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CONTENTS Volume 15 No. 1 G
FEATURE ARTICLES 10
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The Solution Specialist Providing a needed competitive edge
PRINCIPAL ISSUES Finding Fulfillment Use intrinsic motivators to build success
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by Brent Hoskins Office Technology Magazine
by David Ramos Strategy Development
For some dealers, the old way is viewed as the best way. Selling boxes against a monthly quota remains the status quo. For others, a transition has taken place. They have outpaced competitors and are seen by their clients as technology partners, helping to streamline documentbased business processes and providing solutions.
When Michael Jordan came out of retirement for the second time, he said he needed the competition — the chance to prove himself against younger players — more than the money. Many successful businesspeople who could afford to retire keep on working. Successful people find fulfillment in the work itself and not just the money they earn.
Q&A: Ronelle Ingram Long-time volunteer assumes 2008-09 BTA presidency by Brent Hoskins Office Technology Magazine
SELLING SOLUTIONS Telemarketing Success Steps to get the appointment via telephone
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On July 1, Ronelle Ingram became the 74th national president of the Business Technology Association (BTA). She is vice president of technical service at Steven Enterprises Inc., a 16-year-old wideformat dealership located in Irvine, Calif.
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by Jim Kahrs PPMC Inc.
Almost every dealership I have ever worked with was looking for ways to grow sales. Very often the game plan included a telemarketing component aimed at getting the sales team in front of qualified prospects. For some reason, telemarketing is an area of difficulty for many. With that in mind, I have dedicated this article to describing a plan that will bring success.
Service, Parts & Turns Do your technicians have what they need? By Jack Duncan Jack Duncan Consulting
Sometimes we forget that service and parts are really “joined at the hip.” Service cannot make the necessary margins if there is an excess number of rescheduled service calls due to lack of parts at the right place and the right time.
Leadership Strategies Progressing from concept to coach
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by Tom Kramer Strategy Mapping Selling
Leading today’s sales team is a complex job and it takes much more than just managing and motivating people. Today’s business environment has changed dramatically, and along with it, the traditional manager’s job of command and control has evolved into a leadership role characterized by collaboration, communication, coaching and empowerment.
COURTS & CAPITOLS 24
The Family Business Be sure to address the challenges & threats by Robert C. Goldberg BTA General Counsel
The consolidation that has taken place over the last 25 years has resulted in a unique business profile for the independent dealer. Today, a majority of independents represent family businesses, which have many advantages, but face many challenges as well. 4 | www.of ficetechnologymag.com | July 2008
DEPARTMENTS 6
Executive Director’s Page
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BTA President’s Message
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Advertiser Index
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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S PAGE
Rising Gas Prices — What’s The Answer? h ere I live, in suburban Kansas City, Mo., we have not yet reached the $4 mark for a gallon of unleaded gasoline. Perhaps it is just a matter of time. Of course, I know many of you are now at $4plus a gallon. How are you addressing rising gas prices at your dealership? I asked the question in a recent e-mail survey of Office Technology dealer readers. Here is a sampling of the responses: “We have raised our trip charge for billable customers and added a $3.25 fuel surcharge to contract customers.” “Upon the anniversary of our maintenance agreements we are increasing our rates at a higher percentage.” “Like most everyone, we raised our per-mile to tech to compensate for the extra difference. In addition, we’re giving out gas cards at weekly service meetings. As of yet, since we don’t use company cars, we haven’t added any surcharges to customers.” “Thinking of adding a fuel surcharge for per-call and maintenance contract customers in the range of $12 for each service call on a per-call basis and a flat $5 per month on maintenance contract customers.” “We have raised our travel charge for more distant customers and we are trying to solve more problems over the phone.” “At this time we have not had to pass along any price increase to our clients. We changed our default freight carrier, which seems to have helped . We continue to monitor our freight bills and staff gas costs and will reassess as needed.” “Minimizing trips, vehicle maintenance,
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reducing weight in vehicles. At this point, we have not implemented a surcharge.” “Increased mileage reimbursement to techs. Raised hourly rates to customers from $125 to $135 per hour. Increasing MA’s annually by 12 percent, which is a bump from 10 percent.” “We have traditionally offered free delivery. However, we are currently exploring the possibility of charging a nominal fee for deliveries less than $100.” ”We are paying mileage. With gas at $3.99 per gallon, we are paying 45 cents per mile. We are also charging for supply deliveries except for machines under full maintenance.” “We are stuck. Ninety percent of our customers are on CPC contracts, meaning we don’t bill them regularly, so we can’t add a surcharge. Our charge customers are few and far between.” “We have added an explicit ‘fuel surcharge’ of $5 to every billable service call invoice and, to date, we have received very little ‘push back’ from customers.” “We raised our annual increase by 1 percent on all service contracts.” “We charge all new customers $5 shipping and handling on each invoice for monthly service. They are not happy about it.” “ We have switched to a lower cost vendor for delivering our supplies to customers under maintenance agreements. We have not added any surplus charges at this time for supply deliveries, but we are increasing our annual maintenance contract renewal prices by an additional 5 percent on average.” Additional responses can be found with this column at www.bta.org. — 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 Jack Duncan, Jack Duncan Consulting www.jackduncanconsulting.com Robert C. Goldberg, General Counsel Business Technology Association Jim Kahrs, Prosperity Plus Management Consulting Inc. www.prosperityplus.com Tom Kramer, Strategy Mapping Selling www.strategymappingselling.com David Ramos, Strategy Development www.strategydevelopment.org
®
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 Membership & Marketing Manager valerie@bta.org Mary Hopkins Database Administrator mary@bta.org Teresa Leerar Bookkeeper teresa@bta.org Brian Smith Membership Sales Representative brian@bta.org ©2008 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 ®
Share BTA’s Value With Your Employees have always believed that the most important part of your company is the employee. Sales, customer service, profits and a pleasant working atmosphere are important to the success of your business. In each case, it is the employees who create your sales, customer service, profits and pleasant company culture. As an active BTA member who has never been a business owner, I am personally aware of the employee side of working in the office technology industry. As a senior manager, I have dealt with job descriptions, placing ads, interviewing, hiring, training, labor hours, motivating, firing and always keeping an eye on profitability. For those of you who are owners, I encourage you to open up BTA member activities to all of your employees. Encourage them to sign up for the BTA Hotline Online, read this magazine, regularly visit and explore the BTA Web site, and attend BTA meetings, conferences and educational offerings. You do not have to be a business owner to be actively involved in BTA. My first relationship with BTA was attending the FIX: Cost Management for Service course in 1975. Today, 30-plus years later, I am still actively involved as a BTA volunteer instructor of FIX, and now as national BTA president. Throughout my work history, I have been privileged to be guided in my life’s work by the people I have met through my association with BTA. Through it all, BTA’s members, activities, knowledge transfer, magazine, conferences, meetings, dinners, and professional and personal relations have
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made my privileges as an employee of a member company invaluable. BTA has been my business partner, enabling me to surround myself with successful people who serve as role models, mentors and friends. Whenever I have needed another dealer to help me do an inter-territorial installation anywhere in the United States, for example, I have gone to the BTA list of member dealers. When I call to make an inquiry as to the willingness of another dealer to partner on an installation, I always refer to our BTA connection. So, again, I encourage you to share the value you receive from your BTA membership w ith y our employe e s. Th e more involved and knowledgeable all employees are, the greater their potential for understanding the big picture. If you have taken advantage of your BTA membership, then you know its value. When I simply consider one call or one e-mail exchange with BTA’s General Counsel Bob Goldberg, as an example, his services alone are worth the cost of your membership dues. He works diligently to provide owners and key employees with legal help that is invaluable in the day-to-day needs of a dealership. Unfortunately, when working the BTA booth at various business shows and conferences, I am saddened by those who walk into the booth and say BTA never does anything for them. When I ask them if they have attended any seminars or conferences, called Bob Goldberg, taken advantage of our free monthly webinars, or read BTA Hotline Online and Office Technology, I receive blank stares. Take it from someone who knows firsthand — if you give nothing and take part in nothing, you will receive nothing in return. I — Ronelle Ingram
2008-2009 Board of Directors President Ronelle Ingram Steven Enterprises Inc. 17952 Sky Park Circle Ste. E Irvine, CA 92614 ronellei@msn.com President-Elect Bill James WJS Enterprises Inc. 3315 Ridgelake Drive Metairie, LA 70002 bjames@wjsenterprises.com Vice President Rock Janecek Burtronics Business Systems Inc. 216 S. Arrowhead Ave. P.O. Box 1170 San Bernardino, CA 92408 rjanecek@burtronics.com BTA East Tom Ouellette Budget Document Technology 251 Goddard Road P.O. Box 2322 Lewiston, ME 04240 touellette@bdtme.com BTA Mid-America Mike Blake Corporate Business Systems LLC 6300 Monona Drive Madison, WI 53716 mblake@corpbussystems.com BTA Southeast Bob Smith Copiers Plus Inc. 408 Chicago Drive Fayetteville, NC 28306 bobsmith@copiers-plus.com BTA West Greg Valen Hawaii Business Equipment Inc. Toshiba Business Solutions - Hawaii 590-A Paiea St. Honolulu, HI 96819 gregory.valen@tabs.toshiba.com Ex-Officio/General Counsel Robert C. Goldberg Schoenberg Finkel Newman & Rosenberg LLC 222 S. Riverside Plaza Ste. 2100 Chicago, IL 60606 robert.goldberg@sfnr.com
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The Solution Specialist Providing a needed competitive edge by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine
or some dealers, the old way is viewed as the best way. Selling boxes against a monthly quota remains the status quo. For others, a transition has taken place. They have outpaced competitors and are seen by their clients as technology partners, helping to streamline documentbased business processes and providing solutions to overcome pain points. In between are those dealers who have seen the “writing on the wall,” so to speak, and are now making changes in order to ensure the longterm viability of their dealerships. Among those dealers in the latter two groups, one of the focal points of change is the addition of the solution specialist. While the job description for this new role in the sales process may vary somewhat from dealership to dealership, the vision is generally consistent. This is the person who is helping the dealership do more than just sell boxes. He (or she) is charged with the responsibility of understanding the customer’s business processes and facilitating the implementation of a software-based solution or integration of hardware with existing software applications. Darrell Amy, founder of the sales and marketing consultancy Dealer Marketing Systems and instructor for the Business Technology Association’s ProSolutions workshop, notes that, today, when dealers are talking about “solution sales” they are most often talking about document management or managed print services solutions. “The solution specialist is the person who comes alongside the sales rep to help drive these software-based opportunities through to fulfillment,” he says. “Typically, sales reps engage this person once they have found an opportunity in the account for a solution sale.” The solution specialist is an “overlay” to the general line
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sales force that is “specifically responsible for supporting the sale of connectivity and software,” says Dennis Amorosano, senior director of software product marketing and solutions business development for Canon U.S.A. Inc., in agreement. “This is someone the general line sales force can call on in cases where they run into selling opportunities for technologies that are above and beyond the core hardware products that they are typically trying to drive day in and day out.” In some dealerships, a current employee is transitioned into the solution specialist role. Other times, he is recruited from value-added resellers, system integrators or software vendors. Whatever the case, the solution specialist who is involved in pre-sales activity should “be able to understand workflow and processes and how they relate to the key measurements of profitability inside a business,” says Amy. “The dealership will ‘miss the boat’ if it sends out a technical person who doesn’t know how to bridge the gap between technology and the real business world.” Thomas Davis, vice president of marketing applications development for Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America, cites one other key trait of the successful solution specialist. “He or she has to be an individual who understands that it is the MFP you are selling, not applications and integration services,” he says. “Everything has to lean toward how the MFP is going to integrate with the applications the customer currently has or that the dealership is going to implement. The MFP is the dealer’s core business.” Can the general line sales representative simply take on the dual role of solution specialist? “While every dealer and every manufacturer would love to see the day when the
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general line sales force is the expectations on the part “Given the nature of the capable enough to be able to of the customer, I think it is expectations on the part drive a box as well as a solualmost incumbent upon of the customer, I think it tion-based selling approach, dealerships to layer capabilitoday’s reality is somewhat ties into their organizations is almost incumbent upon di stant from that,� says to be able to sell to these new dealerships to layer Amorosano. “That is not to requirements,� he says. “If capabilities into their say that it has not improved they don’t, they’re going to organizations to be able dramatically in recent years, wind up in situations where to sell to these new requirements.� because certainly it has. But, they are either going to get — Dennis Amorosano there is still no question that outsold or find themselves Cann U.S.A. Inc. when you look at the sales just trying to break out of the p ersonn el inside of th e commoditization that has channel operations, you will find that you will have a lot of entered our business to a great degree. They are also going to folks who are making their living on being successful in get caught in scenarios where they have to compete on price, driving boxes.� which is certainly not a business model that is tenable for any With that reality and the growing requirements among dealer on a long-term basis.� end-users for software-based solutions, a separate solution Davis offers a similar comment. What is going to happen specialist is important, says Amorosano. “Given the nature of to the dealership that has no solution specialist? “It is going
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—Andy Slawetsky, President, Industry Analysts, Inc.
We know how much technology needs good people, which might be why people are saying such good things about us. At Toshiba, we know the copier’s just the beginning. It’s people who make the real difference—dealers working together with us to offer customers better solutions. And that’s another reason we work so hard to make sure our dealers know how much we appreciate them. To learn more about joining our award-winning team, please call 949-462-6165 or email partnerwithaleader@tabs.toshiba.com. Toshiba. Human innovation. Leading innovation.
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to lose to the competition,” consultancy. “And I think it “... In some cases, without he says. “Someone will go i s going to enhance th e a specialist, the dealership into the customer location value of the dealership,” he won’t go back to the — a specialist or someone says. “If the dealership is with application knowledge prepared for future techcustomer until the contract — build a reputation and nologies, any external reis up in three years ... friendship with the decision view or valuation would With a specialist, there is maker, and the incumbent probably incorporate that.” reason to go back in on a dealership will lose the busiIn addition, “more oppormore frequent basis ...” ness. These are not kind tunities will occur than ever — Thomas Davis, Sharp Imaging words, but that’s the reality.” before,” says Davis. “Underand Information Company of America Th e li st of reasons for stand that, in some cases, dealerships to have one or without a specialist, the more solution specialists on staff appears to be growing. dealership won’t go back to the customer until the contract Among them are the greater margins on both hardware and is up in three years. But now, with a specialist, there is software that can be realized, says Mitch Morgan, former vice reason to go back in on a more frequent basis to understand president of professional services (developed for IKON by what the customer is doing. It’s a whole different talk track Morgan) for IKON Office Solutions and now president of Pro- and it is entry into the door.” fessional Services Roundtable, a dealer peer collaboration Given the reasons for adding a solution specialist, have dealerships taken the step? An e-mail survey sent to Office Technology dealer readers for this article provides a favorable indication. Of the 72 respondents, 76 percent indicate that they do employ one or more solution specialists. Specifically, 53 percent indicate that they employ one, while 47 percent indicate that they employ two to five. However, another question in the survey asked readers to select from three choices to describe the result of employing one or more solution specialists. Only 14 percent of those responding to the question selected, “We are realizing substantial increased revenue and profit.” Meanwhile, 62 percent selected, “We are realizing moderate increased revenue and profit.” The remaining 24 percent selected, “To date, we are realizing no increased revenue and profit.” If the benefits of adding a solution specialist are thought to be so significant, why does the survey seem to reveal less than ideal results for many dealerships? Morgan suggests that the problem lies with the definition of “solution specialist” among dealers and the expectations of the person in that role. “I would challenge that 76 percent really have what I describe as a dedicated pre-sales solution specialist on board,” he says, noting, too, that the role of the specialist is often not clearly defined. “I would estimate that a third of those 76 percent don’t really have somebody in place with role clarity, an expectation of accountability and a focus on pre-sales activity.” Amy agrees. “The question is: Are those solution specialists properly engaged inside of the dealership?” he asks. “Do they know what they should be doing? Or, are they just 14 | w w w . o f f i c e t e c h n o l o g y m a g . c o m | J u l y 2 0 0 8
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Your Perspective The final question of an e-mail survey conducted in conjunction with this article asked dealers: “Do you have any general comments you would like to share on the topic of the solution specialist?” Following is a look at some of the comments received. (See this article at www.bta.org for additional comments.) “We have found that having a person in just the role of solution specialist is not working. Of our solution specialists, we have one who also is a hardware sales rep and the other four are IT/technicians. We find that it is easier to develop leads from within service than through sales.” “Without a solutions specialist it’s impossible for a sales rep to succeed in the print management and especially the document management arena. We learned early on [that] a rep can make some serious mistakes without a specialist’s assistance throughout the sale.” ”A solution specialist has given us credibility. [We are] no longer just ‘a copier company.’ It also has increased the number of billable clicks. However, competition has driven the per-click charge down, taking away the ‘net gain.’” “Solution sales is a top-down initiative for the entire company.” ”We recognize the need for such a person(s) since it has become very obvious to us that our current complement of account executives are incapable of selling solutions. [We are] currently looking at profiling and writing a job description.“ “It is a necessary position to stay competitive in the hardware market.” “The future will belong to firms that embrace ‘a consultative solution sales’ posture. We have committed to this business model.” “We are using our sales reps as a quarterback for solution sales with a solutions team supporting the rep in pre-sales, implementation, installation and support of the software.” “[It’s] hard to justify the costs. We need two more copier reps first, then we can consider it. It’s a ways away.” “We realize that a solution specialist is important to future growth, but to this point it has been a big investment in time and training with minimal results. [It is ] very frustrating and the economy hasn’t helped in this area.” ”Solutions set us apart from our competition. Software and services allow us to partner with our clients and prospects in developing viable plans to assist with increasing their efficiencies and lowering the cost of their operations.” “Our solution specialist was employed with a software company and sold and supported software packages, so he is capable of and expected to make calls on his own as well as to assist salespeople ...”
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‘flying out there’ on their own? Many times, with the absence of a job description, the solution specialist gets thrown all over the place. One week he is working on the dealership’s IT problems, the next week he is sent out to a problem with a major account. So, a lot of dealers have them, but not all of them are effectively using them.” The effective use of the specialist will occur when sales representatives are trained to seek document-related pain points and then quickly engage the specialist to conduct a business process analysis, says Amy. “When those two key components are working in concert, that’s where we are seeing dealers enjoy profitable success with solutions,” he says. “When they are not, the solution specialist is just going out to demonstrate software and everybody gets frustrated with the long sales cycle, which usually becomes the eternal sales cycle.” The dealership must provide “metrics-type role clarity” where the solution specialist has specific areas of focus that will “help drive the activities and behaviors that are going to result in success,” says Morgan. “The way to drive that behavior is to align specialists with specific reps or specific teams. Have them very, very visible in the sales bullpen.” Amy adds that another contributor to the dealership’s success is proper marketing of its solutions program, including the promotion of the solution specialist’s expertise. “Initially, we think the solution specialist is a sales rep, but if you think about the context of what we are selling, it is the solution, and the specialist is actually a part of that solution,” he explains. “That person’s knowledge and capability is as much a part of the package as the MFP or the software. So, in essence, when you are investing in a solution specialist, you are actually investing in a sellable asset.” If yours is among those dealerships that do not employ a solution specialist, perhaps it is time to consider the competitive edge and added revenue this position could provide. Consider, too, the value of developing tighter relationships with customers. “If someone has a document management system that your dealership installed, you are always going to be involved with the hardware connected to it,” says Amy. “Adding a solution specialist is an exciting and very practical way to be able to lock-in relationships with clients in today’s extremely competitive environment.” Brent Hoskins, executive director of the Business Technology Association, is editor of Office Technology magazine. He can be reached at brent@bta.org.
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Q&A: Ronelle Ingram Long-time volunteer assumes 2008-09 BTA presidency by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine
n July 1, Ronelle Ingram became the 74th national president of the Business Technology Association (BTA). She is vice president of technical service at Steven Enterprises Inc., a 16-yearold wide-format dealership located in Irvine, Calif. After graduating from UCLA, Ingram entered the office technology industry. She was the first female graduate of Savin’s full-line technical training school, which led to a position as a field service technician. After two years as a technician, Ingram moved into a ser vice manager position at a Mita dealership in Southern California. She then moved on to FKM Copiers, also in Irvine, where she spent 16 years as director of service and director of supply sales. Ingram is known to many in the industry as a presenter and writer. She has openly shared with others the trials and tribulations of her life in service management through her monthly columns in several industry publications. Ingram is also the author of the book “Service With A Smile,” which has become known as a service manager’s best friend. Recently, Office Technology magazine had the opportunity to visit with Ingram. She was asked about her role as a BTA volunteer, the association and the dealer channel. Following are her responses.
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OT: What led to your service as a BTA volunteer and how have you benefited from your years of service to the association? Ingram: I first became involved with BTA in 1975. After 18 | w w w . o f f i c e t e c h n o l o g y m a g . c o m | J u l y 2 0 0 8
being a successful field service t echnician for Savin , I was approached and hired by a start-up copier dealership as their entire service department. This is where BTA first became part of my life. I attended the FIX: Cost Management for Service course that is offered by BTA (then NOMDA). In 1985, I became the instructor for FIX. Through the years I have “attended” 100-plus presentations (as an instructor) of the course. Each and every FIX has offered me new ideas and reminded me there is always room for improvement when running a service department. FIX has been the unequivocal catalyst to everything I have achieved as an office equipment field service professional. Being an involved member of BTA has opened doors of opportunity to me that would have never happened if not for my involvement as a volunteer. As a non-owner, early in my career as a working technician, I realized attending industry events would stretch my personal budget. Being an active BTA volunteer offered me free admission to local events in exchange for helping out at the event. Soon I was being asked to participate as a speaker and writer. Before long I had earned the right for all my expenses being covered in exchange for my active participation in industry events. Keeping active in BTA and industry events is an easy way to find out what is happening, what is important and what I need to know to improve myself as an employee. It makes me focus on the importance of each employee doing his or her fair share to create profit within the company. Actually, I have
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used the greater part of my personal have taught thousands of service profesMy biggest hope this year vacation time to take part in these sionals how to create profitability within events. Personally, I would rather be exertheir service departments. And, finally, I is to spread the power cising my mind by learning than getting a have shared the BTA philosophy over of dealers working suntan at an expensive resort. international borders through presentatogether for the common I believe in the value of BTA participations in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, good of each other, tion from a very selfish point of view. I Europe, the Caribbean and all 50 states. the buying public and have received more than 30 years of nonthe industry as a whole. stop knowledge, friendship and advenOT: What do you hope to accomture. I am a more valuable employee to plish during your year as nathe business for which I work because of my BTA involve- tional BTA president? ment. The more I give, the greater the return on my effort. Ingram: My biggest hope this year is to spread the power of dealers working together for the common good of each other, OT: What do you bring to the BTA presidency the buying public and the industry as a whole. Profit is a vital that you believe will assist you in serving the part of the American way of life. The better trained, mentored association and its members? and managed your employees are, the happier and more proIngram: I know service. I understand all aspects of the ductive your workforce will be. Happy employees create happy service department — dispatcher, field tech, parts person, customers. Happy customers create profit. BTA is the perfect warehouse manager, interviewer, trainer, maintenance vehicle to educate and inspire workers and company owners. agreements and, always, the need for profitability. Beyond my service department expertise, I bring other OT: Why do you believe BTA is important to the notable experience to the BTA presidency. For example, I office technology industry and to the indehave worked for independent dealerships and for a manu- pendent dealer channel? facturer. In addition, as the instructor for BTA’s FIX course, I Ingram: Just as our industry continues to change, so does BTA.
BTA 2008-09 President-Elect Bill James Bill James graduated from the State College of Arkansas (now University of Central Arkansas) in Conway, Ark. He received a Bachelor of Science in mathematics with a minor in physics and then went on to graduate school at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, La., where he received his Master of Science in mathematics before moving into the industry and joining BTA. After graduation he was hired by Olivetti Corp. where he was assigned to sell the company’s P101, the Programmable Desktop Calculator, which was the predecessor of today’s desktop computer. As the programmable products division at Olivetti became more advanced, James moved into the programming department from sales and eventually became district software manager. In 1980, he started his own company, Micro Programs, which provided software development and services and in 1982, with the help of a partner, he started Micro Systems, a company that sold turnkey accounting systems for wholesale distributors. He took over software development and the company began handling computer systems for Northstar, Televideo and Acer and eventually ported the software to MS-DOS for use in Windows. James began working for WJS Enterprises, a Canon dealership, in July 1991 as system support manager. Today, after 17 years at
WJS, he remains system support manager, handling pre- and postsales support. Throughout the 26 years he has been involved in BTA, James has held several local and national positions, including BTA Southeast district treasurer, vice president, president-elect, president and Southeast representative on the national board of directors. Last year, he served on the national board of directors as vice president. In addition, he has served as an instructor and has been on several BTA committees, including the Convention, Digital Task Force and Nominating Committees. James first volunteered for the association to improve his skills, but he says he has received more than just extended education from BTA. “I would say that my initial reason to get into the SPRINT (NOMDA SPRINT instructor) program was to gain experience in public speaking,” says James. “The reward that lasted was the information learned in meeting with other dealers and the lasting friendships that were made.” As president-elect, James hopes to make dealers more aware of the programs BTA offers and get members to be more active in the association. “We have to encourage people to sign up for our education classes and seminars and get them involved in the association,” he says. “You don’t get value out of your membership unless you get involved.” — Elizabeth Marvel
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envelope of staying abreast to what is Ever yone is welcome to become a happening within our profession. member and take advantage of all the Everything I am in offerings of BTA membership. This the industry today I includes independently owned dealers, OT: What advice would you offer owe to the foundation suppliers and manufacturers. An open the non-BTA member dealer in BTA educational line of communication and education is today’s competitive market? programs have extended vital to our mutual profitability. There is Ingram: Opportunity rarely knocks on to me over 30 years strength in numbers. your door. Calamity leans on the doorof learning. When you join BTA, you find that the bell . All the value available to BTA contacts and opportunity to meet and members is on the other side of the learn from industry experts is enormous. Everything I am in door. Schedule the time to invite the vast opportunities of the industry today I owe to the foundation BTA educational knowledge and success into your business. BTA staff and programs have extended to me over 30 years of learning. members have already done the work to acquire and There is also the opportunity to network with your contem- organize the best providers of information. We have had poraries. Through the years, I have met many individuals dues-paying members for more than 80 years and because of who have become my mentors and my friends. their commitment to the association, you can open the door and reap the rewards of BTA’s heritage of doing for dealers OT: What do you see as the greatest challenges what they cannot do for themselves. Please get involved. for today’s independent dealer? Call me at (714) 744-9032 or e-mail me at ronellei@msn.com Ingram: In a word: Education. An uninformed person is a if you would like to get more involved in BTA events. BTA menace to themselves, his or her customers and the dealer- belongs to all of us. ship’s profitability. If you don’t understand what you are sup- Brent Hoskins is executive director of the Business Technology posed to be doing, you probably won’t do it very well. Dealers Association and editor of Office Technology magazine. must take on the responsibility of constantly pushing the He can be reached at brent@bta.org.
BTA 2008-09 Vice President Rock Janecek Rock Janecek began his career in the office equipment industry after spending four years in the U.S. Marine Corps. Upon completion of his service, he attended Riverside City College in Riverside, Calif., where he received his Associate of Applied Sciences degree in electronics technology. While attending college at night, he worked at a branch of Saxon Business Machines of Santa Ana, Calif., where a friend from the Marines had referred him. After learning how to service and repair Saxon’s full product line, Janecek moved on to work as a technician for an independent dealership in Southern California that serviced Mita, Konica Royal, SCM and other brands of equipment. In 1991, after 10 years of service, Janecek moved on to work for a start-up company named International Images of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., in a service management position. The company sold and serviced Konica Royal and Muratec products, as well as other brands. In 1999, International Images was purchased by Burtronics Business Systems Inc., which is one of the oldest continuous Lanier dealerships in the country. Today, Janecek remains at Burtronics as division service manager. He oversees the company’s technicians and their training, as well as coordinates the setup, testing and delivery of equipment to customers. He co-manages more than 26 technicians who cover a
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27,000-square-mile territory that includes both Riverside and San Bernadino counties. Janecek has been a BTA volunteer since 2004 for BTA West and served as the BTA West 2006-07 president. “I want to be involved with the office machine industry on a level that is broader than just a position at one dealership,” says Janecek. “There are fellow service reps that I met years ago through NOMDA seminars, through manufacturers’ training or from some other function, and we keep in contact with each other, bouncing ideas off of one another. I believe that BTA is vital to our family of dealers, keeping the doors of communication open to allow good information and timely practices to spread throughout the community.” Janecek thinks the sharing of information is integral to the success of the dealer channel. “My reason for participating in BTA is to help with the spread of information,” says Janecek. “I want to get the word out to other dealers so that they do not have to ‘reinvent the wheel.’ They need to know that BTA makes good, solid information and techniques available for sharing within the community.” As BTA, and the industry, continues to evolve, Janecek sees BTA as being even more relevant than it is today. “This industry has changed greatly in every area,” he says. “And BTA has changed right along with it and it continues to evolve. I expect that in 10 years, BTA will be as relevant, or perhaps more relevant, than it is today.” — Elizabeth Marvel
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Piecing Ideas Together.
The BPCA was founded in 1963 with the vision of forming a best practices organization that unites leaders of independently-owned office equipment dealers. The concept is quite simple - bring the leaders of these companies together so that they can share ideas, learn from each other, and take their businesses to the next level. Our members will attest that it’s well worth the investment by making each of them better leaders and bringing more value to their dealerships. Feel like there’s something missing from your organization? Let BPCA bring together all the pieces of the puzzle.
“Better Dealers Through Learning and Idea Exchange.”
If you’d like more information about our organization and how to join, please send us an email or give us a call. Phone: 800.897.0250 Email: info@businessproductscouncil.org Website: www.businessproductscouncil.org Membership Director BPCA c/o BTA 12411 Wornall Road Kansas City, MO 64145
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Service, Parts & Turns Do your technicians have what they need? by: Jack Duncan, Jack Duncan Consulting
service calls for the same item. ometimes we forget that service Turns & Projected One thing that we must realize is and parts are really “joined at the Inventory Value that there is a disconnect between purhip.” Service cannot make the Quarterly Parts Usage $241,046 chasing and usage. When we order necessary margins if there is an excess Monthly Parts Usage $80,349 parts, we are actually acquiring assets number of rescheduled service calls $175,000 that we will put on the shelf. There is due to lack of parts at the right place Projected Inventory Value #1 Turns 5.5 not a warning sign or bell that goes off and the right time. In these times of to tell you that those parts are now just $4-per-gallon gasoline, it will only be Projected Inventory Value #2 $275,000 sitting on the shelf, like $100 bills. Usage more critical that we ad dre ss a Turns 3.5 may occur at a later date and if usage reschedule rate of more than 10 perProjected Inventory Value #3 $160,000 was not considered when the order was cent due to the technician not having Turns 6.0 placed, usage may not occur at all. The the correct parts. result? A write-off at a later date. If we look at the cost of a service Inventory turns versus reschedule rate? There is a definite call that the technician must return to in order to complete it, we have effectively doubled our travel time and expense. pendulum effect between these two. Push the inventory Then we will incur additional labor costs due to having to turns too high and we have an abundance of rescheduled install the part we should have had on the first visit. These service calls. Lower the reschedule rate too much and you costs can easily add an additional $100 or more to the cost have low turns and an increased chance for parts write-off. In of that service call, not to mention customer satisfaction other words, if turns are too high, you are throwing labor at a parts problem; if turns are too low, you are risking obsolesand potential downtime. The role of the parts department in this scenario should cence by having too much inventory. How much inventory should you have? A simple way to be to maintain a reschedule rate of 10 percent, while maintaining inventory turns of 2.5 to 3.5 with minimal obsoles- estimate this is to take a six-month average of your parts cence. While these may seem like lofty goals, can we afford cost and break it down to a monthly average. Then multiply to not reach them? Turns can be accomplished by doing just this by 4.04. You could also calculate the inventory turns that — turning the inventory. This must be done by ordering backward by adapting the formula for inventory turns. Normally we use parts consumed for a one-month period parts from vendors a minimum of once per week while divided by parts inventory value and multiply by 12 to annurestocking technicians twice per week. In most ERP software packages, adjustments can be made alize the turns. Simply change the inventory value number to compensate for increasing and decreasing usage, thereby until you get the desired turn level. This number will then increasing or decreasing stock levels. Probably the more show you what the necessary levels are in dollars. The lower critical of these is to “slam the door” on purchasing as soon the parts value, the higher the turns. The higher the parts as usage declines. Failure to do so, and continued purchasing value, the lower the turns. See examples in the graphic above. It is then up to us to use our ERP software to its best advanat the same level, will result in parts that must be written off in the future, which will be a total loss. Increasing stock tage to help us get the right parts into the warehouse. From levels as usage increases will prevent future rescheduled there, we must fill car stocks based on usage to eliminate as
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many rescheduled Parts should not be a calls as possible. Failure to do this necessary evil; they are will result in emovital to our success. Invest tional ordering and, your parts money wisely ultimately, failure and you will not have to meet our goals. excess labor costs, travel We have to have a expenses and inventory ... regular pattern of both ordering and restocking to get the proper results. What if we need to increase our inventory levels? If you have a 20 percent reschedule rate instead of 10 percent and you have 10 technicians, you will need one additional full-time technician to address only those excess rescheduled calls. You are literally throwing labor at a parts problem and this excess labor will cause a failure of service to meet their GP goals. If we stop and think about it, we only need to purchase the necessary inventory to get up to the desired level once and then replace what is consumed. If we do not increase our levels, we must purchase additional technician labor every hour, on the hour. Hiring technicians to meet the level of our parts inefficiency is not a good plan. Inventory inaccuracies also play a role in defeating even the best software from maintaining the proper stock levels. Even though it may be a painful process, inventories must be counted on a regular basis. One of the biggest benefits of barcoding can be the time saved in the inventory process. Inventory variances must be found and fixed in order for purchasing to be accurate. As you can see by now, service cannot succeed without the proper parts in the right place at the right time. Inaccurate ordering and restocking will result in either excess labor costs or excess inventory write-offs at a later date, or both. The bottom line: Parts should not be seen as a necessary evil; they are vital to our success. Invest your parts money wisely and you will not have excess labor costs, travel expenses and inventory that must be thrown away. Jack Duncan has more than 35 years of industry experience and currently works with more than 50 dealerships nationwide. He specializes in increasing profitability through increased productivity and proficiency. He can be reached at (469) 287-2605. Visit www.jackduncanconsulting.com. w w w . o f f i c e t e c h n o l o g y m a g . c o m | J u l y 2 0 0 8 | 23
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COURTS & CAPITOLS
The Family Business Be sure to address the challenges & threats by: Robert C. Goldberg, General Counsel for the Business Technology Association
he consolidation that has taken place over the last 25 years has resulted in a unique business profile for the independent dealer. Today, a majority of independents represent family businesses. It makes sense, for in light of the family participation, the owner is reluctant to part with his children’s future. Family businesses have many advantages, but they face many challenges as well. A family business tends to have a long-term perspective, rather than looking for quarter-to-quarter growth. It is loyal to suppliers and less inclined to make dramatic changes. There is not a great deal of bureaucracy, allowing for business decisions to be made more rapidly. The values of the company have been established over many years and are shared by the entire family. The business is not fixated on the bottom line, but rather a sense of tradition and responsibility to the family business and family name. So why do so many businesses fail when passed on to the second generation? There are an abundance of reasons for a family business to fail. Disagreements regarding the direction of the business are often one of the greatest challenges. It is essential to have a business plan in place that is embraced by all participants. A well-respected BTA member once told me that after his father retired, he was able to implement all the changes his father had rejected. After most failed, he finally recognized why his father had rejected them. Family members must accept the wisdom and experience of their elders and cease visualizing them as the dimwits they were during the child’s teenage years. Likewise, an elder should accept that the business degree provided his (or her) child may bring solutions worth considering. A well-thought-out business and strategic plan can provide a guide against which all ideas can be measured. Retirement is a sensitive issue that must be addressed as such. Pushing a parent out of the business is seldom successful. Your business plan can set a date for the retirement of key individuals and again establish the guide for retirement. It is important that the individual is ready for retirement and, more importantly, that he has plans for his time following retirement. One who is ready for retirement will find the transition smoother than one who was pushed out. For the sake of the business, do not pay someone for doing nothing. Any payment following retirement
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should represent something being provided the business or a shareholder. For those children brought into the business, they must be qualified and paid according to the responsibilities undertaken. Bonuses and salary increases should be based upon performance and not need. Reviews should be performed regularly, and if one is not performing to standard, they should be counseled and terminated if necessary. Being let go from a family business may be the best solution for everyone. If possible, have a family member work outside the family business to obtain experience. Some consultants suggest the individual should be employed elsewhere for at least five years. Bring in outside individuals to fill the gaps in the family capabilities. Although it is often difficult to attract outside management candidates due to a fear that advancement is limited, this can be overcome by providing the opportunity to acquire stock in the company. If the business does not require outside managers, then place an outsider on your board of directors. Have regular meetings and compensate the individual for his participation. Seek someone who can add knowledge and expertise for your business. An accountant, attorney, marketing executive or another businessperson are all possibilities. Owners of a family business should give careful planning to structural and tax issues. In formulating your plan for the business, make sure to explore the best legal structure to obtain the sought-after result. Consider the tax implications as well. Over the past years, I have encountered dealers organized as “C” corporations that were dismayed to learn the tax ramifications of not having elected “S” status or another framework. Had they planned accordingly, the return on their efforts would have netted a greater amount. The opportunities to build a business and maintain it within the family are rewarding. With those opportunities, however, there are threats. Address the threats and live happily ever after. Robert C. Goldberg is general counsel for the Business Technology Association. He can be reached at robert.goldberg@sfnr.com.
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PRINCIPAL ISSUES
Finding Fulfillment Use intrinsic motivators to build success by: David Ramos, Strategy Development
hen Michael Jordan came out of retirement for the second time, he said he needed the competition — the chance to prove himself against younger players — more than the money. I know what you are saying — “Anyone who earned $25 million a season can say that.” That being said, many successful businesspeople who could afford to retire keep on working. Warren Buffett still picks stocks. Michael Bloomberg decided that running his financial news company, Bloomberg LP, was not enough and becoming mayor of New York City would help make him a more well-rounded person. My point is this: Successful people find fulfillment in the work itself and not just the money they earn. That does not mean they would work for free, but they do get more from work than a large payday. Frederick Herzberg, a psychologist who studied job satisfaction, wrote, “The manager’s job is not to motivate people to become successful. It is to get them to become successful so they become motivated.” How about you? Is your motivation to hit quota an incentive trip or a contest? Or simply the work itself? Neither? Both?
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Fifth Grade Flashback Walking home from the fifth grade, my best friend Jason told me that he was going to be $50 richer that evening. “My Dad gives me $10 for every ‘A’ I get on my report card,” he said. That night when my mother came home from work, I told her that I thought it would be a good idea to pay me for my good grades. “Son, you go to school to learn. The ‘A’ is the reward. It indicates that you’ve learned something. Someday you’ll go to work and earn money by applying your knowledge. But for now, enjoy learning for its own sake,” she said. I thought she told me this because she was cheap. Today I know that she taught me a valuable lesson on learning and on continuing education as a lifestyle. Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic Motivation Giving people money to do what they should be doing anyway is called extrinsic motivation. Many sales managers believe by offering salespeople bonuses, they can drive behavior. Make your quota and get a 60-inch flat-screen TV.
Sell a million dollars worth of product and win a trip to Aruba. Right now, someone is trying to invent the next big salesincentive program and sell it to sales managers to motivate their sales teams. I often hear this statement: “Compensation drives behavior.” My answer to that statement is “yes” and “no.” My experience has taught me that compensation only drives behavior to sell a mix of products or services. However, it does not drive motivated behavior across an entire sales force. If the statement about compensation driving behavior is true, my thought then would be that everyone would be at quota, correct? However, you may have noticed that there is a tremendous amount of satisfaction when you close a sale. You have achieved an objective and you feel good about it. That is intrinsic motivation — finding joy in the work itself. Yes, you get paid (sometimes very well), but you are deriving satisfaction from the work, not the paycheck. There is one other thing that can increase your motivation to sell more — a happy customer. When you satisfy a customer by solving his problem, you will be more passionate about your product, service and company. You internalize your value proposition when you reach that level of passion. You make a sale, earn a commission and create a happy customer. The new, happy customer will help you approach a fresh prospect with more confidence to make another sale. You earn more money and create another happy customer. You are now w w w . o f f i c e t e c h n o l o g y m a g . c o m | J u l y 2 0 0 8 | 25
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more successful and, therefore, more motiNow you are starting to focus on the vated than you were yesterday. intrinsic motivators. And salespeople who Until you become Successful salespeople give off three are intrinsically motivated are more fulmotivated by the work vibes to customers: filled and financially successful than itself, managers will keep I like to be here. extrinsically motivated salespeople. trying to manipulate you I know what I am talking about. That being said, if you happen to win a with extrinsic motivators. I love what I am doing — selling. 60-inch flat-screen TV or a trip to Aruba They will keep At this point, you may not love your along the way, enjoy! dangling the carrot ... sales career and there may be parts of David C. Ramos is a consultant with selling that you simply tolerate. Until you Strategy Development, a management become motivated by the work itself, managers will keep consulting firm specializing in sales strategy and process, trying to manipulate you with extrinsic motivators. They will advanced sales training, performance improvement strategies, keep dangling the carrot and maybe you will keep chasing it, and mergers and acquisitions. Ramos has more than 12 years maybe you will not. of experience in the imaging industry as a top-producing H. Ross Perot tells us that “most people don’t know why business development and management professional, they come to work until they don’t have to come to work holding positions in the United States and Mexico. anymore.” Many people believe that work is punishment for He is co-presenter of the not being born rich. Another view is that work is a way to BTA Sales Management Workshop and structure your life and be of service to others. BTA Print Management Workshop. Before you go back to work Monday morning, jot down five Ramos can be reached at reasons why you are returning to work besides the money — ramos@strategydevelopment.org. five good things you get from work besides a paycheck. Visit www.strategydevelopment.org.
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SELLING SOLUTIONS
Telemarketing Success Steps to get the appointment via telephone by: Jim Kahrs, Prosperity Plus Management Consulting Inc.
lmost every dealership I have ever worked with was looking for ways to grow sales. Very often the game plan included a telemarketing component aimed at getting the sales team in front of qualified prospects. For some reason, telemarketing is an area of difficulty for many. With that in mind, I have dedicated this article to describing a simple, workable plan that, if followed, will bring success. The plan has been outlined in a format that makes it easy to implement.
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Telemarketing Plan for Success First and foremost, it is important to understand the purpose and expected product derived from telemarketing. The purpose of a telemarketing call is simply to get an appointment and nothing more. Too many sales reps make the mistake of turning the call into the opening stages of an appointment. This is a fatal mistake in the sales process. With this established, let us look at the process. Step 1: Getting the Decision Maker’s Name — It is critical to have a strong database or customer relationship management (CRM) software package to support your prospecting efforts. The CRM allows you to accumulate useful data about prospects and can help you move them through the sales cycle. For telemarketing purposes, it is very important to have the decision maker’s name and title. Having the name and title makes it much easier to get through the receptionist or gatekeeper screening. If you do not have the decision maker’s name and title, it is recommended that you first call the company with the sole purpose of getting that data. This can be accomplished by calling the office and telling the receptionist who you are and asking who the decision maker is. It is often helpful to tell the receptionist that you are going to be sending out some information and want it to go to the correct person. You can also alleviate any stress that the receptionist has by telling him (or her) that you are not looking to then speak to the person, you just need to get the name and title and verify the address. You do not want to ask for the decision maker’s name and then ask to speak with him, as the receptionist will usually let him know that it is a cold call. Once you have the name, you can call another day for an appointment and ask for the decision maker with a level of familiarity.
Step 2: Getting Past the Gatekeeper — The receptionist’s job is to protect the communication lines of the organization. Very often, this is taken to mean, “prevent incoming communication.” It is kind of a crazy idea, but one you will run into. The best method for getting through is to approach the call in a very familiar way. Ask for the decision maker the same way you would ask for your best friend or your spouse if you were calling them. Use their first name only and have the intention that the receptionist will put you through. Do not be shy or apprehensive — it will come through in your voice and communication. If the receptionist asks what it is in reference to, simply say, “I’m following up with him.” Step 3: A Couple of Scenarios for Calling — Scenario 1: The first thing you need to do is decide who you are going to call. One very effective method is to make a series of calls to the same vertical market. For example, get a list of attorneys, accountants, insurance agencies, schools, etc., and call them in sequence. The reason this works well is that you will find w w w . o f f i c e t e c h n o l o g y m a g . c o m | J u l y 2 0 0 8 | 27
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we can help you as well. Are you available similar concerns and objections and will The biggest reason for at 10 a.m.?” have success when discussing similar benSound familiar? You can use the same efits. One helpful tool here is to have a failure in telemarketing pattern with minor adjustments depenprominent name in the vertical market can be directly tracked ding on the list you are calling. Handling that you are calling that is a customer. If, back to practice. Very questions and objections also follows the for example, you are calling on schools few reps ... practice their same pattern as above. and you already have one of the largest scripts and calling skills It is important to be comfortable with school districts as a customer, you can use prior to making calls. what you are saying on the phone. If the sugthis to get attention from the others. Here gestions made here or any others are not is a sample script: “Hello, my name is ______ from DEALERSHIP NAME. We comfortable for you, then do not use them. Find a way to modify helped CUSTOMER NAME save a tremendous amount of time them to be workable for you while still following the basic princiand money on their printing and document processing. I’m ples outlined. Remember, phony does not work. Be yourself. going to be out your way on Wednesday and would love to Step 4: Practice Makes Perfect — The biggest reason learn more about your operation and see if we can help you as for failure in telemarketing can be directly tracked back to well. Are you available at 10 a.m.?” practice. Very few reps actually practice their scripts and Very often you will get a response similar to, “No thanks, calling skills prior to making calls. Work out the script you want to use and practice it. Say it over and over until you are we’re fine with our current systems.” Keep in mind that in most cases this is a knee-jerk response. 100 percent fluent and comfortable with it. You should be able to recite it and handle questions and stall tactics in your sleep. It can even be completely untrue. Next, drill it with your manager or another sales rep. Have Here is a way to respond: “I totally understand. The reason for the visit is not to sell you anything. The purpose is to meet them give you objections to handle. The person drilling this you, learn about your operation and see if there is anything we with you should pretend to be an actual decision maker or can do to help you improve your process and save money on gatekeeper. Have him start off with easy scenarios and very your printing and document processing. With my knowledge of little resistance and then get tougher and tougher as you the industry, I’ve been able to help many other schools improve improve in skill. Give easy objections then move on to tougher their document workflow while reducing overall costs by 25 ones. This practice allows you to learn the script and make percent or more. With the recent changes in technology, many mistakes when they do not cost you money. The best athletes organizations are spending far more than they need to and are in the world spend far more time practicing than they do not getting the production and ease of operation they should. It playing. This allows them to reach the highest level of success will take 10 minutes of your time. I promise it will be worth it.” when it counts. Sales reps that succeed in telemarketing adopt Now, when they ask questions like, “What has changed with this same approach. the technology?” or “Tell me how you saved money for X ComSales success in the office systems industry depends on pany,” do not answer their questions. Close for the appointment. getting new prospects on a continual basis. Telemarketing is It goes like this: “I ’ ll go over all of that with you on the best way to cover a lot of ground quickly. So, what do you Wednesday and relate it to your specific situation. May I come do next? If you are a dealership owner or manager, use this by at 10 a.m.?” plan as the outline for building your telemarketing plan. If you If you answer their questions on the phone, you jeopardize are a sales rep, implement this yourself. Successful application your chances for the appointment. When they are reaching for of this program can and will make 2008 your best year ever. If information, you simply set the appointment. If you answer you have any questions feel free to contact me at the e-mail the questions you almost always lose the appointment. And address below. Good luck and good selling. remember, the appointment is the only reason for the call. Jim Kahrs is the founder and president of Prosperity Plus Scenario 2: You are calling from a geographic or generic list. Management Consulting Inc. PPMC works with “Hello, my name is ______ from DEALERSHIP NAME. We’ve office technology companies in building helped a number of businesses in TOWN NAME save a tremen- revenue and profitability. Kahrs can be reached dous amount of time and money in their printing and docuat jkahrs@prosperityplus.com or ment processing. I’m going to be out your way on Wednesday (631) 382-7762. and would love to learn more about your operation and see if Visit www.prosperityplus.com. 28 | w w w . o f f i c e t e c h n o l o g y m a g . c o m | J u l y 2 0 0 8
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SELLING SOLUTIONS
Leadership Strategies Progressing from concept to coach by: Tom Kramer, CATALYST Performance Learning
eading today’s sales team is a complex job and it takes much more than just managing and motivating people. Today’s business environment has changed dramatically and along with it, the traditional manager’s job of command and control has evolved into the transformational leadership role characterized by collaboration, communication, coaching and empowerment to achieve higher levels of performance and employee satisfaction.
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The New Realities It has been stated many times that customers have become more knowledgeable and sophisticated. They have more choices and more information and they are more demanding. The Internet has shifted power from the seller to the buyer. What is more, sales channels have grown more complex. Today your sales organization is competing against your manufacturer and other dealers selling the same products you are. The result of this is that competition is stiff, price levels are dropping and margins are suffering. In addition, today’s market is a solution-selling environment that requires partnering with software providers, workflow auditors or other third parties to create differentiation and a competitive advantage. You are well aware that solution selling is different from traditional product selling because it requires a broader and more team-oriented approach. Quite frankly, these new marketplace realities have made the job of leading a sales team more demanding than ever. The Three Principles of Leadership It is a common misconception that leadership is just a matter of charisma, enthusiasm and vision. This misses the point by a wide margin. The fact of the matter is that effective leaders have functional skills and, in my opinion, these skills can be learned and developed. Perhaps the first place to begin is to differentiate leadership from management. Let us take a look at the three principles of leadership. Leadership Principle One: Management is different from leadership. The term “manager” is the title of authority given by your company. Managers get things done. They are pragmatic. They are good at planning, organizing, staffing, controlling. Leaders, on the other hand, are more visionary
and are able to transform their vision into reality by motivating other people. Therefore, I define leadership as the way or manner in which you work with others to ensure your goals are successfully accomplished. Leadership Principle Two: Leadership is all about the followers, not the leader. You may have exceptional personal leadership characteristics such as charisma, enthusiasm and a dynamic personality, but you are not a leader unless you have the ability to move a person or an organization to a higher level of performance and, basically speaking, you have followers. Leadership Principle Three: The leader is the man with the plan. That is to say, if you have a plan for your people’s success and they know it, they will be motivated to follow you and you will be perceived as an authentic leader. The C4 Leadership Strategies We have developed a four-step model that defines the critical stages to becoming a powerful and effective leader. We call it our “C4 Leadership Strategies.” To progress to and become a top-level C4 leader, you will be required to achieve the skills and competencies associated with the previous three levels. Let us take a look at each in succession. While we are doing this, you may want to rate yourself on what your current C level is. The C1 leader is a concept creator. He (or she) creates a vision, a game plan or a team goal. He tells each team member what must be accomplished, how it is to be accomplished and w w w . o f f i c e t e c h n o l o g y m a g . c o m | J u l y 2 0 0 8 | 29
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who is responsible for doing what. learning and change as lifelong business The C2 leader is the communicator. He realities. What is more, he shares responsi... I feel that leaders has all the attributes of the C1 leader and bilities for outcomes and helping others can be developed ... effectively communicates the plan to the achieve their goals. By focusing on the team or organization so that everyone functional things effective understands: Derivative Benefits leaders do, we can How accomplishing the plan will As mentioned earlier, I feel that leaders improve upon anyone’s meet the overall goals of the organization. can be developed. It has been assumed by leadership ability. How th e pl an w i l l b en ef it each some that you are either a leader or not a member of the team. leader. If you look at what leaders do, as The responsibility of the team members. opposed to what personality traits they possess, then I think Performance expectations for the team and for the team that you would agree that everyone has a certain amount of members. leadership ability and potential. By focusing on the functional The C3 leader is the collaborator. As the collaborator, he things effective leaders do, we can improve upon anyone’s provides team members with opportunities to set objectives, leadership ability. Our C4 Leadership Strategies will help you develop tactics and strategies, suggest corrective actions and become a more effective manager and leader. Following these become involved in team-building programs. The C3 leader strategies will offer the derivative benefits of: Improving your team’s performance and making better creates an atmosphere where ideas, strategies and initiatives are freely suggested, discussed and tested. In addition, the C3 use of your staff ’s talent. Greater idea generation and best-practice sharing. leader always maintains the authority of decision making. Improved employee morale and overall job satisfaction. Lastly, the C4 leader is the coach. This leader has achieved Tom Kramer is an affiliate partner of CATALYST Performance levels one, two and three. He is a concept creator, an honest Learning ( formerly Strategy Mapping Selling). He has and skilled communicator, an effective collaborator and a dedimore than 30 years of sales, sales cated coach. The C4 leader has achieved the highest level of management and marketing leadership. He considers coaching one of his most important experience with IBM, Eastman Kodak Co. and job functions. He takes a personal interest in developing his Canon U.S.A. Inc. He can be reached at people. He takes the time to coach, council and mentor higher tom.kramer@strategymappingselling.com. levels of performance. He gives constant and timely feedback Visit www.strategymappingselling.com. and on-the-job training advice. He promotes the need for
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Sales Mgt back cover:32OT0407
Office Technology Magazine Business Technology Association 12411 Wornall Road Kansas City, MO 64145 (816) 941-3100 www.officetechnologymag.com www.bta.org
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10:50 AM
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