{"id":42437,"date":"2020-11-25T12:47:05","date_gmt":"2020-11-25T20:47:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/?p=42437"},"modified":"2020-11-25T12:47:08","modified_gmt":"2020-11-25T20:47:08","slug":"into-the-unknown-maximizing-sales-opportunities-in-the-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/feature-articles\/2020\/11\/into-the-unknown-maximizing-sales-opportunities-in-the-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Into the Unknown: Maximizing Sales Opportunities in the Future"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Optimism abounds as we approach New Year\u2019s Day. In a year\nmarked by frustration, the changing of the calendar signifies an opportunity to\nbegin anew with a fresh slate. In the world of business, few positions are\ncompelled to lean more Pollyanna than pessimistic than the humble sales rep.\nThey simply have no choice; their livelihood depends upon it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s certainly not to say reps should be whistling in the\ndark; they bear a heavy burden in carrying the fate of their respective\ndealerships on their shoulders. But opportunity looms for those reps willing to\ngo the extra mile in finding new and creative ways to solve end-user\nchallenges. Thus, we close out this month\u2019s State of the Industry report on\nelevating sales with a look at how to maximize opportunities in an uneven\nbusiness environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Chris Falzett, Topp Business Solutions<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

While it hasn\u2019t been the best revenue-generating year, Topp\nBusiness Solutions of Scranton, Pennsylvania is leveraging programs from\nmanufacturers and leasing partners to close additional business before the end\nof the year, notes Chris Falzett, company president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, COVID-19 has fast-tracked the\nobstacles we all face within our industry,\u201d Falzett said. \u201cOur hope is that by\nsimply staying the course, opportunities will present themselves. If there is\npent-up demand in 2021, the Topp team will be there to address it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Steve Gau, Marco<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Product specialization is one of the calling cards for Marco\nof Saint Cloud, Minnesota, which helps to sustain the dealership through any\nflavor of business disruption, be it a pandemic, economic downturn or other\ndownward pressure from a localized or national standpoint. From production\nprint to wide-format, document management, A\/V and software. Having multiple\n\u201cout pitches\u201d enables a dealer with many penetration points to endure during\nthe worst of times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to rely on our specialists because we have a general rep population that sells everything and specialists who assist them,\u201d noted Steve Gau, president of the copier division. \u201cWe\u2019re really leaning on specialists to help identify areas and trends that we see. Security has always been a talking point, but it\u2019s really taken on more significance since people are accessing company intranet and company Skype from their home offices when they\u2019re plugging into local, unsecured WiFi.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sticking to Basics<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Vincent Colaianni, TGI Office Automation<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Vincent Colaianni, director of sales development for\nBrooklyn-based TGI Office Automation, feels one of the keys to leveraging\nopportunities heading into 2021 is stressing the fundamentals of the office\nautomation industry. There is always a technology that needs to be addressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEven with less prints, there is still a problem to solve,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are prospects and clients that need a more robust technology infrastructure to keep up with the increased virtual business environment that current situations have created. Conversely, there are others that need to reduce operating costs so that they can simply maintain their business or a department. TGI can help with either of these requirements.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Path to Normal<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Scott Whitt, Hendrix Business Systems<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The pandemic has turned the entire business community into a\ncast of handicappers, as projections of vaccines being disseminated in high\nvolumes by the middle of 2021 signifying a possible resumption of pre-COVID\nbusiness perhaps returning by the third quarter. For Scott Whitt, vice\npresident of sales for Hendrix Business Systems of Charlotte, North Carolina,\nhe estimates it will take until then for 85%-90% of businesses resume pre-March\nlevels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That comes with a caveat. Whitt anticipates a percentage of businesses will be permanently changed, and the status quo will need to remain.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe focus will be squarely on prospecting,\u201d Whitt said. \u201cWe are constantly working on finding new ways to interact with clients on a deeper level and our salespeople will be utilizing a more concentrated and consultative approach to our clients\u2019 needs. Hendrix remains true to our core responsibility of providing unmatched customer service and truly caring about the well-being of everyone in our community. We are excited and hopeful that our industry as a whole will rebound from this pandemic and come out the other end stronger and better prepared to help the business world move forward in 2021.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Optimism abounds as we approach New Year\u2019s Day. In a year marked by frustration, the changing of the calendar signifies an opportunity to begin anew with a fresh slate. In the world of business, few positions are compelled to lean more Pollyanna than pessimistic than the humble sales rep. They simply have no choice; their livelihood depends upon it. That\u2019s certainly not to say reps should be whistling in the dark; they bear a heavy burden in carrying the fate of their respective dealerships on their shoulders. But opportunity looms for those reps willing to go the extra mile in finding new and creative ways to solve end-user challenges. Thus, we close out this month\u2019s State of the Industry report on elevating sales with a look at how to maximize opportunities in an uneven business environment. While it hasn\u2019t been the best revenue-generating year, Topp Business Solutions of Scranton, Pennsylvania is leveraging programs from manufacturers and leasing partners to close additional business before the end of the year, notes Chris Falzett, company president. \u201cAt the end of the day, COVID-19 has fast-tracked the obstacles we all face within our industry,\u201d Falzett said. \u201cOur hope is that by simply staying the course, opportunities will present themselves. If there is pent-up demand in 2021, the Topp team will be there to address it.\u201d Product specialization is one of the calling cards for Marco of Saint Cloud, Minnesota, which helps to sustain the dealership through any flavor of business disruption, be it a pandemic, economic downturn or other downward pressure from a localized or national standpoint. From production print to wide-format, document management, A\/V and software. Having multiple \u201cout pitches\u201d enables a dealer with many penetration points to endure during the worst of times. \u201cWe\u2019re going to rely on our specialists because we have a general rep population that sells everything and specialists who assist them,\u201d noted Steve Gau, president of the copier division. \u201cWe\u2019re really leaning on specialists to help identify areas and trends that we see. Security has always been a talking point, but it\u2019s really taken on more significance since people are accessing company intranet and company Skype from their home offices when they\u2019re plugging into local, unsecured WiFi.\u201d Sticking to Basics Vincent Colaianni, director of sales development for Brooklyn-based TGI Office Automation, feels one of the keys to leveraging opportunities heading into 2021 is stressing the fundamentals of the office automation industry. There is always a technology that needs to be addressed. \u201cEven with less prints, there is still a problem to solve,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are prospects and clients that need a more robust technology infrastructure to keep up with the increased virtual business environment that current situations have created. Conversely, there are others that need to reduce operating costs so that they can simply maintain their business or a department. TGI can help with either of these requirements.\u201d Path to Normal The pandemic has turned the entire business community into a cast of handicappers, as projections of vaccines being disseminated in high volumes by the middle of 2021 signifying a possible resumption of pre-COVID business perhaps returning by the third quarter. For Scott Whitt, vice president of sales for Hendrix Business Systems of Charlotte, North Carolina, he estimates it will take until then for 85%-90% of businesses resume pre-March levels. That comes with a caveat. Whitt anticipates a percentage of businesses will be permanently changed, and the status quo will need to remain.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u201cThe focus will be squarely on prospecting,\u201d Whitt said. \u201cWe are constantly working on finding new ways to interact with clients on a deeper level and our salespeople will be utilizing a more concentrated and consultative approach to our clients\u2019 needs. Hendrix remains true to our core responsibility of providing unmatched customer service and truly caring about the well-being of everyone in our community. We are excited and hopeful that our industry as a whole will rebound from this pandemic and come out the other end stronger and better prepared to help the business world move forward in 2021.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":166,"featured_media":42438,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1650,82,87,1638],"tags":[478,545,662,3382],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42437"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/166"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42437"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42437\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42439,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42437\/revisions\/42439"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}