Transmuting Failure Into Philanthropy

I had a most unpleasant correspondence over the phone with a prospect today...

Let's call this gentleman "Bret". I found Bret on linkedin. He was listed as a salesman for a large local company of which I thought would be a great candidate for an out-of-the-box approach to prospecting.

I noticed that Bret placed the role of "Philanthropist" before his role as a salesman...

"That is awesome!" I thought to myself as I am currently working on making regular donations to charities and non-profits with the hopes of getting more and more involved with Philanthropy and just generally helping people in need.

However, my idea (which I thought for sure was a good one mind you) how to approach this man failed horribly...

Despite this fact I stand behind my actions as mentioned below....

I thought to myself that Bret's company would likely be a perfect candidate for a managed print services contract and I figured that if I did in fact sign them, I would donate my FULL commission to his non-profit organization which is called Saving Teens In Crisis and is a non-profit that upon reading about, found to be truly awesome.

I called Bret and told him about my company, who we are, what we do and said that I was hoping he could put me in touch with his IT manager so that I might do a free managed print analysis for his company with the knowledge that if we ended up doing business together I would donate all of my commission from sales with his company to the non-profit he runs.

At this point Bret was clearly using intense restraint as he basically accused me of being the absolute worst kind of human being on the planet...

I was shocked, confused and tried to reply as he explained to me that using philanthropy to garner personal gain was a great evil (which I agreed with) as I went on to explain that the motivation for this call was again to donate in full my commissions from business should it transpire between our companies to his non-profit.

He bocked at me and said "yeah that's a nice angle", Click...

In retrospect I can understand what happened  He works in sales and knows there are in fact super low-life, scumbag people who work as sales professionals. I am sure there are in fact people who actually scam non-profits with similar tactics.

I was absolutely horrified, hurt and at a loss for words.

I took twenty minutes to think things over and regroup my mind and spirit. I then texted an explanation to him as well as a justification for my approach (which I stand behind because my intent was fully in the right place) and notified him that while I understand we will likely never do business together I was going to donate to his non-profit as a sign of good faith, imploring him with many words to give me the benefit of the doubt and listen to me as a human being rather than a salesman.

I do not doubt that he will likely never speak to me again however, I promptly donated to his organization through their website and volunteered to donate time as well if needed (as I had planed on doing anyway before this debacle occurred).

So as a believer in emotional alchemy, I sat and pondered all that had just transpired and meditated on how I could transmute these negative emotions and actions into gold....

This is what I came up with:

I have decided that from here on out I will donate 100% of my commissions from managed print services contracts signed with non-profits/charities (who do not discriminate against any social groups of any kind) to said non-profit/charity.

While this was a highly negative experience it has lead to what I believe is an answer to how I can help more people which is something I have been pondering as of late.

It is my hope that this post will serve as both a reminder of caution in how one approaches a prospect (even when the intentions are good) and also as a catalyst for a seed which will grow into financial benefits for multiple non-profits and charities.

Please share this post if you have read it and thank you for reading. 

Qabalistic Sales

The above diagram is the tree of life, taken from the Jewish mystical tradition of Qabalah. The original use of the diagram was to help one "know thyself" and unite with God via the meditation and visualization of different aspects of God as they divide into the ten sephirot laid over three pillars connected by twenty two paths. 

In the above presentation of the tree, you will notice that I have transposed my own approach to the sales process in place of the traditional God names associated with each Sephirot.

While gazing upon the tree one day, I began to imagine the tree with the left pillar (severity), the middle pillar (mildness) and the right pillar (mercy) as a template for the sales process. Over the past two years, I have developed my own style of sales which being mostly the product of psychospiritual introspection, found the tree would make for a perfect visual representation of my approach.

 I believe that sales is first and foremost a game of intentions rather than one of numbers. It is this distinction within my perspective however, that has allowed me to win within the numbers game that sales is...

Via the combination of creative visualization, cold calling, sigilization, emotional alchemical marketing and a continued drive to serve others with the intent of helping and improving the lives of other human beings, I have been able to sign two companies that have eluded my sales team for over twenty years over the course of a one week period.

What am I doing differently? 

I am looking at the sales process as a psychological and spiritual/emotional pursuit rather than that of a financial goal. It is not the commission or the size of the sale that I focus on, but rather how well the customer is being taken care of. 

By showing a level compassion inherent within my elevator pitch, daily cold call routine and mannerisms when in a live meeting, I have found that in light of hard work based upon an intent of love projected towards prospects, I am able to naturally attract business to my client base.

I hope that this graphic is of some use to your own endeavors.

Sigilize For Sales Success!

Sigils are a tool used for bending reality, that is to say, increasing the probability of a statement of intent (desire) to manifest.

I suspect that I have peaked the interest of those of you who work in sales and marketing and for good reason. Bending reality (also known as magick) is an art form which heavily parallels modern marketing and sales psychology/practice.

The technique of sigilzation which I use for my own sales endeavors is a take on artist and magician Austin Osman Spares version of said craft.

That is to say that by way of a created symbol, made from the letters of a written statement of intent, one advertises a desire to their own subconscious mind with the intent of changing ones own psychology to alter ones decisions throughout the day in a way which will increase the probability of ones success in achieving said desire.

It should be obvious to those of you who work in advertising that sigils are almost synonymous with logos. Indeed, it has been stated that logos are simply viral corporate sigils which work heavily upon the subconscious mind of consumers on a daily basis.

From the fourth article linked above:

  

In “Pop Magic!” – Morrison’s manifesto on how to be a modern magician – the author writes about the power of viral sigils. He writes, “The viral sigil also known as the BRAND or LOGO is not of recent development (see ”Christianity,” “the Nazis” and any flag of any nation) but has become an inescapable global phenomenon in recent years.” He further goes on to write, “The McDonald’s Golden Arches, the Nike swoosh and the Virgin autograph are all corporate viral sigils.”

More Examples: Coca-Cola, Burger King, Disney, Pepsi.

I am willing to bet that you are able to vividly recall what each of the logos of the aforementioned companies look like in your minds eye. I am also willing to bet they produced very specific emotions when thought of.

The difference between spares techniques of sigilization and that of corporations like those mentioned above, is that those done in the style of spare are used by the individual person to change their world via crafting their own subconscious feedback where the viral corporate sigils mentioned above, are made with the intent of  manipulating the masses subconscious with a desire based upon that corporations intent.

Basically, corporate logos are long-term attempts of a small group of people to manipulate the decisions of people en mass, where spares work is focused on an individual using their own personal symbology to subconsciously affect change within themselves and by extension, the world as it relates to them and their needs.

As there has been much written on modern sigilization techniques and while I could write my own guide, I would like to point interested parties to an advertising professional and blogger who has written an exquisite guide that far transcends the need for any additional perspectives on such matters (at least from my point of view) which can be found here. 

I would also advise further research on Grant Morrison's (the biggest name in comics today) work and perspectives regarding sigils, from one article Grant states:

Corporate sigils are super-breeders.They attack unbranded imaginative space.They invade Red Square, they infest the cranky streets of Tibet, they etch themselves into hairstyles. They breed across clothing, turning people into advertising hoardings. They are a very powerful development in the history of sigil magic, which dates back to the first bison drawn on the first cave wall.
The logo or brand, like any sigil, is a condensation, a compressed, symbolic summoning up of the world of desire which the corporation intends to represent. The logo is the only visible sign of the corporate intelligence seething behind it. Walt Disney died long ago but his sigil, that familiar, cartoonish signature, persists, carrying its own vast weight of meanings, associations, nostalgia and significance. People are born and grow up to become Disney executives, mouthing jargon and the credo of a living corporate entity. Walt Disney the man is long dead and frozen (or so folkmyth would have it) but Disney, the immense invisible corporate egregore persists.

The thing about many of the corporations who have been using this technology for so long is that they don't really want these ideas available to the public. The archetypical salesmen of the world would prefer you don't open your mind and express your will so much as they hope for you to gladly consume theirs.

The intent of this article is to provide knowledge and information of this technology so that you can as a customer/consumer be aware of what kinds of subtle attacks happen to you on a daily basis and how you can flip the script on such attacks and begin to craft your reality with your own symbolic expressions of self.

If these ideas resonate with you I would invite you to consider furthering your studies to include the concept of the hypersigil which is essentially a story or work of art which by way of its fictional universe creates changes in the authors reality.

Grant Morrison's comic series "The Invisibles" is an example of a hypersigil. In this tradition, I have also created a comic series based around my "Destroy Your Printer Contest" which acts as a hypersigil to some extent and can be found here.

The Unspeakable Question

Prospects! I have a tool in this video that will guarantee you get the best price on the copiers, printers, and other forms of imaging equipment that you purchase!

Watch this video and then use it! I promise you, you will always get a better price after asking your vendors salesmen/saleswomen this question.

Happy purchasing!

Avoiding Salesmen's Sorcery

Hello friends! I have returned to take up the reigns of AIOI once again, in full force!
While you can expect more entry's from here on out, you can bet that almost all of them will be VLOG posts rather than written blog posts.

Today I shed a little light on one of the more shady tactics being used against prospects by many salesmen in the office imaging world and give some advice on how to avoid being had by said conniving individuals.

AIOI Greatest Hits

With the reality of greater lengths of time between posts here at AIOI, I wanted to compile a list of "greatest hits" in multiple categories of content.

Below you will find a hand picked selection of the best posts from my archives.

So, from MPS to printers, copiers and beyond, I present you with the best of Adventures in Office Imaging!

Managed Print Services

1. MPS And The New Paradigm

2. Skipping This Years Recharger

3. MPS, This Ain't Boxes Or Bullsh*t

4. The Division Line

Destroy Your Printer Contest  

1. Destroy Your Printer Contest 1

2. Destroy Your Printer Contest 2

3. Destroy Your Printer Contest 3

Interviews

1. MPS Interview #1: Chad Anguilm

2. MPS Interview #2: Greg VanDeWalker

3. MPS Interview #3: Greg Walters

4. MPS Interview #4: DOTC

5. MPS Interview #5: Eddie Lederer

6. MPS Interview #6: Harry Hecht

7. MPS Interview #7: Jim Lyons

Printers 

1. Inkjet Printers vs. Laser Printers

2. TCO And The Human Footprint

3. Environmental Inkjet Evils 

Social Media (Marketing/Sales)

1. Relational Sales Via Twitter

2. MPS Contract Via Social Media

3. Paying It Forward

Environmental Perspectives

1. Green Without Green  

2. New England Landfills Thank ELS!

Guest Posts

1. Amanda Rogerson Speaks On MPS

2. Illuminations On E-Waste

Music (Edutainment)

1. Songs In The Key Of MPS

2. Songs In The Key Of MPS Part II

3. Dark Side Of The Bizhub

On Not Throwing Temper Tantrums

Today marks the end of an appalling, trivial and in the end positive experience for both myself and one of my customers. About two weeks ago I sold a copier to a local bank who after reviewing our price for said copier and finding our pricing and service plan being superior to their current vendors options, chose to do business with us versus their current (now former) vendor.

About a week after the installation of our machine and the removal of the competitors machine from our customers location, I received a phone call from my contact from this bank.

They told me they had just received a phone call from their now former copier vendor...

I sat dumfounded, jaw having hit the floor while listening to the tale of our competitors rant.

My customer explained to me how this gentleman angrily and sarcastically reprimanded my customer for choosing us over them saying something to the effect of "Who do you think you are? You buy your copiers from us! We are taking that machine out of your building!"

Of course this was an empty threat and they had no ability to remove the machine themselves.

As it turned it out, I had (unknowingly) sold a machine in another vendors territory and they could not compete with our price. So, the gentleman from this other vendor thought it would be wise to call and then yell at his (former)/my (current) customer...

While we did eventually remove the machine, it was replaced by a different brand of copier that was also bought from me.

The temper tantrum thrown by the childish sales "professional" from the vendor of whom we had submitted our proposal against accomplished them only one thing...

Loosing a customer.

This salesman's activities are a perfect illustration of how to shoot yourself in the foot...

It is never a good idea to verbally attack your customer.

While I would likely have taken the sale regardless of this gentleman's actions due to our ability to provide a better price for the hardware and CPC rate for service and supplies, his choice to go off the deep end is what ultimately sealed his fate.

Had he simply chosen to accept he had lost a sale and thank his customer for their consideration perhaps in the future he would have the opportunity to re-quote against us however, my contact made it known that their organization would no longer even consider doing business with our competitor due to the actions of the aforementioned gentleman.

Sure, it hurts to loose a sale and perhaps in some situations emotions such as those presented by my contemporary from our competitor are even justified to some extent, but to unleash those emotions on a customer...

There is no excuse.

White Papers, Logos, SOI and (Hyper)Sigils

A while back I wrote a post about the similarities between marketing and magick.

While I think that it is still fair to suggest that marketing is not in and of itself a form of magick, one must consider that clearly, marketing may have it's roots in said craft...

As previously noted, it is certainly possible that a corporation is a physical manifestation of what is known as an egregore. If this odd notion happens to be true, then would it not be fair to suggest that logos are actually a from of sigils?

What about white papers? Are they not merely the corporate equivalent of the hypersigil?

Think about it...

What effect do logos from companies such as McDonald's, BP oil, Pepsi and Coca Cola have on you? What do you feel or do when you see said logos?

Is it any surprise that brands like Kool, Gucci, Bentley, Master Card, etc. Use powerful and ancient occult symbols such as the "vesica piscis" and/or the "winged sun disc" in their logos?

Is the process by which the magician uses to project his statement of intent (or SOI) into the sigil really that much different from the marketing professional who pours hours of the same SOI into creating a logo that will become well known and subconsciously digested by the public?

Is the intent of all corporations and their logos really to help their customers? Is their intent to become a constant in your life one of love and service towards you as the consumer and as the customer or is their intent focused on something else?

Money? Control? Power?

Does the food you eat, the car you drive, the music you listen too, the products you buy every day empower and serve you?

Or do they serve another purpose?

These are excellent questions to ask yourself when choosing from whom you purchase your family's food as much as they are when choosing a managed print services provider for your business...

Sometimes we are creatures of habit and we continue to do things the way we have always done, the way our parents have always done, the way we have just assumed things must be done.

By taking a step back and looking at the products and services we consume, we must ask our selves; are these the best choices we can be making for ourselves? For our children? For our family and friends?

Before you buy your next happy meal, your next tank of gas, your next toner cartridge...

Read the labels and consider the source.

Should you find that certain products that you have been purchasing for years are actually sub-par or in some cases even bad for you...

Ask yourself why did I choose these things? Ask yourself what caused me to make these choices?

Why am I buying what they are selling?

Ask yourself...

Who is really in control of my mind?

Good Customer Service Still Exists

As someone who tries to embody good customer service, I have come to realize a few things...

It is apparent that in this day and age good customer service is a dying breed. That being said, it is also apparent that it is alive and well in some places scattered throughout my travels.

Above you will notice a picture of the Pilot Travel Center located just off of I-84 exit 1 in Sturbridge, Massachusetts.

As a big fan of the "Rockstar 2x" energy drinks, I often find myself here to purchase that very beverage. Energy drinks, food and gas here at Pilot are more expensive than many of the local gas stations I visit from time to time (most likely due to its location).

However I often choose to stop in for my caffeine fix here versus some of the other local gas stations because the customer service here is always very good and often times superior to other local gas stations.

All of the cashiers have been very kind to me and one in particular (Louise Vrabel) always greets me with a "good morning, how are you today?" accompanied by a smile and a compliment on the weather or recent events in addition to offering me savings on my purchase if there happens to be any good deals in relation to them.

This simple kindness and projection of positive energy and interest in customers well-being is something which I find lacking in many peoples approach to customer service these days.

The old saying "I may not remember your name but I will never forget how you make me feel" rings true in regards to all transactions from the gas station purchase to the signing and execution of a major managed print services contract.

This may sound trivial to you but I can assure you, a cashier who makes it a point to smile, take note of their return customers and make their short visit enjoyable is not always present in many similar establishments I have visited.

Another local gas station of whom I will not name has a couple similar employees...

They also have a gentleman who does his job well but simply does not poses a spirit of service towards the clientele. On numerous occasions one of his contemporaries has stopped me to ask if I would like to take advantage of "the buy one get one" deal on my preferred brand of energy drinks while this gentleman never even mentions the possibility.

It is only recently that he has made it a habit of saying "thanks" or "have a nice day" upon my exit, words of which it seems he has to struggle to get out.

While I hold nothing against this gentleman his demeanor is one reason I do at times choose to purchase my morning beverage from the Pilot store instead of the one at which he works. While the higher prices are enough to have me choose otherwise at times, I will often times choose to spend more for same product from a business who projects better customer service and positive energy.

Louise and the other cashiers quality of customer service at Pilot make the extra dollars worth it.

So if your ever in Sturbridge near I-84 stop by the Pilot Travel Center, the customer service alone is worth a visit.

The Power Of The Egregore

First off...

What is an egregore?

Wikipedia has this to say about the subject...

"Egregore (also egregor) is an occult concept representing a "thoughtform" or "collective group mind", an autonomous psychic entity made up of, and influencing, the thoughts of a group of people. The symbiotic relationship between an egregore and its group has been compared to the more recent, non-occult concepts of the corporation (as a legal entity) and the meme."

So, what does this concept have to do with anything regarding our industry?

Well to really understand the depth of this question, let us consider a few examples of well known egregores.

Santa Claus
Uncle Sam
Bugs Bunny

All three of these characters are egregores. None of them exist in reality, however they are very much so "real" to thousands if not millions of people as known personalities.

Santa Claus is actually considered by many (primarily children) to be a real, living and breathing magical human being who takes residence in the north pole. As such he is one of a select few if not the only person to posses a group of flying reindeer whom he employs to deliver toys to all the children of the world on Christmas eve.

The egregore that is Santa Claus is given and sustains its life as an artificial psychic entity by the countless children whom believe him to be real and by their parents who suggest and support his existence.

While Santa Claus is also a talisman of great power of which parents use from time to time as a way to have their children behave well on occasions where they become unruly, he is also a symbol of great love, peace, magic(k), myth and wonderment.

In addition he is used as a marketing tool to generate millions of dollars in sales in multiple industries every year.

Some would even suggest that he is the epitome of the demi-god...

I have illustrated these points to lead up to this part of the post where I will now remind you of the non-occult, egregorious concept of the corporation.

When a large corporation has a name, logo or other symbolic sign of power associated with said organization it is essentially an egregore.

Often times, due to the perceptions of those people who make up the group mind surrounding the egregores identity (perhaps the corporations logo or name for example) people tend to make assumptions about what that corporation and it's symbols mean.

Lets say you have a giant in the industry who is well known for producing laser printers, computers and or various other pieces of technology many of which revolve around the business/office side of the perceptions surrounding its brand...

Because said entity is so established as an "expert" or "thought leader" within one spectrum of the industry, it may be very easy for said entity to suggest to the public that upon entering the managed print services industry despite its gross lack of expertise, it is an expert in said industry simply because it claims to be one.

Now, because this corporation is in and of itself or has created an egregore in relation to its logo or brand, those in the public whose presumptions form the basis of the egregores identity via the group mind that exists because of their preconceived notions about what that corporation is, now also support the notion that this corporation is an expert in this field whether or not this is actually true.

So to clarify...

A well established business that is an expert in one relm of an industry can enter another realm of the same industry with no experience and still take a large share of the market away from smaller true industry experts, simply because they wield the psychological power to shift the perspectives of the public in favor of what they want you to believe.

Sound to crazy to be true?

If you think so, take a look the companies in the managed print services space who have the majority of the market share on contract and compare how long they have been in the industry to some of the smaller independent providers.

Do you honestly think that 5 years, 6 years or even 10 years is enough time for those larger companies to build the infrastructure, train their sales staff, service techs and other employees, sign multi-year contracts, and experience/learn from the dynamic atmosphere related to the execution of said contracts to really suggest they are experts?

Well fortunately for them, they have large marketing departments with talented professionals who are trained in the craft.

After all, if you have a global presence that must automatically make you an expert right?

Something to consider the next time a salesman walks through your door and asks to speak to your CFO or IT manager about managed print services...

Meditations On Losing A Relationship

I was originally going to title this post "Meditations On Losing A Sale".

I decided against this because to me, describing what happens when a customer purchases a machine or service plan from me as a "sale" is a bastardization of what it is really happening.

I know that with every sale made, a relationship begins.

I am not perfect but try very hard to go above and beyond for my customers. Because they are not just customers, they are human beings who have entrusted me to take care of them in regards to their office imaging needs...

I personally hate the term "salesman" because it dredges up all kinds of negative imagery and that happens for a reason.

Many salesmen are notoriously greedy, self servicing dark wizards bent on one thing...

Cold hard cash. Getting the next big "score".

I fully, with every ounce of my being hate the fact that there are so many sales professionals who who choose to embody this negative stereotype.

It is my personal mission to be the antithesis of this persona.

I put my customers first and keep my focus on their needs. I do all I can to provide a fair price for the best possible products and services, with my commission always being an afterthought and never front and center of my motivations.

So when I loose a sale to some one like this. It is painful. And while some of that pain is my own, it is not nearly as painful to my ego as it will be to the customers wallet.

Recently I proposed a copier to a customer who has been doing business with us for over 6 years.

While I fully expected them to get at least a second proposal for comparison to our own, I never imagined they would buy the same machine with both minimum and overage charges in addition to a higher regular rate.

What supposedly set off the decision maker in this company is the fact that we included a charge for scans at .0002 per scan...

And while the other vendor did not charge for scanning, their regular rates were both higher than ours. Further more, we did not charge overages or give them a minimum monthly output as this other vendor has.

Consequently, they are now spending more on their service plan with this other vendor than they would have with our plan even if we still charged them for scanning (which we offered to remove as sign of good faith in that we cherished them as a customer and would work with them to keep their business).

The real travesty here is the fact that even with our scanning charges our option would have been cheaper.

Now this is one copier sale...

For me, the commission from this sale would equate to perhaps, gas money for a few weeks. Financially, its not a major loss to me.

Emotionally it is frustrating because they have been hoodwinked by this other vendor...

I am not upset that I lost "another score" as some in the sales craft would put it.

I am upset about this because I lost a relationship with a customer to an individual who probably thinks of these people as another feather in their cap...

Another score... Another piece of meat.

I am upset about it because this other salesman, slicked his hair back, shot an elevator pitch and used the same age old techniques of coercive persuasion that is so prevalent in the craft of "pocket lining" it is virtually an accepted practice in the art of sales.

What I am trying to get at here is that whether you buy from me or from anyone else.

Don't be had. Do your homework and really look at the MATH.

It is so easy to be deceived by the language of a talented and experienced sales professional, especially if their intentions are focused on their commission versus your happiness and satisfaction.

Don't assume they are saving you anything by eliminating one cost when such "generosities" are accompanied by minimums and overage charges in the details.

I can honestly say that while I am always interested in new business, I will not sacrifice the value of a relationship with another human being for a larger financial return.

At the risk of being repetitive, I implore you...

Be awake. Be aware. Do your homework.

Cigars As A Symbol Of Solution

AVO Robusto, my cigar of choice...

Some you may be aware of the fact that I am an avid cigar enthusiast.

For me, cigars have become a symbol of success both for myself and for my clients. I usually only smoke as a reward for implementing a solution for my clients whether it be a piece of hardware, a managed print services plan, software or so on and so forth.

While I am sure that I am not the only sales professional to use cigars in this fashion, I believe that I may be one of the few who approach the reward with the psychology that I do.

I don't give myself the pleasure of a cigar simply because I have made a big score financially. In fact the only element of my enjoyment of cigars as it relates to financial gain is in reference to the cost of the cigar itself.

As far as the ritual of smoking a cigar, for me it is a form of mediation and a time of relaxation. During these times I like to go over what I have achieved in reference to bettering my customers business through the solution I have provided them.

Often times each puff is accompanied by thoughts of how I have helped a client reduce their cost of printing, streamline their business processes and or provided them with useful equipment, software or content of which makes their professional and business lives better.

I like to go over the intricacies of the benefits I have given a client as the cigar burns closer to its finish. As the cigar burns, I reflect on elements such as the cost per click of a clients new machine, the ways in which our managed print services program is now saving them time and money and how I have been able to make a clients document management endeavors more profitable and efficient for their organization.

As I enjoy my cigar with wisps of smoke curling around my immediate space, I often ponder how to improve their business, the office or industrial culture around them, their company and or their organization.

In fact I try to use all of those things which I enjoy or find pleasurable (at least to some extent) as a catalyst to help others. Whether it be my clients, friends, family or even passerby's and strangers, I try to make consistent and focused conscious efforts in all that I do to help others.

It is in this kind of psycho-spiritual awareness that I attempt to keep my daily mindfulness, focused on the well being of other human beings.

In this way I would like to think that I am a living conduit of positive energy. So whether I am smoking a cigar, writing a blog post or doing virtually any other activity I try to do it with a spirit of love and service towards others.

In this way I believe that I am accomplishing what a human is meant to do. Indeed I hope that this very post has inspired you to do the same or in the very least has had some positive effect on you.

I suppose in some respects this is how I try to manifest the concept of "agape" in my own life and also in the lives of those people whom I meet during my existence on planet earth.

Why Sales Should Be Social

At this point in my career I believe that I have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that social media can be most profitable, even if you are given no budget to work with.

While I manage social media for my company I am also a member of the sales team and all of the sales generated by social media within my company have (thus far) come from my clients, several of whom I garnered through or in conjunction with social media efforts.

So it is with true gusto that on this day I do declare...

Everyone in your sales department should be involved in social media.

Is there a learning curve? Yes, but really its not rocket science and the skills needed to be a great sales professional parallel many of the skills necessary for any social media pro.

Many dynamics of the sales culture (networking, after hours gatherings, schmoozing, building trust) can be taken to new levels when social media is applied to said culture.

Most of the information needed to become a successful social media professional can be found for free on the internet. With some time dedicated to self education any individual who is already a sales professional can easily become proficient in the realm of social media.

If nothing else starting with the "big 4" a blog, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn one can generate sales and buzz within a years time (I know, I have done it).

Reading other marketing and sales professional's blogs as well as spending a few pennies on educational sites such as lynda.com can launch an already successful salesman or woman into new heights.

Are Your Customers Fans?

As many of you know I play in the New England based Jamband Jabooda.

While the atmosphere, culture and people surrounding the band is about as far from the corporate/business realm as one could possibly get, the parallels in customer service, marketing and sales is astoundingly similar as is the work ethic involved. The band truly is, a second job.

In the band we place heavy responsibilities on our shoulders in regards to treating our fans (customers) like gold. While we do sell products to our fans we also give many of our live recordings and merchandise away for free as a thank you for their dedication and support. We put hundreds of hours into rehearsals in hopes to make sure that our fans get their moneys worth and we treat each of our fans as both human beings and friends.

In my role as a sales and marketing professional at Expert Laser Services I try to manifest the same dedication in my customers by catalyzing a similar energy to that which I have on stage. The hope is that my customers will truly become fans.

While I don't give away free cds or t-shirts to prospects I have at times given them a toner cartridge for free because I believe in the products my company produces and sells and I know that in certain cases, giving something away will turn a profit and act as a conduit for a positive relationship with that person who in the end, will truly become a fan of our products and services.

In the same way that a soaring guitar solo is at times pushed to its peak even as the muscles in the guitarists hands seem that they will give out from pain, such a sacrifice will almost certainly draw an intense return on investment in the form of ecstatic emotion derived from the crowd. I truly believe that offering unconventional services such as help desk calls after hours, last minute emergency parts delivery or repair calls and so on and so forth (which can be an intense personal burden on myself or other employees at my company depending on the situation) this kind of self sacrifice provides a similar feeling of gratitude to that of the aforementioned guitarist. Sometimes truly great customer service requires that we take added stress and burdens upon ourselves in order to provide the absolute best for our customers.

I can honestly the say that the labor of love as mentioned above is the key to success for both my company and my band. Expert Laser Services emphasis on advanced and caring customer service is what separates us from our competitors both large and small.

In the end, it is not hype or a robust marketing scheme that makes you a literal and or metaphorical rock star. It is the lengths that you are willing to go for your people. It is the actions that you are willing to make in order for your customers to truly become a die hard, dedicated and loving fanbase.

Relational Sales Via Twitter

On Thursday of last week I had the pleasure of consulting a long time twitter follower about laser printer repair directly through twitter. The consultation which was in and of itself a rewarding experience ended in a sale. Yep, that's right...

A sale directly through twitter!

Long time twitter follower and independent B2B Marketing Queen Dianna Huff, tweeted her frustrations about her HP 2015. In dealing with the issues of these machines as of recent, I quickly responded to her asking about the problems she was having in regards to said machine.

Bellow I have posted both Dianna's tweets as well as my own.





After going back and forth for a while I suggested two service providers in Nashua, NH where Dianna could look into service and sales however, she asked me to call her because she would prefer to purchase a machine from me.

Struck by the opportunity for a sale through twitter I suggested shipping the machine to her as to how I am located on the Massachusetts/Connecticut border and she on the Massachusetts/New Hampshire border.

However in the true spirit of the tweetup we decided to meet half way as to how it worked for Dianna's schedrule to be in Massachusetts. We were able to meet in person, discuss our careers within the world of B2B social media marketing and the challenges and joys associated with said work, while also completing one of the first ever direct through twitter sales (at least that I know of).

In retrospect, the cash ROI was trivial at best in comparison to the truly rewarding experience of connecting with another wonderful and talented human being who shared a passion for the same industry that I do.

Is this a glimpse of a possible paradigm shift in the world of marketing and sales?

I suppose time will tell.

Leveraging Creativity In MPS

As I sat down at my desk this morning the first thought to enter my mind was how fortunate my sales team is to have a boss who let's each of us use our own creative abilities in our respective positions as sales professionals.

In my own sales endeavors I utilize social media as much as possible. One of the other salesmen is a local politician and has been able to leverage his many connections from said position as a tool in his own work while another has a very focused approach to several niche markets.

Each of us has a very different style and thankfully we are not micro-managed to death by management. Instead we are able to experiment with what works for us as long as the ROI follows and it does, mainly due to the fact that we have the freedom to be ourselves.

Often times I find that there is a sterile rigidity in many corporate atmospheres and such places often times suggest thinking outside of the box as long as a persons actions do not follow suit.

I would imagine that this is due to the inherent risk of allowing individuals to carve their own path (although I would argue that if you have good, trustworthy people on your team there is little to no risk involved).

There is however a downfall to following the old beaten path regardless of its success rate. That danger is ignoring the potential within individual creativity and freedom. While possessing a certain element of risk, a far greater potential for success is born when the sales team and all employees for that matter, have the opportunity to use their own minds and creativity in moving a company forward.

Marketing And Sales: Bridging The Gap

As I prepare to head down to Austin Texas to speak at MarketingProfs Digital Marketing Forum I find myself reflecting on my unique position within my company. I am a member of both the marketing and sales teams here at Expert Laser Services and this position has given me a unique perspective on the relationship between the sales and marketing departments.

There is a cliched notion of tension inherent between sales and marketing in the minds of many people and to some extent said presumptions bear the marks of truth.

Working as a living catalyst between these two departments in my own company has given me a true appreciation for both professions. The experience has also provided me with insight into the aforementioned tensions that can arise between the two as well as an understanding of how to diffuse issues that arise from the misconceptions of each. Below I offer a few tips that help breed understanding and positive relationships between the sales and marketing departments in my own company.

● Finding And Nurturing Leads: It is an accepted responsibility of all marketing departments to find leads for the sales team. While many sales professionals are good at chasing down new leads, many fail in nurturing leads after they are turned down. Some would argue that it is marketing’s job to track each interaction with said prospects and to nurture the prospect overtime in the hopes of eventually providing sales with an opportunity to turn the prospect into a customer, however sales professionals would do well to take some of this responsibility into their own hands.

One way to do this is to make use of account management software such as Act. This kind of software is an excellent tool for the sales team. If each member of the sales team made use of such a tool, recording each interaction with new prospects the marketing department can then use said data to produce stronger case sensitive marketing strategies for each specific lead. This is the kind of symbiotic relationship that can help prosper both the marketing and sales team.

● Generating Proposals: While the marketing department can certainly help a sale to move forward faster by producing proposals based upon templates in which the sales professional provides the marketing department with only the key details of the company, contact and products or services being sold, sometimes it is best for the sales professional to generate his or her own proposal with a personal touch. While this is not always necessary there will be occasions where the situation calls for this kind of action and both the marketing and sales department can benefit from these atypical situations.

● Creating Content: One of the best things a sales professional can do to separate his or herself from the flock is to become a noted thought leader in regards to their products and services and becoming involved with social media marketing is an excellent way to do this. Writing a blog, setting up a Facebook and Linkedin page in addition to communicating through micro-bloging services such as twitter are all excellent ways to generate content which communicates expertise.

Some sales professionals will scoff at this and immediately suggest these kind of tools are for marketing folks only. I must insist to hold this perspective is little more than an unfortunate misconception and at worst the kind of sentiment that leads to the loss of sales. It is likely that some of your competitors sales professionals have already established themselves on the social web and have taken some of these albeit “marketing responsibilities” upon themselves.

Granted you may have to invest your own time to become involved with social media should your company not allow you to work with these tools on company time however, once sales opportunities arise from your efforts you may just be able to change their minds about these company policies if they are in fact currently in place.

Selling or Saving?

I just returned from stocking toner at a local college who's staff are customers of mine. Since returning I sent a message to the IT manager to call attention to the fact that a new color laser printer was placed outside of a computer lab that is used heavily by students...

A woman from the library informed me that said printer was being used by students to print color documents and that many of them as of late happened to be full page color prints of non-school related material such as ads, coupons and etc.

I quickly sent a message to the schools IT manager to inform him of these clicks so that he could decided what to do from here.

Color is expensive and while I could have sat back and let the clicks fly, boosting my commission for the month, I decided instead to help my customer see the possibly unnecessary expenses inherent with the location of said printer. If these variables had not been considered, cost saving actions could now be made should he choose to act on them...

My point is this...

In selling and sustaining a managed print services program, a good sales professional will always put the customers savings before their commission.

So I'll ask you this...

Is your rep focused on lining their pockets or helping you save money?

The Division Line

Many salesmen in this industry (and most others) are just that. Salesmen. An annoying breed of well dressed double talking magicians whose sole purpose is to generate money for the corporate machine and of course, themselves. They move from prospect to prospect in a veil of smoke and mirrors which to some is rather enticing. Truth be told many of these creatures are quite good at coming off as saints while actually perpetrating a far more sinister role in reality.

There are also those who are more trustworthy and noble folks who while reflecting said positive attributes still do only one thing. Sell...

As a salesmen (or rather a "business oriented relationship development specialist") I too share in the responsibilities of selling. What separates myself and other more noble people within the craft from the big boys are the other aspects of my work which have lead to the development of my character as it pertains to my position as a salesman.

Here at Expert Laser Services our sales team has had to take on some roles that many salesmen in larger companies would not have (additional duties that many of those mentioned in the first paragraph of this post would scoff at).

Being a smaller company, each of our salesmen are tasked with setting up new accounts with toner for each and every end user, providing each printer with a cleaning and or simple maintenance with our own two hands. There are times when we have go out into the field and do monthly cleanings and maintenance for large organizations ourselves. These jobs sometimes take one or multiple days out of our time that would normally be spent on finding new customers and trying to build new relationships.

These are the kind of experiences you may be hard pressed to find within the history of salesmen who work for the "big boys" or who tread upon the earth with that certain level of ego in regards to what their responsibilities "should be".

While I do not claim to enjoy doing monthly cleanings or simple maintenance procedures, jobs which can be lengthy, at times dirty and somewhat redundant, I will say that performing such duties have helped make me a better salesman. Having to execute these tasks myself has given me a great respect for those on our team who do these jobs day in and day out and help me to communicate with our service team better. These experiences also help me to get to know my customers from the CEO to the receptionist and every end user in between, better than I would have known them otherwise.

Whether its delivering toner, removing a paper jam, cleaning a machine, replacing rollers or so on and so forth, having to take part in these responsibilities (which are shunned by the bravado of some salesmen) plays an integral part in the molding of sales professionals who really care.

Take note of where you stand, for there is an invisible division line dividing those who wish to manipulate you and or situations connected to you in a way that places prosperity not on your shoulders as the customer but on their own, their focus being on success only as it pertains to them. On the other side of this division line are those who truly want to help you, folks who will take time from the chasing of their own gains to take care of your needs. Those who will work diligently not only to feed their own success but rather to fuel yours.

Indeed, there is a division line drawn in the sand.

When it comes down to the people who are supposed to be helping you, I would ask yourself...

On which side are they standing?