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Is there a one-size-fits-all type of answer for all the questions dealers ask? “Never,” says Callinan. “There’s always six different ways to do something. I’m a big advocate on the compensation side of compensating on the aftermarket, so making the primary variable portion of the reps compensation based on the aftermarket rather than the equipment. The more aftermarket a company gets, the healthier it is. And in the long run, the more aftermarket it controls, the more equipment it’s going to get. Can you put together a program that primarily comps on the equipment and be successful? Sure, copier dealers have been doing that for a long time. But I don’t think that aligns the rep with the company’s goals.”

Piper concedes it’s been a challenge reaching the notoriously frugal dealer audience. “I don’t get how we can sit in front of a dealer principle or some other level of executive and salesperson and within five or ten minutes of telling them what this thing does, they all shake their head and agree. But when it comes time to execute a program, they just don’t do it. For the life of me, I can’t figure out why.”

He believes part of the problem is complacency. “Some of it is that rapid assessment with USB keys is a very small part of what they do,” he adds. “I don’t really understand exactly why, but I would say this, the fax machine was never branded because of the slow adoption. And maybe that’s what this is like. I do think it’s a matter of time. Do I believe we’re going to get a 100 percent penetration? No, but I think the awareness will accelerate at a much more exponential rate.”

What’s it going to take to get things rolling? “The short answer is competition,” says Piper. “If I’m a sales rep and I go to an account, I’m going to be very surprised if someone using the FM Audit technology was in there and it just knocked out my equipment and I had no idea. That’s what it’s going to take, a punch in the face, a slap in the face, whatever you want to call it, it’s going to hit home. And they’re going to say, ‘I’ve got to get into it now.’”

“It’s just a matter of time,” adds Ricoh’s Carlomano. The key he says is getting the  various disciplines within a dealership to acknowledge the opportunity. Recognizing this, Ricoh was careful to ensure that launch materials included content not only for the dealer principle, but for the head of service, the head of aftermarket and operations, and sales personnel. “If we can make any one of those groups aware of the value that @Remote has to improve their business, it can dramatically help them improve their bottom line. It’s just a matter of making the various business owners aware of what it can do for them.”

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