May 2011 Office Technology by Business Technology Association

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CONTENTS Volume 17 • No. 11

FEATURE ARTICLES 10

MPS Delivered Manufacturers providing resources & support

COURTS & CAPITOLS E-Mail Marketing Rules The liability is absolute; there is no defense

by Brent Hoskins Office Technology Magazine

Is the managed print services bandwagon about to pass by your dealership? If so, you may want to turn to your MFP manufacturer for help in jumping on and moving forward. Today, hardware manufacturers are delivering MPS tools, education and support.

The Business Plan Its execution will lead to company growth

by Robert C. Goldberg BTA General Counsel

There are laws in place regulating unsolicited emails. Failure to understand these regulations can result in liability to individuals and businesses.

P R I N C I PA L I S S U E S A Customer Service Culture Use these slight edges to improve your service

by Mark Isaac Gorman Business Consultants

After working with companies worldwide, I noticed they all did certain things to help keep their customers — little things that made a big difference.

by Larry Coco Coco Training & Consulting Inc.

When it comes to business planning, I think we can agree that most organizations have annual, written plans. But while it is true that managers have plans to make the numbers, very few have living, breathing plans that drive the activities and details that get it done.

A Focus on ‘U’ Sharp hosts national dealer meeting March 14-17 by Brent Hoskins Office Technology Magazine

Emphasizing the importance of addressing the end-user’s desire for personalization when using office technology, at Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America’s recent national dealer meeting, the primary focus was on the company’s new MFP user interface.

DocuWorld 2011 DocuWare hosts its largest ADP meeting to date by Brent Hoskins Office Technology Magazine

Focused on providing educational opportunities, announcing product enhancements and challenging attendees to further boost their efforts to sell the company’s integrated document management system, DocuWare hosted its annual DocuWorld meeting on April 5 in Orlando, Fla.

Spring Cleaning Use the season to reflect on & review your business

by Ed Carroll Strategy Development

Spring is a good time to reflect on what is important, what needs attention and what actions are required to affect change for the rest of the year.

MPS STRATEGIES ‘Where Do We Begin?’ Focus on getting your MPS program up & running

by Mike Lamothe Office Document Consulting

There is no longer any question about whether you should implement MPS or not. The issue is how and when to implement your MPS program.

D E PA R T M E N T S 23

Business Technology Association • Education Calendar • BTA Highlights

Executive Director’s Page

BTA President’s Message

Advertiser Index

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How? Enter the profitable world of selling document management solutions.

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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S PAGE

Survey Results Offer Insightful Guidance

o you sell document management systems? If not, are you considering doing so? In either case, you may be interested in the comments of more than 25 of your fellow office technology dealers who sell document management. On April 5, I was among the panelists in a session at DocuWare Corp.’s DocuWorld dealer meeting held in Orlando, Fla. I collected dealer comments via an e-mail survey to share with the DocuWorld attendees. Following are some of the survey questions and results, including a sampling of comments shared by survey respondents: If you actively sell document management systems, approximately how many installations does your dealership achieve in a year? Five or less: 30% of respondents; six to 12: 48%; more than 12: 22% What percentage of your annual revenues are generated from the sale and support of document management system installations? Less than 10 percent: 93%; 11 to 20 percent: 3.5%; more than 20 percent: 3.5% What do you believe are some of the most important industry trends that exist today that relate to (or are affecting, either positively or negatively) the sale and installation of document management systems?  “Federal regulations, especially in the medical field. Scanning in general is becoming more mainstream.”  “HIPPA and regulations like this for non-medical industries are forcing companies to have a document management strategy. Electronic fi les are much more stable than paper.”  “Environmental awareness and the

importance of using less paper, reducing unnecessary printing and copying.” What have you found to be the most common mistakes (lessons learned) in selling document management software?  “Not charging enough for installation and training; not having a thorough statement of work and change order process.”  “Over-informing before determining customer needs and pain points.”  “Not enough research of the prospect’s business workflow.” What strategies, tools or kinds of support have you found to be the most valuable in your dealership’s efforts to sell document management software?  “Having a well-prepared demo site for showing your application is essential.”  “Support from software manufacturers with customized material regarding certain vertical industries.”  “Lunch-and-learn sessions at our dealership to educate customers.” What would be your advice to the dealer who is not currently selling document management software, but is considering doing so?  “Find a vendor that will actually help you close deals if you find them.”  “Be prepared to make an investment that will yield returns in the long run, but requires a lot of patience.”  “If you have any MPS program, you need to offer document management services as part of the logical phases of the MPS engagement.”  “Go with a vendor with a strong training and support plan.” Interested in reading more dealer comments? The full results of the survey can be found on the BTA website at www.bta.org/ DocuWareMeeting.  — 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 Ed Carroll, Strategy Development www.strategydevelopment.com Larry Coco, Coco Training & Consulting Inc. www.cocotraining.com Robert C. Goldberg, General Counsel Business Technology Association Mark Isaac, Gorman Business Consultants www.gormanbusinessconsultants.com Mike Lamothe, Office Document Consulting

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 ©2011 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 2010-2011 Board of Directors

Stand Out to Ensure Continued Success

n today’s constantly changing business climate, and given the recent mergers and acquisitions in this industry, it has become increasingly difficult for an office technology (or BTA) dealership to attract and retain customers — or has it? When going toe-to-toe with direct sales operations, including the now manufacturer-owned mega-dealers, this battle may be reminiscent of David versus Goliath. What can a BTA dealership do to stand out in this low-price, low-margin arena? Here are a few areas to consider. Go Green — Bring “green” to a local level with your customers. Promote your green efforts by having all of your employees emphasize what your dealership is doing to recycle, conserve and contribute to the greening of the Earth. Green consciousness is a sought-after trait in bids and RFPs, and your dealership should be on board in a big way. While the manufacturers are promoting a green program, yours can stand out by being specifically tuned to fit your community. Instead of giving your customers’ contact information to your manufacturer’s recycling program, partner with a supplier that will accept any brand cartridge, even empty plastic toner bottles the manufacturer may not accept. Be Versatile — Your dealership can provide hardware, software and services over and above the manufacturer’s one and only brand. Because of your access to many vendors, your bids (offerings) can include not only MFPs and printers, but also shredders, calculators, folding machines, etc. Support Your Community — Your local business brings jobs and tax dollars to your community, much like the customers

you service. Your sales staff should include this message with every customer visit and you should make sure your customers hear it. Be involved with local chambers of commerce, fund-raising, volunteer groups, etc. Send a newsletter to your customers reporting your community involvement. Contact the local newspaper when your business reaches certain milestones or when important news about one of your employees can be shared. Most importantly, continue to teach your customers about the importance of keeping local dollars local; when they buy from a company across the country, they are allowing dollars that could help their hometown go to other states. Be Flexible — The independent dealership is almost always more flexible and easier to deal with than direct sales offices. Decisions can be made quickly, problems can be resolved rapidly and conditions can be met without having to meet additional conditions first. A dealer can react to a situation on the spot, without having to wait for approval from corporate headquarters. There is much less red tape in the dealer channel, allowing for a wider range of options when a situation arises. Promote your flexibility. Customers will appreciate the assurance that issues will be resolved quickly and easily. Use BTA Programs — Don’t forget that BTA is here to offer assistance to the dealer channel, supplying you with the tools needed to win the battle against the Goliaths of the world. Your association offers education, information, guidance and discounts that provide you with the resources to more successfully pursue market opportunities. With these resources at your disposal, there is a better chance that your customers will discover the difference between price and value.  — Rock Janecek

President Rock Janecek Burtronics Business Systems Inc. 216 S. Arrowhead Ave. San Bernardino, CA 92408 rjanecek@burtronics.com President-Elect Tom Ouellette Budget Document Technology 251 Goddard Road Lewiston, ME 04240 touellette@bdtme.com Vice President Terence Chapman Business Electronics Corp. 219 Oxmoor Circle Birmingham, AL 35209 tchapman@businesselectronics.com BTA East Todd J. Fitzsimons Network Imaging LLC 122 Spring St. Southington, CT 06489 tjfitzsimons@networkimaging.biz BTA Mid-America Ron Hulett U.S. Business Systems Inc. 3221 Southview Drive Elkhart, IN 46514 ron.hulett@usbus.com BTA Southeast Mike Upchurch Business Machines Inc. 3121-C Glen Royal Road Raleigh, NC 27617 mike@bmi4u.com BTA West Greg Gray Burtronics Business Systems Inc. 216 S. Arrowhead Ave. San Bernardino, CA 92408 ggray@burtronics.com Ex-Officio/Immediate Past President Bill James WJS Enterprises Inc. 3315 Ridgelake Drive Metairie, LA 70002 bjames@wjsenterprises.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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MPS Delivered Manufacturers providing resources & support by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine

s the managed print services (MPS) bandwagon about to pass by your dealership? If so, you may want to turn to your MFP manufacturer for help in jumping on and moving forward. Today, increasingly, hardware manufacturers are delivering MPS tools, education and support to help their authorized dealers take full advantage of what is currently proving to be the office technology industry’s most compelling and promising market opportunity. “Obviously, MPS should be a critical part of every dealer’s active business strategy,” says Mike Pietrunti, president and CEO of Kyocera Mita America Inc. (KMA). “It provides the ability to not only expand the dealer’s business, but to protect it as well.” Sam Errigo, senior vice president of business intelligence services for Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A. (Konica Minolta), shares a similar view. “Today, a lot of companies are taking a hard look at their overall print management expenses,” he says. “So, if you don’t have an MPS program in place, you are at a competitive disadvantage.” Companies have become more savvy about managing their print spending and continue to look at reducing print expenditures, adds Errigo. “As a dealer, if you are not able to offer innovative solutions to drive price performance, the customer is going to go someplace else,” he says. “The dependency around the product is secondary as customers transition to truly managing their print environments.” Clearly, the dynamics of the office technology industry are changing. Certainly, changes have occurred before and, fortunately, most dealerships ultimately embraced those changes, altering course to a new direction. They often did so with the help of their manufacturers. “When we transitioned from analog to digital, we had

digital copier specialists to help dealers,” says Pietrunti. “When we went from monochrome to color, we had color specialists. Today, we have a nationwide core of managed print specialists dedicated to helping dealers.” At KMA, those specialists are a part of a relatively new initiative from the company known as Kyocera’s Managed Print: Simplified. At the foundation of the initiative, says Pietrunti, is an MPS certification program offered to KMA dealers, to ensure key dealership personnel are prepared to effectively pursue the MPS opportunity. From there, the dealership can take advantage of a KMA remote management system utilizing a KMA-based server. There is also ongoing support and education, including a new Web-based, self-paced MPS training program. Plus, given the predominate players in the print market and the multi-brand nature of an MPS engagement, KMA also offers service training on both Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Lexmark printers. Increasingly, says Pietrunti, KMA dealers are pursuing the MPS opportunity and they are doing so via a “critical component” — through the installation of a data collection agent (DCA) at the customer location. When a dealership has machines installed in a single location, that location is viewed as a customer of the dealership, he says. “But four or five other vendors who sell products to the location view it as their customer as well,” he explains. “So, it is critical for the dealership to build an ‘electronic fence’ around that customer — and not just around the units it has placed.” With the DCA — the “electronic fence” — installed, the dealership can begin the process of monitoring all print devices on the network and using the data collected to support the MPS business strategy, says Pietrunti. “The dealership needs to be the first to get the customer to agree to install

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the DCA, because nobody is “If you build your strategy going to allow the installafirst around the customer “If you build your strategy tion of two of them,” he says. and their desired business first around the customer “So, there is, in fact, a race outcomes, starting with and their desired business to get that electronic fence initial cost savings, then, outcomes, starting with built to protect your cusover time, you can phase in initial cost savings, then, tomer base. I believe that if a the right products to meet dealership is not monitoring that strategy.” over time, you can phase its customer base by the end Konica Minolta’s MPS in the right products to of this year, somebody else program is known as Opmeet that strategy.” will be.” timized Print Services. It — Sam Errigo KMA advises dealers to is intended to guide and Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A. position the installation of support dealers in the MPS the DCA as a means of rearena starting at the entry ducing the cost of service, given that the dealership will level, but it also offers advanced levels of support. “We have be able to monitor devices and see warnings (such as low a series of services that are available that go above and betoner levels, etc.) in advance, says Pietrunti. “That allows the yond what I would call that basic MPS offering,” says Errigo. dealer to go back 60 to 90 days later and say, ‘Let me tell you “More complex environments require a greater degree of how your device has been working,’” he explains. “‘Let me sophistication related to device data capture, end-user apshow you how you have been using it and what your work- plications and device mapping. Our portfolio of workflow load has been and how much toner we have replenished, solutions range from security and compliance, scan manetc.’ Customers are usually very appreciative of that type of agement, print and authentication to support the needs of customer care. Then, at some point, it’s, ‘Oh, by the way, we our customers and dealers.” can see all of your devices. As a matter of fact, we can proOptimized Print Services’ entry-level MPS product is a vide service for your other devices as well.’” fee-based ASP (application service provider) solution, so KMA dealers are encouraged to service as many products there is no sizable investment up front, says Errigo. The in their customer bases as possible, “because, obviously, ev- company also offers various training programs and conery competitive product you can add to your MIF [machines sumables not only for Konica Minolta products, but for HP in field] is service and supply revenue,” explains Pietrunti. and Lexmark products as well. Ultimately, the company can “That’s the first benefit of the MPS program. Once you can also help dealers who have advanced to a level where a tranconvert the existing service and provide supplies to custom- sition from the ASP solution to the acquisition of their own ers, then you own the ability to upgrade those customers to server makes sense, says Errigo. “At a certain point, it is a your own devices over time as you see fit.” better long-term investment for them,” he says. “But we will Errigo says Konica Minolta dealers are finding success work with them to build that program.” with the installation of DCAs as the entry point for their Dealers authorized to sell Toshiba America Business SoMPS strategies as well. “Understanding the environment lutions Inc. (TABS) products have access to a variety of tools is really part of the overall strategy with the customer,” and resources to assist them with their MPS programs as he says, emphasizing that the customer will welcome the well. For example, since 2003, TABS has offered Encompass, focus on a strategy to help them manage and even reduce a fleet optimization tool that helps end users uncover and printed pages, as opposed to a hardware-focused solu- address hidden costs associated with their MFPs and printtion. “The customer is really looking to manage an envi- ers. Some “very exciting re-engineering” of Encompass will ronment rather than moving from product to product. soon be announced, says Bill Melo, vice president of marketDealers who are truly engaged in the development of an ing, services and solutions for TABS. The company also has MPS strategy with their customers and provide resources alliances with Lexmark and HP, along with companies like to drive a ‘less print’ strategy will be positioned for future Supplies Network, MWA Intelligence and FMAudit, to progrowth opportunities.” vide dealers access to hardware and software to help them The end game of MPS is twofold: deliver value to the cus- succeed in the MPS arena. tomer through print management services and provide inAt the foundation of TABS’ MPS resources lies an emphasight on methods to reduce print across the enterprise via sis on education. That was very apparent to the TABS dealsoftware or workflow enhancements, says Errigo. “You be- ers who attended one of the company’s four two-day, dealer come a single point of contact for that customer,” he says. LEAD education conferences in 2010. Each provided a variety 12 | w w w. o f f i c e t e c h n o l o gymag.com | May 2011

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“Dealers understand the concept of MPS and they understand why it is good for their businesses, but, in many cases, they have had a difficult time implementing. So we have spent a lot of effort, time and investment in education.” — Bill Melo Toshiba America Business Solutions Inc. of workshops intended to help dealers move forward in selling and implementing MPS programs. “We are now launching the LEAD Academy, which is an online education and certification program for MPS and other solutions as well,” says Melo. “The certifications will designate that the person who is taking a LEAD course has all of the skills necessary to be, for example, a certified MPS business analyst.” Actually, says Melo, the 2010 LEAD conferences emerged from the apparent need within the industry to provide dealers with more learning opportunities. “Dealers understand the concept of MPS and they understand why it is good for their businesses, but, in many cases, they have had a difficult time implementing,” he says. “So, we have spent a lot of effort, time and investment in education.” Are you among those dealers who are embracing the concept of MPS but are having difficulty implementing a program? If so, perhaps it is time to take a closer look at the resources and support that your manufacturer can offer your dealership. Industry leaders say the time to transition to MPS is now. Dealers need to do their homework and have a business plan, but “shouldn’t be intimidated by the unknowns,” says Melo. “At some point, time to market trumps perfection. Don’t stay on the sidelines too long.” Errigo agrees, offering a frank view as to why it is important for the dealership to move forward with MPS. “Your customers are moving in that direction,” he says. “If you don’t keep pace with the competition, you are not going to have any customers. Trying to compete on price versus delivering value will only result in lower margins and, ultimately, an unsustainable business model. Dealers need to invest with the right long-term partner that will provide the support, training and tools to compete in the MPS space. An investment in an MPS program today is going to pay dividends in the future.” n Brent Hoskins, executive director of the Business Technology Association, is editor of Office Technology magazine. He can be reached at brent@bta.org. 14 | w w w. o f f i c e t e c h n o l o gymag.com | May 2011

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The Business Plan Its execution will lead to company growth by: Larry Coco, Coco Training & Consulting Inc.

here are times in life when we reflect and wish we could do certain things all over again. We expected better results and it finally hit us — our plans were not specific enough and we came up short. Some of us learn and strive to improve while others just keep making the same mistakes over and over again. Some fail to change. When it comes to business planning, I think we can all agree that the majority of organizations have annual, written plans. That is a good start. But let me dig a bit deeper and share some information that will certainly make you think. I have researched this topic over the past three years and have found that 81 percent of managers currently do not have written plans. While it is true that managers have plans to make the numbers, very few have living, breathing plans that drive the activities and details that get it done. Does this mean we have the wrong managers? Definitely not. Rather, we need to focus on the opportunity to improve. We need to begin getting these great ideas out of our heads, commit them to paper in a sensible way and share them with our valued employees. It seems rather simple, but if it were that easy, everyone would be doing it. Since the document management industry is changing so rapidly, these plans need to have proper detail, focus and ample flexibility. In other words, they are a work in progress. These plans can be powerful tools in providing direction and giving us marching orders to achieve our goals and objectives. So how long should they be and where do we start? While six- to 12-month plans may, on the surface, look feasible, we need to realize that, quite often, we take a mental breather. And before you know it, we are playing catchup and, as discussed earlier, we wind up falling short. Conversely, one- to two-month plans never give us a real chance to execute effectively since it takes time to both implement and inspect what has been put in place. Remember, the bestlaid plans require a series of adjustments along the way. For these reasons, many high-level thinkers believe 90day business plans work best since they involve tactics. When you put tactics in place, it makes sense that you have a greater likelihood of achieving strong results. Just as

important, proper planning and proactive behavior provide us with a competitive advantage. In today’s business environment, falling behind even one step is unacceptable. These 90-day business plans begin with something we call “radar screen items.” These items are defined as topics that we have responsibility for and are never far from our hearts and minds — the kinds of things you think about all day and all night, and write down on a yellow pad at 3:15 a.m. when lightning strikes and you wake up with a great idea. (I know, many of us have “upgraded” to digital voice recorders; whatever works for you.) Examples of radar screen items include: n Recruiting and selection n Alliance partner programs n Service/administration/sales team relationships n Sales pipelines n Formal account reviews n New-hire training n Ongoing skills training n Marketing campaigns n Team activities n Incentives n New equipment/solution launches n Personal development Experience tells us to choose approximately three radar screen topics per quarter. Personally, I find if I try to take

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Coco May 11.indd 1

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You’ve launched an MPS program, but are you achieving the profits you had hoped for? Strategy Development will help you accelerate your MPS growth and achieve profit margins in excess of 55%. BTA MPS Sales Workshop Developed and taught by Strategy Development consultants, this two-day educational workshop will provide dealerships with the tools they need to establish a profitable MPS strategy. What you will learn: • Understanding the print space • Getting the appointment • Presenting a value proposition • Conducting an assessment • Building an MPS proposal that sells • Pricing an MPS contract • Quarterly business reviews

Pricing: $1,695 for members $1,195 for a second member attendee $2,125 for non-members* (*Non-member price includes a one-year BTA dealer membership.) For more information and to register, visit: www.bta.org/MPSSales or call 800.843.5059.

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a few hours per week planning, since on more and do too much, there is no thinking is what we really get paid to time to get it all done, which results in a Create a strong do. Put a formal follow-up process in loss of credibility. Keep in mind, it is all dynamic by meeting with place, allowing management to inspect about execution. your direct reports and what you expect. Next, for each radar screen item, let them see, in writing, It comes down to this: Great mancreate your to-do list detailing all of agement is a process — a process that the work and activities that have to be where you are going begins with you. Commit to detailed done. This is key. Challenge yourself to and how you are going planning. Demand excellence of yourdig deep and embrace solid preparato get there as a team. self and your people. As the saying goes, tion. Last, but not least, for each to-do “People don’t plan to fail, they fail to list item, assign responsibility and write plan.” Now get those ideas out of your down a definite time and day when each head, put them in writing and plan to be great.  task will be accomplished. Larry Coco is president of Coco Training & Consulting Inc. It may be a good idea to look at and update your 90-day business plans often. Know that a good number of these top- For the last 28 years, he has focused his career in the world of document management, ics will carry over from quarter to quarter. Share the plan working with both dealer and direct with your boss and co-managers, challenge them to find organizations. Previously, he worked at holes in your plan and ask them to offer suggestions for improvement. Create a strong dynamic by meeting with your Ricoh Corp. in a variety of positions. He can be reached at larry.coco@salesoptimizer.com or direct reports and let them see, in writing, where you are (914) 588-5384. Visit www.cocotraining.com. going and how you are going to get there as a team. Spend

Lion Technology Group, as a new vendor partner to the BTA, is pleased to offer all BTA dealers preferred On-Line Prices and automatic net 30 terms at www.liontechgroup.com

With over 20 years of industry experience, LTG offers customers a multitude of ways to increase their bottom line. This is achieved through a wide array of products which include Japanese toner and developers, drums, color imaging units, buyers lab certified staples and OEM supplies offered at discounted rates. Lion Technology Group looks forward to working with the BTA dealer channel in 2011 and well into the future. 18 | w w w. o f f i c e t e c h n o l o gymag.com | May 2011

Coco May 11.indd 2

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4/8/11 11:28 AM 4/13/11 8:12 AM

A Focus on ‘U’ Sharp hosts national dealer meeting March 14-17 by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine

mphasizing the importance of addressing the enduser’s desire for personalization when using office technology, at Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America’s (SIICA) recent national dealer meeting, the primary focus was on the company’s newly introduced MFP user interface (UI). The company promotes that the new UI “brings unprecedented interactivity, ease of use and customization to the document management experience.” The meeting, simply using the letters “UI” as its theme, took place March 14-17 at the Wynn Las Vegas. There were 538 dealership personnel representing 200 Sharp-authorized dealerships in attendance. The total attendance with industry media, corporate customers, exhibitors and Sharp employees was approximately 900. “This meeting is about ‘U,’” said SIICA President Ed McLaughlin as the opening General Session got underway. “It is about finally having a document imaging system that focuses on the individual.” McLaughlin explained he has often thought there is a need for personalization on Sharp’s devices. “There are so many different cultures, approaches and applications that tend to make things complicated for people,” he said. “So, our quest was to make something simple, something intuitive ... I think you are going to love what you see today.” What attendees saw was the introduction of three new products featuring Sharp’s new UI — the MX-2601N (26 pages per minute [ppm]), MX-3110N (31 ppm) and MX-3610N (36 ppm) workgroup color and monochrome A3 MFPs. Operating in a manner similar to today’s smartphones, the new UI provides quick access to MFP features. Users of the MFPs can perform all tasks using flick, tap, slide and drag gestures on a 10.1-inch color LCD touchscreen. The home screen can be personalized by adding custom backgrounds, icons or changing languages (24 languages are available standard). Ultimately, the new UI will be available throughout Sharp’s product line. The three newly introduced MFPs also feature full-size retractable keyboards for easy data entry. “Our latest breakthrough finally makes an MFP a personal tool,” said Fujikazu Nakayama, executive officer and

Clockwise from top: George Grafanakis (left), senior product marketing manager for Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America (SIICA) demonstrates the company’s new user interface (UI); Ed McLaughlin, president of SIICA; Fujikazu Nakayama, executive officer and general manager of Sharp’s Business Solutions Group. general manager of Sharp’s Business Solutions Group. “It is the concept of this meeting — that technology advances only if it satisfies the user’s needs. The end user is always the most important part of our development process. The user interface is the way to bring that idea to reality.” Expressing that Sharp’s new UI will “forever change the way people interact with an MFP,” Nakayama said the UI is the “perfect fit” for today’s end users. “Just like the iPhone, iPad or Android have made technology an enabler, our new user interface will do the same for MFPs and office

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In addition, Sharp announced that productivity,” he said. “I truly believe that it has made both data encryption and only a company like Sharp can make this “Just like the iPhone, overwrite features standard on the leap in understanding of the user.” iPad or Android have company’s latest MX color series MFPs. Demonstrating the new UI on stage, made technology an A new standard security mode will also McLaughlin emphasized that the new enabler, our new user enable password lock and the same 256feature provides a competitive edge over bit data encryption of job data used by the competition. “This is the most revointerface will do the the federal government. Sharp also inlutionary approach to the document syssame for MFPs and troduced a new “End of Lease” option tem in the industry,” he said. “As much as office productivity.” that deletes all data on a leased maI like competition, I have to tell you canchine before it is returned. didly: It will be years before the compe“At the press of the button, at the end tition actually makes this move. This is something that will be unique to Sharp for quite some time.” of the lease, all of the information is gone,” said McLaughlin. The introduction of the new UI was not the only an- “It is not just the standard documents on the hard drive, but nouncement at the meeting. The company also unveiled also the address book and all of the hierarchy features. All version 4.0 of the Sharp OSA (Open Systems Architecture) of the information is gone. It is set back to default. Someday, software development kit. It adds support for cloud-based a competitor will offer this, but today, you can only get this applications and increases the number of available applica- from Sharp.” n Brent Hoskins, executive director of the Business Technology tion programming interfaces (APIs) for key MFP functions Association, is editor of Office Technology magazine. — copy, document filing and fax. Previously, only scan, He can be reached at brent@bta.org. print, authentication and accounting APIs were available.

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www.officetechnologym a g. c o m | M a y 2 0 1 1 | 21

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DocuWorld 2011 DocuWare hosts its largest ADP meeting to date by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine

ocused on providing educational opportunities, announcing product enhancements and challenging attendees to further boost their efforts to sell the company’s integrated document management system, DocuWare hosted its annual DocuWorld meeting on April 5 at the Hilton Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Fla. The meeting drew approximately 230 individuals Thomas Schneck from Authorized DocuWare Partner (ADP) companies. Thomas Schneck, sales and marketing president for Munich, Germany-based DocuWare AG, the parent company of Newburgh, N.Y.-based DocuWare Corp., welcomed attendees to DocuWorld. He thanked them for their role in the company’s successes in 2010. “Overall, we had a very good year,” he said. “With your hard work, it was possible for us to grow our business by 20 percent.” The total worldwide 2010 “project volume,” including DocuWare software, related hardware and professional services, totaled $91 million, said Schneck. He shared the revenue split for the total volume as follows: new installations, 46 percent; expansions, 13 percent; and maintenance and support, 41 percent. He also reported the breakdown of the 996 new DocuWare 5 installations in 2010 geographically: the Americas, 406; Germany, 301; EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), 240; and the United Kingdom, 49. On the heels of a successful year for DocuWare, Schneck shared his expectations for 2011. “What is in store for us? I can tell you that the first quarter went very well,” he said. “We are continuing our growth path around the world ... We have set a very aggressive goal for ourselves in 2011. In the U.S. alone, we want to grow our business by 25 percent.” Schneck acknowledged that the goal is significant. “It is, for sure, an impressive goal, but I do not think it is a goal for its own sake, but rather it is something that we have to accomplish to stay ahead of the curve and to take full advantage

of the market that we are in,” he explained. “With the help of all who are meeting here in this room, together, going in the same direction, we can absolutely achieve that goal.” Among the market opportunities for ADPs specifically cited by Schneck is the opportunity associated with electronic medical records systems (EMRs) within the healthcare industry. Under the Obama Administration, he said, government funding is being made available for the installation of software that serves to transition paper patient records to secure digital records for access by hospitals, clinics and physicians. “The document management industry has tried to find out how we can ride that wave,” he said. “Actually, document management can be on on-ramp to an EMR.” However, to be eligible for government funding, healthcare industry software installations must be designated “of meaningful use,” explained Schneck. Basically, the threshold that the federal government has set is that the “software provide significant improvement in patient care.” Schneck announced that through the efforts of DocuWare ADP and DocuWorld Platinum Sponsor J&H Inc., DocuWare recently achieved the meaningful use standard through the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT). “It is a battle to go through that, but they [J&H] figured out a way for what is called ‘discharge documents,’ a very specific area, to provide enough evidence that this government agency said, ‘Yes, absolutely, that is meaningful use,’” he explained. “Because we see it as such a significant accomplishment, and because it is specific to J&H StapleWare products, which are necessary to provide the functionality, we are going to start offering some of the StapleWare products on the DocuWare price list.” Achievement of the meaningful use standard for DocuWare “is a good start for 2011,” said Schneck. “Overall, I think 2011 will be a very, very good year for all of us. In fact, I think 2011 will be one of those years when a lot of good things will come together.” n 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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EDUCATION CALENDAR June 6-7

BTA MPS Sales Workshop Baltimore, MD As a provider of managed print services (MPS), the dealer can become the end-user’s “single source” for managing printed pages and the hardware used to produce them. Taught by Tom Callinan and Ed Carroll of Strategy Development, this workshop is designed to provide dealerships the tools they need to establish an MPS strategy. Visit www.bta.org/MPSSales to register.

8-9

BTA Business Planning Workshop Baltimore, MD Taught by Tom Callinan and Ed Carroll of Strategy Development, the purpose of this workshop is to set the framework for your team to develop an operational business plan. You will learn how to use the Strategy Development Scorecard, industry statistics and a company’s SWOT analysis as the foundation of your planning process. Visit www.bta.org/BusinessPlanning to register.

15-16 BTA Sales Management Workshop Phoenix, AZ Taught by Ed Carroll of Strategy Development, this workshop will provide sales leaders a framework, process and tools concentrated on developing sales professionals, uncovering new business and expanding share of wallet with current customers. All sales leaders, or sales professionals moving into a management position, will leave with proven processes that, when implemented, will increase their effectiveness, reduce turnover and drive improved results. Visit www.bta.org/SalesManagement to register. 15-16 ProFinance 2.0 Dallas, TX Over the last 10 years, the principles of ProFinance have improved the performance of hundreds of dealerships. But with the introduction of color, connectivity, software and MPS, the business has changed — and ProFinance has changed with it. ProFinance 2.0 incorporates these changes into the new industry model, including benchmarks for MPS. Visit www.bta.org/ ProFinance to register. 21-22 BTA Managed Network Services Workshop Houston, TX The managed network services (MNS) opportunity provides a tremendous market for MFP dealers. MNS offers a more cost-effective way for your customers to manage their current spending on IT support. In this workshop, Mitch Morgan and Chris Ryne of Growth Achievement Partners will show you how to set up a managed network services business in your company. Visit www. bta.org/MNS to register. For more information, visit www.bta.org/EducationCertification or call (800) 843-5059.

www.officetechnologym a g. c o m | M a y 2 0 1 1 | 23

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

Dealer Members American Servco Imaging Systems, Mira Loma, CA Cartridge Technologies Inc., Rockville, MD Data Records Management Services, Paducah, KY Fuchs Business Solutions, West Allis, WI H & H Business Systems, Post Falls, ID LaserCycle USA, Louisville, CO McNallan Office Systems, Brooklyn Park, MN MFD Services, Carrollton, TX RDI Solutions, New York, NY Technifax Office Solutions, Carrollton, TX Service Associate Members Y Soft Americas, Keller, TX For full contact information of these new members, visit www.bta.org.

For the benefit of its dealer members, each month BTA features two of its Vendor or Service Associate members in this space. BTA Vendor Associate member Global Printer Services (GPS) is a leader in Hewlett-Packard (HP) LaserJet sales and hard-to-find HP laser printer parts. At GPS, you will find printers that are refurbished to work as well, or better, than new. Because GPS knows how important support is after a customer receives the product, it offers free technical support for as long as a customer owns the printer. GPS also backs its printers with a oneyear warranty. The company has been supporting the HP printer industry for more than 13 years and has an extensive network of service and support companies in every state. www.globalprinter.com

Each year, BTA provides a comprehensive look at the performance of office technology vendors and hardware manufacturers, based on the balloting of independent dealers. This year’s results are presented from an in-depth analysis compiled by Industry Analysts Inc. in the 2011 BTA Channel’s Choice Awards Report, now available to BTA members for download at www.bta.org/ChannelsChoice.

BTA Service Associate member LEAF Commercial Capital Inc. is an equipment leasing and finance company headquartered in Philadelphia, Pa. LEAF’s core competency is its ability to assist vendors and manufacturers in maximizing financing as a revenue-generating strategy. At LEAF, its vendors are at the center of everything the company does. Every product, service and system is built to achieve one main goal — accelerating company sales. LEAF has established itself as a leader in delivering results-driven vendor financing programs that are designed to get a customer’s attention. www.LEAFnow.com

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

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

24 | w w w. o f f i c e t e c h n o l o gymag.com | May 2011

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COURTS & CAPITOLS

E-Mail Marketing Rules The liability is absolute; there is no defense by: Robert C. Goldberg, General Counsel for the Business Technology Association

he Internet has made communication easy and inexpensive. However, like its predecessor, the facsimile machine, there are laws in place regulating unsolicited e-mails. Failure to know and understand these regulations can result in liability to individuals and businesses that object to your messages arriving in their inboxes. The liability is absolute — there is no defense — so knowing the do’s and don’t’s is essential. Widespread acceptance of online communication provides dealers and resellers with numerous benefits compared to traditional marketing campaigns. The costs are lower, delivery is instantaneous and recipients can immediately “click” to review and obtain additional information. These same benefits result in hundreds of communications and makes it difficult for a marketer to stand out from the others. In addition, many recipients object to the volume of “spam” and offensive communications received. In 2003, Congress enacted the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act (CAN-SPAM Act). The CAN-SPAM Act does not flatly prohibit all unsolicited commercial e-mail. Rather, it sets out specific requirements for the content of messages. It also requires that recipients be able to “opt-out” of receiving them. The Act applies to all commercial e-mail messages, not just those that are unsolicited. A commercial e-mail message is defined as any e-mail that has a “primary purpose of ... commercial advertisement or promotion of a commercial product or service.” Both the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC; wireless devices) have authority to promulgate rules and regulations under the CAN-SPAM Act. The rules provide guidelines as to how to market via the Internet. The best procedure is to include in your transactional documents consent to receive electronic commercial communications. Although this is not a legal requirement, it clearly establishes that the recipient agreed to receive commercial messages from you. On the other hand, the law does require

that there be a means to “opt-out” or, more commonly, “unsubscribe.” The “unsubscribe” procedure cannot require any more than visiting a single page or replying to an e-mail in order to exclude oneself. An “opt-out” request must become effective within 10 days of receipt. Failure to respect an opt-out request may result in increased penalties. Commercial e-mails themselves must include complete and accurate transmission and header information. The “From” line must identify the business as the sender. This does not require the complete business name, but must provide the recipient with sufficient information to understand who is sending the message. The “Subject” line must accurately describe the content of the message. The communication must clearly include the physical address of the sender. The message must state it is an advertisement unless the recipient has previously consented to receiving commercial messages. A communication that is both a transaction confirmation and contains a commercial message will be considered “commercial” for purposes of the Act. It is suggested that you create several e-mail addresses (Gmail, Yahoo!, Hotmail, AOL) to monitor the effectiveness of your procedures. Test the opt-out mechanism monthly and keep a short log of the results. Follow up in 10 days to assure the address has been and remains removed. The FTC can challenge violations of CAN-SPAM, however additional federal agencies, states and private parties may also enforce the Act. The penalties vary depending upon whether the violation was willful, knowing or aggravated. In most instances, the e-mail itself will determine if a violation has taken place. Thus, making certain your communications are in compliance is better than seeking forgiveness following a challenge. n Robert C. Goldberg is general counsel for the Business Technology Association. He can be reached at robert.goldberg@sfnr.com. www.officetechnologym a g. c o m | M a y 2 0 1 1 | 25

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PRINCIPAL ISSUES

A Customer Service Culture Use these slight edges to improve your service by: Mark Isaac, Gorman Business Consultants

ccording to a J.D. Power and Associates study, companies that have a culture committed to great customer service will grow at twice the rate of their competition. In my 24 years of working with companies throughout the world, I have learned that successful companies are committed to keeping their customers and growing from the inside out. As I worked with these companies, I noticed they all did certain things to help keep their customers — little things that made a big difference in the level of service they provided. I call these things “slight edges” and have identified seven of them. The first of the “seven slight edges” is big picture thinking. Companies that deliver great service know why they deliver great service and they understand the long-term impact of great service. After customers purchase a copier/MFP, successful dealers have them on a campaign where every few months the dealer will reach out to them, whether it is via a postcard, holiday cards, an e-mail or a drop-in visit. The customer knows that the purchase is the beginning of the relationship, not the end. Unsuccessful dealers close the sale and then start looking for the next sale elsewhere. They fail to see the value of a customer. Do you know the value of each of your customers? Another “slight edge” is the courage to take action. Successful dealers take action on their ideas to deliver great service. Unsuccessful dealers do not want to start something new. They say things like: “That’s just the way our industry is.” Or, “This is the way we’ve always done it.” True service leaders have the courage to move past old barriers. Faith is the belief in something we have no proof of. Companies that deliver great service have faith that what they are doing is bringing the customer back. Faith is about measurements; you need to put up signposts that show you are on track. Signposts could include how much or how often an average customer buys from you. If you track these, or numbers like these, and you see the numbers improve, it is easier to keep the faith. Companies that deliver great service make service the center of daily operations. Average dealers start new initiatives to deliver better customer service but after a while, they let the ideas fall to the wayside. I hear them say things like, “We got started on it, but then we got busy with a new

product line.” This is the time management side of delivering great customer service. Companies that excel in delivering great service make it the top priority. To me, economics is very simple — it is the skill of earning more money than you spend. It is difficult to deliver great service if your focus is on the upcoming lease payment you are going to have trouble making. Ask your staff to help you identify any wasteful spending and give you ideas on how to eliminate it. Companies that deliver great customer service ask affirming questions. We need to ask questions that help us look for solutions. Most affirming questions start with “How can I … ” or “What can I … ” Do not ask an upset customer, “What is the problem?” Instead, ask, “How can I help?” This rephrasing leads to reframing in your mind; you look at the problem in a whole new way. Also, have the courage to ask your current customers questions like, “How can we do this better?” or “What other services can we provide?” Few dealers will ask these questions and fewer still will take action on what customers say. How does your product or service serve the customer? Harley Davidson does not sell motorcycles; it sells the open road. Dealers who excel in customer service do not sell office equipment; they sell how their equipment is of service to the customer. What problems do your products and services solve for your customers? Determine what your company does that is of service to your customers and change the way you communicate with them. In the same study, J.D. Power reported that 90 percent of customers formulate their opinion of a company based on their experience with the company’s customer service and 60 percent will terminate their relationship based on a bad customer service experience. Use the “seven slight edges” to raise the level of service you provide and generate more referrals and revenues. n Mark Isaac, owner of Gorman Business Consultants, has been a training professional for 23 years. He specializes in management and leadership communication and travels extensively, working with companies to increase customer retention. He can be reached at mark@gormanbusinessconsultants.com. Visit www.gormanbusinessconsultants.com.

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PRINCIPAL ISSUES

Spring Cleaning Use the season to reflect on & review your business by: Ed Carroll, Strategy Development

pring is one of my favorite times of year. Days are longer, temperatures are warmer, flowers are blooming, the grass is green and the trees are budding. It is a refreshing time of year and is a good time for some spring cleaning. While this is not always welcomed, it is something we all should take advantage of. Sprucing up the yard, airing out the house and cleaning the garage add to the beautiful surroundings of spring. In business, spring is also a good time to reflect on what is important, what needs attention and what actions are required to affect change for the rest of the year. After all, most businesses are a quarter of the way through the year. At this point, hopefully businesses are on track to meet or exceed their goals for the year. If not, business owners should be looking at what actions need to be taken to get back on track. Regardless of where your business stands with its goals, utilizing this time of year to reflect and review is valuable to continuing to progress or advance your business. You may ask, “Why now?” or “Why spring?” The reasons are not as much about spring being a beautiful time of year, but more about what is to come. Once the summer months are upon us, things seem to slow down: schools are out, there are vacations to contend with and, as a result, reaching prospects and customers is more difficult. The cyclical part of this business usually shows softness in business written during the summer months. This might be a good time to implement change, but not necessarily a good time to reflect, as there are many distractions to contend with. Once summer is over, the remainder of the year is focused on closing the year strongly. It also is a time for you to develop your business plan for the new year. This results in a higher workload and increased business activity. This is a difficult time of year to thoroughly focus on the needs of or changes in your business and attempt to implement those actions. This brings us back to spring, which is a good time to focus on the future of your business. It is a great time to reflect, to refresh, to plan and to implement changes for the future. So, what are some areas to focus on? There is no limit. You should start with an understanding of the changes in the market and how they affect your business. What areas of the business are not performing to satisfactory levels and what

new areas are evolving that will change the business climate? What might you look at? Start with the change in the business model from a hardware-centric model to a service one. Having had the opportunity to attend a number of manufacturer and trade events in the past few months, the message is finally beginning to sink in. The equipment volumes of the past are in the past. Success or failure will depend on the ability of businesses to change from the ways of the past to the ways of the future. In this industry, it is your ability to change from a hardware-centric model to meeting customer requirements with the services you provide. This is not an easy transition and it cannot be accomplished overnight. It needs planning and a clear, detailed understanding of what is best for your business in relation to your strengths and weaknesses. Only thorough review, both internally and externally, can provide the understanding and knowledge of what you need to accomplish. If you have not already, now is the time to start. The longer you wait, the more challenging it will be. As equipment placements continue to decline, financial pressures will continue to grow with less revenue to support the operation, further limiting the time and review necessary to implement change. In times like this, declining revenues cause additional stress, challenges and reactionary actions to address the situation that inhibit a fair and objective evaluation of the needs of the business. Moving before a stressful situation will better position you to implement what will be sustainable actions. Change is in order, change is needed and the time is now if you have not already started. An area that has received a lot of attention is managed print services (MPS). The purpose of this article is not to rehash the reasons to consider MPS or how to go about implementing it. Speaking from experience, MPS is a natural area for imaging dealers to consider in transitioning to a service model. So, by now you have either moved in this direction, chose not to or have a fair understanding of how to implement MPS. What are other areas to consider? Managed services, document process improvement and image capture will support the transition. The point is, you need to move forward with this change now. Delaying will only increase your challenges and, possibly, your chance of demise. www.officetechnologym a g. c o m | M a y 2 0 1 1 | 27

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organization $40,000 for one lost entryIf the pressures of declining revenues level sales professional who did not work are already affecting your ability to move There are many ways to out. If you are not aware of this, then it your business in a new direction, then strengthen your business might shock you, but it is real. Focusing you need to accelerate your actions. As in both good and bad on internal areas in difficult times is as mentioned, transitioning to a new sertimes. Spring is a great important as looking externally. vice model will take time and resources. time to focus on it, do There are many ways to strengthen Therefore, your priority might be to refoyour business in both good and bad times. cus your attention on your current operasome cleaning (review) Spring is a great time to focus on it, do tions and determine how to better operate and find opportunities ... some cleaning (review) and find opporand structure your company with more eftunities that will enable you to continue ficient use of resources. If you are like most, you generally follow the premise: “If it your successes. This is a very good industry and no one who is isn’t broken, don’t fi x it.” While this might seem to be the case fully engaged believes differently. The opportunities are bounin many areas of your business, it does not mean you should tiful, but different from those of the past.  To learn more about how to plan and transition your business, ignore such areas. In fact, there are many areas of the business attend the BTA Business Planning workshop June 8-9 in that are often overlooked because there is the belief it is workBaltimore, Md. Register at www.bta.org/BusinessPlanning. ing and, in most cases, working well. One such area is sales Ed Carroll is a principal of Strategy Development, a team development and performance. Quota and territory assignments, employee turnover, on- management consulting firm engaged in sales leadership, MPS, operational efficiency, service productivity and business boarding, forecasting and pipeline development are all areas planning. Clients include equipment that often get overlooked because of historical reasons (the manufacturers and resellers focused on way it has always been done), or because there is little belief equipment and service in the document and that anything can be done to improve them. With no attenimaging industry throughout North America. tion on these areas, the latter will always be true, yet they Carroll can be reached at (703) 722-2973 or are areas that are a significant drain on resources. An uncarroll@strategydevelopment.com. derperforming sales team with high turnover will cost your Visit www.strategydevelopment.com. organization valuable time and money. Turnover can cost an

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MPS STRATEGIES

‘Where Do We Begin?’ Focus on getting your MPS program up & running by: Mike Lamothe, Office Document Consulting

ecently, a dealership principal asked me, “So, where do we begin? I know we need to be offering managed print services (MPS), but I can hardly keep up with the day-to-day business, let alone spend additional hours trying to initiate any kind of new program.” I explained that this is a dilemma many dealership principals are facing, but it is an area where they need to focus. There is no longer any question about whether you should implement MPS or not. The issue now is how and when to implement your MPS program. In this article, I would like to share the rest of that conversation and I will also speak to the recent ITEX 2011 Exposition & Conference in Washington, D.C., and the message I took away from it. It is no mystery our industry is changing dramatically. We have seen declining prices, declining revenues and the net effect of declining margins. So my advice to the dealers I have talked to has been to “shore up your base first, then you can begin to look at growth.” The reality is that MPS delivers both. Industry statistics show that organizations print as much as eight times the volume on printers compared to MFPs. Conservatively, it is fair to say if you are not currently managing single-function devices (printers) for your base customers, you are leaving at least 40 percent of the overall print volume on the table. You should also be aware that printer vendors are no longer willing to coexist and are emerging as viable competitors to our fleets of MFPs. Don’t get me wrong; I am very aware that many dealership principals are providing more than 50 percent of their dealership’s sales, along with all of the other day-to-day demands of running a business. Finding time to set up an MPS program means extending their working hours. My answer to that is: If you can begin to capture the incremental volume inside your customer base, it will help address many issues, such as getting additional support to provide more sales. I went on to tell the dealership principal he was leaving his business exposed and, for that reason alone, he needed to make some necessary changes. As our discussion continued, I told him about how some of the most progressive dealers in the industry have chosen to deal with current market conditions.

Adding MPS is only one of the changes these dealers have made. They have also looked for additional areas of revenue and the reality is they did not have to look too far. How many of you are currently providing services (like free connectivity for MFPs), yet organizations that buy printers either use their internal IT or pay for external IT services to set up and install these devices? If I were a dealership owner, I would offer to teach these companies’ IT personnel how to install and connect two desktops, and any additional services would be billed at $125 per hour. If they do not have an internal IT department, tell the customer you are providing IT services and there will be no need to outsource the install — you will bill them directly. Here is another suggestion: Why not change the name of your service dispatch to “Help Desk Services” and have one of your savvy IT techs — who, in some cases, is the service manager in the office anyway — receive those calls. You can begin charging for software application-related calls. Yes, you still dispatch service, but as you move to remote monitoring services software (which is one of the foundations of providing MPS), you will have fewer calls and now you have created another area of revenue. My recommendation is to take the time to examine your own business. But first, take your copier dealer hat off, because dealerships traditionally provided additional services as an added value and did not charge customers for them. Needless to say, my conversation with the dealership principal was very well received and he understood that taking the time now could make a significant difference in the success of his business in the future. I recently attended ITEX 2011 in Washington, D.C., and I purposely avoided any breakout session solely related to MPS and instead spent my time looking beyond MPS. My time was well spent and I walked away with a clear vision. MPS will create a new foundation for dealerships to evolve into more progressive services-related businesses. In fact, one of the sessions I attended began with the facilitator stating, “If you haven’t implemented MPS today, it could be too late.” I am not sure about that, but I do believe you are postponing the inevitable and leaving your customer base www.officetechnologym a g. c o m | M a y 2 0 1 1 | 29

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exposed to potential competitors that will make, or have already made, the transition. There are organizations today that can help you make the transition to MPS, so if you do not have the time or in-house resources, consider engaging a third party. This third party can assess and, if required, assist you in the transition to MPS and other progressive services.  Mike Lamothe is president of Office Document Consulting (ODC). With 25-plus years in professional sales and management, he brings extensive industry experience, having worked at both the dealership and manufacturer levels. Today, Lamothe assists clients with the implementation and ongoing support of MPS programs and offers guidance in such areas as strategic selling, development of selling and marketing tools, organizational right-sizing, and assessment consulting and design. Lamothe can be reached at odcconsulting@live.com or (647) 389-5048.

... I do believe you are postponing the inevitable and leaving your customer base exposed to potential competitors that will make ... the transition.

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