{"id":36502,"date":"2019-10-17T10:31:26","date_gmt":"2019-10-17T17:31:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/?p=36502"},"modified":"2019-10-17T10:31:30","modified_gmt":"2019-10-17T17:31:30","slug":"switching-lanes-overcoming-client-objections-to-nontraditional-hidden-gems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/feature-articles\/2019\/10\/switching-lanes-overcoming-client-objections-to-nontraditional-hidden-gems\/","title":{"rendered":"Switching Lanes: Overcoming Client Objections to Nontraditional\/Hidden Gems"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

One of the more common refrains that has been repeated\nthroughout 2019 is the suggestion to \u201cstay in your lane.\u201d In other words, don\u2019t\ndeviate from what you know or stray from your core competency. Stick to what\nyou do best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That philosophy can be problematic. As an office technology\ndealer, it is vital to impress upon clients the importance of viewing the\noffice holistically. Sure, MFPs may be focal point of your offerings, but\nstraying beyond the box, past managed services, software and workflow\/document\nmanagement does not necessarily mean you are out of your depth, so to speak.\nAny spoke in the wheel of office business should be considered in play by both\nthe dealer and the customer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In short, where a need exists, a solution should be\nproffered. Overcoming client objections is the key, and the need for security\ncan unlock many doors\u2026but not all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Jason Habbal, Vision Office Systems<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

When Vision Office Systems of Charlotte, North Carolina,\nbegan selling surveillance camera systems from Canon, Jason Habbal quickly\nlearned that price would be one of the biggest objections. After all\u2014as we\nchronicled in the October issue\u2014the systems he proposed were in the $3,000 to\n$4,000 range, and some clients were saying they could get by with the $200\ntypes from a Costco or Sam\u2019s Club, the kind intended for home use. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Dreaded\nBackburner<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But one of the biggest obstacles is the procrastinator\nclient who will get to it, eventually (which often never happens). One such\nclient for Vision Office Systems was an automotive repair shop, which expressed\nsome interest in the idea of installing the system, but decided to table it.\nSadly, an irate customer paid an unexpected visit to the repair shop with a\nshotgun and began firing. While no one was killed, the shop closed its doors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople really need to see the value of not having it. They\ndon\u2019t realize that spending a little money today may have saved them a ton down\nthe road,\u201d Habbal noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Physical security and cybersecurity are two of the hottest in-demand services for businesses across the vertical spectrum, and getting clients to opt for professional-grade\/enterprise–<\/g>level solutions can be a hard sell to clients who think they are too small or insignificant for bad actors to target. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Herein lies the rub: when it comes to cybersecurity, there\nare no safe zones. According to a report released by Cisco earlier this year,\n\u201cSmall and Mighty,\u201d SMBs have become prime targets because \u201c\u2026it is more\ndifficult for them to coordinate resources and mitigate attacks before they\ncause damage.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Budgeting for\nSecurity<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Bob Ferland, Axion Business Technologies <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

For Bob Ferland, president of Axion Business Technologies of Cranston, Rhode Island, whose dealership offers managed security services that protect clients from the latest advanced security threats, budgeting is the biggest obstacle. \u201cMost SMBs start off with a cable modem and router, which is fine for home use, but it shouldn\u2019t be relied on for true business security,\u201d he said. \u201cEnterprise firewalls come with subscription security, so the biggest objection is always the budget. Clients know they need it, but at the time they find it hard to justify from a cost standpoint. They assume nothing is wrong with their network, and they\u2019re kidding themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many end-users still find it difficult to accept that\ncybercriminals can hack into a copying machine. Dr. Dawn Abbuhl, president of\nRepeat Business Systems in Albany, New York, points out that many of their\nproducts \u201callow us to open and close different ports in the copiers, which\ncould be a potential point of entry for security breaches.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Repeat offers a product that allows it to provide security\nupdates and patches remotely. For a client with, say, 700 machines, such a\nsolution is an invaluable time saver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Dawn Abbuhl, Repeat Business Systems<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople are afraid to not address security and the fact that\nour products have so many ways to address it has been a good way to encourage\npeople to look at us and make a change,\u201d she said. \u201cThe fact that we have an\nunbiased indicator of our service has really helped a lot. If it has anything\nto do with backfile scanning, the issue of security and respecting the fact\nthat you can really lose documents if you don\u2019t pay attention to how safe and\nsecure they are is critical.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Demonstrating Value<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lee Flood addresses solutions with a simple equation: Value\nequals benefits minus costs. The director of sales for Pearson-Kelly Technology\nof Springfield, Missouri, doesn\u2019t like to coax clients down any given path, but\nhelps them to recognize that the long-term effects of a solution will help\npropel their business to the next level, even if the product or service is\nviewed more as a want than a need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Lee Flood, Pearson-Kelly Technology<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cToday\u2019s market is extremely competitive,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople\nare demanding technology, and your workforce is demanding it. And if you\u2019re not\nproviding it, your competitors may be. It\u2019s these ancillary technologies are\nthe things that can set you apart and really do come into play for our\ncustomers.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the more common refrains that has been repeated throughout 2019 is the suggestion to \u201cstay in your lane.\u201d In other words, don\u2019t deviate from what you know or stray from your core competency. Stick to what you do best. That philosophy can be problematic. As an office technology dealer, it is vital to impress upon clients the importance of viewing the office holistically. Sure, MFPs may be focal point of your offerings, but straying beyond the box, past managed services, software and workflow\/document management does not necessarily mean you are out of your depth, so to speak. Any spoke in the wheel of office business should be considered in play by both the dealer and the customer. In short, where a need exists, a solution should be proffered. Overcoming client objections is the key, and the need for security can unlock many doors\u2026but not all. When Vision Office Systems of Charlotte, North Carolina, began selling surveillance camera systems from Canon, Jason Habbal quickly learned that price would be one of the biggest objections. After all\u2014as we chronicled in the October issue\u2014the systems he proposed were in the $3,000 to $4,000 range, and some clients were saying they could get by with the $200 types from a Costco or Sam\u2019s Club, the kind intended for home use. The Dreaded Backburner But one of the biggest obstacles is the procrastinator client who will get to it, eventually (which often never happens). One such client for Vision Office Systems was an automotive repair shop, which expressed some interest in the idea of installing the system, but decided to table it. Sadly, an irate customer paid an unexpected visit to the repair shop with a shotgun and began firing. While no one was killed, the shop closed its doors. \u201cPeople really need to see the value of not having it. They don\u2019t realize that spending a little money today may have saved them a ton down the road,\u201d Habbal noted. Physical security and cybersecurity are two of the hottest in-demand services for businesses across the vertical spectrum, and getting clients to opt for professional-grade\/enterprise–level solutions can be a hard sell to clients who think they are too small or insignificant for bad actors to target. Herein lies the rub: when it comes to cybersecurity, there are no safe zones. According to a report released by Cisco earlier this year, \u201cSmall and Mighty,\u201d SMBs have become prime targets because \u201c\u2026it is more difficult for them to coordinate resources and mitigate attacks before they cause damage.\u201d Budgeting for Security For Bob Ferland, president of Axion Business Technologies of Cranston, Rhode Island, whose dealership offers managed security services that protect clients from the latest advanced security threats, budgeting is the biggest obstacle. \u201cMost SMBs start off with a cable modem and router, which is fine for home use, but it shouldn\u2019t be relied on for true business security,\u201d he said. \u201cEnterprise firewalls come with subscription security, so the biggest objection is always the budget. Clients know they need it, but at the time they find it hard to justify from a cost standpoint. They assume nothing is wrong with their network, and they\u2019re kidding themselves.\u201d Many end-users still find it difficult to accept that cybercriminals can hack into a copying machine. Dr. Dawn Abbuhl, president of Repeat Business Systems in Albany, New York, points out that many of their products \u201callow us to open and close different ports in the copiers, which could be a potential point of entry for security breaches.\u201d Repeat offers a product that allows it to provide security updates and patches remotely. For a client with, say, 700 machines, such a solution is an invaluable time saver. \u201cPeople are afraid to not address security and the fact that our products have so many ways to address it has been a good way to encourage people to look at us and make a change,\u201d she said. \u201cThe fact that we have an unbiased indicator of our service has really helped a lot. If it has anything to do with backfile scanning, the issue of security and respecting the fact that you can really lose documents if you don\u2019t pay attention to how safe and secure they are is critical.\u201d Demonstrating Value Lee Flood addresses solutions with a simple equation: Value equals benefits minus costs. The director of sales for Pearson-Kelly Technology of Springfield, Missouri, doesn\u2019t like to coax clients down any given path, but helps them to recognize that the long-term effects of a solution will help propel their business to the next level, even if the product or service is viewed more as a want than a need. \u201cToday\u2019s market is extremely competitive,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople are demanding technology, and your workforce is demanding it. And if you\u2019re not providing it, your competitors may be. It\u2019s these ancillary technologies are the things that can set you apart and really do come into play for our customers.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":166,"featured_media":36503,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1650,82,87,1638],"tags":[3348,3654,2258,678],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36502"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/166"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36502"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36502\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36505,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36502\/revisions\/36505"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}