There are a lot of rumours out there coming from our competition about why not to invest in solid in technology in your office. Here are a few ridiculous ones we’ve heard lately and our response.

Fuzzy photos, and difficulty with fine lines and small text – Test your own company samples at your local Xerox demo facility to validate. Our install base since May of 2009 has the Colour Qube in many engineering firms that demand excellence in image quality. Most of their colour drawings have many fine lines and small text and they trust the Color Qube engine for them. If any image quality issues come up you can always place a service call.

Does NOT support coated stocks of any kind (issue with wax adhering to surface) – The Color Qube can support stocks up to 220 gsm or 80lb cover, which is a media thickness most laser machines are rated up to. Coated stocks are usually only used in print shops for business cards or specialty jobs. Typically customers with laser machines will buy heavy coated stocks to create better colour quality documents. The Color Qube delivers the same high quality image quality on any thickness of stock so using coated stocks to achieve colour quality becomes irrelevant.

Sometimes banding appears in prints, meaning lines of light color or no color, and end user may choose the “Full Banding Fix” on the control panel, which will take 8 minutes to kick out test pages, and waste wax until complete – All machines including laser and solid ink may eventually have some sort of colour issue and instead of placing a service call right away whenever there is a problem and waiting two hours to be fixed, the Color Qube gives users the power to get up and running in 8 minutes – “Full Banding Fix”, 6 minutes – “Ink Smears” or 90 seconds “Light Lines”. No worry of wasting wax because you have an unlimited supply of it included in your service contract. Your trainer will show you these common quick fixes for most issues that come up. You always can just place a service call if any image quality issue comes up.

End users are advised not to turn unit off if possible, due to waste of wax, and long warmup times – You don’t turn off your laser machines after work every day. The Color Qube has built in software called “Intelligent Ready” to help save in energy consumption and speed up ready times. The software predicts machine usage after two weeks of running so that it will automatically go from sleep mode to ready on whenever you regularly start using the machine in the morning. For instance if printing starts at 9am typically the machine will know that and be on and ready to go.

End users are advised that if they need to move the unit, they should turn off and wait 30 minutes, so wax cools and hardens and does not splash when unit is moved. – users rarely need to move the unit once it is in its spot. Our technicians and trainers will advise you of this when it is being set up.

End users are warned that when replacing the “Cleaning Unit”, it is possible to spill the silicon oil inside, which is used to keep the drum clean – the cleaning unit lasts for 350,000 impressions so you replace it maybe twice a machine lifetime. We always pull it in and out in demos to show ease of use and never see issues resulting from it. You can change it yourself in 2 minutes to get up and running or you can always place a service call and have a technician change it for you.

End users are instructed to remove and replace the waste ink tray, as unit will not operate if it’s full – same principal as having to change the waste toner cartridge on a laser machine when it’s full, except you don’t have to place a service call and wait 2 hours just to get the machine up and running. We give you the ability to empty the non-toxic wax waste in the garbage right away and get back up and running in 2 minutes.

Turning “Off” the unit will eat more consumables – you have a service contract with unlimited consumables included.

It doesn’t matter where you went to school or what you have a degree in. Did you’re degree teach you how to build a personal relationship? Maybe, but I doubt it. In a Sales environment, building the relationships you have with your existing client base, will prove better success for you, then always trying to reach a new customer and starting fresh. Remember, in sales, it’s a game of numbers on the surface. Those numbers will only work in your favor though, if you pay attention to who is generating 80% of your business. I bet you’ll find most of your business comes from 20% of your existing customers. Why wouldn’t you want to thank them for that value they provide you and give them a valuable relationship back in return?

When you build a relationship, you want to provide as much value to the receiver as possible. Providing value doesn’t mean having the lowest price, or even the best product. Often “value” is an individual’s perception about what you give to them, or what you offer them.

If you don’t provide value to the relationship, it will become stale. This happens with relationships and people a lot. The key to understanding someone is to understand who they are, what they do, and how others perceive them as having a “value” over the next person. Keep this in mind the next time you talk to a potential buyer or someone interested in YOU.

In sales, make it easy on your customer. Customers have bad experiences with vendors. They will be attracted to the service provider, or solution provider that makes it easy for them to get products, services, and support. Find a way to utilize a model that allows “ease of use” to you customers and avoid a lot of “red tape” in your sales cycle.

Take the time to build your relationships and to give back to your customers. You may turn out to be surprised the next time you get a holiday card or gift in the mail out of the blue from them. Building relationships is key in sales. Relationships close business.

Contrary to popular belief, to be a successful salesperson, it doesn’t matter how much you know about your product or service. It also doesn’t matter how much of an industry expert you are. It doesn’t even matter how great your mother thinks you are. The only thing that really matters to be successful in selling is your ability to shut-up and listen. On numerous occasions, everyone in sales has heard how important it is to get the customer talking, so it’s imperative that they have an arsenal of great questions to ask.

To talk less means you have to ask questions that truly engage the customer. However, this doesn’t mean you need to develop complex questions. Instead, the best tactic is to ask shorter ones. Long questions tend to result in short answers, while short questions will generally result in long answers. An example of a great short question is, “Why?” In my opinion, there isn’t a better follow-up question you can ask after the customer has shared with you some information. Consider how your customers would respond to other short examples like, “Can you elaborate on that?” and “Could you explain more?” These shorter questions elicit detailed responses and that’s just what you want. Questions should not be your means of showing your customers that you are an expert. If you’re following the rule of asking short questions, you’ll ensure that the customer is doing most of the talking. You’ll learn valuable information that will help you better understand the customer’s needs. The questions you ask should be ones directed at the comments you just made. By doing so, you’re checking with the customer to see if they understood what you just shared with them. Again, this is something many salespeople overlook. They get caught up in sharing with the customer their expertise and the features of their product or service and forget all about what the customer is thinking.

If you want to move your questioning process to the next level, make half of the questions you ask be ones that help the customer see and feel the pain they have. By doing so, they will be much more open to receiving your solution. For example, if you’re selling productivity on an MFP, you might ask, “Can you explain to me what happens when there is a huge bottleneck at the system?”, or “what happens when the machine stops printing?” These, short, concise question are designed to get the customer thinking about the risks they face, what I call “letting them bleed”. And once they start bleeding, don’t dare interrupt. Only when they are done bleeding will you have a better understanding of their issues.

As simple as it sounds, the more you shut up, the more you’ll sell. And, the easiest way to achieve this goal is by asking more, short questions. So, shut up and sell!

You might have heard, or might someday hear your local Computer Geek talk about scripts, or scripting.

Yawn.

Why should you care? What are scripts? Why are we scripting? Isn’t life better when it’s lived unscripted?
Depends on the script…..

At its least complicated, a script is a very simple program to achieve a single goal. A Script can clear the screen, or connect a printer. It can connect you to your workplace halfway across the world, or to your music collection downstairs.

Yawn.

Okay – so what’s the goal? Saving time. Lots of time. I’m pretty sure Everybody in business will agree:
Time = Money

Setting up a printer for most users or computers is a 15 minute job. If you have a centralized server/printer setup it can be as little as 5 minutes per user. Let’s assume you have an office with 5 users, and a shared network printer which you just acquired, and now need to connect.

Method 1:
A very straightforward setup takes 15 minutes per computer to load the driver, and connect to the printer.
5 X 15 = 75 minutes. So, and hour and a quarter.

Method 2:
Lets now assume you have a small server. Setting up centrally is so much more efficient.
15 minutes to setup the printer at the server, and 5 minutes per workstation to deploy.
5 X 5 + 15 = 40 minutes. Hey – this is more like it!

Method 3:
Now let’s add a script to the server which automatically connects the computers to the shared printer every time you logon.
15 Minutes to load the print driver.
15 minutes to populate a standard script
0 Minutes per workstation to configure (because the script does it all).
30 minutes total time spent deploying. Not much better than the last option – or so it seems.

NOW here’s where it gets sexy.

Your company grows to 50 users over the next 5 years, and the printer just gets plum worn-out. You have to replace the printer with a brand new medium-duty beauty, and you need to give everyone access.

Method 1:
15 X 50 = 750 minutes, or 12.5 hours. Ouch.
For professional services at $75.00 per hour that’s $7512.50

Method 2: with server.
15 + 5 X 50 = 265 minutes, or roughly 4.5 hours. $337.50
Better, but still pretty hard to swallow.

Method 3: Scripted
15 Minutes to load the driver.
15 minutes to add the script.
30 minutes total, or $37.50 for your professional to deploy it. Nice.

Now let’s go 1 step further…
You had to setup, or have someone setup that original printer for each of those workstations, as your company grew. With each method, your extended costs over time were equal to the full setup of a new printer.

The basic printer configuration cost you the labour equivalent of $15025.00 over 5 years.
The server configuration cost you $675.00 over 5 years, for a savings of $14350.00
Scripted printer setup would cost $70.00 over the same 5 years and saves $14955.00

If a script could save me $15000.00 over 5 years, I’d buy it dinner, and take it to a movie.

I’d also call it sexy.

I have personally been in the Information Technology field for 15 years now. Where has technology been and gone in 15 years? Looking back when I started in the retail I.T. field, extremely green, things were very different.

We were custom building Personal Computers with:
Intel Pentium III Processors, 32MB of SDRAM, 8GB Hard Drives, 4MB AGP Video Cards, a jolly old 15” or 17” CRT monitor (that could heat your sun room and bow your desk) loaded with Windows 98se (still as Windows ME was an extreme flop).

We were on the cusp of emerging technologies that would change business as we know it forever.
An exciting, but also uneasy time for businesses, a time of change that was inevitable. Businesses were using MS Server NT as their platform for business.

Over the past 15 years, I have had the honour and opportunity to work side-by-side with four amazing companies. These are more than decade long relationships that are still growing even stronger. While partners with my technology team and I, these four have all seen the face of technology change right before their eyes. Together we have effectively transitioned their companies to solutions that not only fit their growth, but enable it!

Please, with no further adieu, let me introduce my Fantastic Four in alphabetic Order:

A1 Security Systems
Established 1988
Main focus of their business: to provide electronic security solutions for our clients while maintaining a proactive service schedule. Servicing Southern Ontario.
Technology Growth over 15 years: Going from a Single Server with one application for data store, with outside management of scheduling and mail management – Migrating to Microsoft Small Business Server platform, where central mail management and storage as well as scheduling and data share became an enabler for growth and empowered A1 to take control of their day to day business data management.

Forbes Ford (Ford dealership)
Established 1984 (started with 9 employees, currently employing 30)
Main focus of their business: to be your one stop for all your automotive needs. Servicing the Golden Horseshoe.
Technology Growth over 15 years: Forbes Ford has moved from an externally hosted solution for all of their needs, data programs, email etc to an internal solution that bridged a big internal security and data integrity issue. Moving to an internally networked, secured, shared and managed solution. Peer to peer to Microsoft Small Business Server.

Sheehan’s Truck Centre Inc
Established in 1988 (started with 3 people, Mr and Mrs Sheehan themselves and a single mechanic) Sheehan’s now employs more than 70 people and is still very much a family centered and run business.
Main focus of business: New and used truck dealership, as well as a 7am to midnight M-F truck repair facility and parts counter. They also started a leasing company a couple of years ago called –Sheehan’s Leasing Ltd (Servicing the Golden Horseshoe and beyond)
Technology growth in 15 years: When we met Sheehan’s some 15 years ago there were roughly 20-25 PC users and the use of a single Server, to now, what is a network of more than 45 PCs and multiple Servers. We have, some time ago, migrated them as well to a Microsoft Small Business Platform, increasing the ability of the company to take a hold of their data and communications and empowering them to take these to a whole new level. Increasing productivity and data to day operation simplification.

Williamson Printing Materials Limited
Established 1952, celebrating 60 years this year! (started with 2 employees, grew to 23 in early 2000, currently 16)
Main focus of their business: Williamson is a full service distributor of flexographic materials and equipment throughout Canada.
Technology Growth over 15 years: Taking them from an IBM server platform to an HP server platform, and migrating them from straight Microsoft Server to Microsoft Small Business Server software platform. Changing the way they stored data and while still maintaining a hosted mail solution. The addition of Exchange server provided central mail management, storage, and backup.

What a great decade and what an opportunity to be a part of the growth of these companies. Some of my greatest professional and personal relationships have been forged in though this timing.

Craig from A1, Diane from Forbes Ford, Nancy from Williamson Printing Materials and last, but not least Kelly from Sheehan’s Truck. All of you have been driving forces to keep us as a technology supporter on our toes and wanting to be that solutions company, striving to be that one stop shop. Thanks you. All of you, for your overwhelming trust in our abilities and your continued support in our team and our company! You have all been a personal inspiration to myself and how I conduct the business that I do. You’ve helped motivate me to keep our company in line with your growing needs.

Please stay tuned as we will be showcasing these companies one and at a time in a video blog…..same bat time, same bat channel….