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Sunday, June 15, 2008

The Single Most Important Tool In Managed Print Services

6/15/08

- A Game of Six Inches –

And by “Six Inches” I mean the space between your ears.

Anyone can take a set of pre-written interview questions, read them out, and write down the response. Anybody can get meter reads and divide by total months in the field and get an average monthly volume. And anybody can attend one of a plethora of newly created “How to sell/implement/create/invest in/market/make a profit in Managed Print Services” courses.

And I recommend every single course. As a matter of fact, I recommend that all my competitors take continuous courses, read thousands of articles, plan, strategize, forge partnerships with vendors and distributors, test all the meter reading tools, attend all the manufacturers’ “How To” seminars, develop hundred-page spreadsheets to determine CPC – please, by all means, you can never learn too much. You study, I'll "do".

All the books, all the courses, all the Powerpoint presentations in the world will only give you “book smarts” and as Springsteen says, “…we learned more from a three-minute record than we ever did is school…”

It isn’t all about facts and numbers, it’s about people. It’s not about first copy out time or the fact that duplexing can save trees and the Chewbaccas , it’s about the CEO’s assistant not needing to babysit the color copier on a Saturday afternoon, missing her kid’s ballet recital.

The sad news is this – I am talking about wisdom and true wisdom comes over time, not on slide 82 of 150. And fortunately for some, we’ve been in the business long enough to remember the look on people’s faces when they saw the very first letter printed on a laser printer – and we were witness to all the changes in business due to technology.

And if you have always been selling with high intent, doing what is best for your customers and yourself, learning about each business you have been fortunate to visit - taking all that in over the years then you are in a very fortunate position. Celebrating the successes and learning from the failures.

If you are one of those, you know this Wisdom is Platinum, and it is the acumen that corporate leaders will pay greatly to be in the company of. All that needs to be done is effectively communicate the results of your study through the prism of your wisdom. (I hope somebody is writing this down, these are priceless drops of gold)

If you are new to MPS or to sales or to helping customers solve problems, let not your heart be troubled, start today. Start engaging your prospects to learn more about their business, their personal challenges, their ups, and their downs - talk and learn more than just CPC, FCOT, fuser, toner, supplies, and jams.

That's right - Six Inches.



Contact Me

Greg Walters, Incorporated
greg@grwalters.com
262.370.4193