![\"Lindsay](\"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Lindsay-Bohon.jpg\")
Lindsay Bohon<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cThat certainly demands a lot of expense on the dealer either up front or over time,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd the thing that plays off that too is the inability to replace devices. When you think about efficiencies in the environment and when you\u2019re going in with a low payment to secure that service agreement you are having to service equipment that\u2019s extremely costly. From a vendor\u2019s perspective trying to move that customer from a service-only contract, replacing hardware, and raising that monthly payment is a very difficult move. Often or not, that inability to get the customer to move or change equipment is not an easy task and ends up costing the customer more money.\u201d<\/p>\n
She adds that for those dealers doing more of a rip and replace or even a hybrid approach where they\u2019re committing up front on cost savings, where they can save a customer \u2018X percent today\u2019 to win the deal then they\u2019re finding out that is maybe all they can save and they\u2019re cutting into the gross profit they could have had on the deal.<\/p>\n
One of the pitfalls so many in the industry witness is not hiring for the right skill set. \u201cWe all know that MPS has a much longer sales cycle. The down the street MFP sales rep that is used to turning deals on a quicker pace, MPS takes a longer time to turn over. [That\u2019s why it\u2019s important that] the compensation marries up with the long-term initiatives for the company.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Mitch](\"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Mitch-Filby-150x150.jpg\")
Mitch Filby<\/p><\/div>\n
Mitchell Filby, managing director of First Rock Consulting and author of \u201cRest in Print: from office printing to the rise in managed services<\/em>,\u201d will be one of the first consultants to tell you that there are no quick wins in the MPS business.<\/p>\n \u201cMPS can be fraught with danger if you don’t plan and implement internally first,\u201d he opines. \u201cBuilding the right processes first, then testing these processes will ensure more learning than you can ever imagine. This is where you’ll learn the phrase \u2018more ways to skin a cat\u2019 again.\u201d<\/p>\n He also cautions against placing current clients in a buying cycle if you go to them with an offer that does not meet their expectations or is limited in what it provides.<\/p>\n \u201cYour MPS may have the adverse effect than you expect,\u201d states Filby. \u201cCurrent clients are the best place to start, but be careful in your approach to MPS with them. Baby steps may work better.\u201d<\/p>\n Another pitfall he\u2019s witnessed is a failure to understand the challenges of managing the basics internally first, notably support for devices and supplies. \u201cHow you will bill this to the client and how will this be recognized internally?\u201d asks Filby.<\/p>\n Another pitfall is assuming that MPS is simple just because it looks like it should be simple.<\/p>\n \u201cIt isn’t,\u201d emphasizes Filby.<\/p>\n Not doing one\u2019s due diligence when selecting a MPS partner is another pitfall.<\/p>\n \u201cPick your partners well,\u201d observes Filby. \u201cFor example, you may need a different mix of partners that provide you the best leverage\/advantage \/differentiation going to market. It could be a strong A4 brand, and a different A3 brand, or one brand that is complimentary in both.\u201d<\/p>\n The biggest pitfall that dealers offering MPS for the first time encounter, according to West McDonald, vice president of business development, Print Audit, is that it\u2019s much harder than they originally expected it to be.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s different enough from a traditional supply and service model so there\u2019s more moving parts and more expertise is required,\u201d he says. \u201cAnother pitfall is people aren\u2019t aware of just how many dealers offer managed print or say they do. It\u2019s an ocean of people saying they provide \u2018Managed Print Services\u2019 simply because they can build in cost per page.\u201d<\/p>\n That also leads to a misunderstanding of the number of opportunities available to them.<\/p>\n West McDonald<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cMore and more I\u2019m talking to sales reps that are going into accounts that already have an MPS contract in place and they don\u2019t know how to deal with that,\u201d says McDonald. \u201cThey just automatically walk away from it. They don\u2019t realize they can manage the print stream, meaning how efficiently are they printing, are they printing color where they should be are they duplexing the way they need to, are they printing things competitively that could be better served by some kind of digital form?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n This goes back to McDonald\u2019s comment about dealers thinking that MPS is simpler than it is.<\/p>\n \u201cIf they want to get into it they better raise their game because there are so many players professing to do it. And customers, unfortunately, aren\u2019t able to filter through the noise.\u201d<\/p>\n Ken Stewart<\/p><\/div>\n Ken Stewart, an analyst with Photizo Group reports that the biggest pitfall a dealer getting into MPS for the first time is thinking that it\u2019s the same business as they\u2019re used to.<\/p>\n \u201cThey don\u2019t understand they\u2019re part of the bigger picture,\u201d he says. \u201cGuys come in and think print is the end all be all\u2014it\u2019s just one small part of a strategy to manage a business portfolio. These guys get tiresome to deal with when that\u2019s all they talk about. I don\u2019t think customers take that seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n The second pitfall is spewing acronyms while not understanding the context.<\/p>\n \u201cIn general they don\u2019t pass the smell test when talking with line managers or C-level executives and come off trying to be something they\u2019re not,\u201d says Stewart.<\/p>\n \u201cMany resellers we speak to believe that a copier rep can become a good Managed Print Services rep and it\u2019s proved out that\u2019s not the case,\u201d opines Christian Pepper, director of marketing and business intelligence at LMI Solutions. \u201cA copier rep is a totally different animal than a MPS rep. They\u2019re very much hardware driven and their mentality is to go into an account and replace hardware with their hardware.\u201d<\/p>\n Another pitfall is not having a compensation plan that rewards MPS specialists.<\/p>\n \u201cThe compensation plan needs to include an element of winning the business and an element of managing that client\u2019s expectations and their expectations to realize savings and workflow improvements,\u201d says Pepper.<\/p>\n Christian Pepper<\/p><\/div>\n Coincidentally, the most commonly downloaded call to action on LMI\u2019s website is its MPS compensation guide.<\/p>\n Pepper also emphasizes the importance of keeping one\u2019s website up to date.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of companies put up information on their websites in 2010 or 2011 about Managed Print and their entire organization and then forgot about it,\u201d he says. \u201cThat\u2019s out of date and that\u2019s a big mistake in the Managed Print area and with a lot of businesses in general. You can\u2019t just update your website once every few years. It can\u2019t be just a one-way piece of glass that people can look into your business. If you\u2019re marketing your content and it\u2019s out of date and irrelevant and working against you. If your website is not up to date with the latest content and the tools and services you offer, then you\u2019re better off taking that content down then leaving it up.\u201d<\/p>\n For Supplies Network\u2019s Sarah Custer, there\u2019s really two major buckets, sales and operations and each can each have its own pitfalls.<\/p>\n Sarah Custer<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cFrom a sales standpoint where I see resellers struggle is when they\u2019re not willing to dedicate at least one person internally to understand the sales process of MPS,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s a lot different than a transactional sale and the selling cycle is very different. There has to be somebody who is operationally educated but sales savvy. It takes a special individual to deliver that well. The resellers who are doing the best job have those solutions sales type folks and are dedicated to finding the right sales team.\u201d<\/p>\n Another pitfall are the operational challenges that can occur from time to time.<\/p>\n \u201cFinding either an internal team or partner who can make sure there are strong operational processes and procedures are critical to ensure profitability. Without operational discipline a lot of money can be lost,\u201d emphasizes Custer. \u201cIf the reseller is not paying close attention to how they\u2019re delivering that MPS engagement something they thought would be really profitable can turn out to be negative in a flash.\u201d<\/p>\n Devon Thompson<\/p><\/div>\n Devon Thompson, manager customer experience at PrintFleet identifies a pitfall common to many early MPS adopters and that\u2019s a failure to drive what amounts to a significant organizational change, from the top down. \u201cThere needs to be someone to champion the transition and really lead the charge,\u201d she says. \u201cIf it\u2019s not coming from that level it\u2019s very likely the program won\u2019t get off the ground. We\u2019ve worked with resellers who bring on an MPS Specialist and others who suggest their sales team also use MPS as an add-on. The sales team needs to be incented \u2013 it\u2019s always been the \u2018what\u2019s in it for me?\u2019 mentality.\u201d<\/p>\n A lack of training is another potential pitfall.<\/p>\n \u201cSoftware training is a must and ensuring you have a knowledgeable individual managing the tools and the success of the automated processes,\u201d contends Thompson. \u201cAdditionally, PrintFleet is a tool that enables our customers to add value to their already successful business. The tool shouldn\u2019t be what they\u2019re selling. They need to continue to focus on their differentiators. However, it does help to ensure you choose the tool you want enabling your program.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Last week we published the first part in a two-part series on the pitfalls of MPS. We began by noting that MPS has been around long enough to identify the many pitfalls that can prevent a dealer from being successful. Some of the pitfalls have been learned firsthand others by watching others fail. We asked successful MPS dealers and MPS advocates from the document imaging industry to share with us the biggest pitfalls they\u2019ve seen or experienced over the course of their careers. This is the continuation and concluding part of that series. Lindsay Bohon, vice president sales, GreatAmerica Financial Services Corp., identifies one of the biggest pitfalls as not having a clear picture of the devices being taken under contract. \u201cThat certainly demands a lot of expense on the dealer either up front or over time,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd the thing that plays off that too is the inability to replace devices. When you think about efficiencies in the environment and when you\u2019re going in with a low payment to secure that service agreement you are having to service equipment that\u2019s extremely costly. From a vendor\u2019s perspective trying to move that customer from a service-only contract, replacing hardware, and raising that monthly payment is a very difficult move. Often or not, that inability to get the customer to move or change equipment is not an easy task and ends up costing the customer more money.\u201d She adds that for those dealers doing more of a rip and replace or even a hybrid approach where they\u2019re committing up front on cost savings, where they can save a customer \u2018X percent today\u2019 to win the deal then they\u2019re finding out that is maybe all they can save and they\u2019re cutting into the gross profit they could have had on the deal. One of the pitfalls so many in the industry witness is not hiring for the right skill set. \u201cWe all know that MPS has a much longer sales cycle. The down the street MFP sales rep that is used to turning deals on a quicker pace, MPS takes a longer time to turn over. [That\u2019s why it\u2019s important that] the compensation marries up with the long-term initiatives for the company.\u201d Mitchell Filby, managing director of First Rock Consulting and author of \u201cRest in Print: from office printing to the rise in managed services,\u201d will be one of the first consultants to tell you that there are no quick wins in the MPS business. \u201cMPS can be fraught with danger if you don’t plan and implement internally first,\u201d he opines. \u201cBuilding the right processes first, then testing these processes will ensure more learning than you can ever imagine. This is where you’ll learn the phrase \u2018more ways to skin a cat\u2019 again.\u201d He also cautions against placing current clients in a buying cycle if you go to them with an offer that does not meet their expectations or is limited in what it provides. \u201cYour MPS may have the adverse effect than you expect,\u201d states Filby. \u201cCurrent clients are the best place to start, but be careful in your approach to MPS with them. Baby steps may work better.\u201d Another pitfall he\u2019s witnessed is a failure to understand the challenges of managing the basics internally first, notably support for devices and supplies. \u201cHow you will bill this to the client and how will this be recognized internally?\u201d asks Filby. Another pitfall is assuming that MPS is simple just because it looks like it should be simple. \u201cIt isn’t,\u201d emphasizes Filby. Not doing one\u2019s due diligence when selecting a MPS partner is another pitfall. \u201cPick your partners well,\u201d observes Filby. \u201cFor example, you may need a different mix of partners that provide you the best leverage\/advantage \/differentiation going to market. It could be a strong A4 brand, and a different A3 brand, or one brand that is complimentary in both.\u201d The biggest pitfall that dealers offering MPS for the first time encounter, according to West McDonald, vice president of business development, Print Audit, is that it\u2019s much harder than they originally expected it to be. \u201cIt\u2019s different enough from a traditional supply and service model so there\u2019s more moving parts and more expertise is required,\u201d he says. \u201cAnother pitfall is people aren\u2019t aware of just how many dealers offer managed print or say they do. It\u2019s an ocean of people saying they provide \u2018Managed Print Services\u2019 simply because they can build in cost per page.\u201d That also leads to a misunderstanding of the number of opportunities available to them. \u201cMore and more I\u2019m talking to sales reps that are going into accounts that already have an MPS contract in place and they don\u2019t know how to deal with that,\u201d says McDonald. \u201cThey just automatically walk away from it. They don\u2019t realize they can manage the print stream, meaning how efficiently are they printing, are they printing color where they should be are they duplexing the way they need to, are they printing things competitively that could be better served by some kind of digital form?\u2019\u201d This goes back to McDonald\u2019s comment about dealers thinking that MPS is simpler than it is. \u201cIf they want to get into it they better raise their game because there are so many players professing to do it. And customers, unfortunately, aren\u2019t able to filter through the noise.\u201d Ken Stewart, an analyst with Photizo Group reports that the biggest pitfall a dealer getting into MPS for the first time is thinking that it\u2019s the same business as they\u2019re used to. \u201cThey don\u2019t understand they\u2019re part of the bigger picture,\u201d he says. \u201cGuys come in and think print is the end all be all\u2014it\u2019s just one small part of a strategy to manage a business portfolio. These guys get tiresome to deal with when that\u2019s all they talk about. I don\u2019t think customers take that seriously.\u201d The second pitfall is spewing acronyms while not understanding the context. \u201cIn general they don\u2019t pass the smell test when talking with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17075"}],"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\/66"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17075"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17075\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17121,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17075\/revisions\/17121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"McDonald](\"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/McDonald-West-FINAL-3-150x150.jpg\")
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![\"Christian](\"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Christian-Pepper-150x150.png\")
![\"Custer_Sarah_PC\"](\"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Custer_Sarah_PC-150x150.jpg\")
![\"Devon](\"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Devon-Thompson-150x150.jpg\")