Higher Ed Is Out of Touch

"Five Skills College Students Will Need for Their Future Careers" - WSJ. #Paywall: but come on!  

New classes in AI ethics, climate-friendly design and how to be an entrepreneur in the metaverse are coming to campus

No Way is higher education future-ready by promoting TOPICAL curriculum.  By the time the TA gets a syllabus together, it is obsolete.

Arm your students by teaching them the basics. Teach them HOW TO LEARN real world, on the street, business acumen, instead of empty course work designed to increase tuition, and sell professor's books.

Maybe the fall semester should include, "How to deal with a Recession.", "How to lay off employees during an economic downturn." or "Keeping the Social and Business Issues Separate."

But what do I know...

The #LastCopierSold

11/26/2017

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.

New to #Copier Sales? What’s Going on In Your New Industry?

You’re hearing a great deal about “disruption” in the copier niche — but it’s actually turbulence, not disruption. A cursory look back through our history reveals that manufacturers digesting competitors and dealers coagulating together is the normal state of affairs. Whether Ricoh/Lanier, Ikon, Ricoh/Ikon, Canon/Océ, Global, Xerox/Global, HP/Samsung, Staples/DEX, Flex, Pulse, POA, Gorden Flesch, Marco or dozens more, acquisitions and mergers occur what seems almost daily. The rate has accelerated but the process has been the same. Like galactic space, the expansion and contraction is eternal.

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...

Read the rest, here.

Copiers: Let Go of the Past

Copiers, printers, scanners, fax, print servers, cloud print, duplex, scan-once-print-many, color, analog to digital, laser, inkjet, managed print services, to managed services...our turbulent path has crossed many borders, hills, and valleys.

Lots of things have changed since Chester pulled together his seven steps and yet, much remains the same. The print world moves slowly.  Like a river cutting the Grand Canyon, a real, significant change occurs over decades(which seem like eons).

For the Change Agents, this is the apogee of frustration.  We saw the true meaning of managed print services and the future of print.  The signs were there before the HP split, before the debacle that was Xerox/Fuji.  

We predicted the need to shift from selling from boxes to solutions to business acumen, in 2007. We saw the "P" change to "p" in MpS.  The time was then.

Along the way, a few early adopters burned the ships.  Back then, what we saw as secular most experts called a fad.  I remember presenting the Internet of Things back in 2012.  Interesting and way ahead of the curve.

No longer frustration; we're morose. It is sad to look at the missed opportunities. Volumes are dropping so how can an OEM still release 13 or more new models?

Is it ignorance? No, everybody is printing less and has been for a decade.  It's not a secret.
Is it stupidity? No, back in the day, these folks were THE technology innovators.
Is it the continued propagation of a bygone belief that if you build it, they will buy? Yes.  More succinctly, it is the undying grip on the past, unrelenting fear of change, and stubborn faith that if "we can hang on, we'll flourish".

Although purchasing devices, customers are placing a reduced number - worse, if there is a copier on every floor, nobody is using it.  Volumes are down to around 2,000 images a month.

The consolidation continues, independent dealers coagulate and OEMs dissolve, as the niche works through its annihilation.

Options are getting scarce, but there are painful opportunities: Medical equipment, BI, Energy Management, and more.  We've just got to let go.

Fortunately, we see the end is near.

We can make plans, see friends, write letters and move to the next stage, confident and aware.

Who is The World's Best Managed Print Services...in the World

I love the phrase, "It ain't bragging if its true..." - my high school football coach used it often.

I've noticed a trend over the past few months in our little niche: Robo-Boasting.

Self-promotion is great.  I get that and if you're proud of your MpS, I say get that story out there.  But don't do it through a robotic channel.

Bragging -

So many software, OEMs, dealers, toner pirates, distributors, consultants and analysts either claim to be or report to know the best Managed Print Services something-or-other.  The twitter-feed is chock-full of MPS robo-brags and self-promotion, it is blinding.  Observed from the outside it looks like one huge Love-fest. (I was going to use 'circle-jerk' but that might seem offensive)

The Managed Print Services Renaissance is here.

"Whereof what's past is prologue; what to come,
In yours and my discharge..."

The die was cast a decade ago; the rise, fall, and rise again of managed print services was foreseen. Even as office printing wanes, and withers, we are amid a Managed Print Services (MpS) Renaissance and age of enlightenment.

"Remote work is accelerating the A4 shift at lightning speed, ransomware and bad actors heighten the need for analog backups (paper), user authentication and print tracking/control are becoming normal, and that all adds up to new ways of doing business and new opportunities to manage that print."

Those survivors stand at yet another precipice:

Do we move forward with managed print services, or do we leave it in the dustpan of history?  

How To Sell Managed Print Services: A Great Question From LinkedIn

Well, the newbs are coming out, again.

Not to worry, the industry can always use new blood. But I do find the questions and the simplistic pontification tedious and fatiguing.

A new to the MPS World sales rep(I can't call him a MPS Selling Professional yet)asked a great question,

"I sold copiers and printers for a while. I recently got into MPS. No longer am I wasting time on the same accounts.

What tips are out there to be a successful MPS professional. How do we get people excited about MPS???"

Answers:

The Water Training Institute Set to Launch Its Certified Managed Print Services Seller(TM) Sales Training and Certification Program [CMPSS(TM)]

It was only a matter of time. 

I have never heard of the Water Group. For 2 years now I have been scouring the internet looking for any mention of "managed print services" and today is the first time this group pops up. 

No surprise, "where the is mystery, there is margin...". 

Today's mystery is MPS and as much as I believe there are a few "unique" aspects to selling MPS, selling is selling. Well, "solution selling" is "solution selling". One thing is for sure, this group is not short on content. 

And although the content looks and sounds good, I still can't help but be skeptical about anyone claiming to be in MPS for more than 11 years - that would be...since when, 1996?

Somebody help me out, were copiers even digital back then? Wasn't Apple running "ads" showing the difference between an Apple and PC user?(see above) 

Was I using a Palm Pilot back then? 

Didn't Office 97 ship on 45, 3.5-inch floppy's back then? 

And don't remember anybody offering to manage a fleet of IBM-Pro Printer; service and ribbons that is. And as I read through their squeaky new, freshly painted website, I could not help to think "HP"; it has the look and smell of SPS, which pretty much, well...smells. 

And then there is this, 

"...The team of Water Training Institute associates whom have designed and will deliver the Certified Managed Print Services Seller(TM) program curriculum have collectively sold nearly $1Billion in MPS business...Collectively, our brain-trust have more experience and success in sales and selling MPS than probably anyone in the world...” 

Wow...I mean...wow. Go ahead, divide $1billion by 0.0120 and then divide that by 11 years...whaddya get? I don't know, I ain't doing it. Of course, these numbers are accurate, you can't put it out there like that if it ain't true - but then again, it all depends on how one defines "MPS", doesn't it? 

According to their documentation, there are 5 separate modules of training - one is webinar-based and the test module is $500.00 and must be attached to Module #3, "In-Class Certified Managed Print Services Seller Program" If taken individually, the total cost is $4,975.00 - but act now by enrolling for September's classes, and the price goes to $2,490.00. 

These guys know how to market. 

At the recent MPS Conference, the most popular "off-line" conversational subject was "...can someone tell me how to effectively put an MPS Practice together?" Maybe this can be a great first step for rookie salespeople - or maybe even old "salts" of the copier world can get trained on moving "solutions" instead of boxes. Or better yet, perhaps some "Sales Reps" with IT VARs can get acclimated to real solution selling by attending and getting certified. 

But I keep going back to what one of my old sales managers once told me, "...sometimes we just overcomplicate what we do..." - FIVE modules? Oh well, if I could get HP or CISCO or VMWARE to pay for it, I would go. 

Here is the Press Release: 

Voorhees, NJ, May 07, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Beginning September 16, 2009, The Water Training Institute (a division of Water, a New Jersey-based Professional Services firm) will offer the Certified Managed Print Services Seller(TM) Sales Training & Certification Program, designed for sales professionals that sell and promote Managed Print Services solutions. 

Managed Print Services (MPS) is a solution that bundles office printers, copiers/MFPs, fax solutions, software, services, supplies, consumables, usage tracking, support, and management all for a single monthly invoice. 

The CMPSS(TM) program is designed to provide sales professionals with a thorough understanding of MPS, comprehensive MPS sales training, a tailored MPS sales acumen evaluation & development plan for each participant, and a Certification Exam that – combined with the other aspects of the program - would substantiate that the successful candidate has demonstrated a certain standard of MPS sales performance and comprehension. 

 According to Jon Reiser, a Principal at Water, “Our customers tell us the Managed Print Services sales training seminars they send their sales reps to are ineffective and don’t really prepare the reps to effectively sell MPS solutions. 

###

So they hire Water to come in, re-train the sales reps properly, get them prepared, and give the managers a written analysis of each sales rep’s preparedness to sell MPS. In the end, the customers end up paying twice for something they should have gotten in the first place.

Click to email me.

Can the Socratic Method Help You Sell?

“I cannot teach anybody anything; I can only make them think.” — Socrates

The world is full of advice. Our little industry is chock full of articles, studies, trade shows, blogs, podcasts, and analyst reports — not to mention more marketing materials than you can shake a stick at.

In fact, there are so many marketing materials it is difficult for prospects to sift through. Combine this with the day-to-day business stresses, and it is almost impossible for you to distill data streams into relevant information. The same goes for your prospects. How can you learn to do so and help your prospects do the same?  It is a daunting task, but one that separates you from the rest of the selling pack.

So, this is my idea – I suggest you employ the Socratic Method as a foundational philosophy.

I know what you’re asking. “How the heck can the Socratic Method help me sell more copiers?” Good question.

The Socratic method is a way of thinking and using probing questions to stimulate thought, expose assumptions, and reveal deeper insights.

This is not just a tool for philosophers; it’s a practical and powerful approach that will significantly enhance your business acumen and selling process.

 Here’s how:

#HP $HPQ to Cull PC's & Printers: New Company Called, "HP, Inc." - Get It?

"Ah ! well a-day ! what evil looks
Had I from old and young !
Instead of the cross, the Albatross
About my neck was hung."
--- Coleridge

In 1991 Lexmark was formed when IBM divested its printer and printer supply operations to an investment firm. On November 15, 1995, Lexmark was publicly traded .  Today the company is trading at $41.59 has a revenue around $3.7B and about 12,000 employees.  Back in the 90's, Lexmark boasted a revenue of nearly $2.0B.

IBM was in the midst of one of the greatest corporate transformations in history.  The company was in turmoil; internal leadership changes, intense competitive pressures, economic headwinds and a fractured self-image.  They didn't know who they were, what they did or how to do whatever it was they were going to do, better.
Crazy times, the 90's.

Today, another great technology firm finds herself in the throws of transformation - HP offers everything from servers, clouds, PC's, laptops, printers, supplies and services. But its not enough.  More accurately, its just too much. What IBM grew through, HP is now experiencing - you can't be everything to everyone.  If that were all, it would be bad enough, but its worse.  HP, Microsoft and the rest of the WinTel realm can no longer dictate demand. Their rule is not as relevant as in the past.

Take printers, for example.  HP brought the laser printer into the business world and for a decade or two, HP was synonymous with printing.  But in 2007, the winds of change were upon us.  No matter how much marketing tries to accentuate the shift from toner to ink, black and white to color, desktop to mobile, hard copy print will never rebound;  sinking more resources against the tide is folly.

What made HP great, is holding her back.  Print is the albatross.

Some will herald the move as great strategy - it might be - for sure, this is a responsive tact, not one that bends the market to HP's will.

Nothing, not even the company who brought the laser printer to nearly every desktop in the land, can reverse the trend.  Printing is dying.  Not because we've all decided to stop killing trees, or understand printing decreases the ozone layer or bringing on the next ice age.  HP is a victim of the shift in How We Work:

• No more desktop PCs
• No more servers
• Fewer laptops
• We do not print the same
• We communicate differently
• Fewer printers
• Almost no copiers

Today, we communicate under glass more than ever before. Generations of young adults live in a world without PC's, rotary phones, black and white TV, newspaper delivery or a printer.  Like generations before them understood life with electricity, they've never known a world without the internet.  Why in the world would they ever want or need to print anything?  Why?  Ask them.

Tablets, smart phones and new workflows, oh my.

"No one in the printing industry, or outside it, had any idea that the iPad would come along and destroy three- to four-thousand-year-old human traditions concerning paper," explained Gary Peterson, chief executive at Gap Intelligence, a San Diego-based research analysis firm.

No one except us...here.

In light of this expected turn, to all the paperless deniers, I ask this:

• If employees print 10,000 images each/year...
• If mobile print is a viable option...
• If global print volumes are rising...
• If OEMs can re-establish the relevancy of print...

then...

• Why did International Paper shutter it's biggest, 8.5x11 sized paper producing plant if print volumes are increasing?
• Why did HP layoff 40,000 employees when the second coming, mobil print or ink, is just around the corner?  Think of layoffs as The Rapture.
• Why is less than half of Xerox's revenue generated through equipment sales?
• Why would a leading copier manufacturer build an erasable copier?
• Even without printing capabilities, Apple still sold more than a dozen iPads

Denial.

"HP profits are reliant on selling "consumables" like inkjet cartridges, so the company can't be eager to see that business sidelined by the new prominence of tablets and smartphones. Even though mobile device make it easier to skip the printer in some cases, for example with electronic boarding passes and mapping apps, McCoog doesn't see printing as an endangered business.

Yeah, right.

What does this mean to all of you selling copiers and MpS?  Keep doing what you're doing, your resume clean and enhance your PERSONAL ACUMEN every day.  The change isn't coming, it is already here and you've got to improve yourself beyond the box and away from marks on paper.

Perhaps two decades from today, we'll look back and remember how HP built a great print business, sold it off and turned into the technology powerhouse Bill and Dave envisioned.


1991 -

Managed print Services : 2008

It's just my view. These are MY "top of mind" events and posts in 2008, in no particular order:

1. Ikon/Ricoh - Easily the biggest event of the year. After much rumor and guessing, Ricoh NOT Canon steps up.

2. WEB 2.0 - The Wild, Wild, West The BlogaSphere, social networking. From MySpace to LinkedIn. It is crazy out here. There are no rules, everyone is an expert on how to "monetize" your site, but nobody has a track record - it's all new. Anyone with a computer and an internet connection can instantly become an "expert' - I do not understand this phenomena and I have practically given up trying.

2.1 Andrew Keen's book, the cult of the amateur. Monkeys with typewriters - that's what we are. Thanks to him, I no longer reference Wikipedia.

3. The Death of The Copier - Why Do You Write? I write to read what I write. The "success" of The Death of The Copier is not measured by how many views occur(16,000/month) or the average time spent on the blog(two minutes 48 seconds). I measure the success of the blog by how often I go back and add to it.

If my interest is still there, than the blog is succeeding for me. An unforeseen and added benefit of TDOTC, has been all the people I have met out here; unknowing mentors, colleagues, cohorts, planners, visionaries and all around great peeps.

4. Photizo - defining and elevating Managed Print Services From start up, first two newsletters, now two locations, a conference and more, the folks over at Photizio, Ed and the gang, I have found to be the most knowledgable group in terms of Managed Print Services and the industry. I found them quite by chance, via a google search, and it has been a pleasure ever since. I look forward to watching and working with them in 2009.

5. LinkedIn - MySpace all grown up. Much more mature than Facebook with real contacts and real business and NO high school moms pretending to be CEO's...well, maybe. Quite by chance, I fell into LinkedIn. Early, I joined MySpace, Facebook, Plaxo, etc. - but LinkedIn, for some reason has held my attention and gets most of my input when it comes to "social networking". I do not tweet.

6. Napa - The Dump, the Wine and the Hot, Microbiologist - Huba, Huba As I mentioned in point #3 above, The Death of The Copier is for my entertainment and one of the most "entertaining" posts I have(in my opinion) is about an HP Green Symposium in Napa. It still makes me laugh right out loud.

7. Magic Castle, A Week in The Life - Every now and again, I am suddenly reminded why I like it so much out here.

8. Single Unit Install - Not the biggest sale of the century, not even close, but a significant and fulfilling experience. One that I did not write about. This past year, one of my clients involved a 90 day cycle which included a 30+ day trial for a single Edgeline.

The total sale was for ONE Edgeline.

But, this one particular engagement had every nightmare available: bad lease, terrible service, a color machine (K/M) that did not perform, a single line of color text costing a dime each. Monthly volumes were around 10,000 images, mostly color and 95% printed.

Today, as I click over to the PrintSolv tab in my Mozilla browser, I can see that total life count on the Edgeline is 99,000 images. (Since August) This month they have 5,900 color images, all of them printed - no color copies. We solved many issues: Recommending they purchase instead of lease (because of the benefits of the Economic Stimulus package of 2008) was "refreshing" and negated any "bad taste" they had from their current lease.

Although they went with a new Edgeline, the existing lease is still in effect, the old machine is tucked away and relegated to "back-up" duties. Color overages - a perfect fit for Color Accent, saving thousands in "click" charges. Automated Supplies Ordering - the machine emails us when it needs supplies. This in addition to the information available via PrintSolv. Easy to use scanning, and simple mis-feed resolution with "live" video walking the end user through the process.

And this is as good as it gets: “Greg, I just wanted to say that we love the CM8060...it prints consistently and much faster than the Konica c500. I’ve noticed it handles its tasks much better. I can scan large document sets to myself via email while it is printing other jobs, and continue to scan while it is still processing the previous scan batch – all with no hiccups. Your response time to our requests has also been very good. Thus far, it has been a pleasure to work with the HP Edgeline..."

9. The Hardware Begins to Disappear; Customers get Smarter - Machines are all the same but people still care Are clients smarter? As the commoditization of output devices continues, does it really matter if there is a little blue label that says "HP" on your printer?

Clients are looking for more - more help, more business, more control, more vision...but they are not in our industry, they wake up in the morning thinking about their business model, not printers, copiers or Managed Print Services. So, how can they be "smarter" then us? Maybe more informed then they use to be, but they should never be smarter then us - ever. I found (once again) the smart clients are the ones who understand that they do not know everything and need to surround themselves with experts. Experts who posses business acumen, people who are not walking spec sheets.

10. Gas Prices/Mortgage and Credit Crunch - The Gas Price restricted the miles I would travel, the Mortgage crisis eliminated two of our largest customers, the Credit tumble slowed or delayed commercial purchasing decisions - but all of these factors shot the interest in Managed Print Services through the roof.

11. Managed Print Services - Changing the copier model and creating another. The Photizo Group, as do I, call them the Hybrid Dealers.

12. Bill Caskey Bryan Neale and Brooke Green - These folks are on the cutting edge when it comes to Selling and the sales process, the mental attitudes and beliefs needed to succeed. And they are overall good people.

13. Web 3.0 - The Death of Print? I still have not figured out Web 2.0 and now there is talk of the Web 3.0. The next decade will be the decade when printing is truly redefined into something we can not fathom today.

It should be fun.

The Underbelly of Managed Print Services & Copier Sales: Last Week'sLanier Rep is Today's Edgeline Rep - Oh, really?

2012

If you've been in this industry for any period of time over 3 years, you either know or have heard of what I call a "Roaming Gnome" - there may even be one a couple of cubes over.

That sales rep who travels from dealer to dealer, employer to employer in search of the perfect sales position. Bringing with him years of experience, a Rolodex chock full of purchasing agents and expiration dates. A pocket full of promises and a wheelbarrow full of "Bravo Sierra".

It's legend - copier reps jump from Ricoh to Ikon to Konica Minolta to Toshiba. Or get out of Toshiba/Ikon/Xerox only to return in a few years.

Old, cromagnum sales interviews start with, "how big of a sales book can you bring with you from "fill in the blank/your current employer"?

Before you go off all half-cocked, accusing me of not understanding, I know this occurs in every industry, especially with salespeople. It is not illegal and it is not uncommon.

As a matter of fact, selling expertise and business acumen can only flourish under the light of many different Suns. And those who grow over time are professionals.

Switching companies isn't normally a bad thing. I am not criticizing the practice, only the occasional method.

The hacks I refer to as "Travelling Copier Gnome" carry not only baggage but character flaws.

They inflict more harm than good, perpetuating the shady side of selling.

In today's economically challenging MPS universe, many MPS and copier reps are looking for jobs; a quick search reveals IKON hiring MPS specialists like crazy all over the country. A floating deckchair in a turbulent sea?

As with most good articles on this tome, writing from personal experience supplants therapy and, I have found, generates plenty of "the same thing happened to me..." emails.

So, I feel the experience of one of my colleagues may have some relevance.

An MPS Practice I know of has gone through major metamorphosis - to date, its third. This recent iteration was characterized as a "bloodbath" resulting in major personnel changes.

People were let go and people left.

It's no secret that I bash the bad in our industry. It's a target-rich environment - there is plenty to bash.

However, I hold a special place, a bull's eye, for the "typical copier sales person".

That churn and burn, rip and replace, 60-month lease recommending, sour-grapes, decision challenging, slick, schlocky, box-moving, toner delivering, non-customer-centric, closed-minded, a square peg in a round hole, never going to change, FUD using, gear slinging, never attracting always selling, jolly, hard-closing, Traveling Gnome types.

Case in point, recently, one of the sales reps, at my colleague's MPS practice, decided to move to greener pastures.

Nothing wrong with that, right?. We've all done it.

As matter of fact, picking up and leaving is a decisive act any one of us can execute. Changing employers is like turning the page, ending another chapter in the book of your life. No biggie.

And when done correctly, there is honor in this; an opportunity to either show some class or reveal to the world your true, sliminess.

Character is what you do when nobody is looking most often exposed under pressure - think about the last time you experienced a death in the family or any other high-stress event. Who remained calm and focused, and who "cracked".

Or how about the last time something went wrong with a customer - who ran around with their hair on fire and who acted like they had been there before?

Character.

Your character is exposed not only in bad times but also in good. Can anyone remember the last time a running back scored a touchdown and simply handed the ball to the ref?

Act like you've been there before.

Back to my colleague.

He found himself in quite a pickle - all the client files were missing.

And by client files, he means, assessments, SOWs, proposals, spreadsheets, orders, quotes, contact records, notes, databases, and laptops.

That's correct, inspection showed very few signed original agreements - nothing left behind, uh, oh.

Again, little surprise, nothing too far out of line, seen it before, been there, got the coffee mug.

But then, they received their first notice of service cancellation.

A quick look into E*Automate revealed this defector-client had been "stocking up" on supplies over the past 3 weeks -capitalizing on confusion and the vacuum - it was obvious the customer had been coached.

And then, this ex-sales ne'er-do-well started reaching out to "his" old clients who are now part of my colleague's current base. Huh.

Again, sad and unprofessional and not at all surprising.

You see, when we sell with passion and believe in the product, service, and company, we can become blinded, falsely believing the client relationship is with us - it's our Ego talking - not reality.

The client relationship, no matter how personal the sales professional makes it, is between the client and company; not the selling professional.

We forget that sometimes, don't we? We fall into the trap of thinking "we" are the only reason clients work with our company.

How foolish, how naive, and how very old-fashioned - quaint, almost.

So, who is at fault here?

The destructive Sales-schmo, The Roaming Gnome? For sure.

"Greener Pastures and New Beginnings" mean just that; a New Beginning can only happen after an Ending of a "period" not a comma. Get over it, move on, and begin fresh. Show some class.

The new employer, absolutely.

What kind of loser organization still hires Sales people under these beliefs? Can this really be? Are we still in the '70s? Has Selling devolved? PUT THAT COFFEE DOWN! Did I miss THAT memo? Show some class.

Any client who follows him? These imbeciles are just as unscrupulous.

I mean really, it's just business, I know, but this is pretty lame.

The Lesson, if there is one?

We in the selling profession take a beating from our prospects, customers, sales managers, and family for engaging in something we love to do; meet new people, take on new challenges and create something out of nothing.

It's a shame when some of us lie to clients, trap customers into deals, push our agenda, and do harm. The bigger shame is these instances hurt all of us in sales.

This sort of thing may never change, unless we start calling out the evil-doers, exposing this ilk for the sham artists and hypocrites they are.

Replacing Humans with ChatGPT is Happening Right Now

“Overall, most business leaders are impressed by ChatGPT’s work,” ResumeBuilder.com wrote in a news release. “Fifty-five percent say the quality of work produced by ChatGPT is ‘excellent,’ while 34% say it’s ‘very good.'”

- Fortune, February 2023.

“Accountants, factory workers, truckers, paralegals, and radiologists — just to name a few — will be confronted by a disruption akin to that faced by farmers during the Industrial Revolution,”

- Kai-Fu Lee, AI expert, and CEO of Sinovation Ventures, 2018.

A recent article in Fortune talks about the elimination of jobs due to artificial intelligence.

Not in ten years or even ten minutes - it is already happing.  The article starts out, "In the 10 or so days since its grand entrance, ChatGPT has been everywhere:..."

10 Days.

The article goes on to say, "Business leaders already using ChatGPT told ResumeBuilders.com say their companies already use ChatGPT for a variety of reasons, including 66% for writing code, 58% for copywriting and content creation, 57% for customer support, and 52% for meeting summaries and other documents."

Executive Summary:

Greg's Top 12 Events of 2008 - Managed Print Services, Edgeline and Napa

from 2008...

It's just my view. These are MY "top of mind" events and posts in 2008, in no particular order:

1. Ikon/Ricoh - Easily the biggest event of the year. After much rumor and guessing, Ricoh NOT Canon steps up. 

 2. WEB 2.0 - The Wild, Wild, West The BlogaSphere, social networking. From MySpace to LinkedIn. It is crazy out here. There are no rules, everyone is an expert on how to "monetize" your site, but nobody has a track record - it's all new. Anyone with a computer and an internet connection can instantly become an "expert' - I do not understand this phenomena and I have practically given up trying.

 2.1 Andrew Keen's book, the cult of the amateur. Monkeys with typewriters - that's what we are. Thanks to him, I no longer reference Wikipedia.

3. The Death of The Copier - Why Do You Write? I write to read what I write. The "success" of The Death of The Copier is not measured by how many views occur(16,000/month) or the average time spent on the blog(two minutes 48 seconds). I measure the success of the blog by how often I go back and add to it. If my interest is still there, than the blog is succeeding for me. An unforeseen and added benefit of TDOTC, has been all the people I have met out here; unknowing mentors, colleagues, cohorts, planners, visionaries and all around great peeps.

4. Photizo - defining and elevating Managed Print Services From start up, first two newsletters, now two locations, a conference and more, the folks over at Photizio, Ed and the gang, I have found to be the most knowledgable group in terms of Managed Print Services and the industry. I found them quite by chance, via a google search, and it has been a pleasure ever since. I look forward to watching and working with them in 2009.

5. LinkedIn - MySpace all grown up. Much more mature than Facebook with real contacts and real business and NO high school moms pretending to be CEO's...well, maybe. Quite by chance, I fell into LinkedIn. Early, I joined MySpace, Facebook, Plaxo, etc. - but LinkedIn, for some reason has held my attention and gets most of my input when it comes to "social networking". I do not tweet.

6. Napa - The Dump, the Wine and the Hot, Microbiologist - Huba, Huba As I mentioned in point #3 above, The Death of The Copier is for my entertainment and one of the most "entertaining" posts I have(in my opinion) is about an HP Green Symposium in Napa. It still makes me laugh right out loud.

7. Magic Castle, A Week in The Life - Every now and again, I am suddenly reminded why I like it so much out here.

8. Single Unit Install - Not the biggest sale of the century, not even close, but a significant and fulfilling experience. One that I did not write about. This past year, one of my clients involved a 90 day cycle which included a 30+ day trial for a single Edgeline.

The total sale was for ONE Edgeline.

But, this one particular engagement had every nightmare available: bad lease, terrible service, a color machine (K/M) that did not perform, a single line of color text costing a dime each. Monthly volumes were around 10,000 images, mostly color and 95% printed. 

Today, as I click over to the PrintSolv tab in my Mozilla browser, I can see that total life count on the Edgeline is 99,000 images. (Since August) This month they have 5,900 color images, all of them printed - no color copies. We solved many issues: Recommending they purchase instead of lease (because of the benefits of the Economic Stimulus package of 2008) was "refreshing" and negated any "bad taste" they had from their current lease. 

Although they went with a new Edgeline, the existing lease is still in effect, the old machine is tucked away and relegated to "back-up" duties. Color overages - a perfect fit for Color Accent, saving thousands in "click" charges. Automated Supplies Ordering - the machine emails us when it needs supplies. 

This in addition to the information available via PrintSolv. Easy to use scanning, and simple mis-feed resolution with "live" video walking the end user through the process. 

And this is as good as it gets: 

“Greg, I just wanted to say that we love the CM8060...it prints consistently and much faster than the Konica c500. I’ve noticed it handles its tasks much better. I can scan large document sets to myself via email while it is printing other jobs, and continue to scan while it is still processing the previous scan batch – all with no hiccups. Your response time to our requests has also been very good. Thus far, it has been a pleasure to work with the HP Edgeline..." 

9. The Hardware Begins to Disappear; Customers get Smarter - Machines are all the same but people still care 

Are clients smarter? As the commoditization of output devices continues, does it really matter if there is a little blue label that says "HP" on your printer? 

Clients are looking for more - more help, more business, more control, more vision...but they are not in our industry, they wake up in the morning thinking about their business model, not printers, copiers or Managed Print Services. So, how can they be "smarter" then us? Maybe more informed then they use to be, but they should never be smarter then us - ever. 

I've  found (once again) the smart clients are the ones who understand that they do not know everything and need to surround themselves with experts. Experts who posses business acumen, people who are not walking spec sheets. 

10. Gas Prices/Mortgage and Credit Crunch - The Gas Price restricted the miles I would travel, the Mortgage crisis eliminated two of our largest customers, the Credit tumble slowed or delayed commercial purchasing decisions - but all of these factors shot the interest in Managed Print Services through the roof. 

11. Managed Print Services - Changing the copier model and creating another. The Photizo Group, as do I, call them the Hybrid Dealers. 

12. Bill Caskey Bryan Neale and Brooke Green - These folks are on the cutting edge when it comes to Selling and the sales process, the mental attitudes and beliefs needed to succeed. And they are overall good people. 

13. Web 3.0 - The Death of Print? I still have not figured out Web 2.0 and now there is talk of the Web 3.0. The next decade will be the decade when printing is truly redefined into something we can not fathom today. 

 It should be fun.

Eight Ways to Sell to Corporate Culture in 2022

Much is being said about how the work-from-home movement will negatively impact the corporate culture.

What is Corporate Culture:

"Corporate culture refers to the beliefs and behaviors that determine how a company's employees and management interact and handle outside business transactions. Often, corporate culture is implied, not expressly defined, and develops organically over time from the cumulative traits of the people the company hires." - Investopedia

Long established and organically grown, corporate culture resists outside influences - you, as a salesperson are an outside influence, especially in the post-Covid age. 

Today, implemented managed print services still presents a shock to the system and a threat to the 'how we've always done it' position.  

Visualize an MpS implementation as an enhancement to your customer's existing workflow.  

How can you cut through the fear of change, when that fear is on the global pandemic level?  Go with the flow.

One of the first articles I wrote was about implementing a managed print services program and the risks of ignoring corporate culture in the process. 

Back then, we were concerned about the impact of reducing devices on the way people felt about their jobs. MpS engagements were new; they changed the way toner was ordered and revealed how the number and location of devices could be a shock to the system.  

Today, implementing new services is a shock to the system because it threatens the 'how we've always done it' position.  

Visualize an MpS implementation as an enhancement to your customer's existing workflow and be 'like water.'

Workflow is about optimizing the processes of everyday business tasks. In other words, it’s how work gets done. Change is guaranteed, and the corporate culture at the organizational, departmental, or personal level can’t help but be influenced. 

I once heard a really smart guy say, “Culture kills process every day.” It’s something we should all keep in mind.  

DOTC Leopard & MPSA MPS Leadership Winner, Kevin DeYoung, @QualPath

first aired, 5/19/11

Kevin 'burned the ships in the bay' a few years back, jumping headlong into MPS.

I have had many lively conversations with Kevin.

He is an MPS Evangelist, an MPS Purist, a true believer and his team at QualPath deserve the MPSA Leadership Award.

We here at DOTC are honored to have Kevin contribute as a guest writer, joining the 'Spotted ranks'.

Enjoy.

The Single Most Important Tool In Managed Print Services

6/15/08

- A Game of Six Inches –

And by “Six Inches” I mean the space between your ears.

Anyone can take a set of pre-written interview questions, read them out, and write down the response. Anybody can get meter reads and divide by total months in the field and get an average monthly volume. And anybody can attend one of a plethora of newly created “How to sell/implement/create/invest in/market/make a profit in Managed Print Services” courses.

And I recommend every single course. As a matter of fact, I recommend that all my competitors take continuous courses, read thousands of articles, plan, strategize, forge partnerships with vendors and distributors, test all the meter reading tools, attend all the manufacturers’ “How To” seminars, develop hundred-page spreadsheets to determine CPC – please, by all means, you can never learn too much. You study, I'll "do".

All the books, all the courses, all the Powerpoint presentations in the world will only give you “book smarts” and as Springsteen says, “…we learned more from a three-minute record than we ever did is school…”

It isn’t all about facts and numbers, it’s about people. It’s not about first copy out time or the fact that duplexing can save trees and the Chewbaccas , it’s about the CEO’s assistant not needing to babysit the color copier on a Saturday afternoon, missing her kid’s ballet recital.

The sad news is this – I am talking about wisdom and true wisdom comes over time, not on slide 82 of 150. And fortunately for some, we’ve been in the business long enough to remember the look on people’s faces when they saw the very first letter printed on a laser printer – and we were witness to all the changes in business due to technology.

And if you have always been selling with high intent, doing what is best for your customers and yourself, learning about each business you have been fortunate to visit - taking all that in over the years then you are in a very fortunate position. Celebrating the successes and learning from the failures.

If you are one of those, you know this Wisdom is Platinum, and it is the acumen that corporate leaders will pay greatly to be in the company of. All that needs to be done is effectively communicate the results of your study through the prism of your wisdom. (I hope somebody is writing this down, these are priceless drops of gold)

If you are new to MPS or to sales or to helping customers solve problems, let not your heart be troubled, start today. Start engaging your prospects to learn more about their business, their personal challenges, their ups, and their downs - talk and learn more than just CPC, FCOT, fuser, toner, supplies, and jams.

That's right - Six Inches.

The Death of Printers: I've Been Saying It For Over a Year - HP Will Not Be Selling Printers

In an article by Jon Fortt, at Brainstorm Tech, HP's Bruce Dahlgren illustrates a future without printers; without printer sales people.

Indeed, Jon's article, title, "The death of a (printer) salesman" is ominous.

If not a bit cosmic.

I had a conversation the other day with an MPS Visionary who is starting to think that not only is MPS changing the copier channel, it is changing the Selling Model - Wow.

As sited here on DOTC, the shift has been underway from copier sales to more Business Acumen ever since MPS got "hot".

Here is the article, enjoy.

The death of a (printer) salesman
Posted by Jon Fortt, senior writer
March 30, 2010 7:00 AM

"In the near future, most big businesses won't actually buy printers. The shocker: HP is looking forward to that.


Enterprise printers aren't going away. But soon, most big companies will pay for the output, not the box. Photo: HP.

Bruce Dahlgren's job at Hewlett-Packard is to sell printers to big customers. Well, sort of. During a recent huddle in a conference room at Hewlett-Packard headquarters in Palo Alto, he was talking about what will happen when big customers stop actually buying printers.

Sound unthinkable? It’s not. Rather than purchase equipment that gets old and breaks down, these days a growing number of companies would rather let someone else own and manage the office copiers and printers — make sure they’re up-to-date, stocked with supplies and arranged in the most efficient way — and instead just pay for the work the equipment does. The model is called managed print services, and it’s all the rage.

In fact, it’s a big part of the reason Dahlgren is at HP (HPQ) in the first place.

Soon after HP CEO Mark Hurd arrived at the company five years ago, he recognized that the vaunted imaging and printing group wasn’t doing a great job with large businesses. Part of the problem: IPG executives were used to marketing to consumers, and lacked deep experience in enterprise sales.

Vyomesh Joshi, the printing group’s executive vice president, once told me that it was humbling, but he realized he needed Hurd's help to turn things around.

In a controversial move, Hurd brought in Dahlgren, a former colleague at NCR (NCR), to lead the enterprise printing business and spearhead managed print services. (Because of a legal dustup with previous employer Lexmark (LXK) regarding a non-compete agreement, he had to take some time overseeing Europe before settling into the role.) Since then, Dahlgren has been scrapping with the likes of Xerox (XRX) for share in the market.

So far the services business has grown to the point where HP manages 19 billion pages per year. The total value of all managed print services contracts stands at about $5.5 billion. Revenues have recently gotten large enough that HP executives review it separately from the other printing operations.

A race to print money

The spoils of the managed print services war should be considerable. Photizo Group, a research firm, estimates that by 2013 it will more than double into a $60 billion global market, and more than half of all enterprise printing devices will be under a services contract. Dahlgren says that today, only about a third of HP’s enterprise customers have begun using managed print services at all, and another third are evaluating it. “So I don’t shy away from a $1 million contract,” Dahlgren says. “Because I know that once we get in there, this thing really expands.”

In this environment, the company that locks up the most market share could eventually wield decisive influence over which enterprise printer and copier brands thrive. If HP wins, it gets to eat a big piece of Xerox’s business. If Xerox wins, it gets to do the same to HP.

So it makes sense for the printing giants to jockey for market share grab now, especially since businesses don’t want to buy equipment anyway and companies like HP can promise coveted cost savings from switching to the services model. But what happens when that stage is over, and investors still want profit growth in the imaging and printing segment?

Dahlgren has an idea of how it might work. He offers a customer as an example: HP had begun managing most printers and copiers for a hospital when someone noticed that the station for printing the hospital’s ID wristbands was located right near the admissions station. That would make it possible to print each patient’s picture, in color, right on the wristband.

Not only would it make it easier for hospital staff to check them, it would add a valuable layer of security. And in the print services contract, HP can charge more for the new wristband-printing service — similar to the way the cable company charges more for premium channels. Says Dahlgren: “Wouldn’t it be cool — we’re not there yet — but wouldn’t it be cool if when a doctor printed out a patient’s information, there was actually a picture there?”

It would be cool. And apparently profitable for HP, too."
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"No Rules Managed Print Services" - Who Do You Think You Are?

2011 -

The Mafia, does not exist. Never has, except for in the movies.

The "Illuminati" is another example of propaganda and marketing. Fear motivates, just ask Little Red Riding Hood.



The Free Masons, Skull and Bones, Templars, The Thule Society, The Black Hand, and my personal favorite, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, these groups, these societies, whether real or imagined, were formed to fill a vacuum.

And nature abhors a vacuum.

MaNAgeD PRinT SerVIces - Does it Really Matter How WE Define It?

May 2009-

The first people who wanted to define Managed Print Services were, of course, the consultants. Define it, measure it, survey around it, create reports about it, and sell the data. Nice model.

Not far behind those folks are the "trainers" - oh yes, we all know those guys.

Anything new has got to be figured out - everything new has mystery about it, and as Max once told me,"...where there is mystery, there is margin..."

And when you act as an authority and have a track record of sorts, never mind that the record was based on an archaic and outdated, equipment model, people will pay big time to hear you tell them how to "succeed".

After the "trainers" come the "Providers" - BTA Dealers, copier manufacturers, VARs, and software people. Those who sling gear and sell CPC service agreements.

The last group are those who claim to "...have been selling and providing MPS for 8, 10, 20, 30 years..." - these are the ones who really crack me up, but they are in the "boat" too.

If one were to Google MPS just 12 short months ago, one may have found some hits regarding HP or Xerox and most certainly Photizo - but not Lyra or AIM or BTA, or Kyocera, Konica Minolta, or a great number of copier dealers.

Now, MPS is everywhere - dealers provide it, manufacturers provide it, software people provide it, marketing firms, toner re-manufacturers, and even technology providers talk MPS.

And today, more copier reps are on the street waving their dongles and selling the hot new product, MPS, than ever before. (Managed Prints Services - That "Hot, New, Thing...")

Synnex, Ingram, InfoTrends, and Water provide "MPS training" for the salesperson, the dealer, and the owner - honestly, I am a proponent of the "selling is selling, no matter what you sell..." theory. So even though all the MPS Sales courses are simply re-hashed "copier CPC" selling or "Solution Selling" subject matter, that's ok. Any knowledge is good knowledge.

I think the biggest and most significant issue to remember, and one echoed by Xerox's Ashby Lowry at the Managed Print Services Conference last month is that true MPS strives to REDUCE the number of prints and REDUCE THE NUMBER OF MACHINES(IN FIELD).

But how does this reconcile, for example, with Kyocera's need to find homes for more machines? Will they reduce production schedules because they now offer MPS?

How does OPS affect the number of Konica Minolta's vs HP's?

How does this balance with Ricoh/IKON's need to convert more Canon customers to Ricoh? Is there a significant, MPS-based reason to move from Canon to Ricoh?

How does real MPS jive with Xerox selling 3 Phasers with every copier?

Are they paying lip service to MPS or simply defining MPS for their own purpose?
Recently, Lexmark released data defining how much the government is wasting on inefficient printing policies and procedures. The results are not surprising; big government wastes tax dollars, duh. And the Federal Government is a great prospect for solid MPS.

But is it just me, or do you get the feeling that the next article is going to be about how Lexmark, by supplying only Lexmark gear, saved the taxpayer's gajillions?

Is there a good answer to this, no? Is it wrong that when Lexmark wins an MPS deal, it consists of Lexmark(or Xerox, HP, Konica Minolta, Samsung...) only gear? No, not really, because of how they define MPS. Their flavor is tainted with their machines - not a true MPS.
Real Managed Print Services is NOT a technique. It is not a product. It is not a marketing campaign.

Managed Print Service is a process. A process that reduces costs, over a period of time, and enhances the overall, business process and workflow of any company/organization.

This leads me to a simple list of qualifying questions:

If you sell only toner, are you in MPS?
If you sell only Ricoh's, are you in MPS?
If you sell paper, are you in MPS?
If you sell data storage, are you in MPS?
If you sell marketing materials and production of those marketing materials, are you in MPS?
If you sell single-function laser printers, are you in MPS?
If you sell and service only one hardware manufacturer, are you in MPS?
If you sell power control and monitoring devices for the data center are you in MPS?
If you sell directly, exclusively, and strictly to the Purchase Agent of any company, are you in MPS?
If you sell fax servers, are you in MPS?
If you sell laser printer service, are you in MPS?
If you sell contract negotiations, and bid management, are you in MPS?
If you sell office supplies, are you in MPS?
If you sell archiving software, are you in MPS?
If you sell leasing and financial services, are you in MPS?
If you sell into a CRD environment, are you in MPS?
If you sell your business expertise and cost reduction acumen, are you in MPS?

Any one of the above, indeed perhaps a score or two more, can qualify as a component of MPS - that is of course except for one. There is one item in the above list, that completely, unequivocally disqualifies you as an MPS provider and negates your membership as one who plays in the MPS niche.

Care to take a guess at which one?

For us on the "inside" the definition of MPS, of course, is complex. Because MPS can be any one of the answers from above - MPS, true enlightenment in MPS would include ALL of the above and more. But once this is achieved, it no longer is MPS it becomes MIS.(back to the beginning, again)

The ultimate One Throat To Choke.

Back to my original question, "Does it really matter how WE define MPS?"

NO, it does not.

I am reminded of a statement made by Randy Elliot from Dow Chemical at the recent MPS conference. For him, he really didn't care how we defined MPS - it is unimportant to him, as a customer.

Wow.

That should truly sum it all up - what matters isn't how we define MPS, what matters is how our prospects and clients define MPS.