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Thursday, September 20, 2018

The H8full Cold Call: #ManagedPrintServices


Newbies, take caution. Some say phone cold calling is dead. But, for the new copier salesperson, the phone is your lifeline. For you, the cold call is alive and well. For you, it’s dial for dollars or hit the bricks. It is a miracle anyone survives. Yet, some do, some even thrive.

The phone, a mirror and the Yellow Pages. That’s all it took for the rise of copier empires and fulfilled selling destinies — the stuff of legends.

I once loved to cold call. Back then we called them “phone blocks.” Phone blocks filled Franklin planners. Appointments paid for diapers, private school and vacations.

Read the rest, here.

Friday, September 14, 2018

What Customers Say About You...After you Leave the Room(Zoom)


Edited, 9/2018

For all the managed print services sales classes, books, seminars, webinars, and white papers I've seen, nobody talks about the "Golden Minutes".

Wouldn't it be interesting to hang around after a customer presentation and hear what your prospect says about you, your presentation, and your offer?

Think about it, you've planned, written, or created the perfect proposal and slide deck. After 45 minutes of flawless, formulaic presentation you've trialed for a signature, clarified, isolated, and answered objections, moving the opportunity down the sales funnel - you can practically smell the 'share of wallet'.

"I am telling you, from coast to coast to coast, you, the sales professional, and your prospects ARE NOT ALIGNED."

Monday, September 10, 2018

9-1-1 Seventeen Years Later


For years DOTC has paid tribute.

Go sell copiers.
Go sell managed IT.
Go sell water coolers, medical devices, or vitamins...sell something.  And remember many of those on the North and South towers were selling as well.





Tuesday, September 4, 2018

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.


Sunday, August 26, 2018

Advice for New Copier Sales Reps: What Have You Gotten Yourself Into?

The following content is intended for new copier representatives. But if you’ve been around the copier block a couple of times, participated in demo-ramas and are considered a seasoned selling professional, I implore you to read and comment. Not for my edification - you owe it to the industry to help fix the future and advise the next generation. So let them know what’s up, the good, the bad and the ugly.

So you’re new to selling. Welcome to the greatest show on Earth where all the clichés apply:

"Learning here is like drinking from a fire hydrant.”

“This is baptism by fire.”

“It’s sink or swim.”

“Remain calm, everything will be OK.”

Over the next few months, it will be my honor to regale you with legends of glory and doom; with stories of heroic tragedies and mundane existence; with tales for your enjoyment and possible tutelage.

My story is a simple one. I began selling technology in 1988 and tripped into “copiers” in 1999. I’ve worked with AFLAC, Cintas, Océ, Panasonic, Industrial Videos, IKON and multiple VARs, from Michigan to California to North Carolina to Wisconsin.

Let me be clear - I am NOT A SELLING EXPERT. There was a time when..

Read the rest, here

Thursday, August 23, 2018

Ten Things All Great MpS Practices Have



1. MPS Specialists
2. Separate P/L
3. Outside MpS training
4. MpS specific software tools
5. Comp plan that includes:
    • Hardware
    • Monthly service revenue from:
    • A3 & A4
    • Managed(IT) Services
    • Renewals
    • Separate service team
6. Separate help desk
7. MpS vendors(vs. copier)
8. OEM neutral
9. Single Services contract for:
    • Copiers & Printers(A3 & A4), Paper
10. IT services
BONUS: All Managed Services Network Assessments embed an MpS study; MpS is part of the Managed Services proposal

#managedprintservices #gregwalters #MPS

Monday, August 6, 2018

DOTC/AOTC: Annihilation of The Copier #copiers #managedprintservices




Death: the passing or destruction of something inanimate

The Death of The Copier isn't about the end of you - like looms and typewriters, - DOTC is a lens into the passing of an industry; growth and expansion, not a terminus.

The industry is NOT dying.  It is being annihilated.

Annihilation: the conversion of matter into energy, especially the mutual conversion of a particle and an antiparticle into electromagnetic radiation.
"...conversion of matter into energy..."

We're living in the organic process of evolution, that's all.

Notice we aren't "moving through an organic process..."  Because we're not moving, more specifically, Xerox, Ricoh, HP, Canon, Konica Minolta, Epson, Kyocera, and everyone else have been standing firm believing the new world will flow around them/Us.


The tide has been coming, the signs blatant for all to see:
  • Why didn't Xerox start the move from hardware into services back in 2010? (or 1973)
  • Canon has alternatives but hasn't made the move. 
  • Ricoh seemed to be on the right path back in 2009 but took a left turn somewhere between here and MpS nirvana, which was the door to the managed services panacea.
  • Lady Blue(HP), the most expensive dustpan in history,  will sweep the fragments and splinters, toss them into some 3D printer, spitting out picnic tables.
They all saw it coming, they all knew.  But why believe in the revival of paper?

It is the human tendency toward self-destruction.
Everybody appears to be self-destructive. Some people are very obviously self-destructive because they’re addicted to heroin or alcohol or they act in a psychotic way or whatever, and they offer their self-destruction to you. Other people are very comfortable in their own skin, and they’ve got a fantastic job and a fantastic life and everything seems to be bulletproof. They feel like they’ve sort of cracked something about life.
But then when you get to know them, you discover odd bits of self-destruction, which then become significant bits of self-destruction. It was the universality of it, that even the people who’d cracked it all had not cracked it all. And then I started trying to think – Where does it come from? Why is it that you have a really good marriage and you dismantle it? Why do you have a really good friendship and you dismantle it? Why do you have a really good job and you dismantle it? Whatever it happens to be. 
- Alex Garland
Transformation flows around the pillars of a bygone era. Some abdicate early while others define stopgap tactics as strategies - consolidating on higher ground.

What once was, the dogma of xerography and toner will never again be.  The age of paper is ending - consolidation, turmoil and dwindling sales reflect the shattering of the realm.

Here's the thing - the industry has mass, but no velocity.  Without movement, change will not be internally driven; true evolution will be affected from the outside - like an asteroid hitting the Earth.  The coming wave will dismantle everything, ejecting the bad, and re-configuring the good creating something completely alien. (to us now)

So, do you wait for the force to change you or walk in, confronting the past, present, and future?

Move-in.
  • Take in all the generic training you can - stay away from hardware or software specification training. 
  • I loath the demo.
  • Recognize value propositions, slide decks, 30-day cycles, and Sales Managers as fodder for the future.
  • Brand yourself, not your dealership or OEM.
Embrace the Shimmer.



Tuesday, July 3, 2018

Greg Walters Kicked Out of Sushi Restaurant for Stance on Paper: "No Paper, No Peace!"

"We serve paper users, only."

It was a calm and enjoyable evening as the chant of "no paper, no peace...no paper, no peace..." drifted over the swank dining area.  I knew before my guest that tonight was not going to be typical print/copier discussion over adult beverages.

That uncanny ability to discern the HP hum from the Lexmark rattle - an amusing parlor trick - was a curse "...no paper, no peace...no paper, no peace..." seeping into everyone's dinner conversation.

I knew what was coming.

"Chicken in the Coop!"
Nowadays, getting kicked out of a restaurant is a simple task. A contrarian view or disagreeable word, phrase, color, or micro-thought can trigger expulsion. Everybody is offended.

Print is Dead.

Say what you want about wedding invitations,  corrugated boxes, and meat-labels saving print - if companies are printing like it's 1999,  Xerox wouldn't be fighting for her life and Lexmark would still be an American company.

The chorus, "no paper...no peace..." grew in volume.  Spotting a nervous manager huddled up with her team, I was sure they were not discussing the future of sushi, or saki.



Origami & Haiku -

The gaggle stared at me in unison as the matron of the dining room floated over to my table.

"Hello..." I said.

"Good evening, Mr. Walters, " the standard retort, "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you and your guest to leave our establishment. It has come to the attention of me and my staff, that you are a strong proponent of a paperless society. Indeed, you call for a violent end to copiers. This contrarian position is an affront to our collective morals. You must leave now."

I wasn't shocked. I was amused.
Best future use of paper.

"I'm sorry to hear this and hope our presence hasn't disturbed your other guests," I respond.

"My sister is in the paper business, she sells to the big carmakers and advertising companies. So you can understand how I cannot serve somebody with your moral standing. Please go." was the terse reply.

The short walk to the car was jeering, "You call for the death of copiers! NO PAPER, NO PEACE!", screamed a librarian-looking lady.

I expected a barrage of empty waste-toner bottles, instead,

"You can't hide! Wherever you go, we'll be there, with paper, in your face!  Napkins, shipping containers, meat labels, PAPER EVERYWHERE!"

Not a CNN reporter anywhere.

We left, without a Tweet, Snap, InstaGlam or Yelp!

No bother, Sushi can be found just about anywhere; even in Milwaukee.

There’s no paper
In the company future
Trees are digital!

###

Satire.

When a restaurant asks a person to leave because of who they work for, their political proclivity, or business model - isn't it THE SAME as enforcing "whites only" bubblers?

The world is upside down.  False prophets claim to support diversity as long as they define diversity.  They demand open discussions and viewpoints, as long as the viewpoint is theirs.

I've seen this first hand, from California to North Carolina.  Detroit to Oconomowoc.

The Auto Unions feigned defense of the working man, yet betrayed the companies employing members.

The open borders, sanctuary cities of SoCali, pose as immigrant advocates unknowingly promoting human trafficking, the drug trade, and child exploitation.  How many illegal immigrants, mothers, fathers, and children, perished in the desert chasing the hypnotic tone, "Come to America.  Land of opportunity.  Vote Democrat."  Sanctuary Cities equal Terminus.

Meanwhile, erudite, "non-violent" academics, sip wine, listen to Hungarian Christmas music, and scream, "I wish Bush was dead!" I saw it, I was there.

Nice haircut. Can he shave, yet?
Today, we walk among the entitled, frail, offended, sissified,  Generation of Whine.  There is no such thing as mental toughness.  There is no such thing as playing fair; it's a risk.

Everybody has the plan, everybody is an expert - kids with less than 20 trips around the sun are considered 'wise'.  But they are tools; being a victim does not an expert make.

So what is a (copier) salesperson to do in this crazy, mixed-up world?

I don't know how to say this, so I just will...you, the salesperson, the technology provider, we who reach out every day, experience loss, failure, and defeat yet get up each morning without a gripe are this century's greatest hope.

You know mental toughness, don't you?  Mom isn't asking prospects why they "didn't buy".  You're not blaming the NRA for your position in life.

We survived a childhood filled with treehouses, BB guns, riding in the back of pickups, bicycles without helmets, scraped knees, mud, dirt, germs and band-aids.

We stand alone.

The generational tsunami hitting our cultural shores have never been shown the destruction socialism leaves in its wake.  They've never reviewed eugenics and too easily cast their political rivals as "Hitler".  They grew up without conflict or competition. Coddled in mom's bosom past the age of 18 they are still scared of everything from peanuts to full-contact, youth football.

Politically, their mantra is "make everybody equal by making everybody poor".  Except them.

So it is up to you, up to Us.  Soak everything up.  Ask your clients real questions about business.  Do they feel confident in the economy?  How are they planning to grow the business over the next decade?

Distill these stories into your personal wisdom.  Invest more in this type of discussion over speeds and feeds - learn to have a proactive, business conversation around your prospect, not your OEM or dealership.

Tell people how you feel, what you've seen.

And when you finally get kicked out of a fancy restaurant, you'll know you've made it.



Sunday, May 13, 2018

Xerox & FX: A Good Old Fashion, American Scandal


Scandalous.

Hold me baby, hold me like you ain’t mine to hold
Oh kiss me baby kiss me, like you don’t care who knows
Oh love me baby love me like Kennedy and Monroe

Hushed smiles across the table, clandestine meetings.  There's something exhilarating about sharing a secret in front of the entire world.  Just the two of you. Food's better, the Sun warmer, nights longer.

But affairs have no future.

In the tightly bound world of third-party toner manufacturers, evaporating equipment placements, Monday morning sales meetings, earnings reports, tumbling clicks, and Sunday afternoon barbecues, the copier life is almost too much to bear.

Scandal and intrigue.
"I'd sell Xerox. That's a house of pain." - Cramer

The Xerox affair is a reflection of the industry; Mixed up, ruled by The house of Boys; Desperate.

"As Xerox goes, so goes the industry" or is it "As the industry goes, so go we all."?

  • Remember when Ricoh bought Ikon?  Remember when Panasonic exited?
  • How about when HP split?
  • The assimilation of Muratec or the bifurcation of Xerox?
  • Don't forget the Chinese purchase of Lexmark.
  • And now, the Xerox, Fuji-Xerox, six billion dollar escapade.
X will fade.  The moniker might remain (Lanier, anyone?) but the greatness that was, will be no more.
"The new board - the majority now consisting of directors backed by Icahn and Deason - will begin evaluating strategic alternatives; Icahn and Deason have said XRX could be sold to a competitor or private-equity firm."
"Sold to a competitor..."  HP?
"...or private-equity firm..." Blue Horseshoe loves Anacott Steel?

So what will be the next shoe to drop? Will Ricoh succumb?

Will Sharp or Toshiba bail?  Can K/M survive? Canon?  Truly, everyone(except one) is circling the drain.

Those are negative operating profit figures.
For now, sit back and enjoy yet another, delicious scandal.

From one of many articles:

 -‘Sleepless Nights’ and 'Project Juice'

"... Dec. 7, 2017, letter written by Xerox director Cheryl Krongard to the company’s chairman Robert Keegan, titled “4 sleepless nights”. In that letter, Krongard called Jacobson a “rogue executive” who disobeyed the board to secretly negotiate a deal with Fujifilm.

In the letter -- purportedly sent less than two months before Xerox agreed to the deal -- Krongard also writes: “This board exhausted every ounce of patience and coaching to make our current CEO a success. We then decided, unanimously, for a variety of reasons, he was not the leader we need.” Krongard adds that the company had identified a CEO replacement who, she says, Keegan had said was “head and shoulders better than Jeff”.

The letter continues: “Jeff was told by you, as directed and supported by the board, that the board was disappointed by his performance and would likely look at outside talent. Additionally, you told him in no uncertain terms, that he was to discontinue any and all conversations with FX and F regarding Juice. He blatantly violated a clear directive”.

Project Juice was the code name given to deal discussions, while F and FX refer to Fujifilm and the Fuji-Xerox joint venture, respectively.

Latest Update, 5/13 -

Xerox (NYSE:XRX) says it has reached a settlement agreement with investors Carl Icahn and Darwin Deason and will end its merger deal with Fujifilm (OTCPK:FUJIF, OTCPK:FUJIY).

XRX says CEO Jeff Jacobson has resigned and John Visentin, a former tech executive who had been working with the activists, will become the new CEO.

XRX appointed five new members to the board, including Icahn Enterprises (NYSE:IEP) CEO Keith Cozza as Chairman, and five existing members resigned in addition to Jacobson.

The new board - the majority now consisting of directors backed by Icahn and Deason - will begin evaluating strategic alternatives; Icahn and Deason have said XRX could be sold to a competitor or private-equity firm.


Monday, February 26, 2018

A Decade of #TheDeathofTheCopier: Really?




Long ago, a decade seemed like forever; "1999" was a far-off party, and 2001 was so distant, that it was science fiction.

When I was young, I couldn't imagine where'd I be beyond 2008.  Today, decades fade away, "like tears in the rain..."

Ten revolutions around the Sun
120 Months
521.4 Weeks
3,650 Days
87,000 Hours

At its peak, The Death of the Copier was coveted; worth stealing. Not for the plain talk, but for the audience.

In 2008, we were busy back-slapping and congratulating ourselves for selling machines like popcorn.  The future was bright; it was never going to end.
  • Ikon was a huge channel of 'independent' dealers.
  • Xerox was like Kleenex.
  • Ricoh and Canon punched it out for the second and third position.
  • HP was on the edge with Edgeline.
  • The rest of the pack was just that, a pack.
Back then, few were 'blogging' about copiers. Out here on the inter-webs, nobody was talking about workflow, managed print services, IT, or business acumen.  Newsletters, magazines, and trade shows were the vehicles of delivery.

On this 10th year anniversary, I've traveled back to the future, re-visiting stories of the love, toner, blood, and tragedy that is DOTC.


I've dug up a few nuggets:

From a DOTC post, "Top 12 of 2008":

"5. LinkedIn - MySpace is all grown up. Much more mature than Facebook with real contacts and real business and NO high school moms pretending to be CEOs...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"."-  2008.

I talked about Managed Print Services, how copier reps won't naturally progress into the niche, how real MpS requires IT and copier knowledge, and something called Business Acumen.  It was like speaking Latin.

The second post, February 2008: Managed Print Services - That "Hot, New, Thing..."


"A copier salesperson does not directly translate into an MPS specialist.

Nor does an IT Services salesperson translate into an MPS Specialist. It takes both IT experience and copier experience and a great deal of general, C-level, business experience. 


That holy grail of Professional Selling, "Business Acumen". Someone with the "Big Picture" insight and manage the details of a solution."

Honestly, the more things change, the more they stay the same. It's been ten years and we're still struggling to find managed print nirvana.


We still sell copiers.

 How about this one from 2011?  Inspired by the movie Jerry McGuire -

"MPS isn't the end-all, it isn't the only reason to exist - it never has been. Still, with everybody getting in and as many as 50% failing, what now?

With all the OEMs defining MPS ... and reclassifying direct accounts, how can we continue?

Touch More.

More Human Touch. Less PowerPoint. No WebEx meetings, toss the 50 slide business summaries. Instead, press the flesh. Draw on a napkin.

Do that thing we do as sales professionals, look him in the eye and say "thank you, what more can we do, today?"

"Oddest, most unexpected thing..."

Success and change aren't always a result of design. Innovation encroaches from another direction; from the left as we look right, from behind as we look ahead.  Few ever see it coming.

So it is today. As some deny the paperless revolution is near, companies like Alaska Air outfit their 1,400 pilots with iPads.  Apple is making the textbook obsolete and banks accept pictures of checks for deposits. Your kids, don't call each other anymore, they use their thumbs.

From social media to MpS, everything is new and unpredicted - there are no experts - the world moves faster than ever before. No benchmarks, no 'metrics', no comparison, no rules.

Waiting for the revolution? It's already here.

"The Me I always wanted to be" - Trust

Trust. It is a big word and one of the first MPS Conference keynote speaker attempted to rally behind stating, 
"..Trust is something this industry has got to reclaim."

He is new. He doesn't understand to reclaim something, one must have first possessed it.

"I had lost the ability to bullshit, ..."

Our journey continues.

The path is less bumpy when we build partnerships. Partnerships are easier to forge over a foundation of truth. Can you be true?

Can you lose the ability to bullshit? If not to your prospects, at least with yourself. Or are you just another shark in a suit?

Can you see the entire ecosystem?

How about instead of optimizing a smidgen of hardware and some toner, you envision Optimizing Everything?

That's right, everything. Managed Optimization Services.


"That's how you become great, man. Hang your balls out there."

Good Stuff.

What have WE, learned over the past ten years?
  1. The Copier is nearly gone
  2. Old ways die-hard
  3. Situations rarely change, people do
My nostalgic jaunt inspired me to seek out memories from the pioneers of the copier-industry social media world.

Before Twitter.  Before Instaglam. Before LI took off...there was Ken Stewart, Nathan Dube, Jim Lyons, and Art Post.

I asked them for a tidbit of reflection:

From Ken Stewart -

Wow, it's been that long?!?  What I've learned:
  1. Trust God more
  2. Forgive mankind often
  3. Relish the little things
  4. Let people be accountable for their actions
  5. Just because the folks in the hot tub look like they're having a blast, their secrets are hiding under the bubbles!
Nathan Dube -

Things I have learned:
  1. Don’t trust the hype
  2. Disruptive technologies sometimes aren’t and those that are, often take time to produce real change
  3. If the paperless office is coming, I am not seeing it much/at all in New England across most verticals
  4. Storytelling is the best way to market
  5. Everybody hates their printer eventually
  6. The future of marketing IMO lies in gamification and interactive content that is more about entertainment than the product you are trying to sell.
Jim Lyons -

Can't remember EXACTLY how Greg and I became friends, but as what seemed like the only two bloggers in the industry back then it was inevitable we'd become friends as well as colleagues. 

A particular fond memory is when Greg had accepted an invitation to the Lyra Conference (Symposium) - where I'd gone from client to contributor. 

Greg and I had been in touch quite a bit but had never met face-to-face and several of the team (including Photizo folks in attendance, though this was before the merger) were excited to meet Mr. Death of the Copier. As we anticipated his arrival I remember enthusing that this was a very much-needed "young guy" we were welcomed into the fold!!!

Art Post

Nothing stays the same, change is constant.
There is nothing new in sales even though there are thousands of sales gurus on LinkedIn promoting their success when they haven't sold shit in years.

There are many stubborn copier manufacturers that refuse to exit the channel. No one copies anymore.

I've learned that life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer you get to the end of the roll, the faster it goes.

Thanks, guys, for reading DOTC and staying true.

Personally:
  1. 2008, I was married and living in the mountains of Southern California.  5,000 feet above sea level, an hour from the beach - "...things that have comforted me, I drive away..."
  2. Since 2008, I've moved from SoCali to Charlotte to Oconomowoc, Wisconsin - "...this place that is my home, I cannot stay..."
  3. Over 10 years, I've seen small businesses grow and flourish.  I've met the best of the best and the worst of the worst - "...I come and stand at every door..."
  4. I've Failed - "...If you've ever seen a one-legged dog then you've seen me..."
  5. I've Succeeded - "...I always leave with less than I had before..."
  6. I've become an expert at Starting Over - "...tell me, can you ask for anything more..."
Over the long haul, I've seen the extinction of the typewriter, witnessed the evaporation of the mini and mainframe, and bobbed along the turbulent manual-to-PC-to-network-to-internet-to-cloud waters.

I am fortunate to have a place to express myself.  I'm blessed to be able to write what I would read and humbled others to find something, interesting and possibly entertaining.

10 Years. How about you?

On what field did you stand?  Today, do you still stand?  

Where will you be in 2028?






Two, three, four

Have you ever seen a one trick pony in the field so happy and free?
If you've ever seen a one trick pony then you've seen me
Have you ever seen a one-legged dog making his way down the street?
If you've ever seen a one-legged dog then you've seen me
Then you've seen me, I come and stand at every door

Then you've seen me, I always leave with less than I had before
Then you've seen me, bet I can make you smile when the blood, it hits the floor
Tell me, friend, can you ask for anything more?
Tell me can you ask for anything more?

Have you ever seen a scarecrow filled with nothing but dust and wheat?
If you've ever seen that scarecrow then you've seen me
Have you ever seen a one-armed man punching at nothing but the breeze?
If you've ever seen a one-armed man then you've seen me

Then you've seen me, I come and stand at every door
Then you've seen me, I always leave with less than I had before
Then you've seen me, bet I can make you smile when the blood, it hits the floor
Tell me, friend, can you ask for anything more?
Tell me can you ask for anything more?

These things that have comforted me, I drive away
This place that is my home I cannot stay
My only faith's in the broken bones and bruises I display
Have you ever seen a one-legged man trying to dance his way free?
If you've ever seen a one-legged man then you've seen me

Saturday, February 24, 2018

Today, I spoke with an MpS God - she was just fired. #managedprintservices #sales


I’ve said it many times, “ the path to MpS nirvana is littered with the skeleton frames of burnt out MpS Managers, Directors and Sales People”.

No sour grapes -

I’m sure there are dozens of good reasons for termination and every separation has at least two stories.  In the past decade I've been a Practice Manager, advisor and support specialist. I’ve thrived, struggled and witnessed good people churned under the seven step, "xerographic process".

And that’s exactly what I mean - the copier niche can destroy vision, creativity, and dumb down every business solution into 30 day segments.  Managed print Services is the latest victim, with managed IT services right behind.

Some of our industry leaders are no more than box movers - they confuse ‘applications’ with business solutions and project hubris as wisdom.  Take a trip through the LinkedIN community and notice how many times we compliment each other or brag about the latest sale, certification, trip or baseball team we're associated.

It is one big, circle-jerk.

These are observations not complaints. We all get what we deserve and this industry deserves its decent into obscurity.

But not just yet.

I've seen this before, from above and below and can list cautionary red-flags for the folks still selling MpS.

Here are some signs indicating you should give my friend Steve Spencer(MpS recruiter) a call:
  • lie
  • lack of vision
  • too many rules
  • change the rules
  • filter out all creativity
  • do not see beyond 30 day cycles
  • incentivize for equipment sales only
  • promote month/qtr/year end specials
  • narrow-minded C-Level management
  • put MpS under the service department
  • dependent on hardware/service revenue
  • refuse to integrate MpS and Managed IT services
  • bad, complicated or non-existent compensation plans
  • a corporate culture centered around past copier success
  • focus on leasing and linking equipment inside MpS deals
  • install a C-level executive with little or no experience beyond the box
  • enforce identical activity expectations for support specialists and down the street copier sales people
  • say "X is a major part of the business", yet majority of revenue is copier generated
  • utilize a foggy compensation plan & do not enforce gates on sales teams
Here's a big one: Does your leadership yell? Do your C-Level meetings include loud voices, hands slapping desks and belligerent attitudes?
“You’ve got to be tough out there”
“This industry isn’t for the thin skinned”
“If you can’t take this, you’ll never make it in sales”
I’m no snowflake. This type of behavior says leagues about the yeller and the enabling organization.  At the very least this is unprofessional - would management slam desks or scream at prospects?

When people communicate in this manner, the organization is:
Insecure
Afraid
Negative
This is not normal behavior - Leave. Now.  Call Steve.

Not every organization operates like this, I bet not many at all.  But if you're in one, in any industry, consider your self-worth and get the hell out.  It's a big world. No matter your current skill set or personal/professional goals, there are companies and positions out here for you.

You're Notbroken.


Friday, February 23, 2018

The Genesis, Evolution and De-evolution of #ManagedPrintServices


2/2018
I remember the first time somebody said to me, "We've been doing managed print services for 20 years..." that was ITEX, 2008.  Which of course meant this person had been optimizing, assessing, rightsizing, and billing service and supplies on a cost-per-image basis - back in 1988.

"What? Did you bill for re-inked ribbons?"  He was not amused.

Back then, there was a bunch of talk about how MPS was nothing new; the facilities folks had been assessing fleets and selling bodies for years.  The Electronic Document Management guys had been selling scan-to-file for at least a decade and the toner re-manufacturers were old hats at dumpster diving for cores.

Revolution.

The copier-heads saw MpS as a scam; nothing more than a marketing ploy effectively duplicating what they had been doing since 1970.  They laid claim to managed print services.

The move into managed print services took a few years, as OEM after OEM assembled and rolled out their unique program.  Back then, most programs supported a homogenous fleet meaning the "best" MpS solution was one that included the brand "I SELL" versus the brands customers currently utilized - "Rip And Replace" took on a significant meaning.

Months passed. Iterations of software like PrintAudi, FM-Audit, and PrintFleet.  WebJet Admin was HP's software - the most expensive free software you could ever want.  Still, monitoring software was in its infancy.

The MpS world struggled to move away from faxed and manually collected meter reads.  Billing was half the challenge, managing toner shipments incorrectly morphed profitable contracts into nightmare losses.

Shipping costs, undefined commission structures, premature exchanges of toner, and blown motherboards killed many MpS endeavors.  The smart guys looked at meter reads and toner usage data as possible predictors.  Algorithms were developed and applied to create predictive models of toner usage down to the device.

Golden Age of MpS.

As MpS matured, the advanced players moved from 'hardware agnostic' to 'hardware neutral' covering multiple vendors' devices.

Toner fillers and re-manufacturers got into the game as well, assembling and providing managed print services programs complete with data collection agents, mapping software bundled with sales training, and marketing deliverables.

Everybody, even traditional IT VARs, jumped into the MpS ocean.  MpS was full of possibilities, a departure from copiers toward IT and beyond.  ITEX stacked the floor with MpS providers and training sessions - we even had a Managed Print Services Conference.

But a funny thing happened on the way to MpS nirvana. By 2015 MpS had come full circle - the pioneers of the MPS rarely appear, MPS consulting firms fade away leaving MpS training to the "drill and fills".  Manufacturers release dozens of A4 devices like it was always their idea.  In an interesting twist of irony, the biggest critics of managed print services find themselves leading MpS organizations.

Everyone ignored the Signs.  Small OEDs slipped into history or glommed on to bigger dealers - circling the wagons and selling out.  Dawn of The Planet of the Mega Dealer

The Late, Great MpS

Today, 2018 dealers, full of hubris and dripping with chunk-watches, brag about 30% cost reductions, all the while installing A3 for end users who've forgotten what tabloid paper looks like. Prospects implement print policies on their own, realizing the folly of letting companies that derive revenue from prints help them reduce print.

Founding members of the industry transform: 

Lexmark, once an American darling, sells out to an arch enemy.  Xerox, a one-time American, corporate icon, begs her neighbor for shelter.  HP, Lady Blue, suffers through Edgeline, TouchPad and Leo, breaks in two and emerges stronger.

This has happened before, industries rise and fall.  Weaving machines displace textile workers. Horsepower replaces manpower.  Automobiles supplant horses.   One day soon, managed print services will be the buggy-whip of the once prevalent, Copier Industry.

And that's okay - it is the Way of Things.





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Greg Walters, Incorporated
greg@grwalters.com
262.370.4193