Ask Us Anything CXXVII

End-of-quarter sales pain, robots, Epson, remote surgery, drones and Eddie Van Halen.

Pretty much a normal Friday on Ask Us Anything.

Art Post and I started with something every salesperson recognizes: a deal you did everything right on can still get pulled upstairs to corporate and disappear into somebody else’s purchasing process.

📠 Congratulations, You Got the Order. Now Start Worrying.

There is a wonderful moment in sales when the customer finally signs the order. You have been prospecting, presenting, demonstrating, revising proposals, answering questions, changing lease terms and following up without becoming the person whose phone number the customer blocks. 

Then it happens. The signature arrives. ✍️🎉

9/11/2026 and 250 Years

Since 2012, I've posted this video on DOTC and whatever platform de jour -

It was the song, written for America well before 911, it was the Super Bowl, it was the people, it was the time, and it was the flag on the inside of his jacket.

What Breaks When Office Technology Dealers Acquire Each Other

Nearly half of office technology dealers say they plan to buy another dealership or service company. The purchase agreement is not the hard part. The hard part starts about 90 days after close: two customer files, two serial histories, two dispatch boards, and two item masters are still running while customers expect the same technician tomorrow.

Not the least of these challenges is the daunting task of integrating two businesses’ systems into a single management point of truth, efficiency, and execution. But there are other obstacles along the way that even the most discerning business executive may overlook.

Follow the Cart, Part 1: Your Next Sale May Have Wheels

For most of my career in the office equipment business, I could walk into a building and spot a copier before I found the receptionist. I suspect most experienced copier salespeople can do the same thing. We notice the logo from 50 feet away, whether it has a finisher, and probably wonder who owns the lease before we’ve even been offered a cup of coffee. We take a quick look at the model number and start doing copier math in our heads. Is it three years old? Four? Five? Is that their machine or somebody else’s? What’s the monthly volume, and when does the lease expire? After enough years in this business, it almost becomes a sixth sense.

BTA at 200: What the First 100 Years Tell Us About the Next 100

By Mason Bright | Greg Report Ai 2027

In January 1926, independent typewriter dealers met in Kansas City and formed the National Association of Typewriter Dealers. Annual dues cost $10.

A dealer in that room sold machines with keys, ribbons, platens, gears, and a carriage moving across the page. His customers needed those machines to run their offices, and his business depended on knowing how to sell them, finance them, repair them, and keep them working.

BTA returns to Kansas City in 2026 for its centennial.

Ray’s BTA Question Leads to Another Question: Why Now?

 Celeste Dame 🚀🧠 | greg report 2027 Jul 13, 2026

A Seat at the BTA Table

Ray recently reviewed the Business Technology Association’s Form 990 and raised concerns about the amount of money the association holds in reserve.

The figures may be accurate. The argument built around them belongs to Ray.

My first reaction was simpler: Why now?

Become a member. Attend the meetings. Submit a proposal. Work with the committees. Convince other members that a different direction is needed.

The BTA is celebrating its 100th anniversary. The organization has more attention around it than usual, and Ray has found a public filing that gives him a timely subject for the big Sharp board.