August 2013 Office Technology

01OT0813.indd 1 7/26/13 1:59 PM

East13Spread.indd 1 7/30/13 8:12 AM

East13Spread.indd 2 7/29/13 9:41 AM

Breaking it DownAnother look at remote management softwareby Mike LamotheOffice Document Consulting Inc.I know I have talked about the importance of having remote management soft-ware in previous Office Technology magazine arti-cles. However, I believe it requires yet another look. In fact, it may just be a matter of me needing to break it down a bit.

Volume 20 • No. 2

F e a t u r e a r t i c l e s

10Friendly FinancingSelecting the right leasing partner for your dealershipby Brent HoskinsOffice Technology MagazineHave you noticed? A growing number of office technology leas-ing companies are making strides in their efforts to ensure quality relationships with dealers. Plus, in some cases, they are now providing services that go well beyond traditional financing.

16

D e pa r t m e n t s

25Business Technology Association• BTA Highlights• BTA Education Calendar

Executive Director’s Page

BTA President’s Message

Advertiser Index

6

8

30

4 | w w w. o f f i c e t e c h n o l o g y m a g. c o m | A u g u s t 2 0 1 3

ConTenTS

20Making Training WorkSteps you can taketo ensure it is effectiveby Troy HarrisonSalesForce SolutionsIt has been fashionable for sales trainers to write articles about “why sales training does not work.” I will stay away from that. I prefer to stay on the positive side, so let’s talk about how to make sales training work. In fact, let’s back away a bit and talk about how to make any training work.

Cruise to SuccessBTA Mid-America hosts district event in Chicagoby Brent HoskinsOffice Technology MagazineOn June 17-18, BTA Mid-America hosted its Cruise to Success dis-trict event, which focused on providing office tech-nology dealers the opportunity to learn from ex-perts, network with fellow dealers and gather new ideas and strategies.

29

p r i n c i pa l i s s u e s

27Game onSamsung hosts national dealer meeting June 17-19by Elizabeth MarvelOffice Technology MagazineWith a focus on growing its copi-er/MFP business through the use of the entirety of the company’s product and solutions portfolio, Samsung Electronics America Inc. hosted its 2013 Print & Imaging National Dealer Meeting June 17-19 at the JW Marriott in Chicago.

c o u r t s & c a p i t o l s

24Selling Your BusinessFor many, an eSoP may be the best optionby Robert C. GoldbergBTA General CounselFor both moral and economic rea-sons, selling your business to your employees may be the best option. In 2012, 40 percent of businesses did not have a succession plan in place. Without a plan, it is difficult to establish the proper direction for your business.

28never Stand StillMPS helped to fueldealership’s growthby Jose LopezBarlop Business SystemsThis year, my company, Barlop Business Systems, is opening a new, 15,000-square-foot warehouse — significantly larger than the room we had when we started the business 30 years ago. Since then, the company has grown to 29 em-ployees and our annual sales exceed $11 million.

04OT0813.indd 1 7/29/13 5:32 PM

Build your solutions department and watch your profi ts grow!

ww

w.d

ocuw

are.

com

Our fi ndings show that for every dollar in DocuWare sales you make, you

can make additional revenue on hardware sales and professional services.

Go from selling commodities to selling solutions; solutions that provide

you with a recurring revenue stream while increasing your customer

retention rates.

Join the many successful dealers selling DocuWare Document

Management Solutions.

Contact us today at (888) 565-5907 or [email protected]

2013

This 90 second video can change your business.

Leadership Council Executive

OfficeTechnologyDocuWareGrowingMoney2013green_AUGUSTonward-revised6-25-2013.indd 1 6/25/2013 10:02:00 AMDocuWare ad Aug 13.indd 1 6/25/13 9:49 AM


ExEcutivE DirEctor’s PagE

Executive Director/BTA Editor/Office Technology

Brent [email protected]

(816) 303-4040

Associate EditorElizabeth Marvel

[email protected](816) 303-4060

Contributing Writers Robert C. Goldberg, General Counsel

Business Technology Association

Troy Harrison, SalesForce Solutions www.salesforcesolutions.net

Mike Lamothe, Office Document Consulting Inc.www.officedocumentconsulting.com

Jose Lopez, Barlop Business Systemswww.barlop.com

Business Technology Association12411 Wornall Road

Kansas City, MO 64145(816) 941-3100

www.bta.org

Member Services: (800) 505-2821BTA Legal Hotline: (800) 869-6688

Valerie BrisenoMembership Marketing Manager

[email protected]

Mary HopkinsDatabase Administrator

[email protected]

Teresa LeerarBookkeeper

[email protected]

Brian SmithMembership Sales Representative

[email protected]

Photo Credits: Hemera Technologies, iStockphoto, Monkey Business, PhotoObjects.net, Wavebreak Media. Cover cre-ated by Bruce Quade, Brand X Studio. ©2013 by the Business Technology Association. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced by any means without the written permission of the publisher. Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of published material. How-ever, the publisher assumes no liability for errors in articles nor are opinions expressed necessarily those of the publisher.

$23,500 Awardedin BTA Scholarships

For many years, BTA has awarded $1,000 and $1,500

scholarships to qualify-ing children of full-time employees of dealership members. Since the 1984-85 school year, BTA has awarded $1,494,500 in scholarships to more than 1,300 students.

An independent, impartial evaluator reviews the submitted applications and selects the winners. Applicants must sub-mit a transcript, essay and information in four areas: school activities; leadership po-sitions; work experience, recognition and awards; and community involvement. For the 2013-14 school year, BTA awarded a to-tal of $23,500 in scholarships to 21 students.

This year’s scholarship recipients and sponsoring BTA member dealerships are: Taylor Brost, EO Johnson Office Technolo-gies, Wausau, Wis.; Hannah Donnellon, ABS Business Products Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio; Kemais Ehlers, Yost Business Systems, Idaho Falls, Idaho; Connor Ellenbecker, EO Johnson Office Technologies, Wausau, Wis.; Tara Forsythe, WJS Enterprises Inc., Me-tairie, La.; Justine Gab, Southwest Business Machines Inc., Dickinson, N.D.; Bennett Heinz, EO Johnson Office Technologies, Wausau, Wis.; Kaitlin Izer, Advanced Sys-tems Inc., Waterloo, Iowa; Julia Katz, EO Johnson Office Technologies, Wausau, Wis.; Jessica Keys, Fireside Office Products Inc., Bismarck, N.D.; Aubrey Kohl, Advanced Sys-tems Inc., Waterloo, Iowa; Connor Reece, Oklahoma Office Systems LLC, Oklahoma City, Okla.; Alex Ruhland, Century Business Products Inc., Sioux Falls, S.D.; Christian Segers, Quality Graphics Equipment Ser-vice Inc., High Point, N.C.; Peyton Stanley, RJ Young Co., Nashville, Tenn.; Anne Stuart, JD Young Co., Tulsa, Okla.; Sarah Vander

Meulen, Automated Business Products of Colorado LLC, Denver, Colo.; Nicholas Wag-ner, Pacific Office Automation, Beaverton, Ore.; Bryan Watkins, Gordon Flesch Com-pany Inc., Fitchburg, Wis.; Allison Yates, Automated Business Solutions Inc., India-napolis, Ind.; and Amy Yessa, EO Johnson Office Technologies, Wausau, Wis.

The BTA Scholarship Foundation is sup-ported by dealers, vendors and service pro-viders. BTA appreciates the contributions made during the 2012-13 year by the follow-ing member companies: Advanced Business Equipment Inc., Asheville, N.C.; Advanced Systems Inc., Waterloo, Iowa; Alltech Busi-ness Solutions, Kenilworth, N.J.; ASI Busi-ness Solutions, Dallas, Texas; California Business Machines Co., Fresno, Calif.; Cen-ter for Business Innovation Inc., Lansing, Mich.; Conestoga Copiers Inc., Lancaster, Pa.; Coordinated Business Solutions Ltd., Burnsville, Minn.; Copy Systems Inc., Des Moines, Iowa; CVI Digital Solutions, Denver, Colo.; CWS - Copier Word Processing Supply Inc., Parkersburg, W.V.; Da-Com Corp., St. Louis, Mo.; Des Plaines Office Equipment Co. Inc., Elk Grove Village, Ill.; Enoch Office Equipment, Timonium, Md.; Fireside Office Products Inc., Bismarck, N.D.; Hadley Office Products Inc., Wausau, Wis.; Hagan Busi-ness Machines of Meadville Inc., Meadville, Pa.; Hendrix Business Systems Inc., Mat-thews, N.C.; Hoosier Business Machines, Jasper, Ind.; Muratec America Inc., Plano, Texas; New England Copy Specialists Inc., Woburn, Mass.; Prior & Nami Business Sys-tems, Hamilton, N.J.; Purvis Business Ma-chines Inc., Meridian, Miss.; SolutionOne, Lincoln, Neb.; Sostilio & Associates Interna-tional Inc., Ocala, Fla.; The Office Technol-ogy Group, Milwaukee, Wis.; Wagner Office Machines, Chicago, Ill.; and Waltz Business Solutions, Crestview Hills, Ky. n

— Brent Hoskins

06OT0813.indd 1 7/30/13 8:10 AM

West Point Products printXL® extended yield cartridges are designed, engineered, and manufactured to offer superior quality and performance while surpassing even the highest OEM page yields. Utilizing next generation technology, printXL® cartridges guarantee higher yields and lower cost-per-page without sacrificing density or print quality.

Contact your West Point Products account manager for availability and pricing

www.westpointproducts.com

• Maximize value while minimizing cost-per-page• Advanced LifeCycle Testing™ to ensure peak print density performance throughout the life of the cartridge• 100% guaranteed page yield• Ideal for MPS (Managed Print Services) environments

XLPRINTINGNEEDS?

West Point Products printXL® extended yield cartridges are extended yield cartridges are designed, engineered, and manufactured to offer superior designed, engineered, and manufactured to offer superior quality and performance while surpassing even the highest quality and performance while surpassing even the highest OEM page yields. Utilizing next generation technology, printXLOEM page yields. Utilizing next generation technology, printXLcartridges guarantee higher yields and lower cost-per-page cartridges guarantee higher yields and lower cost-per-page cartridges guarantee higher yields and lower cost-per-page without sacrificing density or print quality.without sacrificing density or print quality.

Contact your West Point Products account ontact your West Point Products account ontact your West Point Products account ontact your West Point Products account managermanager for availability and pricing for availability and pricing

www.westpointproducts.comww.westpointproducts.com

• Maximize value while minimizing cost-per-page• Maximize value while minimizing cost-per-page• Maximize value while minimizing cost-per-page• Advanced LifeCycle Testing™ to ensure peak print density • Advanced LifeCycle Testing™ to ensure peak print density • Advanced LifeCycle Testing™ to ensure peak print density • Advanced LifeCycle Testing™ to ensure peak print density performance throughout the life of the cartridge performance throughout the life of the cartridge performance throughout the life of the cartridge• 100% guaranteed page yield• 100% guaranteed page yield• Ideal for MPS (Managed Print Services) environments• Ideal for MPS (Managed Print Services) environments• Ideal for MPS (Managed Print Services) environments• Ideal for MPS (Managed Print Services) environments

XLPRINTINGXLPRINTINGXLNEEDS?

C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

229813A WPP printXL Af BTA specs.pdf 1 7/19/13 3:26 PM

West Point ad Aug 13.indd 1 7/19/13 4:58 PM


BTA PresidenT’s messAge2013-2014 Board of Directors

PresidentTodd J. Fitzsimons

Automated Business SolutionsDBA Network Imaging122 Spring St., Ste. B3Southington, CT 06489 [email protected]

President-ElectRon Hulett

U.S. Business Systems Inc.3221 Southview Drive

Elkhart, IN [email protected]

Vice PresidentDave Quint

Advanced Systems Inc.2945 Airport Blvd.

P.O. Box 57Waterloo, IA [email protected]

BTA East Rob Richardson

Allied Document Solutions & Services Inc.200 Church St.

Swedesboro, NJ [email protected]

BTA Mid-AmericaDan Castaneda

International Copy Machine Center1515 Lee Trevino, Ste. EE

El Paso, TX [email protected]

BTA Southeast Linda Hayes

Purcell’s Business Products222 E. 1st St.

Campbellsville, KY [email protected]

BTA WestMike Ehlers

Yost Business Systems685 E. Anderson

Idaho Falls, ID [email protected]

Ex-Officio/ImmediatePast President

Terry ChapmanBusiness Electronics Corp.

219 Oxmoor Circle, P.O. Box 531066Birmingham, AL 35253

[email protected]

Ex-Officio/General CounselRobert C. Goldberg

Schoenberg Finkel Newman & Rosenberg LLC222 S. Riverside Plaza, Ste. 2100

Chicago, IL [email protected]

Download Channel’sChoice Report Today

Thank you for cast-ing your ballot in this year’s BTA

Channel’s Choice pro-gram. We received 344 completed ballots from independent BTA mem-ber and non-member dealers. The results of this balloting process, tabulated for BTA by Industry Analysts Inc., determined the win-ners of our 2013 Channel’s Choice Awards.

Dealers were asked to rate their primary and secondary line hardware vendors in key performance categories. This year, beyond our traditional awards, we added more cat-egories to the ballot, resulting in three new awards: Third-Party Leasing; Cartridge Re-manufacturing and Remote Meter Capture.

Established in 1989, the Channel’s Choice program provides dealers with a means to recognize and honor those office technol-ogy vendors that are the most supportive of the BTA channel. Through the years, we have honored a number of vendors for their outstanding product lines and exceptional levels of performance and dealer support.

I had the honor of joining 2012-13 BTA President Terry Chapman on stage at BTA Mid-America’s June 17-18 Cruise to Suc-cess event in Chicago to present the 2013 Channel’s Choice Awards. Congratulations to our winners, who have distinguished themselves within the office technology in-dustry by offering highly regarded levels of support to the BTA channel.

Among MFP vendors, Copystar is the winner of the 2013 Channel’s Choice Award for Superior Performance. In addi-tion, Copystar received Channel’s Choice Awards in three other performance catego-ries: Corporate Support, Distribution and Product Line. Canon U.S.A. Inc. received the award for Outstanding Performance as

a Secondary Product Line Provider. Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America received the award in the Inven-tory performance category. As noted, BTA added three new performance categories this year. The winners: GE Capital Office Imaging, Third-Party Leasing; LMI Solu-tions, Remanufactured Cartridges; and Print Tracker, Remote Meter Capture.

BTA provides its members a detailed look at the results. Specifically, the 117-page 2013 BTA Channel’s Choice Report, prepared for BTA by Industry Analysts Inc., provides a comprehensive view of the bal-loting process and an unparalleled look at how dealers rate their vendor partners. As a BTA member, you have free access to this report. Download your copy by visiting www.bta.org/ChannelsChoice. From the same page, you can also download copies of the reports from 2007 to 2012.

Here is a sampling of some of the infor-mation you will find in the 2013 BTA Chan-nel’s Choice Report:n Toshiba was the first runner-up for

the primary product line Superior Per-formance Award; Lexmark was the first runner-up for the secondary product line Outstanding Performance Award.n Among primary hardware vendors, in

terms of overall comparisons, three com-panies ranked above the industry mean (determined by the survey results): Copy-star, Toshiba and Kyocera.n Among secondary hardware vendors,

in terms of overall comparisons, five com-panies ranked above the industry mean: Canon, Lexmark, Muratec, Sharp and Kon-ica Minolta.

Download your copy of the 2013 BTA Channel’s Choice Report today via the BTA website and see how your vendors rank among the competition. n

— Todd J. Fitzsimons

08OT0813.indd 1 7/30/13 8:10 AM

205613A

Clover respects OEM patents and rights ensuring all products are IP-cleared

All resellers are fully indemnified against OEM litigation

Clover offers a full Lexmark Compliant Solution

Clover products are guaranteed to meet or exceed OEM performance

The only manufacturer in the industry you can trust!

“expect to see more

- InfoTrends 2013Lawsuits & Trade Actions...”

www.clovertech.com

All Clover products are manufactured using non-infringing components

Clover ad Apr 13.indd 1 3/20/13 10:45 AM

Friendly FinancingSelecting the right leasing partner for your dealership

by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine

Have you noticed? A growing number of office technology leasing companies are making strides in their efforts to

ensure quality relationships with dealers. Plus, in some cases, they are now providing services that go well beyond traditional financing. In today’s competitive marketplace, having “true partners” on the leasing company front is es-pecially important to dealers.

Of course, there have been a few leasing companies through the years that have been less than ideal in terms of fair and equitable practices in their relationships with dealers. It usually has to do with unsavory actions at the end of the lease, manifested in unethical — and unexpected — business practices. This has been a source of frustration for many dealers. Bob Gold-berg, general counsel for the Business Technology Associa-tion (BTA), reports that “leasing issues” has been among the most prevalent topics in dealer calls to the BTA Legal Hotline through the years.

However, Goldberg emphasizes, the dealer and leasing company relationship goes two ways. That is, just like it is for the leasing company, it is incumbent that dealers also strive to ensure the right kind of partnership. “The reason for the absence of excellent relations with some leasing companies is the failure of not only the leasing company, but also the dealer, to pursue good relationships; instead, the dealer is just chasing low rates,” he says, questioning why any dealer would focus on getting the lowest rates when the end user is solely focused on the amount of the monthly payment. In their search for the right partnership, dealers should rec-ognize that not all leasing companies are equal, Goldberg adds. “They range from entities that merely provide leases to those that provide a menu of services to assist the dealer.”

As noted, today there are many quality leasing compa-nies serving the office technology industry. The proper due diligence can guide dealers in identifying those that adhere to the fair and equitable treatment of dealers. Further, the dealer who asks the right questions and fully understands

the culture and focus that each leasing company provides will be best positioned to identify the leasing company that will be the ideal partner.

One does not have to look far to see that there are many choices to consider. In fact, the BTA membership rolls alone include 10 leas-ing companies. They are: Balboa Capital Corp. (www.balboacapital.com); CIT (www.cit.com); EverBank Commercial Finance (www.everbank commercialfinance.com); GE Capital (www.ge capital.com/officeimaging); GreatAmerica Fi-nancial Services Corp. (www.greatamerica.

com); LEAF Commercial Capital (www.leafnow.com); Lease Corporation of America (www.leasecorp.com); Marlin Leas-ing Corp. (www.marlinleasing.com); PNC Equipment Fi-nance (www.pnc.com); and U.S. Bank Office Equipment Fi-nance Services (www.usbank.com/oefs).

Regardless of which leasing company a dealership selects, given the contractual relationship between the lessor, les-see and dealership, it is inevitable that some problems will arise from time to time. Consequently, it is paramount that leasing companies always address any lease issue based on fair, equitable and ethical business practices, Goldberg says. “This cooperation comes from a well-built relationship and knowledge of the dealer and his or her business,” he says. “Your leasing company should respect your customer rela-tionship and not treat it as its own relationship. End-user in-formation should be deemed confidential and never shared with a third party, and end-of-lease procedures need to be established in a Master Agreement.”

A respect for the dealer’s customer relationships, as cited by Goldberg, is a primary focus among many of today’s leasing companies. “GreatAmerica was built on a ‘Customers for Life®’ philosophy 20 years ago and that philosophy remains today,” says Jennie Fisher, se-nior vice president and general manager of Great- America’s Office Equipment Group. “Our customer is the in-dependent dealer, first and foremost. We work through our dealers to ensure that we are meeting their needs by way of


Cover Story Aug 13.indd 1 7/29/13 2:58 PM

© Copyright 2012 Micro Solutions Enterprises. All rights reserved. All trademarks referenced are registered trademarks of their respective owners. All model designations are for compatibility purposes only.© Copyright 2012 Micro Solutions Enterprises. All rights reserved. All trademarks referenced are registered trademarks of their respective owners. All model designations are for compatibility purposes only.

QUALITY MADE IN THE USA SINCE 1994

800.418.4968 (US-East Coast ) | 877 .246.2133 (Canada) | +31 .36 .522.2601 (MSE Europe)Corporate Headquarters 800 .673.4968 | 818 .407.7500 | 8201 Woodley Ave. Van Nuys, CA 91406

© Copyright 2013 Micro Solutions Enterprises. All rights reserved. All trademarks referenced are registered trademarks of their respective owners. All model designations are for compatibility purposes only.

MSE is the largest toner cartridge remanufacturerwith 100% of its production facilities in the USA!

The only True alternative to the OEM!

✔MSE employs approximately 1000 people

✔MSE products are 100% remanufactured

✔MSE innovation and engineering has led to 20 patents, in-house machine shops, robotics and automation

✔MSE offers brand support with world-leading marketing and training, which fosters a profitable OEM conversion strategy

✔MSE is widely recognized as a world leader in color quality and extended yield applications

PATENTEDTECHNOLOGY

QC5 STEP

PROTOCOL

www.mse.com

Learn more about

capturing the

Multi-Billion-Dollar

color opportunity!

BTA Officetech August 2013.pdf 1 7/15/13 9:02 AM

MSE ad Aug 13.indd 1 7/15/13 11:46 AM

that customer protection.”Vince Faino, senior vice

president of sales for LEAF, responding to a question about the “traits of the ideal leasing company,” offers a similar perspective. “The ideal leasing company is re-lationship-focused,” he says. “In our business, some of the leasing companies ask, ‘What’s in it for us?’ too of-ten and they focus on things other than the relationship. The relationship is critical; the ideal company understands that the lessee is the dealer’s customer. It is certainly not the leasing company’s customer.”

Beyond ensuring clear agreement on who “owns” the end-user customer, what else should the dealer consider and look for in a leasing company? What questions should be addressed in the selection process? Fisher, Connie Schmidt, national program director for PNC Equipment Finance, and Faino share their recommendations.

Fisher advises that dealers pay close attention to a com-pany’s reputation, stability and experience. “That speaks volumes,” she says. “Look at its track record. Has the com-pany experienced drastic ebbs and flows in the upturns and downturns? The company also needs to be known for being lessee friendly and dealer friendly. And, of course, it needs to have an industry reputation of good ethics and integrity.”

Schmidt shares a similar perspective. “I think that the leasing company’s experience, level of commitment to the dealer channel and its reputation in the industry are of great importance,” she says.

In addition, Schmidt says, dealers should ask questions that will verify that the leasing company will be a trusted partner as the dealership pursues large accounts. “The leas-ing company is, in essence, an extension of the dealership,” she says. “The dealer needs to know, especially when trying to pursue major account business, that the leasing company is always going to take care of the dealer’s company and pro-vide the flexibility in services that the dealer needs.”

The leasing company’s demonstrated industry expertise is also important, Faino says. “If we [LEAF] placed ourselves in the dealer’s shoes, we would ask questions that compel the leasing company to show us that they make the grade in terms of experience in our specific asset class,” he says. “It is important that dealers align themselves with leasing companies that know the office technology market and un-derstand all of its nuances.”

Some of the other questions Faino recommends that

dealers ask: “What is your company’s comfort level from a credit and risk per-spective? What are your support and processing ca-pabilities? Will we have a dedicated person servicing our portfolio and handling credit applications? What mobile applications do you offer that our employees can access on their cell phones in the field to help them con-duct business?”

In addition, Faino advises, the dealer’s selection process should include questions focused on the leasing company’s culture. “Will they fight for us in the trenches?” he asks. “Will our business really matter to them? As a dealer, I would want to confirm that their financing capabilities will make a positive difference in our sales volume and bottom line.”

Faino emphasizes that the line of questions, and others, need to be asked up front, before the dealer engages in any business through the leasing company. “Sometimes these questions are not asked until after the relationship is under-way for some period of time,” he says, noting that the dealer will learn too late that the selected leasing company may be less than ideal. “By then, ‘cracks can form in the wall.’”

In the selection process, dealers will also want to watch for red flags. Fisher, for example, advises dealers to be wary of any leasing company that presents low rates as its key value proposition. “Anybody can compete and gain market share with aggressive pricing,” she says. “Rates are an at-tractive way to gain a dealer’s attention, but at the end of the day, what is the value behind the low rates? We could also lower our rates, but that would mean lowering our stan-dards as well and doing things that are not favorable for the lessee or the dealer.”

Unfortunately, Fisher says, when dealers look at low rates up front, they do not always think about how that will play out in the long term. “What fees can your customer expect to be charged over the life of the contract?” she asks. “A way to find profitable returns can be found. However, this often results in undesirable fees and practices. Insurance and tax administration fees, monthly invoicing fees and locked-in renewals are a few examples.”

Faino suggests that another red flag is a leasing company’s unsatisfactory answers to questions: “What do you bring to the table and is the value real and sustainable? Are you fully committed to my industry?” In fact, he says, a “value-add” is particularly important. “The dealer should understand whether or not the prospective leasing source can or cannot


“Look at its track record. Has the company experienced drastic ebbs and flows in the upturns and downturns? The company also ... needs to have an industry reputation of good ethics and integrity.”

— Jennie FisherGreatAmerica Financial Services Corp.


CLIENT: TOSHIBAJOB#: TOSH0839NAME: TABS Dealer Recruitment PUBS: SPECS: BLEED: 8.25” x 11” TRIM: 8” x 10.75” LIVE: 7.25” x 10” GUTTER: ” x ”

ART DIRECTOR: Jim RiddleCOPYWRITER: PRODUCTION: Julie EslerACCOUNT EXEC: Johanna CurgusSTUDIO: Ian Encabo

READER 3FPO HI-RES

PRODUCTION NOTES:

APPROVED CHANGES

TEAM LEADER: ART DIRECTOR: COPYWRITER: PROOF READER: ACCOUNT EXEC:

©2013 Toshiba America Business Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.

When you partner with a leader, success follows.What’s our secret to being the best?It’s simple. We put our dealers � rst. With Toshiba, you’re partnering with an award-winning team committed to helping dealers succeed.

For more info, please visit us at business.toshiba.com/dealer or call us at 949-462-6201.

What’s our secret to being the best?It’s simple. We put our dealers � rst. With Toshiba, you’re partnering with an award-winning team committed to helping dealers succeed

What’s our secret to being the best?It’s simple. We put our dealers � rst. With Toshiba, you’re partnering with an award-winning team committed to helping dealers succeed.

Voted #1 for Overall Superior Performance by BTA Channel’s Choice for six straight years.

Awarded “First in Class” for Dealer Support by Marketing Research Consultants.

Winner of 2013 Better Buys for Business Innovative Product of the Year for e-STUDIO 2550c/2551c series.

Toshiba ad Apr 13.indd 1 3/12/13 8:16 AM


add value,” he explains. “Ev-eryone in the industry is too busy and the stakes are too high to settle for status quo.”

Adding value is a key fo-cus at LEAF, Faino says. “We are always reviewing our suite of products and servic-es, because we want to en-sure that we bring real value to our dealers,” he says. “For example, LEAF has intro-duced a robust managed services platform that fa-cilitates the interactions between office technology dealers and their support services providers. We also prioritize the importance of precise billing and pass-through of funds while making certain the platform delivers transaction structuring customization, no matter the mix of hardware, software or subscription components.”

GreatAmerica is focused on adding value as well. The

company, for example, es-tablished its Collabrance subsidiary to provide a suite of IT solutions and related customer support offerings for dealers. “GreatAmerica prides itself on gaining a deeper understanding of the markets that our dealer customers serve and finding ways to support them,” Fish-er says. “Dealers are becom-ing services providers in or-der to grow their companies.

We bring solutions to the table to help them achieve that growth.” n

Brent Hoskins, executive director of the Business Technology Association, is editor

of Office Technology magazine. He can be reached at [email protected]

or (816) 303-4040.

“The dealer should understand whether or not the prospective leasing source can or cannot add value. Everyone in the industry is too busy and the stakes are too high to settle for status quo.”

— Vince FainoLEAF Commercial Capital

N707 M402

SINDOH enters North America marketplace with new and innovative mono-laser MFPs with speed up to 50ppm. Perfect foroccasional A3 tasks, SINDOH’s new hybrid A4 MFPs provides A3 scan, copy and fax downsizing solutions. SINDOH’s lowacquisition price to print and scan A4 compared to traditional A3 products is gathering interest from dealers nationally.Contact a SINDOH Authorized Distributor today to become a SINDOH authorized dealer.

SINDOH coming to US market introducing new Hybrid MFPs with A3 Functionality

Visit our official website to learn more about SINDOH. http : //www.sindoh.com

Carolina Wholesale1-800-521-4600 www.cwholesale.com/SINDOH

SINDOH Authorized DistributorsCollins Distrubuting

1-800-727-0884 www.CollinsDistributing.com

Arlington1-800-887-3040 www.arli.com


Supplies Network offers the same exceptional sales support on printers as you’ve come to know for your supplies orders.

• Broad selection from most major OEMs

• Competitive pricing

• Unique programs and special offers

• OEM program recognition for many manufacturers

• Opportunities for upgrades – reveal best targets through data scoring system

Check out all of the latest rebates and promotions atwww.SuppliesNetworkNews.com

or call 800-729-9300.

Supplies Network ad Aug 13.indd 1 7/29/13 1:24 PM

Cruise to SuccessBTA Mid-America hosts district event in Chicago

by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine

On June 17-18, BTA Mid-America hosted its Cruise to Success district event, which focused on provid-ing office technology dealers the opportunity to

learn from experts, network with fellow dealers and gather new ideas and strategies. The event was held at the Dou-bleTree by Hilton - Magnificent Mile in Chicago.

Comments shared in event evaluations reflect those of many attendees. From Nancy Taylor, Taylor Business Equipment Inc., Chicago, Ill.: “This was a very valuable experience.” From Troy Paterson, Copy Systems Inc., Des Moines, Iowa: “This event really helps to make you think about working on your business, rather than working in it.”

Cruise to Success featured a keynote session presented by Doug Albregts, president of Sharp Imaging and Infor-mation Company of America. There were also five other educational sessions, including a dealer panel. Educa-tional session presenters included: Larry Coco, president, Coco Training & Consulting Inc.; Bob Goldberg, BTA gen-eral counsel; Ed McLaughlin, CEO, Valderus LLC; and Ter-rie Campbell, vice president of strategic marketing, Ricoh Americas Corp. The dealer panel was moderated by David Ramos, director of Channel Strategy Services, InfoTrends. The schedule also included a welcoming reception and a three-hour scenic dinner cruise on Lake Michigan.

The exhibiting sponsors: Crawford Thomas, DataVault, Densi, Digital Gateway, DocuWare, ECi FMAudit, EDA, ESHA, ESP, Evolved Office, Frontier Imaging, Global Printer Services, GreatAmerica, Hytec, Image Star, In-novolt, Katun, LEAF, Memjet, MSE, Muratec, NA Trading and Technology, OKI Data, Parts Now, PNC Equipment Fi-nance, Polek & Polek, Printer Essentials, Smart Power Sys-tems, Square 9, Supplies Network, TonerCycle/InkCycle, Toshiba, Universal Laser, West Point Products and Xerox.

For information on or to register for the upcoming Sept. 26-27 BTA East-hosted Grand Slam district event, to be held in Baltimore, Md., see the ad on pages 2-3 or visit www.bta.org/BTAEastEvent. nBrent Hoskins, executive director of the Business Technology

Association, is editor of Office Technology magazine.

Clockwise from top: BTA Mid-America’s Cruise to Success featured five educational ses-sions and a panel discussion focused on turning business disruption into opportu-nity; keynote presenter Doug Albregts, president of Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America; attendees Pat and Carol Smith of Print Technologies Inc., Omaha, Neb., visit with exhibitor Mark Albert of OKI Data Americas Inc.; Cruise to Success emcee and BTA Mid-America President Dave Quint, Advanced Systems Inc., Waterloo, Iowa.


BTA MA Aug 13.indd 1 7/29/13 5:49 PM

BTA presented several awards at Cruise to Success, including this year’s Chan-nel’s Choice Awards. Clockwise from top left: 2012-13 BTA President Terry Chap-man (left) and 2012-13 BTA President-Elect Todd J. Fitzsimons (right), present BTA Channel’s Choice awards to Bob Burke (center), vice president of sales at Copystar. Copystar received awards for Superior Performance as a Primary

Product Line Provider, Corporate Support, Distribution and Product Line; Fitzsimons presents the award for Outstanding Performance as a Secondary Product Line Provider to Paul Piotrowski, director of field sales, Dealer Sales Division, Canon U.S.A. Inc.; Chapman presents the Inventory award to Doug Albregts, president of Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America; Chapman and Fitzsimons present the Remanufactured Cartridges award to Gary Willert, president & CEO, LMI Solu-tions; and Chapman and Fitzsimons present the Third-Party Leasing award to Glen Clark, general manager, GE Capital Office Imaging. Print Tracker also won a Channel’s Choice award for Remote Meter Capture.

Left: Chapman and Fitzsimons present the association’s President’s Award to David Ramos, director of Channel Strategy Services at InfoTrends, for his ongoing support of BTA. Right: Chapman presents the 2013 BTA Volunteer of the Year award to Rob Richardson, Allied Document Solutions & Services Inc., Swedesboro, N.J.

w w w. o f f i c e t e c h n o l o g y m a g. c o m | A u g u s t 2 0 1 3 | 17

Above: The Cruise to Success schedule allowed plenty of time for attendees to network with their fellow dealers and exhibiting sponsors, including during a welcoming reception on June 17. Bottom left photos, left to right: BTA Mid-America President Dave Quint asks Fitzsimons to draw the winning entry in one of the many prize drawings held at the conclusion of the event; Larry Coco presents his educational session, “Growing the Business by Building a Strong Team Environment.”

BTA MA Aug 13.indd 2 7/29/13 5:49 PM

A Case for ChangeIf they have not done so already, today’s office technology deal-

ers need to break away from the status quo. After all, there are plenty of new selling opportunities for them in the small to mid-size business (SMB) space. Together, the advice and words of encouragement were the core message of Doug Albregts, presi-dent of Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America, in his keynote presentation, the opening educational session for BTA Mid-America’s Cruise to Success event. Albregts began by acknowledging the decreasing number of U.S. independent dealerships. Yet, he noted, that decrease provides a new level of strength for the dealer channel. “The balance of power is changing,” he explained. “Because the number of dealerships is decreasing and there are fewer of you, those that remain are bigger. And because you are bigger, you have more power.” This increasing power within the channel, Albregts said, helps to better position more dealers to take advantage of the new opportunities in the marketplace. A portion of his keynote presentation specifically focused on encouraging dealers to consider “expanding beyond the copier” by embracing the IT services market, given the office technology dealer’s strengths as compared to the typical VAR. “There is a great land grab, which I personally think is one of the more interesting things for you to think about as a business owner,” he said, noting that dealers, who are in the business of building relationships, have the traits that end users are seeking in an IT service provider. “They want to rely on somebody and trust somebody. They want to know a company is going to be there when they have an issue. We have a distinct advantage here as an industry.” Many SMB end users are growing tired of their piecemeal approach to IT, Albregts said, confirmed by his periodic survey-ing of IT accounts during his career. “They are happy with their copier dealer and with the service,” he said. “But when I ask, ‘How are you doing things in IT?,’ they don’t want to talk about it too much. It is, ‘Bob’s brother-in-law does the service and I’ve got Jim, who handles all of the computers. And I don’t know about our phone systems; they don’t work half the time.’ I then ask, ‘Wouldn’t you like one provider to do all that for you?’ And the answer is always ‘yes.’” Albregts described many of the dealer’s SMB customers as “laggards” in terms of their IT infrastructures as compared to large enterprise customers — “That seems to be an opportunity for us.” He also reminded the audience of the proverbial desire for “one throat to choke” among companies when it comes to outside service and support. “These customers want one invoice,” he said. “They don’t want your invoice and then four in-voices from their IT partners. They are more than willing to listen to you in order to have that one invoice for all of their IT services, whatever they may be. “Start thinking about more than the copier,” Albregts advised dealer attendees. “You might be doing that today, but there are a lot of dealers still saying ‘I’m going to sell a box and sell a service contract; that’s what I’ve done forever, that’s what my dad did,’ or whatever the story may be. Embrace technology, be-cause I have news for you, very shortly it is not going to be about the copier, it is going to be about the network — specific to SMB. If you don’t talk to your clients about more than just the copier, I think you are going to run into some problems.” n

—Brent Hoskins

Clockwise from top left: Ed McLaughlin presents “What is Wrong With All This Talk of Transformation?”; attendees enjoy one of the six Cruise to Success educational sessions; Bob Goldberg presents “Cruise to Success or Drown in Legalities”; Michael Kidd of McShane’s Inc., Munster, Ind., asks a question of one of the presenters; members of the dealer panel, “Turning Business Disruption Into a Welcome Opportunity,” discuss their business strategies for success. Panelists included (left to right) Greg Walker (East Texas Copy Systems Inc., Tyler, Texas), Brian Snow (Advanced Business Systems, Tallahassee, Fla.), John Kuchta (SolutionOne, Lincoln, Neb.) and Chip Miceli (Des Plaines Office Equipment, Elk Grove Village, Ill.); Terrie Campbell presents “The Great Mobile Workforce Debate”; at-tendee Robert Moore of Lockwood Moore Inc., Reno, Nev., asks a question of one of the presenters.


BTA MA Aug 13.indd 3 7/29/13 5:49 PM

573-632-2461 • [email protected] • www.fmaudit.comECi, FMAudit and the ECi Red Box logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of eCommerce Industries, Inc. All rights reserved.

FMAudit is the most utilized MPS software in the world!

Using FMAudit managed print solutions you will:

• Remotelyinstall,maintainandupdatesoftwarewithlimitedITstaffinvolvement

• Maintain100%controlofyourdata—nothirdpartyhasaccesstoyourdata

• Reduceoverhead,automateprocessesandincreasesales

Schedule a DEMO with FMAudit TODAY!Visit www.ECiSolutions.com/MPS or call 573-632-2461

Managed Print SoftwareThe TOTAL

SOLUTIONFMAudit is the most utilized MPS software in the world!

ECi FMAudit ad Feb 13.indd 1 1/17/13 4:05 PM

Lately, it has been fashionable for a lot of sales trainers to write articles about “why sales training does not work.”

This, of course, allows them to slyly inject why their sales training is the only sales training that could possibly work in this and all other imaginable worlds. I think I will stay away from that.

I prefer to stay on the positive side, so let’s talk about how to make sales training work. In fact, let’s back away a bit and talk about how to make any training work.

Full disclosure: This article was inspired by a lunch I had recently with a client who commented on his satisfaction with my training. In retrospect, I have to say that part of what made the training effective was how the client handled it — and that is what I propose to pass along today.

First, however, let me tell you the “little secret” of sales training: Almost any sales trainer can, and will, generate a return on investment (ROI) for your company. That is a big statement, I know, and there are certainly exceptions. But the reality is this: The economy of sales training is such that even the most expensive sales trainer can pay for himself if just one person in the class takes what he (or she) learns and uses it to significantly increase his performance. I have taught very few classes where at least a few people did not take my instructions and run with them.

Again, there are exceptions. There are people out there using teaching techniques that will actually generate nega-tive ROI because the techniques, when implemented, actu-ally make the customer uncomfortable and less likely to buy. However, let’s assume that we are talking about train-ers who at least understand customer friendliness.

So, now that the little secret is out there (and I will follow up on it at the end by giving you some guidelines on how to pick your trainer), let’s talk about what you (whether you

are a manager or a salesperson) can do to make training work for you.

Preparation is Key — I wish I could tell you how many times I have walked into a room, looked around and discov-ered that the salespeople have no real idea of why I am there. They just know to show up at a certain place at a certain time. Do not be one of those salespeople.

If you are a manager, prepare your people; tell them what will happen and what your expectations are. A lot of time is wasted in these sessions just crossing the “Oh-this-is-train-ing” hump. If you are a salesperson, do not just settle for a scheduled meeting; ask what will be happening and what the expectations are. It is your time, after all. Good trainers will tell you about the program outline and plan when they are selling the training program. Make use of that.

Professionalism is the Most Basic Expectation — When I was a sales manager and I sent my reps to training, I always did so with the expectation that they would be on their most professional behavior; unprofessionalism was a

Making Training WorkSteps you can take to ensure it is effective

by: Troy Harrison, SalesForce Solutions


Harrison Aug 13.indd 1 7/29/13 9:47 AM

The Samsung products that power the New Business Experience.

OPTIMIZE PERFORMANCE. REDUCE COSTS.The Samsung Print Plus™ Managed Print Services (MPS) program provides you with a complete suite of tools to optimize and manage your customers’ printer, MFP and copier fleets, while helping lower their operating costs and providing you with opportunities for enhanced revenue and profits. Our full range of products, solutions and services empowers you to better serve your customers in a comprehensive, integrated way.

© 2013 Samsung Electronics America, Inc. All rights reserved. Samsung is a registered trademark of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. All products, logos and brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Screen images simulated.

Leasing Program | Sales ToolsSystem Analysis | Print Management

Supplies | Service and Support

MPS-OfficeTech.indd 1 6/13/2013 5:53:42 PMSamsung ad July 13.indd 1 6/24/13 10:35 AM

reflection on me, after all. However, too many training programs (again, of any type) end up looking more like Romper Room than a business environment.

Want to maximize the value of your money? Make sure your people are on their game when they are in the room and that they are punctual when return-ing from lunches, breaks, etc. If you are a trainee, be a leader. Look at it this way: You are going to be there regardless, so if the conduct of others is keeping you from learning, it is your right to call them on it. Is it the speaker’s job to control the room? To an extent, yes. But I tell all my clients that I am a trainer, not a babysitter. If your staff members require a babysitter, that reflects on you.

Focus on Profitable Behavior Modifications — As the training is going on, you will find elements that you have heard before. That is going to happen with any experienced worker going through any type of training. Training be-comes unsuccessful when attendees focus in on those com-monalities and stop looking for the differences. Virtually any training of any type, however, will have what I call “nug-gets,” or ways to modify behavior that can be very profitable. I went to a training session for speakers a couple of weeks ago; 98 percent of it was stuff that I had heard and knew. I have been working on the other 2 percent for the last two weeks and have had some excellent results.

Learn & Reinforce — There is no substitute for manag-ers who participate in training sessions and learn right along with their people. And, there is no substitute for when manag-ers, having learned the lessons too, continually reinforce the message after the trainer has left.

My recent client said, “Our profit per stop is up significantly because of your training.” That is great and I appreciate it, but the reality is that it is up partially because of what I taught and partially because the company has adopted those teach-ings as part of its culture and has reinforced those teachings in the months since I was there.

Too many managers look at training — of any type — as a self-contained, fix-all solution. It is not. Good training pro-grams are incorporated into the culture of the company or department, and then reinforced consistently and when an opportunity comes up. Training is designed to show the ben-efits of behavioral change; however, true behavioral change does not happen within a one- or two-day window. It is the consistency of management and follow-up that really spikes the ROI.

Selecting a TrainerSo, I promised that I would circle back and talk about

how to select a trainer. To pick the right person for your needs, just follow these simple guidelines:

Pick someone who is an expert. There are a lot of “seminar” companies out there that provide general-purpose speakers with prewritten courses to present. The training breaks down when the first person asks a question that starts with “Why?” Make sure your trainer can answer those questions

through personal expertise.Pick someone who is willing to learn. Too many train-

ers come in with a “program-in-a-box” and end up not speak-ing your language. Good trainers build in pre-training time to learn the specific challenges and needs of your business.

Pick someone who fits your culture or the culture you would like to have. Training of any kind should set the tone for how things are done at your company; if the trainer is training a method that is counter to your culture, it will not be effective. When it comes to sales training, I always tell my clients that sales training dictates how you want your cus-tomers to be treated. Is the curriculum and approach a fit?

Finally, pick someone who is available post-session. I have heard horror stories about trainers who came in, did outrageously expensive sessions and when a manager or trainee had a question, they wanted to bill a large amount just for answering. Make sure your trainer does not mind getting the occasional call or email post-session. I always tell my clients that they are free to call or email with ques-tions. If it gets to a point where I need to bill for time, I let them know well in advance.

A well-designed, planned, executed and followed train-ing session can be the best thing for you and your staff. A bad one can be a waste of time. By following these simple steps, you can make sure that your training is effective. n

Troy Harrison is the author of “Sell Like You Mean It!” and is president of SalesForce Solutions,

a sales training, consulting and recruiting firm. For information on booking speaking/training

engagements, consulting or to sign up for his weekly e-zine, call (913) 645-3603 or email

[email protected]. Visit www.SalesForceSolutions.net.

Harrison will be among the presenters at BTA’s Sept. 26-27 Grand Slam

district event, hosted by BTA East in Baltimore, Md., where he will present

his educational session, “Building the 21st-Century Sales Force.”

Visit www.bta.org/BTAEastEvent.

Too many trainers ... end up not speaking your language. Good trainers build in pre-training time to learn the specific challenges and needs of your business.


Harrison Aug 13.indd 2 7/29/13 9:50 AM

Muratec America, Inc. 3301 East Plano Parkway • Suite 100 • Plano, Texas 75074

www.muratec.com • 469.429.3481 ©2013 Muratec America, Inc. All rights reserved.

Four Great reasonsto Check Out Muratec’s New Product Line

Awesome New Features*• Seamless Document Capture, Routing

& Indexing• Standard PCL Printing• Convenient Document Finishing• Flexible Paper Options• Fax Server Connectivity, VoIP Fax Support• 4 New Monochrome A4 MFP’s• 3 New Color A3 MFP’s* Features vary by model

Boost Your Bottom-Line• Aggressive Dealer Pricing• Protected Distribution

Channels• Integrated Software &

Solutions That Add Value to Sales Proposals

Service Cost that Will Make You Smile• The Lowest Service Cost in the Monochrome A4 Market

• Muratec’s Committed to Achieving the Yields That We Publish

• 15-Month Part Warranty

Muratec Commitment to the Dealer Community• Muratec’s “Make it Right

for the Dealer” Policies• No Quotas

B u s i n e s s - C l a s s D o C u m e n t s o l u t i o n s

MFX-3091 MFX-3510MFX-C2700 MFX-3590MFX-3530 MFX-C2280 / MFX-C2880 / MFX-C3680

A4 A4 A4 A4A4 A3

Contact your Muratec area sales manager or call 469.429.3481 for more information.

Muratec 4 Reasons Ad_2013_OT.indd 1 5/30/13 10:12 AMMuratec ad Aug 13.indd 1 7/23/13 3:07 PM

I have had the pleasure of sitting at the closing table with many dealership owners who have happily sold their businesses. The reward of many years of hard

work had been quantified and the value of their efforts established. Office technology dealers are fortunate that there is a robust market for their businesses that gives them an opportunity to exit profitably and pursue other ambitions.

In many of these transactions, the owners have ex-pressed a meaningful concern for the future of their employees. In fact, in one instance, on the eve of closing the transaction, the owner reached out to me to inform the purchaser that the deal was off. The owner told me: “I cannot sell my employees.” In other circumstances I have seen owners generously share the bounty with their employees. The one common thread is that these businesses were built by a team effort and not by a sin-gle individual. There is a means to exit your business and reward your employees as well.

For both moral and economic reasons, selling your business to your employees may be the best option. In 2012, 40 percent of businesses did not have a succession plan in place. With-out a plan, it is difficult to establish the proper direction for your business. If you decide to sell to your employees, the best course is to create an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). The best candidates for an ESOP are those businesses that have a strong cash flow, stable sales and profits, generate tax-able income and have good management.

A trust is created and used for the purchase of shares in the corporation. It is a tax-exempt trust and, thus, its activi-ties are not taxable. Employees can purchase stock directly, receive stock as a bonus and/or through a profit-sharing plan. The shares purchased are allocated to individual employee ac-counts and annual statements are provided to the employee indicating the value of his (or her) holdings. Both when estab-lishing the ESOP and each year thereafter, an independent val-uation of the company must be performed. When an employee departs, is disabled or retires, the shares are repurchased at the then current fair market value.

Not all owners must agree to sell in order to establish an ESOP. However, it is normally best if all do decide to sell. Once it is established that the owners are prepared to sell to an ESOP, a feasibility study should be conducted to determine if the company can afford the annual contributions to the ESOP,

whether other benefits have to be eliminated, the effect on cash flow and earnings, the structure and how the purchase will be financed. If all these factors are favorable, then an in-dependent appraiser should be hired to conduct a fair market evaluation. A consultant prepares the plan, which must be submitted to the IRS. Then the plan is funded, a trustee is se-lected and the purchase begins.

The major benefits of an ESOP are that contributions of stock and cash to the plan are tax deductible. If the purchase is being financed (and most are), the funds to repay the loan are also tax deductible. Dividends from shares in the plan are tax deductible and employees are not taxed on contribu-tions — only distributions. For the selling owners, all capital gains taxes are deferred provided the proceeds are invested in American companies. The cost of establishing an ESOP can be expensive, but the IRS has created tax advantages that more than offset the costs.

If you are considering selling and are thinking about the fu-ture of your employees, an ESOP may be the solution. There are successful ESOPs in the office technology industry. These companies demonstrate higher productivity, stronger loyalty and greater profitability. When a suitor knocks on your door, remember: There are other options. n

Robert C. Goldberg is general counsel for the Business Technology Association.

He can be reached at [email protected].

Selling Your BusinessFor many, an ESOP may be the best option

by: Robert C. Goldberg, General Counsel for the Business Technology Association

COURTS & CAPITOLS


Goldberg Aug 13.indd 1 7/29/13 9:52 AM

BTA HigHligHTs

BTA would like to welcome the following new members to the association:

Dealer MembersDatasource Ink, Bloomingdale, ILGray & Creech, Greensboro, NCInterface Printers, Plano, TXOffice Automation Center, McComb, MSOffice Plus Business Center, Danville, VASims Business Systems Inc., Tempe, AZStandard Office Systems, West Collingswood, NJWeber Office Equipment, Muncie, IN

service Associate MembersCP Office Solutions Inc., Toronto, Ontario, CanadaDirectCloud, Madison, WI

Vendor Associate MembersImpression Solutions, Columbus, MSPrintFleet Inc., Kingston, Ontario, CanadaRPT Toner, Bensenville, IL

For full contact information of thesenew members, visit www.bta.org.

2013 Channel’s Choice Report

BTA’s Channel’s Choice Report is a compre-hensive report that offers a detailed look at the results of the Channel’s Choice balloting pro-cess and provides comparisons of how dealers rate the performance and support of each of the industry’s leading manufacturers. The 2013 Channel’s Choice Report is now available for members to download from the BTA website. To access the report, you will need your user-name and password. Visit www.bta.org/ChannelsChoice for more information.

For information on BTA member benefits, visit www.bta.org/MemberBenefits.

For the benefit of its dealer members, each month BTA features two of its Vendor or Service Associate members in this space.

Founded in 2003, BTA Vendor Associate Member PrintFleet’s family of print man-

agement solutions range from simple, rapid assessment to advanced managed services, offering unparalleled agnostic data collection, data integrity and back-end support. The abil-ity to monitor and manage third-party devices is a critical element of any MPS program, which is why so many MPS providers have chosen to partner with PrintFleet. Available in multiple languages, PrintFleet solutions em-power OEMs, dealers and distributors in more than 100 countries to sustain rich customer re-lationships through creating exceptional value for their clients.

www.printfleet.com

For more than 50 years, BTA Service Associate Member

Buyers Lab (BLI) has been a leading source of unbiased and reliable intelligence for the global digital imaging industry. BLI provides competitive intelligence, testing and reviews of copier/MFPs, printers, scanners and software solutions and products. Its products include: comprehensive reports; insightful industry news, analysis and “Pick of the Year” awards; private testing services for OEMs; and advi-sory services for business consumers.

www.buyerslab.com

A full list of BTA Vendor and Service Associate members can be found online at www.bta.org.


Highlights Aug 13.indd 1 7/26/13 9:24 AM

August 21 BTA MPS Client Engagement Training Series

The BTA MPS Client Engagement Training Series, led by Mike Lecak, president of Collaborative Consultant Group, consists of six one-hour, Web-based courses designed to assist participants in the following: getting the appointment; MPS value propositions; conducting the appointment; the as-sessment; the proposal; deal implementation; and client management. The series also includes three one-on-one coaching sessions. During these sessions, you will work with Lecak on three of your ac-counts. You will take these opportunities through the sales process, from appointment through the assessment to the proposal and contract. Visit www.bta.org/MPSClientEngagement to register.

September 12 Building My Business Webinar - “Attract Qualified Leads with Engaging Social Media Tactics”

In this webinar, learn what social media strategies can work for your dealership. Rebecca Adolf, with the Creative Services Group at office technology dealership Impact Networking, Wauke-gan, Ill., will show examples of tactics to maximize online channels to promote your business. Visit www.bta.org/BuildingMyBusiness to register.

18 FIX: Cost Management for Service Cerritos, Calif.FIX teaches you how to compute the cost of your service labor hour (service burden rate) and improve your overall service department profitability. Workshop instructors Ronelle Ingram and Rock Janecek will cover proven management and customer service programs to improve morale within your service department. Those struggling with MPS and IT issues can learn new manage-ment skills to help transition their staffs to the realities of solution-based servicing. Visit www.bta.org/FIX to register.

26-27 Grand Slam - A BTA district event hosted by BTA East Baltimore, Md.BTA East will host its annual district event Sept. 26-27, 2013, at the Hyatt Regency Baltimore in Baltimore, Md. The event will feature a keynote presentation by Tod Pike of Samsung Electronics America Inc., five additional educational sessions presented by industry leaders and a dealer panel focused on current industry changes. In addition, there will be time to network with peers and visit with exhibiting sponsors. Dealer attendees can also enter on-site for a chance to win one of five $100 American Express gift cards and be entered into the BTA District Event Sweep-stakes. To wrap up the event, attendees will travel to Oriole Park at Camden Yards to see the Boston Red Sox take on the Baltimore Orioles. Visit www.bta.org/BTAEastEvent to register.

For more information, visit www.bta.org/Education or call (800) 843-5059.

EduCATIon CALEndAr


Calendar Aug 13.indd 1 7/30/13 8:11 AM

Game OnSamsung hosts national dealer meeting June 17-19

by: Elizabeth Marvel, Office Technology Magazine

With a focus on grow-ing its copier/MFP business through

the use of the entirety of the company’s product and solu-tions portfolio, Samsung Elec-tronics America Inc. hosted its 2013 Print & Imaging National Dealer Meeting June 17-19 at the JW Marriott in Chicago.

Tod Pike, senior vice presi-dent of Samsung Electronics America’s Enterprise Business Division, explained the theme of the event, “Game On,” during the opening general session.

“You might ask, ‘Why is it game on?’,” Pike said. “Well, we spent a lot of 2012 focusing in on infrastructure. We spent 2012 launching new products. And we spent a lot of time recruiting a number of you. We think now is the time for us to really be competitive in the U.S. marketplace and to start to grow. We’ve made some good inroads. We think it’s game on. We think we’re ready to go and ready to grow this business aggressively.”

Pike went on to explain some of the investments the com-pany has made in the past year. “From an infrastructure standpoint, we have made a number of investments,” he said. “And the first is a briefing center. It is designed in six different vignettes. We demonstrate the interoperability of our devices, including print, in every one of them.

“We’re also, from an infrastructure standpoint, investing in our website,” Pike said. “We’ve had a very consumer-based Web offering and we’ve changed that to be much more verti-cally aligned and much more focused on the enterprise.”

Pike focused on Samsung’s vertical market strategy during his comments. “We think that the enterprise business wants to be handled in a vertical approach,” he said. “It’s an advan-tage to us because of the interoperability of the devices that we sell. Right now we’re focused on education, finance, health care and retail ... And in each of them, we can demonstrate the interoperability [of our devices], including wireless print.

“It has been a major strategy for Samsung to take prod-ucts from the mobile computing space, the display space and the print space, and have them work in an interoperable way in a branded solution to make the vertical market ap-plication work better and make people more effective in the marketplace,” Pike said.

Tim Baxter, president of Samsung Electronics America, also spoke about the company’s vertical approach during his opening comments. “We can’t be a box-provider only,” he said. “We need to understand how the products can be used and in what vertical markets, what the needs are there and how we can best provide solutions by partnering with you.”

The focus on verticals was apparent during the rest of the meeting as well. During breakout sessions on June 18, Sam-sung executives showed attendees the integration and use of the company’s products and solutions in three different verti-cal markets: education, health care and retail.

One of the newest technologies demonstrated in the break-outs was Samsung’s Near Field Communication (NFC), which not only enables users to share information between mobile devices, but also allows for wireless printing as long as the user is near an NFC-enabled print device.

Tom Callinan of Strategy Development led a fourth break-out session, “Best Practices in Managed Print Services,” and Drew Brees, quarterback for the New Orleans Saints, gave the keynote address.

During the opening session, executives also highlighted a growing focus on the independent dealer channel, making an announcement about Samsung’s distribution network.

“What we’re announcing today is that we’re going to use the BTA [independent dealer] channel as our default mode for all print opportunities that we have where some reseller isn’t al-ready selling Samsung-branded devices,” Pike said. “What we want to do is get every one of these accounts, unless there are already Samsung printers and copiers in the accounts. We’re going to bring you into that effort and work with you, even if it’s only print-related.”

Baxter underscored Samsung’s desire to work more closely with the independent dealer channel. “We have an under-standing of the playbook to win in new markets,” he said. “It’s an understanding; we don’t have it all figured out. But that’s why we’re partnering with you. You guys are closest to the mar-ketplace, and we want and need and expect you all to bring this together ... so we can be successful in the mar-ket. So you can have success. The printer busi-ness isn’t getting any easier. We know that. You know that. We had to do something different.” n

Elizabeth Marvel is associate editor of Office Technology magazine. She can be reached at

[email protected] or (816) 303-4060.

PRINCIPAL ISSUES

Tod Pike


Samsung Aug 13.indd 1 7/29/13 9:56 AM

Never Stand StillMPS helped to fuel dealership’s growth

by: Jose Lopez, Barlop Business Systems

This year, my company, Barlop Business Systems, is opening a brand-new, 15,000-square-

foot warehouse — almost double the size of the one we have now and significantly larger than the room we had when we started the busi-ness 30 years ago. Since then, the company has grown to 29 employ-ees and our annual sales exceed $11 million. We are one of the top digital solutions providers in south Florida and one of the largest Lanier dealers in the United States. Barlop also represents Ricoh, OKI Data and Hewlett-Packard, among other copier/MFP manufacturers.

Let’s rewind to the summer of 1983, when the outlook was not as promising. We were a two-man operation with a lot of ambition and a 600-square-foot room. At first, we repaired circuit boards for other companies. I managed sales and Juan Barroso managed service. We took a conservative approach in our business plan; expansion is an indicator of a healthy business, but only when it is done sustainably. By 1990, we were working out of an 8,000-square-foot space.

Consecutive economic downturns — combined with a growing trend toward paperless office environments — brought several seasons of struggle for our company. Clients reduced their printing budgets and many were limiting in-vestments in equipment. The challenges of staying in business were growing by the day. But instead of closing our doors, we began exploring alternative technological advances in the in-dustry. We found new business possibilities and saw oppor-tunities that went far beyond the letter-sized sheet of paper.

Some contemporaries shunned this new era of business services, but we chose to embrace it. The transition from a copier/MFP sales and service business to that of an office so-lutions provider was ironic, at best. As a company that spent more than two decades helping our clients produce paper, we had to show them ways to use less. In the beginning, we could not help but think that moving clients away from paper was not in our best interest. Nevertheless, within five years, we ex-panded Barlop into a full-fledged document management and solutions firm and the company was able to stay afloat during an economically turbulent period.

The turning point was taking time to understand how to

leverage computer technology in the copier/MFP industry. While most viewed the advancements computers brought about as the downfall of the copier/MFP, we recognized the added value com-puter technology could bring to the office. Essential print func-tions are made more efficient, but the user has email, fax, scan and server access capabilities as well.

Our managed print services (MPS) program developed out of

the understanding that our customers were struggling to keep their businesses, just like we were. They were reducing costs and diversifying their services.

Our MPS assessment includes an on-site walkthrough, equipment inventory, and tracking and cost analysis. Through strategic management and organization of hard-copy devices in a unified system, our clients experience a 20-percent cost reduction and a 30-percent increase in efficiency. The great-est advantage of MPS is the increase in efficiency. Offices are bogged down by slow printers that are expensive to maintain. Unfortunately, many offices avoid the higher initial invest-ment of quality machines in favor of economical, single-user printers. By strategically placing fewer high-end printers us-ing office floor plans and user print data gathered during the initial assessment and tracking, offices are able to maximize their investments in copy and print technology.

We supplemented our primary product — copier/MFPs — with up-and-coming industry technology. The decision to adopt new services and understanding our own needs, as well as our customers’, changed our business. As we embark on the next 30 years, we are ready for the new challenges and opportu-nities that lie ahead for Barlop and its customers. n

Jose Lopez is a founder and is president of Barlop Business Systems, Miami, Fla. Prior to the founding of Barlop in 1983, he

was a national parts manager for Saxon Business Products. In 1981, Lopez’s division was acquired

by TRW Customer Service. He was then responsible for relocating the Miami office to

Fairfield, N.J., and training personnel. Lopez can be reached at [email protected].

Visit www.barlop.com.

PRINCIPAL ISSUES

The Barlop Business Systems team.


Lopez Aug 13.indd 1 7/29/13 9:57 AM

Breaking it DownAnother look at remote management software

by: Mike Lamothe, Office Document Consulting Inc.

I know I have talked about the importance of having remote management software (RMS) in previous Of-fice Technology magazine articles. However, I believe

it requires yet another look. In fact, it may just be a mat-ter of me needing to break it down a bit.

As I travel across the United States and Canada, I fre-quently hear this comment from dealers: “We know our dealership has to begin offering managed print services [MPS], but ... ” It is the “but” that has me concerned. There are some very successful dealerships that have made the transition into more of an MPS model and are well on their way to a managed services model, which includes IT-related services. This opens up additional areas of revenue, including charging for driver installs (most dealers do not charge) and offline service calls that are determined to be network related (most deal-ers do not charge). I could go on and on.

Maybe this will jog your memory of past experiences: I was recently having a conversation with a dealership principal who interrupted me in the middle of our conversation, tell-ing me: “One of our best customers is down.” The dealer was obviously upset and asked to be excused while he contacted his service manager. I could hear him mumbling: “We have to get them back up.” When he returned 20 minutes later, I asked him what the problem was and his answer caused me to drift back into my dealership past. The customer had made changes to its network, which caused an incompatibility issue with the MFP drivers. When I asked the dealer if he would be billing the customer, he gave me a blank look as if to say, “Are you crazy?”

People, it is time. End users would not hesitate to call a third party or use internal services to support any other tech-nology-related disaster. For example, if the customer expe-rienced a server failure and required recovery services, that customer would not hesitate to pay for those services. How-ever, when it comes to copier/MFPs, the expectation is that everything is covered.

That is where I totally disagree. We have to stop covering non-hardware-related issues and charge for these additional services. After all, the customer caused the problem, which might have been avoided had someone notified you of the pending change. The result: Now you are responding to an emergency call and using technicians who might be en route or at another customer’s location. I once heard an emergency

service call can cost 35 percent more than a scheduled call due to the disruption and reallocation of resources. This is why I am suggesting you begin migrating to a managed print environment. An MPS contract will clearly detail what ser-vices are covered and where additional costs will occur.

Let’s break this down. A traditional BTA dealership infra-structure consists of: an ERP system to manage service, pur-chasing, inventory and accounting; and personnel, including service management and equipment prep technicians, field technicians, service dispatch, administration, accounts pay-able/receivable, logistics/inventory, sales management and sales representatives. This traditional dealership model has proven very successful in the past, but as I stated earlier, times are changing. See Diagram A above.

In Diagram B, you will see the addition of RMS. The soft-ware will begin to change your business model for at least three reasons. One, it will give visibility to your customer’s fleet of equipment (both managed and unmanaged by your dealership), which will pose as an opportunity for growth in the future. Two, you can begin proactively supporting your customer’s fleet by providing toner and service as required, eliminating the need to send extra toner out with every device call and minimize more costly emergency service calls. Final-ly, implementing automated meter billing will eliminate the need for manual meter entries into your ERP system.

One caveat here — the RMS deployment will take a signifi-cant amount of time to install throughout your current base. That is why I am suggesting you start now; do not worry about

PRINCIPAL ISSUES


Lamothe Aug 13.indd 1 7/29/13 10:06 AM

all the other benefits RMS will bring. The focus of this first phase is making the nec-essary foundational changes to put your dealership in a solid position to move for-ward. The second phase emerges over time. Six months down the road, you should have 50 to 100 accounts reporting data. The goal is to continue installing the RMS agent throughout your entire fleet so the second and third phases overlap each other.

Before I explain the third phase, under-stand that this model is for the significant number of dealerships that do not have an abundance of re-sources and are looking for a starting point. Phase three in-volves sales, an MPS internal champion and a TCO, mapping and proposal tool. I am not going to pull any punches — this phase is difficult and tends to be where you see the most re-sistance for legacy employees who are very comfortable doing things the way they have done them in the past. Be prepared to be tested and stay focused. I have seen many dealership prin-cipals question the viability at this point, but it is like most things that are worthwhile — they do not come easily.

In Diagram C, RMS, the MPS champion and the TCO map-ping proposal software have specific positions for obvious reasons. RMS delivers the data that the MPS champion man-ages and, in turn, that sales will analyze moving forward. The most important internal resource for a successful transition and ongoing profitable MPS program will be your MPS cham-pion. Look for an individual who adapts to change easily, has

internal respect and is prepared to hold all levels of the dealership accountable. The champion will be responsible for review-ing the installation activities of the RMS agent and for holding service technicians accountable, otherwise they will naturally drift away from this activity if it is not mon-itored. You also need to stay on top of ac-counts that go offline. This may be resolved by phone, but do not be surprised; it is a common occurrence.

Sales will be a very important depart-ment to stay close to. The department needs to assess the RMS data and perform assessments. Someone other than the sales manager will need to oversee some of these activities. Remem-ber, if sales reps are not closing MPS business, your program will dry up. So, make sure the champion is identified as a sup-port mechanism for your sales team.

I will continue this discussion in the September issue of Of-fice Technology. So, for the time being, do not get overwhelmed. Begin with phase one and you will be one step closer to the successful transition into a managed print provider. n

Mike Lamothe is president of Office Document Consulting Inc. (ODC). ODC specializes in MPS

strategies, developing software tools and implementing MPS programs at dealerships across North America. He can be reached at

[email protected]. Visit www.officedocumentconsulting.com.

The most important internal resource for a successful transition and ongoing profitable MPS program will be your MPS champion.


2-3 • BTA East District Event

(800) 843-5059 / www.bta.org/BTAEastEvent

31 • BTA Southeast District Event

(800) 843-5059 / www.bta.org/DistrictEvents

9 • Clover Technologies Group

www.clovertech.com

5 • DocuWare

(888) 565-5907 / www.docuware.com

19 • ECi FMAudit

(573) 632-2461 / www.ecisolutions.com/MPS

31 • FIX: Cost Management for Service

(800) 843-5059 / www.bta.org/FIX

32 • GreatAmerica Financial Services

(800) 234-8787 / www.greatamerica.com

11 • MSE

(800) 673-4968 / www.mse.com

23 • Muratec

(469) 429-3481 / www.muratec.com

21 • Samsung

(866) 726-4249 / www.samsung.com

14 • Sindoh

www.sindoh.com

15 • Supplies Network

(800) 729-9300 / www.suppliesnetwork.com

13 • Toshiba

(949) 462-6201 / www.business.toshiba.com/dealer

7 • West Point Products

www.westpointproducts.com

Advertiser index

Lamothe Aug 13.indd 2 7/29/13 10:06 AM

FIX - BTASE ads Aug 13.indd 1 7/29/13 10:16 AM

Helping You get tHere. greatamerica.

www.greatamerica.com | 800.234.8787

Where do you Want to take your business?

GreatAmerica is committed to helping you get there. From Managed Print Services and HR support to managed IT services, we’ve developed a suite of offerings that go well beyond traditional financing solutions.

Our goal is to help you achieve greater success.“Edwards/Virginia Business

Systems appreciates the integrity and commitment with which GreatAmerica meets our business needs. They are essential to the innovation and value-added solutions we provide our clients.”

Jim Dotter President

Virginia Business Systems

Office Technology MagazineBusiness Technology Association 12411 Wornall RoadKansas City, MO 64145(816) 941-3100www.officetechnologymag.comwww.bta.org

PRSRT STDU.S. Postage PaidFulton, MO 65251

Permit #38

GreatAmerica ad July 13.indd 1 6/26/13 12:39 PM

August 2013 Office Technology

Documents

r t i c

p i t o

t u r e

c o u r t s c

o f f i c e t e c h

p r i n c i pa

i s s u e s27game onsamsung

d e pa r t