Managed Print Services is an Opportunity. Always has been...

Ray is okay.  

But he beats up on anyone who is not one of his sponsors.  He criticizes everyone from HP to the MPSA.  HP is an easy target but the MPSA is a non-profit all-volunteer organization.  He specializes in targeting people who do not pay to be part of his cabal. Indeed, one of his current companions fell victim to his vitriol until they paid and joined his clan.

He is opinionated and not afraid to say what is on his mind a quality I typically admire.

This time Ray is pouncing on a person promoting managed print services as an opportunity.  I don't know why Ray hates managed print services, but he does.  Defining managed print services as only toner and services is short-sighted - that's how Ray sees MpS.

I won't link to the original, you can find it on your own.

Below is my response, for whatever it's worth.

###

Okay, Ray 

- people think of you as a troll, because you act like one. 

Take it from a guy who owns "The Death of The Copier" inside the copier industry. In the early days of DOTC, I was vilified for even mentioning MpS because it "took away" volumes by reducing the number of images generated. This is true, but I was not referred to as a troll - "pain in the ass", yes.  Bully, no.

Unfortunately for you, your tone and word choice come across, at times, as boorish. Like a bully, or curmudgeon. This garbles your overall message which at times is relevant - but this is not one of those times.

Your argument against MpS representing opportunity is incorrect - but so too is the viewpoint you demean.

There is an opportunity with MpS when defined as more than toner and supplies. MpS is BPO, it is IT, it is ITAM, it is IoT and it is and always was a bridge into the MS realm.

“Managed print services is the active management and

optimization of business processes related to documents and

information including input and output devices.” - MPSA

Unattainable panacea? It would appear so, but MpS is not dead(to my surprise), just ask our friends at Lexmark and Sharp.

New to Copier Sales – Use Local Events to Share Your Expertise

The COVID impact is creating turbulence and waves of change moving through all facets of life. One of these waves is flowing through the ocean of business meetings and face to face appointments. You, as a new copier rep, can catch a wave to more success. We used to call them “networking groups.” 

Local Chambers of Commerce and small business groups would put together an after-hours event, inviting local businesses to connect with each other and prospects. They met once a month and ended up being full of real estate agents and insurance salespeople handing out business cards and trading stories over drinks. 

It seems almost old school, but I think these types of get-togethers are more important now than pre-COVID. But there is a difference and I’m suggesting you take...

Read the rest, here.

Managed print Services inside a VAR. A long time ago...

Managed print Services inside a VAR.  A long, long time ago.

New to Copier Sales: How to Write a Blog or Article

You’ve heard it before: “You’ve got to create content.”  Your LinkedIn feed is probably littered with all sorts of influencers pitching their personal branding and content generation classes.

Distinguishing yourself through content is undeniably effective, but how? Adding one more task to your selling process is daunting.  But writing about how you’ve helped others is a great way to project expertise and build credibility. Above all, writing can be a catharsis.

That’s the trick to good content — write for yourself, to yourself.  There are two basic audiences: those in the industry — coworkers, vendors, and the like, and those on the other side of the table — prospects, and customers.  Talking with either audience requires relevant ideas, subject matter, and empathy. Put yourself in their shoes. For example, if you recently had a great prospecting or cold-calling experience, tell the story. The odds are good that not only will your peers find it interesting, your prospects will as well.  

Remember, they sell things too.

Read the rest here.

What is a good bourbon for beginners

I get this question all the time and my response is typical, "What are you drinking right now?  What is your choice when you go into a bar for whiskey?"

this doesn't mean you shouldn't seek out folks who have been on the path before you; Those who have developed a palate like you're attempting to do.

It doesn't matter if the response is Jack or Jim or scotch, an Irish whiskey, or even nothing.

I ask this to get them to establish a base of their current taste profile. The question is for them, not me.

Back the Beginning -

For a lot of us, Jack and Coke was our first. 

I went with it as a kid, starting with Jack Daniels on the rocks as an 18-year-old.  On my 21st birthday, I received five, 5ths of JD - I established myself as a Jack Daniels dude early on.

I went through the usual whiskey adventures; Jack and Coke, or rocks, or Yukon Jack.  I settled on what I called a "Mountain Jack", Moutain Dew, and Jack Daniels.  It would be another 40 years or so until I discovered the real connection between Mountain Dew and whiskey.  

Irony.

Back to the Future -

The Great Divide in Copier Sales

The other day I was speaking with a few dealers and salespeople about the current state of sales and selling. We talked about regional differences, slow change, and what it takes to be successful today in copier sales. 

It was déjà vu all over again. 

I’ve been preaching about change for over a decade, telling dealers and OEMs alike how the future is not about marks on a page or even software. 

The future of selling is in the statements of the past: 

“I want to be your trusted advisor.” 

“We must sell solutions.” 

“We need to listen to the prospect.” 

 We’ve all been there.  As soon as we walk through...read the rest here.

#WFH. The Death of the "Work Spouse".

“…men and women can’t be friends because the sex part always gets in the way…because no man can be friends with a woman that he finds attractive. He always wants to have sex with her.” 

 - When Harry Met Sally

The "Work Wife", and "Work Spouse" has been around since the '30s.  The Pre-Covid office environment was a petri dish for interpersonal relationships - the label recognizes, if not legitimizes, a third-party 9-5 relationship.

The phrase, the idea, is an acceptable, even encouraged, practice of the work-in-a-cube(plantation) status quo.  When one stops to think about it, is having a work spouse and a home spouse a good thing?  I can't answer that one.

"Work From Home gives new meaning to the phrase, "Work Wife", and that's a good thing for 'committed' personal relationships, not so good for the solo runners."

Consider this, #WFH diminishes:

• 12 hours with somebody other than your wife, husband, or significant other.
• Latenight PowerPoint brainstorming meetings
• Working lunches
• Post-meeting cocktails

WFH also impacts:

• Business trips, out-of-town conferences.
• After-hour team-building events 
• Christmas parties
• Client dinners

The fear of Covid is changing everything from business to commerce, religion, politics, and personal relationships.

Could one benefit of #WFH be a decrease in the number of divorces?

Of course, this issue goes deeper than sharing space with the opposite sex.  Says one male worker regarding his work spouse, 

'I don't like showing vulnerabilities to my real wife in case it makes her respect me less.'

This base insecurity strikes at the core of most affairs; fear of being judged by the person one loves is a powerful motivator to keep "bad news" off the significant other's plate.  So the issue is shared with a non-romantic, third party, not the significant other leading to mistrust, and emotional connections outside the relationship.  

We all know this...

Regardless, we'll see how this all pans out over the next few years.

Interesting.

 

 Sources:

https://www.inverse.com/article/35392-work-spouse-wife-husband-office-psychology

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-4665480/Why-work-wife-threat-marriage.html

https://www.glamour.com/story/career-advice-why-everyone-needs-a-work-wife

https://www.savvymom.ca/articleiframe/?url=http://www.jodyrobbins.com/work-wife/&id=105993