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Tuesday, November 30, 2010

More Than Managed Print Services - Born Free, You and Me




2010

********

"Fast, on a rough road riding

High, through the mountains climbing
twisting, turning further from my home.

Young, like a new moon rising

Fierce, through the rain and lightning

Wandering out into this great unknown. "


--

It's strange, this thing called MPS is really more than an industry, a niche, an occupation.

And then again, it isn't all that different from times long past - one more step towards office/business/process Nirvana.

A new moon rising. No paper, toner, toner bombs, copiers, 60-month leases, or auto-renewals.

A world without Sin.

Yeah, I know...dream on.

Sure, printing is not sexy but that doesn't stop MPS/BPO/BPM/Systems Analysis from becoming a LifeStyle.

Uh-huh. That's right, I said it. I meant it. I'm here to represent it.

Not just an industry, MPS is a LifeStyle.

********

Free, like a river raging
Strong, if the wind I’m facing.
Chasing dreams and racing father time.
Deep like the grandest canon,
Wild like an untamed stallion.
If you can’t see my heart you must be blind.

You can knock me down and watch me bleed
But you can’t keep no chains on me.


--

Some call me an MPS Expert - I don't really want to be an expert. Some say that I'm disruptive, radical, a "John the Baptist" type. (not sure about that one, what happened to John's head?)

Other miscreants have called me disgruntled - out loud, during an MPS Sales Training session - projection at its best.

If anything, I prefer Defiant Idealist. The shame of it is, today, "Defiant Idealist" is considered redundant.

I see MPS as a secular change, not cyclical. I see MPS in the imaging industry today as technology was to the music business a decade ago.

The music didn't die - we changed the way "we" acquire it. The "Control" of the music industry shifted from the fat-cat record companies(establishment) to the individual listener; the ultimate consumer. The Big Guys could no longer control the creative process, the distribution channels, or the DEFINITION of the industry.

Did they fight? Yes.

Did they continue to throw their diminishing weight around, until the very end? Yes.

Did any of them change? No.

Are most of the players, and their advisers around today? Negative.

The pure "providers" of music(bands, songwriters, etc.) shifted their attention from pleasing the record producers to pleasing their ultimate audience - themselves.

You and me, out here in the listening audience simply choose to tag along and enjoy.

In a broad sense, this meant these creatives could once again, produce content they actually wanted to create. No more "Johnny Cougar"'s(the record company changed his name for Mellencamp to "Cougar").

And as the Titanic-like music moguls rearranged the deck chairs, they never hesitated to mock the young upstarts and deride the agents of change, the Defiant Ones.

(Are we having a Glenn Beck moment yet? Please, not tears.)

********

"Calm facing danger
Lost, like an unknown stranger
Grateful for my time with no regrets.

Close to my destination
Tired, frail and aching
Waitin patiently for the sun to set."


--

For us, now is that point in time when the entrenched authority has begun to crumble, their influence over the MPS ecosystem fading.

This is part of the reason some think me disgruntled - the establishment, if there is one in our industry, wants to, like the music industry once did, make the rules, create the definitions and they abhor "uncontrolled" change - especially change that starts in the grassroots. Down here with me and you.

I am "of" the grassroots and am not afraid to point out, to you, the naked Emperor. So I must be crazy, unqualified, "disgruntled".

This is heady stuff - the "Imaging Intelligentsia" do not want "us" to be independent in thought or action. The OEMs don't want us looking outside of their box.

Neither seems to be the least bit concerned with the client.

And by "we", today, I mean we in the field selling MPS on a day-to-day basis. We are in the trenches who (hopefully) are strong enough to partner with those prospects who deserve our company.

We who are sent to those "sales training classes" and attend the weekly mentoring sessions only to find little guidance or relevancy when across the desk from a prospect.

We who recognize our own shortcomings now have a growing suspicion of those who say they know the way.

********

"And when its done believe that I will yell it from that mountain highhh!

I was Born Free!
I was borrrrrrn free
I was born free, Born Free.

And I will vow to the shining seas and celebrate God’s Grace on me.

I was Born Free!"


--
There is more to our world. More than OEMs, toner delivery, technicians, proposals, assessments, and quotas - More than Managed Print Services.

And yes, this too shall pass.

So what?

If you are just getting into MPS or have been slugging it out since the beginning, every turn, every setback and every success is yours.

Yours Personally.

Hopefully, revenue-enhancing but most certainly, resume enhancing.

This journey is all about you. Today's MPS "grunt" is tomorrow's MPS Leader.

Explore your boundaries, try MPS things that haven't been tried - right now, THERE ARE NO STANDARDS, no benchmarks, no "proven".

We're free.



Click to email me.

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Managed Print Services - Assessment or Marketing Piece...?

11/2010

I guess it isn't any wonder. As we traverse the MPS path, the once vaulted solutions, seem tainted and unfulfilling.

How many of you host your own server in order to capture the everyday activity from your MIF?

Sounded like a great idea at the time, didn't it?

Do you use 100% of the capacity available? Are you, today, utilizing all the functions and tools of this solution; the same ones that triggered your purchase decision in the first place?

Really? Sure, I bet you don't even use the F7 key in Word, let alone the other 99% of functionality MS-Word gets you. And let's not get started on why your 7-year-old can outrun you, smart-phone to smart-phone.

With more and more MPS providers getting smarter about what works and what doesn't, some, well many, are questioning the effectiveness of the "assessment" and re-visiting the purpose of Quarterly Business Reviews(QBRs).

Evolving takes time.

The Assessment is the beginning of every MPS engagement. There are dozens of philosophies, ideas, angles, and tools in the MPS ecosystem at our disposal.

And still, plenty of questions...Billable or non-billable, custom or generated, abound.

It is just a starting point. To bill or not to bill, depends greatly on your definition of MPS. Worse, there really isn't a right or wrong answer.

Here is the secret - if you are confident your MPS expertise will bring value to your prospect, go forward, and bill for your time.

This takes guts. This means the result of your toil will belong to your client, not you.

This also demands you provide value equal to the amount you charge. And there's the rub.

It's easy to do free assessments, there is no demand for value - one gets what one PAYS FOR. I mean, does Xerox charge customers for brochures? (or Konica or Lexmark or anyone) So why should we expect a prospect to pay for nothing more than one of our "buy from us" slicks disguised as an Assessment?

So, know thyself.

If you refresh fleets 1:1, churn older machines and schedule follow-up calls around lease expiration dates, don't bill for assessments. Don't even try. (forget about non-disclosure agreements too) And that's ok.

On the other hand, if all your ducks are in a row, if you staff a level of MPS expertise the copier dealer down the street can only dream about, go for it.

One More Thing: The "M" in "MPS": Management not Marketing

Assessments are the first step in revealing your MPS practice as detailed and results-oriented. It is the first step in MANAGING the engagement - not capturing clicks inside a service agreement.

Simply put, the assessment shows how committed you are to keeping the 'M' in MPS.

What a concept. I know life is so strange, Destination Unknown...


*** UPDATE, 2016 ***

I'm fortunate to have found a product and a company willing to allow me to build a tool I would use, every day in my MpS practice.

From assessments to service dispatch to business reviews ArcDrive embodies my philosophies around assessments(for print or ANY other niche) and running a profitable practice(for print or ANY other niche).

Contact me for details.

*** UPDATE 2020 ***

ArcDrive is on a break.



Click to email me.

Friday, November 26, 2010

What is ElectroWetting: Dipping a Toe into the Future of "Print"?


"...Electrowetting involves modifying the surface tension of liquids on a solid surface using a voltage. By applying a voltage, the wetting properties of a hydrophobic surface can be modified and the surface becomes increasingly hydrophilic (wettable)..."

HUH?

Right. Ok then.

I didn't think "wettable" was a word. Then I looked it up...in a book.

Electrowetting is the science behind low cost, flexible video-rate "e-paper". So cheap as to be considered disposable.

Contact Me

Greg Walters, Incorporated
greg@grwalters.com
262.370.4193