Happenings August 26, 2023

    In this issue:

• Day Spotlight
• Dad Jokes
• Customer Spotlight
• S TX User Group Mtg
• Acumatica User Tip
• Leadership 101
• Events, Blogs, Movies

The purpose of a newsletter is an opportunity for the ASWi team to provide you and the rest of our clients with information on all the new ASWi and Acumatica related things (or “happenings”) that you may not otherwise be aware of.

Please feel free to share this newsletter with any/all of your team. Pease let me know if anyone on your team who would like to be added to the mailing list for the next issue and removed.

“Happiness is a warm puppy.” Charlie Brown (Charles Schultz)

Happy National Dog Day to ASWi’s Marketing Intern Gibbs (pictured here celebrating his day with his favorite pastime) and all our other canine friends. They give us companionship, they keep us safe, and they aid those in need.

Dogs play many roles in our lives, they keep us healthy, both physically and mentally. All dogs require care and training. If there’s a particular breed that has
captured your heart, check the shelters. You might be surprised to find either a purebred or one that is a mix of the kind you’re fond of.

When dogs find their forever home, their companionship creates lifelong benefits. They bring with them joy, loyalty, and devotion. Eventually, these pets become family. A great way to celebrate National Dog Day is to take time to appreciate the love and value that dogs bring to our daily lives, and to do your bit for homeless and abused dogs the world over.

Q: What do vegetarian dogs eat?
A: Bark.

Q: Where do you put a hot dog?
A: On a pun.

Q: What is Gibb’s favorite day?
A: Chews-day.

Q: What do Icelandic dogs say?
A: Bjork! Bjork! Bjork!

Q: What is a small dog called?
A: A sub-woofer.

Q: What does a dog do that we step into?
A: Pants

ASWi is very humbled, privileged, and proud to be able to serve some of the most innovative organizations in the country as their ERP solution provider and trusted business advisor.

Today, I would like to spotlight and introduce the newest members to our community: Canopy Solutions

Located in Houston, Texas, and founded 29 years ago, Coastal Environmental Group provides environmental remediation, civil construction and marine
construction services. Coastal works with federal and state governments as well as private industry in both a prime contractor and subcontractor role.

Coastal Environmental Group are replacing Intuit QuickBooks, Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, Microsoft Access databases, paper documents, and manual processes to immediately keep track of projects, purchasing, receivables, payables and financial information, with an ability to be operated with an ITAR compliant environment if needed in the future.

The Q3 2023 South Texas Acumatica User Group Meetup will be held this Thursday, August 31st, in Round Rock, Texas from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM CST.

If you’re our customer and you can attend, no matter where you are geographically coming from we would love to have you there! RSVP if you already belong to the S TX Acumatica User Group.

If you or someone on your team does not already belong to the South Texas Acumatica User Group RSVP:
– Log on to the Acumatica Community site with your Acumatica Customer Portal login (or sign up for an Acumatica Customer Portal login if you don’t already have
one).
– Go to the S TX Acumatica User Group site
– Request to join the user group
– Once approved, RSVP there for the event

Location:
MCA Communications, 3101 Eagles Nest, Suite 340, Round Rock, Texas

Please let Keith Wood, our Customer Success Manager, know at keithw@aswius.com or (717) 581-1226 if you are interested in attending but have questions on registration.

By Kelly Robertston, The Robertson Training Group

Most salespeople are required to negotiate with their prospects andcustomers. But let’s face it, today’s consumer and corporate buyer is
much more aggressive when negotiating the terms of a sale.

Unfortunately, many salespeople lack the same level of sophistication when negotiating with savvy purchasers. Here are thirty-two fatal mistakes that salespeople often make when they negotiate.

Avoid These Negotiation Mistakes

• Believing Price is the Primary Buying Decision
Although price is a factor in every sale, it is seldom the motivating factor behind a person’s final decision.

• Not Asking Enough Questions
I’m still amazed how few salespeople take the time to ask great questions during the sales process which makes it more difficult for them to effectively position their offering.

• Not Gathering The Right Information
While it is essential to ask questions, it is equally important to ask the right questions so you can negotiate more effectively.

• Believing Your Competitor Is Cheaper
Do not fall prey to the myth that ALL of your competitors are always cheaper. Someone, somewhere will always be able to sell a similar product for less. However, unless you are the absolute highest priced vendor in your marketplace, not all of your competitors will be cheaper.

• Failing To Establish Value
Value is in the eyes of the beholder so determine what is important to each buyer or customer and position your product or service accordingly.

• Allowing Ego To Get In The Way
Negotiating is part of business but I have seen people walk away from a good deal because their ego got in the way and clouded their judgment.

• Failure To Remain Objective
Salespeople who allow their emotions to get the best of them often struggle to remain objective during the sales and negotiating process.

• Revealing Your Deadlines
Another mistake is to reveal any deadlines you are working with. A tight deadline puts you under time pressure and a savvy person will use this grind out a better deal for themselves.

• Neglecting To Negotiate With Limited Authority
Don’t hesitate to tell a prospect that you need to check with your boss before you agree to a concession. This gives you wiggle room and allows you to appear that you are working on behalf of your customer.

• Failing to Plan
Failure to plan means planning to fail. Invest the time to plan your approach, the tactics you will use, the concessions you are prepared to make, and what information you still need to negotiate the best possible outcome.

• Failing To Determine A Walk-Away Point
If you don’t know when to walk away from a sale, you could end up losing money.

• Unable to Walk Away
Too many salespeople find themselves in the position of accepting an offer only to discover later that the deal actually cost them money. If the sale doesn’t make good business sense be prepared to walk away from it, regardless of the time you have invested.

• Not Taking Time To Think
Important decisions are sometimes made without proper thought; often in the heat of the moment or in order to get the deal done. Taking the time to think about the implications can save you money and add critical profit dollars to your bottom line.

• Failing To Get A Different Perspective
I often talk to my business partner before making a final negotiating decision. This gives me a different perspective, and often, new ideas and strategies. Use your time out to review the deal with someone who is not attached to the outcome.

• Negotiating With The Wrong People
If you’re not talking to someone who can make a final buying decision then you are dealing with the wrong person.

• Talking Too Much
I have watched dozens of salespeople negotiate with themselves because they talked too much. The best negotiators listen more than they talk.

• Not Using Silence As A Strategy
I saw this in action when my wife spoke to a client on the telephone. Instead of immediately responding to the person’s request, she paused and remained silent. A few moments later, the client made a concession that added more money to the deal.

• Making Assumptions
You may have heard the expression, “Assuming makes an ASS of U and ME.” Enough said.

• Not Using Testimonials or Case Studies
Assuming you have testimonials in place, I suggest arranging them into different categories so you can use the right testimonial at the right time.

• Giving In Too Soon
People appreciate what they have to work for. If you give in too soon, people will think that something is wrong with the product or that you are desperate for the sale.

• Not Listening Carefully
Instead of waiting for your turn to speak listen intently to other person. It sounds simple but it takes effort, energy and patience.

• Fear of Losing The Sale
Remember, there will always be someone else to sell to. This fear is more prominent when a sales person’s pipeline is running on empty so avoid it by constantly adding new prospects to your pipeline.

• Offering A Discount To Close The Deal
Remember, price is seldom the primary reason people make buying decision. Avoid the temptation to drop your price unless you have first considered other options.

• Making Too Many Concessions
If the other person refuses to make concession, you are simply negotiating against yourself. Don’t be afraid to ask for something in return for offering a concession.

• Failing To Pay Attention To Clues
Watch the other person’s behavior and body language. If they look down when asking for a discount, it indicates that they may be uncomfortable making that request.

• Making Concessions Too Quickly
When you make people wait before you concede to something, you increase the value of that concession and you subconsciously tell them that if they keep asking for concessions, the negotiating process will take longer.

• Lack of Confidence
This is usually a result of lack of negotiating skills which is why it is important to practise negotiating as often as possible. It can also be caused when negotiating with someone who is perceived to have more power than you.

• Being Overconfident
Get your ego out of the picture. I have seen some sales go sideways because the seller was overconfident in their approach.

• Failing To Practice
Great negotiators use every available opportunity to practice their skills. The more you negotiate the better you will get and the more comfortable

• Believing They Have All The Power
While I accept the fact that buyers have more leverage in today’s business climate, it is essential to realize that you can walk away from a deal if the other person get too aggressive or makes unrealistic demands.

• Not Using A Variety of Strategies
Great negotiators are well versed and they know how and when to use specific tactics such as the Flinch, Trade-off Principle, Nibble, etc.

• Rushing The Process
Effective negotiators have unshakeable patience. They can wait out delays and they never show anxiety when the process doesn’t move as quickly as they would like it too.

There you have it. Thirty-two mistakes, blunders and gaffes that salespeople make when negotiating. Avoid these errors and improve your results, your top-line sales and your bottom-line profits.

Shipping Carrier Integration’s carrier services stop working

After upgrading to Acumatica 2022 R1 or later versions, for customers using carrier services, one of the following issues could occur:

– On an attempt to confirm a shipment, receive rates, or test the carrier connection, for the carrier services configured before the upgrade, various errors, such as Specified cast is not valid and The rate is not available, occur.
– On an attempt to configure a new carrier service or edit an existing one on the Carriers (CS207700) form, the Plug-In (Type) box is not showing any value.
– On the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form, the list of carriers is not available under the Shipping Carrier Integrations node, as shown in the following screenshot:

Root cause
Starting from Acumatica ERP 2022 R1, the ability to select the specific carrier services has been introduced and licensing has been added for the Shipping Carrier Integration feature. For more information, you can refer to the topic of the PRINT EXPORT Integrations: Changing the Availability of Carrier Services for New Carriers in the Acumatica ERP 2022 R1 Initial Release Notes.

You can define a GL account and subaccount for posting machine cost to a production order.

Solution
Step 1: Add Shipping Carrier Integration (SCI) to your Acumatica license by contacting Keith Wood, our Customer Success Manager (keithw@aswius.com, 717-581-1226). He, in turn, will work our Acumatica Customer Success Manager to confirm that SCI is on your Acumatica license and that it is licensed for your preferred carrier integrations, such as FedEx, EasyPost, ShipEngine, or Stamps.com.

Step 2: After the contract has been updated, do the following:
A. On the toolbar of the Activate License (form, click Update License.
B. On the Enable/Disable Features form, verify that the carriers are listed and needed ones are enabled under the Shipping Carrier Integrations node, as shown in the following screenshot.

Step 3: On the toolbar of the Carriers form, for the respective carrier service, click Test Connection to verify that the connection to the carrier can be established successfully.

If you are having this issue, please feel free to email our Technical Support team at support@aswius.com, or contact our Customer Success Manager Keith Wood (keithw@aswius.com, 717-581-1226).