Why paint MPS all black? Why kill MPS after just three short years? Why blacken the Sun?
I've said it before. Change releases fear and fear motivates.
Contrary to what the Imaging Intelligentsia bloviate, we are not witnessing the beginning of the End Managed Print Services - we are seeing the last gasp of "Print Services"(it's the "M" - stupid)
It's the infamous, IKON iceberg. Won't this thing EVER melt?
When the MPSA struggled for months to determine the definition of MpS we stumbled and bumbled our way in the dark.
Each of us had different views and perspectives: OEM's, Independent dealers, toner reman's, parts suppliers, consultants, and end users. Oh, and ONE VAR.(Jus sayin)
I was impatient - we needed something NOW and I had a definition ready to go.
My version did not include reference to hardware, but the MPSA had to include 'devices'.
I didn't want the word 'print' but quickly acquiesced agreeing that 'print' allowed the concept to be easily identifiable.
Here is what we, the MPSA came up with:
"Managed print services is the active management and optimization of document output devices and related business processes." - MPSA, July, 2010
"...the act of managing components and processes associated with moving, saving and presenting information in the form of documents..." - DOTC, March, 2010
And here is my current definition of MOS(MpS):
"...the act of managing the optimization of resources and processes associated with information ..." - GRW, 5/9/2011
Why would I be so insistent about leaving 'hardware' out of the equation? I don't want to be pigeon-holed, I don't think real MpS has anything to do with hardware or even PRINT.
Most importantly, I didn't want those who felt like I, to find this weakness and project above the MPSA definition.
There was a time when the only MPS information one could find, was is supplied by direct marketing firms with content referring to advertising print jobs.
Then, slowly, the trainers got involved, starting to pitch MPS as nothing more than CPC in different garb. Releasing loosely disguised marketing pieces as white papers.
InfoTrends wasn't there.
Gartner, didn't care.
CompTIA was years away from getting in.
There was no PagePack, Twitter or FaceBook
Back then, if you 'googled' Managed Print Services, nothing came back.
But one day, a few returns started to populate the Google alert you set up for "Managed Print Services"(ok, I know I was the first one ever to do this, back in the day)
And somehow, a complete Managed Print Services article appeared. The brainchild of some firm whose name you didn't know how to pronounce.
The 2011 Global MPS Conference is part of history.
I have a unique view of both the evolution of the show and our industry.
It goes a bit like this:
-Year One, 2009: What the hell is this thing called MPS?
-Year Two, 2010: I've made so many mistakes. How in the heck do we make the change?
-Year Three, 2011: Now what? There has got to be more.
So, as a proponent of MPS, as one of the first evangelists. As a fully engaged, MPS Practice Manager.
As a "thought leader", somebody who has spoken at each MPS Conference, sat on panels of experts, queried the titans, investigated every single MPS package, program, and type; as a dangerous, True Believer -
How can I possibly, in good faith, call for the destruction of Managed Print Services?
How?
Well, welcome back my friends to the show that never ends, step inside...
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..."
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?
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.
I just attended the MPSA webinar, "MPS What Went Wrong?"
Gleaned Tidbits:
1. Comp plans helped kill MpS. It is more difficult to sell MpS when working within a copier-based comp plan. Why don't reps receive residuals on MpS contracts? If you say, "they'll stop selling..." you've got a hiring problem as well as an ineffective compensation plan.
2. Although there is a global decline in output, the panelists, are not seeing a big decrease in the SMB. Actually, some SMBs increase output with new MpS engagements.
3. Not much has changed since 2011. This is my personal observation. Although the panel consisted of some of the brightest minds in MpS, the subject matter was a product of some sort of time loop. We could have and may have, hosted an identical webinar back in 2012. What does this mean? It could reflect new players in the MpS realm or it could mean that few folks jumped on the MpS train back in 2009, or MpS is still elusive.
I had, yet another, epiphany the other day while sitting in front of a prospect, reviewing his fleet over my 8-page "Approach Document", poking through the pain, and proposing an MPS S1 Engagement.
I realized that this and every, single, assessment have had one thing in common - overcapacity.
11x17 at 1% of volume; duplex at 4% of volume; fax machines physically next to MFPs with fax capability next to laser printers; 5-year leases; fuser assemblies and toner sitting next to oh so many client's Canon/Xerox/Ricoh/Konica/Copier-De-Jour.
I thought to myself,
"What's going to happen when everybody realizes they don't need a copier?"
Last week I sat in on a Lexmark MPS webinar - the OEM doesn't matter as much as the customer (always) - Columbia.
As a matter of fact, 60 seconds into the show, I felt I wasn't going to make it past five minutes. I mean, I expect to be "pitched" but a read speech? I swear it was pre-recorded. OMG.
Toughing it out, my staying power was rewarded.
Mike Leeper, Global IT, Columbia, presented a frank, honest, and downright refreshing story of his MPS implementation. Two years into a successful MPS Engagement breaking 10 years of status quo.
Now, I am familiar with the DOW Chemical MPS and Nationwide MPS Project, so I have a good framework for comparison. Both DOW and Nationwide are successful, cost-reducing examples.
I won't bore you with the many details except these:
1. Moved decision process out of Facilities
2. Past decision process was very hardware-centric
3. Print Vendors were just like "...used car salespeople..."
4. Printing was considered boring
5. Success hinged on selling internally and continually communicating
6. Network-only devices considered
7. Project reduced costs by 37%
8. Reduced printed output by 1 million images
9. Effectively "killed" all the previous copiers(DOTC) - zero remained
The last two should send chills up the spine of every OEM and induce the booted, incumbent to hurl - through his nose.
MPS engagements like these are the Pure MPS - how can you commoditize this?
But wait, commoditizing is exactly what the manufacturers want - get all this MPS stuff boiled down to the most basic, simplistic, lowest common denominator. Make it easy enough for a monkey or copier rep(jk!)to sell.
Create tools that kill the art of MPS, and stifle creativity and growth by automatically creating proposals and QBR marketing slicks. Just press F7.
Cram MPS into the old, "slay it and move on" sales model. As long as that MPS engagement includes 11x17, an unused duplex, and a fax machine with every copier.
Back to my prospect.
As happens with like-minded folks, conversations travel the spectrum of technical subjects, tangents really. Some would say, tangents get in the way of the close. Yeah, right.
So we talked about the Agile methodology, Google, SaaS, dual-monitors, MPS(reducing output), CIOtalkRadio.com, and the new control end-users share via social networking.
How, today, the ultimate buyer has more choices and how everybody is collaborating. I told him MPS really expanded around the world because of the new social media - the buzz started online.
I expressed my belief that finally, in my little world of copiers/output devices, the shift from Supply (copier OEM) to Demand-driven(ultimate end-user)is taking place.
The party may not be over but fewer and fewer will be attending...
I think he was being polite when he agreed with me.
Either way, we decided to move forward with an MPS S1 Engagement.
So, now that I have a close, I guess I should strike out and "slay" another one, right?
Ed and the gang over at Photizo are going to kill me for the headline, let alone the picture.
Let me explain.
Three years ago few talked about real Managed Print Services - but Photizo was.
Toner re-man guys were saying, "...we've been doing MPS for 25 years..." - this before most defined MPS.
I am not kidding, at ITEX, 2009 one schmoe had the gall to say this to my face, and then try to sell me on remanufactured, color toner cartridges.
Indeed, so many folks tried to define MPS in their likeness, it became really funny to watch. And those doing all the defining had never DONE MPS. But Photizo had The MPS Adoption Model.
Back then, copier guys were simply trying to stay alive - not much has changed today - the OEM's had no clue and the IT sector saw nothing wrong with 2 point printer deals, attached to CarePacks. Okay, so maybe that hasn't changed all that much either.
The 2011 Global MPS Conference is going to be huge - to date, the number of registered matches the number of attendees at the 2009 Conference.
When most charge for the honor of speaking and need to piggy-back with other, failing conferences, how many shows do you know that are experiencing an INCREASE in attendance?
For you, dear reader, my personal top 12 for 2012.
A list of what I see happening in the coming year, for us, our industry, and our world.
In a moment of pure randomness, a stream of consciousness, my off-the-cuff opinion - feel free to disagree:
12. Content
Content is everything. And it grows. Not simply printed content, Tweets, cable/digital TV, cellphone calls, dead-emails, texts, sexts, DropBox, utility bills - bumper stickers, ATM transactions: Everything.
And there is the DarkContent/DarkMatter - the "metadata" - the stuff we can't forget because we've never seen it. For example, if you are running FourSquare, your every step is recorded, not just the cute 'check-ins'. Your movement is recorded and filed off into the great Rift that is DarkConent. Same with your NetFlix orders and cable TV viewing patterns, your Visa spends, and the digital footprint that follows your every search, view, post, comment, and click.
All there, all Dark and unseen. Collective.
The Age of Content is engaged, 2012 will reveal more.
11. Social Everything
Everybody is touching everyone, everywhere - Twitter is going to kill news collectors and email; and not a printer in sight. DropBox/BoxNet makes sharing large, exchange-choking files a snap. Tablets will be faster, . PDFs will download instantly(almost) and the screen will be the new 'paper'.
10. Less Copiers
That's right, less 11x17, less off the glass copying. 'Nuff said...
These thoughts are my personal critique of an industry, not an individual.
Weeks ago, over one hundred leading MpS providers congealed in Park City, Utah to discuss the future of MpS. It was a great educational and entertaining event - recommended.
This event was one of the best I've attended in years - only the MWAi show from last year, stands above. West put together a great agenda and was able to recruit a diverse set of industry luminaries.
Here's a quick list of observations from The Top 100 - "MpS is Changing" conference:
The venue: Superb.
Event organization: Stellar.
Promotion: Unparalleled.
Presenters: Both gargantuan and irrelevant.
Content: Both significant and forgettable.
Off-line conversations: The best in over a decade.
For a detailed tracking of the event, talks, and feedback, see Ken's, Art's, West's, and Andy's most accurate reports.
The video, recorded, edited, and presented on-site, nearly live, is one of the best promotional pieces in the niche. It was organic and fun. See it here.
Enough of us patting each other on the back, like we’re all buds. Here's a two word summary of the show: "Points Missed."
It has been said our niche moves at the speed of an HP Series II - I don't agree with that 100% of the time, but after this conference, I'm having second thoughts.
I've stewed on this for what seems years - why do so many still believe in the old models? Why don't they see what others see?
In a juxtaposition with the best content I've witnessed, the audience comments were befuddling. I sat there, shaking my head, not at the presenters(mostly) but frustrated over the 1970 mentality of the audience. Still!
Here it is. A list of call-outs from my perspective:
"Automatic Toner Fulfillment": 2007 called...
"If you sell hammers, everything looks like a nail" so, if you sell re-man toner, all the world is an empty printer, right?
ARRRG.
Getting toner to the right desk at the right time is something we've cut our teeth on, back in 2007. Staples delivers more toner to more desks, on time, "automatically" than anybody else and they use people. Automation for automation's sake is not visionary.
The fact that we are looking at ATF as a new advantage, in 2015, is trite - Clients expect every MpS program can 'get toner to the user' as a mundane function.
There is no such thing as "MNS": Really.
This irks me on a personal basis. Nobody in real IT refers to anything as managed network services; it is simply managed services. Whenever we say "MNS", we look like wanna-be, IT knuckleheads. If you're IT contacts don't flinch or roll their eyes every time you say "MNS" they are being polite.
When the Epson dude referred to his ink bags as "disruptive", I think most in the room assumed it was we doing the disrupting.
Immediately, calls of, "how can I make money the old fashion way, when I sell the machine and lifetime ink all upfront?"
The answer is, "you can't make money the old-fashioned way..."
But here's the miss: we won't be using ink-bags to disrupt, this disrupts Managed print Services.
It's the other way around: bags-o-ink AND "Instant Ink"(DOTC, 2011) will move the channel closer to irrelevancy. Not because wet-toner is better than dry-toner - the iceberg here is "Lifetime Supply". Buy a printer and never purchase toner or ink again. All the costs, revenue, and profit are upfront. An offering, so simple a monkey could sell it.
The 'lifetime' model will remove MpS from the lexicon because there is no need for a relationship.
Those MPS consultants and OEM programs that stress toner as "the most important component" of MpS have led us down the primrose path.
This one issue, redefined as "MpS" is slipping from the dealer channel into the hands of surviving mother-ships.
"Toner" is not a relationship and the biggest reason OEMs say they need an independent dealer channel is to maintain the relationship. Well. The relationship is getting thinner every month.
Think about it, the 'lifetime ink' business model eliminates:
Meter reads - no billing
Monthly billings - see above
Deliveries - UPS
Phone orders - machines phone home
Service calls - these things don't break
Quarterly reviews - why?
Contracts
Independent Dealers
Etc.
If I were getting into managed print services today, I would become an Epson reseller and push those guys to start releasing model after model, ASAP, before HP kicks their super-duper, closed loop MpS machine into gear.
I mentioned this during the Q&A, and nobody understood what I was saying.
...chunks...blown...
points...missed...
Watch Epson. Watch HP MPS.
In The End: It's Not Me, It's You
I've seen great things in our niche. I've seen companies make the leap, shun the old ways, and thrive.
I've also seen organizations espouse the future, make cosmetic changes and fail - the road back to 1991 is littered with used-up MPS Directors. Settling into the old ways of selling copiers, hiring sales managers from yesterday's enterprise, 'trapping customers', paying salespeople a pittance yet expecting them to be professionals, and forcing equipment quotas on their customers - is the easy thing to do.
I've been ringing the bell for years - "MPS is the gateway to something bigger than toner and copiers...". I evangelized the new ways only to see big equipment manufacturers hijack and kill innovation, searching for more shelf space and stickier schemes.
It is the way of things.
But it doesn't need to be your way. Many have made the shift, pivoting off the copier and into fertile markets. It isn't easy to break free the ordinary ways, but it's got to be done.
Conferences that break the mold, separate the future from the past are few and far between - this Top 100 is one of the less ordinary get-togethers. If you were there, you are one of the less ordinary people and nowadays, the Life Less Ordinary is the life evolutionary...
In this document, we will discuss a proposed MPS S1 Engagement and its benefits. This engagement aims to improve the current printing infrastructure and bring cost savings to the organization.
I stopped in at the Lyra Symposium last week, in Palm Springs: The Road to Recovery.
The year is what it is so far, my schedule has been filled with activities associated with what I call, my "day job".
So, I was able to catch just one day, the day with all the MPS data and presentations.
I was present for 8 hours and can safely say, there were no copier reps in attendance; if by copier reps I mean folks who would be on the phone closing a single copier deal between sessions, which I do, there were none.
I also believe the majority of attendees may have sold face-to-face in the past, just not in the past 24 hours.
Be that as it may, the data presented by Lyra is priceless.
Especially to we who sell, we in the thick, in the smoke, in the fire.
I am not advocating every Selling Professional attend this and other symposiums, but, I do recommend getting synopsis or any other information you can, from your manufacturer rep or your sales manager (yeah, right, sure...). Why?
Information is King in your personal, and professional development. Your "personal, professional development" might get lip service from management - but it is just that, lip service. When the chips are down, you tell me who gets the ax.
The more you know, the more you can see where your dealership/management is falling down and the easier it is to chart your own course.
My top five Value-Adds from Lyra- 2010:
Historical data mined from their extensive database of devices, monitored by PrintFleet, is presented in spaghetti graphs.
Detailed analysis of each copier and printer manufacturer's financial standing and projections.
Unrivaled views of our industry, where it was, where it is, and where it might end up.
Current reflections and projections around the economic free-fall and the Day After.
And of course, especially this year, Managed Print Services and the "experts" who extol the virtues of MPS.
--------------- The Number One piece of information, significant to me, personally -
The recession has bottomed out, but we will not get to pre-recession placement levels.
As a matter of fact, according to Steve and Lyra, we will be losing 2 million units in placement - they will never come back.
It's like 2 million copiers just died.
Huh. If only somebody had seen this coming and publicized his views somewhere easily accessible to others...that person could come up with a snappy title like, "Your industry is Dying"...or something...
IT IS THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT. - again.
Second, to MPS, the next big subject was the economy and the Road to Recovery.
The Industry -
In a nutshell, the industry leaders all sucked wind, some more than others, but still, they all ate it, in 2009. An occasional silver lining here and there, accounting trickery, but no surprises.
Steve Reynolds' presentation started by defining the Cyclical vs Secular effect of a recession:
Cyclical, meaning a temporary sharp drop followed by a sharp recovery
Secular, meaning the recession causes a permanent and fundamental change in behavior
I have seen for a year now, the economy changing the fundamental way businesses do business. Especially when relating to printing and documents - this is SECULAR.
To quote Steve, "...once enterprises have discovered and implemented more cost-effective processes with less or no printing, they will not go back..."
Indeed, monochrome laser printers, MFP, and color printer shipments will be flat through 2013. The only bright spot is color MFP with a moderate increase(approx. 250,000 units) between 2010 and 2013.
And if that isn't bad enough, Steve expects a price war to erupt.
You see, as the recession is declared "over", customers will creep back into the market with caution. Hungry vendors will be pressured into getting their share of the new demand.
The feeble and hungry will drop prices to move the product, the last gasp.
The strong and carnivorous will lower prices to kill the remaining, weaker players. It's a Japanese model practiced and perfected by Wal*Mart.
Imagine HP reducing their MFP pricing AND toner by 50%. An M9050 for 5k and $40.00 toner? Real, HP toner? Where's your MPS savior now, third-party toner guy?
Vector this with Photizo's and others' belief of a 50% failure rate, in the BTA channel, by those who have not embraced MPS we have ourselves an honest-to-goodness Perfect Storm.
Your customers are or already have realized they DON'T NEED AS MANY devices and that they don't need to stock thousands' worth of toner in closets.
Why? Because the recession made them look for areas of cost reduction, and the constraints of the last 4 quarters, forced all of us to do with less.
For example, did you lose customers because they couldn't get HP CM6040s even though they gave you a PO last August?
No, you, the VAR/Dealer didn't lose customers. You helped your client get through "these trying times" by encouraging patience and utilizing their existing systems.
Or maybe you helped your client extend his lease on a month-to-month basis. Copier still works?
We in the field didn't lose customers - HP and the industry, lost placements, lost "clicks" and lost face.
Managed Print Services -
Managed Print Services was all the rage.
Both Ricoh and HP talked about MPS, albeit from the Enterprise level. Well, to be fair, Tom Codd's (HP) presentation included one slide dedicated to HP's commitment to driving MPS expertise into the Channel - through Synnex, et el.
Another slide depicting HP's product lineup, in order to show the Canon relationship as a good fit, DID NOT SHOW EDGELINE.
Edgeline? What? Never heard of it...next?
Twice, the name "MPS" was assaulted as not adequate - especially the "P". The phrase "Business Process Outsourcing" was bantered about a couple of times.
It was felt that the current MPS ROI is immediate, but where does one go from there?
"One-word kid..." Software, the future is in software.
Yup, the Third Stage of MPS is, Enhance the Business Process. We barely get people into the 1st and 2nd stages and already stage 3 is upon us. Really? No, really? Business Process Optimization/Outsource?
Are we to expect a channel that still thinks color and duplexing are value prop's possess the wear with all to talk software and "business process"?
And SELL this? For Greenbacks? (which is just as good as money)
Right.
When a member of the audience asked, "...how do we motivate a copier salesperson to sell software?" the collective response was, are you ready for this, "...increase the commissions on software until you modify the salesperson's behavior..."
I nearly upchucked in my lap, right then and there. And I was a bit insulted. If I was holding a watered-down drink in my hand, I would have thrown it in their faces.
Is this all they, these experts, think to motivate the Selling Professional? A few more duckets?
We are truly doomed.
My summary:
MPS is now being swung around by the big players, the definition is being molded in their likeness and most of the data and "play" presented is a product of and pertains to, "Enterprise" level engagements. One exception that I can see, is Xerox. X seems to be working 'on'(instead of with) their channel, time will tell.
The economy is in a rebound, but our industry will never be the same. More ships will merge or sink, and more dealers will jump into MPS, listen to old skool consultants, run it as a Marketing Campaign and fail. Managed Print Services is a Secular change for dealers; it is not "just like when color came out..."
More MPS Professionals will end up working at OfficeMax, Staples, or RiKON. ------------------- Click to email me.
It ain't mobile print(last gasp of a dying niche) but which iTEX exhibitor might just get printing (not all of it) relevant again...?
It's no secret, iTEX has been taking it on the chin lately with bad venues, obvious 60-minute commercials camouflaged as Power Hours, and empty-headed booth-drones claiming to have been in MpS for 25 years.
Heck, some of the presentations were given a stage worthy of side-show-Bob carnival barkers - "step right up, see the bearded lady..." where is my bamboo stick?
Well, at least somebody got new shoes and it was Vegas, right?
Just kidding - the show was a success. A big success.
Those Who Stay, Will Be Champions
Without a doubt, hands down, shorter hours and everything, the show was a good time. I saw business being conducted in the booths, everyone I talked with was not only positive, but most were also buoyant, almost - dare I say - giddy.
No, really. People in this dying industry are smiling.
And do you know why?
The ones I spoke with are lined up perfectly to be survivors. And this time, the power brokers are the agile, defiant, independents. That's not to say the OEMs are eunuchs - well not all of them. It just means that the role of the OEM is changing, transforming from a large, centrally based command and control center, to a more flexible responsive entity.
Well, one can dream.
We've all been there, "...whatever doesn't kill me, makes me stronger..." - the smart have utilized MpS, the quick are moving beyond marks on paper and the strong are forging their way without blaming anyone.
Staying the course, taking responsibility, and not wasting energy on bitching. The Heart, it still beats...
MpS whiners need not apply.
With the puffed-up and contrived angst around the "false promises of MpS" it was refreshing to find more than a few successful MpS providers. Even though I understand and support the notion, I won't call them Hybrids. I call them businesspeople.
It is my personal belief, that if you're a copier dealer and have half a brain, you can be successful with MpS. Yes, I know, the two may be mutually exclusive (wait for it...wait...)
One reseller I spoke with explained how he analyzed the market, looked at his strengths, calculated a plan, articulated his MpS vision both internally and with his existing clients, and executed his plan.
Today, his revenue consists of around 47% MpS services. He is satisfied with his progress, but moving forward, honing his value prop around his customers' needs, not those of his mainline, OEMs. That's called customer-centric vs. OEM-centric. Huh.
Oh, and are you ready for this - he came from outside the industry, bought a dealership, and whipped it into shape, like a real business, raising both the bar and the curve.
And when things were tough, he didn't look around and ask, "...what happened to all those promises..."
Get Used To Disappointment
If I detected any displeasure, it was with the Power Hours(again).
You can't please everybody, all the time, and no matter which show I've been to, I hear people lament over the class/workshop/seminars. The gripes typically go like this:
"The content was too basic."
"The content was too complex."
"The guy tried to sell me his system."
"We heard all that 6 years ago."
"That session was nothing more than a rolling commercial, describing his product, not a process."
"I walked out."
Now, just because these are common statements, it doesn't make them less valid. Indeed, one of the MpS workshops I sat in really was a 60-minute commercial. And I spoke with one person who walked out of TWO sessions because the content was "stale, dated and inaccurate". (not my words)
Ouch.
But this reaction was rare and presented by people I consider to be rather advanced in the art that is MpS. The overwhelming majority of the people I asked said they enjoyed the show and came away with many 'golden nuggets'.
Well done, ITex/Questex. Well done.
ITex - Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, Who's the Fairest of them All...
With Lyra, Transform, World Ex, and other shows, you can count on seeing people from each organization working the rows, the booths, and speaking. Charlie, Ed, and Patricia could be doing everything from hobnobbing with the elites to chasing down HDMI cables for the next presentation.
It's their show.
Not so with Questex - and that's okay. Questex does not sell MpS. Questex has never provided remote meter reads or automatic service dispatch; they don't know of or give a hoot about the three stages of MpS.
Again, that is okay.
Questex publishes trade magazines and manages events - and they do that well.
In a very real sense, Questex/ITex is simply a platform for us in the industry to display our wares, pontificate about ourselves, and generally show off.
But it doesn't end there. ITex is just the name of the stage that Questex Media manages - what happens on that stage is not only our responsibility it is a reflection of who we are.
So last year, people reported the venue sucked and "nobody attended" - well, last year, our industry was sucking and nobody had a presence.
This year, the show was fantastic, attendees positive and upbeat, right now, the independents are cheerful and looking toward the future. The show is reflecting the mood.
For the life of me, I don't totally understand this joviality - every indicator is down with no rebound in sight. The largest print OEM in the world is getting out of print and the next generation of end-users barely read off paper, let alone send print to it.
Be that as it may, I am as sick of the negativity as I am of the blatant "ignore that" mentality.
I say we rock. Let's persevere or go down fighting.
Print can be relevant, again.
A week ago, if you told me the most impressive thing I would see at ITex was a piece of hardware I saw 4 years ago, I would have laughed.
And after I stopped laughing, had you mentioned to me that 'not only could this piece of hardware bring print back into the spotlight, it may even save mobile print' I woulda dropped you right where you stood.
Well, I stand corrected. How so?
The goal is to make print easy, not available on every street corner for a price - what most mobility models miss is the cost to the end-user. Sure there is a laser printer down in the business center, but it takes longer and costs a dime a sheet.
What I witnessed could make over-charging customers for print, a thing of the past. I saw an MFP that is blazing fast at 60ppm, performing this speed at 5% or 100% coverage, black and white or color, full-bleed no less - it just didn't matter.
And cheap. Four cents for color, penny B/W. And cheap. $700.00 cost.
As the pie of available prints shrinks, the big, centrally located, 11x17 copiers are too expensive, too loud, too slow, and too old-fashioned.
And they require a service agreement.
Also, today's printers are slow, expensive to feed, suck too much energy, and have left a bad taste in everyone's mouth. The machines and their toner cartridges are fading yet not all the prints will go away, it's an example of the Long Tail.
So who will be there to print all those buggy-whip designs? The lowest, almost disposable, devices, that's who.
Be careful what you wish for, you might just get it.
At those prices, $900.00 for a 60 page per minute, full color, printer, with very low operational cost, barely any moving parts - why would anybody ever want to purchase a service agreement?
And let's say, just for giggles, each purchased unit included ink refills at half price. Let's just say.
Why wouldn't every hotel on the planet have one of these? Why wouldn't every Starbucks? Hell, why wouldn't you have one to print Christmas pics right then and there for Grandpapa and Grandmama?
There you have it. Mobile print everywhere and not a dime to show for it - no CPI, MpS, no margin or service calls. Nadda, zip, zero.
Have a nice day.
The Belle of the Ball - Sindoh/MemJet
And there it was. Sitting there unassuming. Back in 2009, I saw the MemJet engine spitting out A4 color prints on some guy's couch in a hotel room somewhere. It was cool and for the next 3 years we all waited for the 'real thing'.
Like a ghost, MemJet haunted the halls of Lyra and trade shows across the country. We heard of desperate deals consummated with the devil - and still no device.
From San Diego to Sydney to Oklahoma City - the rumor mill and paper trail churned on.
It's real, not a wraith. I saw it. Touched it and even videotaped it working Lawsuits aside, Sindoh the Korean concern utilizing MemJet in their machine has got a tiger by the tail on this one.
Stay tuned for more as I get more on them...
So in the End...
ITex 2012 is in the rearview. MpS is all over the globe and the copier dealer is on the rebound.
Just when you think you're getting out, they pull you right back in...
Kill it. Chop it up. Let it dry out. Use as fertilizer.
Deja Vu:
a : the illusion of remembering scenes and events when experienced for the first timeb : a feeling that one has seen or heard something before
You're not fooled, are you? You've heard the talking heads. Like those who claimed Trump "would never, ever occupy the White House" - the copier industry has similar know-it-alls.
The establishment talking points are pretty clear:
"Talk about the decrease in images only when necessary and in most cases quote decades-old data."
"Say anything to make your machines relevant - fabricate rationalizations."
"Keep the same processes and 1970's business plan while promoting your new and different business model. "
I know, I know the above doesn't apply to YOUR dealership, does it? You've been expanding while the rest of the industry tanks. You're on a 'growth through acquisition' trajectory and your culture is second to nobody's.
Then why do you still consider A3 and A4 different?
Why don't you commission service contracts?
If you're so cutting edge and ahead of the curve, why do you sell MNS or MIT instead of Managed Services?
They're just questions.
If you're looking to resurrect your MpS, the good news is you recognize a problem - you're not ignorant.
The bad news is, you are probably too late:
Treat A3 and A4 volume the same in every MPS engagement
Find the best MPS vendor for your company. HP, LMI, SNi, PrintSolv, whoever. It doesn't matter, partner with somebody who matches your definition of managed print services.
Roll the MPS infrastructure into Managed IT services
Rename the practice "Managed Services"
Stop calling it 'Managed Print Services'; start referring to Managed Services - even when the only assets under the agreement are output devices
Incorporate an Output Study in every, single network assessment
Rename 'network assessment' to 'Technology Assessment'
Always bill for Technology Assessments
Embed your data collection agent into your network assessment tool
Employe/support a separate team of technicians to service ALL output devices
Separate COMPLETELY, from the existing Service Department
Intake all copier/printer support calls through your IT help desk
Train the Managed Services Team to sell
Fully engage your vendors
Establish Managed Services 'revenue gates' in your sales commission structure
Pay the Managed Services team salaries which make it difficult for them to consider leaving
Pay a monthly residual, for the life of the engagement
Give the MS manager P/L control and responsibility
Compensate the Managed Services Practice managers based on profit(P/L)
Forget about ALL the copier dealership business models
Establish a direct link between the Managed Services practice and your software/document management division. This means incorporating end-user, workflow-oriented questions inside every Technology Assessment. (MpS is BPO)
Insanity:
a : a severely disordered state of the mind usually occurring as a specific disorder b : doing the same thing, expecting different results
Twenty-two suggestions, points of light in the night sky.
How, or even if, your organization can connect the dots, is the biggest query.
This Unprovoked Attack on Me, is an Attack on You.
From my friends at CRN - Computer Reseller News, no less.
I have no idea how I even popped up on their radar, but apparently, I ruffled some back room feathers. I am an easy target, my name is all over my blog, unlike the fictitious "Paige Coverage"; an obvious Xerox marketing creation, and yes, I actually have real pictures of me.
Thank goodness I didn't post pics of my children, for they would have been thrown under the bus with me.
What befuddles me, beyond comprehension, is what nerve have I struck?
Perhaps the Xerox folks I have been working with for the last year, evaluating PagePack and ColorCube as possible offerings here at SIGMAnet, will be able to answer that question.
Perhaps the members from TeamXerox, who I met with last week during a Synnex event, can help me understand why I would consider moving forward, or even recommend anything from Xerox to my executives, prospects, clients, members of the MPSA, or the thousands of DOTC readers.
Read and tread lightly for this isn't just an attack on me. No, this goes deeper. Much.
What Paige/Xerox has done is shown its colors - they don't like, they don't want, dissension.
THEY FEAR CHANGE, THEY FEAR YOU, THEY FEAR US.
Paige is a creation, like the Monkeys and a shill for Xerox. Paige represents the will and vision of the Big X. For all we know, Paige Coverage is Ursala Burns. In the end, Paige is Ursala.
The Summer of 2011 DOTC vs. X - un-fuking believable. Oh the fun we are going to have...
And yes, I know this is all a sham to get more hits on their small, pathetic site - God, I love this country.
Read on...
Greg Walters Leaves a Trail of His Own Ignorance
Posted by Paige Coverage on Jun 21, 2011 11:27:02 AM
When he's not parading past you his music library or posting You Tube videos on his site, Greg Walters hacks out a confounding and scattershot blog called "The Death of The Copier is the Death of MPS."
Presently he's mourning the sad and premature death of E Street Band saxophonist Clarence Clemons, but he'll soon be back to getting his facts wrong, and contradicting himself with his bizarre attempts to frighten you out of a business he himself claims to be successful in: Managed Print Services (MPS).
Like spotting someone you've placed a restraining order on, I was reminded of Greg when a colleague forwarded me this rusting blog of his from December.
In it, Walters rekindles his addiction to managed print defamation by claiming that:
“Just as everyone figures out how to spell MPS, industry pundits kill it. Photizo called heavy growth rates in MPS Engagements through 2015 - of course this was back in the "olden days" - 2009! Last year at Lyra, consultants and statisticians explained that we will never return to the same levels of units (copier) sold, pre-2009.”
Same level of copier units sold? This is not an argument for the death of managed print services.
And Walters – who describes himself as “an MPS Practice Manager at medium-sized west coast VAR/MSP (whose) GP is consistently at 48% - fleet is doubling year to year, my goal is to quadruple in 2011” – should know this.
Managed print services is not about pushing boxes, anymore than managed IT services are about selling more PCs, or virtualization is about selling more servers, or cloud computing is about selling more storage hardware. A managed service is about optimizing existing resources. Sure it’s nice to sell some hardware, and everyone does. But service dollars outdistance hardware and software sales by a country mile, and have so increasingly for years.
Walters’ blog post goes on to feature quotes from those either too unsure of themselves to enter the managed print market, or are under the misconception that “it will make us millions on printer revenue.”
Walters’ opinions are just plain nonsense sprinkled with rock music lyrics, and no reputable technology reseller of any kind would allow this child to speak in front of their employees or customers.
It’s a shame that just as everyone figures out that certain blogs and social media sites can be of benefit to helping the channel drive more revenue through services, irresponsible self-promoters like Greg Walters come along to contaminate the well.
At least - by his own admission - no one is foolish enough to pay Greg Walters to write.
I was digging around some old stuff when I ran across this interview. This was written and aired back in 2011 on the old "The Imaging Channel" website. Cracks me up! ###
Most of us know Greg Walters … or at least we know a little bit about him. We’re familiar with his blog, The Death of the Copier (DOTC), and the scantily clad ladies of said blog. We recognize his bandana and Harley Davidson. We know he’s opinionated and passionate about MPS. But we here at TIC Talk wanted to know more …
TIC: Do you have a “real” job? If so, what is it?
Greg: Yes, I have a “real” job as the MPS Practice Manager at SIGMAnet, a 25-year-old, West Coast VAR.
I dug this up from the underground vault - archives of days gone by, reflections of the future.
Most of us know Greg Walters … or at least we know a little bit about him. We’re familiar with his blog, The Death of the Copier (DOTC), and the scantily clad ladies of said blog. We recognize his bandana and Harley Davidson. We know he’s opinionated and passionate about MPS.
But we here at TIC Talk wanted to know more …
TIC: Do you have a “real” job? If so, what is it?
Greg: Yes, I have a “real” job as the MPS Practice Manager at SIGMAnet, a 25-year-old, West Coast VAR.
TIC: Do you wear a suit to this “real job,” or ever?
Greg: OK, that’s funny. Yes, 9-5, I can be found usually sporting a suit, with a tie even. Odd thing is, many days I am the only person in the office in such garb. It’s Cali, and I am originally from the Midwest.
TIC: What’s your background?
Greg: I was born in Honolulu, Hawaii – Pearl Harbor, in that great big “coral pink” hospital in 1962.
I grew up in a suburb just outside Detroit, graduating high school in 1980 – the same year of the Miracle on Ice, Mt. St. Helens’ eruption, the Olympics and Ronald Reagan accepting the Republican nomination in Detroit, at Joe Louis Arena.
After college, I worked at INACOMP, making my way through a few other dealerships and VARs over a decade or so, always proposing computerized accounting systems. Those were wild times – PS/2s, COMPAQ, Novell networks and DOS 4.0. Taking a break from technology, I worked uniform sales – ahem, I mean, “Corporate Identity Programs” – for a great company, CINTAS. They transferred me out to Ontario, California, in 1999 to help open a new plant.
I decided to get back to technology and jumped into a sales position with Océ. From there, I worked with a very nice Panasonic dealership in Anaheim, pushed on to IKON out of Redlands, and ultimately stumbled into a new thing with SIGMAnet, Managed Print Services.
We started from scratch – oh, the stories I can tell.
TIC: When did you get into MPS?
Greg: Well, I started with the MPS practice in September of 2007. But while at IKON, I exposed myself to all the EDM I could and even worked intimately on a rather large FM project – MPS before there was such a thing.
TIC: When did you create DOTC, and why?
Greg: My first post was on February 20, 2008, and was about HP Edgeline. I created the blog thinking it would be a good way to put some information up regarding the benefits of Edgeline. We (SIGMAnet) were, and still are, an HP OPS Elite dealer. Edgeline was going to kill all other copiers, hence, “The Death of the Copier” – pretty simple. My second post, made on February 24, 2008, was titled “Managed Print Services, That Hot, New Thing …”
TIC: Did you ever imagine that it would grow into what DOTC has become today?
Greg: Nope. I can still see the looks on all the faces of those copier dudes at Lyra 2009. “Death of the Copier? Just who do you think you are?” LOL!I often comment how happy I was getting just 12 views a day, and most of those from my mom. I built the blog originally as a receptacle for things I was interested in. It evolved into a spot for me to put thoughts down one day and go back to read later. I honestly do write for an audience of one: me — and I crack me up. I must say, I am honored, humbled and thankful for all the great people DOTC has introduced in my life. No plan – just making it up as I go.
TIC: What do you do in your free time?
Greg: Huh – sleep.
And hit the trails, get off the grid in my 2001 LandRover, Disco II – yes, it is a green vehicle. Metallic Forest Green, that is. Ha! By the way, new idea for a bumper sticker on a Prius: “My other car is a … car.” Get it? Sorry, that’s my Detroit showing. Anywho, I also like to get out to the paintball arenas and light up some newbs. I used to golf – had all the stuff. One day I figured I really didn’t need another reason to chase a beer cart around all day.
TIC: Greg Walters is certainly an interesting and busy person, both personally and professionally. In addition to blogging on DOTC, working at SIGMAnet, and sitting on the board of the Managed Print Services Association (he currently serves as secretary), Greg will be joining the TIC Web team as a resident blogger, contributing bi-monthly blogs to The Imaging of Greg.
Be sure to check back on Monday, July 11, for his first post.
Posted by Katherine Fernelius on 07/07/2011 Click to email me.
Those who are able to see beyond the shadows and lies of their culture will never be understood, let alone believed, by the masses. - Plato
Leaders are able to discern what's sustainable and valuable from the past and what's not. It is the will of leaders to align, focus, and build cadence while releasing expectations, and tendencies to copy, compare and compete with others. Those behaviors are survival, reptilian and short-term ways of the past; weak and unsustainable in an increasingly innovative world.
True story. There is a guy in the industry that serves as a leader by copying others. He copies ideas, conversations, presentations, websites, and even locations for training with hopes of being more than he is. We'd like to thank him for being so ostentatious in his copying. He's helped us in some sort of backward way.
Have you ever seen a copy come out better than the original? No.
It's time for the death of copiers all around. Not just the machines, but how we behave, lead, act, and do. We're tasting a bit of our own medicine, and becoming uncomfortable. It's time to kill and experience the death of the...mundane. No more webinars, training classes, programs, conferences, and shows pushed out to the masses. We'll work one to one or one to a few. Intimate. Creative. Productive.
Here's the rub -
If you are a company that hosts trade shows, your revenue streams may include charging attendees and presenters - all fine and dandy. But how transparent, let alone honest, are you if you sell tickets to an 'educational' session, that ends up being nothing more than a paid 90-minute commercial?
"That's the way it's always been done..." is not your core value, is it?
If you're a research company, one would think you would make a living conducting research and presenting findings. Then why host trade shows and train salespeople? Aren't you selling content and hosting symposiums?
Associations should derive revenue in an effort to support the improvement of their members, not chase big OEM "sponsorship".
If you're an industry publication, should you pay for content, charge for the opportunity to submit content, or take all the content you can, for free, and charge for advertising?
There's nothing unusual about any of these models, but they've become mundane; tedious, and fatiguing.
Think deeply - trades shows, white papers, copier training, MpS Seminars, and buzz are examples of us talking to ourselves.
Focus.
I've been working with end-users, and IT departments in various industries, helping them reign in costs, evaluate vendors and enhance the productivity of their IT services.
This gives us a great view of ourselves through the eyes of your customers. We've reviewed proposals from large MpS/MDS providers as well as some of the best-known IT/VARs.
We're not only listening to the presentations, but we're also hearing the "backstory". And they're not pretty. It's embarrassing.
Our industry is in a "turnaround" period, reversing, backpedaling, and on a downward turn - if anyone tells you differently, they're lying not only to you but to themselves as well.
People made this niche great.
You do know teaching people how to increase a 'share of wallet' is not sustainable, right?
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