The upshot of the employment landscape, with four million Americans changing jobs per month, is its underlying impact on business-to-business contractual agreements. In our industry, the turnover of dealer sales reps and the ever-changing face of client decision-makers can often be the source of longstanding accounts being unseated. It\u2019s an opportunity and a threat; a new CIO\/COO could reassess current vendor relationships, ultimately opting to bring in a provider from a previous business engagement. Likewise, a new account representative at a dealership may not have the same sway with a client as the previous rep. If both the rep and the decision-maker are new, it certainly can jeopardize a longstanding partnership once the agreement expires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Obviously, it\u2019s not so black and white. A quality dealer is reflected up and down the organization, and the value proposition isn\u2019t relegated to any one individual. Still, as we look at our State of the Industry report on contractual success and the common denominators that can cause a deal to be lost, it\u2019s the tenuous state of relationships that can often play a significant role in the viability of ongoing engagements. Clearly, however, it\u2019s not the only reason dealers lose clients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Repeat Business Systems (RBS) of Albany, New York, has been fortunate to not lose any employees from its main branch during the past three years. Its competitors haven\u2019t been so lucky\u2014either through neglect by a new rep or a lack of understanding the needs of a given account, it\u2019s prompted end-users to explore other avenues, including RBS, according to President Dawn Abbuhl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the more bewildering examples of lax technical service came from a rival company that reportedly sent its end-user a part for a machine, along with a how-to video for installing it. This YouTube-era, do-it-yourself fix certainly goes against the grain of fundamental service protocols.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhether it\u2019s true or not, the point is that service has been a challenge because acquiring, attracting and maintaining really good technical staff, service technicians and field engineers is a challenge,\u201d she said. \u201cThankfully, we have a full, talented tech team, but we\u2019re looking to fill our bench just to make sure we stay that way. We\u2019ve seen slower service responses from competitors, and in some instances, our competitors are trying to find ways to service customers when they don\u2019t have the manpower.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Appropriate Technology<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This DIY example certainly gives new meaning to remote diagnostics, but RBS has found better ways to automate processes. Abbuhl notes Ricoh technology (among others) provides the ability to remote into a client\u2019s copier, allowing service, IT or other personnel to navigate the cursor and demonstrate functionality or how to accomplish a given task. But there are limits to the degree in which a service provider should impose upon a client to rectify an issue without endangering a machine and an SLA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s not a substitution for a service call,\u201d she said. \u201cI do think automation is great, and I think that there\u2019s something to be said for using different types of automation. I\u2019m just not sure that this case is one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n We observed in our main feature (page 12) how the race to the bottom is anathema to the highest-performing dealerships, and many make it a point to avoid engagements in which the end-user\u2019s primary motivation is to secure the lowest possible price. When a provider is pitching low price, invariably corners must be cut to maintain some level of profitability. Service level is often the victim of these deals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kyle Elliott, president of Spectrum Technologies in El Paso, Texas, believes super-low-margin contracts that result in poor professional services execution often lead end-users to regret opting for the low-cost provider. Some dealers, he notes, compound the situation through their indifference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think these competitors have the ability to execute well enough; they just aren\u2019t motivated to do so,\u201d Elliott remarked. \u201cAnd in a period of high inflation and OEM price increases, pricing out large opportunities is all the more important.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the core of the contract breakdown lies the inability to deliver on promises. The answers given in an RFP aren\u2019t promises per se, but a guide map to what a dealer believes it can deliver. So, exactly why can\u2019t competitors deliver on these promises? It\u2019s a case of not having the technology or the ability to automate, notes Larry Weiss, president of Atlantic Tomorrow\u2019s Office in New York City. Having manual processes for managing an account is the biggest step toward disappointment, failure and an eventual parting of ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But it\u2019s not as if the solutions aren\u2019t within reach for the typical dealer. \u201cIf you\u2019re manually managing this account and you\u2019re not leveraging FMAudit, PaperCut or any of the remote tools, you\u2019re doing yourself and the client a grave disservice,\u201d Weiss said. \u201cIf you\u2019re not leveraging a help desk, and instead you\u2019re still servicing based on a dispatch call, that\u2019s the core of not delivering on your promises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt all stems from not leveraging the technology that\u2019s out there today. You see these competitors who don\u2019t have a monitoring policy. Everything\u2019s manual, there are no automated processes in place\u2014especially auto toner replenishment\u2014and that can lead to a disaster. For a company such as ours, which can offer all of this automation, it can pave the way to new business.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Long Game<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In the end, whether it\u2019s poor technical service, a lack of attention\/indifference to the account, or the inability to deliver on promises, the big picture of client relationships cannot be overemphasized. John-Austin Shepard, vice president of sales for Nauticon Office Solutions of Gaithersburg, Maryland, has observed a combination of all these telltale elements in the process of unseating incumbents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As competitors continue to reconcile their staffing woes and struggle to deliver on SLAs, it opens the door for dealers such as Nauticon to illustrate their value proposition. And the degree of end-user dissatisfaction with incumbent providers will become more apparent when contracts expire against the post-pandemic backdrop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMost clients want a true partner, not a vendor who only calls them when their contract is up for renewal,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re seeing organizations wanting to have more regular business reviews and aren\u2019t receiving the same attention they were pre-COVID, which provides us with an opportunity to be that trusted advisor.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" With an event as significant as the pandemic, which brought fundamental changes to the way business is conducted, comes a set of challenges\u2014some readily apparent, others taking form and identity with the passage of time. The latter count is as frustrating as it is interesting: like a legacy, it can sometimes take years to fully understand the impact of these fundamental, and perhaps permanent, alterations. The Great Resignation era is a prime example of a pandemic spinoff in which the true impact on business may not be readily apparent for years to come. The mass exodus from the workforce created a gaping cavity in employee rolls, and the federal unemployment rate has been stuck at a paltry 3.6% from March through June of this year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. While there have been recent indications of an upward tick, it\u2019s done little to stoke the pool of available talent\u2014which is good news for the job seeker, but a tall task for HR departments. Tech workers are in high demand. According to CompTIA\u2019s \u201cState of the Tech Workforce\u201d report released earlier this year, technology-related employment increased in 44 states during 2021. The report also projected 2% growth for 2022, or 178,000 jobs. Anecdotally, many dealers have reported significant staffing challenges, particularly in sales. As in the case of tech positions, a dearth of available talent has set the competitive bar higher for compensation plans. Dealers are waging battle against other business verticals that can offer more lucrative terms. Relationship Obstacles The upshot of the employment landscape, with four million Americans changing jobs per month, is its underlying impact on business-to-business contractual agreements. In our industry, the turnover of dealer sales reps and the ever-changing face of client decision-makers can often be the source of longstanding accounts being unseated. It\u2019s an opportunity and a threat; a new CIO\/COO could reassess current vendor relationships, ultimately opting to bring in a provider from a previous business engagement. Likewise, a new account representative at a dealership may not have the same sway with a client as the previous rep. If both the rep and the decision-maker are new, it certainly can jeopardize a longstanding partnership once the agreement expires. Obviously, it\u2019s not so black and white. A quality dealer is reflected up and down the organization, and the value proposition isn\u2019t relegated to any one individual. Still, as we look at our State of the Industry report on contractual success and the common denominators that can cause a deal to be lost, it\u2019s the tenuous state of relationships that can often play a significant role in the viability of ongoing engagements. Clearly, however, it\u2019s not the only reason dealers lose clients. Repeat Business Systems (RBS) of Albany, New York, has been fortunate to not lose any employees from its main branch during the past three years. Its competitors haven\u2019t been so lucky\u2014either through neglect by a new rep or a lack of understanding the needs of a given account, it\u2019s prompted end-users to explore other avenues, including RBS, according to President Dawn Abbuhl. One of the more bewildering examples of lax technical service came from a rival company that reportedly sent its end-user a part for a machine, along with a how-to video for installing it. This YouTube-era, do-it-yourself fix certainly goes against the grain of fundamental service protocols. \u201cWhether it\u2019s true or not, the point is that service has been a challenge because acquiring, attracting and maintaining really good technical staff, service technicians and field engineers is a challenge,\u201d she said. \u201cThankfully, we have a full, talented tech team, but we\u2019re looking to fill our bench just to make sure we stay that way. We\u2019ve seen slower service responses from competitors, and in some instances, our competitors are trying to find ways to service customers when they don\u2019t have the manpower.\u201d Appropriate Technology This DIY example certainly gives new meaning to remote diagnostics, but RBS has found better ways to automate processes. Abbuhl notes Ricoh technology (among others) provides the ability to remote into a client\u2019s copier, allowing service, IT or other personnel to navigate the cursor and demonstrate functionality or how to accomplish a given task. But there are limits to the degree in which a service provider should impose upon a client to rectify an issue without endangering a machine and an SLA. \u201cIt\u2019s not a substitution for a service call,\u201d she said. \u201cI do think automation is great, and I think that there\u2019s something to be said for using different types of automation. I\u2019m just not sure that this case is one of them.\u201d We observed in our main feature (page 12) how the race to the bottom is anathema to the highest-performing dealerships, and many make it a point to avoid engagements in which the end-user\u2019s primary motivation is to secure the lowest possible price. When a provider is pitching low price, invariably corners must be cut to maintain some level of profitability. Service level is often the victim of these deals. Kyle Elliott, president of Spectrum Technologies in El Paso, Texas, believes super-low-margin contracts that result in poor professional services execution often lead end-users to regret opting for the low-cost provider. Some dealers, he notes, compound the situation through their indifference. \u201cI think these competitors have the ability to execute well enough; they just aren\u2019t motivated to do so,\u201d Elliott remarked. \u201cAnd in a period of high inflation and OEM price increases, pricing out large opportunities is all the more important.\u201d At the core of the contract breakdown lies the inability to deliver on promises. The answers given in an RFP aren\u2019t promises per se, but a guide map to what a dealer believes it can deliver. So, exactly why can\u2019t competitors deliver on these promises? It\u2019s a case of not having the technology or the ability to automate, notes Larry Weiss, president of Atlantic Tomorrow\u2019s Office in New York City. Having manual processes for managing an account is the biggest step toward disappointment, failure […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":166,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4217],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51169"}],"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=51169"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51169\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51172,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51169\/revisions\/51172"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/people-7110119.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n