MPS: Customers define value

MPS consultants need to understand that MPS customers define value, the solution or sales rep doesn’t define value.  MPS customers hire you to accomplish many different jobs within their organization or to help bridge the gap between steps in order to get a job done.  Part of a MPS consultants job is to demonstrate that they are adding value to their client’s organization.  One way to do this is by having monthly or quarterly meetings to uncover other services and value add you can bring to your client.

Here are some questions MPS consultants should be asking during monthly or quarterly meetings (larger customers = monthly meetings and smaller customers = quarterly meetings) with customers:

1.  Now that you have a MPS solution in place, what are you trying to accomplish when it comes to documents and printing?

2.  What are your goal and objectives moving forward?

3.  What problems are occuring with the MPS solution in place and what goals can we prevent in the future?

4.  What other repsonsibilities do you have now that these current MPS services are being used?  How do they differ from before?

Questions like these illustrate to your customer that you are adding value to their company, and now you are truly consulting with this customer and not just selling because the CUSTOMER will DEFINE the VALUE.

MPS Marketing Website

Every so often I like to pick a MPS provider and check out their website to see what their offering.  Today, I looked at Meridian Imaging Solutions of Alexandria, VA. 

Meridian Imaging Solutions offers more than just MPS, but the reason I picked their site was that I liked the fact that not only had a great page about MPS, they had a great page of workflow assessment.  Nothing on their page is flashy or over the top, they have good key points and great information.  I really like the fact that they offer Workflow Assessments.  Done right a Workflow Assessment is  another great service that can help boost your overall Managed Service offering. 

Meridian Imaging Solutions – check them out.

Standard Register: Enterprise Print Management

Standard Register has many solutions for business and one happens to be Enterprise Print Management.  I could write all about what Standard Register offers, but instead check out their website and some of their Insights.  They have excellent Managed Print Services information on their website.  Below is a link to a great article about the Desktop Printing and the Myth that many people think, it’s free.  Enjoy.

Enterprise Document Management Part 2: Desktop Printing Outlook: Ulitization Up, Costs Out of Control

PrintCare: Southern California’s leading provider of print solutions

Every couple of weeks I enjoy looking at different MPS provider’s websites to see how they are marketing their brand and offerings.  Today, I took a look at PrintCare – Managed Print Solutions, which is located in Southern California.  PrintCare is the MPS solution for image Source, an authorized Sales Agent & Dealer for Xerox. 

Things I like about their website:

1.  Even though image Source is a Xerox Sales Agent, they illustrate clearly that their MPS solution, PrintCare is a solution for everyone regardless of printer makes or models.  This is key, many businesses like certain hardware and as a great MPS providers make and model should not matter.

2.  I like that they have a name for their Managed Print Service Solution.  PrintCare is a good name and this a good marketing technique.  This is a great way to make your MPS solution standout.

Check out their site to see what MPS solutions are being offered in Southern California.

Cheers.

MPS: Know who you are selling to….

Here is a great article from the Wall Street Journal about how CIOs are perceived by other executives in their own company.  When you are selling to C-Level Executives you need to understand who STILL holds the ultimate vote!!

Why CIOs Are Last Among Equals - by By PETER S. DELISI, DENNIS MOBERG and RONALD DANIELSON

Cheers,

MPG

What is a MPS Opportunity?

  I spoken with a couple MPS providers last week and they all told me that their sales reps and managers are having trouble qualifying which customers are  a MPS opportunity and which are not.   There are certain characteristics that a customer must have in order for you to invest your time in trying to sell them your MPS solution. 

GOLDEN RULE:  If you DON’T understand that a MPS sale is DIFFERENT than a copier sale than you need to start selling something else.  A MPS sales has a LONGER SALES-CYCLE than a copier sale…….. so if you don’t  understand this you will have trouble with the customer from the start. 

A true MPS opportunity must possess at least one or maybe two of these characteristics in order for you to spend time in trying to sell your MPS solution.

•  Customer under lease with your company – current customers with copiers under lease with your company are good MPS opportunities.  They should have a couple copiers under lease.

  

• Compelling Event – there needs to be a compelling event that your MPS assessment can answer.  The compelling event should focus on the strategic goals and the corporate objectives of the customer.

 

• Cost cutting & Green Initiative - Because of the current state of the economy, many companies are looking for ways to “go green” and reduce expenses across the all facets of their company.

 

• RFP – If you truly have a great MPS solution, you  will be up for a challenge of answering a RFP.  Now remember there is always a company that will try to make the RFP be about price, you need to focus on strategic goals of the company

 

• Leases Expiring – leases expiring is a great way to pitch MPS to a non-customer however, make sure you find out about the present and future needs as well as the strategic goals of the company before you proceed.

 

• Paperless Solution or Fax Solution - MPS providers might think why would I sell MPS if people are looking for a paperless solution, well everyone knows, a company cannot go completely paperless, so this is a way to get in the door.  The same goes for Fax Servers.

 

• Inkjet Printers – Inkjet printers are costly and if a company is employing a lot of them than there is a better way, its called MPS!!!!

These are some of the characteristics you need to define before you can qualify a true MPS opportunity.  Remember almost all MPS deals lost are because the sales reps did not qualify the opportunity correctly. 

Cheers,

MPG

Sales Tip of the Day: Know Your Audience

  When presenting MPS findings for your assessment, it is key to vary the amount of detail to fit your audience’s interests.  Here are a couple of examples:

1.  No matter who you are presenting to, you should always have an explanation of your methodology before your results of your assessment. 

2.  After you present your proposed solution, you should always demonstrate a ROI (return on investment).

3.  When presenting to C-Level Executives your presentation should only contain high-level bullet points and a high-level summary, do not illustrate all your information and every little detail, they don’t have the time to listen to that.

4.  Colored graphs, colored charts demonstrating opportunities for improvement always help bring your presentation to life especially if you are presenting to a large crowd.

When presenting your findings, methodology, proposed solution, ROI, etc., it is always important to KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE.

Cheers,

MPG

MPS: Go Green Pitch

    

        I noticed over the last couple weeks that many MPS providers are starting to move away from the cost reductions MPS angle and migrating towards the “Go Green” angle.  Instead of focusing on cost reduction, they present MPS as an environmental value to the customer by focusing on paper, energy and waste reduction along with cost savings.  They are calling it a “green assessment” as opposed to just a document output assessment.  Try modifing your MPS talk track and try to make it “greener”.

Here is an example of a short MPS “green” pitch:

     We provide MPS to help you with paper, energy and waste reduction and to help you gain control of your document output spending by working with your current print assets to optimize workflow, reduce expenses and create a smaller carbon footprint for your business.  Give me 15 minutes of your time and we can calculate your office’s carbon footprint.

Here is the HP Carbon Footprint Calculator:  HP Carbon Footprint Calculator

Keys Words to add to your MPS “green” talk track

• Carbon footprint size and power consumption
• Paper consumption
• Obsolete Equipment
• ENERGY STAR Equipment

The key phrase MPS providers are using is: Environmental Sustainability, try using it.

Cheers,

MPG

MPS Website Marketing

MPS Marketing           

            Besides reviewing different MPS solutions, one thing I like to do is to see how MPS providers are marketing Managed Print Services on their websites.  So I picked 4 random MPS providers across the USA and checked their websites to see how they market their MPS offerings.

Flex Print Inc.

   This company is a MPS provider located in Arizona with clients nationally.  Their management team has a lot of experience and their website does a great job of illustrating their offerings and customer testimonies.  The one marketing piece that demonstrates this company is all about customer service is their “client advisory board.”

Kraft Business Systems 

   This company is an MPS provider located in Michigan.  I enjoyed their website because they  have other offerings that compliment MPS, like “document and forms managed service,” “voice and data managed services,” and “IT Network Managed Services.”  They seem to truly be a one stop shop for managed services.

itPrints!

 This company is an MPS provider located in San Diego.  They have a very nice website and nice piece of the environmental impact of printing.  Also, they have a great letter of recommendation about their offerings from a customer, which is the best marketing piece when selling a solution or service.

TeamXSI

  This company is an MPS provider located in New York.  Their website is very MPS focused with vertical market videos that I enjoyed, as well as a good blog.  The one marketing piece I really liked from Team XSI was their “1-3-8 guarantee” at the top of the page.  

   There are many more MPS providers across the USA; here are 4 that I thought had some nice marketing pieces on their websites that illustrated their offerings.  As an MPS consultant, a great way to keep up on the changing MPS landscape is to look at other MPS providers’ websites.

Cheers,

MPG

MPS: Dealing with Change

This post is for MPS providers, as well as for customers of MPS.  Overcoming change requires patience, perspective, and anticipation; because of this one must respect it instead of fight it.  When implementing a new MPS solution customers will be sensitive to the change.  Here are few tips to having a smooth implementation and making MPS work for your customer and company.

1.  Always dedicate resources aka TIME and MONEY to manage change.  Everyone is going to have a reaction to a MPS solution, so make there are people and resources to coach your customers or employees thru the transition period.  Make sure you have resources in the beginning of implementation and make sure those resources are there after everything settles.

2.  Acknowledge Problems, don’t fight them.  Problems and issues are going to arise, make sure you repsond to them in a timely fashion.

3.  Overcome OLD HABITS.  If you are installing new equipment, you should understand how users used older equipment and train them by comparing old verbage of the old equipment to new verbage of the new equipment. 

4.  Changes takes time.  Implement over a longer time period.  Train for a month not just a day or a week.  Have follow-up training.

5.  Interaction is a key to change.  This speaks to old habits, speak the language of your customer or your company, make sure you use the right verbage that people understand.  If you demonstrate that you are committed in learning about each individual customer, your efforts will payoff. 

6.  Be Clear about milestones and expectations.  Open and honest expectations will go a long way and make people trust you and embrace your new ideas.

7.  Keep a Knowledge Base of Problems and Solutions:  Keep a knowledge base of issues and solutions.  It is about repetition and consistency, so if you use the same solutions on the same problems you are reinforcing the new ideas and people will start to understand it.

MPS solutions are be very beneficial, but if you cannot have your customers or employees embrace change, your solution will never truly work.

Cheers,

MPG