Atlantic Tomorrow\u2019s Office In the war room at Atlantic Tomorrow\u2019s Office, the proper term for taking down a big account is elephant hunting. The big-game hunting metaphor is an apt one, conjuring thoughts of seeking out the biggest prey as a trophy score. Company President Larry Weiss views the game through three lenses: looking for net-new business (capturing someone else\u2019s elephant), recovering old business (the elephant that got away) and expanding business within an existing account (feeding the elephant).<\/p>\n\n\n\n While scenarios one and three are compelling, there\u2019s a certain added degree of satisfaction that accompanies reclaiming what was once yours. There can be a myriad of reasons for a client to turn elsewhere: a low-cost competitor swoops in with (sometimes-unfulfilled) promises, or perhaps your service dropped the ball delivering on client SLAs. But one of the more common derailments of an incumbent is a change in the offices of customer decision-makers, which could be accompanied by a review of vendors and the desire to do business with other entities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s precisely what caused Atlantic Tomorrow\u2019s Office to see one elephant\u2014a major New York health care provider and one of the largest hospital systems in the country\u2014defect to a manufacturer. The client\u2019s key decision-makers were replaced by a new regime, which only underscores the sometimes-tentative hold competitors have on accounts in an era when personnel changes have intensified in number. It also illustrates the need to foster strong relationships within the upper echelon of organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When relationships change, that creates a new opportunity. Or if the new provider screws up and the client says, \u2018Oh my God, I\u2019ve got to fix this,\u2019 that\u2019s your chance to show that you can deliver.<\/p>\u2013 Larry Weiss, Atlantic Tomorrow\u2019s Office<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou have to be in touch with an account at the C level on a constant basis,\u201d Weiss explained. \u201cYou have to be sharing information and emphasize how you\u2019re leveraging technology. You need to provide information about webinars, any technology shows relevant to them and, in our case, the IT webinar series we do. You have to be constantly communicating with that person, and it needs to be someone in the C suite. Leveraging social networks such as LinkedIn is important too, as they could end up recommending your company.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Atlantic\u2019s case, a 17-year client came under new administration, and that regime had a previous relationship with the OEM. Throughout the first two years of the new five-year deal, Atlantic nonetheless stayed in close contact with the hospital, and it became clear the OEM couldn\u2019t deliver on the promises it made at the onset. By year three, the hospital\u2019s purchasing group was replaced and filled by incumbent personnel who knew Atlantic was more than capable of living up to its word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey did the process again and we won,\u201d Weiss noted. \u201cAs easily as we lost, we regained the business.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Better yet, Atlantic was able to double the size of the deal. It hired techs from the OEM and placed some on-site, assumed control of the servers and the gear, refreshed some of the equipment and managed it via MPS technology. Weiss is also looking to burgeon the agreement with label printers for badging and medical purposes. With additional software and other enhancements, Atlantic is not only bringing this customer\u2019s engagement to new heights, it\u2019s also effectively locking out threats from future competitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe meet with their IT staff, they tell us what they\u2019re looking for and we share with them the ways we can accomplish it. There\u2019s a meeting of the minds, and we find the right solution,\u201d he said. \u201cI think the important thing is when you do lose an account, the inclination is to stop calling on them. We make an effort to drill it into everyone\u2019s head to stay in touch. When relationships change, that creates a new opportunity. Or if the new provider screws up and the client says, \u2018Oh my God, I\u2019ve got to fix this,\u2019 that\u2019s your chance to show that you can deliver.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Repeat Business Systems There must be something about Empire State dealers and health care facilities that makes for terrific theater. In the case of Repeat Business Systems (RBS)\u2014which counts health care, finance and education among its strongest verticals\u2014it was a matter of capitalizing on relationships and leveraging goodwill via preventive medicine that helped unseat a health care network\u2019s business, according to President Dawn Abbuhl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When dealing with local prospects and current clients, it\u2019s always been a solid practice to be firmly entrenched within a community. With decades of business and involvement within Albany, a relatively small and tight-knit community, Abbuhl has that box checked. Ditto for keeping tabs on when contracts or leases are coming up for renewal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With this particular prospect, the organization\u2019s decision-maker\u2014with whom Abbuhl had cultivated a relationship\u2014decided to exit the company, leaving RBS temporarily in the dark. Fortunately, an RBS employee\u2019s wife worked for the hospital and was able to identify the new point person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur approach is multifaceted,\u201d Abbuhl noted. \u201cYou have to use everything at your disposal. So we make sure that we develop relationships with key decision-makers, whether it\u2019s somebody knows someone socially in the community or through a board. In this case, we had to rely on a little creativity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our goal is to provide as many comprehensive services that we have at our disposal. Clients appreciate having one vendor that\u2019s familiar with their copiers, network, VoIP and mailing, which are all interrelated.<\/p>\u2013 Dawn Abbuhl, Repeat Business Systems<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n RBS boasts divisions for IT, software, VoIP, mailing and shipping, with subject-matter experts in each, to draw upon. So when RBS\u2019 IT division alerted the entire company to a development\u2014Google requiring multi-factor authentication (MFA) for platform access\u2014it quickly became apparent that not all copiers and printers had the ability to comply. RBS notified its clients and shared an action plan for addressing the issue to mitigate business impacts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The dealer also conveyed the news with prospects as a friendly gesture and to enhance its credibility. Included in that group was the health care prospect Abbuhl had been nurturing, which soon found that its vendor\u2019s line of 250 devices wouldn\u2019t function for scanning in the Google environment. Resolving the problem became a fast-track priority, and the hospital system continued to work with the manufacturer to rectify the compatibility issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the interim, Abbuhl supplied them with a Ricoh loaner that was compatible to the Google MFA\u2014which made for a quasi-audition, so to speak. The prospect appreciated RBS\u2019 proactive approach (a full month before the new MFA standards would kick in), so when the incumbent provider failed to rectify the issue, the reins were handed over to Abbuhl and Co.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe really took over that account because our IT department was proactive in providing us information that was valuable to every business,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd the more we get to know an account, the more opportunities we can find. Our goal is to provide as many comprehensive services that we have at our disposal. Clients appreciate having one vendor that\u2019s familiar with their copiers, network, VoIP and mailing, which are all interrelated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTechnology and needs are constantly changing. For example, security awareness training wasn\u2019t really a thing 15 years ago, but now it\u2019s big, and we provide options for it. It\u2019s a combination of leading with that comprehensive group of services, learning more about the account and their workflow, and continuing to add more and more value to the relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nauticon Office Solutions There\u2019s an old quote popularly attributed to Woody Allen, though it likely predates the movie mogul, that observes, \u201cIf 90% of life is showing up, the other 10% depends on what you\u2019re showing up for.\u201d There\u2019s something to be said for just being there, and while success in the office industry dictates much more is needed, opportunistic dealers can often flourish in the face of competitors that fail with some of the more elementary underpinnings of sales and service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nauticon Office Solutions doesn\u2019t need foundering competition to elevate its sales game. However, in the mid-Atlantic region, a number of current and former core members of a manufacturer\u2019s direct branch have experienced changes in their service and support functions in recent years. As such, John-Austin Shepard\u2014Nauticon\u2019s vice president of sales\u2014believes it only magnifies his dealership\u2019s status as a locally owned business that provides the highest quality of customer service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Shepard\u2019s view, Nauticon\u2019s business development approach remains fairly static, regardless of the deal\u2019s eventual magnitude. \u201cThere\u2019s typically more research, more of a personal touch and more contacts that we\u2019re prospecting into a larger account, including multiple departments, key influencers, levels of decision-makers and the like,\u201d he said. \u201cHowever, our sales strategy and sales process methodology is, and has been, a great pillar of success to help clients of all sizes assess their new way of work to ensure they have the right technology in the right place doing the right jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019ve continued to provide recommendations that allow [THE CLIENT] to expand within the Microsoft Office suite and access those tools through their MFPs.<\/p>\u2013 John-Austin Shepard, Nauticon Office Solutions<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n One of the most successful recent projects for Nauticon involved a large financial services firm that was moving into a new office space. The objective was to determine how their future printer and copier environment would look, and Nauticon was tasked with providing all walk-up copiers in addition to a production device for the firm\u2019s internal marketing department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The process required multiple walkthroughs and inventory of the client\u2019s current office and a mapping of the new environment, which included multiple floors. Once completed, Nauticon was able to map out recommendations and assist in consolidating a lion\u2019s share of the smaller printers into larger MFPs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In terms of the production device, the client had been relying on another manufacturer\u2019s hardware. So Nauticon showcased the capabilities of the Xerox Versant 280, which included color quality and device flexibility that could grow with their needs. Another selling point was the optional Vivid toner kits (gold, white, silver and clear) that could be incorporated into their direct marketing endeavors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Shepard, the deal took slightly less than two months to complete, and the customer has grown its engagement with the dealer beyond the initial implementation. \u201cWe\u2019ve continued to provide recommendations that allow them to expand within the Microsoft Office suite and access those tools through their MFPs,\u201d he said. \u201cThe most recent addition was an MFP to replace their existing equipment in their New York office. We regularly get feedback from key stakeholders that we\u2019re living up to our core value and mission of \u2018Service First!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Spectrum Technologies The biggest takedowns, while offering a tidy profit, are generally the most competitive. Unfortunately, with competition comes the unfortunate race to the bottom, as we noted earlier. That makes it incumbent upon organizations such as Spectrum Technologies to change the tone and focus of the conversation. President Kyle Elliott believes the best tack is to turn the race into a walk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf possible, we really try to slow down the process and get a deep understanding of the landscape,\u201d he said. \u201cWe need to determine what\u2019s most valuable to the client and what pain points we can help them relieve. It could be price, but many times it\u2019s not the primary factor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur goal is to become a trusted asset and solve problems in their organization,\u201d Elliott added. \u201cIt\u2019s these opportunities that have provided a relative amount of success in recent years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n One such example came earlier this year, when Spectrum hammered out a deal with a state, local and education (SLED) client for several thousand laptop computers. Elliott believes one of the reasons dealers avoid the space is because they anticipate single-digit margins in conjunction with long delivery times and lethargic payments. However, the value-add Spectrum\u2019s team provided spoke to the client\u2019s overtaxed IT department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTheir internal IT department placed great value on our ability to layer in professional services such as imaging, asset-tagging, desktop deployment, domain connectivity and lifecycle management,\u201d Elliott noted. \u201cWe\u2019ve also developed custom software that allows our clients to view the real-time inventory they purchased (and stock in our warehouse) and place delivery tickets as needed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n We need to determine what\u2019s most valuable to the client and what pain points we can help them relieve. It could be price, but many times it\u2019s not the primary factor.<\/p>\u2013 Kyle Elliott, Spectrum Technologies<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Thus, despite the vertical\u2019s reputation for not providing meaningful profits, Spectrum Technologies was able to flip the client into the win column in significant fashion. \u201cOverall margins are solid, especially on larger ticket opportunities like this,\u201d Elliott said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Donnellon McCarthy Enterprises Many dealers would probably enjoy reading a book touching on the success stories of sales reps who have spent years, and sometimes decades, in cultivating a customer. The relationship factor has long been the key to engagements, and timing can make all the difference\u2014eventually. All the calls, lunches, tickets to a ball game and invitations to open houses may not pay off as quickly as a rep (and his\/her dealership) would like, and sometimes a deal just never materializes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One thing\u2019s for sure\u2014no calls, no sales. And when that persistence does pay off, it can be quite satisfying. Such was the case for Donnellon McCarthy Enterprises (DME) and a higher-education client in which it previously had sparse luck, managing to place a device here and there. Thus, when a major contract came up for bid, DME was able to leverage its previous cultivation investments, according to Rich Brandenburg, senior vice president of sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe rep played a major role because he had built a great relationship over the course of 10 years meeting with them on a regular basis,\u201d Brandenburg noted. \u201cWe have a proactive approach to working large deals with customers and net-new opportunities. Large deals that DME has come across are a product of the rep discovering them through their relationships.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In putting the job out for bid, the higher-ed client was seeking to address a multitude of concerns stemming from the previous vendor. The primary issues arose from service times and supply chain disruptions that caused long waits for parts and supplies. DME was able to rise above the incumbent and other suitors via a regimented discovery and multiple presentations conducted on-site and at the dealer\u2019s offices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We have a proactive approach to working large deals with customers and net-new opportunities. Large deals that DME has come across are a product of the rep discovering them through their relationships.<\/p>\u2013 Rich Brandenburg, Donnellon McCarthy Enterprises<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n As Brandenburg observed, \u201cWe won their trust. Plus, we leveraged winning the MPS portion because we were awarded the copier business.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Takedowns. Wins. Slaying the dragon. Nothing is quite so pleasing as capturing the business of a major client, with bonus points for wresting the account from a formidable competitor. In fact, the sales rep may add a little gusto to the bell ringing if the incumbent vendor was a manufacturer\u2019s direct branch from a brand that competes with his\/her dealer\u2019s lines. Regardless of the competitor, obtaining a large, net-new account brings cachet and also further validates the respect and prestige that are connected to your dealership. The office technology dealer space is hotly contested, and it says here that no self-respecting vendor would dare cast its primary value proposition as the low-cost provider to the business sector. The race to the bottom is a winless scenario, and the most successful dealers scoff at the notion that price is the number-one reason customers flock to their front door. Being competitively priced is acceptable, but in baseball lingo, it\u2019s not an \u201cout pitch,\u201d but rather a setup for the more effective pitches in your arsenal. This month\u2019s State of the Industry report on contractual success includes a sampling of dealers\u2019 biggest success stories that connect the dots from initial overture to the signing of a multi-year accord with a client. In the process, we see how these winning suitors were able to put forward a proposal that trumped a previous vendor\u2019s offering and opened the door to increased opportunities beyond the initial inquiry. Boomerang Takes Down Elephant Atlantic Tomorrow\u2019s OfficeNew York City In the war room at Atlantic Tomorrow\u2019s Office, the proper term for taking down a big account is elephant hunting. The big-game hunting metaphor is an apt one, conjuring thoughts of seeking out the biggest prey as a trophy score. Company President Larry Weiss views the game through three lenses: looking for net-new business (capturing someone else\u2019s elephant), recovering old business (the elephant that got away) and expanding business within an existing account (feeding the elephant). While scenarios one and three are compelling, there\u2019s a certain added degree of satisfaction that accompanies reclaiming what was once yours. There can be a myriad of reasons for a client to turn elsewhere: a low-cost competitor swoops in with (sometimes-unfulfilled) promises, or perhaps your service dropped the ball delivering on client SLAs. But one of the more common derailments of an incumbent is a change in the offices of customer decision-makers, which could be accompanied by a review of vendors and the desire to do business with other entities. That\u2019s precisely what caused Atlantic Tomorrow\u2019s Office to see one elephant\u2014a major New York health care provider and one of the largest hospital systems in the country\u2014defect to a manufacturer. The client\u2019s key decision-makers were replaced by a new regime, which only underscores the sometimes-tentative hold competitors have on accounts in an era when personnel changes have intensified in number. It also illustrates the need to foster strong relationships within the upper echelon of organizations. When relationships change, that creates a new opportunity. Or if the new provider screws up and the client says, \u2018Oh my God, I\u2019ve got to fix this,\u2019 that\u2019s your chance to show that you can deliver. \u2013 Larry Weiss, Atlantic Tomorrow\u2019s Office \u201cYou have to be in touch with an account at the C level on a constant basis,\u201d Weiss explained. \u201cYou have to be sharing information and emphasize how you\u2019re leveraging technology. You need to provide information about webinars, any technology shows relevant to them and, in our case, the IT webinar series we do. You have to be constantly communicating with that person, and it needs to be someone in the C suite. Leveraging social networks such as LinkedIn is important too, as they could end up recommending your company.\u201d In Atlantic\u2019s case, a 17-year client came under new administration, and that regime had a previous relationship with the OEM. Throughout the first two years of the new five-year deal, Atlantic nonetheless stayed in close contact with the hospital, and it became clear the OEM couldn\u2019t deliver on the promises it made at the onset. By year three, the hospital\u2019s purchasing group was replaced and filled by incumbent personnel who knew Atlantic was more than capable of living up to its word. \u201cThey did the process again and we won,\u201d Weiss noted. \u201cAs easily as we lost, we regained the business.\u201d Better yet, Atlantic was able to double the size of the deal. It hired techs from the OEM and placed some on-site, assumed control of the servers and the gear, refreshed some of the equipment and managed it via MPS technology. Weiss is also looking to burgeon the agreement with label printers for badging and medical purposes. With additional software and other enhancements, Atlantic is not only bringing this customer\u2019s engagement to new heights, it\u2019s also effectively locking out threats from future competitors. \u201cWe meet with their IT staff, they tell us what they\u2019re looking for and we share with them the ways we can accomplish it. There\u2019s a meeting of the minds, and we find the right solution,\u201d he said. \u201cI think the important thing is when you do lose an account, the inclination is to stop calling on them. We make an effort to drill it into everyone\u2019s head to stay in touch. When relationships change, that creates a new opportunity. Or if the new provider screws up and the client says, \u2018Oh my God, I\u2019ve got to fix this,\u2019 that\u2019s your chance to show that you can deliver.\u201d Being Authentic(ated) Nets New Client Repeat Business SystemsAlbany, New York There must be something about Empire State dealers and health care facilities that makes for terrific theater. In the case of Repeat Business Systems (RBS)\u2014which counts health care, finance and education among its strongest verticals\u2014it was a matter of capitalizing on relationships and leveraging goodwill via preventive medicine that helped unseat a health care network\u2019s business, according to President Dawn Abbuhl. When dealing with local prospects and current clients, it\u2019s always been a solid practice […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":166,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1641],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51157"}],"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=51157"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51157\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51168,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51157\/revisions\/51168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
New York City<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Weiss-Larry.jpg\")
Atlantic Tomorrow\u2019s Office<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nBeing Authentic(ated) Nets New Client<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Albany, New York<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Dawn-Abbuhl-Repeat-Business-Systems.jpg\")
Repeat Business Systems<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nBoxes of Technology for Big Move<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Gaithersburg, Maryland<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/John-Austin-Shepard-Nauticon.jpg\")
Nauticon Office Solutions<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nTransforming Races into Strolls<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
El Paso, Texas<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Kyle-Elliott-Spectrum-Technologies.jpg\")
Spectrum Technologies<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nRelentless Pursuit of Education<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Cincinnati<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Rich-Brandenburg-DME.jpg\")
Donnellon McCarthy
Enterprises<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n