"Golf's a game that is played on a five-inch course - the distance between your ears."

So said Bobby Jones, the co-designer of Augusta National Golf Course, and co-founder of the Masters Tournament. The same mental fortitude he alludes to in conquering the game of golf is especially important for each one of us. From the first tee box to the 18th green. 

The Master’s, rich in both reputation and tradition, tees off on April. 11 This tournament serves as the pinnacle in professional golf, the course and the experience in which all others hope only in vain to match. First there’s the scenery: From the colorful azaleas that pop across TV screens like firecrackers, to the tree-lined green at the 12th hole (the Golden Bell), the extraordinary views along the course are picturesque enough to make postcards blush.

Then there’s the tradition: limited commercial interruptions, a ceremonial opening tee shot, a food menu that’s remained relatively unchanged since the very beginning, and, of course, the hallowed drive down  Magnolia Lane that leads to the Augusta National clubhouse.

Finally, the prestige: golfers qualify for the tournament by invitation only in what is inarguably the most exclusive professional golf tournament on this earth.

By Creating Raving Fan experiences at every dog-leg turn, our organization continues to build on our prestige, our tradition and our reputation as the pinnacle of Business Technology Providers. Here at Datamax, we’re all lucky enough to qualify to become Masters of Technology and Masters of our Individual Role. But as Bobby Jones reminds us, it all starts between the ears.

It starts by that game played on our own five-inch course.

How Can You Best Navigate that Five-Inch Course in Sales, Service or Admin? Here's a few tips:

SALES: It is HARD Work, but Preparation Can Pay Off.

Tyler Sales Manager Kenny Prince points that out very quickly, no hesitation. The world of sales is anything but easy – you need a structured approach, you've got to get used to hearing the word ‘no’ (a lot), and just because you have a gift for gab doesn’t mean you can sale a thing.

But the right tools – and the right differentiators – are in place, Prince says. Sherpa provides a way to manage and track our sales activity. Our partnership with Canon gives us enormous buying power in our client proposals. And our service reputation certainly helps support success post-sale.

“We’ve got to understand what the customer does, what their needs are so we can provide a solution instead of just a product,” Prince says. “I stress to our team all the time – it’s more than a product. You’ve got to learn the techniques of good selling. Taking the right approach with the right account, so that we set ourselves apart.”

Kenny's Three Things for Mastering Your Sales Role: 

1. Assess Yourself as a Sales Rep.

At a recent  East Texas sales meeting, Kenny, utilizing the Mike Riordan’s “Building a Quality Team” methodology,  wrote the words “Attitude,” “Knowledge” and “Skills” on a whiteboard at the front of the room. And then he posed the question to his reps: What attitudes do we need to have success in sales? What knowledge? What skills?

The answers came pouring in from the room as he jotted them down. Attitude: Positive. Servant. Driven. Confident. Resourceful. Knowledge: Industry verticals. Account history. Decision makers. Buying process. Skills: Sherpa. Social skills. Time management. Leadership. And awareness.

“And then I asked them to rate themselves on all these skills. Off this list, how do each of you feel about yourself? If you’re a six, what can you do to get to a 7? If you’re a 10, how can you get to 11? Because you’re never done developing as a rep.”

You've got to assess first, before you improve. 

2. Get Active in the Community.

The impact of joining community organizations – from the local chamber to the Rotary Club – are tangible, Prince says. The power of networking cannot be overstated.

“The connections made by attending events in and around the community have shown not just long-term results, but short-term as well (here in East Texas),” Kenny says. “You just develop so many relationships. You meet people and make friends. And sure, you can say hi to these people when you see them at a restaurant around town. But by connecting with people across the business community, Datamax isn’t just a business in Tyler or Longview. We’re a part of the community that we serve.”

And the rep? They’re no longer just a resident. They evolve into a community leader.

“Chambers need our support, our investment to do the things they want in the city. The other side of that is, it usually comes back around to you as the rep through the relationships you’ve built,” Kenny said.

Kenny encourages his team to attend Chamber events, to get active with Service Clubs like Rotary, and to attend any community-related luncheon or functions one can find.

3. Stay Aware.

An ever-evolving skill – and perhaps the most important for sales reps, Kenny says – is awareness. 

“Be aware of every situation that you are in, no matter where you find yourself. There might be an opportunity to address a pain point for a customer,” Kenny says. “It’s confidence. It’s an organized thinking process. It’s developing social skills so that you can speak to and approach people better. We have to have the skills to be that sounding board that the customer can trust.”

Asses yourself. Get active. And always stay aware.

SERVICE: Fixing the Machine? That’s the Easy Part.

Little Rock Service Manager Mark McKinney can’t stress it enough - there's much more to navigating your role in service than accomplishing the technical aspects of the job. He can teach anyone who is relatively mechanical to strategically repair a copier:  But mastering one’s role is about communication? It's about social skills.

“We (as a service department) must have the ability to adapt to customers needs. We encounter every facet of an emotional communication encounter that you can imagine,” Mark says. “You have to have the ability to adapt to that customer’s emotional state, no matter what it is.”

You also, he says, have to have the confidence and communication skills to walk in, and prove to that customer that you can fix the machine. They have to trust you enough that when you identify the problem, that you can fix it… "when they see Mark or Jeff or whoever walk through the door, they know the copiers going to be up and running.”

Response Time, Response + Resolution Time and First Call Completion Rate are key metrics that our service departments monitor and stress to teams continuously. But what are a few of the action items to actually improve them?

Mark, just as an example, has three things “that I like to hammer into my guys' heads all the time.”

Mark’s 3 Things, in no Particular Order:

1. Fix the Customer.

When a machine is having a problem, the customer is having a problem. When you get to a machine, listen to the client and work to identify the problem. Interpret everything the say as it relates to the machine. They don’t always know what the issue is. It’s your job to diagnose it.

2. Fix the Machine.

Mark’s Arkansas team spends anywhere from 1200 to 1900 hours a year collectively in manufacturer training. The Canon ATSP and Konica Minolta Pro Tech achievements are required of their technicians. While extensive, the expertise gained is a huge difference maker in ultimate resolution.

“I don’t want the guys to ever stop training. We’re always learning something different and new, whether through training or out in the field,” Mark says. “If one of my technicians isn’t, it’s time to do something else because he or she is either stagnant or just bored.”

3. Get to the Customer.

Meeting the calls per day quota means 1). properly planning your daily schedule; 2). getting somewhere as efficiently as possible and 3). always coming prepared on every call.

“I was speaking to a group of prospects recently inside our showroom about our service offerings. I told them our number one priority is response time. I said that our average response time was 2.5 hours, and that we’re sitting on about a 76 percent first call completion rate,” Mark says. “They were blown away. They told  us their current provider may not show up until the next day. I just said, ‘that’s not going to happen here.”

“They ended up going with us… 30 something machines. It speaks volumes if you can get to the customer as quickly as possible. That’s why we try as hard as we do.”

ADMIN: Any Administrative Role can be a Bit Overwhelming at First. One Must Master the Art of Multitasking.

When St. Louis-based Leasing Manager Cathy Johnson conducts employee interviews, she never forgets to mention that the learning curve is about one year. It takes a while to grasp all the moving parts that come with operating in her department.

To overcome that learning curve and master your administrative role, Cathy strongly encourages two major employee qualities: “Patience and Perseverance.” 

“No two things are alike with our job. You might have 20 different things come across your desk today, and you may not see any of those things tomorrow,” Cathy says. “Even as long as I’ve been with the company (since 1998), I still see things today that I’ve never seen before.”

Cathy started out in the Collections Department, eventually being promoted to Collections Supervisor. She left the organization, only to return three years later as Leasing Administrator, Leasing Supervisor and now Leasing Manager.

Her department works closely with sales teams at all Datamax locations to make the leasing process as fast, as easy and as efficient as possible. Changes in technology, along with the individual idiosyncrasies of different locations present everyday challenges with achieving that level.

“We keep lines of communication open with the sales departments of each location. We’ll have open dialogue several times a year, just to learn what challenges are present so we can adjust accordingly. We want to come up with resolution so it’s a win-win for everybody,” Cathy says.

Cathy's Three Necessary Skills for Achieving Administrative Success:

1. Organization is Essential.

We have so many interruptions. Our sales period cycle goes in waves. You have to be able to multitask – take that phone call and then get back to what you were doing to make sure our turnaround time is as fast as possible.

2. Maintain Attention to Detail. 

It’s easy to make a mistake – if we look at a number wrong, we could give, as example, the wrong rate to a client. You must have great attention to detail at all times.

3. Think Outside the Box.

Because we’re an in-house leasing company, we are not as black as white as other third party vendors. We want to look at something and get the real story behind why a customer has low paybacks. We want to dig deeper. Ultimately, we want to be able to say “we can make it work.”

The upcoming Master's Tournament is certainly an unforgettable experience for golf fans everywhere. But it's also an example of the undeniable impact of tradition and reputation. What victory looks and sounds like. And just how difficult it can be when out on the course. Ready to master your Datamax role? Ready to build on the prestige, the reputation and the rich tradition?

For everyone of us, on every hole, it starts on that five-inch course. That distance between the ears.