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..."
