{"id":50758,"date":"2022-07-21T12:34:58","date_gmt":"2022-07-21T19:34:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/?p=50758"},"modified":"2022-07-21T12:35:08","modified_gmt":"2022-07-21T19:35:08","slug":"the-abcs-of-smes-do-hidden-gems-require-an-expert-gemologist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/feature-articles\/2022\/07\/the-abcs-of-smes-do-hidden-gems-require-an-expert-gemologist\/","title":{"rendered":"The ABCs of SMEs: Do Hidden Gems Require an Expert Gemologist?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

One of the challenges in dealing with ancillary products and services is that, depending on the category, it can diverge entirely away from the more traditional offerings in a dealer\u2019s arsenal. Most salespeople are entirely comfortable with discussing the core products in their catalog with clients and prospects, but when the offering has its share of esoteric nuances, it is often advisable to have subject-matter experts or third-party support functions that can help complete the sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we continue this month\u2019s State of the Industry overview of ancillary products\u2014a.k.a. hidden gems\u2014we ask our dealer panel about the challenges in scaling and the need for expertise. As the galaxy of office accouterments continues to expand as dealers look to shake their box dependency, the need for expertise becomes even more vital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Fred Barrionuevo, Impact Networking<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

As the world of IT is a moving target, with experts continuously enhancing their knowledge font through product and software training, the value proposition can be as much about what you know as it is what you offer. A company such as Impact Networking of Lake Forest, Illinois, continues to enhance its growing reputation in the IT realm. According to Fred Barrioneuvo, the dealer\u2019s emerging technology and AI team lead, underscores the importance of front-line sales staff and the service department to understand the full extent and capabilities that can be realized with advanced analytic solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJust as important to educate internally, our clients in many cases are looking for education in this space, too,\u201d Barrioneuvo said. \u201cFor a lot of them, this is new technology, things they haven\u2019t approached before. We make sure that there’s a really concerted effort to provide workshops, webinars and events where clients can send attendees. We’re helping to educate our own internal staff while doing the same for our clients. Even if they’re not ready for it today, they can understand what’s possible and what they can do in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Chip Miceli, Pulse Technology<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Chip Miceli, president and CEO of Pulse Technology in Schaumburg, Illinois, points out that knowledge of a non-traditional offering such as LED walls\u2014a growing area for the dealer\u2014can present challenges. As such, Pulse partners with a company that designs the systems, analyzes the costs and assists with installations\u2014all while Pulse maintains oversight of the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHaving someone to partner with in this area has made all the difference,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Erik Crane, CPI Technologies<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Success begins with the sales rep knowing what to say and being able to identify the \u201cbuy\u201d signs, notes Erik Crane, president and CEO of CPI Technologies in Springfield, Missouri. Once they hear some of the keywords or phrases, it sets the stage for follow-up inquiries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s very much a team effort. \u201cMy IT people are incredibly well-versed and 100% comfortable with product in any environment,\u201d Crane said. \u201cWe have third parties help us with installations that do an outstanding job.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Christopher Malatesta, IMR Digital<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In the world of conversion services, subject-matter experts are an essential ingredient. Christopher Malatesta, senior sales executive for IMR Digital, a division of KDI Office Technology in Aston, Pennsylvania, notes his company has a director of conversion services who provides support to the KDI team. In addition, IMR has sales executives who can also handle accounts virtually.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the challenges in dealing with ancillary products and services is that, depending on the category, it can diverge entirely away from the more traditional offerings in a dealer\u2019s arsenal. Most salespeople are entirely comfortable with discussing the core products in their catalog with clients and prospects, but when the offering has its share of esoteric nuances, it is often advisable to have subject-matter experts or third-party support functions that can help complete the sale. As we continue this month\u2019s State of the Industry overview of ancillary products\u2014a.k.a. hidden gems\u2014we ask our dealer panel about the challenges in scaling and the need for expertise. As the galaxy of office accouterments continues to expand as dealers look to shake their box dependency, the need for expertise becomes even more vital. As the world of IT is a moving target, with experts continuously enhancing their knowledge font through product and software training, the value proposition can be as much about what you know as it is what you offer. A company such as Impact Networking of Lake Forest, Illinois, continues to enhance its growing reputation in the IT realm. According to Fred Barrioneuvo, the dealer\u2019s emerging technology and AI team lead, underscores the importance of front-line sales staff and the service department to understand the full extent and capabilities that can be realized with advanced analytic solutions. \u201cJust as important to educate internally, our clients in many cases are looking for education in this space, too,\u201d Barrioneuvo said. \u201cFor a lot of them, this is new technology, things they haven\u2019t approached before. We make sure that there’s a really concerted effort to provide workshops, webinars and events where clients can send attendees. We’re helping to educate our own internal staff while doing the same for our clients. Even if they’re not ready for it today, they can understand what’s possible and what they can do in the future.\u201d Chip Miceli, president and CEO of Pulse Technology in Schaumburg, Illinois, points out that knowledge of a non-traditional offering such as LED walls\u2014a growing area for the dealer\u2014can present challenges. As such, Pulse partners with a company that designs the systems, analyzes the costs and assists with installations\u2014all while Pulse maintains oversight of the process. \u201cHaving someone to partner with in this area has made all the difference,\u201d he said. Success begins with the sales rep knowing what to say and being able to identify the \u201cbuy\u201d signs, notes Erik Crane, president and CEO of CPI Technologies in Springfield, Missouri. Once they hear some of the keywords or phrases, it sets the stage for follow-up inquiries. It\u2019s very much a team effort. \u201cMy IT people are incredibly well-versed and 100% comfortable with product in any environment,\u201d Crane said. \u201cWe have third parties help us with installations that do an outstanding job.\u201d In the world of conversion services, subject-matter experts are an essential ingredient. Christopher Malatesta, senior sales executive for IMR Digital, a division of KDI Office Technology in Aston, Pennsylvania, notes his company has a director of conversion services who provides support to the KDI team. In addition, IMR has sales executives who can also handle accounts virtually.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":166,"featured_media":50759,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1650,82,87,1638],"tags":[3521],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50758"}],"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=50758"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50758\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50760,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50758\/revisions\/50760"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}