The Channel Revolution Nobody is Talking About

"If you keep staring at the sun, you won’t see

What you have become, this can't be

Everything you thought it was

Blinded by the thought of us, so

Give me a chance, I will

Fuck up again, I warned

You in advance

But you just keep on starin' at the sun”

The End of the Beginning -

There is a revolution afoot few recognize or acknowledge.  This event will obliterate every business model in our channel. Most of corporate America, the Fortune 1000, have decided to keep employees working from home, they’ve canceled yearly company get-togethers and will not be sending anyone to shows or conventions.

They will save millions of dollars in real estate costs, have a happier workforce, and attract better employees and they will not print; they will not copy.  

From Nationwide Insurance to Apple to PWC to higher education, organizations are :

* Skittish about employees health as they come back to the office

* Reducing business travel

* Eliminating large internal meetings and special company events

* Cancelling ‘roadshows’ and trade show participation

* Not attending conventions and shows

* Schools are wavering on face to face education

* Retail businesses closing and shifting to online

* Home sales up.  Suburban housing increasing as more people don’t need to commute

What comes next is more than a recovery - we are in the midst of a destruction and rebirth cycle. It is the annihilation of brick and mortar offices, and the continued flattening of hierarchal structures - a “Reset”.  I’m sure some aspect of Pre-Covid19 will return, I’m not sure which ones.

There’s more. 

Are You Considering Managed Services ? - What You Should Know and What your Service Provider Should Know

On April 7, 2009, I published an article titled, "Are You Considering Managed Print Services? - What You Should Know and What your Service Provider Should Know."

Today, July, 2020, I replaced each mention of "MPS" and "managed print services" with "Managed IT Services", just to see if the content would still be relevant.

What do you think?

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Managed Services is still being defined - or is it?

I am a firm believer in "the best advice is the advice you ask for...", please don't give me any advice - unless I ask.

New to Copier Sales: Four Tips on Selling During COVID-19

2020 has been a rough one, but if you’re reading this you’re still in the business – in the fight.

Schools, bars, buses, trains, planes, manufacturers, retail shops, and even copier businesses are frozen in time. The fear created by COVID-19 has paralyzed everyone. We’ve all gone from thinking five years in advance to crossing our fingers and looking 60 days ahead.

The landscape has completely changed. Your newly learned skills: phone work, value proposition, bond and rapport, open-ended questioning, presentation, and demonstration talent are not nearly as important as your resolve.

And forget product knowledge. Speeds and feed, for now, are irrelevant.

Fourth of July, 2020 in Wisconsin

Kids in a pickup with water pistols...so many laws broken.

The Fourth of July, 2020: 

1. Attended an unsanctioned, non-corporate sponsored, 'illegal' 4th of July parade - kids on bicycles. The most patriotic 4th of July, ever. 
2. Witnessed fireworks across the landscape - both illegal and certified. DID NOT SEE MORE THAN 5 MASKS. 
3. Had a 'passionate' discussion regarding Columbus and statues with a collegiate sophomore. Yes. I went exactly as you think it did.

The Parade -

While sanctioned riots roll over the country, the cancel-culture wimps have cancelled most 4th of July events including parades.

It was a secret.  As the days of Paul Revere, times and locations spread via word of mouth, "There might be a parade at 11AM, pass it along."