new relationships. consultant and sales navigator.

So, why do people emphasize online networking over live He helps companies build more networking? There are several reasons, in my opinion. First, it profitable and productive sales forces. is easy; live networking is difficult and time consuming. There To schedule a free 45-minute Sales Strategy are events to attend, real introductions to make, etc. Online, Review, call (913) 645-3603 or email you just have to send a request. Second, online, people can see troy@troyharrison.com. how many contacts you have; again, it is the “Facebook hero” Visit www.troyharrison.com. syndrome. And, finally, it is trendy. Online networkers can feel

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FASTEN YOUR SEAT BELTS

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