Updated on 12/2/2021. Originally Posted on 5/6/2020. Since 2020, IT and office technology providers have been tasked with deploying their clients’ remote workforce at record pace. Many projects were put on hold, and IT providers worked around-the-clock to ensure their clients could continue doing business securely from home, staying busy with software migration, implementation, and upgrades – all of which could conveniently be done remotely.
Originally published on 4/1/2021. Updated on 7/29/21. We have the pleasure of working with office technology providers every day. In our channel, it’s not a question of if financing will be a part of their go-to-market strategy, instead, it’s a question of who they will use to facilitate the financing arrangement. There are many financing sources to choose from as an office technology solution provider, and when deciding what the best fit for your business is, you should start by looking to your mission, values, and go-to-market strategy. Since we're often asked what kind of providers are typically a good fit with GreatAmerica, we wanted to take some time to offer our insight on the topic. There are two categories of considerations we tend to look at when evaluating if an office technology business will be a good fit for GreatAmerica: The first is what we call the ‘on-paper’ attributes. We lean on these attributes to help us understand if the company seeking financing can fulfill the terms of the agreement. The second category we look at is whether they hold growth minded attributes. Let’s dig into both categories.
Just admit it, you secretly love Harry Styles. You’ve seen him in a dress on the cover of Vogue. You’ve seen him at the Grammys. You’ve seen him on Saturday Night Live and The Howard Stern Show. You’ve seen him in award-winning films. Your kids (or grandkids) rave about him and you want to as well.
Hiring and retaining top talent is the topic of the day. In keynote addresses, headlines, peer groups and conference rooms everyone wants to know, “How do we hire for long-term success?”
I just passed my 20-year work anniversary with GreatAmerica Financial Services. If someone would have asked me when I started if I would be a documentation functional leader of eight teams across two business units I would have said, “No way!”
The three P’s of Assessing Talent: Process, Purpose and Preparation Lore and literature have long used a crystal ball to predict the future. By simply gazing into the crystal ball, a clear picture of the future will present itself. It makes for a great story but less so for a step in the hiring process.
Selling is an art form – a skill set where you are able to simultaneously establish trust, offer a recommendation, and close the sale. In the early stages, as the technology solution provider, your objective is to identify the pain points and areas of opportunity when it comes to the prospect who’s either come to you or you’ve identified yourself. By the time you reach the stage of closing, the last thing you want is reluctance to proceed.
We all know workplace culture is important to today’s workforce. As Generation Z enters the workplace it will continue to grow in importance, and dealers within the office imaging space have become more tuned in to this need.
UPDATE as of June 2020: The FASB made the decision to defer the effective date of the new lease accounting rules for private companies by another year due to companies having to put resources towards impacts of COVID-19 and not being able to focus on their adoption. Therefore, a private company using calendar year financial statements will need to follow the new lease accounting standard for calendar year 2022, rather than by the previously stated calendar year 2021. The Financial Accounting Standard Board (“FASB”) issued a new lease accounting standard in February 2016 in an effort to improve transparency of “off-balance sheet” obligations. The new lease accounting standard is also commonly known as “Topic 842.” Just recently, FASB has issued updated guidance delaying the effective date of the new lease accounting standard for private companies.
What started out as a dream to fly led to one of today’s most common forms of travel: the airplane. While overcoming business obstacles can often feel like defying gravity, Wilbur and Orville Wright actually did – quite literally - as they made the first successful airplane flight in history in 1903. But this was not without adversity. Their persistence and faith in the “impossible” can teach us a lot about meeting our goals, even in the face of stiff competition, naysayers, and doubters.
Why Upgrade? Do It for the Joe, Office Equipment Dealers! Oh, the upgrade. A special kind of sell. It can be a tricky one considering you’re not technically selling a new solution. You’re selling the same product in a new model, and in your case, the product is a printer or copier. A new model may have new bells and whistles and improved features, but at a high level, it meets the same need. This presents a challenge, because why would your customers buy the same thing twice, especially when the second sell involves change? Change is hard!
Unfortunately the summer is coming to an end. If you are like me, with teenagers at home over the summer, this may be good news. My kids are excited to get the school year underway, but they also have some apprehension. They will have new teachers, new classes and different kids from last year in their classes. They're even worried about who they will sit with in the lunch room.
