According to a report released in January by the Department of Labor, a total of 43 states reported rising unemployment rates during December of 2009. This news came as both a surprise and a disappointment, arriving on the heels of a November report that indicated a decrease in unemployment rates in 36 states. The report also stated that all 50 states had an unemployment rate in December 2009 that was higher than it was a year ago, in December 2008. Once again, Michigan had the highest rate of unemployment (14.6%), and North Dakota had the lowest (4.4%).

Joblessness was highest in the West, with a regional jobless rate of 10.7%. The region with the lowest overall rate of joblessness was the Northeast, with a rate of 9.2%.

Despite December's bad news, however, many experts are confident that the economy has begun the long, slow process of recovery. In a January 22nd article by CNN Money, Craig Thomas, a senior economist at PNC, was quoted as saying he believes that this latest Labor Department report does not tell the whole story. “This reversal is so surprisingly negative that it causes us to be cautious,” he said. “This report has been unreliable, and it tends to miss turning points. It's been tough, but we are certainly here at the turnaround. In a few months these numbers will be revised up significantly to reflect the trends we're seeing nationally.” Thomas thinks the unemployment rate will peak in the first quarter of 2010 and will decline over the course of the year. “It's always disappointing to see these numbers, and it creates some wavering on the idea of the recovery progressing,” he said. “But if you look at the hard evidence, we are moving toward recovery.”
 

Finding salespeople who are up to the challenges of selling equipment, software, and services in today's constantly-evolving industry is one of the greatest challenges currently facing dealer principals. You know who the sales superstars are on your staff, but what makes them great? And what qualities should you look for in candidates for sales positions? These seven characteristics of great copier salespeople by no means tell the whole story, but they're a good start to understanding what separates stellar sellers from the rest of the pack.

1. They're smart enough to learn the product. The days of talking only speeds and feeds are behind us. Today's copier salespeople have to know an enormous amount of information about high-tech machines, powerful software, and complex solutions and services. If they can't answer the technical questions posed by their clients' IT departments, they've got little chance of getting in front of the decision maker.

2. They're enthusiastic about being in the industry. As the capabilities of copier dealerships evolve, so do the career opportunities available to salespeople in this industry. As MPS expert Teri Dunn told Copier Careers recently, today's copier sales careers are "so much more exciting than the career we had years ago." The salespeople who consider copier sales a career, rather than just a job, are the people you want to have on your team.

3. They enjoy learning new things. The only constant in this and most other industries is change. Technology is changing, the economy is changing, and the culture is changing. Salespeople who can adapt to these changes will survive and thrive; salespeople who can't (or won't) learn how to deal with change will soon find themselves out of a job.

4. They stay focused on the big picture. Mediocre salespeople will settle for the quick, easy box sale if they can get away with it. Great salespeople are patient enough to handle the longer sales cycles that MPS and other innovations require.

5. They do what's best for the client. Bad salespeople sell customers expensive products and services they don't really need because they're focused on their short-term commission rather than on the customer's long-term business needs. Especially in this economy, that's no way to sustain a relationship. Great salespeople do the right thing, because they know it will be more profitable in the long run.

6. They are team players. Salespeople have a reputation for thinking only of themselves. They're competitive, they change jobs often, and they're strongly motivated by money. These aren't necessarily bad things—being competitive, opportunity-oriented, and financially motivated are essential to the success of most reps. But the truly excellent salespeople realize that they are part of a team—a company—whose goals are ultimately more important than their own. They understand their employers' strategies for long-term success, and do their best to reconcile their shorter-term goals to these higher-level plans.

7. They're hard workers. No matter how smart, enthusiastic, and forward-thinking a salesperson is, none of it is worth much if he or she doesn't put in the hours and the effort. No matter how much the technology advances, old-fashioned hard work will never become obsolete.

In January, we received a huge response (over 700 votes) to our Poll-of-the-Month on the topic of Managed Print Services. Here are the results:

Do you believe that offering Managed Print Services creates more challenges for the sales department, the service department, or the back office?

1. For the sales department
2. For the service department
3. For the back office