How to Sell

This is great.  Start at 9:26 or listen to the entire piece.

It is the first time I've heard an academic explains how sales really work.

Give it a listen and take notes.

 

  

Click to email me.

How Will Work From Anywhere Affect Copier Sales?

I've been a work-from-anywhere person since 2009ish - I've presented from Sydney, Starbucks' parking lots, and poolside in Vegas.  I've evangelized the lifestyle from Detroit to LA to Charlotte to Oconomowoc, Wi. and points between and beyond.

So when the fear of Covid sent everybody home to work, my environment didn't skip a beat.  Remote selling, online marketing, virtual meetings, and Zoom sessions became second nature to the rest of the world. 

Welcome to my world.

As #WFH becomes standard, the powers that be will attempt to define, moderate, and ultimately fashion the model into their likeness.  That will not work.

This concept is bigger than this small tome.  Today, we'll talk about selling copiers(or anything else) in this new land of  "work from anywhere". - GW

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Mayors Want You Back - "You can't stay home in your pajamas all day."

Are post-Covid cube farms the new plantation?

'You can't stay home in your pajamas all day!': NYC Mayor Eric Adams says workers must get back to the office because work-from-home policies aren't economically sustainable for the Big Apple and New Yorkers need to 'cross-pollinate ideas and interact'.

This is dangerous.  

From the mayor of NYC:

'We must get open, and let me tell you why,' Adams said in an appearance in Bloomberg TV last month. 

'That accountant from a bank that sits in an office - it's not only him, it feeds our financial ecosystem. He goes to the cleaners and get his suits clean, he goes out to the restaurants, he brings in a business traveler, which is 70 percent of our hotel occupancy.'

Detroit, Chicago, Portland, Seattle, Los Angeles, NJ - the places that locked down the hardest are going to PUSH for "back-to-office" mandates.

A quick response:

"No.

Perhaps we WERE in PJ's - but that's not any of your business.

Eight Ways to Sell MpS

 

How Long Until We See "Work from the office" mandates?

"We need people back to work."  Is this the new mantra? 

Is getting back to the office a matter of national security?

Could a "Back to the Office" mandate be in your future?

Why would back-to-work mandates evolve?

1. The powers believe in mandates.  
2. The powers know how to spin anything into a National Security issue.
3. Getting the economy going again is "a national security issue".
4. The powers are influential.
5. The powers know the populace is numb to being directed.

Consider Canada.

Our cousins to the north have always been the most polite society in our hemisphere.  Easy going, if not over-apologetic. So it was refreshing to see protests occur without burning buildings, smashing windows, or occupying city blocks.  

The juxtaposition of Canadian police horses stomping a woman and law enforcement kicking a protester while he was down was shocking.  It seems in Canada, authorities are more violent than the protesters - a testament to how far an unhinged government will go.

Consider Australia.

Australia, another western, free society has locked down society, built and populated Covid quarantine camps.  

They've banned singing and dancing. 

Enough cannot be said about the situation down under. One can only imagine what the next global crisis will instill.  All this took place over a willing populace.

Consider New York City "Shattered".

 

  "This town's full of money grabbers. Go ahead.  Bite the Big Apple.  Don't mind the maggots."

Eight Ways to Sell to Corporate Culture in 2022

Much is being said about how the work-from-home movement will negatively impact the corporate culture.

What is Corporate Culture:

"Corporate culture refers to the beliefs and behaviors that determine how a company's employees and management interact and handle outside business transactions. Often, corporate culture is implied, not expressly defined, and develops organically over time from the cumulative traits of the people the company hires." - Investopedia

Long established and organically grown, corporate culture resists outside influences - you, as a salesperson are an outside influence, especially in the post-Covid age. 

Today, implemented managed print services still presents a shock to the system and a threat to the 'how we've always done it' position.  

Visualize an MpS implementation as an enhancement to your customer's existing workflow.  

How can you cut through the fear of change, when that fear is on the global pandemic level?  Go with the flow.

One of the first articles I wrote was about implementing a managed print services program and the risks of ignoring corporate culture in the process. 

Back then, we were concerned about the impact of reducing devices on the way people felt about their jobs. MpS engagements were new; they changed the way toner was ordered and revealed how the number and location of devices could be a shock to the system.  

Today, implementing new services is a shock to the system because it threatens the 'how we've always done it' position.  

Visualize an MpS implementation as an enhancement to your customer's existing workflow and be 'like water.'

Workflow is about optimizing the processes of everyday business tasks. In other words, it’s how work gets done. Change is guaranteed, and the corporate culture at the organizational, departmental, or personal level can’t help but be influenced. 

I once heard a really smart guy say, “Culture kills process every day.” It’s something we should all keep in mind.