Top 10 Stories of 2018 The Only Constant is Change

Whoever said “The more things change, the more things stay the same” obviously hasn’t spent any meaningful time in the office technology industry. Change was evident from the onset of 2018, beginning with the start of the would-be Xerox-Fujifilm union, and the year maintained
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KDI Office Technology Doing its Part to Support Camp Out for Hunger

Though our country is relatively young, it is steeped in tradition. Take Thanksgiving Day. We will sit down with relatives we sometimes see only a couple of times per year (and often for good reason) and enjoy a turkey meal with all the trimmings before falling asleep by halftime
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Industry’s Past Not Nearly as Exciting as the Future for DPOE Difference Maker Chip Miceli

For a man who has quite the storied past in the office technology industry, Chip Miceli remains extremely busy contemplating the future. The president of Des Plaines, IL-based Des Plaines Office Equipment (DPOE) isn’t one to rest on his laurels; in fact, he’s determined to make
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Helping Dealers Provide Managed IT Solutions a Rewarding Experience for Continuum Difference Maker Michael George

Michael George is not one to bask in adulation. The CEO of managed IT services platform provider Continuum may have guided his company’s foray into the office technology sector, but he credits the firm’s executive and leadership teams—as well as its 1,400 global employees—with
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Socially Acceptable: Dealers Leverage Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook to Augment Sales

There are two things most dealers can agree upon. One, social media engagement is an effective tool for communicating with customers and prospects, whether it’s to promote a product or service, or to keep people abreast of what your company is doing. Two, crafting a message that
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Website Optimization Plays Key Role in 21st Century Sales Engagement

The role and life of the account representative, one might argue, has been simplified in the past 20 years. No longer is in incumbent upon a sales rep to do all of the heavy lifting in enticing existing clients and prospects to avail themselves of your dealership’s product and
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Quest for Knowledge Powers Lexmark Difference Maker Greg Chavers

There’s a world of knowledge to be found in the office technology industry, and it doesn’t necessarily involve dusting off dog-eared publications from years past to unearth the wisdom. Throughout his career, Greg Chavers has found listening to be the best tack toward
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Relentless Passion and Drive Propels Supplies Network Difference Maker David Concors

David Concors will be the first to admit that some of his Supplies Network teammates may find his approach to business “relentless and annoying.” But the price of fulfilling a determined, specific business strategy and its goals can be high for those who release their feet from
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World Series Exposure Just One Cog in Konica Minolta Sports Marketing Machine

If you blinked, you might have missed the Boston Red Sox dismantling of the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games to take the 2018 World Series. It was the fourth Major League Baseball title for the Sox this century, having banished the Curse of the Bambino in 2004, followed by title
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Capital Improvements: From the Economy to Rising Interest Rates, Lessors Chart the Lending Market

It would not be surrendering to hyperbole to characterize 2018, at least through the first three-quarters of the year, as wildly successful from a selling standpoint across the office technology universe. In fact, every dealer spotlight we’ve conducted this calendar year is
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LEAD 2018 Conference the Crowning Jewel to Successful Growth Year for Toshiba

The gambling capital of the world was a fitting venue for Toshiba America Business Solutions (TABS) and Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions (TGCS) to host their sixth annual LEAD (Learn, Engage, Act and Deliver) Conference in September, for the venerable manufacturer did not hedge
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Strength in Numbers, Ideas: Caltronics Business Systems Leverages Flex Technology Group Relationship to Target Unparalleled Growth

Like many other dealers in the office technology sector, Dan Reilly has plateaued several times during the course of his 30-plus-year career. When you hit that growth wall, the president of Sacramento, CA-based Caltronics Business Systems has learned that it is necessary to
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The 21st Century Sales Approach: Where Training, Software and Analytics Meets Old-Fashioned People Skills

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
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Epson Difference Maker Elliot Williams a Master of Problem Solving

Director and writer Woody Allen is credited with the phrase “80 percent of life is showing up.” Perhaps it is what we do, after we arrive, that closes the gap on the remaining 20 percent. Elliot Williams loves that phrase, likely because the product manager at Epson America works
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Nontraditional Equipment: Dealers Eyeing More Technologies on the Horizon

As we put the wraps on this month’s state of the industry overview of new technologies that dealers are bringing to their client’s office, one thing’s for sure. It’s kind of hard to top a telepresence robot, 3D printing systems and atmospheric water generators. Still, there are
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