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Office Technology magazine is the magazine of the Business Technology Association, an association of copier/MFP dealers.
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01OT0109:01OT0109 12/29/08 5:20 PM Page 1
ITEX ad pg 1 Jan 09:Layout 1 1/5/09 11:53 AM Page 1
NATIONAL CONVENTION AND EXPO
Register at www.itexshow.com now!March 18-19, 2009 • North Hall 4 • Las Vegas Convention Center
ITEX ad pg 2 Jan 09:Layout 1 12/16/08 9:51 AM Page 1
Measuring MPS Success
Using page share to
assess market potentialBy Darrell AmyDealer Marketing SystemsWhat is success in managed print services (MPS)?What is the scope of the opportunity? In preparationfor a recent presentation, I began to think about thesequestions strategically. In this article, I will present theresults of my findings.
2009’s Greatest Opportunities
Readers share expectations
& advice for the new yearby Brent HoskinsOffice Technology MagazineIn 2009, what do you believe will bethe greatest areas of opportunityfor dealers in the office technology industry? What doyou believe will be the best strategies for success inpursuing those opportunities? Recently, BTA’s Office
Technology magazine asked these questions of its read-ers via an e-mail survey. Among the many responsesreceived, the opportunities cited as the greatest for thenew year are varied.
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 | J a n u a r y 2 0 0 9
CONTENTS
The A4 MFP
Will it become
a little giant?by Brent HoskinsOffice Technology MagazineToday, end-users in thegeneral office, accustomedto the attributes of anMFP, are often being askeda simple question: “Howoften do you print or copya document on 11 x 17-inch paper?” Frequently, theanswer is either “rarely” or “never.” Increasingly, ledger-less A4 MFPs are finding their way into the workplace.Have you aligned yourself with a vendor that will allowyou to take advantage of this opportunity?
Volume 15 � No. 7
17
10
20
F E A T U R E A R T I C L E S
InfoTrends’ ODS Conference
Group Director Reardon
shares industry megatrendsBy Brent HoskinsOffice Technology MagazineWith the primary goal of offering adetailed look at the current oppor-tunities in the office technology industry, marketresearch firm InfoTrends hosted its annual OfficeDocument Strategy Conference Nov. 12-13, 2008, inMahwah, N.J. The event drew approximately 100attendees representing hardware manufacturers, ISVsand dealerships. Group Director Jon Reardon openedthe conference with a “State of the Industry” address.
22 New Year’s Resolutions
Improving your business
& life in 2009by Robert C. GoldbergBTA General CounselDear New Year: It is me again,making several New Year’s resolu-tions on behalf of our members. I wrote you last year toask for consideration in the new year for the good busi-ness people I work with.
P R I N C I P A L I S S U E S
Trainer or Consultant?
Make the correct choice
& achieve successby Tom CallinanStrategy DevelopmentIt certainly makes sense to workwith trainers and consultants, butwhat is the difference? How do you determine whichdirection is best? I will start to answer these questionsby defining these two categories of professionals.
28
D E P A R T M E N T S
6
8
30
Executive Director’s Page
BTA President’s Message
Advertiser Index
Business Technology Association� Education Calendar
� Membership Application
� BTA Highlights
23
C O U R T S & C A P I T O L S
26
04OT0109:04OT0109 1/6/09 4:59 PM Page 4
Docuware ad Jan 08:Layout 1 12/30/08 12:02 PM Page 1
Executive Director/BTAEditor/Office Technology
Brent Hoskinsbrent@bta.org
(816) 303-4040
Associate EditorElizabeth Marvel
elizabeth@bta.org(816) 303-4060
Contributing WritersDarrell Amy, Dealer Marketing Systems
www.dealermarketingsystems.com
Tom Callinan, Strategy Developmentwww.strategydevelopment.org
Robert C. Goldberg, General Counsel Business Technology Association
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
valerie@bta.org
Mary HopkinsDatabase Administrator
mary@bta.org
Teresa LeerarBookkeeper
teresa@bta.org
Brian SmithMembership Sales Representative
brian@bta.org
©2009 by the Business Technology Association. All RightsReserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced by anymeans without the written permission of the publisher. Everyeffort is made to ensure the accuracy of published material.However, the publisher assumes no liability for errors in articlesnor are opinions expressed necessarily those of the publisher.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S PAGE
With the arrival
of 2009 and
considering
the current state of the
U.S. economy, it seemed
to me that this was a
good time to once again
do what BTA has done
for 82-plus years — facilitate dealers helping
dealers. Specifically, I reached out to Office
Technology readers seeking their views on
the greatest opportunities in the new year.
The hope, of course, is that each response
will serve as a source of guidance or confir-
mation for other dealers. In an e-mail survey,
I asked the following questions: “In 2009,
what do you believe will be the greatest
areas of opportunity for dealers in the office
technology industry? What do you believe
will be the best strategies for success in pur-
suing those opportunities?”
Following is a sampling of the responses:
� “A solid print management program
tied to network support and document
solutions to lock up the customer base. Use
of technology such as PrintFleet.” — Terry
Stock, Service Manager, Discovery Office
Systems, Santa Rosa, Calif.
� “The greatest opportunity in my opin-
ion is securing all of our customer’s print
volume uti lizing a print management
strategy. This gives you ultimate control of
the account.” — Keith Skiffington, Vice Presi-
dent of Operations, Office Interiors, Dieppe,
New Brunswick, Canada
� “ We will continue to trade up our
existing black-and-white clients to color. We
will continue to provide our print manage-
ment. We have always put service before
sales and that has resulted in more sales
over the long term. We have been in business
since 1941 and we continue to grow al-
though we are small by channel standards.”
— Melissa Buscher, General Manager, Busi-
ness Techs Inc., Twin Falls, Idaho
� “As we look toward 2009, we see print
management as the greatest area of opportu-
nity. We have had great success in the few
months we have ventured into this area and
look for even greater success in 2009. We see
the benefits of the ‘foot in the door’ made
easier using print management/solution
selling. We have experienced excellent recep-
tion from IT directors once we explain our
strategies in relieving them of the burden of
ordering supplies and worrying with printer
repairs. We can only see greater things
coming our way using this approach in 2009.”
— Ronnie Warren, Vice President of Technical
Services, Copiers Plus Inc., Fayetteville, N.C.
� “Helping customers recognize and
implement cost-saving solutions in the areas
of document output and management.
Budgets are tight. We can help reduce cost
and improve efficiency. Take advantage of the
changing distribution landscape by placing
an emphasis on the local, dependable, reli-
able dealer.” — Richard Maxwell, President
and CEO, OfficeWare Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio
� “Expense control/expense cutting pro-
grams. Asking clients to spend is difficult,
but talking to them about cutting expenses
gets their attention.” — Tom Minuti, General
Manager, Copy Products Digital Office Solu-
tions, Upper Darby, Pa.
� “The opportunities and challenges left
by Danka, IKON and Global.” — Chris Ras-
mussen, Controller, Applied Copier Concepts,
Greensboro, N.C.
Interested in reading responses from more
Office Technology readers? See page 17. �
— Brent Hoskins
What OpportunitiesAre You Targeting?
6 | 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 | J a n u a r y 2 0 0 9
®
06OT0109:06OT0109 1/5/09 3:35 PM Page 6
Toshiba Aug 08:Layout 1 7/16/08 8:46 AM Page 1
BTA PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Over the past 25
years I have been
the instructor for
the FIX: Cost Management
for Service Workshop. I just
returned from Las Vegas,
having taught 18 eager
attendees. Our class in-
cluded owners, a sales rep, a controller, an OEM
district service manager, working field techs and
service managers. With more than 300 years of
office equipment knowledge in the meeting
room, there was a great deal of idea sharing.
In addition to the regular material covered
in the FIX course, we have time scheduled to
talk about any issues the class wants to
discuss. The specific topic of how to allocate,
and actually pay for, the start-up cost of sup-
plies was brought up. Having a cross section
of employee types represented, there was a
lively discussion with a variety of opinions.
Using a Segment 3 or 4-enabled color
machine as a point of reference, the average
wholesale cost of the first set of supplies is
in the $1,000 range. This cost immediately
doubles to $2,000 if an extra set of supplies
is delivered with the equipment that is sold
under a CPC (all inclusive service and sup-
plies) agreement.
Our discussion included:
� Sales not wanting to pay for the supplies
that should be covered under the CPC.
� Service does not think it is fair to be
assessed the initial cost of supplies that will
take months of clicks to re-coop.
� The attending controller explained the
complexity of allocating cost to multiple cost
centers including: sales, leasing, service and
supply departments. Additionally, the $2,000
up-front supply cost invariably also had to
carry the cost of debt repayment.
� The owners felt they would have to
finance the cost of the supplies that often
took months or years to re-coop. In most
cases, the selling/leasing of a piece of equip-
ment did not create $2,000 of up-front profit.
� Someone should be in charge of training
the in-house employee(s) who takes orders
for CPC supplies. This clerk must understand
the many nuances of sending “free” supplies.
� Someone in a supervisory position
should be the gatekeeper of what is the
appropriate amount of supplies that should
be sent under a CPC agreement.
� Each supply order should require a
current meter reading on the equipment
that will be using the requested supplies.
� When using a print management
program covering dozens of machines,
supply usage and ordering usually reverts
back to the dealer.
� One service manager trains his field
service techs to actively monitor the amount
of supplies in a customer’s office. A supervisor
can then make the decision to have some of
the supplies retrieved by the tech or suspend
the sending of more supplies until an appro-
priate amount of clicks are paid for.
� Having black and color minimum base
charges is essential.
� One owner said his company had more
than $100,000 of unpaid CPC supply inven-
tory in the field.
As with many of the discussions in the
FIX seminar, there are no easy answers. Our
goal is to teach each FIX attendee how to
calculate the cost of each segment of his or
her business. Once the labor, supplies, over-
head and needed profit margins are deter-
mined, an individualized educated decision
can be made by each dealer. �
— Ronelle Ingram
FIX Provides OpenDialogue on Service
®
2008-2009 Board of Directors
PresidentRonelle Ingram
Steven Enterprises Inc.17952 Sky Park Circle
Ste. EIrvine, CA 92614
ronellei@msn.com
President-ElectBill James
WJS Enterprises Inc.3315 Ridgelake DriveMetairie, LA 70002
bjames@wjsenterprises.com
Vice PresidentRock Janecek
Burtronics Business Systems Inc.216 S. Arrowhead Ave.
P.O. Box 1170San Bernardino, CA 92408rjanecek@burtronics.com
BTA EastTom Ouellette
Budget Document Technology251 Goddard Road
P.O. Box 2322Lewiston, ME 04240
touellette@bdtme.com
BTA Mid-AmericaMike Blake
Corporate Business Systems LLC6300 Monona DriveMadison, WI 53716
mblake@corpbussystems.com
BTA SoutheastBob Smith
Copiers Plus Inc.408 Chicago Drive
Fayetteville, NC 28306bobsmith@copiers-plus.com
BTA WestGreg Valen
Hawaii Business Equipment Inc.Toshiba Business Solutions - Hawaii
590-A Paiea St.Honolulu, HI 96819
gregory.valen@tabs.toshiba.com
Ex-Officio/General CounselRobert C. Goldberg
Schoenberg Finkel Newman & Rosenberg LLC222 S. Riverside Plaza
Ste. 2100Chicago, IL 60606
robert.goldberg@sfnr.com
8 | 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 | J a n u a r y 2 0 0 9
08OT0109:08OT0109 1/6/09 5:02 PM Page 8
M S E ' S P A T E N T E D T E C H N O L O G I E SP R O D U C E S U P E R I O R C A R T R I D G E S
The MSE Engineering Team utilizes reverse engineering to make MSE products
superior. For example, MSE patented laser cutting and ultrasonic welding technologies
maintain the original cartridge specifications resulting in a reliable, leak-free product.
With 24 patents and patent pending technology solutions, MSE has revolutionized the
way compatible cartridges are manufactured.
It is just one of the reasons why MSE cartridges are voted the highest
quality in the industry - every year.
© Copyright 2009 Micro Solutions Enterprises. All rights reserved. All trademarks referenced are registered trademarks of the respective owners. All model designations are for compatibility purposed only.
MSE ad Jan 09:Layout 1 1/5/09 3:37 PM Page 1
10 | 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 | J a n u a r y 2 0 0 9
by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine
The A4 MFPWill it become a little giant?
Today, end-users in the general
of f ice , accustom ed to th e
attributes of an MFP, are often
being asked a simple question: “How
often do you print or copy a document
on 11 x 17-inch paper?” Frequently the
answer is either “rarely” or “never.”
The result? Increasingly, ledger-less A4
MFPs are finding their way into the
workplace. Have you aligned yourself
with a vendor that will allow you to
take advantage of this opportunity?
It is an opportunity worth investi-
gating. After all, according to market
research firm IDC, in 2007 there were
1.58 million color and monochrome
A4 laser MFP shipments in the U.S. market (at press time,
IDC’s 2008 shipment estimates were being finalized). Keith
Kmetz, program vice president for IDC’s Hardcopy Solutions
and Services, says a comparison of the data and research for
the A3 market (MFPs capable of producing 11 x 17-inch
copies/prints) versus the A4 market reveals some important
findings: A4 color MFPs show the highest growth opportu-
nity ; A4 monochrome (both MFPs and printers) is the
biggest unit placement opportunity; A3 printers are a niche
market; and A3 MFPs are a legacy market, but facing A4
MFP competition. “Many businesses are currently in a state
of imbalance when it comes to their A3 usage and their A3
machines,” he says. “And many don’t know it.”
While end-users may not be specifically thinking about
the imbalance, manufacturers are giving it plenty of thought.
It appears that Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP) may have been the
first to do so. Tom Codd, director of enterprise segment mar-
keting for HP, describes the 45-page-per-minute (ppm)
LaserJet 4345 A4 MFP, introduced about four years ago, as
the product that “disrupted” the market. “We took a step
back and said, ‘We’re going to design a
product from the ground up for the
way people actually use multifunction
devices,’ ” he says. “ Through our
research, we immediately found that
people do not print a lot of A3 (11 x 17-
inch documents) in the workplace. It is
typically less than 5 percent. I’ve heard
numbers as low as 3 percent of the
pages in the U.S. are 11 x 17.”
Upon identifying the meager de-
mand for 11 x 17-inch documents, HP
officials began to think about the cost
difference between an A3 and an A4
device, says Codd. “For the A3, you have
to have a wider fuser, wider chassis,
wider paper trays and wider paper path,” he says. “Just by
adding the capability for 11 x 17, you add a tremendous
amount of cost to the device.”
HP found significant success with the 4345. “We went
from basically 0 percent market share in Segment 4 to tying
for number one in that segment within 18 months,” says
Codd. “We’ve now seen devices from our competitors that
have taken the same approach, not only from the more tra-
ditional printer vendors, but also from the copier vendors.
When you start losing market share like some of these
vendors were with HP’s rollout of the 4345, it can get
people’s attention.”
Officials at Muratec America Inc. were among them. “At
the ITEX Show four years ago, we were introduced to the HP
LaserJet 4345,” says the company’s president, Jim D’Emidio.
“When we saw that, all of a sudden the paradigm shifted,
leading us to look at these devices a little differently. HP
went out and very quickly gained market share in Segment 4
with these A4 devices, not by replacing copiers, but by
replacing printers. That’s where we saw the need. We saw
Cover Story Jan 09:Cover Story Jan 09 1/6/09 11:25 AM Page 10
One program. One company. Countless opportunities.
Founded from an IBM heritage and based in Lexington, Kentucky, Lexmark is one of the few global companies to own, develop and market its own print technologies and solutions.
That’s why we’ve been able to develop the Lexmark Business Solutions Dealer (BSD) Program, a resource that provides offi ce equipment dealers with the tools for success. Every member gains access to exclusive pricing, programs and incentives necessary to aggressively compete and win. And, each participant receives unparalleled sales, service and business development support from a dedicated Lexmark team.
It’s just another way Lexmark is there to support your business with solutions that fi t your needs.
Visit us at ITEX on March 18 and 19 at Booth #113, or call us at 877.999.4360.
Lexmark and Lexmark with diamond design are trademarks of Lexmark International, Inc. registered in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. © 2007 Lexmark International, Inc. 740 New Circle Rd., Lexington, KY 40550.
“Lexmark has uniquely broadened our product line to allow us to be everything to our clients, including document management. The Lexmark team provides us support and hands-on implementation to ensure a successful partnership.”
June Crawford, President Copygraphix, Inc. Tuscon, AZ
56598_officetech_bta_ad.indd 1 1/5/09 4:50:10 PM
Lexmark ad Jan 09:Layout 1 1/5/09 4:10 PM Page 1
that there were a lot of end-
users w ho n eeded addi-
tional scanning or copying
capabilities, but didn’t want
to go to a traditional A3
copier in the mail room.”
Today, in addition to
various A3 MFPs, Muratec
has “eight or nine A4 MFPs,
depending on the configura-
tion,” says D’Emidio. “ We
don’t b elie ve that th e se
products are going to signif-
icantly take away from the traditional A3 workhorses that
are in most companies. Instead, we believe that the dealer
who walks by 50 printers to get to the copier should take a
more holistic approach with the customer, asking things
like: ‘Where are the pain points for the organization?’ and
‘Are there places where scanning, business color or other
MFP capabilities in an A4 are needed in the organization?’
The dealership then sells its A3 machine, but may place
three to five A4 MFPs as well.”
Phil Boatman, national sales manager for Lexmark Inter-
national Inc., offers a similar perspective. “We view our A4
MFPs as the perfect replacement for any of the aging work-
group single-function devices out there,” he says, noting that
Lexmark has three A4 models that are unique to the dealer
channel. “Our A4 MFPs fill out most dealers’ product lines
and give them an additional growth opportunity that they
didn’t have before.”
Boatman says some dealers view Lexmark’s A4 MFPs as
more than single-function printer replacements. “We have a
few dealers who believe we have brought out some ‘copier
killers,’” he says, citing, in particular, two models that offer
integrated finishing within the footprint of the device. So,
there are no add-on or external finishers.
“One of the models we recently brought out is a 55 ppm
black-and-white A4 MFP,” he continues. “It offers all of the
functionality of a traditional Segment 4, just minus the 11 x
17 capability. But, it is packaged in a very compact footprint.
It has a retail price point of about $3,799; a comparable tra-
ditional A3 MFP is usually more than double that.”
With some Lexmark dealers viewing the company’s A4
MFPs as copier killers and HP quickly achieving a Segment 4
leadership position with its A4 devices, it may be no wonder,
as HP’s Codd suggests, that traditional copier vendors are
reacting. “It is clearly a competitive response,” says Lou
Slawetsky, CEO of Industry
Analysts Inc. “If HP, possibly
Lexmark, and others had
not gone in this direction,
do I think Sharp and others
would have gone this way?
The answer is ‘no.’ I fully
believe that this is a com-
petitive response.”
Primarily, Slawetsky is
referring to the launch of
th e n ew S har p Frontier
Series A4 MFPs. The first
models in the new line began shipping in November. Mike
Marusic, vice president of marketing for Sharp Imaging and
Information Company of America, acknowledges the com-
petitive pressures referred to by Slawetsky, but says market
demand was a motivator for Sharp as well. It began, he says,
when focus group studies about four years ago revealed the
notable lack of demand for 11 x 17 document copying or
printing. Then, as Sharp worked on the development of the
Frontier Series, companies like HP and Lexmark began to
gain market share with the launch of A4 devices. “As we
moved from market demand toward launch, the competi-
tive pressure became critical,” he says. “So, it became pretty
clear to us, as we moved closer to launching a product, that
what was going to be an aggressive, proactive strategy
became a defensive strategy.”
Regardless of the scope of reasons for the launch of the
Frontier Series, Sharp officials see the new line as a signifi-
cant opportunity for dealers. “The dealer has an opportunity
to expand his or her business by a full third or half just by
placing these A4s, by going out and saying, ‘Everywhere that
I have a copier right now, I should go back to that customer
and see how many printers they have and then consolidate
those,’” he says. “Dealers need to be proactive with A4 and
say, ‘This is a huge opportunity.’ This side of the market is
two to three times the size of the A3 market.”
Despite the size of the opportunity, says Marusic, some
Sharp dealers were not initially enthusiastic when plans for
the A4 MFPs were first announced. “At our [2008] dealer
meeting, it was a very, very mixed reaction,” he says. “We had
dealers who are already into managed print services who
were ecstatic over the product line because they saw the
opportunity of driving everything under one Sharp umbrella.
There was also a very large segment of our dealer community
that said, ‘What is Sharp thinking in selling A4 products
12 | 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 | J a n u a r y 2 0 0 9
“The dealer has anopportunity to expand hisor her business by a fullthird or half just by placing these A4s ...Dealers need to be proactive with A4 and say,‘This is a huge opportunity.’”
Mike Marusic, Sharp Imaging andInformation Company of America
Cover Story Jan 09:Cover Story Jan 09 1/6/09 11:25 AM Page 11
Your reps are focused. Their sights are set on replacing the high-volume A3 MFP at the end of the hall. While it’s important to focus on the high-profi t opportunities that A3 MFP’s represent, it’s critical to capture the profi t opportunities your reps are missing when making the mad dash down the hall.
With A4 (letter/legal only) solutions from Muratec you can create innovative document imaging solutions for individual workgroups, enabling you to capture all document traffi c within an account. This creates an additional revenue stream for your dealership without taking any focus away from traditional A3 placement opportunities.
Muratec has been producing innovative A4 MFP solutions for over 20 years. Our MFP’s provide reliable and cost-effective printing, copying, scanning and faxing. We even integrate with several leading document management providers to enable seamless, decentralized scanning and indexing into their software*.
And with the addition of the MFX-C4000 Professional Edition and MFX-C2500 Professional Edition, Muratec’s fi rst color MFP solutions, your customers can conveniently enhance their business-critical documents with color.
Start profi ting from A4 MFP solutions today. Please call 469.429.3481 or visit www.muratec.com.
MFX-C4000
MFX-C2500
Stay Focused on A3 Add Profi t with A4
New ProfitOpportunity
New ProfitOpportunity
New ProfitOpportunity
New ProfitOpportunity
* ScanTag is available on select Muratec MFP’s and has been integrated with DocuWare, iDatix, SmartSearch and Sentryfi le. Please contact Muratec for updated integration information.
TraditionalFocus
Muratec ad Nov 08:Layout 1 10/22/08 3:33 PM Page 1
when A3 is our business?’
We got that message very
loud and clear.”
In response, Sharp hosted
a series of sessions through-
out the summer to educate
dealers about the A4 busi-
ness model, says Marusic.
“Coming out of that, they
had an entirely dif ferent
viewpoint,” he says. “ The
majority of our dealers are
now well on board.”
Among the positive attributes of the A4 line cited by
Marusic, shared by Sharp in the dealer education sessions:
By installing more MFPs — both A3 and A4 — in one loca-
tion, the cost of service drops, since the cost is spread over
more machines; while the Frontier Series MX models offer
dealer-replaceable consumables, the DX models offer user-
replaceable consumables, so that dealers have the option of
only addressing break/fix repairs, increasing the profitability
of maintenance contracts; and, while the A4 hardware cost
is less than a comparable A3, the supplies and service
revenue for the A4 MFP could remain the same as if the MFP
was A3.
Marusic recommends that as dealers first begin to sell A4
MFPs, they should start with existing customers and, as
suggested, focus on replacing single-function printers. “For
example, say you’ve placed 15 units in a business and
they’re all A3,” he says, noting that a company with 15 A3s
likely has about 150 A4 single-function printers from a
variety of sources. “You can go back in and say, ‘You really
only need about 40 to 50 printers. I can take about 100 of
your printers and put in 25 of these A4 MFPs. That will give
you added functionality, but they will be close enough to
your users that they won’t mind sharing a resource. And, by
the way, I ’m going to take out two of the A3 machines
because you won’t need them anymore.’
“It sounds like you’ve lost two A3 machines,” he continues.
“But, your net gain is a significant revenue increase because
of the A4 MFPs that you’ve installed and you’ve kept the cus-
tomer whole so that someone else doesn’t come in and
replace you completely.”
HP’s Codd says his company recommends a three-step
approach to selling and implementing A4 MFPs. The first
step, he says, is to optimize the customer’s infrastructure by
striving to get their printing assets under control. “In a lot of
organizations, they don’t
have any idea how many
personal printers that have
either been purchased by IT
or bought by an employee
who went across the street
to Office Depot,” he says.
“So, the first step is to come
in and help the customer
get their arms around the
printing infrastructure.”
The next step, says Codd,
is to help the customer man-
age the print environment, once the customer’s infrastruc-
ture has been optimized and the new recommended printer
fleet, which includes A4 MFPs, has been installed. Such
tools as WebJet Admin and the HP Universal Print Driver
facilitate print management. “We have had customers —
large accounts — with printers from 10 different vendors
and 300 different models, each one with its own driver,” he
says. “So, with an optimized infrastructure with HP devices
and the Universal Print Driver, huge amounts of support
costs are eliminated.”
Finally, recommends Codd, software-based solutions can
be recommended and instal led that provide for the
improvement of the customer’s business processes and
information workflow. By providing the customer such a
solution, they will have a “higher level of service than the
competitor down the street,” he says. “So, they can generate
more revenue because they are more efficient and can turn
things around more quickly.”
Codd emphasizes that A4 MFPs are ideal in most organi-
zations striving to optimize their printing infrastructure.
“What we are seeing, especially in large organizations, is
that you just can’t afford to have a printer on everybody’s
desk,” he says. “It is just too expensive since, typically, the
lower the speed and the lower the price point, the higher the
supplies cost. If everybody has printers, it becomes a very
expensive proposition. So, there is a huge potential cost
savings when you optimize the print infrastructure.”
For the dealership that has implemented a managed print
services strategy and is striving to optimize the customer’s
printing infrastructure, A4 MFPs are often a necessity, says
Slawetsky. “It is almost impossible to sell an 11 x 17 MFP into
an A4 environment [of single-function printers] that has
never used 11 x 17,” he says. “So, if you are going to consoli-
date printer assets into an MFP-based system — either
14 | 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 | J a n u a r y 2 0 0 9
“... They don’t have anyidea how many personal printers that have eitherbeen purchased by IT or ...by an employee ... So, thefirst step is to come in andhelp the customer get theirarms around the printing infrastructure.”
— Tom CoddHewlett-Packard Co.
Cover Story Jan 09:Cover Story Jan 09 1/6/09 5:04 PM Page 12
SHARING IDEAS. CREATING A VISION.
MeetingsSDG is not a travel club where business owners travel to Five Star resorts, using business as an excuse. SDG is a business group that is serious about helping independent dealers profi tably grow their business. There is a Host Dealer for each meeting who can facilitate any extracurricular activities should a member decide to tie in a vacation along with the business meeting.
MembershipPeer groups have a number of advantages and benefi ts. Having the opportunity to network with individuals that have similar issues and
business experiences can be rewarding and save a whole lot of time and energy. SDG members attend three two day business meetings
per year, but have the opportunity to share success stories, problems and opportunities year round. With the changing dynamics in the offi ce
technology industry, membership in SDG provides a huge advantage over your competition.
The Select Dealer Group (SDG) is linked to the Business Technology Association (BTA), so membership in BTA is required. Although SDG was
formed only a few years ago, the group already includes dealers from many parts of the USA and the size of the dealerships vary. Due to the
sharing of sensitive information and innovative ideas, membership is limited to one dealer per market. Members pay an annual fee and are
required to pay their own transportation, hotel and expenses related to each meeting. They also participate in the confi dential annual fi nancial
survey which allows members to benchmark their performance and determine areas of strength and opportunities for improvement.
"The Model"Select Dealers have proven their commitment to implementing a sustainable, profi table business model using the ProFinance Model for success. To further support this, SDG has enlisted the services of John Hey and John Hanson of Strategic Business Associates to facilitate the in person meetings and help:
- Implement the Profi nance Business Model
- Learn and share with other dealers who are implementing "The Model"
- Stay abreast of tips and changes in the Model, as the industry evolves
- Help your dealership become and stay profi table
EducationRunning a dealership requires a number of skills, so SDG exposes members to speakers that have a wide variety of expertise in the offi ce technology industry and relevant business areas such as marketing, human resources and sales management. Members also have the opportunity to share ideas and strategies that they have successfully implemented in their own markets.
Additional BTA Benefi ts As a BTA member, benefi ts include free legal advice, shipping and freight discounts, car rental programs, access to relevant industry data and much, much more.
VISIT US ONLINE! www.selectdealergroup.org
Visit us online! www.selectdealergroup.org
SDG ad Jan 09:Layout 1 12/10/08 1:12 PM Page 1
printer-heritage or copier-
heritage — and all of the
printers that you are trying
to consolidate are A4, you
almost always have to have
an A4 MFP to fill the gap.”
D eal ers w ho have not
already done so should take
a lo ok at th e various A4
MFP options available on
the market. After all, the A4
MFP may become a little
gi ant in th e of f ice t e ch-
nology industry. “The A4 transition is happening; that was
debatable a few years ago,” says Lexmark’s Boatman. “We
think that A4 MFPs will continue to put pressure on the tra-
ditional 11 x 17 devices out there. They give end-users more
choices, especially as they are now more cost conscious in
terms of what they place in their offices to accomplish their
daily tasks.”
The opportunity is signifi-
cant, says Boatman. “The
data that we have looked at
suggests that there is greater
than a million-unit place-
ment opportunity just in the
A4 black-and-white MFP
category,” he says. “It is truly
one of the fastest growing
segments for MFPs. It repre-
sents a whole new strategy
for the independent dealer
and a brand new revenue opportunity.” �Brent Hoskins, executive director of the
Business Technology Association,
is editor of Office Technology magazine.
He can be reached
at brent@bta.org.
16 | 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 | J a n u a r y 2 0 0 9
“The data that we havelooked at suggests thatthere is greater than amillion-unit placementopportunity just in the A4black-and-white MFP category. It is truly one ofthe fastest growing segments for MFPs.”
— Phil Boatman Lexmark International Inc.
Cover Story Jan 09:Cover Story Jan 09 1/6/09 11:25 AM Page 13
Compiled by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine
2009’s Greatest OpportunitiesReaders share expectations & advice for the new year
In 2009, what do you believe will be the greatest
areas of opportunity for dealers in the office
technology industry? What do you believe
will be the best strategies for success in pur-
suing those opportunities?
Recently, BTA’s Office Technology magazine
asked these questions of its readers via an e-mail
survey. Among the many responses received, the
opportunities cited as the greatest for the new year
are varied. However, some common areas of focus emerge.
Perhaps the comments shared by your fellow dealers will
mirror your vision for 2009 — or provide new ideas.
On the following three pages are many of the responses.
Additional responses can be found on page 6 and on the BTA
Web site, www.bta.org. Click on “BTA Idea Exchange” in the
left column of the home page. You will need your member
login and password.
“The greatest opportunity for dealers in 2009 will be in the
field of print and document management. As an independent
dealer, you must stay abreast of the constantly changing tech-
nology by continuing to educate and train your employees.
With a weak economy, it is more important than ever to help
our clients save money by improving their workflows and
making their businesses more profitable.”
Jack Stargel, President
Stargel Office Solutions, Houston, Texas
“The greatest area of opportunity for office equipment
dealers today is to hire good salespeople. Now is the time to
strengthen your sales force. Take advantage of the deep cuts
made in other industries.”
Mike Upchurch, President
Business Machines Inc., Raleigh, N.C.
“Managed print services (MPS) provides the greatest
opportunity for dealers to both secure and grow
their business during these difficult economic
times. MPS matches the need of our clients to
reduce cost in a tight economy and we can help
them do that with an effective MPS solution.”
Richard Mark, Managing Director
R L Mark & Co. Ltd., Wildey, Barbados
“Areas of opportunity are in production, high-end
color and solution selling. We are encouraging our sales-
people to be patient and look for opportunities inside our
customer base to basically redefine who we are and what we
can do. We have created an IT department that specializes
in certain solution offerings and have appointed certain
reps to champion specific solutions. We try to take advan-
tage of the educational opportunities offered through BTA
and by the manufacturers and software providers. We also
keep a great line of communication going with our partner
vendors and our customers.”
Steven Cobb, President
Dean’s Office Machines Inc., Greensboro, N.C.
“The best opportunities will be in the areas of saving the
customer money by lowering their costs and increasing pro-
ductivity. Two key areas we are pursuing in addition to
copier hardware are EDM and print (printer) management.
Doing a thorough assessment and providing a cost per page
(cpp) for clients to help manage their output costs, as well as
establishing those costs that the client currently does not
know, gives you further stickiness with the customer. The
EDM approach to help customers get more productivity out
of al l working associates is an excellent non-copier
approach to existing clients.”
Donald Cole, Vice President
MT Business Technologies Inc., Avon Lake, Ohio
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New Year Survey Jan 09:New Year Survey Jan 09 1/6/09 8:04 AM Page 10
“I see managed print services to be
the gold we will be digging. The strategy
we use will be a well-trained IT business
unit that we will put in place in 2009.
Monochrome is on the decline, mid-
range color is peaking. I’m looking to
production color.”
Joseph Birk, President
Data Comm Inc., Jefferson City, Mo.
“We have started to focus more on commercial down-the-
street customers, since the OEMs have hit the large RFP
areas with bids that are too low to compete with. We will
now seek quality customers, instead of quantity customers.”
Rock Janecek, Service Manager
Burtronics Business Systems Inc., San Bernardino, Calif.
“Write all-inclusive maintenance contracts for in-place
network printers. You can help make your customers more
efficient without spending more money.”
Barry Wallingford, President
Atlantic Business Systems, Melbourne, Fla.
“Concentrate only on factors that a dealer has control over,
i.e. retention of valuable employees, negotiate strong, favor-
able program agreements with your manufacturer, look for
new customers in your area of expertise and compensate
your sales staff more for new installations. Cold call and
benchmark all employees on productivity. Emphasize to all
employees that you require them to acquire additional skills
beyond their current skills sets. I believe independent dealers
have a great opportunity to capitalize on the turmoil that
exists in our industry. In particular, dealers in secondary
markets must not allow manufacturers to take advantage of
them. Concentrate, focus and do not let fear paralyze you.”
Terry Newsom, President
Pacific Office Automation, Beaverton, Ore.
“We believe that we will heavily market to verticals that
are continuing to do well in this challenging economy —
health care, tax preparers, accountants, churches, etc. We
have new products that will do very nicely in these areas.”
Joey Bartlett, Owner
Tri-County Business Systems, Salinas, Calif.
“Service is where it matters. Sales may remain level. If
they decline, however, those dealerships that refocus their
efforts on their customer service will be
the strong that survive. As the manufac-
turers continue to buy up dealerships
and att empt to f igure out how to
manage the newly acquired mega distri-
bution channels, they will continue to
upset their customer base, leaving room
for the independent dealerships to
accelerate their growth and profitability.
Strategies to implement should start
with a ‘back to the basics’ of customer service, even bringing
in an outside trainer to revitalize every employee’s outlook.
Communication will also be a key factor in retaining
employees. As the economy seems to crumble, service com-
panies stand the best chance of coming out on top — don’t
miss out!”
Allen Grenz, President
OASYS Inc., Burlington, Wash.
“Stay on top of the latest technology. Train. Train. Train
your sales staff to show what. Train your service staff to
show how. Train your management staff to show the differ-
ence between our dealerships and the manufacturers’ sub-
sidiaries."
Frank Sluss, President
Business World, St. Croix, Virgin Islands
“Managed services. There is more reason for outsourcing
in a poor economy. As long as it makes economic sense. We
anticipate a significant growth in managed print services.
There is more competition, but that means there are more
vendors creating interest.”
Arthur Schwartz, President
Image Systems for Business, Somerset, N.J.
“Because more people are concerned about their
expenses, they’re willing to listen about ways to improve
processes and reduce expenses. This has created an opportu-
nity for us to do a complete output analysis within accounts
and implement plans that improve output technology, and
improve and reduce the management of related expenses.”
Michael Steinhoff, President
Rhyme Business Products, Portage, Wis.
“Managing the relationships with our existing clients in all
areas of the business to leverage our expertise and go-to-
market strategies in order to get closer to the customer and
18 | 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 | J a n u a r y 2 0 0 9
“I believe independentdealers have a greatopportunity to capitalizeon the turmoil that exists in our industry ...Concentrate, focus and donot let fear paralyze you.”
New Year Survey Jan 09:New Year Survey Jan 09 1/6/09 8:05 AM Page 11
capture additional revenue streams from
them. In a tough economy, we believe that
the customers who currently trust us will
look to us to help them further reduce
their operating costs while increasing
their level of service and support.”
Ron Hulett, Managing Director
U.S. Business Systems Inc., Elkhart, Ind.
“Pursuing print management-type
programs will be our best opportunity to grow the copier
part of our business. Without acquisition I think growing
the copier business will be very difficult. If you look at the
industry numbers and see what piece of imaging the copier
now represents, you see that we need to be in the print-
centric business. You need to partner with a manufacturer
that can provide A4-type products to effectively compete.”
Mark Watson, President
CDS Office Technologies, Springfield, Ill.
“The greatest area of opportunity is
definitely in the solutions arena. I look
for ward to helping our customers
archive their files and take a dive into
document management. The best
approach for document management is
taking it head on. Learn about your
product and the solutions that are avail-
able and be able to show customers how
you can make a difference in their office.”
Mariana Pacheco, Sales Manager
International Copy Machine Center, El Paso, Texas
“Selling printer products on a cost-per-page basis. In a
challenging economy, we have to continue to find new busi-
ness as we watch some of our long-term customers evaporate.
Why not attack the printer users with a different approach?”
William Wallace, President
Action Business Systems Inc., Baltimore, Md. �
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 | J a n u a r y 2 0 0 9 | 19
“The greatest area ofopportunity is definitelyin the solutions arena ...The best approachfor document management is taking it head on.”
New Year Survey Jan 09:New Year Survey Jan 09 1/6/09 8:05 AM Page 12
by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine
InfoTrends’ ODS ConferenceGroup Director Reardon shares industry megatrends
With the primary goal of offering a detailed look at
the current opportunities in the office technology
industry, market research firm InfoTrends hosted
its annual Office Document Strategy Conference Nov. 12-13,
2008, in Mahwah, N.J. The event drew approximately 100
attendees representing hardware manufacturers, inde-
pendent software vendors (ISVs) and dealerships.
Among the 25-plus presenters and panelists was Jon
Reardon, group director at InfoTrends. Reardon opened the
conference with a “State of the Industry” address, focusing
primarily on what he describes as the megatrends within
the industry. Among the current and developing mega-
trends he cited:
� Vendor focus will shift from “hardware placed” to
“pages captured” — Revenue growth in today’s market is
hard to come by with prices falling in virtually every segment
of the industry, said Reardon, noting that margins are low or
even negative in some segments. “Vendors need to move
from a hardware focus to a page focus, a position that
InfoTrends has taken for quite some time,” he said. “Success
in this business depends greatly on finding the right applica-
tions to drive page volumes, particularly for color.”
� Increased penetration of A4-size MFPs up and down
market — “A4 MFPs continue to gain penetration in the
market, while A3 placements are declining,” said Reardon.
“We do see growth in A3 color hardware, but not enough to
compensate for the loss of A3 monochrome.” The challenge
for copier-heritage vendors will be determining how to
structure their channels to take advantage of the business,
he said, commenting that some are finding success in selling
A4 MFPs as part of a managed print services strategy. “A4
will continue to penetrate the market and have a major
impact on the traditional copier business.”
� Shift from monochrome to color — While the shift is
still a trend, the hyper-growth of the color market has now
tapered, said Reardon. “We are still forecasting growth for
color hardware, but at a much slower rate than in previous
years,” he said, adding that color penetration will occur at a
much more consistent rate in the speed segments between
20 and 40 pages per minute. Reardon explained that high
growth in entry-level segments resulted in a lot of color unit
placements, but little color volume. “Vendors need to focus
in those areas of the market where color is a requirement or
where color can add value at the right price point.”
� Managed print services (MPS) — InfoTrends recently
completed a research project on MPS, which reveals that
many U.S. businesses have an “intense interest” in engaging
in managed print services, said Reardon. Medium sized-
businesses offer the largest revenue opportunities because
they represent a market that is largely untapped, he said. “Of
the respondents to our survey, 54 percent of them in the
20 | 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 | J a n u a r y 2 0 0 9
Above: Attendees
gather for one of
nearly 20 sessions
on the agenda at
InfoTrends’ Office
Document Strategy
Conference. Right:
Group Director
and conference co-
chair Jon Reardon.
InfoTrends Jan 09:InfoTrends Jan 09 1/6/09 12:20 PM Page 10
mid-market size [100 to 999 employees]
indicated that they were considering
MPS, but they have not engaged yet.” In
contrast, said Reardon, 21 percent of
respondents representing large busi-
nesses (more than 999 employees) and
only 15 percent of respondents repre-
senting small businesses (99 employees
or less) indicated that they were consid-
ering MPS. “Many businesses are fig-
uring out or struggling with ways to take the costs out of
their own businesses and MPS becomes a brilliant strategy.”
During his presentation, Reardon also listed the “threats”
and “opportunities” that exist in the industry, some specifi-
cally tied to the megatrends. Among the threats:
�Monochrome placements and revenues are falling.
� Products are faster and more complex, but prices are
lower.
� MFPs based on inexpensive A4 engines are challenging
more expensive copier/MFPs with A3
engines.
Among the opportunities:
� Color placements and revenue are
growing and wil l continue to do so
through 2012.
� Sales of solutions-enabled devices
help slow the decline in average selling
prices; they also protect the machines in
field (MIF) from competitors.
� The light production market continues to grow, pro-
viding an important source of pages.
Reardon concluded his remarks by sharing a quote from
legendary comedian Milton Berle, intending to emphasize
the need for all conference attendees to seek opportunities:
“If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.” �Brent Hoskins, executive director of the Business Technology
Association, is editor of Office Technology magazine.
He can be reached at brent@bta.org.
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 | J a n u a r y 2 0 0 9 | 21
“Many businessesare figuring out orstruggling with ways to take the costs outof their own businessesand MPS becomes a brilliant strategy.”
InfoTrends Jan 09:InfoTrends Jan 09 1/6/09 12:20 PM Page 11
Dear New Year : It is me again, making several
New Year ’s resolutions on b ehalf of our
members. I wrote you last year to ask for con-
sideration in the new year for the good business people
I work with. Regretfully, it was not a wonderful year and
the economy has fallen sharply. Although the pie may
be a bit smaller now, independent dealers are getting a
bigger piece of it as they quickly adjust to the new busi-
ness conditions. Things are difficult right now and I am
hoping you can help set things in the correct direction. I
know my requests are many, but if you could find a way
to give BTA’s member dealers just a couple of these
things, their futures would be even brighter.
Help dealers manage their inventory and not give in
to those attractive month- and quarter-end deals
demanded by their reps. That fantastic incentive oppor-
tunity may not be worth the purchased equipment that
sits in the warehouse to qualify for the “free trip.” Give
dealers the courage to manage their salespeople and not
permit suppliers to offer incentives directly to them for
moving their equipment. Remember whose business it is.
Show dealers how to navigate the new realities of the
current financial markets. The “good old boy” network of
friendly local bankers who dealt on a handshake and a
promise are a thing of the past. Today’s banking relationships
are grounded in profitability and good asset management.
Banks and finance companies do not want to be the only ones
making investments — dealers will have to put in some capital
as well. Dealers will need more collateral and guarantees to
borrow less money.
Find leasing companies that truly understand the word
“partner.” Leasing companies that abandon dealers during
tough economic times should not be welcomed back when
conditions improve. Insist that dealers “get it in writing.” A
lease is a contract and the terms are enforceable. Make certain
that leases and master lease agreements reflect the actual
terms agreed upon and are clear and certain.
Help dealers understand their financial statements. Guide
them to peer groups so their results can be compared with
others. Send them to BTA workshops and meetings where they
can expand their knowledge and learn best practices.
Please give dealers a hand in reducing their expenses. Help
them see that there are not any sacred cows and that they may
have to cut costs to remain profitable. Show them how to re-
negotiate existing relationships for better terms and condi-
tions. It may be a good time to negotiate with the landlord for
a rent reduction.
Provide dealers with the skills to communicate openly and
honestly with their employees. Help them to actively listen and
share both successes and failures. An informed staff can be
part of the solution for continued growth and profitability.
Communicate clearly the importance of a full life. Business
is the means, not the end. Find a place for family and friends.
Volunteer to help others who face even greater challenges
from the troubled economy. Being overworked and stressed
out impairs the ability to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Take a
walk, go to the health club or simply relax with a good book.
2009 is the year for our members to improve their business
skills, become better leaders, to be more cre-
ative and to work smarter, not harder. �Robert C. Goldberg is general counsel
for the Business Technology Association.
He can be reached at
robert.goldberg@sfnr.com.
by: Robert C. Goldberg, General Counsel for the Business Technology Association
COURTS & CAPITOLS
New Year’s ResolutionsImproving your business & life in 2009
22 | 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 | J a n u a r y 2 0 0 9
Goldberg Jan 09:Goldberg Jan 09 1/5/09 3:25 PM Page 26
EDUCATION CALENDAR
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 | J a n u a r y 2 0 0 9 | 2 3
February3-4 BTA ProSolutions Little Rock, AR
Software vendors teach you about their technology. However, your clients don’t care about tech-nology — they want their business problems solved. You need to understand your client’s businessproblems before you can provide solutions. Darrell Amy of Dealer Marketing Systems will teachattendees how to: get the attention of top-level decision makers, analyze business processes,secure buy-in with proof-of-concept demonstrations, understand how document technologiessolve business problems, sell consulting reports, overcome common objections and much more.
4-5 SDG Meeting Dallas, TX
11-12 BTA ProFinance Charlotte, NCProFinance instructors John Hanson and John Hey of Strategic Business Associates will teachyou the financial model that helped them make the decisions that grew DC Hey from a $5million to a $150 million IKON-acquired enterprise. In addition to helping you implement themodel in your company, they will help you understand the strategies required to become moreclient and employee focused — key strategies toward successfully growing your company,improving profitability and winning against the competition. ProFinance is designed for deal-ership owners and executive-level staff members who make the critical business decisions thatimpact their companies’ success.
19 “Transforming Your Dispatcher into a Resource Coordinator”Free to BTA members, the February “Building My Business” webinar, “Transforming Your Dis-patcher into a Resource Coordinator” will be presented by Jack Duncan of Jack Duncan Con-sulting. Dispatchers take service calls and hand them out to technicians. Resource coordinatorsstill respond to service calls from customers and hand them out to technicians, but they alsowatch the call boards for missed response times, move calls where necessary to lower traveltime and expense, alert management of potential customer issues, etc. In this webinar, Duncanwill address how to effectively transform your dispatcher into a resource coordinator.
March18-19 ITEX ‘09 Las Vegas, NV
BTA members receive a discounted $79 registration to ITEX ‘09. Use the BTA members-onlypromo code BTA9B when registering. BTA will also be hosting a reception in the BTA hospi-tality suite on the evening of March 18. Watch www.bta.org for more information.
For additional information or to register for courses or events, visit www.bta.org or call (800) 843-5059.
Calendar Jan 09:23OT0109 1/5/09 3:16 PM Page 25
MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION
PART IV – INVESTMENT Select one: � Payment Enclosed (Make check payable to Business Technology Association)
� MasterCard � Visa � American Express Annual BTA Dues: $
Card Number: Exp. Date: Card Holder’s Name:
I hereby apply for membership in Business Technology Association:
Signature: Date:
Return to: Business Technology Association, 12411 Wornall Road, Kansas City, MO 64145Phone: (800) 505-2821 � Fax: (816) 941-4838 � E- mail: membership@bta.org � Join online at www.bta.org
Membership dues must be submitted in U.S. funds. Dues paid to BTA do not qualify as a charitable tax deduction. Dues do qualify as a business expense.
Equipment/Products:� Audio/Video Presentation Equipment� Bar Coding Equipment� Binding Equipment/Supplies� Cash Registers/Point of Sale� Check Writing/Protection Equipment� Computers/Accessories/Supplies� Copiers (MFPs), B&W
Accessories/Parts/Supplies� Copiers (MFPs), Color
Accessories/Parts/Supplies� Duplicating Equipment/Parts/Supplies� Facsimile Equipment/Parts/Supplies� Filing Systems/Electronic Organizers� Furniture� Identification Systems/Labeling
Equipment
� Mailing/Shipping Equipment/Supplies� Networking Products/Services� OCR Scanners� Office Supplies� Paper Handling Equipment� Phone Answering Equipment� Power Protection� Printers, B&W
Accessories/Supplies� Printers, Color
Accessories/Supplies� Recycled/Remanufactured
Equipment/Supplies� Security Equipment/Systems� Shredders� Software Development/Sales/Support� Time Recording Equipment
� Typewriters/Accessories/Supplies� Other:
Services:� Circuit Board Repair� Consulting� Equipment Rental� Financing/Leasing� Insurance� Internet Solutions� Publishing� Service/Repair� Training/Education� Other:
PART III – MEMBERSHIP Categories and Classifications
PART II – PRODUCT INFORMATION Please indicate the products you sell or the services you provide (check all that apply):
PART I – COMPANY INFORMATIONCompany Name:Street Address: PO Box:City: State/Province: ZIP/Postal Code: Country:Phone: ( ) Fax: ( ) Web Address:
No. of locations (include parent): No. of employees (include owners):
Year business was established: Annual revenue: $Contact Names:Principal Contact: Title: E-mail Address:Sales Contact: Title: E-mail Address:Service Contact: Title: E-mail Address:
Heard about BTA from/Referred by (name & company):
Occasionally, BTA makes its member list available to companies who wish to present opportunities to our members.Can BTA include your e-mail address in the online BTA Membership Directory? � Yes � NoSuppliers and vendors to BTA members may communicate with member dealers, indicating membership in and support of the association. Suppliers and vendors are prohibited from indi-
cating or suggesting that BTA approves, supports, endorses or encourages its members to use the products or services being promoted or endorses the supplier or vendor of the product.
24 | 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 | J a n u a r y 2 0 0 9
OEM Authorizations:
Retail Dealer Memberships:� $430 1-10 Locations (1 year)
� $795 1-10 Locations (2 years)
Vendor Associate Memberships
� $1,500 Annual Sales up to $5 million
� $2,000 Annual Sales $5-$10 million
� $2,500 Annual Sales over $10 million
Service Associate Memberships
� $500 Annual Sales up to $1 million
� $750 Annual Sales $1-$5 million
� $950 Annual Sales over $5 million
Dealers savewith two-yearmembership!
(Receive $400 in coupons.)
(Receive $950 in coupons.)
Member App 2008:Member App 2008 1/5/09 3:19 PM Page 25
BTA HIGHLIGHTS
The following new members joined BTA during themonth of November:
Dealer MembersAccel Imaging Systems, Ft. Worth, TXA-Copi, Augusta, MEAtlantic Business Systems, Melbourne, FLInternational Copy Machine Center Inc., El Paso, TXKnight Office Solutions, San Antonio, TXSands of the Keys, Islamorada, FLX-Tech Laser Printing Inc., Goleta, CA
Service Associate MemberGE Capital, Irvine, CA
Vendor Associate MemberMS SecureShred, Fremont, CA
For full contact information of these new members,visit www.bta.org and click on “BTA Hotline
Online” on the home page before March 1.
BTA Legal ServicesBTA Legal Services are some of the most
valuable benefits of BTA membership. If youhave called the BTA Legal Hotline, youalready know how BTA General Counsel BobGoldberg can help to ensure your vendors’contracts are fair and equitable, assist you incorrectly handling personnel matters or guideyou in appropriately pursuing any dispute witha vendor. There are also many different con-tracts and agreements that you can downloadfor personal use in your dealership from theBTA Web site. Are you in need of legal guid-ance? Call the BTA Legal Hotline today at(800) 869-6688 or visit www.bta.org and goto “BTA Legal Services” in the left menu of thehome page.
For the benefit of its dealer members, eachmonth, BTA profiles two of its Vendor or ServiceAssociate members in this space.
BTA Service Associatemem ber BEI Pros, aninnovative service prof-
itability consultant group, was created to providea unique service to the office equipment industry.Its company mission is to show dealers how toachieve operational and financial benchmarksand drive 52 percent-plus G.P. in service. BEIPros accomplishes this through its OnsiteConsulting Service, customized action plandevelopment and assistance with the executionto ensure the desired results of service profit andoperational benchmarks are achieved. ContactJerry Newberry at (813) 713-3592 or Jeff Kelly at(757) 435-3752 for more information.
www.beipros.com
BTA Serv iceAssociate mem-ber GreatAmerica
Leasing Corp. is a national lessor dedicated tohelping manufacturers, vendors and dealers bemore successful and keep their customers. Thecompany originates leasing transactions throughnumerous vendor and manufacturer relation-ships and provides financing in all 50 states andsome U.S. territories. Founded in 1990,GreatAmerica is headquartered in Cedar Rapids,Iowa, with offices in Colorado, Florida, Georgia,Missouri and Illinois. The company has a staff ofmore than 270 people.
www.greatamerica.com
A full list of BTA Vendor and Service Associate members can be found online at www.bta.org.
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 | J a n u a r y 2 0 0 9 | 2 5
Member Page 2008:Member Page 2008 1/5/09 3:23 PM Page 25
What is success in managed print services (MPS)? What
is the scope of the opportunity? As the marketing
partner in the MPS 2.0 program (www.mps20.com)
these questions keep haunting me. In preparation for a recent
presentation, I began to think about these questions strategically.
In this article, I will present the results of my findings.
The Old Way to Measure Success: UnitsFrom the hardware manufacturers’ perspective, success is
measured in machine placements. In my days as a DSM for a
manufacturer, we used to take the total number of copier units
projected to be sold in the United States and multiply it by the
Business Equipment Quota Index (BEQI) for the counties in
which a dealership was authorized. This was the unit poten-
tial of the market. This could further be divided by the per-
centage of copiers sold in each segment to get a realistic
expectation of placements by segment.
Next, we would take the dealer’s unit purchases and divide
them by the unit potential. This was the dealer’s market share.
Success was gauged based on the percentage of market share.
The challenge is that the majority of ongoing revenue and
profitability for a dealer comes from service and supply sales.
“Clicks” drive success. In the past, it was enough to assume
that if we placed a lot of big copiers, we would get a lot of
clicks. As we awaken to the number of pages that are actually
being printed on laser printers, we begin to realize that unit
placements may not be the main thing we should focus on. In
today’s environment, dealers are sobering to the reality that
measuring hardware market share may not be enough.
Instead, we need to focus on our success in getting pages.
What is the Scope of the MPS Opportunity?According to InfoTrends research, last year in the United
States there were 461 billion pages printed on office-grade
multifunction systems. There were 1.202 trillion pages printed
on laser printers. Therefore, there were 2.61 pages output on
printers for every page output on MFPs.
What is Your Page Opportunity? How many of the nearly 1.7 trillion pages were printed in
your market last year? A good place to build an estimate
might be the BEQI. This number shows the percentage of busi-
ness equipment one can expect to sell in each county, ZIP
code and MSA (metropolitan statistical area) of the total pro-
jected sales for the United States.
To calculate the page volumes in your market, simply take
the BEQI index for your county and multiply it by the number
of pages on printers and number of pages on copiers. For
example, the latest BEQI information I have showed Los
Angeles and Orange counties took 4.96 percent of the equip-
ment sold in the United States. Following this logic:
The New Way to Measure Success: Page Share Where the old way to measure success was units, the new
way is pages. How many pages does your dealership have
related to the potential of your market?
Let us follow the example above. Using rough numbers, if
there were 1.4 million office copier units placed in the United
States last year, the unit potential for the two counties would
be 69,440. If the dealer sold 6,900 units, they would have
enjoyed a 10 percent market share. Based on unit placements
of copiers, that dealer could say they had a good year in the
copier business.
However, that same market has a potential of 84 billion
pages per year. If that dealership is billing 2 billion pages per
year, they have 2.4 percent page share in the market.
Measuring success versus the total pages in the market will
likely be a sobering exercise. At the same time, it can be very
inspiring as our eyes continue to open up to the massive scope
of the MPS opportunity.
Implications So what are the implications? There are many. However,
here are a couple to begin with:
� Change how you measure success — We need to change
how we measure success in our industry. While hardware unit
placements will always be important to manufacturers, pages
Measuring MPS SuccessUsing page share to assess market potential
by: Darrell Amy, Dealer Marketing Systems
PRINCIPAL ISSUES
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Amy Jan 09:Amy Jan 09 1/6/09 1:44 PM Page 26
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are what are important to dealers. As such,
a dealership’s benchmark for measuring
success should be its percentage of the
total page count in its market.
For manufacturers, the good news is
this: When dealers focus on pages, hard-
ware will follow. I heard one managed
print provider recently say, “I have never
sold more hardware than when I stopped
selling hardware.”
� Get serious about managed print services — The
market potential is huge — 2.61 times the page volume of the
copier market.
The opportunity also comes with a limited time frame.
While people buy new copiers every three to five years, com-
panies only sign up for a managed print services agreement
“once.” It would be very hard to unseat a current MPS vendor
unless it was doing a horrible job.
It is critical that you align your dealership to succeed.
Unfortunately, I have only seen a handful of dealers knock it
out of the park in managed print services. The MPS opportu-
nity is huge. Independent dealers need a new way of meas-
uring success. The way to do this is based
on page share. �Darrell Amy is president of Dealer
Marketing Systems. Working in conjunction
with Digital Gateway, DocuAudit and Gary
Halperin, the group has launched an
initiative to help dealers succeed in
managed print services. The goal is to take
the best of what was working in the early
days of MPS and create a replicable model
for a dealer to succeed. Out of these discussions
emerged the concept of MPS 2.0, which is an initiative to
mainstream MPS in a dealer’s operation. The program
provides a suite of services to mentor dedicated MPS
sales reps, market the MPS business, measure
financial success with benchmarks and manage the business
with software on the backend to automate
the fulfillment and billing.
Learn more at www.mps20.com.
Amy can be reached at (214) 224-0050 ext. 100
or damy@dealermarketingsystems.com.
Visit www.dealermarketingsystems.com.
The MPS opportunityis huge. Independent dealers need a new way of measuring success. The wayto do this is basedon page share.
Amy Jan 09:Amy Jan 09 1/6/09 4:55 PM Page 27
It certainly makes sense to work with
trainers and consultants, but what is
the difference? How do you determine
which direction is best? I will start to
answer these questions by defining these
two categories of professionals.
Trainers possess a skill set that needs
to be transferred to your employees; they
are teachers. A perfect example is a soft-
ware trainer. You hired a new order
processor and you want him (or her)
trained on your OMD platform. So you hire a trainer to accom-
plish this goal. Similarly, you are not using your SalesChain
CRM to full capability, so you want to train your entire sales
force on advanced capabilities. In the first situation, you only
have a single employee that requires training, so you may
decide to send him to a group class with employees from mul-
tiple companies. There are a lot of advantages to this
approach, including a sharing of information across compa-
nies and a lower expense. In the second situation, since all of
your sales reps need the training, it may be less expensive to
bring a trainer on-site. You lose the benefit of interacting with
other companies, but you only have one travel expense — the
trainer — and the investment per student will probably be
lower since there is a guaranteed attendance for the trainer
and no facility expenses.
Trainers do not necessarily need to have any specific experi-
ence, although I believe maintaining relevance in the field is
critical to quality. Think about your college professors. Many of
them completed their undergraduate work and then went on to
earn doctorate degrees, sometimes without ever stepping foot
in the professional world. They conducted extensive research
and will continue to conduct research in their respective fields.
If they teach in subject areas like science or business, they may
even work with companies in the commercial world — perhaps
as consultants. Your software trainer may also have a consulting
business where he travels to dealers to help them work through
issues with their software. This keeps the trainer relevant. I
would call this outsourcing your work rather than a consulting
engagement, but that is irrelevant to this discussion.
When it comes to sales training, you can teach any bright
person with strong communication skills
how to deliver a program. It is a plus if he
is also enthusiastic. The trainer does not
even need to have experience selling as
long as the program is strong. That is not
to say that every sales trainer is bright or
possesses strong communication skills;
you did have some sub-par professors,
correct? I even had a professor or two who
you could not help but like, but who pro-
vided ver y shallow substance on the
subject matter. I do not recommend hiring trainers without rel-
evant experience; I am simply stating it is possible. Regardless,
I recommend you look at the experience of the person who
developed the program the trainer is delivering. The person
who develops the sales training program is paramount.
Consulting is a more complex engagement. You are not
hiring a consultant to transfer knowledge, but more appropri-
ately, you are depending on the experience, education and
training of the consultant to help you identify inefficiencies in
a certain area of your business, make recommendations for
improvement and design the implementation and monitoring
plan of the recommendations. You may also engage a con-
sultant to help you launch a new initiative.
Business is not a simple linear equation. When you adjust
one area it impacts many others. Without the proper experi-
ence and education, it will be impossible for a consultant to be
effective. He can actually increase your problems rather than
help you achieve more success. What you pay a consultant
without the necessary experience could be the smallest
portion of your losses. So a consultant should have a strong
understanding of your business as well as deep experience in
what you are trying to accomplish. As the famous sales trainer
Tom Hopkins is known to say, “Don’t listen to anybody with
less experience than you.”
Consultants can usually train, but trainers cannot neces-
sarily consult. To cite an extreme example, I do not think many
large companies would hesitate to engage Jack Welch as a con-
sultant and it is safe to say that if Welch taught a business class
at your local university, it would be standing room only. Gov-
ernor Rendell of Pennsylvania actually teaches at the University
Trainer or Consultant?Make the correct choice & achieve success
by: Tom Callinan, Strategy Development
PRINCIPAL ISSUES
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Callinan Jan 09:Callinan Jan 09 1/6/09 1:53 PM Page 26
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of Pennsylvania and his class has the
longest waiting l i st of any class on
campus. On the other hand, that enthusi-
astic and articulate sales trainer may have
little to no relevant experience to help you
make deep business decisions.
We already referenced software training
and that is a simple decision. Let us say
you want to integrate your SalesChain
application with your OMD software and
tie them all into an electronic forms package and a business
intelligence package so you can set up workflow, a functional
dashboard and easily mine your company data. This is the
perfect situation to hire an IT consulting firm with demon-
strable experience in this area. Unless you have a true IT con-
sultant on staff that has experience with this type of project, it
is not the type to tackle alone or with a trainer that lacks the
business, finance and IT experience.
Suppose your equipment revenue is
not growing at your desired rate. Do you
hire a consultant or a trainer? Many com-
panies reflexively diagnose the situation
as poor selling skills and send their sales
employees to a sales training seminar.
They may repeat this approach for years
(and with various training companies) as
they work to find the training company
that works. My experience shows that
basic sales training is rarely the solution. There are many
inputs into sales rep success, not the least of which is a solid
sales manager. For decades, the sales manager has been iden-
tified as a key element of a salesperson’s success. After this
critical individual has been evaluated, your entire go-to-
market strategy needs to be analyzed. You could use a con-
sulting f irm with expertise in designing a repeatable
go-to-market strategy for your sales team. In your quest to
My experience showsthat basic sales training israrely the solution. Thereare many inputs intosales rep success, not theleast of which is a solidsales manager.
Having trouble findingmoney for your
child’s education?
BTA Can Help.Scholarships for use at colleges or
accredited vocational trade schools areavailable to the sons and daughters of
BTA retail dealership members and the sons and daughters of their
full-time employees.
Scholarship recipients are chosen by an impartial and
independent evaluator.
Completed applications must be receivedat BTA by May 1. To obtain a scholarship application form, contact Mary Hopkins
at mary@bta.org, call (816) 303-4031 orwrite to: BTA Scholarship Foundation,
12411 Wornall RoadKansas City, MO 64145.
®
Callinan Jan 09:Callinan Jan 09 1/6/09 1:53 PM Page 27
find the correct sales trainer, you can actu-
ally be damaging your credibility and your
sales force’s skills as they are taught con-
f licting approaches from trainers of
various quality levels. You are also wasting
a lot of money.
I will give one more example, as I am
sure you are gaining the information you
need to make the correct decision on what
type of firm or person you should engage.
Say you want to launch a professional services initiative. You
decide to send your sales manager to a sales training seminar
on document management. You have not analyzed your
employee skill set, thought about the correct metrics for a suc-
cessful program or how to handle the pre- and post-sales
activity. You do not even know what your product and services
portfolio should look like or the investment involved in getting
the program off the ground; you simply send your sales
manager to a sales training program for document manage-
ment. After he returns, you spend the next two years trying to
get a document management program off the ground, but it
struggles along with limited success.
What you lacked was the road map that could have been
provided by a consultant with experience in launching a pro-
fessional services initiative and who understood how that ini-
tiative would affect you financially and operationally. In both
of these situations — the sales growth and the professional
services launch — you actually gave up a significant amount
of revenue and profits by mistakenly using a sales trainer
rather than a consultant.
So, sales trainer or consultant? Next
time you need to make that decision, ask
yourself the following questions:
� Am I looking for transferable skills
(trainer), to outsource work ( highly
skilled worker) or a fix to a problem or
new initiative (consultant)?
� If I am hiring a sales trainer, does he
have relevant experience? Who developed
the program he is delivering?
� Do I need a consultant skilled in a single area or am I
better off hiring a firm with skills and experience across my
various business functions? (Rarely will one consultant have
skills across all functional areas. If he says he does, proceed
with caution.)
� What is the complete background of the person or firm I
am hiring? (Ask for a resume.) I am hiring him as a consultant,
so would I hire him to lead the area in which I am hiring him to
consult? If not, then do not hire him to consult.
When you make the correct decision, you will experience
success. �Tom Callinan is the founding principal of Strategy
Development, a management consulting and advanced sales
training firm. From 1998 to 2005, he was an executive with
IKON Office Solutions. Prior to IKON, he was
the founder and CEO of Copifax Inc.
He can be reached at
callinan@strategydevelopment.org or
(610) 527-3317.
Visit www.strategydevelopment.org.
In your quest to find thecorrect sales trainer, youcan actually be damaging your credibilityand your sales force’sskills as they are taughtconflicing approaches ...
ADVERTISER INDEX
27 • BEI Pros
(813) 713-3592 / www.beipros.com
32 • BTA Professional Services Workshop
(800) 843-5059 / www.bta.org
31 • BTA ProFinance
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29 • BTA Scholarships
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16 • Computhink
(800) 988-4465 / www.computhink.com
5 • DocuWare
(888) 565-5907 / www.docuware.com
2-3 • ITEX 2009
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11 • Lexmark
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9 • MSE
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13 • Muratec America Inc.
(469) 429-3481 / www.muratec.com
21• NCM Associates Inc.
(800) 756-2620 / (800) 247-2176
19 • Polek & Polek
(800) 526-1360 / www.polek.com
15 • Select Dealer Group
www.selectdealergroup.org
7 • Toshiba
(949) 462-6165 / www.copiers.toshiba.com
30 | 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 | J a n u a r y 2 0 0 9
Callinan Jan 09:Callinan Jan 09 1/6/09 1:53 PM Page 28
Do you crunch the numbers, or do the numbers crunch you?
he BTA ProFinance course will teach you how to setthe strategy, track critical performance measures and
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Instructors John Hanson and John Hey of StrategicBusiness Associates take a holistic approach to theredirection of your business — from sales repcompensation and projecting service revenues toinventory management and an action plan forimplementation — with the short-term goal of achievinga minimum of 14% operating income. You can achievethese results by monitoring 24 key benchmarks andmaking strategic shifts as discussed in the program.
Start planning for improved profitability today! Send allof your strategic decision makers to ProFinance — it’s aninvestment in your company that will help you relieve theend-of-the-month crunch.
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ProFinance thinker full pg:31OT0406 11/19/08 11:19 AM Page 1
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Permit #31 Office Technology MagazineBusiness Technology Association 12411 Wornall RoadKansas City, MO 64145(816) 941-3100www.officetechnologymag.comwww.bta.org
Professional Svcs BC Jan 09:32OT0408 1/6/09 1:56 PM Page 1
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