IN THIS ISSUE:
The Feed: High gas prices have little effect on independent copier dealerships
The Top 7: Symptoms of job burnout
News In Brief: Announcements from Canon, Oce, Sharp, HP, and Xerox
Q&A: Copier Careers talks to Carla Nasse of Specialized Solutions
Job Listings
High Gas Prices Not Expected to Hurt Revenues
In March, gas prices reached an all-time inflation-adjusted average high of $3.26 per gallon. Though the high price hasn't yet deterred many drivers, it does have some independent copier dealers worried about their service margins.
In Copier Careers' January 2008 newsletter, Steve Kelley of Print Manage told us "the skyrocketing price of fuel" was one of his biggest concerns for 2008. "We have a fleet of vehicles, and I'm paying out the nose to keep it running," Kelley said. "I'm getting very worried about the cost of doing my business."
Kelley isn't alone-many other dealers share his apprehension. But are their concerns legitimate?
According to Jerry Newberry, President of BEI Pros, independent dealers have nothing to worry about. "The vehicle expense is such a small portion of the overall service cost that [rising fuel prices] are not going to have a big impact," he says.
Newberry explains that the average cost of fueling, maintaining, and insuring a vehicle is between 28 and 30 cents per mile. The fuel portion of that total cost is only about 30 percent, or less than 10 cents per mile. He adds that most dealers actually overcompensate their technicians for vehicle-related expenses at a rate of 38 to 40 cents per mile. Those dealers who have increased their reimbursement rate in response to rising fuel costs have raised it only a cent or two. "We're not talking about a lot of money," says Newberry.
Instead of worrying about gas prices, Newberry says, dealers should concentrate on dispatching their technicians more efficiently. "Ineffective dispatching just increases mileage. If you can keep your techs in their own territories, you'll improve the overall response time and give your techs more productive time. You'll also reduce the number of miles they're driving."
Newberry also advises dealers to stay alert to mileage falsification. "We typically see a 20 percent or more padding of mileage," he says. "For example, a tech will drive 8 miles but he'll record 15. This happens because techs tend to look at mileage as compensation, rather than as reimbursement. And it's not something that most companies watch. Once your techs know that you are watching it, however, it just stops. They start being more accurate."
Though gas prices should continue to rise as demand increases throughout spring and into summer, a little extra attention to efficiency will help dealers ensure that their service margins stay healthy.
THE TOP 7...Symptoms of Job Burnout
Tips from the trenches to keep your copier career on track
Tired? Annoyed? Fantasizing about skipping work today? That's normal. It is spring, after all. We should all be fishing or golfing or planting things in our gardens.
Tired consistently? Annoyed frequently? Fantasizing about skipping work today, and tomorrow, and every day after that? That's not normal. It's not healthy, either. Burnout is a term that describes a state of physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion caused by prolonged work-related stress. If more than a few of the following symptoms apply to you, you might be experiencing it.
1. Lack of energy. Unmotivated? Lacking the energy to do anything but play online Scrabble and read celebrity gossip? Everybody's energy flags once in awhile, but if you're feeling this way all the time, something's wrong.
2. Becoming more critical or sarcastic. Are you reacting negatively to things that never bothered you before? Do you criticize for the sake of criticizing? Has complaining become a form of entertainment?
3. Loss of the ability to laugh. Laughter is supposed to be the best medicine. If you're not getting your daily dose, ask yourself why.
4. Sense of dread. To some extent, many people "work for the weekend". But if you spend half your Sunday wondering how you'll drag yourself out of bed on Monday, you might have a problem.
5. Lack of satisfaction. Do the accomplishments that used to make you proud seem less significant? Does your job feel meaningless?
6. Irritability. Are you easily annoyed? Do you struggle to be polite to your customers? Do your coworkers walk on eggshells around you, afraid you'll snap at any second?
7. Self-medication. News flash: the three-martini lunch went out with the leisure suit. Using drugs or alcohol to help you get through the day is never all right.
Think you're at risk? Hang tight until next month, when we'll bring you the Top 7 Strategies for Beating Burnout.
NEWS IN BRIEF
Reuters Teams Up With Canon USA and Sprint to Capture Shuttle Launch. During the recent launches of Atlantis (February 7, 2008) and Endeavor (March 11, 2008), a system developed by Reuters, Canon, and Sprint successfully retrieved shuttle launch images from multiple cameras around the launch pad almost instantaneously and placed the images on the Reuters wire in record time. "Reuters picture clients now have near-instantaneous access to images that for 55 years have taken hours to receive and transmit," said Gary Hershorn of Reuters. "We've been delighted to work with both Canon and Sprint."
Oce Announces Call for Applications for its "Green Reprographer of the Year" Award. Applicants will be asked to submit, in writing, their achievements in the area of green business practices and explain how these efforts have assisted their customers in meeting sustainability goals. Submissions must be received by April 14, 2008. For more information, visit www.oceusa.com/greenreproaward.
Sharp Enhances Copier Toner Recycling Program. The new program allows every Sharp-brand copier, printer, and MFP toner cartridge sold in the U.S. to be recycled at no cost to the customer. Users can download prepaid, pre-addressed UPS shipping labels from www.sharpusa.com/recycle. "At Sharp, we are committed to maximizing energy resources while also maximizing product performance," said Ed McLaughlin, president of Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America. "This program formalizes our longstanding recycling efforts and makes the process easy and convenient for the customer."
HP Hires Stephen DeWitt to Lead Americas PC Business. DeWitt will be responsible for driving the marketing, sales, and operations strategy for the continued growth of HP's Personal Systems Group in the United States, Canada, and Latin America. PSG's portfolio includes PCs, mobile products, client virtualization and connected entertainment solutions, and internet services.
Xerox Corporation Named to FTSE4Good Index Series. This stock index measures the performance of companies that meet globally-recognized standards for corporate responsibility. "Xerox people take great pride in our rich heritage of operating a profit-making business and a global enterprise that strives to be a positive force in the world around us," said Anne Mulcahy, Xerox chair and CEO. "Our listing on the FTSE4Good Index recognizes value we create through global citizenship, through innovation that minimizes the impact on the environment, and by running our business with great respect for human rights and the highest ethical standards."
Q&A with Carla Nasse, Director of Corporate Sales for Specialized Solutions
Carla, tell us about Specialized Solutions.
Specialized Solutions develops self-paced computer-based training for people earning IT certifications. Our goal is to provide quality, easy-to-use technical training materials that are available online 24/7. I've been with Specialized Solutions for a year and a half.
That's right. I started selling copiers in 1986 for a large company in Florida. I worked for them for 15 years. After I left, I went to work for an OEM and then for a small dealer, so my experience in the industry has been fairly diverse. What do you most enjoy about your current position?
One of the things I've enjoyed a lot is being a member of two of CompTIA's certification advisory committees. The first certification is CompTIA CDIA+ [Certified Document Imaging Architech], which prepares people to develop and implement an electronic document management system. It's geared toward document imaging salespeople, and it's the only IT certification that I hold. The other certification I've been involved in developing is CompTIA PDI+ [Printing and Document Imaging]. That certification was just launched, and it's targeted toward office equipment service technicians. What advice would you give salespeople in the document imaging industry?
Anyone who wants to get a leg up on the competition needs to be computer savvy. When I started selling copiers, you didn't have to talk to the IT people. Now you do. If you have to wait for an IT specialist to make a sales call with you, you're going to lengthen your sales cycle, and that's never good. What can dealers do to set themselves apart from the competition?
In the SMB market, small businesses don't usually have their own IT departments, so they're going to be giving their business to someone they can trust with their networks. The trend I've noticed is that dealers are adding in network services. They already have network-savvy people connecting their equipment. And if they have the internal ability to do that, why not take it to the next level and use it to help small businesses manage their networks? It's a logical progression in the life cycle of the industry, a way to expand business and improve margins. It's another way for dealers to differentiate themselves. And that's what sales is always looking for-a way to stand above the competition and garner more of the customer's business.
JOB LISTINGS
Sales Representative - Columbus, OH
Field Technician - Baltimore, MN
General Manager - Nashville, TN
Field Technician - Yuma, AZ
Sales Representative - Minneapolis, MN
Sales Representative - Denver, CO
Field Service Manager - Wisconsin
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