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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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CONTENTS Volume 14 No. 9 G
FEATURE ARTICLES 10
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Large-Format Printers The opportunity may be bigger than you think
PRINCIPAL ISSUES ECi: An Open Letter Software vendor responds to Office Technology column
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by Brent Hoskins Office Technology Magazine
by John Brostrom ECi La Crosse
For many office technology dealership sales reps, the maximum document size in their repertoire is 11-by-17 inches. Of course, while many sales reps and dealership principals are content with their current product line-up, many others are looking well beyond the traditional document sizes.
In an opinion piece published in the January 2008 issue of Office Technology, Robert C. Goldberg tried to articulate some of the concerns expressed by OMD and La Crosse customers in the wake of our being acquired by ECi.
The Product Parity Myth All document imaging devices are not created equal
Efficient Interviews A multi-candidate strategy nets quick results
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by Patrick Evans SalesBURST!!
by Daria Hoffman Buyers Laboratory Inc.
Some in the document imaging industry claim that there is parity among products. Contrary to popular belief, Buyers Laboratory’s testing has shown that MFPs on the market today differ substantially from one another.
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A Briefing: eCopy Software vendor hosts analysts & editors Feb. 13
Need to increase sales volume in your territory or business? Welcome to the hiring dilemma. The solution to the problem is simple: Decrease the time it takes to hire new reps by conducting group interviews.
SELLING SOLUTIONS Best Practices Define your customers’ obstacles & develop solutions
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By Brent Hoskins Office Technology Magazine
by Tom Kramer Strategy Mapping Selling
With the goal of claiming a greater share of the market and thwarting competitors, eCopy has announced the release of ShareScan Essentials, a more affordable version of its ShareScan 4.1 product.
COURTS & CAPITOLS 22
Identity Theft What to do when your identity has been compromised by Robert C. Goldberg BTA General Counsel
This month’s column is for you, your employees, friends, family, customers and anyone you care about. Identity theft has become an epidemic in the United States that ruins the credit records of countless consumers every day. 4 | www.of ficetechnologymag.com | March 2008
Some of the best practices that a top performing sales organization employs in managing its territories or accounts are defining the major obstacles it faces, developing true solutions and bringing in the right resources to meet its customers’ strategic needs.
DEPARTMENTS Business Technology Association
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April Education Calendar BTA Membership Application
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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
BTA Offers Discounts on New PDI+ Exam or many years, our friend s at CompTIA have diligently worked to validate the knowledge and expertise of sales and ser vice professional s in th e of fice technology industry. Certainly, the association and its certification programs, such as A+ and CDIA+, are held in high regard. Recently, CompTIA launched its Printing and Document Imaging (PDI+) certification program (http://certification/comptia.org/ pdi). Those who achieve the certification by taking the required exam will have validated their core knowledge of basic electromechanical components and tools, print engine and scan processes and components, color theory, connectivity/networking, professionalism and communication, and safety and environment. PDI+ is supported by industry leaders such as Brother, Canon, HP, Konica Minolta, Lexmark, Pitney Bowes, Ricoh, Sharp and Xerox. Achievement of the certification provides a solid foundation for entry into a career involving the service and support of printing and document imaging devices. BTA has entered into an agreement with CompTIA to offer the exam vouchers at a discount to BTA members. The regular CompTIA non-member price is $232. BTA is offering the exam vouchers to its members for only $190. They can be ordered by calling (800) 843-5059 or via the BTA Web site (www.bta.org). Click on “Education & Certification” on the home page, and then on “CompTIA PDI+ E xam Voucher.” The voucher provides instructions for scheduling an exam date at an authorized facility.
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There’s more. If you are like me, you prefer to study before you take any sort of exam. With that in mind, BTA has partnered with two training companies that help students prepare for the PDI+ certification exam. These companies are offering BTA members a discount on their programs. One of the training providers, DataVault (www.datavault.com/pdi), is offering BTA members a 30 percent discount. Training is available in two formats — as an e-learning Web-based self study course or instructor-led in the classroom. The materials are CompTIA Authorized Quality Curriculum (CAQC) certified. This means the training content maps to the actual exam. The e-learning format offers full-motion video, narrations, animations, graphics and sample exams. The instructorled format uses the same materials but they are delivered by an instructor along with visual aids, worksheets, sample exams and ample time for Q&A. Ordering information is available on the BTA Web site or by calling (800) 843-5059. The other training provider is Specialized Solutions (www.specializedsolutions.com). The Web-based training program is offered to dealers for only $278, instead of the MSRP of $750. The program is an instructor-led streaming video and delivered via the Internet. It includes demonstrations, simulated labs and a review of testing styles (including an exam simulator) to prepare students for the PDI+ exam. In addition, for the first 20 BTA members who purchase Specialized Solutions training, an exam voucher will be offered for only $92.50. To take advantage of the BTA discounts, e-mail cnasse@specializedsolutions.com or call (800) 942-1660 Ext. 286. — 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 John Brostrom, ECi LaCrosse www.lacrossesoftware.com Patrick Evans, SalesBURST!! www.salesburst.com Robert C. Goldberg, General Counsel Business Technology Association Daria Hoffman, Buyers Laboratory Inc. www.buyerslab.com Tom Kramer, Strategy Mapping Selling www.strategymappingselling.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 Membership & Marketing Manager valerie@bta.org Mary Hopkins Database Administrator mary@bta.org Teresa Leerar Bookkeeper teresa@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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©2007 Toshiba America Business Solutions, Inc. Electronic Imaging Division. All rights reserved.
EIGHT WINS I S N ’ T T H AT T H E K I N D O F T E A M Y O U ’ D L I K E TO B E O N ? The people have spoken. And for the 8th time, Toshiba was voted #1 for Overall Performance by the BTA. Maybe it’s because Toshiba offers more than just great copiers. We offer value-added solutions that make businesses more productive and profitable. If you’d like to learn more about what’s made Toshiba America’s fastest growing copier company or become part of our winning team, visit www.copiers.toshiba.com or call 949-462-6165.
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BTA PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE ®
BTA Seeking East District Leadership ike many of you, I recently attended the ITEX 2008 Show in Las Vegas. By all accounts, it was a great event for dealers, the Business Technology Association and the office technology industry in general. I returned home pleased with the show overall and, in particular, with the opportunity to once again serve as a volunteer in the association that has meant so much to me through the years. It has been my honor to serve as national president of BTA. At the ITEX show, the seven elected members of BTA’s Board of Directors helped to man the BTA booth during the twelve hours the show floor was open. The show also provided a perfect venue for the board members to meet in formal session. It is our job to set policy, guide and counsel the staff members, and monitor the annual budget and finances of the association. BTA has a rich history of volunteer leadership, dating from its establishment in 1926. The current board is a very dedicated group of individuals who sincerely want the best for our association and its members. Have you considered volunteering some of your time to the association? Or, do you know an individual who you believe would be an ideal nominee for a leadership position? As we look to the coming 2008-09 fiscal year, beginning July 1, the association is in need of additional leadership. Specifically, due to service limitations imposed by our national bylaws, there is a need for volunteer leadership from the BTA East district to serve on the national board. We are seeking volunteers whose dealerships are
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located from Ohio, east to Washington, D.C., and nor th to Main e. BTA i s al so seeking nominees for national 2008-09 president-elect and vice president. Currently, on the home page of the BTA Web site (www.bta.org), there is a link to a nomination form that can be downloaded. Any BTA member with voting privileges (dealers) who is interested in serving, or knows someone in the East District who may be interested in serving, should use the form to submit names to our national office in Kansas City, Mo. The qualifications for nominations are as follows: Must be an owner, principal or manager of a paid BTA retail dealership member. Must be willing to devote the time required to serve as a volunteer. Should understand and be able to support BTA’s strategic plan and governance model. Preferably will have at least three years of current experience in a voting BTA member company. I encourage you to download the form and nominate individuals who you believe would be ideal candidates for BTA leadership positions. All nominations need to be received by BTA no later than April 16. Ballots will then be distributed on May 5 for a vote by all BTA voting members. Through the years, it has been amazing to me how many members have commented on how the association has helped them succeed as business owners, through education and other programs. In fact, the number one reason given for serving as a volunteer leader is simply this: “I wanted to give back to the association that has given me so much.” Is it time for you to give back to BTA? — Shannon Oliver
2007-2008 Board of Directors President Shannon Oliver 25 Wheaton Circle Greensboro, NC 27406 shannon@bta.org President-Elect Ronelle Ingram Steven Enterprises Inc. 17952 Sky Park Circle Ste. E Irvine, CA 92614 ronellei@msn.com Vice President Bill James WJS Enterprises Inc. 3315 Ridgelake Drive P.O. Box 6620 Metairie, LA 70009 bjames@wjsenterprises.com BTA East Thomas Chin Accolade Technologies LLC 31 Mamaroneck Ave. Ste. 508 White Plains, NY 10601 tchin@accotech.com BTA Mid-America Mike Blake Corporate Business Systems LLC 2018 S. Stoughton Road Madison, WI 53716 mblake@corpbussystems.com BTA Southeast Jerry Jackson All South Copiers (ASC) 1325 Cobb International Blvd. Ste. A Kennesaw, GA 30152 jerry@ascopiers.com BTA West Rock Janecek Burtronics Business Systems Inc. 216 S. Arrowhead Ave. P.O. Box 1170 San Bernardino, CA 92408 rjanecek@burtronics.com Ex-Officio/General Counsel Robert C. Goldberg Schoenberg Finkle Newman & Rosenberg Ltd. 222 S. Riverside Plaza Ste. 2100 Chicago, IL 60606 robert.goldberg@sfnr.com
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Large-Format Printers The opportunity may be bigger than you think by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine
or many office technology dealership sales reps, the maximum document size in their repertoire is 11-by-17 inches. In fact, in most cases, l egal si ze i s oft en al l that i s needed beyond the 8½-by-11inch document — the sales rep’s bread and butter. Plenty of toner can fit on these documents and, today, increasingly, that toner is color. So, it may seem, there are no compelling reasons to consider looking beyond these traditional document sizes. Of course, while many sales reps and dealership principals are content with their current product line-up, many others are looking well beyond the 11-by-17-inch document. Today, they are also casting their eyes on documents that are, for example, 24 inches wide or greater. They have recognized the opportunities in the large (or wide) format printing environment and are enjoying the lucrative aftermarket. They are also finding that the opportunities exist within their current customer base, as well as among new, previously difficult-to-win customers. Tim Greene, director of wide format and jetting technologies for InfoTrends, a market research company, provides insight into the size of the U.S. market. On one side of the market, he says, are monochrome LED technical printers, offered by such companies as KIP and Ricoh. In 2006, he says, approximately 16,000 units were placed in the U.S. market. InfoTrends projects that number to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.5 percent through 2011. The other side of the market is comprised of inkjet, solvent inkjet and UV-curable inkjet color printers used in both the technical and graphics markets, offered by
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such companies as Canon and Hewlett-Packard, says Greene. InfoTrends reports that 114,000 of these units were placed in 2006 and projects a 4.6 percent CAGR through 2011. The growth of the number of unit placements is only half of the stor y. In 2007, say s Green e, InfoTrends estimates that postsale re venu e from suppli es, media, etc., for LED large-format printers reached 1.5 times hardware revenue. Meanwhile, on the inkjet side, InfoTrends estimates that post-sales revenue in total is approximately three times larger than inkjet hardware revenue. “Clearly, the biggest opportunity, hands down, bar none, is the supplies,” says Sandy Gramley, large format technical segment manager for Hewlett-Packard, which offers a full range of color inkjet large-format printers. “Depending on what they’re printing and how much they’re printing, the ink and media can bring them far more revenue than the hardware ever did.” Richard Reamer, senior manager of product marketing for Canon U.S.A. Inc.’s Large Format Printer Division, echoes Gramley’s comment, noting that it is the “aftermarket business that really can grow your profitability over the years.” However, he says, the payoff of selling large format extends beyond the aftermarket. “We often hear from dealers about situations where they have gone into a customer location that wasn’t a Canon house and placed an imagePROGRAF product,” he says, citing the manufacturer’s line of technical document and general use large-format color inkjet printers. “They established the relationship, which slowly led to other types of Canon products being placed in the
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customer location.” and software that addresses “...To me, it’s not just In a recent meeting with the needs of the customer.” about selling wide format. several dealers, Steve Rhorer, Rhorer says even before It’s about having vice president of marketing Toshiba’s new relationship for Toshiba America Busiw ith KIP, many To shi b a the ability to offer a full ness Solutions Inc. (TABS), dealers had been finding spectrum of hardware heard similar positive feedsuccess in the large-format and software that back. TABS is a newcomer to market. “In talking to dealaddresses the needs the large-format market, now ers who have been selling of the customer.” offering its dealers monowide format for a long time, — Steve Rhorer chrome LED products manuthey are absolutely nuts Toshiba America Business Solutions Inc. factured by KIP. “The dealers about it,” he says. “They see said, ‘We love wide format it as a growing market and because the hardware margins are good and the supplies they are getting more and more business. They were glad to revenue is great,’” he says. “One of them said that he landed his see that we finally partnered with a company they think — largest customer because of a wide-format solution; that cus- and we think as well — is one of the leaders in the industry.” tomer dragged in with the wide-format solution 40 to 45 With large-format products available through traditional MFPs. So, to me, it’s not just about selling wide format. It’s BTA channel vendors such as Canon, HP, Kyocera Mita about having the ability to offer a full spectrum of hardware America, Ricoh and Toshiba, more dealers may want to take
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In ad dition , Ma xwel la look at the market oppor“The customer is not going Al l en emphasi z e s, it i s tunity. However, their manuto have somebody come important that the dealerfacturing partners’ largeback and sell them ship have large-format exformat offerings will deterpertise within the service min e th eir b e st target anything if they have not department as well. “They markets. For example, says been provided with helpful have to have educated serLind a Ma xwel l-Al len , a assistance after the sale vice technicians,” she says. senior product marketing through expert service “The customer is not going manager at Ricoh Americas response time and repair.” to have som ebody com e Corp., the manufacturer’s — Linda Maxwell-Allen back and sell them anything monochrome LED line-up is Ricoh Americas Corp. if they have not been prob e st suit ed for th e AEC vided with helpful assis(Architectural, Engineering and Construction) market, as well as for manufacturing and tance after the sale through expert service response time any business whose technical documents are “critical to the and repair. So, it’s a good idea to have a ‘go-to’ person on bottom line.” In contrast, Canon dealers may more often both sides — in sales and in service.” As Maxwell-Allen suggests, the answer to the question target print-for-pay, fine art, photography and color proofing markets, in addition to the general office, with the “Where do I begin?” is: “With current customers.” In fact, says Rhorer, dealers who pursue large format have probably manufacturer’s color inkjet products. Whatever the target, for those dealers only now consid- already had inquiries. “The first strategy, of course, is to call ering or entering the market, at least two key questions on every one of those customers who have asked, ‘When are emerge — Does the large-format market require a dedicated you going to begin offering wide format?’” he says. “Those customers have essentially said, ‘I’d really like to have that salesperson? Where do we begin? For Toshiba dealers selling the KIP product, a dedicated type of product. I like your service. I want to continue doing sales rep is required. “Before KIP signs up a Toshiba dealer, business with you.’” Gramley offers a similar comment. “One of the things that the dealer has to commit a sales rep,” says Rhorer. “The rep can sell other products, but the dealer has to have a dedi- we always encourage dealers to do is leverage what they cated rep who knows and understands this market and the already know,” she says. “They already know their customer product. History has shown that those dealers who don’t base. These customers are currently using copiers and highhave a committed or dedicated salesperson are unsuccessful end printing devices and, chances are, many of them will have a need for large format. and then it’s a waste of everybody’s time.” “What we find is that in most offices there are places Maxwell-Allen says Ricoh has a similar expectation. “We like for dealers to have at least one person on board who where a large-format device should be used,” she continues. knows something about the needs of this type of customer,” “It might be the evacuation drawing that you have to put up she says. “That ‘go-to’ person can support other sales reps who because of the chemicals you have on site, the sign for the will very likely have some intimidation just hearing language blood drive or the oversized spreadsheet in finance. You that they are not used to hearing. For example, the file format look for the opportunities to sell to your existing customer types and the sizes of documents in wide format are different. base in order to expand what they can do by adding a device “The general line sales rep can now ask current customers, that gives them new capabilities. It enhances their effective‘Do you ever have anything bigger than 11-by-17? Because, if ness — their ability to do their job. And it’s getting more you do, we’re now carrying wide-format products,’” explains ‘share of wallet’ from your current customers.” Of course, in many cases, when the need for a largeMaxwell-Allen. “If the customer then asks, ‘Does it do this and that?” that’s where the ‘go-to’ person is really helpful. So, format document arises, businesses have historically outthe sales force can identify prospects among current cus- sourced the job to FedEx-Kinkos or elsewhere. Bringing the tomers. Then, at the appropriate time, the ‘go-to’ person can job in-house will save the company money, says Gramley. “In come in and find out more about the needs of the customer fact,” she says, “some documents that you might pay $100 for will cost only $10 if you produce it yourself.” and the type of solution they are seeking.” 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 | M a r c h 2 0 0 8
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in some product categories, Given the improvements “I think as people bring more dealers may want to in the large-format arena, these units in-house ... they consider large format, says particularly in the associrealize how much more Gramley. “There is clearly ated software now available, growth happening,” she says. the timing is right for custhey can do in-house ... “This is confirmed when you tomers to consider moving Whether it’s in marketing, look at the number of people the capability in-house, says human resources or IT, who were not in this space Rhorer. “The software applithere are many different actively selling three or four cations today are just so departments ... that can benefit ...” years ago. Today, they are incredible and advanced,” he — Richard Reamer actively selling large-format says. “In the past, a lot of Canon U.S.A. Inc. and have a growing busitimes you couldn’t do things ness. It tells you that there is in-house that you can now do with today’s CAD programs. The capability of on-demand a lot of business to be had and a lot of people printing has never been better. I think it’s a combination of are interested.” Brent Hoskins, executive director of the overall technology and pricing that is now more affordable. Business Technology Association, Everything is coming together for people to say, ‘You know is editor of Office Technology magazine. what? We can bring this all in-house, save ourselves a lot of He can be reached at brent@bta.org. money and increase our productivity.’” Although he says businesses will continue to outsource, Reamer agrees that the timing is right for more businesses to make a change. “I think as people bring these units inhouse — as they see software tools like our PosterArtist 2007, which gives them 180 different templates that can be used — they realize how much more they can do in-house,” he says. “Once they have it there, they are making posters they hadn’t made in the past. Whether it’s in marketing, human resources or IT, there are many different departments within a company that can benefit from having a wide-format device in-house.” Beyond departmental use of large format for blood drive posters and the like, dealers should consider that the demand for technical drawings remains strong, says Maxwell-Allen. “There is tremendous opportunity,” she says. “The technical market is never going to go away. Everybody still builds and designs things. When you are building things, whether it’s in manufacturing or homes, roads, sewer systems, whatever, there is going to be a need for wide format. “We have very successful dealers who started out contacting their current customers and they learned the business,” she continues. “Then they decided to target the AEC marketplace and they are perfect for that — and not just to sell wide format. They knew if they could get in the door with wide-format products, it would open up every other opportunity for other products in that business.” In an industry that has seen a decline or little to no growth 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 | M a r c h 2 0 0 8 | 15
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PRINCIPAL ISSUES
The Product Parity Myth All document imaging devices are not created equal by: Daria Hoffman, Buyers Laboratory Inc.
ome in the document imaging industry claim that there is parity among products. It is a convenient claim to make if you are a manufacturer introducing new equipment that falls short in some areas, if you are a sales rep trying to sell against better competitors or if you are a vendor urging your dealers and sales reps to focus more on solutions. Buyers Laboratory’s (BLI) experience testing close to 200 products a year clearly shows that contrary to the popular myth, MFPs on the market today differ substantially from each other. Depending on what is most important to a particular customer — reliability, productivity, output quality, scanning or a host of other qualities — these differences can translate into staggering differences in value for your customer. Consequently, dealers who buy into the product parity myth are missing out on opportunities to show how the MFPs they sell may be superior to their competitors’ MFPs in important ways.
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Reliability: A Key Differentiator Reliability has consistently been the number one concern of buyers responding to BLI surveys over the years — no doubt because of the hidden costs of an unreliable machine. When the copier is jammed or waiting for service, productivity comes to a halt, users become frustrated, deadlines are missed, invoices are not sent out on time and incoming revenue is delayed. Although most models BLI tests prove to be reliable, that does not mean that they are all equally reliable. Not even taking into account the malfunctions and paper jams that invariably occur, some products require much more frequent preventive maintenance visits by a service technician (to clean the device and replace parts and components when they reach the end of their rated lives) than others. For example, a comparison of 35-page per minute (ppm) color MFPs shows that one model requires preventive maintenance twice as often as another in the group and another model requires preventive maintenance four times as often as another in the group. No parity here. A unit’s preventive maintenance interval, while important, is just one of the elements that factor into reliability. Malfunctions 16 | 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 | M a r c h 2 0 0 8
and paper jams also come into play and, again, when looking at this more complete picture, there are considerable differences. A clear example is with Segment 6 devices. Users of these high-end devices have the lowest tolerance for any kind of downtime. In this group, only one model completed its test without requiring any service and, notably, without even a single paper jam. Other models in the group required one, two or three service calls and paper jams ranged from none to 14. Clearly, the manager of a busy central reprographics department (CRD), for whom even one paper jam is one too many, will not view these varying performance levels as parity. When you consider the lost time and productivity users experience when they encounter a paper jam — the time spent trying to clear the jam or walking to another MFP — it is easy to see why your customers will be most satisfied with the models that offer the highest levels of reliability. These performance differences are even more significant when you consider that the results were obtained by highly experienced technicians who know the best practices for storing and loading of paper. It is quite likely that the number of paper jams and service calls experienced in offices would be higher due to the varying degrees of user experience. No Productivity Parity In CRD environments that serve the needs of many users, marketing departments with tight deadlines and many offices that simply need to get more done with fewer resources, productivity is a crucial factor and another area in which products differ substantially. For example, of the color MFPs tested recently, most offered color productivity in print mode that was rated at least “Good.” However, that is far from parity in light of the fact that 58 percent were rated “Good,” 33 percent outperformed that group and earned a “Very Good“ rating, while only 9 percent earned BLI’s “Excellent” rating. In color copy mode, 46 percent of products offered “Good” productivity but, again, there are significant variations, with 24 percent being judged “Very Good,” 15 percent “Excellent” and 15 percent falling below the bar into the “Fair” or “Poor” categories.
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used functions to be programmed from Within productivity as a broad category, the main screen, while others require users there are myriad ways in which one product Determining the specific to navigate through numerous menus to can excel over others — in color or monoaspects of productivity find and then program desired settings. chrome mode, copy or print mode, PostScript that are most important Some have button labels that use comor PCL and booklet printing and booklet to your customer monly recognized terms, while others use copying, to name a few. Determining the specould enable you to cryptic terms and hard-to-decipher icons. cific aspects of productivity that are most demonstrate how your You will also find that a few provide a important to your customer could enable you product ... is superior ... wealth of context-sensitive instructions to demonstrate how your product, even if its that guide users through all aspects of productivity is average overall, is superior to many of its competitors for the specific types of copy and print operation, while others provide limited messaging. In addition, a number of models can be customized so that commonly used output required most often by your customer. An important example in a networked office environment is features on sub-menus can be moved up to the main screen and job stream productivity. When printing BLI’s job stream, which some enable the panel to be customized with different functions consists of a series of typical office documents designed to sim- for different departments or users. A few offer a range of stanulate printing in a networked office environment, the actual dard and optional capabilities to improve accessibility for users running speed of tested 35-ppm monochrome models ranges with disabilities (such as tilting control panels and magnification from a surprisingly low seven ppm to 30 ppm. This means that for text and graphics on the display), which can be crucial to for products that should theoretically be in the same price winning business, while others do not. Again, no parity. range because they all have the same rated speeds, the highestperforming unit can produce more than four times as many Still More Differences Multitasking is yet another interesting example of the myth pages as the lowest-performing unit in the same amount of of product parity. While MFPs have made big strides in their time. Again, no parity. ability to perform functions simultaneously, there are still The Image Quality Difference important differences. For example, while many products Image quality is another important factor in the MFP pur- enable users to program and start a copy or scan job while chasing decision. Surprisingly, BLI’s testing reveals significant another copy job or a print job is in progress, a few models differences even in this most basic function. While less than a enable the programming of the next job to begin while the handful of MFPs have overall print or copy quality ratings of pages of a previous copy or scan job are still being scanned — “Fair” or “Poor” in black-and-white or color, a fairly large an important productivity booster. Many others do not allow number of products fall into the “Good” and “Very Good” cate- programming of the next job until the pages of the previous gories, while only a small percentage fall into the “Excellent” job have finished scanning. category. And surprisingly, a few of these are lower-priced Not every customer needs a product that delivers performbusiness-color models. So, again, sales reps who do not buy ance that is excellent in every way. In 47 years, we have yet to into the “all hardware is the same” myth have an opportunity see the product that does. But by understanding customers’ to show how their products’ output is superior. needs and rejecting the product parity myth, dealers will be able to recognize how their product meets those specific needs better than the competitor’s product, not only winning Ease of Use It does not take a laboratory and scientific measurements to business, but winning it at the right price. come to the conclusion that ease of use is another differentiDaria Hoffman has been covering the document imaging ating characteristic of MFPs. You are buying an expensive piece industry for 26 years with Buyers Laboratory Inc., a global of equipment laden with functionality. What is the point if no provider of test reports and intelligence on document imaging one can figure out how to use it or if you waste time and paper equipment and solutions. She has served as editor of the while people learn by trial and error? Just walk up to five difcompany’s Business Consumer Advisor and Digital Imaging ferent MFPs and attempt to program the same job and you will Review newsletters and as managing editor, she has written and quickly see that some control panels feature larger, more edited test reports on hundreds of MFPs, printers, scanners and inviting designs, while others have small, hard-to-read displays. wide-format devices that undergo testing in the company’s labs. You will also see that some enable all of the most commonly Visit www.buyerslab.com. 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 | M a r c h 2 0 0 8
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A Briefing: eCopy Software vendor hosts analysts & editors Feb. 13 by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine
ith the goal of claiming a greater share of the market and thwarting competitors, eCopy has announced the release of ShareScan Essentials, a more affordable version of its ShareScan 4.1 product. The announcement was made during an industr y analysts and editors briefing, held Feb. 13 at the offices of Edward Schmid LDI Color ToolBox, an eCopy reseller located in New York City. Founded in 1992, eCopy’s product focus is on enabling network users to easily send documents scanned on an MFP or scanner to specific applications. The capability is facilitated by “connectors” developed by eCopy or third-party ISVs (Independent Soft- Tim James ware Vendors). Currently, there are 206 connectors being shipped or in development. “Traditionally, eCopy has been up in the high end of the market, providing a very feature-rich, easy-to-use system,” said Edward Schmid, president and CEO of eCopy, during the briefing. “At the same time, manufacturers have been introducing either no-cost software bundled with their hardware solution or relatively low-cost solutions as entrylevel products. If you look at the gap between $1,000 and $4,000, we felt there is a big price void in the marketplace.” That gap led to the introduction of ShareScan Essentials, said Schmid. The product will “capture those early users at the entry-level,” he said, noting that eCopy and its dealers will be able to “grow users over time into the more functional capability that has traditionally been eCopy’s strength.” The “more functional capability” is available through another product announced at the briefing, eCopy ShareScan Suite. “If you are looking for a true enterprise-class solu-
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tion with connectivity to the majority of document imaging systems, fax servers and e-mail applications, then you are going to look at our Suite product,” said Tim James, vice president and general manager of eCopy. With the announcement of the two new products, James noted: “ShareScan [4.1], as it is currently sold in the marketplace, is being discontinued.” ShareScan Essentials includes scanning to e-mail, fax, network folders and eCopy Desktop, which is a PC software that enables office workers to use desktop MFPs and scanners to scan documents and create PDF files. The new product is also expandable with optional application connectors to integrate directly into other business software applications. As James noted, eCopy ShareScan Suite is an all-encompassing document scanning solution. In addition to out-of-the-box integration with leading content management, database, collaboration and cost recovery software applications, etc., eCopy ShareScan Suite offers built-in integration to such Microsoft products as SharePoint, Access, SQL Server and Windows Vista. During the briefing eCopy also announced: The availability of ShareScan Essentials on Canon ScanFront 220e network scanners. The ScanFront 220e will initially be available with optional eCopy connectors for Captaris RightFax, Microsoft SharePoint and eCopy Quick Connect. The product will be available through authorized Canon dealers, select distributors and Canon resellers in the third quarter of 2008. The availability of ShareScan software for Xerox Corp. MFPs sold through Global Imaging Systems. The agreement adds Xerox to a growing list of manufacturers that offer eCopy products to their customers. They include: Canon, Hewlett-Packard, Konica-Minolta, the Ricoh Family Group, Sharp and Toshiba. 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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COURTS & CAPITOLS
Identity Theft What to do when your identity has been compromised by: Robert C. Goldberg, General Counsel for the Business Technology Association
his month’s column is for you, your employees, friends, family, customers and anyone you care about. Do not hesitate to copy it and share it with others. Identity theft has become an epidemic in the United States that ruins the credit records of countless consumers every day. Although credit card companies, retailers, banks and others have taken steps to protect your confidential credit information, criminals are always one step ahead of them. If your identity is stolen, the subsequent six months can be a nightmare. But if you take certain steps today and following the breach, the repercussions can be limited. When you pay your credit card bill by check, do not write the entire account number in the memo line or anywhere on the check. All that is necessary are the last four digits of your account number. The credit card company knows the rest of the account number and can identify you by the last four digits. By taking this step, anyone who sees the check during the processing procedure will not have access to your account number. Since most credit cards are obtained by providing your home address, do not use that address on your checks. My checks do not have any address and merely have my name and “Attorney At Law.” When a phone number is requested, provide your work number. If you have a post office box, use that for your address. Never have your Social Security number on your check or driver’s license. If your Social Security number is requested, provide only the last four digits. The next time you pass the copier, take out the contents of your wallet and photocopy everything in it. Be sure to get both sides of all cards and documents, except for the pictures of your family and dog. Place the copies in a safe place, ideally where a family member can find it. If your wallet is lost or stolen, remembering the contents is not as simple as you think. If your wallet is lost or stolen, or if you are advised that your confidential information has been compromised, there are several immediate steps you can take. A lost or stolen wallet requires immediate notification to all of your credit card issuers. Having that photocopy with the phone numbers and card numbers expe-
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dites the process. By law, the maximum you can be held responsible for in the event of fraudulent use is $50 per card. Fortunately, most card issuers do not seek this payment. After calling the credit card issuers, file a police report. This step is necessary when contacting the credit card reporting organizations and your insurance company. Contact the three national credit-reporting organizations and place a fraud alert on your name. The three credit reporting agencies and their numbers are: Fraud Alert Credit Report Equifax (888) 766-0008 (800) 685-1111 Experian (888) 397-3742 (888) 397-3742 Trans Union (800) 680-7289 (877) 322-8228 A fraud alert lets creditors know to contact you before opening any new accounts. This gives you control over who has access to the information needed to process a credit application. When you apply for credit, the freeze can be lifted temporarily so an application can be processed. A credit report is free and should be ordered as well. It is suggested that you order a credit report every three months after an incident involving your identity. Review the report carefully. Look for accounts you did not open, for inquiries from creditors that you did not initiate and for personal information that may not be accurate, such as your home address. The credit reporting agencies will advise you of the steps to take if you find suspicious information. The Internet has a wealth of information on identity theft. The best is provided by the government and can be found at www.consumer.gov/idtheft. You can also contact the Federal Trade Commission at (877) FTC-HELP (877-382-4357) for assistance. Finally, if you are away and have forgotten this information, call the Legal Hotline (800-8696688) and I will provide you with the contact numbers required. Robert C. Goldberg is general counsel for the Business Technology Association. He can be reached at robert.goldberg@sfnr.com.
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EDUCATION CALENDAR BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY ASSOCIATION • March 2008
EDUCATION CALENDAR April 3-4
BTA ProSolutions Orlando, FL Software vendors teach you about their technology. However, your clients don’t care about technology — they want their business problems solved. This course, taught by Darrell Amy of Dealer Marketing Systems, will help you understand your clients’ business problems, so you can provide solutions.
4-5
BTA Southeast “Educating U” Conference Orlando, FL BTA Southeast’s semi-annual conference begins Friday evening, April 4, with a cocktail party and networking. Education sessions by Tom Johnson and Robert Weiss will be held on Saturday morning, April 5. Then you may choose to have lunch with BTA General Counsel Bob Goldberg to discuss industry issues and ask questions or you can explore Orlando. Saturday night, dinner will be served at Universal Orlando and afterward you are invited to attend Universal’s Mardi Gras parade and enjoy the park. For more details, hotel information or to register, visit www.btasoutheast.org or call (800) 234-8996.
12-13 FIX: Cost Management for Service Workshop
Worthington, OH Learn proven service management and customer service strategies to use in your company. Costing out the service hour, effective and profitable maintenance agreements, efficient vehicle operations, reducing personnel turnover, competitive compensation plans and identifying profit-making opportunities through the service operation are issues that are critical for success.
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BTA’s “Building My Business” Webinar Series Free to BTA members, the “Building My Business” Webinar Series is designed to help dealers improve the management of their companies, take full advantage of market opportunities and, ultimately, improve the bottom line. The April webinar, “Implementing a Print Management Strategy,” will be presented by Tom Callinan, founding principal of Strategy Development. This seminar will provide you with the basics of developing a print management strategy. You will learn what size accounts to target, the profile of a print management specialist and how to build value in the print management proposal. For additional information or to register for courses visit www.bta.org or call (800) 843-5059. BTA offers dealer members a $250 discount coupon toward FIX. Members may use their $150 discount coupons for BTA ProSolutions. www.of ficetechnologymag.com | March 2008 | 23
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MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION PART I – COMPANY INFORMATION Company Name: Street Address:
PO Box:
City:
State/Province:
Phone: (
)
Fax: (
ZIP/Postal Code:
)
Country:
Web Address:
May BTA include your fax number in the online BTA Membership Directory? Yes No May BTA include your e-mail address in the online BTA Membership Directory? Yes No BTA does not share fax numbers or e-mail addresses with outside parties. Contact Names (first name listed receives all mail): Principal Contact:
Title:
E-mail Address:
Sales Contact:
Title:
E-mail Address:
Service Contact:
Title:
E-mail Address:
No. of locations (include parent):
No. of employees (include owners):
Year business was established:
Annual revenue:
PART II – PRODUCT INFORMATION
OEM Authorizations:
Please indicate the products you sell (check all that apply):
Equipment/Products: Audio/Video Presentation Equipment Bar Coding Equipment Binding Equipment/Supplies Cash Registers/Point of Sale Check Writing/Protection Equipment Computers/Accessories/Parts/Supplies Copiers (MFPs), B&W Accessories/Parts/Supplies Copiers (MFPs), Color Accessories/Parts/Supplies Duplicating Equipment/Parts/Supplies Facsimile Equipment/Parts/Supplies Filing Systems/Electronic Organizers Furniture Identification Systems/Labeling Equipment
Mailing/Shipping Equipment/Supplies Networking Products/Services OCR Scanners Office Supplies Paper Handling Equipment Phone Answering Equipment Power Protection Printers, B&W Accessories/Parts/Supplies Printers, Color Accessories/Parts/Supplies Recycled/Remanufactured Equipment/Supplies Security Equipment/Systems Shredders Software Development/Sales/Support Time Recording Equipment
Typewriters/Accessories/Parts/Supplies Other: Services: Circuit Board Repair Consulting Equipment Rental Financing/Leasing Insurance Internet Solutions Publication Service/Repair Training/Education Other:
PART III – MEMBERSHIP Categories, Classifications and Investments Retail Dealer/VAR Memberships Vendor Associate Memberships
Service Associate Memberships
$430
1-10 Locations
$500 Annual Sales up to $1 million
$885
11-50 Locations
$1,395 51+ Locations $125
$1,500 Annual Sales up to $5 million $2,000 Annual Sales $5-$10 million
$750 Annual Sales $1-$5 million
$2,500 Annual Sales over $10 million
$950 Annual Sales over $5 million
Branch Location (in addition to parent)
$150 Publications Associate
Will your OEM reimburse you for your membership dues? Call BTA at (800) 505-2821 for details. Payment Enclosed (Make check payable to Business Technology Association)
PART IV – INVESTMENT Annual BTA Dues:
MasterCard Visa American Express
Processing Fee:
$ $ 25
Card Number:
TOTAL:
$
Card Holder’s Name:
Exp. Date:
(Join online at www.bta.org and the processing fee will be waived.)
Membership dues must be submitted in U.S. funds. Dues paid to BTA do not qualify as a charitable tax deduction, but do qualify as a business expense. $45 of the annual dues pays for your subscription to Office Technology magazine. I hereby apply for BTA membership: Signature: Date: Don’t let my membership lapse! Renew my membership using this credit card number at the end of my membership year. Return to: Business Technology Association, 12411 Wornall Road, Kansas City, MO 64145 Phone: (800) 505-2821
Fax: (816) 941-4838
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Join online at www.bta.org
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PRINCIPAL ISSUES
ECi: An Open Letter Software vendor responds to Office Technology column by: John Brostrom, ECi La Crosse
n an opinion piece published in the January 2008 issue of Office Technology, Robert C. Goldberg tried to articulate some of the concerns expressed by OMD and La Crosse customers in the wake of our being acquired by ECi. As the old saying goes, there are two sides to every story and I want to thank BTA management for giving us the opportunity to present ours. Implicit in Goldberg’s commentary is the question: Why change the proven, successful business models that made La Crosse and OMD the industry’s technology leaders? This assumes that the same business models that were successful 20 or 30 years ago will continue to be successful today and into the future. Most BTA members are independent businesspeople and you know that the recipe for continued success is not that simple. Just look at the challenges established technology companies such as Microsoft face from relative newcomers like Google. While La Crosse and OMD were successful companies in their own right, our previous business models were not sustainable and not in the long-term best interest of either the companies or, more importantly, our customers. Factors such as e-commerce and the Internet, mobile devices and increasing sophistication of customers have dramatically increased the technology requirements of most office equipment dealers. Your large, well-financed competitors are reinvesting increasing percentages of their revenue — often totaling millions of dollars — in competitive technology. Independent dealers cannot always afford similar investments, relying on their technology providers to make those investments on their behalf. However, La Crosse, OMD and the various small technology companies serving this industry also had limited financial and technological resources. And, as with dealers, those resources had to be divided between supporting existing customers, acquiring new ones and planning for the future — meaning developing the next generation of technology for dealers. Like many of our competitors, La Crosse and OMD simply were not well-positioned to continue providing the level of technology and software innovation that equipment dealers need to remain competitive.
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The answer in this case was consolidation — bringing these companies together to leverage their combined technology and expertise for the benefit of all of their customers. For years, companies like La Crosse, as well as the dealers we serve, have discussed the potential benefits: a greater ability to innovate; a stronger position for implementing electronic supply chains with your manufacturers; more standardized integration with third-party software; and many others. The largest hurdle was the financial ability to accomplish this consolidation, which is something a union with ECi offered. The downside of consolidation is short-term disruption and the pain of change. For almost three decades, equipment dealers — regardless of their chosen management software — have been living with “the devil you know.” The reality is that both innovation and the ability to provide expected levels of support suffer in the face of competitive pressures. This has been true to one degree or another across all of the industry’s technology providers. Yes, La Crosse and OMD increased monthly maintenance fees. And yes, no one likes a price increase, no matter how justified or necessary. But the real question is: What does this increase give dealers today and how does that translate into benefits in the long-term? In the past, we used add-on products to recoup revenue lost to depressed maintenance pricing. These products offered capabilities that dealers specifically told us they needed to improve their operations. However, they went underutilized because of the additional costs involved. ECi has made all of those products available as part of the core software packages. Now all of our customers can use these products to add new efficiencies and make themselves more competitive. Dealers are receiving much more value for their basic monthly fee. It is also important to understand that, as part of ECi, La Crosse and OMD are much stronger and more stable than before. Your management software is a critical part of your business. You need to know that the software — and the company you depend on to support it — will be around tomorrow and that it has the resources to continue developing the products on 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 | M a r c h 2 0 0 8 | 25
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which your business depends. success of our customers. Our mission is ECi has a proven history of supporting the same one that La Crosse and OMD had: Our mission is the same and investing in the companies it acempowering the growth of office equipone that La Crosse quires. Instead of facing forced migration ment dealers through technology. We also and OMD had: to another software platform — a tactic believe in the value of BTA as a positive empowering the often employed by ECi competitors and voice for the industry and will continue growth of office typically the most cost-intensive and dissupporting the organization and its events. equipment dealers ruptive result of software consolidation for Personally, I am excited about what the through technology. dealers — La Crosse and OMD customers future holds for the office equipment have new technology options that they industry and ECi customers in particular. can adopt at the pace that is right for their business. At the Not only is ECi investing on behalf of dealers, but we will be same time, we are positioned to make additional investments drawing on resources, expertise and best practices from in both customer support and software development that across the ECi family of companies as we continue to develop would not have been possible in the past. We will also be lever- a more fully-integrated supply chain across aging the millions of dollars ECi has already invested in areas the industry. John Brostrom is president of ECi La Crosse. such as e-commerce, supplier communications, mobile comHe can be reached at (877) 766-6445 or puting applications and credit card processing to provide even john_brostrom@lacrossesoftware.com. more benefits to La Crosse and OMD customers. Visit www.lacrossesoftware.com. ECi recognizes that its success is tied to the continued
BTA Can Help. Scholarships for use at colleges or accredited vocational trade schools are available to the sons and daughters of BTA retail dealer and reseller members and the sons and daughters of their full-time employees. Scholarship recipients are chosen by an impartial and independent evaluator.
Having trouble finding money for your child’s education? 26 | 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 | M a r c h 2 0 0 8
Completed applications must be received at BTA by May 1. To obtain a scholarship application form, contact Mary Hopkins at mary@bta.org, call (816) 303-4031 or write to: BTA Scholarship Foundation, 12411 Wornall Road Kansas City, MO 64145. ®
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PRINCIPAL ISSUES
Efficient Interviews A multi-candidate strategy nets quick results by: Patrick Evans, SalesBURST!!
eed to increase sales volume in your territor y or busin e ss? Welcome to the hiring dilemma. Before I delve into a more efficient way of interviewing, consider the problems with traditional hiring and interviewing processes. They tend to have several negative consequences for your company: It costs you money to place an ad. You need to take time out to read each résumé. You must call each interesting prospect and play phone tag. You must sell each candidate on attending an interview with your firm (10-20 minutes). You must interview each candidate. If the candidate does not show up, you still allotted the time. This filler time is less beneficial than structured organizational time such as selling. If the candidate attends the interview, you lose from 3060 minutes even if you know within the first three minutes you will never hire the person. What sales manager or entrepreneurial owner of a small business can afford to waste 30-60 minutes per interview? No one I know. That is one full day of productivity thrown out the window if you interview only eight candidates. The very first time you experience this waste of time, you will question the waste of productive time, but you will attempt the process again because you are still faced with the hiring dilemma. Eventually (and eventually occurs very quickly), you will give up and dedicate your precious time toward increasing your own sales and convince yourself that hiring is a waste of time and does not offer tangible, productive results. I have seen the process repeated over and over again by very capable sales managers and business owners. They are not stupid. They understand they need more sales reps but cannot afford to miss sales quotas partaking in a flawed interviewing process. The issue: These sales managers’ territories or the owners’
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businesses will eventually stall-out at a certain level b e cause th e y n e ed more leads/presentations/quotations/closes to grow sales volumes properly. The solution: Decrease the time it takes to hire new reps. How to Hire Efficiently First, you need to place an ad and have the candidates email their résumés to your firm. Utilize a “signal” name like Bob or Judy Thompson to send their résumés to. Do not use your name. Second, have your receptionist or assistant collect the résumés. He (or she) can also handle any phone calls related to the job opening. He will realize that a sales candidate is calling because the “signal name” is being used. The receptionist or assistant can simply tell the candidate that sales interviews are being accepted to fill a position. Have him tell the candidate to “please choose either 9 a.m. this Tuesday or 4 p.m. this Thursday for an interview.” The receptionist or assistant should say this without discussing anything about the firm. He can tell the candidate to review your firm’s Web site and to be on time to the interview. When the candidates arrive for the interview, have them fill out new hire sales applications. Why? It will demonstrate their neatness and if you cannot decipher their writing, it might be prudent to take a pass. Give them 15 minutes to fill out the application. While they do so, have your receptionist or assistant bring you all of the résumés. Review them quickly and circle any pertinent information that will remind you of a conversation you can start with each potential representative. Collect the marked-up résumés and walk to the area or room where the candidates are waiting. Introduce yourself and explain that you will be conducting the interview. Make sure you have not booked more reps than available chairs in the interview room. I would not invite more than 12 people at one time. After the candidates have all been seated in the conference room, sit down with them, select a résumé and call out that 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 | M a r c h 2 0 0 8 | 27
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person’s name. Place that résumé in front Once I am done, I start to ask a few of you and call out the next name. Place questions from the circled and/or high... Two months after this résumé to the left or right of the first lighted items on their résumés. After I trying to find the one résumé. You will place each résumé by the engage each rep for a few minutes, I select perfect sales rep ... sales order the candidates are seated so that you a rep and ask that person to describe my managers throw their can call out a name and know where that company as if I were a prospect. arms up and meet the candidate is when you begin to ask quesThe candidate’s description is usually quota with their own tions. So, if you want to speak to Jim, you one-dimensional and not sales-oriented. I personal sales. would know he is seated to your left and then describe my company as if I were that he is two people away from you. Each selling a stock — with lots of sizzle and résumé will have about a half-inch showing so you can see the enough terrific facts to entice the prospect to ask questions rep’s name and still conserve space. There should be six because they want to know more. This teaches the candidates résumés to your left and six to your right. how to sell. I can look around a room like this and tell instantly which of Why do I hire this way? I can interview 12 candidates in one the candidates have a chance of being selected based on the hour without any preparation time on my part. All 12 candiinterviews of 99 percent of the successful reps already with my dates will want to work for me because I taught them how to firm. I am not talking about gender or race — I review sell during the first half hour of our meeting. If only one candigrooming, dress code, eye contact and charisma. date out of 12 shows up, I am not inconvenienced. In one eightI hand out a single piece of literature on my firm and ask the hour day, I could complete interviews with approximately 50 reps to peruse it while I quickly view their résumés again. applicants. That is 10 times more than traditional methods. You can also visit local colleges when they offer “hiring days.” I requested that 25 students be in attendance for my 30minute hiring presentation at all of the colleges I visited. The college would always agree and I received much more exposure than my competitors. Group interviewing is the future. Here is the major problem with the traditional process used in hiring sales representatives: Two months after trying to find the one perfect sales rep and wasting a zillion hours of their personal sales time, sales managers throw their arms up and meet the quota with their own personal sales. Owners of businesses find themselves in this predicament every few years. This process repeats itself and the manager gives up and for 12 months the company can meet quota. But in the second 12 months, all heck breaks loose when the company misses quota by a wide margin. Good luck with the old, traditional way of hiring sales reps if you need to bulk up your sales force each year. It will be very slow. Instead, go new, go efficient, go group. Patrick Evans is a speaker, entrepreneur, author, sales trainer and positioning specialist. He founded EVCOR, a software integration firm that facilitated the shipping for 3,000 firms, which he later sold for $60 million. Evans then developed SalesBURST!!, an entrepreneurial sales training methodology that teaches sales managers and sales reps how to sell quickly. Visit www.salesburst.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 | M a r c h 2 0 0 8
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SELLING SOLUTIONS
Best Practices Define your customers’ obstacles & develop solutions by: Tom Kramer, Strategy Mapping Selling
ome of the best practices that a top performing sales organization employs in managing its territories or accounts are defining the major obstacles it faces, developing true solutions to those obstacles and bringing in the right resources to effectively meet its customers’ strategic needs. It is perhaps a simple concept, but one that requires the interplay of a complex set of high-level questioning, communication and managerial skills. An obstacle may have to do with product capability, a connectivity issue, a price position, an account relationship, accessibility to the appropriate decision maker or any number of other hurdles that, if not addressed, will prevent you from capturing (or protecting) business. Top-performing sales professionals have a thorough and realistic understanding of their specific business obstacles and have developed positive and realistic solutions for each and every one of them.
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Asking the Right Questions Ultimately, it is the sales representative’s responsibility to ask high-impact questions that will uncover the customer’s strategic needs and develop higher value-creating solutions that will improve the customer’s operating performance. To identify account obstacles, sales reps must ask the right questions and probe for what the customer really wants, such as the desire to reduce costs, improve productivity or increase his (or her) ability to service his customers. Only by gaining a full understanding of what the customer is trying to accomplish can a salesperson recommend a comprehensive solution — a solution that links the company’s products and services to the achievement of the customer’s goals. High impact questions get at your customer’s unexpressed needs and lead to the core of his strategic requirements. For example, your customer may state that he needs color capability on his MFP device. Probing deeper into this, a top performing sales rep will ask, “Why do you want this?” The customer may respond that he wants it to add color to his company’s presentations. Probing further, the sales rep will ask, “Why is this important to you?” The customer may respond that it is necessary because his company’s sales proposals are not being well received by potential
new customers and the company is not growing. This last point contains critical information. The fact that your customer is not capturing new business can be used to craft a customized solution based on specific capabilities you have that may make this customer more competitive in his marketplace. If you take the time to do this, you will achieve a much higher position in your customer’s mind and be perceived as a highly valued and strategically important business partner. In other words, you will be perceived as a person who can help him become more successful and, as our experience has shown, successful customers buy more. The Product is Not the Solution In the past, the product was the solution. But in today’s office equipment environment, the one-size-fits-all product solution does not meet today’s more complex customer needs. Sales professionals must have the analytical and technical ability — or access to resources with these abilities — to develop creative solutions to solve specific customer problems. Today, most companies are moving toward solution selling. This migration or shift requires an investment in additional resources to support and facilitate a solution-selling model. Success depends on the sales rep’s ability to bring in resources from his own organization or from outside organizations that offer complementary services (such as software companies, workflow analysis experts or financial partners) to customize the solution. The salesperson’s skill at engaging, mobilizing and managing these resources is very important and can make the difference between success and failure. One of the consequences of the shift to solution selling is the expanding role of professional sales representatives brought about by the complexity of the environment in which they are operating. They have to have a deeper understanding of technology and its application — both their own and the competition’s. They have to deal with purchasing committees or buying teams. They have to engage more support resources to provide customized solutions and they are being burdened with non-selling activities that, taken all together, have slowed down the sales cycle. 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 | M a r c h 2 0 0 8 | 29
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Top performing sales organizations have addressed this situation and ensure that their sales professionals have the resources and sales competencies to develop focused solutions, manage a team selling effort and execute within a complex selling and purchasing environment.
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Today’s sales professional must also possess a keen political sense and the ability to identify and establish relationships with executive-level decision makers.
Political Acumen Today’s sales professional must also possess a keen political sense and the ability to identify and establish relationships with executive-level decision makers. Gaining access to executive levels can be an obstacle and it is always a challenge. Sales representatives must possess the skills necessary to engage their customers on multiple strategic levels, that is, both on the operational and executive level. Working the customer’s political landscape may require the salesperson to bring in upper-level management from his own organization to establish an executive connection and engage in “the executive conversation.” Moving up this buy/sell hierarchy requires the development of a long-term relationship strategy based on targeting the right people, joint problem-solving and customer value creation. On the operational level, the sales representative will have to establish relationships beyond the purchasing department because today’s equipment is connected to the network and the director of IT may have final approval authority over procurement. In this case, top performing sales organizations orchestrate relationships between their technical people and the customer’s IT department. They build and manage this relationship over time by consistently communicating current and relevant technical updates and application information designed to give their
customers information and insights — even when new business is not in play.
Best Practices It is clear that the role of the professional salesperson has changed and expanded. Today’s top performers require different and higher-level professional selling abilities. Here is what the pros are doing to confront obstacles and develop solutions: When managing accounts or territories, top performing sales professionals know what their biggest obstacles are and they have developed well-thought-out and realistic solutions that will put them in a position to win. To uncover the customer’s strategic needs, sales professionals ask probing second- and third-level questions. Solution selling focuses on solving customers’ problems and helping them run their businesses better. Creative solutions require the coordination and management of an extended number of internal and external resources. High-performance sales representatives sell above and below the line, that is, on executive and operational levels. In working the customer’s political landscape, top performers target the right people, plan extensively and focus on the details of strategy execution. Tom Kramer is an affiliate partner of Strategy Mapping Selling. He has more than 30 years of sales, sales management and marketing experience with IBM, Eastman Kodak Company and Canon U.S.A. Inc. He can be reached at tom.kramer@strategymappingselling.com. Visit www.strategymappingselling.com.
ADVERTISER INDEX 15 • Ames Supply Company
31 • BTA Southeast/ProSolutions
23 • MKG Imaging Solutions
(800) 323-3856 / (630) 964-2440 / www.amessupply.com
(800) 234-8996 / www.btasoutheast.org
(800) 881-7545 / www.mkg.org
28 • BEI Services
2 • Business Products Council Association
13 • Muratec America Inc.
(307) 587-8446 / www.beiservices.com
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(888) 565-5907 / www.docuware.com
12 • Niche Equipment (877) 446-4243 / www.nichee.net
21 • BTA Print Management Workshop
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(573) 632-2461 / www.fmaudit.com
26 • BTA Scholarships
9 • InkCycle
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(800) 736-8877 / www.inkcycle.com
30 | 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 | M a r c h 2 0 0 8
5, 11 • Print Audit (877) 412-8348 / www.printaudit.com 7 • Toshiba (949) 462-6165 / www.copiers.toshiba.com
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