Climate change may be bad, but don't blame it for your bumpy flights just yet.
Greg's Words
"Climate Change" is a crock. It always has been; different names, same narrative.
It started with the best intentions - stop littering, "Give a Hoot. Don't Pollute", 1970. But as the world moved away from the Evil Empire, AKA The Communist Threat of the USSR, the search for the next 'great threat' went into full gear.
Don't get me wrong, mankind impacts the environment yet just like the death of Lake Erie in the 1960s, the death of mankind has (always) been exaggerated.
A few weeks back, climate experts were pitching the notion that climate was responsible for the increase in the number of home runs in the MLB. So it was with piqued interest I engaged with the WSJ article, "Heavy Turbulence on Flights Is Likely to Get Worse" (PW). Two articles in as many weeks connecting dots with climate change - I detect a whiteboard adorned with a narrative timeline.
Recently, climate experts posited that climate change played a role in the surge of home runs in MLB games. Intrigued by this claim, I delved into the WSJ article, "Heavy Turbulence on Flights Is Likely to Get Worse" (PW). Encountering two articles in quick succession linking seemingly unrelated phenomena to climate change - I sensed a whiteboard adorned with a narrative timeline.
I know, I know, Climate Change is real. And UFOs are fake. It's hard to deny. But these reach-around articles, from the Wall Street Journal no less, are getting hard to ignore.
So we threw four articles at the AI in the Sky, custom-built a prompt, and let it go.
Enjoy.
Executive Summary:
Media sources commonly attribute increased turbulence to climate change.
Scientific data and research reveal a more complex relationship.
Other factors, such as jet streams and natural weather variations, contribute significantly to turbulence.
Misleading conclusions may detract from focusing on the real issues at hand.
Shigetomi's "flowing water crest" is a gem-like work created by abandoning the ego and assimilating it with the flow of water. The main shadow of the flow of the sudden time while echoing the song of Raku Holy Water is
probably because it has the memory of water
July 2014
Catchphrases come and go: Transformation, transactional to services, customer-centric, think outside of the box, change or die, innovate or die, release in beta. Each moniker seems to hold its uniqueness for about a week.
"Disruption" - is one such word.
Today, it's disruption tomorrow it's something else - observing the same thing over and over, calling it something new, expecting different results. In an attempt to understand the temporarily incomprehensible connectivity between multiple events occurring in real-time, a snapshot is taken.
A static slice of activity predicts futures based on this single shot.
In the March 22, 2023 edition of the Wall Street Journal(paywall), Simone Gao expresses his opinion on the latest moves in China like the newly enacted Law on Reservists which delays the retirement age for reserve officers to 60 from 55.
The region will play a key role in the next technological wave and has relevance for Office Technology providers because of the number of FABs in Taiwan. A FAB (or fabrication plant) is a facility where integrated circuits (ICs) or microchips are manufactured.
FABs require a high level of precision and cleanliness, as even tiny contamination can affect the quality and functionality of the chips produced. FABs are typically very expensive to build and maintain and are a crucial component of the semiconductor supply chain.
We've used the opinion piece to generate the following.
Enjoy.
__________
Guarding Global Tech: Navigating the Taiwan Strait Tensions for Office Technology's Future
The fake "sales revolution" attacks symptoms, not the cause.
"Lannister, Targaryen, Baratheon, Stark, Tyrell. They're all just spokes on a wheel. This one's on top, then that one's on top. And on and on it spins, crushing those on the ground."
Rebels and Revolutions -
When individuals declare independence from tyranny, they put their lives, and the lives of their families on the line, risking everything for revolution, for future generations' independence.
For freedom.
Today, there's talk of a "Sales Revolution". Insurgents take to the nearest pulpit espousing "changing the way sales is done..." by being open, real, authentic, a trusted advisor, partnering to solve client problems - not a con man. Noble efforts.
For them, it's not nine to five; it's always too always, elevator pitches, value propositions, and increasing effort 10 fold.
There are literally THOUSANDS of sales coaches and trainers in the world today.
Here are a few of the folks I respect and follow. Some are calling for sales a "revolution". A few pitch themselves as 'rebels', "Leading the Sales Revolution":
All are passionate and committed to their specialty contributing great content to the realm.
But -
EVERY SINGLE PIECE OF SELLING ADVICE IS MISSING THE POINT.
I'm not recommending the current sales training and consulting efforts are not valid. I'm just saying there is so much more that can be done to 'save the industry'.
Of Smoke and Ice -
"Speeds, Feeds, Quota's, Commissions, Solutions. They're all just spokes on a wheel. This one's on top, then that one's on top. And on and on it spins, crushing those on the ground."
The sales revolution is an insidious movement because it is based on truth. Bad sales skills, low motivation, poor relationship building, aggressive attitudes, boring pitches, tedious corporate introductions, and unoriginal talk tracks, are real, yet each a SYMPTOM of the sickness, not the cause - - indeed, going to war against "bad selling practices" amounts to self-hate.
We're revolting against the wrong enemy.
The Real Monster -
"Xerox, Canon, Ricoh, HP, Lexmark. They're all just spokes on a wheel. This one's on top, then that one's on top. And on and on it spins, crushing those on the ground."
The idea is simple, the mission tragic - manufacturers' selling models must be taken down, defeated. While we fight among ourselves over who can save selling, the real archenemy plods forward, assimilating more and more into its ranks.
Break The Wheel
WE DON'T NEED A SALES TRAINING REVOLUTION, WE NEED A REVOLUTION AGAINST THE ESTABLISHMENT.
It's the OEMs who push equipment quotas down the channel, and not just copier OEMs - every manufacturer has the same, Materials Resource Planning (MRP) based systems.
The model utilizes the following:
MRP based quotas
"Fear Uncertainty and Doubt"
Purposely confusing and ever-shifting, commission plans
"Kill it and Grill it" mentality
Adversarial Selling construct
"Where there is a mystery, there is margin"
"67% of salespeople do not reach quota"
Features and benefits of training
Solution Selling
Sales Techniques...
A real Revolution(with a capital R) doesn't attack the symptoms, it takes on the creators of the Wheel. The hierarchies are organically crumbling, digitally transforming - gravity is drawing the towers down, but they fight.
As long as we continue to harp on old-fashioned ideas, as long as we concentrate on "new", non-standard training topics, we keep the chaos going - and that's just fine with the zombie kings. The dusted-off, selling retreads are like 'opiates for the masses' keeping the "little people" hypnotized in their insecurities.
Do you want to lead a true revolution? Then revolt against:
Stodgy commission structures
Outdated quota schemes
Product-based, solution selling
OEM dogma
Are you a self-proclaimed leader of the revolution? Then:
Produce videos telling the establishment to stop pushing old-fashioned ideas and programs.
Write articles outlining the challenges of terrible infrastructure and processes.
Establish standard, salary influencing, and sales training certifications.
Embark on the battle between independent selling professionals and corporate structures - it is time.
Unfortunately, this two-dimensional skirmish is nothing compared to what's coming. The next titan of turbulence holds enough power to wash away 50% of the sales universe.
It is difficult to predict the future of technology with certainty, as it is constantly evolving and new companies and technologies can emerge and disrupt the market. However, it is possible to make educated guesses about the direction in which technology is headed and to consider the potential challenges and opportunities that different companies and technologies may face.
One argument for the idea that Google, Facebook, and Twitter may not be a part of the future of technology is that these companies are reliant on business models that may not be sustainable in the long term. For example, Google and Facebook rely on targeted advertising as their primary source of revenue, which has come under increasing scrutiny due to concerns about privacy and the manipulation of public opinion. Twitter's business model is based on the sale of advertising and the collection of user data, which may also be vulnerable to changing regulations and consumer preferences.
"Those that fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it."
- Winston Churchill
The Earth rotates, our Moon orbits, both circle the Sun, the solar system flows within the Galaxy and the Milky Way drifts through the Universe.
Nothing stands still.
Some observe "change" in patterns - our lifecycle, ocean tides, seasons, sunrises and sunsets - there is a basic rhythm and circular order. Though seasons repeat and the Sun always rises, each Summer is unique, every Sunset, one of a kind. Flow patterns have similar signs, yet every journey is singular.
Even though we live within the turbulence, recognizing the past in our future is challenging. The establishment doesn't like change.
"Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. When change is absolute there remains no being to improve and no direction is set for possible improvement: and when experience is not retained, as among savages, infancy is perpetual. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
- George Santayana
Business systems abide the same laws yet it's difficult to recognize the signs of change, turn of seasons. Arguments are historically similar, the signs as prominent, examples clear, but buried in the status quo:
"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home." - Ken Olsen, founder of Digital Equipment Corporation
"It’s time we wake up from the pipe-dream of the paperless office..." - Wired
"Tsk. Death of the Copier? Come on, the OEMs will be around forever and people need to make copies. Who let this guy in?" - Some print/copier dude, Lyra, 2009.
We've all been here before - as a society and as the human race - today it's the internet, a century ago it was the telegraph. Today it's iPADs, yesterday it was chalk.
Chalk.
There have always been visionaries, there will always be Ludittes. As further illustration, consider the following list discovered years ago via Fred Kemp, a professor in Texas, by way of Collins and Halverson and originally presented by Dave Thornburg and David Dwyer.
They're describing resistance to change. I know you'll see parallels.
Fascinating:
From a principal's publication in 1815: "Students today depend on paper too much. They don't know how to write on a slate without getting chalk dust all over themselves. They can't clean a slate properly. What will they do when they run out of paper?"
From the journal of the National Association of Teachers, 1907: "Students today depend too much upon ink. They don't know how to use a pen knife to sharpen a pencil. Pen and ink will never replace the pencil."
From Rural American Teacher, 1928: "Students today depend upon store bought ink. They don't know how to make their own. When they run out of ink they will be unable to write words or ciphers until their next trip to the settlement. This is a sad commentary on modern education."
From FTA Gazette, 1941: "Students today depend on these expensive fountain pens. They can no longer write with a straight pen and nib. We parents must not allow them to wallow in such luxury to the detriment of learning how to cope in the real business world which is not so extravagant."
From Federal Teachers, 1950: "Ballpoint pens will be the ruin of education in our country. Students use these devices and then throw them away. The American values of thrift and frugality are being discarded. Businesses and banks will never allow such expensive luxuries."
From a fourth-grade teacher in Apple Classroom of Tomorrow chronicles, 1987: "If students turn in papers they did on the computer, I require them to write them over in long hand because I don't believe they do the computer work on their own."
From a science fair judge in Apple Classroom of Tomorrow chronicles, 1988: "Computers give students an unfair advantage. Therefore, students who used computers to analyze data or create displays will be eliminated from the science fair."
Breathtaking, isn't it? "Deniers" from 1815 to 1988.
I remember business owners back in the 90's exclaiming, “Why would I ever need a computerized accounting system?” Three years later, most of those suppliers were gone.
Do you hear similar comments? Yes, everyday.
OEM sponsored ‘studies’ reporting how office print is rising or a blog projecting paper as the preferred knowledge transfer medium appear almost daily; more signs lamenting "pen-knives" and "store bought ink".
I hope you're not telling your employees or prospects, they don't know how to "write on a slate without getting chalk dust all over themselves" or "Ballpoint pens will be the ruin of education in our country..."
Robots are replacing jobs like never before, and that's okay.
The business world is evolving away from paper - processes are quicker and more efficient when utilizing digital conveyance of information, and that's okay.
Technology will be the great equalizer, women will be paid the same as men, minimum wage may end up at $40.00/hr, but cashiers and order takers will be replaced with the aforementioned robots. And that's okay.
Study history, recognize the signs, see the future, flow through the now.
Don't be the historic-denier.
Curious about your future? Interested in technology as a catalyst? Join us for a thrill-packed, riveting, web-event, "The Future of Everything", May 19, 2016.
ENX is celebrating the people making a difference across the document imaging industry. Every two years, a few notables in the copier and printing industry receive kudos from their peers.
This year, I received a request from Scott Cullen, asking for input.
I've known Scott for a while - interviewed me, many years ago. I was impressed, I still am, with his ability to draw out relevant information (like a good assessment) and present an easy to identify story(like a good proposal). He is good people.
I've also known Susan Neimes for a long time. She's managed to stay among the top of the media heap, through the turbulence. Good form.
I am often asked for input on a variety of subject matter. Here is Scott's request and my response:
Hi Greg,
I'm pretty sure I sent you an e-mail about this already, but just in case, here you go again. As someone who has been around the document imaging industry for awhile, I'd appreciate your input. I know you're busy preparing for ITEX (I'll see you there.), but hopefully you have a few minutes before or after to give this some thought.
The May issue of ENX is celebrating the people making a difference across the document imaging industry...
Here’s the criteria to help with your suggestions: The thought leaders and individuals from all corners of the industry (hardware, services, solutions, supplies, associations, analysts and consultants) whose knowledge and opinions their peers and others in the industry value. Some may be doing a terrific job of leading their organizations and building a business, or in some cases, multiple businesses. Others are front and center at industry events, participating in panels and seminars, and networking with other document imaging industry professionals. Some are active on social media or contributing content to industry publications.
You can recommend as many or as few as you would like.
Thanks in advance for your help...
Cheers,
Scott Cullen
Editorial Director
###
My answer is simple: no more usual suspects.
Any thought leader would have nothing to do with manufacturing hardware, so that removes a grip of people.
Real visionaries see OEM enforced quotas as oppressive, this negates others.
Analysts/consultants pontificate based on rearview data and parrot spec sheets as analysis, nothing there either.
Finally, an "MPS program" is no longer innovative and barely relevant.
Nothing from OEMs, the standard copier model participants, analysts, or program managers. "We've always done it this way..."
There is, however, a collection of luminaries:
Mike Stramaglio - Ignore for a second, battling the monopoly, Mike is compelling channel players re-evaluate their entire accounting system and business model.
Kevin DeYoung - Kevin refused to play the OEM-shuffle-for-shelf-space game long ago and continues to expand the minds of his clients. Jenna Stramaglio - The Family knows technology and Jenna is great at conveying bold messages.
Kevin Morris - Kevin Morris is running the best MPS model in the industry, he has no peers. Jennifer Shutwell - For those ready to see, Jennifer, through her work with your MPSA and end users, has illuminated relevant facets of the MpS ecosystem. Milton Bartley - Milton is an example of successfully pivoting from the status quo, copier model.
Andy Slawetskey - Media aggregator supreme, he gets the words out consistently and has toner in his blood.
Seven points of lights in a crowded, cluster of normalcy.
###
There you have it. I may not be a 'difference maker' in 2017...but, I'm good not being on a list.
A year ago I was distilling content through Chat3.5. I would ask for a summary and write an quick organic introduction.
The structure is adequate; human words prior to mechanical "analysis and summary".
It's all about the 'dash in between' isn't it?
A year later, the 'copier effect' is in full bloom - spotting the artificially generated tome is 'tres facile' and for many, leaves a sour, tepid, and stale taste.
Experts pontificated how Trump had no experience in government. They vilified Trump supporters calling them racist, homophobic, morons - ‘deplorables’. Anti-Trump minions repeated over and over how Hillary was empathetic to the cause of women - although she’s chief enabler to her sexual predator husband.
Managed Print Services is just about the hottest issue out there - with prospects and industry insiders.
And right now, MPS is still the frontier of cost reduction for both clients and providers - everything is being created today, in the here and now, without a "template".
Clients are not sure how MPS works. Providers are struggling with the concept, the services, how to best articulate the benefits and how to manage a Print Management Services program.
With this in mind, the first annual conference dedicated to Managed Print Services (MPS)will be held in in San Antonio, Texas on April 26th through 28th, 2009 and sponsored by the Photizo Group.
Now, for me, the Photizo Group is one of the very first groups, if not THE first group, dedicated to researching MPS and it's impact on the market. In addition to monitoring the market, the Photizo Group has defined the basic structure and phases of MPS -
Control
Optimize
Enhance
These match my definition of the stages of MPS. I have incorporated these three stages into my talk-track. More importantly, I see evidence in the field that the above model is viable.
Having said that, I STRONGLY recommend everyone who is now in or thinking about getting into MPS attend.
- With the turbulence in our industry and with hardware dominating most vendor's and client's discussions, the most challenging task many face is differentiation. MPS is a differentiater - and the Photizo Group is out there on the leading edge -
The conference features three tracks.
"The first track is for those who are in the initial stages of an MPS engagement and who are trying to control or optimize the hardcopy (printers, MFP's, and copier) fleet.
The second track is for those who have implemented an MPS program, and who are now looking to drive business process optimization through advanced MPS services such as workflow consulting, document management optimization, and other activities to enhance the firms business processes.
The third track provides a focus on small and medium businesses and their specific MPS implementation issues."
There will be speakers, best practice presentations, case studies, market data, and many other sessions designed to provide attendees with actionable tips and techniques for the success of their MPS program.
"What's old is new." A statement uttered by countless generations before and leagues to come. For me, and I am sure many timeline-compatriots, today's world seems eerily reminiscent. Certainly not identical, and more than nostalgic.
More like a Renaissance.
Managed Print Services is still alive and experiencing a bump. Partly due to some pent-up demand and a reduction of IT resources.
The demand is provisional. I still believe pivoting into IT services is possible, not strictly because of an existing print-centric relationship as much as the supporting infrastructure of MPS practices is a solid foundation for the transition.
Sales and marketing will shift demographics and talk tracks, but needs assessments and proposals are parallel paths. But again, the demand for IT services has a shelf life.
Consolidation runs rampant, and the larger, establishments remain overconfident in their temporary position.
Everything dies, baby that's a fact, but just because something doesn't last forever, doesn't mean it wasn't perfect. Proclaimed back in 2011, the fading of managed print services continues. Don't believe me?
Ask your customers/prospects and you'll hear the truth. Whispers from the Abyss:
"We've really cut back on the number of printers and copiers we use."
"We don't print as much."
"We once had a copier on every floor and printers at each desk. We don't anymore."
I could go on - hell, if you're in the field and honest, YOU can add to the above list.
So here it is - what follows is a list of industry influencers and players with reflections and status according to DOTC.
The year is 2017; just about 10 years after managed print services arrived on the scene. Much has changed.
Gartner - "IT asset management (ITAM) provides an accurate account of technology asset lifecycle costs and risks to maximize the business value of technology strategy, architecture, funding, contractual and sourcing decisions.”
There is so much turbulence in the industry today, it's tough to figure out what to do.
Margins continue to drop
The OEMs are locked in a War for the remaining 'clicks and you're in the line of fire
Customers are demanding more than "scan once, print many'
We know you're going to survive. What can you do to thrive? How about selling asset lifecycle management?
There is a great way to remain relevant in the eyes of your customers and sell more services without the hassle of establishing third-party partnerships, investing in a NOC, or falling into a huge time-suck.
No need to retrain your sales staff.
No heavy investment in software packages that require an MBA to operate and understand.
Keep your existing toolset
There are plenty of tools out here to support an ITIL model, you just need to commit to the philosophy.
Are you immersed in the Office Technology space? Or are you a gaming enthusiast navigating the thrilling e-gaming landscape? If you answered yes to either, we have exciting news for you! We're thrilled to announce that our dynamic newsletters, The Office Technology Tap and The Gaming Tap, are live, evolving, and constantly adapting to the changing landscape.
Taking inspiration from the data-driven insights of the tireless team at gap Intelligence, we're committed to bringing you the latest news and developments from the frontlines of these exciting industries.
Navigating the evolving world of selling solutions
Adapting business models to the shifting landscape
Insightful content to help you educate prospects
And a pulse on the general news of the industry
Our readership spans from the savvy sales trenches to the strategic C-suite, all the way to pioneering company owners. We address the burning questions of the day like:
Will managed print services remain viable?
How is the Work From Anywhere movement impacting your business?
How can your salespeople embrace change, survive trying times, and thrive in the continuous turbulence that is technology?
Today, every dealer is looking for a way to deal with a declining industry by offering new services, or through merger or acquisition, and when it comes to attracting outside funding or merger candidates, the window is closing.
And that’s OK; it is the way of things.
Here are some ideas for a newbie to copier sales:
“Ignorance is bliss”
I’m not recommending you shove your head in the sand and ignore the reality that is the copier industry circa 2019 — we are ALL experiencing external pressures on our everyday lives. Focusing on what we can influence, like cold calls and presentations, has always been the best approach. Go about your routines and keep an ear to the ground. Establish a network of contacts inside and outside the industry and always be improving your personal business acumen. If you are working for a family-owned dealership but are not in the family, keep your options open.
“Business as usual”
Staff reductions and reduced real-estate footprints are frequent. Smaller dealers are being gobbled up by bigger organizations every day. Still, the standard press release after a merger or acquisition relates something along the lines of, “We look forward to offering our clients exceptional service during this transition,” which is a true statement. But looking back in time, it’s easy to find examples of mergers and acquisitions initially removing redundant functions, then ultimately reducing costs through staff write-downs; it is a consistent formula.
Concentrate on your 30-day cycle — that’s the best thing to do. Keep the sales coming in, and maintain your personal standing. But don’t stop there. Build out your LinkedIn presence and be more than just a lurker.
Contribute on social media without being a sycophant, and crystalize your personal brand, not your current employer.
“Will I have a job 12 months from now?”
In copier sales there is a magical milestone: to see if you can make it through the first 12 months of your copier sales career. So make it through. Sell stuff while learning your business processes and client digital transformation experiences. Work with your...
The Executive Summit has been in existence for three years, this is my first one. For context, I've attended and spoken at every domestic Photizo MPS conference, I attended and spoken at a few ITEX get-togethers and a BTA meeting - I 've attended more shows than I can remember.
I've known of MWAi and the group for years, meeting Mike Stramaglio at a Lyra back in ....2009 or 08, I forget. Mike and I have broken bread and on occasion, we've even solved many of the world's problems over whiskey, Cabernet, or some other variation of libation.
The COVID impact is creating turbulence and waves of change moving through all facets of life. One of these waves is flowing through the ocean of business meetings and face to face appointments. You, as a new copier rep, can catch a wave to more success.
We used to call them “networking groups.”
Local Chambers of Commerce and small business groups would put together an after-hours event, inviting local businesses to connect with each other and prospects.
They met once a month and ended up being full of real estate agents and insurance salespeople handing out business cards and trading stories over drinks.
It seems almost old school, but I think these types of get-togethers are more important now than pre-COVID. But there is a difference and I’m suggesting you take...
These thoughts are my personal critique of an industry, not an individual.
Weeks ago, over one hundred leading MpS providers congealed in Park City, Utah to discuss the future of MpS. It was a great educational and entertaining event - recommended.
This event was one of the best I've attended in years - only the MWAi show from last year, stands above. West put together a great agenda and was able to recruit a diverse set of industry luminaries.
Here's a quick list of observations from The Top 100 - "MpS is Changing" conference:
The venue: Superb.
Event organization: Stellar.
Promotion: Unparalleled.
Presenters: Both gargantuan and irrelevant.
Content: Both significant and forgettable.
Off-line conversations: The best in over a decade.
For a detailed tracking of the event, talks, and feedback, see Ken's, Art's, West's, and Andy's most accurate reports.
The video, recorded, edited, and presented on-site, nearly live, is one of the best promotional pieces in the niche. It was organic and fun. See it here.
Enough of us patting each other on the back, like we’re all buds. Here's a two word summary of the show: "Points Missed."
It has been said our niche moves at the speed of an HP Series II - I don't agree with that 100% of the time, but after this conference, I'm having second thoughts.
I've stewed on this for what seems years - why do so many still believe in the old models? Why don't they see what others see?
In a juxtaposition with the best content I've witnessed, the audience comments were befuddling. I sat there, shaking my head, not at the presenters(mostly) but frustrated over the 1970 mentality of the audience. Still!
Here it is. A list of call-outs from my perspective:
"Automatic Toner Fulfillment": 2007 called...
"If you sell hammers, everything looks like a nail" so, if you sell re-man toner, all the world is an empty printer, right?
ARRRG.
Getting toner to the right desk at the right time is something we've cut our teeth on, back in 2007. Staples delivers more toner to more desks, on time, "automatically" than anybody else and they use people. Automation for automation's sake is not visionary.
The fact that we are looking at ATF as a new advantage, in 2015, is trite - Clients expect every MpS program can 'get toner to the user' as a mundane function.
There is no such thing as "MNS": Really.
This irks me on a personal basis. Nobody in real IT refers to anything as managed network services; it is simply managed services. Whenever we say "MNS", we look like wanna-be, IT knuckleheads. If you're IT contacts don't flinch or roll their eyes every time you say "MNS" they are being polite.
When the Epson dude referred to his ink bags as "disruptive", I think most in the room assumed it was we doing the disrupting.
Immediately, calls of, "how can I make money the old fashion way, when I sell the machine and lifetime ink all upfront?"
The answer is, "you can't make money the old-fashioned way..."
But here's the miss: we won't be using ink-bags to disrupt, this disrupts Managed print Services.
It's the other way around: bags-o-ink AND "Instant Ink"(DOTC, 2011) will move the channel closer to irrelevancy. Not because wet-toner is better than dry-toner - the iceberg here is "Lifetime Supply". Buy a printer and never purchase toner or ink again. All the costs, revenue, and profit are upfront. An offering, so simple a monkey could sell it.
The 'lifetime' model will remove MpS from the lexicon because there is no need for a relationship.
Those MPS consultants and OEM programs that stress toner as "the most important component" of MpS have led us down the primrose path.
This one issue, redefined as "MpS" is slipping from the dealer channel into the hands of surviving mother-ships.
"Toner" is not a relationship and the biggest reason OEMs say they need an independent dealer channel is to maintain the relationship. Well. The relationship is getting thinner every month.
Think about it, the 'lifetime ink' business model eliminates:
Meter reads - no billing
Monthly billings - see above
Deliveries - UPS
Phone orders - machines phone home
Service calls - these things don't break
Quarterly reviews - why?
Contracts
Independent Dealers
Etc.
If I were getting into managed print services today, I would become an Epson reseller and push those guys to start releasing model after model, ASAP, before HP kicks their super-duper, closed loop MpS machine into gear.
I mentioned this during the Q&A, and nobody understood what I was saying.
...chunks...blown...
points...missed...
Watch Epson. Watch HP MPS.
In The End: It's Not Me, It's You
I've seen great things in our niche. I've seen companies make the leap, shun the old ways, and thrive.
I've also seen organizations espouse the future, make cosmetic changes and fail - the road back to 1991 is littered with used-up MPS Directors. Settling into the old ways of selling copiers, hiring sales managers from yesterday's enterprise, 'trapping customers', paying salespeople a pittance yet expecting them to be professionals, and forcing equipment quotas on their customers - is the easy thing to do.
I've been ringing the bell for years - "MPS is the gateway to something bigger than toner and copiers...". I evangelized the new ways only to see big equipment manufacturers hijack and kill innovation, searching for more shelf space and stickier schemes.
It is the way of things.
But it doesn't need to be your way. Many have made the shift, pivoting off the copier and into fertile markets. It isn't easy to break free the ordinary ways, but it's got to be done.
Conferences that break the mold, separate the future from the past are few and far between - this Top 100 is one of the less ordinary get-togethers. If you were there, you are one of the less ordinary people and nowadays, the Life Less Ordinary is the life evolutionary...
Heck, you've probably viewed a clip or two during one of your Monday morning sales meetings intended.
I get it.
These Hollywood caricatures display the gumption of legends - cold calling, motivating speeches, wild excesses of the selling life. Success. Power. Influence. Acceptance.
But there's more to the story, isn't there? The movies tell the entire story, but we don't replay those bad bits do we? No manager is going to show Bud's perp-walk in Wall Street. Nobody is getting motivated watching the federal cops pull into the J.T. Marlin parking lot complete with busses and tow trucks(Boiler Room).
And sure as shooting, no one remembers the ending of Glengarry Glen Ross, when Shelly Levene steals those leads.
Consider the following examples:
"Greed is Good"
Major Wall Street player earns millions through purchasing and breaking up family owned companies supported with insider information. Protagonist seduces young upstart anding ends up in prison.
- Wall Street
"Put that coffee down! Coffee is for closers."
Real Estate agents complain about the leads, smart-dressed, hit-man comes in from HQ to deliver a high pressure, all or nothing, speech intended to get sales back on track. Salesman descends into chaos and steals leads.
- Glen Gerry Glenn Ross
"...act as if..."
Sharp dressed, smooth talking broker initiates new employees into the world of shady deals and illegal trading. Cold calling taken to a new low, one scene depicts a broker lying to a prospect, along with a cheering team of cohorts, and bamboozling a victim out of thousands. The movie ends with federal agents storming HQ complete with tow trucks to recover the fleet of ill-gotten automobiles.
- Boiler Room
These stories end in flames, yet sales 'mentors' still run around telling newbies to, "Sell me this pen."
Why do all sales people know "Coffee is for Closers"? Why do we cheer when Vin Diesel lies his way into a sale? Yeah, sure, we'd love to deliver that Alec Baldwin speech, or kill it on the phone like Leonardo DiCaprio. We project ourselves into those situations - understanding the dramatic and sexy scenarios - who wouldn't?
Why?
I'll tell you why. Motivating you to sell more, no matter how, is good for the OEMs and ownership. Sure, it feels good to you, right? That feeling is false and manipulative. I get it, we need to sell to feed our families and survive - that's the way the game is set up - and watching a fictitious "selling animals" provides a fleeting moment of entertainment and hours of motivation. But it is propaganda. It isn't real. If it is for you, chances are, it will end badly.
Showing rundown videos of yesterday's demons is just another symptom of the slow to change selling ecosystem. I'm not sure what we should utilize in place of these video's but there must be something; there must be thousands of quick, 30 second video's of new sales consultants spewing nuggets of re-treads.
Change, real change through turbulence, must occur at ALL LEVELS of the ecosystem, not just in the trenches. Selling will become more relevant, consultative and fulfilling after the pillars of the status quo resign to the future and ceasing to show criminals and thieves as selling examples is just the beginning.
It’s been almost a year since I’ve written about copiers here at The Imaging Channel. During that time I’ve been in the field, in the IT realm, watching office print disintegrate from the end user side of things. It isn’t 1999 out there; companies are not buying big, 11x17 copiers as they once did and end users are not printing emails or recipes by the thousands anymore. On the good side, end users don’t hate printers or copiers as much. Unfortunately, that’s because end users hardly, if ever, think about print. To them, toner on paper is approaching irrelevancy.
Can anyone deny that this niche is in the midst of historically turbulent times? We’re witness to the transformation of an industry embedded in the fabric of modern living. Every person in the business world recognizes the copier and printer as foundational tools of the trade. Our industry is all over the world, but that world is changing, transforming daily away from the mundane, away from slow processes and away from paper.
We see the results of this movement in the way our OEMs are fracturing: Xerox is splitting, HP has split, and Lexmark is disintegrating. The Big Three of American office automation are shattering into stars.
This turbulence affects the independent channel as well. Merges, acquisitions and the entry of investment groups tell the tale of a smaller, less-populated landscape. Indeed, as the manufacturers fight for their lives, how can the independent reseller manage? Should you jump into the fray, slapping a “For Sale” sign on the front door? Should you shutter the place and simply get out?
I’ve noticed a peculiar thing:
