Search This Blog

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Managed Print Services - "How to Sell MPS". A Willing Audience, until Bluto Smashes the Guitar



The crooner strums.

A willing audience smiles, and rocks to the expected, comfortable melodies.

PowerPoint slides confirm student's expectations - this is what they paid for. To hear, "all is not lost". You're going to be ok, MPS is easy. As long as you have a plan. Our plan.

Oh, and our plan takes 18 weeks and $3,500.00 bucks.

The instructor, talking about cherries that have no stones, stories that have no end.

All going according to plan.

Attendees oblivious to the obvious, this guy doesn't know crap.

But the words sound so nice.

I have been in MPS for almost 3 years now - selling high-tech business solutions for over 20.

Over the years, there has never been a shortage of "How to Sell..." fill in the blank classes.

I have never really gotten into the self-improvement movement. One time, when selling AFLAC, at the national convention, somebody was selling "self esteem" playing cards...I laughed so hard I started to cry.

How...or who, in the world would expect to get self-respect from a deck of playing cards! Still makes me laugh.

And so it is today, with the current crop of MPS training courses and classes. Sure, some are just fine - I can think of two.

And if the remainder were simple rehashes of the 90's or 80's or even the 70's selling techniques, things would be acceptable.

But the classes are not.

Nobody buys a Value Prop.

It is more satisfying to attract, than to prospect.

Nobody says "it is better to solve, than to Sell"

Relationships are precious and need protection and nourishment. And they need to be built on solid foundations, forged though fire, proven with pressure.

Not all Selling Professionals are created equal; we are not the lowest common denominator.

True, nobody ever wanted to grow up to be a copier sales rep, or a MPS Professional. That doesn't make us all "coin operated drones", well, not ALL of us.

MPS folks need somebody to take that slide deck, those old worn out cliche's (it's a numbers game) and smack them upside the wall - smash the six-string of yesteryear.

Yet, I see too many exploiters, too many scham-wow's, few agents of change.

I think what we need is the DOTC "A"-Team. Thinkers without a box. Do'ers who have actually DONE.

Explorers who don't know what it means to be lost.

A team of "Smashers"




Click to email me.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Contact Me

Greg Walters, Incorporated
greg@grwalters.com
262.370.4193