"MPS Insights" - Second Edition out today

9/2008

Ed Crowley and Gang at the Photizo Group publish another great issue of MPS Insights

Culture Does Matter -

The theme of this issue is "Culture" and "...how managing cultural change is an integral aspect of a successful MPS engagement..." An issue near and dear to my heart.

As a matter of fact, not only is business culture an important issues in MPS but as a true Agent of Change, our impact on every corporate culture we touch is profound. From Computerized Accounting, and Corporate Identity Programs(uniforms); from copier installs to Managed Print Services engagements - by just talking to someone, you effect change...

I recommend checking out the Photizo Group. Oh, and the folks over at Photizo have impeccable taste in editorial contributors...impeccable...

Canon Profit May Miss Forecast, Fall 12% in 2008, Nikkei Says

Wow...12%...

Bloomberg

By Jason Clenfield

Sept. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Profit at Canon Inc. will probably fall in 2008, missing the company's forecast and recording the first decline in nine years, according to the Nikkei newspaper.

The maker of cameras and copiers is likely to report earnings of about 430 billion yen ($4 billion) for the year ending Dec. 31, a 12 percent decline from the previous year, the Nikkei reported today, without saying how it got the information. Sales of office equipment have slowed in the U.S. and Europe, according to the report.

The company has forecast earnings will rise 2 percent this year to 500 billion yen.

Company spokesman Hiroshi Yoshinaga declined comment on the report when contacted by telephone.

Gartner - RiKON

Gartner, Inc., the world’s leading information technology research and advisory company - speaks:

"This acquisition deal helps Ricoh fortify its formidable distribution channel. Expect a minimal near-term impact for most customers, but watch for Canon’s distribution partnership with IKON to end after the deal closes..."

Gartner agrees with my analysis(RiKon - "Really, I Knew One Name...") and adds a few little tidbits .

First off - Capacity-

It is Gartner's belief that:

"...if Canon drops IKON, Richo's manufacturing plant in Japan will have to boost capacity to make up the volume..."

I had not thought of this, but I agree. I do not think that the "up-tic" in production would pose too much of a problem for Ricoh - and what a nice problem to have.

I wonder how the Ricoh plant in Costa Measa, California will be affected. From an article in the Orange County Business Journal, by Sarah Tolkoff:

"...Its(Ricoh's) presence here is huge: Ricoh has more than 1.4 million square feet of industrial space spread among eight buildings in Irvine, Santa Ana and Tustin.

The local operation also has factories in Lawrenceville, Ga., and Toluca, Mexico.

Ricoh's name has been a fixture along the 55 freeway for more than 30 years. Proximity to the Port of Long Beach brought it here, said Jeff Briwick, executive vice president and group manager of Ricoh Electronics' corporate strategy group.

"Back then, product could flow from the parent company in Japan into the West Coast and then be deployed across the country to the East Coast," he said. "More than 35 years later, it still works mat way. Orange County is perfect from a supply chain and distribution perspective."

In Tustin, Ricoh has three buildings with about 475 workers.

One building doubles as the administrative headquarters for Ricoh Electronics and as a manufacturing plant for digital copiers.

In another building, Ricoh assembles chips onto circuit boards that go inside its all-in-one machines, which are built in the other Tustin building..."

So increasing output could be a good thing for Orange County.

Secondly -

Gartner's observation,

"...Based on Canon’s past reaction to similar deals with its channel partners, Gartner believes Canon will ultimately end its formal relationship with IKON, but will continue to support its products and abide by existing contracts until the deal closes..."

Pretty much a "no-brainer" here.

Looks like "business as usual" for now...


- Source Gartner.

IKON to cut 250 jobs: "Business as Usual"

Words From IKON's Espe - Internal IKON Memo

Ricoh to Buy IKON - Shot Heard Around the World

IKON/RICOH/CANON - Could there be a THIRD Shoe to Drop?

Gartner Report

Copiers and Crime...The Blotter..It Grows...

I swear, I should start writing a screen play based on this stuff...victims include Applebee's, the YMCA and a catholic church.

The headline reads, "Raleigh, N.C. — An office supplies dealer has been charged with using bogus copier leases to scam area businesses and nonprofits." - it is never good when the words "bogus" and "scam" are in the same headline...

The crook even got time on the local TV news. By the way, check out the copy quality on the documents being printed, doh!

Apparently(or is it allegedly), this creep forged leases on non- existent deals for real companies and organizations. He was caught when the leasing company called one of his "customers" demanding payment on a piece of equipment that was never installed. The leasing company had not received monthly payments, but, obviously paid the perp.

Ten Years of Customer Service -

Yup, this guy had been working with his victims for 10 years. Selling supplies and even contributing to charitable events- some may have even considered him a "partner". I guess a lot can happen in Ten Years.

So this is how small, independent dealers compete with the "big, international, heartless, copier manufacturers..." eh?

Just kidding - this guy is scum and his disregard for others, his overwhelming greed, hurts all of us in the industry and all of us who sell.

Lock him up.

The lesson here?

Like I even need to say it, "know what the heck is going on in your business..." the left and the right hand should communicate through the brain.


Even more. Check these out.

Copiers and Crime...This Stuff Can Not Be Made UP

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly - for just 73 copiers **UPDATED***

The New SalesPerson - Acumen

2008

"New Selling" and its application to Copier Sales

I was reading a blog regarding selling and noticed some interesting information - from the post by Jonathan Farrington, The Sales Corporation:

"...various studies suggest that getting one salesperson in front of one customer now costs $1000 - this cost has trebled since 1983. As a consequence professional salespeople have to be more effective than ever to justify the investment in a face-to-face effort..."

and...

"...Customer Focus Creates Competitive Advantage..."

• The one-term that sets top performers apart - customer focus

• Outstanding sales results depend on:
  - The ability to think from the customer’s point of view
  - Understanding the customer’s agenda, buying cycle, and best interests

• Beyond a superficial reading of immediate customer needs, salespeople must gain a deeper understanding of both the buyer’s long-term goals and the overall business climate

• At the heart of customer focus is the art of listening constructively - the best salespeople are masters at capturing information

• Customer focus means taking the customer seriously - today the salesperson who clings to the product orientation of a decade ago is losing ground

• As client companies branch into new markets and unfamiliar territories, they are demanding unique, flexible solutions from their vendors - customized to support specific goals

• Another myth that can be exploded is that whilst customers value flexibility, being too flexible can undermine the sales relationship. On the whole, salespeople imagine that customers value a vendor’s responsiveness above all. However recent research shows that their primary concern is reliability.

In summary, in order to maintain customer focus, the best salespeople become facilitators, creating a partnership that extends the selling relationship within the customer’s company. The motivation to achieve this should be strong - it costs five times as much to attract and sell to a new customer as it does to an existing one!..."
-----
I think of the changes happening right now in our industry, and how everyone has started to "talk the talk" about being a different type of technical, selling professional.

I have often mentioned the ability of successful salespeople to be Partners with clients, to constantly develop Business Acumen, and to learn to Empathize with customers.

So it is nice to read an affirmation of my thoughts - from somebody in sales, but completely outside of our industry:

1. Partnership
2. Business Acumen
3. Empathy and Disconnect

Partnership -

The "Partnership" mentality is a mature set of beliefs anchored in "...To Do No Harm...".

You're are in front of the prospect to Help them - you must find where they need you and if they are willing to accept your help.

And as an example, if you are in there to "..Do No Harm.." why would you "gouge them" on pricing, why would you make them sign into a 60-month, "captive", on-sided agreement? Why would you twist your client into a solution which only addresses the surface issue of "price"?

A real Partner is never an Enabler

We don't need to watch Dr. Phil - if you are in a position comfortable enough to tell your client they are wrong, then you have the beginning of a partnership. If after you tell the client he/she is wrong, they take your advice, your partnership is built on solid ground.

Don't Enable Your Prospect to Make the Same Mistakes, over and over...

Business Acumen -

This is not product knowledge. This is not a feature and benefit argument. This is not easy. This will take time.

Business Acumen is ALL of the above and oh so much more.

In a nutshell, business acumen can be obtained through the observation and study of everything "around" your solution - That is, the study of the cause and effect of your position, proposals, and projects - over time.

This knowledge is uniquely yours.

Yours to take with you into every appointment and in every conversation.

Think about this: your view and your opinions based on the history of your "installs" and implementations and proposals - are yours alone. Not your companies, your clients, your manager, or your peers - all you.

If you have installed just ONE idea - the outcomes and ramifications of this one project, seen through your eyes, are an example for you to use in every single 'new' opportunity. And each new opportunity, not just installation, is a chance to learn more about business than from any book ever written.

Empathy and Disconnect -

These two words diametrically oppose - but the tight rope must be walked.

Empathy - Good salespeople can put themselves into their client's "shoes"; see things the way their client does. In order to do this effectively, one needs to become "one" with the prospects' business, his world, from his angle - and not through the prism of product or service. One needs to see the prospect's world without "commission" or quota issues hanging over one's head. And to do this effectively, the Selling Professional needs to become disconnected from the outcome of the sale...

Disconnect - Difficult, but not impossible. First off, what do I mean by disconnect?

Disconnect, in this sense, is the ability to cut away from your emotional connection to the success of the "sale".

More specifically, disconnection from the success of the sale, from the selling professional's view, is what I am talking about. But this is NOT being uncaring or aloof or unconcerned - a tightrope.

Perhaps disconnect is a strong word, maybe "compartmentalization" would be better.

Once the emotional factor is put aside, we can deal with the client in terms of what "makes sense" for both him and me, instead of trying to force a square peg into a round hole, at the end of the month.

In conclusion, common sense usually prevails and over-complication of simple rules typically dilutes the results. If you focus on these three issues:

1. Partnership
2. Business Acumen
3. Empathy & Disconnect

You will be well on your way to success.

Click to email me.

IKON to cut 250 jobs: "Business as Usual"

LDS, Legal Document Services

Ikon is reducing the number of LDS locations in the US and Europe.

"The company expects related pre-tax charges of about $7 million, a significant portion of which is expected to be taken in the fourth quarter."...

"The total pre-tax charges associated with these actions include severance expenses, asset impairments, and contract costs estimated to be approximately $7 million, a significant portion of which is expected to be reported in Q408. The estimated after-tax cash expenditures total approximately $4 million and consist primarily of severance payments and lease termination costs. IKON expects to complete the actions described above in Q408."

So, business as usual means this reduction was being planned for a while - and LDS had always been of to the "side" and been going through reductions for a while.

What Next?

Never Forget

9-1-1

EDS - Mangaed Print Services????

EDS an HP Company

Found this the other day. EDS is now in the Managed Print Services business.

Yes, inevitable - but seeing it for real is making it real.

I wonder if EDS is hiring any ex-IKON peeps.

From the literature:

• "EDS' Services include:
  
  Assessment Services — Helps you understand current usage, find hidden costs and develop a business case for change:
  • Industry Benchmark Assessment
  • Optimization Assessment
  • Managed Environment Assessment
  • Eco Printing Assessment
  • Workflow Discovery
  • Discovery and Design
  
  
• Financial and Procurement Services — Helps you manage to the lowest Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), from planning and acquiring technology to retiring and replacing it. Reduce and manage capital outlay, manage older equipment effectively and environmentally, and simplify hardware procurement (HP and multi-vendor):
  • Hardware Procurement
  • Multi-vendor Hardware Procurement
  • Customer Fleet Acquisition
  • Asset Recovery Services
• Transition and Implementation Services — Helps ensure the right equipment is installed and end users know how to use the devices:
  • Management of Change and Education
  • Deployment Management
  • Hardware Installation
  
  
• Management and Support Services — Enables ongoing Return On Investment (ROI) through fleet uptime and optimization, award winning support and supplies management. Account delivery management provides a single point of contact and accountability as well as visibility into usage trends, capacity utilization, and expenditures for ongoing planning and management:
  • Account Delivery Management
  • Hardware Support
  • Multivendor Support
  • On-site Administrative Services
  • Priority Phone Support
  • Supplies Management
  
  
• Document and Workflow Services — Helps automate paper-intensive workflows, as well as to continually improve and better manage the underlying infrastructure:
  • Technology Solutions
  • Industry Solutions
  • Consulting Services"

The integration or assimilation of EDS into HP.

First Annual Managed Print Services Conference - April 26th through 28th, 2009

Managed Print Services: Hitting Mainstream

Ok, here's the deal.

Managed Print Services is just about the hottest issue out there - with prospects and industry insiders.

And right now, MPS is still the frontier of cost reduction for both clients and providers - everything is being created today, in the here and now, without a "template".

Clients are not sure how MPS works. Providers are struggling with the concept, the services, how to best articulate the benefits and how to manage a Print Management Services program.

With this in mind, the first annual conference dedicated to Managed Print Services (MPS)will be held in in San Antonio, Texas on April 26th through 28th, 2009 and sponsored by the Photizo Group.

Now, for me, the Photizo Group is one of the very first groups, if not THE first group, dedicated to researching MPS and it's impact on the market. In addition to monitoring the market, the Photizo Group has defined the basic structure and phases of MPS -

1. Control
2. Optimize
3. Enhance

These match my definition of the stages of MPS. I have incorporated these three stages into my talk-track. More importantly, I see evidence in the field that the above model is viable.

Having said that, I STRONGLY recommend everyone who is now in or thinking about getting into MPS attend.

- With the turbulence in our industry and with hardware dominating most vendor's and client's discussions, the most challenging task many face is differentiation. MPS is a differentiater - and the Photizo Group is out there on the leading edge -

The conference features three tracks.

"The first track is for those who are in the initial stages of an MPS engagement and who are trying to control or optimize the hardcopy (printers, MFP's, and copier) fleet.

The second track is for those who have implemented an MPS program, and who are now looking to drive business process optimization through advanced MPS services such as workflow consulting, document management optimization, and other activities to enhance the firms business processes.

The third track provides a focus on small and medium businesses and their specific MPS implementation issues."

There will be speakers, best practice presentations, case studies, market data, and many other sessions designed to provide attendees with actionable tips and techniques for the success of their MPS program.

You can register here.

Check these out:

For Those of Us In Managed Print Services - Wow!

A new look over at Managed Print Services Resource Center

Inaugural issue of MPS Insights Hits The Streets

New Report Delivers Definitive Analysis of the Managed Print Services Market

Click to email me.

Open Text to Acquire Captaris

Consolidation Everywhere.

Waterloo, ON and Bellevue, Wash. - 2008-09-04 - Open Text™ Corporation (NASDAQ:OTEX) (TSX: OTC), a global leader in Enterprise Content Management (ECM), and Captaris, Inc. (NASDAQ: CAPA), a leading provider of software products that automate document-centric processes, today announced a definitive merger agreement in which a wholly owned subsidiary of Open Text will acquire Captaris. Under the terms of the agreement, Captaris shareholders will receive cash consideration of approximately US $131 million in total, or $4.80 per share in exchange for their Captaris stock. The companies expect the transaction to close by the end of the calendar year, subject to customary closing conditions, including approval by Captaris’s shareholders and anti-trust approvals.

Captaris’s software products include leading document and data capture solutions that let customers convert paper documents to digital content, and manage associated processes. The acquisition will expand Open Text’s partnership offerings by creating tighter integration with Open Text's invoice management solutions that work with SAP and Oracle. Captaris also offers business information and delivery solutions built on the Microsoft .NET framework which integrate, process and automate the flow of content.

Who's The Boss?

I am always amused when "Sales Managers" push getting a proposal in front of the prospect as soon as possible.

It is my humble opinion that one should "earn the right to propose" before throwing numbers and "closing techniques" at a prospect. I feel it's amateurish at best and more likely unprofessional.

So I ask you - WHO IS YOUR BOSS?

Is it Mark Hurd? Is it Espe? Is it the stock holders of your company? Is it the owner of the dealership you currently work with? Is it Obama?

I say to you NO.

This is a personal opinion, and for all you "bosses" out there this is for you too.

Your "boss" is the most complicated person in the world, the most befuddling, and confusing and although you have known this person all your life, you probably don't know as much about he or she as you should.

The "boss" I refer to is the person who looks back at you each morning while you're shaving or putting that stuff on your eyelids - you.

You are your boss.

Now, I ain't no Tony Robbins, loved him in Shallow Hal, but this isn't that difficult of a concept to get...your current place in life is a direct result of all the decisions you have ever made prior to this point in history - not Obama's or Espe's.


This epiphany can be liberating - but does carry a heavy burden for you- now you need to take complete responsibility for your life, the good and the bad - YIKES!

It's like the Matrix - once you "get it", you may ask yourself, "why oh why didn't I take the Blue pill..."

Ignorance is truly bliss - If you want proof, ask your manager.

Click to email me.

RiKON - XerGlo - KonDanka - What is an HP Dealer to do?

During an interview the other day, I was asked some good questions...Questions I really could not answer.

1. How will Canon survive losing 30% of US sales?
2. What will happen with all the existing, independent Ricoh dealers?
3. How many independent dealers still exist?
4. How many locations does CBS have?
5. What will the industry look like in 5 years? 10 years?
6. How does this affect the RBS channel?

Wow. As the dust settles, the huge significance of what just happened is almost more than we can bear.

The questions posed to me illustrated how much I really don't know.

How is Canon going to respond to losing 30% of its US sales?

Dang, that is a good question. From the Canon Business Solutions web site, there are only 53 locations in the US.

And Ricoh says it is going to convert IKON's Canon base into Ricoh MIF within the next 3 years...oh really? Do you think Canon might have other plans for those "Canon customers bobbing in the wake of corporate takeover"?

And, how is RiKON going to survive losing nearly 60% of it's business? Or not being able to service those existing customers after the de-certification?

Wowzie.

The bigger question - Why have all these manufacturers purchased the channel to begin with?

I don't see Ford or IBM buying up dealer associations - cereal makers buying grocery chains, or cattle herders purchasing McDonald's restaurants.

What gives?

The old manufacturers' beliefs were,

"...we manufacture and we manufacture very well...we don't have the infrastructure or the knowledge to successfully market, sell or support our finished goods, to the ultimate customer..."

Has this changed?

Has Konica Minolta discovered how easy it is to sell to the ultimate consumer?

Do Ricoh and Xerox think they know better then the folks who have developed and maintained the current channel and selling model?

--- Maybe "yes" AND maybe "no".

To me, this consolidation proves one of my theorems -

"All copiers are the same - every single one."

Look at it, now there are only three main channels each driven by a "manufacturer". Manufactures of "xerographic" machines - they are all the same.

The differentiating factors will be interesting to watch - and the marketing will be fascinating.

Oh How the Mighty Have...Changed -

Like a caterpillar suspended in it's chrysalis, the metamorphosis of the copier industry moves into a new phase. What emerges will be the "Hybrid Dealer" you have started to hear about. Never before, in recent hi-tech history, has a channel been assimilated like this. Change is guaranteed.

I go back to the PC -

In the 80's the PC market was booming but not one manufacturer tried to own the channels - what changed? I mean "consolidation" occurred but through manufactures buying other manufactures and software companies adapting or going away. The channels responded, contracted yet remained intact. The number of distributors thinned as did the quantity of machines - but the channel remained.

It's the Economy - Stupid.

I guess if we look at this phenomena in a macro sense, from 10,000 feet, as an investment, these acquisitions look good.

The stock holders realize a tidy return on their investment, the folks who built the channels(Global, IKON, Danka) can retire rich. The remaining, small independent dealers can now start looking at Canon, Toshiba, Sharp, etc. as equipment competitors more willing to work with then just 12 months ago. Especially Canon.

As for the employees - they can hang on, or move into one of the smaller competitors and help them thrive on all the industry chaos.

Ah...but what about the Customer? -

How does the Customer benefit? Does all this consolidation mean a more competitive industry? Does this give prospects more choices? Will prices and margins be driven down even further?

Right now there is Xerox, Konica and Ricoh - the Very Big Three - and Canon all by itself. So it looks like the customer's choices have just been limited - is that a good thing?

In the short run Canon customers looking to upgrade can leverage this change over Canon possibly resulting in lower pricing as Canon defends the base. But RiKON will go after all the Canon customers with a price point designed to "buy the business" - this could be good for the customer; these two giants fighting over the customer.


By the way, speaking of all by itself - HP

The company with the largest number of MIF (machines in field) is now nearly transparent.

And Edgeline is the humongous gorilla in the room of every single sales meeting in every single IPG office at HP. End of year for HP is October 31st - and I am sure that upper management is "monitoring" Edgeline cycles down to the minute - HP is not use to being in the copier industry.

Competitive pressures were not fully appreciated and channel breadth might have been over rated. How can you expect to push 3,400 units - big, huge, wonderful, new technology units - through approximately 120 dealers? And convert "direct sales people" into document management consultants, overnight?

Edgeline is not a new laser printer; you can not sell it off a price sheet, over the phone.

The selling cycle for these types of units(copiers) is much more complex and usually triggered by an event - lease termination. And if you have no machines in field to begin with, every single unit is a new sale converting a competitor's existing lease.

The sale of an unproven, relative to all the copiers, technology from a "new" player only adds to the pressure. And if this isn't enough- HP sales people are swimming in a part of the ocean inhabited by some of the smoothest, most savvy, and ruthless Sales Sharks in the world - Copier Guys(or gals). The copier folks know how to talk CPC, leasing, 4 hour response time, real service levels and of course, first copy out time(yuck).

And then there is the HP channel -

I don't even want to go here, except to possibly repeat what has been told to me -

"OEM toner is way too expensive..."

"If HP is serious about getting into the copier industry, why do they price CPC so high?"

"Why is there no 3-hole punch?"

"...you mean this big machine can't handle glossy?"

" ...the rebates are too difficult for us to manage..."

To me, all these statements are just examples of lazy people whining. Blah, blah, blah...

Be that as it is, perception is reality. Again, not my reality.

Edgeline is a great platform, HP just needs to work through the "growing pains". Some very good HP partners are here who DO believe and are willing to "tow the line" - for now.

Well, as with everything, time will tell - history will judge. And as Selling Professionals, Agents of Change, we don't hide from history, we make it.