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Sunday, December 19, 2010

Multifunctional Copier Sales in 2010

Let's see I've got three more selling days before the end of the month, the end of the quarter and the end of the year. The last six months of sales has made up for the first six months of the year, I'll finish above quota (whew!) for the month, the quarter and the year.

Here's some things from last year that stuck in my mind from 2010

1) I wrote about two months of business that I couldn't get approved for credit.
2) I'm begining to see more "down the street" quotes that are trying to hold margins, rather than give away the store.
3) The emergence of micro leasing companies that are generating lease approvals but with a high interest rate.
4) I've seen more A4 devices quoted this year than the last two.
5) End users are more concerned about how to reduce the number of printed, copied and faxed pages (at one time I had to intiate the talk track).

Things that I have to be concerned about in 2011

1) More A4 MFP's will mean I'll need to sell more hardware and solutions to compensate for the lower cost A4 devices.
2) Credit will remain tight, I'll need to pick and choose my battles for revenue and profit.
3) The rise of Smart MFP's

All in all 2010 was better than 2011, my goal was to make President's Club for 2010 and my goal for 2011 is another President's Club and to increase my margins.

I'll be starting my 31st year in "down the street" sales for the copier industry in 2011. I'd like to say that I've seen it all, however as our industry continues to evolve there's going to be many changes coming our way, and we need to change and adapt new strategies and techniques that will put us on thier valued people that they need to do business with. Always keep in mind "the harder you work, the luckier you get".

How was your year, let me know by posting a comment!


-=Good Selling=-

2 comments:

  1. Like you the end of the year was much better than the first half. My sales overall are pretty much the same for 2010 as the were in 2009. In both 2009 and 2010 I have been off 45% from where I was in 2008. This equates to my personal income being off by about $50,000 each of the past two years from where I was in 2008. Margins have been pushed way down to the point where I feel gun-shy to put much of any profit in my deals as I am just desperate to get the order. My outlook for the future of our industry (at least for us independant dealers) remains dismal. Hopefully the economy will improve and the manufacturer's direct operations will take a step back. Just hoping I survive in the industry another year.

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  2. Independent Dealers can still find Safe Harbor with some select Manufacturer's...but not the one that bought IKON.

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