{"id":61927,"date":"2024-09-26T11:34:36","date_gmt":"2024-09-26T18:34:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/?p=61927"},"modified":"2024-09-26T11:34:38","modified_gmt":"2024-09-26T18:34:38","slug":"brother-difference-maker-amy-ranttila-finds-industrys-true-currency-lies-in-relationships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/the-week-in-imaging-twii\/editors-blog\/2024\/09\/brother-difference-maker-amy-ranttila-finds-industrys-true-currency-lies-in-relationships\/","title":{"rendered":"Brother Difference Maker Amy Ranttila Finds Industry\u2019s True Currency Lies in Relationships"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Amy Ranttila<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s no secret that the office technology dealer circuit is blessed to have a large number of manufacturers whose offerings\u2014while different in their own ways\u2014meet a high standard of excellence. A quality hierarchy exists in the B2C world, where there are products aimed more at being budget-friendly than performance-based, but the B2B space\u2014with its speeds, feeds and feature sets\u2014boasts a good deal of technology parity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, with most things being equal, Amy Ranttila appreciates the role that interpersonal relationships play in the success of an OEM. The senior region sales manager for Brother International has enjoyed a bird\u2019s eye view of this approach in action during a 25-year career that includes sales experience with Lexmark and Ricoh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve learned that people buy from people,\u201d said Ranttila, a 2024 ENX Magazine<\/em> Difference Maker. \u201cIt\u2019s not what you sell. It\u2019s the trust and relationships you create with your partners.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Forging that trust enables her to demonstrate her value as a partner. In a sense, Ranttila sees a correlation between marriage and business partnerships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf there is trust and respect, you can overcome challenges and build a successful business,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Relationships unwittingly played a role in Ranttila\u2019s foray into the office technology universe. Selling has long been in her blood\u2014even at the age of 16, she sold on a commission base. She joined a real estate agency that was owned by her husband\u2019s family. Her marriage didn\u2019t last, however, and upon getting divorced she secured a sales post with IKON Office Solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The industry provided the opportunity for Ranttila to be in charge of her compensation fortunes. \u201cI\u2019ve always wanted to have a career where I would be financially rewarded for working hard,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Changing Priorities<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As she grew within the industry, Ranttila priorities shifted and she sought more of a work-life balance. While compensation is a universal motivating factor, her most meaningful rewards lie in the interactions with team members and Brother\u2019s valued partners. That, Ranttila feels, is where she makes the biggest difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ranttila\u2019s influences have shaped both her professional and private lives, but not always in a good way. While she counts numerous high-impact managers along the way, she\u2019s also encountered some who do not merit emulating. In a sense, the negative ones carry more weight, as they \u201ctaught me what not to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

One of the truisms of the industry, in Ranttila\u2019s estimation, is that there\u2019s always room for improvement. She prioritizes finding ways to become a better leader and finding efficient avenues to support her team and partners. Ranttila is proud of the team she\u2019s assembled and feels fortunate to have amassed a group of difference-makers that are the catalyst for Brother\u2019s growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c[It\u2019s all about] making sure we have a clear understanding of our goals and creating a path on how to achieve them,\u201d Ranttila noted. \u201cYou can\u2019t expect what you can\u2019t inspect.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matters Most<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Family has always been the driving force in Ranttila\u2019s life. She\u2019s been married to her husband, Mike, for 25 years. She has four children and five grandchildren, with the latter ranging in age from 16 months to 14 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no better job in the world than being a grandparent,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s important for me to be very active in my grandbabies\u2019 lives\u2026they bring so much joy to my life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When she\u2019s not spending time with the little ones, Ranttila enjoys being an amateur carpenter and home renovator.\u00a0 \u201cWhen I\u2019m working on a project I get completely lost in it and time just flies by,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s no secret that the office technology dealer circuit is blessed to have a large number of manufacturers whose offerings\u2014while different in their own ways\u2014meet a high standard of excellence. A quality hierarchy exists in the B2C world, where there are products aimed more at being budget-friendly than performance-based, but the B2B space\u2014with its speeds, feeds and feature sets\u2014boasts a good deal of technology parity. Thus, with most things being equal, Amy Ranttila appreciates the role that interpersonal relationships play in the success of an OEM. The senior region sales manager for Brother International has enjoyed a bird\u2019s eye view of this approach in action during a 25-year career that includes sales experience with Lexmark and Ricoh. \u201cI\u2019ve learned that people buy from people,\u201d said Ranttila, a 2024 ENX Magazine Difference Maker. \u201cIt\u2019s not what you sell. It\u2019s the trust and relationships you create with your partners.\u201d Forging that trust enables her to demonstrate her value as a partner. In a sense, Ranttila sees a correlation between marriage and business partnerships. \u201cIf there is trust and respect, you can overcome challenges and build a successful business,\u201d she said. Relationships unwittingly played a role in Ranttila\u2019s foray into the office technology universe. Selling has long been in her blood\u2014even at the age of 16, she sold on a commission base. She joined a real estate agency that was owned by her husband\u2019s family. Her marriage didn\u2019t last, however, and upon getting divorced she secured a sales post with IKON Office Solutions. The industry provided the opportunity for Ranttila to be in charge of her compensation fortunes. \u201cI\u2019ve always wanted to have a career where I would be financially rewarded for working hard,\u201d she said. Changing Priorities As she grew within the industry, Ranttila priorities shifted and she sought more of a work-life balance. While compensation is a universal motivating factor, her most meaningful rewards lie in the interactions with team members and Brother\u2019s valued partners. That, Ranttila feels, is where she makes the biggest difference. Ranttila\u2019s influences have shaped both her professional and private lives, but not always in a good way. While she counts numerous high-impact managers along the way, she\u2019s also encountered some who do not merit emulating. In a sense, the negative ones carry more weight, as they \u201ctaught me what not to do.\u201d One of the truisms of the industry, in Ranttila\u2019s estimation, is that there\u2019s always room for improvement. She prioritizes finding ways to become a better leader and finding efficient avenues to support her team and partners. Ranttila is proud of the team she\u2019s assembled and feels fortunate to have amassed a group of difference-makers that are the catalyst for Brother\u2019s growth. \u201c[It\u2019s all about] making sure we have a clear understanding of our goals and creating a path on how to achieve them,\u201d Ranttila noted. \u201cYou can\u2019t expect what you can\u2019t inspect.\u201d Matters Most Family has always been the driving force in Ranttila\u2019s life. She\u2019s been married to her husband, Mike, for 25 years. She has four children and five grandchildren, with the latter ranging in age from 16 months to 14 years. \u201cThere\u2019s no better job in the world than being a grandparent,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s important for me to be very active in my grandbabies\u2019 lives\u2026they bring so much joy to my life.\u201d When she\u2019s not spending time with the little ones, Ranttila enjoys being an amateur carpenter and home renovator.\u00a0 \u201cWhen I\u2019m working on a project I get completely lost in it and time just flies by,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":166,"featured_media":60024,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3626,80,1650,82,84,1638],"tags":[4509],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61927"}],"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=61927"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61927\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61929,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61927\/revisions\/61929"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60024"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}