Should it?

Under the expanded agreement: 

• Xerox will source some devices (both A4 or Letter/Legal and A3 / 11×17) from HP
• Powered by Xerox: ConnectKey software will run on these Copiers/Printers
• Xerox will supply toner for more HP devices
• Xerox will be a part of HP’s DaaS program, able to sell HP PCs, displays and other capabilities
• HP will make Xerox Docushare Flex available on its corporate PCs  

I think this is a smart move, but it’s probably not really as big a deal as it might seem at first glance: since several of Xerox’s copiers / MFPs from last generation were Samsung-made hardware with Xerox software, and HP bought Samsung’s printer division in 2017, this makes sense that their relationship would expand.

DaaS (Device as a Service)? While the articles are short on details, this is everyone’s favorite new buzzword. The press releases are light on detail for exactly what this will entail, but I am happy to see the partnership here. 

Docushare Flex on more workstations? Excellent! This is a Xerox-created workflow and document management platform that more people should be aware of and using. This should help make that happen.  

Read about it over at Xerox

Read about it over at HP

Thanks for reading!

About me: my name is Brian Tuttle, and I am a technology consultant, salesperson and enthusiast. I represent Saxon Business Systems and Xerox, and would be honored to speak with you about your copiers and other office technology. I can be reached at 904-345-0359 or brian@briantuttle.org

The post Xerox and HP Expand their Partnership: XeroxHP? HPXerox? appeared first on Brian Tuttle.

Quik note: I started this post with the intention of talking about the Xerox and XMPie case study about Jubels, a print service provider in a Europe, and their success offering and using omni-channel marketing. As I did that, though, I started thinking more about why they were successful, and how it applies to sales, in general. As a result, this post has gotten a little more general than planned.

One of the things that salespeople struggle with, to varying degrees, is differentiation. I sell copiers (I mean MFPs, I mean Multifunction Printers!) and there are many manufacturers that make pretty good products, being sold by companies that do a pretty good job, being represented by people like me.

It is easy to be lost in the sea of sameness, so how do you stand out?

• Having good service is not enough
• Having good products is not enough
• Being the cheapest is not enough

Sure, when you walk into a competitor’s account that has had 5 days of continuous problems with their copier, it’s pretty easy to differentiate with great service customer referrals. When you’re reviewing a customer’s invoices and find they’re paying six cents a page after 7 years of annual escalators, it’s pretty easy to separate yourself with clear expectations.

But you have to get in the door, to get the attention of the account, to begin with. The real differentiation that is needed (or at least the first) then, is in marketing.

Email works, but everyone’s emailing.

Cold calling, stopping by, knocking on doors works, but your prospects don’t want to be interrupted and have gatekeepers to keep you from doing so.

LinkedIn / Facebook / whatever social media works, but everyone’s there, posting away.

Video works, but everyone’s posting videos of themselves “dropping knowledge” while walking down the street or driving in their car.

Phone calls work, but so many people don’t bother to answer a number they don’t recognize.

You get the idea. All of these things work, but I think the real power is developing a system that does it all. Or, at least, most of it.

So back to my original statement: automatic marketing machines sound great, right?

Jubels, a print and marketing services provider in Europe, created a system of services they sell, and use to gain new clients. An Automated Marketing Machine, they call it. In a very simple nutshell, their system automates marketing through multiple channels, something called omni-marketing.

Jubels:

…developed a personalized campaign with seven basic touch points running over the course of several weeks… mixed direct mail with emails, a personalized website and phone calls, most triggered automatically based partly upon recipient responses

They used an XMPie product called Circle to automate a campaign of contact that didn’t just rely on one or two contact methods, but seven. A direct mail piece here, with a QR Code that brings the recipient to a custom web-page. An email, based on the response the customer gave at the web-page, which generates another phone call from a rep. A follow up mail piece… etc etc.

And in the middle of this, reps can sprinkle in visits, stop-bys, Facebook and LinkedIn posts engaging the same prospective client.

And this is exactly what salespeople, including myself, should be doing to stand out in the sea of sameness… Consistency of message, personalizing messages, and hitting multiple channels. That will open doors. (keeping them open, of course, is a whole different post!)

Read more about Jubels over at the Xerox Blog...

About me: my name is Brian Tuttle, and I am a technology consultant, salesperson and enthusiast. I represent Saxon Business Systems and Xerox, and would be honored to speak with you about your copiers and other office technology. I can be reached at 904-345-0359 or brian@briantuttle.org

The post Automatic Marketing Machines? Sounds Good to Me appeared first on Brian Tuttle.

Now, I’m addressing Customer Retention in a somewhat roundabout way, in that I am going to talk about a customer that I almost lost.

This company, from here on out called JaxCo, is a customer that I have worked with for more than 12 years. We provide office technology and workflow solutions for them, which is the long way to pronounce “copiers.”

I am proud to say that I have many long term clients like this, because the copier industry is very competitive and Jacksonville has more than it’s share of copier companies. But, this is one client I’m very proud of… They’ve been a great customer; very demanding at times, but made up of great people throughout.

It was a couple of summers ago, and I was waiting for an renewal agreement to be signed and returned by JaxCo. I had commited to closing the roughly $180k transaction to my manager, and I expected the signed documents back at any moment.

Just like all the other times.

Except:

There was one thing that was different this time; there was a new CFO. While I didn’t know this new CFO very well (he had only been in the position a very short time), I still had every expectation that the agreements would be signed and returned, any minute.

Then I got this email:

(and I’m paraphrasing)

“Thanks for all the great work over the years…”

Blah blah blah, a bunch of nice, fluffy stuff…

“But the financial advantages of your competitor’s proposal are too great to ignore and we’ve decided to move on.”

Talk about a gut shot.

But I didn’t give up.

I got angry:

Here’s this new guy, coming in to MY customer, and messing things up. He went to one of my cheapest competitors, to one of those “sell it and forget it” account reps that couldn’t make it at any of the 5 previous copier companies of which he’d been a part. He went to that rep and got a really, really, really cheap (on paper) proposal designed to “buy the business.”

But I didn’t give up. I jumped on the phone and got a customer meeting scheduled. My team and I met with the customer and discussed the differences (there were quite a few) between us and them, between their products and ours (there were many.)

We reminded them of how we’ve supported their golf tournaments as well as their business over the last 12 years.
I jumped on the phone and got a customer meeting scheduled. My team and I met with the customer and discussed the differences (there were quite a few) between us and them, between their products and ours (there were many.)

We reminded them of how we’ve supported their golf tournaments, as well as their business, over the last 12 years.

And yes, we had to give up some revenue, some margin, some money.

But we didn’t give up, and we ultimately got that (expected) signature and kept them as a customer.

Since that time two summers ago, we’ve developed what, I think, is a good relationship with the new CFO.

I’ve done all the things that all good salespeople do to retain customers- I touch base often and do account reviews, I address any service or billing issues when they come up, and I talk about additional products that might be a good fit for his environment.

We invited, and he attended, one of our quarterly roundtable luncheons, where we learned about his biggest challenges.

We invited, and he attended, an Open House technology expo. He was impressed, and he told me so.

After spending some time in our facility, he looked around and asked me “Why do you do all of this?”

I answered that we do “all of this” to show you what we bring to the table, how we’re different, how we’re better than the competition.

We do this, to gain and retain our customer base. We do this, so that when it seems that we’re a little more expensive than a competitor, it’s understood that we deliver value moreso than a cheap (on paper) price.

And, that is how I almost lost a great $180k client.

Thanks for letting me share my story and good luck out there!

The post How I Almost Lost a Great, $180k Client appeared first on Brian Tuttle.

Rod is just a little bit richer, and all he had to do was have a business conversation…

And, of course, a little bit of luck.

There are still two Aces, with 21 cards left in the deck… I’d love to talk with you, your brother that’s an attorney, your cousin that’s a CPA, or anyone else that uses office technology, copiers or printers in Jacksonville (or anywhere else!)

And, it’s not just work: I want to meet people and help grow businesses (theirs and mine!), but I’ll happily talk about all kinds of neat things; from investing and networking to flying (any kind!) and photography.

Give me a call, shoot me a message, or send me a telegram. I will be happy to hear from you, however.

Thanks for reading!

The post Jacksonville Copier fun: he drew an Ace! appeared first on Brian Tuttle.

It’s 2019, so do something different. Office technology isn’t super-exciting, I know, but it doesn’t have to be boring, either!

Call or contact me here to schedule a business conversation (and draw an Ace?)

And, while I have your attention; Terk Oncology is growing and it’s a testament to all of the great work they do when families find themselves in a bad place. While you hopefully won’t need the services they provide, please call them if you do.

The post Copier Fun in Jacksonville: Three Aces Left! appeared first on Brian Tuttle.

I think it was October when I first heard the rumors about ‘some kind of big changes’ coming down the pike. A couple of friends from other (competitor) companies called to ask what was happening, telling me that they heard that Global Imaging was being bought by Xerox.

They were right, sort of. Xerox DID buy Global Imaging…

In 2007.

Since then, Global Imaging has operated (generally speaking) the way it always has, acquiring office equipment dealerships with a good name and quality people. Companies like Saxon, Zeno, COTG and others have continued to make up a division of Xerox that performs very well.

And they perform as the individual companies, themselves- “Saxon Business Systems, a Xerox company.” “Zeno Office Solutions, a Xerox company.”

There have been a lot of Xerox related headlines recently, and it’s always sad to see people lose their jobs. Many would say, however, that the changes were overdue and necessary to stay competitive.

Nothing has really changed at the street level. Despite how some competitors try to frame the news (as if talking badly about a competitor ever works), the Saxons and the Zenos that make up Global (XBS, now) will continue to operate just as they always have.

Read more about it over here and contact me here if you’re tired of your copier company and you’d like to meet.

The post Xerox rebrands Global Imaging as Xerox Business Solutions appeared first on Brian Tuttle.

Tia drew an Ace and won some cash, but have no worries, there’s three more in this deck!

And, I might, possibly, have 10 decks. Possibly. Depends on whether this drives the referrals I hope it will.

Want to try your luck? Call me, email me message me, whatever. Schedule a meeting and talk a little business… It’s a new year, so even if you’re content, okay, all-set, or even good; consider some other options and see what happens! (maybe you’ll win $50?)

While I have your attention: if you or someone you love need any home health care, talk to these people:

Elite Home Health LLC. 904-374-7307

They’re great people, JAX Chamber members, and I know they will give great care and service to you and your family. (I’d appreciate it in you would please mention my name, too)

The post Copier fun in Jacksonville! appeared first on Brian Tuttle.

While I’m not going to say that I don’t understand the logic behind HP’s (and other OEM manufacturers; Canon & Xerox) current approach to large and major accounts (that is, they want to keep them in-house), I think it actually hurts them in many, but not all, cases.  

Often, it is the reseller that has the local relationship, the reseller that has the contacts and the greater opportunity for interaction. 

There are, of course, some companies that will only do business with the mother-ship, with the direct arm of whatever manufacturer they choose to work with, but I think the right model is to provide incentive to all channels to work together for the common goal, winning business. 

There’s also the danger of losing control over the message, how well the customers are serviced, where the loyalty really resides (at the reseller). 

Overall, I think this is a really good thing for HP resellers, probably good for HP corporate, and probably good for their customers.

Read about it over at CRN or HP. 

The post HP is Moving ‘Thousands’ Of MPS Accounts To Reseller Partners appeared first on Brian Tuttle.

There are some options that will do some of what they ask, but a copier is oftentimes the answer. Why?

What they want is this (an easy interface with lots of integration):

Attached to this (a standalone, super fast scanner):

But, instead, they have to get this:

Okay, so maybe that last picture is not exactly what they get, but my point remains: the major copier companies give you one or the other, but not both.

You can get:

• high speed scanners, but they’re going to be locally connected
• high speed scanners, but they’re going to need a PC
• High speed scanners, but they need software to route anything, anywhere  

Alternatively, you can get:

• Networked, standalone scanners, but they’re going to be slow
• Networked, standalone scanners, but they’re going to be meant for low volume applications
• Networked, standalone scanners, but they don’t have the software integrations that the copier-based products have 

Neither option is as good as it should be, and I think the copier / MFP manufacturers are missing a real opportunity, as businesses continue to scan more frequently. Until they do, I’d be happy to show you the options we do have, just contact me here or email me here. 

Thanks for reading!

The post Copier companies are missing out: real network scanners appeared first on Brian Tuttle.

25 Partners received awards based on their commitment and contribution to McAfee’s business strategies, with Xerox being the only digital imaging / copier company to be included.

Xerox and McAfee have a partnership on their newest Altalink lines of copiers and MFPs, providing IT professionals granular control over the devices on their networks. The ability to both blacklist and whitelist networks and IT resources is a step above many of the other manufacturers in the office technology space.

Read more over at McAfee.

The post Xerox honored by McAfee as OEM Innovator of the Year appeared first on Brian Tuttle.