September 2016 Office Technology by Business Technology Association

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CONTENTS Volume 23 • No. 3

FEATURE ARTICLES 10

Managed IT Services Partnering to profit from healthy networks

COURTS & CAPITOLS Selling Your Business Ensure the sale is properly structured & equitable

by Robert C. Goldberg BTA General Counsel

by Brent Hoskins Office Technology Magazine

If they have not already moved forward with the opportunity, many office technology dealers still have their eyes on managed IT services. They see declining page volumes on imaging equipment. They also see that a healthy IT network is essential to every successful SMB.

Capture the Magic BTA West hosts event in Las Vegas

The structure of a business sale is always critical. It is not the purchase price, but the net dollars after taxes that count.

P R I N C I PA L I S S U E S ‘One Canon’ Manufacturer hosts analyst summit Aug. 9-10

by Elizabeth Marvel Office Technology Magazine

Canon U.S.A. Inc. laid out its new “One Canon” strategy during the 2016 Canon Analyst Summit held Aug. 9-10 in Melville, New York.

by Brent Hoskins Office Technology Magazine

BTA West hosted its Capture the Magic event Aug. 4-5 at The Mirage in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event featured a keynote session led by Jeff Slutsky of Street Fighter Marketing, six additional educational sessions, a welcoming reception and a Blue Man Group performance at the Luxor Hotel and Casino.

The Appropriate Person This prospecting process has proven to be effective

by Gil Cargill Sales Acceleration Coach

Professional Presentations How to avoid a mayday during your next address

by Tim Votapka Prosperity Plus Management Consulting

She was a great product marketing manager who knew the new system. She was charming, poised and loaded with first-namebasis contacts. Yet, when the time came for her to provide a system orientation to her colleagues, she made some critical presentation errors. This could have been avoided had she listened to some advice ahead of time.

SELLING SOLUTIONS

Safeguarding Website Traffic Secure sockets layer encryption is paramount by Brandon Garcin Continuum Managed Services

The need for effective web security technology cannot be overstated. Data and information have become mission-critical business assets and consumers and businesses regularly transmit highly sensitive material via the web. To protect this data and ensure website traffic is secure, organizations rely on secure sockets layer encryption.

Old-fashioned cold-calling is not nearly as effective today as it once was. I believe this is due to talking to inappropriate people.

Chasing Your ‘Fred’ It is all about the pursuit & where to put your energy

by Troy Harrison Troy Harrison & Associates

In this month’s follow-up article, I am going to talk about how to implement a sales strategy to win your Fred.

D E PA R T M E N T S Business Technology Association

• Education Calendar • BTA Highlights

Executive Director’s Page

BTA President’s Message

Advertiser Index

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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S PAGE

BTA’s ProFinance 2.0 to be Held Oct. 5-6

f you are like most office technology dealership principals, you are always looking for ways to improve the performance of your business. BTA’s ProFinance 2.0 workshop can help you meet your financial goals and get you on the road to success. Over the past 15 years, ProFinance has helped hundreds of attendees improve the profitability of their businesses. The ProFinance workshop teaches the industry model for success, including more than 30 key benchmarks. The concepts taught will help you and your team achieve double-digit operating income. ProFinance 2.0, taught by John Hey and Todd Johnson of Strategic Business Associates, provides hands-on training that will give you practical ideas you can put into action immediately. By learning proven sales and service plans, effective management bonus programs and critical organizational strategies, the workshop will give you and your company a competitive edge. ProFinance 2.0 has received positive reviews from attendees throughout the years: n “As a newcomer to the copier business, I found this workshop very informative and enjoyed the interaction with other companies, hearing their challenges.” — Carmella Sieckmann, Copier Fax Business Technologies Inc., Buffalo, New York n “I thoroughly enjoyed this class and felt that I learned something from every section. However, the financial model was key. I wish I had done this sooner.” — Jeff Grimes, Graffen Business Systems Inc., Conshohocken, Pennsylvania n “The workshop provided me with greater insight and a better understanding of the financial benchmark tool. This will

help me make better decisions as a manager to help our company meet our goals. I felt that John Hey and Todd Johnson did an excellent job presenting the material and showed their exceptional knowledge of our industry.” — John Welch, Southwest Office Systems Inc., Dallas, Texas n “This course was very well done. The presenters were obviously knowledgeable and knew their material; they presented it flawlessly. Great job!”— Scott Benson, Toshiba Business Solutions, Rochester, New York n “If you are an equipment dealer, you need to understand the model. Even if you don’t implement it, you need to understand it for baseline purposes.” — Daniel Bombard, Yuma Office Equipment, Yuma, Arizona n “It was very good to get a perspective on the various opportunities: MPS, MFPs, IT, etc., and their relative value.” — Bill Dempsey, H.L. Dempsey Co. Inc., West Spring field, Massachusetts The next ProFinance 2.0 workshop will be held Oct. 5-6 at BTA member dealership All Copy Products, located in Denver, Colorado. Thank you, All Copy Products, for hosting the workshop at your Auraria Building location. BTA member tuition is $1,395 and an additional attendee from the same dealership is $1,115. BTA members may apply their $150 or $250 educational discount received with their membership toward the registration fee, though discounts do not apply to additional registrations. Non-member tuition is $1,825 and includes a one-year BTA dealer membership. BTA members can attend for 50 percent off the member price if they have already attended ProFinance but would like to refresh their knowledge and obtain the new model. For more information or to register, visit www.bta.org/ ProFinance or see the ad on page 31. 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 Gil Cargill, Sales Acceleration Coach www.gilcargill.com Brandon Garcin, Continuum Managed Services www.continuum.net Robert C. Goldberg, General Counsel Business Technology Association Troy Harrison, Troy Harrison & Associates www.troyharrison.com Tim Votapka, Prosperity Plus Management Consulting www.prosperityplus.com

Business Technology Association 12411 Wornall Road Kansas City, MO 64145 (816) 941-3100 www.bta.org Member Services: (800) 505-2821 BTA Legal Hotline: (800) 869-6688 Valerie Briseno Membership Marketing Manager valerie@bta.org Mary Hopkins Database Administrator mary@bta.org Teresa Leerar Bookkeeper teresa@bta.org Brian Smith Membership Sales Representative brian@bta.org Photo Credits: Bigstockphoto. Cover created by Bruce Quade, Brand X Studio. ©2016 by the Business Technology Association. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced by any means without the written permission of the publisher. Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of published material. However, the publisher assumes no liability for errors in articles nor are opinions expressed necessarily those of the publisher.

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BTA PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

2016 BTA BEQI Now Available to Dealers

very three years, the Business Technology Association (BTA) releases the Business Equipment Quota Index (BEQI), which provides market potential (product demand) indices for monochrome and color MFPs, monochrome and color singlefunction laser printers and large-format printers. The BEQI is commonly used to measure market potential, evaluate and assign territories, set sales quotas, measure sales performance, allocate advertising dollars and select test markets. I am pleased to announce the ninth edition of the BEQI is now available. Based on the results of a comprehensive survey of decision-makers conducted on behalf of BTA by Crain Associates Research LLC, the 2016 BEQI provides market potential indices for all U.S. sales territories including states, metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), counties and ZIP codes. The BEQI includes index numbers, by geography, corresponding to 17 categories of MFPs, single-function printers and largeformat printers, based on speed ranges and color versus monochrome. In the monochrome category: 1-20 pageper-minute (ppm) MFPs; 21-30 ppm MFPs; 31-69 ppm MFPs; 70-plus ppm MFPs; all monochrome MFPs combined; singlefunction monochrome laser printers in each of the four speed categories (1-20, 21-30, 31-69 and 70-plus ppm); and all single-function monochrome laser printers combined. In the color category: 1-20 ppm MFPs; 21-30 ppm MFPs; 31-69 ppm MFPs; 70-plus ppm MFPs; all color MFPs combined; single-function color laser printers in each of the four speed categories (1-20, 21-30, 31-69 and 70-plus ppm); and all color laser printers combined. In addition, the

BEQI provides indices for all monochrome and color MFPs combined and large-format (inkjet and laser) printers. The BEQI index numbers are based on two data sources: Census Bureau data and the responses to a web-based survey of 1,225 decision-makers across 13 industries regarding the amount of equipment purchased in 2015 (actual purchases), and purchases planned for 2016 and 2017. To derive the BEQI indices, ratios of equipment purchases per employee were computed at the industry level and then applied to the distribution of employment by industry at each geographic level. A BEQI user can compute a particular geography’s market potential for any of the product categories listed in the BEQI using the forecasted unit placements from market research firm IDC, which are included in the User’s Guide. IDC has provided actual unit placements for 2015 and forecasted unit placements for 2016 through 2018. Here is one example of how you can use the BEQI: Say your dealership’s service area includes the 80123 ZIP code in Denver, Colorado, and you wish to determine how many total color MFPs you can expect to sell in that ZIP code in 2017. The BEQI number for this ZIP code for total color MFPs in 2017 is .00017714. IDC forecasts that 1,045,449 color MFPs will be placed in the U.S. market in 2017. By using the index, you can compute that, for the 80123 ZIP code, your market potential for the product category is 185 units (rounded) in 2017 (.00017714 multiplied by 1,045,449 is 185.19). This is just one example of market potential numbers that can be derived using the BEQI. Remember, the BEQI provides indices for every U.S. ZIP code for each of the product categories included. Order the BEQI for your state or MSA at www.bta.org/BEQI. n — Rob Richardson

2016-2017 Board of Directors President Rob Richardson Allied Document Solutions & Services Inc. Swedesboro, New Jersey robr@ads-s.com President-Elect Dan Castaneda International Copy Machine Center El Paso, Texas dan@icmc-elp.com Vice President John Eckstrom Carolina Business Equipment Inc. Columbia, South Carolina johne@cbesc.com BTA East Jim Donnellon ABS Business Products Inc. Cincinnati, Ohio j.donnellon@absproducts.com Greg Gondek ACT Group Cromwell, Connecticut greg@advancedcopy.com BTA Mid-America Erik Crane Copy Products Inc. Springfield, Missouri ecrane@copyproductsinc.net Bob Evans Function4 Sugar Land, Texas bobevans@digiteconline.com BTA Southeast Brian Snow Tallahassee, Florida Advanced Business Systems bsnow@a-b-s.com Tim Renegar Kelly Office Solutions Winston-Salem, North Carolina trenegar@kellyofficesolutions.com BTA West John Hines Copiers Northwest Inc. Seattle, Washington jhines@copiersnw.com Cathy Dimon Northern Business Systems Fairbanks, Alaska cdimon@acsalaska.net Immediate Past President Dave Quint Advanced Systems Inc. Waterloo, Iowa dquint@asiowa.com Ex-Officio/General Counsel Robert C. Goldberg Schoenberg Finkel Newman & Rosenberg LLC Chicago, Illinois robert.goldberg@sfnr.com

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Managed IT Services Partnering to profit from healthy networks by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine

f they have not already moved forward with the opportunity, many office technology dealers still have their eyes on managed IT services. They see declining page volumes on imaging equipment. They see the changing nature of the workforce with the rise of millennials and mobility. They also see that a healthy IT network is essential to every successful SMB. Meanwhile, dealers are hearing phrases such as the “need to diversify” and “industry transformation” with a focus on capturing additional revenue streams. Consequently, dealers are looking to the future with great anticipation, diligently seeking the best path to ongoing success. Since its inception, the industry has focused on documents and information in the workplace. That will not change. And, of course, dealers have made a great living from imaging technology and will continue to do so into the foreseeable future. Still, there is the present-day matter of diversification and transformation. Increasingly, the quest is leading dealers to — among other opportunities — managed IT services. Some dealers have built a managed IT services department or division themselves. Many others have acquired local managed services providers (MSPs), securing the desired expertise. The third option is to partner. As dealers have increasingly turned their eyes to the industry’s wouldbe vendor partners, those vendors are looking to the independent dealer channel — and they like what they see. “Office technology dealers are perfectly suited to do this, without even realizing it,” says Michael Amiri, senior director of dealer services for Continuum Managed Services. “Dealers are really good at selling monthly contracts to their customers. That’s exactly the synergy they have with IT, because that’s how you want to go to market and deliver these services. Dealers have been hanging hardware on networks for decades. So, there isn’t really too much of a variance here, other than just understanding how to get started.” BTA Channel dealers “have an excellent, trusted brand name in their communities,” Amiri continues. “They are well

suited to being one-stop shops, and I’m including everything — from copy and print to IT to voice over IP, etc. It makes perfect sense for them to diversify their product offerings if they are trying to position themselves for the future and ensure their long-term success, especially from a financial perspective.” J.P. Jauvin, general manager of SolarWinds Nable, offers a similar perspective. “Office technology dealers have historically been viewed as trusted advisors to their customers and they can leverage that status by providing other types of services,” he says. “Traditionally, they have very good sales forces and a very good understanding of their customers and their needs.” The BTA Channel’s reputation for quality sales forces and the resulting success is an important distinction, Jauvin says. “To some extent, that may give dealers a leg up over traditional IT services companies,” he says. “The reason I say that is because dealers tend to have a large pool of customers — and those customers likely have been customers for a long time. So, dealers already have a ‘foot in the door.’ It’s an easy transition for them to start exploring and qualifying customers for managed IT services.” Accolades aside, what would a partnership with companies like Continuum or SolarWinds N-able provide dealers interested in pursuing the managed IT services opportunity? “We help dealers clear the hurdle of what’s most important in delivering IT services — the labor arbitrage dilemma of who’s going to do the work behind the scenes for them,” Amiri says. “Oftentimes, the office technology dealership does not have an internal IT department that can deliver the labor force that is absolutely critical, so we provide that through a very specific partner program that includes a comprehensive business plan to succeed.” Specifically, the Continuum IT Management Platform provides remote monitoring and management (RMM) software and back-up disaster recovery (BDR) software that supports the IT infrastructures of dealers’ customers. In addition, Continuum offers a network operations center

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points. However, once the (NOC) team of 700 and a helpminutiae of the IT condesk team of more than 200 “Continuum is able to versation gets to the technicians. “Continuum is able handle the daily IT issues point where the rep needs to handle the daily IT issues reremotely ... which is often some help, the VCIO is motely under the branding of about 90-percent-plus of the critical in helping with the dealership itself, which is time. However, just like copy the sales process.” often about 90-percent-plus of and print issues, every once Similarly, SolarWinds the time,” Amiri says. “However, N-able provides N-cenjust like copy and print issues, in a while, you do have to tral RMM software and every once in a while, you do visit a device or network ... physically ... ” a broad range of suphave to visit a device or network — Michael Amiri port tools to help dealto address something physicalContinuum Managed Services ers achieve success in ly at the customer location.” managed IT services. The on-site visits are handled by a dealership IT technician, Amiri says, noting However, it does not directly provide a NOC or help desk to that the technician is one of a minimum of two IT staff dealers. “We have alliances with companies that do offer a members the dealership must employ. “The other and NOC and help desk,” Jauvin says. The company teams with most critical of the two is the VCIO [virtual chief informa- Inbay to offer NOC services, for example. “These alliances tion officer] — the ‘IT specialist,’ if you will,” he says. “The have certainly been popular with a lot of our office technolaverage hardware sales rep does what good sales reps ogy dealer partners.” Jauvin emphasizes that beyond its N-central RMM softdo, which is to manage relationships and identify pain ware, the company helps dealers expedite the learning process. “They want to go to market quickly and efficiently, and we have a whole array of business services to assist them,” he says. “We have a library of best practices, go-to-market strategies and technical runbooks. We also have a lot of sales enablement materials to help owners understand who noun their customers are, what types of services they can sell, /ˈrēˌbāt/ how to price them, how profitable those services are going to be and what the ROI is going to be. So, if you are a copier 1. a partial refund to someone who dealer and you have never offered managed IT services in has paid too much money for the past, we can be of great assistance.” goods, services, or taxes. There are, of course, other companies that provide prod2. a common sales tool that locks ucts and services to dealers interested in pursuing mancustomers into paying a high upfront aged IT services. Collabrance LLC, a GreatAmerica Finanprice and limits purchasing power. cial Services company, for example, offers dealers an RMM platform, a help desk and NOC. All Covered does the same Q2- Best prices every day. for Konica Minolta dealers. Meanwhile, ConnectWise offers No quotas, no rebates, no games. a business management platform, called the ConnectWise Business Suite, used by office technology dealers and others to manage the service, sales, marketing, help desk, project management and business analytics of managed IT services. “If dealers have an interest in moving into managed IT services, we have the end-to-end tools to help them make that transition,” says Mark Sokol, vice president of brand and corporate marketing for ConnectWise. He adds, however, that success in making the transition only comes when the dealer is fully committed to the managed IT services opportunity. “It comes down to his or her level of commitment. Let’s say that we’re ‘on top of the mountain’ trying to help 888-826-2576 | custsvc@q2products.com | Q2Products.com the dealer up. If that person doesn’t want to get up there,

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may fit into their long-term then we’ve done all we can.” strategies,” he says. “Today, Being fully committed “I expect the channel to be I really think this is becomis paramount for the office one of the fastest growing ing the number-one driving technology dealership’s sucsegments for SolarWinds. force behind the transition cess in managed IT services, And, as the adoption of of this industry.” Amiri concurs. “We always managed IT services in Jauvin sees the growing make sure that the execuSMB accelerates, I expect the promise of the BTA Channel tive team, from the top channel is going to be ... well as well. “It is absolutely a stradown, is absolutely serious tegic growth market for us,” about doing this and clearly positioned to capitalize on the opportunity.” he says. “I expect the channel understands what is going — J.P. Jauvin to be one of the fastest growto be necessary,” he says. “If SolarWinds N-able ing segments for SolarWinds. management is truly comAnd, as the adoption of manmitted, it will trickle down throughout the entire organization to be ‘we are going to aged IT services in SMBs accelerates, I expect promote a diverse product menu within our dealership that the channel is going to be extremely well positioned to capitalize on the opportunity.” n perfectly positions us for the future.’” Brent Hoskins, executive director of the Increasingly, BTA Channel dealers are making the comBusiness Technology Association, is editor mitment and moving forward with managed IT services, of Office Technology magazine. He can be Amiri says. Five years ago, office technology dealers “were reached at brent@bta.org or (816) 303-4040. just keeping an eye on this, trying to understand how this

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Capture the Magic BTA West hosts event in Las Vegas by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine

TA West hosted its Capture the Magic event Aug. 4-5 at The Mirage in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event featured a keynote session, “Street Fighter Marketing: Out-Thinking, Not Out-Spending, Your Competition,” led by Jeff Slutsky of Street Fighter Marketing, six additional educational sessions, a welcoming reception and a Blue Man Group performance at the Luxor Hotel and Casino. The additional educational sessions were: “Understanding & Leveraging the XQ Factor of Your Employees,” led by Joe Keshmiri and Cyrus Kennedy of XQ Innovation; “The Ten Commandments of New Revenue Growth,” led by Steve Rolla of Pros Elite Group; “How to Increase Sales & Retain Accounts in the New Era of Office Technology,” led by Ed McLaughlin of Valderus and Rick Reynolds of AskForensics; “Seat-Based Billing for Managed Print,” led by West McDonald of Print Audit and FocusMPS; “End-inMind Hiring,” led by Troy Harrison of Troy Harrison & Associates; and “Key Trends in the Hardware & Consumables Markets,” led by Charles Brewer of Actionable Intelligence. The exhibiting sponsors: ACCRAM, ACDI, Agent Dealer, BEI Services, Brother, Carolina Wholesale, Compass, Continuum, DCS, Digitek, DocuWare, ECi e-automate, ECi FMAudit, ESP/Ametek, EverBank, Evolved Office, Falcon Technology Solutions, GreatAmerica, Gwentaa (breakfast sponsor), Impression Solutions, Innovolt, Laserfiche, Laser Pros International, LCA, LEAF, Lexmark, LMI, Muratec, OKI, Panasonic (breaks sponsor), PHSI, Plustek, ProcureIT (lunch sponsor), Q2, Smart Power Systems, Supplies Network, SYNNEX, Tigerpaw, TonerCycle/ InkCycle, Toshiba, Wells Fargo, Xerox (reception sponsor) and XQ Innovation. BTA’s final event of 2016, the Fall Colors Retreat, hosted by BTA Southeast, will be held Oct. 21-22 in Asheville, North Carolina. For more information, visit www.bta.org/ BTASoutheastEvent or see the ad on page 2. 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.

Clockwise from top: Jeff Slutsky presents the keynote session; (left to right) Mark and Bill Matthews of Business Equipment Center Inc., Memphis, Tennessee, visit with Ron Doebler of Impression Solutions; Kevin Logan of Omega Office Systems Inc., Sarasota, Florida, asks a question during a session; Mary Williams of DocuWare visits with Robert Moore of Lockwood Moore Inc., Reno, Nevada; and 2016-17 BTA West President Mike Brandon of ABC Office Equipment Co., Spokane, Washington, served as the event’s emcee.

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The Key Trends A

Clockwise from above left: (left to right) Jay and Mark Watson of CDS Office Technologies, Springfield, Illinois, visit with Michael Kidd of U.S. Business Systems Inc., Elkhart, Indiana; (left to right) Howard Brooks of BESCO, North Las Vegas, Nevada, visits with Ernie Browning of Lexmark International; and attendees enjoy lunch on the second day of Capture the Magic.

Capture the Magic included six additional educational sessions led by industry experts. Top row, left to right: presenters Keshmiri, Kennedy and Rolla. Second row, left to right: McLaughlin, Reynolds and McDonald. Third row, left to right: Harrison and Brewer.

mong the educational sessions presented at the Capture the Magic event was “Key Trends in the Hardware & Consumables Markets,” presented by Charles Brewer, president and founder of Actionable Intelligence. The session detailed, in part, major trends shaping the industry and how technologies continue to evolve to better accommodate end-user needs. Brewer began by acknowledging the decline of the imaging industry, noting that a recent report from market research firm IDC indicates that the first quarter of 2016 was the eighth consecutive quarter of decline for the industry. “I’m not telling anybody in this room something that they don’t know,” he said. “All of the hardware vendors that we follow had a weak first quarter, whether they were Japanese or U.S. companies.” Despite the declines in the industry, “the fact is, it is actually a huge market,” Brewer said. “If we just look at SOHO and office devices, and throw in supplies, media and services — all those different things — it’s easily more than $100 billion worldwide. This is an enormous market. A lot of the trouble we’re seeing with the vendors is in regions outside of the United States. Everyone is saying now that they expect to see some recovery next year.” Brewer also emphasized the impact of the continued decline in unemployment in the United States. “I think everyone knows that the printing industry ties directly with employment,” he said. “If you look at the printing volumes for the paper industry, it tracks about a quarter behind what’s happening with employment. So, good employment figures are really good for the hard-copy industry.” In addition, Brewer said, the average sales price for MFPs is up. “So, even though our installed base is shrinking, the value of the equipment that is out there is higher and the volumes that they can produce is higher as well,” he said. “So I think that speaks to profitability and there’s a lot of good to be seen in that.” In terms of both hardware and supplies, “even at this late date, we’re seeing all kinds of changes,” Brewer said. “For example, the light source now is moving from laser to LED, and that allows for a smaller footprint; most of the major vendors now offer some type of LED device. In addition, we are seeing that there are new toner sets and new toner formulations coming out. A lot of these new toners are based on a polyester resin. Polyester has a lower melting point and, as a result of that, you’re able to get a smaller fuser and better energy consumption.” Similarly, on the ink side, ink formulations are “being tweaked,” Brewer said, noting that with today’s faster machines, ink needs to dry more quickly. “Also, we’re seeing some of the vendors move back to the old dye-based ink sets in an attempt to bring the cost per page down to make the margins a little bit better.” Among other noteworthy trends cited by Brewer: the continued rise of imaging hardware devices within business processes; improved front-panel displays; and more solutions targeting vertical sales opportunities. In addressing the question, “What’s hot?,” Brewer cited three market segments: business inkjet, especially page-wide inkjet; CISS high-capacity ink-tank inkjets; and color laser/LED MFPs, especially A4, but also A3. In contrast, in addressing the question, “What’s not?,” Brewer listed consumer cartridge-based inkjets; low-end color laser/LED, especially printers; and mono laser/LED devices, which are feeling the impact of the market slowdown. n —Brent Hoskins www.offi cetechnol ogymag.com | Se p te mb e r 2016 | 17

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Professional Presentations How to avoid a mayday during your next address by: Tim Votapka, Prosperity Plus Management Consulting Inc.

he was a great product marketing manager who knew the new system and how to position it against much larger rivals in the market. She was charming, poised and loaded with first-name-basis contacts. Yet, when the time came for her to provide a system orientation to her colleagues at the company’s annual sales meeting, she made some critical presentation errors that cost her her credibility. This could have been avoided had she listened to some practical advice ahead of time. Now, in her defense, there was a great deal of information to be assimilated on this new flagship system: its features, benefits and unique selling propositions (USPs). The product manager desperately wanted to impress her new peers with how much data she had already absorbed and that was the point where she started to veer toward the rocks. When she started to map out the overall structure of her presentation, it was clear early on that she intended to create dozens of PowerPoint slides loaded with paragraphs of text. This is a common faux pas many presenters commit, and it is made even worse when it is done in an auditorium or hotel ballroom. If humans had the eyes of eagles, they would be able to see an ant crawling on the ground from the roof of a 10-story building, but they do not. This means people cannot read — or be impressed with — words that are piled waist-high on a slide that is seen from a number of feet away from the screen. It does not work visually and it does not convey the idea that the presenter is the source of the data. This is something people easily neglect to consider as they create their PowerPoint presentations. Whether you use PowerPoint or one of the more modern tools of the trade, do not assume text means power. Visuals communicate concepts far better than words do, so be sensitive to that as you frame your thoughts beforehand.

Rely on good, old-fashioned storytelling to be at the core of your presentation. Steve Jobs mastered storytelling. Watch YouTube videos of him as he introduced new Apple products. You will not see a pile of words on any of his slides. Forget the fact that he was the CEO of the top tech company on the planet. He wore a black turtleneck and jeans, looked into the eyes of his audience members and simply told them what he wanted to say and have them understand. Never a Dull Moment In the broadcasting business, dead air is something that puts producers into convulsions. In corporate presentations, dead air is the silence one experiences when flipping from one slide to the next, or when toggling between apps when they fail due to a sketchy Wi-Fi connection. Worse yet, it is the silent lag that occurs when a speaker asks his (or her) audience for any questions at the conclusion of his presentation. Cricket-chirping moments like this are avoidable when you have good control over the session. Do not hesitate to “work the crowd.” Imagine that you are leading your listeners along like a tour guide at a museum or a historic venue. Be sure everyone can hear you and see you, even if it requires you to walk around a bit. Lavalier microphones are the best invention for public speaking since the dawn of projectors, so use them whenever you are going to be in a large conference venue. However, be sure to shut your microphone off immediately after you have completed your session. You do not want sidebar conversations hitting the air afterward. On the other hand, do not be afraid of silence either. Making dramatic pauses is a very effective technique for a wide variety of reasons. Pauses can allow you to gather your thoughts between sections or give you an opportunity to let something

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MWAi ad Sept 16.indd 1

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Inject your own perspective into your linger for a moment for emphasis, or to Ask for feedback. data and be a little wry here and there. build anticipation for your next point. For example, if you have a significant You can even assume the viewpoint of Do not accept polite point that really needs to stand out, creyour audience and use the moment to adapplause as the ultimate ate a metaphor or an analogy that almire the data you just proffered. This puts indicator of how well lows the audience members to grasp the you on the same side of the moat as your you did. Do this a concept in an order of comparable magaudience members for a second, which is couple of times during nitude. Then ask them if it makes sense. very useful for generating further agreeGet a show of hands on who would agree ment that they are willing to hear more. your presentation ... with the benefit or ask audience memSome of the most popular writers and bers to stand up if they agree. Be brave comedians in entertainment have used this technique for years by telling amusing stories about enough to engage. Step down from the stage and give them their families and childhoods. They, too, can be Googled for high fives. This will get the blood pumping and will snap a the sake of demonstration. Garrison Keillor, Billy Crystal and few more people out of their discrete texting. Webinars are different, but most of the same rules still apeven the energetic Kevin Hart are all good examples. I am not suggesting you try to be a comedian, although a ply. While you cannot see your audience members and interlittle levity does not hurt. Sometimes product introductions act with them as much as you can in a face-to-face setting, can be boring if you start to drill down into technical minuti- you can still provide a presentation that does not have the ae that do not make sense to sales reps. If you have to present same effect as, say, general anesthesia. In a webinar setting, a few key bullet points about bells and whistles, do it quickly it is generally a good idea to have a second person on hand as and be sure to define potentially confusing technical terms. a facilitator or “host” who can introduce you and provide an additional voice that will reiterate key points or share some of the narrative while operating the behind-the-scenes communication that is typical during most webinars. Another point: Ask for feedback. Do not accept polite applause as the ultimate indicator of how well you did. Do this a couple of times during your presentation, too — not just at the end. This will communicate something very key to your audience members: That you sincerely want them to get something valuable from your presentation, whether you are training reps on how to sell a new system (as the product manager I mentioned earlier wanted to do) or you are the keynote speaker at an industry conference. Plenty of advance rehearsal — even if you address a blank wall three feet in front of you — will make you so at ease with your material that going off script will not be a problem at all. One final point: Bring in some help from the outside — someone who has witnessed just about every type of presentation style you can imagine, from the very shy and timid to the bold and know-it-all. If you golf, you tend to accept advice on your swing. If you have a child playing little-league baseball, you like it when the coach works with him on his batting stance. So why not apply the same mindset to your presentations and be the product manager everyone wants to hear from during the next big meeting? n Tim Votapka is vice president and director of marketing services for Prosperity Plus Management Consulting Inc. He can be reached at (631) 382-7762 or tvotapka@prosperityplus.com. Visit www.prosperityplus.com. 20 | w w w. o f f ic et ec hno lo g y m a g.c om | S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 6

Votapka Sept 16.indd 2

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www.offi cetechnol ogymag.com | Se p te mb e r 2016 | 21

Express Sales-ProFinance ads Sept 16.indd 1

9/2/16 2:36 PM

Safeguarding Website Traffic Secure sockets layer encryption is paramount by: Brandon Garcin, Continuum Managed Services

he need for effective web security technology cannot be overstated. Data and information have become mission-critical business assets, and consumers and businesses regularly transmit highly sensitive material via the web. When in transit, this sensitive information — credit card numbers, usernames and passwords, billing and shipping information, etc. — is at risk of being intercepted by hackers, malware or other cybersecurity attacks. If captured, the resulting consequences can be severe for both the user whose information is compromised and the organization or website from which it was taken. To protect this data and ensure that website traffic is secure, organizations rely on secure sockets layer (SSL) encryption. SSL is the industry-standard security certificate technology for data encryption when information is requested and communicated between a web browser and a server. It is worth noting that SSL has technically evolved into transport layer security (TLS), however SSL is still a commonly used acronym today. How it Works SSL functions using a “handshake,” where information is transmitted back and forth between a web browser and a server. This verifies that a valid security certificate is in place and that the website being accessed can be trusted. The handshake is completed using three encryption keys: a public key, a private key and a session key. Public and private keys are used to establish the initial connection between a browser and a server; any information encrypted via a private key can only be decrypted with its corresponding public key, and vice versa. Once the handshake is completed and a secure connection is established, a session key is created that encrypts all communicated data during the actual website visit. Why Businesses Need SSL As cybercriminals and web security threats become increasingly complex and widespread, SSL technology is

quickly becoming a must-have for businesses across all industries. Perhaps the most obvious use case for leveraging an encrypted connection (where it is, in fact, a requirement) is with e-commerce websites, as purchases are being made and payment information is being entered and processed. Today, however, users enter all sorts of personal information outside of the “shopping cart” used when making online purchases — they subscribe to newsletters and blogs, fill out forms to download content assets and marketing materials, download free software trials and updates, and more. An SSL certificate protects the flow of information to and from all areas of a website, and is needed to ensure traffic and visitors are protected at all times. It is also a matter of user experience, and ensuring website visitors feel safe and confident that any information entered is being transmitted securely and without risk of interception. Many users are now accustomed to looking for a small padlock icon next to a URL, “https” at the beginning of a URL or some similar indicator that the website they are looking at is secure. Many firewalls and protection mechanisms will also prevent users from accessing non-secure websites (or, at a minimum, show a pop-up to warn visitors that information entered may not be secure). If a valid certificate is not in place and these warnings are on display, potential customers may hesitate to fill out any forms or provide information. They may simply move on to another website to find what they are looking for. For businesses offering any products, services or solutions where security is involved (i.e., managed IT services, document management, security software, etc.), it does not make a great first impression if the company’s website’s security is not up to par. There are also search engine optimization (SEO) considerations to keep in mind. Google looks for SSL certificates in its search algorithm, meaning businesses with websites that have valid certificates are more likely to appear in search results than those without them.

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Garcin Sept 16.indd 1

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security today and should be employed Acquiring a Certificate SSL certificate by businesses of all sizes, across all inThe good news is that it is not very dustries. It provides visitors with peace of difficult to get an SSL certificate. There technology plays a mind and confidence when visiting webare a number of well-known certificate critical role in website sites, submitting information, filling out authorities (CAs) like Comodo, DigiCert, security today and forms and engaging with web content, SSL.com, GlobalSign and others that can should be employed by and it helps businesses ensure that data issue these certificates at varying price businesses of all sizes, being transmitted to and from their webpoints. The first step in acquiring one is sites is not at risk of being exposed or inidentifying what type of certificate you across all industries. tercepted via an attack or outside party. n will need, depending on the number of Brandon Garcin is a content marketing domains and subdomains you are manmanager at Continuum Managed Services. He is aging and the desired level of security or validation. responsible for the creation and execution of a variety of Once this is determined, a Certificate Signing Request resources designed to win new business and support (CSR) must be created. It includes information unique to existing customer accounts. He has authored your website such as its IP address, company name, locamore than 12 e-books and has consulted with tion and domain, as well as the public key you will use for hundreds of Continuum partners. Garcin is encryption. Once submitted, a CA can review the informaalso the host of The Weekly Byte, a video and tion provided and create and issue your SSL certificate. audio series produced by Continuum. He can be reached at brandon.garcin@continuum.net. A Critical Role PCIAUG.ProAdF.pdf 1 7/27/16 11:09 AM Visit www.continuum.net. SSL certificate technology plays a critical role in website

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COURTS & CAPITOLS

Selling Your Business Ensure the sale is properly structured & equitable by: Robert C. Goldberg, general counsel for the Business Technology Association

ver the years, I have been involved in the sales of countless dealerships. In some instances, business owners have sold their companies and enjoyed life during their non-compete terms, but at some point decided to go back into business, only to sell their companies again later. The relationships dealers establish with their customers are long lasting. End users become accustomed to a level of service that, if not maintained following a business’ sale, is welcomed back when offered. The structure of a sale is always critical. It is not the purchase price, but the net dollars after taxes that count. The first question to resolve in a purchase is whether the buyer is purchasing stock or assets. A stock transaction favors the seller. An asset purchase does not come with the same liabilities, although the liabilities of a stock purchase can be addressed in the sales document. If a dealership is a “C” corporation that has not elected Subchapter S status, a stock sale is very important in order to avoid double taxation of the transaction. A sale of stock will be taxed as a capital gain, which has a lower rate. When Alco Standard was purchasing dealerships, many owners pleaded for a large portion of the purchase price to be paid in Alco Standard stock, which was rising at a significant rate. Today, a cash and stock transaction is seldom offered. Often, a buyer will offer an all-cash purchase with the holdback of an agreed amount to protect the buyer from possible events that would affect the value of the business. Sometimes buyers will initially propose a cash portion of the sale price coupled with an earnout. Sellers should avoid an earnout of any significant portion of the sale price. I usually advise the seller that he (or she) should consider the cash price as the full price and decide if that amount is adequate for the sale of the business. Typically, a buyer defers paying the full purchase price until an established target is achieved. The target could be a financial result, a sales amount or the retention of a set number of end users. Usually, the target must be reached within an established period of time. It is even possible that there will be several earnouts spread over numerous time periods. Many earnouts will accelerate on the occurrence of certain events — usually the sale of the business or the termination of a key employee. Sellers should be cautious when an earnout is proposed. Experienced deal professionals know that buyers can find numerous ways to avoid paying earnouts, either by deferring

revenues, restructuring the company post-closing or prioritizing other lines of business until the earnout period has elapsed. As a seller, you have no voice in the operations of your former company. To be clear, earnouts are not always bad. They often serve as effective tools to align incentives between the seller and buyer to ensure a smooth transition. Or they may be used to reconcile differences in the valuation of a company between an enthusiastic seller and a skeptical buyer. In resolving a disputed earnout, one court observed: “Earnouts all too often transform current disagreements over price into future litigation over outcome.” Selling your business is one of the most important events in your career. Making sure the sale is properly structured, and is fair and equitable to both the buyer and seller, is ideal. The office technology industry has seen hundreds of sales and a keen awareness of the process has been established. Do not go it alone, but seek competent and experienced assistance. BTA members can always contact the BTA Legal Hotline for answers. n Robert C. Goldberg is general counsel for the Business Technology Association. He can be reached at robert.goldberg@sfnr.com.

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EDUCATION CALENDAR September 22

Building My Business Webinar: “How to Increase Sales & Retain Accounts in the New Era of Office Technology” The office technology industry is evolving and changing in major ways. It was a transactional world, but has since shifted to a high-performance service industry. How prepared is your dealership to win new sales and retain existing accounts in this ultra-competitive industry? If you want to win in this new era, your company has to become adept at uncovering what customers really want. This webinar, led by Rick Reynolds of AskForensics, will address real-world examples and strategies for uncovering client needs and identifying areas of vulnerability in accounts before it is too late. It will also address the often undetected, not-so-obvious cracks in client relationships that put critical client accounts “at risk,” according to sales and account retention data from the AskForensics Knowledgebase of more than $14 billion worth of contracts and proposals of enterprise companies. Visit www.bta.org/BuildingMyBusiness to register.

October 5-6

ProFinance 2.0 Denver, Colorado Over the last 15 years, the principles of ProFinance have dramatically improved the performance of hundreds of dealerships. Now, with color, connectivity, software, managed print services (MPS) and managed network services (MNS), the business has changed — and ProFinance has changed with it. Taught by John Hey and Todd Johnson of Strategic Business Associates, ProFinance 2.0 incorporates these changes into the industry model, including benchmarks for MPS. With more than 30 key benchmarks, this management tool will help you and your team achieve double-digit operating income. Visit www.bta.org/ProFinance to register.

21-22 Fall Colors Retreat - Hosted by BTA Southeast Asheville, North Carolina Planned and hosted by the dealer volunteer leadership team of BTA Southeast, the Fall Colors Retreat will feature a dealer panel, exhibitor round-table discussions and three educational sessions specifically selected for today’s office technology dealers. In addition, the event agenda includes great networking opportunities — a private guided tour of the Biltmore Estate, dinner at the Biltmore’s Lioncrest Veranda on Friday evening, and a cocktail reception and dinner at the hotel on Saturday evening. In addition, there will be time to visit with exhibiting sponsors, many of which will hold drawings for great prizes. Dealer attendees can also enter the BTA Events Sweepstakes at the event. BTA member dealers receive 2-for-1 registration. Visit www.bta. org/BTASoutheastEvent to register. For more information, visit www.bta.org/Education or call (800) 843-5059.

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Calendar Sept 16.indd 1

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BTA HIGHLIGHTS BTAâ&#x20AC;&#x2C6;would like to welcome the following new members to the association:

Dealer Members American Business Equipment, Hopedale, MA Bay Business Machines, Lincoln, RI C3 Technology Services, Santa Ana, CA Choice Office Equipment & Supplies, Willowbrook, IL Connected Office Technologies, Portland, ME Electronic Office Products, Saratoga Springs, NY Vendor Associate Members Fujifilm North America Corp., Edison, NJ ProcureIT, Mesa, AZ For full contact information of these new members, visit www.bta.org. UPS Savings Program Through the UPS Savings Program, you can save up to 36 percent when you ship with UPS, plus a 50-percent discount on select services for up to four weeks after you enroll. Whether you are shipping air or ground, you will get same-day pickup with one driver for all of your shipments. Save on a broad portfolio of shipping services, including: Up to 36 percent on UPS Air letters, including UPS Next Day Air; up to 32 percent on UPS Air packages; up to 34 percent on UPS International imports and exports; up to 24 percent on UPS Ground shipments; and more. Visit www.bta.org/UPS for more information. 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 or Service Associate members in this space. BTA Vendor Associate member Fujifilm Service has been providing best-in-class on-site depot repair and helpdesk support to its customers since 1983. With state-of-the-art infrastructure and a nationwide team of trained technicians, Fujifilm Service supports its customers in all 50 states, Canada and the Caribbean. Beyond traditional installation and break/fix support, Fujifilm Service can also help with customer and technical training, parts and logistics services, and it offers certified equipment disposal services as part of its life-cycle support. www.fujifilmservice.com

SERVICE

For 50 years, BTA Service Associate member International Data Corp. (IDC) has provided strategic insights to help its clients achieve their business objectives. The company is a global provider of market intelligence, advisory services and events for the IT, telecommunications and consumer technology markets. IDC helps IT professionals, business executives and the investment community make fact-based decisions on technology purchases and business strategies. More than 1,100 IDC analysts provide global, regional and local expertise on technology, industry opportunities and trends in more than 110 countries. www.idc.com A full list of BTA Vendor and Service Associate members can be found online at www.bta.org.

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Highlights Sept 16.indd 1

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PRINCIPAL ISSUES

‘One Canon’ Manufacturer hosts analyst summit Aug. 9-10 by: Elizabeth Marvel, Office Technology Magazine

xplaining its efforts to form a more customer-driven organization and improve cohesiveness between business units, Canon U.S.A. Inc. laid out its new “One Canon” strategy during the 2016 Canon Analyst Summit. Held Aug. 9-10 at Canon Americas Headquarters in Melville, New York, the summit featured presentations from company leaders and partners. Joe Adachi, chairman and CEO of Canon U.S.A. Inc., shared his thoughts on the company’s strengths, noting Canon’s interest in research and development, and its impressive patent ranking. Canon has been among the top five patent holders in the last 30 years and, in the past five years, has been among the top three. He also cited the company’s dominance in the image-capture market, saying that 70 percent of photographers and videographers at the 2016 Olympic Games used Canon cameras and lenses. Adachi then gave an overview of Canon’s extensive product line, which consists not only of cameras, printers (including large format and production print devices), MFPs and software solutions, but also health-care equipment (e.g., MRI machines), security cameras and more. “I’m not saying ‘cameras’ anymore,” Adachi said. “They are ‘input devices’ and ‘capture devices’ ... The reason why I’m saying this is ... copy machines, printers, displays — they are output devices. Integrations will be necessary for input devices to [move information to] output devices. We are in a very unique position in the industry. No one has this kind of variety of equipment in one organization. So now our challenge is to integrate these machines with the customer’s purpose. That’s the key.” Toyo Kuwamura, newly appointed executive vice president and general manager of the Business Imaging Solutions Group (BISG) at Canon U.S.A. Inc., addressed Canon’s strategy for integration during his presentation. The company plans to deliver more integrated solutions offerings thanks to the “One Canon” strategy, where its business units work more closely to leverage their strengths. Now, BISG, Canon Solutions America, Canon Information & Imaging Solutions, Canon Financial Services and Canon Business Process Services will work together as one customer-driven organization instead of separate product-driven organizations. Kuwamura laid out BISG’s new organizational chart, explaining what each part of the business would accomplish. He then wrapped up his presentation with Canon’s vision for the future. “This is our vision, in summary: We can address our customers in a holistic way as ‘One Canon’ so that they can achieve the impossible,” Kuwamura said. “So they can see the impossible.”

Left to right: Joe Adachi, Toyo Kuwamura and Mason Olds. During his presentation, Mason Olds, senior vice president of BISG, spoke more specifically about BISG’s sales achievements in the United States during the first half of 2016. He first focused on the company’s copier/MFP business revenues. “Revenue in our copier business, which is our enterprise, our production and our aftermarket, was up 3 percent versus last year,” Olds said. “We’re doing a good job and we were able to keep our A3 business flat. We were able to grow A4 — whether it’s color or black and white — a total of 17 percent.” BISG not only saw growth in the copier/MFP business, but also on the solutions side. “The other very nice thing is that our solutions business grew 18 percent,” Olds said. “This is primarily driven through sales of our uniFLOW product, which is doing really, really well.” An even bigger growth number came as Olds spoke about Canon and FedEx Office’s alliance. “Our production business was up 94 percent,” he said. “Why such a jump in production? Well, we’ve had a client for more than 25 years ... They’re called FedEx Office now. They’ve rebid all of their business ... and we were awarded one of the core growth categories — full-service color. We were awarded more than 1,800 units.” Olds also spoke about Canon’s independent dealer growth and the Advanced Partner Program for its largest dealers. “We’ve managed to grow every single year for the last six years with dealers,” he said. “On average, it’s 3 percent per year ... And, actually, the Advanced Partner dealers are growing much faster than the 3 percent ... We have the strongest dealers in the nation selling our products, so we greatly appreciate their business and they do a wonderful job with us.” n Elizabeth Marvel is associate editor of Office Technology magazine. She can be reached at elizabeth@bta.org or (816) 303-4060. Visit www.bta.org. www.offi cetechnol ogymag.com | Se p te mb e r 2016 | 27

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SELLING SOLUTIONS

The Appropriate Person This prospecting process has proven to be effective by: Gil Cargill, Sales Acceleration Coach

ecently, one of my client’s salespeople told me he was having no luck coldcalling. I role-played with him and his presentation was very good. That was not the problem. Doing a deeper dive, we discovered that the vast majority of the people he contacted (if he contacted them at all) were “not interested.” Also, he was very frustrated that it took him more than 65 dials to get a decision-maker (or even a decision-influencer) on the phone. Sixty-four of those dials wound up in the voicemail boxes of the decision-makers. There is no shortage of white papers, reports, etc., circulating that quantitatively substantiate the fact that old-fashioned cold-calling is not nearly as effective today as it once was. I believe that, more often than not, this is due to the fact that we are talking to inappropriate people. If you are calling from a purchased list, you may have bought a list of contacts with the correct title(s), but you still may not reach the appropriate people. In other words, if you are targeting, let’s say, the vice president of finance at a particular company, calling him (or her) directly may be a complete waste of your time. Although, based on your experience, the majority of your existing agreements were signed by someone with some variation of the vice president of finance title, that does not translate into an absolute fact for 100 percent of your prospects. So, instead of calling an account and pitching your product, which almost immediately opens the door for the customer to say, “not interested,” I think that it is far more civil, far less confrontational and far more effective to utilize what I refer to as the “appropriate person technique.” This technique literally starts with a request to talk to the appropriate person. Your phone call should start like this: “Hi, I’m calling to inquire as to whether or not you’re the appropriate person to evaluate our Gizmo 17. If you are not the appropriate person, who would you suggest I talk to?” By approaching your customers with this tactic, you are coming across far less confrontationally and far less like the classic late-night infomercial salesperson. It is an old cliché, but you have to earn the right to get the customer to talk to you. There is a four-step process that has been proven many times over to effectively get you in touch with customers. The first step is to interrupt them. The appropriate person script is a very good interruption because it is very difficult, if

not grammatically impossible, for the listener to say he is not interested. After all, you did not ask if he was interested. You asked if he was the appropriate person. The second step of an effective prospecting campaign is to engage the prospect. This would be a lengthier phone call, a series of emails and/or (if you are extremely lucky) a face-to-face meeting. During the engagement phase, you have to bring out the pain or problems that your company’s services or products solve. At this step of the process it is useful to have some case studies to illustrate what you have done for other companies. The third step is to educate. In this phase, it is easiest to educate customers by having a portfolio of case studies that you can share. If you will recall from anthropology class, humans have taught each other with stories for thousands of years. Story-based education precedes all other forms of education. The fourth and final phase of your process should contain an offer. Depending on what you are trying to accomplish, the offer should “sell” the prospect on meeting with you and/or position you to have a follow-up call. Please note: All of these steps can be accomplished in one phone call. Although it is rare, it does happen. The frequency of that occurring is dependent on what you sell, who you sell it to, and how the market views and values your offer. Try the appropriate person strategy. I am confident your success rate will go up significantly. It is less confrontational, more effective and, candidly, it positions you as a professional where other techniques may not or do not accomplish that outcome. n After concluding a sales and management career at IBM, in which he led his sales team from a dead-last rating to first place in less than a year, Gil Cargill launched his own consulting practice in 1978. Cargill has spent the past 38 years as a consultant, speaker and trainer, helping thousands of businesses achieve dramatic and permanent improvements in sales productivity. He has taught salespeople across diverse industries the importance of developing sales processes, the advantages of implementing new technology and the benefits of tracking sales performance. Cargill can be reached at (310) 305-7198, ext. 111, or gil@gilcargill.com. Visit www.gilcargill.com.

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SELLING SOLUTIONS

Chasing Your ‘Fred’ It is all about the pursuit & where to put your energy by: Troy Harrison, Troy Harrison & Associates

n the August issue of Office Technology, I discussed how to find your “Fred” — my name for your ideal customer. If you have not read it yet, you might want to read it now — and perhaps you may want to read my blog post that follows up on some of the questions I received. In this month’s followup article, I am going to talk about how to implement a sales strategy to win your Fred. I will point out again — although I made it clear in the first article — that it is still OK to accept non-Fred business if it is profitable to do so. Fred selling is all about the pursuit and where you put your energy. To review a bit, the three characteristics that determine your Fred are: demographics, specific contact title or role, and attitude. Now that we have that straight, I am going to assume that you have identified your Fred. Now let’s put him (or her) in the crosshairs. Define your sales process for getting Fred. This is where it gets tricky. Can you create a process to generate inbound Fred leads at the same time you implement an outbound process? Are there any specific steps you need to insert in order to get your Fred’s attention? One company I am familiar with created a Fred-only inbound sales process. The company created a webinar that was strictly targeted to its Fred — so much so that it would be of little interest to others, but of high interest to its Fred. The company then built an ad campaign around driving its Freds to the webinar, with the payoff of a consultation call with Fred that resulted in him joining the company’s sales process. Yes, it worked — but it took a lot of commitment on the part of the company’s entire marketing and sales staff. Decide how much of your sales force’s time is going to be spent going after Fred. I am a fan of balanced sales — salespeople need regularity in results to stay on an even emotional keel — so the first thing you should do is figure out how you are going to dedicate your resources to chasing your Fred. Unless you are really, really lucky, it will not work out for your salespeople to be spending all of their time selling to Freds. So, what is the appropriate mix? Over the years (unless there

are very, very few Freds), I have found that a 50/50 mix works nicely. This means that you can simply take your existing sales activity metrics (You do have those, right?) and split them in half. Hence, if your salespeople need to perform eight appointments per week, four of them should be with Freds. Create rules of engagement. You need to define how to sell to Fred. What level of effort are you going to make to get Fred? What are the acceptable parameters (price, profitability, terms, etc.) you are going to assign to Fred business? This should be self-solving, since Freds are your most profitable customers, but you still need to guide the process. This is also a good time to put some rules and parameters around nonFred business, so your sales team members have a level of discipline about what they pursue and what they accept. Train, train and train some more. Your Freds deserve the best — and that means the best selling effort you can give. Think of your face time with Fred as your “lightning round” — the time that has the highest potential for reward. How skilled are your salespeople? Do they have the skills to correctly discover and define your Fred’s needs, his idea of success and the results he wants? Can they give a world-class presentation that will show Fred why you are the only potential source? In short, are your salespeople equipped for the job? Training is not a one-time thing. It is an ongoing investment. Invest. www.offi cetechnol ogymag.com | Se p te mb e r 2016 | 29

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you will go the extra mile for a Fred. If sales Put your best people on Fred. One says, “This is a Fred,” no other conversation mistake that I see, particularly on the reIf Freds are your key needs to happen. lationship-building and servicing side, contributors, then your Like I said in the August issue: Yes, this is that too many companies allow their key people need to is a lot of work. That’s life. Excellence is weaker players to be in charge of their Fred be in charge of every not easy, but it is profitable and this is how relationships. Do not do that. If Freds are step in dealing with world-class sales forces generate worldyour key contributors, then your key people class performance. If you want to get past need to be in charge of every step in dealthem. Think of airline mediocrity or “acceptable” results, Fred is ing with them. Think of airline first-class first-class service here. job number one. n service here. Do you think that airlines put Troy Harrison is the author of “Sell Like You their newest, least experienced and trained Mean It!” and“The Pocket Sales Manager.” He is a speaker, flight attendants in first class? No. They put their very best consultant and sales navigator who helps companies build people up there because they know that first-class passengers more profitable and productive sales forces with are spending the most. Take your cue from them. his cutting-edge sales training and Get everyone on the same page. Everyone in your compamethodologies. For information on booking ny needs to know what a Fred is, how you are going to go after speaking/training engagements, consulting or Fred, and how you plan to retain and build relationships with to sign up for Harrison’s weekly e-zine, call (913) Fred. This means that marketing and sales need to be aligned 645-3603 or email troy@troyharrison.com. and on the same page. It means that service, shipping and Visit www.troyharrison.com. other support departments need to be tuned to the idea that

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