The other day I was at a local tavern and ordered up the "Christmas Special" - a martini. She prepared the beverage and presented it to my mother and me.
With a sparkle in her eye and a smile on her face, she said, "Merry Christmas!" adding, "I'm so happy we can say Merry Christmas. Last year we weren't allowed."
She scurried away with a spring in her step.
The gears in my head started turning.
I have never, ever, felt the need to simply wish somebody, "Happy Holidays." To me, it sounds like a cop-out. When others wish me Happy Holidays, I cringe a little inside, and return with, "Merry Christmas."
In the past, it felt like wishing people Merry Christmas was an act of bravery - it isn't. I'm glad the pendulum has finally swung this way, at least on this subject.
From all of us here at DOTC to all of yours, Merry Christmas!
I started my MpS journey back in 2007 - not as early as some, but before most.
Back then, I saw MpS as a bridge into managed services. In 2008, I proposed my first end-user-based billing program. (similar to the current SBB) We estimated usage based on the job description - front office folks printed more than shop floor, HR printed more than general office and Marketing utilized more color. Pricing was based on the job description.
Soon after, I suggested MpS was BPO because including document management software within an MpS agreement seemed natural.
DOTC espoused end-user data, behavior modification, and workflow in the early days coining the word "BeMod". The phrase did not take hold.
I introduced the idea of fully integrated management systems: we should combine device data like usage and supplies history(DCA) with the number of service calls (ServiceNow) for each device and all costs associated with operating each device(E*Automate) displaying these data points on the floor plan and adhering to the ITAM model.
I pitched the benefits of 'serverless printing before it became a thing in the MpS world, recommending partnerships with PrinterLogic.
I pondered the ability to sell everything as a service. How about coffee and water, commercial HVAC equipment, energy systems, or even telehealth? Who best to lead this transformation than those designing and selling managed print services?
We made the jump from equipment sales to services long ago...right? Of course, few jumped on the above suggestions (until years later).
Most held on to old-fashioned models - scratching out an existence, hoping for that magical merger. Big dealers got bigger, tripling down on copier sales with outside investment; they started silo'd, managed services practices.
Some OEMs surrendered. Lexmark went to China, Xerox went to pieces, HP self-bifurcated. Ricoh treads, Canon sells cameras, Konica Minolta is gaining, and MpS rolls the stone, resurrected.
Today, how can we widen our scope, yet stay within a safe, low-risk zone? What action can we take, that recognizes the move away from paper, without inciting panic and denial? Medical equipment and energy management were too much.
How about scanning? (Okay, not just scanning)
Studies show copies and prints per device have been falling for a decade or two, I wonder if scans have increased? To transform from paper to digital, there are plenty of paper documents in need of digitization.
Here's my latest recommendation: Embed digital capture into every managed print services engagement you write. (I know, not all THAT revolutionary.)
Today, every business can move into the digital realm at a fraction of the cost. There are plenty of strong capture and document management programs in the ecosystem - Kofax, DocuWare & Nuance to name a few. Not everyone needs these high-end systems, but most need something.
The Benefits
Separate your MpS program from others. The 'down the street' deals address nothing more than cost per page and automatic toner replacement.
Discussing scanning/digitizing is a natural topic within the managed print services engagement, and can help you close more MpS deals.
But how do you get started?
What to look for in a simple solution for your clients:
In your new world of copiers, training is a big component of the ecosystem — so big it’s like drinking from a fire hydrant. By now you’ve probably come to understand that most of life’s challenges will not be solved with algebra or understanding inheritance and polymorphism — learning how to learn is the best lesson.
So it is now with your new copier position. You may be deft at taking notes, creating flashcards and memorizing basic facts, but I’ve got to tell you, not one prospect is going to establish a relationship if all you know are the paper weights and first-copy-out times for 100 different models.
Unfortunately, your dealer principal and sales manager will demand you know the specifications of every model on the show floor. It’s a tug of war between learning what the “industry” thinks is important and what your prospects see as relevant.
More important than specifications is learning everything possible from every business you visit — no matter the outcome. The first appointment is the time for introductions and getting to know one another; all it takes is 20 minutes to understand how your prospect runs the business and the challenges they face every day. Don’t waste time on your company introduction/value proposition slide deck — YOU are the company
Successful selling professionals utilize the “two ears, one mouth” strategy when getting to know the inner workings of a prospect’s organization. It may sound simple...Read the rest here.
The game is changing, but it always has been. The way businesses align purchasing is shifting, but it always has been. New marketing platforms are emerging but always have been. Sales are evolving but always have been.
There is talk of a selling rebellion, but there always has been.
There's chatter about the new selling, the new way businesses are buying, and how the sales professionals of today had better change their ways. We've got to multiply our efforts tenfold, continue to cold call and embrace social media.
Today, "Kings", "Cowboys" and "Warriors" populate our little niche and we've got professionals "saving the industry one copier at a time". Worthy, noble, and authentic efforts - I'm all for self-branding and rebellion. I question the focus of our current emotional revolt.
Words mean things -
Revolt: refuse to acknowledge someone or something as having authority
Revolution: a forcible overthrow of a government or social order, in favor of a new system
So yes, we as a profession, are in the mood for revolt and revolution. It's understood the selling representatives are the Rebels but who are we 'rebelling' against? Who are the bad guys?
Are we taking on the old-school mentality? Assaulting old techniques is one thing, but these are outdated tools, not the root of evil.
Maybe we're rebelling against our prospects and customers - not the brightest idea.
Conducting a revolution against other sales people is self-destructive and most likely a strategy our nemesis relies upon. From the outside, it must look like we're a bunch of self-loathing, never good enough yahoo's running around spewing "transformation, this" and "the new way of that...".
To summarize:
Revolting against prospects and clients is not the way.
We are not our greatest enemy, we will not self-destruct.
The "Evil Empire" is not the past.
Again, who is the enemy?
I know who. If you're a sales trainer, you're not going to like it. If you're a sales manager, you're not going to like it. If you're selling anything through a tiered channel, you are not going to like it. Heck, I don't even like it.
The target of our revolution are those who inflict quotas, false ideals and untrustworthy sales techniques: OEMs, Mega dealers, and vendors of the day are the enemy.
I have moved from certainty to doubt, from devotion to rebellion.
- Phil Donahue
I am the last one to call for unionization - unions kill - but an organized resistance is the only alternative. I'm talking about a guild of selling professionals - similar to the Screen Actor's Guild.
So who is in a position to organize contemporary selling professionals? I have no idea but a great start would be for sales people to think differently:
start selling for yourself
form your own brand
invest in yourself
CAUTION: Rebellions require blood. The cost of freedom is never free and all revolutions, have casualties. Who, in this cause, will give all? Who will create change through sacrifice?
Will any of the new sales trainers step up to form The Guild or continue taking money from the establishment?
Will mega-dealers change the way reps are paid or continue to support an archaic standard?
Will OEMs get rid of their tiered approach?
And who in their right mind would join such a movement, let alone LEAD against these most formidable foes?
I don't have the answer to that question. I can say finding a leader within the Empire(OEM,Trainers, MegaDealers) is at best dubious. Perhaps an older, wiser Rebel will make their way center stage.
Caution: As a metaphor, in the movie Rogue One, can you recall how many of the small rebel team survived?
Heck, you've probably viewed a clip or two during one of your Monday morning sales meetings intended.
I get it.
These Hollywood caricatures display the gumption of legends - cold calling, motivating speeches, wild excesses of the selling life. Success. Power. Influence. Acceptance.
But there's more to the story, isn't there? The movies tell the entire story, but we don't replay those bad bits do we? No manager is going to show Bud's perp-walk in Wall Street. Nobody is getting motivated watching the federal cops pull into the J.T. Marlin parking lot complete with busses and tow trucks(Boiler Room).
And sure as shooting, no one remembers the ending of Glengarry Glen Ross, when Shelly Levene steals those leads.
Consider the following examples:
"Greed is Good"
Major Wall Street player earns millions through purchasing and breaking up family owned companies supported with insider information. Protagonist seduces young upstart anding ends up in prison.
- Wall Street
"Put that coffee down! Coffee is for closers."
Real Estate agents complain about the leads, smart-dressed, hit-man comes in from HQ to deliver a high pressure, all or nothing, speech intended to get sales back on track. Salesman descends into chaos and steals leads.
- Glen Gerry Glenn Ross
"...act as if..."
Sharp dressed, smooth talking broker initiates new employees into the world of shady deals and illegal trading. Cold calling taken to a new low, one scene depicts a broker lying to a prospect, along with a cheering team of cohorts, and bamboozling a victim out of thousands. The movie ends with federal agents storming HQ complete with tow trucks to recover the fleet of ill-gotten automobiles.
- Boiler Room
These stories end in flames, yet sales 'mentors' still run around telling newbies to, "Sell me this pen."
Why do all sales people know "Coffee is for Closers"? Why do we cheer when Vin Diesel lies his way into a sale? Yeah, sure, we'd love to deliver that Alec Baldwin speech, or kill it on the phone like Leonardo DiCaprio. We project ourselves into those situations - understanding the dramatic and sexy scenarios - who wouldn't?
Why?
I'll tell you why. Motivating you to sell more, no matter how, is good for the OEMs and ownership. Sure, it feels good to you, right? That feeling is false and manipulative. I get it, we need to sell to feed our families and survive - that's the way the game is set up - and watching a fictitious "selling animals" provides a fleeting moment of entertainment and hours of motivation. But it is propaganda. It isn't real. If it is for you, chances are, it will end badly.
Showing rundown videos of yesterday's demons is just another symptom of the slow to change selling ecosystem. I'm not sure what we should utilize in place of these video's but there must be something; there must be thousands of quick, 30 second video's of new sales consultants spewing nuggets of re-treads.
Change, real change through turbulence, must occur at ALL LEVELS of the ecosystem, not just in the trenches. Selling will become more relevant, consultative and fulfilling after the pillars of the status quo resign to the future and ceasing to show criminals and thieves as selling examples is just the beginning.
Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook — so many platforms, so little time. You’ve probably got an account on each of these social networks and more, and they can be great for connecting with family and sharing everyday life. But if you listen to the latest batch of “social selling experts,” the online world is the end of cold calls, face-to-face meetings and selling expertise.
To this, I say “horsepucky.” Google is just like the Yellow Pages, Twitter is the latest party line and LinkedIn is a fancy networking program. It isn’t that these environments aren’t germane — they’re just not the end of everything else. You may not like the online realm and I am not saying you’ve got to get out there — but you do. Online presence is mandatory.
Today, I’m going to focus on LinkedIn from the perspective of the new copier salesperson.
Building your brand
I’ve spent more than 10,000 hours online, read the rest here.
"...We know now that in the early years of the twentieth century this world was being watched closely by intelligences greater than man's and yet as mortal as his own.
We know now that as human beings busied themselves about their various concerns they were scrutinized and studied, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinize the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water.
With infinite complacence people went to and fro over the earth about their little affairs, serene in the assurance of their dominion over this small spinning fragment of solar driftwood which by chance or design man has inherited out of the dark mystery of Time and Space.
Yet across an immense ethereal gulf, minds that to our minds as ours are to the beasts in the jungle, intellects vast, cool and unsympathetic, regarded this earth with envious eyes and slowly and surely drew their plans against us. In the thirty-ninth year of the twentieth century came the great disillusionment.
It was near the end of October. Business was better. The war scare was over. More men were back at work.
Sales were picking up.
On this particular evening, October 30, the Crosley service estimated that thirty-two million people were listening in on radios..." - Orson Wells, 1938.
In a world without the internet, Twitter, cell phones or email a fictitious account of an invasion from Mars scared children, and angered many.
I submit to you a feast for your ears and the kaleidoscope of your mind. Travel back when this new medium, radio, ruled and was blamed for the Death of the Stage show and rotting young minds...enjoy.
The latest thing in MpS, not necessarily the newest thing, is "Workflow". You should be picking up more chatter about workflow - you may even hear, "if you don't get into workflow, your dealership will die..." (Insert grain of salt, here.)
What does this all mean? What impact will this movement have upon the imaging industry, if at all? Is this more hype, like color, digital, connected, and MpS? Weren't we just evangelizing "managed network services"? (there is no such thing in the IT world, BTW)
As we did so many years ago learning the ways of MpS, let's start with the basics: a standard, run of the mill, definition of 'workflow' -
"Workflow is a term used to describe the tasks, procedural steps, organizations or people involved, required input and output information, and tools needed for each step in a business process." - SearchCIO
Notice this does not specifically, or exclusively, refer to production printing workflow - Job submission can be represented as a workflow, but it is NOT the only example of workflow.
To some, the idea of defining how one does their job and daily business functions may sound complicated. Throw in the notion that workflow is usually expressed in the form of flowcharts, and the concept seems even more unreachable.
All one does is determine how a process is completed, document the observed steps, and investigate bottlenecks. As a matter of fact, if you've been selling copiers or printers or even MpS for any amount of time, I'm guessing you've embarked on the beginnings of workflow.
Let's take a look at an example, a purchase requisition (yawwwwwn). The following chart reflects a very basic process from requisition to purchase order:
This is a pretty straightforward flow with no deviation. Notice how the arrows suggest a motion or flow from one rectangle to the next. All flowchart shapes carry specific meaning - rectangles are processes, diamonds decision points, and so on.
Of course, workflow diagrams can become pretty complex and detailed. Below is a workflow chart for a system relating to data entry.
You can imagine how detailed a workflow diagram can get.
For me, it was always easier to jot down a quick workflow on the clipboard, binder, or today, on the tablet.
Here is an illustration of the decision process involved in installing a DCA, outlined on the Pad:
It makes sense to me so converting to Visio is a snap:
Approximate time to create, 12 minutes.
This isn't rocket surgery, scratching out drawings is just the beginning. Apply your business acumen, a little software, and professional consultation into the equation, ultimately exchanging your knowledge for value.
How do you develop the ability to recommend and provide workflow systems to your existing MpS clients? Is it too much to get into? Can be. One thing is for sure, this isn't "hype" or "noise" - those who say so, do not get it - fain attention, then go back to work.
Welcome to the beginnings of Workflow. You won't get this stuff at the Monday morning sales meeting.
Communism: In political and social sciences, communism is the philosophical, social, political, and economic ideology and movement whose ultimate goal is the establishment of the communist society, which is a socioeconomic order structured upon the common ownership of the means of production and the absence of social classes, money, and the state.
Capitalism: Capitalism is an economic system based on private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Characteristics central to capitalism include private property, capital accumulation, wage labor, voluntary exchange, a price system, and competitive markets.
I've been thinking about this ever since the drywall from China was reported to be radioactive.
We all want cheap stuff - Walmart runs that idea into the ground as does Amazon. But for me, it has been difficult to rationalize the success communist China is experiencing with Capitalism. U.S. Capitalism brought down the Soviet Union and Block; U.S. capitalism succeeded in Viet Nam when our hamstrung military did not. It seems to me that blue jeans, rock and roll and Mcdonald's is enough to dissolve the Great Wall.
Mao Zedong
But Communist China is still Communist China and communism abhors capitalism.
Today, why are we surprised to hear that the Red Chinese have implanted secret spy chips in the motherboards of some of the most widely used servers in the world. How much easier it is to plant a chip anywhere inside a printer or toner cartridge?
In addition to opening up our clouds to Red China, we've purchased killer dog food and poison drywall.
More disturbing, in order to do business in the land of Mao, international companies must share proprietary technology with their Chinese competitors. We've been doing just that for nearly a decade. Is it any wonder the new Chinese fighter jet looks like ours?
What does all this mean? What can we do?
STOP selling toner from Red China.
STOP buying clones from Red China.
Shun everything coming from Red China.
Highlight HP and Xerox's American heritage.
Tell end-users of possible harm resulting from Chinese clones or toner.
Remove Lexmark from all US Federal, State, and local Government contracts - Education as well. This is a difficult notion - I know many good people at Lexmark. But it isn't the same Lexmark, is it? (NineStar).
It seems odd to mix geopolitical issues with managed print services, but here we are. We were always integrated with politics, global issues, and future tech - we could be the first to call out Red China.
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.
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."
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.
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.
"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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
