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Don’t
Copy. Lead.
With
IDS Toshiba Lines
By Jamie
Hamilton
Dealers, start selling the Toshiba and Minolta Digital
copiers, printers, fax machines, accessories, software, supplies,
and parts today! If your customers are going digital, see
International Digital Solutions (IDS) for all you digital needs,
including Sales Materials, Marketing Strategies and Technical
Training Info direct from Toshiba.
IDS offers dealers
Toshiba copiers, facsimiles, and printers ranging from 12 cpm to
25 cpm, as well as selected Minolta lines. Look forward to new
Toshiba equipment, scheduled to arrive in September, consisting of
the e-Studio 200L, 230 and 280 copiers (20-23-28 copies per
minute) and e-Studio180 and 200CP printers.
Authorized and
unauthorized dealers are welcome at IDS. But, if you are interested
in becoming a certified Toshiba Business Product Center, IDS will
assist you in getting the certification you need, from your computer
at the office or at home (see the “Here’s How” section for more
info). The certification is free, if you do business with IDS.
Should I Become a
Toshiba Business Product Center (If you are already, see the “What
you Get” section)?
If you are not already a
certified TBPC, perhaps you should consider it. Why? The answer is
Toshiba America Business Solutions (TABS) produces a staple in the
imaging business when it comes to quality machines. This can be seen
time and again by the recognition they have received since their
inception by Toshiba in 1999 (TABS was started by Toshiba and
handles imaging sales in the U.S., Latin America and the Caribbean).
“Consistently recognized
for innovation, quality and technological excellence, Toshiba (TABS)
has garnered more than 150 industry awards and product
recommendations including the prestigious Channel’s Choice award,
which has been presented to the Company in seven of the past eight
years,” read press materials supplied by Toshiba.
Not only do they sell
quality products, but they provide complete technical support for
dealers and technicians. Interested in becoming a TBPC?
Here’s How
Becoming an authorized
Toshiba dealer through IDS is as easy as one . . . two . . . three.
When you contact IDS, simply say that you are interested in becoming
a Toshiba Business Products Center. A customer service
representative will enter you into their system so that you can
begin your Toshiba training.
Once you are activated,
you can become certified at your PC by taking an online course from
Toshiba’s website, you have 60 days to complete the program. After
finishing the tutorial, you are certified by Toshiba as a TBPC, you
have received the same training as an authorized Toshiba dealer.
It’s that simple.
What Do You Get (Toshiba
Dealers, this means you)?
So, now that I’m
certified, what do I get? Once you become a TBPC, IDS offers you
Toshiba products at a discount, this includes Toshiba’s OCR
software. As a certified dealer, your parts are drop-shipped
directly from the manufacturer to you. And, IDS offers you
technical support online, in the field, or straight from the
manufacturer.
If your technician gets
an error code or forgets a programming code in the field, he/she can
contact IDS for the information. They will fax it to you so you can
have the information on hand or supply you with the information over
the phone, whichever is more convenient for you at the time.
You Get Two day shipping
anywhere in the U.S.
IDS has locations
in the West, Mid-West and East, so all your parts, no matter where
they’re headed in the United States, can be there in two days or
less. And, orders made before
3:00 p.m. are shipped
same-day from
IDS or straight from the manufacturer, if need be.
In addition to this, you
are invited to IDS seminars twice a year that Toshiba
attends, in case you have any particular questions for them about
the products. It is a good chance to network with other dealers and
become educated on new products as they hit the market.
Have you ever considered
leasing the equipment through IDS? IDS will teach you how.
Also, learn from them how the government could use your
services.
Founder and President,
Sylvia Turner, has worked with the (GSA scheduling) government
agencies for a number of years, and she understands how it buys,
commenting:
“The Federal Government
(no matter what corporate America is doing) will still need to
print, fax, and copy. The government is the biggest consumer,
buying almost 2.3 billion dollars in products/ services a year. If
customers need help, we will assist them in writing proposals and
positing their company for open bids.”
Whatever your needs, IDS
is interested in servicing dealers to succeed. “We don’t just
want your order, we want your business,” says founder and President,
Sylvia Turner. “Our goal is to offer you solutions that will
assist you in growing your business. Becoming a Toshiba
Business Product Center is one of the ways in growing your business
by Leasing, Dealer
Split and Bid Assistance
for those of you who would like to do business with Federal, State,
County, City and Municipalities.”
IDS- They are there for
you, from Beginning to End
“Our motto is Alpha and
Omega, we are dedicated from beginning to end: from sales to
customer service, from the warehouse to the service department.
We do not take your order, ship out your product, and then you fall
by the wayside. We ship out the order, we call you with a tracking
number, we have a great customer service department that makes sure
you receive your product in a timely and good manner.” Sylvia said
of the IDS business philosophy, “We are dedicated to people that
purchase products from us. They have support after the sale.”
Sylvia went on to say,
“One thing that sets us apart is that we are sincere about what we
do. It’s not about, ok, we’ll take your order and we’ll take your
money. We want a relationship with our dealers. Anybody can take
your order, but not everybody can earn your business.”
In Business Since ‘99- A
Woman’s Touch
IDS was founded in ‘99
when Sylvia Turner realized her long-term dream, since she could
remember, of becoming a entrepreneur. She met with an investor that
had the financial backing to make her dream a reality and presented
her idea. He agreed, and IDS was born.
Turner’s 13 years of
industry experience started when she heard about an opportunity in
sales from a dear friend, Suzanne Carter. At the time, she was
working as a quality assurance inspector for government products.
Turner’s people-person attitude had convinced Suzanne that she
should go into sales in the imaging business and this story is the
history.
She began work as a
wholesale sales rep for OEM Sharp equipment and supplies . . . and
loved it! She stayed on for four years. Then, opportunities opened
up for her in other aspects of sales including used equipment, doing
government sales (GSA), and becoming the sales manager at ACM.
Above all, at these jobs, she learned to know her competition and to
discover how to sell to them, along with dealers.
With this combined
industry knowledge, she finally had the experience and financial
backing to begin IDS. Starting with two employees–one of which was
Suzanne Carter who has 20 years of industry experience, IDS now has
five who work from a 5500 sq. ft facility that warehouses a quarter
of a million dollars of equipment consistently.
What’s more, IDS is
mostly made up of women. “What makes us unique is that we are
predominately females in this company. We do everything from sales
to customer service, technical support, advertising, and marketing.
We are a true sense of Charlie’s Angles,” Turner says of IDS.
She went on to say, “I
attend the dealer meetings. And when I look in that room and see
all the suits, I see that I am primarily the only executive female
present in that room. Not to say that we discriminate, it’s just to
say that we get the job done equal to or better than the suits. We
are authorized by (TABS) Toshiba America Business Solutions Inc, a
50 billion dollar company worldwide. That speaks volumes.”
IDS becomes a household
name . . . Someday
Someday, Turner
envisions IDS in the four corners of the U.S. She wants IDS to
become synonymous with Toshiba products, with quality, reliability,
and excellence . . . from beginning to end.
“To become one of
Toshiba’s national distributors is my primary goal. And, to one day
start another company and set them up the exact same way. And then
keep going, we want to be a household name like General Electric and
Westing House, Sears, and Starbucks–there’s one on every corner. We
want to be an International Digital Solutions West Coast,
International Digital Solutions East Coast etc. . . . That’s our
goal.”
Contact IDS:
www.idswc.com
T. 310-537-9811
T. 888-372-3700
F. 310-900-1444
F. 310-537-9819
by Jamie Hamilton— in
addition to writing business profiles in ENX, Jamie writes and
designs ads, brochures, catalogs, newsletters, and technical manuals
for companies in the imaging industry. She can be contacted at:
Tel/ Fax 502-896-1051 or e-mail her at:
jamiewriter@hotmail.com.
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