Paying It Forward

Over the past two years my work in social media for Expert Laser Services has acted as a catalyst for connecting with many wonderful, talented and professional individuals who are experts in their respective industries.

I have been humbled by these folks interest in my own work, namely my now infamous destroy your printer contest series. Thanks to the many retweets, blog posts, e-mails and referrals I have to my surprise, become at least somewhat "internet famous" and have managed to generate sales through social media, solidifying myself as my company's "chief social media marketing engineer".

Today I want to take the opportunity to shine a light on some of these incredible and talented people and suggest that you do yourself a favor by checking out their websites/blogs.

@markwschaefer (Mark Schaefer) This man is one of the few individuals who actually deserves the title "social media guru". Not only is he a true professional and gentleman but also one of the most kind hearted folks I have connected with. Marks blog posts are filled with excellent, spot on content relevant to multiple dimensions of the social media universe and are composed of priceless advice that quite frankly, I would pay for. Mark however authors his blog with a passion and love for the art and science of social media and these posts are free for the world to see, if your not already reading Marks blog {grow} do your self a huge favor and subscribe today.

@Greg_Walters (Greg Walters) I consider Greg Walters to be the managed print services industry's equivalent combination of Hunter S. Thompson and Larry Flint. His blog Death Of The Copier is a notorious medium known for publishing posts dripping with uber snarky yet spot on expertise regarding the realm of MPS. Most of the images on DOTC may be considered rather tasteless by some, but despite the blogs racy photography I can't help but to view Greg as a true MPS master and I would go so far as to say he may very well be the expert when it comes to managed print services.

@RecyclerMedia (Charlotte Hindle) Charlotte is the editor of Recycler Magazine, one of two (and in my opinion) the superior global trade publication reporting about the toner and ink cartridge remanufacturing industry. Smart, focused, kind hearted and engaging, Charlotte is the epitome of professional. I highly suggest checking out Recycler Magazine and opening your mind to the earth friendly and cost saving possibilities that remanufactured toner and ink cartridges can offer to your business.

From the connections above I have enjoyed other opportunities which have catalyzed relationships with other great people who are also experts in their own right as pertaining to their respective industry.

Below I have listed these new connections in hopes to offer you the chance to also connect with these awesome human beings.

Social Media, Marketing And Or PR Pros You need To Check Out:

@ginidietrich

@lauraclick

@julianng

@suddenlyjamie

@CKsays

@jonbuscall

@TheMikeEllis

@ShellyKramer

@allthingsfadra


Managed Print Services And Or Office Imaging Pros You Need To Check Out:

@ChangeForge

@Greg_VDW

@DFWMPS

@SHendersonIA

@jflyons

@artpost

Toner And Ink Cartridge Remanufacturing Pros You Need To Check Out:

@JetScapeink

Destroy Your Printer Contest 3 Submissions

Below we will be posting all the entries that we receive for our Destroy Your Printer Contest 3.

Entry #1 Josh Post alt9design.com

Entry #2 Paula Snow Sullivan Real Estate Group

Entry #3 By Marcus Piazzo Wales Wax Works



Entry #4 Eric Morse Center Of Hope



Entry #5 Ian McIntosh MBS Fabrication



Entry #6 Jay Mitchell Great America Leasing Corporation

Destroy Your Printer Video Contest 3

I am pleased to announce Expert Laser Services Destroy Your Printer Video Contest 3!

The rules and details of the contest are as follows...

We ask that you make a creative, fun and humorous video of you and your cohorts destroying one of the following: Inkjet Printer, Laser Printer, Copier or Fax/MFP. Then upload the video to youtube and send me the url. At the end of the contest we will choose a winner and the winner will get his or her video posted here on the "Adventures in Office Imaging blog" and they will receive two FREE toner cartridges for their office copier, laser printer, or fax/mfp! In addition, this years prize will also include a $100 dollar donation to a charity of your choice! see below for full contest details, rules and regulations!

Rules and Regulations.

Contest starts February 25, 2011.

1. Contest is open to businesses and other organizations in the United States of America, large or small. Contestants may destroy Inkjet Printers, Fax/MFPs, Laser Printers or Copiers.

* We are looking for humorous and creative videos of you destroying your selected piece of office equipment from the above list of machines.

* Have fun but be careful, Expert Laser Services will not be held responsible for any injuries resulting from the making of your videos.

2. To enter the contest, create a video, upload it to youtube or a similar video service and send me the URL via e-mail

nathan.dube@expertlaserservices.com (or twitter @dubiousmonk)

3. Videos will be reviewed by myself, our CEO and several other ELS representatives.

4. The contest ends August 31, 2011.

5. The winning video will be posted here at the Adventures in Office Imaging blog ASAP.

6. The winner will receive two free toner cartridges for your offices copier, laser printer or fax/mfp. In addition this years contest will also include a $100 dollar donation to a charity of your choice!

Joy Of The Walkaround

Here at Expert Laser Services we refer to our analysis procedure as a "walkaround". We do not utilize USB keys to do an analysis other than as a last resort and almost always walk to each and every device in an organization, networked or local and gather the necessary information by hand.

For multiple reasons this kind of analysis is superior to that of those done with a USB key however In this post I will be speaking solely about the value of the walkaround in regards to developing relationships with customers.

All of the walkarouds that I have performed have been done either with the IT manager of an organization or a member of the IT department. In many of these cases these people are my first contact within said organization. It is the IT pro at any given organization that accompanies me through both stages of an analysis and is my "go to" guy or gal when I need to speak to them about products, services, software updates and etc.

What I have discovered to be the most important aspect of getting a contract signed is to develop a real, honest and organic relationship with the customer prior to meeting with them to discuss a proposal.

The walkaround is absolutely key in accomplishing this.

During the walkarounds that I have performed (which generally take multiple hours to complete) I take the time to learn not only about the organization, their goals, their clients, their needs, wants, expectations and so on and so forth but also about the individual who is taking time out of their day to walk me around their place of work.

From conversations with my own customers during a walkaround topics discussed have included not only their monthly print volumes and what kind of devices their fleet contains but also more personal topics such as their opinions and perspectives on

● Music

● Food

● Art

● History

● Hobbies

● Spirituality

● World Events

These are just a sample of some of the topics discussed in the conversations I have enjoyed with my customers during the walkaround.

Now these conversations may seem trivial to some however I cannot stress enough the importance of the bonds created during these times. Conversations which include not only the necessary MPS talk track dynamics but also these more organic elements of human interaction will lead to a much more robust relationship with your customer before you even schedule that meeting to discuss your proposal.

In closing I would say there has been a real element of enjoyment in all of the walkarounds I have done. They have been catalysts to meet new people and to learn not only about the needs of prospective customers but also to forge new relationships with other human beings. Some of these conversations have lead to opportunities to learn new things about my self and have spurred curiosities about things that I would not have discovered otherwise.

TCO And The Human Footprint

It is an age old question...

Which is better, centralized copiers versus local printers?

We here at Expert Laser Services support both kinds of devices, we do not go into this discussion with a strong bias.

The honest answer is “IT DEPENDS”. The fact is that copiers and printers can have exactly the same “cost per print” if the right device is selected for the application. Typically, copiers cost more and are leased while printers cost less and are purchased or leased at a lower cost. Total-Cost-of-Ownership (TCO) is the real figure that you want to know. TCO takes into account the monthly lease payment, the cost per print and any and all supplies, parts, and service charges that are added.

There is one additional major issue.... The Human Footprint...

IF employees who do a lot of printing are required to walk distances to retrieve their prints, the cost of that time far exceeds any savings that may or may not exist on Cost-of-Ownership. When employee labor is included, there are few scenarios where centralized printing is cost-effective. But, there certainly are times when it is.

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.

Austin Bound

I am pleased to announce that I will be speaking at MarketingProfs Digital Marketing Forum in Austin, Texas on Friday February 4th in regards to my "Destroy Your Printer Contest".

I must admit I am rather exited, a bit taken aback and honored to be speaking at this event. The track that I will be speaking for will also be hosting three other case studies in addition to my own of which MarketingProfs is hailing as Four of the Hottest SM Case Studies Around!

My hope is that I will be able to inspire others who have yet jump into social media and provide them with a solid case study that proves you can be successful in B2B social media even with no budget.