November 2023 Office Technology

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CONTENTS Volume 29 • No. 5

FEATURE ARTICLES Alongside Imaging

10 Dealers address their portfolio diversification strategies

COURT S & C APITOLS A Worrisome Trend

25 Educational agreements are being targeted

by Brent Hoskins Office Technology Magazine While some may be growing tired of hearing about the need to seek diversification opportunities, there are certainly compelling reasons to do so. This article includes profiles of three BTA member dealerships, providing a brief look into their diversification strategies.

Fall Colors Retreat

16 BTA Southeast hosts event Oct. 12-13

by Elizabeth Marvel Office Technology Magazine The 2023 Fall Colors Retreat, hosted by BTA Southeast, was held Oct. 12-13 at the Omni Grove Park Inn in Asheville, North Carolina.

The event featured a keynote address, a dealer panel, an additional educational session, round-table discussions with exhibitors and networking opportunities.

Dealers Versus Direct

18 Emphasizing the importance of doing business locally

by Ray Belanger Bay Copy

One ongoing challenge that dealers face is competing against the “directs” — the manufacturers of the equipment that we sell, lease and service. Some see this as “the 800-pound gorilla in the room.” This has been a hot topic of discussion among my industry peers for many years.

by Robert C. Goldberg BTA General Counsel

Dealers make substantial investments in training employees and should be able to gain the full advantage of that investment. As a result, BTA developed an Employee Educational Agreement that creates a financial obligation on the employee.

DEALERS HELPING DEALERS Lead Generation

27 Dealers share expectations & effectiveness

Compiled by Brent Hoskins Office Technology Magazine

This article includes two related questions submitted by a dealer member as part of BTA’s Dealers Helping Dealers resource and many of the answers received. These answers and many others can be found in the members-only section of the BTA website.

SELLING SOLUTIONS Customer Relationships

29 Increasing the number

that are based on loyalty

by Troy Harrison Troy Harrison & Associates

We often hear salespeople tout themselves as “relationship salespeople.” It’s a term that should carry significant weight in the world of selling but, unfortunately, it has been watered down. To truly succeed in relationship selling, we need to consider several essential elements.

DEALERSHIP SPOTLIGHT 22

MOEbiz Turns 100 President & co-owner reflects on long company history

by Elizabeth Marvel Office Technology Magazine Few office technology dealerships can say they’ve been in business for 100 years, but on Oct. 23, 2023, BTA member dealership MOEbiz of Monroe, Louisiana, reached that rare milestone. Armand Vaughn “A.V.” Breard opened the company that would become MOEbiz on Oct. 23, 1923.

DEPARTMENT S Technology Association 26 Business • BTA Highlights 6

Executive Director’s Page

8

BTA President’s Message

30

Advertiser Index

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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S PAGE

BTA’s First Publication Debuted 85 Years Ago

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s you can imagine, in my nearly 37 years at what is now the Business Technology Association (BTA) I’ve grown fond of anything having to do with the association’s rich history. I have a few historical archives (treasures, really) in my office. I am grateful that my predecessors managed to hang on to these archives through the decades. In our nearly 98 years — with various office locations — there have been plenty of opportunities for the archives to be lost to history.

One of the best-preserved archives in my office is a leather-bound ledger for the association from 1938 with handwritten listings of the “receipts” and “disbursements.”

Looking at the member dues payments for November of that year, I see payments from Cleveland Typewriter Company (Cleveland, Ohio), Highland Typewriter Company (Detroit, Michigan), and Reliable Typewriter and Adding Machine Company (Chicago, Illinois). The company names tell us plenty about the focus of our members at the time.

Dealers paid $10 in annual dues that year.

In the spirit of honoring our rich history, in September 2020 we launched a small tribute to our past appearing in each issue of Office Technology magazine. Have you noticed it? It’s on this page in the bottom right. We call it Flashback. We simply share an image of the cover of a past issue of our monthly magazine. As you can see, this month we have an image of the cover of the November 1938 issue of “Dealers Topics,” the magazine of the National Typewriter & Office Machine Dealers Association, our name at the time. This was the inaugural issue of the association’s first publication — 85 years ago this month.

The national president of the association

at the time was Lamont H. Wood. He was the association’s sixth (1931-32) and 10th (1936-39) president. In a column titled “It’s Your Baby” appearing in that first issue, he begins: “It has long been the ambition of the National T. & O.M.D. Assn. officers to erect a suitable clearing house for the exchange of ideas pertinent to the industry.

With this new magazine, that ambition has been realized. Its sole purpose is to inform, to instruct, perhaps to entertain.” Four paragraphs later, he concludes: “We present for your approval Volume 1, Number 1 of Dealers Topics, dedicated to the proposition that you members of the Association deserve the best we can give you. And we mean You!!!”

Three comments here. One: If you are wondering why this issue is not Volume 86, Number 1, it’s because there have been several magazines through the years. The numbers were last “reset” to Volume 1, Number 1 when BTA launched Business Technology Solutions magazine. Two: Yes, the name of the first publication was Dealers Topics.

And, yes, the grammar seems off. Dealers’ Topics seems more appropriate. Three: Of course, the most important thing here is to read the words of one of the association’s early presidents, reminding us that BTA’s magazine is for you, the members of the association who “deserve the best.”

I believe that President Wood would be pleased with the long legacy of the magazine that he launched all those years ago.

I have had the privilege of being a part of that legacy since the January 1987 issue when my first article appeared. I’ve been the editor since December 1988, nearly 35 years and 418 issues ago (I remember skipping only one issue along the way). What has BTA’s magazine meant to you? I’d love to know. Email me at brent@bta.org. n — Brent Hoskins

Executive Director/BTA Editor/Office Technology Brent Hoskins brent@bta.org (816) 303-4040 Associate Editor Elizabeth Marvel elizabeth@bta.org (816) 303-4060 Contributing Writers Ray Belanger, Bay Copy www.baycopy.com Bob Goldberg, General Counsel Business Technology Association Troy Harrison, Troy Harrison & Associates www.troyharrison.com

Business Technology Association 12411 Wornall Road Kansas City, MO 64145 (816) 941-3100 www.bta.org Member Services: (800) 505-2821 BTA Legal Hotline: (312) 648-2300 Valerie Briseno Marketing Director valerie@bta.org Brian Smith Membership Sales Representative brian@bta.org Photo Credits: Adobe Stock. Cover created by Bruce Quade, Brand X Studio. ©2023 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.

FLASHBACK

The association’s magazine cover 85 years ago this month — Dealers Topics, November 1938.

Would you like to see all of the pages of this inaugural issue? If so, visit www.bta.org/FirstIssue.

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BTA PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

2023-2024 Board of Directors President

Capping Off a Great Year of BTA Events

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he Business Technology Association’s (BTA’s) event schedule for 2023 recently wrapped up with the BTA Southeast-hosted Fall Colors Retreat, held Oct. 12-13 in Asheville, North Carolina.

Check out the coverage of the event on pages 16 and 17. The retreat allowed attendees to learn about industry trends, hear from next-generation dealership leaders and gain new strategies for building extraordinary teams. It also gave them opportunities to network with their peers, and learn about the exhibiting sponsors’ products and services in depth.

If you have not yet attended a BTA event, I highly recommend it. Each time I go, I learn more about our rapidly evolving industry and how to improve my business.

But don’t take my word for it. Check out what some of our attendees have had to say about this year’s events: n “This [the Fall Colors Retreat] was my first BTA meeting; we’re a brand-new member. I was looking to dig in and find out what I could do differently at my dealership ... [I liked] the fact that the vendors are participating during the entire meeting and they’re not tucked off in some other space — we’re all connected, we’re all interacting ... Learning and getting to know some of the guys at other dealerships that are in similar positions as I am [was great] ... The vibe that I’m getting is that everybody is very helpful and very interested in helping one another succeed.” — John Pecnik, Dowling Douglas Co., Jacksonville, Florida n “I thought this [the 2023 BTA National Conference] was amazing. I’ve been to many dealer meetings and some other BTA events and, by far, this was a home run. I was able

to talk to people I probably wouldn’t have talked to in the past. It was fantastic. You guys did a really good job and I really appreciate the fact that you put this together.”

— Randy Rezek, Town Business Systems, Norwood, Massachusetts n “I’ve been in the industry about five years now and this [Capture the Magic] is my first BTA event. The biggest thing is the takeaways you’re getting ... We’re talking to dealers and people who are influencers in our industry about what they’re seeing and what they’re doing.” — Scott Flaherty, Altek Business Systems, Telford, Pennsylvania n “The entire event [Capture the Magic] was extremely valuable. The venue is obviously beautiful here in Aurora [Colorado]. It’s been a great opportunity to exchange ideas with peers and other folks in the industry.

There was a great keynote speaker who really gave me a lot of ideas on helping me run our business. With the dealer panels, you’re getting real-world stuff. I thought it was absolutely excellent.” — Jim George, Donnellon McCarthy Enterprises, Cincinnati, Ohio n “I’ve participated in this event [Spring Break] for many, many years and I will say, this year was quite inspiring. I really enjoyed the speakers; the education was great, the storytelling was great. And even for a guy like me who has 31 years in the business, I’m motivated to go home and get my team riled up.” — Bob Heffelfinger, Advanced Office Systems Inc., Johnstown, Pennsylvania If these testimonials have convinced you to join us, save the date for the 2024 BTA National Conference, which will be held April 5-6 at Disney’s Grand Floridian in Orlando, Florida. To learn more about this year’s events and see photos, as well as get information on next year’s events as it becomes available, visit www.bta.org/BTAEvents. I’m looking forward to seeing you in 2024. n — Don Risser

Don Risser DCS Technologies Corp.

Franklin, Ohio don.risser@dcs-tech.com President-Elect

Adam Gregory Advanced Business Solutions LLC St. Augustine, Florida adam@goabsinc.com Vice President

Debra Dennis CopyPro Inc. Greenville, North Carolina ddennis@copypro.net Immediate Past President

David Polimeni RITE Technology Sarasota, Florida dpolimeni@ritefl.com BTA East

Mike Boyle BASE Technologies Inc. Bethel, Connecticut mboyle@baseinc.com Joe Dellaposta Doing Better Business Hagerstown, Maryland jvd@doingbetterbusiness.com BTA Mid-America

Brantly Fowler Zeno Office Solutions Inc. Midland, Texas bfowler@zenotx.com Greg Quirk JQ Office Equipment Omaha, Nebraska gquirk@jqoffice.com BTA Southeast

Jim Buck Carolina Business Equipment Inc. Columbia, South Carolina jimb@cbesc.com Mike Hicks Electronic Business Machines Inc. Lexington, Kentucky mhicks@ebmky.com BTA West

Mike McGuirk ProCopy Office Solutions Inc. Mesa, Arizona mmcguirk@procopyoffice.com Kevin Marshall Copy Link Inc. Chula Vista, California kevin@copylink.net Ex-Officio/General Counsel

Robert C. Goldberg Schoenberg Finkel Beederman Bell & Glazer LLC Chicago, Illinois robert.goldberg@sfbbg.com

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Alongside Imaging

Dealers address their portfolio diversification strategies by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine

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hile some may be growing tired of hearing about the need to seek product and services diversification opportunities, there are certainly compelling reasons to do so. Many question whether focusing solely on imaging products is sustainable.

Following are profiles of three BTA member dealerships, providing a brief look into their diversification strategies. Perhaps the comments and insight they share will provide some guidance as you seek to take your dealership to the next level.

Donnellon McCarthy Enterprises When Jim George joined Donnellon McCarthy Enterprises as president in 2016, he had a vision for the future. “My number-one goal was to diversify as quickly as possible to get to the magic 50/50 number,” he says, referencing the target ratio of imaging versus non-imaging offerings. “I’ve seen what happens when a dealership fails to diversify. I didn’t want to just focus on print solutions. So far, it’s been a great investment across the board.”

Of course, the dealership, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, with 10 locations in six states (California, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia), has continued to embrace what George refers to as a “golden goose” — the print side of the business — offering products from Brother, Ricoh, Sharp and Toshiba. In terms of that target ratio, it currently stands at 64% imaging versus 36% non-imaging.

That ever-evolving ratio can be attributed, in part, to Donnellon McCarthy’s creation of an ecosystem encompassing five areas — managed security, managed print, software solutions, technology infrastructure and managed IT, says Rich Brandenburg, senior vice president of sales. “In the past, our vernacular was always ‘copiers, copiers, copiers,’” he says.

“Today, we push our people to talk about Donnellon McCarthy as an MSP [managed services provider] in all areas of the ecosystem. We have found that to be a lot different than what our competitors are doing up and down the street.”

Among Donnellon McCarthy’s areas of diversification: managed IT services, digital signage, mailing solutions and, most recently, EV (electric vehicle) charging stations. The diversification strategies — but largely managed IT services — have helped to feed the golden goose. “Once we’ve converted companies to IT services, where we are 100% their IT provider, every single one of those companies has also gone to the copier side of our business,” he says. “That is, once we own the IT, we are the trusted advisor, across the board, within that organization.”

As the trusted advisor “we basically tell them: ‘Here’s what you need to get ... and we need to get your output devices switched out,’” George continues. “They always listen to us. It’s easy. It’s not even a sale. Rather, it’s something they have to do. So, the competition is out and the margins are better when we sell into that type of environment.”

While managed IT may be the largest non-imaging driver of additional MFP placements, as noted, other areas of diversification are contributing to Donnellon McCarthy’s bottom line — one of them for the past 15 years: mailroom solutions.

“It represents more than $1 million annually for us,” George says, emphasizing that it extends well beyond the FP Mailing Solutions meters the dealership offers. “For example, through FP we offer QTrak, which tracks all outgoing and incoming mail. We also offer locker systems [accessible via user PIN codes, securing incoming packages and mail] common at universities and apartment complexes. Plus, we offer folder inserters, pressure sealers, shipping software and shredders.”

As noted, Donnellon McCarthy’s latest diversification strategy is EV charging stations, sold in partnership with ACDI. George is particularly enthusiastic about the dealership’s future with the offering. “The criteria to be a golden goose in our industry are service, recurring revenue and getting some money off the hardware sale so I can pay the rep,” he says. “All three of these have come to fruition with charging stations.”

What led George to move forward with EV chargers? “The deciding factor came during a visit to Germany, where I saw

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that every single apartment building and every single business has EV chargers,” he says, noting he saw that as a sign of what is to come for the United States. “We currently have a multi-milliondollar sales funnel — and we only began offering EV chargers this year.”

managed IT,” DoRemus says, noting that JD Young has “The criteria to be a fewer than 10 IT employees. golden goose in our “You can start off with a staff industry are service, of three. Just be selective in recurring revenue and terms of the accounts you go after and the types of sergetting some money vices you sell them.” He adds off the hardware sale that it is also important to so I can pay the rep.“ hire the right people. “You — Jim George add quite a bit of liability to JD Young Technologies Donnellon McCarthy Enterprises your organization by adding Serving all of Oklahoma, managed IT. You have access but primarily the northeastto everything, for better or ern portion of the state, JD Young Technologies is headquar- worse, so be careful about who you hire.” tered in Tulsa, with a second location in Oklahoma City. The The reason for having the right IT people is simple, DoReCanon, Toshiba and Ricoh dealership was founded more mus says. “Copier dealers have worked hard for decades to than 75 years ago by Joe Young. It remains a family business, build client relationships,” he says. “I’ve seen some of them with Joe’s grandsons Robert Stuart Jr. serving as CEO and hire people who may have a whole lot of technical talent, but Doug Stuart as president. no communication skills or business sense. So, the dealerJD Young began as a blueprint company but has evolved ship then provides an IT solution to a client and the relationconsiderably through the years. Among its areas of diver- ship they’ve spent years fostering goes south because of a sification, the dealership offers such products and services bad technical experience.” as managed IT, on-premise and cloud-based phone systems, DoRemus says both managed IT and VoIP, through its purified water systems, document management, and web vendor partner Intermedia, have been lucrative diversificadevelopment and marketing. tion strategies for JD Young. “There are great margins in IT The primary area of diversification is managed IT, which and, as noted, it will bolster your imaging business, makcame with the acquisition 10 years ago of Geeks to the ing those relationships stronger,” he says. “The margins with Rescue, a small IT company founded by Damon DoRemus, VoIP through Intermedia are great, too. I am not sure we who now serves as JD Young’s CIO. “Most of the managed would see the level of margins we are seeing with any other IT space is growing rapidly,” DoRemus says. “At JD Young, it channel-based VoIP vendor.” represents 20% of our revenue. I expect that percentage will How are the diversification strategy decisions made at JD continue to increase.”

Young? “What we try to do is not chase after something just DoRemus says managed IT as well as VoIP phone systems because it’s ‘shiny,’” DoRemus says. “When we look at any dihave proven to be particularly ideal for the company. “To- versification stream, we ask, ‘Does it support and augment gether, both lock you in with the client because if you con- our core business — imaging?’” trol their network the copier contract becomes an obvious DoRemus encourages every dealership to diversify its ofrenewal,” he says, noting that the two areas of diversification ferings. He says he believes “all dealers need to leverage and often lead to new MFP placements. “They open doors all the embrace” opportunities in adjacent technologies. “I don’t time. When we pick up somebody as a managed IT client and believe JD Young would be as successful as it is today withthey’re not a copier client, once we are in there and control out diversifying.” the network, helping them make technology decisions, one of the first questions we ask is, ‘Who is your copier provider?’”

Office Advantage Dealers who are considering offering managed IT are “ofEarly in his career, when he was working as a paramedic, ten scared of the volume of staff they think they will need and Mark VanDenHoek walked into a print shop to order some not having the required technical knowledge,” DoRemus says. business cards. He began talking to another customer, a Xerox “I always tell them, ‘As long as you are leveraging the tools that agent. Soon, he was working for that agent, who, four months are out there from companies like ConnectWise, Kaseya and later, parted ways with Xerox. Soon thereafter, VanDenHoek Datto, you can get into the managed services space without was approached about becoming a Xerox agent himself. “I an enormous number of staff members. You can start small.’” had no idea what that meant but I said, ‘all right’; it seemed Dealerships “don’t have to have a staff of 20 to jump into magical,” he says. “I thought, ‘We’ll see what happens.’”

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the addition of managed IT, Fast forward to the preswith the assistance of Conent. VanDenHoek’s dealership, “What we try to do is not nectWise. Managed IT now Office Advantage, based in chase after something just accounts for between 15% Mitchell, South Dakota, with because it’s ‘shiny.’ When to 20% of Office Advantage’s a second location in Sioux we look at any diversification revenues, he says. “Clients Falls, is no longer Xerox-only, with fewer than 50 employees; but also now offers Epson stream, we ask, ‘Does it that’s our hot spot,” he says. products. In recent years, he support and augment our “At some point, I anticipate has seen the need to ramp up core business — imaging?’“ that managed IT services will his diversification initiatives.

— Damon DoRemus account for 50% or more of OfHe shares his thoughts on the topic in the form of advice to JD Young Technologies fice Advantage’s revenues.”

In addition, the dealership his fellow dealers. “They need offers outsourced document to be diversified or they won’t be here,” he says, noting that he is always pleased to see scanning/archiving services, as well as print and graphics serdealers adding managed IT services, water, furniture, etc., vices. “We don’t want to compete with our print shop clients, to their portfolios. “But if you’re going to rely on the printed so most of what we do is for long-term, existing clients,” page, I mean, holy cow. In the A3 and A4 market, there’s not VanDenHoek says of his dealership’s print and graphics services. “For example, we have a very large automobile dealera lot to talk about.”

At his dealership, diversification has come in several ways, ship client for which we produce a certain type of window VanDenHoek says. To date, the primary strategy has been sticker to be placed on all of its cars. It’s not a huge part of

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“Clients with fewer than 50 employees; that’s our hot spot. At some point I anticipate that managed IT services will account for 50% or more of Office Advantage’s revenues.“ — Mark VanDenHoek Office Advantage our business, but it’s one of the parts I enjoy the most.”

What else does VanDenHoek enjoy? “Technology and automobiles,” he says. Those areas of interest led to his most recent diversification strategy — EV charging stations. “I was reading one of the industry websites where ACDI announced, ‘Hey, we’re going to start offering EV chargers.’ I called them up, rattled a couple of cages and here we are today.”

In the spring of this year, VanDenHoek launched Energy Options, a provider of EV charging stations, operating as a separate DBA alongside Office Advantage. The new endeavor is still in its early stages, but he sees a day when he is not only installing and maintaining chargers, but servicing competitively installed chargers as well. “I’m patient enough to see it through,” he says. “Other than my sales pipeline, a couple of vans and our EnergyOptions.pro website, there is very little there right now, but we do have a huge funnel and I’m anticipating it’s going to be a really big deal for us.”

As he expected, it’s been a slow start, VanDenHoek says. He contrasts the technology to another initiative from his past — “back in the dial-up days” — when he served as an internet provider. “Unlike the internet business, where it went from zero to lightspeed overnight, this [EV charging] is going to take a while, because folks here are slow to adapt,” he says.

“They’re cautious, they’re curious and they’re rural. So, they’re going to watch for a bit before they jump on the bandwagon.”

However, VanDenHoek is very optimistic about the size of that approaching bandwagon given the projections of the number of new electric cars to be manufactured in the coming years. He expects Energy Options to ultimately eclipse the Office Advantage side of his business. “Yes, I expect that it’s going to be a larger business,” he says. “I think it will one day be 10 times larger than everything else we do.” n Brent Hoskins, executive director of the Business Technology Association, is editor of Office Technology magazine. He can be reached at (816) 303-4040 or brent@bta.org. www.of ficetechnologymag.com | November 2023 | ­15

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Fall Colors Retreat

BTA Southeast hosts event Oct. 12-13 by: Elizabeth Marvel, Office Technology Magazine

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he 2023 Fall Colors Retreat, hosted by BTA Southeast, was held Oct. 12-13 at the Omni Grove Park Inn in Asheville, North Carolina. The event featured a keynote address; a dealer panel; an additional educational session; round-table discussions with exhibitors, giving attendees extra time to learn about their products and services in more detail; time to network with peers and exhibiting sponsors; and cocktails and a sunset dinner at the Grove Park Inn’s Seely Pavilion, which offered panoramic views of the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains.

The keynote, “Five Components of Extraordinary Teams,” was presented by Lee Rubin, former captain of the Penn State football team and a corporate HR professional. The additional educational session, “What’s Happenin’ in the Imaging Industry,” was presented by Andy Slawetsky, president of Industry Analysts Inc. The dealer panel, “Diversifying for Success: The Next Generation’s Path to a Thriving Future,” was made up of next-generation dealership leaders. John Eckstrom, president of Carolina Business Equipment (CBE), a Novatech company, Columbia, South Carolina, moderated the panel.

The panelists included: Lizzy Cathcart, account manager at Plus Inc., Greenville, South Carolina; Richie Creech, director of service at CopyPro Inc., Greenville, North Carolina; Austin Gregory, marketing coordinator and a service technician at Advanced Business Solutions LLC, St. Augustine, Florida; Blake Renegar, director of managed network services at Kelly Office Solutions, Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Brice Renegar, director of the Pure Water Technology Division at Kelly Office Solutions; and Drew Shumate, business consultant at Carolina Business Equipment, a Novatech company.

The BTA event schedule for 2024 will be announced soon. Keep an eye on www.bta. org/BTAEvents for more information as it becomes available. n Elizabeth Marvel is associate editor of Office Technology magazine. She can be reached at elizabeth@bta.org or (816) 303-4060.

Clockwise from top: The 2023 Fall Colors Retreat featured a keynote address, a dealer panel, an additional educational session, round-table discussions with exhibitors and plenty of networking time, including cocktails and a sunset dinner at the Grove Park Inn’s Seely Pavilion; Rubin presents the keynote address; attendees network during a break between sessions; attendees enjoy lunch before the event kicks off on Oct. 12; and 2023-24 BTA Southeast President Mike Hicks serves as an event emcee.

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Extraordinary Teams

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Clockwise from top: Eckstrom (center) moderates the dealer panel with panelists (left to right) Creech, Blake Renegar, Gregory, Shumate, Cathcart and Brice Renegar; Slawetsky presents his educational session; and Jeff Alexander ( far left), Ashley Enscoe (middle right) and Peter Kubat ( far right) of Sharp Electronics Corp. visit with John Pecnik (middle left) of Dowling Douglas Co., Jacksonville, Florida, during a break between sessions.

Clockwise from above left: (left to right) Melissa and Adam Gregory, Advanced Business Solutions LLC, St. Augustine, Florida, visit with Amy Dills and Jason Thomas of NA Trading and Technology during a break; 2023-24 BTA Southeast President-Elect Blake Renegar (left) assists Hicks with prize drawings; attendees enjoy dinner in the Seely Pavilion; attendees network during a break; and (far left to right) Celty and Wes Kearney of Kirbo’s Office Systems, Brownwood, Texas, visit with (near left to right) Jason Resnick and Mary Ballentine of Kodak Alaris during the round tables.

uring the retreat, Lee Rubin presented the keynote address, “Five Components of Extraordinary Teams.” He drew from his experience playing college football — including serving as captain of the Penn State football team — and his years as a corporate HR professional to share his thoughts on what makes great teams. “Teams exist because there’s a challenge or an opportunity too big for any one person to handle alone,” Rubin said, laying the foundation for the rest of the keynote. “If you can do it by yourself, you don’t need a team ... But when the things that we’re trying to accomplish, both professionally and personally, are too big for any one of us to handle by ourselves, we need a team.”

With the foundation laid, Rubin spent the rest of his presentation discussing the five components of extraordinary teams: (1) Extraordinary teams are comprised of competitors.

“A competitor is an individual who loves to win and hates to lose,” he said. “It’s about passion. The most successful individuals, the most successful teams in the world are not just competent — they’re passionate about what they do. And it is that passion that drives them to action.”

(2) Extraordinary teams have a common goal. “The only way [to achieve a common goal] is everyone on the team at some point must be willing to make a sacrifice,” Rubin said, adding that the more team members talk about what they’re trying to accomplish as an organization, the better. “You’ve got to be willing to make sacrifices [for the team] to achieve something that none of you could have achieved by yourselves ... But sacrifice requires you to let go of what you’ve always done.”

(3) Extraordinary teams communicate. “When they communicate openly and honestly, they find out that, despite their differences, they both want the same thing,” Rubin said, citing the movie “Remember the Titans” as an example of learning to communicate well as a team. “ ... But the first thing I learned as a communications major is that communication works two ways. It’s not just how well you give information, but it’s also how well you take it or receive it. When I say ‘communicate,’ I also mean ‘listen.’”

(4) Extraordinary teams have chemistry. “You can walk into a room and tell when there’s good chemistry in the group,” he said.

“There’s a good vibe, right? People feel connected; they seem to enjoy being around each other ... So when you’ve got good chemistry, whether in sports or business, things just feel easier.”

Rubin added to this, quoting his high school chemistry teacher who told him that most chemical bonds are formed under heat and pressure. “The same stuff that tears most teams apart, if leveraged properly, is the same exact stuff that brings extraordinary teams together,” he said. “Heat and pressure.”

(5) Extraordinary teams are consistent. “There is no way you can call yourself extraordinary if your performance is inconsistent,” Rubin said. “No one wants to do business with people who are inconsistent. So how do you build that type of consistency? ... Practice, practice, practice.

“Bruce Lee said, ‘I fear not the man who practices 10,000 kicks one time each. I fear the man who practices one kick 10,000 times,’” he continued. “Why? Because he has mastered it ... My last challenge to you is: What have you mastered? ... In pursuit of that mastery is a machine-like consistency that allows us to produce on a consistent basis for the people we serve ... We’ve got to focus on the basics — the blocking, the tackling, the passing, the catching. If you look at the best teams around, they have mastered the basics.” n — Elizabeth Marvel www.of ficetechnologymag.com | November 2023 | 17

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10/31/23 3:56 PM

Dealers Versus Direct

Emphasizing the importance of doing business locally by: Ray Belanger, Bay Copy

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ne ongoing challenge that dealers face is competing against the “directs” — the manufacturers of the equipment that we sell, lease and service. Some see this as “the 800-pound gorilla in the room.” Being told by the manufacturers we work with that “there’s room for everyone” doesn’t do much to make the situation better. Many of us have found ourselves in situations where we have competed rigorously against the directs for local customer business.

This has been a hot topic of discussion among my industry peers for many years. In meetings, we’ve kicked around a number of best practices that help us meet this challenge — convincing our customers that independent dealerships are their best option for their office technology and MPS needs, rather than going directly to a manufacturer.

The lowest price may not always result in the best deal.

Consider an initial set of questions from a prospect weighing whether to go with your independent dealership or a direct manufacturer. It might initially seem like a difficult conversation to navigate when asked, “Can’t I do better by buying direct?” or “Won’t the service I receive from the manufacturer be better than what I might receive from dealing with a local independent dealership like yours?”

As we all know, a big part of our sales process is overcoming objections. Questions such as the above can open the door to a meaningful conversation where we have the opportunity to make the strong distinction between price and value.

Just as no one would volunteer to fly across the country on a jet built by the lowest bidder, neither should we conclude that the lowest price for equipment is always indicative of the greatest value. A prospect may often jump to that conclusion though. It falls on us to convince him (or her) of the additional value of doing business with an independent dealership.

Using the proper discovery process can yield large dividends.

The conversation may sometimes begin with price, but it doesn’t stop there.

The process should include discovery — finding out what the prospect’s document needs are and then tailoring the accompanying services the independent dealership can provide to meet those needs.

My company got a wake-up call a number of years ago when a health-care client of ours used us for all its copier/MFPs onsite, which resulted in only about half the print volume it did annually. Although it was a major client, we did not initially control its printers.

Using our MPS program and having a few detailed conversations helped us to convert the client; we saw it as an opportunity to increase volume with an existing account, as well as a way to win business from new accounts.

Many MPS programs require equipment from several different manufacturers and the advantage goes to independent dealerships.

A situation such as this can present itself as another compelling reason why an independent dealership may have a strong competitive advantage over a direct manufacturer. A dealer, in mapping out an MPS strategy, may often find that a combination of machines from several different manufacturers can create the optimum result in lowering per-page costs, as well as providing the greatest efficiency and most environmentally friendly atmosphere.

Independent dealerships can win on service.

The strongest selling point we all have, in my view, is service — and not just “service” per se, but responsive service.

Over the years, in my meetings with peers in industry trade groups, we’ve talked a lot about how service can set independent dealerships apart.

Some of us use differentiators like “guaranteed four-hour

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Belanger Nov 23.indd 1

10/31/23 11:45 AM

Why ExecuTech? ³Əȅƺ (Əɵ IɖȇƳǣȇǕ RƏȸƳɯƏȸƺ ۭ 0ȷɖǣȵȅƺȇɎً XÁً ³ȒǔɎɯƏȸƺً xƏǣȇɎƺȇƏȇƬƺ ۭ xȒȸƺٍ nƺƏɀƺ ۭ ³ɖƫɀƬȸǣȵɎǣȒȇ ¨ȸȒǕȸƏȅɀ ɮƏǣǼƏƫǼƺ (ƺƳǣƬƏɎƺƳ «ƺǼƏɎǣȒȇɀǝǣȵ xƏȇƏǕƺȸ ۭ ¨ƏȸɎƺȸ ³ɖȵȵȒȸɎ ÁƺƏȅ

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www.of ficetechnologymag.com | November 2023 | 19

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also heard complaints about invoicing response time” or something similar. and response time, which serve to reThese are important selling points for The role of independent mind us that bigger is not always better. a prospect. In addition, an explanation dealerships can be of the certification and factory training all-encompassing — of each technician usually dispels the There is a stronger sense of comand that is good news for notion that a service tech from a direct munity among the independent the customers we serve. manufacturer is somehow better qualidealerships. fied than a technician from an indepenIndependent dealerships can comWe just need to educate dent dealership. pete effectively on price and, with stra[them] about this ...

Beyond the knowledge required to tegic planning, they can win the service service equipment is the response and argument against the direct manufacattention paid to the client. This is where the independent turers by showing the level of training and education their dealership can win — and perhaps most successfully with technicians receive, as well as fast response times. One the smaller and mid-sized businesses, because the directs other area where the independent dealerships can shine by seem to work more with larger accounts. comparison is the matter of community involvement, and Anecdotally, we have seen a few situations in this market this can often be a compelling part of any sales pitch made where the directs have fallen down on the service end of the to a prospect. equation. A health-care client whose business we recently Several Forbes articles have highlighted the value of comwon came to us, in part, because it was a former client of a panies giving back and how it creates stronger cultures. While direct manufacturer and experienced significant delays in the larger manufacturers may also contribute to charitable getting parts and return calls for service requests. We have causes, local dealerships distinguish themselves by investing time and money into their communities. This can take the form of supporting local Little League Baseball teams, school activities, scholarships and many other community venues. America’s Small Business Network (ASBN) says that community involvement strengthens community ties, boosts the customer base and builds brand loyalty. Most dealerships that are involved in giving back to their communities do so simply because it’s the right thing to do, but it can also help a business expand its brand awareness and build loyalty.

And beyond giving back to the community through charitable contributions, the local independent dealership employs local people and, of course, pays taxes — other important ways to give back.

Independent dealers can compete effectively against direct manufacturers As direct manufacturers seem to gravitate toward larger customers, the opportunity for independent dealerships increases. Independent dealerships can provide all of the differentiators previously mentioned and can also serve as strong advocates for their customers when it comes to pricing of equipment and leasing terms. The role of independent dealerships can be all-encompassing — and that is good news for the customers we serve. We just need to educate our prospects and customers about this in our sales meetings. n Ray Belanger is president and CEO of Bay Copy, based in Rockland, Massachusetts.

He can be reached at rbelanger@baycopy.com.

Visit www.baycopy.com.

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DEALERSHIP SPOTLIGHT

MOEbiz Turns 100

President & co-owner reflects on long company history by: Elizabeth Marvel, Office Technology

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ew office technology dealerships can say they’ve been in business for 100 years, but on Oct. 23, 2023, Business Technology Association (BTA) member dealership MOEbiz of Monroe, Louisiana, reached that rare milestone. Armand Vaughn “A.V.” Breard opened the company that would become MOEbiz — A.V. Breard, Agent, a Sundstrand adding machine dealership — on Oct. 23, 1923, in Monroe.

In 1925, the company was renamed Monroe Store & Office Equipment Co., and in 1931 the name was shortened to Monroe Office Equipment. From its founding until the mid-1940s, the company expanded its storefronts with two additional locations in Alexandria and Lake Charles, Louisiana, and added typewriters and office furniture to its lineup. After World War II, A.V. closed the Alexandria location and sold the Lake Charles location to the general manager who ran the store.

In 1969, A.V. retired, passing Monroe Office Equipment on to his son, Armand Enochs Breard. In 1972, Armand opened a new facility in Monroe, as well as a second location under the name Office Supply Inc. in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. While expanding the company’s office furniture and supplies business in the 1980s, he opened a third location in New Orleans, Louisiana, under the name Business Design Interiors, and acquired Alexandria Office Supply Store in Alexandria, renaming it Office Supply Inc., for a fourth location.

Armand led the company until 1990, when he passed it on to his son, Armand “Chap” Breard. After passing the business to Chap, Armand continued to work in the business as a sales rep and adviser until his retirement in 2010. Today, Chap serves as president and co-owner, along with his wife, Ann. Chap started working in the business part time in 1979 while he was in high school. He then spent time in the U.S. Navy, received a degree in management from what is today the University of Louisiana Monroe and got married before starting full time at the dealership in January 1989.

According to Chap, business was especially challenging from 1989 to 1991, explaining that the dealership sold both Steelcase and Haworth office furniture from its different locations, which wasn’t ideal for one of the manufacturers. “Steelcase did not like that we had a competing dealership or product line in Louisiana and they threatened that if my dad didn’t close the New Orleans and Alexandria locations [which sold Haworth furniture] they would cancel his authorization to be a Steelcase dealer in Monroe and Baton Rouge,” he says, adding that his father ultimately decided to end the company’s relationship with Steelcase.

Clockwise from top: Chap Breard (center), president and co-owner, cuts the ribbon on MOEbiz’s new technology showroom during the company’s 100th anniversary celebration on Oct. 18, while his father, Armand Breard (tan jacket), and Chap’s wife and MOEbiz co-owner Ann (behind Chap, in gray), look on; the staff of Monroe Office Equipment poses for a Christmas photo in its office in 1935; and A.V. Breard (left) and Armand Breard pose for a photo during A.V.’s 65th birthday celebration. Inset: MOEbiz’s 100th anniversary logo.

“That was pretty devastating,” he continues. “We had to sell all the Steelcase inventory, retrain the entire sales force and then take our current customer base and change them [over to Haworth furniture] ... It was almost like a perfect storm. All this stuff came together and the walls of the house came crashing down. Ultimately, my dad decided to close the Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Alexandria offices ... It was a struggle.”

Chap explains how the company eventually recovered from the Steelcase incident. “From 1991 until about 2003, we had some tough, hard years,” he says. “We basically had to rebuild the entire company from scratch. We got new product lines and we became a Gestetner copier dealership. In 2003, I built our new facility, which was really the catalyst to getting us growing again.”

Another milestone came in 2003 when Chap joined the Select

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Dealership Spotlight Nov 23.indd 1

10/31/23 3:57 PM

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www.enxmag.com | email: susan@enxmag.com | tel: 818-505-0022 www.of ficetechnologymag.com | November 2023 | 23

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Dealer Group (SDG), a BTA peer group. and vendors,” Chap says. “My dad and mom “I joined SDG and went to ProFinance, came, and my sister flew down from New “I think we live in a time and that’s when I realized that we had to York. We had a big recognition of who did where the only thing we change things in order to be more profitwhat, where and when.” have to offer is personal able to reinvest in the company,” he says.

Regarding the future of MOEbiz, Chap service. I think people “That was what led to the decision to sell says he wants to make it easier for customers the furniture and supplies business to a to take advantage of all of his dealership’s ofwill pay for that, and local competitor in 2012. That part of the ferings. “I think we are going to simplify the we need to ... focus on business was 47% of our revenue and it was billing process by having a market strategy why we’re different.” a very scary time. But by the end of 2012, we that says ‘for every employee, we will provide made more net income on less revenue, so copying services, IT services, phone services, we knew it was a good decision.” and scanning and shredding services for a After the sale of the furniture and supplies business, Chap specific cost per employee per month,’” he says, noting that only changed the company’s name to MOEbiz to highlight its new fo- about 8% of MOEbiz’s current customers use all of its offerings. cus on technology. In 2016, the company acquired File Depot, a “We’ve got to make it simpler for customers to buy our services. records management company that became an official depart“I think the future of our industry is bright, but it’ll be more ment of MOEbiz in January 2021. Today, the department makes complicated,” Chap continues, sharing more of his future vision up about 16% of the company’s business through hard-copy re- of MOEbiz. “I think we will continue to cross-sell our customers, cords storage (in its 50,000-square-foot, HIPAA-compliant ware- become more relevant to our current customer base and grow house), records management, shredding and purging, scanning/ that way. I also think we need to be in a position to train customscanning automation, and cloud storage. ers on leveraging their current IT services. A lot of customers subIn 2018, MOEbiz acquired Stuart’s Office Technology, expand- scribe to all these Microsoft features, but they’re [Microsoft] not ing its territory north into Arkansas. “The acquisition took a year, really good at training and we’re not great at it either. We have to as the owner died in the transition phase, which made it not only figure out how to routinely go back to our customers and show stressful, but time consuming,” Chap says, noting that MOEbiz them new features they can use to help them run their businesshas plans for additional acquisitions in the future. “My advice es. We sell them all of this stuff, but then we don’t go back and fig[for dealers looking to acquire] is what [ProFinance instructor] ure out if they’re really using it or show them how. We are working John Hey says: ‘It’s like dating’ [i.e., you have to learn about the hard to change this by doing better quarterly business reviews.” company you’re acquiring and decide if it fits with your company What advice does Chap offer other dealers based on his com— like dating to find a partner in life]. Also, don’t give up. People pany’s 100 years in business and his own experience at MOEsell to people and you have to build trust in relationships.” biz? “It’s tenacity,” he says simply. “Don’t give up. It just takes Today, the company maintains three locations (it is head- grit and determination — and constant follow up. Nothing is quartered in Monroe and has branches in Ruston, Louisiana, easy. I think selling today is probably more difficult than it has and El Dorado, Arkansas) with a territory encompassing the ever been; you’re competing with the email inbox, you’re comnorthern half of Louisiana and southern Arkansas. It also peting with phones, you’re just competing for people’s time. manages networks and equipment in 12 other states. With “I think we live in a time where the only thing we have to 58 employees, MOEbiz is a Sharp, HP, Ricoh, Epson and RISO offer is personal service,” Chap continues. “I think people will dealership. Approximately 60% of its business is in imaging pay for that, and we need to quit worrying about how much products, 18% in IT services (MOEbiz built its IT business things cost and focus on why we’re different.” from scratch in 2012, it turned a profit in 2015 and now has a Chap shares a story about his father’s approach to selling dedicated IT salesperson.), 16% in records management and that coincides with this advice. “My dad would take the copier 6% in A/V and phones (the most recent diversification oppor- operation manuals home and read them,” he says. “I can retunity for the dealership, which expanded its offerings with member him falling asleep on the couch with a manual on his smart boards, projectors, VoIP phone systems, etc.). nose many times. He would literally wake up the next morning On Oct. 18, MOEbiz celebrated its 100th anniversary with a having found something in a manual that was applicable to a Monroe Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting of the compa- customer’s business, and he would go back and sell a machine ny’s new technology showroom (which, according to Chap, is based on some feature he found that they could use to run dedicated to “everything technology” with the “latest projec- their business better. So, I think we always have to be mindful tion screens, smartboards, A/V, LED walls, and copier/MFPs of trying to help our customers be successful.” n and printers set up for Teams integration and [smart card] key Elizabeth Marvel is associate editor of fobs”), followed by a reception.

Office Technology magazine. She can be reached “We probably had 100 or more people there — customers at elizabeth@bta.org or (816) 303-4060.

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10/31/23 3:57 PM

COURTS & CAPITOLS

A Worrisome Trend

Educational agreements are being targeted by: Robert C. Goldberg, BTA General Counsel

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have recently shared with you the trend of the federal government and states curtailing the use of non-competition agreements. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has proposed a Trade Regulation Rule that would negate non-compete agreements. The Business Technology Association (BTA) has commented on this proposal, emphasizing the investment dealers make in acquiring and retaining end users — an investment that should not be free to departing employees.

The National Labor Relations Board’s general counsel has brought a case challenging the enforcement of a non-compete.

At the same time, several states have enacted legislation that limits or prohibits non-compete agreements. The future for non-competition agreements is unclear. However, their enforceability is certainly going to be limited.

The investment dealers make in acquiring customers is often matched by the cost of training sales and technical staff members. For years, BTA has provided the industry with educational programs to enhance the knowledge of industry employees.

But bringing various dealership employees together for education often presents a problem: A student may be approached by another dealer to change employers. If the employee decides to do so, a dealer ends up investing in an employee’s knowledge, only to lose that investment to a competitor.

As a result, BTA developed an Employee Educational Agreement. There are both short and long forms depending on the amount of the investment the dealer is making in the employee. See www.bta.org/LegalDocuments to download them. This agreement creates a financial obligation on the employee to reimburse the dealership if he (or she) should voluntarily leave the dealership’s employment during an agreed-upon period.

The financial obligation is reduced each month the employee remains with the dealership. The form has the additional benefit of identifying employees who lack commitment. A dealer could decide not to send an individual who refuses to sign the agreement to training.

BTA’s Employee Educational Agreement was challenged by a Michigan employee who contended it violated the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution forbidding “involuntary servitude.” The court found the defense interesting, however, it enforced the educational agreement as it was voluntarily entered into and there was a companion non-compete.

In another example, at the time of employment, a California employee signed a Training Repayment Agreement (TRA).

There was no negotiation of the terms and employment would

not be offered without a signed agreement. The agreement stated the employee would receive $50,000 worth of on-thejob training. Educational/training agreements are viewed as a means to circumvent restrictions on non-compete agreements, and California has legislated against non-compete agreements, rendering them unenforceable. The individual subsequently quit, providing four months’ notice.

In August of this year, the employer sued the former employee based on the TRA. The suit sought $38,000 in training costs and $100,000 for “loss of business.” The court opined that where training is required by the employer, that is a cost of doing business and an employee cannot be forced to bear or reimburse that cost. However, where an employee is going through training voluntarily, primarily for his own benefit, the repayment obligation can be enforced. If training results in a certification or degree that will qualify an individual for other positions, the agreement is enforceable. If the training enhances the individual’s abilities in his current position, the repayment agreement may not be enforced.

An additional factor to consider is when the agreement is signed. An agreement signed prior to a training course is more likely to be enforced over one signed at the time of employment.

Federal agencies are looking to curtail TRAs. Connecticut and Colorado have limited TRAs, while California, Pennsylvania and New York have introduced bills to forbid them.

Employees are clearly gaining advantages over employers in their relationships. The trend is worrisome.

Dealers make substantial investments in training employees and should be able to gain the full advantage of that investment. n Robert C. Goldberg is general counsel for the Business Technology Association.

He can be reached at robert.goldberg@sfbbg.com. www.of ficetechnologymag.com | November 2023 | 25

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

Dealer Members DEC Office Solutions, West Haverstraw, NY JB Office, Chatsworth, CA For full contact information of these new members, visit www.bta.org.

Shipping & Freight Discounts BTA members are eligible to receive exclusive discounts and preferred pricing with UPS and TForce Freight.

Members now have access to new and improved flat-rate pricing through UPS — no matter how much you ship, when you ship or where it’s going. Members-only savings include: 10% on UPS Next Day Air Early; 50% on Domestic Next Day/Deferred; 30% on Ground Commercial/Residential; International: 50% on export/40% on import/25% Canada Standard; and savings begin at 75% on UPS Freight shipments of more than 150 pounds. In addition, members can take advantage of UPS Smart Pickup service for free.

TForce Freight is the only LTL carrier to offer UPS Ground with freight pricing. By using the UPS network, you can compare LTL and GFP rates side-by-side online and choose the one that best fits your shipping budget and needs.

For more information, visit www.bta.org/Shipping.

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

For the benefit of its dealer members, each month BTA features two of its vendor members.

Actionable Intelligence is a leading source for news, analysis and research on the copier/ MFP and printer industry, and the original and third-party consumables business. It provides its clients with customized research and consulting, as well as up-to-date news and strategic analysis on its website.

Global printer OEMs, third-party supplies vendors, distributors, resellers and a diverse mix of other companies rely on Actionable Intelligence to deliver timely and accurate information about the trends shaping the printer hardware and supplies markets. www.action-intell.com DocuWare’s document management and workflow automation software delivers smart digital workflow and document control for substantial productivity gains without the need for IT resources. Its cloud and on-premise products are recognized best-fit solutions for companies seeking to digitize, automate and transform key processes. DocuWare’s team of more than 600 thinkers, leaders, makers, designers, builders, supporters and achievers are united by a love of technology, and the desire to help its customers and partners succeed. www.docuware.com A full list of BTA vendor members can be found online at www.bta.org.

For more information, visit www.bta.org.

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DEALERS HELPING DEALERS

Lead Generation

Dealers share their expectations & effectiveness Compiled by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine

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ollowing are two related questions submitted by a dealer member as part of BTA’s Dealers Helping Dealers resource and many of the answers received.

These answers and many others can be found in the members-only section of the BTA website. Visit www.bta.org/Dealers HelpingDealers. You will need your username and password to access this member resource.

We engaged a marketing company to help with customer retention, building brand awareness and creating lead generation. We have generated, on average, approximately three leads per month over our first three months. Based on your experience, what do you feel is a reasonable expectation for lead generation from digital marketing, PPC (website pay per click) and social media efforts to drive leads? What has been the most effective driver from an ROI standpoint of lead generation activity originating out of marketing, separate from the sales reps’ activity?

“We have kept a marketing consultant on an annual retainer since the pandemic. Services include website, marketing campaigns, email campaigns, etc. Continuing to provide him with ideas is challenging, but it is important to successful marketing. It’s tough to measure the ROI.” Geoff Riordan, president AAMSCO Identification Products Inc., Little Rock, Arkansas “Four to six months. It takes time for Google to update its analytics.”

Mike Williams, president/owner iTech, Parkersburg, West Virginia “Eight per week is what we average. This is net-new leads.

The cost per lead is $735. Our KPI is to lower it down to $600.”

Bob Doucette, president Smart Technologies of Florida, Daytona Beach, Florida “For our organization, a strong majority of business comes from our very strong and loyal existing customer base. However, we are witnessing some good signs of new business growth.

Most recently, the creation of a ‘customer care/inside sales’ division has added strong value for us. Our sales reps remain responsible for their own prospecting and business development, but prospecting for many successful sales reps in our business is not a ‘dedicated’ task and at times can lack consistency. The presence of committed personnel in these roles has created ‘visibility’ in accounts where they might not have had as much presence. When seeking to grow larger accounts organically, this initiative has given us the bandwidth to ‘nurture’ new business accounts that do take time to develop.”

Dave Aulisio, vice president of business development Automated Business Solutions, Warwick, Rhode Island “A year ago I read a book by Jay Baer named ‘Youtility: Why Smart Marketing Is About Help Not Hype.’ It helped me think differently about marketing. Marketing and sales must be working together to drive momentum.”

DJ Hastings, president Hogland Office Equipment Inc., Lubbock, Texas “Marketing is good, but what is the cost of those three leads and how many do you convert to sales? Next question: How much would it cost you to hire a sales rep to go find net new, which is what you need to survive? You can’t get away from sales rep activity. Maybe you need to invest in some good coaching for the reps so they become successful. Remember, when they are [successful], you are.”

John Eckstrom, president & CEO Carolina Business Equipment, a Novatech company Columbia, South Carolina “We have never done very well with lead generation. Our best results have come from door to door and word of mouth.”

Duffie Sams, owner Duffie’s Copier Consultants LLC, Forest City, North Carolina “I have spent a small fortune over the years doing this and it is difficult to be consistent. I suppose you have to boil it down to closes and it takes super-accurate tracking to be able to do this. I think it is tough to compete in this area.”

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“At least one lead a week from marketing that is separate from sales reps’ leads.”

Brantly Fowler, co-president Zeno Office Solutions Inc., Lubbock, Texas “No experience here on pay per click or lead generation. We pay a firm a flat rate per month to have a marketing/graphic artist professional meet with us weekly.

He produces a quarterly newsletter, creates marketing collateral, and updates and redesigns parts of our website.”

Neville Chaney, president WJ Office, Boone, North Carolina

“We have found digital marketing is the long game. You will not get quick hits numberwise.

Stick with it and it will pay dividends in the long run.”

“I hate the robo AI email strategies that bombard prospects with emails as if they know them. An oxymoron would be: Fake authenticity. The pay-for-call telemarketing services have been terrible in recent years in our geography, too. When I listen to the calls, the prospects are just trying to get off the phone and the telemarketers are just peppering them with ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions until they finally get a ‘yes.’ Then, when

we call, they are upset with us or simply won’t see us. I think the only way to make it work here would be for me to train someone local with our information and ensure they are authentic to what we are doing.

We will be hiring our own internal social media person and SEO promoter. We use Buyer Zone with limited success, too.”

Tim Stanley, owner/problem solver TDSiT, Lowell, Arkansas

“Lead generation has always been a bust for us, relative to costs. We will do many types of social media. In the past, pay per click generated lots of leads for simple equipment and was rarely worth the spend. We find it is the sales reps who need to find net-new business and not rely on leads to hit their numbers and metrics for net new.”

Richard Van Dyke, president Advanced Office, Irvine, California “Google Ads with SEO. Three per month seems low, but if you are using these, it should increase.”

Chris Anderson, Well Connected Business Systems Balcatta, Western Australia, Australia “That depends on what you spend and what you get out of it. If you spend $2,000 per month on a program and you are making less than $4,000 per year in profit on the customers you gain that month, it isn’t worth it.”

Jeffrey Foley, co-owner Apollo Office Systems, Alvin, Texas “We have found digital marketing is the long game. You will not get quick hits numberwise. Stick with it and it will pay dividends in the long run.”

Michael Boyle, president BASE Technologies, Bethel, Connecticut “Hard to say. A 10% response is good. Depending on the size of your market and your digital marketing effort, if you are getting leads that equal 3% of your effort, I would say it’s good.”

Nick Lioce, president The Lioce Group, Huntsville, Alabama Do you have a question for your fellow dealers? If so, email it to brent@bta.org with the subject line: “Dealers Helping Dealers.” BTA will then share your question with the full dealer membership with a request for guidance from your fellow dealers. n Brent Hoskins, executive director of the Business Technology Association, is editor of Office Technology magazine.

He can be reached at brent@bta.org or (816) 303-4040.

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SELLING SOLUTIONS

Customer Relationships

Increasing the number that are based on loyalty by: Troy Harrison, Troy Harrison & Associates

W

e often hear salespeople tout themselves as “relationship salespeople.” It’s a term that should carry significant weight in the world of selling but, unfortunately, it has been watered down through excessive use and misinterpretation. When we dig deeper into what these salespeople mean by “relationship sales,” we find that the majority simply equate it to being liked by their customers, like Stuart Smalley’s affirmation on Saturday Night Live: “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and gosh darn it, my customers like me!” While being liked is undoubtedly valuable, true relationship selling involves much more than that.

To truly succeed in relationship selling, we need to consider several essential elements. At its core, relationship selling revolves around answering two key questions: (1) Can you monetize the relationship? Ultimately, selling is about driving revenue and growing your business. Being liked by customers is essential, but it must translate into tangible results such as increased sales, higher profitability and customer loyalty. If we cannot turn the positive relationships we build into financial gains, then we aren’t truly engaged in effective relationship selling.

(2) Are you getting everything you could? Building strong relationships is not just about closing a single deal, but also about cultivating long-term partnerships. To be successful, we must ensure that we fully capitalize on the potential opportunities with our customers. If our customers are purchasing from our competitors what they could be getting from us, then we are not maximizing our relationships with them. For me, the worst thing a customer can say is, “Wow, I had no idea you did that!”

— after he (or she) has bought from a competitor.

In essence, there are three distinct levels of customer relationships and most salespeople will have customers in each of these categories: (1) The Loyal Customer — The Holy Grail of customer relationships, the Loyal Customer, represents the top of the mountain in relationship selling. These customers not only prefer to buy from us, but they actively resist competitors’ attempts to win their business. We have established strong connections at various levels within their organizations, maintain healthy profit margins and benefit from their positive, word-of-mouth referrals. Ideally, we should strive to convert all customers to this level of loyalty.

(2) The Habitual Buyer — Habitual Buyers can be deceptive, as they might initially appear to be Loyal Customers. However,

they lack the same level of loyalty and flexibility. A slight misstep or a competitor’s strategic move can quickly shift their allegiance. They grant us little leeway and might prevent us from establishing multiple contact points within their organizations. It’s crucial not to confuse Habitual Buyers with Loyal Customers, as we could be blindsided by competitors if we do.

(3) The Occasional Buyer — Occasional Buyers are transient and lack any consistent pattern in their purchases. They do not feel any particular affinity toward us or our competitors; we are merely a source to obtain what they need. Price often plays a significant role in their decisions. In many cases, Occasional Buyers are the result of dealing solely with purchasing agents, which highlights the drawbacks of limiting interactions to this level.

Our aim should be to have a greater number of Loyal Customers than our competitors. Moreover, we need to devise strategies to elevate Habitual Buyers to the status of Loyal Customers and convert Occasional Buyers into Habitual Buyers. Achieving this objective requires diligent effort, thorough preparation and a focused approach to the selling process.

However, it also demands a level of honesty that can be uncomfortable for ego-driven salespeople (and, let’s face it, most of us are). Acknowledging that not all customers are Loyal Customers is tough, but essential for growth.

In today’s business landscape, buyers are more empowered and knowledgeable than ever before. With the abundance of information available online, customers conduct extensive research before making purchasing decisions. They are well-informed about various products and services, and they seek genuine value and solutions that align with their needs. This www.of ficetecthnologymag.com | November 2023 | 29

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your track record of delivering results and heightened level of empowerment placsolving problems will boost confidence in es an even greater emphasis on building Be open to feedback ... your capabilities. meaningful and authentic relationships Act on customer (5) Continuous Improvement — Be with customers. suggestions and open to feedback and continuously strive To cater to this informed customer base, demonstrate your to improve your products, services and cuswe need to move beyond the cliche “relatomer experience. Act on customer suggestionship salesperson” persona and focus dedication to meeting tions and demonstrate your dedication to on becoming true partners and trusted and exceeding their meeting and exceeding their expectations. advisors to our clients. Here are some key expectations.

In conclusion, successful relationship strategies to achieve this: selling goes beyond merely being liked (1) Deepen Our Understanding — Inby customers. It involves monetizing the vest time in understanding your customers’ unique challenges, objectives and pain points. Ask in- quality of the relationship, maximizing business opportunisightful questions and actively listen to their responses. Tailor ties and moving customers from Occasional Buyers to Loyal your solutions to address their specific needs, showcasing Customers. Embrace the empowered and knowledgeable customer of today by becoming a genuine partner and trusted adyour expertise and commitment to their success.

(2) Educate and Add Value — Position yourself as a valu- visor. By employing these strategies, you can forge lasting and able resource by sharing relevant industry insights, trends profitable relationships that will elevate your business to new and best practices with your customers. Providing valuable heights. Your dedication to building strong customer relationinformation not only builds trust, but also positions you as an ships will be rewarded with increased loyalty, higher revenues and continued success. n authority in your field.

(3) Proactive Communication — Regularly engage with Troy Harrison is the author of “Sell Like You Mean It!” and “The Pocket Sales Manager,” and is a speaker, your customers beyond sales-related interactions. Keep them consultant and sales navigator. He helps updated on relevant industry news, upcoming events and new opportunities that might benefit their businesses. Proactive companies build more profitable and productive sales forces. To schedule a free 45-minute Sales communication reinforces your commitment to their success Strategy Review, call (913) 645-3603 or and fosters a stronger bond. email troy@troyharrison.com.

(4) Customer Success Stories — Share success stories and Visit www.troyharrison.com. testimonials from other satisfied customers. Demonstrating

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