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Showing posts with label Selling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Selling. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 27, 2023

The Ugly Truth: Selling is not an Artform - It's an Algorithm



"Selling is an Art" is A Lie.

In the world of sales, there's a pervasive narrative that "Selling is an Art." This perspective is often championed by sales management and trainers, painting a romanticized picture of the sales profession. But why is this narrative so prevalent, and what purpose does it serve?

At its core, the idea of selling as an art form is a motivational tool. By elevating the act of selling to the status of artistry, sales management and trainers aim to instill a sense of pride, purpose, and self-worth in salespeople. The underlying message was clear: you're not just pushing a product or service; you're crafting a masterpiece, engaging in a dance of persuasion, and creating a unique experience for the customer.

However, there's a darker side to the story, there always is. 

Framing selling as an art, is suggests that you possess a unique, almost mystical skill set that sets you apart from others. This leads to your inflated sense of self-importance, making you believe you hold a special place in the corporate hierarchy and the sales realm. In reality, you are a victim of a strategic move to keep you motivated, driven, and, most importantly, loyal to the company.

Friday, February 3, 2023

New to Copier Sales: The Three Levels of Prospects, Part 2



Today we’ll examine the second area of sales genres, the midsized companies, and opportunities.

See Part 1 of this series for an explanation and disclaimer about profiles.

We’ll talk about the midlevel prospects through three dimensions: the approach, the tools, and the expectations.
"Although end users at this level show interest in how your solution works, the pretty colors available, what buttons to push, etc. the real powers that be are looking at solving business problems. They will unconsciously place you in one of two camps: A simple salesperson selling simple tools or a person who has experienced and solved different problems for other companies."

Friday, December 9, 2022

The Greg Walters Show With Mike Stramaglio

Fly Me Too The Moon

New to the copier industry?  You want to hear the three things you should be doing to thrive in this world (of selling) and the next(of selling).

Tuesday, November 22, 2022

Cutting Edge #Comedy is Offensive - So Is Cutting Edge #Selling

Arrested for comedy.

Good comedy is cutting-edge and offensive.
Good selling is cutting-edge and offensive.

Lenny Bruce. 

Tuesday, September 13, 2022

New to Copier Sales: How to Work With Your Technicians


It’s an age-old argument. “Without Sales, the lights don’t come on,” says the selling professional. “Without Service, you don’t get a paycheck,” says the seasoned service technician. Who is correct?

I’d like to share ideas about something I haven’t heard anyone address: the relationship between sales reps and your service department — more specifically, how to work with people who service your customers almost every day.

"Selling Copiers" - Art Post. Wisdom from the Windows to the Walls


Good friend and colleague, Art Post
has a great interview over at ENX.  I know the business model at ENX and if Art is getting space, he is worth the listen.

Here is a sample:

Based on your 40-plus years of experience, what do you think are the primary reasons you’ve been able to unseat incumbents and pull off net-new wins?


Post

"For one, they don’t get enough training or support from their organization. A second thing is one of my biggest pet peeves: work ethic. They simply lack it. Ours is not a nine-to-five job; if you want to make nine-to-five money, go work for a fast food company. In my writing, I like to focus on the three Ds: desire, determination, and dedication. If you’re going to be successful in this business, you need to have the desire to succeed. 

You need to be dedicated to continuously learning. And you have to have the determination not to fail. That determination to see something from start to finish and not give up, to not give in. 

And I think that’s missing. It’s a reason a lot of good people fail. I believe you can’t teach desire; the desire to be the best is an innate trait salespeople must have in order to make money and succeed.0 

It probably applies to the top 20% of salespeople; after all, they say 20% of the salespeople make 80% of the sales."

Good stuff, full interview, here.

 

Tuesday, March 22, 2022

12 Aspects of Leasing a Copier - No You Can't Break a Lease


Leasing is math under contract. The dealer buys a device from distribution or manufacturer. The leasing company pays the dealer his cost, all upfront.

The leasing company bills the ultimate customer periodically until the cost of the machine to the dealer and profit is covered.  

Benefits to each player:

  • Lease company - profit
  • Dealer - profit all upfront
  • Customer - monthly payment instead of a large, one-time outlay

Example:

A customer wishes to 'own' a large piece of equipment.  The purchase price is $20,000.00.  Instead of paying 20k all at once, the customer would like to pay over time.

The dealer would like to sell the customer equipment, installation, and software needed for the device to function.  The dealer cannot offer pay overtime to the customer directly.

The leasing company approves the client and the sale moves forward.

Monday, March 7, 2022

How to Sell


This is great.  Start at 9:26 or listen to the entire piece.

It is the first time I've heard an academic explains how sales really work.

Give it a listen and take notes.

 
  

Click to email me.

Thursday, July 29, 2021

Turn Knowledge into Wisdom, Close More Deals



Business Acumen for Sales - The Course Work

For decades, at least since the 70's, sales reps have been posing their products as "solutions to problems".  From Wiki:
"Frank Watts developed the sales process dubbed "solution selling" in 1975. Watts perfected his method at Wang Laboratories. He began teaching solution selling as an independent consultant in 1982."

This was big through the '80s, 90's and still stands today.  Yet, "Solution sales" has become little more than a slogan.  Closer to the truth, "Solution Sales: As long as the solution is my product or services." 

Don't get me wrong, solution selling was a great advancement in the field of B2B sales.  Solution selling is foundational in professional selling.  Billions of dollars have traded hands based on this approach.  Anything I promote rests on the shoulders of people greater than I.

Evolution happens.  I believe an enhancement to solution selling is Business Acumen Selling. (BAS)

BAS is not about working leads through the selling cycle, understanding your leasing strategies, building good cases and presentations.  It does not refer to a salesperson's ability to demonstrate a device or piece of software nor does BAS have anything to do with how well you update the CRM or forecast the next 90 days.

Business Acumen for Selling is: 

  1. Understanding - Recognizing the business model your prospects work within, understanding if you have and exactly where your place in their model resides, and the impact of your presence.  
  2. Comparative Analysis - Consistently acquiring knowledge, building acumen across commercial industries, vertical markets, and niches, and utilizing that knowledge.
  3. Deep Conversations - Conveying your understanding of the existing environment and articulating your value within their ecosystem.

Most seasoned professionals have a sense of BAS honed through years of fieldwork and thousands of appointments.   My goal is to formalize and shorten the timeline required to learn and apply BAS; especially for the new sales representative.

Our courses are designed to give selling professionals the tools necessary to gain knowledge, distill knowledge into acumen and articulate both an understanding of prospects' environment and the impact of adding the sales reps offering into the client's business model.

Monday, April 12, 2021

Can We Get Rid of Quotas?


The selling profession after Covid19: 
"We have to start doing what was said we were doing but never did."

We're all talking about the "new" ways to sell.  

Covid19 is forcing galactic shifts in the way we do business; from the back-office to the sales trenches. What I find striking is the more we talk about what needs to be done in a post Covid19 sales engagement, the more we find the basic selling skills apply more than ever.

Here are a few of the concepts and skills presented over the decades regarding sales and selling:

  • Build Trust
  • Attract Like-Minded Prospects
  • Consult
  • Be the Trusted advisor
  • Increase Your Business Acumen
The books, lectures, and classes of the past decades all told us to be more a consultant and experts in our industry. Lately, in the last decade, salespeople have been told to become thought leaders, create content, find a 'good match', and help the prospect in their purchasing journey.

We've been saying it for decades.  These are basic skills. Now is the time to ACTUALLY do what we have been saying we do.  Engage the basics, and get to the root of the art of selling.  Once we do this, virtual selling will return to 'Selling'.

Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Sales Revolution Built On Hope? Careful what you wish for...




The game is changing, but it always has been.  
The way businesses align purchasing is shifting, but it always has been.
New marketing platforms are emerging but always have been.
Sales are evolving but always have been.
There is talk of a selling rebellion, but there always has been.

There's chatter about the new selling, the new way businesses are buying, and how the sales professionals of today had better change their ways. We've got to multiply our efforts tenfold, continue to cold call and embrace social media.

Today, "Kings", "Cowboys" and "Warriors" populate our little niche and we've got professionals "saving the industry one copier at a time". Worthy, noble, and authentic efforts - I'm all for self-branding and rebellion.  I question the focus of our current emotional revolt.

Words mean things -

Revolt: refuse to acknowledge someone or something as having authority
Revolution: a forcible overthrow of a government or social order, in favor of a new system

So yes, we as a profession, are in the mood for revolt and revolution. It's understood the selling representatives are the Rebels but who are we 'rebelling' against? Who are the bad guys?



Are we taking on the old-school mentality? Assaulting old techniques is one thing, but these are outdated tools, not the root of evil.

Maybe we're rebelling against our prospects and customers - not the brightest idea.

Conducting a revolution against other sales people is self-destructive and most likely a strategy our nemesis relies upon. From the outside, it must look like we're a bunch of self-loathing, never good enough yahoo's running around spewing "transformation, this" and "the new way of that...".

To summarize:
  • Revolting against prospects and clients is not the way.
  • We are not our greatest enemy, we will not self-destruct.
  • The "Evil Empire" is not the past.
Again, who is the enemy?

I know who. If you're a sales trainer, you're not going to like it.  If you're a sales manager, you're not going to like it.  If you're selling anything through a tiered channel, you are not going to like it.  Heck, I don't even like it.

The target of our revolution are those who inflict quotas, false ideals and untrustworthy sales techniques: OEMs, Mega dealers, and vendors of the day are the enemy.
I have moved from certainty to doubt, from devotion to rebellion. 
- Phil Donahue
I am the last one to call for unionization - unions kill - but an organized resistance is the only alternative.  I'm talking about a guild of selling professionals - similar to the Screen Actor's Guild.


So who is in a position to organize contemporary selling professionals?  I have no idea but a great start would be for sales people to think differently:

start selling for yourself
form your own brand
invest in yourself



CAUTION: Rebellions require blood.  The cost of freedom is never free and all revolutions, have casualties.  Who, in this cause, will give all?  Who will create change through sacrifice?

  • Will any of the new sales trainers step up to form The Guild or continue taking money from the establishment?
  • Will mega-dealers change the way reps are paid or continue to support an archaic standard?
  • Will OEMs get rid of their tiered approach?
  • And who in their right mind would join such a movement, let alone LEAD against these most formidable foes?
I don't have the answer to that question.  I can say finding a leader within the Empire(OEM,Trainers, MegaDealers) is at best dubious.  Perhaps an older, wiser Rebel will make their way center stage.

Caution: As a metaphor, in the movie Rogue One, can you recall how many of the small rebel team survived?

Nobody.

Sales Revolution?  What Revolution?

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Three Ideas for Copier People Selling Managed Services


The move into managed services is well on its way and traditional copier reps are getting caught in the middle between selling boxes and selling services.  Pundits and consultants lament "copier people cannot sell managed services" unless they attend a day of specialized sales training.

It is true, I've seen plenty of managed services or IT sales destroyed by copier sales reps - from Cali to N.C. I've written about a couple of instances.

The thing is, for all the challenges and failures, the rep is not to blame. We train them to always be closing, find pain and twist, to hunt, take-down, close, trap and "increase share of wallet" - armed with this mentality, its a miracle anybody sells anything, let alone a nuanced offering like managed services.

So, as a copier rep, what can you do to secure more managed services contracts/agreements?  Should you heed your sales manager's advice and  treat help desk like a fax board?  Does your OEM offer any clues? How about a few days of off-site training followed up with a phone blitz?

"No...no...no..."

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

#Managed print Services - TheDeathOfRelationship Selling

Original post, 10/3/11



"...Now and then I think of all the times you screwed me over
But had me believing it was always something that I'd done
But I don't wanna live that way
Reading into every word you say
You said that you could let it go
And I wouldn't catch you hung up on somebody that you used to know..."

All those original MPS Engagements are about to come up for renewal soon, aren't they?  Or do yours all have auto-renew's? Nice.

Are you setting yourself apart and building value into your relationship?  Or are you screwing them over, blaming them?

They'll figure it out, waking up one day and making you 'somebody that they used to know...'

MpS'es I speak with report a customer retention rate of 99.9999%, mentioning their depth of client relationship as one of the supporting pillars.

Relationships. That's what it is all about - but how do you define a "relationship"?

Quarterly Business Reviews? Weekly client meetings? Lunch and learns? Bondage and Rapport? "Nice Fish".  That was then, this is Now.

-- Read the Rest Here --





Click to email me.

Monday, September 22, 2014

Stop Doing These Four Things & Sell More Managed Print Services




Selling managed print services and managed services is not brain science, it's more like Rocket Surgery.

What year is this, 1989?

Maybe you know of these, maybe not.  The point is, I'm hearing more and more about how the better MPS selling organizations are replacing failed existing MPS engagements.  The losers are not covering the basics like toner delivery, prompt service and correct billing let alone workflows and business acumen.

As always, these are my views and mine alone - take 'em or leave 'em.

Monday, August 25, 2014

#Copier Sales People: Three Tips to Selling Managed Services

2014

It isn't that difficult...to sell managed services.  As a matter of fact, selling managed services is a lot easier than convincing a 'board of elders' to lease your new color device...with saddle stitch, no less.

First things first,  if your leadership is so wrapped up in themselves they think:

A) copiers will be around forever or
B) Managed services is akin to adding a duplexer or fax board

- keep your resume up to date.

Unless you're in some backwater market where they still lease copiers for 72 months, hardware sales are about to fall off a cliff (slight exaggeration).  Maybe your guys don't see it coming - it is already here, so the sooner you get your personal act together about services, not hardware, the better.

Just between you and I, there are hundreds of hints and tips around selling managed services.  In the end, the advice is nothing more than a shuffle of what you've already been told.

There isn't ONE training course, consultant or "MNS" expert who will mention any one of these tips:

1.  Stop being afraid
2.  Forget everything you know about hardware
3.  Ignore your quota and in some cases...Ignore your boss

Your Fears

If there's one thing I've seen from coast to coast is whenever somebody on the copier side starts to talk about Managed IT Services,  they backtrack into, "well, I need to know more about that business before I dive in..."  Horse Pucky.

Who would buy a product which openly insults?

We're taught to believe that the computer guys know so much more than we. We've got memories of feeling dumb because we called IT only to have them come up, reboot and head back.

"Reboot?  That's it????!...arrrrg..."

IT folks were strange, anti-social, and difficult to understand.  They fixed our problems and they made us feel like dummies.

Stop worrying about what you think you don't know, stop Facebooking and use the inter-web to learn about what CIOs think is important.

"You know what Mr. Prospect...every, single, copier is exactly the same..."

Yeah, we used that line all the time at IKON.  Of course, we sold almost every brand back then...

The same goes for servers, cloud, backup disaster recovery, switches, firewalls, help desk, anti-virus - your prospect does not care how many awards your hardware has earned.  They do not care how much you've invested in R/D or how long you've been in the industry.

They don't...and when your OEM rep tells you to build credibility by dropping their name, let the words go in one ear and out the other.

Tell your prospect how your stuff solves problems.  Printers, copiers, luxury submersibles and can openers solve problems.  If you can find a problem duplexing solves, I'm sure you can find an issue BDR(googlitize it) addresses.

Stop Selling and Start Solving.

Ignore Your Boss  - "On the 1st of the Month we Sell Solutions. On the 20th, we push boxes..." 

Careful here.

If I had a dime for every sales manager I've met, that wasn't worth a dime, I'd have a lot of dimes - a March of Dimes, actually.  I'm not saying ALL sales managers are worthless...and I know YOUR manager is Fortune 100 material.  I am not recommending you blatantly mock your boss - not overtly - just understand his perspective.

Here's the deal, typical sales managers are compensated on the team's hardware sales and most dealerships are driven to quota by their OEM - it is the way of things.

When you hear your manager say things like, "Everybody better start learning MNS, because these copiers aren't going to be around for long...""its a numbers game, kid..." or "you can't sign deals on the phone..." or "...why don't you get a new car/suit/wife/credit card/house..." take it with a grain of salt.

Don't get me wrong, if this style matches your core values, stop reading and get back to those 100 dials, 10 contacts, 1 appointment - there's a church out there dying to buy a copier!

Otherwise, let's talk about you.

I've always said and felt that pure managed print services has little to do devices and nothing related to logo's - its a service, not a cartridge or machine.  Managed services is an extension of the same ideal, its a service not a server or firewall.

Most managers do not understand this because they are not compensated for services.  Indeed, some ignore services all together figuring that's "the service department's responsibility" - point, missed.

I know you didn't grow up wanting to be a copier rep - NOBODY DOES.  I understand how difficult it can be describing what you do to your parents - been there, done that, got the therapy to prove it.

And here we are, in the heart of the jungle...

Do anything to improve yourself every, single day.  Polish up on your knowledge of the Cloud, nod during your next sales training session, and then go buy my book.  Write in the margins, read it from your iPad on the bus ride home...(?).  Cut and paste passages into emails and Tweets - put the cover on your desktop.

Cloud stuff here.



Friday, June 8, 2012

DOTC in Vegas

We will be in Vegas, at the Wynn, Monday June 11 and 12th.

I will not be attending the Ricoh show(huh?) - but will be in the Casino, around the pool or at a bar,

that is if the Wynn has a bar, not sure on that one...

If you're in town, and want to talk about how to pick a Managed Print Services program, technology in our world, the social ramifications of  Space 1999, or the Four Screens of Life - drop me a note.

I may even have a nifty, cool, MPSA hat for you...


Click to email me. 

Monday, May 28, 2012

The Underbelly of Managed Print Services & Copier Sales: Last Week'sLanier Rep is Today's Edgeline Rep - Oh, really?


2012

If you've been in this industry for any period of time over 3 years, you either know or have heard of what I call a "Roaming Gnome" - there may even be one a couple of cubes over.

That sales rep who travels from dealer to dealer, employer to employer in search of the perfect sales position. Bringing with him years of experience, a Rolodex chock full of purchasing agents and expiration dates. A pocket full of promises and a wheelbarrow full of "Bravo Sierra".

It's legend - copier reps jump from Ricoh to Ikon to Konica Minolta to Toshiba. Or get out of Toshiba/Ikon/Xerox only to return in a few years.

Old, cromagnum sales interviews start with, "how big of a sales book can you bring with you from "fill in the blank/your current employer"?

Before you go off all half-cocked, accusing me of not understanding, I know this occurs in every industry, especially with salespeople. It is not illegal and it is not uncommon.

As a matter of fact, selling expertise and business acumen can only flourish under the light of many different Suns. And those who grow over time are professionals.

Switching companies isn't normally a bad thing. I am not criticizing the practice, only the occasional method.

The hacks I refer to as "Travelling Copier Gnome" carry not only baggage but character flaws.

They inflict more harm than good, perpetuating the shady side of selling.

In today's economically challenging MPS universe, many MPS and copier reps are looking for jobs; a quick search reveals IKON hiring MPS specialists like crazy all over the country. A floating deckchair in a turbulent sea?

As with most good articles on this tome, writing from personal experience supplants therapy and, I have found, generates plenty of "the same thing happened to me..." emails.

So, I feel the experience of one of my colleagues may have some relevance.

An MPS Practice I know of has gone through major metamorphosis - to date, its third. This recent iteration was characterized as a "bloodbath" resulting in major personnel changes.

People were let go and people left.

It's no secret that I bash the bad in our industry. It's a target-rich environment - there is plenty to bash.

However, I hold a special place, a bull's eye, for the "typical copier sales person".

That churn and burn, rip and replace, 60-month lease recommending, sour-grapes, decision challenging, slick, schlocky, box-moving, toner delivering, non-customer-centric, closed-minded, a square peg in a round hole, never going to change, FUD using, gear slinging, never attracting always selling, jolly, hard-closing, Traveling Gnome types.

Case in point, recently, one of the sales reps, at my colleague's MPS practice, decided to move to greener pastures.

Nothing wrong with that, right?. We've all done it.

As matter of fact, picking up and leaving is a decisive act any one of us can execute. Changing employers is like turning the page, ending another chapter in the book of your life. No biggie.

And when done correctly, there is honor in this; an opportunity to either show some class or reveal to the world your true, sliminess.

Character is what you do when nobody is looking most often exposed under pressure - think about the last time you experienced a death in the family or any other high-stress event. Who remained calm and focused, and who "cracked".

Or how about the last time something went wrong with a customer - who ran around with their hair on fire and who acted like they had been there before?

Character.

Your character is exposed not only in bad times but also in good. Can anyone remember the last time a running back scored a touchdown and simply handed the ball to the ref?

Act like you've been there before.

Back to my colleague.

He found himself in quite a pickle - all the client files were missing.

And by client files, he means, assessments, SOWs, proposals, spreadsheets, orders, quotes, contact records, notes, databases, and laptops.

That's correct, inspection showed very few signed original agreements - nothing left behind, uh, oh.

Again, little surprise, nothing too far out of line, seen it before, been there, got the coffee mug.

But then, they received their first notice of service cancellation.

A quick look into E*Automate revealed this defector-client had been "stocking up" on supplies over the past 3 weeks -capitalizing on confusion and the vacuum - it was obvious the customer had been coached.

And then, this ex-sales ne'er-do-well started reaching out to "his" old clients who are now part of my colleague's current base. Huh.

Again, sad and unprofessional and not at all surprising.

You see, when we sell with passion and believe in the product, service, and company, we can become blinded, falsely believing the client relationship is with us - it's our Ego talking - not reality.

The client relationship, no matter how personal the sales professional makes it, is between the client and company; not the selling professional.

We forget that sometimes, don't we? We fall into the trap of thinking "we" are the only reason clients work with our company.

How foolish, how naive, and how very old-fashioned - quaint, almost.

So, who is at fault here?

The destructive Sales-schmo, The Roaming Gnome? For sure.

"Greener Pastures and New Beginnings" mean just that; a New Beginning can only happen after an Ending of a "period" not a comma. Get over it, move on, and begin fresh. Show some class.

The new employer, absolutely.

What kind of loser organization still hires Sales people under these beliefs? Can this really be? Are we still in the '70s? Has Selling devolved? PUT THAT COFFEE DOWN! Did I miss THAT memo? Show some class.

Any client who follows him? These imbeciles are just as unscrupulous.

I mean really, it's just business, I know, but this is pretty lame.

The Lesson, if there is one?

We in the selling profession take a beating from our prospects, customers, sales managers, and family for engaging in something we love to do; meet new people, take on new challenges and create something out of nothing.

It's a shame when some of us lie to clients, trap customers into deals, push our agenda, and do harm. The bigger shame is these instances hurt all of us in sales.

This sort of thing may never change, unless we start calling out the evil-doers, exposing this ilk for the sham artists and hypocrites they are.


Saturday, August 13, 2011

The Dawn of The New Selling Professional - MpS Leads The Way - Sales X.X

Not Sales 2.0 - Call it 
"Sales X.X"

2011

“Business Acumen” is a cool way to say, “been there, done that…got three years' financials to prove it” – I admit, it is a big word, does it scare you?

From Merriam-Webster:

Acumen: keenness and depth of perception, discernment, or discrimination especially in practical matters.

Practical Matters.

Lots of salespeople don’t think they have acumen, or that there is some special process that goes with acquiring the skill of discernment. Worse, some employers don’t believe their employees possess keenness – more than a few sales managers feel their salespeople lack depth of perception.

You know I’m right. You’ve seen it, I’ve seen it, we’ve all been there.

What to do?

Stand back, there is something going on here, something new; The New Age of Selling. It has nothing to do with the Mayan calendar although "The New Age" calls upon the collective selling skills of the past 25,000 years.

Woah, heavy.

I know it’s difficult to see, but the current economic “Charlie Foxtrot” will someday be in our rear view mirror. When the recovery does start, for real, the new selling professional will lead the way. I believe that our industry, our sales people, in the trenches, will be examples of success, role models.

The New Way demands more from you, the Selling Professional:
  1. Expertise – be an expert in something, anything
  2. Collaboration – be open to working with everyone, yesterday’s rivals could be today’s partner
  3. Engagement/Intent  – work with your clients, partners, peers at a deeper level, with High Intent
  4. Growth – thrive on change, bring change, be the agent for change
The New Way also exists in a new environment, a business context that has never existed:
  1. Information is everywhere Content and data are universal and will permeate
  2. Power is shifting down – from the OEMs to the cube farms, personal power is increasing
  3. Technology is mundane – your refrigerator will talk with your toaster
  4. “Citizen Mobil” – brick and mortar is dead. Smartphones, tablets, wireless and G4 networks, you, your clients, and clients’ family and kids are processing business everywhere. Think Cold Calls from the beach.
Eight simple observations.

Still, you will need to know Strategic Selling, VITO, closing techniques, prospecting, how to marshal resources on your team, monitor your funnel, and manage your manager. You still can’t be afraid to pick up the phone.

You must correctly present and follow up – to build trust. This may be new, but you still need to handle your shit. The basics – I won’t say ‘blocking and tackling’ – I loathe clichés, but I just did, didn’t I?

The times are different and personal acumen is more relevant, you are much more relevant, and in context.

One more thing:  There are No Academic Experts.  We're making this up as we go - and because this is all new, dynamic, and changing every 30 days, formal, teaching experts are simply rehashing history - not projecting

The New Selling, not Sales 2.0 or 3.1, let’s call it, Sales X dot XX - “Sales X.Xx"

Acumen, again. MpS Purity, again. Intent, again.

Just ideas on a screen - but ideas are bulletproof...

Sell on.


Monday, July 11, 2011

Managed print Services - The Future and Current Challenge: From the Board Room to The Street, It ain't happening...


7/2011

The MpS train is well down the tracks, the ship has left the dock, Jupiter 1 is Jupiter 2.

Clicks are being captured, fleets of single-function devices automatically fed and cared for - maybe even ripped and replaced - I wonder.

The MpS ecosystem is in balance, the OEMs are playing nice, they know their place in the world, and the channel(s) all have well-established, benchmarked agnostic, and profitable MpS programs.

Well, that's the rumor.

My network of friends and colleagues expand from RiKON to Xerox, HP to LexMark and the wave is reporting a disconnect.

A 'white space' between the yearly shows, 12-week/12-step MpS mentoring (my DOTC mentoring program will be simply 10.5 weeks and include sessions in front of a refrigerator, but I digress), corporate-sponsored MpS training programs, and You. We go to class, and forget everything three steps out the door.

More troubling, we buy into the vision, understand ourselves, and recognize a great future only to arrive back in the office face to face with the Sales Manager's funnel report, or marketing's latest telemarketing talk track.

"How many contracts are you going to write this month?"
"What accounts are up for renewal? "
"Do you have your elevator speech memorized?"  Poof!

It is the old wound.

Do you still demo copiers or devices?


How many of us sat in on training sessions that were nothing but rolling product commercials?

Or is the solution selling training around a piece of hardware?  You remember, "add value...show an ROI by reducing the monthly payment..." etc., etc.  Circa 1999, 1984, 1975...just like back then, retention is difficult and post-training support non-existent.

It's worse - there isn't any real motivation to maintain.  Your management, your ownership, is in survival not visionary mode.

Do not let them fool you - they are.

I have seen just about every, single Managed print Services program out there; been given the up-skirt view, as it were...from Encompass to PagePack, MDS(Ricoh) to...well, MDS(Canon).

They're all good.  Well thought out.  White boarded to detail and not reaching potential.

Here's the opportunity:

I hear from OPS, Canon, Oce, Konica Minolta, Ricoh, Ikon, and Indy dealers from all over North America.  New York, Texas, Florida, New Jersey, Iowa, Oregon, and Canada.

Even though MpS is established and  'mainstream for smart people, all the great slide shows and nifty programs aren't getting to the field. The message is garbled,  complicated, and ignored.

It comes back to the same old mantra, "MpS is different" - so how can we expect the same training and support models of yesteryear to provide an ROI in today's increasingly sophisticated and accelerating business environment?

We can't.

I was NOT a big fan of all those long-term MpS 'mentoring' programs just a year ago. It wasn't that I was resistant to the framework or mechanics of those program types, I was repulsed by the content.

The Content sucked then, but change has come to MpS.  Real TRANSFORMATION is out here.

I point to the recently announced chaMPS program, the ever oscillating program that is PagePack, and the mythical, over-the-horizon, OPS/Printillegent HP MPS Channel.

  • PagePack has a 12-week mentor program.
  • chaMPS has a long-term program to assist in dealer transformation.
  • HP WILL have a Printillegent-Like hybrid program.

Neither is perfect, each progressing, but the bulk of responsibility for success rests squarely in the hands of the participants in each program.

It doesn't matter if co-op or MDF pays for the program, the commitment kicks in after the class and once your organization fully commits.  Sound familiar?

"Change or Die." - again.  For the dealer channels as well as the individual, MpS Selling professional - Power is coming down to you, to us the individuals. The world and market are moving from "Push" marketing to "Pull" leverage.  More on that later

I suggest now is the time to really commit to one of these programs - whichever one fits your world, now is the time.

Points to consider-

For the Dealer:

  1. Rethink everything
  2. Consider cutting overhead.  Get lean(er)
  3. Commit, commit, commit
  4. Pay all your reps the same way

For you, real-live, customer-facing folks:

  1. Rethink everything
  2. Consider cutting overhead.  Get Smarter.
  3. Commit, commit, commit
  4. Acknowledge that EVERYBODY in your organization works FOR YOU. 
Your boss, the owner, your OEM and their rep., and your distributors all have an agenda and plan.  As a matter of fact, EVERYBODY has a plan.   Even Robinson's Lost In Space had a plan - you should too - It's Your Ship.


Click to email me. 



Wednesday, July 6, 2011

The Three Musketeers Team - "Just 40...it was an off day..."



"There are things in this world worth fighting and dying for...

We're Warriors, its who We are...

We are surrounded by enemies...
War will engulf the entire ecosystem...
Only We can prevent the coming Apocalypse...

You want to be a Leopard?
Your chance is coming..."

Team Building -

Forty, four hundred or four, a team within a team, small, agile, aware flexible, effective.

Contact Me

Greg Walters, Incorporated
greg@grwalters.com
262.370.4193