Stop selling and start storytelling – the secret to success in winning MPS deals

by Robert Newry Managing Director and Co-Founder NewField IT

At a recent MPS event, the keynote speaker told an entertaining story about why only a genuine Gucci handbag, at five times the price of a good copy, would satisfy his wife. For him the physical difference was only in the stitching; for her it was the emotional value of the brand. At the time I didn’t see much relevance in the story to our less glamorous world of office printing. Only when running a training course shortly afterwards to a group of ‘wannabe’ MPS sales professionals, I happened to refer to the “story” that a good assessment allows you to tell and the penny dropped. To be successful in selling an MPS programme, you need to be storyteller, someone who can inspire the customer towards an emotional decision, where they choose the competency to deliver over the cost to acquire. Telling a good story is why successful MPS sales people, whether from small or large players, win big deals – often at higher prices too.

Given we are in the business world, the story has to be credible rather than fictional and the skill is in constructing and communicating a compelling proposition. Yet few of the training courses out there teach us how to do this; mostly because storytelling is something we were meant to have learnt in childhood. The problem has arisen out of the legacy of product selling that still permeates our industry. Although the days when selling was about functions and specifications and every sales call ended by giving the customer a brochure are fast diminishing, they have been replaced by simplified data gathering and the customer being left with an impersonal and templated report. Sales managers around the world crave the standard report and automated proposal maker – the only differentiation fast becoming the cover. For me giving a customer an automated and statistic driven report is like turning Snow White and The Seven Dwarves into a description of the daily gemstone output of their mining activities! The clever observer picks up so much more from their assessment and delivers that back to the customer in a meaningful and personalised way, comforting the customer with their understanding and professionalism.

So for those who want to become the “Pied Piper” of their territory here are three fundamentals to get you going.

Every tale should have a twist

Any good storyteller has to grab and keep the audience’s attention. This can only be done by telling them something they didn’t already know and the skilful storyteller will do this by releasing information slowly, hinting always of greater things to come, and creating a desire in their audience to know more. The material for your story line should come from a thorough assessment but the data itself is not the story. I have seen some assessments where the provider believed that the customer would rate the value of the story in direct proportion to the weight of the report! The opposite is usually true. The customer is looking for insights, mini-stories of their own organisation’s inefficiencies, not reams of charts and tables. One law firm we approached proudly told us they had a state of the art document management system, yet when we walked around we could see paper all over the place – the natural by-product of legal activity we were told. Yet when we did the assessment, a few questions revealed that the scanning facilities on each floor were woefully inadequate and the electronic filing structure did not cover all the requirements, so some staff were still storing every paper record as a back-up. After we told stories of blocked fire escapes and overflowing offices, the client was quick to award the next stage of the project. The trick is not simply the extent of the data gathered rather the way you use that data to demonstrate your competency and expertise. Toner storage cabinets become “mini Staples stores” and discarded piles of paper by devices are “security risks”.

Visualise the value

We all know that a picture speaks a thousand words and the best story books are illustrated. Yet, many of the presentations I have seen from providers trying to make their mark in MPS are static MS Powerpoint slides filled with charts and floor plans in the hope that the customer is impressed by the mono/colour split or the volume by department. In a world of touchpads and interactivity the customer is far more impressed by a presentation that projects all the data on a floor plan, where walking distances to coffee machines can be demonstrated and user interviews as well as data can be combined with device volumes to show who are the print paupers and who are the print princes. By doing this the customer becomes engaged in your story and suddenly the situation is no longer a one way delivery of statistics, transforming instead to an active discussion about the challenges and how they might be solved. In such circumstances, the good storyteller is no longer a sales person but an advisor – someone the customer wants to listen to more and trusts now to get the job done.

Personalise the pitch

When my kids were younger, I used to regularly read them bedtime stories. The ones they liked the most were the ones where I added in different voices and tones for each of the characters. All I was doing was personalising what was already a good story, but they loved the way this gave the story an extra edge and made it special to them. A good MPS presentation should be no different (well you can skip the voices!). The customer is comforted when you use their terms, speak about the business in their way and above all show true understanding of their environment. Taking the time to think about the data you have gathered and how that can be presented back in the most meaningful and insightful way will endear you to them. At the end of the day, what do you want your pitch to be – the cheap and cheerful paper-back, read in a monotone or the beautiful hard-back (at twice the price), read with vitality?

In summary, telling a good story is what will impress the customer. But don’t go over the top. We are short-story tellers. Keep all reports to less than 10 pages and any presentation to less than 30 minutes. Go through your upcoming reports and presentations and check that they are personal, compelling and inspiring. Ask yourself each and every time: “Can I make this story any better?” If you have followed the advice above successfully, you should be on course of for a happy ending and with any luck the customer should be asking for a signed hardback!

Robert Newry is Co-Founder and Managing Director of NewField IT, a software and services company that helps both end users and channel organisations implement successful MPS programmes.

Doctor or Drug Rep: The Role of Sales in an MPS World

In the rush to find the MPS gold mine, OEMs are pushing out new training initiatives to transform their sales channels, and dealer teams are filling up MPS “Sales 101”-type classes, yet few have given much thought to the role of the sales rep in an environment where consultation skills are as important as product knowledge. For some, the sales rep needs to become a consultant, while for others, the consulting should be left to a professional services team. To understand which approach is best, a useful analogy is whether you want your sales reps to be doctors or drug reps.

The traditional drug rep is very different from the old-style copier sales rep. Drug reps know they are selling to sophisticated customers. They have to be knowledgeable about the medical environment, the components, the effects of their products and contraindications. Drug reps have to know medical terms and sell more on outcomes than cost – in many ways similar to someone selling a service to an IT manager. They need to build trust and respect by showing knowledge and understanding of their client’s environment. Being comfortable with the client’s terminology is more significant than being familiar with their own. Above all, they need to speak on an equal level, and their primary role is to educate and inform – changing their client’s behavior. Yet behind all the talk and advice is a reward based on the sale of a product.

A doctor, on the other hand, is there to diagnose and interpret information from which a treatment of the ailment can be suggested. A doctor’s role, similar to a business consultant’s, is to ask questions and take a holistic view of a patient’s (or client’s) health before establishing the best course of treatment based on training, experience and knowledge. Questions on lifestyle, diet, weight, family history and current treatments are parallel to those in our own world on strategy, profitability, processes, culture and current projects. The difference is that a doctor doesn’t go through the motions, so when he or she in medical terms “takes a history” before making a recommendation – questioning the user to assess the overall health and habits (policies) – the information gathered becomes vital to putting forth the best prescription.

So in an MPS engagement, gathering and interpreting information on a client is just as essential before recommending an improved operating environment. Without a doubt, we would all be appalled if our doctors skipped through the analysis and started offering us drugs for our ailments before we felt they understood what was wrong with us. Equally, a treatment that deals with the symptoms rather than the cause would create just as much concern.

With all the MPS training courses emphasizing the need for assessments and consultations, some consideration needs to be given as to who is the right person to do this work. A sales rep’s skill is to open doors and close deals – a skill set that does not lend itself to detailed and often lengthy analysis. While skipping over information costs lives for doctors, in the MPS world, it costs deals. Some sales reps are able to span the two roles, but rarely in my experience. However, that doesn’t mean all sales reps now need to become consultants or vice versa.

The larger the customer, the more sophisticated the environment and the more important a consultant’s skill sets will be in closing a deal. In contrast, the smaller the customer, the simpler the consultative tasks and the easier it is for a sales rep to perform the role. The danger is always that the sales rep completely dismisses the need to take on any semblance of the doctor’s role and so reverts to type and doesn’t even achieve the heights of the drug rep. Emphasizing at the outset that MPS sales is a new type of role with new skills is as important as the training itself.

Finally, think about the doctor’s reward versus the drug rep’s. A doctor looks for the long-term health of the patient, knowing that further advice and treatment will be required over a period of time, whereas the drug rep wants product sales. I am still staggered by how few sales reps are rewarded on the entire MPS contract as opposed to the equipment and software installed on day one. If we thought our doctor was rewarded on the number of pills he or she prescribed after each visit, we would change practices very quickly. All the money or time spent on training is wasted if the commission scheme is not in line with the change of behavior the training is attempting to achieve.

So before you sign up for the next MPS training course, ask yourself what kind of selling role you or your company aspires to: doctor or drug rep? If doctor, then make sure the long-term care of the client is in the interest of all parties!

Contact Robert Newry at robert.newry@newfieldit.com.

The Good... The Bad... and The Ugly... of providing Printed Document Assessments

Robert Newry, Co-Founder, NewField IT speaks for the MPSA Higher Education in Webinar focusing on The Good... The Bad... and The Ugly... of providing Printed Document Assessments.

Copy of Presentation:
=======================================================
http://www.yourmpsa.org/MPSA_NewField_IT_Assessments.pdf


Recording of Webinar:
=======================================================
http://www.yourmpsa.org/MPSA_NewField_IT_Assessments.wmv


Links Mentioned during Webinar:
=======================================================
Blog Entry: http://newfieldit.blogspot.com/2010/06/theres-no-such-thing-as-free-lunch.html

White Paper: http://www.yourmpsa.org/newfield_print_review_white_paper.pdf

There's no such thing as a free lunch

...so should you charge for assessments?

By: Robert Newry, Co-founder, NewField IT

Finishing off an enjoyable lunch with a client recently I wondered as I picked up the bill, whether he saw this as a free lunch or a fair reward for his time and attention? I’d had a chance to pitch some new ideas from NewField IT and learn a bit more about his plans, in return for a small expense. But, how would I have felt if he was just a prospect and I had to go to the most expensive restaurant in town with fine wines and no guarantee of securing business at the end of it? Surely this is the reserve of a customer who has provided substantial business, yet many in our industry face an equal dilemma when asked to provide a free assessment, worth thousands of dollars in manpower.

The irony is that management in most MPS providers themselves think of an assessment as nothing more than a ‘free lunch’ – a necessary, but low value activity that is part of winning an MPS contract. Few respect that an assessment, depending on its scope, is as much a discovery for the customer as it is for them. If the customer knew how many devices they had, who used them and to what degree, where they were located, and whether they were leveraging the technology to optimise processes, then the assessment wouldn’t be needed. It stands to reason that the larger the organisation is the higher the complexity around printing becomes and therefore the greater the value in knowing exactly what is going on and how much it costs.

This disconnect between the service of providing an assessment and the value of the assessment has come about because many early assessments were nothing more than an elaborate sales proposal (typically limited to a USB stick collecting meter reads and a cursory walk around). The deliverable was reams of volume data in different configurations that the customer was expected to wade through and a current cost analysis based on what I have previously referred to as guerrilla economics*. Now, however, the shift to managed print services has accelerated and the role of the assessment has become much more significant in establishing the business case for change and a solid scope of work.

So for those MPS providers struggling to start charging for something they have traditionally given away for free, my advice is to look at an assessment like a professional French chef would a meal; starting by categorising assessments into four groups, much like the courses of a meal.

The first group is for pilot assessments, equivalent to the amuse-bouche or appetizer and usually provided without charge; a small indicator of the expertise of the chef, hinting at the delights to come. This could be the volume assessment of a floor, or a department, with devices mapped, but nothing more. Options for more detailed work should be presented; however, the value of each option must be clearly indicated, similar to a menu.

The next level of assessment, the hors-d’oeuvres in my analogy, goes into another level of detail. This could involve the odd user interview and a simple cost of ownership approach based on industry standards; something that can be done quickly and without too much time commitment. The client sees value now but is not fully committed (there is still the main course to come after all).

The main assessment though is like the Plat Principal, a signature dish, always chargeable because of the value, knowledge and expertise of the professional who creates it. This type of assessment will include detailed analysis of costs, user interviews across the organisation, IT systems analysis, creation of a print policy and multiple optimised scenarios. As long as the deliverable lives up to the associated costs I see no reason why MPS providers shouldn’t charge for it. NewField IT has the benefit of delivering such assessments as an independent consultancy, but the reason our customers pay for this service is because of the value we deliver.

Finally, if you have left your customer hungry for more, the desert might be a workflow assessment, reviewing the most intensive of the paper processes and understanding the barriers and challenges to moving these to a more electronic activity.

The message to every vendor in our industry is that an assessment is not “free”, there are simply varying levels of cost and value. MPS providers should understand the time and value of each type of assessment and at least start by recording it as a cost of sale that effects the sales team. One of the most successful MPS providers in the UK, Danwood, takes this approach and has a growing Professional Services Team, proof that once you start recognising the cost and quality of what you provide in an assessment, then so will your customers.

By taking this approach charging will become easier and the next prospect to ask for a full assessment for free can be refused; if you can do so with Gallic snort of indignation and a shocked look of insult, then all the better!

Death of a Copier Dealer – Boiling Frog Syndrome

Self-awareness–the biggest barrier

by: James Duckenfield, Co-Founder NewField IT

We have all heard about how a frog happily becomes poached alive if placed in cold water that is gradually brought to the boil. Without an acute change in temperature they don’t have the stimulus to make a change and jump out of the water.

In the same way, many copier dealers are continuing to do the same thing they have done for years; the marketplace is gradually changing around them, but not sufficiently quick enough to provide the stimulus for some to change their ways. For many copier dealers, little has changed since copiers became digital some 15 years ago. Salespeople are still targeted on box sales, typically on margin. With margins being squeezed over the years, the whip has been cracked harder to maintain earnings. Managed Print Services as a concept has had little effect for most copier dealers although some have simply renamed their existing services.

Significant consolidation has taken place during this time as more progressive dealerships and manufacturers have acquired less progressive firms for their client base. For those that remain, what does the future hold?

Through our first hand interactions supporting dealers and resellers we have experienced the full spectrum. We have seen that approach varies considerably, as does their vision; some have a clear vision and drive, and others fall into the ‘boiling frog’ category, as they see no reason to change their ways simply looking for tactical fixes for problems that arise on an ad hoc basis.

The biggest problem facing many copier dealers is that they have not noticed the temperature rise around them. Seeing no reason to re-think strategy having made good margin for years, they’re putting reducing margin down to a tough marketplace alone. Why then have some dealers and resellers thrived in the marketplace and been able to buy up the struggling competitors?

The successful copier dealers such as Global Imaging and Ikon (prior to their acquisition by Xerox and Ricoh respectively) were successful because of their vision. They saw what was going on in the marketplace, they saw printer manufacturers starting to compete in their traditional home territory, and even some systems integrators muscle in too. They realised that a change of approach and significant investment was going to be required to stay one step ahead of the competition. Both companies invested in two key areas – consultancy and systems engineers. These two resources are expensive but set them apart from most of the competition as they were able to analyse their clients’ environments and put together sophisticated solutions that they could implement and provide quality support for on an ongoing basis.

In contrast, many copier dealers view software as an optional accessory for their MFDs that is actually an inconvenience: it can be complicated, it requires engagement with IT (who they are less comfortable dealing with), and may require ongoing support. They also don’t like the potential impact on the sales cycle, as a more sophisticated approach to understanding customer requirements is needed: a process that can badly delay revenue unless they invest in developing a good methodology. Finally, they have little understanding of the risks surrounding systems implementation and therefore often look for the cheapest option, rather than the option that will work first time and not provide a future liability. Those not understanding the risks should read the story around BSkyB’s law suit against EDS and how mis-selling of a £48M ($72M)project led BSkyB to claim £700M ($1.05B) in damages, and has cost EDS over £200M ($300M) in damages as an interim award from the courts.

Worse still are the dealers and resellers who think that, by hiring one or two systems engineers and mastering a simple solution like a USB key for assessments, they can tackle the complexities of any print solution. We have seen the disastrous consequences of these companies winging their way through systems implementation. Some manage to patch things up or parachute experts in at considerable cost and with some loss of reputation, but others have lost their customers altogether. After the BSkyB case, some may be lucky just to lose their customer in the future and may face costly lawsuits. Copier dealers risk giving their sector a bad name and pushing customers to the IT resellers who already have their sights on the marketplace.

The first step is to realise where one is incompetent so that steps can be taken to improve. Copier dealers then have four routes into the future:

1. Sell Up
   Market consolidation continues and both larger dealers and manufacturers have an appetite for acquisition

2. Scale Up
   Invest in a consultancy team, methodology to ensure sales cycles are not unduly extended, technical resource and training to implement print management, scanning and soon document management systems and crucially the resource to support these systems on an ongoing basis.

3. Partner Up
   Find a partner to provide the consultancy, systems implementation and support who you can rely on and pay IT market rates to ensure quality.

4. Close Up
   Dealer and Resellers that fail to modernise will slowly perish as they are out-competed cf. the frog.

So, if you’re a copier dealer, ask yourself: what’s your strategy? Are you really fit to compete or are you only dipping your toe in water? If you are only dipping your toe you are probably a frog and need the magic kiss of investment to transform yourself to a competitive business of the future!