{"id":42341,"date":"2020-11-12T13:01:22","date_gmt":"2020-11-12T21:01:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/?p=42341"},"modified":"2020-11-12T13:01:25","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T21:01:25","slug":"prospecting-during-a-pandemic-the-ins-and-outs-of-securing-net-new-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/feature-articles\/2020\/11\/prospecting-during-a-pandemic-the-ins-and-outs-of-securing-net-new-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Prospecting During a Pandemic: The Ins and Outs of Securing Net-New Business"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

An entire \u201cDuring a Pandemic\u201d how-to series could be\npublished that is aimed at the business community\u2014hiring during a pandemic,\ngrowing sales during a pandemic, maintaining corporate culture during a\npandemic. As much as anything, COVID-19 has elevated our ability to construct\nworkarounds and establish new performance parameters while attempting to\nmaintain benchmarks that will likely not be met, at least from a technical\nservice perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we look at the business world through the office dealer\nlens, one of the greatest challenges for salespeople to reconcile is\nprospecting for net-new business. Anecdotally, we\u2019ve heard tales about how\nend-users are loathe to reassess their product and service vendors during the\npandemic. Similarly, however, COVID-19 has acted as a UV light for poor service,\nilluminating the minds of customers to the notion that, pandemic or not, their\nbusiness is ripe for a new vendor that can better serve their changing needs.\nAnd that\u2019s where you, the dealer, can find an opening to net-new opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we continue our State of the Industry overview of\nelevating sales, our dealer panel provides insight into how they have\napproached the subject of finding new pockets of business in a most challenging\nenvironment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Is it possible to add substantial net-new business during a\npandemic? For Scott Whitt, vice president of sales for Hendrix Business Systems\nof Charlotte, North Carolina, the answer is an unequivocal \u201cyes.\u201d Year to date,\nHendrix counts 63% of its hardware revenue as being net-new, down just 2% year\nover year\u2014impressive in this climate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company operates on a net-new business model, but it\u2019s\nimportant to note how Hendrix measures it. Net-new placements are tallied\nwhenever the dealer supplants a competitive device within a client, which may\nalready be using Hendrix\u2019s gear in other facets of its business. When\nperipheral devices such as interactive touch screens are placed with a current\naccount, it too is considered a net-new placement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is an important distinction, but the right one in our\nopinion,\u201d Whitt said. \u201cIt pushes our salespeople to continually try to expand\nour footprint inside current client environments, as we pay the highest\ncommission percentage for net-new business.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

New business is always viable, even during a pandemic. But Vincent\nColaianni, director of sales development for TGI Office Automation of Brooklyn,\nbelieves it is important for dealers to be realistic when setting expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe eliminated in-person prospecting and replaced it with digital meetings,\u201d he noted. \u201cAlthough we are not at pre-pandemic success rates, we are showing steady growth by taking the time to ask, \u2018what do you need help with?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Laying Foundation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a company like Pearson-Kelly Technology of Springfield, Missouri, net-new business can be tough to measure, as many of its product offerings tend to have long sales cycles. What the pandemic did allow was greater access to decision-makers. Lee Flood, executive vice president, noted that about a month into the shutdown, many of its clients and prospects saw their business activity hit a nadir. As a result of this inactivity, the key decision-makers were more readily available for conversations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Tact was critical here; when business is at a near standstill, decision-makers obviously do not want to be inundated with hard sells. Thus, the ability of Pearson-Kelly reps to allow clients and prospects to talk about their imminent needs and long-term objectives enabled them to lay the foundation for future business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\nwere able to plant a lot more seeds during that time and we\u2019re starting to reap\nthe benefits of that today,\u201d Flood said. \u201cIt goes back to just being human and\nnot trying to sell someone on something during the pandemic. I think we\u2019re\ngoing to continue to see success from that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chris Falzett, president of Topp Business Solutions in Scranton, Pennsylvania, points out that cold calling is very difficult under pandemic circumstances. But reaching out to prospects within Topp\u2019s CRM, buoyed by marketing initiatives and lead generation, has helped keep the dealer busy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Warmer Reception<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cold calling under normal circumstances is not for the faint\nof heart. Mix in a pandemic, and reaching prospects at their desk line or via\nemail can be even more problematic (though in general, most people report\ngetting fewer phone calls, anyway). Steve Gau, president of the copier division\nfor Marco of St. Cloud, Minnesota, notes the reduced level of calls is actually\nprompting more people to pick up, and that opening provides the perfect segue\nto ask prospects if their current vendors have provided reviews of their changing\nbusiness needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

The reason why many dealers aren\u2019t providing reviews is obvious\u2014if volumes are down sharply, a review might call for a reduction. \u201cDealers, in general, don\u2019t like doing that in the first place, and they certainly don\u2019t want to do it now because once you adjust it, when do you get that volume back, if ever?\u201d Gau posed. \u201cThe client will say, \u2018I\u2019m not doing as much volume, what can you do to help lower my payments?\u2019 You need to be proactive, empathetic and reasonable in those requests with your customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat helps in trying to prospect with new customers is\nasking if their current vendor has reviewed their changing business needs, and\nsee if they\u2019ve made adjustments to address those needs. That gets people\u2019s\nattention. It\u2019s the perfect time to look at how much they\u2019re using and paying.\u201d\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An entire \u201cDuring a Pandemic\u201d how-to series could be published that is aimed at the business community\u2014hiring during a pandemic, growing sales during a pandemic, maintaining corporate culture during a pandemic. As much as anything, COVID-19 has elevated our ability to construct workarounds and establish new performance parameters while attempting to maintain benchmarks that will likely not be met, at least from a technical service perspective. As we look at the business world through the office dealer lens, one of the greatest challenges for salespeople to reconcile is prospecting for net-new business. Anecdotally, we\u2019ve heard tales about how end-users are loathe to reassess their product and service vendors during the pandemic. Similarly, however, COVID-19 has acted as a UV light for poor service, illuminating the minds of customers to the notion that, pandemic or not, their business is ripe for a new vendor that can better serve their changing needs. And that\u2019s where you, the dealer, can find an opening to net-new opportunities. As we continue our State of the Industry overview of elevating sales, our dealer panel provides insight into how they have approached the subject of finding new pockets of business in a most challenging environment. Is it possible to add substantial net-new business during a pandemic? For Scott Whitt, vice president of sales for Hendrix Business Systems of Charlotte, North Carolina, the answer is an unequivocal \u201cyes.\u201d Year to date, Hendrix counts 63% of its hardware revenue as being net-new, down just 2% year over year\u2014impressive in this climate. The company operates on a net-new business model, but it\u2019s important to note how Hendrix measures it. Net-new placements are tallied whenever the dealer supplants a competitive device within a client, which may already be using Hendrix\u2019s gear in other facets of its business. When peripheral devices such as interactive touch screens are placed with a current account, it too is considered a net-new placement. \u201cThis is an important distinction, but the right one in our opinion,\u201d Whitt said. \u201cIt pushes our salespeople to continually try to expand our footprint inside current client environments, as we pay the highest commission percentage for net-new business.\u201d New business is always viable, even during a pandemic. But Vincent Colaianni, director of sales development for TGI Office Automation of Brooklyn, believes it is important for dealers to be realistic when setting expectations. \u201cWe eliminated in-person prospecting and replaced it with digital meetings,\u201d he noted. \u201cAlthough we are not at pre-pandemic success rates, we are showing steady growth by taking the time to ask, \u2018what do you need help with?\u2019\u201d Laying Foundation For a company like Pearson-Kelly Technology of Springfield, Missouri, net-new business can be tough to measure, as many of its product offerings tend to have long sales cycles. What the pandemic did allow was greater access to decision-makers. Lee Flood, executive vice president, noted that about a month into the shutdown, many of its clients and prospects saw their business activity hit a nadir. As a result of this inactivity, the key decision-makers were more readily available for conversations. Tact was critical here; when business is at a near standstill, decision-makers obviously do not want to be inundated with hard sells. Thus, the ability of Pearson-Kelly reps to allow clients and prospects to talk about their imminent needs and long-term objectives enabled them to lay the foundation for future business. \u201cWe were able to plant a lot more seeds during that time and we\u2019re starting to reap the benefits of that today,\u201d Flood said. \u201cIt goes back to just being human and not trying to sell someone on something during the pandemic. I think we\u2019re going to continue to see success from that.\u201d Chris Falzett, president of Topp Business Solutions in Scranton, Pennsylvania, points out that cold calling is very difficult under pandemic circumstances. But reaching out to prospects within Topp\u2019s CRM, buoyed by marketing initiatives and lead generation, has helped keep the dealer busy. Warmer Reception Cold calling under normal circumstances is not for the faint of heart. Mix in a pandemic, and reaching prospects at their desk line or via email can be even more problematic (though in general, most people report getting fewer phone calls, anyway). Steve Gau, president of the copier division for Marco of St. Cloud, Minnesota, notes the reduced level of calls is actually prompting more people to pick up, and that opening provides the perfect segue to ask prospects if their current vendors have provided reviews of their changing business needs. The reason why many dealers aren\u2019t providing reviews is obvious\u2014if volumes are down sharply, a review might call for a reduction. \u201cDealers, in general, don\u2019t like doing that in the first place, and they certainly don\u2019t want to do it now because once you adjust it, when do you get that volume back, if ever?\u201d Gau posed. \u201cThe client will say, \u2018I\u2019m not doing as much volume, what can you do to help lower my payments?\u2019 You need to be proactive, empathetic and reasonable in those requests with your customers. \u201cWhat helps in trying to prospect with new customers is asking if their current vendor has reviewed their changing business needs, and see if they\u2019ve made adjustments to address those needs. That gets people\u2019s attention. It\u2019s the perfect time to look at how much they\u2019re using and paying.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":166,"featured_media":42342,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1650,82,87,1638],"tags":[478,545,3654,662,3382],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42341"}],"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=42341"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42341\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42343,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42341\/revisions\/42343"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}