When NOT to save money on your copiers...

Several weeks ago, I conducted an assessment for a fairly large account that is a current Ricoh Business Solutions customer, even though they initially started doing business with Lanier a number of years ago. The prospective client has about a year left on their existing lease, but since their sales rep approached them with a quote to upgrade, they were willing to see what I had to bring to the table as well.

Since there are roughly 12 months left on their existing lease with a monthly payment of roughly $3,000, the remaining payments they owe to the current vendor is around $36,000. However, when the customer asked their vendor for a buyout quote to share with me, the vendor gave them a buyout number of over $54,000. Considering that I've been around a block a time or two and have battled dishonest salespeople along the way, I was very frank with the customer in telling them that most likely their current vendor was giving them an inflated buyout quote in order to put himself (or herself) in a position to come in significantly under any quote that any competitors would submit. The prospective buyer agreed & was fine with me submitting my proposal using the $36,000 figure.

To bring a long story to a close, I submitted my best pricing to the prospect, & including the $36,000 buyout, I would be able to reduce their cost by over 25% by upgrading them now versus later. However, instead of going in for the kill like many salespeople would, I told them that since they are not having any pressing issues with the equipment, they should wait until they get closer to the end of the lease to consider upgrading due to the fact that if they wait until the lease is over & do not buyout the remaining 12 months, I can reduce their cost by an additional 30%!! The customer called me this afternoon to say that they were taking my advice & looked forward to speaking with me in the near future.

The salesperson they are working with at Ricoh has probably not been around very long & is facing pressure from his Sales Manager to hit his sales numbers at all costs without having the client in mind. Considering the high-turnover nature of this industry, that rep will probably not be around in another 9-12 months. Considering that I have worked at ASI Business Solutions in the same sales territory (Plano, Allen, Carrollton, Frisco, Richardson, McKinney) I hope the prospective client trust the fact that not only will I be here for them next year but for the duration of their new contract with me and will be able to serve them for years to come.

If you are sick of receiving calls every 6 months from a new salesperson with your copier vendor that wants to "introduce himself/herself as your new account manager" and would rather have a long-term business partner, please email me, call me in my office (972) 888-1500 x121, or feel free to call my cell to schedule a meeting.

I hope to hear from you soon!

Nathan