The most senior of office technology dealership executives, from owners to VPs of sales to grizzled down-the-street sales reps, can fondly recall (perhaps fondly is not the accurate term) the days of loading copiers into the backs of wood-paneled station wagons, then lugging them into the office for a customer demo, often times sweating up a storm while hopefully not getting black gunk on their suits.
The last 40 years have witnessed considerable changes in the technology we’ve brought to the client, not to mention the manner in which we’ve done so, along with the value proposition we’ve espoused in the process. Since about 1998 or so, when the age of the internet truly began to take root, websites made it easier for our wares to be found. In the ensuing years, we’ve tailored these sites to go beyond mere digital brochures of our offerings to an interactive marketing channel complete with videos, white papers, testimonials, blogs and other educational resources beyond the basic product catalog.
Darren Metz,
Novatech
But as much as technology has endeavored to automate the buying process, we still ascribe to a sales process that is highly personable. At the same time, it is also dependent upon an individual to not only adroitly demonstrate a product and value proposition that is reflective of our dealership, but also drives home a point of differentiation. Decision makers have a wealth of buying options, yet their time and focus on any one sales call is extremely limited.
During their Road Shows last summer, Lexmark executives pointed to a statistic that bore out what is an unfortunate truth—you have about seven seconds to grab someone’s attention. Pick a subject, sit down with a toddler and see how long you can keep his or her attention. The toddler will instantly let you know that they’ve lost interest in you; a client’s reaction will be a lot more subtle.
We really are at the vanguard, the foreground of innovation in buying the workflow tools that we recommend to our customers for the MPS copiers sales motion.
Darren Metz, Novatech
A healthy supply of breath mints, a firm handshake and the ability to hold serve in a conversation about last week’s big game may have been excellent conversation starters in the 1980s and 1990s. However, the evolution of the buyer and the onset of the millennial generation in the modern workforce has changed the rules and the mindset behind sales engagement. We’ve culled the ideas of several major office technology dealerships to learn how they’ve adjusted their approach to sales, along with the tools they’ve employed to effectively keep pace with the competition and expand their growth potential.
Eliminating Paperwork
Darren Metz loves the irony that, in order to sell more product that produces toner on paper, it was critical to eliminate paperwork in order to be more successful. The CEO of Nashville, TN-based Novatech saw his dealership embark on a two-year mission to tailor its Salesforce CRM software from the ground up, with custom pricing and quoting. All reps are now armed with Microsoft Surface laptops or tablet devices with the software and can generate custom quotes with paperwork tools. They can sit down with the client, provide a made-to-order quote, qualify the customer and have the client sign off on the deal with a finger signature on the device.
This method has eliminated valuable time from the equation. One of the critical elements for Novatech was working with Wells Fargo to accept digital signatures for leasing. The process also entails all release forms, delivery and acceptance (D&A) sheets and service contracts. The D&A is sent via email following delivery. It essentially condenses what was a process that could take four calls and up to two weeks, and enables it to be completed all in one call, on site.
“When you look at the average copier/BTA dealer, it’s a very paper-intensive business,” Metz said. “A lot of the paper is driven by the absence of software that you see in other industries for those workflows, and the unwillingness of third-party leasing companies to accept digital documents. We really are at the vanguard, the foreground of innovation in buying the workflow tools that we recommend to our customers for the MPS copiers sales motion.”
The one-call close has advantages beyond reduced paperwork. If the rep has to set a second appointment to go over the quote, then it gives the prospect time to reconsider options. Also, when presented with a printed lease to sign, Metz estimates that about 20 percent of the time, the client will take a red pen to the terms and conditions.
“When you give them a digital document to sign, people won’t negotiate Ts and Cs on a computer. They just hit the ‘I agree’ button,” he said. “If you give them a pen and contract, they’ll start scratching things out. Clients have been trained thoroughly by all the software companies that you cannot negotiate terms…they passively click the button.”
Sweeping Changes
Cincinnati-based Prosource has embarked on a number of initiatives to elevate its sales prowess. Chief among them is the creation of the Prosource Way, a strategic selling process launched organization-wide earlier this year. It provides sales teams the tools and training they need to grow their customer base, improve pipeline management and deliver value-based sales and customer experiences.
Brad Cates, Prosource
The success of the Prosource Way program is measured on net-new appointments, CRM adoption and usage, LinkedIn Social Selling Index scores, VIP tours and deal reviews. The impact has been immediately felt at Prosource, which has reaped record year-to-date revenue, an increase in the number of reps achieving quota, an increase in average revenue by rep, and improved hardware gross profit by capturing more value in the sales process.
Prosource also launched a new sales CRM solution this year to automate much of its sales processes. The system is configured to automatically generate proposals and paperwork while streamlining account tracking, forecasting and reporting.
Our social selling initiatives allow our team to pre-qualify prospects and personalize messages to prospects based on information curated from LinkedIn.
Brad Cates, Prosource
According to Brad Cates, president and CEO of Prosource, the dealership is also making monthly investments in SEO and SEM, while incorporating social selling initiatives and training for its sales team.
“In 2017, we began a monthly investment in SEO to increase our online visibility, traffic quality and website lead generation,” he said. “This year, we are complementing our SEO efforts with an SEM strategy for our Technologies division. We have seen positive results from both strategies and have plans to adjust our website to continue the trend of positive online growth.
“Our social selling initiatives allow our team to pre-qualify prospects and personalize messages to prospects based on information curated from LinkedIn,” Cates added. “One tool, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, has become critical to our sales process because it helps our sales team become better and smarter with their prospecting efforts. It provides them with direct access to key decision makers in companies that fit our ideal client criteria.”
Manufacturer Support
Dealers such as Houston-based Stargel Office Solutions are also finding manufacturers to be a fertile source of sales ammunition through various vendor-support programs. According to T.J. DeBello, vice president of sales and marketing, the dealership has benefitted from the support of Toshiba, HP and Xerox, all of which have invested a considerable amount of market development funds (MDF) on Stargel in 2018.
T.J. DeBello,
Stargel Office Solutions
“HP had an exclusive event this year for our dealership that has helped drive great security conversations,” DeBello said. “These conversations have actually helped our managed network business and MPS business, where we are seeing double-digit growth this year.”
One of the most significant changes for Stargel has been the frequency and topics that the dealership train on, according to DeBello. Reps will bring their various real-life challenges to the training meetings, and these scenarios are workshopped as part of a larger group, followed by training on products that can help address these issues.
We spend less time on just overview-type training and instead have the manufacturers come in and train on the specific issue we’re looking to address.
T.J. DeBello, Stargel Office Solutions
“We spend less time on just overview-type training and instead have the manufacturers come in and train on the specific issue we’re looking to address,” he added. “The trainings are no longer mandatory to the rep. They sign in to the training and receive a bonus at the end of the year based on participation. This actually has seen retention of the content being trained on go up, and resulted in a much more engaged sales team during the training.”
Going Deeper with Clients
Bob Maxwell,
KOMAX Business Systems
The good news for a dealership such as KOMAX Business Systems of South Charleston, WV, is that the dealer has effectively blanketed its geographic space. Of course, herein lies the challenge as well. Bob Maxwell, president and owner, notes that there aren’t many businesses opening up that would be net-new candidates for KOMAX’s equipment and services. Thus, the dealership has made a concerted effort to go deeper with current clients via ancillary products and services.
“So far, this renewed effort with our existing customers has paid off,” Maxwell said. “We have been more successful with selling managed IT services, managed voice and mailing systems, to name a few.”
I believe that this (Butler Street) training has energized our team, and we are already seeing results.
Bob Maxwell, KOMAX Business Systems
Aiding in this process is the relationship KOMAX has forged with Butler Street, which provides assessment and benchmarking tools, sales training, account management and leadership development solutions. “I believe that this training has energized our team, and we are already seeing positive results,” Maxwell added.
A Lesson in Sales
Centric Business Systems of Owings Mills, MD, has long fostered a consultative relationship with its clients in order to support the growth and sustainability of the organizations it services. One of its greatest selling points lies in its dedication to supporting its sales staff with product, solution and vertical market specialists. This entails the account executives and specialists providing a single-source solution for its clients’ document management needs.
Rick Bastinelli,
Centric Business Systems
To that end, Centric has overhauled its internal and external training programs. Its training team has one manager and a team of trainers, and each is dedicated to helping clients, as well as new and experienced sales reps, make the most out of every opportunity, according to Rick Bastinelli, president of Centric Business Systems. “The trainers assist in pre- and post-sales support by helping the sales team choose the best technology fits for a company, training customers on their new machines and providing ongoing training support to customers,” he said.
In order to best leverage the dealer’s product and service portfolio, all new sales representatives are required to go through Centric University, an 18-day program that is spread out over four weeks. “In the fourth week, there is a practical final where the new hires are evaluated on their product knowledge and ability to conduct each step of the sales cycle,” Bastinelli noted.
The trainers assist in pre- and post-sales support by helping the sales team choose the best technology fits for a company, training customers on their new machines and providing ongoing training support to customers.
Rick Bastinelli, Centric Business Systems
Interstate Commerce
For KDI Office Technology of Aston, PA, its SalesChain CRM has proven to be an invaluable tool, maintaining all relevant client and prospect account information at its salesperson’s fingertips. It provides current lease information, invoicing and payments to ensure the dealer can provide top-notch customer service.
Don Schatzman,
KDI Office Technology
One of the firm’s true marks of differentiation, according to Don Schatzman, president of sales, is its blended marketing approach of social media platforms—LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.—with a pair of highly visible Philadelphia sports arena billboards situated off I-95 and I-76 in the City of Brotherly Love. These “conversation starters” communicate what KDI, its clients and business partners are doing while promoting causes, the local sports teams and seasonal messaging. Sales reps often use the billboard as a closing tool, offering joint advertising space to prospects as part of their deals.
“Once any of these billboards are scheduled, a live shot is taken and that image is then shared on social media so the message reaches an even broader audience,” Schatzman said. “Anything posted socially is additionally tied to an RSS feed on KDI’s website. All of this drives KDI’s brand awareness in the local community, which boosts our sales effort.
“People are seeing the billboards and especially loving them during football season,” he added. “We then share and boost the posts featuring the billboards on our social media accounts to the local community, creating double brand awareness. It creates a sense of familiarity with KDI even if they haven’t used our services or products previously.”
Once any of these billboards are scheduled, a live shot is taken and that image is then shared on social media so the message reaches an even broader audience.
Don Schatzman, KDI Office Technology
Schatzman notes that KDI is increasingly leveraging manufacturer training from OEMs such as Canon, Ricoh and Lexmark, along with third-party software providers. This has provided go-to-market ideas and new sales strategies to become more effective. KDI is also making a concerted effort to focus on major accounts with verticalized selling, with training that examines where to find business, new ways to engage prospects and how to use manufacturer websites, tools and support information.
One of the challenges for KDI is getting some of the more-seasoned account executives to better understand how they can leverage social media outlets, particularly LinkedIn. Managers and reps were provided with a tutorial over the summer to see how they can gradually employ these platforms into their playbook to become more effective. KDI also provided one-on-one training and LinkedIn profile writing assistance to a number of reps.
Tried and True Methods
Finally, and this is really one of the base tenets we observe when assembling our state of the industry features, there is the notion that what works for one dealership may not be feasible for another. And just as one modus operandi may not be viewed as cutting edge or representative of a futuristic approach, that does not make it less effective or unsustainable going forward. Herein lies the beauty of the varied sales approaches we have detailed thus far, and can certainly be said of the approach used by Commonwealth Digital Office Solutions of Sterling, VA.
Mike Sarelson,
Commonwealth Digital Office Solutions
According to Mike Sarelson, Commonwealth president and owner, the dealership uses a telemarketing department of 15 operators to set up about 80 appointments per week for its sales division of 13 reps. None of the reps make cold calls, and the telemarketers are incented for the number of appointments they schedule each week (one is the base requirement). Sarelson notes that this process—which eliminates the most unpleasant and time-consuming aspect of the job for the sales crew—has served the company well for 35 years and he won’t be making any changes.
“When the term analytics is discussed, the only thing I want to pinpoint is where the machines are, what kind do they have and when does their lease expire,” he explained. “That’s the mission we have, and that’s why we have telemarketers in our program. We have zero turnover and haven’t hired a new sales rep in years. We only have one sales meeting a month. Our reps know what they’re doing and they’re very experienced.”
I’m not going to force somebody to do something that is counter to their success. We leave (telemarketers) alone to do their work.
Mike Sarelson, Commonwealth Digital Office Solutions
Telemarketing is the “heart and blood” of Commonwealth’s organization, and like the sales reps, many have enjoyed significant tenure with the dealer. They make between 60 and 120 customer calls per day, and the more successful telemarketers pull down upwards of $90,000 a year (they also receive a percentage on sales). It’s a job that requires a thick skin, Sarelson notes, and Commonwealth completely blankets its geographic scope using this method.
“I’m not going to force somebody to do something that is counter to their success,” he added. “We leave (telemarketers) alone to do their work. They’re a great department and they do a wonderful job.”
Commonwealth offers a President’s Club trip every 18 months for reps who hit their quota of $960,000 per year. In late October, the company took a Voyager cruise in Europe from Rome to Monte Carlo, complete with private suites and suite butlers. Admin and service personnel are also eligible for the trip, and Sarelson notes that most sales reps qualify for each trip.
“Guys don’t want to explain to their wives why they’re not going to Europe this year,” he chuckled.
