Before we make suggestions on meeting topics you can execute, let’s review the need for your sales meetings to be relevant and beneficial to your team. Here are some statistics to consider:

• 80% of meeting time could be eliminated with rules and a tight agenda
• Fewer than 37% of sales managers publish agendas
• 92% of people multitask in meetings
• 71% of sales meetings are deemed unproductive or inefficient

Whether you are meeting in person or virtually, here are five sales meeting topics that are easy to execute and extremely beneficial at closing common sales skill gaps:

1. The Competitive Intelligence Review Meeting

Sadly, too few salespeople research their top competitors. They may have visited their website, but fail to keep up to date with current messaging, promotions or packaging methods that may be used against your team. To execute this popular sales meeting, simply assign one of your top competitors to each sales rep on your team. Ask them to research their competitor and present the findings for 5, 10 or 15 minutes at the next sales meeting. Reps should be encouraged to look at their competitor’s website, social media and reviews from a customer’s perspective.  Keeping a time limit will help reps stay on track, and you can expand or review later if needed.

2. The LinkedIn Profile & Activity Review Meeting

You and your reps know your customers and prospects are on LinkedIn. That’s why you and your reps need to be active there too. You can warn your reps in advance or just surprise them with a review of each of their LinkedIn profiles to see if their profile is branded, showcases the company’s value proposition, how many connections the person has and how many posts they’ve made in the last 30 days. Warning – this meeting can make people uncomfortable, but it will keep them engaged, and it’s tough to argue with what they know is the right thing to do.

3. The Sales Prospecting Meeting

This meeting is perfect for sales teams that require reps to be proficient prospecting over the phone and email. As the sales leader, start by creating a fictitious account that represents a common new business account your people would love to meet with. You define the industry, the size, the potential need, etc.

Using that information, ask each rep to send you (the sales leader) a prospecting email and voicemail. At the following meeting, provide copies of all the emails and review them. Do the same with your prospecting voicemails by playing them out loud.

This will allow you to see and hear what they are sending prospects – and expose newer reps to what the more experienced ones are doing for training purposes.

4. The Sales Demo Contest Meeting

Pick a popular product and tell your reps in advance that you will be asking them to demo the product at the upcoming meeting. In the meeting, ask each rep to do a demonstration as if you were the customer. Watch their approaches closely. Did they talk too much? Did they start by asking some questions? The best practice sharing and learning lessons here can be tremendous and it’s very easy to execute. Again, set a time limit for the sales demonstrations to keep things moving along and give everyone a chance to participate.

5. The Objection Handling Meeting

Objections are part of any sales role. Great sales reps are prepared with responses to common resistance they hear daily. To strengthen your team’s objection handling skills, simply get a deck of cards and write a common objection on several cards. In the meeting ask each rep to pick a card. Read the objection on the card they selected and see what they say. You may be shocked or impressed. Only you will know when you try this popular skill builder in your next team sales meeting.

Preparing your people to be successful starts in your sales meetings.

Done well, your salespeople will be engaged and more confident about their ability to sell more and make more. Together, everyone gets stronger and these five meeting ideas will help you expose weaknesses, learn new things and strengthen your team’s selling skills along the way!

It all depends on how you handle upset customers.

Here are a few reasons it is important for you and your business.

• Dissatisfied customers will tell between 9-15 people about their experience. – White House Office of Consumer Affairs
• For every customer complaint, 26 other unhappy customers will remain silent. – Lee Resources
• It takes 12 positive experiences to make up for one unresolved negative experience.  – Understanding Customers, Chris Rice

To protect your brand and your relationships, here are three huge mistakes to avoid when handling an upset customer.

1. Failing to Diagnose Before You Prescribe

Often in the middle of a heated discussion, it’s easy to jump to proposed solutions before you fully understand what the customer’s problem is. The same way a doctor does not jump to conclusions before fully understanding a patient’s illness, we too need to ask more questions.

Once you understand the basis of the complaint, you may then want to ask the customer what they see as a suitable resolution before you commit to another outcome that might be even more than the customer was expecting.

Think like a negotiator and get them to bid first!

2. Fixing the Problem but Not the Customer

Have you ever got what you wanted from complaining but vowed never to do business with that company again? This is why your goal should be to fix the problem AND the customer.

Often the first step is to show empathy. This is a drastically underrated communication skill – especially when dealing with upset customers. In most cases, if you can help an upset person understand that you genuinely want to help them resolve their issue, you can more quickly shift the conversation from combative to collaborative.

Don’t be afraid to tell them how much you appreciate their business.

Tell them how important it is for you to try to make them happy.

Let them know you will do everything you can to make things right.

Sometimes it’s not just about fixing the immediate problem, it’s how you make them feel about buying from you again.

3. All Talk and No Action

When a customer is heated about something, they expect action. It’s those moments after the conversational dust has settled that can make or break their next purchase decision with you. Take action and follow through quickly. Keep your customer posted if there is a delay in resolving an issue. Providing simple updates will remind your customer that they are top of mind with you and that their matter is being taken care of. It’s the lack of action and dead time between complaint and resolution that does the damage.

Maybe get creative about finding out how well you did by following through with a thank you card, a survey or questionnaire about your service. However you do it, make sure you do what you say you will.

Summary

Upset customers are a part of any business. They can help make you and your business stronger by teaching you about your weaknesses. View dealing with upset customers as an opportunity to strengthen your communication skills and your business relationships.

By avoiding these common mistakes, you’ll be pleasantly surprised how quickly you can turn upset customers into loyal, raving fans in no time.

Too often our conversations are solely focused on a particular product SKU, pricing information or delivery details.

Too seldom do we speak with customers about our knowledge and ability to help them drive their business forward.

For those that would like to ask, we have prepared these five questions Dealers don’t ask their ARLINGTON representative – but should:

1. What are other resellers like me buying a lot of right now? Knowing what products or services are selling for other Dealers can validate what you are doing or awaken you to an opportunity you didn’t know existed.

2. Do you offer FREE educational webinars? YES we do! Join ARLINGTON’s Director of Marketing Brent Martin and Strategic Account Executive Kelly Munro each Thursday as they host the weekly “Navigating Business Through These Unprecedented Times” webinar series. Each week attracts Imaging Resellers from coast to coast to discuss best practices, the latest trends and innovative new products that can grow your top and bottom line. Learn more here.

3. Can you connect me with other Dealers beyond my service area? If you’re an Independent Dealer that has a deal requiring equipment installation or service beyond your local service coverage area, we can help. Our network of Imaging Resellers includes the biggest and the smallest Dealers from across the country. In most cases, we can connect you with someone who sells the same product line(s) and offers services you too would be proud to recommend.

4. Can you help me convert an OEM toner account to aftermarket toner? YES, and we do it every day. In fact, we get asked this question so much that we created a FREE GUIDE: How to Convert OEM Customers to Compatible Toner. It’s free and extremely popular! Download here.

5. Do you offer Blind Drop Shipping? YES, and we have seen a huge increase in demand for Blind Drop Shipping since COVID-19 started. As you may know, Blind Drop Shipping allows you to have your ARLINGTON order shipped directly to your end user’s office. And it will look like it came from you! If your customers are looking for a touchless experience, it does not get much better than Blind Drop Shipping.

Your success helps us be successful together. That is why we believe our experience and the breadth of clients we support can be a treasure chest of information – if you ask.

As a business owner, it’s been tough to maintain a positive frame of mind. However, a positive attitude is the best way to support your team and make proactive, rational decisions to handle the weeks and months of changes and adjustments ahead.

The Science of Positive Thinking

Here’s what science has to say about positive thinking:

• It Increases Resilience – Positivity during times of stress increases resilience and fosters faster cardiovascular recovery. Your heart rate slows and blood pressure stabilizes more quickly.
• Boosts Immunity – A positive state of mind helps you to better manage the symptoms of illness.
• Helps You Think Clearly – A positive attitude improves problem-solving, decision making, creative thinking and objectivity. A positive attitude can help you to view your situation constructively, bolster morale, and help you recognize opportunities.

“Your attitude tends to be the average of the 5 people you spend the most amount of time with.”

– Rick Lambert, Sales Performance Coach, selltoWIN

What You Can Do

While this crisis can make staying positive challenging, there are things you can do to promote positivity, both for you and your employees.

1. Acknowledge Your Feelings – Acknowledge what you’re feeling. Acknowledging stress or anxiety can help you to gain control of these feelings. This can help you shift your perspective.
2. Prioritize Facts – Maintain a level head. Take a rational perspective. Ask yourself what degree this situation is interfering with your life and business, what precautions you can take, and how to manage negative emotions. Prioritizing the facts keeps you well informed.
3. Practice Gratitude – Simply being grateful for the positive things and people in your life can have permanent effects on your brain. To help your team, consider implementing a gratitude practice in their day as well.
4. Establish a Daily Routine – Keep some normalcy in your life by maintaining your usual daily routine as much as possible. Get up at your regular time, go through your typical morning ritual. If the gym was a part of your morning, go for a walk, or jump on the bike. Shower, get dressed, and start your workday as usual.

Staying positive can have powerful effects on your brain, and help to keep you on track during this challenging time. Focusing on being positive and mindful of what you can (and can’t!) control will help you, your team, and your business weather the storm.

Now they’re online more than ever before.

That’s why your website needs to be in tip-top shape to make a great impression and move your website visitors closer to becoming customers.

If you thought your website was important before the coronavirus, it’s even more important now.

Here are 5 dealer website MUST HAVES:

1. Quick Quote Button: Make it easy for website visitors to get some initial price and availability information quickly. Often these people are in the buying window and a “Quick Quote” button can encourage them to take the first step which lets you start a sales conversation.
2. Video: Today’s online buyer is skimming information and not reading as much text as they used to. That’s why short videos spread around your website can be a great way to capture their attention. Answering their questions on video in less than 60 seconds is likely to get more than 5-8X the attention than a long-winded explanation in text.
3. Chatbot: This is the pop up you see on the side of a web page that asks you if you need help or would like to chat with someone right away. Chatbots come in a wide range of intelligence and sophistication. Basic chatbots can provide 1 – 2 automated exchanges with a website visitor while connecting the person to someone on your team. Advanced chatbots leverage AI to extend their automated responses much deeper into the conversation.
4. Email Sign Up Form: Most websites do not have a way to collect site visitor email or text addresses. Often dealers will offer a newsletter or some form of ongoing “knowledge” that allures people to register. To date, email continues to drive the highest ROI vs even the newer forms of digital marketing so it makes sense to collect all the addresses you can.
5. SEO: This stands for search engine optimization work that needs to be done on an ongoing basis to keep up with Google’s intelligent algorithms. By staying up to date on keywords, meta tags, backlinks, and other SEO best practices, you will see your website rise in Google search results when people search for the products and services you sell in your area.

Think of your website as the digital landing strip for your customers to descend into your digital environment. By making sure you have some of the basic engagement measures in place, you will be surprised how quickly you will see positive results!

Speaking of results, join us each Thursday for our Networking Webinar filled with conversations about how dealers just like you are driving results in today’s unique environment.

Here are some tips to help prepare yourself and your team to meet the challenges before you, successfully!

• Check-in Daily: Face-to-Face, one on one… well, via video anyway! Your team needs to see you, and you need to see them. Zoom or GoToMeeting are popular video/audio platforms that make it easy to stay in touch. At least at first, you should aim to touch base via video every day. Set the agenda for the day, and provide the feedback and resources your team needs.
• Use the Technology Available: As a manager, your job is keeping your team connected. Slack or Microsoft Teams are good examples of tools for collaboration and communication. Some of them are even available for free right now.
• Manage Expectations: Reset expectations! Help your team to define their daily tasks, and create realistic expectations for their work. This applies to you too! Set yourself up for success by clearly establishing tasks and the reasons behind them. Make sure your team understands exactly how you’ll measure success. Define the scope of projects, deadlines and deliverables.
• Focus on Outcomes: It’s impossible to manage every aspect of the work done by your team remotely. Instead of focusing on the activity or hours your team is working, focus on the outcome.
• Give Them the Resources They Need: Make sure they have the tech they need to get the work done. With a team suddenly working remotely, it’s a good bet they’ll need tools like laptops, mobile devices and high-speed Internet. Don’t assume everyone is ready to work from home. It’s your responsibility to make sure they have everything they need to get the job done.

The current environment requires us all to be more flexible. Your team has a lot going on! While that’s no excuse for not getting the job done, it’s important to reconsider how you’ll measure productivity. Trust your team and give them the flexibility to get the work done in a way that works for everyone.

For more tips and expert advice join us for our next free webinar on Navigating Business Through Unprecedented Times on May 14, 2:00pm – 3:00pm. To learn more or register, click here.

But, it doesn’t have to be like that. Virtual meetings can be run much like in-person meetings if you stick to basic meeting best practices and easy-to-use inexpensive technology.

Here are some tips to help make it happen.

Use Video Conferencing Technology

Technology like Zoom, Skype, or GoToMeeting can help make people feel like they’re all at the same meeting. Unlike traditional conference dial-ins, video can help to personalize the meeting and keep your team engaged.

That Said, Always Provide an Audio Option

Video relies on a strong Internet connection that’s not always available. People still need to participate so be sure to give them an audio option, although you should make it clear that video is the preferred method.

Test the Tech Ahead of Time

Nothing is worse than a 20-minute delay because participants need to download software, can’t unmute their microphone, or the lighting is bad. Before your meeting starts, have everyone test the technology and make sure participants are comfortable.

Stick to Meeting Basics

Set a clear agenda, and send an introductory memo if appropriate. During the session set ground rules, take breaks, and clearly outline the next steps (including timetables) after each section and at the end of the meeting.

Don’t Be Afraid to Tackle Tough Issues

Like any newly learned behavior, meeting virtually will get easier the more you do it. You’ll be amazed at how much you can get done once you become comfortable working this way. It may seem easier to wait to discuss tough issues until you can do it in person, but that may not be an option for some time. Don’t shy away from the tough topics!

Not being able to work together in person is an unfortunate reality, at least for the next month or so. To make your virtual meetings more impactful, adjust how you approach them. With a small investment in time and these best practices, you’ll be able to keep your business moving ahead during this trying time.

Looking to join a virtual meeting with your peers discussing growth ideas and opportunities? Join your ARLI teammates for our next webinar!

Here are 5 reasons Imaging Dealers are getting active on LinkedIn.

1. YOUR BUYERS ARE THERE

By every measure, LinkedIn is the #1 social media network to invest your marketing efforts in because it’s filled with the businesspeople you want to sell to. Unlike other social media channels, LinkedIn separates itself from other social networks because it primarily attracts B2B executives due to the business tone of its content.

2. LEAD GENERATION

Being top of mind at a point of need is the easiest way to generate new leads. In layman terms, when the buyer is ready to buy, they think of your company, which boosts your consideration rates and generates sales leads. This recent study by HubSpot shows how LinkedIn holds a dominant position for lead generation.

3. STAY CONNECTED WITH CUSTOMERS

By connecting with your customers, you’ll automatically see what they’re posting, and they’ll be able to see what you’re posting. The added benefit of being connected occurs when a contact moves from one company to another – you’ll receive a notification when they update their LinkedIn profile at their new job. This allows you to leverage your relationship with that person faster because you’ll know right away when they’ve moved. This same concept applies to promotions within a company. You’ll be notified when someone that likes you is elevated to a new role, perhaps with more authority. Either way, you can keep tabs on people with automation.

49% of B2B decision makers say they look at the seller’s LinkedIn profile as part of their buying process.

– LinkedIn

4. AVOID PROSPECTING SCREENS

Unlike the phone or email, LinkedIn provides unfiltered access to executives at all levels of an organization. This allows you to contact people directly without a screen in the middle. You can also see who you may know that is connected with a person you want to meet with, which can greatly improve your ability to connect with the people you want by going direct, or through a common contact. Avoiding screens will help sales reps engage with more senior level decision makers to start, and advance, deals quicker than with mid-level managers afraid to make decisions in a tight economy.

5. YOUR COMPETITORS ARE THERE

Why give your competition an open highway to connect and communicate with your customers? If you check, chances are that each of your competitors, and their sales reps, are on LinkedIn. The key is to make sure your profile looks better, and you are posting content more frequently to keep current and future customers thinking of you and not your competitors. LinkedIn can also let you see who your competitors are connected with, so you’ll know if your current customers have been approached by someone other than you.

There are many more reasons to get your business and your people more active on LinkedIn, but these five reasons should be enough to make you rethink your social media strategy.

Ask your ARLINGTON representative about helping you accelerate your success on LinkedIn.

We can help with our LinkedIn Bootcamp created for Imaging Dealers like you.

International Business Products Inc. (IBPI)

IBPI is the office equipment industry’s largest buying group. They currently have 26 vendor programs and over 400 members consisting of independent commercial copier and print dealers from the United States and Canada.

At the IBPI Annual and Regional Meetings you’ll learn about new offerings to enhance your business and have many opportunities to network with other dealers for ideas to help grow your business.

After this event, members can stay for the BTA Spring Break Event, March 13 – 14, being held at the same location – Disney’s Yacht & Beach Club Resort!

Business Technology Association (BTA)

The BTA serves office technology dealerships, distributors, resellers, manufacturers and service companies. Its members consult, provide services and sell hardware, software and supplies with the primary goal of helping businesses optimize business document and information workflows.

The 2020 BTA Spring Break Event is open to office technology dealers from across the country, and will feature:

• Keynote address by Judson Laipply, a motivational speaker and dancer who created the “Evolution of Dance” viral video
• Six additional education sessions by industry leaders
• Time to network with peers and exhibiting sponsors

We hope to see you there!

There is no disputing that OEM toner cartridges are the benchmark for professional printing and high-quality color requirements. OEM printer cartridges consistently ensure a premium quality end product for the user. However, OEM printer cartridges also come with a premium cost.

New build compatible cartridges are a great alternative to expensive OEM cartridges. They are built using all new parts and have not been remanufactured or used before. The shell and all internal components are brand new to ensure image quality and performance. The quality and page yield from a new build cartridge from a reputable provider can be the same or even better than OEM toner cartridges.

We’re proud to carry NXT Premium Replacement Cartridges – a trusted and proven line of new build compatible cartridges that you can confidently add to your toner offerings as a cost-effective alternative for your customers.

NXT Premium Replacement Cartridges have been proven to reduce printing costs by up to 50% when compared to their high-priced OEM counterparts and all NXT Premium Replacement Cartridges carry a 100% lifetime guarantee.

We carry a wide selection of toner cartridges to suit your needs. Call to speak to one of our experienced representatives today and let us help you choose the best toner cartridges for your business.

NXT Premium technical support is now available. Dealers and end-users can now contact NXT Premium Technical Support between the hours of 8am- 5pm Central Standard Time, Monday through Friday. Click here to learn more.