CONTENTS
FEATURE ARTICLES
10
Production Print
Dealers share high-volume wisdom and insight by Brent Hoskins Office Technology Magazine
Increasingly, office technology dealers are turning to production print as a means to capture more pages. Is this a good strategy for your dealership? The profiles of three BTA member dealerships in this month’s cover story highlight their history and experiences in the production space.
Unlocking
Time With AI
How to become multipliers as we count down by Bob Doucette Smart Technologies of Florida Today, AI allows us to go deeper by automating specific roles, responsibilities and tasks. AI empowers everyone to be a programmer, unlocking new capabilities. Focus on training how AI works so employees can use it to become multipliers of time. 16
At a University Near You
Shaping the future of your sales organization by Jon Dunkelberger Ricoh USA Inc.
Do you ever wonder what the future of your sales organization will be?
There are two future-looking challenges that have led me to rewarding work and fun collaborations: (1) Evolving our sales organization for growth and (2) Developing our next generation of sales professionals.
28 AI in Education
BTA scholarship recipient shares her perspective by Ashley Nierman 2024-25 BTA scholarship recipient
The use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in higher education is on the rise. My opinion on using AI in higher education aligns with the side of the debate that leans toward teaching students and professors to use AI ethically and in moderation.
New Overtime Rules
Look out for five previously exempt categories by Greg Goldberg BTA General Counsel
On July 1, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) implemented new overtime rules.
DEALERS HELPING DEALERS
Scanning Charges & UCC Lists
Peers provide feedback on two dealer questions
Compiled by Brent Hoskins Office Technology Magazine
This feature includes two questions submitted by dealer members and answers received.
PRINCIPAL ISSUES
High Velocity
Konica Minolta dealer summit held Aug. 5-7 by Brent Hoskins Office Technology Magazine
Konica Minolta recently hosted dealers at its second High Velocity Dealer Summit of 2024.
SELLING SOLUTIONS
Becoming ‘Tech-Savvy’
Accept no excuses for reps not embracing technology by Troy Harrison
Troy Harrison & Associates
Learn strategies to help your sales team embrace the digital revolution.
Less Hassle. More Hustle.
The New WorkForce® Enterprise AM Series.
Powered by PrecisionCore®, this marvel has less imaging parts than typical laser printers which can result in fewer slowdowns, breakdowns, and office meltdowns.
2024 BTA BEQI Now Available to Dealers
IExecutive 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
f you are looking to forecast sales, evaluate territories, measure sales potential, establish sales quotas and measure the sales performance of your dealership, the 2024 Business Equipment Quota Index (BEQI) is now available for purchase. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on the market, it has been several years since the last BEQI was released, but it has now been updated and provides indices based on 2023 (actual purchases/leases) and planned purchases/leases for 2024, 2025 and 2026.
The 2024 BEQI is a bit different from past editions, as the pandemic created a couple of challenges: (1) The BEQI model is based on the ratio of equipment to employees. The pandemic furloughed many employees, while others worked from home, requiring companies to equip these remote workers with low-end products. There was also a migration of workers from major cities to smaller cities and rural areas. (2) Some government data sources, including the U.S. Census, are still producing COVID-era numbers, which are not a good basis for modeling current- or future-year product demand.
Some of the effects of the pandemic have been temporary. Today, many companies are pursuing return-to-office strategies and some employees are returning to large cities. Also, some cities that saw population expansion during COVID are reporting rental vacancies and out-migration this year.
To adjust for these challenges, we reached out to a series of public and private data sources to try to achieve more reasonable estimates of employee counts and year-overyear growth. Two significant sources were the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. There will also
be additional employment and economic growth information released this year, and we will update the model as this information becomes available.
Now, for a bit more detail. The BEQI provides indices for the following categories:
n Monochrome MFPs in four speed categories (1-20 pages per minute [ppm], 21-30 ppm, 31-69 ppm and 70-plus ppm)
n All monochrome MFPs
n Color MFPs in the four speed categories listed above
n All color MFPs
n Single-function monochrome printers in the four speed categories
n All single-function monochrome printers
n Single-function color printers in the four speed categories
n All single-function color printers
n Large-format printers
n Scanners (new in 2024)
The eleventh edition of the BEQI provides market potential indices for all U.S. sales territories, including states, metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), counties and ZIP codes. Each index number is based on Census Bureau data and the public and private data sources mentioned earlier, as well as the responses to a January 2024 web-based survey of 1,200 decision-makers across 13 industries regarding the amount of equipment purchased/leased in 2023 (actual) and purchases/leases planned for 2024, 2025 and 2026. 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.
I encourage you to check out this great industry resource. BTA members can use their $150 or $250 discount received with membership toward their purchase of the BEQI. To order, visit www.bta.org/BEQI. n — Brent Hoskins
Bob Doucette, Smart Technologies of Florida www.smarttechfl.com
Jon Dunkelberger, Ricoh USA Inc. www.ricoh-usa.com
Greg Goldberg, BTA General Counsel Business Technology Association
Troy Harrison, Troy Harrison & Associates www.troyharrison.com
Ashley Nierman 2024-25 BTA scholarship recipient
Business Technology Association 12411 Wornall Road
Kansas City, MO 64145 (816) 941-3100 www.bta.org
Member Services: (800) 505-2821 BTA Legal Hotline: (847) 922-0945
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. ©2024 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
2023-24 Contributors Greatly Appreciated
O2024-2025 Board of Directors
President
Adam Gregory Advanced Business Solutions LLC St. Augustine, Florida adam@goabsinc.com
President-Elect
Debra Dennis CopyPro Inc. Greenville, North Carolina ddennis@copypro.net
Vice President
ne of the Business Technology Association’s (BTA’s) future-forward member benefits is the BTA Scholarship Program, which awards scholarships to the qualifying employees — and the sons and daughters of employees — of BTA member dealerships. Since the 1984-85 school year, BTA has awarded 1,587 scholarships totaling $1.8105 million. During BTA’s 2023-24 fiscal year, 245 BTA members contributed to the BTA Scholarship Foundation. There was not enough room to list them all here, but you can see the full list of contributors at www.bta.org/Scholarships.
This year in particular was a special one for the scholarship program. In 2015, the annual $3,000 Bob Goldberg Scholarship was established to honor BTA’s former general counsel, Bob Goldberg, for his many years of service to the association. In June, a second annual $3,000 Bob Goldberg Scholarship was announced at the Bob Goldberg Appreciation Reception in Huntington Beach, California. The following companies contributed to the BTA Scholarship Foundation this year in honor of Bob, for a total of $50,000: Advanced Business Systems, Anderson Business Technology, Applied Innovation, Automated Business Solutions, Business Technology Association, Business Systems and Consultants, Centriworks | Thermocopy, Century Business Technologies, Coordinated Business Systems, Copiers Plus, DOCUmation, ENX Magazine, IBPI, Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Lockwood Moore, Nauticon Office Solutions, Pulse Technology, Seminole Office Solutions and Triumph Technology Group.
In total, $64,925 was donated to the BTA
Scholarship Foundation during the 202324 year. I would like to thank this year’s contributors for their generous donations. The BTA Scholarship Program would not be what it is today without them.
Every year we receive several photos of scholarship winners receiving their checks from sponsoring member dealership employees, as well as thank-you notes from winning students. You can see the photos and notes at www.bta.org/Scholarships.
One thank-you note from this year gives you an idea of the importance of these scholarships to students: “I am honored and grateful you chose to award me with a Business Technology Association scholarship. The gracious donation will go toward my college education and I am so thankful for your generous contribution to my future ... I am honored and am grateful that it will allow me to attend the college of my choosing. I will approach my college experience with the same rigor and effort with which I approached my high school experience. I do not take the opportunity you have given me lightly, and I intend to make your gracious contribution worth everything you have awarded me. Thank you.” — Anna Hamvas, scholarship recipient sponsored by BTA member Coordinated Business Systems, Burnsville, Minnesota
For the 2025-26 school year, BTA is adding new scholarships to the program. The Patriot Pack has made the BTA Scholarship Foundation its charitable cause beginning with its 2024 Ride, which will be held this month. Its focus will be on providing scholarships to office technology U.S. military veterans, their children and grandchildren, who will be able to apply when the application is made available in December.
For more information on BTA scholarships or to make a contribution, visit www. bta.org/Scholarships. n — Adam Gregory
Mike Boyle BASE Technologies Inc. Bethel, Connecticut mboyle@baseinc.com
Immediate Past President
Don Risser
DCS Technologies Corp. Franklin, Ohio don.risser@dcs-tech.com
BTA East
Joe Dellaposta Doing Better Business Hagerstown, Maryland jvd@doingbetterbusiness.com
Chip Denlinger DCS Technologies Corp. Franklin, Ohio chip.denlinger@dcs-tech.com
BTA Mid-America
Greg Quirk JQ Office Equipment Omaha, Nebraska gquirk@jqoffice.com
Brett Blake Corporate Business Systems LLC Madison, Wisconsin bblake@corpbussystems.com
BTA Southeast
Mike Hicks
Electronic Business Machines Inc. Lexington, Kentucky mhicks@ebmky.com
Blake Renegar Kelly Office Solutions Winston-Salem, North Carolina tbrenegar@kellyofficesolutions.com
BTA West Kevin Marshall Copy Link Inc. Chula Vista, California kevin@copylink.net
Scott Reynolds Imagine Technology Group LLC Chandler, Arizona sreynolds@itgarizona.com
Ex-Officio/General Counsel
Greg Goldberg Barta | Goldberg West Hollywood, California ggoldberg@bartagoldberg.com
Production Print
Dealers share high-volume wisdom & insight
by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine
Increasingly, office technology dealers are turning to production print as a means to capture more pages. Is this a good strategy for your dealership? The following profiles of three BTA member dealerships highlight their history and experiences in the production space. Perhaps the comments they share will provide some welcome guidance.
Gray & Creech Office Solutions
In 1974, Alec Bean’s father-in-law purchased Gray & Creech, which was an A.B. Dick dealership headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. Twenty years later, the imaging business, but not the company name, was sold to Alco Standard. After that, Gray & Creech became a water systems dealership. Fast forward to the recession of 2009. “My brother and I had been running a Sir Speedy franchise in Charlotte for about 16 years,” Bean says. “I decided to divest myself from the franchise and talked to my father-in-law about getting back into what had been the imaging side of his business.”
The Gray & Creech imaging business was resurrected with three employees. “I sold machines, I fixed machines,” Bean says. “I did everything, which was great for me because I really got to learn the business and understand it.” Today, Bean is president of Gray & Creech Office Solutions, now headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, with around 30 employees. The dealership, which has a second location in Raleigh, sells HP, Sharp and Xerox imaging devices.
It was in about 2016 that Gray & Creech placed its first Sharp light-production devices (and continues to place the devices today), but it wasn’t until 2021 that the dealership ramped up its game in the product category. “We really didn’t go all in with production print until our partnership with Xerox began,” Bean says. “We immediately took on its PrimeLink entry-level production systems. Later we also moved up to the Xerox Versant, the 280 and the 4100. We prefer these units. When you get up to the 4100 it’s a real digital press. There’s no copier, glass or document feeder. It is straight print.”
Bean is quick to praise Xerox for its role in ensuring Gray
& Creech’s success in production print. “Xerox has an incredible program,” he says. “They have trained our team at the company’s Webster campus in Rochester, New York, where they provide deep dives into the technology. Plus, Xerox offers tremendous advantages over a lot of its competitors when it comes to quality, such as 10-bit processing and very high-quality 2,400-dpi print resolution. Plus, they do a lot with spot color printing — gold, silver, white, clear and neon colors.”
In advising dealers only now looking at production print, “it is paramount that you talk to your manufacturer about the types of support they offer,” Bean says. “That’s critical as you start to move into this realm.” It is equally important, he says, to have the right personnel in place. “You have to have a support team to handle the products. For us, that’s two technicians who are factory-trained. You also have to have an analyst — someone on your team who is going to handle the (Electronics for Imaging [EFI]) Fierys, hooking them up and giving clients the support they need to operate these devices.”
In addition, Bean says, it is important to have a production print specialist. “Your general-line reps are there to provide leads to your specialist, since it is a longer sales cycle and much more complex,” he says. “In almost every case where we’ve sold a production device, there is a point where the customer comes into our office and we print out a lot of their files on our showroom model. They want to test it and see it in action. This is not a brochure sale.”
Bean also emphasizes the importance of thoroughly understanding the cost of operating production print devices and what to charge customers. “For any dealership, your number-one goal is to ensure profits are meeting expectations; that it is a profitable transaction each and every month,” he says. “We do not give away the product. We hold our margins very high. If the client has to have an extremely low rate, it’s probably not a good fit for us.”
Production print can open doors for other product placements, Bean adds. “Our most recent Versant placement was
in a manufacturing facility,” he says. “Not only did we sell the production system, but we also sold six other office machines with the product. That was music to my ears.”
Plus Inc.
Like many office technology dealerships founded in the 1950s, Plus Inc. began as a typewriter and adding machine dealership. Today, the Greenville, South Carolinabased company is a Konica Minolta and Ricoh dealership, and also offers managed IT and software solutions.
“Our most recent Versant placement was in a manufacturing facility. Not only did we sell the production system, but we also sold six other office machines with the product ... “
— Alec Bean Gray & Creech Office Solutions
Included in its imaging MIF are around 40 to 50 production print devices. That was not always the case. “I would say we probably started looking at the Konica Minolta production side of things in about 2007,” says Frank Gonzalez, vice president of sales. “By 2010, we maybe had sold two or three units. And while we brought Ricoh on in 2005, they really didn’t have a production line at that point. So, when it came to production — when a customer would tell us they needed a heavy-duty production machine — we defaulted to Konica Minolta, but we weren’t really going after the production business.”
That changed when Plus hired someone to manage its solutions offerings. “I was trying to juggle a lot of things,” Gonzalez says. “So, when he arrived last year, I set down with him and said, ‘OK, you’re going to manage anything that isn’t hardware related and I’ll do the hardware side of things.’”
As a result, “I found myself with time to actually learn about and focus on the actual ins and outs of production,” Gonzalez says, noting that the new focus aligns with the vision at Plus to grow, in part, by way of bigger deals and bigger accounts. “With production print, your sales are definitely bigger and so is the back end.”
Gonzalez happily reports the numbers he has been seeing. “Our production units account for 19% of our total maintenance billing; that billing includes the 2,500 or so A3s we have out there,” he says. “Today, production print accounts for about 16% of our total equipment sales. I don’t want to put a limit on it, but I would say that could easily grow to 25% or more of our total sales.”
So far in 2024, Plus has placed four production devices. “Two of them were Ricoh and two were Konica Minolta — all four went into churches,” Gonzalez says. “Each church had a different need. For example, one of the churches was spending too much outsourcing the printing of its prayer booklets to a bigger megachurch and so we upgraded their current machine. Another church was a recaptured customer we had lost
about five years ago. Along with the production device, we also replaced all of their office machines; that was another eight or so machines.”
Despite the preponderance of church placements as of late, Plus has certainly found success with production print elsewhere, Gonzalez says. For example, a company doing transactional printing of statements for utility companies “looked at us and couple of other vendors, and we won them over with some Ricoh monochrome devices,” he says. He also cites, in particular, print-for-pay stores and commercial printers, “where old presses are dying,” as the locations of several Plus production print installations.
Gonzalez shares some insight into one of the verticals he cites. “What chases a lot of dealers away — and with good reason — is print for pay,” he says. “You have to use all of your tools to evaluate, ‘Are you making money on those machines after they are in there and running?’ Because they will kill you if you are not careful. So, we just go in and say, ‘Look, if you’re just looking for a rate, just tell us what it is, and we’ll walk away if we know we’re not going to make any money.’ If they are reasonable, they say, ‘I get it. We both need to be profitable in our businesses.’”
Dealers who are considering taking on production print should recognize they will have the advantage over manufacturers’ direct operations, Gonzalez says. “A lot of service techs from the direct operations come from another city, killing the response time; that’s not a good experience for the customer,” he says. “Plus, dealers often have product flexibility, since we have multiple brands that we can go in with and represent.”
Shore Business Solutions
After working at Ricoh Corp. for 16 years, followed by roles at two office technology dealerships, Chris Wolowitz was ready to embrace the entrepreneurial spirit, purchasing Shore Business Solutions, based in Farmingdale, New Jersey, in 2019. Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic emerged shortly thereafter. “To grow through the two-and-a-half years of COVID, we kind of just put our heads down and went for it,” he says. “We trained, educated and brought people on who fit our culture so that when the restrictions were lifted, we hit the ground faster than anybody.”
When Wolowitz acquired the dealership, it had nine employees and primarily served one county. Today, Shore serves the entire state and has 34 employees. The dealership has
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sold Sharp products since 1983 and Kyocera products since 2016; about a year-anda-half ago it partnered with Konica Minolta. “We brought on Konica Minolta to fill the production print need, something I wanted to get into and grow,” he says. “I had a background in production print and felt that we needed to jump into this market.”
“What chases a lot of dealers away ... is print for pay. You have to use all of your tools to evaluate, ‘Are you making money on those machines after they are in there and running?’”
While Shore continues to sell Sharp light production devices, with the addition of higher-end Konica Minolta models, the dealership has hit its stride. “We just delivered our 10th machine in the last 12 months,” Wolowitz says. “We are factory trained with the Sharp light production and they perform well in the field, but there is a certain point where you do need to go to the bigger iron.”
The “bigger iron” is crucial when responding to bids,
Ready to grow
— Frank Gonzalez Plus Inc.
Wolowitz says. “Usually, larger bids include one or two of these devices; so, if you can’t provide the product, you’re out,” he says. “Place one or two of these devices in the field and your top-line revenue will jump. We had a transaction about seven months ago where one machine is going to equate to almost $700,000 in revenue over a four-year period.”
Wolowitz is complimentary of Konica Minolta for its support in helping Shore achieve a high level of success with production print. “Because Konica Minolta is here in New Jersey, we have the advantage of the company’s CEC [Client Engagement Center] that we have utilized for customer demonstrations,” he says. “When you walk customers into the facility — where Konica Minolta has everything from entry-level production to the
“Right now, about 15% of our revenue is from production print hardware, service, professional services — everything. There is no doubt that will continue to grow.”
— Chris Wolowitz Shore Business Solutions
high-end products — their eyes light up. We’ve had several different customers that we’ve taken to the CEC and we’ve closed over 80% already. They [Konica Minolta] have all of their people there and really wow the customer. They will do everything possible and will usually upsell your customer.”
Konica Minolta personnel also help to facilitate Shore’s dedicated “production days” held for the dealership’s sales team twice a month, Wolowitz says. “Every other week, they will work directly with our reps, such as a going on a ride along to current customers, talking to them about what more they can do with their current devices,” he says. “On alternating weeks, they will host a half-hour webinar. It could be on something as simple as a discussion on an inline cutter.”
At Shore, the “down-the-street sales reps are educated on production print enough to have the conversations and find the prospects, but it’s our ‘presales/postsales’ person who is the most important part of the puzzle,” Wolowitz says, also noting that Shore has several factory-trained production print service techs. “That individual is the person who walks into the CRD, print for pay or whatever, and understands the market. It is very important for a dealer to have someone who can bring immediate credibility about what can be done for the customer ... When you can understand the customer’s workflow and then back that up with performance, you’ve got a customer for life.”
Wolowitz has high expectations for production print in the years to come. “Right now about 15% of our revenue is from production print hardware, service, professional services — everything,” he says. “There is no doubt that will continue to grow. I plan for Shore to be a very large provider of production equipment in our area. That’s my goal.” 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.
Unlocking Time With AI
How to become multipliers as we count down
by: Bob Doucette, Smart Technologies of Florida
“Dude, time is disappearing,” my brother said, shaking his head. This was after I told him it had been 15 years since our dad passed away. In recent years, more and more vendors and clients are reiterating the same message: Time is speeding by at a frequency we cannot catch.
Dear Reader: It is September. What happened to January? We are already gearing up for the end of the year, strategizing for 2025, and planning next year’s seminars and meetings — and most of us haven’t even started Christmas shopping yet. It is mind boggling to think it was only yesterday (and I may be aging myself here) that we were worried about Y2K’s impacts on our businesses.
the gifts of today’s world and ask ChatGPT: “Why does time seem to fly by so quickly?”
This month would have been my dad’s birthday. In fact, the day of the “Leveraging AI for Enhanced Business Efficiency & Growth” panel discussion at BTA’s Sept. 24-25 Gateway to Success event in San Antonio, Texas (of which I’m honored to be a panelist; visit www.bta.org/BTASanAntonio for details), falls on what would have been his 101st birthday. On this day 36 years ago, I rode in the car with him and asked how it felt to be 65. His response was profound: “It’s different. I’m counting down, not up.” Here I was, 22 years old, building my career and planning what I wanted to do. Time was on my side and the future was all I could picture.
He continued, “I may have another 20 years left if God permits.” His answer shook me out of my Generation X mindset and propelled me into his point of view. Today, I sit across from clients, employees and friends and I see the same attitude, but the picture differs slightly from what I thought it would be. It is not a bad difference; it just changed because the world changed. While trying to understand why time is racing, I thought I would use some of
The bot brains at ChatGPT analyzed my question and responded matter-of-factly with the following three factors. The third is where I will focus this article.
Psychological Factors
(1) Routine and Repetition — As people age, their lives often become more routine. Routine experiences create fewer unique memories, making time seem to pass more quickly. We encounter more novel experiences when we are younger, making time feel like it moves more slowly because the brain encodes more detailed memories.
(2) Proportional Time Theory — This theory suggests that each year becomes a smaller fraction of our total life span as we age. For a 10-year-old, one year is 10% of his (or her) life. But for a 50-year-old, it is only 2%. This makes each year feel shorter relative to his entire life.
(3) Increased Responsibilities — Adults often have more responsibilities and tasks to manage, leading to a feeling of being constantly busy. This busyness can make time feel like it is passing more quickly because of less downtime.
Thanks, ChatGPT. These factors answer a few questions
and help frame how businesses view time and the future. Now, bear with me, I am going to get a bit philosophical here.
The first factor, routine and repetition, is why we need to seek change in our work, not just brace for change. We need to step out, look for new and innovative ways, and forget the “we’ve-always-doneit-this-way” mindset. Break the routine. If nothing else, you can slow the feeling of time slipping away.
Ask yourself if a task is necessary. If it does not align with your long-term goals or priorities, eliminate it. Removing unnecessary tasks frees up time ...
Proportional time theory addresses generations in the workplace. Your view of what is happening right now is shaped by the placement of your generation in the workplace; your proportional view of the percentage of the whole life picture. As my father said: “I’m counting down.” If you are on the upside of your career, find a mentor and learn from him. If you are on the other side, become a mentor and share what you have learned in your career and allow your mentee to leverage your knowledge. Your invaluable experience will lift the whole company.
The last, increased responsibilities, is the most responsible (no pun intended) factor for time’s turbo boost. We are all hamsters on the wheel of information and technology. We are crushed by our obligations and searching for key people with the required capabilities to lessen our loads, but that is compounded by low unemployment rates. We are told to be better managers of our time. Would that help? Or is there just too much that needs to be done?
As members of the Business Technology Association (BTA), I believe we can address increased responsibilities and their impact on ourselves, our clients and our employees by providing a balanced work life with the technology and resources we are privileged to have in our industry.
I highly recommend Rory Vaden’s book, “Procrastinate on Purpose.” It is a must-read, and I am applying his Focus Funnel framework along with how my company, Smart Technologies, is using the Smart Path platform with Simple Academy’s AI Transformation Method (AITC).
The Problem
Consider some common ideas we have heard: We need to manage our time, plan it or prioritize it. If you buy into this mindset, you might think you are in control of time. Focusing on time management may seem helpful, but the truth is, we cannot actually manage time. Time is God’s creation, and He gives each of us 168 hours per week, without bias. He ultimately determines how many hours and days we have left. What we can control is how we choose to spend that time.
The challenge is that our responsibilities have grown. We try to prioritize and organize everything, but there is simply too much to fit into the 168 hours we have. It is like trying to
fit eight ounces of water into a jar that only holds six.
I want to show you how we can become multipliers of time. Let’s begin by shifting our perspective and thinking of time as something we spend. Now, let’s approach time the same way we approach money. How do we multiply money? How do we spend it? Imagine we have $168 each week and need to create a budget. This exercise can help us see how important it is to make wise choices with our time, just like with our money. Consider these key questions we would ask ourselves when putting together a budget.
Budgeting: What Must I Spend Money On?
Just as we all have essential expenses like rent or mortgage payments, everyone has basic financial needs. But we can ask ourselves what we really need to spend money on.
n Eliminate: Ask yourself, “What can I stop spending money on?” Identify the things you can live without and cut unnecessary spending.
n Cut Costs: Ask, “How can I reduce or lower my expenses?” Consider using coupons, shopping around for better prices or finding ways to save on recurring costs.
n Multiplying Money: Ask, “How do I make my money work for me?” Think about investing instead of just spending. “The Rule of 72” tells us how long it takes to double our money based on a fixed annual rate of return. When we invest wisely, we aim for a solid return on investment (ROI).
Let us shift back to time. We all get 168 hours a week, just like we imagined with dollars. Replace money with hours and think about how we spend it. Instead of ROI when it comes to time, we will focus on return on time (ROT). Below is the Focus Funnel framework (paraphrased) that will help us become multipliers of time.
The Focus Funnel Framework
n Eliminate: Ask yourself if a task is necessary. If it does not align with your long-term goals or priorities, eliminate it. Removing unnecessary tasks frees up time for more important activities.
n Automate: Determine whether a task or a step within a task can be automated using artificial intelligence (AI). By investing time in setting up systems, software or processes that handle repetitive tasks, you save time in the long run. This is an example of ROT, where the time you invest now pays off by multiplying your available time later.
Consider this: If a task takes 20 minutes a day and you automate it using AI, it might take an hour and 33 minutes to set up. Within four days, you will start gaining 20 minutes
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every day. Over one year, this will add up to nearly 11 workdays saved. Now, calculate the impact: nearly 11 workdays (or 86.66 hours) multiplied by an hourly rate of $20 is approximately $1,733 saved. And that is for just one employee. Multiply that by the number of employees performing the same task and the savings grow exponentially.
We are all locked into the same 168 hours each week ... What do you want to invest in? Where can you multiply it? And then ... how do you want to spend it?
n Delegate: Identify tasks or a step in the task that can be delegated to others (see the chart on page 16). This involves finding the right people who can take on tasks that do not require your specific expertise, allowing you to focus on high-priority activities. You may automate and delegate steps in the task because you simplify parts of it.
n Procrastinate on Purpose: This is about consciously deciding to delay tasks that do not need immediate attention. By procrastinating on purpose, you focus on more critical tasks first and return to less urgent ones later. Read Vaden’s book.
n Concentrate: For tasks that only you can do and that
need to be done now, focus and concentrate fully until they are completed. This involves prioritizing these tasks and dedicating uninterrupted time to them, which may be the last step in the process.
The Power of Ideas
In recent years, we have discovered that AI transformation has the power to take automation to an entirely new level. Initially, we focused on helping businesses streamline processes across departments, locations and teams. Today, AI allows us to go deeper by automating specific roles, responsibilities and tasks. Employees can quickly identify what to automate because they understand their jobs best. AI empowers everyone to be a programmer, unlocking new capabilities. We focus on training how AI works and how to apply it so employees can use it to become multipliers of time.
At Smart Technologies, one of our pillars is “People and Organization Development.” The Smart Path AI training platform equips employees to harness AI, showing them how it can enhance their roles. The results are significant — AI transformations save our clients both time and thousands of dollars. What is particularly remarkable is how fast these changes take effect — often from day one.
Many companies approach AI with a focus on cross-departmental automation, which can be challenging due to the complexity of the scope and individual roles. Business process automation (BPA) requires extensive planning and not every company has the bandwidth to dedicate to such efforts. That is where AI transformation is a game changer. Smart Technologies’ mission is to simplify business. By taking a straightforward approach, we have seen a profound positive impact on our clients and ourselves.
Smart Technologies’ vision is to glorify God by fulfilling every good purpose. Our clients are witnessing results that are 100 times more effective, with a noticeable improvement in employee satisfaction and engagement.
Most of us are counting down. Fifteen years have passed since my dad has been on this side of eternity and 36 years have passed since I asked him the question that forever changed my perspective on time. We are all locked into the same 168 hours each week. Only God knows the hour He calls us home. What do you want to invest in? Where can you multiply it? And then, most importantly, how do you want to spend it? n
Bob Doucette is CEO and founder of Smart Technologies of Florida, Daytona Beach, Florida. He can be reached at rdoucette@smarttechfl.com. Visit www.smarttechfl.com.
At a University Near You
Shaping the future of your sales organization
by: Jon Dunkelberger, Ricoh USA Inc.
Do you ever wonder what the future of your sales organization will be? There are two future-looking challenges that have led me to rewarding work and fun collaborations: (1) Evolving our sales organization for growth and (2) Developing our next generation of sales professionals.
As sales leaders, we are required to focus on our numbers this month and our results this year. But we also have a responsibility to focus on our people and build for the future — to care about what our sales organization will be like two to five years from now. That is where these two challenges converge. Yes, it is conceptual, but I will give you some strategies and resources that you can apply today.
To increase our customer impact and revenue, I think we need to start with purpose. In my work with the Ricoh dealer organization, we leverage our technology and capabilities to solve customer business challenges of user experience and productivity, security, sustainability, business process improvement and more. This can be a differentiator for our Ricoh dealers.
If we are doing something that matters to our customers — even if others can do it, but are not — it is a differentiator. I think that a purpose like this is meaningful for our next generation of sales professionals. Furthermore, I think that we need to evolve our sales organizations by investing in the next generation of sales professionals.
For me, it is personal; I struggled in the early years of my sales experience. Starting out in sales is tough, but struggling at it is brutal. So, I want to help those who commit to sales to have faster paths to success — and more fun — than I did.
I have been fortunate to have a mentor, Dain Dunston, to inspire me with ways to contribute. He partnered with us to form our Ricoh Dealer Next-Gen Advisory Group and told me: “The only thing we know for sure about the future is that it’s going to be shaped and led by energetic men and women coming into the business, just as our current dealer companies were conceived and grown by passionate people a generation or two ago. Sure, they are green, but to ignore their insight, ideas and enthusiasm is to miss the very changes we need to craft.”
There is a massive business reason for us to invest in our next generation of sales professionals. According to statistics I have seen, in five years, more than 60% of our workforce will be millennials and Generation Zs. Our customers’ decision makers will be in the same generations and our sales organizations should match. That is in just five years — the blink of an eye. Being ready means that we are planning, preparing and acting now.
As we have delivered the Ricoh Summer Series of webinars to our dealers, I have had the opportunity to chat with author Stan Phelps and see how he addresses crossgenerational challenges. Phelps was kind enough to share these thoughts from his Goldfish Tank Summer Tour: “Today’s leader must manage across five generations. They also must find a balance. They first have to seek out and recruit the next generation of sales professionals. Gen Z wants M&Ms, but not the candy. They want meaning and mentoring. You need to master both to effectively onboard and retain the next generation. At the same time, you also need to make sure your [experienced] workers who have deep expertise don’t feel overlooked. They want to feel appreciated and valued. Leaders who are able to get both to
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collaborate and work together will be poised for success.”
I have good news. You have a future partner that is already acting for your benefit — a university near you with a sales program. It is developing your next generation of sales professionals — candidates who have learned sales strategies and processes, practiced customer interactions, role-played sales engagements and learned approaches to solving customers’ business challenges. They may already have professional certifications, like the National Association of Sales Professionals’ (NASPs’) Certified Professional Sales Person certification. Best of all, you can get to know these candidates and even observe them in a sales setting to see if there is a fit (and vice versa).
You have a future partner that is already acting for your benefit — a university near you with a sales program. It is developing your next generation of sales professionals ...
Sales Innovation at the Muma College of Business at USF, told me: “Business partner engagement is a win, win, win. Students win by learning about real-world business issues and opportunities. Companies win by connecting with amazing students who ramp faster, require less training and turn over less. And academic institutions win by providing relevant, impactful resources for students. We are grateful to have the opportunity to partner with Applied Innovation to support the development of the next generation of go-to-market leaders.”
When researching a university sales program, I can find practically all the information I need online. Here is what I am looking for:
n Curriculum & Faculty — Sales curriculum is generally listed in the marketing department. I look for a continuum across multiple classes, from basic to advanced, with some experiential learning. I can also find out if there is a professional designation included as one of the classes.
n Student Engagement — Specifically, I am looking for a university sales club. Being a member of the club will tell me a lot about the student because I will see the club’s activities — usually through its social media.
n Career Readiness — Sales competitions are where I start. These competitions do not have the visibility of a major collegiate sport like football, but you will be surprised by how many and how relevant they are. Students can compete at a national, regional and intramural level, just like major sports. Competitions include every element of professional sales skills building and, thanks to business community partnerships, they are extremely relevant. Recently, there was a national competition based on digital transformation. How is that for relevant?
n Progressive Work — Many university programs have a sales institute, center or lab. These organizations will demonstrate the institution’s commitment to advancing sales as a successful, vibrant discipline. They will usually have a website to tell you about their work and business partnerships, explaining what you will contribute (time and funds) and what you can expect in return (engagement with the students). There will often be partner tiers with a “starter” level.
A great example of a corporate/university partnership in our industry is Applied Innovation, headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and the University of South Florida (USF). Rob Hammond, director of the Center for Marketing and
John Lowery, CEO of Applied Innovation, agrees: “The relationship with USF has been amazing. Helping to develop tomorrow’s sales leaders has been a joy and has created a pipeline of candidates for Applied Innovation.”
You do not have to go it alone. There are organizations that can help you with your research and engagement. The Sales Education Foundation (SEF) is an excellent resource for your research, from articles to program lists to contact information. Sally Stevens, co-founder of SEF, told me how gratifying it has been to see the foundation’s membership go from about a dozen institutions in 2007 to more than 200 today. She attributes it to three catalysts:
n The willingness of the academics in the original programs to be very collaborative with new people wanting help and advice.
n The willingness of corporate sponsors to fund new programs (because all sales programs must be self-sufficient).
n The broader availability of doctorate programs in sales to train future professors so universities can maintain their accreditation with academically qualified staff.
How does the “big why” of solving customer business challenges intersect with evolving our sales organizations? Because our next generation of sales professionals will demand this type of organizational purpose.
Recently, Forbes covered Deloitte’s survey of 23,000 Gen Zs and millennials (“Gen Zs And Millennials Seek Purpose And Progress In A Changing World: Insights From Deloitte’s 2024 Gen Z And Millennial Survey,” Forbes, May 15, 2024) and stated that “having a sense of purpose at work is key to their job satisfaction.” Forbes goes on to say: “They want to work for organizations whose values align with their own.” And the Deloitte data shows “roughly six in 10 Gen Zs and millennials think businesses have the opportunity to influence a range of societal challenges. Protecting the environment is at the top of the list.”
We worked on this connection to societal challenges with our Ricoh dealer organization’s summer intern team:
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Aliana Lockett (Penn State University), Hayden Dunlap (Elizabethtown College), Maeve McLaughlin (University of South Carolina) and Gabrielle Witte (James Madison University [JMU]). The interns learned about solving the customer business challenges of security, sustainability and employee engagement while generating leads through an outreach program of email, phone calls, LinkedIn and informational webinars.
As with any worthwhile organizational development approach, there will be challenges and it will take time to make it a part of your culture.
In recent years, Ricoh has partnered with the JMU sales program, which is how we met Witte. Richard Tate, faculty member and director of JMU’s Center for Professional Sales shared: “We collaborate with outstanding companies like Ricoh to bring real-world sales scenarios into our classrooms, creating immersive experiential learning opportunities. These hands-on experiences not only shape our students’ career expectations, but also build the resilience necessary to thrive in any sales organization upon graduation.”
Will your university partnership and the next generations
be an end-all for your sales growth? Not at first. As with any worthwhile organizational development approach, there will be challenges and it will take time to make it a part of your culture. But as Dunston reminds us: “It’s about learning from each other, sharing viewpoints and ideas, and balancing years of experience with fresh viewpoints. It’s about the power of bringing divergent thinking into play, which makes all of us smarter.” n
Jon Dunkelberger serves as region business director for Ricoh’s Dealer Division, where he is focused on helping dealers develop their sales organizations and grow their businesses. Dunkelberger is committed to the development of the next generation of sales professionals and has taught sales strategy as an adjunct professor at the University of South Carolina’s Darla Moore School of Business. He can be reached at jon.dunkelberger@ricoh-usa.com. Visit www.ricoh-usa.com.
AI in Education
BTA scholarship recipient shares her perspective
by: Ashley Nierman, 2024-25 BTA scholarship recipient
Editor’s note: For the 2024-25 school year, the BTA scholarship application essay question was: “There is a debate on whether the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in higher education is good or bad. One side of the debate leans toward the belief that the use of AI discounts the educational experience and fosters dishonesty. The other side of the debate leans toward teaching students to use AI ethically and preparing students for careers that highly use AI. What are your thoughts on using AI in higher education?” The following is an excerpt from the essay, edited for length (note the use of ellipsis), written by Ashley Nierman, recipient of the 2024-25 Bob Goldberg Scholarship.
The use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in higher education is on the rise no matter what scientists, professors or students have to say about it. In my classes a little over a year ago, I heard only one mention of AI and many of my professors banned the use of it. This semester, three of my five classes regularly discuss it, with some assignments centered on using AI. One of these classes specifically focuses on AI and its benefits to higher education and the business world. While I have learned of the many advantages of using AI from this class’s content, I have also seen firsthand the potential detriments of AI in higher education. Therefore, my opinion on using AI in higher education aligns with the side of the debate that leans toward teaching students and professors to use AI ethically and in moderation.
Last year, the majority of my classes banned the use of AI, including ChatGPT ... This year, we are utilizing AI in one of my classes to generate questions for in-class speakers. This use of AI is beneficial because it provides good practice on prompt engineering and enhances in-person learning. Along with that, the use of AI in this way provides a new perspective to students, personalizes learning experiences and teaches contextualization. In the class mentioned in the introduction above, my professor uses AI to generate quiz questions and encourages us to use AI if we do not understand a concept. While these uses also have benefits to learning, especially when students are allowed to use AI to help understand concepts, they also show me the need for AI in moderation. In our first couple of quizzes for the class, there were many questions with typos and incomplete sentences. Some were repetitive and had wrong answers. This demonstrates the discounted educational experience that makes up
one side of the AI argument ... While using AI to learn is beneficial, fact-checking the information is essential, which is why AI use must also be taught to teachers.
Another detriment of AI use in higher education I have witnessed in this class is too much reliance by both the teacher and students ... In class, our teacher has introduced a topic many times and then proceeded to tell us to use AI to learn about it outside of class because we do not have enough time. This has caused students to be much less engaged in class ... I have encouraged my classmates many times to learn the material and refrain from using AI to quickly and easily complete class quizzes ... Because of my experiences in this class, I believe it is important to teach teachers and students to use AI ethically and in moderation to avoid dishonesty, a discounted educational experience and an unhealthy reliance on AI technology for learning or a job. To do this, AI use and practice need to be integrated into classroom learning.
According to “How Al is Reshaping Higher Education” by Anthony Hié and Claire Thouary, educators need to introduce AI learning in classrooms to teach students to use the technology effectively. This is precisely in line with my own thoughts. Without some sort of education on the correct and ethical way to use AI, students — who will later become employees — will be more inclined to partake in academic dishonesty, will suffer from too much reliance on AI and will engage less in their learning ...
Overall, the use of AI in higher education has the potential to be transformative. By incorporating the teaching of ethical and effective use of AI into higher education, students can take advantage of AI assistance while understanding the detriments and precautions needed to mitigate the risk of dishonesty, bias, errors, isolation and reliance. Since it is clear that generative AI will continue to be utilized in higher education, it is important to diminish the risks associated with it ... Teaching students and professors to use AI ethically ... preparing students for careers that use AI, is the most important step to maintain the function of AI as a valuable tool. n
Ashley Nierman, a student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, is the daughter of Michael Nierman, corporate service manager for Eakes Office Solutions, based in Grand Island, Nebraska.
New Overtime Rules
Look out for five previously
exempt categories
by: Greg Goldberg, BTA General Counsel
On July 1, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) implemented new overtime rules under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). It is important for BTA members to be aware of these changes because the new rules extend eligibility for overtime pay to certain categories of salaried workers that were previously exempt.
Overtime rules vary slightly in different parts of the country. Most states calculate overtime pay on a weekly basis, meaning eligible employees begin to earn overtime pay after completing 40 cumulative hours of work in a single week. By contrast, a minority of states calculate overtime pay on a daily basis. In those states, eligible employees begin to earn overtime pay after completing eight hours of work in a single day.
To illustrate the difference, here is an example. In New York or Illinois, an eligible employee who works 42 hours in a single week will earn two hours of overtime pay for that week. In California, it does not matter how many hours an eligible employee accrues per week, only per day. Thus, an eligible employee who works 10 hours in a single day will also earn two hours of overtime pay, even if the employee’s weekly total is less than 40 hours. States calculate the rate of pay for overtime at one-and-a-half times an employee’s regular hourly wage.
The DOL’s new rules break down which employees are eligible to earn overtime pay versus those who remain exempt. Specifically, there are five categories of salaried workers, all previously exempt from earning overtime pay, who are now eligible to earn overtime pay if their annual salary falls below the DOL’s minimum standard. The first three categories — the so-called EAP exemptions — include executive, administrative and professional employees. The last two categories — which are particularly relevant to the dealer channel — include computer and outside sales employees.
Employees whose jobs fall within these five categories (i.e., EAP, computer or outside sales) are now eligible to earn overtime pay if their annual salaries are less than $43,888. On Jan. 1, 2025, the minimum standard salary will increase to $58,656. The minimum standard salary amount will increase again on Jan. 1, 2027, and then once every three years thereafter, according to a methodology indexed to market data.
In order to qualify as an EAP, computer or outside sales employee, an employee’s job description and job duties must fit within the DOL’s definitions. “Executive” roles refer to
management. An executive must manage an entire business, or a recognized department or subdivision of a business, and have at least two full-time direct reports. An executive also must have the authority to hire or fire employees, or have meaningful input into personnel decisions.
“Administrative” employees include individuals performing ministerial work that assists management or supports the general business operations of the employer or the employer’s customers. The most common example is an administrative assistant. Administrative employees must be empowered to make decisions using independent judgment based on the employee’s evaluation of present facts and potential outcomes.
“Professional” employees fall into two categories: learned or creative. Learned professionals perform work utilizing advanced knowledge (e.g., attorneys, physicians or other occupations requiring postgraduate education or specialized training). Creative professionals work in recognized artistic or creative fields (e.g., actors and musicians).
“Computer” employees include systems analysts, computer programmers, software engineers or other similarly skilled workers. Computer employees’ job duties must consist of designing and developing computer systems or computer programs, or applying systems analysis techniques and procedures. Dealers tempted to categorize copier/MFP technicians as computer employees should proceed cautiously and ensure that the jobs their technicians perform are consistent with DOL regulations.
“Outside sales” employees must make sales or obtain orders for products or services paid for by clients or customers of the employer. As the name implies, outside sales employees must work primarily outside of their employer’s place of business.
Misclassification of employees as exempt versus non-exempt can be a costly mistake for an employer. Damages may include multiple years’ worth of unpaid overtime pay plus attorneys’ fees. If you have questions about how the DOL’s new rules may apply to your business, I encourage you to contact me. n
Greg Goldberg, partner at Barta | Goldberg, is general counsel for the Business Technology Association. He can be reached at ggoldberg@bartagoldberg.com or (847) 922-0945.
BTA HIGHLIGHTS
BTA would like to welcome the following new members to the association:
Dealer Members
American Business Systems Inc., Morehead, KY
Braden Business Systems, Indianapolis, IN
CPI Technologies LLC, Sulphur Springs, TX
EDGE Office Products, Longview, TX
Integrated Business Technologies Inc., San Antonio, TX
MAPS Inc., Lenexa, KS
OFFICECORP Inc., Poway, CA
Pioneer Business Systems, New York, NY
Topp Business Solutions, Scranton, PA
Usherwood Office Technology, Syracuse, NY
Vendor Members
Collabrance, Plano, TX
Square 9, New Haven, CT
For full contact information of these new members, visit www.bta.org.
Shipping & Freight Discounts
Members now have access to new and improved flat-rate pricing through UPS. 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 quickly compare LTL and GFP rates side-by-side online.
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.
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The Square 9 artificial intelligence (AI)-powered intelligent information management platform takes the paper out of work and makes it easier to get things done with digital workflows that automate many aspects of how you work today. Square 9 makes it easy by extracting information from scans or PDFs, storing documents in a searchable archive and building digital twins of your current processes through graphical workflows. More than 3,000 organizations in the United States rely on Square 9 to provide a platform for intelligent document capture, indexing, search integration and business process automation.
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A full list of BTA vendor members can be found online at www.bta.org.
Scanning Charges & UCC Lists
Peers provide feedback on two
dealer questions
Compiled by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine
Following are two questions submitted by dealer members as part of BTA’s Dealers Helping Dealers resource and many of the answers received. These answers and others can be found in the members-only section of the BTA website. Visit www.bta.org/DealersHelpingDealers. You will need your username and password to access this member resource.
Are you charging fees for scans? If so, what details can you provide?
“Yes, we usually charge $.0019 for scans. If the customer requests it, we give them the first 2,000 free.”
Frank Betancourt, sales manager
Seminole Office Solutions, Longwood, Florida
“We have in some cases, but not all. When we were deliberate with it, it was $.002. This probably will not give you what you need from a revenue side to be worth the change. You are better off charging a flat monthly fee on each contract for ‘miscellaneous’ and the payoff will be much bigger.”
John Eckstrom, CEO
Carolina Business Equipment, Columbia, South Carolina
“We do not charge for scans. We actually have won deals because the other dealer charges for scans.”
Van Seretis, managing partner
Premium Digital Office Solutions, Emerson, New Jersey
“We do not charge for scans. While infrequent, for customers that scan excessively, we have billed for document feeder calls when those type of calls impact contract profitability. Again, this is infrequent.”
Mike DelBorrello, president
Cyan Sky Copier Technologies, Schnecksville, Pennsylvania
“We may be the last holdout, but we do not charge for scans. We continue to look at the cost benefit but, honestly, we sell against it and have won several deals against competitors that are using ‘fees’ for everything to increase revenue.”
Brian Bence, executive director of sales
Shenandoah Valley Office Equipment (SVOE), Verona, Virginia
“We do not. We sell scanners and imaging, so if they are scanning a lot, we try to sell PowerPDF, DocuWare, etc.”
Nick Lioce, president
The Lioce Group, Huntsville, Alabama
“We do not charge for scans. Feed tires are not expensive, even if they need more frequent replacement. If scan volume gets really high, we will recommend a scanner, which will do a better job.”
Isaac Brewer, vice president of sales Document Solutions Unlimited, Spring Valley, New York
“Yes, we charge if the customer is using its scanner 50% more than allowed copies or 50% more of billed CPC. We charge $.003 per scan over the 50% allowable.”
Jennifer Thomson, vice president of sales and marketing Automated Business Solutions, Warwick, Rhode Island
“No. Never will. We sell document management and mark up cloud storage with that. High-volume scanning is an opportunity to sell IT or document management. Review the scan reports.”
Adam Volpe, vice president of sales Altek Business Systems, Telford, Pennsylvania
“You can do a cost per click instead of cost per copy.”
Dan Castaneda, general manager International Copy Machine Center, El Paso, Texas
“We do not, but we do charge what we call a ‘professional services fee’ for copier/MFPs that covers scanning, training, installing drivers and setting up scanning, etc. This can run from $25 to $40 per machine per month.”
David Carson, president Plus Inc., Greenville, South Carolina
“No, I keep my CPCs higher to cover scans.”
Shawn Donelson, president New Jersey Office Systems LLC, Monroe Township, New Jersey
“We did on MFPs, but competitors used that against us so we had to stop.”
Michael Hicks, president Electronic Business Machines (EBM), Lexington, Kentucky
“No. Customers are really upset with this fee.”
Ronald Weaver, president Weaver Associates Inc. Lancaster, Pennsylvania
“No, but we are considering billing for scans starting in 2025.”
Rocky Frost, COO ImageNet Consulting LLC Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
“These lists have been out there for a long time, but if you do not have a mechanism to follow up, it will be a waste of time. The good, old face-to-face is what is important ... ”
I’m wondering if dealerships are having success using UCC lists. If yes, what are some good source options for those lists?
“I get three to four emails or calls every week for ‘lists.’ The use of Google, customer lists and chamber of commerce listings typically provide us with a large number of prospects and gives us addresses, some names, phone numbers and even emails. My inside sales team has used these with success. The other source we always forget about is asking for referrals from your customer base. Create a program or offer incentives (credits) for customer referrals. They already like you, right?”
Brian Bence, executive director of sales Shenandoah Valley Office Equipment (SVOE), Verona, Virginia
“We have had no success with UCC. We used EDA. Most leasing companies do not report anymore unless they are large [companies].”
Frank Betancourt, sales manager Seminole Office Solutions, Longwood, Florida
“These lists have been out there for a long time, but if you do not have a mechanism to follow up, it will be a waste of time. The good, old face-to-face is what is important and that is best accomplished through cold calls.
John Eckstrom, CEO Carolina Business Equipment, Columbia, South Carolina
“We use EDA and have been successful with those lists.”
Van Seretis, managing partner
Premium Digital Office Solutions, Emerson, New Jersey
“Not really. Use your CRM. It will take you several years, but the clock works.”
Dale Rachal, CFO
ABM Office Solutions, Alexandria, Louisiana
“It is 50/50. The biggest issue we have with those lists are simply poor information. Contacts are consistently incorrect
and it can be a struggle to get the data necessary to stand out. On the other hand, these lists provide great opportunities because all of those individuals are already conditioned to lease. It would not be worth turning your back on.”
Brandon Cousins, president
Kraft Business Systems
Grand Rapids, Michigan
“A few of our offices are using EDA lists with some success.”
Rocky Frost, COO
ImageNet Consulting LLC, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
“UCC filings are an important part of our sales and marketing process. We enter them into the CRM with 36-month terms and the reps call and validate the actual lease terms.”
John Hastings, executive vice president, Imaging Division Loffler Companies Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota
“We use InfoUSA, Salesgenie and ZoomInfo as a last resort.”
Mark Van Den Hoek, owner
The Office Advantage, Mitchell, South Dakota
“We make a lot of calls on them. We have not gotten much from them, if anything.”
Jennifer Thomson, vice president of sales and marketing Automated Business Solutions, Warwick, Rhode Island
“I have bought lists and had very little success. They tend to be erroneous. Sometimes the manufacturers can supply lists and those seem to have much better info.”
Tim Renegar, president Kelly Office Solutions, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
“We are killing it on Sourcewell lists in the last year or so. OMNIA lists are good, too. There are also premier health-care lists that are good for those selling Xerox and health-care MFPs. It is one vertical we did not go after because we only sell Xerox production.”
Adam Volpe, vice president of sales Altek Business Systems, Telford, Pennsylvania
“EDA. Since listings are now in the system at the 10,000-foot level, we are engaging with more, but, so far, it is an equal ROI.”
Michael Hicks, president Electronic Business Machines (EBM), Lexington, Kentucky 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.
PRINCIPAL ISSUES
High Velocity
Konica Minolta dealer summit held Aug. 5-7
by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine
On Aug. 5-7, Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A. Inc. (Konica Minolta) hosted Midwest and West dealers in Chicago, Illinois, at its second High Velocity Dealer Summit of 2024. All of the dealers are participants in the company’s Rev’d Up Dealer Performance Program. In February, the first summit was held for East dealers in Sarasota, Florida. The events’ aim was to provide attendees with tools to help them optimize their dealerships in the industry’s current changing climate. The summit in Chicago drew 80 people representing 50 dealerships.
In addition to presentations by Konica Minolta senior executives, the summit featured a product showcase featuring many of the company’s cloud-based solutions for document print management, workflow and security solutions. Educational breakout session topics included digital transformation, marketing programs and enhancements to service delivery.
“This smaller format gives us the chance to engage with our dealers in a much more intimate setting where we not only have the opportunity to present new strategies and offerings, but can answer questions and continue conversations in order to give dealers the information they need to succeed,” said Laura Blackmer, president of dealer sales, as the summit got underway. “We look forward to the invaluable one-on-one conversations we will have over the next couple of days.”
In his presentation, Sam Errigo, president and CEO of Konica Minolta, emphasized, in part, the importance of dealers having a strategic plan for growth. “This is what I know about this business: If your MIF declines, if your volume goes down along with it, you are out of business,” he said. “You have to grow. I don’t care how you do it. You need growth in order to survive in this business.”
Dealers need to add incremental units to make up for declines, Errigo said, further emphasizing his message. “You have to take market share — period,” he said. “It’s not more complex than that. It’s actually a pretty easy business formula. If you do not have a growth mindset, if you are not taking share, you will not grow. For us, that’s what we call a ‘slow death’ ... We need our dealer channel to grow. The dealer
channel still represents — unlike many other manufacturers — 50% of our business; 50% direct, 50% dealer.”
Following his challenge to dealers to ensure they embrace a growth mindset, Errigo highlighted one opportunity in particular — production print. “It’s still a growing area,” he said. “We watch this business day in and day out. There’s huge opportunity in the marketplace ... If you have a great service organization and you are in production, I would be just pounding that market.”
In addition, to maintain growth, referencing the postCOVID supply chain issue, Errigo advised dealers to be vigilant about maintaining an ample inventory, in case the supply chain is once again interrupted. “There is a lot of unrest in the world,” he said, citing, for example, the turmoil in the Middle East. “I watch it every single day. I would encourage you ... to place some orders, because you don’t know, right? ... I’m not asking people to stretch, but as a prudent business owner, I would look at how you are positioned in the marketplace. Look at your pipeline. Make sure you are able to service your customers. [If you don’t have products], people that have products are going to attack. Your customers aren’t going to wait.”
Among the other topics addressed by Errigo: Konica Minolta’s relationship with FUJIFILM Business Innovation (Fuji). “What’s going on? Konica Minolta did sign an MOU [memorandum of understanding],” he said, referencing an effort to determine the feasibility of a strategic alliance between the two companies involving MFPs, office printers and production print. “This is slow moving. The agreement between Fuji and Konica Minolta is in four parts.”
Errigo highlighted the “procurement of parts and raw materials” part of the agreement. A lot of parts within the industry are still manufactured in China, which is “high risk,” he said, noting that Konica Minolta has already moved all of its manufacturing for A3 products to Malaysia (Fuji still does some manufacturing in China). “We’re almost out of China at this point, with the exception of parts ... We have to get out of China no matter what. So, the relationship between Fuji and Konica Minolta is now to go out and look for common parts, common materials that they can acquire [through coordinated procurement] outside of what I would call highrisk regions.”
Errigo also addressed another of the four parts of the Konica Minolta/Fuji agreement: Toner development. “Fuji has one toner plant, we have two toner plants,” he says. “We’ve
Sam Errigo
revamped our toner factories. There is, I think, good synergy between the toner components of the two companies ... There is a win-win in here for both companies. We would get better purchasing [power], because Fuji is bigger than Konica Minolta; they buy more parts. So, we’d be able to leverage their buying power. Fuji would have access to Konica Minolta’s toner manufacturing with backup and redundancy.”
“We’re trying to be the best partner in the industry, helping you grow your business, helping you remain profitable and viable.”
Concluding his comments on the agreement between the two companies, “I can’t tell you anything more than that, because there is nothing else to tell,” Errigo said. “We’ll see where the first phase goes ... We’ll see what happens. If there is more information to share, certainly we’ll share that on a go-forward basis.”
Errigo concluded his presentation by commenting on the partnership between Konica Minolta and its dealers. “I appreciate you,” he said. “We’re trying to be the best partner in the industry, helping you grow your business, helping you remain profitable and viable. We look forward to helping you in FY 24 and beyond.”
During the summit, Konica Minolta also launched its new Intelligent Information Management (IIM) Dealer Program, an initiative expanding the company’s IIM solutions to dealers, furthering its focus on cloud enablement. A company press release states, in part: “Konica Minolta’s IIM offering begins with digitizing paper documents from filing cabinets and storage, then minimizing the processes that require paper moving forward. Data and documents are then easily accessible through centralized, online cloud access, increasing efficiency and productivity. The solution transforms information-intensive business workflows by using advanced AI capture software to gather key data, rename files automatically or integrate with line-of-business applications to reduce manual keystrokes.” The company’s primary partner for the offering is Square 9 Softworks. 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.
Becoming ‘Tech-Savvy’
Accept no excuses for reps not embracing technology
by: Troy Harrison, Troy Harrison & Associates
Ihate excuses. Most of the time, when salespeople say, “Oh, I just can’t do this,” or “I don’t know that,” what they are really saying is, “I’m choosing not to do this or know that.” As managers, we are attuned to spotting excuses, but sometimes managers have a blind spot when it comes to sales technology. “I’m just not tech-savvy.” This excuse, often coming from experienced salespeople, can be a significant roadblock to your team’s progress and overall company growth. I think the pace of technology development has been quick enough that many of us have forgotten that being “tech-savvy” is not an innate trait, but a choice and a skill that can be developed.
The reality is that your customers are rapidly embracing technology and information, and they expect the same of you. If your sales team members are not keeping pace, they are effectively putting an expiration date on their careers — and potentially limiting your company’s growth potential.
It is your responsibility to inspire and push your team to greatness. When you accept artificial limitations, you are not only selling your salespeople short, but also undermining your company’s potential for success. It is time to hold your team members accountable and challenge them to rise above self-imposed limitations.
Here are some strategies to help your sales team members, especially the veteran salespeople, break free from technophobia and embrace the digital revolution:
n Foster a Growth Mindset: Encourage your team members to view technology as an opportunity rather than an obstacle. Help them understand that each new tool or platform is a chance to enhance their sales skills and reach new heights.
n Provide Continuous Learning Opportunities: Invest in your team’s development by offering access to webinars, workshops and conferences focused on sales technologies and strategies. Consider implementing a mentorship program where tech-savvy team members can guide others. Remember: Training is never a finished product; it is always a work in progress.
n Lead by Example: As a leader, it is crucial to stay informed about the latest sales technologies. Demonstrate the value of these tools by incorporating them into your own workflow and by sharing success stories.
n Create a Supportive Environment: Establish a culture where experimentation is encouraged and mistakes are viewed as learning opportunities. This will help alleviate the
fear of failure that often accompanies technological adoption.
n Implement Gradual Integration: Instead of overwhelming your team with multiple new tools at once, introduce technologies gradually. Start with one tool, ensure mastery and then move on to the next.
To stay competitive in today’s market, it is crucial to equip your sales team with the right technological tools. Here are some key categories to consider:
n Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Systems: Modern CRM platforms are more user-friendly than ever, offering mobile apps and automation features that streamline sales processes. Emphasize how a CRM can help your team members manage customer relationships more effectively and efficiently.
n Social Media Platforms: Depending on your target market, platforms like LinkedIn, X and even Instagram can be powerful tools for prospecting and relationship-building. Encourage your team members to develop a professional online presence and engage with prospects and customers on these platforms.
n Video Communication Tools: With the rise of remote work and virtual meetings, proficiency in tools like Zoom, Microsoft Teams or Google Meet is essential. Ensure your team members can confidently conduct video calls and presentations at a moment’s notice.
n Sales Intelligence Tools: Equip your team with tools that provide real-time insights into prospect and customer activities. LinkedIn Sales Navigator and Google Alerts can help your salespeople stay informed about industry changes and potential opportunities.
n Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Automation: Introduce your team to AI-powered tools like ChatGPT for content creation or automated email sequences for follow-ups. These technologies can significantly boost productivity and allow your salespeople to focus on high-value activities.
Change can be challenging, especially for veteran salespeople who have honed their skills over decades. Here are some strategies to help overcome resistance:
n Highlight the Benefits: Clearly communicate how these technologies will make their jobs easier and more productive. For instance, demonstrate how a CRM can automate follow-ups, saving time for more face-to-face customer interactions.
n Provide Personalized Training: Offer one-on-one or small group training sessions tailored to different skill levels.
This personalized approach can help address specific concerns and build confidence.
n Celebrate Early Wins: Recognize and reward team members who successfully adopt new technologies. Share their success stories to inspire others and create positive momentum.
n Set Clear Expectations: Make technological proficiency a part of performance evaluations. This sends a clear message that adapting to new tools is not optional, but an essential part of the job.
By freeing up time from routine tasks, these tools allow your salespeople to focus on what they do best: building relationships and closing deals face to face.
n Offer Ongoing Support: Provide continuous technical support and resources to ensure your team members feel supported throughout the adoption process.
To be successful in the modern sales environment, we have to embrace technology as part of our work. There is really no other choice. As I always say, “Would you rather do it or would you rather your competitors get ahead of you?” The excuse of not being “tech-savvy” is outdated and detrimental to our organizations’ growth. It is our responsibility to guide our team members, especially veteran salespeople, into the digital age. It is not only a matter of competitive advantage, but a matter of showing respect for those veterans. When you truly respect someone’s skills, intellect and abilities, you push him (or her) to raise his standards and boundaries. No matter their age or
experience level, anyone can learn these tools if they choose to do so. Allowing veterans to fall behind is a sign of disrespect.
By providing the right tools, training and support, we can help our entire sales force — regardless of age or experience level — to harness the power of technology. This not only enhances their individual performance, but also drives our companies forward in an increasingly competitive and digital business landscape.
Remember, embracing technology in sales is not about replacing the human touch; it is about augmenting it. By freeing up time from routine tasks, these tools allow your salespeople to focus on what they do best: building relationships and closing deals face to face. The future of sales is here and it is digital. It is time to ensure your team is ready to thrive in it. n
Troy Harrison is the author of “Sell Like You Mean It” and “The Pocket Sales Manager.”
He helps companies navigate the elements of sales on their journeys to success.
To schedule a free 45-minute Sales Strategy Review, call (913) 645-3603 or email troy@troyharrison.com. Visit www.troyharrison.com.
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