By now you know a copier is more than a copier — and a connected copier is capable of doing so much more.
In the early days, copiers simply copied. Output was the name of the game — that was it! Today our machines capture, ingest and scan almost as much — and in some cases more — than they produce. For you, the new copier rep, this may seem obvious. Document management has represented the future of the industry for over two decades.
Document management is a big subject, and I’ll try to explain it in general terms to help you understand the overall landscape. If your dealer has an application for document management, you will be trained in some manner on how to use and sell that specific solution.
The assessment is a foundational piece of the sales process and all dealers, resellers, manufacturers have a method, even if it is ad-hoc. I am not suggesting you substitute my outline below for your dealer’s approach; I’m simply relaying some of the steps I’ve seen performed by successful selling professionals around the globe.
Needs assessment versus sales assessment
There are two broad types of assessments: An assessment determining solution requirements and an assessment geared to reveal the likelihood of a sale.
For as long as I can remember, I've played this video on 9/11. Super Bowl 2002, months after the attack, our country was numb and jumpy.
Well before self-loathing Americans started calling our movements in the middle-east "invasion" and "occupation", patriotism was on every street corner.
I remember that night; I remember seeing it live. I can't tell you the football teams playing, but I can say it was one of the deepest, moving TV moments, ever.
U2 - that Irish rock band, stood on the world stage, honoring the greatest country on earth and her fallen citizens. Names float to the sky, as the rousing "Where the Streets Have No Name" beats on. The song, second of the half-time set, was written about a place without class stigma, where the distinction between religions and income is no more; a World Without Sin?
Bono ends the tune exposing the Stars and Stripes - Triumph.
Here we are, 15 years later - The Twin Towers, replaced by that defiant Freedom Tower, slip deeper into the fog with each passing 911. The threat remains the same, if not more pronounced.
Do you honestly feel safer now than you did that faithful day of empty skies, September 12, 2001?
Day of cogitation: What have we learned?
On this day of reflection, consider not only the ones who've helped you see who you are, but remember the hearts you've "imprinted"; son's, daughters, mothers, fathers, friends, lovers and ex-lovers, customers and co-workers.
Be gratified knowing you've changed somebody's life for the better - we all have.
Take time to remember those on the 98th floor, at 8:47 AM, sipping a Starbucks, considering a sales forecast or the regret of not saying "I love you, I always will..." on that morning, 14 years ago.
"I want to run
I want to hide
I want to tear down the walls
That hold me inside
I wanna reach out
And touch the flame
Where the streets have no name..."
I recommend going to YouTube and watch, the stupid #NFL won't let it be viewed anywhere else. What a world we have become.
