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Monday, November 2, 2009

The "Hunters vs. Farmers" Sales Metaphor - It's Dead: Let's Break Out of The Box


2009

Within the MPS Ecosystem, the struggle is moving between back-room infrastructure and field-level acumen.

Just like everything else the "experts" attempt to do, we selling professionals, are being classified; boxed in, and commoditized.

The questions now are, "What type of person do I need to employ as an MPS Sales Executive?"

"How many appointments should my team generate to reach a close?"

"What is a good monthly revenue/sales/profit number an MPS rep should hit?"

It is apparent that the "copier mentality" is only a fraction of what is needed to bring home MPS Engagements. That is of course unless you simply start defining your CPC agreements as MPS Engagements. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot!

And by the way, if your manager/owner/principal is plugging MPS Assessments into your "normal" copier funnel, you know, "15 face to face meetings per week, 5 Demos, 3 MPS Assessments, 1.5 closes per week", you are far, far removed from an MPS Practice.

Managed Print Services is not a bolt-on marketing scheme.

So, does MPS need Hunters or does MPS need Farmers?

The answer is Both - The answer is Neither.

We need Professionals who can do both; who can do it all.

"Hunter" - Find it, Kill it, move on.


"Farmer" - Move in after the kill, bury it, water it, reap.

It may be just me but I tend to think of selling "farmers" akin to vegetarians.
And as you know, another name for a vegetarian is a "hunter with bad aim..."

Hunter? Farmer? Hello, the 1950's called, they want their sales cliches back...keep this up and the ditto-machine will make a come back.

I don't care what anybody says, real MPS is different - it is a Hybrid process, Hybrid product, Hybrid service, Hybrid business model. How can we expect the same old selling models and formulas to prevail?

How can anyone presume to tell Selling Professionals how to go about selling MPS(Hybrid), if those selling professionals are not Hybrid themselves?

What? Huh? Am I saying that there is MORE to selling than PROCESS?

Am I?

Goodness gracious, great balls of fire! Should I feel a slight agitation around my neck? Like John had when Herod came by, ready to fulfill Solome's wish? (don't get it? Go here)

Yeah - sure, sales is more than process, tell that to HP/Xerox - I often wonder how the enterprise clients feel, knowing they are part of a "process". Perhaps they feel like Velveeta?

There are, without fail, little flecks of hope, sparkling in the distance whenever I hear somebody say they are looking to hire folks from outside the industry. People with Insurance or market/advertising sales experience - not a bad start, I understand the premise. But there are challenges here as well.

Any ex-AFLAC agent is going to absolutely Laugh Out Loud when his MPS compensation plan doesn't have monthly residuals for life. The insurance industry invented that model for crying out loud.

And you are going to tell them that after developing a relationship he gets a one-time hit, a pat on the back, and a kick in the buttocks? Really? And this fresh, new, vibrant talent is going to break down your door, demanding a MPS selling position because why?

HA! But encouraging...


This is my thought; don't let "them" define you. Try, endeavor, toil against the meat grinder. And the best way to do this is to improve yourself, for yourself not your boss.

Does this mean attending company paid, useless, painful, Death-by-Powerpoint, speeds and feeds sales training classes?

Yes.

Does this mean picking up a book, if they still print them, about the latest, rehashed from the 80s, business strategies?

Yes.

Does this mean making every, single plant tour or walk-thru a field trip, learning not only how many output devices exist, but also how they run their business?

Yes.

Does this mean that everything you see and experience is yours, not your bosses, and improves you as a Selling Professional?

Yes.

Does this mean that one, tiny atom in my fingernail could be one little...tiny universe?

Yes.

Disruptive Marketing? Let's try Disruptive Defining.

Here's a message for all of us in the trenches, trying to sell MPS against ALL COMPETITION, including internal competition: The MPS Ecosystem is wide open for excited, daring, bold Selling Professionals - we work for the person in the mirror, not the one scrolling through the Monday morning sales meeting slide deck.

Don't think of yourself as either a "Farmer" or a "Hunter". Be both, Be better, be more.


Copier Sales People Destroy Managed Print Services Opportunities: Daily The New SalesPerson - Death of the "Close"

Thoughts from the CDA Meeting: Adapt or Die!












Copier Deal Up For Re-Bid, IDAHO School District Hires "Consultant" to Help with RFP:LOL!

An update to the article written back in August, "Another "GACKED" Sales Forecast: Idaho School District Reneges on Xerox Deal" - RFP responses to be reviewed by the board in January; consultants guaranteeing lowest possible cost.

Pity the 34,000 students.

In July of 2009 the school board decided to go with Xerox after reviewing 6 or 7 responses - Xerox was some 10k per month more "expensive" than the second place bidder, Fisher’s Document Systems Inc.

The deal was to provide more than 120 copiers to the school district in southwest Idaho for 60 months.

Fisher's got ticked, challenged the RFP process and now almost 6 months later, the deal will be reviewed again and awarded, again. The Xerox bid included "bodies", Fisher's did not.

Who is to say that the district really needs Xerox staff roaming around the district installing toner and xerographic units - but the district is missing the humongous point, don't ya know.

The blaring error is the inability of these "molders of young minds" to recognize anything more then the CPC and equipment cost. The case is hopeless now, there is no way to focus on any cost savings other than lease payment per month.

No real savings.

Don't Hate the Player, Hate the Game -

Classic story really, the RFP process is inherently flawed and for decades we in the business machine niche have taken advantage of the short coming. That is of course if you consider selling equipment at 3 points "taking advantage".

Adding injury to insult, now there is a consultant involved. I wonder if his fees are taken out of the "savings" provided by his oversight.

We look forward to the award announcement sometime after January.






Sunday, November 1, 2009

More Details on the HP Canon Deal & The IPG/PSG Merger: HP's Year End - Let The Announcements Commence

More details on the new alliance between Canon and Hewlett Packard:

- HP will begin advertising Canon copiers on its website on 11/1/09

- HP will resell imageRUNNER, imageRUNNER ADVANCE, and imageRUNNER ADVANCE PRO series

- Speed range from 23ppm to 105ppm devices

- According to Larry Trevarthen, HP’s Worldwide Director of Market Development, HP also has access to the imagePRESS production print products

- All the devices will initially carry the Canon name

- The products will be identical to what Canon dealers sell, including supplies

- Service will be provided by a Canon factory direct branch primarily. Only if there is no Canon branch in the area, will the service contract be offered to a Canon dealer.

- Canon currently has 60 factory branch locations, but will expand to 90 locations within 2 years

- HP will support Canon copiers with its Web JetAdmin utility

- HP will also modify its Universal Print Driver to support Canon copiers

- Starting in early 2010, HP will begin to develop its own print controllers for the Canon copiers

Canon announced it has purchased Document House, a $6.7 million Xerox/HP dealer in Scandinavia. It will now offer Canon and HP products only.

Canon stated that since Ricoh bought IKON, it has signed up only 23 new dealers in the U.S.

Canon announced it will spend $220 million to launch its own managed print services effort, with goal of gaining $1.1 billion in annual revenue by 2012.

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A recent report regarding the merger of IPG and PSG briefly stated that Vyomesh Joshi, HP veteran who leads the printing division, would leave the company in the coming months. - Wall Street Journal

"I think there’s some misconceptions that the nature of the relationship is such that we would deliver product to HP under an OEM basis where they would put their HP brand on it, but that’s not the case. All the technology that HP will source under this relationship will be sold under the Canon brand." - Dennis Amorosano, Canon’s senior director, solutions marketing. - Image Solutions Reseller




Contact Me

Greg Walters, Incorporated
greg@grwalters.com
262.370.4193