August 2019 Office Technology by Business Technology Association

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CONTENTS Volume 26 • No. 2

FEATURE ARTICLES 10

Sales Management Solutions Automating processes & document generation

P R I N C I PA L I S S U E S Office Furniture, Etc. An insider’s look at this adjacent opportunity

by Brent Hoskins Office Technology Magazine

Most office technology dealerships have some system in place that streamlines or even automates aspects of the sales process. If your dealership does not, it may be time to take a look at the sales management solutions available to office technology dealers.

More Valuable & Sellable Run your private company like it is public by Jim Kahrs Prosperity Plus

by Hilary Troia Office Gallery International

No matter the industry, keeping up with technology comes with the territory. That includes up-to-date office furniture and design solutions to make employees more productive and increase customer satisfaction.

DEALERS HELPING DEALERS Service Calls & Travel Costs How do dealers keep CPC rates competitive?

Compiled by Brent Hoskins Office Technology Magazine

Nothing gives a buyer more confidence than a well-run company that has clean books and proper record keeping. Taking a closer look at how a public company operates and following that model is one of the best ways to chart a course for success.

Expanding Opportunities Four sales tactics you can implement today by Chris Ryne Growth Achievement Partners

“Ours is a small dealership in a very rural area. Often, it is a oneto two-hour drive between customers when we have to make service calls. How can we keep our CPC rate competitive, yet still cover the cost of travel?”

SELLING SOLUTIONS The Art of Recovery You might even strengthen customer relationships

We are just past the midpoint of the calendar year. With that in mind, you should be taking inventory of your progress with your sales and solutions goals. Here are four tactics we have worked on with dealers that have helped them work toward achieving their rep development and results goals.

COURTS & CAPITOLS 23

Should I Sell My Business? The times they are a changin’ by Robert C. Goldberg BTA General Counsel

Although there have been acquisitions for decades, the number of transactions has never been greater than today. The entities entering our industry have changed dramatically, while traditional participants have refocused their directions.

by Troy Harrison Troy Harrison & Associates

How strong are your customer relationships? If you are like most business owners, your immediate response is to say: “We have great customer relationships. Our customers truly value our services.” But, do they really?

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

• BTA Education Calendar • BTA Highlights

Executive Director’s Page

BTA President’s Message

Advertiser Index

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Do you have the right tools to grow? Are you getting by with current tools but constantly searching for workarounds and ways to be more efficient, rather than growing operations? It might be time to rethink your business management software. E-automate is an integrated ERP designed specifically for the office technology industry. Coordinate service and inventory operations for healthy cash flow.

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E-automate has the tools you need to increase profitability and grow your business.

Download our ERP Buying Guide to learn what to look for in a business management system www2.ecisolutions.com/erp-buying-guide-office-technology

866.342.8392 l e-automate@ecisolutions.com l www.e-automate.com ÂŠ 2019 ECi Software Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved. ECi, ECi e-automate and the ECi Red Box logo are trademarks wor registered trademarks of ECi Software Solutions, Inc.

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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S PAGE

Learn & Enjoy Fall Colors in Asheville

ach year in the mountains of North Carolina, BTA members gather to learn from industry experts, exhibiting sponsors and their peers. They do so at BTA’s Fall Colors Retreat, where they also enjoy the beautiful colors of the mountains’ fall foliage. This year’s retreat, hosted by BTA Southeast, will take place Oct. 17-18 at the Omni Grove Park Inn in Asheville, North Carolina. A stunning venue with sprawling views, the inn was named the best resort in the South by Southern Living magazine this April. Grove Park, which opened in 1913, has a long history of hosting famous guests, including Thomas Edison (inventor of the lightbulb), Harvey Firestone (Firestone Tire and Rubber Company) and Henry Ford (Ford Motor Co.), who spent summers there. The Fall Colors Retreat will begin at noon on Thursday, Oct. 17, with opening comments and lunch, followed by the first of two keynote addresses by Meridith Elliott Powell of MotionFirst Inc. During “Thriving in Uncertainty,” Powell will show you how to grow and compete in today’s constantly shifting marketplace with a new set of sales strategies and a new approach to business growth. Breaks and round-table discussions will follow the first keynote. During these roundtables, attendees will break into small groups and rotate through the exhibitor tables, giving them plenty of one-on-one time to learn about the vendors’ offerings. From 4 to 5 p.m., BTA General Counsel Bob Goldberg will lead the first educational session, “What Laws Will I Violate This Year?” wrapping up the first day’s educational offerings. At 6:15 p.m., attendees will meet at Grove Park’s Seely Pavilion for cocktails, dinner

and panoramic views of the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains. The retreat’s second day will begin at 7:30 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 18, with a continental breakfast, followed by opening comments and Powell’s second keynote address, “Open More Doors, Close More Sales.” This keynote will uncover the three must-have strategies to “open more doors, close more sales” and be the envy of your competitors. Breaks, more exhibitor round-table discussions and the final educational session, “Digital Transformation: Adding Document Workflow Services to Your MPDS Practice,” led by Robert Palmer of IDC, will follow. At noon, the retreat will wrap up with closing comments and prize drawings. The exhibiting sponsors: Agent Dealer, ARLINGTON, Balboa Capital, Clover Imaging Group, DCS, Epson, FP, GreatAmerica, Imaging Solutions Direct, Keypoint Intelligence, Kyocera (lunch sponsor), Laserfiche, LD Products, LEAF, LMI Solutions, Muratec, NA Trading and Technology, NEXERA, OKI, Panasonic, RingByName, Static Control, Technology Assurance Group (breaks sponsor), TIAA Bank, Wells Fargo and Xerox. Two-for-one BTA member dealer registration is only $199. Registration includes the Thursday and Friday educational sessions and round-table discussions; Thursday lunch, as well as cocktails and dinner at the Seely Pavilion; and Friday breakfast. BTA members may also apply their $150 discount promo code received with membership toward this event, bringing registration for two attendees to just $49. Also, dealers who make their room reservations by Sept. 10 will get a $100 hotel room rebate per night, up to two nights. For more information or to register for the Fall Colors Retreat, see the ad on page 31 or visit www.bta.org/BTAAsheville. 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 Troy Harrison, Troy Harrison & Associates www.troyharrison.com Jim Kahrs, Prosperity Plus www.prosperityplus.com Chris Ryne, Growth Achievement Partners www.growthachievementpartners.com Hilary Troia, Office Gallery International www.officegallery.com

Business Technology Association 12411 Wornall Road Kansas City, MO 64145 (816) 941-3100 www.bta.org Member Services: (800) 505-2821 BTA Legal Hotline: (800) 869-6688 Valerie Briseno Marketing Director valerie@bta.org Brian Smith Membership Sales Representative brian@bta.org Photo Credits: Bigstockphoto. Cover created by Bruce Quade, Brand X Studio. ©2019 by the Business Technology Association. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced by any means without the written permission of the publisher. Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of published material. However, the publisher assumes no liability for errors in articles nor are opinions expressed necessarily those of the publisher.

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BTA PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Join Us In New York City for Grand Slam

re you looking to hit one out of the ballpark for your dealership in 2019? If so, I encourage you to join us in September for this year’s Grand Slam event, hosted by BTA East. The event will be held Sept. 12-13 at the Sheraton New York Times Square in New York City, New York. The two days of education and networking events in the heart of the city will surely give you plenty of ideas to take back to your business and, ultimately, bring you greater success. Grand Slam will kick off at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 12, with exhibit time, welcoming comments and the keynote address, “Joining the Conversation,” presented by Chris Messina, a technologist and the inventor of the hashtag, which has become a crucial part of today’s social media environment. During this keynote, you will learn how to succeed with social media by building out an authentic and engaging presence, as well as learn how social technology is evolving thanks to the growing popularity of voice technology and artificial intelligence. Messina is not only the inventor of the hashtag, but he has also designed products and experiences for Google and Uber, founded startups and changed the world by giving away many of his creations (including the hashtag). A break will follow the keynote, giving attendees time to visit with peers and exhibiting sponsors. Additional breaks like these will occur between sessions during the event. After the break, Darrell Amy will moderate the dealer panel, “How Dealers are Growing Net-New Business.” BTA award presentations and a welcoming reception will follow the panel from 6:15 to 7:45 p.m., wrapping up the first day.

The second day of Grand Slam will begin at 7 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 13, with breakfast, followed by opening comments and the first three educational sessions: “The Crucial Role of Sales & Marketing Alignment to Your Dealership’s Future,” led by Lindsay Bohon and Josie Heskje of GreatAmerica Financial Services Corp.; “Vendors Find the Urge to Merge Irresistible,” led by Charlie Brewer of Actionable Intelligence; and “Coaching for Results,” led by Brad Roderick of TonerCycle/InkCycle. Lunch will follow the morning sessions from 11:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. After lunch, the final educational sessions will be held: “Highlights from the BPO Research Dealer Survey,” led by John McIntyre of BPO Media; and “Cybersecurity-as-a-Service,” led by Brian Suerth of Technology Assurance Group. Closing comments and prize drawings will wrap up the educational portion of the event from 3 to 3:15 p.m. At 4:15 p.m., buses will leave the hotel and head to One World Trade Center, where attendees will spend the evening at ONE Mix/Dine, a bar and restaurant located on the 101st floor on a mezzanine overlooking the public observatory on the 100th floor. Attendees will enjoy floor-toceiling views of Manhattan and can also explore the 360-degree experience of the public observatory. Two-for-one BTA member dealer registration is $199, but members can use their $150 discount promo code received with membership to get two-for-one registration for only $49. And, if you register by Aug. 21, you will get an additional $25 early-bird discount. Consider joining us in New York City for what is sure to be a great educational and networking event. To learn more or register, see the ad on pages two and three, or visit www.bta.org/BTANewYork. n — Bob Evans

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

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Sales Management Solutions Automating processes & document generation by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine

ost office technology dealerships have some system in place that streamlines or even automates aspects of the sales process. At one end of the spectrum are dealerships embracing the daily use of a fully configured CRM with an expansive collection of time- and cost-saving capabilities — document generation, TCO analysis, workflow automation, etc. On the other end of the spectrum are dealerships with no CRM in place, attempting to manage sales with such tools as Outlook and Excel. Where is your dealership on the spectrum? If it is at or near the low end, it may be time to take a look at the sales management solutions available to office technology dealers. Consider the broadening range of products and services offered by dealerships. Many would likely contend that this reality alone presents a compelling reason for dealerships to automate many of their sales processes in order to increase the time their reps are in the field. Below is a brief look at the sales management solutions of three companies. Perhaps the comments shared will serve as a springboard for you to take a closer look at your current sales management tools and processes. Compass Sales Solutions As a dealership sales manager, Troy Casper saw an opportunity to develop a software solution to help sales teams automate their business processes more efficiently. Excited about making an impact on the industry, he learned to code software and developed the first iteration of a tool specifically for sales managers and their teams. He then showed it to his business colleagues and others in the industry to confirm that he was on the right track. “They were impressed and encouraged him to further build it out and sell it to the channel,” says Tami Dittemore, vice president of operations for Compass Sales Solutions. “Troy left that dealership and started Compass Sales Solutions. That was about 20 years ago.”

Today, Compass, now owned by Eden Capital, remains focused on the sales side of the business with Sherpa, a contact and sales productivity solution for office technology dealerships. “Sherpa serves as an intelligence ‘hub,’ combining all existing tools that dealers have in their business operations, such as DCA, marketing and commission tools,” says Jim McMeel, vice president of business development. “Sherpa allows dealers to tie disparate tools together into one ecosystem, creating substantial value for sales reps and sales leadership.” Dealers not familiar with Sherpa may assume it is simply a CRM, McMeel says. “But then we ask such questions as: ‘What are your manufacturer relationships? Where do you have leasing partner relationships? Which aftermarket suppliers do you work with?’” he says. “We ask such questions because many of the features within our platform provide dealers the ability to tie these relationships together, automating what the sales rep is doing. “Dealers save a substantial amount of time because of the depth and breadth of functionality that exists,” McMeel continues. “They’ve replaced manual workarounds with one streamlined solution that gives them the visibility they need to make better business decisions quickly.” As noted, Compass offers CRM functionality. It does so as part of the Sherpa Trek version, which also includes e-automate integration and performs such tasks as TCO analysis, proposal and post-sale paperwork generation, and lease tracking. It also features SherpaGo, giving sales reps mobile accessibility in and out of the office. Sherpa Expedition is the full suite, but excludes the CRM functionality, McMeel says, noting that this version is for those dealerships that have already made a substantial investment in a CRM platform. Noting that Compass has a solution that can fit the needs of any dealership, no matter its size, McMeel emphasized that the company can easily demonstrate the ROI. “We can

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show dealers that a key benefit is in client retention; ‘What if I am missing lease expirations? What if I am misconfiguring deals, leaving gross profit on the table?’” he says. “These are the types of things we can educate them about with our ROI calculator — ‘the return to your business is substantial and tangible.’ It’s a very powerful tool.”

With SalesChain, we have a dashboard that literally shows the time the salesperson submits a deal to the operations department to the time it gets funded by the leasing company. We measure every step of the process and how long it takes for each step. The owner is able to click a button at any time and see what those stats are, drilling down to the branch location, the team or the rep to see who is inefficient and what’s causing those inefficiencies.”

“You could have salespeople ringing the bell all day long, but if you can’t get the deal documented, the equipment ordered and fulfilled, and communicate with the leasing company ... so that you ... get funded, it doesn’t mean anything.” — Tim Szczygiel SalesChain

SalesChain When SalesChain was founded 18 years ago, the focus was on providing dealerships a tool to make the sales process more efficient. “In essence, what we do is we provide workflow automation and business intelligence to all aspects of the business selling process, order fulfillment and documentation processes — everything that goes into winning a deal and documenting it,” says Tim Szczygiel, founder of SalesChain. “You could have salespeople ringing the bell all day long, but if you can’t get the deal documented, the equipment ordered and fulfilled, and communicate with the leasing company properly and efficiently so that you ultimately get funded, it doesn’t mean anything.” Citing such capabilities as automated deal pricing, proposal generation, product ordering and commission calculations, SalesChain offers a cloud-based CRM system “that has as much automation as possible, and integration with the next step — and the three steps ahead — so that all the employees in the dealership can effectively work together in a very efficient way,” Szczygiel says. “That’s business workflow automation.” SalesChain’s bidirectional integration with e-automate is a key component of the automation offered by the company, Szczygiel says. “When you talk to owners, finance managers, service managers and operations managers, you learn that there are a whole lot of people getting paid to type data manually into different systems,” he says. “In contrast, we have a very comprehensive bidirectional integration with e-automate, where events that occur in e-automate update SalesChain, and events that occur in SalesChain update e-automate.” Beyond eliminating the need to type data into multiple systems, Szczygiel shares another example of the type of efficiency-focused information offered by SalesChain. When he asks a dealer prospect how long it takes to fulfill an order, “the answer is often ‘about two to two-and-a-half weeks,’” he says. “I then ask, ‘Do you really know?’ The answer is ‘no.’

The Sailor Group Rohan Santora, director of sales for The Sailor Group, recalls the day approximately 11 years ago when he and the company’s founder, Ed Barfield, were at an off-site training session. At the time, they both worked for the same Florida dealership. “We were sitting in training, he opened up his laptop and said, ‘Take a look at this CRM I found; this thing is so customizable, I’m doing all kinds of things with it,’” he recalls. “He said, ‘I think I can turn this into the CRM I never had as a sales rep.’” Soon, Barfield was working with a local developer and eventually announced: “‘I’m going to leave my job and develop this into a platform for copier dealers; they need this,’” Santora says. “So, he left the dealership and, in 2009, founded The Sailor Group. In 2010, he launched AgentDealer.” Today, The Sailor Group is an authorized reseller of Salesforce. “Our product is a custom version of Salesforce that we’ve developed for this industry,” Santora says. “We built AgentDealer on the world’s best CRM platform so that sales reps can be more productive and have more information, and dealership principals can make better decisions based on what their reps are doing.” Santora emphasizes that AgentDealer fully integrates with e-automate, whether on-site or in the cloud. “We can sync and house meter-read data, service call detail, lease information and service contract data, making it all visible to the sales team,” he says. “We can speed sales reps up and increase their productivity so they don’t have to search for information or have somebody run reports for them.” AgentDealer also generates documents relevant to the sales process, Santora says. “We can generate just about any type of document, whether it’s from a business record or equipment record, a contact record or a deal,” he says. “This includes things like proposals, leases and sales orders. We also have a TCO tool for converting printer audit data into

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also provides for profesthe comparisons that sales “In addition, AgentDealer sional quote building. “As an reps need to put MPS prooption, that integration can grams together. In addition, is fully mobile, so sales reps pull information into AgentAgentDealer is fully mobile, want to use it. They can be Dealer and push quotes back so sales reps want to use it. more profitable while out into e-automate in order to They can be more profitable of the office, which leads streamline the order process. while out of the office, which to higher productivity for “And, finally, ‘Premier’ leads to higher productivity the rep and a better ROI is for those dealers who alfor the rep and a better ROI for the dealership.” ready live in their CRM but for the dealership.” now want to take quote Santora notes that The — Rohan Santora building and go to the next Sailor Group offers three ediThe Sailor Group level, building rules around tions of AgentDealer. “‘Basic’ their configuration sheets,” is for the dealer who may not necessarily have an ERP, like e-automate,” he says. Santora continues. “So, for example, if you “They may not need a quoting tool with all of the bells and add a fax board, the system provides the rewhistles, but they do want an industry-specific CRM with minder: ‘Don’t forget to add memory.’” n Brent Hoskins, executive director of the some simple quoting functionality and the ability to generBusiness Technology Association, is editor ate documentation. of Office Technology magazine. He can be “The ‘Executive’ edition, used by most of our dealers, intereached at brent@bta.org or (816) 303-4040. grates with e-automate,” Santora says, noting that Executive

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• 35 pages per minute (3518A) • 45 pages per minute (4518A) • 50 pages per minute (5018A) • 100-Sheet RADF (Option) or 300-Sheet DSDF (Option)

PACKAGE DEALS

All Models + Stand + Toner + Developer + RADF (Package 1) / DSDF (Package 2)

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Color Copy, Print, Scan, Duplex, Fax (Option) • 35/35ppm (BW/Color) (3515AC) • 45/45ppm (BW/Color) (4515AC) • 50/50ppm (BW/Color) (5015AC) • 100-Sheet RADF (Option) or 300-Sheet DSDF (Option)

Color Copy, Print, Scan, Duplex, Fax (Option) • Up to 30/30ppm (BW/Color) • 100-Sht RADF (Option) or 300-Sht DSDF (Option) (2515/3015 only)

PACKAGE DEALS

A new 10.1” tablet-style touch screen

PACKAGE DEALS

A new 10.1” tablet-style touch screen

PACKAGE DEALS

All Models + Stand + Toner (CMYK) + Dev + RADF (Pkg1) / DSDF (Pkg2)

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Parts Order Hotline: 562.977.4949

NuWorld ad Aug 19.indd 2

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More Valuable & Sellable Run your private company like it is public by: Jim Kahrs, Prosperity Plus

small business often operates as if its sole purpose is to fund the ownerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lifestyle, but a valuable company is run with financial rigor. While you may be years from wanting to sell your company, formalizing your operations now will help you build the future of your business and, when the time comes to sell, you will get more for what you have built. Nothing gives a buyer more confidence than a well-run company that has clean books and proper record keeping. Taking a closer look at how a public company operates and following that model is one of the best ways to chart a course for success. In this article, I will outline some of the practices employed by public companies and how private companies can emulate them. Establishing a Board of Directors A public company has a board of directors that is typically made up of individuals who are respected for their business insight and management abilities. To provide unbiased insight and direction, much of the board is also made up of members who are not employees in the day-to-day operation of the business. The board has regular meetings and keeps detailed minutes, setting the course for the organization, monitoring progress and driving results. A private company of any size can follow this model. The first step is identifying people to have on the board. In a family-owned business, look within the family first. Can you bring in a parent, grandparent or children? Each individual can bring a very different viewpoint and each has a vested interest in the success of the business. Along with family members, bring in a couple of well-respected businesspeople. They may be colleagues from our industry, chamber of commerce members, friends from the local country club, etc. Some people think board members need to be familiar with the industry, but it is helpful to have some members who are not. This allows for different viewpoints and, often, leads to some of the best ideas. Once you have chosen your board members, it is important to set regular meetings with strong agendas.

Sharing the Books In addition to boards of directors, public companies have open-book policies. Because anyone can buy their shares, financial data must be made available to all. Public companies publish their financials and provide prospectuses that outline their companies, how they operate and the results they have created. Public companies typically publish quarterly reports and have regular shareholder meetings to report results. The thought of having a full open-book policy is enough to give many dealership owners tremendous anxiety, as it brings a whole new level of accountability to the table. Dealerships can take a step-by-step approach to this. Rather than starting with full disclosure, the business can begin by sharing revenue numbers with its staff. Once this is done so comfortably, the gross profit numbers can be made public. As you work through this process with the thought of opening the books for all to see, you will likely begin to change how some things are handled. Over time, a chart of accounts and an accounting process can be adopted that allows the full financials to be shared. Communicating the results is as important as having them available. I suggest having monthly meetings with your entire staff, much like public companies hold quarterly shareholder meetings. These meetings provide updates on what is happening in the business, as well as a full review of the financial results. When your staff members know exactly how things are going, they are more able to pitch in and drive things toward success. Just remember that it is not typically an overnight process. You need time to make the necessary changes and become comfortable with the process yourself. Setting a Budget with Goals A public company is numbers- and results-driven. It starts the process by setting clear targets, usually in the form of a detailed budget. A budget sets goals for the business for every revenue, cost-of-goods and expense category. Each manager knows before the year starts what he (or she) needs to produce.

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Because of the open-book policy, each manager also knows there will be a high level of accountability. Replicating this in a dealership is easier than most think. We have helped many dealerships set budgets by reviewing their income statements line by line and setting targets for each. Your key managers should be part of the target-setting process, as they will be the ones leading the charge to achieve them.

open for a few days into the next month. Neither of these would be GAAP compliIn the end, those ant. Expenses must also be booked in who run their the month they were incurred. This often companies closer requires making journal entries to propto the public model erly recognize expenses. For example, end up with far most dealerships pay sales commissions the month after sales were invoiced. To more valuable and be fully compliant, the commission exsellable companies. pense should be booked the same month as the sale. Adjusting your books to be as close to GAAP compliance Seeking to Achieve Benchmarks as possible, and having them either reviewed or audited by Similar to the budget process, public companies have an outside accounting firm, will ensure you are properly rebenchmarks they use to gauge their success and identify porting your results. It will also provide a new level of finanareas of weakness. Most public companies compare them- cial understanding. selves to hundreds of benchmarks ranging from earnings per share (a statement of overall profitability) to working Forgoing Inclusion of Personal Expenses capital ratio (a measure of overall liquidity). BTA Channel In a public company, executives and managers are not aldealers have access to the benchmarks taught in ProFi- lowed to run their personal expenses through the company. nance 3.0. This model provides proven industry benchmarks Even if they are company shareholders, they are treated as emto measure your business against. Utilizing this model gives ployees when it comes to compensation and expenses. This is a dealership the ability to assess its business at a level far dramatically different in many private companies, where it is above the basic ratios used in many public companies. common for owners to use their businesses as personal piggy banks. Personal expenses are run through the business to reAdjusting Toward GAPP Compliance duce taxable income. This does not meet GAAP requirements. One area where public and private companies differ great- In addition, it clouds the true profitability of the company. ly is in bookkeeping procedures. Public companies are held In a public company, shareholders are paid a portion of to a much higher standard and must follow generally accept- the company profit in the form of distributions. The board ed accounting principles (GAAP), which outline exactly how will often decide how much of the profit to retain and infinancial transactions must be booked. The purpose is to cre- vest in future growth, and will also decide how much of the ate an environment where the financials of any company can profit to distribute to the shareholders. This same strategy be reviewed with confidence that the numbers being report- could be employed by private companies. Some argue that ed were done so in a standard manner. Public companies also this would increase the tax burden. While this is correct, have their financials audited by outside accounting firms. the goal is that the growth of the company, along with the Private companies are not legally bound to these standards. increased profit along the way and the increased value at The rules for GAAP are quite extensive, however, and there the time of a sale, more than offset any money lost to taxes. are a few areas that tend to come into play with dealerships. The first is how revenue is recognized. Per GAAP, revenue The Moral of the Story must be recognized on the books when it is earned. The bigIn the end, those who run their companies closer to the gest issue in the office technology industry involves service public model end up with far more valuable and sellable contracts. If a service contract is invoiced more than one companies. The insight and financial controls provided in month in advance, per GAAP, it must be recognized month- this model create a road map to success. The best part is the ly as the service is delivered. In order to accomplish this, the success created could be enough to change oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mind about portion that has not been earned yet must be booked as a selling his company. Who wants to sell a wellliability on the balance sheet. running, profitable company when he can enAnother area that is not always handled per GAAP is the joy its benefits for years to come? n invoicing of equipment. Per the guidelines, equipment canJim Kahrs is the president and founder of not be recognized as revenue until it has been delivered. In Prosperity Plus. He can be reached at an effort to close out the month, many dealerships invoice (631) 261-7762 or jkahrs@prosperityplus.com. product that is still in the warehouse or keep their books Visit www.prosperityplus.com. 20 | wÂ w w. o f f ic et ec hno lo g y m a g.c om | Aug ust 2 0 1 9

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Expanding Opportunities Four sales tactics you can implement today by: Chris Ryne, Growth Achievement Partners

recently reread the February and March issues of Office Technology magazine and, in particular, the “Strategies for Success” articles where BTA members shared their opportunities and strategies for 2019. The common theme of the opportunities and strategies shared was expanding sales by further developing sales reps’ abilities to deliver results beyond just the copier/MFP. As I write this, we are just past the midpoint of the calendar year. With that in mind, you should be taking inventory of your progress with your sales and solutions goals. Following are four tactics that we have worked on with dealers this year that have helped them work toward achieving their rep development and results-oriented goals: (1) Pain does not guarantee priority and interest does not indicate intent. I have talked more about this difference with sales reps and managers this year than any other topic. Today, there are more things than ever for businesses to be interested in and many different pains you could help them eliminate. However, sometimes they have pain because they have bigger issues that need to be fixed first, they do not have the budget, or your rep is not talking to the right person to authorize change. Other times, the business is just interested in being educated, which is, of course, an important sales step. However, your rep cannot confuse interest and a couple of the pain points they were trained to look for with priority and intent — yet, they frequently do. Improvement can be achieved with just one question. Once reps have established pain and/or interest, have them ask: “Why is this something your business intends to address now?” The answers will tell them where they really are with the opportunity and what to do next. (2) Find and follow the scans. Most dealers are using tools to remotely track copies and prints, but many are not tracking scans. In two recent examples, we had clients review scan data from the existing platforms they were using. One dealer found that 30% of his company’s installed base was scanning more than 2,000 pages per month, while the other

dealer found that his installed base was producing more than 144 million scans per year. Run a report to identify the scans within your installed base and, as a starting point, have your reps call every account that is doing more than 5,000 scans a month. Have your reps call to make the customers aware of their scan volumes and ask two simple questions: “What are you scanning? Where are the scans going?” (3) You might have managed IT leads within your MFP connectivity form. Look back at your recent MFP installs. If a client’s technical contact for connectivity has an email address that is different than the company name, the company probably outsourced its IT provider. For extra credit, cross-reference those accounts with the connectivity support calls you receive and look for the companies that call you the most. This might indicate that they may not be happy with their IT service providers. Either way, your rep has something to ask the customer about. (4) Integrate solutions elements into account reviews. In doing so, both your customers and your reps will get more value out of doing these reviews. Most dealers and reps say they need better account reviews (“better” is defined as www.offi cetechnol ogymag.c om | Au g u s t 2019 | 21

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rep may find that the current customer finding leads for additional products contact may not have those answers. This and services). But there are few results So, help your reps can help move your rep and the contact and/or little value from the traditional and customers by back up to the decision-maker together. process of reviewing service history, volincorporating a page These tactics, some of which you may ume trends and upgrade dates. So, help into the account not have tried and others you may not your reps and customers by incorporatreview template that have revisited in a while, can help you ing a page into the account review temachieve your rep development and replate that provides for a more strategic provides for a more sults-oriented goals. There is no shortdiscussion. Have questions and spaces strategic discussion. age of opportunities for dealers who into fill in answers about industry trends, vest in the right actions. n business goals, key initiatives and comChris Ryne, along with Mitch Morgan, is a partner in pany differentiators. Find out if the business is growing, Growth Achievement Partners. Together, they have shrinking or staying the same. List the business processes successfully helped dealers expand their markets that might be causing bottlenecks or negatively impacting without abandoning their roots customer service. Determine the company’s overall attitude since 2010 by delivering programs toward technology and then specifically discuss the techfor sales rep development, solutions nology areas where your company can help. sales, managed IT and MSP M&A. These kinds of questions will help elevate the review by Ryne can be reached at getting away from the operational, rearview mirror-type chris@growthachievementpartners.com topics that typically dominate these meetings. At the worst, Visit www.growthachievementpartners.com. by asking higher-level questions about the company, your

MAY 2016

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COURTS & CAPITOLS

Should I Sell My Business? The times they are a changin’ by: Robert C. Goldberg, general counsel for the Business Technology Association

frequent question to the BTA Legal Hotline is: “Bob, should I sell my business?” Although there have been acquisitions for decades, the number of transactions has never been greater than today. The entities entering our industry have changed dramatically, while traditional participants have refocused their directions. The venture capital that has been attracted to the industry is a strong indication that many see increased profits and opportunities for growth. Established dealers are also buying dealerships to increase their machine bases, expand their offerings and eliminate competitors. Whether one decides to sell his (or her) business or remain in the industry, it is essential to adjust to the new marketplace and its end users in order to grow and prosper. Dealerships located in more rural areas are still able to do well selling, leasing and maintaining office equipment, but change has come quickly to the larger metropolitan areas. Sophisticated end users are looking for total solutions to their technology needs. Printers and copier/MFPs have become output devices for data networks. The emphasis is on a stable network that is flexible enough to meet the growing needs of business. Providers are required to suggest and implement workflow solutions that are both more efficient and economical. If your business is not prepared to invest in these new demands, then perhaps it is time to change. Is this a time to sell? Let’s take a look at how others are changing to greet the future. A few years ago, Ricoh sold its installed base of small- and medium-sized business end users to its dealer channel. From a dealer’s perspective, the installed base is his most important business asset. End users no longer purchase equipment; they buy solutions and expertise, basically ignoring product names. Dealers were thrilled to take on the Ricoh base and enjoyed growth and prosperity in doing so. It appears Ricoh was moving forward and took an opportunity to sell its base and reduce costs. Recently, Ricoh revealed a new direction with the purchase of DocuWare, a provider of cloud and onpremise document management software. This addition allows Ricoh to further penetrate its end-user base, provide

additional workflow solutions and stand apart from competitors. Konica Minolta has also expanded its product offerings with the purchase of All Covered, MWA Intelligence and Muratec. Like many dealerships that purchase information technology companies to grow, Konica Minolta’s purchase of All Covered instantly created a well-established presence in network services. By taking over the network requirements of a business, Konica Minolta is able to maintain and support a business’s growing needs. It appears Konica Minolta has also recognized that dealers will be taking their businesses in many different directions. Traditional industry ERP solutions are dedicated to the traditional dealership. The purchase of MWA served many purposes. Placed under the All Covered umbrella, MWA gained greater technology resources and experience. Konica Minolta could further assist dealers in their own growth and flexibility. MWA, on the SAP open platform, allows a dealership to grow in any direction it chooses. As noted, Konica Minolta added Muratec to its offerings. The company has a sophisticated labeling system it sells to companies ranging from small breweries to newly authorized marijuana dispensaries. Staples’ acquisition of Dex Imaging raises many questions that will only be answered as its strategy plays out. It has been widely rumored that Staples (Sycamore Partners) is looking for further acquisitions to expand its service capabilities. How will Dex fit into Staples — or Staples into Dex? And the relationship established between Xerox and HP is a strong competitive alliance, but the future of Xerox remains uncertain in light of its dispute with Fuji. “Is it time to sell, Bob?” Only you can answer that question based on your personal desires, your marketplace, and a willingness to invest and take on new challenges. BTA will help you reach a decision with the latest news, education and events, where you can network with others and see the latest products and opportunities. Stayed tuned, for the times they are a changin’. n Robert C. Goldberg is general counsel for the Business Technology Association. He can be reached at robert.goldberg@sfnr.com. www.offi cetechnol ogymag.c om | Au g u s t 2019 | 23

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EDUCATION CALENDAR August 14-16 BTA Sales Management Workshop Chicago, Illinois The BTA Sales Management Workshop is a career development “must-have” for sales management at all levels, and provides the knowledge, skills, processes and tools to immediately increase effectiveness and achieve higher levels of success. Taught by Kim Ward of Learning Outsource Group (LOG), the workshop focuses entirely on the “how-to” skills that will help each attendee reach his (or her) full potential as a great sales leader and coach, as well as best practices to build and sustain elite, high-performance sales teams. Visit www.bta.org/SalesMgt to register. 22

BTA Building My Business Webinar: “State of the Industry: What Color is the Sky in Your World?” In this webinar, West McDonald of Tigerpaw Software and Greg Walters of ArcDrive will discuss the current state of the imaging channel, as well as its future. They will explore many of the pressures facing our industry, as well as dive into just how realistic (or unrealistic) managed IT services is to drive the industry forward. Visit www.bta.org/BMB to register.

September 5

BTA Service Success Training Taught by veteran service manager Ken Edmonds, BTA Service Success Training is the first training program for supervisors and managers that addresses the fundamentals of supervision and management. Supervisors and managers who take this course will have a better understanding of their service departments and the actions they can take to increase productivity and profitability while boosting their teams’ morale and competence. The online format, with live lecture and discussion, will allow your supervisors and managers to continue working in their jobs while learning at the same time. This program runs for 15 weeks, meeting twice a week. Visit www. bta.org/ServiceSuccess to register.

12-13 Grand Slam - Hosted by BTA East New York City, New York The Grand Slam event, hosted by BTA East, will feature: a keynote address by Chris Messina, inventor of the hashtag; a dealer panel discussion on how dealers are growing net-new business; five additional educational sessions led by industry leaders; time to network with peers and exhibiting sponsors, including during a reception and breaks; and an evening at ONE Mix/Dine, a bar and restaurant on the 101st floor of One World Trade Center that has floor-to-ceiling views of Manhattan. BTA member dealers receive 2-for-1 registration and can use their $150 or $250 discount promo code received with membership. Visit www.bta.org/BTANewYork to register. For more information, visit www.bta.org/Education or call (800) 843-5059.

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

Dealer Members Digital Office Centre Inc., Minot, ND Vendor Member WatchGuard Technologies, Seattle, WA Consultant/Trainer Member Managed Print Services Association, Mt. Royal, NJ For full contact information of these new members, visit www.bta.org. Hytec Hard-Drive Solutions Need a secure hard-drive solution for your customers’ end-of-lease equipment? Hytec Drive Secure provides turnkey solutions for certified hard-diskdrive sanitization, destruction and replacement while minimizing potential dealership liability. Information stored on digital copier/MFP hard drives is most susceptible when the hard drive is replaced or at the lease maturity of the equipment. Hytec has developed offerings for dealers to increase service revenue while protecting their customers’ data. Whether erasing, destroying or replacing hard drives, Hytec has several options for your customers’ needs. All of Hytec’s services are insured and come with a certificate of destruction or sanitization, and hard-shell cases are available for more secure transactions. BTA members receive a 15-percent discount. Visit www.bta.org/Hytec for more information. 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. For more than 20 years, WatchGuard Technologies, headquartered in Seattle, Washington, has pioneered and delivered cybersecurity technology with easy-to-deploy and easy-to-manage solutions. With network security, secure Wi-Fi, multifactor authentication and network intelligence products and services, WatchGuard enables more than 80,000 small and mid-size enterprises to protect their most important assets. In a world where the cybersecurity landscape is constantly evolving and new threats emerge each day, WatchGuard makes enterprise-grade cybersecurity technology accessible for every company. www.watchguard.com

Precision Sales Partners connects your sales team with decision makers at the right time for you. Exclusive in the copier/MFP, printer and office technology industry, the company provides quality lead generation and appointment setting based on your specific guidelines. Precision Sales Partners was founded on outbound lead generation and it understands every aspect of it. With more than 15 years of experience in the industry, the company has perfected a process that puts your sales reps in front of prospects who need your products and services. www.precisionsalespartners.com A full list of BTA vendor members can be found online at www.bta.org.

For more information, visit www.bta.org. www.offi cetechnol ogymag.com | Au g u s t 2019 | 25

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PRINCIPAL ISSUES

Office Furniture, Etc. An insider’s look at this adjacent opportunity by: Hilary Troia, Office Gallery International

o matter the industry, keeping up with technology comes with the territory. That includes up-todate office furniture and design solutions to make employees more productive and increase customer satisfaction. Long gone are the days when an adjustable chair and metal desk defined an office space. Today, some offices require areas to fit desktop computers with separate hard drives. Other companies maintain a transient workforce of employees who only come in occasionally and just need to plug in their laptops for a few hours. Still others require a certain number of private office spaces but lack already-constructed walls. There is a fix for all of these scenarios and many more. At Office Gallery International, we offer our clients TECSLATE, an interactive widescreen display that provides a way for clients to see exactly what their redesigned offices will look like as opposed to previous and much less illustrative methods of sketching on a piece of graph paper or taping lines on an office floor. TECSLATE gives us a better sense of the challenges and areas for office improvements, while providing our clients with a much clearer visual of how their newly designed offices will look. Workstations and cubicles have come a long way in recent years. Today, benching systems are standard in many offices; these open-concept workstations are generally used for quick “touchdowns” for employees who come into the office for a limited time as opposed to employees who maintain a majority of their hours in the office and have their own workspaces. Full-panel and semi-private workstations now include some acoustic considerations through the use of paneling and tack boards, and offer a variety of storage options. Today’s workstations feature modern amenities like streamlined designs, frosted glass and built-in power and data outlets. We regularly talk to clients about what is important to them in terms of workspace design and, often, the answer includes some facet of document storage. Most businesses realize the need to streamline document storage. Of course, today’s MFPs free up workspace on employees’ desks. Likewise, the general trend away from printing and toward more digital filing decreases the need for traditional file storage. For those who do need to store printed files, options have become much more

aesthetically pleasing than traditional metal file cabinets — many can be customized to reflect the branding of an organization through color selection and other considerations. The standing desk continues to be a popular choice and with it has come some innovative accessories, including perches and scoops. Although many people are wary of spending too much time sitting, it can be challenging and even stressful for some to stand for long periods. Perches are designed to alleviate this issue by allowing employees to rest their legs for a few moments without completely sitting. Scoops, meanwhile, offer a slightly more “concentrated” experience while working from a standing desk. Scoops are similar to balance boards, but not quite as extreme; the user is constantly reminded to keep his (or her) core engaged and he can more easily shift his weight while standing with the use of a scoop. Along the lines of health consciousness, ergonomic chairs — by far the most popular choice — can prevent injuries and be fit to any body type. Today’s features include length-sliding seat pans that adjust to leg length, ratcheted backs for proper lumbar support and height-adjusting arms so all angles of the body are positioned at the recommended 90 degrees. The conference table has become a focal point of many offices, serving as location central to conduct interoffice and/or client meetings. Today’s conference table is no mere wooden surface. Yes, the size, shape and ease of navigation remain priorities when selecting this important piece of furniture, but once these factors have been determined, it is time to think in terms of A/V equipment and how it will be powered. Here is where data power modules come into play; these components are customized to offer any combination of data, power, USB and HDMI outlets. They can be built into a table and powered through an outlet either in the floor or on the wall. At Office Gallery, we have found the Connectrac product line to be great since it fits in between the seams of flooring and can provide power to the table from the wall without any tripping hazards caused by stray cords. Dry-erase boards are conference-room staples — with good reason — as they provide opportunities to better visualize outcomes from brainstorming and collaboration. But they

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can better concentrate and be more produccan take up a lot of space and require much tive. Here is how it works: A sound masking consideration as to the best positioning. Sound masking reduces system consists of a series of loudspeakers Plus, they may need to be erased and reor eliminates awareness installed in a grid-like pattern in the ceiling. written on repeatedly in one session. Enter of preexisting sounds in a They distribute an engineered background dry-erase paint — all four walls of a room given area and can make sound to raise an office’s ambient level in a can be painted to essentially transform the a work environment controlled fashion. Voilà — noise control, entire room into a dry-erase board so you speech privacy, improved productivity and never run out of usable space. more comfortable, while a fast return on investment. Speech privacy is a must in the office envicreating speech privacy ... As technology continues to evolve, so, ronment (as is employee concentration), but too, will office design and furniture. Today often there is simply not enough background is an exciting time to be in this industry or ambient sound, leaving people to work in a pin-drop atmosphere. The background sound level in many and we cannot wait to see what tomorrow brings. n Hilary Troia is president and co-owner of Office Gallery offices is so low you can hear conversations from up to 50 feet International based in Norwood, away. This can be a real problem when sensitive information is Massachusetts, which offers quality-crafted being discussed. But there is a cure for that, too. We have found office furniture, space planning and design sound masking (we offer LogiSon) to be popular among our cliservices for businesses of all sizes. ents. In a nutshell, it is the addition of natural or artificial sound. She can be reached at Sound masking reduces or eliminates awareness of preexisthilary@officegallery.net. ing sounds in a given area and can make a work environment Visit www.officegallery.net. more comfortable, while creating speech privacy so workers

OPEN NOMINATIONS FOR THE

2019 ELITE DEALER AWARDS

2019 I

NOMINATION DEADLINE: SEPTEMBER 13, 2019

A eW e ek In I M

Elite Dealer Nomination Form Available at www.enxmag.com www.offi cetechnol ogymag.com | Au g u s t 2019 | 27

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DEALERS HELPING DEALERS

Service Calls & Travel Costs How do dealers keep CPC rates competitive? Compiled by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine

ollowing is another of the questions submitted by a dealer member as part of BTA’s Dealers Helping Dealers resource, and several of the answers received. These answers and many others can be found in the members-only section of the BTA website. Visit www.bta.org/Dealers HelpingDealers. You will need your username and password to access this member resource.

“We have calculated the increased travel costs upfront. We try to acquire multiple accounts in a location near a larger account to bundle travel to that location. If we have an emergency call in that city, we stop by a few locations in town to check on the customers/machines.” Chris Bennett, CFO Bennett Office Technologies Inc., Willmar, Minnesota

Ours is a small dealership in a very rural area. We cover multiple counties. Often, it is a one- to two-hour drive between customers when we have to make service calls. How can we keep our CPC rate competitive, yet still cover the cost of travel?

“I would need to know more info: What is the current ratio of average travel time/average repair time? What is the percentage of tech accountable time? You would want to try to calculate how much this extra travel time is costing and affecting service profitability before determining how much, if any, to adjust the CPC rate to account for the extended geographical coverage area. I definitely would be focusing on first completion percentage and also tech car stock if I was on the leadership team in this dealership.” Eric Mishkin, financial controller/HR manager WCC Business Solutions, Clearwater, Florida

“That is a delicate balance, but the best suggestion I can come up with is to try and focus sales and saturate those areas to have more dots on that spread-out map. The more dense a territory is, the more profitable your service department can be. In my experience, we have virtually given away equipment and priced service at 30% margin to build an area’s density. In one instance, we placed 150 machines in a rural area and, while that account was not very profitable, by having someone stationed there, the adjacent accounts became very profitable. Also, we got references that led to more growth. On the other side of that, you may want to focus your business in dense areas and restrict the areas where salespeople can sell. If the area is very rural, you may just have to price it right and lose deals you know will cause you to lose money. The bottom line is it needs to be a group effort between ownership, sales leadership and service leadership. Expanding territories requires investment and everyone needs to be on board with shortterm, lower-margin business in an effort to gain market share.” Chip Turner, director of service and administration RITE Technology, Sarasota, Florida “I am in a similar situation to this dealer. We try to keep our coverage to an hour or so away from home and work on picking up clicks through actively selling MPS. It is easy to go farther away from home sometimes when there is additional business that can be picked up nearby with more effort from sales reps.” Neville Chaney, president WJ Office, Boone, North Carolina

“We have trip charges for customers a certain number of miles outside our dispatch area. It increases based on miles away, in concentric-circle bands. So someone that is 50 miles away may incur a travel charge of $50 to $75.” John Hines, CFO Copiers Northwest Inc., Seattle, Washington “We include travel in zones and price our contracts accordingly. Example: Zone 0-60 at one rate and Zone 60-80 at a different rate. Using e-automate, we can monitor travel costs to help set these rates as competitively as possible and cover our expenses. We also utilize company vehicles.” George Grover, customer support specialist MMIT Technical Services, Urbandale, Iowa 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.

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SELLING SOLUTIONS

The Art of Recovery You might even strengthen customer relationships by: Troy Harrison, Troy Harrison & Associates

ow strong are your customer relationships? If you are like most business owners, your immediate response is to say: “We have great customer relationships. Our customers love us and truly value our services.” But do they really? Before we dive into the meat of this article, let’s first look at the three levels of customer relationships. Level One: Occasional Buyers — Occasional Buyers do not have a relationship with you. Every purchase is a new buying process, and if you offer the best value on that particular buying process, you get the business — and, if not, your competitors do. If you make a mistake servicing this type of buyer, it will be a good long while before you get another shot. Level Two: Habitual Buyers — Habitual Buyers buy pretty much everything from you, because they buy from you. In other words, they do not really know why and they do not understand much about your company, but when they need what you sell, it is your business card they pull out. The commonality between Occasional and Habitual Buyers is that one mistake can cost you their business. Again, you do not really have a relationship with them. Level Three: Loyal Customers — Loyal Customers also buy pretty much everything from you, but they know why. They understand and can articulate your value nearly as well as you can, and are happy to evangelize for you to their counterparts. Here is the key difference between the other two levels and this one: Your relationship with them can survive occasional mistakes. Here is the truth: We all make mistakes. Every salesperson, every company, every service department and every production plant; you and I all mess up from time to time. What separates the truly successful companies — and the truly good customer relationships — is their ability to recover from screw-ups. If you handle the customer correctly when he (or she) is angry and dissatisfied, you can actually lay the groundwork for a stronger relationship than you had before. Here are the five keys to a successful recovery: (1) Understand — When a customer calls in and something is going wrong, there is a great chance that he will be on his worst behavior. You have to understand and allow for that. Some of what the customer says will be substantive and relate directly to the problem at hand, and some of it will simply be venting. The best strategy is to let the customer vent while picking through his words to find the root of the problem. While you are at it, show an understanding of how this failure

on your company’s part has affected him personally. Say you are sorry — and really mean it. (2) Accept the Blame — When something goes wrong, it is a natural impulse to look for someone to blame. If you want to really compound your customer’s dissatisfaction, blame “that darned service department” or “the people in manufacturing.” Guess what? Your customer is upset at ABC Company and does not care which department is messing with his world. He just knows that he cuts the checks to ABC Company and expects ABC Company to fix the problem. And, at the moment, you are ABC Company. Forget throwing someone else under the bus and get busy fixing the problem. (3) Find Some Solutions, Fast — Usually, you can find or devise a solution to a problem fairly quickly. Sometimes, however, you must rely on people outside of your company (for instance, if you are a distributor and you have to talk to a manufacturer). Do not be afraid to be the squeaky wheel that needs grease if you are in that situation. Your customer is counting on you. Most importantly, do not leave your customer hanging. What your customer wants most from you is comfort — www.offi cetechnol ogymag.com | Au g u s t 2019 | 29

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valued gifts will remind the customer that comfort that his problem is in good hands you value the relationship. with someone who cares. Forget to follow Follow up and confirm Recovering from adversity in sales is up and keep your customer in the loop and the customer’s satisfaction as much about being willing to recognize he thinks you do not care. When in doubt, the same way you the adversity as it is working to fix it. Too follow up — even if it is to tell him that you confirm that an many salespeople avoid problems and they do not have an answer yet. objection is handled are left with angry, upset customers. Re(4) Follow Up — Too many salespeople cover from errors correctly and you might think the problem is solved when the saleswhen you are selling the be able to strengthen your relationships. person says it is solved. This is nonsense. merits of your business. Do it incorrectly and you are easy prey for The problem is solved when the customer your competitors. n says it is solved — and not until then. FolTroy Harrison is the author of “Sell Like You Mean It!” low up and confirm the customer’s satisfaction the same way and “The Pocket Sales Manager,” and is a speaker, you confirm that an objection is handled when you are selling consultant and sales navigator. He helps the merits of your business. companies build more profitable (5) Make it Up to the Customer — A truly successful reand productive sales forces. covery involves a token of appreciation. Your customer needs To schedule a free 45-minute Sales Strategy to know and remember that he was not a hassle to you, that Review, call (913) 645-3603 or you are truly sorry the problem happened and that you are deemail troy@troyharrison.com. termined to make it right with him. Small tokens of appreciVisit www.troyharrison.com. ation go a long way here. Gift cards, hats or other sincere and

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