Sales and Marketing

Print and document capture workflow environments continue to get more complex. As part of their solutions, customers want security and better usability. They want a return on their investment not only in reducing paper but also improving workflows and creating new streamlined Read More

In the classic TV show Colombo, Peter Falk made this quote famous, “Let me ask just one more question?” You see, Colombo was one of the most persistent characters portrayed on television. Once he latched on to a murder suspect he would question them endlessly, walk away and then Read More

I’ve spent the last ten years coaching business owners and sales leaders on the proper design of their sales model. While I generally focus on new business and how to drive net new revenue growth, in this article I want to discuss something different: best practices to protect Read More

Though many may not know, there is a process for properly introducing new products into your company and market place. It’s common to see a dealer select a new product based on a current client inquiry or because they see the latest “gee-wiz” product at a show and decide they Read More

Sales quotas always seem to be a hot topic, especially in any industry where revenue quotas are affixed to individual sales representatives and sales teams. I have read articles over the years that would seem to suggest that they are passé. Here’s the dictionary.com definition of Read More

Ask an independent copier dealership what sets them apart and you get a consistent answer: “We deliver outstanding customer service.” There’s no question that the key value we bring is great customer service. Excellent customer service is the lifeblood of growth, sales Read More

“If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it” That quote has been attributed to many individuals, the most famous being those icons of modern management philosophy Peter Drucker and Edward Deming. I would hazard a guess that all successful business men and women have paid Read More

Not for the first time, I was recently asked to name my strongest competitor. I imagine the inquirer expected me to share a company name and then offer some “salesy” explanation of why I was the better choice. My answer was definitely NOT what they were expecting. My biggest Read More

Every day I talk to copier dealer principals and VP’s of sales about their marketing strategies. While dealers see the importance of online marketing with today’s buyer, every so often I hear the following when it comes to marketing: “I have a marketing department—it’s our sales Read More

I work with a lot of great companies to help them improve their sales results. At one point in time I think many of these companies hired me as their consultant because I ran a business unit with 1,100 sales professionals and they thought I might have learned a thing or two in Read More

“How memorable are you?” That was a question that plagued me over the last few days. Who will remember you after the trade event wraps up and the circus moves to the next town. I am coming off of two back-to-back events over the last week. CompTIA in Florida, BTA in Las Vegas. Read More

Anyone who has done B2B marketing for more than 10 years will tell you that traditional lead-generation marketing doesn’t work as well as it used to. Technology has made it easier for prospects to ignore your attempts to contact them by filtering out communication from Read More

It is getting to be that time of year again. It’s the season that flies in with witches, goblins and the super heroes of Halloween, slows to tryptophan-induced lethargy on Thanksgiving Day, zooms into the tunes and thoughts of Christmas and leaves us watching a big ball drop and Read More

Too many companies fail at creating a strong, high performance sales force. The most common reason is that the managers work from instinct and results, rather than process and activity. It doesn’t have to be that way. A good activity management program is within the reach of any Read More

Tradeshows and conferences. For that perfect combination of “entertainment and education,” you really can’t beat tradeshows and conferences. Bring a few thousand (or more) salespeople together with a few hundred (or less, or a lot less) potential prospects and the show is a Read More