{"id":13563,"date":"2015-07-14T08:01:52","date_gmt":"2015-07-14T15:01:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/?p=13563"},"modified":"2016-09-15T09:48:09","modified_gmt":"2016-09-15T16:48:09","slug":"oh-no-not-again-common-mistakes-made-by-dealers-looking-to-move-into-managed-services","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/managed-services\/2015\/07\/oh-no-not-again-common-mistakes-made-by-dealers-looking-to-move-into-managed-services\/","title":{"rendered":"Oh No, Not Again: Common Mistakes Made by Dealers Looking to Move into Managed Services"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-13564\" src=\"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/mistake1-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"mistake1\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/>Everybody makes mistakes and the dealer community has made its share as they struggle to make a go of it in the Managed Services business.<\/p>\n<p>This month in the print version of ENX magazine the main feature is \u201cManaged Services Made Easy.\u201d The individuals we interviewed for that piece had a lot to share on the topic of Managed Services, but not all of it could fit into the article. As a result we are presenting additional Managed Services coverage in ENX\/The Week in Imaging. Last week we explored some of the fears experienced by dealers regarding Managed Services. This week we examine common mistakes made by those who have entered the Managed Services fray.<\/p>\n<p>One common mistake that gets referenced again and again is making the Managed Services sales compensation the same as selling hardware.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI see it over and over again,\u201d observes says Charles Lamb, president &amp; CEO Mps&amp;it Sales Consulting. \u201cYou have to understand that \u2018Services\u2019 does not have hardware in it at all. Many dealers say they\u2019re selling services, but the reps don\u2019t get paid a dime until hardware moves. That\u2019s a big mistake. If you want to drive long-term contracts for Managed Services you have to rework your comp so it pays the reps on what you want. Reps are coin operated so if you want to sell services, you\u2019ve got to get there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He adds that it\u2019s equally important to deliver service that fits your client\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s possible they don\u2019t need more hardware, but need better cost management controls and increased organizational performance. Those are the things you\u2019re actually selling.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A competent team is necessary as well. \u201cIt\u2019s a big mistake to leave Johnny in there when he can\u2019t portray the higher value tangible benefits,\u201d says Lamb<\/p>\n\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 16%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-13563 gallery-columns-6 gallery-size-thumbnail'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/managed-services\/2015\/06\/managed-services-made-easy\/attachment\/david-pohlman-2x3\/'><img width=\"100\" height=\"100\" src=\"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/David-Pohlman-2x3-e1437150455422-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-13316\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-13316'>\n\t\t\t\tDavid Pohlman\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/managed-services\/2015\/06\/managed-services-made-easy\/attachment\/charles-lamb-headshot\/'><img width=\"100\" height=\"100\" src=\"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/charles-Lamb-headshot-e1435072018303-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-13315\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-13315'>\n\t\t\t\tCharles Lamb\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/managed-services\/2015\/07\/fear-of-managed-services\/attachment\/bsiedentopf_headshot-2\/'><img width=\"100\" height=\"100\" src=\"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/BSiedentopf_headshot-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-13525\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-13525'>\n\t\t\t\tBritt Siedentopf\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/managed-services\/2015\/06\/managed-services-made-easy\/attachment\/swensondean-120030f\/'><img width=\"100\" height=\"100\" src=\"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/SwensonDean-120030F-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-13313\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-13313'>\n\t\t\t\tDean Swenson\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/the-week-in-imaging-twii\/2015\/05\/meet-more-of-this-years-difference-makers\/attachment\/nick-pegley-vp-marketing-all-covered\/'><img width=\"100\" height=\"100\" src=\"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Nick-Pegley-VP-Marketing-All-Covered-e1432124743684-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-12700\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-12700'>\n\t\t\t\tNick Pegley\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl>\n\t\t\t<br style='clear: both' \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>Another mistake he sees is placing Managed Service sales reps on top of an existing hardware sales team.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo you immediately create a sales team model that is going to fail,\u201d states Lamb. \u201cTheir objectives are different. At the end of the day, one is there to sell the box while the services guy is going to slow down the box, so there\u2019s a conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The mistake that David Pohlman, Office of the President\/COO, GreatAmerica Financial Services Corp. cautions against for dealers coming at it from an office equipment background is approaching every customer as a potential Managed Services customer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s largely true in the core businesses and the background we come from, but for Managed IT, at the max, maybe 20 percent of your customer base is probably a right fit for the right price, right delivered Managed IT Services,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>What he means by that is that these are the people who are willing to engage with the dealership to create a win-win situation for both parties where it can be scaled and scaled profitably.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere people seem to make the big mistakes is when they start taking on a lot of accounts that aren\u2019t interested in engaging in a win-win; they want you to do bits and pieces for them and in the end it\u2019s not a good fit for Managed IT Services because you\u2019re not going to be able to scale it and scale it profitably,\u201d says Pohlman.<\/p>\n<p>Another mistake is falling into the mindset that whatever the customer says they want is what the dealer should deliver.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s the kiss of death,\u201d states Pohlman. \u201cIf you\u2019re going to take over the accountability and responsibility for managing the IT infrastructure the quid pro quo to that is you get to have a say in the platform and the structure that you\u2019re committing to support it on. No organization can support a wide array of technologies and do it effectively. The best way to approach this business and scale it profitably is to have consistency in what you\u2019re supporting day in and day out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He adds that techs will see the same issues day in and day out and the dealership will become efficient at running IT for someone and then be able to scale a business and scale it in a way that produces a good economic result.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you\u2019re trying to support a wide array of things there\u2019s no way to do that effectively and you end up with an unhappy customer and make no money,\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another common mistake occurs during the assessment process.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOnce they get a customer that\u2019s interested, but haven\u2019t closed the customer yet, the dealer will send the engineer out to do an assessment, but they\u2019re not sales people and that\u2019s a problem,\u201d says Britt Siedentopf, managed services manager, Leapfrog Managed Services by Muratec. \u201cThey need someone to do the assessment who understands business and can sell. Ultimately, the customer doesn\u2019t care what\u2019s wrong, you need to present to their business goals and objectives and pain points.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On top of that that process must be quick because time kills deals, contends Siedentopf. \u201cFor most dealers this takes 30 days. That\u2019s plenty of time for the current IT company to fix things. Then all of a sudden the customer is happy again. You need to get the assessment and recommendations down to a week.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7471\" style=\"width: 130px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7471\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7471\" src=\"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Sobel_Dave_sm.jpg\" alt=\"Dave Sobel\" width=\"120\" height=\"179\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-7471\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dave Sobel<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cThe biggest mistake I see is that people assume they\u2019re going to instantly get their Managed Services right and that they\u2019re going to go out and sell a ton of it and it\u2019s going to be incredibly profitable from Day 1,\u201d says Dave Sobel, Director of Partner Community at Logic Now. \u00a0\u201cWhat I oftentimes find is the first one to three deals are very profitable, but deals three to five collectively cause pressure on the organization. It\u2019s good positive pressure and proves that the model works and you\u2019re learning the cost of service delivery, but when you pressure your sales team and they go out and find 10 deals right away it creates pressure because oftentimes they don\u2019t understand the cost of delivering service.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He says this can be a problem when a dealer makes Managed Services an all you can eat offering when they haven\u2019t learned all the ways they truly want to onboard and how to ensure the environment is a stable one.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey move too fast and that can cause strain in the organization and service problems,\u201d states Sobel. \u201cThat\u2019s why I recommend the style of transition I do (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/enx-features\/2015\/06\/managed-services-made-easy\/\" target=\"_blank\">See original article<\/a>.) because you\u2019ll learn a lot of the business side of things before you add the higher risk of also including labor costs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Partnering with the wrong partner was one mistake that Dean Swenson, President of The Swenson Group recalls making in his dealership\u2019s initial foray into Managed Services.<\/p>\n<p>How\u2019d that happen?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat we learned is we needed to partner with an established organization that has instant credibility. Our first venture we were trying to establish things and people were asking for references and we had none. Working with All Covered we can say we\u2019re in this space with our partner and they\u2019ve been doing it for 20 years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The final mistake is not completely committing to a Managed Services initiative.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDabbling is one of issue we see,\u201d observes Nick Pegley, VP marketing, All Covered IT Services from Konica Minolta. \u201cAnything less than a full commitment is a challenge to execute.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Everybody makes mistakes and the dealer community has made its share as they struggle to make a go of it in the Managed Services business. This month in the print version of ENX magazine the main feature is \u201cManaged Services Made Easy.\u201d The individuals we interviewed for that piece had a lot to share on the topic of Managed Services, but not all of it could fit into the article. As a result we are presenting additional Managed Services coverage in ENX\/The Week in Imaging. Last week we explored some of the fears experienced by dealers regarding Managed Services. This week we examine common mistakes made by those who have entered the Managed Services fray. One common mistake that gets referenced again and again is making the Managed Services sales compensation the same as selling hardware. \u201cI see it over and over again,\u201d observes says Charles Lamb, president &amp; CEO Mps&amp;it Sales Consulting. \u201cYou have to understand that \u2018Services\u2019 does not have hardware in it at all. Many dealers say they\u2019re selling services, but the reps don\u2019t get paid a dime until hardware moves. That\u2019s a big mistake. If you want to drive long-term contracts for Managed Services you have to rework your comp so it pays the reps on what you want. Reps are coin operated so if you want to sell services, you\u2019ve got to get there.\u201d He adds that it\u2019s equally important to deliver service that fits your client\u2019s needs. \u201cIt\u2019s possible they don\u2019t need more hardware, but need better cost management controls and increased organizational performance. Those are the things you\u2019re actually selling.\u201d A competent team is necessary as well. \u201cIt\u2019s a big mistake to leave Johnny in there when he can\u2019t portray the higher value tangible benefits,\u201d says Lamb Another mistake he sees is placing Managed Service sales reps on top of an existing hardware sales team. \u201cSo you immediately create a sales team model that is going to fail,\u201d states Lamb. \u201cTheir objectives are different. At the end of the day, one is there to sell the box while the services guy is going to slow down the box, so there\u2019s a conflict.\u201d The mistake that David Pohlman, Office of the President\/COO, GreatAmerica Financial Services Corp. cautions against for dealers coming at it from an office equipment background is approaching every customer as a potential Managed Services customer. \u201cThat\u2019s largely true in the core businesses and the background we come from, but for Managed IT, at the max, maybe 20 percent of your customer base is probably a right fit for the right price, right delivered Managed IT Services,\u201d he says. What he means by that is that these are the people who are willing to engage with the dealership to create a win-win situation for both parties where it can be scaled and scaled profitably. \u201cWhere people seem to make the big mistakes is when they start taking on a lot of accounts that aren\u2019t interested in engaging in a win-win; they want you to do bits and pieces for them and in the end it\u2019s not a good fit for Managed IT Services because you\u2019re not going to be able to scale it and scale it profitably,\u201d says Pohlman. Another mistake is falling into the mindset that whatever the customer says they want is what the dealer should deliver. \u201cThat\u2019s the kiss of death,\u201d states Pohlman. \u201cIf you\u2019re going to take over the accountability and responsibility for managing the IT infrastructure the quid pro quo to that is you get to have a say in the platform and the structure that you\u2019re committing to support it on. No organization can support a wide array of technologies and do it effectively. The best way to approach this business and scale it profitably is to have consistency in what you\u2019re supporting day in and day out.\u201d He adds that techs will see the same issues day in and day out and the dealership will become efficient at running IT for someone and then be able to scale a business and scale it in a way that produces a good economic result. \u201cIf you\u2019re trying to support a wide array of things there\u2019s no way to do that effectively and you end up with an unhappy customer and make no money,\u201d Another common mistake occurs during the assessment process. \u201cOnce they get a customer that\u2019s interested, but haven\u2019t closed the customer yet, the dealer will send the engineer out to do an assessment, but they\u2019re not sales people and that\u2019s a problem,\u201d says Britt Siedentopf, managed services manager, Leapfrog Managed Services by Muratec. \u201cThey need someone to do the assessment who understands business and can sell. Ultimately, the customer doesn\u2019t care what\u2019s wrong, you need to present to their business goals and objectives and pain points.\u201d On top of that that process must be quick because time kills deals, contends Siedentopf. \u201cFor most dealers this takes 30 days. That\u2019s plenty of time for the current IT company to fix things. Then all of a sudden the customer is happy again. You need to get the assessment and recommendations down to a week.\u201d \u201cThe biggest mistake I see is that people assume they\u2019re going to instantly get their Managed Services right and that they\u2019re going to go out and sell a ton of it and it\u2019s going to be incredibly profitable from Day 1,\u201d says Dave Sobel, Director of Partner Community at Logic Now. \u00a0\u201cWhat I oftentimes find is the first one to three deals are very profitable, but deals three to five collectively cause pressure on the organization. It\u2019s good positive pressure and proves that the model works and you\u2019re learning the cost of service delivery, but when you pressure your sales team and they go out and find 10 deals right away it creates pressure because oftentimes they don\u2019t understand the cost of delivering service.\u201d He says this can be a problem when a dealer makes Managed Services an all you can eat offering [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[237,1638],"tags":[104,2308,1800,583,1805,1247,1008,494,224,2321,2311,2411,262,2122,1011],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13563"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13563"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13563\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13592,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13563\/revisions\/13592"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}