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CONTENTS Volume 14 No. 5
FEATURE ARTICLES 10
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Business Color A growing opportunity for the BTA Channel
COURTS & CAPITOLS Minimum Retail Prices They would eliminate frustration & unfair competition
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By Brent Hoskins Office Technology Magazine
By Robert C. Goldberg BTA General Counsel
It took a number of years for technology to evolve from the early color copiers, but the market for today’s color-enabled MFPs in the general office is now growing at a rapid pace. It is also becoming the focal point among most MFP manufacturers and, increasingly, office technology dealerships. Few, if any, would argue that business color is anything but a growing opportunity for the BTA Channel. The numbers tell the story.
For 96 years it was illegal for a supplier to mandate the minimum price at which a dealership could sell its product. Last June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the establishment of a minimum retail price would no longer be “per se” illegal. A “per se” violation of the antitrust law means there is no defense to the conduct once that conduct has been established.
Managed Print Services Market changes require a new way of doing business
PRINCIPAL ISSUES Adding a Second Line Xerox acquisition of Global serves as a wake-up call
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By Layton Getsinger DOTS Inc.
by Riley McNulty IDC
Managed services have impacted the IT market overall and many competitors within the document output industry have paid close attention to how value can be driven by servicesled engagements. Managed print services (MPSs), which address hardcopy equipment and output needs in distributed workgroup environments, have gained attention in recent years. Dealers need to understand if MPSs are really going to impact the market, in a way that forces them to respond.
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The recent acquisition of Global Imaging Systems by Xerox was a shot heard around the world. It should have also served as a wake-up call for every independent dealership in the country. While heavily downplayed by U.S. vendors, this move by Xerox created an upswing in the development of the direct channel of distribution.
Retention Strategies Lessons learned from the real world
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By Tom Kramer Strategy Mapping Selling
Sales Management Stop looking for a ‘strong closer’ & improve your team
I recently had the opportunity to speak to members of the BTA Board of Directors and a number of dealership presidents. One burning issue that is on almost everyone’s mind is sales representative retention. In today’s highly competitive office equipment market, finding, keeping and growing good salespeople is a major management challenge.
by Tom Callinan Strategy Development
I am often asked by dealers if I know where they can find a good sales manager. I simply answer: “No, everyone seems to be looking for that person.” But really, the question creates quite a few thoughts in my mind, not the least of which is: “Can you define what a good sales manager looks like?” I hope I am not the only person who is surprised to hear this answer: “A strong closer who can help my business grow.” In my mind, that is almost an oxymoron. 4 | www.of ficetechnologymag.com | November 2007
DEPARTMENTS 6
Executive Director’s Page
8
BTA President’s Message
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Advertiser Index
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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S PAGE
Manufacturers Share Their Dealer Counts ou may recall that in the September issue of O f fice Technolog y I wrote about the various copier/MFP manufacturers’ direct sales efforts. It is a topic I’ve covered periodically in recent years, providing us an indication of how the number of direct sales offices has changed over time. As I further considered the topic of that column, another somewhat obvious question came to mind: How many authorized independent dealers does each manufacturer have today? I had my hunches and, certainly, some of the vendors have shared the numbers with me in the past. However, I don’t believe I have ever compiled a single list of the dealer counts for all the vendors. So, recently, I asked each of the full-line copier/MFP manufacturers this question: “How many active, authorized, independent dealers do you have today?” Following are the responses I received. Some are more specific than others, but they do provide a good indication. (If they used the word “approximately” so do I.) Canon — 250 dealers carrying the full line and 200 office products dealers, authorized to carry up to about 45- page-perminute devices Konica Minolta — Th e c ompany responded that it does not release its dealer count publicly, due to policy. Kyocera Mita America — 375 Kyocera Mita dealers and 330 Copystar dealers (No dealers carry both brands on the MFP side, although Copystar dealers can carry Kyocera printers. So, there are 705 different authorized dealerships.)
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Panasonic — Approximately 400 dealers Ricoh — 167 Ricoh dealers, 201 Savin dealers and 246 Lanier dealers (There may be a few dealerships that carry more than one Ricoh Family Group brand, but I was told: “This is very rare; if there are five, that’s a lot.”) Sharp — 400-plus dealers Toshiba — Approximately 252 dealers Xerox — 400 dealers Since Konica Minolta declined to provide an answer, I’ll estimate a number of 400 dealers. With that in mind, there are a total of approximately 3,621 authorized dealers among these eight vendors. That number leads to another question: “How many independent authorized dealers are there in the United States today?” Can an estimate of the total number be derived from the 3,621 authorized dealers? The issue to consider is that most of these authorized dealerships carry multiple brands. Industry analysts tell me that the average is two. Simply dividing 3,621 by two would indicate that there are approximately 1,810 authorized dealers. But what about those dealerships that only sell brands not included in the list, such as HP, Oki Data, Muratec or Samsung? If the ultimate goal is to determine the total number of dealers in the BTA Channel, what about the many unauthorized dealers selling and servicing office equipment, such as those who only buy from distributors? Likewise, what about those dealers focused on the used equipment market? I’ll continue with my efforts to determine the total number of U.S. dealers. In the meantime, let me know if you have any comments on the topic. Just e-mail me at brent@bta.org. — Brent Hoskins
Executive Director/BTA Editor/Office Technology Brent Hoskins brent@bta.org (816) 303-4040 Associate Editor Elizabeth Marvel elizabeth@bta.org (816) 303-4060 Contributing Writers Tom Callinan, Strategy Development www.strategydevelopment.org Layton Getsinger, DOTS Inc. dotslayton@bellsouth.net Robert C. Goldberg, General Counsel Business Technology Association Tom Kramer, Strategy Mapping Selling www.strategymappingselling.com www.smsap.com Riley McNulty, IDC www.idc.com
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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 Accounting Clerk mary@bta.org ©2007 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.
Kyocera ad Nov 07
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Vibrant color. Superior functionality.
Must be one terrific MFP.
Kyocera’s KM-C4035E Delivers Across-the-Board Productivity for Your Customers For an affordable color document solution that maximizes business productivity, discover the power and reliability of the KM-C4035E. This workhorse is one of a series of color MFPs designed to keep your customers’ business color needs in-house and within budget. At 40 pages per minute of crisp black and white, and 35 pages per minute of brilliant color, it delivers impact to any job. Add the full range of advanced finishing features for compelling business communications. Plus optional software solutions maximize your customers’ hardware investment. Combine all this with strong dealer marketing support, and it’s no wonder Kyocera keeps you smiling. To learn more about Kyocera and its products visit www.kyoceramita.com.
©2007 KYOCERA MITA CORPORATION. KYOCERA MITA AMERICA, INC., a group company of Kyocera Corporation. “People Friendly,” “The New Value Frontier,” the Kyocera “smile” and the Kyocera logo are trademarks of Kyocera.
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BTA PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE ®
The Legal Hotline — A Great BTA Service hose of you who have called the BTA Legal Hotline already know about this great member service. You know how BTA General Counsel Robert Goldberg can help to ensure your vendors’ contracts are fair and equitable, assist you in correctly handling personnel matters or guide you in appropriately pursuing any dispute with a vendor. For those of you who have not turned to Bob for a consultation on a business matter, let me first ask you two simple questions: What does your local attorney charge per hour? Does your attorney have 30 years experience serving independent dealers in the office technology industry? Consider that Bob’s services are included at no charge with BTA membership dues. Consider, too, that Bob has served as the association’s general counsel since January 1977. I can share more about this incredible BTA member benefit. Others can too. Following are comments recently shared by just three of the hundreds of dealer members who have taken advantage of BTA’s free legal services: “Perry Corporation has been a member of BTA since 1980. Over the years, our membership has benefited us in countless ways because of the many services offered by BTA, particularly BTA Legal Services, headed by BTA General Counsel Robert Goldberg. Bob’s intimate knowledge of our industry and his unmatched availability and follow-up have provided us with timely, expert legal advice on a wide variety of legal matters at no additional cost. The value and cost savings we derived from his services
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alone greatly exceeds and more than justifies our membership fees.” — Barry Clark, president, Perry Corp., Lima, Ohio “In the past several years, I have contacted Bob Goldberg on numerous topics as they pertain to our dealership. I have been extremely satisfied with his knowledge of the dealer business. He has helped us many times regarding contracts of all types. He has sent me templates of documents — from maintenance contracts to employment contracts. It is a great benefit of being a BTA member to be able to call Bob Goldberg and talk to him about the myriad legal issues that come up in our dealership. Every time I have contacted Bob he has been very prompt in his response and honest in what he can help with and what he cannot.” — Roger King, president, EO Johnson Co., Wausau, Wis. “We joined BTA in the late 1970s and have maintained our membership since. BTA Legal Services and, in particular, Bob Goldberg’s guidance, are the single most important benefit of our BTA membership. Certainly, we use and gain from BTA in other ways, but Bob’s direct experience with this industry is worth its weight in gold to us, a small mailing equipment dealership with 36 staff members. Sample contracts, policies, leases, etc., are all important to our business, and are often unique to this industry. There is a great respect from both dealers and manufacturers for Bob Goldberg and his history and deep industry knowledge.” — Paul Carrington, vice president, The Carrington Co., Southington, Conn. Are you in need of legal guidance? Then I encourage you to call the BTA Legal Hotline today. The number is (800) 869-6688. — 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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©2007 Toshiba America Business Solutions, Inc. Electronic Imaging Division. All rights reserved.
AFTER EIGHT WINS IT ’S HARD TO BE HUMBLE The people have spoken. And for the eighth time, Toshiba was voted #1 for Overall Performance by the BTA. Toshiba was honored with four Channel Choice Awards, the most of any equipment manufacturer, including awards for Superior Performance, Digital Product Line, Corporate Support and Marketing Distribution. While we may be tempted to brag, we’ll just let the dealers do it for us. To become part of the winning Toshiba team, call us at 949-462-6601.
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Business Color A growing opportunity for the BTA Channel by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine
t took a number of years for technology to evolve from the early color copiers, but the market for today’s color-enabled MFPs in the general office is now growing at a rapid pace. It is also becoming the focal point among most MFP manufacturers and, increasingly, office technology dealerships. Few, if any, would argue that business color is anything but a growing opportunity for the BTA Channel. The numbers tell the story. For the forecast period of 2006 to 2011, InfoTrends projects that unit placements of color-enabled copier-based MFPs in the U.S. market will increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.8 percent, says Jonathan Bees, director for the market research firm’s Digital Peripheral Solutions Service. In contrast, he says, monochrome MFPs will see a CAGR of -7.8 percent during the same time period. With the increase in unit placements of color copier MFPs comes an increase in revenue. During the 2006-2011 period, InfoTrends forecasts that revenues in the U.S. market for color MFPs will increase from $4.07 billion to $11.16 billion (a 22.4 percent CAGR). Meanwhile, the firm forecasts that revenues in the monochrome MFP market will decline from $8.39 billion to $4.63 billion (a -11.2 percent CAGR). Of course, the rise of the color-enabled MFP is welcomed by all in the industry. “The arrival of color has come at a very good time, because on the monochrome MFP side it’s a commodity business and average selling prices are in decline,” says Bees. “Think of it as a seesaw. As one end is going down, the other end is going up — that other end being color.” As noted, that “other end” brings with it higher revenues. “Color copier MFPs cost more than monochrome MFPs and, so, the average selling prices are giving some lift to the market,”
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says Bees. “However, the real opportunity is the aftermarket revenue from supplies and service. This is where the placement of color MFPs pays huge dividends.” How huge are the dividends? “Today, the average monochrome click generates a penny,” says Bees. “The average color copier MFP generates about 7.4 cents a click for a color copy. So, you can see w hat kind of ef fect this has on service and supply revenue.” Given the attractive sales prices and aftermarket revenues, are all dealers fully embracing the color MFP market? Most dealers are, but some are not. “There are still some dealers who haven’t quite figured it out,” says Kevin Kern, vice president of product planning and development for Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A. Inc. Why the delay among some dealers? “I think a lot of it is just mental,” he says. “They may not think they have the market or they may not see where the market is, etc., but, our advice is, ‘If you don’t, someone else will.’” The opportunity exists in most offices and in markets of all sizes, says Kern. “When a dealership puts color in the office, it is generally taking color volume away from something else,” he says, citing the replacement of color inkjet printers as an example. “Consolidating color volume onto one device [an MFP] really provides a growth opportunity with that account that the dealer wouldn’t get with just monochrome. It’s a very profitable opportunity.” It is apparent that many Konica Minolta dealers are pursuing the profitable opportunity. InfoTrends reports that, as a single brand, the OEM is second only to Canon in terms of unit placements of color copier MFPs. In 2006, Konica Minolta placed 35,624 units, reports InfoTrends, up from 27,606 units in 2005. (In contrast, Canon placed 50,064 units in 2006, up from 47,043 units in 2005. It should be noted
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that, collectively, the Ricoh results for color MFP place“You cannot afford not Fami ly Gro up of bran d s ments among dealers. “For to be on board. The claims the greatest share of Canon, it’s the fastest growgrowth of our industry the color copier MFP marking product segment,” says et, according to InfoTrends, Sam Yoshida, vice president today definitely is being with 62,626 Ricoh, Savin, and general manager of the driven by color. I don’t Lanier and Gestetner brand Enterprise Systems Divithink there is a single units pl aced in 2006, up sion , Im a g in g Sy st ems Canon dealer who is not from 40,792 units in 2005.) Group of Canon U.S.A. Inc., focused on this market opportunity.” A part of Konica Minolta’s referring to the BTA Chan— Sam Yoshida increase in color MFP unit nel. “Our independent dealCanon U.S.A. Inc. placements can be attriber chann el i s real ly emuted to enhancements in bracing color at a faster the OEM’s dealer support efforts in recent years, says Kern. pace than many of our other channels.” The enhancements have “absolutely” paid off, he says. “Just Clearly, says Yoshida, Canon dealers see the importance this morning I received the final audited unit results for the of the color market. “You cannot afford not to be on board,” first half, and we have had a very dramatic increase in dealer he says. “The growth of our industry today definitely is being color business.” driven by color. I don’t think there is a single Canon dealer Konica Minolta is not alone in reporting exceptional who is not focused on this market opportunity.” Despite the focus on color MFPs, it is important to acknowledge that the monochrome MFP market does remain viable, though the number of unit placements is declining. “We still have some pockets of dealers who are enjoying good growth in black and white as well,” says Yoshida. Actually, the number of color MFP placements today as compared to monochrome MFPs may not be as high as some may expect. “In 2007, approximately 18 Looking for a great opportunity to become more valuable to your client percent of placements are projected to be color,” says Bees. base and add profit to your bottom “However, this will grow to 38 percent of placements by line with long term recurring revenue? innowave® gives you what it 2011. I would say the color market at this point is meeting or takes to be a success in the exceeding expectations. It’s rolling right along.” commercial market. innowave's “The synergy of the customer complete product line of UV and Yoshida supports the InfoTrends projections. “That base between a copier filtration POU systems has a unique dealership and a water number of 38 percent color by 2011 is in line with what we look customers love and features that dealership is excellent...” will set you apart from the are planning,” he says, emphasizing that for many customers competition in a exclusive market a monochrome-only device remains the best choice. “Obvi(where available). To find out more “…It provides an ously, Canon is still heavily invested in that space.” about this great B2B sales extraordinary profit opportunity look us up on the web at While the monochrome market persists, dealers should opportunity under the copier www.innowave.com or give us a call umbrella. I would be aggressively pursuing the color MFP market opportuat 1-800-723-3426. recommend it to any copier nity, as Yoshida and others advise. Why, then, are some dealer.” dealers holding back, beyond just an inability to see the potential in their local markets, as Kern suggests? For John Leinweber, some, it may be the concern of risks associated with CPC former President/CEO, contracts on color devices. American Office Equipment and Image Technology Group “There are many dealers who are concerned about selling Chicago, IL color, because everything does tend to go toward a cost per page or a cost per copy,” says David Factor, director of the BTA Channel for Oki Data Americas. “If dealers don’t price it right 12 | 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 | N o v e m b e r 2 0 0 7
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or have escalation clauses, that there will be certain “... A lot of dealers are they could potentially lose a documents that will have a offering all-inclusive lot of money.” minimum amount of color contracts and just taking Of course, Factor’s warnon them, offsetting the docing specifically suggests one uments that have a lot of the risk that there will be of se veral m eans to dic olor f i l l ,” h e expl ains. certain documents that will mini sh th e ri sk s. “ S om e “ Whatever option they have a minimum amount dealers are doing escalation select, dealers are getting of color on them, offsetting clauses in the contract that more and more comfortable the documents that have a lot of color fill.” state they can raise prices selling color as they get more — David Factor up to 10 percent every six experienced in this market.” Oki Data Americas months,” he says. “Similarly, While dealers are getting other dealers analyze the more comfortable selling amount of toner that is being used versus the rated yields by color, end-users are getting more comfortable buying it. the manufacturer. If the amount of toner being used is exor- “Basically, there is a general desire from all office users to bitant, the dealer will increase the customer’s costs.” actively use color,” says Yoshida. “Everything is so much Still other dealers simply exclude color toner from the more powerful if the output can be done in color.” CPC contract, says Factor. “That being said, a lot of dealers As color MFPs become more affordable “more customers are offering all-inclusive contracts and just taking the risk are ‘wading into the water,’” says Bees. “As the price crosses a
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c er t ain thre shol d , more suin g th e grow in g c olor “Don’t wait for the customers will consider, MFP opportunity. “Don’t market to mature; by then ‘ S houl d I buy a monowait for th e market to you might as well go chrom e MF P thi s tim e mature; by then you might around or should I buy the as well go home,” says Kern. home. The only option color MFP?’ Over time the “ The only option will be will be cutting price at price differential between a cutting price at that point. that point. You will not monochrome device and a You will not have estabhave established any color device will continue to lished any credibility. credibility.” narrow and , as that nar “It’s an interesting mar— Kevin Kern rows, it eventually will beket right now,” he adds. “It is Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A. Inc. come a ‘no-brainer.’ sort of like surfing. You’ve “That’s what happened got to st ay ah ead of th e with inkjet printers,” continues Bees. “You had monochrome wave. If you do, you will get a good ride.” inkjets and color inkjets. The monochrome inkjets didn’t Brent Hoskins, executive director hang around at all because the price difference narrowed so of the Business Technology quickly that they just ‘went extinct’ very rapidly.” Association, is editor of Understandably, dealers should not wait for the monoOffice Technology magazine. chrome MFP to become “extinct” before aggressively purHe can be reached at brent@bta.org.
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Managed Print Services Market changes require a new way of doing business by: Riley McNulty, IDC
anaged services have impacted the IT market overall and many competitors within the document output industry have paid close attention to how value can be driven by services-led engagements. Not surprisingly, managed print services (MPSs), which address hardcopy equipment and output needs in distributed workgroup environments, have gained attention in recent years. Hardware manufacturers have made substantial investments to build out and offer such services directly to their larger customers. Additionally, manufacturers such as HP, Lexmark, Oki Data, Samsung, Xerox and others have worked to support channel partners by rolling out programs that are designed to enable both the IT reseller and copier/MFP channels to deliver MPSs. Of course, a smart businessperson needs to differentiate hype from fundamental market forces that could substantially shift the competitive landscape. Therefore, dealers need to understand if MPSs are really going to impact the market in such a way that will force them to respond with new go-to-market strategies.
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Forces Behind the Push for MPSs To understand the likely long-term impact of MPSs, it is important to understand the market forces behind the push for services-led engagements. There are a number of factors that are pushing document outsourcing, hardware manufacturers and, increasingly, channel partners toward contractual engagements with customers versus the traditional sales of equipment, whether they be outright purchases or lease-based transactions. Document outsourcing vendors have seen core facilities management (FM) businesses mature, such as those focused on in-plants, central reprographics departments (CRDs) and the mailroom. Well-known by all in this industry is the continued flow of print and copy output from centralized environments to distributed workgroup and departmental environments. As a result of this pressure on core market seg18 | 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 | N o v e m b e r 2 0 0 7
ments, vendors have had to expand fleet management capabilities to make them more comprehensive, by targeting not just copiers, but MFPs and workgroup printers as well. In doing so, they are not just targeting pages produced on a particular manufacturer’s equipment. Rather, the strategy has expanded to capture a greater share of the total output volume within a customer’s overall installed base of equipment. The advantage of this approach is that contracts are more comprehensive, revenue streams are locked in over a period of time and over the contract life there is the opportunity to transition the installed base of equipment from one manufacturer to another. Another market dynamic is that overall annual shipments of equipment (inclusive of printers, copiers and MFPs) are essentially flat. This puts pressure on both document outsourcing vendors and manufacturers to more aggressively compete for hardcopy output. This dynamic adds substantially to the downward pressure on pricing that affects this industry. Consequently, vendors need to respond with go-tomarket strategies that can drive consumable, maintenance and hardware revenues, not to mention protect the existing installed base. Of course, helping to alleviate the impact of these pricing
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equipment. So the value proposition of pressures is the growth in sales of color The value proposition MPSs, from a customer’s perspective, is equipment. However, the challenge here supported by three core benefits: lower is that color equipment sales are not of MPSs ... is supported cost of operation, improved efficiency growing fast enough to surmount the by three core benefits: and higher customer satisfaction. maturity in the monochrome equipment lower cost of operation, installed base and to produce a market improved efficiency New Ways of Doing Business where the overall rising tide lifts all and higher customer MPSs are changing the game because boats. Even with color, it clearly is a dogsatisfaction. forces are changing the way the market is eat-dog market share game. Not surprisdoing business. Customers, manufacingly, the same pricing pressure exists on color equipment as well. So, although the strong growth in turers and document outsourcing vendors (sometimes one in adoption of color equipment is a clear opportunity, the the same as the manufacturers) are all responding to evolving installed base of this equipment is just as vulnerable to a needs. Many customers have seen the marketing efforts of service providers and have accepted the value proposition as services-led engagement as black-and-white devices are. Also important is the growing awareness of MPSs among one that deserves consideration. Certainly, not all sales will customers and the resulting shift in customer demand. The shift from a transactional to a contractual basis. Many compaawareness of, and interest in, MPSs among IT and procurement nies will continue to purchase or lease equipment as they have decision-makers is substantial. In a study completed in late in the past. Also, some establishments that have adopted 2006, IDC found that 48 percent of purchasing and IT respon- MPSs will revert back to purchasing or leasing equipment. Nevertheless, MPSs have been established as an accepted dents with decision-making authority over distributed print infrastructure currently outsource some aspect of hardcopy way of doing business. Contracts can range from very basic output. Notably, this is not just the large enterprise accounts cost-per-print contracts on workgroup printers to complex that are adopting MPSs. The study encompassed mid-sized engagements that span multiple environments and incorpoestablishments of 500-999 employees, and of these, 44 percent rate consulting. Moreover, dealers and resellers are beginning work with a third-party to manage workgroup printers and to provide these services as well. At the time of the IDC study, MFPs. Moreover, due to the relatively high levels of satisfaction 60 percent of establishments without MPSs indicated that they with their service contracts, 59 percent of these establishments had been approached by a vendor to provide them MPSs and are likely to renew; only 7 percent indicated that they were 44 percent of these companies indicated it was a local office equipment dealer offering the service. unlikely to continue their contract at renewal time. In short, MPSs are here to stay. Moreover, this is not just Equally telling are the opinions of those companies that currently do not outsource any aspect of the management of impacting direct engagements with large enterprises. the distributed print infrastructure. Of these establishments, Although the mid-market presents its challenges, many of 29 percent were currently considering outsourcing some these customers are interested in MPSs and are adopting aspect of their distributed print/copy infrastructure. Fur- these services. As a result, office dealers need to look at their thermore, one-third indicated that their next significant pur- markets, as well as their business models and judge how they chase of printer, MFP or copier equipment will likely include are going to respond. Offering MPSs will be a solution for some but not for others. Regardless, the competitive response a Request for Quote (RFQ) on some outsourced service. It is important to note that customers are not just looking to a changing market should be a conscious decision and not for the lowest price possible. For customers, the goal of MPSs one by default. The lyrics of an old song hold true here: “Your is to enter into a contractual engagement that drives a lower old road is rapidly agin’ … for the times they are a-changin.’” Riley McNulty is a research manager with IDC’s document cost of operation. However, IT and procurement customers solutions and hardcopy peripherals programs. are also looking for greater efficiency in their operations and His areas of focus include the production they want to deliver value to their customers. For example, printing market and managed document many of these decision-makers know they have outdated services. McNulty has been covering the and inefficient equipment on hand and there are too many help desk calls related to printers and MFPs. The challenge is document industry with IDC for more than nine years. He can be reached at jmcnulty@idc.com. keeping up with the management of all the distributed 20 | 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 | N o v e m b e r 2 0 0 7
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Sales Management Stop looking for a ‘strong closer’ & improve your team by: Tom Callinan, Strategy Development
am often asked by dealers if I know where they can find a good sales manager. I simply answer: “No, everyone seems to be looking for that person.” But really, the question creates quite a few thoughts in my mind, not the least of which is: “Can you define what a good sales manager looks like?” I hope I am not the only person who is surprised to hear this answer: “A strong closer who can help my business grow.” In my mind that is almost an oxymoron. The “strong closer” model was quite prevalent when I entered the copier business in the mid-1980s. The model looked something like this: dealerships would hire a lot of sales representatives, pay them a low salary or none at all and have them cold-call and bring back the business cards from the companies they called on. Then, the manager would sit down with the rep at the end of the day and they would review the reps’ prospects, looking for the “hot deals.” If the rep found someone in the buying cycle, or with an older unit ripe for an upgrade, the strong-closing manager kicked into gear and engaged in the sale. The sales rep was only along for the ride and, hopefully, learned by example. It was the rare rep who actually did learn by example, as most reps simply witnessed the outcome of the manager’s efforts and were not privy to the strategic thoughts that supported the tactical efforts. There was no framework to help develop the sales rep. This management approach is not a satisfying position for most involved parties. The sales reps do not like being treated like birddogs; the manager eventually gets burned out having to deal with new reps every few months; and the dealership principal is not happy with the rep turnover. It is also not scaleable. The manager may be able to support the cold calling efforts of three or four sales reps, but that is about the extent. Unless the dealership principal can go out and find more “strong closers,” he cannot build additional teams.
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A manager’s number one responsibility is to develop his (or her) employees. Achieving business plan goals is an outcome of developing the employees. From a sales management perspective, you need to have the correct processes in place to ensure you have a framework to develop your employees. Among the areas that are critical to sales representative development: a good sales rep selection process; sound territory structure and quotas; comprehensive initial training; robust individual development plans; good forecasting skills; and focus to pipeline growth. I could write an article on any one of these topics, so the best that I can do here is to provide you with some highlevel guidance in each area. You need to have a good selection process. Do not settle for a hire that you do not believe can be successful in our industry. Create a hiring profile and stick with that profile. Do not ignore red flags like five jobs in the last seven years or a sales position at two different copier companies in the last three years. Sure, the candidate will probably have welldeveloped excuses for his unusual employment history, but in reality, is there any reason a successful sales rep would have this type of employment history? Having a good pool of candidates ensures you do not settle for poor candidates. You need to be cognizant of sales reps on your team who are at risk and you must have candidates in the pipeline to fill the position should a rep turn over. I also recommend you use some type of profiling, like Caliper (www.caliperonline.com) or Hire Success (www.hiresuccess.com), as part of your hiring process. These profiles are not a go/no-go test, but rather another look at the candidate. The profile can also be beneficial in writing an individual development plan. I write and consult extensively on territory design. I see this area as one of the main contributing factors of sales rep
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success at the transaction level and that turnover. You could be great at selecting There are other areas to you have certain events that must occur in a sales rep, but if you then place that rep order for a transaction to be forecasted. in a purely hunter territory and compenconsider that do not ... Verbal agreement on the proposal from sate and recognize him the same way you fall specifically under the decision-maker would be an example do the rep who is managing $500,000 in sales management ... of an event that might be required before a annual upgradeable business, you will Fun and a culture of transaction is allowed to be in the forecast. experience significant turnover. The rep winning are important Your pipeline (your identified sales with the poor territory will not earn aspects as well. opportunities) needs to be measured income commensurate with his efforts and growth targets need to be put in and he will never receive the recognition place at the sales rep level. If you are not measuring pipeline most sales reps need to stay motivated. There is certain training most sales reps will also require. today, I recommend you start with a simple 30-60-90 and > 90. I recommend that the new rep spend the first week in a for- Target 10 percent month-over-month growth. There are other areas to consider that do not necessarily malized “on-boarding” program that includes basic training. This is also the time to get the new employee settled into the fall specifically under sales management, but are important company so he feels comfortable. Get all of the HR paper- to successfully grow the company. Fun and a culture of work out of the way and teach him how to use voicemail and winning are important aspects as well. In my consulting his computer. Have all members of the senior management practice, I find that the leaders who focus on the negative team provide an overview of their functional areas — aspects of our business are floundering. The leaders who focus on making their employees’ work as enjoyable as posservice, operations, sales and the company president. The new rep will need to understand how to construct a sible and who develop strategies and tactics to exploit their total-cost-of-ownership proposal as well as how to find the weaker competitors are experiencing success. Ongoing training and development is another area that is required information to upgrade a current customer. The rep will also need product knowledge, which I would limit to critical. You need to make investments in your employees. I an immersion in a couple of units that will provide a strong am not recommending that you just throw money at foundation for the entire product line. Finally, phone skills training and development — that will backfire, as an investare critical to prospecting success, so time should be spent ment in poor training programs will be viewed as a waste of time or worse — but rather make training and development in this area as well as actually making appointment calls. Although the overview I just provided should make it an area of strategic focus. Good management is easily measured: Do you have fully clear that the sales manager will not be sitting in a training room with the new rep for five straight days, the manager staffed territories and is your sales rep productivity (revenue should coordinate the week of learning. He will also have to per sales rep) growing year after year? Is your pipeline growing ensure that the new rep gets started each day and receives a each month? Is your sales rep turnover (quantity of reps turned in last twelve months divided by the average number of sales debrief at the end of the day. During the interview and the first week of training, the reps) less than 30 percent? Are you promoting from within? Strong sales management makes our business a lot of fun. manager and others involved should identify areas where the new sales hire could use development. The profile, mentioned Focus on improving your team and stop looking for that earlier, also identifies development areas. Use this information “strong closer” on Monster.com. Tom Callinan is the founding principal of Strategy to create an individual development plan for each sales rep. If Development, a management consulting and advanced sales the rep needs help with presentation skills, get him help. If his training firm. From 1998 to 2005, he was an executive with telephone skills are weak, get him help on the phone. This IKON Office Solutions. Prior to IKON, approach is a lot more difficult than simply designing group he was the founder and CEO of Copifax Inc., training sessions — and infinitely more difficult than the an INC 500 company. He can be reached at “follow me around and learn through osmosis approach” — but callinan@strategydevelopment.org it is a highly effective way to train and develop your employees. or (610) 527-3317. You will also need good forecasting and a robust approach to Visit www.strategydevelopment.org. pipeline growth. For forecasting, I recommend that you track 24 | 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 | N o v e m b e r 2 0 0 7
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COURTS & CAPITOLS
Minimum Retail Prices They would eliminate frustration & unfair competition by: Robert C. Goldberg, General Counsel for the Business Technology Association
margin, the less training the dealer can or 96 years it was illegal for a supplier Establishing minimum provide the end-user and the greater the to mandate the minimum price at prices will not decrease possibility of end-user dissatisfaction. which a dealership could sell its that competition, but The third dealer obligation is to support product. However, last June, the U.S. will force resellers to and maintain the system once installed. This Supreme Court ruled that the establishrequires trained technicians, a large parts ment of a minimum retail price would no concentrate on the inventory, service vehicles, tools and a host of longer be “per se” illegal. A “per se” violation value-added aspects other expenses. End-users simply have no of the antitrust laws means there is no of their businesses. tolerance for equipment that is down for defense to the conduct once that conduct is more than a day. If the end-user becomes disestablished. For example, in school, a per se satisfied, the likelihood of repeat business for the dealer or the violation of the “you must complete your homework when it is manufacturer is reduced. The thinner the margin, the less capital due rule” would not allow you to explain that the dog ate it. The Supreme Court did not hold that minimum prices were that is available for a dealer to invest in service and support. There is one other variable that must also be considered. A legal, but eliminated the no excuse for “minimum price rule” dealer may go through the complete qualification and demonand replaced it with a “rule of reason” analysis. It now becomes possible to justify why minimum prices are essential within an stration process, only to have the end-user go to the Internet in industry. The Supreme Court stated that consideration should search of the lowest price. Manufacturers and suppliers in our industry can establish be given to the “specific information about the relevant busiminimum resale prices. As demonstrated above, there is considness,” “the restraints history, nature and effect” and “whether the businesses involved have market power.” A case-by-case erable cost in the sales, training and support aspects of this review is now necessary to determine if the establishment of a industry. These costs can only be incurred if there is sufficient minimum price constitutes an “unreasonable restraint of trade.” margin in the sale of the product. Establishing minimum prices The office technology industry is highly competitive on many will not restrain competition in the industry, but will assure levels — among manufacturers, between dealers and between greater end-user satisfaction by providing dealers the funds dealers and manufacturers. Establishing minimum prices will necessary to further invest in their businesses. There are other benefits as well. Minimum prices will eliminot decrease that competition, but will force resellers to connate the Internet free-riders that do not incur the costs of a centrate on the valued-added aspects of their businesses. A sucbrick-and-mortar operation. Internet sellers will have to obcessful sale of office equipment involves three distinct areas. First, a potential end-user must be evaluated to determine the serve the same minimum price as all other resellers. Minimum appropriate solution for their document-related needs. Often prices will apply to every reseller — including manufacturers’ this is accomplished by an analysis of the end-user’s current cost direct operations. Every day I receive a call from an independent of output and a recommendation of an appropriate solution. dealer who is facing competition from a branch or directly Once the solution is agreed upon, a dealer often places a demo owned operation at prices far lower than the dealer’s lowest net unit at the site for end-user evaluation, which is later removed cost. Manufacturers can eliminate this frustration and unfair and replaced with new equipment. This presale qualification and competition by establishing minimum resale prices. Who will be the first in the office technology demonstration is a costly undertaking that requires an investment by the dealer. When margins are tight, the extent to which a industry to step up and establish minimum resale prices? dealer is willing to fully qualify the end-user may be reduced. Robert C. Goldberg is general counsel for the The second requirement is proper training of the individBusiness Technology Association. He can be uals using the system. Initial training is often included with reached at robert.goldberg@sfnr.com. purchase, but again, this is a cost to the dealer. The thinner the
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Adding a Second Line Xerox acquisition of Global serves as a wake-up call by: Layton Getsinger, Dealer Operations Transition Specialists Inc.
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Business Technology Association. Office Technology magazine welcomes your thoughts and comments on the topic. E-mail your comments to BTA Executive Director Brent Hoskins at brent@bta.org. he recent acquisition of Global Imaging Systems by Xerox was a shot heard around the world. It should have also served as a wake-up call for every independent dealership in the country. While heavily downplayed by U.S. vendors, this move by Xerox immediately created an upswing in the development of the direct channel of distribution in combination with a mad scramble to find replacement dealerships to pick up the anticipated lost market share. Emerging from this acquisition are some very interesting and potentially favorable scenarios for the dealer channel. For instance, gone are the days of your vendor working hard to keep Global happy and on board. Also, I do not believe that Xerox will break itself apart, decentralize decision-making and provide below-market pricing as its newly acquired dealerships previously experienced. There are too many shareholders looking over decision-maker shoulders for it to be any other way. Some OEMs will continue to work with Xerox based on the critical need for cash flow, despite the future consequences. Unless new blood is infused into the hierarchal decisionmaking, I believe some of these vendors will be victimized by their lack of strategic vision, planning and poor cash management. Heavily investing in branch operations versus investing in viable dealer development programs has weakened these vendors’ credibility with their dealers and created an ever-widening chasm and mutual distrust between both vendor and dealer. From the shoreline, it appears that both Xerox and the U.S. vendors are like two ships passing in the night. Xerox, through its acquisition of Global, is adding an indirect, or dealership
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distribution model, to its mix, which has worked well for the independent dealer channel over the continuum. After all, it was the dealer channel that saturated the market with copiers, not Xerox. Meanwhile, other vendors are copying Xerox’s centralized business model of direct distribution. Both sides apparently see th e grass as b eing greener on the other side. Obviously, this situation is much more complex than described here, but it has created and will continue to create strange bedfellows. Xerox has virtually “bet the ranch” that it can convert Global’s mixed bag of products to the Xerox brand before the incumbent vendor can replace lost representation in the affected markets. I believe that converting 220-plus dealerships to the Xerox brand while instilling the Xerox culture into the newly acquired dealerships is a monumental and improbable task. It is made more difficult by the declaration of “war” by a few very brave, albeit financially solid, OEMs. These OEMs have stopped providing product to Xerox. In the markets where it is feasible, these accounts have been turned over by these OEMs to branch operations or to “sister” product line dealerships. Not only is this a bold move by these OEMs, but it is also an intelligent and strategic one. Only those vendors that have properly prepared themselves for the future, combined with strong cash positions, can afford to thumb their noses at Xerox. Those positioned to do so should immediately jump in and take advantage of Xerox’s vulnerability and the tremendous drain on their cash flow. A failure on the part of any vendor or dealership to seize this moment and go forward with a consolidated intent to capture the future through an aggressive dealership development and support program is a direct declaration of abdication of its rightful place for future control of the market and thereby ceding its destiny to Xerox. Out of the 1,400 new feet on the street that Xerox added to its marketing team, I believe there may be 300 “keepers.” What the market needs are value-added, problem-solving dealerships and
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may not be in your best interest. salespeople who understand the benefits of Beware of the vendors investing heavily solutions selling. It appears to me that ... It is recommended in their branch operations versus dealerGlobal discouraged its sales reps from that dealerships ... ship development. In their minds, these talking about solutions or document manshould start shopping vendors have a strong case for pursuing agement. In retrospect, it was a strategic for the best opportunities branch development because the existing decision that proved very fortuitous. for a second product line d eal er chann el i s not d eliverin g th e If you have not already been contacted while there are many needed market share. This has become a by a vendor to become a value-added to choose from. self-fulfilling prophesy for the vendors. reseller of their product line, you mostly While the OEMs are developing and delivlikely will be; especially if your dealership ering world-class products, the vendor is still utilizing bush is enjoying even a modicum of success with its current line. A number of dealerships have previously experienced the league tactics for taking it to market. Dealerships are unable turmoil, exposure, downside risks and disruption of business to deliver desired market share because the vendor has not associated with mergers, buyouts, bankruptcies, etc., over the taught them how to properly represent the new technology in years. It is safe to assume that more of the same is apt to occur. a problem-solving and profitable manner. The few vendors Rumors are already circulating about the next major acquisi- that have invested in dealership development stand the tion, possibly IKON, by one of the stronger OEMs or HP. If we greatest chance of maintaining and growing market share as do not learn from the past, we are doomed to repeat it. The well as survival. These are the vendors, despite brand name, major lesson for single-line dealers is that remaining with a that one should be looking to as a second product line. There was a time when the district sales manager (DSM) single line leaves your dealership highly vulnerable in this very unstable office technology arena unless your vendor is the top educated dealerships on the basic operations and functionality of their products. The DSM also rode in the field with reps dog in the pack. It has been speculated for the past 10-plus years that the to demonstrate how to strategically place the product. Along industry will eventually end up with four OEMs. In the short- the way, this role has largely been relegated to the dealer. The term, there may be multiple products emanating from the vendors’ focus today is primarily to move product out of their “Big Four,” but as evidenced by Ricoh U.S.A.’s recent shedding warehouses and into dealerships. The vendors of the future of the Gestetner line, there will likely be additional paring have begun the task of demonstrating how to move the down. These potential acts create justifiable paranoia for product out of the dealership’s warehouse and into the customer’s office. These are vendors with whom one should also single-line dealers. Considering the foregoing, it is recommended that dealer- engage in serious discussion. Perform due diligence on the front end to ensure that the ships that have not already done so should start shopping for the best opportunities for a second product line while there vendor you are considering as a second product line will add are many to choose from. Do your homework and ensure that value to your current line-up and provide a lift in productivity you are partnering with a vendor that is investing heavily in and profitability; otherwise, keep shopping. Without the attendealership development versus brand name. While branding dant training and development, you will be saddled with two has its appeal, most customers are buying from informed and vendor quotas and a warehouse full of hardware with little intelligent dealers capable of solving problems with the brand hope of meeting either vendor’s expectations. You realistically run the chance of getting a branch operation (if one does not they represent. While it may be tantalizing and euphoric to think of picking already exist) in your market and/or a co-dealership for one or up a new product line in your current market or an outlying both brands should the worst that could happen does. Layton Getsinger is founder and president market, one must be careful before taking this leap of faith. Priof Dealer Operations Transition Specialists Inc., marily, evaluate the relationship with your current vendor. Is this a company that specializes in helping a relationship that has been working well for you? Has your dealdealerships become successful networked ership received support in the form of product and sales training solution providers through the creation of that enabled dealership growth in recent years? Has your vendor new business models and reshaping invested in forward-looking dealership development programs? of the company culture. He can be reached at Is the vendor strong enough to survive future fallout? If the dotslayton@bellsouth.net or (704) 450-7778. answer to these questions is “yes,” then taking on a second line 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 | N o v e m b e r 2 0 0 7 | 27
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Retention Strategies Here are some lessons learned from the real world by: Tom Kramer, Strategy Mapping Selling
recently had the opportunity to speak to members of the BTA Board of Directors and a number of dealership presidents. One burning issue that is on almost everyone’s mind is sales representative retention. In today’s highly competitive office equipment market, finding, keeping and growing good salespeople is a major management challenge. This situation is not an industry-specific problem. A study by the Hudson Institute on Employee Relationships indicates that the percentage of loyal vs. highrisk employees looks like this: 24 percent were truly loyal; 39 percent were trapped (not committed to the company, but planning to stay for the next two years); and 33 percent were high-risk — that is, not committed to the organization and not planning to stay for the next two years. It appears that everyone, regardless of industry sector, has a similar problem. I did some soul-searching into my own experience and asked myself what it was that kept me loyal to my previous employers. This brought me to the realization that, quite frankly, it was not the organization per se, but the people I was working for who made the major difference. In fact, it was my sales managers. Looking deeper into the subject, I found that it was the way I was treated by my immediate managers that compelled me to stay. So, what were the specific things that these managers did that were so compelling? I think that they took responsibility for getting, keeping and growing their new employees. So, let’s take a look at the “get, keep and grow strategies” that will help your management team prevent good employees from walking out.
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“Get” Strategies First and foremost, you must hire the right person. That means looking at a person’s skills and beyond those skills to address the person’s values, attitudes and thinking style. Hire those people who think like you, share your values and have the same characteristics of your top performers. Characteristics that should have a high correlation are attitudes, work behaviors, per28 | 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 | N o v e m b e r 2 0 0 7
sonal motivations and knowledge. For a sales position in the office technology industry, this means finding a person who is competitive, can handle uncertainty and can fill the roles of being a strategist and tactician for your company and a solutions consultant for your customer. You should also look for people who have the right thinking style for your specific position. That is, do they have a direct, strategic or intuitive way of thinking? Also, asking the right questions in a hiring interview will enable you to get beneath the surface and determine whether this is the right person for the job. Of course, there are many types of interview questions that you can ask, but here are seven good business questions that we at Strategy Mapping Selling suggest using in your sales candidate interviews. The focus here is not on what the candidate has done but on how he (or she) has done his job. How do you manage your territory (and/or accounts)? How have you created value in the mind of your customers? How do you counter the “price objection”? What is your strategy to “get, keep and grow” your customer base? How do you decide what opportunities or accounts to go after and which ones not to waste time on? How do you pull customers away from the competition? What are the most critical sales obstacles you have faced and how did you successfully address them? The bottom line is that a better selection process will increase your sales retention percentage. No matter what business you are engaged in, we have found that the three fundamental qualities that successful salespeople possess are: They have the ability to achieve an intimate understanding of a customer’s thoughts, feelings and buying motives and the ability to adjust their reactions accordingly. That is to say, they require less scripting. They possess the need (and will) to win. That is, they achieve self-fulfillment from “closing the deal.” They deal effectively with rejection. In fact, they use rejection as a motivator, not a de-motivator.
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“Grow” Strategies “Keep” Strategies Perhaps the best thing a sales leader Once you have the right salesperson on Career growth is also can do for an employee with potential is to board then your sales manager has the important to everyone. give him more responsibilities and stretch responsibility to keep that individual. In Make sure you are targets. In fact, some successful compaworld-class companies we have worked making your people nies believe in giving people stretch with, we have found that they develop aware of the growth assignments before they are ready. leadership skills along with management potential that exists Career growth is also important to skills. In fact, the best leaders/managers I within their position ... everyone. Make sure you are making your have worked for did three fundamental people aware of the growth potential that things that I valued above all the other corporate policies and benefit programs. What is more, these exists within their position or, if your organization is large were the very things that kept me committed to my manager, enough, in other management or staff positions within your organization. and by extension, to the company. Personal development programs are another area of First, they created a work environment that was characterized by personal concern. They were courteous and respectful employee interest. Promote your training and development and I believed that they had a plan for my success. They also programs and the things your company invests in to increase conveyed a sense of teamwork (we were in this together) and their success: professional selling skills, communication and they were not “gotcha” managers. They also shared informa- presentation skills, financial acumen or leadership competention with me and they were flexible (there was the written law cies. Our industry is constantly changing and to stay competiand there was the spirit of the law — and we lived by the tive you must make training in technology, equipment and spirit). Sure, there was the management directive that was non-negotiable, but there was also the leadership imperative whereby these highly effective managers implemented policies and procedures in a way that was reasonable, effective and showed empathy and flexibility. Secondly, the sales leaders created an interesting and challenging (but not overwhelming) job for me. They gave me support and guidance when I needed it and they gave me the autonomy I needed to accomplish my goals. Lastly, I received frequent feedback on my performance. Sales call debriefings were a standard procedure and so were the “How are you doing?” conversations at the end of the week. Sales leaders were interested in finding out how I liked working for them and they were open to suggestions on how they could improve their performance. In short, they earned my respect and commitment because they were interested in my success, implemented company policy with reason, gave me constant coaching and sought out and accepted criticism of their ideas and behaviors. Here are six insights into keep strategies: Create a work environment that is characterized by personal respect, courtesy and empathy. Provide challenges. Develop a plan for each employee’s success. Provide frequent feedback. Debrief each rep using the techniques of complementing and counseling. Get feedback on your own performance. 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 | N o v e m b e r 2 0 0 7 | 29
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higher-level selling skills an expected and that ensure your employees’ fundamental normal part of each sales rep’s monthly interests, goals and aspirations are being My experience has business routine. met. Still, some people will leave — that is taught me that you can It is important to note (and this refers a reality. Nonetheless, instituting carefully prevent talented reps back to an earlier point) that training will crafted get, keep and grow strategies will from walking out if you only succeed if you have selected the right give you more control and influence over select the right people people in the first place and if your manwho leaves and who stays. and have the right ... agement team is committed to change Tom Kramer is affiliate partner for processes in place ... and driving the process forward. This will Strategy Mapping Selling. He has more ensure that you have the right people in than 30 years of sales, sales management your sales organization and that they are equipped with the and marketing experience with IBM, knowledge, skills, behaviors, attitudes and motivations the Eastman Kodak Co. and Canon USA Inc. required to grow the business and, in the process, increase He can be reached at info@strategymappingselling.com. their commitment to your organization. Visit www.strategymappingselling.com or www.smsap.com. Here are five ideas for growth: Strategy Mapping Plugged In is designed for an Ask your employees what they would like to do next. entire sales team to join online for a single price. Work with each sales rep to develop a personal developBased on the Ten World Class Sales Standards that define top ment plan, set milestones and review them on a consistent basis. sales organizations both large and small, SMS Plugged In Make opportunities available that will enhance their teaches right thinking — making the right call on the right skills (such as technical knowledge development, higher level contact at the right account at the right time with the right selling skills or general business acumen). message and the right results. SMS has significant experience in Create stretch assignments and, when ready, increase the the office equipment industry and can help ensure reps receive rep’s responsibilities. the best in business thinking and advanced Give your employees the freedom and autonomy to professional selling skills. Soon, BTA will be achieve their goals. announcing the launch of a new program My experience has taught me that you can prevent talented providing its dealer members with the reps from walking out if you select the right people and have opportunity to take advantage of SMS’s the right sales management and leadership processes in place Plugged In program.
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(480) 393-1694 / www.ibpi.net
(800) 222-6482 / www.kyoceramita.com
32 • BTA ProFinance
2-3 • ITEX 2008
14 • Niche Equipment
(800) 843-5059 / www.bta.org
www.itexshow.com
(877) 446-4243 / www.roto-shredders.com
31 • Business Products Council Association
16 • InkCycle
5, 11 • Print Audit
(800) 897-0250 / www.businessproductscouncil.org
(877) 894-8387 / www.toolsfortraction.com
(877) 412-8348 / www.printaudit.com
21 • DocuWare
12 • Innowave
9 • Toshiba
(888) 565-5907 / www.docuware.com
(800) 723-3426 / www.innowave.com
(949) 462-6601 / www.copiers.toshiba.com
13, 15, 17 • FMAudit
19 • Kodak
(573) 632-2461 / www.fmaudit.com
(800) 944-6171 / www.kodak.com/go/heavymetalOTM
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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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Do you crunch the numbers,
or do the numbers crunch you?
T
he BTA ProFinance course will teach you how to set the strategy, track critical performance measures and manage your assets according to a proven business model designed to improve the profitability of your company.
To register for ProFinance or get more information on pricing and quantity discounts, visit www.bta.org or call BTA at (800) 843-5059.
Instructors John Hanson and John Hey of Strategic Business Associates take a holistic approach to the redirection of your business — from sales rep compensation and projecting service revenues to inventory management and an action plan for implementation — with the short-term goal of achieving a minimum of 14% operating income. You can achieve these results by monitoring 24 key benchmarks and making strategic shifts as discussed in the program.
Upcoming ProFinance courses: Nov. 14-15, 2007 Feb. 6-7, 2008 June 11-12, 2008
Cleveland, Ohio Orlando, Fla. Kansas City, Mo.
Start planning for improved profitability today! Send all of your strategic decision makers to ProFinance — it’s an investment in your company that will help you relieve the end-of-the-month crunch. ProFinance is designed for owners and executive-level staff who make the critical business decisions that impact your company’s success. Some OEMs reimburse for ProFinance tuition through advertising co-op or professional development funds. Check with your OEM.
Office Technology Magazine Business Technology Association 12411 Wornall Road Kansas City, MO 64145 (816) 941-3100 www.officetechnologymag.com www.bta.org
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