Providing an on-point, creative solution that increases a client’s return on technology investment and produces the Raving Results we constantly seek to deliver.

The Client: G.R. Akin, P.C. (and a dozen or so others like them!)

The Account Representative: Keith Judy

For Keith Judy, it’s simply an act in good faith.

G.R. Akin, P.C., a Longview-based attorney, is merely the most recent East Texas Business to agree to an upgrade from Datamax due to an antiquated copier/MFP. They received a Datamax letter explaining that because their machine had reached a certain age, parts would be difficult (or impossible) to come by; that Canon would no longer support it; and that the machine itself, without necessary firmware updates, was a security vulnerability.

That letter struck up a conversation between Keith and Randy Akin just last week, and within days, an order to upgrade their copier was secured and the machine is now awaiting installation. Keith has already closed on nearly 15 sales just like this one, and he sees more in his future.

“I wish I had 100 of these. When you get down to it, it’s not a difficult sale; It’s not a secret that their machine is old,” Keith says. “For me, in good faith, these customers at least need to know that we might not be able to fix their machine, and because of that, we need to cancel their service contract (and attempt to fix it on a time and materials basis). And they might need to consider an upgrade.”

The Business Challenge

When equipment reaches its “end of manufacturer” support stage, parts availability makes Datamax unable to service copiers at an acceptable level.
The letter that went out to applicable customers in Texas explained an upcoming cancellation to their service contract, an offer to continue to provide service on a time and material basis, and an opportunity for the customer to consider upgrading their device(s).

It is then incumbent on sales reps to follow up with these customers.

“I haven’t lost any business because of this. Most people have been very understanding – they know that their equipment is old, they are not going anywhere. And so they ask what we need to do, and we’ll start talking about a replacement,” Keith said.

The Thought Process

Keith says it’s very important for him to put the onus on him, not the customer.

“I tell them, ‘we don’t feel right taking your money on a machine we can’t guarantee that we can fix. At some point, that machine is going to need something we can’t get.”

Keith also has an advantage that’s required years of hard work and repeated delivery on his end – and that’s 100 percent customer trust.
I’ve been in this territory for 25 years. Most of the customers I know on a first-name basis. I see them in public and they know me – that’s an advantage you can’t get overnight. But it’s one I’ve worked really, really hard for,” Keith says. “If they ask questions, I answer them. That gives them confidence and trust that I know the product, and I know what I’m talking about.”

Approaching them about an antiquated copier is no exception.

The Prevailing Results

Once an upgrade is complete, customer peace of mind is prevalent.

“They’re thrilled with the new machines. New document feeders. Mobile printing. The machine’s quieter. Speed of the document feeder. Single-pass,” Keith said. “It’s fun to install because they’re excited about their new tool.”