Selling Copiers "Is Your Dealership Prepared for the Future?"

The blog below was posted some time ago on the Print4Pay Hotel forums. It was intended for P4P Members on how to gauge the type of dealership or direct channel that they are working for and if they should continue or look elsewhere.

Mike K had written this for us and has since left the industry and he worked for one of the largest direct dealers in the US.  Do I need to say more?  Anyway it's good stuff and it's a good read. ENJOY!

Are you working for a dealership prepared for the future of Office Technology?

This might sound like I am making a big deal out of nothing, but I am not.  You are making good money and the deals are closing, but you are losing some of the bigger deals, people in immediate need and you cannot compete in bids or large deals.  Your dealership could be a sinking ship and you better be one of the first out and not the last because your reputation will be tarnished.

I had asked myself these exact questions a year ago. My answer was mostly no for each one. Below are questions that you should answer yes for at least 80% of them.  Questions with the # next to them are “a must.”

#Does your dealership have inventory?

          -What good is a sale if you have no product!!!

Does your dealership have demo/loaner inventory?

          -You need to show and make sure it is the correct solution.

#Does your dealership have Certified Network Engineers?

          -What if something happens while doing network install?

Does your dealership have a software solution expert?

          -You need someone with completely understands all possible software.

#Does your dealership have delivery staff?

          -You need to be selling and not delivering!

#Does your dealership have a real retirement plan that they contribute?

          -The dealership should invest in the well being of their employees.

Does your dealership have a gated commission plan for each deal?

          -This way you or they will not lose money later on.

#Can your dealership pay you all you commissions on time? 

          (Ex: March commissions paid by April 30^th)

         

Does your dealership have an internal bonus program?

          -They need to invest in the strongest reps and keep them happy.

          80/20 rule applies here!

Does your dealership have President Club Trips?

          -They need to invest in the strongest reps and keep them happy.

          Not to Dealer Sales Meetings!

          80/20 rule applies here also!

Top Ten Copier or MFP's Do's and Don'ts

You've just received your new system, the operators manual is boring you to tears, the rep they sent over for training had a hard time finding the BIG GREEN Copy button, so what do you need to know to keep your system in tip top condition?

1. Damp Paper is one of the most common problems in copiers and MFP today's. How do you know if your paper is damp? Pretty easy to tell, copies and or prints will have blank (white) splotches where there is no print. Want to confirm it? Turn the paper over and copy or print on the back side,  if the copy or print is good, that means the paper was damp. Go get your self a few of these neat anti moisture Gel packs and keep one in every paper tray of the copier or MFP, thus if the AC is off for the weekend or night these Gel packs will solve the issue once and for all!

2. Did you know that the wrapper for a ream of paper also acts as a moisture barrier? Seal open reams with tape or place open reams of paper in a plastic container and throw in a few of the anti moisture gel packs.

3. Avoiding paper jams: Make sure you are using the stock and weight that the manufacturers recommend (check that dam boring op manual or go to the manufacturers web site and check the specs). We see it all the time,the previous copier we had or the copy/printer from my last job was able to feed 80lb cover, can't understand why this one won't!

4. Leave your copier on 24/7. In today's "green" world, most technology has a power-saving mode and an auto off feature. When in doubt shut it down, and if you forget the system will most likely do it for you!

5. Avoiding paper jams: Read the wrapper of the paper, most of the wrappers will have a statement that reads "copy or print this side first" with a little arrow showing which side.

6. Avoiding paper jams: After opening that new pack of paper, hold it with both hands on the long edge and gently bend and then fan the paper a few times, then place the paper in the tray and make sure the side and stop fences in the paper tray of firmly resting on the edges!

7. Avoiding paper jams: Check the paper drawer of the copier some of the older system have a mechanical dial to set the paper size, putting the wrong paper size in and not changing the dial will result in jam or misfeed. Most newer systems will auto read the paper size and some others you may have to program into the system.

8. When using the by-pass tray, you know the little tray on the side of the copier that the rep stated you could feed envelopes and when you did all you had was misfeeds or wrinkled envelopes. Never ever leave the tray open with paper in it for more than a few hours, dust, dirt, staples and other objects will lay on top of the paper. Thus using the copier or printer this will damage the equipment.

9. Do not put your copier near the office thermostat, the copier will produce heat, thus throwing off the thermostat.

10. Do not make copies with the lid open! You'll waste toner and cause premature wear of consumables.

Lastly if you're in need of consulting for a new fleet of equipment or just one or two, feel free to send me an email. I can get you through the do's and don't's of leasing, buying, maintenance agreements and can give you creative alternatives to reduce paper or right size your systems!.

-=Art Post=-

How was the Internet invented?

I picked this up on the P4PHotel Forums today, don't know how the Internet was started, thought it was something the military has used at one time. Any way thought I'd post this for every ones enjoyment!- How Internet was invented:

- 1958 – President Eisenhower created the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) at the Department of Defense to fund scientific research, which includes the Information Processing Techniques Office (IPTO) to fund computer projects.
- 1964 – IPTO head, J.C.R. Licklider, conceives of creating time-sharing to link researchers far away to ARPA computers.
- 1966 – David Evans joins University of Utah to start computer science department and gains millions of dollars in federal research grants
- 1966 – Robert Taylor of IPTO, wins approval for vision of ARPANET, a network that allow computers to communicate
- 1969 – Four universities are chosen to be nodes of the first network, including University of Utah, UCLA, Stanford and University of California - Santa Barbara
- 10/29/1969 – First message ever sent over ARPANET from UCLA to Stanford.
- 12/1/1969 – All 4 colleges are connected.
- 1990 – ARPANET is shut off.

-=Good Selling=-