Top 10 Sales Trends for 2013

by Steve W. Martin 

What are the top business-to-business sales trends for 2013? Here's my list based upon my experience of studying some of the world's best sales organizations this past year.

HP: Winning in India depends on how much loss you can bear

One of the largest technology companies in the world, HP is facing stiff challenges, what with constant changes in its top management and strategies over the past two years. HP IndiaManaging Director Neelam Dhawan, who took over the India operations in 2008, has navigated the company through these tough times. In an interview with Harsimran Julka, she spoke on the year that was, and whether HP would cut PC prices in India to take on rivals like Dell and Lenovo. Excerpts:

HP India Managing Director Neelam Dhawan

How was 2012 for HP in India, considering we saw declining growth in PC industry?
I am glad this year is over. 2012 was a tough one, especially the first half, for a couple of reasons. We saw the forex rate going from Rs 44 to a dollar to Rs 55, which caused havoc with imports. The GDP growth of the country was really slow and political (and corruption) issues reported in the press against

The Best Sales Leaders Are Trend Hunters

Sales is all about hitting your numbers. The rapid fire, adrenalin-infused process of nailing monthly and annual sales targets comes with the territory. But who's aiming for targets two and three years out? It's not just a job for strategy; the best sales leaders are hunting for trends.

Future growth isn't about gut instinct or reading tea leaves to find the next big thing. Sales leaders we spoke to in writing the book Sales Growth systematically invested time, effort, and resources in figuring out where growth will come from next. Despite all the short-term pressures, the best are looking at least 10 quarters ahead. "In our international operations, we introduced a three-year sales planning process to get beyond the 90-day mentality of 'How will I make my number this quarter?'" says William Teuber, Vice-Chairman of EMC.

How to charge a high price and still get customers

That is indeed the power of a premium brand. And contrary to the popular opinion, you don’t always need to spend huge amounts in marketing and advertising to create a premium brand. Remember, any great brand is built over two steps: make your customer a promise of quality that the customer values, and then consistently deliver on that promise.Have you ever wondered why do you go to a specific store to buy a certain product? For example you may buy your sweets from a particular shop. Now, there may be other shops that sell the same sweets, but once you are convinced about the quality or consistency of one shop, chances are, you will be willing to drive out of your way

Top Reasons Salespeople Lose Business

by Steve W. Martin  

It's the question asked by anyone who's ever lost a sale: What went wrong?

Was it something I said? Was it something I /didn't/ say? Or was our product not up-to-snuff versus the competition?

HP launches multi-function printer at Rs 18,306

NEW DELHI, DEC 4: 

Hewlett Packard (HP) India on Tuesday launched Hotspot LaserJet Pro multi-function printer, an all-in-one with in-built wireless Internet, priced at Rs 18,306.Besides print, copy, scan and fax capabilities, the new printer will come with latest mobile printing technologies including HP wireless direct, HP ePrint and Apple AirPrint.

The company said it is targeting customers in the small office/home office (SOHO) or a small business (SMB) set-up through this new printer.

H-P's New Printers: A Big Launch for the Battered Company

Hewlett-Packard Co. HPQ +2.41% plans to unveil a new line of printers for businesses Tuesday, one of the first fruits of Chief Executive Meg Whitman's efforts to invest more in research and development as she tries to turn around the struggling technology company.

What can we learn from our customers?

All businesses claim that they value feedback from their customers, but how many of these businesses actually learn from the feedback their customers give them?

The difference between listening to customer feedback and actually learning from it is the degree of involvement your business has in the process. Learning from customers can be and should be a strategic process that leads to transformational shifts in your product or service.

HP LASERJET ENTERPRISE 500 COLOUR MFP M575 SERIES

Overview

Impressive color and productivity—from a desktop MFP featuring an 8-inch touchscreen. HP Quick Sets enable one-touch workflows. Preview and edit images prior to scanning. Centrally manage your environment. Help protect sensitive business information.

Making your competition work for you

We live in competitive times and all businesses are invariably competing with rival firms for sales. For small business owners, the competitive threat is significant, not just from their peers who are of roughly the same size, but from large, all-powerful corporates or entities who can destabilize smaller businesses simply by venturing into their market.

Entrepreneurs and business owners therefore need to take a leaf out of the bigger companies when it comes to dealing with competition. Take the example of Linkedin, a hugely successful professional networking site that began to look a little outdated and less engaging when compared to Facebook and other networking sites.

HP Unveils New Printing Innovations That Digitize the Office, Help Reduce Costs

PALO ALTO, CA--(Marketwire - Oct 30, 2012) - HP ( NYSE : HPQ ) today announced new HP Officejet Pro and HP LaserJet printers and content management solutions designed to redefine business and government printing by enabling customers to reduce costs, increase efficiency and digitize the office.

The new offerings represent the largest upgrade to HP's commercial printers in almost a decade, signifying the integration of intellectual property (IP) and innovation from across the organization.

"Our customers need innovative technology tailored to their workflow that is simple and effective, and helps them conduct business," said Todd Bradley, executive vice president, HP Printing and Personal Systems. "HP is offering new ways to print that have not previously been possible -- with superb speed and performance to drive a new level of office efficiency."

Kodak to discount printers and continue selling cheap ink

Kodak is exiting the printer business after their attempt to subvert the industry's typical business model failed.

Printers are the kind of purchase that people make based on price sensitivity. Few understand that the real cost of a printer is not its upfront expense, but rather the cost of replacement ink over its lifetime. 

Canon eyes number one position in Indian inkjet printer market

Digital imaging company Canon has introduced a slew of initiatives with an aim of becoming the number one player in the inkjet printer category in India in the next three years.

The Japanese company which stood at number two position in this category in India with a market share of about 23 per cent (according to CyberMedia Research) in third quarter of CY2012, is looking at introducing newer range of inkjet printers which can reduce the printing costs further.

The company is also planning to expand Canon brand stores to 300 by the end of 2014 from about 80 now. Canon brand stores sell the company’s range of products starting from camera to printers. Besides, Canon is also planning to make its products available in about 2,500 multi-brand stores by the end of 2015 from about 850 at present.  

Multifunctional Devices: Color-Laser Multifunctionality Gains Ground

Color laser technology will constitute the fastest growing laser segment and will propel the overall laser technology growth. At the same time, operating cost considerations will drive users to adopt tools that control color printing.

The dynamics of multifunctional devices market is changing rapidly. The industry has been registering mixed sales, as organizations are demonstrating controlled purchasing of print devices and opting for managed services.CIOs and IT managers are exploring the use of effective technologies as part of overarching technology adoption to maintain a profitable business model.

The Indian multifunctional devices industry is estimated at Rs. 2745 crore with the devices accounting for 61 percent of the market and the balance 39 percent contributed by consumables. The industry is projected to reach Rs. 4020 crore in 2012, a growth of 46 percent over 2011, with consumables and MFD expected to contribute Rs. 1660 crore and Rs. 2360 crore, respectively.

Multifunctional devices may be segmented as inkjet and laser MFD. On the technology front, laser multifunctional devices may be further classified as copier-based and printer-based.

HP LASERJET ENTERPRISE 600 M603 PRINTER SERIES

Tackle large-volume print jobs with ease, and enable printing policies with top-flight expandability. 

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Bad Ink - The Problem with Counterfeit Ink and Toner

HP Anti-Counterfeit Program, Printing and Personal Systems: How to recognize, report and prevent the manufacture and distribution of counterfeit print cartridges.

HP LaserJet Pro 400 M401dn

The boxy M401dn sports an all-black matte finish but feels sturdy, measuring 366mm x 368mm x 272mm. It comes with two loading trays and power button in the front with a USB port on the lower left so you can print files from a thumbdrive directly. The printer and Ethernet ports are located at the back.In the tradition of robust, no-frills laser printers, the HP LaserJet Pro 400 M401dn printer ranks as an office-friendly monochrome printer that is all business and fun to use.

Top Tips to Print On-The-Go

As someone running a business, how many times have you found yourself in a situation when you needed a printout urgently, but had to wait till you got back to office printer? Or when you wanted a quick printout of an important email you were reading on your smartphone? Or forwarding a document to someone at the office who does not have access to a PC? More times than you can count, right?

Going by the demands of managing businesses in today’s fast-paced economy, it is not always possible or even practical to prevent the flow of information between your business and your customer just because you don’t have a printer handy.

Improve your bottom-line with smart printing choices

With the shift to electronic communications, you would think that paper consumption was declining. Think about it, if we are emailing each other, using the Internet and filing our hard drives with digital files then surely we’re using less paper, right? Ironically, the reality is just the opposite.Inefficient paper, ink and energy consumption in printing, is not just bad for the planet but bad for business too.

The consumption of paper is estimated to grow annually by six to seven per cent in India1. During 2002-

Original versus fake, at what cost

Anyone who has had an experience with a counterfeit or fake product can vouch for the fact that they are invariably cheaper than originals. That may explain why up to ten percent of global trade is made up of pirated or counterfeit products worth US$1.65 trillion1, and is expected to double in three years.